Artist: Combust, the five-piece of vocalist Andrew Vacante, guitarists Peter Martingano and Alex Basovskiy, drummer Dave Sarnes, and bassist Eric Hoyt

Location: New York City, New York

Buzz: It would appear that the “boundary-pushing hardcore” sound that’s more or less made up most of the discourse surrounding the scene these last five years has had its moment in the sun for now, because what people in the pit really seem to be hungry for today is an appetite for destruction. That’s been obvious in the sonic sea change across the festival circuit as of late, and as the weight on everyone’s back get heavier again, Combust’s arrival with their debut album, Belly of the Beast, is right on time in its serving up the energy to throw it down.

Them being a natural fit for the harder edges being demanded of bands right now is a thing of being a product of their environment: coming up from the New York hardcore scene, the quintet come loosely fashioned by its ’90s tough guy aesthetic where the only thing you need to make a broad-shouldered impact is being brutally real, no validation sought regardless of how many enemies you make the process. For Combust, that tough guy is vocalist Andrew Vacante who shouts in with a violent hip-hop-styled cadence across the album’s 12 guest-heavy tracks featuring the likes of members of Mindforce, Terror, and rapper Rome Street. They riff, they stomp, and they cut motherfuckers up with the occasional two-step breakdown that keeps the art of violence fun for everyone. Their own breed, indeed…

Sound: Streets of rage grooving hard to the beat.

Recommended: “Everyone’s Enemy”, “Fear In the Streets”, and “Our Own Breed” from their recently-released debut album, Belly of the Beast

Spring Tour:

Combust’s Belly of the Beast is available now on Triple B Records.