Four years after releasing Heavy Steps, Canada’s hardcore legends have released their newest full length album, Chosen Hell.
Theres no shortage of energy as Comeback Kid burn through fast paced songs with the fury of a thousand suns, all while putting down a healthy portion of rousing choruses.

In a world where Hardcore has become synonymous with the beatdown style that has been prevalent for the last ten years, 2026 has seen a small resurgence in the scene putting out music that doesn’t rely on slamming breakdowns designed to test whether you can spin kick your best mates jaw into next year. That’s not to say Hardcore has lost its edge at all, it hasn’t. Haywire 617 brought their flavour of positively tinged hardcore punk to us this year with I Don’t Want To Say Goodbye, and Comeback Kids latest release brings about another round of furious rage backed up by riffs that call for a two step in the most intense ways possible. Neither of these rely on pure aggression.

Chosen Hell is a prime example of how music can be intense without being a pure assault on the senses. Yes, you’ll find a good amount of breakdowns sprinkled throughout its 11 tracks, but rather than relying on that like many other modern bands, Comeback Kid continue to refine their tried and tested formula. A punk weighted hardcore with metal influences. The drums are angry, the riffs are confident, and the vocals are as urgent and pissed off as ever.

But Chosen Hell is as vulnerable and upset as it is angry. Amongst the relentless drumming and screaming guitars are moments of melodic reflection.
Lost and Found doubles down on this with a deconstructed, acoustic ending, while Heartland Elegy celebrates the life of bassist Matt Keil after his passing from ALS.
With this said though, there’s no point at which the album isn’t constantly pushing you forwards, and it’s Comeback Kids ability to mix these more heartfelt moments with the faster paced aspects, that really shows their musical prowess off. Metal and Hardcore are rammed full of bands that have amazing messages that are lost within attempts to outdo each other in technicality or brutality. Comeback Kid, however, have continued over a 25 year career to make music that tells you what you need to feel when listening to it, whether that’s anger, frustration, joy, or sadness. Chosen Hell in that respect is no different.

Another aspect of Chosen Hell that worked well was the choice of features on the album. The decision to involve metalcore’s current golden girl, Courtney LaPlante, and hardcore veterans Incendiary, feels like an apt way to demonstrate and emphasise Comeback Kids broad appeal between the punk and metal communities.
Aside from this fact, the two songs are great as well.

Shedding Season is as furious and punchy as you’d want from a Comeback Kid song, and the addition of Courtney’s powerhouse screaming fits perfectly with the sound that CBK have. So much so, that I’d go as far as to say that I’d happily see her do more hardcore adjacent music.
But Courtney wasn’t alone in having a standout feature on this album, the aforementioned Incendiary feature is just as good.
Brendan Garrone’s vocals help to bring an abundance of anthemic energy in its choruses, whilst the riffs & drumming in the verses carry a swagger that is almost guaranteed to have full rooms throwing down some filthy two stepping.
It’s this combination that puts Yesterday’s Gone in the position of being one of the stand out songs on an already strong album.

Quality most certainly does not lack on Chosen Hell, and the band’s ability to mix together a potent brew of metallic, melodic hardcore is displayed perfectly with Chosen Hell. It’s an album that feels like a culmination of years of hard work. It draws on everything that Comeback Kid excel at creating a familiar sense of urgency, anger and emotion that long time fans and new listeners are guaranteed to resonate with and appreciate.