Review
The Frontline
Withstand

Grave Mistake (2005) Clarke

The Frontline – Withstand cover artwork
The Frontline – Withstand — Grave Mistake, 2005

When hardcore started it was fast, powerful and had a strong positive message. While today much of hardcore has lost its sense of positivity, The Frontline brings a great message and great music back with their debut EP, Withstand.

Frontline adds in an uplifting message without sacrificing the intensity, energy and power of the hardcore style. The lyrics speak of withstanding pain, living life one day at a time, and giving your all. Right now you're probably thinking to yourself, "This kid needs to shut up about their lyrics." Let me show you why I brought up their lyrics. Here is a sampling taken from one of their songs:

Will we ever have another chance to make up for the void in our lives?

Can we fill it with care?

Can we bind in with rope?

We must have hope!

Now you many of you may find that cheesy, but how many hardcore bands can you think of that talk about such positive things?

This band has strong influences from Chain of Strength, Insted and Youth of Today. So if you are a fan of any of these bands or any other positive hardcore band, I would give these guys a chance. They look to be one of the most promising bands in the hardcore scene right now.

8.5 / 10Clarke • July 11, 2005

The Frontline – Withstand cover artwork
The Frontline – Withstand — Grave Mistake, 2005

Recently-posted album reviews

Alien Nosejob

How A Mosquito Operates
Anti Fade, Iron Lung (2026)

The one-man band of Alien Nosejob continues to crank out short, angry hardcore in quick bursts. I've lost count of how many records Jake Robertson has now released under the name. I'll just say that while the first couple took some direction changes, the project seems to have found its footing in 1980s-influenced hardcore. With 17 songs in 24 minutes, … Read more

Cancer Bats

Give Me Dirt
Marshall Amplification PLC, New Damage records (2026)

ALBUM HIGHLIGHTS – “Bright Eyes of Gold”, “Give Me Dirt”, “Long Tooth”, “Fools Like You” Almost exactly two years ago, on 8th August 2024, Cancer Bats played Conne Island in Leipzig – a choice they would live to regret. Unbeknownst to them at the time, the centre had slowly become renowned for its radical politics and, more recently, the ban … Read more

Tyler Sonnichsen

The Dead Milkmen
J-Card Press (2026)

When I saw The Dead Milkmen at Toronto’s Diamond Club back in the late 1980s, the floor was a volatile, beautiful mess of colliding subcultures. It was like different species of house flies bumping into one another, wondering what the hell you were doing in the mason jar. You had suburban high school pocket-pen-protector pencil-neck nubile nerds, college radio snobs … Read more