I.E. Violence: Seven Hardcore Bands from the Inland Empire You Should Check Out
Whether it’s Los Angeles, New York, Boston, or D.C., any place with a surplus of angry youth is fertile ground for a grassroots movement of riffs, spin kicks, and pile-ons. While a good drive out from Orange County, Long Beach, and L.A. County, the Inland Empire has maintained a legacy of violence that continues to produce local heroes to this day.
Look no further than Impending Doom, Suicide Silence, or Xibalba for legendary bands hailing from the IE—but the scene is still alive and well. Whether it’s OG beatdown, or hyper-slamming deathcore, the following bands are a great sample of what the SoCal desert offers on the ground floor.
Big Ass Truck
Not to be confused with the Tennessee rap-rock band, Big Ass Truck brings the unhinged mentality of Sunami and Pintglass to the Inland Empire in the most meme-tastic way. Unashamed of their knuckle-dragging nature, this band knows better than to take themselves too seriously. It’s only a matter of time before one of their soundbites goes viral on TikTok (with their self-titled single already past a million streams), so fans of good, violent fun should catch a show before they start playing venues that kick people out for naughty behavior.
Ritual of Despair
Believe it or not, I didn’t come up with “hyper-slamming deathcore” — these madlads describe themselves that way. With two vocalists and Korn covers to boot, these guys strike a great balance between the savagery of early deathcore and the grooviness of its nu-metal outgrowth. They’ve gained a reputation for life-ending breakdowns, resulting in plenty of viral pit-cam videos that make old-heads angry about karate in the pit — but they only just released their debut full-length this past month! For fans of deathcore in its grimiest, most violent form, Forced Opposition packs maximum debauchery into 20 minutes.
Knuckle Sandwich
Knuckle Sandwich is music for fighting — and it’s not just because of the mosh calls (which are hilarious, by the way). These guys came out the gate with a wicked combination of ultra-heavy caveman riffs and rusty circle-pit fodder. Whether it’s the 808 drops, the “brees,” or the “oh you want to fight?”s, Knuckle Sandwich exists to incite a violent response from a crowd, and it only takes watching their sets online to see that they deliver in spades.
Smoked909
Sporting a drummer with deathcore titans Impending Doom on his résumé, these guys have way more to offer than just a particularly awesome cover of Slipknot’s “Eyeless.” Their tightness, coupled with unbridled energy and rage, strikes a good balance between catchy riffs, violent breakdowns, and punkish chaos. They’ve been steadily releasing singles and promos since 2022, and they’ve already come a long way.
97 Minutes
Repping San Bernardino Beatdown to the fullest — with a Pantera cover to boot — 97 Minutes strike a healthy balance between ignorant mosh parts and actual riffs. The band’s latest single, “Test Your Luck,” featuring Smoked909, shows they’re far from losing steam when it comes to catchy, unfriendly music made for hitting your friends. Their split with Ritual of Despair just goes to show how interconnected this scene has become, with bands supporting each other on record and on stage.
Harsh Reality
I know every good hardcore band sounds angry, but Harsh Reality’s vocals are pissed off enough to make them stand out on that merit alone. His feral snarls bring a heightened level of intensity to each song, which finds a common ground between hardcore’s groovy side and its chaotic punk side. If you miss the era where hardcore maintained more punk in its metallic attack, this is a solid entry point into the Inland Empire scene.
Desoectomy
“Slamdown,” the bastard child of slamming death metal and heavy hardcore, has taken hold in various ways over the past couple years—but these guys do it in such a way that you actually hear the legitimate slam influences, especially with the vocalist’s unabashed use of good old-fashioned toilet vocals. Primitive, animalistic, and sluggish — without leaning too far into the cricket-voiced, never-ending chugs of a band like Torture — Desoectomy is a good entry point for brutal death kids looking to take a trip through Inland violence.
First Degree
“If you’re on the floor and you get hit and you can’t take it and want to cry about it… you’re a bitch. Don’t go to the show.” It’s a fitting sample for a band carrying the true lineage of violent music to the West Coast. Since 2013, these guys have helped put California Beatdown on the map with crazy mosh parts and crazier crowd responses. Having two vocalists adds to their aggressive nature—as does their believable intimidation factor. These guys sound like they’d break you over their knee like Bane did to Batman. This is particularly refreshing as beatdown grows more popular, and some decidedly less-scary people start posing like the baddest guys on the block.
