Hardcore: D-BLOC, Bad Beat, Escalation of Force, Resolute, Killing Field.
This is Detroit so we celebrate 313 Day (March 13), due to area code 313 being the primary area code in Detroit. The hardcore scene in Detroit is thriving, so it's no surprise that that the 3/13 show was a good one. The show was at Edgemen Printing, known for their incredible straight edge hardcore shows, many starting early (this one was doors at 6:30pm). The singer for Bad Beat also runs Edgemen, so they always have great merch. I started the evening by picking out my favorite Bad Beat shirt, which this time was from dicegameusa.com, the limited edition two-sided "Bad Beat Crew - Sick Of You" design that was recently released on-line only. I picked up a new shirt at the show as well, that was made just for the 313 Day celebration. This show was also the release party for the D-BLOC/Bad Beat split (which you can grab on vinyl or CD, or download from Bandcamp).
While I was there, I took the opportunity to grab a 2-day pass to the upcoming Tied Down festival, it's sponsored by Edgemen Printing and they sell hard copy tickets at the shop ($160 for the pass, but the line-up is incredible and includes both Bad Beat and D-BLOC plus a chance to see Judge for my second time). I also got Jimmy Lawson (singer for Bad Beat) to sign a photo that I had taken at the previous show.
Given that this show was special (313 celebration, record release party), the line-up of 5 incredible bands was stellar, and that it was free, we expected it to be packed. We weren't disappointed, as it was full to capacity and difficult to even get far enough into the venue to see the bands. Although, I'm not sure that everyone actually wanted to get that close given the extreme nature of the mosh pit that would be expected. This show would include beatdown hardcore, and not just moshing but crowdkillers. I had to stay at least three rows back, other than strategic moves to get photos. Coming out of the (employee) bathroom, I could see a stream of kids with bloody noses that were getting paper towels to wipe off the blood and head back towards the pit.
There is no stage at Edgmen; it's more of a space in the main warehouse (positioned around the screen printing machines) where they set up the equipment and gather around it. The first band to hit the floor was Killing Field, and this was their first show. They killed it. I’ve been told that they have members in common with LYUDA, who are playing the Tied Down festival this year, so that’s another band to put on my watch list.
The second band-up was Resolute, and while not their first show, it was their second. They were somewhat faster than Killing Field, and the mosh pit ramped up quite a bit, forcing me back another row. This is a new band from Detroit, not the St. Louis band with the same name. They have a 4-song EP on Bandcamp titled "Demo '24" which I missed in 2024, but spun this morning (it's great). They played the songs from the EP and a couple more, so I'd expect they would have another release coming out soon. They also gave me a sticker from their previous band, Enemy of God, so I'll be looking to track down some songs from them as well.
Escalation of Force at Edgemen Printing for the 2025 313 show. All photos courtesy of Paul Holstein.
Next up was Escalation of Force. Another band from Detroit, and they had a limited edition tape for sale titled "War Mentality" (based on singer T.J. Ulin's experiences being deployed to Fallujah, Iraq, in the Marine Corps). The singer had apparently been in other bands playing guitar, and was on vocals for the first time. He did a memorable shout out to how crazy singers are, with a nod to Mike Moynihan (Bad Beat guitarist, who was previously on vocals for Strange Magic).
Finally, the band that I was primarily here to see, Bad Beat. Several of the members used to be in Strange Magic, possibly my all-time favourite local band and definitely my all-time favourite of the genre. Bad Beat is great in their own right, and as usual, my main complaint was that their set was too short. They did a great intro, a cover of D-Bloc’s “10-999” (from the new record), followed by nearly a dozen songs, including favourites "Numbskull," "Dead And Gone," "Out Of Place," "Through Your Eyes," and "Punisher." At the end, they did a couple of band photos for all the photographers (Bad Beat in particular brings out a lot of photographers, most likely because we all know that they will one day be considered legendary in the same way that Cold As Life is now).
And last, but not least, D-BLOC hit the floor and showed us why they were headliners. They covered Bad Beat’s “R-Hardcore” (from the new record) and ran through a blistering set of originals. These hardcore shows go fast, and it was over almost as soon as it started. Edgemen has quite a few more coming up, so check their website and head on out to one. But please be safe—if you have seen the guy that always wears a helmet in my photos, be like him.
