Wipe the blood from your teeth and get in the pit, it’s time for a recap of this week’s best hardcore, metal, and punk rock. We dug through the record crates to find the new tunes we think you need to spin and rage to. Strap in kiddies, it’s time to rock.

Skeletonwitch plays some intense gallop rock (meaning it sounds like a stampede of horses are pounding on their instruments). It’s fast stuff that all but forces you to throw up some horns. “Well of Despair” is their newest jam and it’s exactly what you’d expect – fast, intense, and groove-driven. Just listening to this song will make you grow a beard and a tangled mass of long hair.

We are so pumped for the new Head Wound City. It’s been a long time, but this super group is finally back and that is cause for celebration. We already shared a track of theirs, but now there’s a video to go along with it. It is, well, it’s pretty weird. Not like in that “oh look at this jumble of images we are so arty” weird, more like “dudes digging graves then tripping out on dancing flower people” weird. Worth a watch and then when you are nice and hyped up, go pre-order the album.

(via Noisey)

Black Tusk released their amazing album Pillar of Ash earlier this year and we assumed that was all the new music we’d hear from them for a while. Turns out, we were wrong, because the band has just released a track from the Pillar of Ash sessions called “Seeing Visions.” It’s a ripper of a track filled with that swampy, dirty sludge Black Tusk does so well. Stream it below and go buy Pillar of Ash if you haven’t already.

(via New Noise Magazine)

Novembre are releasing their first full-length album in nearly a decade on April 1. It’s called URSA, which probably means something like “Black Magic Goat!” Something like that. These guys make haunting, sorta scary music that has the production values of a film score. Their less of a band and more of an experience. Check out “Umana” below to see what we mean and then go pre-order their full album if you dig it.

Kvelertak have a new song called “1985” and it’s part upbeat party riffs and part screaming death rattles. It’s like if Journey and Slayer joined forces, which we realize sounds like a terrible idea but it works. Silly? Maybe a little, but the riffs are real and the intensity is there. You can almost hear hundreds of dudes at Guitar Centers all over the world showing off by “testing out” a new guitar with these riffs.

(via NPR)

Hesitation Wounds is another supergroup, of sorts. Featuring members (or ex-members) of Touche Amore, Trap Them, Against Me!, and The Hope Conspiracy, it’s easy to see why these guys freaking slay. Heavy and emotional, this stuff is pure awesomeness bottled and distilled down to the smoothest of flavors. Clocking in at just 1:31, “Teething” is the kind of heavy we love to crave. Their album isn’t due until May 27, so we’ll just have to keep this track in rotation until then.

Beastwars is awesome. Their name is awesome. Their music is awesome. They recently revealed the cover art for their new album and guess what? It is awesome. Close your eyes, think of a band called Beastwars and an album called The Death of All Things. Keep your eyes closed and listen to this track. It’s called “Black Days” and it’s awesome. Now open your eyes and witness the glorious artwork below. It’s epic as all hell. It’s awesome, guys. So freaking awesome.

That’s it for this week. Go forth, throw some horns up, and keep spinning in the black circle. If there’s a metalcore, grindcore, hardcore, or any other -core song you think the world needs to hear, sound off in the comments below. \m/

–

Image: IDW Publishing. Art by Troy Little.