The Texas Hardcore roots run deep in Tank Division. Drummer Gary tells No Echo the Austin band formed in January 2024 after years of friendship and a shared desire to get something new off the ground. “I was feeling the itch to play more music after my band Just Sayin stalled out,” he explains. “I had tried to start up a straight edge hardcore band years ago, but nothing ever materialized.”
That changed quickly once he reached out to vocalist Tristen about the idea. “He was completely down,” Gary says. “Unbeknownst to me, he had previously talked to Sam about starting a similar project.” With Sam already in DFW’s Spit My Rage and bassist Seb looking to join a new project after The Real Cost, the lineup locked in almost immediately. “All in all, the band was pretty much formed and figured out within 24 hours.”
Musically, Tank Division set out to avoid blending in with the current wave of bands. “Collectively, we wanted to start a band in Austin that didn’t follow or sound like any other current hardcore band,” Gary says. Songs come together organically, often from different stylistic angles. “We come at our songs from different directions, usually piecemealing stuff until it resembles a song we all enjoy,” he explains, pointing to influences like Rampage, Tragedy, Waste Management, No Tolerance, Out Cold, Spazz, and Rollins-era Black Flag. “If you’ve ever been intrigued to hear a straight edge band cover ‘Sweet Leaf’ by Black Sabbath at an Edge Day show, we’re the band for you.”
Tank Division closed out 2025 by releasing a self-titled EP that caught my attention in a big way:
The EP was recorded with Phillip Odom (Militarie Gun, Paradise) at Bad Wolf Recordings in Austin. It features four re-recorded demo tracks and four new songs. “We recorded the whole thing live and finished it within a couple of hours,” Gary says. “Phillip captured our sound perfectly and is a true genius.”
The release came out through Gary’s own label, All Viceroys United, to keep the process fast and DIY. Lyrically, Tristen tackles topics like “commentary on the hardcore scene at large, the 9 to 5 grind, living and surviving in Austin, and a thrown-in diss track just for good measure.”
As for their hometown, Gary says Austin’s scene is in a much healthier place these days. “The city has seen a resurgence of real hardcore bands, not the dress up/pretend/pretentious shit that suffocated this city years ago.” He shouts out local acts like Anchorite, Mugger, Paradise, Chest Pain, Nerve, and Beyond Reach, along with a long list of bands across Texas. “TXHC as a whole is very strong, with lots of great scenes, bands, and people.”
Tank Division will celebrate the EP with a release show on April 12th in Austin alongside Shutdown and Die Young. In the meantime, Gary points fans toward the band’s Instagram and the All Viceroys United label for more updates, closing with a heartfelt dedication: “Shoutout and much love to the Coreruption Records family. We love you, Philly Pat. Rest in Power to our friend Esai Navarro.”
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Tank Division on social media: Instagram
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