IT’S BEEN CHECKED!

Coming out of Boston, Massachusetts, Burn Kit may be a relatively young band, but they’ve wasted absolutely no time establishing themselves within the DIY hardcore world. Formed in 2024, the five-piece combines hardcore and post-punk influences into their self-described “Hardwave” sound, bringing together aggressive punk energy with a slightly darker and more atmospheric edge.

What makes Burn Kit particularly impressive is how quickly they’ve embraced the DIY lifestyle. During their first year, the band reportedly played around 140 shows across 38 countries, an absurd amount of touring for a band that had only just started. After releasing their Hardwave EP in March 2026, Burn Kit return with Check It Out, a five-song collection consisting entirely of Negative Approach covers.

On paper, covering an entire EP's worth of material from one of hardcore’s most influential bands is a risky move. Negative Approach are foundational to hardcore, and songs like “Tied Down,” “Sick of Talk,” and “Dead Stop” already carry decades of history behind them. Burn Kit wisely don't try to completely rewrite these songs. Instead, Check It Out feels like a straightforward tribute that brings these classics into the band's own modern recording environment.

The EP immediately gets to work with “Tied Down.” The song is fast, aggressive, and remarkably faithful to the original. Burn Kit don't drastically alter the arrangement, but their production gives the track a much thicker and more compressed sound. The guitars have more density, the bass has a stronger presence, and the drums sound considerably more modern than the original recording.

The biggest difference comes from the vocals.

Rather than trying to imitate Negative Approach vocalist John Brannon, Burn Kit's vocalist delivers the lyrics with a rougher, more straightforward hardcore yell. It's an important choice because attempting to recreate Brannon's distinctive delivery could have easily made the cover feel like an imitation. Burn Kit instead sound like themselves, even when the music remains extremely close to the source.

That approach continues with “Sick of Talk.” Once again, the performances are tight and the production is cleaner and more polished than the original. The guitars remain aggressive, the rhythm section moves quickly, and the vocals have plenty of grit.

But this is also where the biggest criticism of Check It Out begins to become apparent.

Burn Kit are playing these songs well, but they aren't necessarily transforming them.

For someone who already knows Negative Approach inside and out, the differences can feel relatively minor. The modern production gives the songs a different sonic character, but the underlying arrangements remain almost entirely intact. There's nothing wrong with that, but it means the EP doesn't always provide much of a new perspective on songs that have already been covered, replayed, and worshipped for decades.

“Live Your Life” is where Burn Kit begin showing more of their own personality. The drums feel deeper and more forceful, while the guitars remain tight and aggressive. The gang vocals add another layer of hardcore energy, making this interpretation feel more connected to Burn Kit's own scene rather than simply reproducing the original.

This is probably the direction I would have liked to hear more of throughout Check It Out.

The moments where Burn Kit allow their own vocal character, production style, and hardcore energy to come forward are the moments where the EP becomes most interesting. They're still clearly paying respect to Negative Approach, but they also start sounding like a band interpreting those songs rather than simply replaying them.

“Dead Stop” returns to the more faithful approach. The bass is particularly noticeable here, sitting more prominently beneath the guitars and giving the song additional weight. The frantic energy of the original remains intact, while Burn Kit's cleaner recording makes the individual instruments considerably easier to distinguish.

The vocals are also clearer than on the original, but again, the arrangement remains very familiar.

That creates an interesting contradiction. On one hand, Burn Kit's version sounds cleaner, tighter, and more powerful from a modern production standpoint. On the other hand, some of the rawness and chaotic character that made early hardcore recordings so exciting is naturally reduced.

The final track, “Negative Approach,” follows the same formula. The guitars, bass, and drums are all well executed, and the aggressive vocals fit the material naturally. The production provides a much clearer picture of what each musician is doing, but the cleaner presentation occasionally makes the song feel slightly thinner than expected.

By this point, the EP's formula is obvious: take classic Negative Approach songs, perform them with conviction, give them a modern hardcore production treatment, and avoid making unnecessary changes.

And honestly, there's something admirable about that.

Not every cover needs to reinvent the song.

Sometimes a band simply wants to pay tribute to music that influenced them, and Check It Out feels sincere in that regard. Burn Kit clearly understand why these songs matter. They don't overproduce them into something unrecognizable, add unnecessary technical flourishes, or attempt to turn Negative Approach into something completely different.

The biggest issue is that this approach also makes Check It Out somewhat limited as a standalone release.

The EP is energetic and enjoyable, but its strongest selling point is ultimately Burn Kit themselves. Their DIY work ethic, aggressive performances, and developing Hardwave identity are more interesting to me than hearing extremely faithful recreations of songs that already exist.

I would have loved to hear the band take a few more risks.

What would “Tied Down” sound like with Burn Kit pushing their post-punk influence further? What if “Sick of Talk” incorporated some of the darker atmosphere found in their original material? What could they do with “Dead Stop” if they allowed the bass and drums to become even more dominant?

Those possibilities are what make the EP feel like a bit of a missed opportunity.

At the same time, Check It Out isn't pretending to be something it isn't. This is a tribute. Burn Kit are celebrating a band that helped establish the musical foundation they themselves are building upon, and they execute that tribute with plenty of energy.

The production is probably the release's biggest technical improvement over the source material. The guitars are clear, the bass is audible, the drums have punch, and the vocals have enough aggression to keep everything feeling like hardcore rather than a sterile studio recreation.

The band's vocal approach is particularly important. Burn Kit don't sound like Negative Approach, and that's a good thing. Their harsher, more direct delivery gives the covers at least one obvious point of separation from the originals.

Ultimately, “Tied Down,” “Sick of Talk,” “Live Your Life,” “Dead Stop,” and “Negative Approach” make up a solid collection of covers that demonstrate Burn Kit's ability to perform this material convincingly. The EP doesn't necessarily reinvent these songs, but it doesn't disrespect them either.

And considering what Burn Kit have already accomplished since forming in 2024, Check It Out feels less like a definitive statement and more like another stop along the way.

A band that plays roughly 140 shows across 38 countries in its first year clearly isn't sitting around waiting for opportunities. They're building their identity through constant movement, and that makes their future considerably more interesting than this particular collection of covers.

With more original material and continued development of their Hardwave sound, Burn Kit have plenty of room to become something much more distinctive. Check It Out proves they can handle the classics. Now I want to hear what happens when they fully put their own stamp on the music.