If you’re after a record that throws crossover, thrash, and hardcore into a blender and never once hits pause — here’s your pick. Lisbon’s Push! just dropped “Plowing Ahead,” their second full-length, and it’s a nonstop cardio session disguised as an album.
Fair warning if you’re putting this on during a run or a bike ride: you will accidentally go too fast. Today we’re going deep on what’s easily one of the more compelling crossover releases this year.
Push! have been around since 2013, steadily building a reputation across the European hardcore circuit. “Plowing Ahead” lands via Frozen Records (physical) and Useless Pride Records (digital), with artwork by Phantom, and mixing and mastering handled by André Alfonso at Titan Waves Audio. The record also features guest spots — Calcine appears on “Frantic Pace” and Who I Am on “Right Through.”
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Guitarist Nuno Cruz says the writing process behind the album was anything but calculated. “The record never felt overly planned or hyper-detailed — everything flowed naturally during the writing sessions at my home studio,” he explains. Songs were built across different stretches of time, with every member throwing ideas into the pot.
“We weren’t chasing a specific formula; we were just building riffs together and following what felt powerful and fun to play.”
That loose, communal approach shows up in the finished product. There’s a lived-in quality to the way these tracks hit — nothing feels overthought, but nothing sounds accidental either. The riffs land with intention, and the energy stays locked in from front to back.
When it comes to guitar tone and style, Cruz points to Malevolence and Stray From The Path as the closest touchpoints. “That said, I wasn’t consciously trying to copy anything while writing — I was mostly focused on capturing the right energy and feel.” The mix of shared ideas and different writing timelines across the sessions shaped the final sound into something that doesn’t sit neatly in one lane.
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Cruz has no shortage of favorite moments across the tracklist. The verse riff in “Dig Deep” stands out to him — “I love how it almost sounds like classical music to me.” He describes “Hands of Concrete” as a track that opens with massive power and carries it all the way through, and he got to lay a solo over it, which he calls “really cool.” “Frantic Pace” earns a mention for its intro and the verse where the guest feature drops in.
The pre-breakdown in “Unswayed” is one he calls glorious every time they play it. But the crown jewel for Cruz? The breakdown in “Too Nice.” “The dynamics from the build-up to the end are awesome and always put a smile on my face,” he says. “That’s number one for me.”
The whole record was put together in that home studio environment — riffs shifting direction as different people jumped in, songs growing through collaboration rather than any rigid blueprint. “That relaxed, collaborative environment is a big part of the personality behind the record,” Cruz adds.
Fans of Mindforce, Judiciary, and Spiritworld will find familiar ground here, but Push! aren’t just working a formula. “Plowing Ahead” has enough of its own momentum and character to stand apart. Twelve tracks, zero dead weight.
“Plowing Ahead” is out now and it’s waiting to charge your batteries.
