Twelve bands, including three international guests, and proof that the island's hardcore culture is more alive than ever: this Saturday, at the Campidarte farmhouse club (Ussana), the Cagliari Hardcore Fest returns for a third edition, even more explosive than its predecessors, in an event created and organized by the Cagliari-based collective of the same name.
Always united in the mission of promoting the Sardinian hardcore and related ecosystem and building bridges with other Italian and European communities, the crew has also involved its loyal audience in contributing to the festival's success, thanks to the "Do It Yourself" self-funding initiative, launched at Su Tzirculu on September 26th. Now that the festival is upon us and the full lineup has been announced, Saturday afternoon promises to be filled with energy and non-stop music.
International guests
The concerts will begin at 4 PM, amid palpable anticipation for the three headliners traveling from abroad. Leading the way are British band Still in Love, who released their 2025 studio debut "Recovery Language," in a display of skill at blending introspective themes and raw hardcore with sludge and death metal influences, thanks in part to their experience in bands like Bring Me the Horizon, Dead Swans, and Brutality Will Prevail. The other two bands hail from France: Parisian band Worst Doubt, formed by former members of Backboned and Wolfpack and characterized by a New York-inspired metallic hardcore revived on their latest album "Immortal Pain," and Sorcerer, influenced by early metalcore and infused with emo—a sound that permeates their debut "Devotion"—and sharing part of their lineup with Worst Doubt.
Sardinia calls Italy
Coming straight from the peninsula are Rome's Short Fuse, returning after a three-year hiatus for a pure dose of Anglophone hardcore punk from the capital, while Ozone Dehumanizer, a rapcore project from Bari with industrial and noise overtones, is making its debut on the island. Also making their Sardinian debut are Terni's Die Abete, veterans of Italian post-hardcore with a penchant for noise and lo-fidelity, as are also Rome-based Feldspar, former collaborators of Short Fuse but leaning more towards melodic hardcore. A lineup of great musical innovations for the region, which is also rounded out by the last two bands from the mainland: Final Struggle, with their brand of Modena-style hardcore with a '90s flavour, and fellow Italians Konoha, screamo (or skramz, for the aficionados) with a proud Italian tradition. Well-known names on the island's hardcore scene at the Fest will be Alghero's Vile Denaro, with their 1970s punk rock, the Cagliari trio Miscredente, still old school but on the hardcore side, the same as For Different Ways, formed in 2015 between Campidano and the capital.
