Rage is rumbling through the streets of Lisbon for Push!.
Formed in 2013, the band led by André Paiva (bass), Duarte Bernardo (drums), Nuno Cruz (vocals), Roberto Cebolas (guitar), and Gonçalo Ramos (guitar) has announced the release of its second album, Plowing Ahead, on Frozen Records and Useless Pride in early 2026.
It kicks off with the simple but motivating riff of Sauron, the first track that immediately sets the tone and offers pure energy with a metallic sound at different speeds before Beyond Exhaustion takes over and gives way to equally vindictive vocals. The natural groove of the catchy rhythm is broken by a piercing break, but the aggression takes over again, encouraging the two-step so characteristic of the genre, followed by Dig Deep, which continues in the same vein and gives the bass an interesting freedom before returning to a much rawer passage. The track works in waves that hit us one after the other, leading us to Porcelain which, unlike its namesake, makes use of solid riffs strung together with devastating naturalness to convince us and make us want to move in every direction. Bass is once again in the spotlight in the mix, while Right Through draws on its crossover roots to offer an even more virulent sound than usual, retaining its hardcore base to incite crowd movements while the vocalist roars before letting the final sample give us a moment’s respite. It is obviously short-lived, giving way to Unswayed and its high-energy drums that guide the instrumental beneath the screams, even allowing for a few more melodious passages before quickly giving way to Frantic Pace, which takes over and leads us into a jerky rhythm and slightly different vocals. Karma’s Call finally takes over, allowing itself some heady leads before offering its raw power at a much more sustained pace, then several successive slowdowns that lead to the groovy final, followed by a sampled call tone and Impunity and its finally unleashed rage. The introduction is a bit long, but the track is easily catchy, offering acceleration after acceleration between two piercing lead parts, then Hands of Concrete returns to the fray with furious and dissonant Old School roots. Not really being used to this style, I find the track a bit chaotic, as does Too Nice, which follows it and strikes sometimes regularly and sometimes much more unpredictably, regardless of the pace, finally closing the album with a final sample… that is confusing.
Push! is equally adept at violence and rhythm changes, and Plowing Ahead shows us this at every turn! If you’re not used to Hardcore like me, the experience can be rough, but it will probably leave you with a sore neck!
75/100
