Home / News / “This record carries the weight of proving that women belong in this space” – STAB Is FIRE.

“This record carries the weight of proving that women belong in this space” – STAB Is FIRE.

By on October 8, 2025

We don’t even know where to start with this debut full length, ‘Wounds of Fury’, unleashed to the world by Filipino metallic hardcore/beatdown band STAB. The quote that we ran above is just one beautiful reminder that hardcore SHOULD be about something – not just riffs and breakdowns. It’s been a riff-factory for the past few years, no shortage of that. But what it has been lacking in is bands who actually have something to say.

Enter Filipino band STAB who bring the riffs and sick production and then add a whole slew of topics that need to be covered with a voice that needs to be heard.

The band sent in a track by track breakdown of this record…and yo, this is easily one of the best full lengths we’ve heard out of Asia this year. Respect.

“The album opens with “wounds” which is just a short intro that sets the tone for everything that follows, just basically building up on the catchphrase “get fucking stabbed bitch”from “watchyoudie”.

Wounds of Fury doesnt really revolve around a single theme but it does show the anger and pain in every song. It’s a reflection of my struggles with a lot of different things. Being a woman in this scene in particular, which is very much male-dominated, I feel like our struggles are overlooked, and we’re often made to feel like we are too “emotional” or “too much”. Writing about the pain and anger that comes with betrayal, self-doubt, disillusionment, and the overall exhaustion with both dishonesty and corrupt systems, and then turning it into something loud which is a way of taking back power.

The song “dust and bone” looks at how people can be so consumed by their own patterns of hurt that they justify their behaviors instead of acknowledging the truth that healing starts with you. There are some songs in the album that may come off as too upfront and confrontational, such as “infliction”, “feign”, “watchyoudie” and “your enemy” featuring Matthew of NHI, but that’s exactly the point i wanted to make. I’ve realized we dont always have to mend shaky relationships. We don’t always have to forgive. It challenges the idea that both vulnerability and fury can’t coexist.”

“Tracks like “whispers of despair” and “mutual violence” lean more into a political side, born out of constant frustration with corruption in the Philippines, as well as the ongoing genocide in Palestine. The track “blind witness “ challenges the idea of faith as freedom, showing how it can sometimes become a cage built out of fear and guilt. These songs echo the same rage and helplessness in witnessing injustice and violence, both near and far. I do feel that when you write about rage, distrust, or the urge to stop caring about what other people think, its not just processing emotions— but also expanding what hardcore can mean.

the last track is “blur” which carries the emotional contrast with the rest of the record. However it still does belong to the same emotional rollercoaster, something that feels like a quiet exhale after all the chaos. It captures the idea that even through all the pain and anger, someone remains— a presence that grounds me when all else fades. It’s like the emotional resolution of Wounds of Fury, not necessarily peace, but connection with the people who truly love us for who we are.

With all that I’ve written so far, I do feel like this record carries the weight of proving that women belong in this space. To me, hardcore has always been about truth, resistance, and survival, and as a woman sometimes it may feel like i’m constantly fighting to be heard and seen. So when i write about all these things, the chaos of living in a broken world, its not just something personal, but its proof that women can channel rage, pain, and strength just as unapologetically as anyone else.”

https://www.instagram.com/stab.cult/

UniteAsia.org is an underground Asian music news website created for the sole purpose of supporting our own world. We support all bands and genres HOWEVER we do not support nor have any sympathy for homophobic, racist, sexist rhetoric in lyrical content or band material. UNITE ASIA!
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