Hope (Delusion) 7"

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

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

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"

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

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

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

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