Hardcore band Firewalker may have been relatively quiet over the past few years, but only because they were working on their furious new album Hell Bent, set for release June 28th through Triple B Records. Originally hailing from Boston, the band last teased with their 2022 demo which followed up 2019’s The Roll Call EP, 2017’s Firewalker LP, and a number of promos and singles. Back in full force, the five-piece band have created a throbbing wall of sound influenced by ‘80s metallic hardcore across the nine tracks on Hell Bent. Today, the band shares single “Carry My Own Torch,” a crunchy, riff filled track that addresses declaring independence from a toxic relationship. You can listen to it HERE. On Hell Bent, the members of Firewalker worked collectively to write an album that progressed toward a heavier sound while still vocalizing for those who feel underrepresented or alienated in hardcore. The album was self-recorded, mixed, and mastered by drummer Sasha Stroud at her studio Artifact Audio in NYC. The nine tracks clock in at under 20 minutes, which is plenty of time to take in the band’s crushing vocals, electrifying guitar solos, and brimming drums. Speaking on the writing process and influence for the record, guitarist Cecelia Halle states: “This was the first time that we collectively sat down as a band and decided to write an album in full. After being a band for nearly ten years, we wanted to create an album that captured how we have progressed musically, both in terms of instrumentation and inspiration. Since the beginning of Firewalker, we have drawn a lot of inspiration from Madball’s progression as a band: starting with the simplicity and genius of ‘Ball of Destruction’ and developing towards heavier and metallic albums like ‘Set it Off.’ Those albums are some of the singularly most important recordings to me. With that in mind, the writing of the album drew heavily from our influences in hardcore and metal—trying to capture the spirit of late 80s metallic hardcore while still holding true to our roots as a Boston hardcore band. As such, some tracks reference our earlier material, like ‘Scorcher II’, and some tracks, like ‘Lit Up with Fire’, demonstrate how we’ve progressed sonically.”
