Formed in 2018, CHOICE TO MAKE is living proof that true hardcore is alive and thriving in the new decade. Featuring members of ONE STEP CLOSER, STRENGTH FOR A REASON, and WORN, CHOICE TO MAKE combines five of northern Pennsylvania’s most accomplished contemporary hardcore musicians to form a formidably fierce and energetic quintet that delivers swift and potent blasts of raw energy, reminiscent of early BIOHAZARD, late-’80s AGNOSTIC FRONT and UNDERDOG. In a scene riddled with fashion-first “punk” upstarts and breakdown fetishists, CHOICE TO MAKE delivers a vital dose of hardcore that is equally confrontational and groovy, with roots buried evenly the classics of hardcore and the modern landmarks that have shaped the genre’s development over the past two decades.
Fresh of the heels of a 2018 demo from 12Forty Records and a 2019 promo released through the Streets Of Hate fanzine, CHOICE TO MAKE is marching bravely into 2020 with a new EP, Vicious Existence. This new material is undoubtedly the group’s strongest and most serious effort to date, with lyrics dealing with our society’s unbalance of power, the disparity between the haves and the have-nots, and the challenges that face any person attempting to live by a code of true morality. The energy of the music reflects this grey area of morality explored in the lyrics, with vicious riffs and fast-paced grooves counterbalanced tastefully by plodding breakdowns and evocative chord structures. In our fractured society, CHOICE TO MAKE separates the wheat from the chaff, and reminds us that we all have to stake our moral claim eventually; when the time comes, what side will you choose?
