HardLore - The 2nd Annual HardLore Awards: Celebrating the Best Releases of 2024

Episode Date: January 23, 2025

Welcome everybody to the 2nd Annual HardLore Award! Celebrating the best releases of 2024 across hardcore, metal, punk and everything in between. There were hundreds of great records released in 2024, these are the chosen few decided to represent the best of the best. Filmed live at FYA Fest, enjoy! Join the HARDLORE PATREON to watch every single weekly episode early and ad-free, alongside exclusive monthly episodes: https://patreon.com/hardlorepod - Join the HARDLORE DISCORD: https://discord.gg/jA9rppggef Cool links: HardLore Official Website/HardLore Records store: https://hardlorepod.com Try AG1 at DrinkAG1.com/HARDLORE to receive a free 1-year supply of vitamin D and 5 travel packs of AG1. Get 10% off your order from GUILTY PARTY, the best menswear store in North America with code HARDLORE! https:guiltyparty.co Get 15% off MADD VINTAGE with code HARDLORE15! https://maddvintage.com/ 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   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.

Welcome to the second annual Hardlore Awards, celebrating the best records of 2024. Hello, welcome to the second annual Hardlore Awards. We are here live in Orlando, Florida at FYFest. How are you, Bo? I'm so excited, Colin. How are you? I'm wonderful. I'm psyched. I'm glad to be here at the most coveted night of the year to about 13, 14 people. Tonight we are here to recognize greatness The best of the year in hardcore punk, metal, and beyond.

Yeah. And you know, it's electric. There's a buzz. There's a buzz in the air. I'm really excited to get into this. I think we got, you got any upsets you think are coming? Any surprises?

I'm thinking there's some big surprises coming. Wow. Because you never know with us, you know? You really know. I never know with me. Until about 30 minutes ago. Until about 30 minutes ago, who was winning? It was selected by a.

private panel. Well, the academy. The academy. The academy. It's a very small academy. And we're going to start with the best new band award. New bands are, they are everything, you know? Boy.

This community thrives on new people creating new music. People who have made incredible music before making new incredible music. Sometimes bands come out of nowhere and just skyrocket. Sometimes it takes a while. But these are the few bands who have started in the last 12-ish months who we think deserve immediate big-time recognition from the academy. The nominees for Best New Band, About Face, Lockslip, Fatal Realm, Final Resting Place, and Hawa. Let's talk about these bands for a moment, though.

That's exactly right. About Face, this is the beginning of youth career. revival, I think. I cannot be happier than the direction a lot of new music is going. It's going more punk. It's going more youth crew, early New York stuff. And you were playing this even earlier, earlier today. Absolutely love it. Sounds straight out of a time machine. Next is lock slip. This is the opposite of that. Yes. In that this is probably the best new metalcore band I've heard in decades. It really gives you that early converge feel that you're that you're craving that the world is craving really next is fatal realm uh three piece death metalish band really with members of mind force age of apocalypse unbelievable stuff had no idea it was a three piece three piece come on what more do you need

final resting place just saw just had a killer set of had a great set of that one other kind of death metal stuff blast beats hard pits heavy what more do you need heavy And lastly, Haywire. We need to talk about Haywire. Who's had just an unbelievable 12 months. One of the greatest single calendar years for a band in history. They don't stop. They don't stop.

New music constantly. Videos constantly. Shows constantly. Tours constantly. They're doing it right. And that is why the winner of the second annual Harlow Award for Best New Band is Haywire. Guest vocals. One of the life's blood of this whole world, you know?

You're going to see it in almost. every set. Especially at something like I play. New stars are born. Older guys are re-thrive within new bands. It's a beautiful thing. It's a timeless art.

There's a lot of, you should sing for a band. And that's what happens. Sometimes the merch guy steps up and just has this unbelievable part and then he's cemented forever. He's history. So this is best guest.

This is camp. It is meant to be camp. It really is. And the nominees for Best Guest Vocal. Firestarter, featuring Mark Porter from Floop Punch. Whispers, featuring Stephen from Kickback. Missing Link, featuring Bruce LaPage from Eyes of the Lord and 100 Demons. Split Knuckle featuring Leah Massey from Pest Control.

Missing Link, featuring Grid-Eye. Terena featuring Taylor Young. Stacked category here. Huge. You got the first record. recorded floor punch part in years. I don't even know how long. Which, you know, nepotistic on our end to put this out.

But, uh, undeniable. It would be in there regardless. Regardless. Yeah, truly unbelievable. I think Porter sounds arguably his best. Yeah, truly outstanding. Which is saying something. You've got whispers featuring Stefan from Kickback, who is so unmistakable at this point

and transforms the song into a kickback song. Wow. Which, like, it's tough to do. Yeah, the ability to, to, to, You own something just based on your vocal tone and delivery is outstanding. Missing Link featuring Bruce LaPage, friends of the show, all around. This is when a guest vocal is track one, you know you've done good work. So it's great to hear Bruce recorded as always, and Missing Link was the perfect fit.

Splitknuckle featuring Leah Massey from Pest Control. This is outstanding. Yeah, when you discovered this one, you said it to me you were very excited. Oh, my God. This is like one of my favorite movements of music of the year, period. Outstanding. Missing Link, featuring Grinion, like the whole band. When I heard this and figured out what the lyrics were, I was bold over.

I couldn't believe it. Grid Link. It's eternal now. It's perfect. It's canonized. And Tarana featuring Taylor Young. Well, come on. When he does this thing, I like it.

Is it nepotism? I don't know. I feel like he really has to impress me at this point. Good point. I'm his biggest critic. I'm his second biggest critic. After himself. After himself.

That's another great part. With Tarana, the chosen ones. The winner this year of the second annual Best Guest Vocal Award is Whispers, featuring Stephen from Kickback. Sondi Knaz, Hey guys, we whisper from Bank of Thailand fast sport record represent. Thank you so much to Hard Raw podcast for having us this time to be a winner of the best game.

World Hall Song Award. Yeah, we want to say thanks to Stephen from Kickback who sing on this song and make this song incredible. Yeah, and don't forget to check it out our new EP, Fast Spot Record, Yomalurro. Yeah. Yomalo. Yeah, yeah, we'll see you. And yeah, we're going to see you there.

Enjoy, peace. And the next category for the second annual Hardler Awards is the Best Live Performance Award. This is the most important aspect of hardcore music. It's everything. I would say hardcore is. what you see live. It is what you experience live. It is it is being there. You can only do so much just experiencing hardcore online through us through through 197 through hit five six. It's not gonna be the same as being in the room and feeling it. And it's more than playing a good set or

playing your stuff well or whatever. It's like the connections you can make. Absolutely. And the places you can reach therein. And the nominees for the best live performance demonstration of power at Sound and Fury 24. Dying Fetus, FYA, 2024. Full of hell

and nothing at Sound and Fury 2024. Haywire, Brooklyn, New York. King Nine at LV triple B 2024.

Knocked loose, Jimmy Kimmel. And Nails with Max Cavalera at the Belasco Theater. Let's talk. Let's talk. Let's start from the top.

Demonstration of power the swag. This is the second time I've seen them, saw them at Outbreak on the little stage a year, a year prior. No, third time. Saw them at, uh, do they play FAA? They played another Fest in America where I saw them. This was third time.

They opened with death threat. That's right. So you got me, you know? That's right. And then the guy's motion uncontrollably. I'm all malle. You know, Scotland does something to me emotionally. And they played, meaning no offense, but like the, the death.

song is the hit. It's dead of birth, right? That's the hit. No, it wasn't dead of birth. I know. I'm saying they didn't play that. Right. They played a different song. I love that. Give me more. Show me more. Took the unsafe choice. Yes. In California. Yeah. It was awesome. Love it. Uh, dying fetus at FYA. This was probably my personal favorite. Sure. That I witnessed of the whole year. I was scared. I had goosebumps leading up thinking about I remember. And watching this truly felt like a once in a lifetime experience. The moment of in the trenches, when the second kind of breakdown starts, and then

and the woo-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-l-hack. And the woo, I mean, that was like... It's the loudest woo I've ever heard. Over the music. We were behind the drums, you know, that was amazing, truly special to see. Full of Hell and Nothing playing, it was at the, or I'm sorry, the sound-of-fury pre-show. Yeah, playing their whole, collaboration album together.

For the first and probably, no, they've only played it one other time prior at Roeburn Festival, which they wrote it for. So this is before it was recorded. That's right. So this is the first time they've played it since actually making it a physical release. This was really special.

Ambition. Big time ambitious, but they pulled it off. They're drastically different bands sonically but together made this timeless incredible thing. Haywire in Brooklyn. New York. I'm telling you, man, you had to be there. It was unbelievable.

I asked, so part of the nomination committee is Scanlon and Bob. Cool. Both separately just sent me the word haywire. Really? When I asked their favorite live performances. And I agree. This goes back to what I've seen them achieve in the last 12 months is like kind of a thing I've never really seen a band. Outstanding stuff. King 9 and LD Triple B. I believe they played all of Scared to Death.

Yeah, I think so. God damn. And that's one of the greatest modern hardcore records of all time. And like, it takes time for a classic to become a classic. Absolutely.

Things go from modern classic to classic. That's a classic at this point. That's a classic. And seeing that in full, I love King Nine, I can't wait to see what they do next. Knock loose on Jimmy Kimmel. Yeah, this is insane.

It's one of the craziest things. We've talked about it before at length, but I really think it's a milestone. Big time. For a band that started very much the way every other band starts, grinded. Grounded. Did. And did there.

Didn't compromise. Only got more extreme and now they're on TV. They got more extreme. Yeah. And they're on national television. That's an amazing feat. Agreed. And lastly, I wish I was there for this.

Nails with Max Caballera playing Territory. Territory and endless resistance. And endless resistance. Which is one of my favorite nail songs. Yeah. I mean, that was the last thing that Taylor played on. So, like, that's special to me just personally. Seeing that and watching the band react to Max just being there was in the moment, felt like a moment.

Yes. I saw a clip of Todd looking at someone else in the band. Todd and Andrew just being like, can you believe this? Yeah, truly unbelievable. Something that nobody in nails, I'm sure, ever expected to happen. That is why this year's Best Live Performance Award goes to, Nails featuring Max Kevler. All right, so first off, Todd, welcome.

You're finally here in some manner. You'll be back for a long-form interview at some point, but before then, I need to tell you that Nails just won the Hardlore Award for Best Live Performance of 2024 from the Belasco with Max Cavalera. What are your thoughts? It was the best performance of 2024. It was simply the best one.

What can you tell me about making that happen? Not because of nails, but dudes. I don't know, man. Max is a shit, man. How did you finally make that happen live? Just email this manager. Gave him the money they wanted, man. I got you.

There's a moment that Bo and I referenced of you and Andrew looking at each other on stage. It very much feels like, even to you guys, you're like, this is fucked up. This is crazy. Yeah, I remember when we, so like, you know, we had to rehearse propaganda. And when we rehearsed it, like, I, like, there was, when we rehearsed here, it's like, I almost wanted to cry. Like, like, I have very vivid memories of me being, like, a teenager person watching MTV and seeing propaganda.

Like, like, daytime MTV. Like, that song was like a rhythmic song when he came out. And it made me want to buy KLCB. that was on an introduction to Suppletorah. And the fact that, like, Max likes nails and Max, like, I've been able to form a relationship with Mac. One of the things during COVID, you know, COVID was a very hard time for everybody. It was a very hard time for me. And Max, like, I remember, like, it was, like, a Sunday morning, and it was, like, 9.30 in the morning.

I was still asleep, and I saw my phone ring, and it said, unknown phone my fucking dog. the unknown phone number came up on my iPhone and I was like, well, I usually don't pick these up, but I'm going to pick it up. And I was like, hello? And it was like, hey, what's up, man? It's Max. And I was like, oh, my fucking God. And Max told me, he says, don't think he was very personal.

And he said, like, hey, you're one of my favorite people I've ever met in metal. And I was like, Jesus fucking Christ. Like, I can't believe I'm hearing this. And how many times had you guys interacted before this call? Well, before the call, we did the vocals to the endless resistance song. So this is after endless resistance is already out there. This is after endless resistance. And when we did endless resistance, you know, Taylor and I drove out to Arizona.

And, you know, that's where Max lives. And we rented a studio where him and his manager, you know, his wife, Gloria, shout up to Gloria. they have a studio that they like to work out of there and it's a fellow named John. And so we rented the studio for the day and the Max Medicine Studio. They did the endless resistance. And that was like in 2018.

And like when he hit me up, it was like 2021. Right. And it was just like one of those things that's like, you know, in COVID I think like, you know, for nails COVID it was like a very difficult time. But for me, it was like one of the, those things where it's like, dude, I have this guy calling me, like, who I've worshipped since

I was, like, 12. Like, I look at Max as somebody, like, I look at him as, like, a Tom Araya or James Hedfield, like, in that same, like, echelon. And it's like, these guys, like, telling me he likes me. Like, I, like, there's no way I can stop doing this. Like, I need to do nails. And, um, and that was, like, a really magical moment for me. So when we, when we came back and we played L.A., like, I, like, I,

like LA is like our flagship show. Like it's our hometown. I had to make sure, we had to make sure that it was special. And it was special for the audience who was coming to the show. And the best way we could do that is to honor Max and honor the fact that he played a song on what he, that he joined us and collaborated for a song. And also, you know,

play one, play fucking propaganda. Not propaganda. Territory. Territory. Jesus Christ. Gary Cole. Or for Gary Cole.

Harves Way hot coverage propaganda. They sure did. Hard as hell. Yeah, I mean, it was unbelievable. Therefore, we obviously wanted to immortalize it in stone forever with this award this year. So congratulations to Nails and to Max on Best Live Performance, 2025. Thank you, Colin. Thank you, Hardlore.

Thank you, Bo. Really appreciate that. Thank you for the recognition. It feels really good to be recognized by our peers and to be just partners. everything that's going on. Thank you. Beautiful. Next up, we have a very special feature. That's right.

This is the No Echo demo of the year. That's right. Carlos from No Echo does so much for hardcore and wrote an incredible article about his favorite demos of this year. So I figured I would just go to him to pick one of them for his demo of the year. Hey, this is Carlos from NoECHO.net. And I'm here to tell you my favorite hardcore demo of 2024. And this year's pick for me is Paradise, a band out of Texas. And though they're from Texas, they sound like they're from New York City,

maybe Queens, maybe Brooklyn, circa early 90s. They would have been at home on the New York hardest comp. If you don't know that comp, it had VOD on it, 25 to life, Crown of Thorns, bulldoze, and Paradise have that kind of vibe to what they're doing. Gritty, metallic guitar tones, but not beat down. They have some groove in there, and they do it really well. I think that they have plans to do more in 2025. I interviewed them on No Echo.

It did a new hardcore band Spotlight, which is a series I've been doing for a couple of years now. Hopefully you've seen it before. And as soon as I heard the demo, I found it on Bandcamp randomly and added it to Spotify. I found it on there and just playing it nonstop. the last, you know, a few months since it came out, really. And I can't say enough good things about it. I included them on my list of best hardcore demos, which is 15 deep. You can go on the website to find that, and hopefully you'll find some bands that you haven't

heard of yet. That's the whole point of it, really, just to, you know, shine the spotlight on newer bands and things that fly under the radar maybe. But Paradise is really cool. like I said if you're into that New York hardcore style from the early 90s these guys are up your alley trust me

thanks again to Colin Beau and Hardlore and have a great year talk to you guys soon thank you Carlos but also this next award is for best production explain production when you're listening to an album

and you listen to it and you think this sounds really good or you think this sounds like shit that's all in the production the engineering the mixing the the mastering, getting the tones in the moment, putting the songs together. This is all production. This is all one beautiful umbrella. It's one of the most, it is the listening experience. It defines the listening experience. For better or for worse, it's arguably the most important aspect about a record.

Here are the nominees for Best Production. Knock loose, you won't go before you're supposed to. Apparition, disgraced emanations from a tranquil state. reeks tier group full of hell coagulated bliss human garbage valleys most hated concrete winds self-tidal blood incantation absolute elsewhere nails every bridge that's another stacked category yes it is very much you you got knock loose's record that uh that broke shattered records worldwide you know and as as we said earlier in this very program, it's so extreme. Yeah.

It's so heavy. There are vocal layering that are scary. Yeah. It's an incredibly unsafe next step for a band at their peak. And trusting their gut led them to their best thing yet. Apparition, disgrace, emanations from a tranquil state, a band that broke up right before their record came out, which is the coolest shit a band can do.

I can't believe this thing still. This is like what I look for in death metal. And it's crazy to me that it's a modern. band. Sounds much like about-faced like it's pulled out of a 20-year-old time capsule. Rieks Tier Group, one of Europe's greatest exports ever. This is like the, am I wrong? It's like, what, paprika?

Is that from Europe? Spaghetti sauce. Spaghetti. Maranar, the noodle, and Riex, probably. This is their new EP. I think it's their best batch of songs yet. It sounds fucking awesome, super unique. Full of hell, coagulated bliss.

You'd be hard pressed to sound a better sounding band at any time. Yes. And that is like so contradictory to the music that they play. Well said. It's amazing. Yeah. I don't people, I don't know if people really can, if you haven't done music in some way, live or not, can really appreciate how controlling such chaos can be so challenging.

And that's exactly what they were able to do. Absolutely. Human garbage, Valies Most Hated. This is Famiglia. Yeah, you love this record. I really can't believe this record and this band. And, like, sonically, this is what I want hardcore to sound like. When the way that they sound with the style that they play is literally perfect.

It is, the drums are like completely brickwalled. Yeah. The guitars are raging. The snare is exploding. And the vocals are in your ass. Yeah. It's perfect. And although he's the mayor of the valley, so I must pay respect.

Concrete Wins self-titled. Concrete Wins is a death metal black metal band from Finland. This is, much like human garbage, this is exactly what I want combo death metal black metal to sound like. This is probably the most extreme piece of music I've heard this year. It's scratched and itch I've been looking for for years. I'm addicted to this record. Wow. Truly can't believe it.

Outstanding stuff. Blood incantation, absolute elsewhere. This is another band that is like synonymous with sounding great. Yeah, and there are textures and other instrumentation on that record that I don't know how you do that. Yeah. And they made a movie to coincide it. And I don't know. This came out when I was on a tour and I listened to it a lot.

Yeah. And I really like this record. And I truly think, this is a really. record where you should kind of sit down. Yeah, no, this is not like a shared social experience. No. This is driving in your car at night. Yeah. Make it loud. Sit there and appreciate it. What it's all about. Sounds great. Nails. Every bridge burning. The Kings are back. This is one of the greatest combos in the history of music, as always. Return of the Kings. Return of the King in one of their best sounding records, period. Period. I would say this is probably number two.

Yeah, probably. They came back in full form. gave people the nails that they're looking for. Absolutely. But the winner this year for Best Production is Concrete Wins by Concrete Winns. Thank you. Best Production. Wow. Thanks.

Thank you from me and from the band. Also shout out to Mati Meccle, who tracked the drums. And, yeah, I love working on this album. I think it turned out really well because I love the band. I love their style. And if you haven't checked out concrete wins yet, you should do it right after you've listened to this podcast.

See ya. Artwork. The physical experience oftentimes when owning a record. Very important. Sometimes a record sucks. Like when we're writing something and recording something, I don't like to listen to it without something loaded into the drop box with art, you know? interesting. This is so stupid. But it's a very important process because sometimes you don't know

what a band sounds like, but you see a piece of art and you want to grab it off the record store shelf and hear it. The entire purpose of artwork is to convey a feeling or a message usually. And it's a very important aspect of exactly what we're talking about. Exactly. And when you're making an LP in particular, this is like the interactive way of listening to music and owning music and seeing something in a 12 by 12 format being blown away. away by it is often something you never forget. And it's also we're honoring the old ways, aren't we? This is how

physical fucking media. Physical media was intended to be consumed. Here are the nominees for best artwork. Bad beat, Dennis Halilovic. Upon Stone, Andreas Marshall. Pest Control, Chris Wilson. Speed, photo by James Hartley. Extinguish at Restless Stronger

Males, Jeff Whitehead Burning Lord Tom Wickling Lots to discuss here. Bad beat by Dennis by our good friend Dennis who sang in Freedom Faith Alone

plays bass in Neverending Game What he captured With this He captured the way Bad Beat sounds With that work Which how do you do that

I can't do that You just do it And that's why it's nomination number one This is our artwork This is it This is what we're working with Dennis, if you could be here, we could use some help.

Upon Stone went with legendary German artist Andreas Marshall, who did artwork for bands like Demi Borg Gear. This thing's beautiful. It is beautiful. It is visually striking, emotionally evoking. Big fan. Pest Control, Chris Wilson. This is another thing where this looks like Crum Suckers-esque crossover art,

and Chris is like the best at this style. And as we found out very intentional. Oh, yeah. Yeah. They knew what they're doing. They knew what they're doing. Speed, this beautiful photo. by James Hartley,

the full band together. What I love about this record cover is it, it's a picture of a group of guys, but it tells you exactly what you're going to get on the record. Totally. And I love that. And I really like that, like, Jim is the front man of the band.

He's rarely in the middle, you know? Yeah. Yeah. It's kind of, they make a universal statement of like, the whole band is the center. This is, everybody's the centerpiece. It's really cool. Extinguish, this incredible piece of art by Atts, Restless Drag, I really could not find this man's name.

It's awesome. I also think this is a great representation of what you're getting. This is like late 80s, early 90s, death metal type stuff, which also they're pulling from musically, so they nailed it. Nails, every bridge burning, Jeff Whitehead. The album title and the artwork alone feel like a big statement. It feels like a big fuck you. Yeah.

You know? It's a... Yeah. Really, really great stuff. Nails always delivers with art. Todd's always had an incredible eye for like finding artists. and evoking their message through art, which is our favorite thing.

I remember the day the single came out, saw the artwork, and I was like, yes. Yeah, they did it. They did it. Burning Lord, Tom Wickland, this thing is fucking awesome. Medieval. It makes me feel violent,

just looking at it. This is another thing that I don't think they sound like that, and it made it cool to me. where it's like you don't know what you're getting from that in the coolest way. Got you. The winner this year for the Best Artwork Award is, give a second. A Pondstone by Andreas Marshall. We're a Pondstone from the San Fernando Valley.

Big thanks to Hardlore for Best Album Artwork of 2024. Respect and praise to the legend Andreas Marshall for creating the album cover for Dead Mother Moon. He absolutely captured the spirit and the energy of the music. It was an absolute bucketless moment to. work with him. Thank you guys again. Hale the melodic metal of death. Pardon this interruption, Colin and Bo. We've got to talk to you about who sponsored this episode and made it possible. First off, it is madvintage.com. M-A-D-D-D-V-I-N-T-A-G-E.com. Alec bought this shirt on MadVintage.com using Code Hard Lour 15 to get 15% off. Show on the back.

Show them back. Show the back. Wow. Excellent. Thank you, Alec. Great work. Don't leave. Stay there. Mad vintage is just great. You can sell him the stuff that you already have. Maybe it doesn't fit. Maybe it doesn't fit. It's going to fit me. So put it up and I'm going to get it from you. Using Code Hardlaw 15, getting 15% off.

Or you can just surf and see what he's got now because it's unbelievable. It's unbelievable. Everything you want. Punk, metal, rock and roll, rap. Movie stuff. And it adds up. Yeah. And if you use Code Hardlaw 15, you're getting 50% off.

This episode was also brought to you by Manscape. Alex Balls clearly have not been Manscape today. Get out of here, Alex. But it could be so different if he used Code Hardlorn and got 20% off and free shipping. There's a plethora of products you can use.

I'm going to spray him down real soon. Don't worry. We're going to revive him. I'm going to revive the hell out of his crops here. Is he preserve him? We're going to preserve him. We're going to dust him. We're going to mop them. Certainly. I'm certainly going to mop him.

That will tattoo him. Manscape. Go to our Lord. 20% off. Free shipping. Outstanding. It's a new year. Don't you want to start it

with a brand new, healthy ritual? Doesn't Bo look so jacked? Don't I look so skinny that I turn invisible if I turn my body to the side? The answer is yes. And we attribute that

in large part to this beautiful ritual we have with AG1. We've been partnering with AG1 for almost two years now. And we've stayed so consistent with it. We appreciate them. We appreciate what they've done for us, even physically.

Winter, it's cold. It's freezing out there. It's hard to stick to your routines. I know it is. But this one is so easy. You wake up in the morning, one little scoop, a little bit of cold water, you toss it back.

AG1 is offering new subscribers a free $76 gift when you sign up. So start your journey now. Go to drinkag1.com slash hardlore to start your new year on a healthier night. Yep. This episode is also brought to you by Guilty Party. The Greatest Men's Wear Store in North America. You can't believe it. Foundation is playing very soon.

Very soon. And he can't wait to go home and hawk us beanies and shirts and pants and stuff. And just look at his wares. He flew here all the way to FYA and gave me a beanie and gave you some beautiful pants. You got those pants from Guilty Party. I did get these. They're guilty party. This stuff is built to last.

like sick of it all your whole life okay so don't fuck it up use code hard though you're going to get 10% off and if your orders over 300 which you probably will be the stuff is expensive but it's good shit it's good it's good stuff it's built the last just like sick of it all you're going to get 10% off and you're going to get free shipping okay built the last by sick of it all check it out it's like my fourth favorite one back to you bow Allen skanking one of the great forms of dancing and a physical expression of the energy within the music that we love. That's truly what it's all about, you know? Breakdowns, they're there as well.

But the skank part came before them with hardcore music, you know? Yeah. And quick caveat, I would like a lot of you, particularly if you're attending this festival, go ahead and rewind that and watch our guest, Alec, skank across that screen, because that was perfect. Yeah, that's what you do. You should all try to do that.

It's great stuff. The nominees, for the best, The best skank part. Also known as a two-step, but we prefer the original. Skanking's fun. That's a fun verb. Bad beat. Bad beat stomped.

Cosmic joke. Throwing stones. Human garbage. Chaos. Life's question. Light me up. Haywire. It is what it is.

And it ate one of eight. Let's talk. Let's talk. Bad beat stomped. Bad beat is a band full of great skank parts. I just saw them play all of them. And you know what? People were skanking.

It was great. And that's what it's all about. They have a really good blend of kind of more punk, but then also kind of mental, kind of Boston, early 2000 and 2000 stuff. I really like it. The intro, come on. Yeah.

Skank-driven hardcore music. Cosmach joke, throwing stones, you know, this may be a little bit nepotistic. But this part, I know skank part is great. If every time I see them, then I must physically participate in some way.

And that's what this part does. I think it's important to note that what makes a great skank part is also about what comes before and what comes after. It's a payoff. It's a bill. You can't just give it to me. Yeah. You know?

I want to earn it in some way. And this part is kind of built throughout the entire song and feels like this incredible payoff. Absolutely. And it's an unbelievable bridge. Human garbage, chaos, same case. where this is probably the hardest single part on the record and it's a skank part. Think about that.

Think about that. It's beautiful. It's not a chuggy breakdown. It's something else. It's different. It's variety. It's incredible. I love this record so much.

Last question. Light me up. This record really kind of wop my ass. Really, really impressive stuff. And Ridge's musical mind is one of my favorite currently making music. And you can really, you just hear it. You know it when you hear it. Yeah.

where like I didn't even really know he was in this band I think and then I figured out he was by listening to it really how interesting pretty cool it's just a very strong musical identity this record is incredible and this part is incredible lastly Haywire it is what it is in 8 when it ain't this is another band full of incredible skank parts and this is a part where a lot of short songs but songs length doesn't matter if you do it right

and Haywire does it right they had that incredible bit last year at FYA before we watched them. We were watching them. It's the first time I've seen him and boy what happened. There was there was there was there was a tech diff and he was like how much time we got left and they were like five minutes and Austin said that's like four songs that's good stuff amazing the winner for best gang park the second annual hard lore award is cosmic joke throwing stunts. Hello and welcome hard lore it's been a long time coming but on behalf of Cosmic Joke, I'm accepting the 2024 Hardlaw Award for Best Scott Park. I've been working towards this for my entire life and it feels great to finally get some goddamn recognition.

I'd like to thank the Hardlore Foreign Press and we'll see you in 2025 with new music. Best Breakdown. This is giving the people what they want. This is what it's all about. This is violence, physical violence, musical violence, sonic violence, it's beautiful. And done right, it can make or break your entire band. And there's only so many original mosh parts left. Are there? Truly, no. There's none left, other than these eight.

So we're here to celebrate this thing that we all love so dearly. These are the nominations for Best Breakdown. Final resting place. Chaos Collected. Whispers, a choice to survive. Pest control, time bomb. Missing link. New York Middle.

Split knuckle. We share blood. Not love. Concrete winds. Infernal Repeated. Fatal Realm. Hammer of Heresy. Nails.

Lacking the ability to process empathy. I really believe it when he says that. You know? It may be the best song title of all. It's Todd just being like, listen, this is me. Okay? Take it or leave it. And this is probably the hardest single part on this record,

which is full of hard moments. So it must be celebrated. Fatal Realm, Hammer of Heresy. This is a brand new band. Yeah. It gives, you know, suffocation, internal bleeding type stuff, which is inherently hard as it is. And there's all kinds of different breakdowns on this list.

Good. Some have zero notes. Some have many. I think that's a beautiful thing. Gotcha. This is one that has, I think, one, maybe. I think it's 01 only. It's great.

Perfect. Concrete wins, Infernal Repeater. This is one of, like, two mid-tempo parts on this entire record. Right. which is why earning it through five tracks of chaos before it hits makes it hit like a straight-up nuclear bomb.

There you go. Split knuckle, we share blood not love. Again, probably my favorite like six minutes of music this entire year. You described this record to me. Well, it's like highly intelligent, high- IQ UK beatdown. There we go.

You know, and like UK beatdown has its own very distinct, identity going back to 90s, 2000s with knuckle dust and like bund them out and the LBU bands bundem out I love in particular which is how I found out about split knuckle. Split knuckle this record truly absolutely has like consumed me the past couple months. I listened to it 500 times. A lot of people ask when's the new guy's hate record. You don't need it for a minute because you got this.

This is what I would do. So just listen to this instead. Missing Link New York Minute. off the smash hit breakout LP debut LP Watch Me Bleed. This is like one of the songs of the year. Part of the year after. This is a man that just really understands structure.

Oh, yeah. And pay off. I believe when Paul sent me this record, it was this song and the gridiron song were the two that I said, dude. Yeah. And this one in particular. Yeah.

And the pit that comes out of the icon. window moment outstanding. Pest control time bomb. This is the best part on this great EP to me with the use of the clock sample, super creative. I don't know how to describe

this riff other than it's just a hard ass crossover part. You did it. Like crumb suckers didn't do parts like this. It's like they're doing the things and this is, I love Krumsucker so much, but it's doing, it's modernizing

something you already love in a way where you go, I wish they had done that. It's like giving you what you want, literally in the moment. I hope they do that. Oh, shit, they did it. Whisper is a choice to survive.

This song features gem from speed. Parts hard as shit. Very weird time signature with the snare in a way where it's like half skank. Cool. It's really cool. Final resting place, chaos collected,

one of the best new bands, as we've stated earlier. And this is, I think, their single hardest part. I think this is the one that I saw just now and went, wow. That part's hard. That was a hard part. But this year, the best

breakdown award. For me, there was one clear winner right off the bat. And that was split knuckle with We Share Blood, not Love. Shit, that's a real escaping. Holy fuck. I need to not leave it so long before

doing this shit, man. Blunting up the fucking blade. Holy shit Oh fuck Shit Hello Colin and Bo Sorry you caught me You caught me in the act there

Appreciate you guys Giving us the award for Best Breakdown For probably the one song off the album That we didn't really try and write A hard, heavy or whatever breakdown But yeah Means the fucking world Big Ups to Days

Northern Unrest Leah Massey from pest control for doing her part as well. Everything she touches turns to gold. Big ups to SKC, LBU, EBD. And, yeah, big ups to everyone supporting the thing and checking out the album. Yeah, and I'll catch you as a lot at outbreak very soon. Take care, boys.

The next category for the second annual Hardler Awards is Hardcore motherfuckers playing indie. type shit. That's right. That is the actual name for the category. I apologize. It is true that anybody who's dabbled with hardcore punk in their life makes better music than

anyone else. You get a deeper appreciation of everything. You get a better understanding of song structure. You know what it's like? It's like when there's a line cook from Waffle House on Master Chef or something. They've had to, they've gone through the chaos already. You know? This is

nothing. So here are the for hardcore motherfuckers playing indie music type shit of the year. Drug Church, Proof, Wishing, Triple Seven, Tarantula. If you're sideways, you're upside down. Hyves, guided tour. This is an interesting category to me, because it's not typically the realm in which we operate at all. No, which is why there's only four nominees,

but that means four absolute top of the line standout. the line standouts. Drug Church with another banger. Record sounds incredible. Pat's performance is great. His lyrics are always like A plus plus plus plus. I think it's probably my favorite drug church stuff that I've heard.

I agree and I also forget that they're like kind of hard a lot of the time. They have parts. They've got parts. They've got these moments where like Wishy is straight up like these beautiful songs. You know? It was really impressed by this. This was a Scanlon and Bob assisted pick. Really, really kind of blown away by their songwriting abilities, the production, vocal skill, all that.

Tarantula, I believe, is a one-person project. Love it. Richmond. This is another thing where it loved the vibe that it created right off the bat. dirty guitars with like layered reverby vocals over them it's good shit and high viz guided tour

the lads following up what they've already done with a record like guided tour that's a challenge yeah this is sophomore LP I believe so and that's God knows how fucking hard that is probably as hard as it gets

hard as it gets if you got a great sophomore LP, you're kind of off to the races. And that is why. The winner for Harkall Motherfuckers playing indie type shit this year. Hi Viz, guided tour. Well, what can I say?

I'm speechless, lost for words. Thank you, Colin. Thank you, Bo. Thank you to all our talented peers out here making indie type shit. Um, yeah, it's truly an honor.

Thank you. Listen, kids. Live forever. Bridie, can you, can you introduce the next category? Sure. Okay. You didn't need to interrupt. No, you're right.

You're fine. So, Bridie Drake is going to help us introduce the next category. Okay. Am I, are we live? Yeah, we're live. Okay. Hardcore motherfuckers playing death metal. Type shit.

Type shit. Album of the year. Great job. I think I could try again, maybe. No. It's, okay, no, that's good. That's good. really good.

Thank you. Thank you, Brady. Now, Lord knows this category is stacked because as we just said for the indie one, I think people who are well-averse and hardcore write better death metal. Absolutely. I could get shot in the head for saying that. But. And you look at cannibal corpse.

They love youth of today. There you go. You look at suffocation. They love spin kicks. You look at dying fetus. They're literal death threat riffs in their music. Those are three of the greatest of all time. and here we have

living proof of that and here are the nominees for a hardcore motherfuckers playing death metal type shit album of the year upon stone dead mother undead more and sound

nails every bridge bring apparition disgraced emanations from the tranquil state Greenwich forced out of existence Greenwich

co-released by Harvard lore and Magistomp brutal record. Oh, yeah. Band with a lot to say. You got Anthony, the riffmaster. The tone. Zone. Get that book.

I got it. That was awesome. A truly great record. One that we haven't put out a lot of records. When we do, it's because we hear something and we're like, we got to do this. Yeah, this is sick. So that should be the first thing you think about. Apparition, Disgrace, Emination from a Tranqual State.

The band is deceased. there are no more, but we must celebrate them because this record is so goddamn good. It's like five or six songs. It's like an hour long, which you know is literally exactly what I like. So you're going to love it. It sounds perfect.

It's dirty. It's disgusting and it's beautiful. Nails, every bridge burning. The Kings are back, as we've said. As we've said, I think Nails might have the most nominations this year possibly. I think it's Nails and Haywire. And maybe missing link.

this I mean this is Todd is the hardcore motherfucker Yeah You know that's like He's changed This genre like three times A few times

Yeah He's defined it in several different generations And Nails is Still a generation leading band And they proved it with this record Unddeath more insane I think this is also their sophomore LP It is yeah

Again defeated the sophomore slump Made their best record Sounds great the packaging and the artwork are really good. It is really good. Incredible live band. And upon stone, dead mother moon.

In terms of mellow death, nobody's doing it better than that. Like modern mellow death? Does it even exist? Yeah, not like that. Not like this. Truly outstanding. This is their debut LP.

Wow. They really delivered. The winner this year for hardcore motherfuckers playing death metal type shit album of the year is nails. every bridge. I'm back here with Todd in this glorious evening

to inform him once again that Nails has won yet another award on the Harlelands. This award is the most coveted to all hardcore

motherfuckers who play death metal. Oh. Because this is the hardcore motherfuckers playing death metal album of the year and it goes to Nails every bridge burning.

Congratulations. Congratulations. Todd, tell me about... Thank you. Tell me about every bridge burning. Tell me about that. The time you took the past couple years to come back strong with a record, not every band can do that.

And the nail sound is still there. The nails production is still there. Tell me about the record. Well, yes, very good. So number one, I'm going to tell you, this is probably at least death metal on a bonus record that we made. And I know you, and I know you could probably see that.

But with that being said, it's like it was challenging. It was tough, but like we did it. And for me personally, I feel like it was probably like the most hardcore record Nails is done. Maybe like, maybe like between obscene humanity and silent death,

maybe. I would say that's objectively true because there's not a blast beat until track eight. There's a bath. There's a blast beat on Trek 2. But it's like a, And then... Lasty, baby.

All right. Fair enough. I'm not... This is... This is you won the award, you know? You won. But yeah, it's... It's...

You did an unbelievable job. Really? We must recognize it amongst the... The stacked category of hardcore motherfuckers playing death metal now. Yeah, what are... Who are our contemporaries? I'll reach to the peers here. First off, we had a pawnstone.

Dead... mother you know that record is so good i completely agree i love that record me too i think they're the best melodic death metal band in the world today hardcore motherfucker yeah like who who do they have they compete against really i couldn't tell you i don't know either they're so good they write like really they're clever folks shout out to a pawn stone mill they won the award for best artwork earlier yeah that's good ass on uh next up was undeth more insane their soft Undead. Stacked.

Next up was Apparition. Disgraced emanations from a trip. Shout out to Apparition, man. It's very prodgy. Shout to Miles, man. Miles. Shout out to Miles. Shout out to Andrew.

Shout out to Taylor. Shout to all this fucking motherfuckers. We were robbed of seeing this record lie, you know? We'll never get to do that. Well, you know what, man? Maybe we will. Yeah. We'll see.

And the last nominee, uh, Hardler Records own Greenwich Forced out of existence. Yeah. Yeah. Those guys are going on. 100%. Oh man.

Thank you so much. Like the fact that Niels won that, that's fucking sick. Thank you so much. Let's try to do our thing. You're doing it. You're succeeding in doing your thing. And Todd, now that we've had this little chat,

I can't wait to do this for real. Are we going to do it for real? Oh, yeah. Okay. Like you've never imagined. Like they. ready dude i want i want to i want to be i want to do one of the best hard lord interviews of all time i think it'll be easily mount rushmore you guys you guys did a re good job with fucking paris dude

shout to fucking tall on shout to bow fucking paris that was a great interview i love that interview um very insightful i think you guys i think you guys know your shit and i think you guys doing a great job we're doing what we can but what we can do today is recognize nails for being The Hartmanman, first playing death metal album of the year. That was. Thank you, much. Man, you know what? We just want to make a nails record for people who like nails.

And listen, I know it's a little bit different, but, like, that's where we're at, where our lives. And we're going to do the best we can by Nails fans. And we're just going to do the best we can. And that's all we can do. And we really appreciate all the fucking support you've given nails. We really appreciate hardboard. hardcore post-COVID is a fucking crazy thing it's an awesome thing it's a great thing we just played a fya festival in florida it was awesome it was super positive um doing a great thing i'm up here in

my pad wearing sunglasses and doors that's what's up i'm doing the best i can you're doing great and uh we'll see you back here real soon for a full proper three four hour episode whatever it takes, you know. Whatever it is, I'll go to your pad, I'll go to wherever. We'll meet in the San Fernando Valley, a place I'm very much familiar with. Beautiful. And we'll fucking kick it. We'll have a good conversation.

We're going to have a good time. And anybody, if they want to know anything, like Colin no. Colin will answer it. Callin will ask the questions that everybody wants to know. And we're going to have had a great time. 100%. I've already got something ready to go. I can't wait.

I know you do, dude. Talk to you soon. The next category for the second annual Hardlore Awards is... This is it. This is the big show now. There's two left. These are the two most prestigious awards a band can win. And this one is the EP of the year.

Now, we've talked about this many times before in the show. I love an EP. I think for hardcore music, it is the ideal format for this. Perfect. For enjoyment. You know, the album is king at the end of the day, but the EP can really define you. or redefine you in some case.

I think the EP is the bait and the LP is the hook. Yeah. And if you don't have a great one-to-punch, you're fucked. It can be. But the EP can be timeless if it is good enough. Absolutely. This year's nominees are. Cruelty,

profane usurpation. Cosmic joke. Cosmic joke. Whispers. Yamaluck. Pest control. Year of the pest. Life's question. Life's Question.

Stacked category. Life's Question is the most recent that I've heard in this. And, like, legit blew me away. Much like the split-knuckle record, where I'd heard their previous stuff, but then this one is, like, the band fully realized in EP form, which makes me excited to hear what they do next. Exactly. That's what an EP does.

It's huge. It's a tool to get people invested in what you're going to do. This is Life's Question in their final form. It's full of like crazy hooks, hard-ass pit parts. It sounds unbelievable. This really has it all. Pest control, you're the pest. I think this is realized crossover.

Yeah, this is the best modern crossover band in the world, probably. And they've, they've like, the EP is exactly, it's used exactly as it should be. Because they've got an LP. Right. But they're delivering their best songs now, which tells you that, They're only getting started. Sounds great. The riffs are insane.

Leah's vocal, her like cheeky tongue-in-cheek vocals are all super creative. They've got their presentation down. They think about, you can tell they think about artwork and, like, art direction, all that, very, very thoroughly. It's great. Whispers, Yomalak from Bangkok, Thailand. Wow. Just cool as fuck. I mean, tell me another Thai hardcore band that you know of.

Yeah, and it's crazy. It's got to be, it's so difficult. for international bands to cross over in hardcore in America, just because it is a bubble. It's a big bubble. Yeah, right. But it takes something truly special internationally to click here. I think Whisper's has done that.

With an EP. With an EP. And I think there'll be in America a lot in 2025, which is great. And there's tons of moments on this that I think, and I hear and I think this was, was this made for me? What are they thinking about me here? The kickbacks on? Come on.

Unreal. Cosmic Joke, Cosmic Joke, the EP's so good that it made us start an entire record label. So if that ain't proof, what it is. Cosmic Joke delivers a lot of my favorite things about all of the post-hardcore kind of adjacent stuff that a lot of the original punk and hardcore dudes did next. The things they did after the bands we know them for. Right. And upon working with them a little bit on their next one, they have such a strong identity of what they are and what they own. aren't, that it really just makes this one click even more.

Perfect. Unbelievable hooks. Big skank parts. Outstanding production by Taylor. I love this band. I love this record. Cruelty, profane, usurpation. This is Zuma's first record.

That's right. Yep. So this was a big step for them. Recorded partially in Studio 606 and in Taylor's like spare bedroom because the pit was under construction. this is cruelty personified. Yeah, this is much like we're saying. This is kind of the punctuated way to say,

hey, this is what we're doing now. This is it now. That's right. Incredible artwork, incredible pit parts, production. Zuma's voice is incredible. Watching them now with these songs in the set, it just feels like cruelty have done it, which is why.

The EP of the Year award goes, to cruelty. What's up, everyone? Zuma from Crutty here. Our new record, Profiling Insupation won the Hallow Hour for EP of the Year of 2024. Thank you, Bo and Karl for choosing us. Much appreciate it.

If you haven't grabbed the copy yet, pick one not across the casket right now. We'll be back on the road again in Spring, so I see you soon. Bye. And now it's time for the moment we've all been waiting for. is the album of the year. This is the most stacked category I think I've ever seen. Wow. Yes. This is a long, lot of words. A long piece of paper, I'll tell you what. And the nominees for the 2025 for the 2024 calendar year of album of the year are the chisel. What a fucking nightmare. Human garbage. Valley's most hated. Knock loose. You won't go before you're supposed to.

A wire, condition for demolition. Regional Justice Center, freedom, sweet freedom. Speed, only one mode. Split knuckle, breathing through the wound. Missing Link, watch me breathe. Let us discuss. The chisel. Again, sophomore slump, defeated.

And I remember when it came out, you and there were texting each other, and you said they did it again. They did it again. I don't know how they did it, but they did it again. Yeah, like cry your eyes out. Is that the song? Yeah. The single?

Like, unbelievable single. They, uh, they introduce more melody. Yes. Without sacrificing the grit. Any of the grit. Yeah. Any of the hard. Yeah.

It's great. Unbelievable. Wonderful. Human garbage. Valley's most hated. Come on. I'll never shut up about this man. And this was, uh, they recorded this with the record that came out last year, which is straight not

giving a fuck. Oh, at the same time. Oh, really? I had no idea. So they had no idea. They had, they had, all they had this vision in advance to do two LPs in two years.

Which is super ambitious, and it's insane that they're both awesome, you know? It's really impressive, I had no idea. Knock loose, you won't go before you're supposed to. Groundbreaking landmark record. This record, I don't really know of, I can,

on one hand, I can count as many bands that have done as much off of a record, you know, they've... And not a lot of time. Not a lot at all. They did everything right, truly.

And got more extreme. Yeah, from the artwork to the music itself, to the live show, to the rollout and everything therein. They really knocked it out of the park. Haywire, conditioned for demolition. Coming out the gate with an LP, just within one year of existing, is not only ambitious, but amazing. What I really like about it is it makes sense. for Haywire, the band that never stops and has been busier than anyone to come out with an LP. Hey, demo, LP, EP, immediately.

Yeah. And they're all good. They're constantly evolving. They're another band that, like, they, like, create their set. And what's the word I'm looking for? Curate. They curate their set so brilliantly. Mm-hmm.

And that in between the covers, they're playing these songs, were like, this song is incredible. Is this a cover? Like, the song Love Song, genuinely amazing. Yeah. Truly Outstanding Band, Condition for Demolition, their first up. is just a taste of what's coming, I'm sure. Regional Justice Center, Freedom, Sweet Freedom.

Beautiful story here. The band was, band started out of Ian's brother Max being incarcerated. Ian's brother Max gets released from jail, becomes the singer of RJC for just for this final record. He alluded to it when he was on our show a couple years ago. Seeing it all kind of happen in real time from him getting. out to him like rekindling a love for hardcore music, him being Max, to witnessing their first show with him as a singer, where they played, they opened the set with Ian singing because Max never

got to see RJC. Wow. And then after that song, Max got on stage and Ian said, this is my brother Max. He is the singer for Regional Justice Center. I'm saying this into a fake microphone as I'm holding a microphone. It was really, it was like an unbelievable moment to witness. Yeah. And the record delivered hard because it feels as personal as it is. Yeah, it's real. Speed, only one mode. This is debut LP from Australian Breakouts. This won an Australian Grammy.

I mean, yeah, there you go. We saw them briefly in Europe over the summer, and they had been on tour at that point for just shy of three-month street. Yeah. And they were only going home for, like, a couple days after that. Speed is their job now. They are. they're they fast they're boy are they

yeah they uh this is another man that just absolutely delivered exactly what the people were looking for outstanding then we'll see what they do next maybe it'll be an EP split knuckle breathing through the wound I can't fucking believe this thing this is probably the hardest record of the year sonically to me oh interesting uh it is a 40 minute hardcore opus with like ballads thrown in multiple six minute songs which makes my heart sing because I love music that was not

written with like an algorithm or even a listener in mind where it's just like no we're going to write the song it doesn't matter how long it is yeah what I see six minute hardcore song and I think this is a band that like truly did this for themselves and nobody else yeah and maybe me so this record it's it's crazy that I'm I mostly revisited the longest of these, you know, the things with the most depth. And lastly, missing link, watch me bleed. Recorded in Chicago, Illinois by Bricktop Studio's own Andy Nelson. That's right.

I think it sounds great. I think it hits hard. It does everything that I want out of a heavy hardcore band. I think front to back, it has like the ultimate replay value because there's little things that you catch here and there and the collaborations and the guest vocals, guest appearances and I really like this record. This was one where

as soon as I got it, I was thinking this is going to be a nominee. This might be a nominee. Yeah. Missing Link, the word intention comes up. Because every aspect of this is so intentional. I mean, these are like life for musicians in this band.

You got Paul who's in fucking recon and World of Pain. Chris from internal bleeding. It's fucking awesome. this this felt like like a shift as I initially heard it again like you said new right away like this is it yeah and watching them at LDB last year I think right before it came out had one of my favorite sets and now that I know the songs now that I've seen him a bunch this is the band yeah and that is why that is why the winner for the second ever

our award for album of the year is missing link watch me bleed watch me bleed album of the year we knew it I'm just good I kind of clue Paul and I was like hey

you might want to stand by for the awards because you're going to have to say something so watch me blue album of the year if you guys want to accept the award formally we did it mom I did it mom Paul did it and that brings us to a close today Beau that was so fun

what a year it's been. What a year it's been. We can't wait to see what 2020 has in store. And ultimately, you know, it ain't about the winners. We just wanted to recognize some things that we love this year. Yeah, that's really all it is. And you know what? If you have things that you think maybe we missed, I'm sure you're going to do it anyway. But feel free to comment it below. Oh, God. Sorry if you do. But like, this is just, this is personal stuff. This is the stuff that resonated with us. There's a lot more, you know, we don't have time to name everything. But ultimately, what I want, anybody watching this to take away. If you make music in any way, if you create art in any way,

you have done an incredible job this year. If you've done, if you've made something, you have succeeded. We're so proud of it. Awards are bullshit. Acquades are bullshit. We're having fun up here, but ultimately it means nothing. Just make stuff. Hit record. Draw that sketch. Paint that naked lady or naked man, you know? People are going to love it or they're going to hate it. You made it and that's what's important. Wow. This feels like the end of Scrooge where he has a total meltdown. Look at your fellow man.

Give him a helping hand. Put a little love in your heart. Now you and the world fade this out, Stephen. We'll be a better place. Until next year, this was the second annual hardler award for you. We'll see you next year. And me. Bye.

Just wait. To see!