Right now, Baltimore’s End It are one of the most exciting bands in all of hardcore. They play blisteringly fast, muscular, anthemic tracks that work as delivery systems for the giddy rants of larger-than-life frontman Akil Godsey. Godsey is straight-up insanely fun to watch. This past weekend, I saw End It play Richmond’s Big Takeover fest, and they might’ve had the best set in the weekend, partly because of the way Godsey began everything by singing the living hell out of Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide” — he’s got a great voice — before the band launched into their first song. I love these guys.
End It made their name with One Way Track, a short and excellent EP that came out in the pre-pandemic days of 2020. Today, End It announce that they’ll follow that EP this summer with a new one called Unpleasant Living. First single “Hatekeeper” is a furious minute-long attack on a whole demographic: “Sent here to compromise, appropriate, spread your lies! Claimed to be an ally, you’re the enemy that I despise! Go!” It kicks ass.
Even better: “Hatekeeper” has a ridiculously fun video from director Rory Sheridan. It’s twice as long as the song, and it’s got End It dressing up in gaudy silk finery to play the Playa Hater’s Ball. Talking to Afropunk, Godsey says:
“Hatekeeper” is a song about gatekeeping hardcore. It’s about keeping the tourists from getting comfortable enough to dictate what’s right and what’s wrong. Knowing they won’t be around to deal with the after-effects. For the music video, we went with the Player Hater’s Ball theme from one of our favorite shows, The Chappelle Show.
Check out the video, the Unpleasant Living tracklist, and End It’s upcoming dates below.
TRACKLIST:
01 “BCHC”
02 “New Wage Slavery”
03 “L’appel Du Vide”
04 “21”
05 “Hatekeeper”
06 “The Comeback”
TOUR DATES:
6/03 – Brockton, MA @ Gatekeeper Jam (with Sheer Terror & Restraining Order)
6/04 – Brooklyn, NY @ The Meadows (with Sheer Terror & Rebelmatic)
7/09 – Philadelphia, PA @ This Is Hardcore Festival
7/18 – Washington, DC @ Union Stage (with Fucked Up)
The Unpleasant Living EP is out 7/8 on Flatspot Records.
