Fuck me, what is going on? It would appear that 2010 is destined to be the year that hardcore decided enough was enough, no more shit, let's show how fucking life-affirming a music form it can be. There just seems to be no end of absolutely shit hot releases coming from all angles. The old guard just get better and the new guard are hot on their heels.

Bitter End's second full lengther 'Guilty As Charged' is a 10-song headcharge of an album. Pummelling, metallic hardcore that will give Terror and Hatebreed fans a good smack around the head and dig in the kidneys to let them know there's plenty on offer to rival the big-hitters. Hailing out of San Antonio, Texas they have a sound that owes a great deal to the East Coast, with crisp riffs and mid-pace swagger and a nice dose of Merauder-like aggression to fill things out. The guitars of Griff and Jacob flay with absolute precision, with huge slabs of riffs, snatches of melody and great tempo changes. Daniel Rosen virtually spits his vitriolic lyrics, which gives the whole album a really intense and intimidating feel. Fuck knows what kind of pits this music is capable of inciting, but they deserve to be pretty damned big because this album really does deserve to be heard.  

The quality of the songs on offer ('Inborn' and the title track are as good a pair of hardcore songs as you'll hear this year) and absolutely immense production make this a really breathless listen and if they are capable of half this intensity live then they're gonna need an army of paramedics when they go on tour.

http://www.myspace.com/bitterend