You, Who Are Innocent... compilation 7"

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"

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

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

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

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"

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"

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