Only Living Witness 1990 demo

Some time after I posted Only Living Witness' self-titled 7" from 1991 here, I managed to get my hands on their original 1990 demo. Basically, 3 of the 4 songs on this demo ended up on the 7" after being remixed. Here is a rip of the demo, finally. If you want more of my thoughts on this amazing and underrated band, check out my aforementioned blogpost on their self-titled 7". Also note that this demo is not included on the 2xCD discography on Century Media (which is now available in their webstore for less than $5!).

Only Living Witness 1990 demo
Only Living Witness myspace (which now has this demo on its player actually)

Jihad 1993 demo

Jihad from Kalamazoo, MI was an abrasive and raw hardcore band with lyrics that are deeply intense, angry and bitter, and a voice to match. Bands like Rorschach, Union Of Uranus and Groundwork all come to mind. They were around from 1993 to 1997 and released a bunch of material. Most of it was eventually compiled on the 'Old Testament' CD, apart from the 'New Testament' 7", some compilation tracks and their 1993 demo, which I've ripped and uploaded here.

Their bass-player, Joel Wick, also ran Makoto Recordings, responsible for releasing some Thoughts Of Ionesco albums among others, which makes the label awesome in my book as TOI were amazing (altho when the label folded a bunch of people with outstanding orders were screwed over apparently). He was also in bands such as Quixote and currently plays in Mesa. Either way, Jihad rocked it and this is where it all started so to say. This is one seriously awesome demo in my opinion. So check it out and enjoy!

Jihad 1993 demo

One Path joins xStuck In The Pastx

Yesterday Chip from xStuck In The Pastx invited me as a contributor to his blog/zine, the main '90s hardcore blog/zine out there... A real honor, and one I gladly accepted. So expect features done by me on there from now on, with a focus on '90s European hardcore. One Path has not ended tho, I will continue to do my own blog and post random records that are worthy of some attention.

Thanxxx to Chip, Justin, Jav and Jake for bringing me on board.

Fall From Grace demo and split 7" with Polyglot

Fall From Grace was a short-lived metallic hardcore band from PA. I don't know too much about 'em and unfortunately there's not a lot of info on 'em to be found online either. I got their 1996 split 7" with Polyglot (from Maine) years ago because of the label, Pin Drop Records, which released a number of records I was, and still am, into (Grimlock, Holdstrong, Die My Will). Polyglot didn't really do it for me, but Fall From Grace sure did. Their metallic hardcore with the crazy, screamed vocals and 'poetic' lyrics did it for me. I was really into it. So much so that I wrote them a letter, and received their 1997 demo, which is pretty damn good as well.After the split 7" and 1997 demo they changed their name to August Grows Cold, but I've never seen a demo or release with that name. I am also unaware what bands the members did after FFG/AGC. If anybody has any info or something on Fall From Grace and/or August Grows Cold, please get in touch!

I've uploaded both the split 7" and the 1997 demo, hopefully they will bring a bit more attention to a band that, in my opinion, didn't get the recognition they deserved.

BTW, this post has been briefly and prematurely published while I was still drafting it, it ended under the March 2009 posts (yes, I have a few dozen drafts for possible future posts). I'm sorry if you happened to stumble upon it and couldn't download anything. It was supposed to remain a draft!

Fall From Grace / Polyglot split 7"
Fall From Grace 1997 demo
Fall From Grace myspace

No posts for a few weeks

There will be no posts on the blog for a few weeks, because my gf and I are going on a trip to the USA. Point of destination: Los Angeles. We also plan to go down to San Diego for 7 Generations' final show (see flyer below) and to Las Vegas. I have plenty of posts in the works, so I will start posting again as soon as I can (requests are always welcome). In the mean time, have a blast and if you haven't done so, check out the blogs in the sidebar, they're all good.

Next Step Up - Passive Aggression demo

One of the best known hardcore bands out of Baltimore, MD, is Next Step Up. If you're not familiar with NSU yet, expect tough, hard and heavy hardcore with gruff vocals. To me, Baltimore hardcore bands are exactly that, tough, hard and heavy. And in this case, really good. Gotta love it! Formed in 1991, Next Step Up released their first demo, called 'Passive Aggression', in 1992. There are about 400 copies in total, of which 15 came with a different cover, mine has the regular cover (source). This demo rules, plain and simple. If you already know NSU and haven't heard this demo, you will love it! Some of these songs would later be re-recorded for other releases.

Some bands that members have been in include Wake Up Cold, Hell To Pay, Together We Fall and boatloads more... Singer JR Glass and bassist Aaron Martinek have a new band called Bet The Devil, which is straight up metal but still awesome, do check them out if you haven't already!

Here's a video of NSU's classic track 'Fall From Grace' (from their album of the same name), awesome stuff!


Next Step Up - Passive Aggression demo
Next Step Up myspace

A Way Of Life revisited

After I posted the AWOL demo someone requested a post of their other records. It's been in the back of my mind for quite some time, and finally I've come around to it. Sorry for the huge delay, what can I say, I'm a lazy piece of shit. I ripped their vinyl output and the tracks from 2 compilations they appeared on. I believe that, together with the demo, this represents a complete discography for this amazing and underrated French band.

As you will notice if you download this stuff, A Way Of Life (AWOL) changed their style a bit from their demo. They added more metal influences to their style and dropped the mosh parts. While I think their demo is their best stuff, and it is still easily one of my favorite demo's ever, I do love this period of AWOL as well. The 'Deep Thoughts About The End' 7" from 1997 however, released on Braveheart Records, is not their strongest release. It starts off with a re-recording of 'The Last Scream' from the demo, which unfortunately doesn't add much to the demo-version, it even suffers from a somewhat thin production which lacks bass and heaviness. The B side shows a band that is trying to find a new sound. It's more metallic than the demo but it just doesn't sound right, the band seems to have thrown too many ideas into one song and it doesn't come out too well. Easily the worst AWOL track.

'In This Cold Weather' from the split 7" with Headway, released in 1998 on MoshXBart, shows a huge progression from the 'Deep Thoughts...' 7". Over 7 minutes long, this is a great track that shows AWOL successfully moving into a new direction. An impressive effort. Only 2 months after recording this track they went back into the studio and recorded 3 more tracks, 2 were to appear on the 'The Nightmare Begins... In This Other Land' 2xCD compilation (Overcome Records, 1998) and 1 on the 'KDS Crew: Rise & Fall' compilation (The Age Of Venus, 2001). These 3 tracks are again awesome, especially 'Signs Of The Downfall'. Unfortunately these also happened to be the last official recordings. As I also mentioned when I blogged about the demo, there were plans to release more stuff, but this never happened unfortunately. So enjoy these tracks, and if you haven't done already, also download the demo. I cannot recommend this band enough.

Live picture courtesy of the KDS Crew myspace.

A Way Of Life revisited
A Way Of Life myspace