One Path For Me Through Destiny

Shudder - The Hand Of God demo

2012-01-29T17:28:00.000+01:00

Recently Jim of the amazing Moo Cow Records was selling a ton of demo's on ebay. Demo's which bands had sent him to be considered for his label. I managed to acquire a bunch of those demo's, so I'll be putting some of them on here. This is the first one. Shudder was a heavy metalcore band from Madison, WI in the late 90s. This is a seriously good demo, if you enjoy late 90s bands that are more metal than hardcore like Sevenday Curse, Hyde, Dawn Of Orion, etc, you should give this band a chance. I've found pretty much zero information on them online, unless this is the same alternative/nu-metal Shudder who have now re-united? If anybody has any info on this band, please leave a comment, I would love to find out more about this band.

Shudder - The Hand Of God demo

Day Of Contempt demo

2012-01-21T17:52:00.002+01:00

Day Of Contempt was an Australian metal/hardcore band which started out in 1997 in/around Adelaide. Here is a demo by them from 1998. Solid heavy metal/hardcore in the vein of bands like Earth Crisis and Another Victim, with similar vocals. The band had several sXe members, I don't think the band was a full-on sXe band though. After this demo they released the 'Where Shadows Lie' MCD on Voice Of Life Records & Trial And Error Records in 1999 and the 'See Through The Lies' full-length on Good Life Recordings in 2002. Both of these releases continued in the vein of the demo and are pretty good as well. In 2004 the band moved to Los Angeles to try to establish themselves there and become a full-time band. Their sound also changed considerably in a more commercial direction with added clean vocals and such, and they weren't nearly as heavy as before. They turned to shit basically. The end-result was the 'The Will To Live' MCD on Epitaph in 2005. It's pretty bad if you ask me. However this demo, and also their other releases, is great solid and raw hardcore/metal. Enjoy.

Day Of Contempt demo

Acid Snake

2012-01-16T21:13:00.004+01:00

Acid Snake is a band from Brisbane, Australia which plays hardcore in the vein of bands such as Nails, Converge, Trap Them etc. They wear their influences on their sleeve, so if you like said bands, you will surely like this band as well. The vocals are raw and gritty, but expressive still. And the music rages while being diverse enough to keep my attention. I've heard a lot of bands do worse than Acid Snake in this style. In 2011 they released 2 EP's, 'Pariah' and 'The Sun Distortion Session'. Both of these are available from their Bandcamp page, tho I've also provided links to direct downloads which were given to me by the band. They're hoping to release an album sometime this year, hopefully that'll give them some more exposure. While OnexPath is definitely about 90s hardcore, and continues to be devoted to that era, I am also trying to keep up with current hardcore and there are exciting bands popping up every day. Acid Snake is one of them, so do support these guys if you like them.

Update: It appears that a few days after the band contacted me, the band folded unfortunately die to internal conflicts. Shame.

Acid Snake - The Sun Distortion Sessions EP
Acid Snake - Pariah EP
Acid Snake facebook

Denile

2012-01-15T15:48:00.003+01:00

I did a post on Denile's 'We Have Not Begun!' demo some time ago to which I also added their unreleased 'Where Heaven And Hell Meet' album. Recently Kris Steele who played bass for Denile emailed me and explained that the version I have up there of the 'Where Heaven And Hell Meet' album was a recording which they used as a promo, but that afterwards they did a re-recording of the entire album, which would also remain unreleased. He sent me the re-recorded version, which I have uploaded here. Awesome! So lotsa thanxxx to Kris for hooking me up. I've also ripped their 'Autumn: A Season Of Dying' CD for this post, which was released on Double Down Records in 1999. As with all Denile material, excellent stuff! I wish I could've had the chance to see them back in the day, but they unfortunately never made it out to Europe. I'll say it again, Denile was an awesome and underrated band who should've gotten way more attention than they did. So check them out if you haven't already. Besides the aforementioned post on Denile's demo, I also posted their split 7" with Dysphoria here, so also check that out if you like what you're hearing and haven't heard the split yet.

Update January 29th: Kris emailed me again to send me the cover for the 'Where Heaven And Hell Meet' album. I've included it with the download. If you have already downloaded the zip and just want the cover, just right-click the cover on the left and save. Once again, lotsa thanxxx to Kris for providing me with the album.

Denile - Autumn: A Season Of Dying CD
Denile - Where Heaven And Hell Meet unreleased album (re-recorded version) - updated download with cover image

Minority - s/t 7"

2012-01-10T21:54:00.001+01:00

A quick post. Here's a 7" I got a few years ago as part of a lot of fairly random 90's hardcore records. It's nothing special, but a good listen nonetheless, especially opening track 'Hesitation'. Minority, or ~~Minority~~, was a fast hardcore/punk band with some melodic elements to their sound. They were from Copperas Cove, Texas and were around in the early 90s. I can't really tell you all that much about this band I'm afraid. This is their 2nd 7", released on Flaming Steve Productions in 1993. Their 1st 7", called 'There Is A War', was also released on Flaming Steve Productions, in 1992, but I don't have it unfortunately. But check the Texas Punk Treasure Chest if you like what you hear, they have their 'There Is A War' 7" and also a compilation 10" Minority were on. Enjoy.

Minority - s/t 7"

One 4 One / Overthrow - split 7"

2012-01-03T22:58:00.001+01:00

For whatever reason, I've always had a weak spot for New Jersey's One 4 One. Can't say I know for sure what sets them apart for me, maybe it's the vocals, but there's something about this band that does it for me. They started out in 1994 and after a break in 2000 are playing again, and band-members have played or are playing in too many bands to mention. I would also have to agree with AJ PathToMisery's post that their 'Seven Year Cicada' album is their best record. But all their material is worthwhile, make no mistake about it. Here's the split 7" they did with Overthrow. This split 7" was released on Distance Records in 1996, the first (and last?) release for that label. The One 4 One tracks on here would later be re-recorded for their 'Trust Is Lost' MCD on Time Served Records, which was a label run by Kevone Bulldoze. Great tracks, both of them.

Overthrow was from Long Island, they were around from 1996 to 2001 and they played fairly straight forward NY hardcore/punk with some slight oi influences. Both their tracks would also appear on other releases of theirs, one on their 'Empowerment Cover Up' 7" on Race Productions from 1996 and one on their 'React' CD on Triple Crown Records from 1999. They would also do a few more splits. Overthrow was quite decent at what they did, but One 4 One is where it's at for me. Unfortunately my copy didn't come with an insert or anything, sorry about that. Either way tho, enjoy.

One 4 One / Overthrow - split 7"

Watchmen - s/t 7"

2011-12-29T09:11:00.000+01:00

Buffalo, NY has had its fair share of great hardcore bands. Zero Tolerance, Snapcase, Despair, Against All Hope, This World Rejected, etc... Here is a lesser known band from the late 80s/early 90s Buffalo scene called Watchmen. If that name sounds familiar, Watchmen member Doug White also ran, and to this day still does, a recording studio called Watchmen Studios, where many hardcore bands have recorded. Here's the Watchmen's self-titled 7" (also referred to as 'Disease Of Isolation' 7"), which was released on Rorschach Records in 1990. It was ofcourse recorded at Watchmen Studios. I don't know if Rorschach Records was their own label or a friends or something (as it was located in Lockport, NY), but the comic book reference seems too much of a coincidence, Rorschach being one of the Watchmen and all. Anyways, 4 tracks which bridge hardcore and hard rock/metal, with pretty rough vocals. Pretty hard stuff, especially for the time, altho Zero Tolerance had an even harder sound when it comes to Buffalo hardcore from that era. Good stuff tho, I can definitely appreciate this band. It kinda reminds of bands such as Brickhouse. Enjoy! Their drummer would also do time in Snapcase, no idea what the other members did before or after.

Watchmen - s/t 7"

Bipolar

2011-12-18T16:19:00.001+01:00

Here are the only releases, apart from demo's, that I know of by Bipolar from Ohio. These 2 7"s were both released on Rubbercity Records in 1996. In fact, they were both recorded during the same recording session and they're the first 2 releases on Rubbercity Records. Bipolar played great 90s mid-tempo metallic hardcore with a mix of spoken and shouted vocals and lyrics dealing with subjects such as rape, human rights and animal rights as well as more personal topics... Seriously good stuff, which is right up my alley. I don't even mind the muffled and bass-heavy production, it reminds me of bands such as Chokehold and such. So if you like bands such as Chokehold or Groundwork, definitely check out this band. It's not as amazing as them, but Bipolar was still an obscure and underrated band by any means. The band was at least partially sXe and vegetarian/vegan, but I don't think they were a full-on veggie sXe band.

Both Bipolar 7"s have a weird ending on side A, which I've left as-is. It's actually part of the 7", and not the needle of my record player going all weird, heh, tho I'm not sure how intentional it was or what the idea behind it was. Anyways, one of the members would eventually make a name for himself in the trance/industrial scene under the name HeldByWill. I don't know much else about Bipolar, and searching around online for them doesn't return much either. But don't let that stop you, as I said above, this is really good stuff. Give it a chance! Also, Rubbercity Records was a record label done by Clint from Don Austin, and which focused mostly on releasing records by bands from Ohio. Splinter and Don Austin were other bands who did a 7" on Rubbercity.

Bipolar - Blankets Of Deceit 7"
Bipolar - Awry 7"

Sheer Terror - Ugly And Proud 7"

2011-12-11T15:34:00.001+01:00

Here's a weird little gem. I picked this up at the first Sheer Terror show I ever went to, at the original Bat Cave (RIP) in Tilburg, the Netherlands in 1993 with, if I remember correctly, Belgian Asociality supporting. I can't remember if I picked it up from the Sheer Terror people or from somebody who was selling them at that show. Either way, there's hardly any information on the 7", not even a tracklisting, the 7" itself has white labels, and there's not even a mention of a label anywhere except the catalog number, TS001. But it's not hard to figure out the tracks, they're 'Sin Of Pride' and 'A. No. 1', both from the 'Ugly and Proud' album. There were issues with Maze Records not having enough funds to release the 'Ugly And Proud' album at the time, so maybe that had something to do with the existence of this 7"? Those same issues also led to the 'Thanks Fer Nuthin' album which had re-recordings of a bunch of songs from 'Ugly And Proud', so who knows... But anyways, there's nothing new here, but it's a cool 7" nonetheless, also cuz of the possible history behind it (which is pure conjecture, maybe somebody who reads this knows the real story behind this 7"? If so, please leave a comment).

Sheer Terror - Ugly And Proud 7"

Denile - We Have Not Begun! demo

2011-12-04T16:30:00.003+01:00

Thanxxx to a reader of this blog, I was able to acquire this Denile demo in late 2009. To say I was stoked when I received it, is an understatement. I love this band, and this demo only strengthened it. Denile from PA were around for quite some time (1993-2001) but didn't manage to put out a lot of records, which is a damn shame. The first time I heard them was when I got their great split 7" with Dysphoria from 1997. Both Dysphoria and Denile are amazing on it. I posted that split 7" here. This is their 1996 demo tho, which was their 3rd release, called 'We Have Not Begun!'. At this point the band still had only 1 guitarist and at times you can hear the band play more traditional hardcore (most apparent in 'Alone'). But it's a solid, great demo with plenty of heavy, metallic riffs and singer Mark's recognizable vocals. I cannot recommend this underrated band enough, so please check out this band if you haven't yet. ~~Here is an old website which was done by Denile's drummer Tony Fucci that has various Denile mp3's including some tracks from their unreleased full-length from 2000.~~ Edit: The Denile site is now offline for whatever reason. Damn shame! So that also means the mp3's are unavailable, including those from the unreleased album. I have a zip of that unreleased album tho, which was called 'Where Heaven And Hell Meet', altho I can't remember how I got it. But I have uploaded it again now and added it to this post, also cuz of What76's comment. It does not have track-titles unfortunately, and I don't know them either. But enjoy!

Denile - We Have Not Begun! demo
Denile - Where Heaven And Hell Meet unreleased CD
Denile myspace

Powered By Pride - Jersey Style demo

2011-11-27T17:37:00.000+01:00

Here's another demo I picked up at Alain Out For Blood's R.P.P. distro at a show back in the day. His demo-box would always be filled with new demo's to check out and buy, haha. This is the 'Jersey Style' demo by Powered By Pride, a hardcore band from New Jersey (obviously). Recorded in early 1998, this is fairly typical tough NJHC/NYHC. Good stuff tho, if you enjoy this style. The thanks list mentions bands such as Burnside, Da Real Deal and Forsaken Existence, that should give you a clue as to what this band sounds like. I don't think this band did anything else recording-wise, tho I'd love to be proven wrong, so if anybody has some more PBP recordings, do leave a comment! Drummer Jared would also do time in Ego Cage and Shortfall, no idea what the other band members did besides PBP.

Powered By Pride - Jersey Style demo

Said & Done - s/t 7"

2011-11-22T22:20:00.001+01:00

Said & Done (not to be mistaken with the current, and great, hardcore band from the Netherlands of the same name) was a melodic hardcore band from Boston in the late 80s, early 90s. Apart from a few appearances on compilations, they did only one 7". This self-titled 7" was released on Suburban Voice in 1991. Suburban Voice ofcourse being the well-known zine done by Al Quint from 1982 until 2003 (in print format). But it was also a label on which he also released a bunch of records, many of which came as freebies with the zine, others were 'regular' releases, such as this 7", but also 7"s by bands such as Kingpin and Daltonic. Al still does Suburban Voice, now as a blog, so by all means check it out here. As mentioned, Said & Done also appears on a few comps, including the 'Boston Hardcore' comp but other than that I know nothing about this band. If somebody does, please leave a comment. Thanks!

Here's a cool live video:

Said & Done - s/t 7"

1992 Hardcore: Round 2 In An Endless Fight compilation 7"

2011-11-14T21:45:00.000+01:00

As mentioned in the Groundwork (CT) post, they also appeared on a compilation 7" put out by the same label who released their self-titled 7". So here it is. Put out on Round Two Records in 1992 as their first release, this compilation features 5 bands. Higher Force was a band with Pete Morcey on vocals (also one of the people behind Round Two Records), who would later on do vocals for Forced Reality and 100 Demons (replacing Bruce LePage). His vocal style is a bit too much here tho for me. Another Wall would get a great posthumous 7" release on Doghouse Records, and their track here is easily the best contribution to this compilation, love this song. Groundwork I already covered in my previous post, this is a great track, just as good as their self-titled 7". Livestock I know nothing about, but would love to hear more of them, great stuff, there's even some chugga chugga in their sound. If anybody knows more about this, please leave a comment! Evolve does a decent, albeit slightly weird track on here. They also appeared on a split 7" with Mindwar, also released on Round Two Records. Overall it's a fairly solid compilation. The front and cover of the sleeve are printed in a slightly different form on the inside of the sleeve, so that's why they appear twice with the scans. The insert is rather large, so I've broken it up into separate scans. Enjoy!

Oddly enough Hearsay Records, who also released (legit or not) the Converge/Overcast and Vision Of Disorder/Loyal To None split 7"s, would release a compilation 7" with the Groundwork, Livestock and Evolve tracks from this compilation on side A and the Evolve tracks from their aforementioned split 7" with Mindwar on side B. Sounds sketchy to me, hahaha...

1992 Hardcore: Round 2 In An Endless Fight compilation 7"

Groundwork (CT) 7"

2011-11-10T21:53:00.003+01:00

Here's the only 7" of Groundwork from Connecticut, which was released on Round Two Records in 1992. So not the (awesome, and more well-known) Groundwork from Arizona, but another one, that was around at the same time, the early '90s. This Groundwork had a more melodic and rocking sound than the AZ Groundwork and was not nearly as political. This 7" is still a great listen, even if I prefer the AZ Groundwork. Unfortunately there are only 2 songs on this 7" tho which is a bit short. Their full discography includes several demo's, a CT hardcore compilation 7" (also on Round Two Records) and a CD with a couple of their recordings. I have the compilation 7" which I posted here ~~will post at some point~~, I do not have any of the other recordings unfortunately. I would love to get my hands on them, so if anybody can help, please hook me up! For now, enjoy this 7".

Groundwork (CT) 7"

The Point compilation 2x7"

2011-10-30T15:49:00.002+01:00

Here's another cool, but lesser known, hardcore compilation from the 90s, featuring 8 bands on 2 7"s. The bands on here are Strength 691, Backlash, Shatter, Kurbjaw, Garris, Greening, Phallacy and Caiaphas. Of these bands I didn't know Garris, Greening and Caiaphas before owning this comp, and in the case of Garris I have no desire to hear more of their stuff, their track does nothing for me. Caiaphas on the other hand, I'd love to hear about them and their music, so if anybody can give me more info on this band, please leave a comment! Their mid-tempo metallic hardcore track is simply awesome.

Anyways, this compilation was released on Strength 691's own Re-Action Records label back in 1994. Not all bands are equally strong, but it's a solid compilation nonetheless.The styles on here range from faster more melodic hardcore to slower more metallic hardcore, something for everybody. To me the best bands on here are Backlash, Strength 691 and Caiaphas. All in all a nice compilation. Enjoy!

The Point compilation 2x7"

Tearwater 7"

2011-10-26T21:15:00.001+02:00

Tearwater was a band made up of teenagers from Monte Sereno, California, who released only a demo and this 7" as far as I know, and I even believe the 2 songs from the 7" were either taken from the demo or re-recorded demo-songs. Either way, I quite like this 7", with it's emo-ish metallic hardcore sound. Nothing too special, but it's good and pretty solid overall. It was released on Chapter Records in 1995. Chapter Records didn't release a lot during its existence, about 8 releases that I'm aware of, but they did release some awesome records such as the Canon 7" and the XEverlastX 7". This 7" doesn't come close to either one of those, but that's no surprise, is it? There is a mention in the insert of this 7" being released on CD as well, which never happened as far as I know, same as with the elusive MCD version of the Canon 7". Apparently Tearwater did record a full-length album tho, which was never released for whatever reason. If somebody knows if this is true and/or has these recordings, please let me know. After Tearwater ended, some members went on to other bands such as Ex-Ignota and Jejune. Enjoy!

Tearwater 7"

Dysphoria/Denile - split 7"

2011-10-16T16:03:00.001+02:00

Here's somewhat of an oddity for Back Ta Basics Records, a 7" which has a printed cover on thick paper rather than the usual xeroxed covers on thin paper. The Dysphoria/Denile split 7" was released in 1997, and is still an awesome split which needs to be heard. Both bands were from PA and both sides of this 7" are great. Dysphoria's track, which was taken from their self-released 'Hope Without Reason' full-length (also from 1997), is simply awesome, it still gets me all pumped up to this day. Starting with a 'Repo Man' sample, it's got a killer bass-line and then the song is just all over the place, in the best of ways, with Gravity's hoarse vocals killing it. Love this track, and even tho it's my fave Dysphoria track, their other material is really good as well. Denile have 2 great tracks on here, except the sound is quite muffled which is a shame. They mixed chugga chugga hardcore with thrash metal influences and great aggressive vocals. It seems Denile was the more obscure and underrated band of the two, but don't let that stop you, they were an awesome band as well. There's still a Denile site around which has some info and mp3's for those who are interested. Expect some more Dysphoria and Denile posts in the future btw.

Dysphoria/Denile - split 7"

Slip - Never Surrender 7"

2011-10-09T18:40:00.001+02:00

I first got to know Slip from their contribution to the awesome Over The Edge 2 compilation on Endless Fight Records. Slip was from Alabama which wasn't exactly known as a hotbed for hardcore in the '90s, which I'm guessing is the main reason they went largely unnoticed, which is unfortunate. This is the only release of theirs I'm aware of, the 'Never Surrender' 7" which was released on Soulstorm Records in 1994. I think that was their own label even? It took me quite a few years, until a few months ago actually, to track down and get my hands on this 7", which was recorded prior to their song on Over The Edge 2. I'm stoked I did tho, as this is an awesome 7", with 2 songs and 1 instrumental track of solid but pretty typical 90s chugga chugga, it even has an overused Star Wars sample to kick off the 7". I'm a sucker for that stuff, so yeah, I love it... I'm afraid I know very little about this band. Vocalist Frank would eventually do vocals for a another band I blogged about a while ago called Caption. That's pretty much all I know, haha... So yeah, it would appear this band went into obscurity relatively quickly, which is a shame. Give this 7" a chance if you enjoy chugga chugga/90s mid-tempo metallic hardcore. And let's face it, if you visit my blog regularly, chances are you do.

Slip - Never Surrender 7"

Biohazard - Wrong Side Of The Stage CD (Dynamo Open Air 1993)

2011-10-06T22:08:00.000+02:00

With the new Biohazard album 'Reborn In Defiance' being released in early 2012, I figured it was time to do a Biohazard post. While I can't say I cared much for Biohazard after 'State Of The World Address', which wasn't that good either in my book, their self-titled album and especially 'Urban Discipline' are classics in my book. 'Punishment', still so good. Here's a bootleg of the first appearance of Biohazard at the legendary Dynamo Open Air festival, on May 29 1993. I remember getting crushed in the massive pit during their set (I'm still a small & skinny guy), but it was well worth it. One hell of a show. It was their third European tour at that point (missed em on their tour with Mucky Pup, and saw em supporting Kreator about half a year before this show), and 'Urban Discipline' was blowing up big-time so people were pumped to see em at DOA, and it showed. They would play 3 more times at DOA over the years. I'm pretty sure I also got this bootleg at one of the DOA's. It was released by Dead Dog Records, a label specializing in releasing bootlegs from all genres of music. They're so professional, there's even a barcode on the tray-card, haha... BTW, if opening track 'In Your Face' sounds familiar, it's cuz it's really 'Victory'. I also have another Biohazard bootleg from the same era if anybody's interested, just leave a comment. Anyways, enjoy!

Here's a vid from Biohazard at DOA '93:

Biohazard - Wrong Side Of The Stage CD

Locrian - The Clearing

2011-10-02T17:00:00.004+02:00

A while ago I did a post on the Losing Face compilation, and asked about a band on there called Husk. Recently one of its members, André Foisy (also ex-Break Of Dawn), contacted me with some info and such. He also sent me a couple of the self-titled Husk 7"s (post coming up soon) and introduced me to his current musical project, experimental drone/noise/black metal band Locrian. Locrian has been cranking out numerous releases since its inception in 2005. They're about to release a new album called 'The Clearing' on Fan Death Records, which will be released on November 1st. I will be the first to admit this is not the kind of material I usually play, even though I do enjoy somewhat similar bands like Isis, House Of Low Culture and especially Amenra. Locrian is more experimental and has more electronic and noise influences than any of these bands. However Locrian is able to create well-crafted atmospheric soundscapes that are dark and emotive.

If you're interested, here's the press sheet in pdf form, and here's a free preview of one of the tracks of the new album, Chalk Point:

Also, here's a Popul Voh ('70s Krautrock) cover they did, showing an influence one might not expect, but is there nonetheless.

If you're not familiar yet with Locrian, and you enjoy what you're hearing, definitely look into this band more. There will also be a split release with Mammifer at end of the this year or early 2012.

Brainstorm - s/t 7"

2011-09-25T18:32:00.001+02:00

Among the list of bands I love, Iceburn is one of those bands you might not expect to be on that list. But they are, especially their 'Hephaestus' album is incredible. Before Iceburn, some of its members including main member Gentry Densley were in a band called Brainstorm, a band which shared members with Insight (one of the early bands on Victory Records). Brainstorm, from Salt Lake City, started out in the late '80s out of the ashes of a band called Better Way. After a demo (which was posted on the xStuck In The Pastx forum a while ago, here is a direct link to the download: demo), a 7" was recorded and released on local label Flatline Records in 1991, who also released the Search self-titled 7" I posted a few months ago. This 2-song 7" might have even been released posthumously, as Brainstorm ended in 1990 from what I read? Anyways, great stuff nonetheless, especially 'Let Me Forget' is a great early '90s rocking mid-tempo hardcore song. Give it a shot!

Members moved on to bands such as Iceburn, Ascend, Eagle Twin, Handsome, Jets To Brazil and numerous more.

Brainstorm - s/t 7"

Brickhouse - Frankford 7"

2011-09-21T22:59:00.002+02:00

Brickhouse was a shortlived hardcore band from Philadelphia, PA. They were formed in 1989, and besides a demo and the 'Frankford' 7" which was released on Street Level Records in 1991 I don't think the band did anything else. I don't even know of a compilation that they were on? The 7" was named after a neighborhood of Philly called Frankford, which was the home of some of the band members. The band had some members of Pagan Babies and The Uprise and 2 singers (with similar voices), as you can see in the video below. If anybody has any more info on them or can share the demo, do leave a comment please, cuz this band rocks hard. Solid hardcore, especially 'Nowhere But Up' is a killer track, altho all 4 tracks are great. They're not trying to do anything new, but what they do they do well. Enjoy!

My apologies for the weird skip right at the start of 'No More Favors', can't seem to get rid of it. I also scanned in a Street Level Records flyer that came with my copy of the 7". Again, only XL t-shirts & long sleeves.

Here's a cool live video of Brickhouse in action:

Brickhouse - Frankford 7"

Hope (Delusion) 7"

2011-09-14T22:30:00.001+02:00

Here's a band I knew about for a number of years but didn't own any material of until recently. Hope (Delusion) from New Jersey started out as Unanswered in 1994 and recorded several 7"s under that name. They changed their name to Hope (Delusion) in 1997, after a couple of line-up changes and maybe they also felt their sound had also changed too much, tho the little I know of Unanswered isn't a radically different style. Anyways, using their new name name they recorded this self-titled 7" which was released on Track Star Records in 1998. The band folded shortly afterwards. If yer into bands such as Bloodlet, Rorschach and such, chances are you will enjoy this band as well. A good and solid 7", it's a shame this band didn't release more stuff. Enjoy!

Hope (Delusion) 7"

Pushbutton Warfare - A Pain You Never Thought Could Exist CD

2011-09-03T21:36:00.001+02:00

Pushbutton Warfare from Western Massachussetts formed in 1994 after a Bloodbath reunion (Bloodbath being the best band on the 'Back Again' compilation 7", a pretty solid Western Mass hardcore comp from 1989 or so). 3 Bloodbath members started a new band, which would become Pushbutton Warfare, with a new singer, Justin Markou. The band recorded (and self-released?) a self-titled CD in 1997. After some tours and such, singer Justin Markou was replaced with old Bloodbath singer Bruce LePage and the original guitarist left and Chris 'Zeuss' Harris took his place. With this line-up the band recorded the 'Wash Away The Weak' 7" which was released on Jamey Jasta's Stillborn Records in 1999. The band eventually folded and members went on to various other bands. There were plans to re-release the self-titled CD with bonus material, but I have no idea if that actually happened?

Anyways, here's the 'A Pain You Never Thought Could Exist' CD, which compiles some Pushbutton Warfare demo and compilation tracks. Fairly tough hardcore, blunt and to the point, good stuff. This CD was released on Lifeless Records in 1998, before its first 'official' release I believe, which was the Shadows Fall 'Somber Eyes To The Sky' CD. What makes this CD different from most similar compilations is that it also features the never released Bloodbath 7" which was supposed to have been released on Community Chest Records (who also released the aforementioned 'Back Again' comp 7") but that never happened, and some Distance tracks, another pre-PW band with 2 Pushbutton Warfare members. Pretty damn cool if you ask me. For an extensive biography check out their myspace. Markus posted the 'Wash Away The Weak' 7" some years ago on Killing The Legacy blog, so check that out if you're interested, it's also a cool 7".

Bruce LePage ofcourse went on to front 100 Demons, while Justin Markou went on to Withstand and a number of other bands, RIP. Pushbutton Warfare members have also done time in a shitload of other bands such as Hatebreed, Shadows Fall, Death Threat and Bloodwar, and guitarist Zeuss would eventually start his own Planet-Z recording studio and become one of the most well-known hardcore/metal producers around.

The CD also has a movie on it, but I couldn't get it to play for me. I've still included it with the download just in case.

Pushbutton Warfare - A Pain You Never Thought Could Exist CD
Pushbutton Warfare myspace

Worlds Collide - All Hope Abandon

2011-08-27T19:34:00.002+02:00

Worlds Collide was an awesome, and I feel underrated, hardcore band from the DC/MD area in the early '90s. The most well-known person in the band was Ken Olden, who's also known for his other bands such as Battery, When Tigers Fight and Damnation AD. However, Worlds Collide remains my fave Ken Olden band, and has been pretty much since I first heard Worlds Collide on an old Lost & Found Records compilation (with Damnation AD as a close second, also amazing). Anyways, after a few studio & live recordings in the early '90s, which were compiled on the 'Pain Is Temporary' CD (which Chip posted here), they recorded their first, and only, full-length album 'All Hope Abandon' in early 1993. It was originally released on LP by Watermark Records that same year. In 1995 Lost & Found Records re-released it on CD, with a completely different layout, which makes me think it wasn't one of their most legit re-releases (what a surprise!). It would also be the last Worlds Collide recording unfortunately.

Anyways, the album contains re-recordings of 'Faces' and 'Any Worse' from the demo/'Pain Is Temporary', and 6 new tracks. All in all, an awesome album and a great follow-up to their earlier material, even tho I prefer their older material. These songs are a bit more metal, more intricate and layered than the old stuff (check the second half of 'Faces' for a good example, which wasn't part of the original version). For some reason it seems this album has a bad rep, but I don't care, I love it. Not as much as the older Worlds Collide material, but still, awesome stuff from start to finish. I ripped the CD, but also included pics of the LP version with the download. My scanner's too small for LP's and large inserts, so these pics are taken with my low-end camera. The CD version contains a 'hidden' track after some minutes of silence after the last track 'Any Worse', which is a cover of John Fogerty's 'The Old Man Down The Road'. It's not on the original LP. Members have since played in bands such as Battery, Damnation AD, Bluetip, Seven Gone, The Whips and a bunch more. Enjoy!

I've just seen a face
A mirror of my own
All polish with no substance

Worlds Collide - All Hope Abandon

Divided By Hate - Sediments Of Shame 7"

2011-08-23T21:46:00.000+02:00

Divided By Hate was an awesome hardcore band from Connecticut. They were formed in 1995 and after a 4 song demo, did the 'Sediments Of Shame' 7". It was released on vinyl and cassette by East Coast Empire Records in 1997. Awesome metallic hardcore that's quite heavy, and great vocals as well. In 1998 the band folded unfortunately. They did not do much else in the form of recordings, they contributed to a few compilations, including the 'Strength Through Diversity' compilation, but that's it. But at least there's this 7", and I still love it. I wasn't able to find much info on this band, but one of the guitarists now plays in a metal band called Creation, singer Dave is a tattoo artist and drummer Jay Gantz is now playing drums with singer/songwriter Kari Bunn. Drum tech on this 7" was Alex Garcia-Rivera btw, who's played in bands such as Piebald, Give Up The Ghost, Baby Gopal etc. Anyways, enjoy!

Divided By Hate - Sediments Of Shame 7"

Backjumper - Across The Deadline free download

2011-08-14T14:42:00.003+02:00

I'd never heard of Backjumper from Bari, Italy before, but they recently made their debut album 'Across The Deadline' available for free and contacted me about it. It was released on Killer Pool Records in 2009. On this album they play metalcore with a bunch of influences ranging from modern hardcore to thrash metal to mathcore to rock and even rap (in the vocals of some of the songs). Overall it works and they have the musical skills to pull it off, tho I could definitely do without the rap-influences in the vocals, they are the weakest part of this band to me. It's not the best album I've ever heard and it lacks a bit of cohesion here and there, but it's solid and I wouldn't mind seeing this band live. Best tracks on this album are opening track 'Deadline', which is a fairly straight-forward track, and closing track 'Stabbed Back And Fallen', which is way more technical. Backjumper released a new album called 'White, Black And The Lies Between' on Southern Brigade Records earlier this year. Check it out if you like this album.

Backjumper - Across The Deadline free download
Backjumper facebook

Hyde - Separate Yourself From Existence demo

2011-08-13T18:56:00.003+02:00

There have been plenty of well-known hardcore bands from Michigan, such as Negative Approach, Necros, The Meatmen, Pittbull and Earthmover. A lesser known one is Hyde. Hyde were around from around the turn of the century till 2002 or so and they were a band that was quite metal while still rooted in hardcore. They mixed thrash metal with hardcore, and it ended up being an awesome mix. Here's their 'Separate Yourself From Existence' demo from 2000. They would release a MCD called 'The Sky's False Persona' on Tribunal Records later that year. In 2002 they would release another album on Tribunal Records, called 'A Beautiful Nightmare', for which they re-recorded 2 of the these demo-tracks. That was the last release of theirs I'm aware of. I can recommend both releases, and 'A Beautiful Nightmare' can still be picked up for a mere $.99 from the Tribunal estore. Members moved on to The Alliance and Poison Tongues who I wrote about here. Enjoy!

Hyde - Separate Yourself From Existence demo

Neglect - '91-'92 demo

2011-08-07T14:27:00.002+02:00

I've already blogged about Neglect before, when I posted their En Public live 7". I decided to post another Neglect gem today, their '91-'92 demo. While this demo has been re-released on a couple of Neglect releases, this here is the genuine article. I've ripped it straight from tape and scanned the insert. I haven't seen too many of these around, so I'm pretty stoked I have one. Neglect was an amazing and unique hatecore band and this was their first studio demo after doing a rehearsal demo in 1991. As said, this demo would be re-released as a 7" by Motherbox Records in 1995 and also on the 'Four Years Of Hate' 2xLP/2xCD by Gain Ground Records in 1996. However, those were re-mastered (which is most apparent in 'Horror Struck') and the 7" doesn't include 'Mind Games' while 'Four Years Of Hate' doesn't include the tiny bit of goofing around that's right after 'Mind Games' on the demo. So enjoy the demo, in its original form. Awesome stuff, by an awesome band.

Neglect - '91-'92 demo
Neglect myspace

Standing8Count

2011-07-19T22:35:00.002+02:00

Here's another band I discovered thru Alain R.P.P.'s awesome distro, Standing8Count. They were from Long Island and played hardcore with a definite groove. Standing8Count mixed tough & heavy hardcore with groove and spoken/shouted and sometimes almost hiphop-esque vocals. Ripped here are the 2 demo's done by Standing8Count, their 1997 demo and their 1998 demo. A friend from back in the day and myself used to go nuts over S8C (what's up Thijs?!), especially their 1998 demo, even though seemingly we were in the minority over here. Oh well, I even have an ugly as hell blue S8C t-shirt with a white print that Alain was selling at a show one time. It's tucked away in a box somewhere, heh. Anyways, S8C's 1997 demo is good and shows plenty of potential, but is also not without flaws, the second track 'Self Inflicted' doesn't really do it for me and the vocals don't flow all that well with the music.

However their 1998 demo is where it's at. The music is heavier, the vocals are way stronger, and overall it's just an awesome & solid demo. A track like 'Everything Changes' is pure genius, and still makes me wonder why this band never got more recognition, they definitely deserved it in my opinion. Another underrated band in my opinion.

Apart from a few compilations I'm not sure S8C ever did a proper release besides these demo's? There is mention of a split 7" with a band called Perception (never heard of this band) in a flyer that came with the 1998 demo, but I've never seen it. The same flyer also mentions S8C shirts, only available in size XL, haha... Anyways, after some line-up changes Standing8Count either called it a day and members started a new band called Become One or they simply changed their name to Become One. Become One did at least one demo that I know of, no idea what else they did tho. If anybody has the Become One demo, share it please, I'm dying to hear it! For some reason I'm thinking Rick Ta Life/Back Ta Basics also had plans to do a release for either S8C or Become One? Anyways, Standing8Count was awesome, definitely check it out if you haven't already.

*** Update October 25 2011: I managed to score a different Standing8Count demo from 1998 at a show recently. Unfortunately the demo had been taped over with other stuff at some point such as Clubber Lang and Neglect, so all that I am left with is the cover and the insert... Fucked up! But at least I know now there's at least 1 more demo! I will do my best to hunt this one down... ***

Standing8Count 1997 demo
Standing8Count 1998 demo
Standing8Count myspace

Innerface - Season In Hell CD

2011-07-18T21:18:00.001+02:00

Innerface from Rochester, NY formed in 1995 and blended death metal and metalcore with sick vocals, a bit like Starkweather on the 'The Divine Art...' 7" minus the soft vocals. After they did a demo called 'Flash Of Humanity' they would release a full-length called 'Season In Hell' on Impression Records out of Germany in 1997. Impression Records would eventually become Lifeforce Records btw. Anyways, the album is pretty solid and Jody's vocals are truly sick, and it is his voice which makes Innerface stand out from other bands that played a similar style. The band would also appear on a couple of compilations such as East Coast Assault II and Mother Earth. I don't think they did any other release of their own. Enjoy!

Innerface - Season In Hell CD
Innerface myspace

Prong - Live At CBGB's promo 12"

2011-06-23T22:30:00.002+02:00

Prong needs to no introduction... Awesome band with an impressive discography. So without further ado, here's a promo 12" that was released by Epic Records in 1990 promoting the then still unreleased 'Beg To Differ' album, also from 1990, which coincidentally is Prong's best album to date in my opinion. The 12" features 3 live-songs on side A, and the B side is etched with the band members' autographs. Opening track 'Third From The Sun' is a Chrome cover, and is the same live recording which also appears on 'Beg To Differ' (not on the LP tho). As far as I know the second track, 'Dying Breed', was never properly recorded for any Prong studio-album, so there's only this live-version. Which is a shame, it's a pretty cool song. The final track, 'Intermenstrual, D.S.B.', appears in a studio-version on 'Beg To Differ'. These 3 live-recordings would, soon after the release of 'Beg To Differ', be re-released on the 'Lost And Found' 12"/MCD, together with the regular version of 'Lost And Found'. Enjoy!

Just for fun and cuz of the Evil Dead video, here's a video of Prong's studio-recording of their cover of 'Third From The Sun':

Prong - Live At CBGB's promo 12"
Prong website

Darkest Hour/Groundzero split 7"

2011-06-22T22:57:00.001+02:00

Here's an early Darkest Hour release, from before their first full-length 'The Mark Of The Judas'. Released in 1999 by East Coast Empire Records, this split 7" features 1 great track by Darkest Hour called 'Faith Like Suicide'. Darkest Hour started out in 1995 and has released a number of albums on labels such as Art Monk Construction and Victory. They're still around, in fact their latest album was released earlier this year. Anyways, this track would later appear on their 'Archives' album from 2006 which compiles their earliest material.

The other band on this 7" is Groundzero from CT, with 2 songs. Groundzero was an awesome metalcore band who were around from 1996 to 2003. The first track on here is a good example of their sound. However, the 2nd one is a Fear cover, 'Let's Have A War', which in my opinion doesn't work out too well... Both of these song would later appear on their 'Healing Leprocy' MCD, which features an even odder choice for a cover, Blue Öyster Cult's 'Don't Fear The Reaper'. I have to give them credit for their choice of covers, and while I'm not too fond of this Fear cover, their BÖC cover is pretty sweet. Groundzero singer Darrell Tauro also ran a label called Upfront Records, and after Groundzero broke up would go on to bands such as Wrench In The Works and Emmanuel.7.

Darkest Hour/Groundzero split 7"
Darkest Hour myspace
Groundzero myspace

25 Ta Life - Live In Aachen, Germany, June 11th, 1998 tape

2011-06-12T16:41:00.001+02:00

Say what you will about Rick Ta Life or his bands, but old 25 Ta Life rules, plain and simple, both live and on record. Maybe he's become a caricature of himself nowadays, but just check out his stuff on the old NYHC documentary to see someone who's super passionate about hardcore, gotta respect that. Here's a live-tape of a show 25 Ta Life played in Aachen, Germany in 1998. An old friend of mine, Job, used to be a tour-manager in the '90s and early 00's. He happened to be one on this tour as well, so in typical Rick Ta Life fashion there's a shout-out to him at this show, haha. Anyways, this live-tape was released by Lockdown Records, a small label which was run by a local guy called Stefan Maassen, who's still around in the German scene. The sound-quality is quite decent for a DIY tape release, so if you're into 25 Ta Life, you will definitely enjoy this one.

I've ripped it as a single 40 minute mp3, here's the setlist:

Wise To Da Game
Loose Wit Da Truth
Short Fuse
Where It Begins
Make It Work
Crucified (Agnostic Front/Iron Cross)
Strength Through Unity
A Bullet For Every Enemy
Loyal To Tha Grave
Took My Kindness
Keepin It Real
Turning Point

25 Ta Life - Live In Aachen, Germany, June 11th, 1998

Band profile: The Cold Front

2011-06-10T16:00:00.001+02:00

There's a flourishing scene of cool new bands coming out of the greater Los Angeles area. I've already written about Colombian Necktie on 2 separate occasions here and here, but there are plenty more cool bands popping up over there like Confrontations and Seizures. Here's another band from that area, The Cold Front out of Long Beach, not to be confused with the old Cold Front from NYC obviously. The Cold Front released a demo in 2009 and are about to enter the studio again to record 5 new songs, and are playing shows regularly. The band plays modern hardcore similar to some of the Panic Records bands such as Another Breath and The Golden Age, with a few rough edges here and there. Nothing new or ground-breaking but they do this style well enough and with enough intensity that it keeps me interested and I would love to see this band live some day. I'm looking forward to hearing the new recordings which should be released sometime this summer. Hopefully on a 7" or something that I can add to my collection, haha.. Anyways, enjoy!

The Cold Front - 2009 demo
The Cold Front facebook

Strength Thru Pain - D.C. Hardcore 1996 demo

2011-06-06T22:04:00.002+02:00

Don't let the 'D.C. Hardcore' title of this demo fool you, this has very little to do with the Dischord bands usually associated with the term 'D.C hardcore'. This is tough mid-tempo hardcore from DC/Virginia, plain and simple. If you like bands like With One Intent, Punch The Klown or Next Step Up, you will dig this too. As usual with this style, I picked this up at the RPP distro back in the day. Nothing too amazing, but a pretty solid and enjoyable demo nonetheless. Not a lot else to say really since I know pretty much nothing about this band. I think the singer did a label called Moosestyle Records after the band ended? No clue if they did anything else or if the members did any other bands, so if you have any info, please leave a comment. Enjoy!

Strength Thru Pain - D.C. Hardcore 1996 demo
Strength Thru Pain myspace

Colombian Necktie - s/t CDEP

2011-06-04T17:22:00.001+02:00

I did a review for LA-based band Colombian Necktie last year, whose demo ruled. They've had some bad luck with getting some releases out since the demo I reviewed, just a split tape with Pariah managed to come together, but that one had the demo songs on it, no new material. The material CN recorded for the records that never panned out, 5 songs in total, are now put out by Reckless Minds Collective on a CDEP, with the 3 demo songs added as a bonus.

They stuck to their mix of harsh hardcore/metal, with rough and bitter-sounding vocals, which I certainly don't mind. The band has added more dynamics and subtlety to the songs tho by utilizing some quieter parts here and there, and overall it's clear the band has evolved as musicians as well as song-writers. The 4 tracks on here are awesome, and the band has definitely stepped it up a notch. I say 4, even though there are 5 tracks on here. That is cuz the 4th track on here, 'Lirit', is an instrumental track which feels out of place to me. It's mostly piano and sounds too uplifting to me to really fit in with the negative and aggressive atmosphere of the other tracks. However, it also shows this band doesn't mind straying from the beaten path. My favorite track on here is the 2nd one, 'Larvae', which starts off with a quiet and melodic intro before building up into a mammoth of a track. It's really heavy but also has an intricate song-structure and subtle leads and build-ups which emphasize the potential & progression of this band. But in no way does that mean the other tracks aren't memorable, cuz they are. This EP is pretty damn solid and the clearer production, which doesn't take away from the heaviness of the songs at all, adds to the aggressiveness of the sound while showing that the band can play and is more subtle than one might expect. All in all, an awesome follow-up to the demo, and it's great to see this band evolving.

You can check out the new tracks on the bands bandcamp page, but if you like what you hear, don't hesitate to (pre-)order it at the Reckless Minds webstore. Future plans include a split release with Ruined Tongues on Reckless Minds and a 7" on Irish Voodoo Records.

Search - s/t 7"

2011-05-31T22:02:00.001+02:00

Here's a damn cool 7" from the early '90s Salt Lake City hardcore scene. Released on Flatline Records in 1991, this self-titled 7" is the only release of Search I'm aware of apart from demo's. It has 2 awesome songs on it and an instrumental track that they should have worked on some more to turn it into a real song, it definitely had enough potential for it. It seems the SLC scene at the time was quite happening, other bands such as Brainstorm (whose 7" I will post someday soon), Iceburn and Reality were also great. Ofcourse SLC also produced some amazing bands later on in the '90s such as Lifeless and Triphammer. Anyways, back to this 7". As I said, awesome stuff. I love this kind of hardcore which is so typically '90s, this band reminds me of Trial By Jury, another band I love and who were also around at that time, tho in another part of the US. Definitely an underrated band, so check it out.

Bassplayer Cache Tolman went on to Iceburn, Rival Schools and a bunch more bands. Drummer Andy Patterson is now a record producer and also plays in Iota. No idea what the rest of the members did afterwards. I would love to hear more Search material, so if anybody can hook me up with demo's or whatever, by all means do!

Search - s/t 7"

Scream And Be Heard compilation CD

2011-05-18T22:46:00.000+02:00

This compilation CD was released in 1997 on Double Down Records out of PA, USA, which makes sense considering the full title of the compilation is 'Scream And Be Heard. Volume 1: Eastern Pennsylvania'. The bands on this compilation are Chine, Dysphoria, XIII PFP, PP&G, Blue Collar Underworld, Chamber and Surrounded. While not all bands on here do it for me, Dysphoria can do no wrong of course (the 3 songs on here also appear on their 'Hope Without Reason' album tho) and Surrounded & Chamber are great as well. The other bands mix styles such as rap, ska, funk, hardcore and metal, with & without the use of trumpets and saxophone, and with varying degrees of success. Gotta love the 90s, both the good and the bad parts of it I suppose... Either way, interesting compilation to re-visit, tho I could definitely stomach bands such as Chine & XIII PFP (somewhat) better back then than I can nowadays... I have their split 7" (also on Double Down Records) to prove it, heh... Anyways, would love to hear more stuff by Chamber, if anybody has some info on them or more of their material, lemme know or leave a comment! I don't know if the label did any follow-up comps dealing with other parts/scenes in PA at the time, would love to get my hands on them if they did.

Scream And Be Heard compilation CD

Neck

2011-05-07T18:16:00.002+02:00

Neck was a band from NYC/Long Island which was formed in 1995. They played a metal/hardcore hybrid somewhat similar to a more straight-forward Candiria, although they didn't really have the jazz & hiphop influences that Candiria did. Either way, Neck had the talent to pull it off, but somehow never really got the recognition they deserved, including by yours truly. I knew Neck from a compilation my old band Disdain was on that also had Neck on it and their tracks didn't do much for me at the time, so I dismissed them. Fast forward to a few years ago where I checked out some more Neck tunes and it totally hit me. This band was awesome. After that moment I managed to get my hands on their first 2 albums which I ripped and uploaded here.

Their self-titled debut album was released in 1998 on Striving For Togetherness Records. In 1999 their second album, 'Should My Fist Eye', was released, this time on Cho'Sin Records. The final track on this album, 'Cinder', was recorded & performed by Drillpress, a band that drummer Larry Hundertmark was in before joining Neck, and they had never managed to release these recordings before. The full discography of Neck includes a 1996 demo, a 7" released in 1997 on Bittersweet Records, a self-released EP called 'Crawl Away' from 1999 and another album called 'Smart Bomb And The Swarm', which was self-released on their own label Lifeless Records in 2005. All of these seem pretty hard to find, so I don't have any of those unfortunately, sorry, but if anybody's willing to part with their copies, hit me up! They also appeared on a bunch of compilations, including the 'Fear No Evil' compilation, on Last Word Records, with among others my own band, Disdain, the 'Over The Edge vol. 3' compilation which I posted here and the 'Disintegrated - A Cure Tribute' compilation on Too Damn Hype. Neck's drummer now goes by the name Razor Tongue as the singer of Nassau Chainsaw, while other members went on to bands such as Car Bomb and Paiste Junkies.

Neck - self-titled CD
Neck - Should My Fist Eye CD
Neck myspace

Fable - Give Us The Night 7"

2011-04-25T15:03:00.000+02:00

After yesterday's post had a singer/songwriter connection, I figured I'd continue with another singer/songwriter related post. This time it doesn't involve 90s emo tho and the singer/songwriter here is David Vandervelde. His first band was Fable, which he joined in 1997 at the age of 14, I've ripped their 'Give Us The Night' 7" here. Fable was a Christian metalcore band similar to Zao which hailed from Michigan and started out in 1997 with a bunch of young teenagers (14-16 years old) giving it their all. Soon after doing a demo, they recorded their 'Give Us The Night' 7" which was released on Takehold Records in 1998. Some of the songs from this recording session would also end up on a few compilations. The only other record they would do was a split 7" with Mara'akate on Happy Couples Never Last in 2000, when they also called it quits. Drummer Derek W. James now plays in David Vandervelde's backing band. Enjoy.

Fable - Give Us The Night 7"

Infind - Absence 7"

2011-04-24T17:48:00.000+02:00

Here's a quieter 7" than what gets posted on here usually. Infind was an emo band from Staten Island. I guess their main claim to fame is that singer/songwriter Kevin Devine (also of Miracle Of 86) played in this band in his teens, tho he wasn't part of Infind during these recordings, at least he isn't listed. Anyways, this 7" was released on Struggle Records, also out of Staten Island, in 1995 (I believe, there's no mention of a date anywhere). It is one of those records that fall outside of what I usually listen to but that I like regardless. There's quite some tension in these songs and they are much darker than most of the Deep Elm-like emo from that era. Anyways, I don't think this band did much else besides this 7". Oh, and you know this record is from the '90s when you see the ad from Struggle Records that comes with it, cuz it mentions that the t-shirts you can order only come in size XL! Enjoy...

Infind - Absence 7"

Vision Of Disorder / Loyal To None - 'Split Atom' split 7"

2011-04-20T22:17:00.001+02:00

After posting the Loyal To None 7", I got a request to also post their split 7" with Vision Of Disorder. So here it is. This split 7" was released on Hearsay Records in 1994. The only other record I own that was released on Hearsay Records is the Converge/Overcast split 7", which I'm fairly certain was released without either bands consent. So I'm not sure what's up with this split 7" either. Anyways, the Vision Of Disorder tracks on this 7", 'D.T.O.' and 'No Regret', would also appear later on on their 1995 demo (so this 'D.T.O.' is not the version from their '94 demo). Great side with VOD being at the top of their game and it does mean I tend to not listen to the Loyal To None side as much as I should. Which is a shame really cuz their side is great as well, and if you like their self-titled 7" I posted before, you'll love these 2 songs as well. No idea where LTN's recordings are from or anything, or if they're indeed recorded specifically for this split 7". Anyways, this is a solid split, so check it out.

Vision Of Disorder / Loyal To None - 'Split Atom' split 7"

Edgewise - Massacre Of The Innocents CD

2011-04-17T16:24:00.001+02:00

And here we have yet another band I first heard on the East Coast Assault compilation. Edgewise was a hardcore band from West Chester, PA formed in the late '80s. After doing a great 7" called 'Silent Rage' on Smorgasbord Records, they recorded and released the 'Massacre Of The Innocents' album on Harvest Records on both LP and CD in 1993. The album also includes a re-recording of 'Silent Rage' from the 7" and a different version of 'Tolerance' from the aforementioned 'East Coast Assault' compilation. Harvest Records would also release records from bands such as Starkweather and Turmoil, and I believe it was run by Edgewise's guitarist Vince Spina.

Anyways, to me this is Edgewise's strongest output, with their mix of more traditional hardcore and metallic hardcore they had a sound unlike most bands at the time. On top of that Al Spina's vocals are hard and angry but still have a melodic edge to them at the same time. Great effort and the album definitely stands out from the crowd as a whole. After this album Edgewise did a self-titled album in 1997, which might have been some sort of reunion effort. That album was released by Gain Ground Records out of Germany, which had already re-released the 'Silent Rage' 7" as a 10" and CD in 1995 (with a completely different cover/layout, and a few bonus-tracks). Thorp Records would eventually release a discography CD in 2003.

As said to me this album is Edgewise's strongest material, although it seems that most people prefer the 'Silent Rage' material (which is great, no doubt about it). In any case, this is an underrated record for sure which I feel has been overlooked by many. I ripped & scanned the CD version, the LP has a different layout (same cover tho), but it's too big to scan in, sorry.

Edgewise - Massacre Of The Innocents CD
Edgewise myspace

Loyal To None - s/t 7"

2011-04-11T23:00:00.001+02:00

I got this 7" years ago because of the Vision Of Disorder/Loyal To None split 7" I picked up a while before that. While the VOD side on that split got tons more play from me than the LTN side, I did like LTN, but early VOD is hard to beat, you know what I mean?! Anyways, I managed to pick up this self-titled Loyal To None 7" and it's pretty sweet. Loyal To None were from Queens, NYC and this 7" was released on See Records in 1993, so before the split 7", which was released in 1994. It's a pretty good 7" with some solid hardcore with a nice groove to it and atypical vocals. So check it out. I believe Loyal To None also did a live on WUSB split tape with Vision Of Disorder, can anybody confirm this? I have no clue what else they did tho. Singer Brian Meehan moved on to Milhouse, Prom King and Celebrity Murders, no idea what bands the other band members did before or after LTN. Any comments with more info on Loyal To None are more than welcome. Thanxxx & enjoy!

Loyal To None - s/t 7"

Six Centuries In Japan - The Burning And Falling Away demoCD

2011-03-17T22:35:00.001+01:00

Even tho this demo is not from the '90s, I figured it would be okay to post an awesome demo from the early 2000's... Six Centuries In Japan was a band from Kentucky, they were around from 2002 to 2004 or so. From what I know, this demo was the first of 2 demo's that SCIJ did before they folded. I don't have the 2nd demo unfortunately tho, but I've ripped the 1st one. I loved this band when I first heard em (on mp3.com when it was still a great resource for finding new bands), and contacted 'em about a demo. Their bass-player, Adam Nicholson, sent me this demo and it received a lot of love from me at the time. And I still dig it hard. SCIJ was made up of youngsters, I believe their age-range at the time of this demo was 16 to 18 or so, but they had lotsa potential. This demo is damn good in my opinion, and it still surprises me this band didn't get more attention when they were around. Pretty typical early '00s metalcore, but executed damn well and with some heavy-ass breakdowns, but also some more melodic parts and great leads. The only downside really are the clean vocals which aren't too strong, and I'm not a fan of clean vocals in my metalcore anyways, but the singer's screams are pretty solid. Either way, enjoy!

Six Centuries In Japan - The Burning And Falling Away demoCD

Losing Face compilation CD

2011-03-13T15:11:00.001+01:00

Losing Face Records was around from '98 till, I believe, the mid '00s. The label was started by Byron Wheeler. He played in 2 bands that are on this compilation, Straight Jacket and Wrath. He also played in this awesome political hardcore band called Lariat, search around for their stuff, you won't regret it. Anyways, this compilation was released in 1998 and features mostly bands from upstate NY (Bane and Indecision being the 2 exceptions, and also the most well-known bands on here). Most of the tracks on here are previously released, but it's still a solid compilation. Here's the list of bands: Bane, Inner Dam, Withstand, Indecision, Wrath, Husk, Straight Jacket, Solace, Down Foundation, Cipher, Section 8, Sever and Birth Control Glasses. The Birth Control Glasses track is tacked onto the Sever track and is weird, to say the least, haha... I didn't bother separating them, sorry. Anyways, if anybody has any info on Husk or Solace, lemme know, I quite dig their tracks but have been unable to find any info on them.

Losing Face compilation CD

Crosscurrent - Life Dictates Pain 7"

2011-03-07T23:23:00.000+01:00

Ever since I got to know Pin Drop Records thru Holdstrong's 1st 7" and the 'Together As One' compilation 7", I've had a soft spot for the label (which was run by one of the guys in Holdstrong). Releasing bands such as Grimlock and Die My Will doesn't hurt either! Anyways, here's one of the bands that they released that's lesser known, Crosscurrent, who were coincidentally also on the 'Together As One' compilation. Hailing from Waldham, MA, they played heavy and tough hardcore with great shouted vocals and a nice crunch in the guitar sound. Not a classic 7" by any means, but solid nonetheless and I still enjoy this 7". This 7" was released in 1995 and apart from at least one demo that I know of, and the aforementioned compilation I don't know any other release this band did. Some members moved on to 7th Rail Crew, and one of the guys also did some time in Grimlock if I'm correct. Either way, check it out.

Crosscurrent - Life Dictates Pain 7"

B'zrker

2011-02-20T16:23:00.001+01:00

Here's an absolutely crushing band from Boston that, in my opinion, doesn't seem to get the recognition they deserve. B'zrker was around from 1989 to 1992 and did 2 awesome 7"s, both of which I've ripped for this post. I first heard this band on the first East Coast Assault compilation (which is a recurring theme on this blog), and loved their song on there, called 'Inside'. I managed to hunt down both of their 7"s and they're both awesome as well. They were more metallic and tougher than most other hardcore bands at the time, while still being clearly rooted in the hardcore scene, while the vocals of Tom Habelt definitely gave them an additional edge as well.

The first 7", 'That's What You Get' was released in 1991 on Nemesis Records (how awesome was that label?!), while the second 7" was released in 1992 on Exchange Records (this was their 2nd release, their 1st was Overcast's 'Bleed Into One' 7"). I'm not gonna write down a long biography or whatever on this band, you can check out their myspace for that and also guitarist Alan Fischer was interviewed about B'zrker over at Lifers, which has lotsa information as well. If anybody has the demo's or the bootleg CD that is mentioned in the interview with Alan Fischer, please upload it somewhere or burn me a copy, I would love to hear those recordings! 2 7"s and a song on a comp is far too small a legacy for this underrated band. Also, as mentioned in the interview with Alan Fischer, there's a small chance a discography might be released at some point. Which would be insane! Anyways, if you enjoy these 7"s, and haven't yet checked out their contribution to the 'East Coast Assault' compilation, 'Inside', do check it out, it's an awesome track as well.

B'zrker - That's What You Get 7"
B'zrker - s/t 7"
B'zrker myspace

You've Got A Friend In Pennsylvania compilation 7"

2011-02-14T19:37:00.004+01:00

This compilation 7" was released in 1995 on Seven One Seven Records, a record label from Northumberland, PA. It features 4 bands from Pennsylvania, as the title suggests. I got this 7" soon after it was released through Shoehorn Distro, a cool distro run by Amy Pursel, who dated one of the persons behind Seven One Seven Records at the time. If I remember correctly, I also got Brother's Keeper's 'Ladder' MCD in the same order, good stuff. Anyways, of the four bands on this comp, I know next to nothing about Deckard, also my least favorite band on here, especially the vocals are not my thing really.They did a 7" I believe, but I've never come across it. Brother's Keeper is the most well-known band on here, and they were great. Opening band Option plays pretty cool hardcore with a melodic edge, and would do a great 7". The best band on here though is Outcome, with an awesome metallic hardcore track with great vocals. They also did a 7" on SA Mob and a split 7" with Disbelief, both of which come highly recommended. Underrated band for sure. Coincidentally, SA Mob was (and still is) run by Eric 'EMS', the bass-player of Brother's Keeper. All in all a great compilation on a short-lived label. The label also released Autumn's 'Wire Hangers' 7", I don't know of any other releases they did. I would love to know if they did tho. Enjoy!

You've Got A Friend In Pennsylvania compilation 7"

Poison Tongues (ex-Earthmover, The Alliance, Hyde, ...)

2011-01-28T19:42:00.000+01:00

After I posted the Full Assault demo, I received an email from Len Adams, the singer of Full Assault (and also Earthmover and Cast In Fire). He told me about his current band, Poison Tongues, which is a '90s inspired hard as nails hardcore band with members from a load of bands including Earthmover, The Alliance, Hyde, All My Blood and a bunch more. He emailed me their current demo, and it's great stuff, once again. Anyways, the songs are available from their Facebook, so check em out there. I've also added a download of 'em here, in case you're too lazy or hate FB or something. Either way, support this great new band.

Poison Tongues - Demo

Full Assault - Detroit Hardcore 1999 demo

2011-01-25T22:00:00.001+01:00

One of the best bands to come out of the Detroit area in the '90s was Earthmover. Such an awesome band, and great guys as well... After Earthmover called it a day, the members went on to several bands, such as Bloodpact (guitarist & +/- Records boss Andy Dempz) and Walls Of Jericho (guitarist & Cloud City Studios owner Mike Hasty). Singer Lenny Adams started a new band in 1998 called Full Assault with members of other Detroit hardcore bands such as Dogz Of War. They changed their name pretty soon thereafter to Cast In Fire, and did several releases under that name. Here however is a demo they did when they were still called Full Assault. It's heavy as hell, raw as fuck, and it's got Lenny's characteristic intense vocals. If you dig Earthmover, you will dig Full Assault/Cast In Fire. All 3 songs on here would eventually be re-recorded for Cast In Fire's 'Apology' MCD. Enjoy!

Full Assault - Detroit Hardcore 1999 demo

Eclipse Of Eden - demo MCD

2011-01-19T19:57:00.001+01:00

Here's the demo MCD of Eclipse Of Eden. Eclipse Of Eden was a Des Moines, Iowa screamo/hardcore band in the late '90s. I don't know much about this band, I can't even remember where I picked up this MCD, probably at a random distro somewhere... Either way, their last.fm bio is pretty extensive, so check that out if yer interested. This MCD, their demo, was released on Skinsuit Communications in 1999. It's decent and enjoyable screamo/hardcore, although nothing too memorable. After this demo they released the 'My Reflex Is Revenge' album on Happy Couples Never Last, which I don't have. After the band folded members moved on to bands such as Dispensing Of False Halos and The Examination Of... I'm not familiar with the latter, but Dispensing Of False Halos was pretty sweet. Anyways, enjoy this demo MCD.

Eclipse Of Eden - demo MCD

Andromeda - Exalting The Spirits MCD

2010-12-31T17:50:00.001+01:00

A quick post, and my final one for 2010. Another request, this time for Andromeda's 'Exalting The Spirits' MCD. Check my first post on Andromeda here if you don't know this band already. This MCD was released on Genet Records out of Belgium in 1998, almost simultaneously with a split 7" with Pray Silent from Switzerland. It features 3 new songs and the 3 songs from the 7". In the insert the recording data for the 7" songs is the same as those mentioned in the insert for the 7" itself, however there are some noticeable differences, especially in 'Burn The Shroud'. I'm not sure the songs have been remastered/remixed, but I suppose so. Either way, the songs, as well as the 3 new songs still rock. So enjoy, and again Best Wishes for 2010!

Andromeda - Exalting The Spirits MCD

Tension* - ...And At The Hour Of Our Death CD

2010-12-30T22:11:00.001+01:00

As requested after posting Tension*'s 'Struggle Within' 7" here, here's another Tension* record. It's their 1st full-length, the '...And At The Hour Of Our Death' CD which was released on None Of The Above Records in 1997. Continuing in the same vein as the 7", it's great NYHC with the distinctive vocals and delivery of singer Mike (who now fronts Pitfight). While I prefer the 7", this CD is still damn good. As mentioned in my previous post on Tension*, their 'Struggle Within' 7" is added to the CD as a bonus, so I kept it with this download as well. There's also an untitled track on this CD which features a cover of The Go-Go's 'We Got The Beat', with heavily altered lyrics! If Poison Idea can cover it, so can Tension* I guess, heh... Either way, enjoy and Best Wishes for 2011!!!

Tension* - ...And At The Hour Of Our Death CD
Tension* myspace

Review: Unveil - Hypnopaedia MCD

2010-12-15T22:03:00.005+01:00

Unveil from Switzerland is a political vegan sXe hardcore band made up of youngsters who love their '90s hardcore. Along with bands such as Anchor from Sweden, this band is part of the current wave of European vegan sXe bands. After a 2009 demo, the 'Destruction Wherever I Go' 7" and a split MCD with Deadverse (with the same songs as the 7"), they released their new 7" entitled 'Hypnopaedia' a couple of months ago on Take It Back Records and Start A Fire Records. They recently sent me the CD version to review. The CD version doesn't offer any additional songs compared to the 7", making it a short, but sweet, listen at under 10 minutes.

If you've heard any of the previous Unveil records, you will know what this CD sounds like. But if not: mid-tempo metallic hardcore with lots of chugga chugga, crunchy guitars, harsh throaty vocals and a couple of sweet up-tempo parts (the transition to the up-tempo part in 'Pressure' is especially great). I love this style of hardcore and Unveil do it really well. Unveil has also progressed from their older stuff tho, the songs are more varied while still being cohesive and they have a bit more of a 'punch', which is also due to the dry and clear but powerful production. Lyrically, they're not breaking new grounds and there's definitely room for improvement here, but they're decent and to-the-point, and deal with subjects such as national pride, the selfishness of mankind and sticking to your beliefs.

All in all, this is a sweet MCD. Unveil is still a very young band and I hope they keep progressing. I also hope to see them perform again, I saw them once and they were great, and the singer turned out to be a nice guy as well, what more could you ask for? Support this band.

Unveil webstore
Take It Back Records webstore
Start A Fire Records webstore

Andromeda - s/t 7"

2010-12-09T23:27:00.001+01:00

Andromeda was a band from Tampa, Florida, and was formed in the mid '90s out of the ashes of Order Of Importance. They played sweet metalcore with some sludgy influences, grated vocals and some really cool guitar-work. They recorded a self-titled 7" in early 1997 which was released later that year on Toybox Records. These 3 songs would later be re-released together with 3 new songs as the 'Exalting The Spirits' MCD on Genet Records out of Belgium in 1998. Genet Records also released an Andromeda/Pray Silent split 7". Those are the only releases by Andromeda I'm aware of, and I know very little else about this band unfortunately. I still ripped these songs from the 7" tho, as the versions on the MCD are slightly different. Either way, I love the guitar-sound on this 7", and it's a solid 7" throughout. I don't think this band got as much attention or credit as they deserved. Great stuff. So check it out and enjoy.

Andromeda - s/t 7"

Tension* - Struggle Within 7"

2010-12-02T22:24:00.000+01:00

There are too many hardcore bands with the same name. There are for instance 2 (great) Unrestrained's out there in the States at the moment, I have records by at least 4 different Foundation's, and in the '90s there was Tension from Florida and Tension* from Long Island. While Tension from Florida was definitely great, I always preferred the Long Island Tension* (sorry Chip!). The main reason is Tension*'s first release, the 'Struggle Within' 7", which is still awesome, and which made a lasting impression on me from the moment I got it. Released in early 1996 on R.P.P. Records out of Belgium, it's a killer 7" from start to finish. Great NYHC with an absolutely awesome singer. The great music is enough to like this band, but their singer Mike is really what makes this band stand out for me. He has a very raw & gruff voice with an amazing vocal delivery, check 'Made To Suffer' and 'Torn Apart' for prime examples. And the lyrics are cool too, and are reminiscent of Neglect's lyrics.

Anyways, I ripped these songs from CD, as the 7" was added onto their '...And At The Hour Of Our Death' CD which was released on None Of The Above Records in 1997. I did scan in the sleeve and insert from the 7" tho. They did a few more releases since the 7" and the CD, some I have, some I don't, if there are any requests I might post some more Tension*. Awesome band, check it out.

Tension* - Struggle Within 7"
Tension* myspace

Tomorrows Gone - No Way To Make Time Stand Still 1993-1997 CD

2010-11-15T21:46:00.001+01:00

As requested by thuglifebaldwin of the awesome Mind Intrusion blog after I posted the Tomorrows Gone 7", here's their discography CD, called 'No Way To Make Time Stand Still 1993-1997'. It appears to be sold out and is apparently even sold for ludicrous prices on eBay, so here it is in digital format. Anyways, this discography CD was released in 2001 on World On Fire Records, a label based in Las Vegas, just as Tomorrows Gone. It includes the aforementioned 7", the 1994 & 1995 demo's and compilation tracks by this melodic hardcore band. Great stuff and definitely an underrated band. One of those bands playing a style I'm usually not too crazy about, but that somehow grabs me nonetheless. Check it out.

Tomorrows Gone - No Way To Make Time Stand Still 1993-1997 CD

S.F.A. / D.M.B. - 'Live In Europe 91' 7"

2010-11-07T17:42:00.001+01:00

Here's a lesser-known S.F.A. record, a live split 7" with German band D.M.B. It was recorded on October 6 1991 on their joint European tour at The Fabrik in Potsdam, Germany, and released on Lund Castle Core Records. It actually says 'East Germoney' on the 7" even though West- and East-Germany had reunited a year prior, but no doubt the differences between the 2 parts of Germany were still vast. Peter, the guy behind Lund Castle Core Records, was also the driver on this tour btw. S.F.A. was ofcourse an awesome hate-core band from NYC, whose first 2 albums are classics in my book, although their later output (the 'Solace' album) doesn't come close. I know very little about D.M.B., a hardcore band from Leipzig, East-Germany. They released a self-titled 7" in 1992 and appeared on a few compilations. Lund Castle Core Records did a few more records, including a Majority Of One/Intricate live split 7". As mentioned in one of the inserts, the label was planning a few more splits with bands including Yuppicide and Upfront but those never happened as far as I know.

Here's a part of the history of S.F.A. as written down by Brendan on their myspace, regarding the European tour and D.M.B.'s manager at the time:

Our first European tour was a lot of fun - booze, brawls, broads and barbiturates. We were drunk and happy every day and played every night like we were on fire. We had a support band from Leipzig called DMB on the road with us. Their manager Imad and his wife Rita came along for the whole tour. We found out several years later that Imad was a command-ranking officer in Stassi (the East German secret police.) He had been running agents who were reporting on and arresting subversives, many of whom had roots in the anti-government East German punk scene. Stassi was still active in Germany when we were on tour. Stassi didn't collapse until several years after the reunification and many of the agents weren't uncovered for years because of the billions (literally) pages of documents that had to be sifted through. That's how Imad was exposed. What I think is kind of cool is that somewhere in the tons of pages of Stassi documents is a report about S.F.A. Even if there were nothing bad about us, he would have had to mention us if just to explain where he was for so long. So you could find S.F.A. at Tower Records in some local fanzine and somewhere in a pile in the basement of Stassi headquarters. That rocks.

I unfortunately did not see (or even know) S.F.A. in 1991, I did see them however on their 1996 Euro tour with Cause For Alarm, good times, I still have an S.F.A. shirt from that tour. Anyways, I ripped the S.F.A. side of this split 7" as one track, because of the talking inbetween songs and 'I Want To Be Alone' and 'Purge' blending into each other. Enjoy!

S.F.A. / D.M.B. - 'Live In Europe 91' 7"
S.F.A. myspace

At Any Cost (Rhode Island)

2010-10-17T14:07:00.001+02:00

At one point, I bought Back Ta Basics 7"s pretty much without thinking about it. Most of the ones I had I was into, so I figured any new ones would be the same. So I scooped up Rhode Island's At Any Cost 'Power Of Mind' 7" from 1996 thinking just that... It turned out to be fairly decent NYHC with a heavy mid-tempo metallic edge. At the time I didn't get into it too much for whatever reason tho, and as a consequence, I probably gave it a listen maybe half a dozen times, if that. Listening to it now, it's much better than I remembered it to be, even if it's nothing too exceptional, it's still well done. Anyway, I kinda forgot about the band for a long time, thinking they'd called it quits some time after the 7"...

Fast forward to a few years ago. At the Independent Outlet in Amsterdam, a skate-store/record-shop, I saw an At Any Cost 'Seen Through Shattered Eyes' CD for next to nothing. Remembering the 7", I checked the booklet and it was indeed the same band so I figured what the hell, and I got it... and absolutely loved the CD. Awesome vocals, powerful songs with cool riffs and drum-parts and enough twists and turns that make it stand out for me. Anyways, recorded in 1998, the CD was released on Lost Disciple Records in 1999. I still play the CD from time to time and it still rules hard. Definitely more than just a step up from the 7".

Unfortunately I was never able to find any sort of info em them, so if anybody can shed some light on this band and/or other releases and such, please leave a comment!

At Any Cost - Power Of The Mind 7"
At Any Cost - Seen Through Shattered Eyes CD

Tomorrows Gone 7"

2010-10-15T21:54:00.002+02:00

Tomorrows Gone was a melodic hardcore band from Las Vegas, NV with a slight raw emotional edge. I normally am not really into this style, but this band does it right. Pretty good stuff. Even though they were around for 4 years they went slightly under the radar and didn't do a lot of records. Apart from a couple of demo's and several contributions to compilations, they did only one release of their own, this self-titled 7", which was released on Element Records in 1997. It includes a Dag Nasty cover, 'One To Two', which doesn't sound out of place here, so that should give you an idea of this bands' general sound. Empathy comes to mind as well, also cuz of the vocals. The band would break up in 1997 after which some members started a new band called Faded Grey and do several releases under that name, including a 7" on Element Records in 1999.

I ripped the 7", even though I also have their discography CD, 'No Way to Make Time Stand Still 1993-1997', which was released on World On Fire Records in 2001. This discography CD is also out-of-print as far as I know but can still be bought from Faded Grey and CD Baby, so get it if you enjoy this 7", it's well worth it. Oh, and on both the 7" and the CD the band name is consistently spelled without an apostrophe, so I went along with it.

This song I sing is not for sale. These words I scream to you are real. No one can ever buy our lives. This music will survive.

Tomorrows Gone 7"

You, Who Are Innocent... compilation 7"

2010-09-29T21:13:00.001+02:00

As requested in the comments section on my previous Tho Ko Losi post, here's the 'You, Who Are Innocent, What Have You Done Worthy Of Death?' compilation 7". Released in 1998 on Catchphraze Records, it's 'a benefit 7 inch for Vegan Outreach & Farm Sanctuary' as explained on the cover. There are 5 bands on here, Upset from Germany (metallic hardcore), Morning Again from Florida (metallic hardcore), Detestation from Oregon (crust/d-beat), the aforementioned Tho Ko Losi from Arizona (grindcore) and Capitali$t Casualties from California (power violence). An awesome benefit compilation with a thick & informative booklet. I coincidentally went vegan the same year this compilation was released in, and I still am. Go vegan!

You, Who Are Innocent, What Have You Done Worthy Of Death? compilation 7"

Tho Ko Losi - Not At Total War... Yet 7"

2010-09-26T15:39:00.004+02:00

I'm not sure what was in the water in Arizona in the mid to late '90s, but it affected the AZ hardcore scene for sure. Bands like Unruh, Wellington, Suicide Nation and Uruk-Hai (pre-Unruh) are all about as harsh & raw as it gets. Another band that falls in line with this group of bands was Tho Ko Losi. Most of the members of Tho Ko Losi would move on Suicide Nation actually. Anyways, Tho Ko Losi played sludgy grindcore that resembles Assück in places (at least to my ears, I'm far from a grindcore expert). In 1997 their only proper record was released, the 'Not At Total War... Yet' 7" on Ben Johnson Records. Five tracks in the aforementioned Assück vein, with lyrics all about their anti-Christian sentiments, from start to finish. I admit I prefer their output as Suicide Nation but this 7" holds up pretty nicely either way. A live-version of 'The Laughing Christ' of this 7" would end up on the 'You, Who Are Innocent, What Have You Done Worthy Of Death?' compilation 7" wich among other bands also featured Capitali$t Casualties & Morning Again. I wholeheartedly recommend this compilation as well, and might post it at some point if there's an interest for it. Till then, enjoy this 7".

Tho Ko Losi - Not At Total War... Yet 7"

Structure Twentyfour - In Our Disposition tape

2010-09-21T21:17:00.005+02:00

Structure Twentyfour was a short-lived straight edge hardcore band from Virginia in the first half of the '90s... Besides a demo from 1993 this is their only proper release, available only on tape. It was released in 1994 on $iege Records, also out of Virginia. It's actually a nice pro-printed tape, and the insert mentions that Structure Twentyfour was sponsored by Vans, haha. The band split up soon after this tape was released, according to their myspace they played exactly 1 show between the release of this tape and their demise. Auch... Anyways, this tape is pretty good stuff, even if it's fairly typical '90s mid-tempo metallic hardcore, with the intricate guitars making this band better than average, adding some Snapcase influences here and there. And songs like 'Underestimate' or 'Tear At The Mountain' are just plain awesome.

BTW, I know the demo and this tape can be downloaded from their Last.fm page. But I still felt like giving this band some attention so I ripped my tape and scanned in the insert regardless.

Structure Twentyfour - In Our Disposition tape
Structure Twentyfour myspace

Colombian Necktie

2010-09-19T13:33:00.005+02:00

As much as I love '90s hardcore, I also love checking out new bands. It's good to know there are still bands popping up that keep me pumped and excited about hardcore. I recently got contacted by a band called Colombian Necktie, a new band out of Los Angeles, about their demo. They're definitely a band that excites me. Rather than taking the now-popular Terror-like and/or breakdown-heavy approach they're opting for a different approach (not that either of those styles are necessarily bad, just really popular right now). They're playing a mixture of dirty, thick & heavy metallic hardcore like Trap Them or Black Ships mixed with some melodic hardcore influences, most clear when they add subtle leads to their songs in various places. Together with the raw vocals, it's an awesome mix. There are 3 songs on this demo which are well-written and have some great lyrics as well. Any band that starts a song ('In Your Absence') with the lyrics 'Fuck your scene, fuck your look, fuck your originality, fuck you' is a keeper in my book. There's also an awesome build-up in 'Black Ash' that is garantueed to be a crowd-pleaser at their live-shows.

All in all, this is a great demo by a cool new band. So give it a shot and support a new band. The band is currently trying to get together & release a DIY split 7" with another great new band called They As In Them. I'm looking forward to this split and whatever else both bands will do in the future.

Colombian Necktie demo
Colombian Necktie myspace

As Darkness Falls - A Tremor So Subtle MCD

2010-09-16T22:09:00.003+02:00

After I posted the As Darkness Falls self-titled 7" on here not too long ago, someone requested a post of their 'A Tremor So Subtle' MCD. And it got requested on xStuck In The Pastx as well (same dude?)... So here it is. It was released in 2000 as a split release on Sadistic Records & On The Rise Records. Not as 'evil' as their 7", this is still a pretty good release. Cool '90s metalcore, a bit 'slicker' than the 7", which might also be cuz it was produced by Steve Evetts (Poison The Well, All Out War, Earth Crisis and a ton more). Musically it reminds me of For The Love Of at times actually. Anyways, a good MCD, give it a try. Underrated band for sure.

As Darkness Falls - A Tremor So Subtle MCD

Positive Youth / Persevere split 7"

2010-09-12T20:10:00.005+02:00

After posting the first release on Facedown Records, here's Facedown Records #2, the Positive Youth / Persevere split 7" from 1998. Positive Youth from California plays youth crew hardcore, plain and simple. I've never really been much of a youth crew person, apart from a few bands, and Positive Youth isn't one of them. It's definitely not bad tho, just not something that stands out in any shape or form for me. Persevere from Maryland have more of a '90s approach with more metallic influences but also softer parts and mixing screamed vocals with soft-spoken vocals. Definitely a band with potential. However, just as with Positive Youth, I have never seen another release by this band. According to their myspace they had enough material for a full-length by the time they disbanded. If anybody has these recordings or their demo, please hit me up.

Positive Youth / Persevere - split 7"
Persevere myspace

No Innocent Victim / Phanatik split 7"

2010-09-10T18:30:00.003+02:00

Here's the first release on Facedown Records, a Christian hardcore label, the No Innocent Victim/Phanatik split 7" which was released in 1998. While I'm not Christian myself, and don't believe in a god or whatever, there are some Christian bands that I can totally get into, even if lyrically I go 'meh' or even 'stfu'... No Innocent Victim is one of them, great & ferocious NYHC-styled hardcore. Hailing from Escondido/San Diego, they started out in 1992 and have had numerous releases on a variety of labels... On this split 7" they're featured with 2 live songs recorded at the legendary CBGB's club in NYC in 1997. Regular studio-versions of these songs appear on their 'No Compromise' album, also from 1997. They're teamed up here with Phanatik from New Jersey, a band I know nothing about, who also have 2 songs on here. Not to be confused with the Christian rapper of the same name btw. Good stuff from Phanatik as well, fairly straight-forward old school NJHC/NYHC. Their songs on this 7" also appear on a couple of compilations, I don't know of any other release they've done.

All in all, if you enjoy old school NYHC, there's a good chance you'll enjoy this 7" as well. Just beware: heavy duty Christian lyrics included.

No Innocent Victim / Phanatik split 7"
No Innocent Victim website

As Darkness Falls - s/t 7"

2010-08-29T16:08:00.000+02:00

I don't know too much about As Darkness Falls, a NJ death metal/hardcore band from NJ in the 2nd half of the '90s. I got this 7" randomly at a show years ago and loved it. Great death metal/hardcore hybrid with 'evil' growls and vocals. Unfortunately there isn't a lot of info online about this band, nor do I remember seeing any interviews. This 7" was released in 1998 on 9 Volt Records & Bush League Records. They also appeared on an awesome compilation that Bush League Records put out the previous year called 'Definitely Not The Majors'. In 2000, they did a follow-up release, the 'A Tremor So Subtle' MCD on On The Rise Records/Sadistic Records. Another good effort, tho not as awesome as this 7", which I might post in the future. In any case, an underrated band. So check it out.

Apparently there's also a NJHC documentary out there which has As Darkness Falls footage (as well as One4One, For The Love Of and more)... Only seen a trailer of it. If anybody has this docu or knows where to get it, please let me know! I need it.

As Darkness Falls 7"

Faction Zero - 'Liberation' CD

2010-08-25T11:11:00.003+02:00

After posting the Faction Zero 1995 demo a couple of days ago, BenB (who does an awesome blog called Thanks, It Came As A Set btw, do check it out!) asked about their 'Liberation' CD. So here it is. Released in 1997 on IJT Records, this CD rocks hard from start to finish. If you enjoyed the demo, you'll enjoy this, and vice versa. They re-recorded all tracks from the demo for this CD. Check the other post for more info on this band and their sound.

Faction Zero - 'Liberation' CD
Faction Zero myspace

Faction Zero 1995 demo

2010-08-21T15:31:00.001+02:00

Faction Zero was a hardcore band out of Clifton, New Jersey, and fairly underrated in my opinion (something most people I know who know this band agree with). Playing a heavy mix of NYHC/NJHC with metallic as well as groove-oriented elements, Faction Zero had a great and fairly unique sound even though they were unmistakeably NYHC/NJHC. I won't get into their history too much, their myspace has a lengthy biography written by band-member Chris D'Alessandro. As explained on their myspace this demo was later re-released as 2 separate 7"s and also on a self-titled CD in 2008 which can still be bought. This rip however is straight from my demo-tape. Great stuff, definitely also try to find a copy of their 'Liberation' CD if you haven't heard it yet, great CD, released on IJT Records, known for the 'New York's Hardest' compilations. All the demo-tracks would be re-recorded for that CD as well.

Faction Zero 1995 demo
Faction Zero myspace

Smackdown - Harder Than Hate CD

2010-08-14T20:59:00.000+02:00

A pretty random & obscure CD from my collection. I know very little about this band from Connecticut. Smackdown started in 1997 and released this 11-song CD in 1998 on SDP, which was their own label. Apart from this album, they appeared on a 7 Seconds cover compilation on Groovecore Records, that's all I know. Overall, this is pretty decent up-tempo straight-forward hardcore, nothing exceptional, but a nice listen nonetheless. It appears the band had Christian leanings ('Humanity') and were also pro-life ('Genocide'). If anybody has any more info on this band, or has a demo or some other recording, please leave a comment or hit me up.

Smackdown - Harder Than Hate CD

Profound Effect - 'Lashing Out' CD

2010-08-13T23:15:00.001+02:00

Here's the full-length of this short-lived 'NYHC supergroup'. Apparently featuring members of S.F.A., Yuppicide, Warzone, Die 116 and Rejuvenate, this band is hard as nails. While not as good as some of their older bands, nor sounding like them really, Profound Effect's album is definitely too good to pass up. A very dark, heavy and raw metal/hardcore hybrid with tough, burly vocals and no melody whatsoever. Also, the usage of samples in some of the songs is killer, they really add to the grim & cold atmosphere of the music. One weird track tho is 'Represent', which is essentially a spoken thanks-list, no joke. The album was released in 1995 on their own D-10 Hard Recordings label in the US and on the infamous Lost & Found Records in Europe (whether it was a legit release or not, I have no idea).

I don't know if the band ever really got out and played or if it was merely a project? Doesn't matter, at least they left us with this album. Lost & Found also put one of the tracks from the CD, 'One In The Chamber', on a split 7" with Killing Time. The same track also appears on several compilations. I don't think Profound Effect did anything else tho? Either way, great CD.

I scanned the layouts of both versions of the CD and included them with the download. Notice how the L&F layout is almost identical to the D-10 layout, but with different fonts and other fairly minor changes.

Profound Effect - Lashing Out CD

Strength Through Diversity Compilation

2010-08-09T21:39:00.001+02:00

Here's another '90s hardcore/metalcore compilation. 'Strength Through Diversity Compilation' was released on Upfront Records, in 1996 or 1997. Upfront Records was a label run by Darrell Tauro, frontman of Groundzero (currently in Wrench In The Works), who are also featured on this CD. It's got plenty of great '90s bands, some relatively well-known, some not so much. Here's the full list of bands: Drowning Room, Groundzero, Ghidrah, Life Drowning, Follow Through, Silent Mourning, Section 8, Beyond Reason, Tenfold, Inner Dam, Age Of Reason, Tyrant Trooper, Leela, Red Tide, Voice Of Reason, Eventide, Capharnaum, Chokepuppy, Coming Correct, Divided By Hate. Almost 3/4th of the bands were from Connecticut, and the rest from New York (state), New Jersey and Massachussetts. Plenty of greatness to be found here, as well as some mediocre tracks, but overall a good compilation. Check it out, there's bound to be at least 1 or 2 bands on here you've not heard before and will like.

Strength Through Diversity Compilation CD

Crosscheck - Persist 7"

2010-07-28T20:38:00.004+02:00

I imagine it's been close to 10 years since I last listened to this 7". One of those 7"s I got, played a couple of times and liked quite a bit, but that still ended up getting lost somewhere in the vinyl pile anyway. I gave it a spin again earlier tonight, and as I was listening to it I decided to post it on here. I totally forgot how good this 7" is. Unfortunately I know very little about this band tho. Crosscheck were from Iowa/Illinois, and singer Greg Thompson was also in a band called Butt Lynt, which I only know cuz he was mentioned on the amazing Double Cross Webzine. They released this 7" in 1995 on Ignition Records out of Vermont, its 1st (and only?) release. Good mid-tempo hardcore with pretty decent lyrics. Nothing outstanding, but good stuff nonetheless. I would love to hear more of this band if anybody has a demo or whatever.

Also, if anybody has info on this band, please leave a comment. It would be especially awesome if someone can say whether or not the Brian Peterson who plays bass on this 7" is the same one who wrote the 'Burning Fight' book. Seems he is!

Crosscheck - Persist 7"

Ultimatum self-titled MCD

2010-07-26T16:15:00.001+02:00

Here's the self-released & self-titled MCD of Ultimatum, the first Australian vegan sXe metalcore band. They started out in 1995 and broke up in 2000. After one demo in 1995, they self-released this EP in 1997. Afterwards they also did a split with Australian band Not For You in 2000 before calling it quits. They also appeared on several compilations, 2 of which I ripped and blogged about before here and here. There's quite some info on their Wikipedia page, so I won't repeat it all. Damn good heavy mid-tempo vegan sXe metalcore that should appeal to plenty of readers of this blog. Just check it out.

Ultimatum - s/t MCD
Ultimatum myspace

Cutthroat - Hatebreedsrage CD

2010-07-12T21:25:00.002+02:00

Cutthroat out of Clifton Park, NY. A tight, hard & heavy mix between hardcore and Pantera-like metal. I was lucky enough that this release's label, Ruffneck Records, sent me this CD and Section 8's first CD to review back in the day. Both bands are awesome, and their records are quite hard to come by unfortunately. This album, 'Hatebreedsrage', was released in 1995 and it's hard, really hard. The only other stuff I have by this band are the songs they contributed to the 'East Coast Assault II' compilation, which I ripped and uploaded here. They also appeared on a few more compilations. If tracks such as 'Hate Breeds Rage' or 'This World' don't make you want to punch a hole in the wall, I don't know what will. Apparently Cutthroat did 2 more albums after this one, but I've never seen either of them, and info on this band seems pretty hard to come by online. ~~If anybody has any of their other records, hook me up!~~ Thanxxx to Andrew & Fred for hooking me up!

Cutthroat - Hatebreedsrage CD
Cutthroat myspace

Shutdown - Demo 1996

2010-06-16T21:09:00.004+02:00

Shutdown started out in NYC in 1994 and lasted till the early 2000's. They played a sweet mix of heavy NYC and more posi youth crew inspired hardcore, especially cuz of the more high-pitched vocals of Mark Scondotto. He's Mike Scondotto's little brother btw, who's known from bands such as Confusion and Inhuman. They've done a bunch of records including a split 7" with Indecision and several albums on Victory Records. This demo was done in 1996, and I believe 4 of these 5 songs ended up on the 'XDecideX' 7". The sound-quality is pretty shitty, but hey, it's a demo, take it or leave it.

As a sidenote, Shutdown is back together and even writing a new album according to their myspace. Sweet!

Shutdown - Demo 1996
Shutdown myspace

New Tools For The Hunter compilation CD

2010-06-16T18:53:00.007+02:00

'New Tools For The Hunter: An Australian Hardcore Compilation' is a hardcore compilation from 1997, featuring 10 Australian hardcore bands doing 2 tracks each. It was released on First Blood Records, a label formerly known as X Jedi Knight Productions X, and run by people from the band Shadowcast. Not sure if the label released anything else? Anyways, the quality of the bands is pretty mixed, and with styles ranging from NYHC to old school hardcore to metalcore to emocore to rocking hardcore with a saxophone. Yeah, a saxophone. Standout bands for me are Mindsnare (heavy hardcore), Ultimatum (vegan sXe metalcore) and the aforementioned Shadowcast (heavy metallic hardcore with enviro-/socio-political lyrics). Overall a good overview of the Australian hardcore scene from the late '90s.

From the insert:

Hardcore is a vehicle. Hardcore is an instrument. Hardcore is a weapon. It is a means of expression. An outlet for ideas. A conveyor of emotion. Hardcore is an instrument from which we create solutions. It is a weapon against the outside world. It is a vehicle to channel out our hurt, our pain, our fear, our anger and our defiance. Hardcore is our outlet. Hardcore is our instrument. It is our weapon. This is hardcore and these are our New Tools For The Hunter...

New Tools For The Hunter compilation CD (using mediafire now, old zShare link expired)

Eleventh Hour - Sifting Through The Ashes 7"

2010-05-24T18:57:00.004+02:00

Eleventh Hour was a hardcore band from Texas, and was around from 1993 to 1997. Here's the 1994 vinyl re-release of their 1993 demo. Good straight-forward hardcore with some slower and more metallic parts and pissed off vocals. Lyrically it deals with issues such as vivisection and the destruction of the rain-forest, and besides the lyrics in the booklet there's also an explanation of the lyrics for each song, which is always a cool thing. Besides this demo/7" the band also appeared on a couple of compilations. Check out their myspace for more information.

Eleventh Hour - Sifting Through The Ashes 7"
Eleventh Hour myspace

Third Age - s/t MCD

2010-05-23T13:23:00.001+02:00

Third Age was a rocking, emotive & metallic hardcore band from Rhode Island in the first half of the '90s. After a demo they released 'The Furthest West' 7" in 1993, a self-titled 7" in 1994 and a full-length called 'Super Natural' which was recorded in 1995 but wasn't released until a couple of years later, around the time they split up, in 1997. I managed to get copies of the 7"s on one of my trips to Amherst, MA. I got em at the Mystery Train record store with a bunch of other records in the 2nd hand section. I also ended up spending way too much money at the Newbury Comics in Amherst on those trips... Oh well. Anyways... I enjoyed the EP's and got the CD version of the 2nd 7" soon thereafter, which compiles both 7"s. I got the CD here in the Netherlands oddly enough, tho I don't think too many people over here know this band really. I ripped the CD but also included scans of the 7"s with the download. I was never really into the instrumental track, 'The Time It Takes', but the other tracks are great emotive & rocking hardcore with a metallic edge and with good sung vocals (in that '90s vein, not the current shitty clean vocals that are so popular), especially 'Natural Law' is awesome. Bands like Standpoint and Cross-Section come to mind. Unfortunately I never managed to get my hands on the full-length, so if anybody has a copy they want to get rid of, lemme know.

Third Age - s/t MCD
Third Age myspace

With One Intent

2010-05-13T15:46:00.001+02:00

Back in the '90s when I was still active on the alt.music.hardcore newsgroup, one guy who would promote his band on there was Andy Cambria. He played guitar in With One Intent from Massachussetts, and eventually ended up sending me the 'Mass. Hardcore' demo of his band sometime in early 1997 cuz of being on the newsgroup. I enjoyed the demo quite a bit. Raw and tough hardcore, good stuff. With One Intent were around for about 3 years and did 2 demo's, a mini-CD and a split 7" with Reach The Sky (which was originally going to be a split 7" with Blood For Blood). I included all of these here. They also appeared on several compilations, including a compilation called 'Fear No Evil' (Last Word Records) that my old band Disdain was on as well, but since that track was also on their MCD I didn't include it. Anyways, check it out, With One Intent were a good band that didn't get the recognition they deserved in my opinion.

Here's a biography I found online:

WITH ONE INTENT formed in November of 1996. After only one month of rehearsals, the band went into the studio and recorded their first demo, entitled 'Mass. Hardcore'. This was quickly followed up with a new recording in the Summer of 1997, entitled 'Complete failure'. The 'Complete failure' demo earned the band the recognition they have come to enjoy to date. This demo showed the band as a force to be reckoned with on the hardcore scene and received praise from the US, Europe and Japan. The four songs on the demo showed a progression to a much heavier style. After the release of 'Complete failure', With One Intent began to play more shows in New England and the surrounding States including New York and Pennsylvania. In January of 1998, the band returned to the studio to record 'Leaving it all behind', their debut EP on RPP. This effort contains 6 new recordings and promises to catapult the band to the next level of notoriety in the hardcore community. The band is also featured on a split 7" on Back Ta Basics Records (run by Rick Ta Life) with Boston's REACH THE SKY and compilations on Last Word Records from Syracuse, NY with Faction Zero, Cipher, Neck and others and on Lost Disciple Record's upcoming Boston hardcore compilation.

LineUp (1998) : Seamus Foy : vocals - Andy Cambria : guitas - Rudy Dormitzer : bass - Mark Sarno : drums

With One Intent - Mass. Hardcore demo
With One Intent - Complete Failure demo
With One Intent - Leaving It All Behind MCD
With One Intent / Reach The Sky split 7"

Atlas Shrugged - 1992 demo

2010-05-05T22:27:00.003+02:00

After posting an Atlas Shrugged 7" on xStuck In The Pastx, I figured it was time to post their 1992 demo as well. So here it is, showcasing Atlas Shrugged in its earliest form. It's an awesome & raw sounding demo, and definitely already shows the genius this band would portray in their future music. The band would re-record all of these songs for their first proper release, the 'The Last Season' LP, which was released in 1993 on singer Chris Weinblad's own label, Trip Machine Laboratories. Hopefully there will be an Atlas Shrugged discography on Trip Machine Laboratories sooner rather than later.

Atlas Shrugged - 1992 demo
Atlas Shrugged myspace

Thoughts Of Ionesco - s/t 7"

2010-05-03T20:41:00.004+02:00

Yesterday, I finally watched the 'For An End' documentary DVD that comes with the 'The Scar Is Our Watermark' CD by Detroit maniacs Thoughts Of Ionesco. Amazing documentary about an awesome band, intense & insane does not even begin to describe this band. Fucking art. I've been into this band since the late '90s when I first heard them on their '...And Then There Was Motion' LP. One of the most self-destructive, pained and intense bands of the '90s. I'm not gonna write much more about them or their music, but I'll just quote part of a biography of theirs that says it all:

The trio, whose collective mental stability was often called into question by even those close to them, was most often compared to My War-era Black Flag, mixing hatred and aggression with super-heavy riffs, free jazz exploration, a brutal live show, and hefty doses of nihilism, self-loathing, and pure masochistic rage to produce a sound wholly challenging and frequently misunderstood. Thoughts of Ionesco were in a class of their own; their performances were notoriously destructive -- instruments were smashed in minutes, walls were kicked in, blood was shed, bottles were thrown -- as the bandmembers showed absolutely no regard for themselves or the "fans" they couldn't be bothered to care about. For them, only the music mattered.

Here is their 1st 7", from 1996, released on Cascade Records.

Thoughts Of Ionesco - s/t 7"
Thoughts Of Ionesco myspace

Hermon Dekalb - 'To Repossess The Heart' MCD

2010-04-28T22:33:00.000+02:00

Plenty of stuff has been written about Syracuse and its hardcore scene & bands, both old and new. One band that doesn't get mentioned as often as it should in my opinion, is Hermon Dekalb. Hermon Dekalb were around in the late '90s and unfortunately didn't release a whole lot. Apart from demo('s) and some compilations (such as the Syracuse Hardcore comp and the Hex comp 7"), I don't know of any proper HD release besides their 'To Repossess The Heart' MCD which was released on Temperance Records in 1999, which I ripped and uploaded here. They had a sound of their own, combining quieter parts with powerful metallic hardcore into an awesome blend (3rd track 'How I Spent My Summer Vacation' is the perfect example). I wish this band had done more, but at least they did this MCD. Enjoy.

Keith In Hell, of Hellfest fame, played bass in this band btw. Members went on to bands such as Found Dead Hanging, The Funeral, Prisoner, Darker Day Tomorrow and The August Prophecy.

Hermon Dekalb - 'To Repossess The Heart' MCD
Hermon Dekalb myspace

1.6 Band releases new 7"

2010-04-28T11:45:00.003+02:00

After Beyond folded, singer Kevin Egan formed a new band, 1.6 Band. During their short existence, from 1991 to 1993, they released a couple of 7"s (including a split 7" with Rorschach), an LP and a discography CD which was released on Gern Blandsten in 1995. I'm not familiar with the LP nor the discography CD, but the 7"s are really good. Recently the band re-united for some shows and they even recorded a new 7", entitled 'The Checkered Pasts of All Kings Present'. The 7" is available from Metastasis Records, and can also be downloaded for free from the Metastasis website. 4 More great quirky & rocking hardcore tracks. So what's stopping you from checking it out?

Corrin - Earth Scorned Beauty demo

2010-04-08T20:39:00.004+02:00

Corrin from Rhode Island were one of the many awesome metalcore bands from the New England area in the mid '90s, such as Overcast, Converge, Fortydaysrain, Cave-In, Barrit, etc... Despite being an amazing band with their own sound, they didn't do a lot of proper releases. There's the 'Despair Rides On Angel Wings' 7" from 1995 on Hydrahead Records and the split 7" with Arise from 1996 on Devils Head & Infidel Records and that's it. A couple of years after those releases, in 1998, and after Corrin had broken up, a discography CD called 'Plutonian Shores' was released, again on Infidel Records. It also includes this 'Earth Scorned Beauty' demo from 1995, which was recorded at the same time as the 7". Despite the demo also being on the CD, I decided to rip the original tape, so here are the tracks in their original form and not the remastered versions.

Singer Jesse Leach (spelled 'Leeche' on the demo and the 7") would move on to be the original singer for Killswitch Engage and also fronted Nothing Gold Can Stay (Corrin guitarist Joe Cantrell also played in this band), Seemless and currently The Empire Shall Fall & Times Of Grace. Other bands with former Corrin members include The Game, Breakthrough and The Radio Speaks.

Corrin - Earth Scorned Beauty demo
Corrin myspace

Gandiva 7"

2010-03-30T22:00:00.001+02:00

Here's the first release on Devils Head Recordings, the label done by Adam Dutkiewicz of Aftershock (RIP) and Killswitch Engage. This 7" by Gandiva was released in 1997. Gandiva was a pretty short-lived band from East Longmeadow, MA, from what I gathered they started sometime in 1996 and ended in late 1997, after doing only 2 demo's and this 7", besides compilations. I don't have either demo unfortunately, but apparently the 3 songs on this 7" are re-recorded songs off the 2nd demo. Either way, this is a really good & solid 7". Solid '90s metalcore like Aftershock, with the second song being borderline emo-metal like New Day Rising. They also have multiple members doing vocals, sometimes doing their own thing at the same time, which works really well for them.

Judging by the band-name and the thanks-list, the band or some of its members might have been krishna-conscious, but I'm not sure. I couldn't find too much info on this band or this 7" unfortunately. I also have a compilation 7", 'Vibratory Disturbance 2', that they're on with a song that's not on this 7", I might post it at some time in the future. Members went on to bands such as Year Of Our Lord, Barrit, Cave-In and Hallraker. And I'm sorry about the pop in 'Searcher', I couldn't get rid of it.

Gandiva - s/t 7"

Trial By Jury - 'Ignite' 7"

2010-03-21T15:29:00.005+01:00

Here is, in my opinion, the best record done by Trial By Jury, a band from Hampton, Virginia, who were around in the 1st half of the '90s. This is their 2nd 7", 'Ignite', which was released on Last Stand Records out of Germany in 1992. Amazing music, great vocals, thoughtful and great lyrics, this 7" was way ahead of its time in my mind. A band like Worlds Collide comes to mind at times, but also Betrayed, whose 7" I posted a while back. The only flaw I can find on this record is that some of the songs seem to have no real ending, it's almost like they're unfinished. Still, I absolutely love this 7".

Here's a short biography taken from their myspace:

Trial By Jury formed around 1990, and shortly therafter recorded our demo featuring 6 songs in 1991. The following spring 4 of the tracks were released on 7" vinyl as "the demo 1991". Shortly after, German based label Last Stand Records, released the "Ignite" 7". In late 1992 Trial By Jury was picked up by Outback Records and over the next year released the "Alter" 7", as well as the first full length album, "Fortune Cookie". Shortly after "Fortune Cookie" was released the band called it quits. During the few years the band was together members came and went, resulting in a progression of styles throughout the duration of the band.

If anybody wants me to post some of their other records, just leave a comment or something. ~~And if anybody has their demo (the actual demo, not the demo 7", which I do have, but contains only half of the tracks from the real demo), please get in touch.~~ I have the demo now, awesome.

BTW, does anybody know if Craig Moore from Trial By Jury is the same guy as the one who played for As It Stands/Mayday? Same area, same period in time and all.

Trial By Jury - Ignite 7"
Trial By Jury myspace

Kobe City Hardcore comp 7"

2010-03-18T20:40:00.003+01:00

This compilation 7" from 1996 became part of my collection for one reason and one reason only... John Holmez is on it. I don't mean John Holmes the porn actor or the UK hardcore band John Holmes, but the Japanese hardcore band from the mid '90s. Excellent heavy & semi-metallic hardcore, the band helped build a hardcore scene in Japan, enough so that in 2002 or so, a 'Tribute to John Holmez' compilation CD was released with bands such as T.J. Maxx, Strength and Sand covering a song of theirs. I might put some more John Holmez material on here at some point, good stuff for sure. The recording is not that great, and I prefer their later recordings for sure, but still... It's all good.

This 3-band compilation 7" features, as the title suggests, 3 bands from Kobe, Japan. The most well-known band on here tho, is Argue Damnation. Pretty sweet & raging crust-punk/hardcore, this band was a force to be reckoned with from 1994 to 2004. The third band on here, Big One Gum, well... They play pretty straight forward old school hardcore. The band was presumably named after a line of toys sold in Japan at the time, but other than that I know nothing about the band.

The label, MCR, did this 7" as part of a series of compilation 7"s focusing on the punk & hardcore scenes in various Japanese cities. You can see a full list here. I don't have any of the other ones btw, so don't bother asking. The sleeve is a 4-panel fold out poster, with nothing printed on the back side. Since the images on the 4 panels aren't connected, I kept the scans separate as well.

Kobe City Hardcore comp 7"

Intent - s/t 7"

2010-03-07T15:38:00.001+01:00

I got this 7" with a bunch of other random records a while ago. I didn't know anything about the band, and I pretty much still don't. Still, a great piece of vinyl. Up-tempo hardcore with some more rocking bits. It reminds me of Billingsgate a lot, and I love Billingsgate. This version was released on Punchline Records in 1990 on beautiful marbled blue vinyl, limited to 500 copies, mine's number 99. However, there's also another pressing, also from 1990, on Redemption Records, not sure what's up with that. I suppose I'll have to find a copy of it to find out. They also appeared on the 'Voice Of Thousands' compilation, and that's about as much as I know of this band. I don't know if they did anything else or what the members did before or after. There's no contact information listed, but this was recorded in Austin, TX so I can only assume this band was from Texas. So if you have any information about this band, leave a comment or something!

For those who are wondering, this is not the Intent from Albany, NY that Nate Wilson (Monster X, Devoid Of Faith, Das Oath, Gloom Records) was in. Same period in time, different bands.

Intent - s/t 7" (re-upped)

Shinkasta MCD (New Zealand)

2010-03-05T12:05:00.000+01:00

Shinkasta from New Zealand, not to be confused with the shitty Canadian altrock band Shikasta. This band actually ruled. If I remember correctly I received this MCD from one of the members of Shinkasta whom I met on IRC 'back in the day', even wrote a review of it for some webzine I contributed to back then. Haven't seen them mentioned a whole lot since and it's quite a shame, this is a pretty solid record that should appeal to quite some people who visit this blog. Released in 1996 on Barricade Records, also out of New Zealand, this MCD has 5 songs recorded in a studio on it plus 2 live-recordings added to the 5th track. The live-recordings don't really add too much here tho. Either way, good and relatively obscure band and record (esp outside of New Zealand). If yer into heavy mid-tempo & metallic hardcore like Strain, you'll enjoy this. So check it out.

Here's a short bio that my man Ca$hdog in New Zealand wrote up on Shinkasta:

Shinkasta formed in Hamilton, New Zealand in 1992/93 and although they only released this one singular release for those who saw them live they left quite a legacy. Since they stopped playing in 1996 the members have been in various other heavy bands. The singer Bennett went onto sing for Daredevil, the guitarist Stu played guitar for State of Grace, The bass player Mark played bass in Vargas, The Redshift and joined Evil Priest, the drummer Andrew played drums for Vargas.

Shinkasta MCD

Cyclops - Cradle Of Man's Mistakes 7"

2010-02-28T15:47:00.005+01:00

Even if yer not the biggest Man Is The Bastard fan (such as myself, I find MITB to be hit or miss), you gotta respect the unrelenting pace at which the band-members have pumped out records throughout the years, and their musical adventurism. Whether it's thru MITB or any of the many side-projects and other bands they did before, during and after MITB's life-span. Cyclops is one such a side-project/band. Cyclops was a short-lived band that Eric Wood and Joel Connell of MITB fame did right before they started MITB. They had both been in Pissed Happy Children and Pillsbury Hardcore before that and Cyclops happened around the same time as Neanderthal and right before Charred Remains/MITB. Cyclops was around from 1989 to 1991 and released only 2 7"s. Here is one of them.

This one-sided 7" from 1991, their 2nd and last, features 2 songs. You can really hear the more jazz/progrock oriented influences of MITB in Cyclops. Before Iceburn incorporated jazz & progrock into their sound, before MITB fused it with grindcore, Cyclops was doing it. The end-result is quite amazing, if I may say so. This is a 'hit' for me, basically. MITB would actually later re-record the 2nd track of this 7", 'Me & Hitler'. I'm still looking for the 1st 7" btw, if anybody has it, lemme know (I do have it on MP3, I want the actual 7").

Cyclops - Cradle Of Man's Mistakes 7"

Slowsidedown - s/t 7"

2010-02-27T18:34:00.005+01:00

Slowsidedown was a band from Portland, OR in the mid '90s. They released 2 7"s, and appeared on a couple of compilations. Here is their 1st, self-titled, 7" released in 1995 on Red Alert Works, also out of Portland, OR. Maybe it was the label of one of the band-members? Either way, this is excellent semi-spastic mid '90s hardcore/emo with a lot of tension and intensity in the songs. Think Angel Hair, New Day Rising, etc... But I suppose the manila envelope cover this 7" comes in already gives the style away. The really cool artwork of this 7" and the insert was done by a guy called Jason Swivel. Either he, the band or the label was nice enough to include a hand-made postcard as promotion for his graphical design work with this 7", which is a nice touch. Anyways, after this 7", they did a 7" on Excursion Records which I unfortunately do not own. The singer later sang for Jayhawker and Pistols At Dusk. Other members went on to The Transplants.

Slowsidedown - s/t 7"

Bowel - Rotten Fecal Duct CD

2010-02-21T14:28:00.008+01:00

This was a 'project'/joke-band from Cleveland, Ohio, made up of Integrity and One Life Crew members (Leon & Aaron Melnick and Tony Pines were involved if I remember correctly). Mean Steve did vocals (thanxxx to Andrew Aversionline for the info). Apart from a demo (which I don't have) this is the only release of theirs I know about, they also appear on the 'Dark Empire Strikes Back' compilation but with 'Barbicution' which is also featured on this CD. This CD was released on Dwid Integrity's Dark Empire label in 1994. Sick, but simplistic, grindcore with some absolutely punishing mid-tempo parts. I'm not much of a grindcore fan, so maybe this is pretty average as far as grindcore goes? Either way, who cares, just check it out. The intro 'Construction Boot Stomp' is about as crushing as an intro can get. You can also hear some Integrity influences in the guitar parts, such as the leads/solo in 'Hacked Humans'. All in all, I dig it.

This CD is actually a split CD, altho you wouldn't have guessed it if you saw the CD. The other band on here, The Guns, is only mentioned inside the booklet, and even then only with a tracklist. From what I gathered these tracks were added without permission from the bandmembers. I am not sure why these are added to the CD as The Guns were a hardcore punk band from the early/mid '80s and I'm pretty sure no member would eventually end up in Bowel. The only connection I know of is that The Guns were also from Cleveland. Pretty decent stuff tho, just a totally wrong band for a split with Bowel. 2 members of The Guns went on to a band called The Dark. Both of them have passed away unfortunately. RIP.

Here's a video of Bowel doing 'Rotten Fecal Duct':

Bowel - Rotten Fecal Duct CD
Bowel myspace

Direction comp 7"

2010-02-15T22:51:00.000+01:00

I recently got my hands on this sweet little compilation 7" from 1997. I mainly got it for Disciple (when they were still called Disciple) and Stretch Arm Strong. But it's a cool compilation all around. It was released on Snacktime Records out of Seattle, WA.

Step Ahead kick things off with a hardcore track in the SOIA vein. Nothing more, nothing less, decent stuff you've heard a gazillion times before... If I'm not mistaken, one of the people in this band would eventually end up in Paint It Black? Actually I wouldn't mind hearing more by this band.
Disciple's track 'Eyewitness' would later be re-recorded for the 'Imitation Of Love' album, and this version would be included on the 'Doxology' album. Gotta love the rough edge that Disciple always had on their recordings. And those vocals, man... Good stuff. Not their best track, but basically you can't go wrong with this band.
I think Stretch Arm Strong's track 'Prevail' is exclusive to this 7", but I'm not sure. While I enjoy some of their stuff, they were never one of my fave bands, but this is a pretty good track. I dig it. If you like fast & posi hardcore (without being youth crew), you'll like this. Way better than the melodic stuff from their last few albums.
Rightstart starts off with a cool Snapcase 'Lookinglasself'-like guitar-riff but quickly shifts into youth crew hardcore mode with lyrics about 'bringing it back, the spirit of youth' and fingerpointing and their local C.H.U.B. crew. It's pretty decent, albeit fairly average stuff. Too bad their lyrics aren't included with this 7", deep stuff for sure.
Closing band 24th Solution, a sXe hardcore band, brings to the table a pretty cool hardcore track with some slight Downset. influences and pretty decent anti-corporate lyrics. Pretty good stuff, and closing off a relatively obscure, but solid compilation 7".

Various - Direction 7"
Sorry, couldn't find a page for Step Ahead anywhere
Disciple myspace
Stretch Arm Strong
Rightstart myspace
24th Solution myspace

Hang The Bastard / Abolition split 7"

2010-02-15T19:13:00.001+01:00

Not exactly a record from the '90s, but whatever, plenty of '90s worshipping going on here... 2 Excellent bands from London, UK, and released by cool people, what's not to support/love?! I already knew Hang The Bastard from their 'Raw Sorcery' MCD and the 2 songs on here continue in the same vein. Incredibly metallic hardcore with sick vocals, there are plenty of Ringworm/Integrity/Kickback influences throughout but they also have more doom & straight up metal influences, tho these 2 tracks are less doom-y than the tracks on the MCD. If you're familiar with their MCD you'll want this for sure tho.

Abolition totally falls in the '90s hardcore category with their up-tempo hardcore that's similar to bands like Strife, Unashamed, Outspoken and Trial. Quality stuff. Anybody who knows me knows I live for this kinda hardcore, so these 2 tracks definitely give me an appetite for more Abolition. Really solid hardcore, I hope this band won't disband any time soon like so many who seem to come up, release a few kick-ass songs and then disappear again.

I don't have the artwork/full packaging for this as it's not released yet, so I can't comment on the lyrics or anything artwork related. But I have heard all the tracks on here and am loving it a lot, a sweet split 7" from start to finish. Pre-orders for this record are up on the Disposable Culture UK webstore now.

Hang The Bastard - Most Will Swim On A Lake Of Fire
Abolition - No Remorse
Disposable Culture UK webstore
Hang The Bastard myspace
Abolition myspace

Social Disorder

2010-02-13T17:56:00.001+01:00

Again a request. Here are the Social Disorder 'Media Lies' 7" and 'Goin' The Distance' CD. Great 'crossover' hardcore in the vein of Dmize, Leeway ('Desperate Measures' album) and such. I first came across this band on the first 'East Coast Assault' compilation. After doing a bunch of demo's, the 'Media Lies' 7" was released on Bodonksi Records out of Germany in 1990. Good stuff for sure, especially the title track. It sounds like a band that comes from a hardcore background and is trying to add a harder, more crossover type style to their sound, but isn't quite there yet. Solid 7" overall tho, especially side B is great. 'Media Lies' and 'Violent Times' would be re-recorded for their full-length.

In 1992, the infamous German Lost & Found Records released the 'Goin' The Distance' full-length. I have no idea whether this was an official release or not, it appears it is. Either way, I got this on CD pretty quickly after I discovered this band on the aforementioned 'East Coast Assault' compilation, it took me a bit longer to get my hands on a copy of the 'Media Lies' 7". Good stuff, and I've always liked this style of vocals quite a bit. Also, great lyrics which display a critical attitude towards mainstream media, society and human behavior but also more personal issues such as depression and the loss of a loved one. And musically it just rages, great riffs and I don't mind the solo's on this album, solid musicians. It's also a bit slower than the 7", and overall is a great crossover NYHC album.

For more info on the band, check their myspace and this wikipedia page. I don't have any of their demo's unfortunately, leave a comment or something if you do, would love to hear them! This band ruled hard, so if you don't know them already and are into crossover metallic NYHC, do check this out.

Social Disorder - Media Lies 7"
Social Disorder - Goin' The Distance CD
Social Disorder myspace

Lament - Levitate CD

2010-02-08T18:50:00.002+01:00

A few days ago I fucked up in my post on the Lament 7" where I asked about other recordings, only to realize, after somebody left a comment, I have had their full-length in my collection for quite some time! I know I'm older than most kids listening to hardcore right now (I'm 36) and my memory is shitty, I just hoped it wouldn't be this shitty, hahaha... Anyways, Alex from Italy left a comment as well after I acknowledged I do have the CD, requesting a rip of the full-length, so here it is. This CD was released on Too Damn Hype Records in 1994. Too Damn Hype released some great records over time, some of which I've posted about in the past both on here (East Coast Assault comp and Philly Dust Krew comp) and on xStuck In The Pastx (East Coast Assault 2 comp). The label was done by Met from Dare To Defy, who also did Chord zine and Chord Records, and runs (at least I hope they didn't close down) a punk/hardcore record store in Philly. Anyways, after listening to it again after a bunch of years, I still prefer the 7", but I have to admit it's a solid CD. Enjoy!

Lament - Levitate CD