Since the genre first emerged in the early 1980s, hardcore (originally hardcore punk) has splintered into dozens of sub-sub-subgenres including melodic hardcore, beatdown, old school hardcore, new school/chugga chugga, d-beat, crust punk/crustcore, metalcore, emocore, and so forth. By and large my favorite artists have generally been those who kept closest to the genre’s origins, even if they took those beginnings in new directions.
The old slogan (which I’ve often quoted here on this site) “loud, fast rules!” is apropos here. In the late 90s/early 00s a revival of the style emerged, sometimes referred to as “tough guy hardcore.” It was essentially the fast hardcore punk of the early 80s with a few added breakdowns (mosh parts) and heavier sonics in the production realms.
Leading the pack was transcontinental heavyweights Dodgin’ Bullets, a collaboration between members of San Diego’s No Innocent Victim (often stylized as NIV) and Erie, PA’s xDisciplex A.D. The band featured 6 members in total, which led them to brand themselves as the heaviest band in hardcore–a reference not to the music alone, but the combined physical weight of all the members, even using the motto “2,000 pounds of hardcore.”
The band released 2 EPs, and one full-length, which was itself a compilation of the songs from the EPs. While the band were in some ways less vocal about Christianity–lyrical themes more often revolved around a celebration of the hardcore genre itself–our SOTD selection for today is “Knife to Your Heart,” which expresses in no uncertain terms, their Christian faith in the midst of trying times:
how much longer will you be a slaughterhouse to the wolves of this world
how many times will i have to watch you put the knife to your heart
tired of watching you kill yourselves without a second thought
don’t worry about death ’cause you are already there
don’t look to me for some help
i can not save your soul
i’ve found the only way out
i’ve found the almighty God
He lives in me