HardLore - The Best 1990's Hardcore Band (Tournament Bracket)

Episode Date: October 9, 2025

It's time... We have tasked ourselves to finally crown the best hardcore band whose definitive work was done in the 1990's. We included a special write-in section below for you to fill in yourself (and to finally include more than 32 bands).To the victor go no spoils, but we hope you all have fun. Enjoy._____________________________Edited by Steven Grise (@iamoneonenineseven) • Title sequence by Nicholas Marzluf (@marzluf)HardLore: A Knotfest SeriesJoin the HARDLORE PATREON to watch every single weekly episode early and ad-free, alongside exclusive monthly episodes: https://patreon.com/hardlorepodJoin the HARDLORE DISCORD: https://discord.gg/jA9rppggef Cool links:HardLore Official Website/HardLore Records store: https://hardlorepod.comTry AG1 at DrinkAG1.com/HARDLORE to receive a free 1-year supply of vitamin D and 5 travel packs of AG1. FOLLOW HARDLORE:INSTAGRAM | https://www.instagram.com/hardlorepod/TWITTER | https://twitter.com/hardlorepodSPOTIFY | https://spoti.fi/3J1GIrpAPPLE | 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 #HARDCORE  HardLore: A Knotfest Series, Fueled by Monster EnergyEdited by Steven Grise • Title sequence by Nicholas MarzlufJoin 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, APPLEFOLLOW COLIN: INSTAGRAMFOLLOW BO: INSTAGRAM, TWITTER For sponsorship opportunities, email us! [e-mail] Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Oh no. Yeah, man. This is fucked. This might be where we disagree, I think. We got cold as life going against France's own kickback. This is an insane first round match. Who do we call? I think your brother would be good for this.

This is our first statement. So you're our first call. Yeah. The matchup is, unfortunately, for you. Cold is life versus kickback. Yes. Hello, welcome. It's our Lord time.

How you doing, Bo? Doing so good. Excellent. This is a big day. So I hope so. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you.

We've been tasked by ourselves with crowning. Finally, we've crowned the hardest hardcore band of all time. We've crowned the heaviest band of all time. We've crowned the best 80s hardcore band of all time. And now it is finally time for Hardlore to formally crown the best 90s hardcore band of all time. Let's be, let's explain exactly what we mean because it's, it's not just bands from 1990 to 99. You know what I mean? No, I mean, there's a few bands who you'll see who started in like 88, 89, but their definitive work was done in the 90s.

And there's a few bands who started in the 90s whose definitive bands, whose definitive work was in the 2000s. Therefore, we excluded them from this for now to be included later. but so if you're looking at this list thinking why isn't this on here why isn't this on here a it could be because we didn't want it on here b it could be because we found they had different qualifications and you'll see that this this time around we did something different we're so sick of your whining and complaining that we found a way to include more bands on here and avoid the the comments that drive me and saying that are no blank no this where's this?

We left that up to you now. There is one blank spot on the bottom of this bracket and there's a list of honorable mentions to choose from. Any of those honorable mentions could have been one of these 31. But you got there you can only have 32. So you got to cut something somewhere. Give us a break. Let's fucking do this.

Yeah. Where do we begin? Let's start from the very first match. This fucking sucks. Immediately. It sucks. here we are again. All right.

The first matchup and starting with our left side bracket is All Out War versus Buried a Lot. And listen. All due respect to Buried Alive, the choice is clear here. And large part

thanks to the sheer depth of the All At War Discogne. They are still making great records and that's hard to say about any of these bands. And I think Vogel would definitely say, all at war. He'd be the first to say.

In his episode, he expressed disappointment with last rights. We all know death of your perfect world is Alzheimer, 90s classic. But all at war is definitive 90s hardcore music. You're gonna, oh, one of my favorite things to do is to look, predict where it's gonna go, and then plan for the Olympic game, mental gymnastics.

I'm gonna have to watch you do for like the next round. It's incredible. motherfucker. The next matchup. And you'll notice this time I ceded this properly. Carrie and I who designs these

and helps me set the brackets up. I properly seeded them. I made an A seed and a B seed of like obvious top tier, very successful bands and bands we love

who are still definitive 90s, but maybe not as big. Didn't get the shine quite as much. Okay. Exactly. So here we are seated A versus B, biohazard versus Damnation A.D.

Once again, all due respect to Damnation A.D. They're on here. Yeah, absolutely. They're top 31 all time. No more dreams. The hanged man. I love Damnation A.D. Very popular band in Chicago, especially when I was coming up.

It's by-. Underrated. Underrated as fuck. Probably the least rated. And again, cheat. Here's a little inside. baseball, that's why we do this. It ain't really about the winner.

It's about talking about 32 or 39 vans we like. Yes. Biohazard wins. It's biohazard. What can you do? What can you do? First three alone, you know? Yeah.

Are like genre, multi-genre bending changing classics. Death metal bands started incorporating groove because Biohazard was tearing up the charts. Hey, man. This shirt? You want to know what's on the back? This shirt. You know what I mean? Again?

Same thing, front and back. Wow. Only one bank of all that. That's right. And only one guy could have gotten you that shirt. Luke Madden. RIP. R-Ir-P.

Mad Vintage. We love you. Blood for Blood versus Stigmata is the next matchup. This is interesting because I know you have a particular love for Stigmata and in like a sentimental sense. I know that about you. My heart, a part of my heart is from Troy New York. Right. You know?

But I also know. But I also love Blood for Blood. You love them outlaw anthems. And I can't. This is tough because I'm 818, 518, it's one thing. You know? And it's hard. But Blood for Blood is Blood for Blood.

How many, like, what they've done, I pick up a guitar or I play a Revenge on Society. So that I think that's kind of the thing about this bracket that I'm starting to see unfold is like, it's going to come down to quantity a little bit. Because we like all of these bands. Yeah, but Stigma's got quantity. And people don't know. Calling of the Jess, heart grows harder,

they don't know. Yeah, how many records do they have? I don't know, I guess. They have like five or six. I only know, wow, I only know the one and then the, you know, marauder split, you know? Wow. Yeah, they got way more than that.

And I love it all. I got to, I, I, unfortunately for Troy. Troy, New York. As they know I love them, I have to go Blood for Blood. But Blood for Blood is, uh, was like a day one band for me. Before I discovered Sigmaata, Blood for Blood was, okay. Engrained into my DNA. I definitely, dude, an interesting thought is the, the wasted youth, like the skull.

That's a logo that is pretty iconic for, uh, let's, let's call them a modern band, too. Yeah, they, they fully. crossed over. I know weirdo crust punks that love Blood for Blood. I know mall metal freaks that love Blood for Blood. Interesting. They don't know shit about Sigma. And that's on them, you know? But Blood for

Blood, if we're talking, I mean, we're talking best here, so it's complicated. It is. But my God, what, Blood for Blood is bad religion-esque in the evolution is isn't, you know, monumental

by record, intentionally. They get very slowly, intentionally more melodic and accessible, but you never question it as something that feels wrong or too different. Well said. I got to go blood for blood. I think that works. It's also funny, like, when I was growing up, something being called a 90s band had a certain sound.

And we've already broken that mold. Yeah, and I think a lot of the 90s sound is like what is metal core today or 99. It's like old metal core. Yes. Real metal core. Totally. Whereas that was a new thing at the time, and it was like a bastardization of metallic hardcore.

Right. Right. Interesting. Things change. Crazy matchup up next. Sucks. Integrity versus Fury 5. This might be our first real...

Because this is best, right? So this is not hardest. Right. This is not heaviest. Which we know hardest Fury wins all day. It's not heaviest. Right. It's best.

Fury wins all day. And, you know. Listen, integrity was an actual needle mover. We know this. Integrity changed. They killed youth crew, which they loved youth crew. So, I mean, I think that was devastating news to break to Dwid. Fury of Five did their own thing.

Dude, nobody could come close or compare to what they've done ever. And I would say just on a needle moving level, I would go integrity here. Yeah, yeah, I think so. And like the amount of, and this is a testament to Fury 5, I would say, incomparable in sound. It definitely.

Impossible to replicate. Integrity spawned a genre of people replicating them. Dark. So in terms of impact, I think we have to give it to integrity. Yeah, I think so too. But Fury won't be disgraced, you know.

So I don't want them to think that They're on here, you know? They deserve their place on here. They are not an honorable mention. No reason to smile at War with the World. This time it's personal. Monumental classics for O'C.Y. I think about the artistic brilliance of in at War with the World.

People overlook them as like geniuses, and it's not right. I've said this on the show many times. In the insert for at war with the world. on the bottom it says next time it's person and the next record years later was called this time it's per it's genius galaxy brain you love shit like that

I love it I love intention and attention to detail that's the musical that's the 90s physical media musical equivalent of a post credit scene yes you know you already let me know that James Bond will be back

yeah it's cool Fury 5 will be back I gotta go integrity here. Yeah, yeah. All due respect. Fully agree. All right. We're moving along now.

The aced is dominating. And I think they may just dominate again in this next matchup. Listen, Life of Agony versus 10-yard fight is not fair. It's not fair. 10-yard fight are almost as niche as it gets. But it had to be on here. Had to be.

In terms of, dude, sheer straight-edge impact for the 9-year. the decade of the 1990s. And then following, too, you know. Yeah, straight up. Yeah, I love 10-yard fight. It's one of my favorite bands, but... The source of... Them breaking up was so monumental

that it created the concept of Edge Day, as discussed in the Skinhead episode. Fantastic, you know. But going against Life of Agony, which is like... River Runs Red is one of the greatest albums musically ever in existence ever. Even call it hardcore or not.

True. We know it is. Maybe by ugly they weren't. But this certainly was. It had the spirit. It had the intensity. It had the lyrics, the mosh,

the song structures. One of the best records ever. All due respect to 10-yard fight, Life of Agony wins this one. Lance Lassel. Yeah, I think so. I think.

I can't. As much, as I would love to. I don't think I, you know, it would be a little, uh, lose a little like musicianship credibility or something, you know what I mean? Where it's like, writing the, the prettiest chord progressions or melodies or whatever doesn't necessarily make you a better band. Sure. However, what they did and how they did it is so crazy and so amazing. They, I mean, they couldn't do it again. Right. Right. Who could? Next matchup. Death threat versus disembodied. This is

interesting because this is perhaps one of the best metalcore bands of all time in disembodied versus one of the best hardcore bands of all time in death threat. I think disembodied if we're going to call disembodied

metal core and I like that I think that is what they are. That's like one of the only one of those bands that I do like. It's like them and murder, you know? I love them. Yeah. But this is death threat to me all day. It's not even close, dude. And you know, you could argue death threats definitive work was in the 2000s with peace and security,

but last days was 98. That threat is 98. And so much is already done on that record that it's like this is who they are. They've established who they are immediately. That's fair. And this is one of my favorite bands ever. Yeah. And listen, seven stitches heroin fingers top two, two, two, two.

two of the hardest pit parts in history. God, I'm just going to, when we get back to this side of the bracket, I'm just going to sit back and watch you melt. Implode? Yeah, because I'm just seeing all these matchups. We've got to implode together. Death threat takes it here. Yeah.

Okay. Yeah. I'm glad we're in agreement there. We have not disagreed yet. We haven't had to make any calls. Well, I think this next one might be. What a wild matchup we got next. We got two definitive 90s classics here.

We've got Marauder versus Crown of Thorns. It's well documented. Yeah, yeah, truly. We love Marauder, obviously. We love Crown of Thorns. Trainerer Blue is mentally vexed is one of the greatest one-two-punch combos in the history of our sport here. And Crown of Thorns showed me

that the hardest thing a man can do is cry and sing about his feelings. You know, feel and share. Master Kill is probably my favorite album ever written. I know I said we're going to have to go quantity. But the quality of that record from second one to whatever. And that's not to diminish the quality of mentally vex here.

They probably both bands have the exact same amount of like incredible songs. I see. But we're talking defining 90s. We're the Marauder guys, you know? Yeah. It is what it is here. Crown of Thorns got hosed in this matchup.

I'm sorry, guys. It was a tough matchup. Anybody up against Marauder was a tough matchup. We're sorry, it had to be Crown of Thorns. Crown of Thorns in another bracket here, you could have gone all the way. You could put Metallica against Marauder and I would have to think. you know what I mean? Yeah, you could put Metallica against Crown of Thrones

and I would pick Crown of Thrones. 90s Metallica versus 90s Crown of Thrones. Chronothorns wins. See that, Mike? There you go. Yeah. Yeah. So Mike and Isaac, I love you. Marauder has to win here.

We got a blowout here in this next matchup, folks. Hate for you versus Snapcase. Take a fucking guess. Don't let the door snap you on the ass on the way. On the chaos on the way out, Hayprey wins here. Yeah. Historic blowout.

But again, so the following matchup between the last winner and this winner is what's going to be the difficult thing. Anybody up against Hayprey, anybody up against Marauder,

those are just our two favorite things. Yeah, yeah. So it's just, it is what it is. Snapcase is on here, you know? Of course. They are a definitive. Definitive 90s band.

Could not be excluded, no matter what. No way. So your top 32, No disrespect intended, but you're up against Goliath himself. The probable winner of this. Yeah, they're David and Goliath and they're up against Snapcase. Remember that from the Bible?

David and Goliath beat the shit out of Snapcase. Hey, everybody. Yeah. Okay. I like that. I think that whole side, you and I fully, fully, fully agree. That was the most painless this has ever

man. Our left side winners here are the AC dominant. We've got all-out war. Yes. Biohazard. Blood for blood. Integrity, life of agony, death threat, marauder, and hatred, taking our left side bracket here. Hell of a fest. Hell of a fest. My God. This could be Madison Square Garden. We've got our right side here. This is when things are getting

tricky now. First matchup. Yeah. Earth Crisis, the greatest vegan strategy ban in history. Turmoil, the second best metal core ban in history. After. Kavan. Okay. Come on.

Why aren't they on this list? Kavan, I would say, is defining the definitive 2000. Okay. Understood. Got it. Forgot. To me. Gotcha.

And then, you know, once we finally do the metal core bracket, that's going to be a blast. I'm going to be lost. I'm going to be like... No, you'll be fine. There's 32 you like when you really rationalize. You'll think about it. Earth crisis versus turmoil here. I love turmoil.

One of the hardest bands, period. Welcome back. Can't wait to see him at F.I.A. Yeah. We've got to have them on the show. We're looking forward to that at some point. The answer is Earth Crisis. Of course.

Because not just for music stuff too. Yeah. Like there's all the other shit. Because again, this is best 90s hardcore band. Yeah. Not parts or records or what this is their whole thing. The whole thing and the crisis. Zykeyes.

As we spoke about with integrity, as we spoke about with Hapreed, changed everything. Zekegeist, the touring merch. Yeah. The levels they reached. Statement. There's tens of thousands of people are still vegan straight at age two day because of Earth crisis or at least vegan. You know? Yeah.

Ringworm versus dead guy up next. Again, this is a matchup between one of our favorite bands ever and one of the most groundbreaking metalcore bands to ever exist. This is, the guy's getting hosed here because they're up against the worm, baby. Dude, nobody rings the worm. You know what I mean? And welcome back to dead guy. This is, dude, a rare case of picking up exactly where you left off. New record fucking rips, recorded once again by Steve Evitz.

So it's the same person who did fixation on a co-worker, a classic record, 30 years later coming back to make more music. It fucking rocks. It sounds incredible. The songs are great. Ringworm wins. Yeah. Ringworm wins.

Frank three. Listen, dude, check this out. Most of their definitive records in the 2000s. Promise is so early and so good that they have to be 90s. Was it 91? It's like 91. Yeah. What are you going to do?

Dude, Florida Frank, just coming from all four quadrants on this one. I mean, he's, dude, he's on our list of, like, in terms of pedigrees, full discographies, ringworm, hate breed, terror, integrity. And he played in demons. And he played in demons. So cool. What are you going to do? So cool.

Ringworm takes it here. God, got a hell of a fight coming up in the quarterfinals. All right. Up next, we've got Colt. This is fucked. Yeah, man. This might be where we disagree, I think. We got Coldest Life going against Europe's own, France's own kickback.

This is the best Detroit hardcore band in history. The best European... Right up there with negative approach. Versus the best European hardcore man in history. Agreed. For what I'm looking for in this discussion, I go with Coldest Life. Now, what's cool is both bands have... like the lore. They have the

scariness. This is an insane first round. It actually is a crazy matchup, the more that I think about it. Kickback has how many records? Three, four? They got cornered for over war, 150 passions EP, no surrender, and then

the one after no surrender with the skull. So four LPs. Four LPs and an EP that is so dense that it's basically an LP. Totally. Okay. And cold his life. And cold his life has two fucking wall to wall. classic LPs and various demos and... Right.

Oh, no. Who do we call? I think your brother would be good for this. I think he's... You know what? He loves kickback as just as much as me, but he also remixed... Right.

Declination. Anthony would pick kickback. Anthony would pick. He's in kickback now. Right. So he's picking kickback. He's picking kickback. This sucks.

James would pick hold his life. I want to find someone who's like truly objective about it. Taylor's probably most objective. I think so. Okay. He's got strong ties to both. He had a kickback chest piece and he remixed, remix declaration. So here we go.

Hello. Taylor Young here live on the air. We've unfortunately got an assignment for you, a task for you. We're at a stalemate here in our best. best 90s hardcore bands of all time bracket all right so we're this is our first stalemates you're our first call yeah of course the matchup is unfortunately for you cold is life versus kickback cold is life yes interesting I think I think that's that's what I got you got the best you best European hardcore band of all time versus one of the

hardest bands of all time so Taylor went cold his life I'm going cold as last, yeah. You got any reasoning that comes to mind? Yeah. It's a knee-jerk reaction, so I think it's just, that's what I'm going with. All right. Okay. Well, thank you.

Not much thought of reason. Yeah. Agreed. I feel this. I mean, understood. Thank you. We may be calling you again. All right, bye.

Well, there you have it, folks. Can't argue that. The AC dominates again. This was tough. That's a very difficult one. My heart is splintered after that one. You left half in Detroit, half in Paris. Yeah, I don't necessarily feel good,

but I don't feel bad because I had cold his life in the AC to begin with, you know? Yeah. So it's like a little bit of me new. This could be the case. Pickback, best European hardcore band of all the time. Unfortunately for them, they were up against. fear itself who you could also describe kickback as that

that's true all right we've got a weird matchup next yeah I it's AFI East Bay Legends Friends of the show you just saw two weeks of them in two of the great

and the greatest maybe collective four hours in the history of our show up again against Bastard, one of the greatest Japanese hardcore bands ever. I mean, look, I'm picking AFI. I mean, you know, but what's funny is AFI are such a outlier for the rest of this bracket that it does seem odd to pick them.

But they, I mean, 90s AFI, that's a hardcore band. 100%. And that's one of the best hardcoremen's. Yeah. So for me, it's a really easy decision. I would say for universal impact alone, AFI. wins, but listen, if you have not listened to Wind of Pain, start to finish, I recommend you pause this or come back to it later. Throw that shit on. Once you get over that language barrier,

there's a whole beautiful world of hardcore in the east for all of you to enjoy. Bastard, judgment, gauze, gizum, death side, franted, cruelty, you know? There's so much. dive in if I wins here yeah but I needed to make sure bastard got their flowers

here I respect it for sheer impact in the 90s alone God the second round is insane yeah we've got

this is an awesome matchup yeah these are Titans these are cronos and the fat and Zeus

cyclops guy from Hercules yeah we've got strife and trial next this is

dude yin and yang yeah kind of huh they seem like counterparts or yin and yin really I think strife is harder his voice is heavier

and like heshier or harsher more intense and I just like for what I'm looking for strife takes it I'm with you however

that trial appeal is it these are our lives what is it Quintessential 90s Trial ran shit in the night Dude that intro with the Violins and shit

Into the song Yeah Like really blew me away when I first heard it It's awesome That's an incredible album opener But Strife is Strife is Like for California

This is game changing shit This is like one of those bands That defined the California sound I put on We were coming home from from the Full of Hell tour earlier in the year and I was I was driving finishing the tour and I just put on in this defiance

and just let it rip come on dude the tones rock the parts rock they go production is insane they go mosh six in mustard come on a few like like

they go mosh pit to pit many times many times yeah it's insanely hard and it's beautifully straightage yep or it was it's whatever tragic

but the winner is strife here Agreed. Love that. We got an easy matchup up next. Floor Punch versus Unbroken. It's floor punch by by 3,000 miles. Yeah, it's unbroken. To be honest with you, Unbroken versus Floor Punch is the dichotomy of music as I was getting into hardcore. It was literally like, because all the old heads, older than me, and now I'm an old head. They'd all say unbroken. They'd all say unbroken. They all have unbroken tattoos. But we were rascals, dude. Yeah, I was a little wily bastard.

Floor punch is for the fucking rascals. And that's... For the... For the... And guess what? Most of those old guys ain't around anymore for me. They were at Oasis this weekend, but... I would love to know what, like, Jay and Jim Grimes and, like, some of the older guys, Steve Kane,

I would love to know what they would pick Floor Punch versus Unbroken. Because you know what's interesting... Has to be unbroken. I think at the time. Yeah. But I want... wonder now as time goes on. Because there's something about

the, with all due respect, the simplicity of floor punch. Yeah. That is timeless. Timeless. Do you know what I mean? Yeah. And but dude, life love, regret is like Jane Doe level. Yeah.

Impact to many people that I know. And again, that was another, this is another band where like they had to be on here. 100%. Yeah. 100%. Unbroken is fucking 90th. definitive 90s hardcore music

as is floor punch the winners of this yeah this particular matchup agreed so respect unbroken you're on here we wanted you on here yeah you know they played that burning fight fest

that I talked about a lot as did trial actually that was like their first big comeback and I didn't know a lick of unbroken but I just kind of watch the room lose their collective minds because it was their first time playing in however long it was crazy

crazy but if it was floor punch it may have been Grasier. I don't know. We got Madball versus Only Living Witness here. It's tough, man. Because listen.

I mean, it's not, you know? Okay, good. It's not. Like, obviously, obviously I love Only Living Witness. They're probably not to many people a top 32 90s hardcore band ever.

Yeah. But to me, they are, so they're on here. Sure. But they're going up against fucking, well, we've always, already made, this is Godzilla.

Yeah. This is Godzilla versus David. Yeah. Madball is such a perfect hardcore band. Yeah. Like, this is kind of the only way I could put it. And their work in the 90s is what, right.

Up to 2000 and hold it down, really is what makes that so. It don't get much better than that in terms of straight up hardcore, what we're looking for in straight up hardcore music. If you don't like Madball, you're misguided and stupid. Yeah, you haven't listened to Madball. You're not, this isn't really for you at the end of the day. If you don't like Only Women Witness, I wouldn't be like, oh, that guy doesn't like hardcore. Great point.

That's a really good point. Because there's so much more to it. One of my favorite bands changed my life. But for changing hardcore overall, it's Madball. 100%. Fully agree. This is easy. Next up.

This is the big wild card. because we have to decide on an honorable mention. This is tough. So we've got VOD, Vision of Disorder, as the A seed here, versus the B seed, which is the right-in. So if you're doing this at home,

I want you to write-in whoever you want. I want to know if your right-ins making it all the way, but we got to pick from Starkweather, one of the greatest metalcore bands ever. Overcast, one of the greatest metalcore bands ever. Archangel, second best European hardcore band ever, probably. judgment my favorite japanese hardcore band zero tolerance buffalo new york groundbreaking life changing grimlock the the first harker band i ever heard one life crew that's a complete dishonorable mention etown concrete the urban legends themselves 25 to life say what you will wrote two classics lifetime new jersey easy core yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah

Quick Sand Redefined what post-hardcore means. Yep. Fucking tool. You know, it's like a perfect circle, but it's crazy. With Walter, with one of the goats singing.

Sam Black Church, another band that changed my life here. Into another. The Beatles. The fucking best band of all time. Batch, one of the best metalcore bands of all time. And 108, this is fucking vegan straight-edge royalty here.

Some of the best, the coolest, weirdest rifts ever. And let me tell you my reasoning here, Bo. I didn't put into another on the bracket at first on its own because to me, I look at that and I go, they're going all the way. I see. And like, they're not a argument. I see. The spirit is there.

The ethics are there. They didn't want people moshing. Right. If people pitted too hard, they went into two snowflakes, you know? But they had to be represented in the mentions here. Okay. Somewhere or another because they are the best band to maybe ever exist. Respect.

Respect. Respectfully. Understood. So I'm that's, my knee jerk is don't pick into another for the honorable mentions because it blurs the line of what 90s hardcore band means so much so that I don't want to deal with whatever people are saying. Okay. But just so you all know if Into Another is the pick here,

they're beating almost every man. Then I think it's between 25 to life, 108, and honestly QuickSand. I really like the idea of Quicksand because Quicksand did have stage diving and did have some aggression and stuff,

but I could see it falling into the same pitfall as into another. So my knee jerks here are Grimlock, E-Town, 25-to-life. So let's say 25-to-life. As a not huge 25-to-life fan, I can understand why they are an honorable mention

and then a pick for a bracket, fully. This is tough. Yeah. Our self-imposed rules are so tough. And also, I ask Colin the same thing, just for anyone wondering. Converge is not mentioned on this list because we're saving them for another bracket.

That's 2000's royalty. So just like like a yes petitioning. Yeah. What's the other one with the W? When Forever Comes Crash. When Forever Comes Crash. 90s classics. Their definitive work was in the 2000.

Let's be real. Yeah. They will be big, big favorites on the 2000s. For those of you who have been screaming converge to yourselves walking around. That is why. This is tough because like me, putting 25 to life here is deleting the band that made

that put me in this chair right now you know and grimlock but was grimlock's impact anywhere near as big as 25 to life? Of course not. I see. One Life crew I'm not

putting them on but my god sure classic E-town so many records that I love impact as big as 25 to life probably bigger. But 25 to life in the 90s.

Right. This is tough. Wynette is a sick pick. Dude, I actually love Wunaway. I love Wanaway. And you know what else would have been a band

that could have been on here? That should be in honorable mention to shelter, for sure. Oh, man. Yeah, big time. Shelters an omission that we just didn't think of. That's a glaring omission.

But that is another one that like got a cult following. Oh, yeah. They're still, they could still. They're still pulling. Crazy. So there's that.

That was a big omission. I guess let's go 25 to life. I think so. I think that that's fair. Are there any other bands that we're forgetting? I feel like for some reason there's some obvious pick. We're just like forgetting. I mean, maybe that's we're human beings.

Yeah. Great point. Yeah. All right. 25 to life. I like that. So it's VOD versus 25 to life, which is funny because I know what you're picking. I don't know what I would pick.

I think I think in terms of just like a better. band, it's VOD. Okay, never mind. That is what I would pick. Like, objectively, if they had done a few things differently or been at a different time, could have been like a radio band. Like the biggest arena rock band. Yeah, totally, totally.

And giving a little love to Long Island, that's cool. We got a lot of New York on this list. I mean, I agree. What's interesting is we picked 25 to life, but like 108 I would have had beat VOD. Grimlock would have beat VOD, zero tolerance. That is interesting. Into another would have beat everybody. Yeah, you're right.

But let's go VOD here. I think it's, let's go with our guts. So if you picked your right in, now it's on you from here and now, because we're not going to be able to keep track. And that's fine. Listen, that's why this is all subjective. And it's all just to talk about all this shit that we love. All right. So who are our winners for the right side?

For the right side winners. We've got Earth Crisis, Ringworm, Cold is Life, A-FI-Fi. Strife, Floor Punch, Mad Ball, VOD. Hell of a fest. Hell of a fest. How would you ever schedule this thing? Impossible. All right.

Left side, round two. All Out War versus Biohazard. Wow. I'm getting all at war. I'm going all at war. I think I am too. Okay. Great.

And listen, I'm like, you're in a biohazard shirt. I've stolen every drum fill that Danny Schuller has. You are a champion of Bia hazard. Big time. One of the biggest. Yeah. All at war, I think they're, dude, the, just as I said earlier, the sheer depth of their discography. And I don't know, maybe nine, 10 LPs now?

Still playing hardcore shows. Still playing shows. You can fly them out to fucking bangor main tomorrow. They played the common suffering record release show because we asked them to. That's it. That's hardcore. Yeah. So,

All wars the one. Great. Love it. Now. We're off to a non-contentious start here, only 40 minutes in. Blood for blood versus integrity. I think we're torn here. Yeah.

Because I do appreciate blood for blood. I like blood for blood. I love integrity. I'm a blood for blood guy. I mean, obviously I'm an integrity guy too, but in this matchup, if it's like, if I have a record player in front of me and I got humanity or spit my last breath, I'm putting on spit my last breath. So we got to call somebody not from Cleveland, Boston, or New England. Or Chicago, because I think they're all going integrity. We're all going integrity.

Like de facto, that is, I know James would pick integrity. What do you think Volga would pick? I don't know. Probably integrity. Yeah, okay. I think he's close to it. He was close to it, yeah. Yeah.

Call. Mahalo, my brother. Yo, what's that? All right, welcome to Hardlora. This is Gian Farrahani from King Nine. Yeah. Live on the show. Gian, we've got a very important question for you.

Let's go. We're doing the best 90s hardcore band of all-time bracket right now. We've got a very tough matchup. We need you to settle for us. All right. All right. You ready? I'm ready.

Blood for blood versus integrity. There you have it. Yes. There you have it. Yeah. You want to share a few thoughts on your knee-jerk reaction there? There it is. Me too.

Unbelievable. Would you play first? Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, na, na. first or would you go dun dun dun dun dun da dun dun da all right well there you go

Armenian persecution come on come on what are you going to do thank you John thank you have a good one you too talk to you soon

there you go all right hey that's an objective pick you know I think so I think that's a student of both

student of the game and listen I'm not mad about that no because both are incredible but my God, blood for blood. What I would give to see them again, you know? Integrity wins.

That's, okay, so this is big matchup. All right. Here we go. Next matchup is Life of Agony versus death threat. I'm just going to sit back and watch. Actually, no, I know what you're picking, because it's hardcore.

It is. But, but this is 90s. So it's basically last day, versus River on threat. If that's how you're going to do it. Security's out. That was not the consideration when we were talking about

death threat versus embodied, though. Yes, last days? It was last days versus the disembodied Descog? I'm going last days. You mentioned both records. The implication was that. I don't think I did.

Stephen rewind. And you could argue death threats definitive work was in the 2000s with peace and security, but last days was 98. Death threat is 98. The answer's no.

No, I didn't. Let's threat versus life of agony. After, how about this? After last days, they're still a hardcore band. After River Runs Red, they're doing something else. That's rock music. And I will even say, I mean, if the word is hardcore, then the word is death threat.

Yeah, right, yeah. Like, if I think about, if I describe hardcore somebody to somebody, like, musically, I would probably describe dead at birth. Yeah, you would not describe... I would not be like, Bound on now, wada, wana. Yeah, yeah. I would not.

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Jesus, it's going to make me jump off my balcony. In our, is this quarterfinals? No, and that's, I think we've never know how to do this. I have no idea what it is. In our second round matchup. Far from the finals, far from the semifinals, we've got Marauder versus Heybred.

Listen. This ain't right. It ain't right. If you and I were to pick our favorite hardcore band, it's Marauder. We were to pick our second favorite hardcore band, it's Hayprey. You know what I mean? Probably. Generally speaking, depending on what day it is.

So you got to break it down to quantity to output. touring to all the other factors. All those factors took place after the year 2000. So are we... Just saying. I know, but you're flip-flopping on what you're... I'm just saying. Maybe I am, but reason is reason, you know?

I don't think you can say Marauder is a better hardcore band than hate breed looking through the barrel of a shotgun. In total? Yeah. In totality? Yes. I would agree.

as of 2025. But as of 1999, you're still probably saying Hey, breed, dude. I don't know, because you got five other venom's then too. But they're touring their asses off. Hey,

breed is. Marauders playing, they're playing big ass metal things. Haypreed are like the crazy band. Small ass metal things, honestly. Well, trying, you know what I mean, but Haypreeds playing,

they're on Oz Fest, they're doing, but they're like, though, like, whoa. Yeah. I can't believe. Listen, I, listen, I'm, I'm, I'm with you.

And I would say, I agree. This is just a big one. Should I try to call James? He's going... I think he's going Marauder. I think he would too. I think maybe we...

I think we just come to a conclusion ourselves, you and me. Okay. But overall... It has to be haptic. It has to be haepid. Yes. Okay, good. Thank God. Just because, like, you guys...

I've read comments that you and I suck off Marauder so much that it's, like, old. I get that. Yeah, I totally get it. So I want you to... That's not... That has nothing to do with us having a show, though, you know? Yeah, no, no. I've been doing that my whole life.

Yeah, right, right. Many people in Southern California knew me as Life as Pain guy. Yeah. So I want... Because how often I wore the shirt. I want you guys to just realize that even though we love Marauder and love Master Killer and Five Deadly Vendums that much and a little bit of brutality. A couple tracks.

A couple tracks. We... The hate breed are the goats. They're Mount Rushmore. You know? We'll see. Yeah. Yeah, I think that's, I think that's fair.

But that, that, that, that concludes our second round. Second round in the left side, and that leaves the winners all out war versus integrity in the next round. And death threat versus hate breathe. See, now we're getting into the. This is spice world. Itty gritty. All right. Right side.

Round two. Are we ready? Yeah. Earth Crisis versus Ringworm. This sucks. Because my gut is Ringworm, but I know the answer is Earth Crisis, personally. I think you just said it. My third tattoo is a Ringworm tattoo.

I love Ringworm. They've been a favorite of mine forever. And they're still making incredible. And they're still making music. And they're still touring, and they're still playing. And they will play your record release on the drop of a hat. But Earth Crisis might too. Earth Crisis might too.

Yeah, good point. And but dude, you think about firestorm destroying machines, Gomorrah back to back, back to back, path of resistance right after. That's an extension of it. Yeah. But then, but then it's like demo promise, birth is pain, justice replaced by revenge, is the comeback record with Frank? Good load. I still think.

Yeah, no, I agree. My gut, my gut here is Earth crisis. Because let's remember when it was Earth Crisis and turmoil, I brought up. like the impact, the zeitgeist, the social crisis is, they are the, is that, is that. Is that? They are the 90s. I agree. Yeah. Okay. Weird one of that. That, that hurt. That sucked. I hated that.

This is polar opposites here. Yeah. This is a battery. Yeah. Cold is life versus the AFI. It's ridiculous. I can't believe we have a weekly television program. where we get to talk about cold as life versus AFI in any circumstance.

We're very fortunate here. Thank you, Matt Vintage. I'm going, listen, going cold as life for one reason. Just an arbitrary reason I'm picking for this part. Born and Landhardt has double base. Yeah, I mean, listen, I hear you, and I love that you said that. Way more Paul muting on Born and Landhard. Yeah, but, oh, I mean, I guess.

I guess if we're talking 90s hardcore. Yeah. And what that means. Yes. Yeah, that's a factor. But like, hardcore punk is hardcore. That's hardcore. That's hardcore.

And AFI has shut your mouth very proud of you. Even Black Sales. Even Black Sales, sure. Hardcore music. Yeah. From a different perspective. Yes. Cold is life.

It's the winner. Yeah. Yeah. For sure. It's just 90s hardcore, you know? Like, do you think anybody was throwing a spin kick to shut your mouth? No. You know what I mean?

But does that matter? I think everything matters when we're talking about something. As the spin kick guy, does that matter? I think everything does when we're talking about something as ridiculous as cold as life versus AFI. I think all things considered are fair. And I also, I mean, you look, at the end of the day, one is a hardcore band now, one is not. Sure. Yep.

Cold is life. Okay. Shit. Up next. Straight edge versus straight edge. one broke one didn't strife versus floor punch

what do you my I mean gut balls and ass all say floor punch of course of course all do respect

to strife I put strife in the first round I put strife over but I'm going floor punch floor punches everything they have a book dude look

that was very Michael Scott I would say look at this whole bracket. Process it. So much of it has many key similarities in sound. Floor punch and like 10-yard fight and AFI are ambassador to the big outliers here. You're right. But floor punch is in a league of their own by just going back to basics.

There's also just like... I don't know. Dude, you look at what was popular in the 90s. This, it's this. And Floor Punch said, fuck that. Yeah, we're playing hardcore music. We're doing third way. As traditional as it gets.

Yeah. I, very good point with like, here's what's popular in this genre. They're going to do what they want to do. Here's us. Here's us. And there's just something inherently cool, similar to youth today kind of a thing where it's like, it wasn't just a band. It was like a group of people. Yeah.

It was a community. It was a community. Floor Punch was a community. And Floor Punch is a community. You know. Right. You know, the floor punch ethos carries on today. Floor Punch straight edge. I don't hear anybody saying strife straightage.

Nobody's describing as an adjective people as strife straightage. Right. Right. So the winner's floor punch here. Yes. Agreed. Country Mile. IMO. crazy matchup next. But a landslide.

Yeah, for sure. Madball versus Vision's Disorder. Which I think is like fair. Like you want to talk 90s hardcore bands? In terms of 90s impact and what was going on, this is like an incredible Yinn and Yang here at Madball versus VOD. But it's Madball. It's Madball.

It's everything we want. There we go. There we have it. Our right side second round is complete. We've got Earth Crisis versus Cold as Life in the next round. and floor punch versus madball. So now we're at the quarterfinals, right? I think this is quarterfinals, yes.

We have, what is our first quarterfinal here? All at War versus Integrity? Yeah. That sucks. Like, this is, this is complicated now because you look at like what it means to be 90s hardcore. Yeah. And integrity is at the forefront of every list.

Yeah. If you look at the music I intend to listen to the soonest, the most, and most frequently, I listen to All at War all the time. I listen to Integrity all the time. But all at war is, musically, has had a bigger impact on me personally. What about us? I would say integrity for me. would be the biggest impact

because they, they, oh, it's so funny because one, like they're both dark. They both have the like kind of scary shit. When I was really getting into stuff, integrity just had the youth crew kind of crossover, that kind of thing. All at War was a little more metal core to me, you know?

Yeah, I think it's got to be integrity for me. I'm going all at war Okay What do we got? Jay Mindforce Totally Yeah Bro

It's all the war Who do we got I feel like The furthest away From the Atlantic Ocean The better People don't know all at war though Dude

Yeah I mean You're 100% right They don't They got no idea Now is Now does that not indicate, you know what I mean? I suppose.

Your worms are earworms, you know. All right, let's find somebody. Hello. Hi. Do you... Yes, are you okay with that? Yes. Check this out.

We've got a legend here. Newly wed. Emma from Dying Wish. Newly wed. Mazel. Congratulations. There's my husband. Hey!

Yay, there's Big Jeremy. Congratulations. Thanks. Husband and wife. But more importantly, we need you to settle a horrific debate. Oh, God. I know. It's not good.

I'm telling you. It's bad. All right. I'm sweating now. We are doing a bracket to crown the greatest 90s hardcore band of all time. Okay. And we're at an impasse here. It's a horrific impasse.

Okay. The matchup that you get to decide the winner of is integrity versus all-out war. Do you guys do this? My answer is all-out war because I literally don't think they've ever put out anything bad of her. There you go. There you go. Boom. Emma with logic and reason right off the bat.

This is why we call her, you know? Yay. She's a genius. Congratulations again. on the wedding. Thank you so much. We love y'all. We love you too.

We wish you a lifetime of greatness and wealth and health and stuff. Thanks. Of course. Have a great day. Bye guys. All right. Good luck. Love y'all.

Thank you. Love you too. Well, how about that? And that, honestly. This entire bracket was going completely my way until just then. But, dude, like I'm saying, sheer depth of their discography. counts when none of it is bad. You're absolutely right.

And talking to Dwid, he'll tell you he did a whole album because a guy gave him a garbage bag of mushrooms. Right. Priorities. Yeah. Okay. All at warities. Words.

Next up. My heart is attacking. A state torn into. This is no good. This is the bad. This is the Connecticut. battle here. This is the real all-out war.

We've got death threat versus hate threat. My eyes are tearing up for real. My opinion, while you mold this over, is the argument for Hayprey does not change. If Hayprey's beating Marauder,

you know what I mean? Like, it doesn't change. Now, the only thing I think you can say is that death threat played FYA. Death threat's playing hardcore shows and have been playing hardcore shows when they've played...

Hey, Brits playing F. Way this year. Great point. That's right. They are. So there you go. Hey, Breed played fucking LDB, you know, like... Like, Jamie's on both quintessential

records, you know? Yeah. I still think it goes under the knife, satisfaction, perseverance, brutality. You know what I mean? Like, you still got that. I just feel, I mean,

and then if you're going to go... Killing death rate here is just killing a piece of me. If you're going to stick to what your reasoning was before or two, you can only go last days versus satisfaction is the death of desire. Yeah, yeah. You know? I think it's safer here. I think it has to be.

And listen, no one, I don't think anyone on earth wants to see death threat. Like the set that you and I both watched at FWA last year, was poignantly biblical. They had an incredible set, one that they deserved. Well, one of the best I've ever seen. So there's no one happier for them than us. I'm not happy anymore. This just broke me.

But I think it is the objective, harsh truth here. Yeah. I can't type it. The goddamn pen is blue. It's hate breed. All right. So that means it's hate breed versus all war. The final four in this are going to exactly match up to what I was predicting, I think.

Minus integrity. I thought they were going. All right. Well, right side bracket number one, Earth Crisis versus Cold is Life. This is a nail biter, dude. I'm biting my nails. You're always biting your nails. I think it's Earth Crisis.

I think you said it. The four records, the three records, whatever, boom. Coming out of the gate with the All Out War EP. Crazy. Having a message. Having... But dude, cold is life. There's no Madball without Coldest Life, essentially.

You know? They're writing... Madball's writing songs about how sick Cold is life. That is such a good point. That's insane. But Earth Crisis, I'm straight-edge because... You know? one of the first bands I can ever say I ever loved

Cold is life one of the hardest bands in history Earth Crisis would also say cold is life one of the hardest bands in history This sucks This sucks Born to Landhard, recorded live One take Or he said he said live right

A couple takes, yeah Many takes Fuck This is no good This is no good My gut is still Earth Crisis I think mine is two in the lens of what is a 90s hardcore band.

Correct. Cold is life, I think, is like so much more than that. And yeah, maybe Earth Crisis is too. But if you're talking 90s impact, Earth Crisis is one of the first bands I typed, you know? Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly. When we decided on this bracket, it was legitimately like, all at war, Earth Crisis integrity.

Like, those were the bands that came to, mine. Strife, for sure. I think so. I think Earth Crisis wins. I think so. I think it's fair. This is unfortunate, you know? Because in another matchup on another bracket, floor punch Madball, like Madball has to win this. Yeah, I think. I think Porter would say, are you guys insane? Madball has to win this. What's funny is Earth Crisis, cold as life, is somehow the same as floor punch Madball?

In a way. You know what I'm saying? But like the ying yang. Yeah, yeah. It's Earth Price's Straight Edge versus Floor Punch Straight Edge. Right. Cold is Life versus Madball who wrote songs about CtyC. I think Madball takes it.

I think so too. And I'm okay with that. I'm okay with that. I guarantee you floor punch is okay with that. What is hardcore without Madball? I truly think, you know, there is probably every decade, let's say, has two parts. Right? So it's like early 80s, late 80s, early 90s.

Madball is one of like the four of the mid to late 90s who changed the trajectory of what this style of music was. 100%. Because without them, it probably would have gotten way more metallic, way weirder. Yes. Out of control.

Madball was there to like maintain control. They are the fucking light side of the force here, maintaining balance. Yeah. Medi-chlorians and whatnot. Yeah, I think so. I think it's... Madball wins this.

The upbust respect to floor punch. Oh, yeah, absolutely. Come on. Kidding me? And here we have our... Final four. Final four... This is the Mount Rushmore.

What do we got? All Out War versus Hayprey. And Earth Crisis versus Madball. Wow. We did it. We did great. I think integrity all at war was like the biggest...

And Marauder Hayprey or the biggest... the biggest upsets so far. Yeah. But I think this is very sound and logical. If I was doing this fully on my own, the only difference would be integrity would have won that Allo War debate.

That's a personal, you know, my preference. But that's it. I think we found the 90s hardcore bands. Of course there are the metal core bands that people are going to be shouting about. That's why you got that bracket. You can write that in. It's coming. That and the

metal core bracket's coming soon. First matchup, semifinals, All Out War versus Hepre. All At War versus Hatred. On one hand, you have metallic hardcore Titans whose consistency is the topic of many conversations on this show. What All At War has managed to still do to this day, I can only dream of. Yeah, straight up. It's impressive.

And on the other hand, you have Haypreed who soared to unimaginable heights for hardcore music. They set a new height for their era. Yeah. And, you know, in our episode of Vinny Stigma, he said, Hey, Breed was the only band that ever said, hey, when we get big, we're going to take you out on the road and actually did it. They did it. They were fearless and they continued to have hardcore bands support them at their unimaginable heights. Yep. Yeah, I got to go hate breed

It's got to be hate breed Good, I'm so glad you agree on that I know that was hard It was But I think it's it is objectively fair Yeah I think so too I think just in sheer

Impact on its own Yeah It's hard to sound like all at war Many people don't try They always fail It hate breed has spawned Many clones Oh God

They always fail But they're succeeding in a way. Yeah, true. Papery wins and it's off to the finals. Yeah. It's law. Okay. Yep.

Holy hell. Earth Crisis versus Madball. Syracuse versus New York City. The age old debate. Now this is legitimately... Where would you rather live? This is legitimately difficult because... It makes my stomach turn.

Yeah. One is... But living here, you got to learn. You got to learn. One is overtly straight edge. overtly has a message. overtly was trying to change, like, the way the country worked. Yeah, in a way that really rubbed a lot of people the wrong way in the 90s.

Big time. And Madball are these intense, violent, personal stories and songs of about brotherhood and unity and standing up against the, the motherfuckers. Yeah. Anti-cop. Yeah. Fuck, yeah. Pro, like.

It's also like the spiritual continuation of Agnostic Front, arguably the greatest hardcore band ever. Which is the coolest thing. Yeah. And at one point, you had stigma and Matt Henderson in one. And like, dude, and like, who was Matt Henderson before Madball? Right. They found this guy.

Was he playing an AF first? I don't know. I don't know either. We'll have to ask Matt on an inevitable episode. Friend of the show, Matt Henderson, legend. Legend. Dude, I think it's Madball here. Wow.

I think I agree with you. I do, I do think I agree with you. Oh, fuck, man. Hold on. Because the thing I said about, like, the, for the Rushmore bands who changed the trajectory, Earth crisis was that first half of the 90s. Same thing. They're on that.

Yeah, but Madball was rocking that whole time. When did... Running shit. When did Ball of Destruction come out? 89. Really? Yeah. I didn't know it was that early.

Yeah. Dropping my suck was 92. Set it off 94. 94. I knew that. That's what I'm saying. And like, yes, this is not... Their definitive work was the 90s.

Yes. Yes, yes, yes. If they weren't in our 80s brackets, so they had to be here. So then all at war was what? The EP. 92 or 93. And then when did Slyther was late 90s?

2001. That was 2001. Okay. So. And Matt, hold it down is 2000. You know? NYHC. E.P.

Yeah. That's after Slyther. So post Slyther, they're still like, we're HC. Okay. Yeah. It's got to be Madball. Yeah. I think I agree.

And, I'm not, I'm trying to not be a hypocrite to my own shit to what I was saying before. So I'm considering both impacts. I think Earth Crisis's impact is more ethical. Yes. Madball influenced every core band. Chris is kind of did too. Yeah, but like a lot of them went a different way and then purists will be like, that's not odd.

Sure, sure, sure, sure. Which I don't agree with. Obviously, we don't split hairs on this program. We definitely not for two hours. No, we don't split them. We keep them intact. But I think, I think if you're going best band, yeah.

Maybe even Earth Crisis would be like, man, madball's so good. Okay. You know? Yeah. I got to. All right. I got to go madball here. We can call in a judge,

but I think maybe we save the judges for the finals here coming up. Yeah. I think this choice is this, this is Madball. They're a hardcore band. Hardcore band. You know. Through and through. Never changed.

Never, never broke up. Great point. Never wanted to be anything else. Okay. Except. You with me? I'm with you. Do you agree or are you with it?

Yeah, no, I do agree. It's conflicting because I guarantee you people from here who around during the 90s will say Earth crisis all the way. No, I mean, I. I know that. I'm sure they will. You know. Earth Crisis was the biggest band for a huge part of the 90s. But you listen, put set it off on.

Oh, that. And like that impact is still ringing today more so than destroy the machines. A lot in large part because destroy the machines hard to rip off. It's so unique. It's very unique. It's so original and groundbreaking and different. But Madball is fucking hardcore. Okay.

Yeah, I'm with it. There we have it. Now we're fucked. Our final matchup is decided. Hatebreed versus Madball. A band that is in arguably 90s in hate breed, you know, like really defined so much of what would happen right at. Satisfaction and on, the sea is different. Yes.

Set it off and on. Everything's different. How do we do this? I really don't, I'm really truly like, because I also have the bias of, you know, having toured with them and befriending them. So I, yeah, so I have a bit of, you know. Yeah, I did the satisfaction anniversary tour.

I did the perseverance anniversary tour. I got Sean in my band. They're, they're, they're from Connecticut. They're a huge part of me. And then I, and I still think, damn, Madball is incredible. Because there's no, like, yeah, I don't know, there's no hyperbole. You know what I mean?

Like, it's all, those lyrics are his, lyrics. They're fucking real. Real. You know? And that is... Set it off. Demonstrate my style. Look my way. Hold it down. Those are all bang, bang, bang, bang, bang. I have said many times, I know hold it down is 2000, but can't stop, won't stop. I think is one of the most perfect hardcore songs ever written.

Period. Front to back. And if we're talking, if we have to do the exclusion of the 2000s debate for this, it's Madball on a landslide. Right, because Hayper has like two things. Just in terms of... of sheer quality and quantity together. So we've got to factor in full discogs here.

But then we were also talking about impact and stuff and Hedbreed was on OzFest. They were... 100%. But then there's like the Madball Dynamo thing. Like... Dynamo. The coolest shit ever. You got one of the dream team lineups, dude, with Stigma, Hoya, Matt Henderson, all rocking at once.

That's crazy. Yeah. And I don't know. Then there's just like... Wetlands video versus anything ever. You know? Yeah. But then there's the hate breed lore and the hate breed videos and like the

hay breed video where someone uses a madball. You know, like there's all that shit too. I don't know. Should we call in and get some second opinions? Maybe we get two or three second opinions here. Yeah. All right. No one from New York or connect.

No one from New England. No problem. we got motherfucking TXJ here the king, legend one of our all-time goats Todd, we've got a tough one here Okay

These are our finals So we're gonna call We're gonna call probably two or three people Have them way on it But you're our first call The final two bands In our best 90s hardcore band Category and keep in mind here

The bands were included Because One of the bands What started in the 80s but their 90s work is so definitive that it has to be considered 90s hard for. Hate breathe versus Madball. Yep. I know.

Yeah. It's fuck. What the fuck. It's tough. Oh, no, man. I don't know. Did hate breed make a better record than set it off? What a question.

What a question. I think that's what it comes down to, right? And did hate breed make a better record than dropping many suckus? And that's five years before satisfaction, you know? Yeah, but it's still the 90s. And Hayprey covered, set it off on their cover out. Wow. It's a diabolical question.

It's fucked, man. But, you know, it's a dirty job. We've got to do it. Now, do we need to, now, we're judging these bands. Are we judging them by their influence, by their longevity, or just by the strength of one record? All things. The whole catalog.

All factors. here. I'm going with Madball. Wow. At most respect. And there's no wrong answer. I don't think there's a wrong, I don't know if there's a wrong or even a right answer to this one. No. I'm with you 100%.

We are. I'm going with Madball for just because Freddie is one of the best frontman of hardcore. True. In history. And like you look at Wetlands 96 video or whatever. That's the most locked in coolest looking lineup. The energy is unful. touchable.

Those songs. Yeah, there's just something about those songs, man. Like, like, there's something that, like, there's like an energy about them. Like, Hey, breed has a different energy. He breeds, like, darker. And they're so fucking good as, you know, um, just Madball. They had something special to them that, like, I don't know. I don't think there's a wrong answer to this question.

But my vote is for Madball. Okay. Outstanding. Thank you so much. Todd. Thank you, fellas. Have a good time with this one. Thanks, man.

We're trying. Talk to you soon. All right. See you. I got James ready. Hit it. He will like this one. All right, James.

Best 90s hardcore bands of all time. We're down to the finals. We need you to be a tiebreaker for this. All of our favorite bands are on this list. We boiled it down. A couple upsets, couple knots. We got on one side, Madball.

On the other side, Haybreed. Now consider this is 90s hardcore band. So we're considering all things like impact, discography, success, realness, whatever you want to consider.

It's all part of it. It is. Something that Colin did bring up is that Madball put out almost up to hold it down was 2000. Haybreed had, the knife, the demo and satisfaction. But what they did with that and the momentum of that is like... Yeah, I mean, obviously,

influential to, you know, the wave of New York hardcore, like post-2000s. Yeah. But I think Heybreed is probably the band that is most influential across the board when it comes to hardcore. So I would probably have to pick Hate Breed. Interesting. Okay. All right.

Perfect. Thank you, sir. All right. Thank you, James. You got it. See you tomorrow. Later. Okay.

We're at an impasse. We are at an we need a third. We need a final. Honestly, talking to Todd, like my gut was madball. My gut kind of was too. Not going to lie. I think we call a third just for due diligence sake. Let's do some diligence.

Let's do some do. We need somebody not from the northeast United States. Not from the eastern. in time zone. I'm sorry, dude, for what I'm about to ask you. Are you camera ready, you think? Yeah.

Yeah, you look handsome. All right, everybody, here we are. We have Mr. Brian Garris here. Brian, we've got to ask you a very important question. Okay. We are doing a bracket to determine the winner of the best 90s hardcore band of all time. Oh.

We're on our finals, and we're at an impasse. Okay. And you are the ultimate tiebreaker. That's true. This is so much pressure. And it's about to get worse. The finals are hate breed versus Madball. See?

Look at that. There you go. I have to go hate breed. It's satisfaction hits in a new way every time I listen to it. Wow. That's logic and reason and sound. And it doesn't end. I mean, they just keep being dope.

Yeah, that's true. I've ripped off hate breed more than I've ripped off many, many, maybe in any other band. Yeah. Yeah, same. But hardcore as a whole ripped off Madball maybe more than any other band from 94. Yeah, I love Madball. I love Madball. And that's definitely tough, but hate breed for me is just very special.

it is something that I find myself every time, like no joke every time I listen to satisfaction, like a lyric will pop out that I've never really like paid attention to. And I'm like, why was he writing this? I know. Or like a breakdown hits in a new way. It's just, it's like perfect in my opinion. And there you have it.

I accept it. Thank you, Brian. I'm sorry. I'm sorry to put you through that. That's all right. I hope you have a great day. Thanks, man. All right.

Bye. Wow. What a non-upset. Yeah. There's really no wrong answer. I think Todd's correct. I do, I understand both sides of the argument. Yeah.

My heart says Madball, but I do think hate breed is probably the answer. Yeah. In terms of a band that started working in the 90s, put out a groundbreaking record. in the 90s, carried that on. Toured like a motherfucker. Like a motherfucker. Like a motherfucker. Like the motherist fuckerist. Straight up. Madball made it to the finals, you know?

And every band is trying to do what they did. Yes. Do you know what I mean? Unsuccessful. Unsuccessfully. But I'm talking like, yeah, record sales and success-wise, reach-wise, you know, all that. There you go.

Okay. It is our winner. That makes sense. was brutal. It was, I love ringworm. I love Marauder. I love Madball. I love 10-yard fight.

This bracket is, this is one of the greatest playlist in history. And at the end of the day, that's what it's all about. Is discovery and sharing what we wish we had shared with us

when we were 14, 15. Yeah. We found most of these things over time, but you're getting them here all together at once. You are so lucky to have us, and we're so lucky to have you. We love you all. Hey, Breed is the winner. And we'll see you next week. Bye.

This episode is brought to you by Mad Vintage.