Review: Catharsis – Hope Against Hope (Full album, 2025) | Hardcore

https://youtu.be/zr75-uerY6k

Band info

Band: Catharsis
Album: ‘Hope against Hope‘
Released: August 1st, 2025
Genre: Hardcore
Location: US

Review

Ok, first, let’s be clear, Catharsis is not a black metal or “blackened whatever” band. In fact, their brand of dark and epic hardcore predates the trend of mixing black metal and hardcore. And yet we would still call them instrumental in the evolution that resulted in the mix mentioned above. You could say their sound was inevitable to be evolved by other bands into black metal territories, even if they didn’t do it themselves (at least knowingly), and the number of black metal or extreme metal fans in general that fell in love with ‘Passion‘ and ‘Samsara‘ despite the ‘hardcore’ tag is beyond count. I suppose that makes them special to the evolution of dark and heavy music in general, but they are extra special to us because their art transcended music: they understood that art is political and acted accordingly. They eschewed working with big genre labels, at a time when metallic hardcore was extremely popular and it would be easy for them to find a home in one, and chose to work with CrimethInc. Instead, a label, publisher, but most of all, a radical agitprop collective. They chose to not limit their politics in their lyrics and merch but also in their stance, the DIY approach they adopt, the way they networked and who they worked with. And THAT is what makes them truly special to us in ABMN, not just because we adore their music, but also because they are an inspiration to us and a great example of what we stand for and what we’d like antifascist metal to become: anticapitalist, in opposition to the commercial structures of the music business, free, horizontally organised, unbound, unleashed.

‘Hope Against Hope‘ came at a time when, ironically, hope is something we struggle with. Things seem bleak, they ARE bleak, promises for the future seem like a farce, and all the enthusiasm of anarchist and antifascist circles that accompanied the band’s previous albums, 26 long years since their last studio album, 24 since their last studio song was released, seems to have drained. The love and rage of the anti-globalisation and anti-war, and environmentalist movements of the 90s and early 00s, of Genoa, Miami, Seattle, is still there, but it is now driven by new feelings. Desperation. Fatalism. Spite. For a lot of us, it is now not a struggle to change everything but a struggle to survive in the ruins of the future promised, and if that fails, to exact revenge. Don’t get us wrong, we don’t disparage this. Being angry and spiteful is better than numb and defeated, but maybe we need to reacquaint ourselves with hope, fleeting and distant as it is. Catharsis reminds us of that. Their music may be dark and heavy, but it was never one of despair, and it still isn’t; it is one of shared feelings, of community, of solidarity, and in the case of ‘Hope Against Hope‘, at least for those of us old enough, of reminiscence.

What, you wanna hear about the music? It’s amazing, it’s everything we hoped for and more. But you’ll hear that from a dozen other platforms and zines; we can only confirm it. For us at ABMN, this isn’t just about music. This is about hope. A reminder that it was stolen from us, that we need it, and even if many of us don’t have it presently, we need to fight for it. And fight we will.

Band info

Review

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