ALBUM REVIEW: Time To Burn – XCOMM

With ages ranging from 14- 19, the main takeaway from Time To Burn is XCOMM have the beauty of youth on their side. Signalling their arrival with a turbulent debut album, hardcore’s newest warriors burst out of the cage hungry for blood and sentences whatever venue dares to book them to inevitable carnage.

Clocking in at 30 minutes, the rampant fast-paced energy feels like an onslaught of tomahawk missiles with anger issues, hawking a loogie into a pit of limbs and fury. Even from the comfort of your own home, you can feel the sweat of the mosh pit dripping down your neck in a bizarre case of phantom limb bodily fluid.

From the first crunching riffs and grinding breakdowns of Reasons, the band grab you by the lapel and body slam you into the pit. What follows is agonisingly rough vocals, manic guitar solos and a DIY punk attitude you can’t shake. Chest puffed out and eyes set on destruction; the Venice Beach natives unleash a hostile and blistering debut capable of catching the attention of hardcore fans young and old.

For fans of the classics, Time To Burn is reminiscent of the chaos and looseness of old-school hardcore punk like BAD BRAINS, MINOR THREAT and FUGAZI. But with producer Ross Robinson (KORN, THE CURE, SLIPKNOT, GLASSJAW, AT THE DRIVE IN) steering the ship, the album has a subconscious composure to it, ensuring every punch, kick, and jab thrown out lands with the intended potency.

It’s important that the pearls of wisdom dished out by lead singer Michael Gatto in tracks like Running Zeros and No Teeth aren’t lost in the noise. His short yet sweet verses offer a compelling narrative of what’s riling up the youth of today. In doing so, he injects cultural relevance into the classic sound, dragging it kicking and screaming into 2026.

With the delicate balance of old and new, XCOMM prove they’re a band ushering in a new wave of hardcore whilst dispelling any worry of becoming a throw away nostalgia act. Though they do such a wonderful job of morphing the timeline of punk, we urge you not to compare XCOMM to what has come before.

At the end of the day, to compare is to forget what a new punk record is about. Instead, turn it up loud, listen to what XCOMM have to throw at you and take in a band that feels fresh, new and most importantly, exhilarating. If there’s one singular message behind the album, you’ll find it in Hot Pursuit/One and Nothing where Gatto cries out “XCOMM is coming, it’s coming for your life / Hot pursuit behind you and I’m running with a knife.” XCOMM have arrived and there’s nothing you can do about it.

Rating: 7/10

Time To Burn is out now via Blowed Out Records.