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I Promised The World – Self Titled
Released: January 16, 2026

In 2012, I remember talking to one of my high school friends that liked gangster rap from the 80’s and 90’s. I asked if he was sad that artists didn’t make music like that anymore…if he was sad that all the songs he could ever listen to had already been released. That the genre was finite and had already died.

I was asking because at that time, in 2012, metalcore was having one of its best years ever. New bands were constantly blowing up and there were almost too many new songs to keep up with. It didn’t seem like it was possible for metalcore to die.

But as the years passed, I started to understand how my friend must have felt – to watch a genre fall out of favor, or at least to watch it morph into something so different that it becomes almost unrecognizable.

I’ve complained about “Octane-core” frequently. The three-album curse is another rule we have seen metalcore bands live and die by, often succumbing to mainstream success by their third album and and watering down their sound to appeal to a wider audience (e.g., Asking Alexandria, Wage War, Of Mice & Men, Crown The Empire, The Word Alive).  

All of these negative influences might one day ruin I Promised The World too, but this EP proves that you can still make metalcore that comes from the heart. You can still have a raw, unique sound instead of whitewashing everything with immaculate studio production and synthesized instruments.

Rise Records took a risk on I Promised The World, and it’s going to pay off. Incredibly, the visualizer Rise Records uploaded for “Future Worth Dying For” on YouTube has the same format/color scheme that they used for their uploads in 2012 (e.g., “O.G. Loko” by Of Mice & Men and “December Everyday” by For The Fallen Dreams). This EP is clearly meant to be a throwback to metalcore’s heyday.

The metalcore purists won’t be entirely convinced – this isn’t going back to Converge and Botch – but this EP is going to be successful because it has some post-hardcore influence too. Poison The Well might be the most apt comparison. The point is that I Promised The World isn’t overly “early-2000’s metalcore” like other revival bands that are purposely rough around the edges (e.g., withpaperwings, Balmora, Killing Me Softly, Ends In Tragedy).

“Bliss In 7 Languages” is the highlight. Raspy screams, nostalgic metalcore riffs, piano interlude. A mix of Misery Signals and Emmure? Plus soaring cleans. Ok, this is right on the money.

This type of metalcore will never be able to compete with the Octane-core bands that have lost their path, but it’s really cool that there are artists out there keeping the metalcore spirit alive. They know that they won’t make it onto the radio or play festivals – they just do it for the love of the game. That’s how metalcore started, and it’s fitting that the real soul of the genre remains underground.

Playlist for January 1 – February 22, 2026

1. Johnny Booth – Get Well Soon
After releasing my favorite album of 2023, Johnny Booth returned with one of my favorite songs in 2025. Mixing chaos with an experimental jazz interlude sees them teetering on the edge, but as long as they don’t fall too far into the deep end, they’ll be golden. They’re a favorite among newcomers. Everything they’ve done since 2019 has been incredible.

Varials – Where The Light Leaves
This is exactly what Varials needs to be doing.  New album out on February 27.  I expect it to be a very strong contender for my top 10.

The Devil Wears Prada – Play The Old Shit
This is infinitely better than anything from ‘Flowers’ last year. The repeated line of “You don’t know me, and I don’t owe you” is obviously a response to everyone (including me) saying they were lost in the sauce.  But it’s like, if you were capable of making music this good the whole time, why did you waste our time (and a whole album cycle) making ‘Flowers’?  It’s basically the same story behind Architects making “Seeing Red,” which I relentlessly bashed, but have to admit is fun and catchy.  I don’t know, calling out your fans for wanting you to make good, heavy music just doesn’t seem like a good idea, but all these bands keep doing it.

Austin Carlile – Twisted
I guess Austin Carlile is back?  It’s been 10 years since he left Of Mice & Men.  Not sure if the hate from the allegations against him has cooled enough though.  Anyway, the lyrical throwback to O.G. Loko at the start is…definitely something.  And there’s rap sections.  I would have liked stronger screams, but his medical condition is probably still a factor.  If this didn’t have his name attached to it, this wouldn’t go anywhere.  It probably still won’t.

Concealer. – …And The Sunlight Spoke
What an insane twist of fortune.  Right as Austin Carlile comes out with a new song that makes me miss his old screams, I find a new band that has the closest screams to OG Of Mice & Men that I’ve ever heard.   This is so good.  Kind of a revival metalcore sound mixed with Static Dress cleans.

Knocked Loose – Hive Mind 
I fear that Knocked Loose has missed with this one.  The rap just doesn’t fit, especially with how busy everything is.  It’s kind of like “Slaughterhouse 2” – it tries too hard to be a big song.  Normally, I’d roll my eyes and say that’s fine, but Knocked Loose effortlessly makes anthems – just look at the ‘Upon Loss’ singles – so I’m not sure why we needed this one.  It also kind of conflicts with the occult, bog monster theme they’ve been moving towards for a while.  Oh well, at least they’re having fun, and it’s heavy so there’s nothing to really complain about.

Crystal Lake – The Weight of Sound
This is the closest to their classic sound that Crystal Lake has sounded in a while.  The loss of Ryo is hard to shake.  He was the face of the band, the main part of their identity.  They quickly became one of the biggest Japanese metalcore bands, and there was a period of time where Ryo was a featured vocalist in seemingly every song.  John Robert C. (ex-vocalist from The Last Ten Seconds Of Life) is incredibly talented, and I think he fills Ryo’s shoes as well as anyone could.  I do feel a little bad for him though.  He was recruited to TLTSOL because he could mimic Storm Strope’s vocals so well.  Seems like his ability to sound like Ryo is why he was recruited into Crystal Lake too.  I hope he gets to shine based on his own talents one day.

Motionless In White – Afraid Of The Dark
I’m all in on this track.  Some MIW stuff is clearly for the fangirls, but they know when it’s time to get serious too.  The lyrics have a couple cool throwbacks too.  If you caught the reference to ‘When Love Met Destruction’ (their first EP), you might be as old as me.  God, that was a good EP.  There’s also a reference to ‘Creatures,’ their first album.  Maybe they’re signaling a return to their roots?  

Midwinter – Champagne
After two stellar EPs in 2025 that landed them at the number three spot on my album of the year list, Midwinter is already back with another single.  These guys are on fire.  They’re touring the US soon and are going to get some well deserved attention.

August Burns Red – Behemoth
This is more metalcore-y than their recent album (which really embraced Between The Buried And Me-esque progressive metal).  There’s rumors that the new album might have some ‘Constellations’ vibes.  That’s where they first started experimenting with “progressive” elements (e.g., intros, outros, atmospheric sections), but they haven’t been able to recapture the magic.  Honestly, I think they need to simplify things – slow it down, find cool riffs, and give them space to work.  People immediately recognize “White Washed,” “Meddler,” and “Mariana’s Trench” from the slow, opening guitar riffs.  It’s not easy to simplify things AND make them more interesting, but that’s what ABR needs to do to reignite the flame.

Capsize – The Fracture
These guys have less than 20,000 monthly listeners?  I thought they were way bigger.  I mean, they were even on one of the Pop Goes Punk albums.  Song is good though.  Nice mix of heavy and soft sections.  Chorus reminds me a bit of Silverstein.

Hollow Front – To The Ashes
Hollow Front is back in the zone.  They lost the plot on their 2022 album when they leaned way too far into their clean singer, but he left the band, and they brought back the melodic metalcore sound that made them blow up in the first place.  The screams have bite again and it looks like their drummer is doing the singing now.    Big credit to them for rebalancing everything so well.

Mortal Reminder – The Deadly Seven
I can’t believe these guys haven’t blown up.  They’re super similar to Thrown, but maybe more djent? Crispy instrumentals with a lot of attitude in the vocals.  Their second album came out at the end of December when album of the year lists are already locked in so that was bad timing.  

Mauled – TheLastThingYouSee
These guys have been getting a lot of attention but they’re still pretty underground.  Definitely some similarities to Suicide Silence and OG deathcore in general.  Loving it.

Mirrorcell – Ichi
Interesting mix of moody cyber metal.  Kind of like Loathe mixed with Kingdom of Giants.  The VCTMS feature gives it a nice bite.  These guys have been pumping out singles.  Looking forward to a full release.

Secrets – The Dark
You know what, I have to give Secrets credit for this one.  While I normally struggle to care about this new era of the band (even though Wade has been the vocalist for 11 years which is way longer than any of the other ones), I’ll acknowledge that Secrets went especially hard here.  Yes, ‘Fragile Figures’ in 2013 was the peak and I can’t let it go, but I also recognize that it’s super unfair to the band because this new stuff is actually pretty good.  I just struggle to care about/connect with it for some reason.

Larcenia Roe – Lean
Tough listen in the best of ways.  Vocalist is a monster.  Nothing else to be said.

Silent Planet – Under Your Skin
Very polished.  Good cleans.  Heavy screams.  But it’s so bland.  Other than Garret’s screams, you wouldn’t even know this is a Silent Planet song.  I liked ‘Superbloom’ a lot, but the over-reliance on electronic elements is just so boring.  I don’t even want the slam-poetry stuff to come back, but ‘Iridescent’ from 2021 is still miles away from what they’ve somehow turned into.

Gaerea – Phoenix
Some people will be upset that Gaerea is straying further away from post-black metal, but as they move closer to metalcore, we’re getting a pretty cool crossover between two genres that rarely mix.  Kind of a side note, but their progression reminds me a bit of Rivers of Nihil and The Devil Wears Prada.  Both bands were on a pretty clear trajectory and hit the sweet spot (Rivers of Nihil in 2018 and The Devil Wears Prada in 2022) before overshooting it on their next one.  I think Gaerea is about to hit the sweet spot on their next album (due in March).  And then we’ll see if they keep getting softer and overshoot it on the one after.

The Amity Affliction – House of Cards
I forgot the singer from Kingdom of Giants replaced Ahren last year.  I was listening along and was like, is KoG featured on this? That’s good – I never really thought KoG’s singer had a distinct sound, but I guess he does.  It’s decent, but I’m not inspired.  I think I got off this train a couple stops ago.

Bound In Fear – Three Knee Deep
Now that Pintglass put out their album last year, it looks like vocalist Ben Mason is turning his attention back to Bound In Fear.  Pretty good down tempo deathcore.  Kind of reminds me of Black Tongue and Dealey Plaza.

Static Dress – Human Props
This sound is such a guilty pleasure for me.  Hints of emo, screamo, and pop – it reminds me of the early days.  I didn’t find their 2022 album until it was too late to include on my album of the year list, and I’m still sad about it.  They just signed with Sumerian Records and are touring with Motionless In White and Lorna Shore later this year.  They have to put out an album and capitalize on the timing, right?

Distant – Nothing Left  To Hate
The kings of colossal deathcore.  Lyrics can be tough to make out, but I like the mix of pessimism and optimism.  “How many times did I build myself out of nothing just to tear it all down again?”

Miss May I – Die On The Vine
These guys have had a slow couple years, but this is a solid return.  Surprisingly heavy and dark.  It seemed like they were going in the stadium rock direction for a while, but this is straight up metalcore.  Let’s see where they go from here.

Erra – Further Eden
This album is shaping up to be a top 10 contender.  It comes out March 6, 2026.  I know a lot of you guys liked ‘Cure,’ but this is going to be so much better.

Examples of Rise Records’ Color Scheme/Format from 2012

Unfortunately, the thumbnail for I Promised The World’s song doesn’t show the 2012 Rise Records’ color scheme/format, but if you click play, you’ll see it right away. I’ll also put some songs that Rise actually uploaded in 2012 below so you can see that it’s exactly the same style and that Rise purposely brought it back for I Promised The World.

What a fun trip down memory lane. Hope you enjoy this mini throwback playlist.