It's been raining a lot lately. In addition to getting blasted with water, thankfully we have also been getting blessed with a lot of shows here in the city. This past Tuesday I went to catch a hardcore gig at 9910. The downtown basement venue has recently been the site of increasingly more hc shows, and that's cool because it is one of my favourite venues. Unlike other basement venues that find their charm in their grunginess, 9910 is simultaneously stylish and cozy. It's telling when an out of town band comments positively on a venue beyond just appreciation for hosting the show, as was the case when one group mentioned that it was the coolest venue they played at while on this tour.
Speaking of bands, let's talk about the bill. From Vancouver came Don't Sweat It, Stunlock, and Seasons Worn, along with Kelowna's Empty Chamber, and new local act Ember was the first to play. Unfortunately myself and fellow OATH zine radio correspondent Aidan were late in getting to the gig, so we missed a good chunk of Ember's set. Ember is a new band made up of members of Fold, End Game, Eyes Front, Sealed Fate, False Body, Contention, and others. Suffice to say, this is a group with musicians who have cut their teeth as performers and were primed to be a good live act from the get-go. Their drummer is the best one in town and their vocalist has an expressive style and impressive "range" as far as harsh vocals go. I would describe Ember's sound as "elevated beatdown" in that they can play the tough-guy mosh metal card but it doesn't become a crutch because they also remain committed to meat/tofu and potatoes hardcore attitude and carry a touch of vulnerable catharticness. The set was good, their EP is good, and the hometown crowd reaction was good as well. I hope to catch the entirety of their set when they play Frame of Mind Fest on July 11.
Next up was Seasons Worn, who had replaced Sword of Damocles midway through the tour. This was made possible due to the groups sharing members, and Don't Sweat It's drummer graciously learning a few songs in a matter of days to allow them to play a quick three song set. While Sword of Damocles' evilcore is cool, I had been yearning to catch a Seasons Worn set for a couple years now, as I had missed their previous appearance in E-Town. The group plays a mathy yet mosh-friendly style of aggressive post-hardcore that sits somewhere between the likes of Converge and Fear Before the March of Flames. There's a technicality to their music that avoids pretentiousness, which is what I prefer instead of mathcore that gets a little too intellectual. The set was short and sweet, and I couldn't help but mosh when the primal stomp of "May Great Tragedy Befall You" kicked in.
Stunlock followed afterward. They're a rapcore group in the vein of Bayway or E-Town Concrete. Rapcore is a regrettably unserious bastardization of metallic hardcore and I don't like it, but Stunlock is good at doing it and played into the goofiness of this style of music. I gotta hand to their vocalist for having strong stage presence and the breath control and cadence to actually spit quite competently. The drummer also provided a ton of groove that went beyond the standard for most rhythms in a hardcore context. The set featured three covers, including that of Linkin Park's One Step Closer, which immediately followed an All Out War song. The vocalist introduced the LP song by saying "if you don't know this song, you're lying." True as that maybe, the pop for the All Out War song was muuuuch larger. While I don't mind and sometimes really enjoy a cover of a non-hardcore song, and they did it well, I have to wonder if it's worth debasing yourself with a nu metal cover when only two people mosh for it. I've also never been as conscious of my whiteness and that of most of the crowd at a local hardcore show as I was when the group had a Griselda song playing during a short break in their set. Damn. Nonetheless, it was the most entertaining set of the night to be sure.
Empty Chamber took the stage next. I had a feeling their heavy and dissonant brand of metallic hardcore would be a hit amongst the mosh team and it was. Their music is nasty, aggressive, and pulls no punches. Their bassist, who was moshing throughout every other set, continued to bring the energy on stage, so much so that he became more of the centre-piece than their vocalist. Their singer often took a stance in which he strained his neck open to the sky in a lungelike posture. It was if he was reaching for something to further cast down power beyond the pummeling weight of the band's instrumentation. The group won me over further when they pulled out a cover of "Dislocation" by Disembodied. That song fucking rules and this set was really good.
Closing out the night was Don't Sweat It. They were the most straightforward hardcore punk act of the night, but interestingly they were the band that had three guitarists. There were no intricate interwoven melodies, leads, or guitar solos, just three axes chopping and chugging away. The raw punk energy was a refreshing palate cleanser after four bands of different metallic leaning flavours, and Don't Sweat It is a fun live act to watch. I couldn't help but laugh when the vocalist hit us with the Lebron-referencing "here go two more for y'all" when the group had two tracks left to play.
So yeah, good show overall. While it wasn't a mixed bill, there was a good amount of variation between the sounds of each band to keep the show sounding fresh. And we love a cool basement venue with a pole in an inopportune location on the dance floor. There's one or two shows happening each week for the next little while, so I should be back with more gig reviews soon. Until then, check out the music from the bands that played this set.
June 26, 2026)