Hardcore is a universal language, and a new three-way split brings together practitioners from three different continents. The new United Nations EP has three tracks from New York's Combust, two from Tokyo's Blow Your Brains Out, and two from Brighton's Imposter. All three bands build on the blueprint of New York hardcore from the late '80s and early '90s, and it's cool to hear the differences in the way the three of them approach the form.
Sorry to be a typical chauvinistic American, but the Combust tracks on United Nations are my favorites. Maybe it's not surprising. Combust's Belly Of The Beast was one of my favorite hardcore albums of 2025, and Imposter frontman Rory guested on lead single "Our Own Breed." "S4TC," the longest of the Combust tracks on United Nations, is just an absolute beast of a song. Nobody goes light on this thing; all three bands bring the stomp. Check out the split below.
The United Nations split is out now on Streets Of Hate, and it has nothing to do with Geoff Rickly's Thursday side project United Nations. I'm guessing it doesn't have much to do with the actual UN, either.
