Ryan O'Connor

Dec 3, 2024 | noecho.net | Ryan O'Connor

It seems like the year is closing out strong with some great releases from both established and up and coming bands. Low Tide from Boston has certainly made a splash in my recent listening with their debut EP. Once I heard that Jimmy (guitar) and Garrett (bass) of Sick Minds were making hardcore again, I knew it had to be good stuff.

Nov 15, 2024 | noecho.net | Ryan O'Connor

Announcing their arrival back in late 2023, Rhode Island melodic hardcore band Glorious Wounds has cemented their place in the local scene with their debut self-titled EP. In just 18 minutes Glorious Wounds make themselves stand out even amongst the local scene which generally leans into the darker, heavier and crust influenced hardcore side, due to the legacy bands like Dropdead and Product of Waste have had on the scene.

Nov 1, 2024 | noecho.net | Ryan O'Connor

I’ve always been a rabid consumer of Los Angeles hardcore, especially the filthiest kind. With each passing year, it obliterates my initial impression of the sunny, surf, and skate paradise that Tinseltown created. I think back to when I heard Despise You’s West Side Horizons, it cast an even uglier drape over an already unpleasant locale. Today, L.A. feels as though it's barreling toward its depiction in Richard Matheson’s book, I Am Legend; a post-pandemic wasteland.

Oct 4, 2024 | noecho.net | Ryan O'Connor

Here’s your bi-annual report on Pure Bliss from Syracuse, New York: they’re dropping a new EP called Torture Realm. Thanks for reading. In all seriousness, Torture Realm finds the band at their most focused and primal yet. Displaying this earlier this year with their single “On the Wheel,” which opened with an explosion of blast beats that lead into their trademark thundering riffs, I personally was blown away by its ferocious energy.

Sep 23, 2024 | noecho.net | Ryan O'Connor

New Bedford, Massachusetts might be seen as a city that’s far removed from the Greater Boston area but there has been a wealth of bands popping up in the deepest point of the South Shore that carry on the BHC spirit. Being so far from the growing metropolis, New Bedford bands have in a way formed their own scene in the city as venues begin to pop up in its artistic community and many bands form in its wake.