Australian hardcore band AWOL unleash debut album Tear ‘Em To Bits on Flatspot Records

Australian hardcore band AWOL unleash debut album

Tear ‘Em To Bits on Flatspot Records

Photo Credit: Jack Rudder

STREAM: Tear ‘Em To Bits

PURCHASE: Tear ‘Em To Bits LP

WATCH: “AWOL”

WATCH: “Tear ‘Em To Bits”

“They take influence from classic, heavy New York Hardcore like Madball and Biohazard, with an urgency and a freshness that hits hard today.” – BrooklynVegan

“An intense and relentless cut of weighty goodness, taking cues from the NYHC masters of the late 80s and early 90s.” – Pile Rats

“It’s a twenty-three-minute ride of assertive, get-up-and-go-energy, but at the same time, Tear ‘Em To Bits quickly sounds fresh and organic.” – Ghost Cult Mag

Today, Melbourne, Australia based five piece AWOL unleash their crushing debut album Tear ‘Em To Bits on Flatspot Records and Last Ride Records. The nine songs that comprise Tear ‘Em To Bits are filled with gruff vocals, angular riffs and crushing breakdowns. Drawing inspiration from Madball, Biohazard and Melbourne legends Grim Reality and Within Blood, the band meshes a punk rock attitude with heavily metallic influences to create a sound that spans the sonic landscape of modern and classic hardcore. Hard hitting singles “Kingdom”, “Tear ‘Em To Bits” and “AWOL” showcased the bands firebrand lyricism and aggressive social positions – unabashedly ACAB and ‘us vs. them’ in their approach.

AWOL is a quintessential hardcore band and proud of it, with this to say about the intent behind their new album:

“We just want to put out a record that we’re proud of and represents who we are as a band and as people. Something that our friends could get behind and that would allow us to keep playing shows and having fun.”

Formed in 2020, the members of AWOL were driven to write music out of necessity and frustration, dealing with stringent COVID lockdowns and adjusting to isolation. Once they were ready to emerge, the timing was perfect as the Australia hardcore scene was experiencing serious growth. Their 2021 AWOL EP introduced audiences to the ferocious sound they would become synonymous with and propelled the group into the regional spotlight. The band quickly found themselves playing shows with the likes of Speed, Iron Mind and No Apologies, culminating in a country wide tour supporting No Pressure in early 2022.

Tear ‘Em To Bits prove that AWOL has earned a seat at the table amongst the most compelling bands in the genre they love. You can stream the album HERE and order Tear ‘Em To Bits now through Flatspot Records.

AWOL is Christian Schultz (vocals), Mike Williams (guitar/vocals), Otis T Bennie (guitar/vocals) Pat Shanahan (drums) and Pablo Barnes (bass).