Eleven tracks in nineteen minutes with most of them hovering around the ninety second mark, KLONNS are not here to waste your time. A hardcore punk band from Tokyo who make a loud, fast racket and get out, G.A.M.E.S. is one of the most exciting, concise and fun hardcore records of 2026.

The core DNA is New York hardcore with two step breakdowns that tear away at breakneck pace and production that sounds huge without being obsessed with clarity. Everything is nicely muddy and slightly dated with a sonic palette that suggests the band has no interest in modernising the tradition unnecessarily. What gives G.A.M.E.S. something that separates it is the layer of grindcore influence running through it with a disgustingness and an unpredictability that feels lifted from Napalm Death and Wormrot, and a vomiting quality in the vocalist’s delivery that gives the whole record an added dimension of impenetrability and menace. The songs aren’t particularly distinguishable from each other, and this isn’t a criticism. They tend to start with a big flourish and then tear away at pace, hit a two step breakdown, and then tear away again with messy, clattering drums. The lyrics are screamed with such guttural commitment that they’re largely indecipherable but you know it’s all about hating stuff. PARASITE is a circle pit song so clearly designed that you can hear the implicit pit commands, and there’s never any doubt about how you’re supposed to move next. When KLONNS slow down, which is not often, they’re really groovy and when they speed up again they make as much d-beat noise as possible. There are a great many bands doing this right now, but KLONNS are a hidden gem with every member demonstrating a terrific understanding of groove and structure that allows them to tear away at full pace.