10-7 Alestorm, Nekrogoblin, Aether Realm, The Bloody Seamen, Pittsburgh @Smiling Moose

I was pretty pissed off that the night before I missed the Ringworm show. Fucking bullshit work. Couldn't get off. But that's ok because Alestorm was for sure going to be the better show.

The Bloody Seamen - They were less bad than the last time I saw them, but still I can't say I enjoyed the set. For a pirate band, they're awfully soft. Really can't get into anything about this band.

Aether Realm - This band was ok. Very bang your head metal. The lead singer was fun, he was wearing a fake bearskin. The bear skin wasn't what made him fun, I didn't like that so much. We watched half of the set, but left for drinks.

Nekrogoblin - This band was ok too. The vocals were very very screamy. I liked the goblin guy in costume hopping around on stage. He was fun too. Metal for metal.

Alestorm - The main event of course. Even though the front of the crowd was going bananas, I heard that the back of the room was super bored. Who cares. Fuck those people. Alestorm played tons of good songs. Really enjoyed the entire set and I will always go out to see them play.

Hi's - Everything.
Low's - Shitty Pittsburgh band that embarrasses pirates everywhere

10-1 False Profit, Submachine, Fuck You Pay Me, Getaway Car, Connellsville @Marlene's Corner Bar

This was billed as the meanest show ever to be held in Connellsville. I think they're probably right. This show was mean for Connellsville standards. This was a good day all around. Beer fest in Connellsville was earlier in the day, so we were tuned up and ready to go by showtime.

Enhailer - This band wasn't on the bill originally, but got added. They were actually a welcome addition to the lineup. They didn't have any vocals. I remember them as a melodic metal band. A little sludgy and doomy I remember. Good band.

Getaway Car - This band wasn't too good. They're a modern sounding punk band. The vocals aren't screamy, more like Misfits style but different. I was a little bit annoyed by the lead singer. The vocals weren't bad, but nothing about the band was too good either. I'm sure I'll see them again if they're going to keep having shows at Marlene's, but I won't be going anywhere just to see them.

False Profit - This band was ok. A little more of a crossover band. They were ok. I liked about half of the songs pretty well.

Submachine - It's a shame that none of the people I grew up with going to shows didn't come out for this. I know those mother fuckers still live in Fayette County, but are too old bitter and dumb to remember how to have fun. Fucking Submachine in Fayette County is pretty epic, but no one but the 40 or so people at the show gave a shit.

Fuck You Pay Me - Great band from Cleveland. They put on a great show. Fast and loud and mean, just as billed. We saw them at the Skull Fest matinee a few months earlier and it was pretty great and it was more of the same this time. Of course it's disappointing that Fayette County really has no concept of hardcore punk so no one was real into it. But I was super happy that they came to Connellsville anyway.

HI's - FYPM, Submachine, beerfest, Marlene's
Low's - Nothing

8-18 Madball, Homewrecker, Coldside, Cold and Distant, Left Behind, Huntington @V Club

This show was a tossup going in. You know Madball is going to be good, but Homewrecker has been average before, and the other three bands were completely unknown.

Left Behind - They were ok. Nothing special at all.

Cold and Distant - Another band that was completely forgettable.

Coldside - Again. Not memorable at all.

Homewrecker - By far the best they played. They killed it and it was great.

Madball - A very outgoing feel from Madball, very friendly. Freddie talked about Operation Hardcore or something like that. I can't wait to see what that's all about. Hopefully they're getting together some bad ass tours.

Hi's - Madball, Homewrecker, the venue.

Low's - All the other bands.

8-21 Skull Fest, Freedom, Fuck You Pay Me, Blood Pressure, Concealed Blade, Blackout, Machine Gun, Pittsburgh @Rock Room

Before going to the show I found out that Freedom was no longer playing. This was super unfortunate. I very much like Freedom and think Skull Fest would have gotten a real treat if they played. But it was not to be.

Machine Gun - Good punk band.

Blackout - Another good punk band.

Concealed Blade - Awesome band. I had seen them before when they first started playing out and such, but they're soo good now. One of the best bands out of Pittsburgh that I have heard in a long time. Great mosh parts, as pointed out by the singer from FYPM.

Blood Pressure - Another great band. Similar band members to Concealed Blade. They ripped shit up too. Another of the best active bands in Pittsburgh.

Fuck You Pay Me - Great set. The singer didn't turn the mic on until 4 songs in, but that's ok. The freaks were out and this entire show was a banger.

Hi's - All the bands, Rock Room
Low's - Matinee show.

8-7 This is Hardcore, Turning Point, Floorpunch, Breakdown, Ruiner, Strife, All Else Failed, Zao, Angel Dust, Freedom, Naysayer, Blistered, True Love, Jesus Piece, Break Away, Timebomb, Jagged Visions, Philly @The Electric Factory

Day 4. This fest went really fast and smooth. It was awesome like always. At the end of this night I wasn't beat down or anything too bad. This day had good bands lined up, but no one who I was really looking forward to seeing. We were a little bit late getting there, but not too bad. We missed the first 5 bands, roughly.

Jagged Visions - Missed them.

Timebomb - Missed them.

Break Away - Missed them.

Jesus Piece - Missed them.

True Love - Missed them.

Blistered - Even though we saw them a few days beforehand at Roboto, I wanted to get there to see them again. Good band, fast heavy modern hardcore sound. They pretty much killed it. A good surprise and a good improvement over their set last year.

Naysayer - At one point I felt like this band was Terror Jr. But now I'm not so hot on this band. Their songs are just real average, and the live show is so so. No disrespect to this band, but they're just ok.

Freedom - On the other hand I love this band. Great singer. Some oi punk influence to their tough slower hardcore. Great band. I was super stoked that they were supposed to play Skullfest a few weeks later.

Angel Dust - I like this band a lot. Some of their songs sound a little bit like surf punk, a little groove to it. I liked the set. Good energy.

Zao - I know this is a local band from SWPA, but I don't really care for them. I was outside eating and drinking during their set. Listening from outside they didn't play any of the few songs of theirs that I know.

All Else Failed - Good set. I don't like listening to them much on recordings, but the live set ripped. I'm going to give them another chance.

Strife - From LA. They're a seasoned band, 1990's style heavy hardcore. They had good stage presence and a good set. I don't especially like Strife, but I enjoyed the set.

Ruiner - Great set from the Philly band. The crowd was real into it. I don't know a lot of Ruiner songs but they brought it hard. Really liked the set. One of the better ones of the fest.

Breakdown - I wasn't sure if they were going to be good, because a lot of their albums are average. By a lot I mean one of like three. The lead singer is the funniest guy in hardcore. I love Slumlords and now Breakdown. Making fun of everything, he's great. I really really liked the set, best band of the day.

Floorpunch - I was surprised at how good they were. I hadn't ever seen them play live, but expected the worst after being disappointed by World War 4 for a few years. Floorpunch is one of those straight edge bands that is more fun than anything else. I liked the show.

Turning Point - I was happy with everything from Turning Point. They played the set with 3 different singers, obviously because the lead singer dies of an overdose I think. The first guy from Mouthpiece was good. The second guy was from 108, he was the best. Third was the guy from Thursday, he was good. And lastly was the guy from Mouthpiece again. Good set, good length, nothing to complain about.

All in all This is hardcore was a huge success. Next year we'll be back. The hotel we stayed at was some fancy one the first few days, then the Parkway Inn on Baltimore Pike in Springfield PA. It was a great place. About 30 mins from the venue. We got the porn channel for free for a few days. There was a religious ceremony of sorts going on in the lobby on Sunday. Great place. One final take away about the barrier in the venue is that I really liked it and hope they set it up the same next year too.

Best Bands at This is Hardcore
1. Wisdom in Chains
2. Iron Reagan
3. Down to Nothing
4. Code Orange
5. Youth of Today

Most Disappointing Bands
Most Precious Blood

8-6 This is Hardcore, Gorilla Biscuits, Killing Time, The Trouble, Wisdom in Chains, Most Precious Blood, Power Trip, Incendiary, Criminal Instinct, Lifeless, Rude Awakening, Strength for a Reason, Malice in the Palace, Red Death, Hellweed, Absolute Suffering, No Zodiac, Ten Ton Hammer, Philly @The Electric Factory

Day 3 of This is Hardcore was the most anticipated. Gorilla Biscuits was great the last time they played TIHC a few years ago. I was sure this time was going to be equally as awesome. We were a little late going in, missed the first few bands.

Ten Ton Hammer - Missed them. I don't like the band name though.

No Zodiac - I've seen them before, but missed them too.

Absolute Suffering - We got there in the middle of their set. It was ok, didn't watch everything.

Hellweed - This band came all the way from Russia to play. They were heavy and metal as fuck. I wasn't able to get any of their music online, or I'd have listened to them going in. They were really good. I was disappointed by the crowd response, but that's somewhat to be expected for foreign bands that aren't know. I hope they make it back to the US again sometime, I'll go see them.

Red Death - Really enjoyed this band too. Lockin' out. Heavy and fast hardcore. I'd like to see them again.

Malice in the Palace - I like this band's energy and live show, but I don't particularly care to listen to them otherwise. There's just no songs that I really really like even though I really want to.

Strength for a Reason - So much better live than on recording. They represented themselves well. Good set.

Rude Awakening - I like this band, but only averagely so. Watched a song or two then went outside for some food.

Lifeless - Same deal. I've seen them enough to know that I only kind of like them.

Criminal Instinct - I like this band too. The lead singer has a big resemblance to Paul Tate. Groovy hardcore in the vein of Turnstile or something like that. Good set.

Incendiary - Wasn't ready for this one. They killed it. I've seen them live before, and I've seen them at This is Hardcore before and this set was twice as bonkers as I was expecting. They played super well. Hardcore in the vein of Backtrack, fast groovy and moshy. I like this band a lot.

Dinner Break - I don't think we got food, but we did put down a few beers. That's imperative before Wisdom.

Most Precious Blood - Dis a point ment. I was expecting them to play at least a few songs off of Nothing in Vain. They didn't play anything. I think the singer is probably a douche bag. Started off the set talking about his old band One King Down, I thought that was kind of dumb. At one point in the set he was talking at length about something "his friend said that struck him as profound." It was the dumbest shit I've ever heard. I was close to the stage and at a little of an angle and even though the female guitarist was facing away from the stage, I could see her face and how she was interacting of the other guitarist. She was making fun of the singer and his horrid rant. She was probably a little embarrassed. Actually, he's a horrible front man. Most of the time once a song started and I realized it wasn't from Nothing in Vain I would spend the rest of the song dreading the time between songs. At one point dude turned his ankle and it was real dramatic. I don't expect MPB to ever play another set ever.

Wisdom in Chains - Best set of the fest. Everything from the new songs to the old songs was killer. I think the crowd response was better than it's ever been for them. Played all the hits and the newer songs are bangers too.

The Trouble - A more punk styled band, fast melodic. They were good but not great. The only song I think everyone knew is the song American Nightmare covered.

Killing Time - I like watching them live, but never listen to them on recordings. Not sure why but I keep sleeping on them. Good set, great crowd response.

Gorilla Biscuits - I'm soo happy that the time between the set before and Gorilla Biscuits was less than the over an hour of the last time they played here. They came on pretty promptly and killed it. It's fucking Gorilla Biscuits.

All in all I'm very sad that Terror couldn't play, they would have been amazing. And once again the barrier was a huge success.

Hi's - Wisdom, Incendiary, food trucks, copious amounts of beer.

8-5 This is Hardcore, Integrity, All Out War, Ringworm, Iron Reagan, Haymaker, Full of Hell, Eternal Sleep, Year of the Knife, Iron Price, Nomads, Panzer Bastard, Philly @The Electric Factory

Day 2 of the fest, like the last year, was the first day at the Electric Factory. This was metal day for the fest, tons of heavy ass bands playing. I was happy about the return of the food trucks. I had this grilled cheese sandwich from this grilled cheese sandwich truck and it was fucking fire. Loved that shit. Soo soo soo good.

Panzer Bastard - This band sounds a lot like Motorhead. We walked in for the last two songs.

Nomads - This band would be better off playing Skull Fest than This is Hardcore. Ripping fast metalpunks. TIHC wasn't into it real much. Which is to be expected. They didn't give a shit about Fuck You Pay Me, so of course they wouldn't give a shit about Nomads. Singer is a scary looking dude, lots of face and head tattoos.

Iron Price - Big guy hardcore. We were outside getting food and whatnot while they played. Sounded ok.

Year of the Knife - Was still outside eating and getting merch. This band had a lady in it though, which was one of three bands this year.

Eternal Sleep - This band keeps getting better and better. Pittsburgh is churning out some good ones these days. They played all the good songs and the place went off for them. Love this band.

Full of Hell - Didn't watch this band too hard. They are good, but more grindy than thrashy, and more fast than groovy. Good band, but not my fav. At TIHC you gotta pick your spots.

Haymaker - "We're the band that no one wants to see." He was a little bit right. But this band was helped big time by the barrier. When they started playing like no one was in the room, but by the end of the set it had filled in nicely and the songs were getting people into it. This was one of the sleeper bands of the entire fest. I enjoyed their set a whole lot.

Iron Reagan - Best band of the day. Sooo much fun. They played a ton of songs, but to my dismay Close to Toast wasn't one of them. But that's ok, they thrashed the shit out of the place. It was great. One of the best bands I've ever seen to play TIHC. I was worried that they wouldn't get the response because they're more of a thrash band, but I was wrong and the set was great.

All Out War - Heavy as fuck, slayed everyone and their loved ones. Played all their good songs, of course, since they don't have anything new or even newish to play. Always like banging my head to this band.

Ringworm - Overbilled in my opinion. They just don't get enough response for enough songs to play second to last. But that doesn't matter too much because I really like this band. Even though they don't play some of my fav songs ever they do play Dollar Whore and Justice Replaced by Revenge and some other true bangers. The crowd supported them and the set was good. Human Furnace is the fucking man.

Integrity - I had never seen them before, and honestly my love for integrity is lukewarm. They didn't play my favorite song, Heaven's Final War. But their set was good, if a bit long. The singer has the worst speaking voice ever, sooo gruff. But he's perfect for singing for a band like Integrity. They were super heavy and good all around.

Hi's - The Electric Factory, all the food trucks, almost all the bands.
Low's - Nothing.