Outta pocket – Waste of a Man
This album is Outta Pockets follow up to their EP record ‘Purest Pain’ which was released in 2021. I feel this album is the best they’ve put out so far. By no means are the demos, or Purest Pain, bad by any means, Waste of a Man is just a big leap of improvement. You can hear the evolution of their sound and the path they are pursuing inthis album. The vocals are more brutal, the riffs stand out a lot more, and the pingy snare tone brings it all together. This album is a prime example of bay area beatdown.
- Kruelty – Untopia
This album encapsulates exactly what guitarist, and now vocalist, Zuma, calls ”disgusting music”. Though this album has a strong death and doom metal foundation, their riffs still have aspects of hardcore. With the recent loss of their old vocalist, guitarist Zuma has taken the role, and has done a great job, as their stage presence during live shows has not changed a bit. This album also features amazing drumming, with that same pingy snare tone. Bassist Seina performs phenomenally on back-up vocals when needed as well.
Zulu – New Tomorrow
New Tomorrow is a bit different from others, because of its incorporation of different genres mixed in the album. The song Shine Eternally adds a melodic hint, while We’re More Than This is a hip-hop song. As for the harcore tracks, the beatdown riffs are never repetitive and are unique. The use of blast beats makes listening to itthat much more fun and gives it a lot of replayability. The longer tracklist allows for more song variety while listening.
- Drain – Living proof
Drain is one of the bands leading the wave of modern crossover. The Album has a strong summer feel, due to the fast paced riffs and drum beats. This album also features two songs that switch the sound just a bit. One of them being a song that features bay area rapper shakewell on the intro on a beat produced by the bandsguitarist Cody Chavez. It then goes to an instrumental of the band playing. TThe second song is a cover of the Descendents Good Good Things, Which a lot of people, including me, feel is better than the original.
- Pain of Truth – Not Through Blood
I feel this album stands out not only due to its relentless New York hardcore style riffs and malicious Lyrics. It also has features from multiple iconic hardcore bands such as Terror, Madball, Bad Seed, Trapped Under Ice, and the list goes on. My favorite song on the album is lifeless on the ground which also is the opening song, and Ifeel is the most aggressive song on the album. In your heart has a vicious sound with almost heartfelt lyrics about forming bonds through the scene and uplifting others around you. Which you can tell is inspired by terror frontman, Scott Vogel, who features on this track.
