New blood: Absolve

Absolve is a great new band from Belgium and the Netherlands. And no, they're not bringing back the H8000 sound nor are they even from the H8000 area (some people still think every metallic hardcore band from Belgium is H8000....)... Anyways, they describe their sound as somewhere between Death Threat and No Innocent Victim, I would also add Hatebreed and All Out War to the mix. They've also added a lot of more modern mosh parts, and while they wear their influences on their sleeves, they don't sound like copycats. It's simply great and solid hardcore with pissed off vocals & lyrics. So if you like your hardcore heavy, metallic and angry, this band is for you. They just had their first EP released on Belgium's Kick Out The Jams, so pick that up if you can!

Ignorance Never Settles / Mark Of The Devil split MCD

In 1999 Canada's Ignorance Never Settles and Germany's Mark Of The Devil teamed up to do a split MCD on Belgian label Firestorm Records. A truly international collaboration! Ignorance Never Settles was from Ontario, and they were one of the more metallic hardcore bands around in Canada during the 90s. While they always had the metallic sound, it did evolve over time, also due to countless member changes. Their sound also seemed to incorporate influences from the Florida and European scenes of that era. I believe by the time this split was released, the band had already folded (their recordings for this split are from 1997). Mark Of The Devil was a short-lived German band with a strong atheist/anti-religion stance, which was quite popular in the German metalcore scene at the time. Their sound also uses a mix between 'evil' guttural screams and grunts, reminiscent of bands like Killtheslavemaster. All in all, a great split between 2 bands with a typically late 90s metalcore sound.

Ignorance Never Settles / Mark Of The Devil split MCD

Breakfall - Words So Softly Spoken MCD

Breakfall was a short-lived straight edge hardcore band out of the UK, with members from Scotland and Northern Ireland. The band played a nice mixture of up-tempo crunchy 90s inspired hardcore with old school influences. This MCD was released in 1998 on their own label, Strength In An Age Of Weakness Records. I think this also served as a demo, I am not aware of any other recordings by this band. Members went to Circle Again (who appeared on the awesome 'More Than The X On Our Hands' 6x7" compilation) and Some Days Better. Apparently the drummer moved to the US and played for Ensign for a while? In any case, enjoy!

Breakfall - Words So Softly Spoken MCD

New blood: Zero

More new blood! Zero are a youth crew-inspired band from Canada. While I am not exactly the biggest youth crew fan, good stuff is good stuff, such as True Colors (RIP) from Belgium and Insist out of the UK in recent years. And Zero falls into that category as well for me. They take cues from the old CTHC scene, think of Cornerstone and such, but they don't simply rehash that sound however, they add slightly different elements to it, so they do stand out a bit from the pack. They recently released their debut 7" on Insight Records (US/Canada) and Powered Records (Europe). If you're into youth crew and/or more old school-inspired hardcore, check out this band!

New blood: Fractured

For whatever reason I'm on various band promoter's mailing lists who obviously have never bothered to check out what OnexPath is all about, sending me info about shitty shoegaze, rock and ambient spaced out whatever the hell it is bands... So that makes it all the better when an actual hardcore band takes the time to email me personally. One such band is Fractured from Shallotte, North Carolina. I had never heard of them before they emailed me. Shame on me, cuz this is awesome shit! Their latest EP, 'Debt To Pay', was released online a few months ago, and it's tight as hell! In some parts I'm reminded me of the heavier 90s bands like Turmoil while they also have a modern hardcore sound, bands like Atlanta's Foundation also come to mind. It's an excellent combination, and I urge anybody who visits OnexPath regularly to check Fractured! You will not be disappointed. The band also seems to enjoy playing out and has just done a small tour around several states. So if you live anywhere near NC, be sure to catch this band live, I'm sure they kill it live!

Fallen - Cold Turns On Cold CD

Fallen were an emocore band from the Worcester, Massachusetts area. They were around in the mid to late 90s, in various line-ups, but didn't release a lot of material. Their sound mixed the softer emo sound with a harder more metallic sound, influenced by bands like Converge, Cast Iron Hike and Cave In, and at times the band also sounds like New Day Rising. In 1998 a couple of their recordings sessions, which were originally meant for releases that never happened like a split 7", were released on a CD by Pensive Recording Group, who also released a Forcefedglass CD that same year. After this CD the band also did a split with a band called Kilnemia, but I've never seen it, let alone heard it. Around 2000 or so the band split up. Bass player Nick Van Someren went on to play in Ink Cartridge Funeral and Silent Drive, I have no idea if the other members went on to play in other bands. If you're into emocore with a metallic edge, you might find this interesting.

Fallen - Cold Turns On Cold CD

Grasp - s/t 7"

There is something about a certain style of artwork that screams 90s hardcore to me, and when I see such a record, I want to check it out. Like this self-titled 7" by Grasp, a short-lived band from British Columbia, Canada. As you can already guess from the cover with its typewriter font and badly copied art (probably copied from some historical/art book), this has 90s written all over it. Hell, the 7" even comes with a handmade DIY patch. Released in 1995 on Construction Records, this record has 5 awesome tracks of intense mid-tempo metallic 90s hardcore on it with screamed vocals and socio-political lyrics dealing with subjects such as rape, pro-choice and addiction. The inserts even have explanations for the, already pretty self-explanatory, lyrics. There really is nothing bad I can say about this 7", it's just another great, and fairly obscure, 90s hardcore record. Members also played in bands such as Render Useless, Jonas and Lost Cause. Unfortunately, this is their only record I'm aware of, if anybody has any other recordings of this band, please share them!

Grasp - s/t 7"