Jonah Watson | March 21st 2025
Recently, I went down to my basement to go through the family CD collection that has pretty much remained the same for the last 10 years. I rediscovered some old mixtapes that my dad had burned for me back in 2009 when I was around 5 or 6 years old. Uncovering these mixtapes inspired me to make my own modern mixtape showcasing what I’ve been listening to recently, and to give myself another avenue to yap about music.
So here it is: 20 songs that have been on repeat for me during February and the first couple of days of March.
You can find the playlist on my Spotify here if you are interested: Jonah's Mixtape - (2/1/25 - 3/4/25)
Track 01.
Nuff Said HxC featuring Nate Laytart from Lyuda - COLD WATER
I knew I had to start the mixtape with some energy, and this song is a perfect fit. Nuff Said is a hardcore band from my local scene in Detroit, who recently released an EP titled A REAL PERSPECTIVE. COLD WATER. The title track just so happens to be my favorite track from the project, which features Nate Laytart, who does guest vocals on the song, in addition to also recording and mixing for the band at his studio, Sunhead Studios. The production here is crisp and mean, matching the energy Nuff Said brings to this song. The highlight of the song for me is the use of the Miki Matsubara sample just over 2 minutes in to usher in the heaviest part of the song.
Track 02.
Mouth for War - Under the Gun
Mouth for War is a metalcore band that has unfortunately recently gone on a permanent hiatus but ended their discography on a high note with 2023’s Bleed Yourself LP and a single titled THE EARTH’S COLD EMBRACE. Under the Gun is a personal highlight on Bleed Yourself, thanks to the elite mix from engineer Pete Grossman, and the energy that stays consistent despite many tempo detours throughout the song.
Track 03.
Anxious - Counting Sheep
I recently spoke, and ultimately gushed, in large about Anxious’s sophomore album Bambi in a review I did two weeks ago: LINK, so I’ll keep it brief here. Counting Sheep is a fun and catchy song that spearheaded the album rollout cycle for Bambi. The song has nostalgic undertones of 00’s rock for me and I think that’s been drawing me back to it. I have been jamming Bambi much more than anything else the past month, so I had to throw in an additional 2 tracks from the album that you will see deeper into the mixtape.
Track 04.
Hold My Own featuring Senta from NUMB - Forever True
Forever True is one of my favorite songs from Chicago/Jersey hardcore outfit Hold My Own. My love for this song lies especially in the second half with Senta’s raw vocal performance and one of the most stank-face-inducing riffs Hold My Own has ever written. Short and sweet.
Track 05.
Cult Leader - Walking Wastelands
Walking Wastelands is a beautiful amalgamation of disgusting, dissonant guitar playing, gritty vocals, and head-spinning drum patterns. Much of my love for Cult Leader lies in their obscure song-writing styles; jagged rhythms and riffs that are discordant but still find their way to get stuck in my head.
Track 06.
Converge - Fault & Fracture
Following Cult Leader’s Walking Wastelands is Converge’s Fault & Fracture, a song equally as harsh and dissonant, and kind of funny now looking at how I put probably the two most sonically intense songs in this mixtape back to back. Anyways, Converge is a metalcore band of renowned status. Their 2001 magnum opus Jane Doe was revolutionarily abrasive and innovative for the time, and it still holds up today. I would say that Fault & Fracture does a good job representing the album as a whole.
Track 07.
Dying Wish - I Brought You My Soul (Your World Brought Me Despair)
Bringing us back to 2025 is the new Dying Wish single I Brought You My Soul (Your World Brought Me Despair). I am a big fan of the way this band blends classic metalcore and hardcore styles with a subtle modernization. The production of the song is dense and impactful, and the highlight of the song for me is the chorus, as vocalist Emma Boster has some of my favorite clean vocals in the entirety of my music library. The rest of the song is pure mosh and spin-kick energy.
Track 08.
Normal - Washing Away
I felt like putting Washing Away in this spot was appropriate, as it serves as a nice breather from much of the abrasive majority of this mixtape. Normal is a Michigan alt-rock band with ties to the Detroit hardcore scene, and their debut LP Lemonize has been one of my most played albums of the year so far, if not the most played. Like the rest of the album, Washing Away has a nostalgic 90’s/00’s rock vibe that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. At least now next time I see them live I’ll be able to sing along to every song…
Track 09.
Anxious - Jacy
Jacy is the second of 3 songs from Anxious’s Bambi that I added to this mixtape. Jacy sits as my most-played song on Spotify over the last month or so with 19 streams. I just can’t get enough of the upbeat and summery energy this song has, and everything feels layered so tastefully to me, especially the expressive bass riff underneath the bittersweet-feeling main guitar motif in the intro and subsequent reprises.
Track 10.
Fatal Realm - The Gift
It’s time for another run of assbeaters. The Gift is ignorantly heavy, showing off the prominent influence the 90s New York death metal scene had on Hudson Valley’s Fatal Realm. The production is clean but very much still raw enough to be straight-up intimidating. The short-winded song builds its way to its final 30 seconds of pure psychotic and violent hardcore-dancing fuel. I’m looking forward to seeing this band live in May and staying away from that pit which will surely be dominated by men much more muscular and agile than I.
Track 11.
ANHEDONIA - LEFT TO FESTER
Speaking of being influenced by 90s slamming death metal: Detroit’s own sonic blunt-force-trauma unit, Anhedonia. I saw this band in a packed 200-capacity dive bar on the 1st of the month and saw many legs catch airtime and fists make contact with other bodies. Anhedonia released their first EP IRREVERSIBLE COLLAPSE late last year and has quickly built a reputation for being one of the heaviest and scariest bands in the Detroit scene. LEFT TO FESTER is two and a half minutes of erratic and bludgeoning sonic terror.
Track 12.
Justice for the Damned - The Current
Track 12 takes us to the other side of the world with Sydney, Australia band Justice for the Damned. The Current is the lead single off of Justice for the Damned’s forthcoming album set to release this year through Greyscale Records. The song is a straightforward head-bobber built on the premise of impactful simplicity. Justice for the Damned is easily one of my favorite Australian bands, if not my #1 favorite, and I’m excited to see what territory they continue to conquer this year with their efforts.
Track 13.
Varials - Anything to Numb
Varials has gained quite a solid following in the modern metalcore scene through their low-tuned chugs, caustic vocals, and straightforward execution. The production on Anything to Numb and the rest of the 2017 album Pain Again feels hefty and punishing, pulling no punches. Anything to Numb has been on repeat for me as I just saw Varials live last week and the slowdown in the second verse makes me want to drive my head through a brick wall.
Track 14.
7 Angels 7 Plagues - Dandelion
Dandelion, released in 2001, shares the accolade of being the oldest song in this mixtape with Converge’s Fault & Fracture. Dandelion is a great glimpse into the early 00s metalcore scene, with the song’s free-flowing nature and shifts between one yucky odd-metered riff into the next, complete with production that makes up for its lack of polish in its memorability.
Track 15.
Killing Me Softly - Marion Silver
Before taking another trip back to the early 00s, here’s a song that sounds like it belongs to that period. Killing Me Softly is a metalcore band from Leeds that channels the chaotic nature of the early 00s metalcore zeitgeist and executes it with flying colors, complete with superb production quality. After seeing that this band was going to be making their North American tour debut in the spring, I knew I had to revisit their album Autumn Lost in Silence, and Marion Silver has been sticking out to me as a favorite.
Track 16.
On Broken Wings - Like Starscream
Much of what I have said for any other early 00’s metalcore song in this mixtape applies to On Broken Wings’ Like Starscream; a chaotic tempo roadmap, mean, chromatic riffs, and gritty vocals. Much of what I have had stuck in my head from this song is the side-to-side wide-open intro and the buildup to and execution of the infamous “clap-clap” breakdown to end the song.
Track 17.
Inclination - Thoughts & Prayers
Inclination is a modern hardcore band known for their being unapologetically straight-edge, something I connect with being straight-edge myself. I find their music to be quite fun to listen to while maintaining serious undertones. Thoughts & Prayers happens to be my favorite song of theirs and I can’t get enough of this song, especially the dynamic final minute.
Track 18.
King’s Command - Take Back the Throne
King’s Command is another Detroit hardcore band that has recently sprouted and already begun to bloom. Take Back the Throne is the title track off of their debut December 2024 demo, and is my favorite song they have written so far. Take Back the Throne is 77 seconds of old-school punk-hardcore energy with catchy power-chord riffage and agile drumming beneath vocalist Aidan Cicotte’s pissed-off hardcore yells.
Track 19.
Billie Eilish - BIRDS OF A FEATHER
If anyone has actually read this far I am extremely surprised, but I bet you are also surprised by seeing this song make an appearance in my metalcore & hardcore dominated mixtape. I love Billie Eilish’s voice on this song, as I find it refreshing to hear her really project her voice at full volume in some parts when I’m so used to her gentle, airy singing. Also, the instrumental is fantastic and keeps the song perfectly groovy and light-hearted.
Track 20.
Anxious - I’ll Be Around
My long-winded music yap-session (and this edition’s mixtape) comes to an end with one of the coziest songs I’ve ever heard, and one of my favorite album closers in a long, long time; I’ll Be Around by Anxious. Anxious has captured a special kind of magic with this song that I haven’t heard in many others. Simply put, this song, to me, feels like a warm hug that holds you for four and a half minutes. If I was recommending one song off of this mixtape for the average person to listen to, it would be I’ll Be Around.
If you made it this far, thank you for reading and entertaining my passion for gabbing about music I love. I hope that in reading this, and hopefully listening to the mixtape on Spotify, you found at least one song you are either interested in checking out or one song that you have begun to incorporate into your rotation. I would love to revisit this mixtape concept down the road as I had a blast creating this article.
