15 Straight Edge Demos You Might Have Missed This Year
These straight edge bands have released energetic demos in such a rough year for making new music.
Hello, and welcome to another post about The Straight Edge!
This time around I missed my deadline to write a piece for this year’s Edge Day by a full week. Despite this, my edge is as strong as ever and I’m still finding solace in a subculture based around personal values of sobriety while making a positive social impact in an otherwise f-ed up world.
For most of the past 40 years, straight edge bands have come and gone, many leaving a huge impact on those who have been reached by their music and found something in their message that strikes a personal note. While most of these bands have sold out a long time ago, some remain true to this day.
This post, however, is not about the ‘good old days’, and neither does it pretend to be about any ‘best of’ list or favorite bands of the year (ed. 2021—now we have it here) It’s just that I know many have been largely out of the loop in 2020, and it’s kind of my personal responsibility—as someone constantly digging around looking for new artists—to write about the demo tapes, the lesser known bands, and the records that usually fly under the radar of most hardcore punk publications.
So here’s my latest list of straight edge hardcore bands that have released demos and promo material during the time when there were basically no record release shows or even the slightest opportunity to play in front of a larger crowd.