HardLore - The 2023 HardLore Awards

Episode Date: December 21, 2023

It's time for the first ever annual HardLore Awards, celebrating the best of hardcore music in 2023. All nominations were hand-selected by an 8-person committee and HardLore from all 13 categories that will be awarded today The categories are... ALBUM OF THE YEAR EP OF THE YEAR SINGLE OF THE YEAR HARDCORE MFS PLAYING ALTERNATIVE TYPE SHIT AOTY HARDCORE MFS PLAYING DEATH METAL TYPE SHIT AOTY MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR BEST BREAKDOWN BEST SKANK BREAKDOWN BEST GUEST FEATURE BEST LIVE PERFORMANCE BEST ARTWORK BEST PRODUCTION BEST NEW BAND. and the presentation for the first ever Cayle Sain Lifetime Achievement Award. Join the HARDLORE DISCORD: https://discord.gg/jA9rppggef This episode is brought to you by ATHLETIC GREENS! Try AG1 at athleticgreens.com/HARDLORE to receive a free 1-year supply of vitamin D and 5 travel packs of AG1. Get 20% OFF @manscaped + Free Shipping with promo code HARDLORE at MANSCAPED.com! #ad #manscapedpod FOLLOW HARDLORE: INSTAGRAM | https://www.instagram.com/hardlorepod/ TWITTER | https://twitter.com/hardlorepod SPOTIFY | https://spoti.fi/3J1GIrp APPLE | https://apple.co/3IKBss2 FOLLOW COLIN: INSTAGRAM | https://www.instagram.com/colinyovng/ TWITTER | https://www.twitter.com/ColinYovng FOLLOW BO: INSTAGRAM | https://www.instagram.com/bosxe/ TWITTER | https://www.twitter.com/bosxe Check out our merch at https://knotfest.com/store/?view=hardlore Find all of our videos at https://knot1.co/3vWXsbx #HardLore   HardLore: A Knotfest Series, Fueled by Monster Energy Edited by Steven Grise • Title sequence by Nicholas Marzluf Join the HARDLORE PATREON to watch every single weekly episode early and ad-free, alongside exclusive monthly episodes. Join the HARDLORE DISCORD for community discussions and to participate in our future Q&A episodes. FOLLOW HARDLORE: INSTAGRAM, TWITTER, SPOTIFY, APPLE FOLLOW COLIN: INSTAGRAM FOLLOW BO: INSTAGRAM, TWITTER   For sponsorship opportunities, email us! [e-mail] Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

It's hard Lord time. How are you, Bo? I'm well. How are you? I'm okay. All things considered, you know? It's been an interesting week. It's been a tough week.

But hardcore is united in celebrating our friend that we've lost this past week. Our beloved Kail Sane, please watch our tribute video from last week. I feel like that's the most important thing I've ever personally worked on. It was awesome. It was awesome. You did a great job. And what's cool is this is kind of what we were going to do in Los Angeles over this weekend today. Correct.

Today. Right now, the day of our filming this. And we're going to do kind of a more streamlined one. The spirit of it is what really is the most important. Exactly. And we will get to that in a grander sense towards the end of this. But today, it's the 2023 inaugural Hardlaw Award. It's a huge, frankly, a huge day for music, huge day for hardcore music, metal punk music.

Award shows. Award shows. This is big. We wanted to take, you know, a week to celebrate what an insane year of music in 2023 has been and highlight some of our favorites. We posted the categories online a few days ago. You've had a chance, hopefully, to look through them. But we're going to go through in one by one right now.

The categories for all these awards are best new band, best production, best live performance, best guest feature, best skank breakdown, best artwork, best music video, best general breakdown, just overall, best single. album of the year made by hardcore motherfuckers playing alternative type shit. Album of the year made by hardcore motherfuckers playing death metal type shit. EP of the year. Yep. Album of the year. And before that, bands to watch and a lifetime achievement award. Yep.

So let's get ripping, huh? Yeah. Yeah. I really like the categories. As we go through them, I'd like to explain them. Yeah. give our frame of mind for them. I think even the nominees we should stop and talk about.

Good call. Yeah, good call. So the first one, best new band. First one, best new band. This is the band that going forward in 2024, the bands that we think you're going to want to hear more from, that we want to hear more from, and that we think are, could be the future. Yeah.

And what do we mean by new? We should specify. Who started in the last year or two? Yeah. Has like one point five things out. You know, maybe no LP. Very well said. Yeah.

And if they came out of the gate with an LP, that's fine too. Yeah. Hey, more power to them. Yeah, I like that. So in this, for this category, best new band, the nominees were in alphabetical order. Collateral. Defense wound. Enervate and Scarab.

Yes. Collateral is from Florida. That's right. It's like straight ahead, but harder. The songs are quick. They're over. They're done. I'm loving it.

The dirty raw production that I like. Enervate rocked our socks off at LDB. Yes. They played second, blew a bunch of the bands off the stage, blew our asses off. Very true. From Milwaukee. So you're going to have to keep an eye

and innovate. Defense wound was a band I just saw a banging in the rock that absolutely rocked my world. Death metal type stuff. Okay. Okay, got it. They seem to be aware of the show in some way.

So that always counts. I loved them. And I was shocked to see that they weren't on maggotsomp or something. Oh, okay, cool. So I think that's imminent. Either Magistop or Hardlow Records coming up soon. And last but not least, Scarup.

Yeah. Who is Mully from Gridiron and formerly of Year of the Knife, a new band that he sings in. The man's got some pipes, you know? He, he bent had those pipes the whole time, you know? Yeah, yeah. This is exactly what you would want and expect from a band that he's singing in. Yes.

Hard as shit. And that is why Scarab is the winner for Hardlord's 2023 award for Best New Band. Congrats. Congrats to Scarab. Here are some words from Scarab. Outstanding. Thank you so much to Scarab.

2023, best new band. We move forward to our next category, very near and dear to our hearts. Very much so. And this one I think is like a little, this one's, it's just like, defining it is difficult. It is. It's so subjective. It's possibly the most subjective.

It is. But at the end of the day, you know, so we did have a nomination committee here. I reached out to people privately. I said, send me your picks. They sent me their picks.

I considered everything. Yeah. I, there's so many things on here. There's things on here I had never heard of. Right. That I love now. We'll talk about some of them later.

But at the end of the day, it's our show. So we get to do what we want. Best production is the next category. This is, production is the way a record sounds. Right. What you are hearing in every way, shape, or form.

Production is kind of one of the coolest things to me because a lot of like the stuff that we think is being iconic and sounding so specific and like crafted was like three mics in a room. Yeah. Or in a complete accident. A lot of them. Complete accident. And like that.

How fun is that? It's a form of gambling, really. Yeah. It is. It really is. I mean, dude, Oasis, uh, definitely maybe was the, they invented the, you know, the term brick walling. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That was invented for Oasis definitely maybe. Is that true? Because they just wanted everything to be as blurringly loud as possible. Yeah. How does that, who knows, you know? How does that, uh, differ from like the Phil Specter, like wall of sound? Don't know. Brickwalling, Wallis Sound,

you know? They said they invented it, so I'm going to go with that. Yeah, I'm going to go. The nominees for best production. Echo Chamber, 2023 promo.

In alphabetical order. So military gun, life under the gun. Stingray, Fortress Britain. I'm unfamiliar with Stingray. This is one I need to check out. Yep.

We'll talk about it in a second. And Terena, evil eyes. Okay. So let's go in order here. Echo Chamber is from Germany. I think that they are the best period, current European hardcore band. Wow.

Period. Really? Yes. And I, this, I mean, it starts with like a straight up true blue riff, note for note. Yeah. Which I really like, you know? Yeah, I like true blue. And I like, I love wearing your influence on your sleep.

Where I'm, dude. And especially like, Germany, you got true blue. You know? Yeah. That's their fucking metallic. there. So, and the intro is so iconic that kind of taking it and having it as your own thing going forward, but most respect.

I like it. Sounds great. Military gun, life under the gun. Near and dear to the show. Very near, very dear. I think this is a perfect sounding piece of music. Outstanding. And there's so many little nuggets that you just go, how did you, how did you know,

How did you think to do that? And he, that fucker, he would just, I don't know. Little asshole. Yeah. Up next. Stingray, Fortress, Britain. Man. Tell me. Tell me.

It's like the perfect blend of Japan and Britain. Okay. But like a little bit harder. Okay. How did I describe it the other day? It sounds like a Japanese band in, in the UK. with like the best kind of dirty production, you know? Oh, interesting.

Like very, very choracy. Oh, it's like it's played in the biggest room you've ever been in. Oh, I like that. Yeah. Okay. Cool. And then Terena evil eyes. These young whippersnappers from the 805, California.

Where's that? Ventura County. I think they're from Oxnard. Okay. Which is fucking sick, dude. There's a Portillo's there. That's all I know. In Oxnard?

Yeah. What? Yeah. Yes, sir. That's the news to me. I think one of the first, I think Todd told me that. One of the first in California was like 10 years ago in Oxnard. We got to wrap this up.

I got to go. But anyway. They're a band that, they played like second or third and for the children the other day. had one of the best sets of the day. Fuck yeah. Love that. They're drawing young people. It's hardcore is a genre of music for the youth.

For the youth. And when it's being played by the youth, that's when it's perfect. I agree. I fully agree. Terena is that. And I think this record that was also at the pit is, these kids are,

the drummer David is Coloboy's drummer. Okay. Gotcha. Which you remember. I do. I really do. He's fucking unreal, dude. Yeah.

He's born in the pocket. He will die in the pocket. And, you know, when you have that as the backbone of your band, when you have a drummer like David, you're untouchable. There are four-piece band. Beautiful. And this was done at the pit as well? Yeah. Wow.

And it's awesome. The winner for 2023, Hardlaw Award for Best Production. goes to military gun, life under the gun. Absolutely. For what they're going for, they could not have done it better. Could not have done it better. I fully believe that.

I think it has the perfect amount of grit. There's not one lick of auto tune on there. It's all natural, which... And like, as a guitar player and without... I think we talked a little bit about guitars when we did the album breakdown with Taylor and Ian, but you can feel that it's a tube amp cranked real fucking loud. And like very little unnatural distortion.

It's just fucking loud. And also a huge part of military guns songwriting like is production. Yeah. Because you look at very high and like where those like, nah, na, na, na, na. that's something that like you pre-pro and then figure out like oh maybe those don't fit everywhere but let's pop them in here and here. I got you.

And that's all like production foresight of being like we're going to. It just seems that feels like something to me that is discovered during production. I just think this thing sounds perfect. Yeah, it sounds perfect. Having seen them play the stuff live too, it feels like it's one thing. obviously the category is production. So it's one thing to have it sound real good on record. But translating that.

Translating it live is a whole other ballgame and they do it real well. So that's almost like an award and a half, I would say. Yeah, best live. Best production translation goes to military gun. Congrats. Here are some words from military gun. Thank you hardlore for the award. I feel as though we're probably the only.

record with like 12 string guitars and roads piano and organ and so you know it adds up uh probably a lot of people say we're not hardcore and uh fuck you fuck you too thank you hard lord that was awesome we haven't seen any of these yet so uh the next category here is um pivotal to what hardcore is. You know? Hardcore is about the live performance. There are so many bands I have checked out because I saw a cool picture. I saw a cool video because I saw them at a show or a fest and I was like,

whoa, these guys are going fucking insane. You're going to watch the No Justice last show and not figure out what that band sounds like. Figure out everything you can. It's just like. Dude, I mean, here's the thing. The thing that took me a long time to figure out is that music's only going to get you so far. You know, like your songs are not everything. They're the most important thing.

If you don't got the tunes, you don't got nothing. Agreed. But live performance is going to be what keeps them coming back. It's like the salt of a dish. You can have an incredible dish put together. But if it's not salted, if it's not seasoned, forget it. Exactly. You can go out and play your song.

and some people are going to be happy, but you go out and you give them a show. You give them a show that makes them leave going, when are they coming back? Dude, you're so correct. That's as important as making a great album. And it took me a little too long to figure that out, but I'm here now, I get it.

Look, we've all seen a band that just stood still. Oh, you know, and just was just like not into it or didn't seem into it. How am I supposed to be excited if you're not excited? Exactly. And our nominees for the best live performances we saw in 2023. First up, ceremony, secret set at Sound and Fury 2020. I have never in my life seen people sprint.

Sprint, drop everything and run to go watch a band. Their footsteps literally went, meo- And I've never heard that before. Never. This was a magical thing that rat bastard, Anthony lied to me, lied to my face for weeks about it. And then there it was.

So here we are. Best in not live performance, I guess. The next nominee would be Fleshwater, 1720, Los Angeles, California. This was like a month ago. Yeah. It really was. It was 11.9. And this is one of the best sets I've

at verse. And, you know, they, they're pros, you know, they know what they're doing. They've got the set dialed in. You saw it every night. Really did. This reaction felt paradigm shifting. It felt like, very much like what we're talking about, where it was like, who is that? I got to check that out. Yeah. People are fucking crazy about whatever this is. If I didn't know who they were at that show, I'd be like, I got to get home. and figure this out. Yes. The next nominee, killing time at the Triple B Days Streets of Hate Showcase.

We got to explain this. Guys. Is there a video? I'm sure there is. Yeah, I haven't. We've talked about Brightside until we were pink and purple in the faces, respectively. It's Mount Rushmore, you know?

Period. Best hardcore song. songs ever. The fact that they still got it in that capacity and when I'm talking about putting on a show, this man put on a show between songs, they're shouting out their favorite restaurants in New York. And like not just like, oh, this place, yeah, that place is good. All right. It was like, this place over here is good. This pizza place over here is good. I like the pizza here. Then they would play a song and they would be like, not for canoles. So anyway, the canoles down the street from here. The best canolies were on 108th Street, baldies across from spaghetti park by Tough Tony's

place. And then the best Zabaladan Napoleon cake was the Stasi's Bakery on 104th Street. The best Italian sandwiches were a mamas on Corona Avenue. The best chicken ristica was an army and pat, army and pats. My favorite pizza was St. Mark's pizza on St. Mark's and Third, but everyone don't agree with that. But I also like dominoes. Speaking of the guineas, this goes out to Lou Afidi.

Thank you. Let's get back to Italian food. Now we go to the Bronx. And it was like, I'm writing shit down and then talk behind my bath, stretching the truth. Yeah, we were standing where we were near each other. And like both, we were apart enough to not be able to talk, but we were both like,

like actively laughing out loud. My jaw was on the floor and I realized I knew I was witnessing history. The other cool thing about this as a nominee is Killing Time at CBGB's, the one video, is one of my favorite live performances of all time on tape. Yeah. So like that's a nice synergy. Still got it.

Still fucking got it. And then they've evolved into knowing what they are. Like, hey, we're, we're New York Italians who eat good. We eat. Let's talk about it. The last nominee for Best Live Performance is Ingrown, the band as a band. Yep. In specifically, Bo wanted to notate Ross from Ingrown as a guy.

If he's got a guitar on his back, you're going to love it. I guarantee it. He's yippin and yapping and y'-hawn. Dude, there were multiple, I'm not even joking. There were multiple nights on that tour. after the show or like after they played or whatever where people would be like, dude, Ross is incredible as a frontman. He's an amazing frontman.

And to be able to do that while playing guitar, while switching between guitar heads to give you the stereo effect, while being ripped out of his mind on weed, it's just like, you got it. That's a show. Yeah, there you go. That ain't a set. That's a show. Like they put on a show. Charlie, we talked about the other day is like,

he had to reluctantly become the drummer of his own band that he played bass in. Gavin deserves all the praise in the world. He could disappear and apparate on his own. And then Gavin can disappear when he stage dives. Who else can do that in the world? Our pick for Best Live Performance, the 2023 Hardlaw Award goes to Killing Time at the Scanlon Festival. This was generational.

This was classic. I very seldomly remember banter. anymore? And this was like, I'll never forget that. No, dude, I wish that there was a Philcore-esque recording of this. Yes, dude. I need isolated soundboard audio of the banter. So Scanlon, if you could follow up with Brooklyn Monarch, please. We're starving. Thank you. I'm starving. Here's some words from Killing Time. Okay, guys, you guys won the award for best

performance at the BBB showcase in Brooklyn from the hard lore podcast. Thank you so much. Congratulations. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. And we accept. We look forward to seeing you guys on the West Coast.

We will hold this seltzer close to our hearts. Just so you guys know, I don't know which of the winners we have anything from. So every time, it's just a delight for me. Isn't that great? Yes. I said. Wow, can you believe they said that? Wow.

Shock. The next award. This is a fun one. This was, this, this, this category is best guest feature. And listen, it's, paint of truth's whole thing is guest features, you know? They got a record full of them. It's, it is, it was crafted for guest features. So we can, let's, let's go through and list them off one by one.

Okay. We've got lifeless on the ground, track one. That features John and Anthony from Vane. In Your Heart, that features Scott Vogel. Acting Up features the homie 200 stab wound. You and Me features Freddie Maddwell. Too Late features Justice Trip, Trachman Rice. Hicking It Scraps features Jay Petigeen and Austin Sparkman.

Out of Our Hands features the homie Vinnie from the movie life. same old story doesn't have one That's the instrumental I think It's the only one Yes oh this falls on you Features Shane Moran from Bad Seed and Title Flight Under My Skin features Josiah Hoflinger

A friend of the show Not Through Blood features Incendiary Josiah from Criminal Instinct And Josiah Daniel Not Through Blood featuring incendiary This was a tough one It's a fun category because it was like pick a song from this record.

Yeah, right. Where the guest spot shined. And we talked a little bit before we started recording. And your reasoning for this, I think I do agree with. It was a close, it was a very close race between Justice Tripp and Shane Warren. Justice of Traubner Rice, Angel Duss, Shane from Badseed and Title Fight. Justice is out here grinding every day. singing in two bands at a time.

Shane, we don't hear from. We haven't heard him sing in, what, 15 years or something? 10, 11, 12 years? Don't even know, yeah. So hearing his voice, even, like, it sounds different and more mature and hard, hearing his voice on something is rare and special. That's a perfect way to put it. Not that it's not special to hear justice,

hearing him in this context where they were basically like, let's write a TUI song and have just to sing half. Was very cool because it was very much like, there you are, there you are, Peter, you know. But Shane Moran from Badseed and Title Fight is the winner for the 2023 Hardlaw Award for Best Guest Feature.

The song is called This Falls on You. Congrats. Congrats, Shane. Here's a little something from Shane, maybe. Thank you. Shout out, Pain of Truth for writing a great record and inviting me to be a part of all the great guest spots on that thing. Colin and Bo. I love you guys. I can't believe we got, we maybe got him to do that. That was crazy when we did that.

Okay, this one I'm very passionate about. What do we got? This next category is best skank breakdown. Perfect. Will you explain? Absolutely. So a lot of people say two stepping. Yeah. Before it was two stepping, it was called skanking. Interchangeable, you know?

Interchangeable, interchangible phrasing, I prefer skanking. As, as do I. As a scoff fan, I prefer skanking as the term. That's any time you hear, yeah, do, guy or do, guy, or dude, god, do, or dude, do, gadoo, dude, dude, got you, got to. You just change your speed, change your speed a little bit. You're skanking, baby.

Look up, breakdown, Thompson, Park on YouTube. You got some of the best skank that exists. Yeah. That's all you need. The nominees for Best Skank Breakdown. Blow your brains out. No control. Echo Chamber. Life

disintegrated. These are the songs. Yes. Yes. Okay. Stingray nerve agent. And dying fetus unbridled fury. It's a real, uh, this What is a real Star Trek red shirt moment? I wonder who he's going to pick.

Yeah, what? Let's talk about the nominees a little bit. Blow your brains out. This is like Democor revival. And I say that in a non-derogatory way. Sure. I think they're British. Okay.

The whole new wave of British hardcore is truly like, they've all got something. How cool, too. I love it. Yeah, I love it. Big fan. I hope that they're. British. I'm pretty sure they are. Wow, three out of three out of four are Europe and UK, interesting.

America's got to pick up the skanks, okay? Do better. Skank better. Echo Chamber is next. Life disintegrated. Again, the best current European hardcore band in the game right now. Stingray nerve agent. Man, this Stingray record I've been listening to for days. This is fun because now it's like, oh, I got a playlist of things I got to listen to. Exactly. And I hope. I really, really, really like this record. Awesome.

Love the production. Love the riffs. Love the vibe. It starts off. It sounds like bagpipes. You'll see what I mean. It's kind of bagpipe vibe when there's like an intro to the record. And then I just, I ripped through the record like 10 times.

a row when I first put it on. Nerve agent is the song with this gang part where I went, turn it up. What was that? Gotcha. And then dying fetus, unbridled fury. This obviously won. This is the winner.

This is the winner. Come on. This fucking part. Dude, this part is insane. When I put this record on, this was like the third single of a record that had a year-long rollout. Holy shit.

Yeah. But what Diogenes experienced in that year was. in that year. Yeah. And they'll say this to yourself. This is the, this is the acceptance speech I have heard. I couldn't wait to hear this one.

They know that hardcore has their back. They've embraced it. And this is them telling you that. Wow. And dude, this fucking part, it has this crazy,

like, noodley run of with just guitar, little dive bomb and a dun dun dun, got them, this insect. same riff that I literally laughed out loud when I heard. It just made me stutter.

I'm thinking about this riff and I'm stuttering. He broke his brain. I am truly looking forward to seeing them in a few weeks. I'm really nervous about it. I know. I know you are. I'm scared, dude. You got health insurance?

Yeah. You're fine. You're right. I'm on the marriage plan, dude. It's still 500 bucks a month. But hey, huge congrats to dying fetus. Listen to hear what dying fetus had to say specifically Trey, the unbelievable drummer of dying fetus. Let's hear his thoughts.

Hi, this is Trey from Dying Fetus. And I'd like to thank the guys at Hardlore, Colin, everybody over there. Thank you so much for your support and nominating us and having us be the breakdown of the year for unbridled fury without hardcore and the hardcore. community, dying fetus wouldn't be where it is. We have a deep affinity towards hardcore. And we're glad that people in the hardcore community have accepted us and have enjoyed our music and look forward to seeing some of you hardcore heads at FYA Fest in Tampa on January 6th. So keep slamming it in the pit, everybody. And thank you so much for the recognition.

And have a great afternoon. I don't know what he said, but I hope it's just... It's not, it's really special. He's very, he was very appreciative. They love hardcore. Like I've said many times, John Gallagher, the only sticker on his guitar for many years was just the 25 to life logo. It's so crazy.

They've covered integrity. Yep. They've covered Next Step Up. They belong on this list. They belong on this award show. They belong in your ears. They're one of the best fans to ever make music.

Yes. That is on period, as they say. The next award is very, This was a fun one. This was tough because it was like, this is a really subjective thing. Art.

Yeah. Physical artwork. What do you look for in artwork? In general, not even for the awards purposes. Dude, I just want to be struck in some way. Exactly. I fully agree.

It's all about, it's not about how it looks. It's about how it makes me feel. Wow. Because, for example, I'm looking over at my wall. I got world coming down on the wall. Yeah.

It's not an overly impressive. Dude, I love that artwork. But I'm just saying it's not, there's nothing about, like it's a photo with a filter on it, really. I got it right there. Okay, so we're looking at it, right? But the way it makes me feel when I look at it is like I'm going to the bridge. Like I'm going. Especially knowing when we were looking at that spot where that picture was taken.

Yep. It's a tough track to get down there and it's like kind of desolate down there where that bridge is. You got to look up. I'm just imagining the graphic designer being. like Pete, look at this. And then sliding the green toggle up and Pete going like, ooh. I think, I think Kenny and Johnny did an interview with code a while ago where they, they said the hex code for the color code that is their green. That's pretty, they know that. They know it. He said, Kenny like whipped it. Green, green, green, green, green 3706.

Like that. Anyway. But yeah, I fully agree. It doesn't have to be a picture. It doesn't have to be illustrated. It doesn't have to be, you know, it just has to be. I just want to be struck. Do you have any favorites that just come to mind at all?

Just like, wow, that's one of my favorite records. Dark side of the moon. There you go. That's a perfect example. That is not, like, design-wise. The king crimson one with the fucking face on it. Dude, the face one, that one's crazy. Dude, satisfaction.

There you go. It's just blue live photos and the logo. And a logo and cursive. And I knew. I looked at that and I knew I would like it. I was six years old or something. And I was like, I'm going to love this. Really good.

Yeah, that's good shit. The nominees for Best Star Wars. Ah, yeah. Gell. Only constant. I love a funky symbol and your name. written cool, you know, and a cool board, dude, a cool border. Oh, yeah.

If you put like a scaling, it kind of scales a record and gives it depth when you do a border like that. I love it. I really like this one. Ingrown, cold steel. What do you want? What do you want for me? It's a cool gun. It says cold steel.

Guess what they're into. Cool guns and cold steel. And hot weed. magnitude of days renewed. I think they killed this vibe. They crushed this image. What I like about these nominees, too, is as you're saying them, I can picture it, you know?

That's kind of how you know. It's just going like, oh, yeah, that one's good. The magnitude really fulfilled the like New Age records, vegan straight edge. There's a certain kind of image that comes to mind when you say that. Of course. And I think they really nailed that. And that just means like having that total package like that shows me that you care and that you get it.

Yeah. Because it's really easy to like try to replicate. But to nail it is not. To make it seem authentic is not. Exactly. Exactly. Pain of truth, not through blood. The original one with the gun in the guy's mouth.

Insane. Incredible. When I saw it, I was like, why I've never even thought of that. Point of view before. How would you? There's no eyes in the mouth. There's nothing in there. There's nothing.

We could never see that. You know, they can't use it for a while. I don't know what's going on there. But hopefully that gets sorted out because it's great. Yeah. And then the final nominee would be scourge from Texas torrential torment. This is classic like 80s crossover, New York, New York crossover type artwork. I got you.

A big demon. Yeah. Other scary stuff drawn Gorgeously. Unbelievable. But our pick. Yeah. For the 2023 best artwork,

Hardlaw Award, goes to ingrown cold steel. I looked at that some bitch every night. Every night. Every night. I looked down and that is a good piece of artwork. Isn't it? It really is.

The fact that it's a single just means, you know, what's the LP going to look like? Can't wait to see it. A bigger gun. Colder. steel, bigger gun. Those are the, those are the working

titles. Guns. So congrats, Ingrown. Here's something from Ingrown. Thank you, boys. Thanks, buddy. Thanks for the award, guys. They're so Boise. They love guns.

The Boise accent really came out in that, you know? Yeah. In that video, we definitely just saw. Okay, this next one is This next category, everyone, is best music video. This one is interesting to me because, just getting to it. So when I saw that, it's an obvious choice for a category.

Yeah. Award show, you know, a music video is a thing. When I think of music videos, I'm pretty sure I know your opinion on them. I'm not super pro music video. I don't know what purpose they really serve. And yet, when I started to think of them, I could really. remember all of these videos. And I remember going, oh, that was all. And I watched them again today. And like, man, a good way. It's like, there's a food analogy somewhere. But it's like a good music video is a really good music video.

Yeah. I think the purpose is like having some kind of just visual connection to what you're hearing. Yes. Which in the age of social media can get really lost in the shuffle. It's tough. do. It can, but it's also like every banger in history had a video. Yep. So it's kind of like, okay, for this to be a banger in history, it should probably have a video. And that's that. It's really, it doesn't have to be more complicated than that. If we want this to be a banger that lives up in history, it should probably be video, period. Yeah.

The nominees for Best Music Video. Citizen, if you're lonely. This one made me feel like I was watching the best. college high school movie of all time. Yeah. I wanted to call them when I was lonely. If you're lonely. They had a really cool rollout for all this too.

Like the rollout, the post, like everything that happened at once was like really well done. Yeah. And knowing that they, I think they do everything themselves for the most point. Yeah.

Most part. I love that. Yeah, it's awesome. The next nominee is Code Orange takes shape. Just like. Like, This is a flex. This is a visual flex.

Yeah. From a technical standpoint. Yeah. This is, it has to be the craziest hardcore adjacent music video ever. Yeah. Like, I think that's, that's safe to say. Yeah. You watch it and some of the shit that's going on is like, whoa.

Yeah. How did you, how did, who afforded this? You know? It's amazing. Are you using Mandalorian stagecraft technology on this? What is this coming from? Which I think they did. Dying Wish

Watch My Promise Die Amazing Amazing Truly cool Like And I don't I don't say words like this too often But like moving

visually Like just like Really Well dude Just like Emma's Emma's vocals And her melodies

Are So personal You know Yeah Yeah They feel personal To us Just because we

We love her You know That When she's sang Like that And belting it out And wailing We're like

Fuck yeah dude. And it's presented in such a visually pleasing way and cinematic way. It's awesome. We love to see them win. So when they win visually like this, we're fired up. This video is awesome.

Up next, knocked loose deep in the willow slash everything is quiet now. This. Another flex. Dude, this video like there every 12 seconds, there's something on camera where I go, how, where I like have to think about how they did it. Yeah.

I think they directed it or Brian did? No. They're, I'm sure. I know Brian, like they were heavily involved, but I forget the name of the guy who did it. That probably would have been good to know. But, um, the turnaround was really quick. That's one thing I do know. That it was like, we're filmed in a day and out very shortly thereafter.

That's just like, unbelievable. That's very impressive. But yeah, so it's one of those videos where, again, like, technically, like, I'm watching it. And I have to, like, in my mind, I'm, like, doing a Rubik's Cube on how the hell they filmed that. Doing the math. What did I just see? Yeah. Also, I think just the timing of this and the tracks themselves were, like, exactly what they needed at the time.

Yeah. Because it was like they were picking up crazy steam from all these mainstream festivals. Yeah. And then came out more extreme. And something about the name deep in the willow. It's just cool. It's fantasy vibes. It's very, very fantasy.

We love that. It's Middle Earth. It's Tolkien. You know? Yeah. Oldham, Middle Earth. Yes, exactly. And the last nominee is military gun, do it faster.

So cool. What a fun video. Directed by Ian Chilton. That little scamp. Directed in his own music videos. Who does he think he is being that talented? And the cool fucking, what do you call that? Circle that's moving and he's like, it's tracking him as he goes, I don't know.

It's just, again, it's just one of those things. It's like it doesn't have to be the craziest video ever. It could just grab you. They're just rocking in a cool way. Yeah. That's all it takes, man. All it takes. Rock in a cool way.

And it's a fucking banger. So what are you going to do? The winner. For Best Music Video at the inaugural 23 Hardlaw Awards, the first ever Best Music Video. Code Orange takes shape. Look, man,

they're on and they're in a league of their own visually. Truly. Every member of this band clocks the fuck in at 7 a.m. every day. And they go, how do we, how do we improve this? Yeah. How do we grow? This thing that we loved,

weeks ago, I'm over it. We got to do it better. Pretty much. They just keep growing. They keep evolving. This is like this as the kind of first big piece of their new record. Yeah. I just, I think, I think this is like an objectively unbelievable piece of visual art. Absolutely. 100%. That's all. It's all I got to say about that. Here is a hilarious message from Code Orange. What up? Hardlore Awards. Well, third time seems to be the charm. We've lost two Grammys, but we've now won the most prestigious award of all, which is the Hardlore Music Video Award. So I would like to thank Colin and Bo for giving us this music video award. I'm not sure what video it's for. That was not included in. the text, but I am so pleased, very

pleased, feeling on top in this cold cave in Pittsburgh. And yeah, have fun and sunny LA, you're pieces of shit. Peace. No Billy Corgan. That's a shame. Didn't need him to tell us how good this video

was, and he's not in the video, so. Oh, shit. Got that. My bad. He's in there's a funny mask that looks like him, though. And he's, he's going spread him. That's not actually him. I didn't thought, I mean, I don't think so. If I had him in the video, I'd have him front and center being like, me, Bill. Big Bill Corgan. All right. This is a huge category of next book. A great passion of ours. The next hard lower award to be given is Best Breakdown. Oh. Wow. This, this was tough, man. This is. This is,

kind of what the whole show is about. What the whole show is about. And realistically, I didn't put Dying Fetus in here because they won best skank part. And I could have chosen just about any other section of that record. But the best, the nominees for Hardlores, 2023, Best Breakdown Award are E-Town Concrete, Level Up. We'll talk to you a little more about this song soon. Neverending Game. hate today, die tomorrow.

And scarab squeeze. E-town is, this is vintage E-town in all ways. It's every aspect of their career wrapped up into one song, including a hard-ass breakdown that has like high octave chords in it. Which, if you can pull that off, you're built different. You described it really well, which you kind of just said it again. You said it's every style that the band is. Never ending game.

Hate today, die tomorrow. This is the best pit on a record full of best pits. And that's the other thing too is like pretty much every hardcore song has a pit. It should. More, more. Yeah, totally. But more do than don't. You know what I mean?

Yes. So like to really boil it down to ones that kind of stick with you, that's... It's tough. And, you know, narrowing it down this thing. this gigantic field into just a few songs. In our case, just three songs that we felt were the contenders that aren't dying fetus, who were the contenders of about 15 of them. This one in particular evolves.

And I love a pit that evolves. Yeah. I think they go at least Mosh 2 in this. Yeah. Yeah, they do. And E-Town does as well. Scarab Squeeze is Mosh 2 or 3. hard-ass part by a hard-ass band.

Like we said, they're the best new band to watch. They're the best new band, 20-23. 2024, just wait to see what they do. I'm just waiting to see what they do. But the winner for 2023's best breakdown is never-ending game. Hate today, die tomorrow.

The fact that they can do that much with two notes is what I'm all about. Finding new ways to do 0 and 1 is there's not many left, man. No, there's no place under the sun. Believe me.

Yeah. There ain't many left. And we got to cherish them while they're still coming out. Which is why Hey Today, Die Tomorrow is the winner. Let's hear a little bit from Neverending Game. Hey, everybody. This is Will Kalin from Neverending Game.

I want to thank Hard Lord for giving hate today, die tomorrow, best breakdown of the year. many thanks to Sam Yarmouth over at Triple B Records for putting out the record Outcry and many thanks to Mike, Mikey, Derek and Dennis, the boys in the band for putting it all together. Wouldn't be anything without you, boys. Thanks for everything. Can't wait for LP8 when no one cares about us anymore. Cheers. I totally agree with whatever they just said. Can't wait to see it someday. At Tide Down, which they basically headlined. That was one of the gnarliest parts of the set. And that's a brand new song. How about that? That's the goal, right?

That's a good watermark. Our next category. Now we're getting into the like the best of the best. Yeah, the prestigious stuff. These are all, this is, this is the main, the big prestige is coming. We're starting with best single. Wow. This is, this is the best song of the year that came out released either on its own or with like one other song. Right. So not. of a LP. Right. Not technically an EP or something being like, hey, an LP's coming, which I think one of these might be, but it wasn't when it came out.

Which, hey. That's okay. Yeah. First up, the chisel. Cry your eyes out. We love the chisel. We love the chisel. We love the chisel and I think this was a giant leap for them. Because this is like, this is their most most melodic hook they've ever they've ever done definitely and it was also like okay it's still sonically and like on the heart very much a chisel song yeah but this is like a universally great hook

wow that this is radio worthy did it come out with another song yeah they have and then they had that amazing elton john cover the elton john cover okay but it was in part is that the release? No, Cry Your Eyes Out was, was at first a single by itself. I think that was, they signed with pure noise and put out that single. Right. That, okay, that makes sense. Yeah. The next nominee is Combust. They did a promo with Triple B and the songs are great. And I'll call it a single because I think it is technically considered a single. I think they would consider it a single. seeing what this band has evolved from is near and dear. I saw them.

They opened for, not open, but we played with them years ago when they were a brand new band and I could tell that they had it right off the bat. That's an interesting thing, isn't it? That's a real like, JR kind of like, you're going to get in the hunt. Like, he's got something that kid out there. I guess you got something right. Yeah.

I see Andrew all the goddamn time. I'll tell you what. Because we just keep playing the same fest and stuff. So I see them all the time. Oh yeah. They're all. I mean, and I love getting to see them. I love playing near them in any way.

Ingrown. Cold steel. It's a fucking banger, dude. What else? What else do you need to know? This is this is top five modern hardcore bands in the world. Period. To me.

It's exactly what I want. is progressive music. Yeah. Period. E-Town Concrete, level up. As we just said, this is, this is like one of my favorite hardcore bands.

Like any, of any time ever. It's unbelievable to encompass your entire discography into four minutes of music, you know? You think you could do that with twitching? Fuck, no. You should try.

Fuck, do we, bitch. You should try. That would be a fun, like, experiment. But they did, you know? Yeah. Yeah. It starts with the, like, Renaissance type acoustic guitar with the fucking mid-2000s rap that where he's, he's splitting it with personal and, like, callbacks to E-town stuff. And then it just gets insane.

It's a hard-ass verse, hard-ass chorus, hard-ass pit that still keeps the, like, early E-town melody in it. And then one more chorus. This is the winner for best single. Eat Town Concrete level up. I couldn't believe this thing. Because like you think about how often a band you grow up listening to or you love puts out a new thing and you go, why'd they do that? I mean, more often than not. More often than not.

This was, and I can't stress this enough, the opposite of that. To me it was like, holy shit they've done it. Yeah. I listened to it when it came out. I listened to it today. I fully agree with everything you said. There we go. Of like how you explained the song and like what it achieves.

I fully agree. It is a feat. And they're incredible musicians. And you can hear that. Oh, they're incredible musicians. That's another thing too. Is I saw them for the first time with you at Furnace Fest. And they're fucking good.

A tight-ass four-piece, dude. Yeah, yeah. That's a hard thing to be. Here are some words from Etown Concrete. What an honor. Can't wait for the full episode, frankly. That's going to be a blast. Our next category.

The 2023 inaugural Hardlaw Awards. This is a big one. Now we're getting into our, this is like, this is it. These are the best records put out of the shit. Yeah, this is like best supporting, best supporting actors. kind of thing.

This is best supporting actor. Yeah. Three in a row, basically. This first category is something we call hardcore motherfuckers playing alternative type shit album of the year. Yes. This is, we picked five records who,

from the heart, these are people that grew up in hardcore or associated with hardcore in some way. Yeah. And choose to channel that into a non-traditional hardcore band. But you can still sonically and ethically feel the hardcore oozing out of it.

If they fit out of fest full of hardcore bands, it works. That's all. What are you going to do? Yeah. The first nominee, citizen calling the dogs. Every record they put out is better than the last one. That's my firm belief. And I think that's all you can ask for from any band that you like.

Interesting. And if you're lonely is way, up there. That maybe should have been on best single, but that's promoting an album. So it's not the same. That fucking song, what an earworm. Love, I love this man. I love this record. Very happy for them. I wish them growth and prosperity, you know, for life. I wish all of these bands growth and prosperity for life. The next nominee, Fiddlehead, death is nothing to us. Seeing this band is crazy. Yeah, it is, it is crazy.

They've achieved such a interesting status of people know you don't always get to see them. So they mastered that's that's that's the goal, you know? Yeah. It's like, hey, we're going to play when we can play. You better be there. Sounds like somebody else I know. And it's got to, it's going to be good every time because these songs, they found this, Pat has once again found a way for these lyrics and these songs.

to resonate with people, and he's got an amazing backing band behind him. Yeah, it's awesome. I don't want to refer to Fiddlehead as the Pat Flynn show, you know? Yeah, yeah, yeah. But, like, it's always going to be associated. He was the singer of one of the biggest hardcore bands of this, or any generation, really.

But they've carved out their own identity. Absolutely. And they're a certified headliner at this point. Certified headliner. All while being called. It's called Motherfucking Fiddlehead. Yeah. Yeah.

Many hooks, uh, I don't think you could find a bad live performance on YouTube. You know what I mean? Like they would really check the box for a lot of our categories. Big time. Agree. Big agree.

As they say. Coyo. Would you miss it? A wrecking ball, dude. Just. Friends of the show, dude. Great friends of the show. Um,

five. Finally, people have been begging for this LP for years now. They did it right, man. You put out EPs, you sprinkle in some shit until people are foaming at the mouth, begging me for a record, for a full length. They finally did it. It delivered on all fronts.

They're killing it, man. I love to, I love to see Coyo win. Yeah, big, big Coyo cheerleader, for sure. Hard lore love Coyo. shirt coming soon. Military gun. Life under the gun. Near and dear.

Having a real Adel season this record. Yeah, they've had a lot of nominations. They might have the most. What can you say? At this point, it's just like he's a certifiable. I say he only because I'm most

familiar with Ian, but like, Certifiable Hardcore Kit. Yeah. Oh my God. Making rock-ass music. And it's incredible. MS Paint post-American. I am such a new fan of MSPaint. Can you believe MSPaint and D.D?

I literally can't. My first time seeing them was with you when we were in Brooklyn. And like, I was texting the group chat. Just like, guys, this band fucking rocks. Dude, that's a show. Yes. You know? Yes.

Big time. They put on a show. They got. No guitar. Yeah. They put out of one. He's bass, drums, vocals, that's it. One sleeve, long sleeve.

One sleeve. One sleeve pants. You know? Like, you try to pull that off, you know? Couldn't chant. I couldn't shant. Shant. D.D. does it.

And they deliver something that realistically nobody else is doing musically. 1,000%. Possibly the most, like, unique sound. Yeah. of a band that fits what I was saying where it's like they can go on any hardcore fest. Yes.

And not skip a beat. Most bands on this list, you can hear and go, oh, they're doing X, XYZ. There you go. I don't fucking know

what Ms. Payne is doing. I don't know who they're doing. I don't want to know. Yeah. I don't think they know. And that's the beauty of it. Nobody sounds like that.

And I never get to say that. Right. Right. Of course. And it's a, It's a beautiful thing to be able to say. So listen to MS Paint. The winner of this year's hardcore motherfuckers playing alternative type shit album of the year.

It's military gun. Life Under the Gun. Come on, man. This is a generational classic to me. Not that any of these aren't, but this one. The singles came out at the beginning of the year, if not earlier, but the record came out early. I've listened. Yeah, came out the day in June.

We were at Outbreak Fest. Oh, it was in June. Okay. So middle of the year then. Yeah. I've gone back to this record so many times. A lot, dude. It's a breeze to get through.

Yeah. The replay value is really high. It feels good. Very high, you might say. Come on. Yeah. There's little production nuggets that I pick up on later as if it was like a fucking

Bush record or something. thing where I go, damn, that was in there the whole time. You know? Right. Right. Oh, shit. I love it. I listen to it all the time. I don't really, and maybe this is like not what they're looking to hear, but I don't listen to a lot of music like this. No, neither do I. And I really like this. Yes. So hopefully they see that as a testament to them and not as like, like, oh shit, they like it. No, no, no. Who doesn't want to Mass Appeal. Who doesn't want to reach audiences that would normally check you out.

Yeah. And that is like beyond mass appeal to me. I think like, I could have shown that to anybody I went to high school with and they would have been like, this is some good, this is some kick ass rock music, man. Yeah, yeah, exactly. Who doesn't love kickass rock music? Pieces of shit. Here's, here's military gun one more time. Thank you, Hardlord. It's an honor to be a hardcore MF trying to play alternative type music or whatever this award's called. I'd like to thank the nominees. We're up against some real heavy hitters this year, and this time we rose to the occasion,

but I see our peers taking the slot next year. Thank you, Hardlaw. I'd like to thank our manager, our agent, all the people in Hollywood, and all the other. hardcore MS, playing all type music. Can you believe it? No.

Twice in one episode. You should have Taylor answer for one. I think he will. I think he did. Okay, good. I love Taylor. God. Yeah, you saw it.

Come on. We were there. The next category, very important. Very, very prudent, based on what's happening in the world today, musically, finally. You know? Yeah.

Hardcore motherfuckers playing death metal type shit album of the year. Yeah. It's essentially the opposite of the melodic hardcore wave. This is the pole, like the other end of that spectrum. And I've always been so for it considering like, and my thing about that has always been like, most death metal, like traditional death metal bands write music from one perspective. know. Yeah. They hear D.S.I. do these six-minute songs with 18 parts that, uh, and when they want to, and they go, maybe we should structure that like a hardcore song.

And then they try that and it's successful. It's a successful thing. Yeah. What are you going to do? I love a death metal band, death metal-esque band played by hardcore musicians, mostly because the song structures feel different. They know what the energy needs. Yes. You know, they know what is needed to stoke the fire. Yes. And they go, you know what?

The metal band are hard. Sometimes it's like an accident and they don't know how hard they are. Yeah. It's not an accident when you know bands like this are doing. They know what they're doing. They know what they want to see the live crowd doing. There's something special about this kind of music made by people who when they were younger and had like shaved heads were spin kicking and were moshing and singing along with their friends to terror. Exactly.

Because we know what you want in there. You know what you know what best case scenario is when you're playing a riff. The nominees are frozen soul glacial domination. Texas. They love cold. They love, dude. The snow thing is so sick. I love it.

It's so big. I'm all in on. See, that's a show. That's a show. You'll remember that. You plug in a snow machine. Done. You gave him a show. Yeah. Fuming mouth, last day of sun.

The triumphant returned. Yes, dude. See? That's triumph right there. Yeah. Friends of the show. This is, this is heroic, this thing. It's awesome.

The human spirit, Sonic, but Sonic. We, Harmsway recently did, like, favorite records of the year with Brooklyn Vegan. And this record was on there. Awesome. It belongs in there. It's just, like, it's really cool. It feels good to listen to. Do you know what I mean?

And especially, I popped it on after Kale passed just to, like, I was talking to Mark a little bit about it. And, like, kale played on their first LP. Didn't play on this, but I just wanted, I just wanted to feel good in some way. And like knowing that this exists and that they made this happen despite all things. Just it was, it brought me solace in a way that only Fortnite has passed since Kales passing. I don't know what it is, dude. Fortnite. It cured, it healed me.

You're like five years to. Five years. late, dude. If any of Kail's friends are in mourning and you want to play Fortnite with me, it's been so it's been unbelievable. Yeah, no build mode. Peter Griffin. No build. I'm grinding to get Peter Griffin.

It's what Kail would have wanted. Duming mouth last day of sun. Unbelievable. Cruelty, Untopia. Who! Beloved friends of the show. Yep. Released their, this is their masterpiece thus far.

Thus far. Watching them is truly an experience in its own right and I think this is now the closest thing to that experience on recording got you that makes sense I've only gotten to see them twice both times have been like I knew it was special you know what I mean right man record rips uh yeah love them I can't we can't say enough good things about cruelty I'd have zoom on the show every other week if we could yeah yeah you know that's all there's say about that um Langu-Sugabag, Homicidal Ecstasy.

Came out real early. March, I think, or something? February, June, January. I don't know. Very early. That nasty-ass artwork, I love so much that you hate. I hate it so bad. There are parts on this record.

I haven't listened to it probably in months. And they're still in there. I got them. I think they're the best live band currently playing music. I've only seen. seen them once at Sound Infuri. Okay. Somehow. I mean, and even at that

was like, damn, we're outside, guys. Why do you sound so good? Yeah, that was awesome. Yes, agreed. And they sound imperfect every single night. I think they're, they're like unrivaled in terms of playing their songs, which is, Hey, it's a good thing to me. Someone's got to play them. Exactly. Tomb mold, the enduring spirit, the surprise released, the comeback of Tombold. This was really cool This was a nice thing

Because I remember this came out On a day where I was like I could really use some new music Really? I'm so sick at everything I like And then it was like Tombol is back Surprise record It's out this Friday

Really like it I think it sounds awesome I think these are all their best songs Never seen them Would love to Where are they from? Do you know? No idea

East coast and somewhere or something Sure I don't know They're awesome They ripped, dude. The winner. Yeah. 2023.

Hardcore motherfuckers playing death metal type shit album of the year. Sangu Sogobog, Homicidal Ecstasy. Congrats to Sanguosog, the best live man in the world, period. Let's hear a little bit from Devin. Hey, what's up, Harbour?

I'm here at the observatory and beautiful San Diego, California. Just ripped a set. Our last day of tour with cattle decapitation and Malaysian. Trader. And I just want to say on behalf of all of Sanghla Sugabog, we thank you giving us the

award for hardcore kids playing death metal type shit. It's a huge honor and a blessing. And just want to thank you for supporting heavy music and hope that you guys stick around and see what we come out with next. It's going to be fucking heavy. It's going to be brutal. It's going have your two-step and spin kick parts and ass beat of riffs are going to sprinkle all the way through us. So keep on supporting sandwich Suga Bog. Keep on fucking being violent at shows. Fuck yeah.

It's hard over time. Unbelievable. The guy's hilarious. Yeah, he's hilarious. We love Sangu Sogabog. It was an honor to be part of some gigs with them this year, witnessed their meteoric ascent to the top. They're uniting the nations of extreme music, you know?

Yeah, I do actually. I know what you mean. They could tour with Whitechapel. They could tour with suicide silence. They could tour with dynophagus. They could tour with cannibal corpse beside anybody. Wow. You would walk away from that being impressed.

Yep. They got that murder ball. They got the murder ball thing. It's fucking sick. There you go. That's a show. You know? Yeah.

No kick drum. Rollin kick drum Friend of the row Anyway The next And one of the final categories here is the EP Of the year Man

EP we've talked about is the perfect form Of hardcore music Still my favorite It's the way to do it It's the way to do it Here's a couple songs Fuck you, done Yeah

And then what's cool about them too Is like you can be almost a different band with the next one. Yeah. Because it's just not that big of an investment. Exactly. Which is kind of what a couple of these bands did. Yes.

It's like, hey, this is who we are now. Yep. That's the perfect way to do that. I love it. The nominees for the Hardlaw, 2023 EP of the year. Colin of Arabia, trauma dump.

We were present through the whole making of this thing, you know? It's true. Yeah. We heard the demos. We heard the concepts. Getting like a view into his thought process about writing and putting out music was really interesting and made me appreciate what they did. You know what he means?

It was like, oh my God, you did all that stuff. You did all that stuff. You told us you were going to do. That's crazy. Yeah. And I do think this is like, this is easily their rest material 100%. Yeah. And it finally.

I just think it sounds like everything COA likes and believes, you know? Yep. I believe that they put everything into this. And it's, I love that they finally have a record like this. It kicks ass. It's awesome. The Hope conspiracy.

Confusion, chaos, misery. Just another surprise. Oh yeah, we're still around. Out of nowhere. Out of nowhere. Out of nowhere. Coming back in perfect form. It's so cool.

A band that we're big champions of HopeCon. I think this record rocks. This is a thing. I listened to like five times a row when it came out. This is the thing where you texted me and you were like, dude.

I never do that. Yeah, it was just one of those ones. I was like, dude. But this was capital dude. Yeah. I was driving. I'm just kidding. I was pulled over.

Yeah, I love this thing. It's short, it's sweet. It's the perfect kind of next step to what they were doing with like death knows your name and stuff like that. Which was another kind of this thing, if I remember correctly. Yeah, it was a reinvention that came out of nowhere. It's fucking awesome. Hope kind of rocks, dude. The hope conspiracy.

Confusion, chaos, misery. Up next. Killing Frost. self-titled. This is like a kind of a... It's like an enhanced single. I think it's three songs. Okay.

Band is awesome. Check them out. Okay. New World Man. The Beast is back. Seeing him so much this year. Listen to them. I savour every time.

Yeah. And it's just awesome. This is just... I mean, I think this is just my favorite band right now, like period. For a very current band playing music is New World Man. So it's tough to beat. I'll be honest with you all closely by like guns and roses. Yes. New World Man and Guns and Roses.

Scarab by Scarab is the final nomination for EP of the year. We've talked at length about Scarab. They're the best new band. 2024, they're going to whoop your ass. They're going to blow your mind. You're not going to believe them. But for now, the best EP of this year, the 2023, inaugural, hard lore award.

New World Man. The Beast is back. This is the best crossover written in 23 years. Yeah. And then so. It's maybe 33 years. It's earwormy. It delivers on all fronts.

It's everything I want from that kind of music, you know? It's everything I want from that kind of music and the things that I, that music kind of music doesn't do. Right. Right. Crossover bands don't know how to fucking end songs. They'll do that. the pit in the first minute and then there's three minutes left. It's verse four and five. Dude, fuck verse four. Honestly, fuck verse three.

Verse three. Yeah, you don't need it. Don't do it. You're wasting our time. New World Man does not waste our time. There's Jimmy Hendrix riffs, note for note in there. It's awesome. This is probably my favorite piece of music in like three or four years, realistically, along with their demo. This band is so for me. me that I worry about them. You know? Because everything I like has such a ceiling that I want them

to break through it. That was really funny. You know? Yeah, this was a band that I didn't hear of until FYA earlier in the year. Were they opened or played second? They played super early and you were like, dude, you got to check this fucking man.

I got to be there for New World Man. I fucking love this man. Here's hopefully a few words from New World Man. Hard Lord. Thank you guys so much for choosing New World Man. The Beast is back for the best EP of 2023. I don't know how we did it, but I love you. Thanks again.

That might have been awesome. I really think it could have been. The Beast is back, man. I can't wait to hear what they do next, truly. But I'm glad I've got an LP's worth of material to listen to now. Before we get to the album of the year, we want to talk about a couple things. Yes. We're going to talk about the band to watch in 2024.

Kind of a most likely to succeed, but a little less, a little less like materialistic. This is more of a superlative than an award. You know, this is just like, hey, they did it and they deserve some recognition. we're going to tell you about Fleshwater real quick. Fleshwater has the means to be whoever they want to be at this point. A rocket ship is what they currently are. A legit rocket ship and the sky is the limit. The universe is the limit.

Yeah, literally. We're so proud of them. And we're so lucky to have been to be part of the ride in any way possible. We wish them the greatest success. Can't wait for a new record. Yeah, dude. That's going to be... It's going to be a big one.

It's going to be a big one. So Fleshwater, the band to watch in 2024. Just wait. Just you wait. Just you wait. Something else we want to do right now. Pivot to something serious is something we're going to do every year now. I'm going to try not to cry.

I'm not doing a great job yet. Damn it. This is tough. Something that we are calling the Kale Sane Lifetime Achievement Award. This year's recipient is Kail Sane. Kail Sane himself. On behalf of the Sane family, it's a privilege and honor to accept this award for our son and boyfriend,

the one and only Kail Sane. Kale would be very honored to be considered for this award, although to be honest, he probably would have fiercely stated that he was not deserving, as he often fought against any form of recognition or award. To many, Kale was certainly known for being a self-taught drumming legend with unrivaled talent. Those who were lucky enough to have known him, or even lucky enough to have just met him,

knew him for his absolute heart of gold. And of course, his love of barbecue sauce. Kale strongly believed in family, friends, and community, and he was always there for literally anyone. It didn't matter if you were a fan or if you had never even met him. I cannot count the number of times people have come to me since his passing, with stories of how they would not be here today

if it had not been for his love and support. Kale rarely ever boasted of his achievements. However, I know he was very proud of the work that he put into becoming a pillar of the hardcore metal and rap scenes. He was an endless source of inspiration, comedic genius, and sheer musical talent. His contributions to the hardcore scene built a legacy that continues today. On behalf of his family, we are very proud of what Kales seen achieved, and we thank you for honoring his memory. Thank you so much. Kale's achievements live on through the countless stories that everybody he's ever met has about him.

probably the most touching thing about the last week was just like posts and stories, everyone having a personal anecdote, you know. The thing is like even Kail was somebody where even the bad times were a hilarious thing to talk about, you know? Yeah. Even the rough days were like Kail made it funny though. And how many people can say that? It's crazy.

Almost nobody. Yeah. Agreed. The last few memories I have of kale. First off, we were flying to Flyover Fest on the plane. When we booked seats, we're all kind of separate. Okay. But I could see Kail was like two seats up on the aisle, like two rows up.

Yeah. He was watching Sorcerer Stone and Fellowship of the Ring at the same time. Oh my God. That was who Cah was. That's fucking genius. Lord of the Ring Fellowship was on the plane screen. And he was watching Harry Potter on his phone. Oh, dude.

Wow. And as we've talked about, I have this, so Cale's hearing was like terrible. Yeah. And I have this vision in my head of, of Cale getting to the gates of heaven, right? Getting to the pearly gates. and God being like welcome Kale and Kail going, huh? I know he would love that.

Cale's hearing is so bad that he uses he uses his $3,000 pro in-eer custom mold monitors as headphones. Yeah. And he always would be like, no, no, it's cool. I got my monitors. Like, no, my hearing's fine. I've got my monitors.

But listening to like SoundCloud with those in was like, anything. The last, he was watching something on the way up to the Gilman show that was so loud

in his headphones and we were like, dude, what is that? And we looked over and he's watching who wants to be a millionaire highlights.

You've, you've kept all of these stories for me and it's such a perfect, it's a perfect summary. Yeah. I'm trying to think about any, just last things we have. What's,

what crushes, me is like he and Haley just went to Japan and that was like he hasn't been since we toured there and he didn't have a great time on that tour. So getting to go with his girlfriend and do all the things that he's always wanted to do as like the last thing he ever did really is kind of beautiful in a way. But it's like crushes me because he got home and like it was like, okay, I'm back. I'm ready. We had a conversation the day before about playing a fest in Scotland. Wow.

So it's like the guy, the man wanted to live. Yep. He wanted to, he wanted to prove everybody wrong, you know? Yeah. Yeah. Anybody that doubted him, he just wanted to prove them wrong and be, be, be the best kale. And it was like he was, he was there, you know. So I, I, I, I salute him.

I miss him. I love him. I've been crying my eyes out for a week playing Fortnite. So thank God for Fortnite. God. If I don't know what I would do without Fortnite this week. Thank you, Fortnite, for holding me down while remembering our beloved boy, Kale. Kail Sane.

Lifetime Achievement Award. Lifetime Achievement Award. Truly, that he lived 100 lives within his almost 32 years. his birthday is a couple days, which is another just fucking brutal thing. And, you know, I feel so honored to have spent a single day with him, let alone hundreds of shows. Yeah.

You know, he was in the band for eight years. Yeah, that's right. Yeah. Longer than Mike, who is original, who I can't thank you. enough for stepping up and and being ready to rock with us again. That's going to be a beautiful thing. That is a beautiful thing.

That made me really happy when you told me that. Us too, you know. And like, you know, Mike and I just had a phone call just crying at each other just being like, love you dude. It was really nice. Good. You know, death brings people together in an unfortunate, unfortunate way. But in a beautiful way, that's exactly what I think Hill would want, you know.

Yeah. He, you know, he wanted to be loved so bad. Yeah. He wanted to love. He, any time he talked to a person, it was like, I love you. And it was like, okay, man, I get it. But now, now you see why. Yeah. He knew what we all didn't acknowledge every day.

It was just like, this whole life is fleeting. And we've got to, we've got to appreciate it. And he did, man. The man ate Carl's Jr. every day. And then, dude, the most legendary thing. The thing that you have to keep in mind about him is that when we were talking to him before the children, he was, he had doubled his body weight in a year and a half. Doubled. Quite.

Yeah. Yes. And we, like, had no plans to play drums, you know? His approach with us was like, I don't know if I can play. Really? I think he was doing other things and, like, trying to play for downpresser and play to play. a couple things. Yeah.

But there was uncertainty when it came to playing with us. And then in like March, April, when things started to getting serious, it was like, Kail, we need you, man. Yeah. And like, we believe in you. And that, you know, he expressed all the time how much that helped him. And just, just knowing that like he got to go out on top. You know, like that sign of fury set meant so much to all of us.

And just having him be part of that. And the dude, the Twitchfitts thing, he never heard a misfitz song in his life. He did that because he loved Taylor and wanted to help him. Jesus Christ. Never heard him. Yeah, that's a beautiful thing. Just a good guy. Good guy.

And like a once-in-lifetime talent. I'll miss him forever. I'll miss playing with him. I got to stop talking about him or I'm going to lose it. But all of those reasons are why he is the inaugural winner. Recipient of the Calcane Lifetime Achievement Award, which is what the award is called. So next year, the year after that, whoever's accomplishments we decide to highlight will be winning the Calcane Lifetime Achievement Award. That is what the award is called.

Yes, sir. And we canceled the award show. like this week would have been a mess. Having to prepare that while dealing with this. And also, Kale was going to paint the trophies. That's right. So it's like, I'm not fucking doing this without him, you know? Yeah.

And again, it would have been today. It would have been like in a couple hours. It would have been right now. Kail would be bringing a box of spray painted McDonald's fry boxes, spray painted shiny gold. Yeah. That he would have been, he was doing no questions asked. It was like, of course I can do that.

Yeah. So. Love him, man. Kale, RIP, we love you so much. Anytime a kale story comes to mind, I'm going to be telling it on this show. Best believe me. Good. Oh, you know what?

I remember one. The thing we were talking about that we talked about briefly in that, in that interview was when he did the, like, are we at the venue type thing? Yeah. A lot of the time, that was when we were in the venue. laying down in parallel benches. So he would be laying there going, Colin. Colin, not looking at me, not sitting up. So that I would sit up and look back and ask what he wanted.

And then he would ask me if we were at a gas station. So instead of sitting up and looking around, he would lay there and go, Colin. And there was one time where we, I think we'd, told this one in the Nate episode, but we pulled up to a UPS customer center to like pick up merch boxes. Yeah. And we get out of the man and he's like, oh, fuck, dude.

And he just goes straight to the trailer tire and starts rolling a joint. Not aware that we're not at the venue. Not aware that it's like the UPS. We're surrounded by UPS trucks and the biggest logo you've ever seen. He's just like, I got it. I got it. We're like, kill. We're at UPS, dude.

And he's like, oh, fuck. That was, that was, that was, and I don't know if you saw the meme that Alec posted. Which? The, it is very difficult to explain where I am. Yes, I did. That one. He was so high at a venue while we were loading out. When we were like, kale, dude, where are you?

We're trying to leave. And he sends that text verbatim. It's very difficult to explain separate text where I am. And we find him sitting in a wheelchair. Dude. He was the best. And it's like that's any time you're frustrated with him, you're in tears laughing 10 minutes later. And that's that.

And I'll never and I'll miss him forever. Yep. It's time for the album of the year. But first, we've got to talk to you all about a few things. First and foremost, whoa. A.G.1. Can you believe it? Every single day, I cannot believe it.

It's the best, it's the best and most important. important part of my day because let me tell you before age you won I was void of all vitamins minerals and antioxidants and now I'm chock full of them you wouldn't believe it and you could be confident that you're getting it daily every single day man it's going to support your immune system it's it's certified for sport this all you have to do is scoop one little scoop of this green powder into 12 to 16 ounces of water shake it up Start your day with it and you will have a better day. That's what we live by, you know?

We really do. Every single person that I've recommended it to is now they're diehards, their lifers. Same. What do they get if they use our very special link? If you go to athletic greens.com slash hardlore, you're going to get five free travel packs. FYA's coming up. You know, LDB's coming up. Tide Down's coming up.

Sound Fury is coming up. everything's coming up. You're going to be traveling. Yeah. And you're going to need a boost of energy. You're going to need sustained energy throughout the day. And you're really only going to get that with age you want. You don't need as much coffee, you know?

And you get vitamins and minerals and antioxidants. You want better skin? Take it, drink AG1. You want healthier hair and nails? Drink AG1. It is what it is. And not only do they get five free travel packs. Are they calling them travel packs?

Yeah. They get a year supply of vitamin D and K drops. That's crazy, man. A year. That's an unbelievable deal. It's so long. I mean, somebody who bought AG1 from us a year ago is about to run out. So if you did that, you can use the deal again, I think.

That's sound thinking. Let us know. We love Age 1. Age 1 loves Hardlore. And the Hardlore Wars are brought to you by Age 1. Wow. So, you know, this doesn't happen without them. You know who else it doesn't happen without?

Oh boy, do I? Our beloved manscaped. I know that if nobody else got me, manscapes got me. You're preaching, brother. And church is in session and I am seated in the pew. Man scaped is every person with body hair's best friend. Wow. You know?

Diplomatically eloquently said. Just if you've got hair that you see on your body that you don't want there, the lawnmower is going to get rid of it. The handyman is going to get rid of it. The weed whacker. The weed whacker is going to get rid of the, yeah, that's the hair you can't see. The holes you don't want to know about are full of stuff. The weed whacker can take care of.

The crop reviver, the crop preserver, the body wash. That's right. It's not just about hair. There's all kinds of stuff. It's about the human body, which we all, if you're listening or watching the show, you have one. It's true. Which means you have scaped to man, you know? So escape your man.

Man scaped. 20% off free shipping with code hard lore. Christmas is coming. It's, oh. Don't disappoint your family. friends. And it's a whole new year. There's somebody you know who has a birthday coming up. And somebody you know who stinks like a, like the dickens. And you've been letting them do that because you don't got them manscaped. Thank you so much, Manscape for sponsoring this episode. And the

album of the year is album of the whole year. It is December 18th at our time of recording right now. So we're pretty, unless anybody's got something in the next, what? I don't even know how many days there are in this month. That's right. 13 days. This is it. This is it. We picked eight nominees.

Wow. The first ever Hardlaw Awards album of the year. Let's go in alphabetical order. Yeah. Our first nominee. Their sophomore LP took them into the stratosphere. They've cemented themselves as a certified festival headlining band around the world, drain living proof.

Wow. Outstanding production. Yep. Exactly what you want them. This is another band that listened to what the people want from them. Right. And just turned it up. They blew up a giant inflatable, kicked it out into the crowd.

And said, fuck you, we're drained. Yeah. And I'm in the video. So it's awesome. Dad, get out of my room. Human garbage. Straight, not giving a fuck. S-N-G-A-F, that's what it's called.

This is probably the record I listened to the most this year, to be honest. The whole year. Wow. Human garbage, straight not giving a fuck, is a love letter to the golden era of California hardcore. Of like 2000s, California hardcore. Internal Affairs, peace by piece by piece. Terror. Yeah.

It's fast. It's pissed. It's hard. It's real. Huh. I listen to this a lot. And I love the people in the band. And that, you know, that's a big part of it.

Personal. Never ending game. Outcry. It's funny because this one was like, when it was coming out, it was like, this could be a big deal. And then it came out. It was a pretty big deal. It was a pretty big deal. Yeah.

When we posted the tweet of like, hey, we're doing an award show. It was like 50-50. this record and another one in terms of what the perception was. Never ending game. Two LPs, two EPs, a demo. They're a fucking real ass band now. Yeah, big time. Started off as like a borderline joke that still rocked.

And now here they are with these like epic hardcore opuses. Yeah. Epic is a good way to put it. It's kind of biohazard state of the world address-esque. Yep. in its maturity. It sounds awesome. It's their best production yet.

It's very mature. And I'm excited to see them continue to grow and thrive as another kind of certified headlighting band. Wow. Up next, we've got pain of truth, not through blood. I mean, come on. This is like an event. Yeah.

Yeah. This is another one where it was like, like, day one. I was like, well, I got to listen to it. Like, you know, it was just one of those things where they did it right. They put on an EP. Tored like crazy. Headlined their first two shows. Put out a comp song, put out some other stuff and listened to the people and waited until the time was right.

And came out with the perfect record in terms of what people wanted from them, what they were capable of, compiling all the guest parts. It's special, man. It's generational. That would be an interesting category is like the record in 10 years that people are going to be talking about, you know? Just interesting. Like that. Even thinking of these finalists, you know. Yeah.

Yeah. Because, you know, the Academy Award for Best Picture. Right. Is often not the one you go back to. Right. But I don't think that's going to be the case with the winner of this year's album of the year. The next nominee, restraining order, locked in time, PTHC. Saw them a lot this year.

Yeah. Better every single time. I think this is, this is them at their best. And this is a band that I just personally like to see grow. Because this is not the like status quo in hardcore right now. No. And they don't care. And it shows in the best way possible.

Because like amongst these nominees, they're in their own light completely. Nobody sounds like them. But they sound like the golden era of all of hardcore, really. Well said. Yeah. Thanks. The next nominee, Stingray Fortress Britain. And how about that?

This was a late edition for me. But man, I've listened to this 20 times now. I got to listen. You got to hear it. I got to go. I think it's the perfect. dirty British Japanese type harpoon

you know dirty in production Zuma doing his impression yes that's what Stingray sounds like Zuma's British guy ordering KFC Stingray vibes

100% dude this record is so easy to get through it's such a blast big fan Virgo's Pennsylvania death trip this record

is near and dear to me, for anyone who doesn't know, I know we've talked about it. Sabah, along with two other woodland elves, just made a record that like, this was the, this was the one for me. Like probably my personal pick of the year. This is four-bow. Yeah, this is forbo. Where when I, when I listen to it, I, I listened to it five times in the day I first heard it.

And I was really happy. This is one where you and I both. We're like, yeah, this is amazing. Like finally, like Saba gets it. Saba needs, you got to win. Yeah, absolutely. Love this record. It has some, it has some fucking bangers on it, dude.

It's got heavy riffs. It's got catchy riffs. It's got cool industrial sampling. It's got hooks. It's got beautiful, beautiful melodies. Like, outstanding record. My favorite song, Wild at Heart, is like, most kind of like soft rock ballad with some with some like very cool intricate riffs thrown in yeah

with a big fucking pit at the end and and and with a fucking a crowbar narrow yeah it's awesome yeah this is I mean this is this is this is hard lore right here this is what we're all about yeah big time uh of a dynamic record uh the final nominee another example of triumph, the human spirit reigning. A band we love to see win, truly, after having a crazy, brutal year, year of the knife. No love lost. It says, what a statement.

That's what I was trying to think of. It's just being like, yeah, that was the worst thing that's ever happened to us. Yeah. Here's our record. Here's our record. And I think, I'm pretty sure pure, Pure Noise is taking $0 from this thing. Which you gotta fucking give it up to that.

Dude, like, I don't give a shit what else they're doing or what else they're putting out. No other record labels have done that. I'm sure there are some that we know who would. Yeah. But like, oh, this band's big, expensive LP that we just drop tens of thousands of dollars in making, gotten an accident.

That's cool. we'll just eat all of that. We'll just lose that. Calm. So that they can have it. That's beautiful. That's exactly what the hardcore community should be. That's it.

And it's their best record yet. It's awesome. Kurt recorded it. So you know it sounds perfect. Maddie cements herself as a god tier front person. Front man. Fuck it. Maddie, we love you so much.

Year of the Knife, we love you so much. We're very proud of you. These are the nominees, guys. These are the nominees. There's one winner, though. Yes, there is. I just realized I skipped over Scowl in the EP of the year. Oops.

Oh, shit. Scowl was nominated for psychic dance routine. Scott was nominated. Congrats on. I'm bad, y'all. Yeah. It was the alphabetical that threw me off. Gotcha.

But there's only one winner of album of the year. Album of the year, this is it. This is the big one. This is it. This is the one. Big ticket item. The first ever hard lore awards album of the year goes to pain of truth, not through blood. And when you said when we posted the tweet and there was like kind of 50-50, I remembered, oh yeah, like it was this one. It was really more 60-40, you know? Okay. Fair enough. I just think in terms of, dude, this band is, is on to something.

Yep. They did it. They did it. I've seen lots of videos of their tour, several tours that have been going on for the last however many months. And boy, oh boy. They are going. Yeah, it looks like, it looks like Madball in their prime. Yeah.

You know? Yeah. And it's a record that's as good as literally needed to be for. for this to work in the way that they deserve and are as hard as they're working, you know? Yeah, there you go. Ultimately it doesn't matter if you don't got the tunes. And they were like, no, we've got the tunes.

We've got the vibe. We've got the art. And we got the smarts on how to do it. The brain, dude. The brain is huge. And you can hear the brain in the songs. They really get hardcore in a way that you have to succeed in this capacity. And I do think this is the record that in 10, 20 years came out this year.

One of many, realistically. There's a lot of bangers this year. Yeah. But this one is like, yo, that first pane of truth, he is unbelievable. You know, there are people are always going to say that. Interesting. Yeah. I can see that.

We didn't, as a final tweet or as a final treat, we didn't say what we're calling the awards. Oh, man. Yep. I mean, I alluded to. it a little bit by talking about kale. But the Ronald goes to Pain of Truth, not through blood.

I'll move it. The Ronald, baby. They're the Ronnies. So next year you'll get a, we'll do this live finally and we'll have a painted gold fry boxes for all the winners. Here's, here's some words from Pain of Truth. Hey, what's going on? Hardlord's Michael Smith from Payton Truth.

Just wanted to send a quick shout out to you guys, anyone that voted for Not Through Blood. We really appreciate being album of the year. It means a lot to us. Shout out Colin and Bo for doing everything they're doing. Anyone that came out to any of the full U.S. shows that we just got off of. Shout out, SOS booking for the children. That show meant a lot to us.

It was fucking awesome. So, yeah, just keep an eye out. We have a lot of shit coming up. So shout out to you guys. Hardcore is awesome right now. Super proud to be involved and everything that's, happening right now. So we'll see you guys soon. All right. Peace out, Hardlord. Unbelievable. Unbelievable record. It's a major reward. It is. It is a major award. That brings the first

ever Harlow Awards to a close. Thank you all so much for joining us. We hope you've enjoyed this. We hope you enjoy all of these records. We hope you've discovered something new today. I did. And I'm sure others have as well. So good. I think that's what we want. That's what we want. Absolutely. We're here to, we're here to uplift. we're here to celebrate. Kale Sane, Lifetime Achieving Award. Rest in peace, brother. We love you so much.

More kale stories to come. Whenever I think of one, you best believe it's coming. We love you all. Thank you for bearing with us last week. We hope you enjoyed that tribute. We hope you enjoyed this. We will see you next week.

Have a very Merry Christmas. Oh, happy holidays to all. Happy holidays to all. You're all amazing. You're beautiful. hardcore is the best, isn't it? The best thing ever. That's why we're here, because it's the best.

And that's on period. Bye. Bye.