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If you discovered punk or hardcore a decade or so ago, the name Nathan Gray will be familiar to you as the voice of the hugely underrated Boysetsfire, whose mixture of politically motivated, singer/songwriter storytelling and furiously heavy punk was among the best the genre had to offer.

I Am Heresy is his latest project and it’s inspiring to hear his knack for melody, intelligent turns of phrase and throat-ripping, righteous indignation burns just as brightly as it ever did. The rest of his band are no slouches either. Heavier and resolutely more old school – most notably on the thrashing, solo-heavy Destruction Anthems – than BSF, I Am Heresy offer a glimpse of what you wish hardcore would represent in 2014.

These are no bandwagon-hopping, cookie cutter, scene kids – this is a band committed to stripping the paint from your walls with white hot noise, although with Nathan in the mix you’re never too far away from a brain-hugging chorus or memorable melodic vocal line. He’s still got it, now you should go get this.

Since blagging his way onto the Hammer team a decade ago, Stephen has written countless features and reviews for the magazine, usually specialising in punk, hardcore and 90s metal, and still holds out the faint hope of one day getting his beloved U2 into the pages of the mag. He also regularly spouts his opinions on the Metal Hammer Podcast.