Recently, I’ve been on a bit of a super heavy, metallic hardcore/beatdown, ‘not quite deathcore/slam’ bender with bands like Orphan, True Temper, Misery Whip, Beyond the Styx, Glassbone, Unfazed, Braces, Grounds For Assault, Silverlake Murder, Hounds of War, Traitors, Nailwound, Pintglass, Mugshot, No Cure, etc.
But when this came across my desk, I thought it might be power metal or heavy metal based on the band moniker. Ooh, boy, was I wrong, as Alabama’s Wielded Steel has dropped some of the heaviest hardcore/beatdown of 2026…so far…
While definitely (metallic) hardcore at its…..core, it’s like the bands above, it’s certainly death metal adjacent with the way it delivers some of the deeper vocals and blasty, heftier moments. But the use of gang vocals and a plethora of two-step breakdowns keep it squarely in hardcore territory.
At a brisk 21 minutes, this feels like an EP, but there is so much fucking girthy heaviness contained here, it’s satisfying regardless of length ( …paging Dr. Freud). From the intro to the closer “Martyr”, this thing is downright stupid heavy.
In particular, “Your Words Mean Nothing”, ” In The Line Of Fire” (Feat. Blaythe Steuer of No Cure), “Perpetual Hell” and “Fabricated Integrity”, will just knock your fucking teeth in.
This is going to have a lot of appeal to modern hardcore/beatdown bands like The Acacia Strain, Bodysnatcher, Kublai Khan TX, and Knocked Loose, as well as some death metal/slam bands like Sanguisugabogg (down to the snare drum sound) and Corpse Pile (whose Jason Frazier appears on the tite track), and older, burlier hardcore like Full Blown Chaos, Liferuiner, and Built Upon Frustration.
Good fucking shit.
