Does anyone else on this forum feel as though 2012 has been a good year in hardcore so far? Tragedy and Martyrdod's (for lack of an umlaut) summer releases showed greater maturity in writing and production with zero dilution of artistic intent. I don't expect any subsequent albums from these two bands that will surpass what they've achieved already; this is the peak of their creative output, their fruition. Victims' 2011 release, A Dissident wasn't as good, but it sounded heavily Carnage influenced, so I kept it. Deviated Instinct's (whom I had the honor of opening for a few months ago) Thorn In Your Flesh was fairly solid, a well rounded mix of savagery and elegance.
It seems like a lot of otherwise dormant punks are finally pulling their heads out of their asses and the people that never belonged are finally getting their act together and leaving it entirely. The DIY ethic is more alive than I've ever seen it here before. This year has graced my city with more activity from out of town bands than I can recall in recent memory. People are dropping the fashion punk, Leftover Crack, idiotic ethos of hairspray, drugs, and STDs and taking hardcore seriously and bettering it as a genre. It's been a great year to shatter my misconceptions about punk and hardcore and take an active role in a once again thriving scene without it being focused specifically around money, consumerism, false hipster elitism, social pretense, or misguided liberalism. I can only hope this continues to foster positive, creative environments where young people are encouraged and their talents are put to good use. Musicians are taking a much bigger initiative these days. I hope hardcore is further driven to purge itself of its politically correct, drugs/drinking culture, safe, liberal habits and produce high quality music.