In the early stages of the summer of ’26 we came across a good dose of hardcore demos that were essentially coming at us with a general theme of newer band, first or second recorded effort and just a lot in the way of hardcore grit and youthful energy that reminded us of when we first found this music. Instead of rolling them out one by one via a standard review we decided to keep a running log over the summer months and present them in a 2-part feature called “Demo Derby Summer 2026”. Part 2 is below and features Mark Catalina inspired artwork (read more about it and Mark at the end of this article) by our friend Sven Gjurcek with coloring by Jeff Snapshot. Please make sure to check out our Spotify Playlist that features 2 songs from each of these bands!
PUSHBACK “DEMO 2026” (Released July 24, 2026)
Long Island upstarts with a lot of upside based off of this 5 song debut (put out by Heaven Hardcore) that has a ton in the way of 90’s era NYHC influence and for a debut this is pretty impressive. During opening track “Soul Suckah” their singer barks out “suck my nuts” right before a vicious breakdown hits. “Xplode” though is my favorite track with it’s old-school hardcore drum beat set to the bands heavier mosh inducing style. Caught this band live a few weeks ago and although they were on first and not many people had arrived they still dished out the pain… literally… as their frontman bashed the microphone into his forehead until he was bleeding to end their set. For those looking for that dangerous feeling in your hardcore this could be the band for you. Click HERE to listen and HERE to find out more. Photo by: Ray Mock.
MASS CONFUSION “DEMO 2026” (Released August 31, 2026)
Mass Confusion are a new band made up of Euro scene vets from The Netherlands who have been in: A Step Apart, Nothing Done, Abusive Action, O’Hara, and Cornered. With members spread throughout their homeland, no social media, no planned shows and with this being limited to just 50 cassette copies through Light The Fuse and Trilob Records is it safe to call this the passion project of the year? This bad boy absolutely rips using a late 90’s thrashy/core style with perfectly fitting vocals. “Vandal State” at track 2 is the keeper of the bunch but leadoff track “Fuck Off” is right up there as well. Only 6 songs in 6 minutes keeps this on the short side with 2 of the tracks coming in at 40 seconds or less… Krampus on the cover makes this a great stocking stuffer for the upcoming holiday season. Click HERE to listen or HERE to grab a cassette.
DYNAMITE “PROMO” (Released July 31, 2026)
Another promo with demo like feels with two originals and a cover of “Old Gray Mare Stomp/Stark Raving Nude” by Rest In Pieces making up the entirety of this 6 minute affair. Dynamite have a new full-length album due out sometime in 2027 and this serves as the teaser and after digging into this for the past month and change it is something that we are really looking forward to. “Lay To Rest” and “Safekeeping” are gritty no-nonsense, old school style hardcore tunes that remind me of the band Lifesblood who hit their stride in NYC in the late 80’s with their “Defiance” 7″. Although possessing that charming late 80’s demo type of production this upcoming album would really be enhanced if there was some thickening of the guitar sound. This was my first time hearing this band and was definitely impressed. Click HERE to listen, and HERE to find out more. Photo by: Max Bryan.
RESURRECTION “UNFORTUNATE WORLD DEMO” (Released May 26, 2026)
Southern California’s Resurrection returned with their 2nd demo earlier this year and demonstrate how they are a band that is ready for whatever the next step is beyond the demo stage. Heavier hardcore that kicks off with some ripping guitar leads and some of the best current day vocals courtesy of Kenny formerly of Major Pain who played their last show in April. The recording is big and mean and reminds us of Integrity, early 100 Demons and even Leeway if you set aside the vocal style. Solid all around. Can’t wait to hear what’s next. Click HERE to listen and HERE to find out more. Photo by: Dan Rawe.
PADDED CELL “26 DEMO” (Released July 31, 2026)
Melbourne Australia’s Padded Cell drop their debut here with a 6 song effort that leans on chunky metallic riffs and choppy beats. These boys no doubt have listened to their share of 90’s era NYHC as they wear their influences on their sleeves. Closing my eyes it is not hard to imagine Padded Cell being a band opening for Agnostic Front, Madball or Crown Of Thornz at classic NY venues like Coney Island High or The Wetlands in the early 90’s. The fact that this band is less than a year old shows a lot of promise as this entire production has a feel of a band that has been around for a lot longer than they actually have been. Honorable current day hardcore scene artist Mick Lambrou fronts this new 4 piece and it feels like the start of something special. Click HERE to listen and HERE to find out more.
RIVER RAT “DEMO 2026” (Released August 30, 2026)
River Rat come to us from Greenwich NY which is about 100 miles south of Burlington, VT. This is fresh out of the oven crossover style hardcore as the band looks to have just formed in the last couple of months. 3 songs here, short and sweet coming in at under 6 minutes. The bouncy style on opener “Wheel Of Fortune” continues throughout as does the killer guitar tone. Choppy vocal delivery combined with that guitar tone remind me ever so slightly of early Leeway and would have fit in well with that first wave of NYHC crossover in the late 80’s. Click HERE to listen and HERE to find out more.
The original Demo Derby was published in In Effect Zine issue #11 which came out in the spring of 1998 and featured artwork by our good friend and amazing artist Mark Catalina who is no longer with us. Mark had amazing vision with his art projects and probably came up with the idea all on his own. Mark probably did more than 2 dozen pieces of art for In Effect Zine, many which ended up in the pages of the zine, some on stickers and even more on t-shirts. As time moved on he became highly sought out for his art and ended up doing tons of work for various bands around the NYHC scene. Wanting to keep Mark’s work alive we went to Sven Gjurcek from Croatia to do some updating to Mark’s original vision that had just two demo cars crashing into each other. We then asked Jeff Snapshot to add coloring which we think he did an amazing job with. We had Mark’s ZEUS graffiti tag added on a flag as well to further honor Mark’s memory.