7-26 This is Hardcore, Title Fight, Blacklisted, Cold World, CIV, Bold, 100 Demons, Nails, Wisdom in Chains, Death Threat, Culture, Rotting Out, Cruel Hand, Palehorse, Mindset, Coke Bust, Die Young, Heavy Chains, Greg from Trial, Hounds of Hate, Full of Hell, Old Habits, Freedom, Philadelphia @Electric Factory

Before this day of the fest, there really wasn't a whole lot I was super interested in. I was pretty much at a 10 for sure want to see this band or a 0 really don't care one way or the other. Perfect opportunity to take advantage of the $5 reentry and drink for mad cheap yo.

Decided that the first two bands were most likely good, but a little more sleep would be cool too since we were mad late out the night before.

One interesting extra little thing that happened here was what I'm going to call Medieval fighting competitions. Dudes or ladies dress up in suits of armor and medieval garb and fight with heavy duty foam weapons. They pack a wallop, you can't get these at Toys R Us. At one point an especially funny thing happened that made me laugh even more because I caused it. These two dudes were fighting, one was on his knees, and the one winning said "should I give him mercy?" I yelled out "no mercy!" That right there was a little bit funny. So the guy beats the shit out of the guy on his knees for 15 seconds or so and it was hilarious. Just the ferocity of it and how he really didn't show mercy. It was good. The dude came over and chatted for a second and let me hold his big ass sword. It was cool. Freedom - Missed them.

Old Habits - Missed them. But I can say I didn't hear one single word about them, see a single t-shirt, or see any merch table for them outside. A complete ghost at the fest, but that doesn't mean they weren't good.

Full of Hell - We walked in for their last 4 or so songs. They were way more beatdowny than I remember, but still have the weird guy heaviness and inconsistent melody that I remember them for. A good band. They seem to come to Pittsburgh about every other month, so I'll be seeing them again soon.

Hounds of Hate - The second Pittsburgh band of the day. I'm pretty sure everyone in the band moved to Pittsburgh from New Jersey or something, and I think they still live here. Set was good. The singer is real tall and awkward looking on stage, but that gives them an interesting look to watch. The crowd was into it. They're a new style band not so different from Backtrack. I'm happy to see them getting a real good reaction. I like this band and will see them at Roboto in the no doubt near future.

Greg from Trial - I'm glad TIH had a speaker there this year. I think it would be awesome if they had a speaker every year, even if it's Greg every year. I'm going to try summarize what he talked about. First was a story about a woman he met in Italy and the friendship that ensued. The point I think being to get out of your shell and meet some people. The next thing he talked about was a band that no one every heard of from Utah called Pyroclast (is that it?). He told the story of how he met them and how they died. Literally 4/5 of the band died in a crazy drowning accident. Truly a crazy story. The point being that your time on Earth is short and you gotta get your voice out now. I was expecting a politically motivated speach, but instead it was more of a motivational piece. Greg is an amazing speaker and probably an amazing person. I really enjoyed what he had to say and if he's ever around on a speaking tour I'm going to go to that bitch. His organization is called, I think, Words as Weapons. Cool part of the day.

Heavy Chains - I hadn't heard about this band before, but I thought they had a sweet name. Some band on stage said that Heavy Chains is the shit and everyone should check them out. I can't remember the band that said that, but it was a band I liked. So I wanted to check them out. They're about 75% hardstyle and 25% newstyle, and original enough to keep my attention. I liked them. I think that at a show in Pittsburgh the mosh would probably be overrun by idiots trying to hurt people, so this might be the best Heavy Chains memory I ever make.

Die Young - We went outside and hit up the vendor area. Ice freaking cream son. Shit was baller. Birch Beer Vanilla Bean ice cream. Baller as f'in baller shit. Might be the best ice cream I've ever had in my entire life. Don't remember the way the band sounded at all. However this is also when we watched the medieval fighting.

Coke Bust - Drinking would most likely have began after Greg from Trial if it weren't for Coke Bust's time slot. I wanted to see them because I know they're a good live show, and they're another one of the bands on the punk and fast side of things. Great frontman. Like Agnostic Front and Slapshot his style is easy and fun to watch, and he's really entertaining. They played a bunch of songs that I didn't know, and neither of my favorite songs. But they're still one of the best bands of the day. Quality fast hardcore. Plenty of creepy crawling going on.

Mindset - They play every year, I don't watch every year. Not any specific beef with their music, it just doesn't work out. Drinking.

Palehorse - Drinking.

Cruel Hand - Drinking.

Rotting Out - Had to get in there for Rotting Out. This band is so fucking good. They got a million good songs. City of Shame is still the best jam. The singer gained a shit ton of weight. At first I wasn't sure it was the same guy. It is, he's just a fat muscle guy now instead of a mad fit looking guy. Great set, easily one of the best of the day.

Culture - Drinking.

Death Threat - Drinking.

Wisdom in Chains - I'll see this band every chance I get. They are so incredibly good. Every song is a banger. They played one new song, it was killer. Played a healthy mix of older songs and newer. The greatest singalongs. Great energy. I love this band and like always they were the best.

Nails - So hot and sweaty after Wisdom there is no way I was going to be in there for Nails. I don't like this band a whole lot anyway. To me they're run of the mill heavy style hardcore.

100 Demons - A few years ago people would freak out for a 100 Demons show. Their set wasn't near as crazy last year as it had been the previous year. I think it's because they opened the set with a new song 'Drop the Hammer.' It sucked. It was worse than sucky, it was terrible. If this is a sign of things to come, they'll be the new Sworn Enemy here in a few years. They bounced back admirably by unleashing all their best songs. The mosh happened pretty hard, but out of the super heavy beatdown bands that I saw, others got more overall positive fan reaction. What I don't like about 100 Demons is the fact that they're not all that entertaining to watch. The singer kind of lurks around, the whole band has an asshole vibe going for them. Don't know how I feel about them after this set. Something weird happened at the end of the set. I think they probably just got cut off before what they wanted to be their last song. But the singer walked off the stage. The other band members were standing there, the guitars screeching like some sick shit was coming up. The drummer just sitting there. Then they all looked at each other for a few minutes, then left stage. It seemed like the singer threw a tantrum and tried to keep it under wraps. His body language was just negative. Maybe he was mad that more people weren't getting hype and violent. Probably not, most likely they just ran out of time.

Bold - I hate Bold. No way was I going to watch this. I have every Bold album on mp3 and they're super boring. Not a fan.

CIV - From outside they sounded good. I know they're an older band, but they have a new style sound to them. Probably a granddaddy to bands like Backtrack and Turnstile. I don't know if I'll ever get the chance to see them again, but I hope I do. Really there's no excuse for not watching them other than the weather was amazing and being outside was nice.

Cold World - They were sick. Best crowd response of the fest. They played plenty of old songs, a few new ones, it was great overall. The singer has his little moshy dancey thing that he does. I like it. Great set.

Blacklisted - Last year they were uninspiring and I remember that they didn't play many old songs. This year would be more of the same I'm sure. I love Cannonize, but still not interested in watching them.

Title Fight - I've seen this band 4 times and have no interest whatsoever.

Merch acquired: Coke Bust tank top, Rotting Out t-shirt.

Best sets: 1. Wisdom in Chains
2. Cold World
3. Rotting Out
4. Coke Bust
5. Greg from Trial

Disappointing sets through 3 days: 1. Unearth
2. 100 Demons
3. Twitching Tongues
4. Lifeless

Favorite sets through 3 days: 1. Wisdom in Chains
2. Cold World
3. Crowbar
4. Agnostic Front
5. Rotting Out

Final thoughts of the night. A good day. Lots of fun was had and some great live music was seen and heard. Wisdom in Chains is so sick, I gotta get the new album.

7-25 This is Hardcore, Converge, The Explosion, Agnostic Front, Turmoil, Slapshot, All Else Failed, Dropdead, Backtrack, Twitching Tongues, Rude Awakening, Timebomb, Philadelphia @Electric Factory

We woke up in the morning happy as hell that we stayed in Pennsylvania this year. For one, the bridge into jersey is $5 each crossing. Bullshit. So we didn't have to pay that, and also didn't have to mess with that crap road that we always end up taking because it's super confusing and we always miss our exit on the way in.

Our first order of business was not doing that $25 parking bullshit. Instead of going down 7th, which is the road Electric Factory is on, we turned down 5th and found plenty of street parking for free. This would be our spot for the next two days as well. Fuck 7th, 5th is where it's at. The line for this day was pretty bad again, but we were more prepared mentally for it this time.

We woke up in the morning and noticed that Agnostic Front was added to the lineup and Blast dropped. Great news for me. AF is one of my favorite bands and Blast is a group I'd never heard of. So for me an already great lineup got even better.

Timebomb - Missed them mostly because of the line and the nap we took before driving in. Not sure at all if they were good or not.

Rude Awakening - I was really surprised at how good of a crowd response they got. It was pretty awesome to watch from above. I still don't love this band because as far as moshy crossbreeds between new style and heavy style goes, they're just above average. I'm pretty sure I saw them before at Sincerity Fest, and I'll see them again if they come to town.

Twitching Tongues - The last time I saw them was at a previous TIH and I remember not liking them much. On recordings this band must be pretty decent because the crowd was all about this band. But I think the vocal quality was beyond poor and I didn't think the breakdowns were that great nor were the songs that good. I didn't like this band, though I may be missing something because people went off.

Backtrack - The first band of the day I was excited to see. I've seen them pretty much every time they've come to Pittsburgh, and will continue to do so. It blows my mind that after seeing the shit show that was the Twitching Tongues set that more people weren't in the room. How can more people support Twitching Tongues than Backtrack? Either way, they built up momentum pretty good during the set. It was a good time and even though the crowd wasn't as packed in as for TT, they still had good reaction and killed it.

Dropdead - I expected the crowd to react mildly to this band since they're more of the fast hardcore punk subgenre, with no beatdowns and not much opportunity for the creepy crawl. I was right, but it didn't take away from the great stage presence, message, or 20+ years experience of Dropdead. The first band talking about political things between songs. I'm sure the meat heads weren't into it, but I was and other people were too. One of my favorite sets of the day and least crowd supported. I wanted to get a shirt or something, but I don't think they were selling anything.

All Else Failed - We caught the tail end of their set and it was pretty good. I never really gave this band much of a chance, but they were highly entertaining and the crowd was super into them. I'm thinking they're a Philly band and that helped the singalongs and things. Very good set and I'll have to consider seeing them if they come around.

Slapshot - I didn't want to miss this set at any cost. Fast bands like Slapshot are pretty much out of favor with the younger hardcore crowd. Their response wasn't anything like I thought it would be. But that doesn't mean the set wasn't good, because it was big time. Their singer was one of the top performers of the day. He was bleeding the whole time. Old Time Hardcore was a great song. They didn't play Identity of Spirit of 81 as I hoped, but the entire set was still sick as fuck. One of the day's best sets.

Turmoil - I wasn't sure if they'd be any good, but they sure were. They played Anchor, Killing Today for a Better Tomorrow, and Is Anybody There. Those three songs were amazing. The crowd was super into the set, the band was grateful to be remembered, and I'll for sure see them again if they ever play another show close (doubtful). Heavy old school hardcore from the forming days of metalcore.

The Explosion - We caught the tail end of their set because we were eating some delicious tacos. Fucking amazing tacos. I never heard of The Explosion before, but I'm going to have to take a listen now. Sing along punk rock hardcore. There was a fair body of people singing along their songs, looked like a good time. Good stage presence and they were entertaining to watch.

Agnostic Front - The crowd response was pretty weak for these legends. Once again, old time hardcore bands like AF and Slapshot that are more rooted in punk than metal struggling to get footing at TIH. Which is a shame because their show on stage is great. Roger Miret is a great frontman and promised to play TIH next year too. They played a good mix of songs and ended with the Warzone cover. Great set. I always enjoy a good AF show.

Converge - Like usual they were crazy and confusing tough guys left and right. "We're too weird for the hardcore kids and too punk for the metal kids." Singer Jake pretty much summed it up right there. They closed with 3 old songs that people could mosh to. I was disappointed that they didn't play When Forever Comes Crashing, Locust Rain, Axe to Fall, or Dark Horse, but with so many good songs they had a killer set anyways. At one point in the set though, they played a few songs back to back that are more on the boring and hard to groove to songs. All in all, they mixed it up good and were a fitting set to close out night 2 of TIH.

Merch acquired: Panic tanktop, American Nightmare ghost girl shirt, Converge shirt. Agnostic front had two different shirts that were awesome but getting on the fest on such short notice they must not have had time to restock on sizes so they didn't have anything my size.

Best sets: 1. Slapshot
2. Agnostic Front
3. Turmoil
4. Converge
5. Dropdead

Disappointing sets through 2 days: 1. Unearth
2. Twitching Tongues
3. Lifeless

Favorite sets though 2 days: 1. Crowbar
2. Agnostic Front
3. Ringworm
4. Slapshot
5. Code Orange Kids

Final thoughts of the night. Weather has been pretty much perfect. Beer here is way too expensive, tomorrow we'll have to figure out how to use the $5 re-entry to get our drunk on. After two nights, this night has been the best in terms of the quality of the live show. Pretty much the crowd was lackluster for the old style.

7-24 This is Hardcore, Killswitch Engage, Unearth, Crowbar, Overcast, Ringworm, Code Orange Kids, Xibalba, Noisem, Expire, Lifeless, Rock Bottom, Philadelphia @Electric Factory

This is Hardcore is by far the most exciting fest in the USA every year, and for me maybe in the entire world. The cross section of underground bands that loosely at times fit into the hardcore genre provide good diversity and always the opportunity to see bands that I wouldn't see anywhere else. This year's fest has the most interesting lineup of any year we've attended thus far.

This is the first year we've attended all 4 days. Our friends getting old as fuck, or at least for some reason it seems like they want to be and feel old as fuck. Resigning any sentiment of youth and energy in favor of polo shirts and 10 pm bedtimes. I don't think I'll ever get it. Regardless, me and Eric, doing what we'll always do, made the late night trip from one side of PA to the other on Wednesday night. 5 hour drive about, it went by fast, and once again Camry handled it like a champ.

We got the deal of the century, the hotel was free for 4 days. Fucking awesome shit. It was also way too classy for us. I'd really rather stay in some New Jersey slum motel like last year. We stayed at the Four Points by Sheridan. It had a nice bar and shit in the lobby, a salt water pool, super friendly housekeeping who actually said hello and shit when you passed them in the hallways, breakfast that cost like $10. It was way over the top and we were most definitely the only TIH goers staying there. It wasn't all good at the hotel though, the TV had some of those scratchy static lines running vertically, the swimming pool was kinda dirty, and I couldn't smoke in the room. Next year we're going back to staying at a hotel with a fist sized hole in the door.

We made the crucial mistake on this day by parking in one of the attended lots. Fucking $25. Fuck that. Those fucking con artists ripped us right off properly. Fuck em. They won't get us again because the next day we figured out how to buck that system.

The line was around the corner and took forever to get in despite the fact that we were pretty early. This day of the fest is seen as a metal day. Very few true hardcore bands played. I think it was awesome, but it appeared that this was by a longshot the least attended day of the fest.

Rock Bottom - We missed them because of the line.

Lifeless - I wish I'd have missed them. They're one of those tough guy bands that there is nothing special about. See, if you're going to be a super tough band like them, then you have got to either have the best songs, or the best live show. They have none of that. I hadn't seen them before, but my impression of them was a negative one. I connect them with the bands that encourage crowd killing and the ultra-violence that makes shows no fun to go to. In the end I was pretty close to right. I didn't enjoy the set and don't think I'll ever go out of my way to see this band. One of the worst bands of the fest. The crowd's response to them was a bit sluggish.

Expire - The first band that drew heavy crowd response. It was a great set. With a mid tempo modern hardcore sound they brought the most and the stagedives. It was a very good set. My first time seeing them. I'll have to listen more and will for sure go see them again.

Noisem - A younger and newer hardcore band. They fit into the subgenre of weirdo metal hardcore. The response to their set was weak because their songs aren't great for stagediving and not good for moshing. I enjoyed the set and I think if this band stays together they'll be something to see in the future.

Xibalba - The first band of the year that we willfully didn't watch. We listened outside. Tough guy shit, I'm sure the mosh was pretty ignorant.

Code Orange Kids - They make me feel good about Pittsburgh hardcore. They got some serious crowd response. The pit was heavy as fuck. Their stage presence is amazing. Despite being more of a weird metal hardcore band like Noisem, they have some songs that are much more conductive to energy at a place like TIH. Great set. This band is really growing on me.

Ringworm - "This happens every year. In between the mosh parts are these things called solos. Ask your uncles and your dads about them. They'll fill you in." A great line by the singer Human Furnace that sums up Ringworm's set pretty well. They slayed it, but the crowd really only got crazy for a few songs. One of the best sets of the day, and one of my favorite sets of the weekend. They didn't play Dollar Whore or Birth is Pain, but still the set was awesome. I had to get the frisbee and backpatch and towel, so this was the first band whose merch table I hit hard.

Overcast - An older band who is going to be putting out a discography soon. I don't think they've played anywhere in years. It's always a great thing about TIH fest because they pull bands like this out of the woodwork and often their showmanship squashes a lot of the newer bands. Overcast pretty much killed it. The singer has dreads no joke 5 feet long. Brought some metal, brought the mosh. Good set by a band that I should be listening to. This was the first set of the day that had to be stopped mid-song because someone was hurt pretty badly. I didn't see what happened but dude ended up ok and going out with the medics. They resumed play successfully.

Crowbar - By far the most surprising band of the entire fest. As a sludge metal band, never focusing on the beatdowns, they brought it and brought it fucking hard. The pit was going wild. It seemed that people were really into them. I had previously thought that this would be the beginning of a mass exodus for the end of the night, but I was wrong. TIH packed it in. Sludge metal stagedives? What? It was off the hook. You can tell this band has been playing for a long long time because they had their shit together. Great set, I'm sure if they ever come to Pittsburgh again they'll be playing with shit metal bands and their set won't be nearly as energetic, but I'm looking forward to it anyway. One of the top sets of the whole weekend.

Unearth - When they went on stage there were maybe half of the people in the building that were in there for Crowbar. It was still a lot of people, but I'm sure it had to be disappointing for them. They didn't help theirselves any by playing pretty poorly and people slowly trickled out as their set didn't suck anyone in. By far one of the most disappointing bands for me. I used to be super into their early albums up to the Oncoming Storm. But even their old songs sounded lackluster and with boring unimaginative beatdowns. Towards the end of the set some lady got hurt, evidently knocked out cold, and there was a long lull in the music. We took this opportunity to end the misery and get out of there. Won't be going out of my way to check them out in the future.

Killswitch Engage - This band isn't anything I'm very interested in. And after Unearth epically let me down I wasn't too keen on giving another mainstream hardcore turned metal band a chance. We got our merch and got out. Was super disappointed that Crowbar had packed up their shit and left before we got to their table. Almost got a Code Orange Kids jersey, but I probably wouldn't wear it.

Merch acquired this day: Ringworm (shirt, tote, patches, stickers, frisbee, towel, 4 beer coozies), Hail Pizza pentagram shirt that I love.

Best sets: 1. Crowbar
2. Code Orange Kids
3. Ringworm
4. Expire
5. Overcast

Disappointing sets: 1. Unearth
2. Lifeless

Favorite sets after one day: 1. Crowbar
2. Ringworm
3. Code Orange Kids
4. Expire
5. Overcast

Final thoughts of the night. Chics in high waisted shorts are still a big thing, it's good and bad, good is good and bad is fupa emphasis. Booty shorts are still prevalent. I will always wear tighter pants from now on because things will stay in your pocket better. We didn't utilize the $5 re-entry. Girl mosh was prevalent, and that's good to see. Dickhead mosh was happening, but not on the scale that it was a show ruiner. Metal wins.