Oof.

"On our first tour one of the venues burned down, and the cops would shut things down." Police raids, venue fires and murderous rednecks: the story of Converge, the band who defined metalcore for a ge... Before Killswitch Engage, Bring Me The Horizon or Architects brought metalcore to new commercial heights, Converge were shaping the genre for the future

Did a big ol' @convergecult.bsky.social history for Metal Hammer a lil while back, wherein I tried to condense 35 years of life into a couple of thousand words.

The bit's now online, if you feel that way inclined.

#hardcorepunk #metalcore

www.loudersound.com/bands-artist...

They've got that kind of churning, scything sound that kinda mixes up hc, crust and dirty metal without sounding like any one of those separate things, if that makes sense?

Pal last night mentioned Antischism, which also tracks.

S/T, by Ameretat 8 track album

Ameretat were great last night: ripping #hardcorepunk drawing from ABC Diabolo and Rudimentary Peni while incorporating traditional Iranian influences. Recommended if you're headed to @supersonicfest.bsky.social or @roadburnfest.bsky.social this month.

lavidaesunmus.bandcamp.com/album/s-t-31

As part of a very thrash-heavy start to the year I spoke to Testament frontman Chuck Billy for Metal Hammer. The bit's now online, if you fancy it.

#thrashmetal #heavymetal #thrash #testament

www.loudersound.com/bands-artist...

I've not heard this comp - this is cool - thank you! Gotta love that horrible, sand-in-the-gears bass sound.

Who wore it better?

#deathmetal #heavymetal

Achers – Bottom Of The Hills – tape (2026) – Collective Zine A lovely five-song EP from London’s Achers that, depending on the shape your fancies take, could variously be termed emo, indie, post-punk or post-hardcore.

If you dig stuff like Hot Snakes, The Lapse, Seam and 12 Hour Turn, then the Achers 'Bottom Of The Hill' EP is a one for you.

#emo #postpunk #posthardcore #diypunk

collective-zine.co.uk/2026/03/24/a...

One of my all-time favourites!

‘We built a castle on stage complete with battlements’: how 80s German thrash bands pushed metal to new extremes As Metallica et al broke through, Kreator, Sodom and Destruction were forging an even harder sound. They recall gigs in coalmines, sessions in steelworks – and boozing with Slayer

Wrote a piece about what a wonderful year 1986 was for German thrash metal, with a side-serving of NWOBHM worship from the GDR.

#thrashmetal #heavymetal

www.theguardian.com/music/2026/m...

as a music listener you will be rewarded tenfold spending $15-$20 to see a local act at a local venue. make live music a regular thing, not one more unreasonable facet of our profiteering corporate hellscape

Doesn't matter how unloved your poor-to-middling 90s hardcore band was at the time, in 2026 someone out there is ready to bless them with a fire + goat emoji combo.

Are you a member of that UK noise-rock FB group? Might be a good avenue.

Not off the top of my head, but will let you know

Hah, I didn't realise they played with Phobia - that makes it even worse.

I think Chris Bress put them on with Appleseed Cast, which was a rather inspired double bill.

Did you see them when they played the UK? I did not, and remain sore about it.

Got big ol' interviews with @convergecult.bsky.social and Testament in the new Metal Hammer, along with a review of the brilliant new Final Gasp LP.

#hardcorepunk #thrashmetal #deathrock #thrash #punk

Love this band - a Russell Remains review in Fracture turned me onto 'em.

The KABINBOY - st 7" YouTube video by Roy

Jamming a Kabinboy discog i found on soulseek. Late 90s instrumental riffs from Ireland. Killer band. Here's the st 7"

youtu.be/LjRbQLy8vBc?...

That horrible feeling when you're 20 or 30 pages away from the end of a great book and realise the author's not going to be able to wrap it all up.

Cryptic Shift were an absolute delight last night. Just about everything you could want from a night of prog-thrash-fusion-death metal.

Found this shady lad lurking amid the Cliff Richard and Val Doonican LPs.

Criminally undervalued band.

Keep It Punk, Keep it Simple: Eva LeBlanc of Traidora Interviewed | The Quietus Eva Leblanc of Traidora talks to Steph Phillips ahead of Supersonic, about her experiences of being a Venezuelan punk in the UK

Cool interview with Traidora's Eva LeBlanc.

thequietus.com/interviews/e...

Between this and the Kowloon Walled City dates I am in hog heaven.

ABSOLUTE BEST NEWS

Crushed to hear about James Sallis. A brilliant writer who mixed intelligence, grit and a wonderful sense of humanity.

Always nice when you stumble upon some quality, high-brow literature in the local charity shop.

The Five Ages of Antifascism Cambridge Core - Comparative Politics - The Five Ages of Antifascism

free till the 17th: www.cambridge.org/core/element...

Sort of trifling given everything else going on in this burning world, but I do think a lot about how much knowledge is being lost / how much history is being glibly rewritten because of stuff like this. You can see the revisionism (intentional and not) happening in real-time.