Hatebreed’s Jamey Jasta names the essential hardcore bands everyone needs to hear

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By ( Metal Hammer, Louder ) Contributions from published

If you need someone to guide you through the world of hardcore, you won’t find a bigger aficionado than the frontman of Hatebreed

Jamey Jasta onstage with Hatebreed in 2022
(Image credit: Roy Rochlin/Getty Images)

To call Jamey Jasta a hardcore punk expert would be to sell things short. The singer has fronted Hatebreed with no days off for 31 years, but that’s just the start of his story. He’s been an avid fan of snot-nosed music since his early-to-mid-teens, and when he’s not screaming his lungs out onstage, he can be found waxing lyrical about it in countless documentaries and interviews.

As a result, when Hatebreed recently came to the UK as part of a package with Killswitch Engage, we knew we had to sit Jamey down and get him to name the hardcore bands everyone needs to listen to. This is what he chose…

A divider for Metal Hammer

Gorilla Biscuits / Judge

“It’s a tie, just because they both have near-perfect albums. When I was growing up, that was totally normal: a band would have one album. Gorilla Biscuits have one album [1989’s Start Today] and they don’t need other albums. It’s great and it’s timeless. Judge have Bringin’ It Down. I know they have other records, but Bringin’ It Down!”

Sick Of It All

“If you look throughout their discography, it’s very consistent. There really aren’t any side-steps which are too crazy. Sure, there are albums I prefer: I’m a big Just Look Around guy because that’s when I was 15, 16, getting into that. My best wishes to Lou [Koller, vocals, who is battling oesophageal cancer] and all the Sick Of It All fans and friends and family. We all gotta come together with positive energy and strength for Lou.”

Agnostic Front

“Talk about consistency throughout their career, but also being able to do records in other subgenres. They have records which are more punk-hardcore, they have records that even lean into the oi! world. They also have more metallic records, like the one I produced [with Chris ‘Zeuss’ Harris], Another Voice. I love One Voice: it’s an incredible album.”

Madball

“Great discography, very consistent, even throughout lineup changes. Hold It Down is one of the hardest records ever. Set It Off is one of the hardest records ever. Look My Way is up there, too.”

Terror

“I’d put Terror, just for the discography as a whole, and they’re still doing it. You can say, ‘OK, this lineup was better than that lineup, or this record was better than that record,’ but as a whole, if you look at the discography… Maybe some fans would say The Damned, The Shamed was maybe the weakest one and that’s still really strong!”

Watch the full interview with Jamey on the Metal Hammer YouTube channel or via the player below:

The essential hardcore bands you need to listen to - by Hatebreed's Jamey Jasta | Metal Hammer - YouTube The essential hardcore bands you need to listen to - by Hatebreed's Jamey Jasta | Metal Hammer - YouTube
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Stephen Hill
Stephen Hill
Writer

Stephen joined the Louder team as a co-host of the Metal Hammer Podcast in late 2011, eventually becoming a regular contributor to the magazine. He has since written hundreds of articles for Metal Hammer, Classic Rock and Louder, specialising in punk, hardcore and 90s metal. He also presents the Trve. Cvlt. Pop! podcast with Gaz Jones and makes regular appearances on the Bangers And Most podcast.

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