xGAARGOYLEx was first played on NTS on 14 March 2025. Songs played include CITY IS MINE.

xGAARGOYLEx plays a ferocious, bare-knuckled variety of hardcore, repping a straight-edge ethos and channeling fulsome outrage. The riffs are ruthless. The breakdowns have the action of a cataract, dragging you into their vortex. The vocals are barked with harsh force, but you can make out the lyrics: “Don’t caare whaat you do or saay / Caan’t stop the haate aand I like it thaat waay!” Thanks, y’all. I think I do, too.

Of course, that assumes a thing or two: that xGAARGOYLEx hates what we hate, that the “you” in the lyric to the tape’s title track corresponds with our own socio-political nemesis. It might be better to understand the “I” in this Kentucky band’s lyrics as the gargoyle itself, architectural ornament and symbol of inhuman horror. See this passage from “Die Twice”: “Haanging from the belfry, both eyes on the city / Cold keeps me aawaake.” It could be, like many contemporary bands that combine elements of punk and metal to produce a gritty, grimy, hyper-aggro cacophony, xGAARGOYLEx hates (haates?) everybody.

One thing we know for sure, xGAARGOYLEx is a straight-edge band, and while that once suggested things that had the quality of political coherence (veganism, lefty leanings, an earnest if somewhat douchey inclination toward authenticity), the crypto-conservative appeal of Youth Crew-styled hetero identity has resulted in strange cultural crossovers. All those pro hockey jerseys and super clean New Balance sneakers are likely attractive to young folk that dig the MAHA (Make America Healthy Again) messaging, and there has been a white nationalist contingent in straight edge for quite some time.