Aftershock – Through The Looking Glass (1999)

Some records hit like a punch. Through The Looking Glass by Aftershock doesn’t hit—it claws, twists, and drags you into its world, then spits you back out wrecked and wide-eyed. Just dropped on Devil’s Head in ’99, this is a scorched statement from a band that’s long outgrown the shadows they started in. Forget the metalcore tag that’s getting thrown around by every kid in camo shorts—Aftershock isn’t jumping on a trend, they’re melting it down and reforging it in their own image.

Coming out of Massachusetts—same fertile soil that birthed Converge, Overcast, and Cave In—Aftershock always felt like the overlooked little brother in that New England family of chaos. But if you’ve been paying attention since Letters or Five Steps, you knew something heavier was brewing. With Through The Looking Glass, they’ve thrown subtlety out the window and built a record that’s both sharpened and unhinged, more focused but far more furious.

Right from the gate, the sound is absolutely punishing. Guitars are dense and jagged, playing with tempo shifts that jerk your spine instead of guiding your feet. It’s metallic hardcore at its most precise—less chug, more carve. Drums lock into the riffs like weapons, not rhythms. And the vocals? Brutal. Not just shouted, but howled—unfiltered and straight from the gut. There’s no attempt to sound tough or theatrical. It just is.

Lyrically, the band leans into psychological and surreal terrain. The title track “Through The Looking Glass” reads like an existential breakdown—rage turned inward, a war with the self. “Jabberwocky” keeps the Carroll references alive, but it’s not some gimmick—it’s chaos as metaphor, filtered through poetic violence. The band isn’t interested in preachy slogans or cheap callouts; they want you to feel the tension, the madness, the unease.

Production-wise, this isn’t a sloppy basement job, but don’t expect big-budget gloss either. It’s clean enough to let the technical side shine, but still raw where it counts. Guitars slice, drums snap, and the low end has real weight. There’s no fat on this thing. The recording serves the chaos, not the other way around. You get the sense it was tracked with total intention, probably late at night, probably with blood on the strings.

In terms of impact, time will tell how far this reaches, but it’s already clear Aftershock are pushing the shape of modern hardcore forward. While the Trustkill and Ferret camps start inflating the genre with polish and image, this feels like a record made by lifers—not trend-jumpers. You can trace a line from this to early Killswitch or Shadows Fall, but Aftershock sound more dangerous, more urgent. Like they’ve still got everything to prove and nothing to lose.

Bottom line: Through The Looking Glass is violent, weird, and honest. Not safe, not for the casual listener, and definitely not background noise. If you’re looking for something that still feels punk in a scene that’s edging toward arena theatrics, this is your anchor. No bullshit, just fire