ANTAGONIST Exist CD (2008)

Metalcore in 2008 was either breaking down or breaking up, and Antagonist were one of the American acts trying to drag the genre somewhere with actual teeth. Exist landed at a moment when the genre still had room for bands who took the hardcore ethic seriously.

This is for the diggers, the completists, the people who still have a soft spot for the era when breakdown culture hadn't fully calcified into formula. Antagonist bring enough aggression and conviction to hold up in a collection next to the genre's heavier hitters. Alternative and punk-adjacent in spirit, metal in execution.

CD, 2008 release, USA.

Fans of: early-era metalcore, melodic hardcore, heavy alternative