Hot Load

***When punk started, it was a line in the sand—no other music was allowed. Motörhead were an exception, punk energy with some hard-rock gestures but single-minded enough to qualify. Discharge and early hardcore upped the tempos, but metal was still a foreign country. Lots of pent-up young people loved punk, and lots loved metal, so it wasn’t surprising that they started to blend into each other as the 80’s progressed. Most people who could play lead guitar wanted to PLAY LEAD GUITAR.

The Japanese have always excelled at refining any idea they encountered. Bands like Gism, The Stalin, Gauze, Lip Cream, Kuro, Systematic Death and The Execute took punks rage and added metal’s scale. The world had a model for how this peanut butter cup could be perfected.

Punk splintered into thrashier, spazzier, noisier, (and some poppier) directions. Indie, grunge, stoner rock, post-hardcore, and other flavors of the month came and went.

Los Angeles’ Hot Load is the logical conclusion of this story. It’s hardcore punk, it’s metal, it’s classic rock, and if you wanna fight about it, you’re gonna lose. Punk rock fury, 2026 style. You’re welcome. —Geoffrey Weiss

Matt Trejo – Vocals

Steven Preciado – Guitar

Christopher V. Franco – Bass

Marvin Noyola – Guitar

Lucian Ray – Drums

Produced by Andrew Oswald At Paradise Studios