The members of Mindforce, the great Hudson Valley hardcore band, have a habit of starting side projects that are almost as good as the mothership act. Various members of Mindforce also play in bands like Pillars Of Ivory, Colossus, and Out For Justice. Last year, we got the debut of Sentinel, another new band from Mindforce guitar ace Mike Shaw. Sentinel also has Mutually Assured Destruction’s Ace Stallings on lead vocals, and its membership includes members of Age Of Apocalypse, Restraining Order, and Casket Architects.

Last year, Sentinel announced their existence with a tremendous debut EP called Sense Of Dread. Given that the members of Sentinel live in different places and have other bands, you might’ve thought that record would be a one-off. But Sentinel are planning to release a full-length this year, and they’ve just shared four brand-new songs that might appear on the album.

Sentinel’s whole sound is a fast, raw, apocalyptic take on hardcore punk. There’s a lot of Japanese hardcore in the band’s sound, and I can hear a bit of influence from ’80s underground metal cult heroes like Celtic Frost. The sound is ugly and guttural, with a whole lot of echo on everything. It sounds like it’s been absolutely coated in grime, and I mean that in a good way. Listen to the four new songs below.

The Sentinel promo cassette is out now on Raven Records. The band’s album is coming this summer on Convulse.