Holdstrong - Gaining Ground 7"

I've done posts before on releases on Pin Drop Records like the Crosscurrent 7" and the Fall From Grace/Polyglot split 7", so today I decided to post the first Pin Drop Records release, Holdstrong's 'Gaining Ground' 7", released in 1994. Holdstrong was a hardcore band from Massachusetts which started out in 1993 and lasted till the late '90s, and unfortunately they never got the recognition they deserved in my opinion. Like I used to do (and still do), I picked up this 7" at a distro at a show based on its looks and the amount of my money still left in my wallet, heh. Must've been some time around 1995/1996 and it was also my first encounter with Pin Drop Records, which was run by one of the Holdstrong members (I think their guitarist, Bill Cole?). Fairly straight-forward mid-tempo crunchy hardcore, just the way I like it, and Holdstrong did this style really well. This was their first proper record, and I loved this 7" from the first time I gave it a spin. They improved their sound with every subsequent record, all of which would also be released on Pin Drop Records. But as with so many bands/records, the first record you hear is often the one that you go back to the most. But even so, every record they did was awesome, so don't hesitate to check out this band/their other records.

Holdstrong - Gaining Ground 7"

Legion - Hell At Last 7"

Legion666 is a Canadian black metal/death metal/crustpunk band which has been around since 1998. In 1999 the 'Hell At Last' 7" was released on Ugly Pop Records, and I believe this was a re-release of their demo? The band hadn't yet put 666 as part of their name, and they also had more crust influences in their sound than on later releases. Solid release if yer into crust/metal. As the name of the band suggests Legion666 is not exactly into religion, which is also reflected in the artwork and lyrics. I believe one of the members played in a more political hardcore band called One Blood? Anyways, enjoy!

Legion - Hell At Last 7"

Fahrenheit 451 demo

Here's a demo I got hold of recently. Fahrenheit 451 was a groove-heavy hardcore band from NYC which formed in 1995. At the end of 1995 they did a 2-song demo, which I've ripped here. Soon after they recorded their 'The Thought Of It' MCD. They also appeared on a couple of compilations and did recordings for a full-length that was never released. The band folded sometime in 1999/2000. All of these recordings, including the demo, were compiled on the awesome 'If I Know Then What I Know Now: The Complete Discography' CD/DVD, one of the most well put together discographies I've ever seen. So while I assume must of you will already have this demo courtesy of the discography, here is a rip of the original demo with scans. Enjoy!

And for those who've never heard F451 before, here's my fave track of theirs, from the 'NY's Hardest' comp:

Fahrenheit 451 demo

Provisional - It Was Always About Feeling Alive 7"

Here's a 7" from my collection by a band called Provisional, which I got many years ago, at a random distro at a random show, heh. It is a fairly obscure 7", but some of the members of Provisional have gone on to make a bit of a name for themselves within hardcore circles. Provisional was a melodic hardcore band from Michigan in the first half of the 90s. This 7", apart from any demo's their only release that I know of, was released in 1993 on Absolute Music, which was a label run by Provisional's bass-player. They played a nice mix of melodic hardcore and a harder mid-tempo semi-metallic hardcore, which reminds me of bands like Endpoint and especially Empathy at times. The comparison to Empathy is not made without reason, as guitar player Jay Palumbo would later play in Empathy, as well as other bands such as Elliott and By The Grace Of God. Also, Provisional's singer was none other than Mike Warden of Conquer The World Records fame. I also blogged about a later project of his called Manetheren not too long ago. Bass-player Ron Jasin would later play in The Aasee Lake (with Duncan Barlow of Endpoint, By The Grace Of God, ...). Enjoy!

Provisional - It Was Always About Feeling Alive 7"

Test Of Time - Refugee 7"

Not to be confused with the current Boston straight edge hardcore band of the same name, here's the sole 7" by an early '90s Connecticut hardcore band called Test Of Time. Recorded in 1991 and released in 1992 on Inner Rage Records out of France, this is their only release besides demo's. Inner Rage Records btw was the label run by Jean-Marc, the original singer of Drowning. I believe the band quit soon after this 7" was released? Which is a shame, this is great hardcore with a lot of groove and melody and some sweet bass-parts. Unfortunately my 7" is missing the insert, so I have no idea what the lyrics are about, and I also have no idea who was in this band and what they did before or after Test Of Time. So if anybody has any information, please share! Anyways, enjoy this underrated band!

Test Of Time - Refugee 7"

Contradiction - Erie Hardcore demo

Contradiction was a hardcore band from Erie, PA. They were around in the late '90s, here is their 1998 demo. Unfortunately I don't know anything about this band, sorry. I have no idea what else they did, but this demo is definitely good enough to post here. Mid-tempo metallic hardcore with good vocals. Not sure what was in the Lake Erie's water, but the amount of good bands that came out of Erie in the '90s was ridiculous. If somebody has some, any, info on this band, please leave a comment. Did these guys do anything else, or maybe play in other bands? Anyway, enjoy, cuz this is a solid demo.

Contradiction - Erie Hardcore demo

Bloodrust - New Jersey Devil Core 7"

I've posted a decent amount of Back Ta Basics 7"s in the past. Here's another one, by NJ's Bloodrust. To be honest, I know very little about this band, they seem to have been around for only a few years and I don't think that besides demo's they did anything else besides this 7"? As you can probably imagine from the title of this 7", 'New Jersey Devil Core', Bloodrust played 'evil' metalcore. In sound they are comparable to another NJ band from the late '90s that I blogged about before, As Darkness Falls (here and here), as well as a band like Deadeyesunder. This 7" was released in 1998, and in true Back Ta Basics Records fashion, it has a badly handcut, photocopied cover and comes with a BTB list of releases. Unfortunately there are no lyrics and almost no info on Bloodrust on the insert. Oh well... The 7" is pretty solid tho, it's a shame the band didn't get some more attention while they were around. If anybody has some info on this band, please leave a comment.


Bloodrust - New Jersey Devil Core 7"