(In yet another of this week’s guest posts, The Artist Formerly Known As Dan joins us again at NCS with a special piece on hardcore music — which is a genre we don’t often cover at this site.)

I sometimes get the vibe that hardcore is misunderstood, especially by self-proclaimed metalheads – not that I’m an expert, but just that a lot of good music is filtered out because of the label. In fact, that statement is true for many genres, but is a debate for another day. I know I personally used to avoid anything labeled “hardcore” like the plague, because I assumed it was going to be some tough-guy bullshit fest that was basically punk with drop-tunings. How ignorant I was. Anyway, the point of today’s post is not to highlight the differences or start debates, but to introduce you to bands you may have slept on that I believe can be classified as hardcore or have hardcore roots (again, subjective, but Islander gave me the podium).

Swamp Thing

For fans of: Maylene and the Sons of Disaster, thrash

These guys fucking rule. If you like your music raw, straight-ahead, and visceral, Swamp Thing is for you. Just filthy hooks and catchy rhythms all over the place. Hailing from Richmond, VA, you can hear just the slightest hint of southernness to the music. It’s great, I tell you. Disclaimer – MetalSucks premiered their EP last month, and that’s where I first heard about them – gotta give credit where credit is due. (more after the jump, including tracks to stream . . .) Continue reading »