Saturday, October 20, 2012

Holdstrong - Gaining Ground 7"

I've done posts before on releases on Pin Drop Records like the Crosscurrent 7" and the Fall From Grace/Polyglot split 7", so today I decided to post the first Pin Drop Records release, Holdstrong's 'Gaining Ground' 7", released in 1994. Holdstrong was a hardcore band from Massachusetts which started out in 1993 and lasted till the late '90s, and unfortunately they never got the recognition they deserved in my opinion. Like I used to do (and still do), I picked up this 7" at a distro at a show based on its looks and the amount of my money still left in my wallet, heh. Must've been some time around 1995/1996 and it was also my first encounter with Pin Drop Records, which was run by one of the Holdstrong members (I think their guitarist, Bill Cole?). Fairly straight-forward mid-tempo crunchy hardcore, just the way I like it, and Holdstrong did this style really well. This was their first proper record, and I loved this 7" from the first time I gave it a spin. They improved their sound with every subsequent record, all of which would also be released on Pin Drop Records. But as with so many bands/records, the first record you hear is often the one that you go back to the most. But even so, every record they did was awesome, so don't hesitate to check out this band/their other records.

Holdstrong - Gaining Ground 7"

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Legion - Hell At Last 7"

Legion666 is a Canadian black metal/death metal/crustpunk band which has been around since 1998. In 1999 the 'Hell At Last' 7" was released on Ugly Pop Records, and I believe this was a re-release of their demo? The band hadn't yet put 666 as part of their name, and they also had more crust influences in their sound than on later releases. Solid release if yer into crust/metal. As the name of the band suggests Legion666 is not exactly into religion, which is also reflected in the artwork and lyrics. I believe one of the members played in a more political hardcore band called One Blood? Anyways, enjoy!

Legion - Hell At Last 7"