Massachusetts has been a breeding ground for great hardcore bands over the years. The hardcore scene has always been strong in the state, and the bands that have come out over the years are proof. The last 15 years gave us Mental, Have Heart, Shipwreck, Test of Time and Worcester’s own Bane. Let’s add Rude Awakening to the list.

Lifelong hardcore dude Josh Hynes’s latest project, Rude Awakening, is a heavy hardcore band in the vein of Madball and Hatebreed, and it is just about to blow up. With a new record label, a new album coming out soon and a full U.S. tour in the works, the band is sure to be the next big thing from Massachusetts.

Hynes has been involved in the hardcore scene since he was a teenager. After being disappointed by the shows he attended, he decided that he had to be more active in the scene. “At an early age I realized that if hardcore isn’t the way you want it, or the bands aren’t playing your area, you’re the only one who can do something about it. When I was 16 or 17, I started renting out halls to get the bands I wanted to see come out,” Hynes said.

“I lost money,” he added, but was fine with the fact that he was creating something great.

As time went on and as he learned more about booking and promoting, the shows started getting bigger and bigger. This eventually led to him taking over the defunct Exit 23 venue in Haverhill. “I saw a venue that I liked about to close its doors, and I realized if I wasn’t going to do anything about it, nobody was,” he said. The club took the name New Direction (from the Gorilla Biscuits song) and suddenly became the hub of hardcore in Massachusetts.

“I had to adapt quick to all the business aspects of running a venue,” Hynes said. Every touring band made Haverhill a stop, and there were shows three or four nights a week. Hardcore was at an all-time high in Massachusetts when the police shut the venue down.

Hynes was able to carry that success into the venue at Welfare Records, also in Haverhill, booking all the hardcore shows for the shop and eventually taking over the venue entirely under the name Anchors Up. The venue is now known all over the world as one of the best punk and hardcore spots to play. Hardcore bands from all over the world have made their way to Anchors Up, and Hynes was responsible for keeping it going.

After his latest band, Hammer Bros., called it quits, Hynes was looking for a new project. In mid 2010, he started writing songs for what would eventually become Rude Awakening. By 2011, Hynes had stepped away from the guitar and took on vocal duties for the band, and the group played its first show in June 2011 at Anchors Up.

On transitioning to vocals, Hynes said, “It was pretty surreal. I’ve always been on guitar, and I haven’t really had a chance to speak my mind [on stage]. I feel like it really came naturally to me.”

Things rolled very fast for the band, and it put out a demo before linking up with Boston label Triple B Records. The debut EP came out in the summer of 2012, followed by some small regional touring. By 2013, Rude Awakening was ready for its next release, a split LP with legendary Connecticut band Death Threat.

By 2014, it was time for Rude Awakening to take the next step. Bridge 9 Records came calling and signed the band. The band has just finished up recording the new LP, Collateral Damage, which will be out later this year. The lyrics are simple and straightforward. “I’m not going to write poetry. I’m going to get right into your face and to the point. There’s no way you’re gonna get this message wrong,” Hynes said.

This summer, the band will hit the road as support for New Jersey band The Mongoloids before hitting Philadelphia for the annual This Is Hardcore Fest. When the new record drops, Rude Awakening will be on a full U.S. tour, which is planned for the fall.

For more information, visit facebook.com/RudeAwakeninghc.