#hardcore

#hardcore

In Defense of the Genre is a column on BrooklynVegan about punk, pop punk, emo, hardcore, post-hardcore, ska-punk, and more, including and often especially the bands and albums and subgenres that weren't always taken so seriously.The first month of 2026 is a wrap! Hopefully you're caught up on the 50 best punk albums of 2025 (and hopefully you caught the best punk songs of December list that went live around New Year's)

East Bay hardcore outfit Manos De Fierro is part of a new wave of bands pushing the Bay Area scene back toward something raw, physical and community-driven. Pulling from hardcore, metal and beatdown influences, their sound is confrontational without feeling performative, rooted in real experience rather than image. The band has built a reputation through local shows that thrive on intensity and shared energy, where the line between band and crowd all but disappears.

I'm being a little facetious, but rock and even punk has has been steadily climbing its way back to the mainstream and we felt that more this year than we have in a while. Still, the vast majority of great punk bands are still occupying niche underground spaces, so you might have had to dig a little harder to see it but 2025 was an incredible year for music in and around the world of punk.

So many artists, so many songs, so little time. Each week we review a handful of new albums (of all genres), round up even more new music that we'd call "indie," and talk about what metal is coming out. We post music news, track premieres, and more all day. We update a playlist weekly of some of our current favorite tracks. Here's a daily roundup with a bunch of interesting, newly released songs in one place.

So many artists, so many songs, so little time. Each week we review a handful of new albums (of all genres), round up even more new music that we'd call "indie," and talk about what metal is coming out. We post music news, track premieres, and more all day. We update a playlist weekly of some of our current favorite tracks. Here's a daily roundup with a bunch of interesting, newly released songs in one place.

It's the kind of movement you'd expect from a hometown hero's set later in the afternoon or for one of the bigger headliners in the evening, but not for the second act of the day on the massive Riot Stage. But it's also not unexpected, considering how how much buzz the band "Militarie Gun" received on the festival grounds before they came on stage.

Shai Hulud will be touring this fall with Massachusetts band Holder, featuring shows in Brooklyn and a New England Metal & Hardcore Fest pre-party.

Billy Graziadei explained that 'F**k the System' reflects Biohazard's perspective on the divisive nature of society, emphasizing how external powers manipulate people into conflict over politics, class, and race.