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.

8-4 This is Hardcore, Youth of Today, Burn, Code Orange, Down to Nothing, Maximum Penalty, Protester, Free, Line of Sight, Stand Off, Nation of Wolves, Philly @Union Transfer

This is Hardcore Fest is always a week that I look forward to all year long. My favorite vacation ever, every year. This year was no different. There was a little bit of disappointment leading up to the fest due to the fact that Scott Vogel is recovering from neck surgery so World Be Free and Terror couldn't play. Also Done Dying wasn't going to play either. Despite all that there were still enough bands playing to make this one of the top shows ever. In the end I wasn't disappointed at all.

We went a day early to Philly and stayed in a luxury-ish hotel for free, it was pretty bad ass. But really we belong in shit hole hotels.

When we got to the Union Transfer the line was crazy fucking long. Like way down around the building. So unfortunately we missed a few bands.

Nation of Wolves - Standing in line.

Stand Off - Standing in line.

Line of Sight - We got into the building about half way through their set. They were really good. DCHC, straight edge. They had an old school vibe like Bold or something like that. They were good and the crowd was appreciative.

Free - I was excited to see this band because of the connections with Have Heart. In the end I guess I was a little bit disappointed. They didn't blow me away, but were still super good. They had some microphone issues for pretty much the entire set. I remember not being able to hear the vocals very well. Still a good band and I hope they end up coming to Pittsburgh at some point.

Protester - This was the sleeper band of the day. Straight edge and angry hardcore from DC. They kicked ass. Their sound comes from old time Boston and NYHC bands, just faster and louder. They were super good. The singer had good stuff to say. It was motivating.

Maximum Penalty - We had to go outside to eat at some point. This is when we decided on. I was upset at the lack of food trucks outside the venue. Kung Fu Hoagies was there and that's it. So there were mad people eating there. We ended up going across the street to the chinese spot. The food was really fresh and good. Somehow we ate and got back and still saw the last song for Max Pen. They are good, and it seemed people cared a lot more than they did the last time they played TIHC.

Down to Nothing - DTN is a solid candidate for the band of the day and band of the fest. Their set ripped. They played all the jams, Save It for the Birds, gorilla crew fuck you, all of it. They have the best style of hardcore, groovy mosh and get low. This is the first time I've ever seen them, and they are awesome. Maybe in the next 5 years they'll play another show.

Code Orange - They always slay TIHC fest and this year was no different. They absolutely demolished shit. So good. Another solid contender for band of the fest. Their style on recordings doesn't seem to translate properly to the live show. Twice as good live as on recordings. Great band, great show. Burn was bound to be disappointing after these two bands back to back.

Burn - I liked this band, but they weren't one of the better of the day. I'm sure back in the day they probably had wild shows, but in 2016 that wasn't the case. I thought they were a little boring, but it was worth watching.

Youth of Today - For some old mother fuckers, they owned shit. Not disappointed at all. Ray Capo is still one of the best frontmen ever in hardcore. He has good shit to say and great energy. YoT played all the hits, everything you would want to hear from them. I hope they play again with this lineup before they all turn 50. Honesty is the best song.

Hi's - Even the lack of food truck situation turned out good. Down to Nothing, Code Orange, Protester, Youth of Today.
Low's - No merch was purchased on this day.

A great end to day 1. On a side note, TIHC proved to be a great place to play Pokemon Go. Pokestops at both venues. After the show we went back to the telly to lay around in luxury one last night.

8-2 Blistered, Jukai, Path to Misery, Steel City Firm, Resistance Wire, Pittsburgh @Mr. Roboto Project

This was the This is Hardcore warm up show. The next morning we were going to leave for Philly, so it's only right to jump start something like that with a show at Roboto. Unfortunately Roboto is either closing or moving because the landlord isn't renewing the lease for some reason. So this might be the last hardcore show there.

Resistance Wire - Just saw this band a few days ago, but they were better on this night. Ripping hardcore, heavy, moshy. There was way more mosh on this night.

Steel City Firm - I don't dislike this band, but I dislike the ultra violent crowd destroying mosh. In a larger space I would have watched them, but at Roboto with them setting up on the side of the room I really wasn't trying to be pit fodder for an average super heavy hardcore band. They sounded ok from outside.

Jukai - From New York. I really like this band. They were way better this time than when they played at Sincerity Fest. Heavy, very distorted, and good.

Blistered - From Florida. They were on their way to This is Hardcore too. They killed it. I liked them way more than the last time I saw them, which I think was last year at This is Hardcore. After Jukai, the guitars of Blistered seemed way more clear. It was nice. Real crisp and heavy as fuck. Lots of energy.

Path to Misery - Such a good band. For some reason they've written new songs, and the one they played was kick ass. Great frontman, great beatdowns. PTM kills. I guess they're voting for Johnson.

Hi's - All the bands.
Low's - Roboto maybe being no more.