Downcast - 7" (1990)
Im going to enter this one with little fan fare and see how its received...
A furiously political, Cali hardcore band from the early 90's, musically influenced by early thrash and even early metallica. There is no smiling on this one folks. Just scream your head off.
Try not to hurt those around you.
I think proven hollow has pretty much nailed this one down. And since he is eloquent about the hardcore days, I am gonna let him handle this little record.
"ahhh downcast. this 7" came out at the end of 1990. kent mcclard had been doing probably one of the best hardcore zines around (no answers), and this 7" was the first release on his new label, ebullition. it actually came with #9 of the no answers zine. people really tend to dog on these bands now (downcast, struggle, etc) because they may be seen as "too political" or "too serious" or whatever, but these are usually people who weren't really a part of the action in the early 90s. this is how the shit was. we were young, pissed, and going off. were the politics juvenile? probably most of the time, yeah. but we were juveniles back then. this kind of music and message seemed to actually mean something back then. ut was fucking raw and emotional. and the main thing was that it was a breath of fresh air. the stereotypical sxe scene was quickly becoming ridiculous. it had been branching off into a myriad of ways. the whole socio-political aspect of it was becoming the forefront. i mean it was a changing time in the scene. i had mentioned before that i thought this release was pretty ballsy of kent to do as a first release for a label. it could have easily failed miserably. but it really just kickstarted the whole punk/hardcore thing again. there was something to be excited about again. kent's impeccable reputation at the time also didnt hurt...("i dont really know if i like this, but kent does, so it must be good"). haha. of course this is all from my own personal viewpoint and involvement...haha. obviously there were tons of people who hated this music and kids today who just don't "get it" or find it alittle over the top. but like i said, we were pissed off teenagers. unfortunately i didn't particularly care for the LP. and their follow up band, jara, wasnt very good at all. but i have to say, they were all stand up nice as hell guys. in my opinion, groundwork was the best band of this particular "style."
posted by blend77 at 7:08 PM
19 Comments:
I guessed 1990 on the date, though it may not be right...maybe 89, maybe 91... the date doesnt seem to be on the sleeve anywhere...
ahhh downcast. this 7" came out at the end of 1990. kent mcclard had been doing probably one of the best hardcore zines around (no answers), and this 7" was the first release on his new label, ebullition. it actually came with #9 of the no answers zine. people really tend to dog on these bands now (downcast, struggle, etc) because they may be seen as "too political" or "too serious" or whatever, but these are usually people who weren't really a part of the action in the early 90s. this is how the shit was. we were young, pissed, and going off. were the politics juvenile? probably most of the time, yeah. but we were juveniles back then. this kind of music and message seemed to actually mean something back then. ut was fucking raw and emotional. and the main thing was that it was a breath of fresh air. the stereotypical sxe scene was quickly becoming ridiculous. it had been branching off into a myriad of ways. the whole socio-political aspect of it was becoming the forefront. i mean it was a changing time in the scene. i had mentioned before that i thought this release was pretty ballsy of kent to do as a first release for a label. it could have easily failed miserably. but it really just kickstarted the whole punk/hardcore thing again. there was something to be excited about again. kent's impeccable reputation at the time also didnt hurt...("i dont really know if i like this, but kent does, so it must be good"). haha. of course this is all from my own personal viewpoint and involvement...haha. obviously there were tons of people who hated this music and kids today who just don't "get it" or find it alittle over the top. but like i said, we were pissed off teenagers. unfortunately i didn't particularly care for the LP. and their follow up band, jara, wasnt very good at all. but i have to say, they were all stand up nice as hell guys. in my opinion, groundwork was the best band of this particular "style."
I remember getting this 7" back around 90 or 91 and it never left the turntable for the first month or so...absolutely powerful and immediate delivery...sadly they failed to impress as much live when they came through Texas
this is a cool record, 1st time hearing it. i had the lp years ago and loved it. i miss all these early 90s hardcore bands. somebody should up some struggle or econochrist!!!!!
i am gonna buy some equipment to do just that...i will up struggle when i get the devices...
haha. nice! let;s start a new blahg where we both review eachother's posts..haha. that would be amazing. btw, don;t buy a wii and zelda the same week you start a music blog, cuz then you will never sit down to post new musics...haha. oh well. i would like to get a copy of that downcast LP mp3ized and all. so get off yer ass. i remember back in the day i used to write lengthly letters back and forth with kent mcclard talking about how amazing i thought the first still life LP was when it came out. i just relistened to it. it is awful. haha. damn i'm getting old.
haha!! thats funny about the still life... i found it somewhere, and i remember thinking it was "revolutionary"...but on looking back, it barely held my interest. ^_^
i think im gonna start quoting Kent McClard...
"I'd still burn it all down if I Could. Burn"
yeah man, kent had so many great quotes in his zines. i wish i still had them. hopefulyl someone more bitter than me will sell the whole collection on ebay someday. my favorite quote was from him back in the maximumrocknroll fiasco days right before he started heartattack. he was pretty much on MMR's side from what i remember, regarding the whole "cencorship" ordeal, and he said something to the effect of "if you don't like it, then start you're own fucking zine." and thats exactly what he did with heartattack. i use that quote on a daily basis i think. "if you don't like it, then start your own fucking (enter whatever here)." haha.
hey guys, here is the downcast self titled lp from '91. It's in 192, sorry that was the best I could do. I had to find it since I don't have the means to rip my own.
http://www.mediafire.com/?aqjdm10eojy
Hello guys--thanks for posting this. I too bought the 7" when it came out and was blown away. I liked the LP, too, but as I said in a previous post, these guys were always a little too serious and didactic for their own good.
What about Sawhorse? That's a 7" from the same era I'd love to hear again. I loved that band. It would be nice to hear Fuel again too (the East Bay Fuel, that is, of course, not the rock stars).
could you re-up rodan "rusty"
thanks papstar, you rule!!!!!
i was listening to the great born again$t today. those guys were probably in my top 5 of 90's hardcore.
please upload any and all Born Against you have! please?!
otherwise, sorry i havent been around in few days... proven hollow gave me a bunch of good stuff that i need to post up here...
Abilene - Both albums
Regulator Watts - 2 albums
Sevens - LP & 2 7"s
Rain Like the Sound of Trains - discography
plus i also received a number of things from the rest of you... circus lupus, minutemen and skull kontrol that i also want to post, as well as the number of things on my plate that i also wanted to post.... whew!
it builds up sometimes... i will try to get the DC stuff up this weekend...if it rains tomorrow then tomorrow, otherwise sunday..i have a lot of things to do...
i also got a turntable adapter for my computer...so i am gonna up Econochrist, Struggle, the Sorts and a number of other vinyl things I have...
talk to you all soon.
hey papstar, thanks again...you saved me the time of ripping it myself...
and to anonymous...sorry, that was my third rip of rodan...quarterstick doesnt like having their links up...
you should buy it...it is one of the BEST album i own by far...
hey anon...
Rodan - Rusty
http://www.mediafire.com/?e9d0htjuhow
from KISS MY SOUNDSYSTEM. thank him not me. ^_^
One of my old bands played with Downcast a couple of times on tour, later on they played my hometown and the only thing I remember is that the singer and one of the other members started fighting with each other on stage (words,not fists) but for the audience it was like the most uncomfortable tension I've seen at a show. I think they broke up soon after.
hi
this link expired, can you put it up again?
this 7" was the greatest.
thanks
skott
I remember buying this 7" with the No Answers zine and I was totally blown away. Fortunately, the LP came out soon after. However, that one was just of horrible quality (at least the pressing that I had) and I remember that dampening the listening pleasure quite a bit.
If you could upload these again that would be fantastic (the link isn't working anymore...). Any chance you have the LP, too? In any case, the whole blog features great stuff!
Looks like the Downcast 7" link is still invalid. Could you repost it? Mediafire is indicating that it is an invalid quick key. I have been looking everywhere for this. I already have the 7", but want it in mp3 format. Thanks
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