Although I use the term a lot, I’ve never done a post about REGRETCORE. As you might guess from the name, regretcore is music by fuckups, for fuckups, about being a fuckup. The majority of regretcore bands are hardcore, but it really doesn’t matter what genre the band is as long as they are fucked up losers who hate themselves and write a lot of songs about it.
Usually when I refer to something as ‘real’ I’m implying that they’re pretentious buttholes who are actually the opposite of real, but in this case I’m using the term non-ironically. There’s no shortage of bands who are just going through the motions, writing angsty lyrics about being sad or hating themselves simply because, well, that’s what all the other bands do, but there are only a few REAL regretcore bands. How can you tell the difference??
Don’t be confused by regretcore’s close relative selfimprovementcore! There any many similarities, but the key difference is that selfimprovementcore bands (such as The Ghost Inside) always end on a positive note, looking forward to the future, whereas regretcore has no confidence that things will ever get better.
It’s actually pretty easy: the defining characteristic of REAL regretcore bands is that there is something really uncool or embarrassing about them that tells you they truly give zero fucks. When I say “uncool,” I don’t mean that it’s something most SYWH readers would necessarily look down on, I mean it in the sense of “something that normal people and/or Tumblrsluts will be grossed out/scared by.” You know they’re sincere because nobody who was faking it would ever choose to do something that would negatively impact their chances of stabbing the guts or acquiring currency!
A few examples:
CAPITALIST CASUALTIES
Let’s start off with a very clear example of the realest of real regretcore! This song is about being a meth addict, and it’s not because they watched a show about it on the Discovery Channel. This is from 1992, back when only people with personal experience knew about meth.
What’s uncool about them: Basically everything? Is there anything that’s NOT uncool about white trash drug addicts from Vallejo with long hair and Slayer shirts??
CROWN OF THORNZ
When it comes to songs about doing dumb shit that you regret, the first two things that go through your mind are also the chorus of this song: “I guess I’ve got to learn the hard way again” and “Please let there be a next time.” In fact, I can remember getting some really bad news once about something really fucking dumb that I did, sitting back in my chair, literally thinking “I guess I’ve got to learn the hard way again” and then thinking “fuck, I just said CoT lyrics.”
What’s uncool about them: The really, really, REALLY bad singing parts.
FAILURE FACE
This is an obscure 90s hardcore band who are both tragically underappreciated AND classic regretcore! If these lyrics don’t hit home with you, count yourself as one of the lucky ones and move on.
What’s uncool about them: There’s maybe no bigger disparity between darkness and intensity of music and the underwhelming ordinariness of the people who made it: the singer was just a super chill, nice guy named Bob who had a label called Burrito Records *sad_trombone.wav*
HATEBREED
Many people mistakenly think of these guys as selfimprovementcore, but don’t be fooled by their overwhelmingly positive lyrics about triumphing over adversity- they are 100% regretcore! The fact that Ezec says Jamey Jasta is the bigger scumbag of the two should tell you all you need to know O_o
What’s uncool about them: Everyone in the band is an old, fat, scummy metalhead. Also, opening for Slipknot at Ozzfest.
MEST
The perfect example of pop-punk regretcore! This song is called “Fuct Up Kid,” and it is about being a fucked up kid who grew up to be a fucked up guy, and how that’s kind of awesome but also kind of sucks. Oh, and the singer stabbed someone to death in a parking garage. If you also love Mest, check out this longer post I did on them.
What’s uncool about them: They play ska pop punk. They spell it “fuct.” They look like this.
TERROR
Classic regretcore!! These guys are also commonly mistaken for selfimprovementcore, but I assure you there is no self improvement going on here.
What’s uncool about them: I’m just going to leave this and this here #BSGD
(ps just saw that this Crowbar video was uploaded by our bro Buske of Terror/Maximum Penalty/Ragmen- bonus regretcore points!)
CROWBAR
Pretty much all Crowbar songs are about being super burned out on life, and wanting to give up and die. I don’t know if that’s exactly the same thing as hating yourself, but I feel like there’s enough common ground to call it regretcore!
What’s uncool about them: All of them are fat except for the drummer. They are so giant their guitars look like those little toy, inflatable ones that you get for a prize at the state fair.
NO COMMENT
The “Downsided” 7″ is easily in my top 5 hardcore records of all time, and not just because the music is some of the most intense, blistering material ever recorded. It’s also because the lyrics are so fucking dark and depressing- pretty much all of the songs are about being a depressed junkie. Also, the lyric sheet includes a huge, life-size photo of the guitarist’s gashed wrist from when he tried to kill himself.
What’s uncool about them: They were all groce, strung out heshers with long, stringy hair who worked at gas stations and wrote songs about banging Dilaudid.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1Q6Rdt5eRo
RAMALLAH
I have no idea why this band doesn’t get more love because they go hard as FUCK, and White Trash Rob (also of Blood For Blood) is one of the best regretcore frontmen ever. This song is about being an angry, fucked up piece of shit loser, feeling confused and wanting to die aka THIS IS MY SHIT! Also, a kid got beat to death at a Ramallah show a few years back.
What’s uncool about them: The ghey gothic parts with keyboards and singing :/
VISION OF DISORDER
When this album first came out, I wasn’t feeling it, but after I got strung out a couple times and spent most of my time hanging out with burned out hardcore dudes who made their living selling drugs and robbing people I fell in love with it!
What’s uncool about them: Imagine how bummed sxe moshcore kids were when they popped this in and found out that VOD’s new sound could be best described as “Alice In Chains meets Godsmack”
TERRORZONE
After he got out of prison, the singer for Bulldoze started this band, and they are fucking sweet. “I regret what I did though / I had to do a bid” = hardest shit ever.
What’s uncool about them: This is a perfect example of how a band can be “uncool” not because they’re embarrassing, but because fangirls would be freaked out and scared (via normal people not being comfortable around career criminals)
UNWRITTEN LAW
Although I guess you’d call UL a pop-punk band, none of their songs are about anything remotely fun or upbeat. In fact, almost all of them are being lonely, miserable and hating yourself for making the same stupid mistakes over and over. In the case of this song, it’s about the singer being an alcoholic/drug addict/piece of shit who fucks everything up.
What’s uncool about them: They cross the line between “fun guys who like to party” and “fucked up alcoholic losers who are gonna kill themselves someday.” Also, this video looks like it was done with the Persona 3 engine.
DEATH THREAT
This song = my life, basically. I love it so much I got a “NOW HERE FAST” tattoo (srs, seen here next to my non-ironic Chris Isaak tattoo). This is what regretcore is all about IMO: hitting bottom is the best motivator ever, because when you think about how shitty it is down there you’ll do anything not to be there again.
What’s uncool about them: Dat cover art… u mirin?!
What is your favorite REAL regretcore band?? What’s uncool about them??? Does it make you lol to think about how scared tr00 hxc tumblrsluts would be if they hung out with Jamey Jasta or Ezec for a weekend??
Yikes. I listen to pretty much exclusively uncool music, but being in a band like this would be like covering your dick with an iron shield.
EHG- Southern Discomfort
That riff that starts at about :50 is literally mournful like looking back on almost 30 years of being a fucking junkie and realizng that you’re not going to die some rockstar death and be a legend but instead you’re in your early middle age and at the bottom of the ladder with a bunch of fucking teenagers. And the worst part? IT’S ALL YOUR FAULT.
this
no matter how you label them, sludge, metal, or whatever, the are still about regrets and failures
Sludge has some premium regretvibe going on. Facedowninshit comes to mind. i mean with a name like that you don’t have to investigate any further…
Animosity’s got a couple of regretcore songs. Tooth Grinder and You Can’t Win are about Leo Miller’s depression after his girlfriend died. “I used to think depression had nothing to do with me.
Now every day of my life I’m faced with despair and misery. Because some dumb fucking asshole made some bad choices, and he landed on you, and we all pay the price…Now I know the meaning of being alone.” Fucking soul crushing.
+1 , but its less regret, more just derpessed
Needs more Xibalba(via songs about suicide and being fat dudes who really like Crowbar). But regretcore is one of my favorite forms of hxc because how it’s great for those nights when you’re drinking cheap liquor and thinking about how you hate yourself for making so many bad decisions, and those nights come more often these days. I was a little surprised at only a mention of Blood for Blood, seeing as how they’re one of the biggest regretcore bands. But another great one, Sarge. I hope this comment finds you well.
Xibalba are sweet but not even slightly regretcore. I didnt include B4B because although they are def regretcore, i dont like them.
out!!! NOW!!!!
how can a human being not like Blood for blood?
So I guess Selfimprovementcore and Regretcore are subgenres of Srscore?
and ikeacore
Regretcore is the antithesis of Ikeacore(via being made by fucked up hardcore dudes instead of art school graduates). Also, Ikeacore is more about being sad that other people are poor fuckups, than being a fuckup yourself.
This question just came to mind: Where does Skarhead fit in the regretcore spectrum? Is that what happens when you come to terms with your regretful life and start to love it?
Skarhead are in the same category as Necro: unrepentant scumbags who have no desire to change. That’s totally cool and I’m into it, but you can’t be regretcore without the regret!
Admiral fucking Angry
Band is so heavy it’s retarded.
I’m so torn on Ramallah, some of their songs go hard as fuck and make me want to use my head as a battering ram and smash down my house.
But then they’ve some got ghey as fuck nu-metal faggotry that I can’t get into…
Really really dig their heavy angry shit though.
But then they’ve some got ghey as fuck nu-metal faggotry that I can’t get into…
Exactly the point of this post! That’s how you know they truly give no fucks.
“Dudes, our songs are hard as fuq, angry and negative, now let’s write a few horrible songs that’ll definitely repel any nearby vaginas, then we’ll be real regretcore!”
Seriously their good songs are worth putting up with the bad ones.
I used to have their music playing while fragging dudes in Unreal Tournament 2004
Awesome post, I love a lot of these bands. Songs about being a worthless fuck up = highly relatable and enjoyable music.
Awesome post!! i always lumped Hatebreed into “tonyrobbinscore.” Thanks for setting the record straight!
A+ concept and execution, but that Crowbar video is actually a Ramallah video for me?
Yeah me too, a rare mistake by the good Sergeant
Coming from a metal background, all of my regretcore is sludge. IMO Take as Needed for Pain is the most pure regret album I have heard because every song just sounds like everyone in the band is completely numb and just dont give a fuck. Acid Bath and 16 are good examples too. theres this one 16 track which just begins with the vocalist yelling GIVE UP. Strong regrets!
I am also kicking myself for not including 16! Will put them in the next edition of REAL REGRETCORE!
came in to talk about 16… they’re pretty much the definition of regretcore. every single song is self-loathing, self-deprecating, and hateful. not to mention that their old drummer has a HUGE tattoo that says FUCKED FOR LIFE.
i also second the dude who said admiral angry. i’d also add the abominable iron sloth and, to a slightly lesser extent, will haven.
Today is the Day is probably my favorite regretcore band of all time. They’re one of the few bands that seem legitimately pissed off; you can definitely tell that Steve Austin’s disgusted with life. Plus, the creepy vocal effects and fucked up guitar riffs don’t help matters either.
I just got into Terror and my thought through the entire album was “I’ve never heard someone be so angry about being sad”.
lolololol best description of Terror ever!
Best part of Terror is that Vogel only has about 3 or 4 lyrical themes and he just keeps reusing them. Pretty much for all of his bands. I guess that’s better than Jamey Jasta only having one.
these bands accept payments in valtrex.
I didnt include bands like Admiral Angry and Today Is The Day because, although they are sweet, they are more about being miserable and wanting to die than regret, per se. I probably shouldnt have included Crowbar for the same reason.
i wouldn’t include today is the day as regretcore either. i don’t know anyone who’d argue that steve austin isn’t a complete psychopath, but there’s not enough self-loathing in the content. most TITD stuff is more about steve being a lunatic and lashing out.
Saw Crowbar at Peabody’s a while back. Some dude in a Sleep shirt grabbed my collar and we screamed the lyrics to ‘The Lasting Dose’ in each others faces. That shit was simultaneously awesome and depressing as fuck. Made me want to call my parents and apologize for being a chronic fuck-up.
<3 you
#nohomo
100 demons’ self titled album radiates bitter regret and defeat (via poor life choices) like few albums do. semi-scary dudes in this band (the 2004 formation).
regretcore gold:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XydJP9qsPTQ
Co-signed. I’d probably pick something off the first album. I think the song title is code for “I Regret My Entire Life Up To This Point.”
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5g1PMhUe67o&w=420&h=315
Poison Idea and Sheer Terror are two of my all time faves, REGRET or otherwise.
Also: River Runs Red album by Life of Agony – still rock that shit at least once a month in my office with the door closed.
I kicked myself this morning for not including Life Of Agony in this post- they even have a fucking song called “I Regret”!! And when it comes to what’s uncool about them, if the self-pity and crying about his dad isn’t enough there’s the whole sex change thing….
SOMETIMES I LEIK TO PRETEND.
From Elgin James, FSU founder’s Wiki entry:
“James was arrested by the FBI in Los Angeles, California on July 14, 2009, stemming from an incident four years earlier. He was charged with a criminal complaint of federal attempted extortion filed in Chicago. It is alleged that in 2005 James sanctioned an attack on an individual who had past ties to white power politics. James is then reported as to have said that the man could avoid further trouble if he made a $5,000 “donation” to FSU. The individual has been revealed to be a member of the band Mest.”
Ramallah is mah shit. KILL A CELEBRITY!!
y u no blood for blood??
I am getting the sense they are one of those sacred cow bands i am “supposed to” like.
!!!!1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hardcore nerds seem as butthurt about b4b as metal nerds are that i dont like black sabbath or iron maiden. Thanks for making me hate this post/subject too.
muahaha butthurt D is butthurt?!
sarcasm is a bit hard in written form….
Yah bro im the butthurt one
now u make me sad :(
I think that myself and my band fit this category well. I’m glad to see that you mentioned Failure Face, too. Not enough people know about that band.
The fact that you haven’t included blood for blood, makes me question your REGRETCORE credentials
Then get fucked and start your own blog so everyone can be mirin your unimpeachable ‘credentials’
Oh shit!
lol
more fun to piss over someone elses shit..
now go listen to blood for blood!!!
i think you mistook me for someone who was being really serious.
Ha, in that case the jakes on me!
i even busted out regretcore like its a srs genre label and i used CAPITAL LETTERS. makes me sad cos you told me to get fucked, cuts deep bro… real deep.
Sergeant D seems to have a serious day indeed :/
Great post! I know you hate all things Deathwish Inc but I’d really consider Blacklisted to be regretcore. You might mistake them for being “tortured artist hardcore”, but basically all their songs are about their singer being a fat and depressed. They even have a song about him hitting his girlfriend!
That sleeve for Downsided is definitely depressing.
Awesome list, one big omission might be Neglect (they may just be suicidal instead of regretful)
they may just be suicidal instead of regretful
Exactly. They lack the crucial ingredient of regretcore, which is the “I hate myself and I want to change but I can’t because I’m a fucked up piece of shit” part. Neglect, Xibalba, Crowbar, EHG, and lots of other bands are just straightforward suicidal.
really early chimaira had the sorrowful vibe, maybe not necessarily regretcore but their first ep def had the fuck everything attitude with dark, doomy, depressing sounds throughout
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_f3LH_7PPNY
i know they get labeled as tagger-metal , but what about dystopia. stress builds character fits in well i think.
imo they are more crybaby/sad/complain/suicide than regretcore. lots of crying, not a lot of “i want to change but i can’t”, more like “wah wah poor me why isn’t the world the way i wish it was”
This is why I could never ever like that fucking band. I bought Human=Garbage based on all the rave crusty reviews, listened to half of it and put it away. Childish self-pity…
XD regretcore isnt childish self-pity…..noooooooooooooooooo!!!!
Oh it absolutely is. Metal, punk and hardcore are all centered around bratty attention seeking and posturing.
I always thought that if Good Charlotte didn’t get as big as they were, they were due to turn into some first class regretcore fuckups. It sounds stupid but they were poor kids who were good friends with Mest, the ingredients were all there!
Once again Sarge introduces me to bands I never would’ve given a chance. The UL song really hit close to home…
Ctrl + F “Grimlock”
0 of 0 found.
:-/
Always hesitate doing posts like this because so many of the comments are just “WHY DIDNT U INCLUDE BAND X” which is really not contributing anything but negativity. Anyway, Grimlock isnt like these bands lyrically.
Also, theres nothing uncool about them. Tumblrsluts would love them like they love Harms Way
True. New article idea “Is Harm’s Way the new Grimlock? WAT U THINK?”
Cue side by photo comparison of John Lock and the HW guy.
Haha exactly. The fact that the dude from Grimlock challenged a dude from Snapcase to a wrestling match (and then slapped him when he declined) is the coolest shit in the world.
Singer for grimlock’s wrestling credentials? Amd what rules: freestyle, folkstyle, or greco? Points for riding time? How would escapes be scored?? Please respond.
Colonial Style Catch Wrestling via George Washington.
Taberski by heel hook
harms way is still the jam though.
“which is really not contributing anything but negativity”
Strong ironing. (See above article)
Just wanted to throw this in here, Blood for Blood sucks.
i lost the point of this post entirely at the picture of your abs.
would, so hard.
p.s. more 16.
R u moist. Please respond
moist like a tropical rainstorm, srsly.
Backed everyone who said EHG. Although listening to that shit makes me feel better about myself. No matter what shit gets thrown at me and how many bad decisions I make, I will never be at their level.
I rly thought Hatebreed was selfimprovementcore but if you really read into the lyrics it’s all basically a response to fucking up and being scummy (except for the songs about getting revenge over an ex).
I always find Crowbar’s lyrics to be almost subversively positive… strong “The world sucks but I’ll take it like a man” vibe.
gonna cry!!
Great post feels bad you don’t like blood for blood they were the soundtrack to my most overwhelming period of drug addiction and regret-core Redemption denied by b4b is my all time regretcore anthem :) Also ending paragraph could not be truer. Backed
I learned from this post that blood for blood will be added to the list of bands that will provoke excessively strong, unwanted opinions and take a post on a long trip to Derpistan
seriously dude, what do you care?! Why let these comments bother you so much?
I come back to this blog 1) because lots of it is pretty funny and 2) i discovered here a lot of awsome bands of which i never heard of before in a lot of genres and subgenres i like (no like breakcore?) and im quiet sure its the same for every regular on this blog…why else come back again and again duuuuuh
oooooor is it because of the quality of the comment on your shiny blog? but that would be real lulzy XD
To be fair, he didn’t seem butthurt, just “sucks that you don’t like them” which seems chill.
File under “music that makes me uncomfortable via being 20, middle class, and embarrassingly sheltered”. Except for Terror. Middle class whites really have a thing for Terror, I’ve noticed.
Because Terror, like Hatebreed and Earth Crisis have a chubby, non-threatening frontman.
Dood, “troo pop punk” bands like Title Fight are all about this! I know its widely jocked by 2012 troo kids, but their (maybe not their newest album) lyrics and music is hella bleak and pessimistic.
Mirin dem abs brah (srs).
regretcore is the single greatest thing i’ve learned about from this website, and maybe one of the best things in general. i need this kind of music.
never heard of failure face, but they’re rad and i always give a band points if they’re from florida!
“Then get fucked and start your own blog so everyone can be mirin your unimpeachable ‘credentials’” dis!!!!! +++++1!!!!!!!!!!1!!!!
Knowing that Sergeant D is packing abs = better than giving Blood for Blood a listen since betas are mad about them not being posted in this.
Didn’t realize Kirk from Crowbar had a St. Vitus tattoo, nice. And he had back then way before Vitus were worshiped like they are now.
In regards to Blood For Blood: they seem to have a fetish for being poor white trash (as poor white trash, I will say with the utmost certainty: it’s not cool AT ALL) and having poor taste in broads. I know entirely too many wieners that adore their particular brand of bullshit and there is little I can do besides shaking my head in vicarious embarrassment. I could go the butthurt route and rage against these Oscar Mayers but what’s the use? As the Geto Boys hath said before me: “fuck ‘em all.”
Would the Eels fall into this category? A lot of the songs are about depression and how fucked up his life is. Kinda like so.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eS2ipWNm9Fw
what about Colin Of Arabia?
they play 100% scumbag music filled with 100% scumbag lyrics for scumbags.Completely depressed and hopeless.Wondering why no one mentioned them yet!
^ 100% this.
“I’m a construction worker. I break rocks for a living. That’s all I’ll ever be in this life. This one’s called SLLLLAAVVEEEEE DRIIIVVEEERRRR.”
Haha! I swear half of the pop punk bands from Mest’s era had at least one song about regret or self-pity…
I’m not sure all the mentions of Blood for Blood mean that they are a sacred cow type band you’re supposed to like. They just fit the genre so well as to almost be the defining band/best example (and a relatively big name), even if they verge into self-parody at times. They’re def far more real regretcore than Rob’s other band Ramallah you mentioned. Can’t wait for the new B4B song about how much Rob regrets having Billy Biohazard stand in for him on tour since he was too busy trying to stay clean/getting a liver transplant/whatever to play out.
Always hated Blood For Blood.
mirin ur abs
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