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."

Dive

Dive were an awesome hardcore band occupying space and time around the Boston area in the early to mid 90's.

I know very little of this band. Supposedly members went on to perform in bands Get High, Overcast and the Dropkick Murphys. The only band I know out of those three is Overcast, and they were some seriously awesome early metal core. Dive is way more old school hardcore oriented. I wouldnt go so far as to label them an old school band by any means as they also share alot in common with some ebullitions early stuff, like the Downcast and Struggle 7"s, but they have a fast hardcore sound that is undeniably awesome and somewhat influenced by bands like Boston counterparts DYS and Slapshot. So you kinda take that mentality and then throw in a breakdown like the one in Hate Comes Easy from the Downcast 7" and maybe add in some melody that might take you over to an area like Burn once occupied around the same time, and come to think of it, I think of Burn often while listening to Dive. Especially the Force Five 7" from Moo Cow records. Like maybe Burn if they came from Boston.

Yeah, whatever, you should listen to it. It rules. This is the Moo Cow Records 7", the Figure Four Records 7" which shows a lot more of a melodic tendency and a song from the Over The Edge Compilation which came out on Endless Fight Records, which is the only song I had heard from them until more recent years. For some reason I found myself listening to Force Five in particular a lot lately and thought others might appreciate hearing them again. You can still buy that 7" from Moo Cow Distro for $3.50, so dont go getting any crazy ideas to spend tons of money on one.

On a side note, I am pretty tired of hardcore in general. Of course I still like the music, but the whole hardcore thing is really fucking lame. The way people treat each other, the way people play know it all, the elitism of young people who feel that this is their punk rock. Its just stupid. I like the little community we have here, and its been awesome talking with you guys and meeting some of you. Frankly, the biggest issue is I am running out of records to post. I have this awesome Barritt 7" I want to rip somehow, and a few more posts, but this page may be nearing the end.

We all knew it couldnt last forever.

more news to come...

Sawhorse 7" (1992)

Ive been meaning to post this since the great comment storm of early summer. Someone gave this up when we were talking about Mike Kirsch bands and many said this was the best Kirsch band. I had not ever heard this band previous to this summer, so admittedly I'm late to the party, and while four songs is short for a party, Sawhorse manage to plug into every great hardcore influence from 1980 to 1992. I mean, a list of influences would read as disparate as teeny bopper at a Slayer concert. I hear Disengage-era Youth Of Today, Four Walls Fallings earlier work, Against the Wall, Judge, Downcast, Swiz, Gorilla Biscuits, Old School, New School, No School, whatever.

And granted, these influnces are not that disparate under the general banner of music as a whole, as they are all hardcore bands, but within the hardcore genre these bands were from different parts of the country and exploring different nuances in the limited hardcore palette.

But seriously, these songs fucking kill. Fo' Real, so whoever said this was the best Kirsch band, I tip my hat to you, and thanks to whoever dropped this in the comments months ago.

If anyone with more knowledge or intimate understanding wants to tackle a description of this album, give it a shot, and I'll post it up as your review...

Either way, don't sleep on this 7" like I did for 15 years. Listen to it here, and pick it up from Ebullition (links to right) as it seems they either have extra copies or they repressed it.

This is it.

This is a bunch of stuff that I wouldve gotten around to posting. I am taking a break from the computer for a bit. Of course I will still be on, but mostly just to bullshit and see whats new. Mostly I just have a bunch of things I really need to do. I'm getting a new dog tomorrow, and on top of that it being summer, and, importantly, I need to absorb a good deal of the stuff I have picked up over the past few months. It has been a fever pitch of music frenzy.

Alot of this stuff is in conjunction with the mid 90's hardcore posts we've been getting into lately, and this is most of what I have left from that era. I am sure there is more, and there are one or two things I'll probably post here or there, but this is the majority.

Also, I can't find good artwork for most of these, so we're getting down to bare bones here. If anyone has some decent artwork they can provide that would be cool.

Downcast - LP (1991)
The LP was kind of a let down after the ferocious debut 7". But most of the problem lies with the second half of the album, as the first half is pretty strong. There is a bit more metal and even the songs that dont work as well have some pretty awesome parts which make this still a worthy effort.

Union of Uranus - To This Bearer of Truth
I'd say if Orchid were influenced by one band it mustve been UoU. Their style of screamo seems to be the beginning of the frantic, almost grind like screamo of the northeast. UoU were from Ottawa Canada and shared the scene with fellow label mates Shotmaker whom they also share some similarities. This might be the whole discography, but I am not certain. They were an even more elusive band than Shotmaker.

Frail - Make Your Own Noise
PA hardcore that was also ont he beginning edge of scream-your-head-off emo style. They had a nice chaotic style, but could still lock down into a sick groove. A bunch of skinny kids on stage, ripping shit up, getting frantic with their guitars. Good stuff. They had some stuff on Yuletide as well as Bloodlink and a song on the Ebullition come Some Ideas Are Poisonous.

Guyver-One - 7"
Super frantic early screamo from none other than San Diego. Very similar to Swing Kids, Antioch Arrow, Clikatat Ikatowi and Heroin (theres gotta be something in the water there). The funny thing about this record is the Grandmaster Flash and Sugar Hill Gang records playing in the background of the recording... Very similar to the Indian Summer song Angry Son, with the Bessie Smith record playing... Funny, and then the band cuts your entrails out with a swift razor sharp blast and youre not laughing anymore.... until the next break when you can hear more old school hip-hop. Yay.

Native Nod - Today Puberty, Tomorrow The World
They are a personal favorite of mine. Native Nod is Chris Leo, Ted Leos brother. They are another band with a slinty spidey sense of when to ratchet up the tension. Leo's lyrics are mostly spoken word until he begins to explode from the neck up. Back to Mimsey from the Bread 7" is one of my favorite songs from this era. It would go on a "Best of Mid-90's Hardcore That Isnt Syracuse Hardline, Old School or NYHC" list. Tangled is also a classic emo track. This is their disco.

Assfactor 4 - s/t LP
Wonderfully fast and to the point hardcore punk from Georgia. Assfactor 4 are somewhere closer to Los Crudos in style. Shorty fiery blasts with screechy vocals.

Julia - Unknown Bloodlink records album
Julia had a member of Unbroken, who were nothing at all like them. Julia was more like Portraits of Past. One of the first bands to add a decent amount of post-rock in to this style of hardcore, paving the way for bands like A Day in Black and White and City of Caterpilar. They also share a fair amount of influence from mid 80's DC sounds.

Merel - Discography
Another originator of the scream your head off style, but with far more driving power than the blinding frenzy of much of ehat is considered emo hardcore. Quite a bit more force and power too, yet still retaining a good balance of melody and experimentation.

Mohinder - Discography
Pre-Indian Summer band. A little more frenzy than the subdued approach of Indian Summer though.

Ordination of Aaron - Discography
Can you tell I'm losing steam. More good emo for dat ass.

Policy of Three - Discography (Disc 1)

Policy of Three - Discography (Disc 2)
likewise... alot of this stuff shares components of the DC scene, whether from the revolution summer stuff to the early 90's discordant stuff. DC really helped form the face of hardcore, and its ripples can be felt through most of the bands on this list.

Current - Discography
Definitely for Current. They even did a cover of Embrace for the Land of Greed comp. (You can find that in the first three or four posts in the archives.. Its the whole Embrace album covered by hardcore band. Some really good bands and really good covers...) Current has a lot of sound in common with both Rites of Spring and Embrace, yet still have a more discordant punk sound that sets them apart from being just clones. The Coliseum album was pretty good, and this is the whole Disco...

Spitboy - True Self Revealed
Spitboy is great punk hardcore from Ebullition. Sometimes it reminds me of Econochrist, but there is a bit more actual singing, some of which sounds like Jello Biafra. It gives a much more punk edge ala Dead Kennedys of course, and even has some Black Flag in its blood.

Orchid - Chaos Is Me
Orchid are about the craziest you can get with the fall-on-the-floor style of screamo. It heavily toes the line of Grind, yet also has a dynamic influence from UoU . Most of it is skittering and top-speed. They manage to weave a great deal of emotion into these short songs and leave you and themselves completely exhausted. It is also easy to see why they are such a divisive point for hardcore. They can be too much at times, but they also can scalp you with a shitty recording and leave you wanting more. "How do they do that?" its all about the delivery man. These guys are no slouches either. Half the band went to Brooklyn and started Panthers, (ahem whoo kinda suck) and the others went on to try to destroy screamo all together in Bucket Full of Teeth (look in the archive), perfect political hardcore punk in Wolves, try to one-up their previous work in Ampere and also find time to experiment with a more Boston style (meaning early Hydra Head / Converge) in Transistor Transistor. I am sure these guys will never tire of trying to chop peoples heads off with sound.

REQUESTS!!!!

Its my turn.

I dont like to ask for things. Usually. I prefer the universes generous synchronicity over the want and need of the average human life. Wow, id i just sound like a dick. Make no mistakes, I dont judge for those who want. I want lots of things. Cold Beer, Sex, Money, Sunshine, Sex, and Cold Beer. I just fit comfortably in the ebb and flow of things...Up the creek without a paddle aint so bad. As Cool Hand Luke said, "Sometimes nothings a real cool hand."

Though that can be taken to mean a number of things, I prefer (as I often times idealsitcally do) to think of it in some zen respect of pure potential. The key is to be ready. Preparedness. If not superficially (Fiscally, physically, or you just left your unbrella at home on a rainy day) then mentally and emotionally. So when that rains comes a falling, you can see that its not all that bad. Its all personal vision. The glass half empty or the glass half full? Optimism vs. pessimism? Well, if the glass is half, or even completely empty, isnt that an amazing opportunity to go re-fill the glass? Who say we cant re-fill it? Who says when its empty, thats it? The empty glass is seething, sparkling potential.

Well, my glass is empty and I'm feeling very optimistic that someone, or a number of someones will help fill my glass.

I am looking for these...

1. Downcast 7" (Mr. PH at the wonderful blagh Proven Hollow has told me he could fulfill this request)

2. Red Eyed Legends - Chris Thomsons newer band.

3. Monorchid - Chris Thomsons older band. I used to have this and seem to have misplaced it. Shit.

4. Minutemen - What Makes a Man Start Fires

5. Abilene - A few of you got me super excited about Abilene, whom I have been aware of, yet never heard.

6. Regulator Watts - again, massive excitement has been generated, a formal request has materialized.


6 is a good number. We'll stop here. I will post the album on receipt.

ALSO! Its a little early, but in a few weeks I am going to be making a few shirts. I am making a Rites of Spring, Embrace, Beefeater & Dag Nasty shirt (it is from a show poster, which can be found in the book Banned in DC) and I am also making a Swiz t-shirt of their script logo. These shirts will not be for sale, but instead I will make a little contest or something. I dont know, I'll figure it out... I will give 5 of each away for free. One shirt for one person. Unless of course I end up with extra shirts.

ITs not gonna be super serious, but I want to give something back to you guys for making this a fun experience for me...

Here is what they will look like... Not sure what colors I will do them on, but they will each be one color. Meaning, all the Rites of Sprin shirts will be one color, and all the Swiz shirts will be another color...Any suggestions? This wont happen for a few weeks...I'll let ya know as it comes along...



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more 7"s

Age of Reason - s/t 7"

I am not entirely sure when this came out, but it mustve been from 93-95. Age of Reason were a hardcore band from Connecticut. They play a style similar to what Converge started out with. Slighty metallic but mostly hardcore, with a few breakdowns, but none of the chuggin mid tempo mosh of Syracuse and Buffalo bands.. (Not that theres anything wrong with that stuff ^_^ ).



Fugazi - Furniture (2001)

Arriving just around the time The Argument was released, Fugazi gave us one of their oldest tracks. Im sure most people would say that this ep is worth it just for the song Furniture. And it is. Dont get me wrong. It fits perfectly with all the stuff on 13 songs. It has the same bouncy punch and the harder guitars. Ian screaming, and you can imagine them blasting your head off while playing this live. But! To cast a negligent shadow on the other two songs would be silly. #5 and Hello Morning are also very good songs and worth the same price. They are both newer songs, from The Argument era, one a pounding instrumental and the other an unholy racket led by Guy. Hello Morning is almost a barn burner. It is one of the faster songs in the late Fugazi years and it works good with Guys howl.



Struggle. - s/t 7" (1991)

This is one of my favorite hardcore records from the 90's, along with the Downcast 7". Super fierce and ass kicking hardcore from San Diego. Struggle paved the way for a good portion of hardcore bands in the mid 90's not even including all the bands the members went on to. All in all, this stuff boils down to a bunch of kids screaming about how pissed they are at the government. But you gotta admire the urgency of their message, and the chunky kick ass riffs they use to ram it down your throat. If they were selling car insurance I would be ready to bomb any motherfucker who wasnt ready to buy.


Absinthe - s/t 10" (1995)

Absinthe is the remains of the amazing Arizona hardcore band Groundwork. I posted some of their stuff a while back and had wished I could post this then. Absinthe are very similar to Groundwork in style and sound, though the lyrics seem to be more from an anti-religious stance as to the heavy political commentary of the previous band. (Funny enough, Four Hundred Years, were a band of another key member of Groundwork and they went on to continue the political fight for our nations freedom). The sounds lurch and propel you forward, pushing you into this whir of machinery like sound. The guitars sound like buzzing metal and the vocals sound drowned in static like the machinery is taking over the record. But the steady gut punch of the bass and drums keeps you focused and steadily moving. A few cleverly placed samples break the hum of the machine occasionly only to give loose to the frightening crunch once again.
Definitely good stuff. I wish I had more hardcore like this.


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Well, works been getting real busy, so I'm gonna be in and out. I have more records to post up and then I think I am gonna be taking a break for a few weeks. So stay tuned for the rest of my dwindled vinyl collection and have fun.