The Kevin Hardcore 100 (Pt. 1)
Checking out 100 HC records my buddy recommended
I try to give just about every musical genre a chance. It’s not really a badge of honor or an attempt to make me look cool or a statement of my taste being any better than anyone else’s. But musical history, genres, micro-genres and the creativity that goes into…creating is something that I always want to explore. While I don’t LIKE everything, when it comes down to “major” genres, I pretty much invariably have at least a few records I really enjoy, if not hundreds.
This is just to say that two of my best and longest online friends (Drew on the West Coast and Kevin on the East) are both big, long-time fans of hardcore music. They grew up with their scenes, performed in their scenes and in our talk about it a lot in our group chat. I’m a music nerd and rarely have any idea what they’re talking about - which is where this whole idea comes from. Similar to Deadheads or Metalheads, Jazz-folks or Rave-kids, my experience with people involved with Hardcore scenes often shows how myopic and insular they are in their tastes and interests. This isn’t a rule but a generalization viewed from the outside. With punk and hardcore especially, the point is the hyper-locality and diy-ethos. It has always been something that seemed intimidating to me. One of the things I love about my boys is that they listen to A LOT more than just hardcore and punk, and they’re always happy to send me stuff to check out. It seems to ME they get a kick on how I will receive a record that may be super important to them. Over the last 7ish years, both Drew and Kevin have recommended me many records and bands across the spectrum of heavy music. I’ve learned to love a lot, but want to know MORE. I don’t intend on getting involved in any scene, but I’m approaching this project as another way to expand my musical palette and just fuckin’ enjoy stuff.
My buddy Kevin is a big fan of lists. Prior to it going away, he got semi-Twitter famous for going through the Vice/Noisey albums of the year list and reviewing each record. The company would retweet it and mention him frequently - even giving an interview talking about how they predicted his feelings on records when creating lists. In our group chat, Kevin often goes through other lists - whether it be hardcore, metal, hip hop or anything else. I jokingly asked him to make his OWN list of 100 hardcore records, however he wanted to interpret it - and if he did, I promised to check them all out.
Here we are.
He also wrote a little blurb about his process:
I love lists. I love using them as a reference point to find new things, bad things, stuff outside of my normal sphere. Recently I’ve been listening through Pushead’s Top 100 of the 80s and Prank Records Top 100 of rhe 90s. There’s a lot I like on both, but there’s a lot I think is terrible, too, and that makes me appreciate both: these are not the greatest albums of either era. They are merely 100 albums that resonated. Andy asked me randomly to make my own top 100 hardcore/punk list, so I did.
A few things I will preface this with:
1. To reiterate, these are not the greatest records of the genre ever. I left out plenty of big ones.
2. I didn’t think about this too hard, because when you do that, you get bogged down too much. It was made in one night. I may have missed some things. It isn’t that deep.
3. Like the Pushead and Prank lists, only one album by each band (although I did cheat with Merauder - Andy will get there).
4. I tried to choose actual albums/eps/demos (like choosing Goal Line Stand over Twin Killing) but I did cheat for a few and include some comps. My argument is that these specific comps have come to be the defining representation of a certain period of a band, or the band in general, more than the records that make it up. People refer to Epics in Minutes more than the Police 7”. When was the last time you pulled out a specific non-comp Left For Dead record? That’s my argument and I’m sticking to it.
5. It was hard getting down to 100. One of the things I had to do was get rid of most stuff that is right on the edge of being hardcore. No Quicksand, no Husker Du, and I’m sure many other things got cut. This is pretty much a hardcore punk list, with the lines between punk and hardcore blurred but still definitively on the hardcore side.
6. I put the list in a randomizer. It is not in any order at all.
And that’s pretty much it. Looking forward to seeing Andy tackle this. Peace
So there you have it. Some of these records are 5 minutes long, some are closer to an hour, I’m doing my due diligence and listening to everything at least 3 times, while taking short notes. I have a Google Sheet and everything. I don’t know how to talk about Hardcore, I don’t know how to write about it, I’m just going off the vibe I get with the records, making some notes, giving them little ratings and at the end of each post - ranking them. By the end, I plan to have the 100 records loosely ranked from top to bottom. As Kevin said above, it’s not that deep - this is just fun. Thanks to him for making the list and writing the blurb. Thanks to Drew for continually giving me context about these bands and their scenes and thanks to you all for reading along. This might take a long time!
One note: It seems weird to listen to hardcore records of the 80s on a hi-def streaming service, but for at least 2 of the records on this first part of the list it made a huge difference. Some things are only on YouTube, most are on Spotify. I’m not going to share the Spotify playlist publicly because I want to roll out the records Kevin selected as I write about them, but you can message me or comment and ask for the link.
Lets fuckin’ Goooooooooo
The Swarm (aka Knee Deep in the Dead)
Old Blue Eyes is Dead (1999)
Cool way to start off this list. A band I was totally unfamiliar with from a place whose hardcore scene I knew nothing about (Toronto). This feels quite 90s in sound, and while it’s pretty good when it is more traditional hardcore, it is the more doomy sounds that really standout to me, like on the track “Fuse”. It did remind me of some of the other metalcore or emo records that I got into in the first couple of years of the 2000s, so it was a bit of a surprise not knowing it. The vocals don’t do a ton for me, but as said - the doomy, more metallic bits of this whole record really do. Good start, good record!
Rating: 3/5
Fave Tracks: “Fuse”, “Absent”
Tragedy
Vengeance (2002)
I feel like people have been trying to get me to listen to Tragedy my whole adult life. I know I have heard a record or two in the past but I honestly have no memory of them. It’s crazy, they’re a big time Portland band even! Anyway, this is great. This really hit the spot right away, causing embarrassment that it took so long for me to listen to this record. I like how DARK it sounds in contrast to some of the other releases in this group of 10 and the instrumental outros and passages between songs really appeals to me. Opener “Conflicting Ideas” has a riff that sounds like “Big Balls” by AC/DC, which is me saying it rules. First couple of times through this record, I told the guys that I was really awestruck by the back half, where it gets to really rockin’ and sounding like Motörhead. They were a little surprised as the front half is I guess usually the thing that really does it for people. By the 4th listen, this was rippin’ on all fronts. Awesome record, easily a canon record for me now. There are some mastering issues and compression issues mostly with the vocals, but overall it’s a really great listen. A long record that gets better with multiple listens.
Rating: 4.5/5
Fave Tracks: “Vengeance”, “Night Falls”, “The Day After”, “To The Dogs”
Ramallah
Kill A Celebrity (2005)
This is so unbelievably bad, I had to ask Kevin if it was a joke. On reflection, I understand sentimentality or nostalgia for something he might have been into in real time and I can understand enjoying the absurdity of this all, but jeez this is really just an awful listen. Insane, edgy lyrics - the equivalent of old, shock-core Juggalo records for the hardcore crowd. Hated this. There is some interesting production and a Beatles cover.
Rating: 1.5/5
Fave Tracks: None
Damnation A.D.
No More Dreams of Happy Endings (1995)
Messaging with my dudes in real time as I listened to this and loving it - I think this was the record they were most surprised that I liked. I will say, I first listened on Spotify and it sounded SUPER muted, then I found it on Qobuz and it sounded almost like a different record. It wasn’t bright, it’s still a dark record, but I could hear a LOT more happening. I love how groovy and heavy the first few tracks are. What most people know about this record is that smack dab in the middle is a 10-minute instrumental “Funeral March” which is just too long. If it was 2-3 minutes long, it would make sense as an interlude and actually be a super killer record, but that single track brings the whole thing down. Regardless, I find the other instrumental passages really sick, the use of acoustic instruments refreshing and I fully enjoy the darker introspection on the lyrics. Very cool record.
Rating: 3.5/5
Fave Tracks: “The Hangedman” “Eleven Thirty Four” “[Mystery Track]”
No Tolerance
Boston Straight Edge (2009)
Years ago, when I first started to delve into hardcore and learn a little bit about different scenes and sounds, a handful of the records I most adored were from Boston and thus I thought that Boston hardcore was what I wanted. I don’t know if that’s really true, because it has been disproven over and over as I’ve listened to more and this is one of those cases. I don’t think this is bad, I just don’t get at all what is special about them. I asked Kevin why he chose this, finding it to be pretty average and he said “Sometimes you just want hard, catchy songs”. That’s exactly it, that describes it- but one of the things I personally struggle with is the catchiness aspect of hardcore. I know a big component is singing along in many cases, but I can barely make out what to sing along to half the time, so it is just grunts. Anyway, that’s an old man argument. This is fine, probably even good, it just didn’t move me in any real way.
Rating: 2.5/5
Fave Tracks: “Pay the Cost”
Poison Idea
Feel the Darkness (1990)
This was the only record I was previously familiar with in this grouping and while I knew that I was going to like it, I didn’t know it was going to become an all-timer for me. I’ll say it out right: This is a 5-star record. This is one of the best punk albums that I’ve ever heard and it may very well be THE definitive Portland album. An absolute fuckin’ masterpiece that is so fun and rocks so hard. I honestly don’t know how you could like punk and not adore this or like rock n roll and not adore this. It’s so tough, it rips, it’s catchy. It has it all.
Rating: 5/5
Fave Tracks: “Plastic Bomb” “The Badge” “Taken by Surprise” “Welcome to Krell”
Crossed Out
Crossed Out 7” (1991)
My love for this was a big surprise to me and my homies. Though I have limited exposure to the genre, my brushes with things labeled “Powerviolence” have not typically been good. I really really liked this record a lot, though. It’s 8 minutes, it’s lo-fi and raw and the breakdowns between the violent outbursts are interesting as hell. I just love how ignorant and angry and pissed off it sounds, and find the vocals to be amongst the best of the whole grouping here. I think I listened to this like 6-7 times and I am still enjoying it a lot as I write this tiny blurb.
Rating: 4/5
Fave Tracks: “He-Man” “Crutch”
The Abused
Loud and Clear (1983)
Ok. There is a band called Loud and Clear that I guess was influenced by this one and uses basically the same artwork and I wasn’t paying too close attention and thought that was this record and well…it isn’t. I listened multiple times and wrote a review and I actually JUST asked Kevin about the name change as I sat down to write this - and he pointed out my error, thank god. This is way better. Classic early New York hardcore punk. I find myself really loving the early 80s stuff when I listen, especially if it has sort of a more thrash/rock n roll feel like this. This is a blast and the throatiness of the vocals gives it a snotty feeling that the rest of these records lack. A ton of fun and huge sounds. Maybe of all the records here, except for Poison Idea - this is the one I want people to hear me blasting out of my garage.
Rating: 4/5
Fave Tracks: “No End in Sight” “Nuclear Threat”
Chain Of Strength
True Till Death (1988)
Now here - here I understand the catchiness aspect. This is the first “Youth Crew” record on this list and the gang vocals and back and forth between band members are things that really appeal to me about hardcore from the outside. Some of it can come across as cheesy, but it really does make it about the crowd as much as the band and helps establish the effectiveness of these songs. I can’t compare this record to many others in the style, but the vocals and how fun it is to shout the lyrics back really do bring it up despite the pretty average guitar and bass playing. The drums are AWESOME in this record, though, with some really over the top heavy metal fills. Probably the single most fun record in this group, another one I liked a lot.
Rating: 4/5
Fave Tracks: “Through These Eyes” “True Till Death” “There Is A Difference”
108
Songs of Separation (1995)
Kevin told me he struggled with which 108 record to put on this list before settling on this one - but here’s the thing; I liked this record so much that I’m going to check out everything else this band did. I’m only a LITTLE aware of the Krishna-core bands and their sound and anyway, I don’t need to get into it, but this record is super interesting to me. It’s almost 90s alt rock, but it’s also heavy as hell. The vocals are more bluesy, and the metallic chugging is more related to Grunge and post-Grunge than most of what else was on the list thus far, but man - I could tell right from the get go that this was a record I was going to really get into. Very different from everything else that was on the list so far, and definitely the single most 90s sounding - especially with the talking sections that sound like funk-metal on “Weapon” but there is a charm about that. I don’t know if this is like a classic record, but having it as the last release in this first section, it was super different and I’m super happy it made it on.
Rating: 4/5
Fave Tracks: “Deathbed” “Thorn” “Pale”
RANKINGS
Poison Idea - Feel The Darkness
Tragedy - Vengeance
Chain of Strength - True Till Death
Crossed Out - Crossed Out 7”
108 - Songs of Separation
The Abused - Loud and Clear
Damnation A.D. - No More Dreams of Happy Endings
The Swarm - Old Blue Eyes is Dead
No Tolerance - Boston Hardcore
Ramallah - Kill A Celebrity
There you go. As you can see, I liked MOST of these records, LOVED some and added one to my list of absolutely essential records. There was really only one record I strongly disliked and I am going to be hard pressed to imagine there will be too many more I feel that strongly about in the future.
Excited to keep going with this in the future
Thanks for reading.