Very rarely am I compelled to write up an EP or a demo, but that;s what’s happening here. I had heard of XweaponX prior to listening to this demo, but hadn’t put together the pieces of information I’d accumulated properly, so was hitherto unaware of the fact that this relatively new, straight edge hc band featured not one, but two of the Garris brothers. Bryan (Knocked Loose) on bass, and his brother Trey (Gates To Hell) on drums. The band is completed by Isaac Hale and Amos, also from Knocked Loose, and vocalist Dave Baugher.

Put simply, I’m not a straight edge guy, but those motherfuckers do have a tendency to make some of the most furious hc in the scene. I also respect the ideology of straight edge and most of us who are at least vaguely conversant in the fabric of hc will know from where it stems and in most cases, will have that element of respect. But let me step away from the ideological integrity for a moment. Because I get almost the same hit from this as I get from the Sunami record that topped my album of the year list in 2023. It’s just SO unflinching. SO hard, in both sonics and lyrics. So distilled and purified in what it wants to be. Take the outro for a start (a weird choice, I’ll grant you), but the only lyrics in it are: “Weapon X / Straight Edge / Fuck You” then with the temerity to elaborate that to “Weapon fucking X…Louisville” to close out the song. If song isn’t too generous a term. And again, I mean that in the best possible way.

What I‘ve learned in the last few years is that I simply will not find anything I’m more naturally predisposed towards than a hardcore record of incredible intensity, brevity, focus and aggression. And this has it in spades. There is no moment of the nine(!) minutes of material here that don’t either excite me or make me think that these dudes are anything other than the real fucking deal. I adore this. Now give me an album, please.