Here's one of countless benefit compilations that were put out in the 90s, one of the more obscure ones. This one was 'a benefit for Toronto Friends of the Lubicon legal defense fund'. It dealt with the struggle of the Lubicon Cree natives against a big paper manufacturer called Daishowa who wanted to cut trees from the Lubicon land. I've also scanned the inserts so you can read up about it, or if you can't wait, here's a lot more info about the issue. This 7-band, 8-track 7" was released in 1998 as a joint effort between Hit The Ground Running and A-Team Records, both from Greensboro, NC.
Bands on here are Noisome Faugh, Reversal Of Man, Synguya, Racetraitor, Dropdead, President's Choice and Passafist. There's quite a bit of variation between bands stylistically, everything from noise to grindcore to screamo to hardcore punk. The Reversal Of Man track only appears on their 'Discography' CD on Schematics Records (and is called 'Theory Of Lamastra' there instead of 'Theory Of La Masastra' as it appears on here). The Racetraitor track is an early track of theirs which doesn't appear on any of their other releases and has an even more muffled, cardboard box like production than Chokehold (so you gotta love it). The Dropdead track is taken from one of their LP's I believe. I know absolutely nothing about some of the other bands (and in Synguya's case, I have zero desire to hunt down their other stuff), so those might be exclusive to this compilation, I have no idea. Reversal Of Man is the standout band/track on here for me, their track slays, as always. It's not the best 90s compilation by any stretch of the imagination, but it was for a good cause and has a pretty varied line-up. Check it out if yer into any of the aforementioned bands.
Faultline was a outspoken political straight edge hardcore band from Connecticut. They played metallic new school hardcore, with lyrics dealing with various issues of sociopolitical and environmental nature. For whatever reason this band seemed to never have gotten the recognition they deserved. Maybe they were too political for the crowd that could appreciate their mosh/chugga chugga style, and too 'tough' for the more PC crowd that could appreciate their lyrics and politics? Who knows... What I do know is that they were awesome. The self-titled 7" was released on Alliance Records in 1994/1995 and is a great example of how politics and chugga chugga don't bite. I believe this 7" was first released on Faultline's own Earth House Records tho? It's got some good mid-tempo chugga chugga parts, combined with the heartfelt vocals that were such an important part of Faultline's sound. It's a shame my copy of this 7" doesn't have the insert, which I assume did come with it originally, I would love to read the lyrics more properly.
In 1996 the follow up to the 7" was released as a split release between the awesome Endless Fight Records and Earth House Records. The 'Roots Of The Rape Culture' CD brought a more refined sound. It continued the in the same vein as the 7", and there were still chugga chugga/mosh parts, but the band had incorporated a few more influences, and the vocals had a slightly more hiphop-like delivery. There are also 2 spoken words tracks on here, to reiterate the political nature of the band. It is an awesome album, with some really great and intense lyrics which are definitely worth a read.
There's not that much information about Faultline online, so I don't know what else they released besides this 7" and the 'Roots Of The Rape Culture' CD. I do have a couple of compilations they appeared on, altho with tracks from the 'Roots Of The Rape Culture' CD so no additional tracks/recordings unfortunately. These comps include the 3rd installment of the Over The Edge compilations which I blogged about here as well as the 'Youth For Justice' comp CD on Earth House Records on which they contributed 2 Faultline tracks as well as a few spoken words tracks by the singer. I ripped these spoken words tracks for those who are interested in them. If anybody has any more information about this underrated band, please share! Enjoy!
Here's a vid of them performing 'Separate' from the 7" at a show:
...is a '90s hardcore blog, tho there might be some exceptions. Just some records and demo's from that era that I feel need to be heard. Despite the over-abundance of '90s hardcore mp3 blogs, and punk & hardcore mp3 blogs in general, I will try to put music on here that is worthwhile and isn't featured on other blogs.
If you're in a new band that is in some way inspired by 90s hardcore (of any kind), and want me to write something about your band as a 'new blood' feature, contact me here. No guarantees tho, my time is limited and I might not like your band anyways.
I also post photos of my record collection, among other things, on Instagram as @xhcnoirx. Check it out and follow me if you feel like it.
If you see a missing download you are interested in, leave a comment and I'll try to re-up it asap.
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Vegan sXe hardcore fanatic. My fave music is '90s metallic hardcore, however I listen to all kinds of hardcore, from '80s DC hardcore to '90s emo to current beatdown and pretty much anything inbetween. And yes, I love 108.
