You will never be disgraced.

After five years away from new recorded material, God’s Hate have returned with Won’t Be Disgraced, a three-song EP that wastes absolutely no time reminding everyone why this band became such a destructive force within modern metallic hardcore. Formed in Van Nuys, California, in 2012, God’s Hate have always operated somewhere between hardcore’s blunt-force aggression and the crushing weight of metal, building their sound around enormous riffs, filthy grooves, massive drums, and Brody King’s unmistakable vocals.

What makes Won’t Be Disgraced particularly effective, though, is that the band aren't simply returning to do the same thing again. The heaviness is still there in ridiculous amounts, but there is a darker emotional layer underneath these songs. Released through Closed Casket Activities, the EP consists of two original tracks, “Won’t Be Disgraced” and “I Am The Cure,” followed by a cover of Harm’s Way’s “Warriors Will Reign.” The entire release is dedicated to Bo Lueders, and that sense of grief becomes impossible to separate from the final track.

The title track, “Won’t Be Disgraced,” opens with an eerie spoken sample about death before a slow drum roll introduces deep, ominous guitar riffs. It's an interesting way to begin because God’s Hate don't immediately go for the throat. The band allows the tension to build, with the drums sounding cleaner and sharper than some of their earlier work while the guitars gradually become denser.

Then the vocals arrive, and everything falls into place.

The groove is enormous. God’s Hate have never needed complicated guitar playing to sound devastating, and “Won’t Be Disgraced” is another perfect example. The riffs are simple, repetitive, and incredibly effective, particularly when combined with the thick bass, sharp guitars, huge backing vocals, and unmistakable 818 identity running through the song.

The production is also a major improvement in terms of clarity. The three-guitar setup creates an enormous wall of sound without turning the individual instruments into mush. The bass provides a huge low-end foundation, while the snare has a sharp, almost violent crack that gives the entire song additional punch.

The second half of “Won’t Be Disgraced” is where the song really starts opening up. The riffs become faster and tighter, moving between slower grooves and more aggressive chugging before the band eventually settles back into its heavier foundation. It gives the track considerably more movement than simply relying on one gigantic breakdown.

“I Am The Cure” continues the darker atmosphere with another spoken sample before dropping into scratchy guitar riffs and a massive low-end rhythm section. Here, the drums become arguably the star of the show.

The drumming across this EP is phenomenal. There is nothing unnecessarily technical about it, but every hit has personality. The kick provides an enormous amount of weight, the snare punches through the guitars, and the hi-hat work adds subtle movement that prevents the riffs from becoming static.

This is particularly important because God’s Hate's songwriting is intentionally simple. Their music isn't about showing how many riffs they can fit into four minutes. It's about finding the right riff and making it hit as hard as possible. The drums are what keep that simplicity from becoming predictable.

The breakdown in “I Am The Cure” is predictably massive. My only real criticism of the EP comes here. The slower section feels slightly too drawn out compared with the momentum the band establishes earlier in the song. It's still ridiculously heavy, but I think a little more movement would have made the payoff even more devastating.

Then comes “Warriors Will Reign.”

This is where Won’t Be Disgraced becomes something much more than another crushing God’s Hate release.

Originally appearing on Harm’s Way's 2009 album Reality Approaches, the song is transformed here into a tribute to Bo Lueders, the late Harm’s Way guitarist and HardLore co-host. God’s Hate don't simply recreate the original. They make it sound thicker, heavier, and more monstrous, with the guitars gradually building underneath an increasingly enormous rhythm section.

The drums sound absolutely enormous when they finally hit. The snare rolls slice through the guitar wall, the bass creates an almost physical low-end pressure, and the riffs carry that unmistakable God’s Hate stomp.

The cleaner vocal approach also works particularly well. It gives the song a different emotional quality from the first two tracks while still maintaining the band's heaviness.

But the real impact comes from the ending.

Lueders' voice appears during the closing portion of the song, talking about how he hoped to be remembered. That changes the entire experience. Suddenly, the crushing riffs and enormous breakdown aren't simply there to make you move. They become part of a memorial.

The track also features guest vocals from figures connected to the hardcore community, including Karl Buechner of Earth Crisis, Ray Cappo of Youth of Today/Shelter, Mark Porter of Floorpunch, and Harm’s Way's James Pligge. That makes the song feel less like a conventional cover and more like a collective tribute from the hardcore community.

That emotional dimension is ultimately what separates Won’t Be Disgraced from a lot of metallic hardcore releases.

There is an enormous amount of rage here, but it isn't empty aggression. The spoken samples, the lyrical themes, and especially the tribute to Lueders give the EP a sense of mortality and reflection. God’s Hate have always sounded angry, but here the anger feels connected to grief, loss, and the idea of refusing to give up.

That's an important distinction.

The EP's official description frames it as a collection driven by grief and the state of the hardcore community, while emphasizing solidarity and using anger as a reason to create change rather than simply destroy everything around you.

And that philosophy fits the music perfectly.

The production is another major strength. The guitars are thick without becoming completely indistinguishable, the bass has enough presence to actually contribute to the arrangements, and the drums sound absolutely enormous. Taylor Young handled the recording and mixing at The Pit Recording Studio, with Brad Boatright handling mastering, and the result is a release that manages to sound polished while retaining the ugliness and physical aggression that makes hardcore work.

Brody King's vocals remain just as commanding. There is no unnecessary experimentation or attempt to reinvent his delivery. His voice sounds like it was designed specifically to sit on top of these riffs, cutting through the guitars while the backing vocals make the biggest moments feel even larger.

The brevity also works in the EP's favor. At just three songs and roughly twelve and a half minutes, Won’t Be Disgraced doesn't overstay its welcome.

There is no filler. There are no unnecessary interludes. God’s Hate get in, destroy everything, leave you with something genuinely emotional, and disappear.

That's exactly how a release like this should work.

If I have one complaint, it's that “I Am The Cure” could have been structured slightly tighter, particularly around its breakdown. But that's a tiny criticism compared with how effective the rest of the EP is.

God’s Hate have returned from their hiatus with something that manages to be both brutally familiar and emotionally different. “Won’t Be Disgraced” brings the crushing grooves, “I Am The Cure” delivers some of the nastiest rhythm work on the EP, and “Warriors Will Reign” transforms the release into something far more personal.

This isn't God’s Hate trying to become something they aren't.

It's God’s Hate taking everything that already works — massive riffs, gigantic drums, filthy bass, vicious vocals, breakdowns, and groove — and giving it a heavier emotional purpose.

Won’t Be Disgraced is short, direct, incredibly heavy, and surprisingly moving. More importantly, it feels like a release that actually means something to the people who made it.

God’s Hate didn't need five years away to come back with something complicated. They just needed three songs this fucking heavy.

Rating 9.5/10