Polish hardcore has always carried a certain grit — a tradition of bands who built their sound on raw honesty, not polish or pretense. Ballkick step into that line with their third album, “Metallic Taste of Betrayal,” set for release on September 10, 2025.
Recorded at Nest Studio in Katowice with engineer Tom Bishop, the record holds six tracks, written entirely by the band, with lyrics by Kuba and Voi. The artwork comes from Muzykografika, while Filip Szustorowski and Dzoli captured the images that frame the release.
From the band’s own words, this isn’t meant to be easy listening. “This album is a torrent of fury — a striking howl against a world that poisons, deceives, and attempts to hollow you from within. It is the sound of resistance, a relentless battle for truth in the face of betrayal.”
The intent is clear: these songs are built for confrontation, aimed at “false prophets, hollow lovers, and coward souls who masquerade as kin while dragging you into the dirt.” In their description, the tracks become “sharpened teeth and scorched earth, a testament to survival, defiance, and the sacred rage of refusing to be broken.”
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The record carries more than just the band’s voice. Guest verses come from James “Stikman” Ismean of 25 Ta Life and Fury of Five, and Chris Rafalowich of Blackest Dawn and Shattered Realm.
Ballkick themselves underline what this means: “A strong representation of New Jersey.” It ties Katowice to the legacy of East Coast hardcore, drawing a line between local survivalist grit and the blunt aggression of New Jersey’s scene.
The lineup hasn’t changed since the last outing — Kuba on vocals, Bishop and Olek on guitars, JJ on bass, and Voi on drums. That stability feeds into the record’s message: direct, heavy, and unbroken. Six tracks, no compromise.
Once the record drops, the band take it straight onto the road. The European tour begins in the UK on September 12, before moving across the continent.
In Poland, Ballkick will play Katowice and Śrem, joined by French veterans Onesta as they celebrate their 20th anniversary.
“Metallic Taste of Betrayal” stands less as a reinvention and more as a continuation — another cut in the long chain of Polish hardcore, sharpened by the band’s refusal to let betrayal define them.
