Right, I’ve got 15 bands here, so there’s no time to waste. Hopefully, you know what you’re here for from the title alone.
N.B. I’ve limited this to that new new, i.e., bands whose first releases came out this year, hence the omission of some relatively new bands who’ve built a lot of momentum this year but actually got started last year, like Cannonball and Long Goodbye. Big love regardless.
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Agency (London)
Agency’s debut EP, Life Will Kill, is the first release on Rucktion Records in a couple of years and proves a worthy addition to the label’s goated catalog. Comprising some of London’s hardest moshers, the band brings a raw, metallic sound that delivers all the carnage you’d expect on the dancefloor.
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Coexist (Newcastle)
Joining the likes of Cannonball, Hour of Reprisal, and Supernova in flying the flag for UK Straight Edge, Coexist features members of Long Goodbye and delivers a hard-hitting, Youth Crew-influenced sound with loads of style and swagger.
Shout-out Counterculture Records, who released their demo and a bunch of other records from bands on this list this year.
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Crowquill (Leeds)
Imbuing (real) metalcore with elements of mathcore and screamo, Crowquill are the perfect band to fill the Vein.fm-shaped hole in your heart while Fleshwater are busy taking over the world.
They’ve got a big 2026 lined up too, with Reality Unfolds Fest, Europe with Killing Me Softly, and shows with Raiden, Racetraitor, and A Mourning Star all on the slate already.
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Dead Stare (Newcastle)
Dead Stare’s first-ever show was opening for Terror in Newcastle back in the summer. No doubt Vogel and company would have loved what they heard given how brilliantly this band’s demo pays tribute to the Los Angeles legends’ flawless early material and a bunch of other Bridge 9-era classics.
Catch them supporting Combust and Speedway in February.
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Demeanour (Birkenhead)
It’s always cool when a band seems to have given more thought to their vibe and aesthetic than just “how do we make people kill each other to this?” In Demeanour’s case that involves grounding their sound in metallic hardcore, but trying to make it sound like what guitarist Chris described to me as “an evil, leery, uncanny JRPG [Japanese Role-Playing Game] boss theme."
It definitely works, with the people killing each other part sure to follow.
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Dissent (Newcastle)
As their vocalist Rob put it last month, Dissent is “definitely one for the moshers” - i.e. proper Kickback/All Out War type shit cooked to perfection on their killer debut EP, Carved From Deceit.
It’s actually irresponsible that these guys are on a bill with Gridiron, Missing Link, Splitknuckle and fellow Geordies Inhuman Suffering in April. Birmingham may not survive.
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Headstone (London)
Back in June, Headstone guitarist Jack told me their mates describe them as “early Hatebreed if it was written by London beatdown kids” so it should be no surprise that their demo and the “Joker’s Edge” single they followed it up with both absolutely crush.
Also, their first show was the first Broken Remains show, so shout-out the best new promoter in London.
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Life’s Forbidden Sin (Sheffield)
When a band tags their demo as “FFO - SCYTHES, DARK CAVES AND EVIL” you know it’s gonna be an absolute ripper. Said demo kicks off with a Se7en sample followed by the kind of evil mosh metal that evokes some of the UK’s meanest ever, like Raiden and xCanaanx.
The band said they were working on a bigger release for around the end of the year, but even if that doesn’t materialise in the next week or so, hopefully we can count on more violence soon.
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Mashaal (London)
A band composed of immigrants and children of immigrants, Mashaal emerged at the end of the year with one of the most vital demos of 2025. Raging, defiant, and inspirational stuff set to a backdrop of perfectly crafted Youth Crew.
Fuck Reform, fuck the Tories, and fuck anyone who tries to hide the same hatred under the veneer of moderation.
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No Known Weakness (Glasgow)
No Known Weakness described themselves to Carlos as “metallic hardcore through and through," citing a long list of true classic influences like All Out War, Merauder, and 100 Demons.
Coming from the same city that’s given us the likes of Demonstration of Power, Despize and Hellbound in recent years, this band had big boots to fill and absolutely no trouble filling them.
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Outlive BN1 (Brighton)
Technically, Outlive played some shows last year but their debut release, Blood4Blood, only came out in the summer before anyone gets up in a “well askhually…” about it.
The fact that the artwork for said release is of a dude pointing an RPG into a house says a lot - pure destructive stuff in the vein of bands like Bulldoze and One Second Thought, given the BN1 treatment.
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Telltale (Manchester)
Telltale vocalist Louis told me they were aiming for a '00s Connecticut sound but ended up closer to '00s New York, which as a Brit is easily done because they look close together to me.
Either way the band delivered some sick mosh music on their demo and they’ll be opening for Merauder in Manchester next summer on one of the most ridiculously stacked bills I’ve ever seen.
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Turn of Phrase (London)
Turn of Phrase’s Finish Just to Begin is easily my favourite demo of the year. Featuring two members of Dynamite who are probably the best band in the country right now, these guys scratch a proper Agent/Praise/early Title Fight type itch with an exhilarating brand of melodic
hardcore.
They’ve got Outbreak and Cake Walk Fest lined up for next year already, and I’m pretty sure I heard vocalist Logan say something about a split coming soon, too.
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Witherhorde (Merseyside)
“VIOLENT DANCING AGAINST VIOLENCE” declares Witherhorde’s Instagram bio. The band bring a brutal, deathcore-inflected sound to the Merseyside hardcore scene, with epic lyrics influenced by movies and games like Lord of the Rings and Oblivion, and every set they play
“dedicated to the queer community within hardcore."
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Wits End (Liverpool)
Wits End released two excellent, heavily NYHC-influenced demos this year (both on Bob Wilson’s never-missing Rebirth Records in the US, and the aforementioned Counterculture Records in the UK).
With one member based in DC they don’t seem to play much, but they did hit United & Strong and D.I.E. Fests in London and Brighton over the summer and hopefully there’s more to come.
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Tagged: agency, coexist, crowquill, dead stare, demeanour, dissent, headstone, life's forbidden sin, mashaal, no known weakness, outlive bn1, telltale, turn of phrase, witherhorde, wits end
