#crossoverthrash — Public Fediverse posts on home.social

DUKKHA (Pittsburgh/Youngstown Crust), JAIL (Detroit Metalpunk), KNOTWORK (Detroit Crusher Crust), and locals Contracharge bring you a night of crossover, crust and Dbeats on their way to Northern Ruin 3 in Minneapolis!

All ages $15 notaflof doors 7 noise 8

Presented by Crust/Grind Chicago and Breaking the Borders.

https://chicago.askapunk.net/event/crusties-spend-loud-night

#chicagodiy #hardcore #allages #crustpunk #dbeat #goblins

Angry Metal Guy @[email protected] · 2025-11-16 · 14:17 UTC

Cold Steel – Discipline & Punish Review

By Lavender Larcenist

Debut albums are a fickle thing. Often the strongest release by a band for years to come, even giving rise to the term “sophomore slump” when the inevitable follow-up can’t hit the same highs. And so, debuts are make-or-break. For Tampa’s Cold Steel, Discipline & Punish is such a piping hot serving of crossover thrash, I can’t help but be excited for their future. The Florida sextet’s first LP feels so cohesive and energetic; keeping pace will be a challenge. For now, we can revel in the absolute monster that is Discipline & Punish and enjoy a young band that is clearly firing on all cylinders and loving every minute of it.

I had no clue Cold Steel existed before their debut LP showed up in AMG’s promo pile-up, but the great hooks and a sick album cover (I am a simple woman) piqued my interest. I was immediately addicted to the catchy songs, frantic pacing, and infectious energy. Power Trip is fucking awesome (original take), and they constantly came to mind while I spun Discipline & Punish on repeat. It was no surprise then, when I learned that Cold Steel’s debut was produced by none other than Arthur Rizk (Blood Incantation, Undeath, Power Trip), it makes sense that they are the first band in a while that capture that same brand of hook-driven, manic energy that makes you wanna break a bottle on your head and start a bar fight. Jose Menedez’s vocals immediately reminded me of Riley Gale’s (RIP) signature mix of thrash edge and punk passion, mirroring some Power Trip greats, like “Firing Squad” and “Waiting Around to Die”.

It comes as no surprise, then, that the production suits Discipline & Punish perfectly. Things never get as grimy or lo-fi as many of their inspirations; Menendez’s voice is crisp and clear while leaving space for a raw edge that keeps Discipline & Punish sounding immediate and decidedly trash. Every instrument has space to thrive as massive hardcore breakdowns mix perfectly with intertwining thrash riffs. The triple (yes, triple) guitar assault of Rafi Carbonell, Shawn Wallen, and Rafael Calderon weaves between criss-crossing rhythms, hooky leads, and melting faces. As a cherry on top, Janpierre Mojica’s bass sounds thick and juicy, slamming along like a lumbering beast through the warzone of sound. Brandon Thrift’s drums tie the whole thing together, with clear percussion, driving kicks, and a military-esque tinge that fits the album’s theming well.

Menendez is a high point of Discipline & Punish. His vocal phrasing and energy drive the whole album. You can’t help but bounce along as he screeches “Blood by the liters, they’re not gonna need em” on “Killing Season”, or ripping through “Front to Enemy” alongside a feature with Aaron Heard of Jesus Piece. Like a snowball in an avalanche, Menendez gains more speed, momentum, and ferocity throughout the record, barreling over everything in his path. The biggest surprise on an album full of rippers is “Smoking Mirrors,” featuring local hip-hop/hardcore duo Two-Piece. The combination of ’80s-esque record scratches and looping off-tone siren mixes perfectly with the hooky, chugging riffs and Menendez’s manic energy. Cold Steel takes an idea that should end up like oil and water, and turns it into chocolate and peanut butter.

There are so many good things to say about Discipline & Punish. The record is tight but not too short at ten tracks and thirty-five minutes, making for a listen that is all killer, no filler. It is impossible to even pick highlights between so many standouts. From the unhinged “Front to Enemy” to the crushing “Blacksmith of Damnation” or the bouncing “Killing Season”, there is something for everyone. Then there is the surprising “Smoking Mirrors”, the atmospheric “Fever Dreaming”, and the epic closing track “The Coldest Death”, with a finale that brought to mind Horrendous of all things. Cold Steel keeps you on your toes the whole time. It is an embarrassment of riches with Discipline & Punish, an album that demands you hit the play button one more time with every spin. No album is perfect, but Discipline & Punish is a hell of a start for a young band making their foray into a storied and crowded genre. Luckily, it already looks like Cold Steel doesn’t intend to rest on its laurels, with a mix of genre-bending tracks that stretch the lines of crossover thrash and hardcore. The title may call to mind authoritarian torture, but if Cold Steel is administering the pain, you are in for a good time.

Rating: 4.0/5.0
DR: NA | Format Reviewed: A goddamned stream
Label: Spinefarm
Websites: coldsteel813.bandcamp.com | instagram.com/coldsteelbandfl
Releases Worldwide: November 7th, 2025

#2025 #40 #americanMetal #bloodIncantation #coldSteel #crossover #crossoverThrash #disciplinePunish #hardcore #hardcorePunk #hipHop #horrendous #jesusPiece #nov25 #powerTrip #review #reviews #spinefarm #twoPiece #undeath

#americanmetal #bloodincantation #coldsteel #crossover #crossoverthrash #disciplinepunish

Angry Metal Guy @[email protected] · 2025-08-15 · 11:21 UTC

Cruel Bomb – Cruel Bomb Review

By Tyme

Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, is home to self-proclaimed ‘thrash metal titans,’ Cruel Bomb. Since forming in 2018, Cruel Bomb has released three EPs—2019’s Manhattan Mischief, 2020’s Trinity Terror, and 2022’s Man Made—while touring extensively along the East Coast. Now, wrapped in an energetically bright and nuclearly holocaustic package courtesy of artist Ed Repka, Cruel Bomb prepares to drop their eponymous, independent debut album. Crafting your debut as a nod to the Big 4, while not entirely original, does come with certain expectations, at least for this reviewer. So, I mindfully sat down to pen my missive, wondering if Cruel Bomb would be the band to put Wilkes-Barre on the thrash map, or if they’d blown their whole wad requisitioning that cool cover art.

Cruel Bomb never reaches the other side of the crossover bridge with a sound more hardcore than thrash. Kenny Barto and Brandon James lay down formulaically straightforward riffs of the speedy, chuggy, and breakdown variety. And ohh, the breakdowns. Present throughout, they keep Cruel Bomb planted primarily in Hatebreed and sometimes, Power Trip territory. I also sensed whiffs of Slayer lurking about via harmonic leads (“Hell Hounds”) and Hell Awaits-like chugging (“Night of the Hunt”). Barto’s solo work makes brief appearances, which are either noodly and short-lived (“Target Neutralized”) or comprised of fretfully executed dive bombs (“Glass House”). Nick Hennebaul’s bass lines—perkily plucked and punky—permeate Cruel Bomb’s low spaces and are audibly satisfying, a result of the production job from Novro Studios, while Kyle McKeown rounds out the rhythm section and does a decent job D-beating his way through Cruel Bomb, his performance enhanced by flourishing fills and machine-gun double kicks. Vocals are hard, core, and shouted, courtesy of Brandon James, and though effectively executed, sound so much like Jamey Jasta, it was hard for me to pick out moments that didn’t remind me of Hatebreed. Framed by formula and trope, Cruel Bomb’s thrash is just hardcore in sheep’s clothing.

Mainly a mix of homogenized moments, there were a few points during Cruel Bomb that I found more engaging. Not only due to the strange, cartoonish voice at the beginning, “Hell Hounds” stood out because of its lively bass work, mid-paced thrashery, and an interlude where everything stops long enough for Brandon to scream, ‘Retreat?! We just got here!” before launching into the tracks second half. I also took note of the stanky grooves and great chorus of “Gravemind” in addition to the speedy riffs and lengthiest solo work—a whammy-tinged fret-du-jour preceded by a nice little guitar lick—on “The End.” Beyond these flashes, however, most of what Cruel Bomb does is awash in waves of similitude cannibalizing off one central idea, riff/breakdown/riff/repeat.

As good a production job as Eric Novroski did, providing enough organic spaces for Cruel Bomb’s instrumentation to thrive, a lack of dynamic songwriting and a no-escape-from-the-vocals approach hold Cruel Bomb back the most. Obligatory intro and the aforementioned “Hell Hounds” aside, every other track on Cruel Bomb starts one of two ways, with a speed happy riff or drum and chug breakdown, adhering strictly to a too-safely written formula resulting in a narrowly conceived batch of hardcore tunes that, by the time “Glass House” rolled around, had me glancing at the clock and suffering from listeners fatigue. In addition, James’ very one-dimensional vocal attack made what should have been an easily digestible thirty-four-minute platter drag, feeling much longer. Don’t get me wrong, Brandon James is a good vocalist and the amount of chesty power he brings to his shouts works. Still, his lack of tonal variety—notwithstanding the few seconds in “World Breaker” where he manages to dip into a slightly lower register—grates after a while, especially when overpowering most of Cruel Bomb’s attempts at gang shouts, which could have served as a vocal counterpoint.

I respect Cruel Bomb’s commitment to their aesthetic and craft, even down to the logo, which I dig. Yet despite my rather negative take, I don’t believe Cruel Bomb is a complete swing and miss. It’s clear these four, a quartet since 2023, have spent a lot of time touring and playing together, reflected in Cruel Bomb’s taut performances. With a more adventurous songwriting approach and some vocal contrast, Cruel Bomb has the talent to do more. Hardcore enthusiasts and Hatebreed fans should find things to like, and though I won’t return to Cruel Bomb after closing my laptop on this review, I’ll be watching for what comes next.

Rating: 2.5/5.0
DR: 9 | Format Reviewed: 320kbps mp3
Label: Self-Released
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram
Releases Worldwide: August 15th, 2025

#25 #2025 #AmericanMetal #Aug25 #CrossoverThrash #CruelBomb #Hardcore #Hatebreed #PowerTrip #Review #Reviews #SelfRelease #Slayer