Release Date: 21st August 2026
Label: Many Hats Distribution
Few bands can evoke the hedonistic appeal of the Beastie Boys, the sonic aggression of Slayer and biting satire of Dead Kennedys. The Barbarians of California’s sophomore album, Megatons, combines these elements and brings a fresh approach to the thriving American hardcore scene, and does it a little differently. Surpassing their 2024 album, And Now I’m Just Gnashing My Teeth, was a big ask and fans eagerly awaited a new selection of songs to furnish their high-energy live shows. The band goes above and beyond. The band wears their influences on their sleeve, but defy categorisation and go so far as to self-categorise – gnarlycore. For every metallic riff there is a dulcet harmonisation, for every political critique there is childish nonsense.
The album opener ‘Back to the Valley’ is a crushing introduction to the album’s mercurial mood. Heavy downtuned guitars and powerfully kick drumming are offset with soft “doot doot doot” backing vocals that sound like a hardcore band discovering doo-wop mid-song. Lyrically the opening song encapsulates the band’s semi-serious cultural criticism: it’s a tongue-in-cheek attack on inauthenticity and a proclamation of what you should expect from the band itself – confrontation, teasing, and a lack of polish.
The song ‘Gnarlycore Class’ is how the band define themselves sonically: a combination of comedy and heaviness. This is proven as much by the thrashy-riffs as the disobedient lyrics “I am the president of loving your mom. My megatons and the weight of this song.” The song is heavy to its core by oscillating between thrash riffs, a heavy chuff breakdown and Aaron Bruno’s screaming vocals. It embodies ‘Snarkcore’ the band’s sarcastic appraisal of the overly self-serious California hardcore serious.
‘Vanilla Lattes’ and ‘Modern Fashion’ are attacks on liberal pretension in the tradition of California hardcore legends, Dead Kennedys. The former employs tongue-in-cheek humour alongside pounding riffs and rallying drums to take aim at morally-superior liberal-types “making big decisions,” with hysterical lines such as “Kombucha is for snitches” and “Madonna is a disaster.” If the lyrics weren’t ridiculous enough for you. Listen closely and you’ll even hear the iconic Wilhelm scream. In a similar fashion, ‘Modern Fashion’ attacks the uniform of modern hardcore and urges us to wear what we like in the band’s typical absurdity, “Only cowards karaoke. Anesthesia’s cool again.”
‘Bomb to a Knife Fight’ is an aggressive standout with gut-punchingly heavy guitar, solos and a grinding breakdown. It stays loyal to lyrical ridiculousness, notably a preoccupation with hat-wearing, that leaves listeners reiterating the requirement “put a hat on” on all occasions. This is one of the best examples of the band’s ability to create earworms that leave you mouthing increasingly absurd lines for days.
‘Really Really Rad’ is such an example that leaves you singing to yourself ‘All I wanted was a gift bag. From your party’. It’s an aggressive denouncement of genre gatekeepers and overenthusiastic fandom, satirising such people “I’m the judge and executioner” of “Of your wack ass band,” In a purple mini van,” “Of your fresh new shoes,” and “I’m a friend you could use.” To add insult to injury for self-appointed arbiters of taste the song ends with an abrupt electro beat and monotone utterances of “miracle in ruins.”
The album has moments of whimsy. ‘Earthquake’ is a song about earthquakes, more specifically imagining California sinking into the sea and Arizona becoming the new American West Coast. It’s simple. It’s heavy. One can interpret it as an attack on California’s economic and cultural self-confidence. It might just be a song about earthquakes. ‘This is Shredical’ is another non-serious song that celebrates all things heavy and the joy of letting loose. The memorable opener throws some Slayer-worship into the mix “Hello operator, hello operator. Can you play some Slayer? For my good behavior” and harkens back to the joy of childhood with Mario-style “Wa-hoooooooss!”
Just when you’ve grown comfortable with the irreverent hardcore sound ‘Shark out of Water’ provides a mellow acoustic ballad dealing with the pressure of modern living and being out of one’s element. It’s an objectively beautiful song and yet it feels like an in-joke, and the joke is on the audience. The band celebrates the musical heroes of their adolescence, even their perfunctory acoustic ballads. ‘I am a Submarine’ closes out the album and recaps what the album represents – nonsensical lyrics paired with pulsating drum work and chuggy guitar.
At 27 minutes, Megatons, doesn’t overstay its welcome and arguably doesn’t stay long enough. It is a confident album made by a confident band. Hardcore is experiencing a musical renaissance as bands break the hardcore formula of the past by harnessing heavy metal technicality, hip hop production and slick production. Barbarians are at the vanguard of this renaissance but could be considered their own genre. Unafraid of being themselves they utilise comedy, irony and light-heartedness without coming across as shallow or blunt-edge. Their social commentary is just as biting as any politically-focused bands and any incongruous element shines a brighter light on the heavier moments.