As 2019 comes to a close we here at In Effect Hardcore present to you our annual hardcore “time capsule" which has had slightly different looks since its inception in 2012. Over the course of the year we receive thousands of new music submissions from bands just starting out to iconic bands that have been around for decades. We try our best to sort it all out and give you the type of coverage that (we hope) all of you are enjoying. In Effect Hardcore is based out of New York and the majority of our staff are East Coast based so you may notice that we lean heavily on our home region BUT we also try extremely hard to just find good hardcore music from anywhere on the planet. There are very few things that get me more excited with doing this website than opening an email or seeing a new band that absolutely bring something fresh to the table. The people that help out this site with writing reviews, doing graphics, taking photos and other things are absolutely vital to In Effect continuing to put out new material on a consistent basis and we want to thank each and every one of them for their never ending support. We also appreciate everyone who checks in with this site, shares our social media posts, comes up at a show and says thank you or supports us in any way… THANK YOU! We hope that you enjoy this article and give some follows to the following photographers who lent their work to us for this article: Danielle Dombrowski, Michelle Mennona, Pete Gregory, Tim Daley, Dan Rawe, Carl Gunhouse, Steven J. Messina, Anne Spina, Rich Zoeller, Jeff Lasich, Gray Muncy, and JC Carey.

Graphic work by: John Franko (photo collage) and Bas Spierings.

HARDCORE 2019. Where do we even start? Another solid year for hardcore in general in my opinion. Lots of new bands, new releases, not a lot in the way of “great” albums and by album I mean a full length of more than 20 minutes of music. A lot of bands are still going for those short EP releases which is just fine as long as the better ones keep the flow of new tunes coming! Bandcamp is still a major player in the scene with almost every new release being found on that digital platform. More traditional indie labels and DIY labels are still doing their thing and in 2019 we got more than a few good releases out of Bridge 9, Safe Inside, Upstate, Flatspot, Triple B, Pure Noise, WAR and Demons Run Amok to name a few.

Have Heart made some waves with a run of reunion shows that started in July, Harley Flanagan legally won the battle for the name Cro-Mags and also put out two nice EP’s, bands like Sworn Enemy and Death Before Dishonor reappeared with some heavy ass hardcore albums while bands like Rejection Pact, Restraining Order, Time & Pressure, One Step Closer and Hangman all put out new music and then went out and played more than a fair amount of shows…Everyone seems to have a podcast, bands are still getting their equipment stolen out of vans, the major fests in the U.S. are still going strong while European summer fests and annual package tours keep the full time and close to full time touring bands going strong. Great photography at/from shows seems to be at an all-time high with photos almost always coming out within a few days (or sooner) of any “big” show while Black Friday sales from labels and coffee blends from bands seem to be here to stay for the foreseeable future.

2019 had some down times with the passing of one of NYHC’s pioneers in Jack Flanagan from The Mob as well as Alex Brown. Alex was a big part of Gorilla Biscuits, Side By Side and Project X and also did a great fanzine called Schism that was very influential on myself as a young zine-ster. Cool new bands like Fence Cutter and Ignorant Life (both out of New Jersey) came along with new releases and then both broke up not too long after. Belgium’s The Setup, and Long Island bands Backtrack and Out Live Death also hung it up in 2019. Overall a solid year for hardcore with not a lot of big blips on the radar and more of a business as usual type of feel. The 32 photos that follow this intro, album covers, flyers, 37 song mixtape and more back up the idea that hardcore was very much alive and well in 2019. Now on to 2020! - CW

WISDOM IN CHAINS @ THIS IS HARDCORE FEST, PHILADELPHIA, PA JULY 27, 2019.

PHOTO BY: DANIELLE DOMBROWSKI

COMEBACK KID @ THE KINGSLAND, BROOKLYN, NY MAY 15, 2019. PHOTO BY: MICHELLE MENNONA

DEATH THREAT @ UNITED BLOOD FEST RICHMOND, VA APRIL 5, 2019. PHOTO BY: PETE GREGORY

ANTIDOTE @ NIAGRA, NYC DECEMBER 15, 2019. PHOTO BY: TIM DALEY

KILLING TIME @ BLACK 'N BLUE BOWL, BROOKLYN, NY MAY 18, 2019.

PHOTO BY: DANIELLE DOMBROWSKI

LIVE FROM THE PIT @ NIAGRA, NYC MAY 5, 2019. PHOTO BY: TIM DALEY

MINDFORCE @ SOUND & FURY FEST, LOS ANGELES, CA JULY 13, 2019. PHOTO BY: DAN RAWE

KING NINE @ UNITED BLOOD FEST, RICHMOND, VA APRIL 6, 2019. PHOTO BY: PETE GREGORY

SHOUT OUT TO THESE 2019 RELEASES!

STAGE DIVING AT THE LAST BACKTRACK SHOW @ REVOLUTION, AMITYVILLE, NY NOVEMBER 30, 2019. PHOTO BY: DANIELLE DOMBROWSKI

SICK OF IT ALL @ IRVING PLAZA, NYC JUNE 8, 2019. PHOTO BY: DANIELLE DOMBROWSKI

AGNOSTIC FRONT @ THIS IS HARDCORE FEST PHILADELPHIA, PA JULY 27, 2019.

PHOTO BY: PETE GREGORY

RAW BRIGADE @ COPA DE ORO, PERTH AMBOY, NJ APRIL 10, 2019. PHOTO BY: CARL GUNHOUSE

URBAN WASTE @ NIAGRA, NYC SEPTEMBER 15, 2019. PHOTO BY: STEVEN J. MESSINA

ALONE IN A CROWD @ FIRST UNITARIAN CHURCH, PHILADELPHIA, PA FEBRUARY 16, 2019.

PHOTO BY: ANNE SPINA

CRAZY EDDIE @ NIAGRA, NYC OCTOBER 27, 2019. PHOTO BY: MICHELLE MENNONA

MURPHY'S LAW @ NESHAMINY CREEK BREWING, CROYDON, PA AUGUST 10, 2019

PHOTO BY: CARL GUNHOUSE

2019 SHOW FLYERS IN FULL EFFECT!

SILENCE EQUALS DEATH @ NIAGRA, NYC MAY 5, 2019. PHOTO BY: RICH ZOELLER

SING-A-LONG WITH CRO-MAGS JM @ THIS IS HARDCORE FEST, PHILADELPHIA, PA JULY 28, 2019.

PHOTO BY: DANIELLE DOMBROWSKI

UNDERDOG @ THE KINGSLAND, BROOKLYN, NY JUNE 8, 2019. PHOTO BY: TIM DALEY

NEXT WAVE HARDCORE KIDS @ NIAGRA, NYC SEPTEMBER 15, 2019. PHOTO BY: STEVEN J. MESSINA

64 @ AMH AMITYVILLE, NY MAY 26, 2019. PHOTO BY: MICHELLE MENNONA

GORILLA BISCUITS @ THIS IS HARDCORE FEST, PHILADELPHIA, PA JULY 28, 2019.

PHOTO BY: JEFF LASICH

ONE STEP CLOSER @ CENTRAL ARTS, BEDFORD, TX JULY 20, 2019. PHOTO BY: GRAY MUNCY

REGULATE @ CREATIVE SPACE, LONG BRANCH, NJ AUGUST 24, 2019. PHOTO BY: CARL GUNHOUSE

The fictitious “IN EFFECT MIXTAPE” is back yet again for 2019. This time around we have 30 bands dropping 37 songs… all released in 2019! Drew Maxie went out and created a Spotify playlist out of it as well.

Click the graphics above or below to give it a listen and if you like it give it a follow!

IGNITE @ THE KINGSLAND, BROOKLYN, NY JUNE 14, 2019 PHOTO BY: JC PHOTO MEDIA

CROWD GOES OFF AS DYLAN FROM SHACKLED GUEST VOCALS WITH WORLD DEMISE @ NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ'S E-BLOC. JANUARY 9, 2019 PHOTO BY: CARL GUNHOUSE

HANGMAN @ THIS IS HARDCORE FEST PHILADELPHIA, PA JULY 27, 2019.

PHOTO BY: DANIELLE DOMBROWSKI

YOUTH OF TODAY @ BROOKLYN BAZAAR, BROOKLYN, NY MARCH 17, 2019 PHOTO BY: JEFF LASICH

THE LAST STAND @ THE KINGSLAND, BROOKLYN, NY JUNE 14, 2019. PHOTO BY: JC PHOTO MEDIA

RULE THEM ALL @ AMH, AMITYVILLE, NY AUGUST 29, 2019. PHOTO BY: CARL GUNHOUSE

POWER TRIP @ SOUND & FURY FEST, LOS ANGELES, CA JULY, 2019. PHOTO BY: DAN RAWE

AGNOSTIC FRONT @ THIS IS HARDCORE FEST, PHILADELPHIA, PA JULY 27, 2019.

PHOTO BY: DANIELLE DOMBROWSKI

Here are 15 hardcore punk videos that caught our attention throughout the year for various reasons. Not in any “best of” order or anything like that… just ones that brought the energy, were a little more creative than the rest or just had that “IT” factor. From Slashers with their absolutely sick animated “Five Mile Grind”, Harley and the Cro-Mags with a minute and a half of hardcore aggression, to Agnostic Front getting all nostalgic on “I Remember”… these are the ones that caught our eyes and ears. Hope you like them too!

SLASHERS "FIVE MILE GRIND"