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

As Darkness Falls - s/t 7"

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

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

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

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