The Nicest Dude In Hardcore Is A “Pessimistic Dickhead”

Don’t worry; it’s okay to relax. This is not another angry missive or corporate cheerleading effort concerning the narrowing, post-covid intersection between hardcore punk and the concert-going American mainstream. We will be discussing neither Scowl’s streaming numbers nor the ethics of crowdkilling as it applies to Live Nation venues. A Turnstile is just a mechanical gate that structures the flow of commuter foot-traffic/lines the blue-blazered pockets of Eric Adams. Not sure why these things would be relevant here, in this, a profile geared around a 25-minute album with a boogie-boarding shark baby and a flying piece of pizza on its cover. I refer, uh-duh, to Living Proof, the Epitaph Records debut of Santa Cruz crossover thrash band Drain. It releases in a month. If you enjoy rocking out and fiendishly pursing your lips in the mirror, it is worth anticipating.