No Need To Belong

Moving On

2007-11-18T13:41:00.000Z

Once again I reach this point, its becoming a recurrence that is somewhat bothersome but given the events of the last month I didn't foresee that I would be reaching this kind of position again.

I will not divulge the nature of what has happened as a) it won't interest the majority of you and b) I'm sick of whinging and pining, all you need to know is that it's time for some action.

Firstly no need to belong will be going on an enforced hiatus, it may come back in the future but for the immediate one it will be dormant.

However, this is not the end, I am continuing to write for www.digitalmetal.com but I have also been kindly invited to contribute to the fucking amazing blog Killing the Legacy, run by my man xMarkusx who is one of the true few that leaves comments here, so come check us out, he posts about ill shit all the time - www.killingthelegacy.blogspot.com.

Children Of Gaia/Confronto

2007-10-07T14:10:00.001Z

Finally. Here is the remainder of the split,

http://www.sendspace.com/file/qegtoj - Children Of Gaia

http://www.sendspace.com/file/0pr36c - Confronto

The warmachine keeps rolling

2007-09-30T13:42:00.000Z

Germany was responsible for upping the metal factor in the new school sound in the late 90s thanks in large to Caliban and these vegan warriors, the almighty, Heaven Shall Burn. For me, Heaven Shall Burn pre-Century Media were the rightful successor to Day Of Suffering as the quintessential vegan metal band. Whilst now they are more like a straight melodic death metal band, back in the late 90s HSB were causing absolute destruction with their material. Melody was an integral feature that helped them to conjure their pieces but it wasn't utilised in such a manner that lightened the atmosphere (like later material), rather it aided in creating an even darker atmosphere that enhanced the feel and impact of their pieces.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/876feh - Heaven Shall Burn - Cold

http://www.sendspace.com/file/m6m0wh - Heaven Shall Burn - The Drowned And The Saved

http://www.sendspace.com/file/0rom1j - Heaven Shall Burn - Asunder

Now I thought this was out of print, hence why the whole thing is up (sans the 25 minute track at the end with a hidden bonus cover) but it turns out, it is available here http://www.verydistro.com/moreinfo.aspx?id=1515.

For Liberation

2007-09-30T13:35:00.000Z

The wait for this album was agony. When news that Liberation had another 'vegan straightedge weapon,' ready to be unleashed I began foaming at the mouth and who wouldn't after such a proven track record? Well, when Mostomalta were unveiled they fulfilled every expectation that I personally have for a vegan straightedge band in this new millenium. This being, relentless buzzing (blackened) riffs forged as much from the classic new school of the mid to late 90s as metal (Mostomalta even sited Deicide and Emperor as prime influences). Plenty, and I do mean plenty of apocalyptic crunching mosh and of course, scathing vocals and Mostomalta excel in this department as they have not 1 nor 2 but 3 vocalists on board thus adding an even more furious dimension to their already seething brew.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/edggg5 - Mostomalta - Intersticio (title track)

http://www.sendspace.com/file/cl0ojt - Mostomalta - Intersticio

As I said, the wait for this album (well, its more like a extended EP what with 7 tracks and barely 20+ minutes of material) was agony, I checked the Liberation website constantly, waiting for snippets of information. Eventually they put the title track online and I rinsed it for months and then finally the CD became available which as soon as it was, I was badgering Marcos (the owner) for my copy.

Given that Liberation no longer focuses on third world hardcore anymore, this CD didn't get much exposure or distribution throughout the rest of the world, an absolute travesty in my mind. This of course makes it difficult to get, you can get it here http://www.001shop.com.br/lojas/liberationstore/produtos.asp?produto=17&categoria=2
but you better be able to read Portuguese or have a lot of patience navigating the site.

Otherwise, you have all the tunes here to enjoy ;)

Strength Through Diversity

2007-09-25T18:20:00.000Z

Ok so sendspace has been driving me crazy this past week. I've had stuff uploading and everytime it has timed out leaving my post left in tatters (usually because I am trying to get it up before I go to work).

Anyway, so here we go again, this post is going to be super brief because I have loads to do tonight.

Subzero are an amazing NYHC band, this is their debut from 1997 and whilst its not as heavy as their later material on Stillborn and is absolutley succulent in its songwriting. The band has so much going on and each song is so diverse and different, so much so, this really shouldn't work, there are so many contrasting elements mixed here that most other bands would be botch when it came to melding them together. Subzero manage not to do this and instead create an album that is a true classic of the New York scene.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/nhmv3g - Subzero - Boxed In

http://www.sendspace.com/file/rd2xm4 - Subzero - Happiness Without Peace

Copies going here for DIRT cheap, so don't be a sucka, pick it up cuz its outta print - http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B000005HNH/ref=dp_olp_1/102-2454382-6636115?ie=UTF8&qid=1190745164&sr=1-2

PS - I cannot find the CD, hence no artwork :(

Let's go

2007-09-16T13:04:00.000Z

Discovering that there were hardcore bands in South America that were good was something of a revelation for me, more so that they were amazing. Point Of No Return laid the foundations (as some of you will know, their last album was posted up on here), but the continent's and in particular Brazil's potential as one of the new hardcore stronghold's began to manifest when xConfrontox and Children Of Gaia dropped on the scene. In fact, the former are veterans releasing their first demo (which I am looking for) way back at the end of the late 90s and have gone onto release a MCD, this split (and a European edition with Fall Of A Season) and then their monumental full length 'Causa Mortis,' in 2005. Children of Gaia ascended to one of my favorite bands in 04 when they dropped their debut full length 'I Prey To Watch You Bleed.' They toured Europe that year and played the Ieper fest which I had planned to go in order to see them but alas, financial constraints (too much hapless spending on records) and a month long sojourn in Italy meant that I had to earn before going anywhere. I've been waiting for their return ever since and I think that wait will continue until they record that cursed second full length which has been some 2 and a half years in the making, fingers crossed.

Anyway, Children Of Gaia sounded more like the Italian new school on this release, their full length was grittier and incorporated more of a mosh approach ala Terror and Throwdown mixed with their earlier style, that being what is found here which was total new school fury. Taking the best parts of Italian legends like Reprisal and Sentence and then adding the scathing vocals of Mario made this a vicious, confrontational and of course, invigorating sound that was obsessively addictive.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/ivqdok - Children Of Gaia - Gaia

http://www.sendspace.com/file/hg35oi - Confronto - Alicerce

Both bands are still active, and as stated above, Children of Gaia are working on their follow up to 'I Prey to Watch You Bleed.' Meanwhile Confronto toured Europe this summer (and should have come here but didn't :( ). This record has now gone out of print since Liberation dropped the x's and decided to be a vehicle for releases for Trustkill, Century Media and Ferrett in South America, so hit http://www.ebay.com/, however, there is a copy here - http://www.pyrrhus.be/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=187075 but as I have said in the past with this webstore, they can be a little slow.

Meanwhile the Confronto full length and Euro edition of this split (with Fall Of A Season, whose songs were awesome) are avaliable here - http://www.verydistro.com/search.aspx?typeofsearch=artist&keywords=confronto.

Please be aware that the rest of the tunes will be going up, the reason they haven't is due to my internet connection being a fucker and crashing before the main bulk of the files have uploaded.

Kicking back

2007-09-13T05:42:00.001Z

I was informed that the Kickback files went down, so here it is for those of you that need it.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/bgowpm - Kickback - Les 150 Passions Meurtrieres

For those of you that don't have it or think you don't need it, you do.

I will return...

2007-09-09T17:51:00.000Z

It's been a while. Too long in fact. Well, I will be coming back, posting will be resuming this week, I had time to think in Japan and I decided that giving up was to easy, I'm carrying on with this, so stand by, cause a storm is brewing.

A confession

2007-08-19T11:08:00.000Z

I've been putting this off. Everyday I think, must update the blog, and everyday I let myself down, and I feel terrible for doing so, what's more, I had made a pact with myself to keep it updated daily when I got back from holiday...Fuckin' rubbish, that's the only words that can describe this situation, but the truth is, its such a struggle for me to fit this in and do it properly. Since coming back from holiday, work has been much tougher, they are loading me up with more stuff and I am having to learn more all the time, which is great but what it means is that when I get home, my brain is fried.

Furthermore I am now playing football on a Monday night, go out on Thursday nights to see the family and then weekends...well, they disappear in a flash. What's more annoying is that I had a ton of stuff ready to go up, but sendspace has been annoying the shite out of me by crashing or deleting the files and to be honest, when I get home from work, I do not want to sit in front of the PC for an hour and a bit, uploading this shit for the site to crash out and mean I have to start all over again.

So enough with the excuses, what's the future??

Well, I don't know. I am going to Japan on Tuesday for the Bloodaxe fest which I can't wait for, so I think I will do a similar feature as to what I did for Pressure Fest. After that, I really think I may stop, for one thing, I hate the look out of this site, I am useless with design, know absolute sweet FA when it comes to coding html and other tech stuff and also, my membership with sendspace is up in a bout 15 days, and seeing as I haven't duly used it during the last 3 months, I won't be renewing it, so download everything you want ASAP.

I always wanted to do this, but this technical frustrations have proved to really bring it down, like I said, I hate the look of this page, its clunky, drab and just downright dry to look at.

Before the sendspace membership expires I will upload a few more things but that won't be until at least the 30th, so until then...

Undoing the ruin...

2007-07-11T18:10:00.000Z

OK. Don't click away until you've at least read the opening paragraph. I know, I know, Diecast are a little bit…how to put it gently??? Poppy, fluffy, cute, generic…?? Maybe a combination of all of those, but that's Diecast today, this is their first release, the very first release, with the complete original line up, when it was most important to create complete destruction. Now, despite those derogatory comments above I will confess that I own 2 Diecast albums post 'Undo,' and enjoy them, but I know they aren't great records and if you came to my house, I'd probably hide them, but this beast, no fuckin way.

Together with the musical shift that the band has endured since this EP has duly affected their overall composition. Granted that there isn't a single original member left one may indeed ask why they continue under the moniker. Regardless, I'm rambling here and rapidly digressing from the point, being that as their music changed, so did that all around them as they have gone from touring with All Out War, Dying Fetus etc to Sevendust.

Quite a paradigmatic shift if I don't say so, so see what you think,

http://www.sendspace.com/file/vofrdv - Diecast - Undo The Wicked

http://www.sendspace.com/file/v5shzx - Diecast - Unlearn

Now for some reason, I thought this had been reissued with their record 'Tearing Down Your Blue Skies,' but from browsing on Amazon, this doesn't appear to be the case.

So, there are copies of it at Amazon here http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B000055XGU/ref=sr_1_olp_6/103-5664014-9461432?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1184179106&sr=1-6.

But the price is ridiculous, unless you're in Europe (or the UK) then it's not too bad, if you want a cheaper copy, then watch http://www.ebay.com/

Justice is done...

2007-07-10T17:56:00.001Z

When people lament that hardcore 'aint what it used to be,' (especially one of my older, more esteemed friends), I can kinda see where they are coming from. Certainly the message isn't as prevalent anymore, and what with multiple violent straight edge crews popping up and laying the smackdown on anyone and everyone it's not difficult to begin to agree with this thinking. Furthermore, there aren't compilations like this anymore, not only was 'Justice For The Enslaved,' crammed with awesome bands and songs but the proceeds were being used for various causes by the label (the UK's Sure Hand records, who released a 7 inch by Above All)that at that time (animal rights of course being at the forefront) were bound to hardcore, whereas now, its all about printing provocative t-shirts then trying to fight for what's right.

What's interesting about this compilation is the absence of American bands, clearly veganism and straight edge was no longer as strong as it once was in the US but in Europe and elsewhere (South America), it was still strong, still thriving. The more I hear these songs, the more I wish that some of these bands had been able to put out more material. Fortunately the finest on here (Point Of No Return & Reprisal) did, but others, especially Dehumanize & Clouded, contributed their finest material on this compilation and then left us with little else. The former went on to release a MCD in the early 2000's but it was more noisecore and not the creepy blackened hardcore found here. Clouded disappeared without trace, a real shame because the progress from their debut 7 inch/mcd to these tracks promised something really special.

As for the rest, see what you think,

http://www.sendspace.com/file/q5axko - Clouded - Revel In Oblivion

http://www.sendspace.com/file/ajqnoc - Dehumanize - Hung

http://www.sendspace.com/file/60bl4f - Reprisal - Pleniluno

http://www.sendspace.com/file/c4jhk9 - Justice For The Enslaved Vol.1

Sure Hand was a great label, and put out some quality stuff, sadly, all of its out of print, so you'll have to scoure around for it on channels such as www.ebay.com, I will be putting some more stuff up, so watch out for that. Also, you can check out their www.myspace.com/surehandrecords.

Pressure Rising...

2007-07-07T12:45:00.000Z

Yeah I know, I know, been way too long, but I hadn’t realised how goddamn demanding holidays are, anyway, I’m back now and slowly getting back to normal, so posting will be getting back on track this week.

Now I’ve longed to do this for aeons, in fact, I wanted to do a Japan report last year when I visited that country but, I was unable to do so, due in large part to the severing of my tongue and the lack of will to do anything remotely creative. Still, I’m going again this year, so maybe a report this year will come to fruition, who knows, anything’s possible.

Regardless of Japan, without further a do, I bring you, PRESSURE FEST 2007, the low down.

NB – no cameras were allowed inside, so no pix, sorry guys.

Day 1

So I’d taken the train from friend Kat who lives in Bonn (the former capital I was surprised to learn, where the hell was I during Geography and History lessons???) to Essen, checked into my hotel and kipped for an hour, then decided to get moving as I didn’t want to miss Bun Dem Out.

Upon arriving a familiar scene greeted me, this being the ominous concrete structure of the Gysenberg Hall and the milling around of various hardcore kids from all over the globe (more so this year then when I came in 2005). So I got to it, diving into the queue I sort to get my wristband for the following 3 days and did so rather swiftly.

From there I joined the queue to gain entry to the venue and in there I found many, many kids from London (some I knew that were coming and others (to my great surprise) that I didn’t).

Anyway, we get in, and the first band of the day is BUN DEM OUT (7.5), this band have been tearing shit up in London for a while now, but have grown immensely since putting out their MCD on Rucktion earlier this year. Their violent mix of beatdown and scything slayer riffs (ala prime Arkangel and 50 Caliber) get the floor moving, represented in large part by the London Headz. They end their set by covering “All Will Suffer,” by Shattered Realm and are joined on stage by none other then Joe Hardcore to send the crowd into a barmy frenzy.

Quality start.

ANIMOSITY (8) follow, burgeoning with confidence they blaze onto the stage with one of my favourite tunes ‘The Black Page,’ they then proceed to slam a visceral set and include a grinding new tune set to feature on their upcoming new record ‘Animal.’ I’d seen RISE & FALL (7.5) earlier this year with the Hope Conspiracy and they impressed me but they were far more powerful on the big stage here and churned out a cosmic half hour which in turn rendered their ripping metallic hardcore brew all the more enticing. One of the first big attractions for me this weekend was LENGTH OF TIME (8.5), the last time was enjoyable (Goodlife 2003) but more of an imitation of the real thing (I think only Kirby was the original member at Goodlife) but this, this was the real deal, the original line up. They kick off with a triplet of tunes from their awesome EP ‘Shame To This Weakness Modern World,’ including the immortal ‘Thought Of The Enslaved,’ and the broody title track. They follow that up with a triplet from ‘Approach To The New World,’ closing with the apocalyptic ‘Do What Must Be Done.’

Awesome Shit.

JOB FOR A COWBOY (7), the world’s most loathed myspace darlings find themselves being thoroughly adored by the German crowd. There were a lot of JFAC t-shirts and hoodies (yes hoodies, it was fuckin cold that weekend) on display, thus there was a feeling of anticipation for their performance. Now I mentioned in my review of their album for Digital Metal that when I saw them play with Unearth earlier this year, the newer material paled in comparison to that of ‘Doom.’ Again it was the same scenario here but with one difference, the new material is beginning to sound more natural live, more powerful but still, when the band drop their hits from the EP they are a wholly different proposition.

Still as I said in that review, the band’s got potential, they now need to channel it justly too move forward.

Performance of the day has to go to KNUCKLEDUST (9), goddamn; it’s so crazy seeing these local boys tearing it up on such a massive stage, but crazier is the reaction stimulated in the crowd. They go fuckin ape shit, APE SHIT, I included (how could I not). From ’25 Years Dead,’ all the way to ‘Against All Odds,’ the band don’t miss a beat, despite bassist Nicky not being present (filled in by Pieman from Hellbent Diehard) and they band stating that they are ‘playing like shit,’ nonsense, they licked it.

I was pretty monged after that and I also stumbled into my good Swedish friend Love just before AS I LAY DYING, so I didn’t really watch the band. Furthermore, he secured a yummy carton of chocolate Soya milk. Unable to resist we took it to the back of venue and savoured it during their set and ended up missing almost all of it, or at least a significant proportion that negates me from reviewing it fairly.

CONVERGE (8.5), are so good, even headlining a big fest, even if I do feel they suit a tighter, smaller environment. Still, they play a great set, drawing largely from their last 3 albums but pull out the older classics (I loved it when they played ‘Forsaken,’ and ‘Locust Reign,’) to keep older headz like myself grinning.

So a pretty hot start to Pressure, good mix of bands, good dancing and awesome treats (Soya milk and vegan cookies), day 2 with its line up, could only be better…

Day 2

Due to major beef getting inside (god knows why), I miss NASTY, which bummed me out cuz I was really looking forward to dancing to them and the chances of them coming to the UK anytime soon are pretty unlikely ;( So I prepared myself for the inevitable bore fest that is BRING ME THE HORIZON (-1000) but fortunately for me (and a great deal of others), the band didn’t play, rumours started flying around that they felt they should be higher up the bill and chose to deliberately ‘miss,’ their slot in order to demand a higher one. Well if this is true then they are a bunch of pretentious prima donnas and of course, wankers, in fact, they shouldn’t have even been at Pressure Fest, so they should have been grateful to have even got a spot.

Still, it meant that the other bands got to play a bit longer (I think anyway) so BLACK FRIDAY 29 (7.5), impressed with their stout but endearing hardcore. They are certainly growing in stature as this performance was far stronger then 2 years ago. Furthermore, new material is set to be released soon, so watch out for that. SIX FT DITCH (8) are notorious for their violent shows, so the proposition of them playing a fest with a massive floor and plenty of kids willing to bust out every move imaginable is a recipe for pure, but fun mayhem or complete carnage that leaves many broken, bruised and very, very pissed off. Well it was a mixture of the two, there was much carnage to be had and most people didn’t seem to care about getting hurt but what can you do? Get on with it is what I say.

One of the main attractions of Pressure Fest this year was the amount of ‘special,’ guests they had roped in too play exclusively, CASEY JONES (8.5), being one of them. Shit, I hadn’t realized how addictive these boys are as their set made me rue not giving their records more attention so that I could have been up their screaming along too, next time. German powerhouse SETTLE THE SCORE (8), have really come along since their first MCD, and to think that they were struggling away playing any show possible not that long ago…Their set is direct and to the point and gets not only plenty of crazy dance moves going but a tremendous circle pit that threatens to engulf everyone in and around it (as if it was some crazy whirlpool).

Yet another ‘special,’ guest was THE WARRIORS (7.5), I had been looking forward to see what material this band would plum for as I equally like both records but knowingly accept that ‘Beyond The Noise,’ isn’t as well suited live in comparison to ‘War Is Hell.’ I think the band obviously know this as they played it safe, culling the majority of the set from ‘War Is Hell,’ and throwing in a new tune from their forthcoming album on Victory.
Sadly there was no Rage Against The Machine cover.

Although I like PARKWAY DRIVE (7), on record, last time I saw them, I was bored to tears, not so here, they smash it for half an hour, nuff said. Stupidly I missed HAVE HEART (8.5), when they toured the UK earlier this year, and was kicking myself for quite a few weeks, thus I was delighted to have the opportunity to sample them here and based on their performance I will not miss their upcoming Euro tour. From start to finish it was a cathartic, engaging and above all, emotional set that was so captivating that it was impossible not to turn my head away. Every beat was amplified tenfold, every riff more so, and Pat Flynn stalked and stomped on the stage like a complete lunatic.

This set me up for what should have been the undoubted highlight of the day and not only that, but of the festival. Unfortunately ALL OUT WAR (6) failed to ignite my enthusiasm and the majority of the crowd. In fact, I still can’t believe how underwhelming their set was, things started with a bang via ‘Soaked In Torment,’ and had me thinking ‘this is going to be fucking CHAOS,’ but after that, the atmosphere, the band, got flatter and flatter, even classics like ‘Claim Your Innocence,’ and ‘Truth In The Age Of Lies,’ got a very lukewarm response.

That ruined my day, and after their set I just wanted to get out of there so I didn’t watch UNEARTH or SICK OF IT ALL.

Day 3

Even a hearty breakfast couldn’t banish the thoughts of last evening’s performance by AOW, and had me thinking, either my expectations were too high, or my judgement was correct and AOW played below par. Either way, today was a clean slate and I wasn’t going to let one disappointment affect the rest of my weekend.

Sunday being Sunday I rose slightly late so I can’t tell you what RESISTANCE were like, bad metal is what I’ve been told. Far from bad though, in fact far closer to absolutely awesome were IN BLOOD WE TRUST (8.5), talk about waking the crowd up on a Sunday, shit, it could have been anytime, anywhere, I cannot wait for this band to release some new stuff. The next hour and a bit was dedicated to DOWN TO NOTHING (8) and INTERNAL AFFAIRS (7.5), both utterly furious and both blazingly fast. However, neither managed to conjure the mayhem or match the fury of SWORN ENEMY (8.5), plying through both full lengths the enemy came, saw and quite rightly tore Pressure a new ass. A definite highlight for me was mounting my mate’s back and charging through the crowd during ‘Sworn Enemy.’

After that bruising set I decided to chill for MISERY SPEAKS, so the next band was DO OR DIE (7.5), now this set was much better then two years ago, where they aired more from ‘Tradition,’ (which was awful), but here they focused on their first two records. A wise choice by the band, because that material is so much stronger and powerful, so it’s a no-brainer that it goes over better live. I had strayed outset again, thus missing a tad of SHATTERED REALM’S (9) opening but made it back just in time to get the kicks out for ‘All Will Suffer.’ No matter how many times I see this band, it is always, always high quality. ‘From The Dead On Blocks,’ has grown on me a lot and it was good to see that tunes like ‘Final Day,’ were getting as much response as ‘This World Is Mine.’ The band are set to return to Europe later this year, but according to Joe Hardcore (who I learned was edge), he may not be joining them as he is facing imprisonment based on murder charges. My best wishes are with Joe and I hope he doesn’t get locked down.

My expectations were exceedingly low for EVERGREEN TERRACE (8), but maybe that’s why they surprised me. They were excellent, and far, far better then their London performance on the Hell On Earth tour a few years ago. I hadn’t listened to them for ages, so their tunes had become a little hazy, I recognized the odd one here and there but for the majority I was listening to these tunes with fresh ears. Either way, the band ruled, end of story.

For some reason, I always watch WALLS OF JERICHO (8.5), don’t know why, as this is a band I listen to regularly and know their tunes very well. Never mind, the rest of Germany made up for my lack of participation, going 7 shades of ape shit throughout their performance, pulling on material from all of their records, and closing with the rousing ‘Revival Never Goes Out Of Style.’

So the festival comes to a close, and brings us the almighty EARTH CRISIS (8.5), for some people this was the only reason to come, for others, well shit, clearly they had departed after Walls Of Jericho because by the time eXc hit the stage, the venue was noticeably emptier. A bit of an insult if you ask me, considering how influential and damn right important eXc have been to the history of hardcore. Fuck it. It was more space for me to dance.

Now the set was interesting. No tunes from ‘Breed The Killers,’ were aired (ridiculous if you ask me) and yet one from ‘Slither,’ was (‘Killing Brain Cells,’ which sounded miles better then when I last heard it). In the end, they played it safe, playing all of ‘Firestorm,’ (sans ‘Forged In The Flames,’) and all of ‘All Out War,’ (sans ‘Ecocide,’ another glaring omission). The departure of people actually turned out to be a blessing as it allowed me to get really close to the stage, so close in fact I was able to scream some of the words to ‘No Allegiance.’

The rest of the set was made up of 4 tunes from ‘Destroy The Machines,’ including the crushing (as well as one of my all time favourite songs) ‘Wrath Of Sanity,’ and 2 from ‘Gomorrah Season Ends.’ The closed the set with the immortal title track from that album before launching into ‘Firestorm,’ and that was it, done and dusted for another year.

A Well Earned Rest...

2007-06-20T22:44:00.001Z

I was hoping to get something up tonight but it hasn't been that easy. Tomorrow I leave for Germany and Pressure Fest, then next week I'll be in Bulgaria, however I will be returning to blighty for one day in between these two trips, so expect a flurry of activity in that (no doubt) hectic 24 hours.

Until then, you have plenty to saviour and listen to.

Smashing The Silence

2007-06-19T05:20:00.000Z

This shit is crazy. Fuckin crazy. Way nuttier then their following releases and way better then anything by the band's successor, Daughters (although to be fair, only when member of As The Sun Sets went into Daughters, and he didn't even play on this album). Damn, I remember this being one of my obsessive, elusive albums back in the early years of this decade, together with Coalesce's 'Give Them Rope,' and some other chaoscore records that I couldn't find at the time (names which escape me). So how delighted I was to find that this record came back into print, be it limited, and was available through my favorite online store, www.verydistro.com!! I ordered that shit quicker then it takes me to finish a bowl of pasta (and I eat quick), and awaited eagerly till the day that it dropped through the letter box.

What confronted me was barely twenty plus minutes of unhinged, unrelenting fury that was so utterly caustic and morbid that it left me dazed after each sitting. Even now as I play it through earphones, 4 years since getting it, the same affect is encountered. Now if I am not mistaken this record dropped around 1999, the same year as another musical apex, namely 'Calculating Infinity.' Now whilst the latter has become one of the defining records of my musical generation it should not be used as a point of reference for this band. No doubt As The Sun Sets knew of Dillinger and despite there being parallels between the band's musically, As The Sun Sets do not rip Dillinger off, which is the ignorant, lunk head commentary that I have heard in regards to this band.

Check it,

http://www.sendspace.com/file/z7tsbn - As The Sun Sets - 'Carpathian'

http://www.sendspace.com/file/rr89z1

- As The Sun Sets - 'Each Individual Voice Is Dead In The Silence.'

This record floats in and out of print, so grab it here while you still can - http://www.verydistro.com/search.aspx?typeofsearch=artist&keywords=as+the+sun+sets

Burn it all down...

2007-06-19T05:09:00.000Z

Its stupid you know, I've developed a really, really silly habit of buying things on a whim and not investigating properly before. Good thing I'm not overly fussy, otherwise I would have sold off most of my collection by now. Anyway, I digress...right, this habit has been cultivated either by a vague memory of reading something, somewhere about a band or hearing someone, somewhere saying something about a band. Mostly (in fact, luckily for me, mostly) this hasn't resulted in a detrimental outcome and I've liked what I've bought on that whim, other times I haven't been so lucky, and sometimes, sometimes, it has reaped a real surprise, like this evil mofo here.

The record was released in 1998 on Uprising, a label that has confused me profusely ever since I got into hardcore. They have released some quality records, but a lot of their stuff leaves me indifferent, especially these days. In fact, even in the label's super vegan militant guise, there was still the tendency to drop the odd clanger here and there. Not so with this baby though. Taking a smouldering Deadguy framework (I definitely hear a dissonant influence from that band) and melding with absolutely crushing riffs that verged on death metal Esq ferocity, Racetraitor showed that they were not to be taken lightly. Typified further by the lengthy essay in the booklet which highlights various ills of man.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/zab9f0 - Racetraitor - 'Path To Misery'

http://www.sendspace.com/file/b4zda0 - Racetraitor - 'Burn The Idol Of The White Messiah'

Hilariously, members of Fall Out Boy did time in this band, and most of them members at one time or another went on to endeavors that were of that ilk.

If you're feeling this darkness, then grab a copy, as they are going here for a pittance - http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B00003TFTE/ref=dp_olp_1/105-7035375-1706820?ie=UTF8&qid=1182228427&sr=1-1

Second Strike Is Fatal...

2007-06-18T21:15:00.000Z

Goddamn. One of the heaviest, most brutal mid 90s bands that's for sure, Unconquered were not your typical West Coast band of that time. Whereas the likes of Mean Season, Outspoken and Unbroken, were heavy, they were far more intricate, even graceful, thus none of them could match the sheer weight of Unconquered who chose to forgo any melodic meanderings. This was their debut (or they may have had some 7 inches before…I think not), and was released on xLifesentencex and like so many of that label's early releases, it has become a long lost treasure, that time (as well as the label) has not been kind to. The former due to that Unconquered are not openly acknowledged as a band of note from the 90s, in fact, I imagine that many would cast them off as a bad Earth Crisis clone (sheer nonsense). Obviously xLifesentencex didn't say much shelf life in this record and thus let it lapse into out of print obscurity, meaning for those who want it, you have to hunt.

Anyway, decide whether Unconquered were just a poor man's Earth Crisis,

http://www.sendspace.com/file/lghizl - Unconquered - 'You Say Moderation, I Scream Prohibition.'

They would go on to release two more records, a full length on Lifeforce (the supremely heavy 'Wall Of Time,') and Sober Mind ('The Program,') before disbanding. The singer Jason went on to form www.myspace.com/xxxforevertruexxx, who seem to have entered into hibernation, there has been nothing from that band for months.

In regards to this record, you'll have to hit http://www.ebay.com/for it.

First Strike Is Deadly...

2007-06-18T20:41:00.000Z

I've been in two minds about this one since starting this blog and have continued to churn it over in my mind whether to feature it or not. Well a very gracious and complimentary reader convinced me to do so (lookin at you Adam ;) and thus, I bring you one of the best (if not the best) vegan straight edge records ever, 'The Eternal Jihad.' Beginning in the mid 90s (around 1994) the band formerly went by Falling Down and released an absolutely brilliant 7 inch. They then became Day Of Suffering and the name change seemed to inspire an even more apocalyptic feel to the material. From start to finish 'The Eternal Jihad,' is a maelstrom of vicious metallic fury, burning riffs corrode and collide with John's seething vocals.

All the fury is dexterously maintained and carried by Paul Hart's beats, just check the start of 'Shade Of Red,' every time I hear that intro I thump the beat on my chest! The band laid the foundation for two other North Carolina greats to arise, these being Undying and Prayer For Cleansing and on top of that, most vegan bands (or bands that sound like mid 90s vegan bands, i.e. JAPAN) that have a metallic tinge sight Day Of Suffering as an inspiring force (Eye Of Judgement even carried this album's title track on their recent US tour).

See what you think,

http://www.sendspace.com/file/0httxn - Day Of Suffering - 'Shades Of Red.'

http://www.sendspace.com/file/lhxq4a - Day Of Suffering - 'Visualize Industrial Collapse.'

http://www.sendspace.com/file/m0a646 - Day Of Suffering - 'The Eternal Jihad'

The band quit so before their time. Apparently they were moving towards an even more metal direction as Monster told me that the released a track towards the end of their time that sounded like Cradle Of Filth!!!! Crazy. Anyway, if you have been following this site for a while you will be aware that some of the guys went into Sennacherib, who I posted about before, the others…boh, no idea, singer John was playing guitar in a more rock orientated band but I think he has now quit (cannot for the life of me think of their name).

As always, this record is out of print, label http://www.xcatalystx.com/ have had a reissue in the works for some time, but as of yet, it hasn't surfaced. What's of more interest though, is that a second disc is planned featuring all the band's rare and unreleased material, including that aforementioned Cradle sounding track, a cover of Gorilla Biscuits and the tracks from the Falling Down 7 inch.

Until then, savour the fury of 'The Eternal Jihad,' and check http://www.ebay.com/ for an original copy.

Fighting back

2007-06-13T06:06:00.000Z

Like so, so many, Krutch slogged their guts out and reaped immense respect from those in the know, but they never received the widespread recognition that they deserved. Sure they were known back then, but how many bands openly acknowledge Krutch as influence in comparison to say Fury Of Five or Bulldoze or Second To None? Not many and that is indicative of how few people knew about Krutch, and what’s really sad is, like Spirit Of Youth in yesterday’s post, time hasn’t been kind and not many people are going to actively seek out the band’s back catalogue.

Well, I am going to try and change that here.

‘I’ll See You In Hell,’ was a daring record. 18 tracks would lead one to think that there is a lot of filler on board, but this isn’t the case, the record is beautifully paced and each song has its own distinctive feel. What’s amazing though is the amount of tracks the bands penned that have a grungy but acoustic Alice In Chains feel, and are very, very mournful, certainly makes a contrast with bruising numbers like ‘BFL.’

See what you think,

http://www.sendspace.com/file/d48fef - Krutch - W-O-T

http://www.sendspace.com/file/cp87cl - Krutch - I'll See You In Hell

The band’s follow up ‘Whatever It Takes,’ was also excellent and the band continued to tour until disbanding in 2003. Members can now be found in Boxcutter, Wisdom In Chains and some other BFL bands.

I have seen copies of the record here - http://www.rucktionmusic.com/ and here, http://www.verydistro.com/moreinfo.aspx?id=14177 , so pick it up!!

For Those Unsung...

2007-06-12T18:04:00.000Z

You know, I used to mix up this band with another one called Sportswear, god knows why and god knows how because both sound completely different in spite of them sharing the same label. Anyway, Spirit Of Youth are a band that time has not been kind to, they never ascended to the heights of fame (well, as famous as you can get in the hardcore sphere) and recognition that the likes of Congress, Liar, Arkangel (and a whole laundry list of other Belgian luminaries) have been bestowed with and are certainly not as enamoured as those bands. Granted, they weren't as innovative as any of those bands (as well as others from Europe and Belgium) but they were writing excellent, but above all sincere, heartfelt music that in my mind deserved my recognition then thy received.

I've had a really hard time nailing exactly how this band sound as they were not atypical of the H-8000 madness that was rife in the mid 90s. That's not to say that they didn't sound that way as they do have elements of that style (particularly those accented vocals which bring to my mind their brethren Kindred) but its a less extreme variation of it. The likes of Liar and Congress were maxed out metal and holy terror hardcore (particularly the latter), Spirit Of Youth had their influences too but mingled them closer within one another so that their sound was purely holistic, thus making their influences that much harder to trace, hence my difficulty.

Anyway, see what you think,

http://www.sendspace.com/file/ipxbde - Spirit Of Youth - Puritan

http://www.sendspace.com/file/opkzgj - Spirit Of Youth - Colors That Bleed

What happened to this band and its members is unbeknown to me, anyone with info, fill me in :)

So if you like it, grab it - http://www.verydistro.com/moreinfo.aspx?id=1028 or http://www.goodliferecordings.com/webstore/

Step Up...

2007-06-11T17:54:00.000Z

From the deepest depths of New York's underground comes this long standing hardcore unit, who are easily one of the best bands that that immortal music capital has given birth too. Taking all elements of what makes NYHC so good and so addictive, Everybody Gets Hurt conjured a dark, confrontational and mercilessly tough record that should be on a hardcore label of reasonable standing, if only to keep this masterpiece in print. EGH first came into my sphere of consciousness on the European tour in 2002 and garnered a reputation amongst the hardcore heads as one of the best bands to come forth in a very long time.

Now trust, despite the artwork (which is actually quite awesome, but doesn't quite capture the genuine feel of the music), this record epitomizes that over referenced (but always true) cliche of not judging a book by its cover. Regardless, this shit moves, I mean we are talking nearly 50 minutes of pure, unrestrained New York hardcore with no breaks, no respite and constant quality. The material is bolstered by a seriously good production, amazing considering that the record was self funded.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/tloldx - Everybody Gets Hurt - Weightless

http://www.sendspace.com/file/7cbslv - Everybody Gets Hurt - Hymn Of The Fallen

http://www.sendspace.com/file/0hgxqb - Everybody Gets Hurt - The Dark Seeds Of Man

EGH are still around, keeping active but not releasing much in the way of new material. They have been back to Europe twice, playing Ninja Fest in 2004 (actually that was their sole euro appearance that year, and this was the same edition as that infamous Six Ft Ditch show) and then back again in 2005 for a more extensive sojourn. They debuted some new songs at Ninja Fest and then released a split with Settle The Score and TJ Maxx and the material from that split featured the a second vocalist who has now left the band. They then released 'Demo Daze,' in 2005, featuring most of this record (be it, in a much rawer form) and some other tracks, that, unlike 'The Dark Seeds Of Man,' is still obtainable, and there are in fact some copies here - http://www.goodliferecordings.com/webstore/, as for this record, watch http://www.ebay.com/ and keep an eye on www.myspace.com/everybodygetshurt.

The Terror Continues

2007-06-06T05:44:00.000Z

Here's the scene. Ninja Fest (now the UK's most revered hardcore fest), 2004, some tough bands were playing that year and none tougher then the UK's own Six Ft Ditch. Shit, there have been few times when I have been worried in a pit, but this was one. Coming out in blood splattered gear, bandannas and sporting plastic weapons (ok, that slightly demeans the scene I'm trying to set) they pulverized the venue and incited the crowd to do so tenfold, I mean, it was chaos, bodies were flying everywhere and how someone didn't end up going to hospital that night, I'll never know.

Since then the band have continued to grow in stature, rising to become one of the UK's best known bands (alongside Knuckledust) typified by them being picked up by Filled With Hate to release their last record and playing this year's Pressure Fest (which is going to be mayhem).

Of their 3 releases, this one has stood as my favourite, it was their debut on Rucktion released back in 2003. There was a lot of hype and expectation for this one and it did not disappoint. Despite the brevity, Six Ft Ditch pack in some serious meaty riffs, plenty of breakdowns, beatdowns and mosh that is so infectious that even when I'm in a public place I want to fly into the person nearest to me.

See if it does the same to you,

http://www.sendspace.com/file/2ifx35 - Intro - Six Ft Ditch

http://www.sendspace.com/file/pqyg7m - Face Of Death - Six Ft Ditch

This is still available from the label, so if you feel it, pick it up, http://www.rucktionmusic.com/default.aspx?productID=80

Misery Is My Comfort...

2007-06-05T18:37:00.000Z

I can't quite recall how I came to know of this band, all I do know is that from whatever I was told it incited an unhealthy urge to track down whatever they had at any cost. Well in the end the price paid wasn't that much, bargains in fact, as this is one of the most underrated and definitely most obscure bands to have ever graced the New York Hardcore scene.

I imagine that the first name that will came into your grey matter upon hearing this tune will be Life Of Agony, and certainly that is understandable as Section 8 sound a hell of a lot like those fellow New Yorkers circa 'River Runs Red.' But I find this material so much darker, so much more hopeless and utterly, utterly negative that even Keith Caputo couldn't match the sheer misery in his most miserable moments.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/ksmg36 - Section 8 - Pain Is Truth

Well if you like this, you're in luck as the place where I got my copy still has some - http://www.verydistro.com/moreinfo.aspx?id=13724

On The Prowl ...

2007-06-05T18:07:00.000Z

When I first began to think up what bands I was going to feature on this blog I knew that inevitably I would come to one of my all time favourite bands, the almighty Kickback by far the hardest band to come from Europe (counting music as well as attitude). Not only are they one of my favourites but one of the most important in my listening history as it was thanks to Kickback, Earth Crisis, Rykers and Sick Of It All that I became as infatuated with hardcore as I now am. Damn, I still get shivers the first time I think about when Kickback were first played to me, I can see it now, it was a miserable winter's day in my friend's flat in South London but fuck, when 'Heaven & Hell,' kicked in from 'Forever War,' I was S-O-L-D.

With each record the band took big strides and made their most daring creations on this, their last release (now 6 years and counting boys, hurry up with that cursed split with Arkangel) from 2001. Becoming even more intense and producing fiercer, tougher and downright heavier metallic hardcore (not to mention the step up in fierceness of Stephen's vocals check name), they weaved in some interesting ideas that could have been disastrous. The first example is the monstrous title track, built around a hypnotic riff that throbs and pulses before exploding into a crushing crescendo midway through. Second is the inclusion of French rapper Profecy on 'Ruining The Show,' this could have been horrendous but the fusion is absolutely perfect as it renders the break even more potent.

Check it,

http://www.sendspace.com/file/ft6m7s - Kickback - Les 150 Passions Meurtrieres

Kickback are still around, and sporadically surface to play shows, last year in fact, they were out playing live quite a bit hitting the Superbowl of hardcore in NY (lucky buggers) and then the Filled With Hate Fest in Germany (why oh why didn't I say nuts to my dissertation and go to that :( )

Contrary to the fact that it appears that this cd is out of print (although for some people, it is), there are copies of it (and the other Kickback albums) here - http://www.amazon.fr/150-passions-meurtri%C3%A8res-Kickback/dp/B00004XRUK/ref=sr_1_9/171-9537107-1265034?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1181067141&sr=1-9

My advice is to learn French and buy that shit immediately.

You Thought I Was Gone...

2007-06-03T18:08:00.000Z

In spite of the lifestyle change I plan to keep this going, my new job sees me now as a 'commuter,' and whilst I do hate that dead time travelling (although I do fill it in the best of ways, music & reading) it aint gonna stop the blog.

This was one I have been planning to pull out for a long, long time, so without further delay I present the sole (and absolutely awesome) full length from one of the more obscure metallic hardcore bands from the mid 90s, Excessive Force. Shit, if the name hasn't dropped the penny the opening minutes of 'Those Who Were Will,' no nonsense, no compromise, just straight chug and boisterous attitude for 40 odd minutes.

Damn I love this CD, despite the slightly tinny production it doesn't hamper the power of the delivery (especially the vocals) and its bursting with sumptuous riffs and angry, angry lyrics, and contains one of the greatest opening line's ever,

'You said you'd always be true but you're a weak motherfucker and you never had it in you.'

Merely the beginning, if this shit doesn't get you moving, nuthin will,

http://www.sendspace.com/file/27xl56 - Excessive Force - Those Who Were

http://www.sendspace.com/file/2w9c1i - Excessive Force - Distress

http://www.sendspace.com/file/ph9u5x - Excessive Force - In Your Blood

I hate reiterating this, but this album is difficult to find, so unfortunately, I have to recommend www.ebay.com.

So Tired

2007-05-14T19:12:00.000Z

So no posts today or on Friday, the reason? Well, I went to Rome this weekend and got back this morning and then started my new job so I am totally knackered. Shit will be back on track from tomorrow.

Spin Kicks At Will

2007-05-10T19:17:00.000Z

Filled with hate has ascended into one of Europe's premier labels taking all aspects of what makes a good cd...well,...good and assuring that a high standard of quality is maintained throughout their catalogue. Even when the label was just starting out they were making waves with their records and this, only their fifth release from 2003 stands as one of their all time greats. Split cds have always enamored me, I mean you get two bands for the price of the full length and the consistency of the material is sustained throughout each band's half. Through the years there have been some novel ideas with the split, such as each band covering one of each other's songs (the first Caliban/Heaven Shall Burn), to both artists collaborating for one final track (Knuckledust/Stampin' Ground and I've heard that the alleged forthcoming Arkangel/Kickback will feature a track of this nature). But nothing beats two great bands churning out fifteen to twenty minutes worth of juicy material and this is exactly what is to be found here on 'Splitting Ammunition.'

I remember Die My Demon coming out as they were formed from the ashes of Sad Origin. Whereas the latter were more metalcore, Die My Demon were distinctly influenced by New York and especially Madball but added a distinct European flavour that made these tunes sumptuous in their delivery. 50 Caliber have become one of the UK's most well known bands on the mainland and have been churning out their vicious, downtuned, beatdown heavy metallic hardcore for a long time now. The songs here are so much stronger then their debut EP 'Internal Bleeding,' and hinted at the various directions the band could have pursued on their promised full length due to follow this release. Well the band has been plagued by line up changes and issues since the release of this record and continue to suffer to this day, let's hope they can get the full length out this year but in the meantime, see what you think,

Die My Demon - Splitting Ammunition - http://www.sendspace.com/file/gig8p2

50 Caliber - Splitting Ammunition - http://www.sendspace.com/file/3c9cac

Even though this only came out a few years ago, its now out of print on the label, I have found copies here - http://www.pyrrhus.be/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=192465 but as I have said in the past about this store, they can be very slow, so I've found a copy here too http://cgi.ebay.de/Die-My-Demon-50-Caliber-Split_W0QQitemZ150092479067QQihZ005QQcategoryZ87349QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem

It's been one of those days...

2007-05-09T19:23:00.000Z

Well, its a late one tonight, today has been one of those tumultuous days that we all wish that could be avoided and dread to encounter but its over now and a long, peaceful sleep awaits...

Therefore tonight's post is going to be short and sweet, so here goes.

Picking up where I was yesterday but taking a step back in terms of time with Stampin' Ground's first CD release from way back in 1996. This was where the band sounded much more core then metal and they had a different vocalist he added to this sound. I've heard statements made that Stampin' Ground in this phase were a 'heavier,' Earth Crisis, I think that mainly comes from the very chunky guitar tone which sounds like Destroy The Machines amped up on PCP. This was the start of the band's ascent to one of the leading lights of the UKHC food chain, they would go on to release 4 full lengths, 3 of which were on Century Media. One of my best memories of this band was seeing them in 2000 at the Garage (a tiny venue in London), it was with some very dry bands (including Lostprophets I think...I could be wrong, but I swear they were there), anyway, Pierre from Knuckledust annihilated everyone in the crowd with continuous vicious spin kicking and crowd charges and from what one hears here together with the later material its not hard to see why,

http://www.sendspace.com/file/wzdwif - Stampin Ground - ST

If you dig this then there are a few used copies floating around here - http://www.amazon.com/Stampin-Ground/dp/B00000B1ZH/ref=sr_1_5/104-1017930-3221500?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1178740343&sr=1-5

What We Have

2007-05-08T06:02:00.000Z

So no post yesterday, this was due to 3 reasons, firstly because I did an extra post on Saturday, secondly it was a bank holiday and finally I spent the whole day at the Rucktion Damage Control fest, featuring la crema della crema of the UK's hardcore talent. It was easily the best show I've been to this year and by that I mean the whole thing was quality, granted I've seen better bands this year but not a single show that I've been too in 2007 since coming back from Rome matched yesterday's.

The show reminded me of how lucky I am to have this scene so readily available and one that is growing rapidly and expanding to frontiers that I would have never imagined so I thought it was about time that UKHC got some attention on here.

One of the early bands on was Hellbent Diehard. Formed in 2004 they comprise of 3 old skool UK heads that have been part of the scene for a long, long time. I remember them playing their first show while I was away in Italy and being majorly gutted to hear reports that when I got back that the show was not only amazing but that Hellbent were one of the day's highlights. Never mind. I've been lucky enough to see them many times since that day and each time it has been more and more impressive. This demo is impressively recorded (thanks to Sam the man's home studio, he is also the drummer) and brings out the fullness of the beats and riffs. Clearly their material is heavily influenced by their surrounding UK scene but the band also bring in influences from Cleveland and New York bands to create and even dirtier, grittier sound.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/8me8hz - Hellbent Diehard Demo 2004

The band have been long working on their impending full length, which they told me yesterday is coming, they just need to record and trust, when it does drop its gonna be some heavy shit because they have progressed immensely from this demo, so keep watching here - www.myspace.com/hellbentdiehard

Now giving you a fuller flavour of the UKHC scene is this impressive document by the almighty Rucktion records. This took a long time to come together but was worth the wait as most of the tracks featured here are exclusives to the comp. Hellbent Diehard also feature here and sound like a completely different band as the heaviness and intensity are amplified tenfold to bring forth a devastating track that beckons well for that aforementioned full length. There are some of my favorite UK bands on this, including, Blades Of Unity (Maniacs from Liverpool) Ninebar (London's answer to Bulldoze), Diction (Croydon's finest) and TRC (not 1, not 2 but 4 vocalists). The UK bands are becoming so much more popular now, thanks mainly to the efforts of Knuckledust through the years they have opened doors for bands like TRC and Diction to play the mainland and finally get the recognition and respect they deserve.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/18kedj - Time For Some Rucktion

I haven't uploaded all the tunes because its still readily available from www.rucktionmusic.com, so if you feel what you hear, then buy it.

Still Shaking

2007-05-05T09:44:00.000Z

The Godbelow has proved quite popular, and due to the cry for the rest of the album yesterday (thank you mr anon) and the people hitting the downloads, here it is,

http://www.sendspace.com/file/6whxdv -Godbelow - Painted Images With The Blood Of - Part 3

Shake Your Money Maker

2007-05-04T12:18:00.000Z

Isn't it frustrating when a band is before its time? Even when you know that this band is so good and that they should be big, they end up fading into obscurity and vanishing from the memory of those who did care. Godbelow were one such band, making brilliant, inspired music that wasn't gaining much recognition outside the confines of their recognized boundaries (i.e. Syracuse). Long before the likes of Every Time I Die (and tons of other metal and hardcore bands now in circulation) were dropping cheeky southern runs and riffs into their tunes, Godbelow were churning out their molten metallic crunch with dirty southern riffs and harmonies but what did they get for it? Niente, nada, absolutely nothing.

To be honest though, 1998 wasn't the best time to be forming a metal band, especially one that was sans rapping, bad hairstyles, worse clothes and redundant, tuneless music. There wasn't also the prosperity of labels like Metal Blade signing every band under the sun. Hence this explains how Godbelow ended up on the tiny Surface Records and also why their records are almost impossible to find. Anyway, back to the band.

Godbelow were something of a Syracuse supergroup, formed from the shards of several awesome bands. The most notable members were Kris Wiechmann, formerly of Earth Crisis on guitar and Dan Johnson, ex vocalist of Blood Runs Black. Before going into record this album Wiechmann left the band, but then re-joined later to bolster back up again to 3 guitarists. The record itself was full of gorgeously thick riffs that were as bludgeoning as they were graceful and when coupled with Johnson's wrenching vocals it made Godbelow a fearsome musical monolith.

I've decided to split the tracks I uploaded into 2 lots, otherwise it would have been a single 40MB file to download,

http://www.sendspace.com/file/m8u96g - Godbelow - Painted Images - Part 1

http://www.sendspace.com/file/6f26jy - Godbelow - Painted Images - Part 2

How is this new arrangement working for people?? Do you prefer it like this or as single tracks?? Let me know.

This one is another that is stupidly out of print, god knows why as it is totally genius, but I have seen their stuff on http://www.ebay.com/ quite a bit.

Post Godbelow, most of the band went into the rather tame Brand New Sin which was far more rock. However, Dan Johnson and Godbelow's drummer Joe Murphy have gone onto form the mighty Unholy (if you haven't heard them, go immediately here, www.myspace.com/unholy) together with the riff monster Jonathan Dennison (Another Victim, The Promise, etc) and have a full length dropping next month.

Harlots Interview

2007-05-03T13:47:00.000Z

I was very excited when it was announced that Harlot's sophomore record 'This Is The Second Death,' was coming out in the summer last year. So much so I hatched a grandiose plan to have their interview as the lead one for my then (pipedream) webzine. Well why let a good interview go to waste, and seeing as I have finally got this shit going, I thought I'd share this lengthy but really interesting interview with mainmain Jeff (drum god).

1) Firstly, would you please give some background on how Harlots came into being and what the goal was to do with this musical endeavor?

The initial ideas and songs for Harlots started coming together in December of 2002. Once Eric Dunn had joined the band as a guitar player in early 2003, that’s when the band really started to coming together. The goal was and is still to play music that satisfies us. We want to play music that is going to continue to make us better musicians, and also something we'd like to listen to. We keep topping ourselves because we are always pushing ourselves to be better musicians and write better songs.

2) It seems to me that Harlots is quite a demanding project, is this why you’ve had so many people come in and then leave the band?

Harlots is a demanding project, but it's what I love to do so I don't look at it like that. Eric and I have stuck with this band for almost 4 years, and we've had to replace vocalist after vocalist and bass player after bass player until we came upon Christian Fillippo about 2 years ago, and Josh Dillon just joined in December. This is probably the most solid the lineup has ever been.

About the ex members of this band, I'm not going to hold back. Most of them are still my friends, most of them just weren't serious about playing in a band. They thought it was something cool to do and didn't realize that you actually have to work for this(or just didn't feel like working), and that’s how it is for almost every other band that is trying to make a living playing. There are however other reasons members have to leave. Our bass player before Josh, Kenny Jones, toured with us in the summer of 2004 as a second guitarist, then toured with us in the summer of 2005 as a bassist. Kenny was 15 when he joined our band.

We knew that we were going to have to tour a lot more than Kenny would be able to due to him being in high school, so we got Josh. Josh plays guitar in Mugger, which Kenny plays drums for, so we're all still great friends. Another example would be Ben S. Jacob, who joined as a bass player the same time Christian joined to sing. Ben is a musical genius in his own regard, and a great guy and really worked for this band. After so long, we had some musical disagreements that we thought were getting in the way of finishing "This is the Second Death".

Ben is still a good friend of ours and now plays in a band called Basilica. On the other hand, our original bassist Joel Wright, and our vocalist before Christian, Alex McIntosh, both quit the band a week before "The Woman You Saw.." came out, and really fucked up touring for us. Both of those kids were my best friends growing up. We were really, really lucky that Christian and Ben were willing to drop almost everything and join our band. We had literally practiced with them once before they played their first show with us.

3) You have just released a new album, are you pleased with the outcome, certainly to my ears there is a marked quality in the sound, whereas your debut sounded more muffled (although this didnt detract from the power of the record) this time around you sound fuller and therefore more powerful, how do you feel this affected the songs?

Well "This is the Second Death" was recorded almost the exact same way as "The Woman You Saw...", the only difference would be that Steve Austin of Today is the Day mastered it. Eric has mixed both of our records, and mastered "The Woman You Saw...". "The Woman You Saw..." is the first record that Eric ever mixed, and we were both 17 when we started recording that record. It's really funny how that turned into a full length. Eric calls me up one day like "Hey my friend Nick can do alright recordings, we should do a demo with him". So we go and record, and in the meantime we're having a ton of lineup problems. About a month or 2 later Eric calls me up saying "Hey come over I got this demo to sound pretty good, come and check it out." We were having quite a bit of vocalist problems on that record, so me being the drummer, wrote all the lyrics and recorded vocals on it with the intentions of having somebody else redo the vocals, and everyone just kept flaking. "This is the Second Death" was recorded by the same dude, Nick Brough, and Eric mixed it. Whats really funny is that the guitar and drum tracks for "This is the Second Death" were recorded a week before "The Woman You Saw.." came out.

But to answer your question, I think "This is the Second Death" is a lot more focused than "The Woman You Saw...". Eric and I were both still really young during the writing process for both records. You can only be so focused when your 17 and 18. Now we're both 20, and we're still babies compared to all the dudes we're playing shows with, but we are definitely a lot more mature players. I am 100% happy with both records and I love the way Will Goodyears artwork compliments the sound.

4) Are you relived that This Is The Second Death, is finally out now? What hindered its release?

YES! A lot of things hindered it's release. First things first, when we first recorded it, Christian and Ben Jacob has just joined the band. So it took some time for Christian to write lyrics and get his voice up to par. This is the first band that Christian had ever sang for. I had mentioned a musical disagreement with us and Ben. Well what that boils down to is his bass tracks didn't fit the music the way that we thought they should. He has a very different way of approaching music from Eric and I. By that time I had joined Today is the Day, and while I was up there I asked Steve to master the record. It worked out really well because I got to sit next to Steve while he was mastering it, and he cut us a pretty good deal.

Now, the real problems were with Lovelost Records. When we had first agreed to do this record with them, everything seemed cool. We saw the success with his former bands Black Dahlia Murder, Into the Moat, and Through the Eyes of the Dead. He paid for the mastering and the artwork. Gave us a release date for November of 2005. So it ended up not meeting that release date. We were touring a lot then, in support of a record we didn't fucking have! Lovelost would promise us CD's each time we went on tour, then we wouldn't have them. There was one instance where he said "the CD's went to press today" which was the first day on our tour. So then I would try to call him to get updates, and no answer, no calls back.

Then he says "the pressing plant shut down in the middle of pressing the record and I can't get my money back" and says that his phone was shut off. So then we worked it out with our previous label Feeling Faint, that they would co release the record. Lovelost would pay for the pressing and it would get distribution through Lumberjack(Lovelost is exclusive through Lumberjack), and Feeling Faint would take care of getting it pressed and take care of all promotion, so basically all Kevin had to do was 30 minutes of work and sit on his ass and let the record come out. Well, after a month of waiting we said fuck it and went with Corrosive. The whole time, what it was is that Kevin was in Police Academy and didn't have time to run a label. We never signed a contract with Lovelost, and now he is asking us to pay him back for the artwork and mastering.

I'm probably going to get in some shit for saying all that about Lovelost. Haha.

5) Did you encounter great label interest when searching for a new deal and how does your new label Corrosive compare with those youve worked with before?

We had talked to Metal Blade, Prosthetic, Lifeforce, Translation Loss, Tribunal and Codebreaker. Corrosive Recordings just seemed like the best option. Eric at Corrosive was just like "I really want to work with you guys," right away, where everyone else was kinda iffy. That was the same deal with Feeling Faint, and Lovelost. They wanted to work with us and showed us that they wanted to. I believe that the label being as passionate about your music as you are is a really important thing. As far as comparing Corrosive with Lovelost, thats obvious. Comparing Corrosive with Feeling Faint... I think Corrosive is run more professionally, and I don\'t mean to talk shit on Feeling Faint, we are still great friends with them.

Eric from Corrosive just has a really really strong backround in music, having worked at radio stations, recording studios, worked for Hydrahead, roadied for The Red Chord and Unearth, and now working at Lumberjack Distrobution and the company that presses his CD\'s. With Feeling Faint, Andrew and Frankie have both roadied for us, Andrew was actually still in high school when we signed with them, he would skip class and talk to me on the phone.\n We were Feeling Faint\'s first release. I feel bad for Feeling Faint, because we are still the only band that has toured for a release on their label which has made it hard for them financially. I definately do see Feeling Faint turning into a really good label, especially with the Sleep Terror disc coming out. Corrosive has a had a decent amount of luck with how much The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza tour. Touring is 100% essential for bands like us. Oh and by the way, Eric from Corrosive lives about an hour North of me, so if I ever need to go up and kick his ass it won't be to terribly difficult, haha!

6) Who writes for Harlots and what is the process like when you are composing your music?

Eric and I write all of the music. We write songs in all kinds of different ways. Some newer material was written on drums before guitar was put to it. Some was written by Eric, Josh, and myself jamming. A lot of the more ambient stuff Eric did completely on his own. Typically, Eric and I write most of it together. There have been other pieces of music that I wrote on guitar, and the really early stuff was written by me and Joel.
Lyrically, Christian writes most of it on his own, but I still help out where I can.

7) Aside from the chaotic assault of your more aggressive material, there are the more introspective pieces throughout your 2 records. Do you plan to integrate with greater prominence the two sides to your sound in the future?

Definately man! It definately has changed from what it used to be like, you'll have to wait and see.

8) Leading on from the previous question, Id like to talk about your influences (musically). I dont remember where I read it (so correct me if Im wrong here) but a piece described you being as influenced as much as by Sigur Ros and Don Caballero as you are Cryptopsy and Discordance Axis, would you say that these are accurate? Personally, I feel that in your more introspective moments, they are dreamier and more akin to Mono, Godspeed You Black Emperor and Mogwai then Don Caballero.

Don Caballero's drumming was a huge influence on my drumming. I'm not really that familiar with Mono, and I definately used to be a fan of Godspeed You Black Emperor. To be honest, I think that a lot of that type of music is just too slow for my tastes. I play with a lot of energy, and I like music with a lot of energy. I know Eric is a fan of Mono. His band Kenoma, who just released a split cd with Mouth of the Architect, is right up that alley. Kenoma is an outlet for Eric to play like that because I'm not really into playing like that anymore. Like in the previous question, our lighter side has changed quite a bit. It's a lot more upbeat. I don't really know how to describe it, but I'm 150% more into what we're doing now.

A lot of those influences were mentioned when we were a younger band. I think now we influence each other\n to play the way we play. I write something on drums, so it pushes Eric to play up to par with what I have on drums. Eric writes something on guitar, it pushes me to play up to par with his riffs. We definately influence ourselves within the band more than any outside influences now, which I think is essential to having your own sound. Eric and I have inspired each other lot on guitar too(I played guitar before I ever touched a drumset). Earlier on, a lot of the ideas were spawned from guitar riffs I had, the tuning we used was something that I was fooling around with, etc. Eric is a much more natural guitar player than I am, and he took what I was doing on guitar and made it way better, so that definately influences me to try to keep up with him on guitar. I think it works the same way with Josh. Josh and Eric have been friends for a really long time. About everything Josh knows on guitar, he learned from Eric. So when Josh joined the band, there was no real down time.\n Thats the same way it was when Kenny was in the band too. Those two kids picked up our songs like it was nothing, when we have tried out other musicians who it takes a fucking month to get one song down.

9) Seeing as your music is quite abstract, what reactions do you gain when playing live? Do kids dance or stand swaying with their jaws rooted to the floor?

It differs every night. I love seeing kids tear shit up to us. We play with a lot of energy and I like to see that reaction out of kids. Some nights everyone will just stare at us, and I get done playing and thinking "man those kids hated us", then they come and talk to us and tell us we\'re the best thing they\'ve ever seen. And some nights, kids fucking hate us. Its really hard to say. We\'ll play with all pop punk bands and do really well, and then we\'ll do it again and do horrible. We\'ll play with all hardcore bands that sound like Sick of it All or something, and do horrible, and then other nights\n the crowd will love us. We\'ll play with all Christian bands and kids will absolutely hate us, we\'ve even been banned from Christian venues, and what blows my mind is that we have so many fucking bible references, but then those kids will eat up a band like Remembering Never, who is blatantly against God. Kids are fucking weird.

I think what it boils down to is that we're a band that plays music, and we definately try to push as many limits as we can with what we have. Kids that are there for music will love us, and granted sometimes it's a little too much for kids at first, but they still will respect us. Kids that are there for scene politics alot of times don't like us because we are there to play music for everyone, and we don't try to appeal to one small group. Which is what I thought hardcore was about anyways, oh well.

10) Do you think Harlots could have manifested 10 years ago or do you think that now the music climate is more geared too bands like yourselves that are overtly willing to push boundaries?

I think the music climate has always been open to bands who push boundaries. I think if this were 10 years ago, we would probably sound a little different, but look at bands like Today is the Day, Human Remains, Don Caballero, Sick of it All, Slayer, fucking Metallica, Death, Cynic, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Van Halen, etc. Everyone of those bands pushed the boundaries for what you could do musically and what would be accepted. They took chances that a lot of other musicians wouldn't take and now they are all legendary in their own right because of that.

11) Finally, what are your future plans for Harlots?

Touring, touring, touring, finishing up a new record for Corrosive, and touring. Look for us on the road in the U.S. with Veil of Maya, and Lye By Mistake later this year. Thank you for the interview.

Harlots are a great band. They are working on a new full length which should be out this year, if you havent heard them, then rectify that now - www.myspace.com/harlots.

If you want music, then those stores carry their cds,

www.verydistro.com

www.revhq.com

www.interpunk.com

Desperate Measures

2007-05-03T07:19:00.000Z

Third world hardcore. There's an endearing thought and one that perhaps encapsulates purely what hardcore is meant to be, heart, soul and pure passion, all of which come in abundance throughout Point Of No Return's swansong record 'Imposed Freedom,' from 2002. Easily the most influential and perhaps best (although I still dispute this inside my head on a regular basis) hardcore band from South America, Point Of No Return, even in their formative days, were no poor imitation of the States and Europe. Granted there were prominent influences running from those demographics (especially from bands in the New York area and not just Earth Crisis) but they took these elements and sculptured them into their own entity that was relentlessly heavy, overtly confrontational and absolutely fierce. Coupled with the band's seething intensity was a pitch black atmosphere that engulfed the material, making it all the more urgent.

The progression that the band made from each release was astounding, as each element was given greater emphasis in the context of a piece. One of the band's greatest strengths was their mastery of how to expertly utilize three vocalists. Each one had his own unique aesthetic trademark but rather then merely have them separated, hammering out a line in turn they would overlap, butt in and appear without warning whilst another was still screaming. However, in spite of this sporadic approach a smooth flow was consistently maintained and added to the texture of feel of the songs.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/zbdzwd - Point Of No Return - Imposed Freedom

The band played their final show at the Liberation Fest in 2004 alongside various other great South American bands (such as Children Of Gaia, Nueva Etica etc). Apparently they were due to release another album in 2004 but this as of today has still not been released although I have been told it is coming.

Luckily, it looks like this record (and their other awesome full length) is still available here, http://www.verydistro.com/search.aspx?typeofsearch=artist&keywords=point+of+no+return

I was sick to discover recently that the band played Ieper Fest in 2002, if only I had known.

Like You Could Really Get On The BBC

2007-05-02T11:54:00.000Z

I really don't know how I came to be acquainted with this band, I have a filling it was through their affinity with the almighty Page 99...probably, anyway, I'll quit the foreplay and get to the bones of the matter. Back before 'emo,' became a dirty word amongst snobby music circles, it was a term that (like hardcore) covered and encompassed so many bands with contrasting styles and approaches. Certainly classic 'emo,' would be associated with the calmer splinter of bands that sounded like indie rock but with broken hearts. But there were also those that were bracketed with the term that were far far removed from those calmer folks.

Amongst the finest were Majority Rule, whom I remembered being described to me as "emo-violence," back in 2001 when this record was unleashed. Now although the band described themselves as punk (like their kindred spirits Page 99) they sound nothing like what would be deemed as the archetypal punk band (so Rancid fans, leave now). Rather, this was a far more visceral brew complete with scathing vocals and stabbing guitars that swung and collapsed without warning, without structure, yet, despite the instability and the manic nature of their songs, Majority Rule were so adept at making their pieces memorable, filling them with beautiful (yet destructive) riffs and lyrics.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/y4n845 - Majority Rule - Interviews With David Frost

The band called it quits in 2004 but in their 8 years they were far from lazy, putting out two cds, a split with Page 99 and a slew of 7 inches.

If you feel the tunes support the band, they are still selling copies of this one together with their other cd releases here - http://www.majrule.com/main.htm.

Straight From The Streets

2007-05-01T13:03:00.001Z

Easily one of the hardest bands I have ever seen live. The first time in 2002 at London's underworld was a war zone, it was absolute carnage and I duly feared that some, if not all of my teeth were about to be smashed. The same feeling was repeated when Irate literally tore through Pressure Fest in 2005, for the closing 'Vendetta,' the whole floor went bananas inciting the kind of dance floor moves best reserved for a Jackie Chan film set. I was privileged to see one of the final Irate shows last year and am still in fact mourning their passing and eagerly awaiting the promised resurrection of the band in a new guise.

Until that moment, let's take a step and consider how monunmetal, Irate were. This their debut from 1998 balanced the sound they would go onto develop on their seminal full lengths "11.34," and "NY Metal." For the uninitiated Irate were from the Bronx and produced an unduly hybrid of tougher then tough New York Hardcore with intricate metal leads, riffs and harmonies. Their sound was thick, relentless but also varied and constantly moving showing that this was no lunk headed troupe intent on busting your head with continuous mosh and beatdown, no, no, no, Irate looked to dissect you from various angles bringing in those breaks when you least expected it.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/v5rxlw - Irate - Burden Of A Crumbling Society

As you can see, there is only one download link, well I decided to rip the whole CD, zip it and post it as one, hopefully this will work, but if it doesn't, then let me know and I'll rearrange the tunes.

Now I love the sound of "Burden," especially the versions of "Transcendence," and "Gone," which appeared re-recorded on "11.34," here they sound so dirty, so of the streets and makes me want to break everything in orbit when those tracks hit.

Its amazing that no one picked up Irate during their tenure, considering that they wrote better songs and put on one of the best shows I have ever seen. Well, I hope that if they do return, fortunes are kinder to them.

Now due to "Burden," being released on a very obscure label 'Even If It Smells,' and their later output being self released, tracking down their records aint gonna be easy, the band were selling all 3 records on their website but that, together with their myspace have disappeared. So watch http://www.ebay.com/, and I'm sure that when the band do eventually resurface, they will do represses, for now, enjoy 'Burden.'

Walking through fire

2007-04-30T08:12:00.000Z

Day Of Suffering have ascended through the years to become one of my all time favorites. Their sound and their attitude fortunately spread through to some loyal disciples (Heaven Shall Burn most notably until they signed to Century Media and stopped sounding like an even more metal incarnation of DOS) but now, the band face being cast into the annals of history with countless others as one of "those," vegan bands from the 90s that sound dated and "weak," because they are bereft of certain elements circulating in today's music that makes it heavy.

What's most frustrating is that 'The Eternal Jihad,' (DOS's lone full length) hinted at so many possibilities some of which I understand were explored on a demo that the band released in 1998. I haven't personally heard it but I have been told that it sounded like the band's older material mixed with vicious black metal, apparently that track (and some others) will be surfacing at some point this year through www.xcatalystx.com. Anyway, after Day Of Suffering's demise two of the members (Rob Townsend and Paul Hart) went on to form this short lived project and it looks like they released nothing more then these two tracks (taken from a demo that was limited to 25 copies, how kvlt is that??).

Despite the brevity, for 11 minutes it sounds like the world is going to cave in, imagine Townsend's and Hart's former material mixed up with a heavy dose of Morbid Angel, broody vocals supplied by Ted Gasper and voila! Armageddon unleashed.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/6lsbgo - Sennacherib - Hands Bound

http://www.sendspace.com/file/q0mnhj - Sennacherib - Shroud

Due to this being released on a good label that keeps their stuff in print you can find this easily and is readily available here for a good price - http://www.verydistro.com/moreinfo.aspx?id=3624.

Again, its utterly infuriating that this band only put out these tracks, with a little investment they could have been something that equalled or even surpassed the almighty Day Of Suffering.

I guess we will never know.

Missing Files

2007-04-27T12:50:00.000Z

For some reason sendspace deletes files, god knows why but if any do go missing just mail me and I will put them back up, I found that The Ten Commandments and The Fortress songs were missing today, so they are now back up.

Drown In Sorrow

2007-04-27T09:49:00.001Z

Clowns. Hate em. Ever since seeing I.T. (and a few other cinematic atrocities where clowns were involved) coupled with my earlier encounters with them (at parties, come on, everyone during their formative years went to, or had a party where a clown was present) my feelings towards them have taken the form of nothing but pure vehemence. The idea of them, the point of them, goddamn, the mere presence of a clown, anywhere just makes me curl up in a ball, wishing that it would disappear into a very deep, black hole. So when I heard that members of Arkangel and Moules from the mysterious Backstabbers (has this band ever released anything??? If anyone knows then fill me in!!) were getting together under the name of 'Broken Clown,' I was perplexed, thinking "What the hell could this possibly sound like?? Arkangel with circus music???!"

In spite of the moniker, Broken Clown and the feelings of trepidation that were coursing through me when I bought this CD were surprisingly (and gloriously) quashed by the band's fluid and potent mix of doomy, miserable yet driving rock that fleshes out this EP's duration. Moules really excels here, usually I'm accustomed to him wrenching his guts out (he can be found on the last Arkangel full length and Kickback's 'Les 150 Passions,') but here there is not a trace of his former self to be found, rather, he moans, mumbles and drawls his way through the material which coupled with the sludgy but tuneful riffing creates a sizable emotional weight that becomes enticing and hypnotic and draws you in to his wretched world of love, loss and depression.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/j3f6aa - Broken Clown - At The Surface

http://www.sendspace.com/file/s7mrsp - Broken Clown - That Wall

http://www.sendspace.com/file/6u9jz8 - Broken Clown - Who The Fuck Is Mary?

http://www.sendspace.com/file/u9o4fz - Broken Clown - My Precious

http://www.sendspace.com/file/q2a517 - Broken Clown - Murdered By Love

Now distros in the US (as far as I have looked anyway) seem to be carrying this, the only outlet I have found this far is here http://www.goodliferecordings.com/webstore/, alternatively, you could try contacting the band www.myspace.com/brokenclown, to see if they have any copies left.

The band have been threatening to bring forth a full length for some time but there is still no sign of it, hopefully it will see the light of day before the end of this year, in the meantime this will have to suffice.

Searching For The Truth...

2007-04-26T13:47:00.000Z

Lifeforce's current roster cannot hold a candle to that of their past, so many of their releases are now so sugary, so palatable, so zeitgeist (I mean that in a bad sense) that its really amazing and still for me, hard to comprehend, that this label was churning out great record after great record. Yeah I know its not the late 90s or early 2000s but how a label can go from releasing some of the best metallic hardcore that Europe and the States had to offer to dross such as Raunchy is still something I am having a hard time to swallow. Having said all that, you can all castrate me for the fact that when it hits the right distros, I will be purchasing very quickly the new Deadlock album, even though I have heard reports that they have also now become somewhat sugary. .

Anyway, back when Lifeforce was a hardline (this is being used as an adjective, I have no idea if the owners were actually hardline) vegan straightedge label that only released material by bands that were of that ideology. They put out a slew of quality EP's, reissues (the Framework collection) before moving onto acts such as Heaven Shall Burn, Caliban etc that really made the label a force to be reckoned with. Then when Trivium joined the label, it ascended their status further and they are now a big, big label (in terms of independents anyway).

Thus its even harder to believe that they stuff they used to release was so raw, and unpolished, typified by the likes of Rancor, Insurrection and the mighty Unborn. This UK pack (of wolves) unleashed this, their second major release back in 1998, at a time when the UKHC scene was in a pretty tumultuous state. 'Truth Against The World,' followed their raging debut 7 inch on Sure Hand and it saw Unborn increase the metal factor (and song length), making this EP a short but potent stab to the eardrums.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/3wcvni - Unborn - Eternal Resistance

http://www.sendspace.com/file/580bwx - Unborn - Wrath Of Persistence

http://www.sendspace.com/file/0zyven - Unborn - Blood & Time At The End Of The World

http://www.sendspace.com/file/6cqfmm - Unborn - Free To Be Human

This is going for a silly price here - http://www.verydistro.com/moreinfo.aspx?id=1507

Now seeing this EP is criminally short (and because I'm a generous feller) I'm enclosing two of Unborn's rarer tracks that were released on compilations (Rat told me, but I've forgotten which ones, one track was definitely on 'Stones To Mark A Fire.') These rip, and are easily some of the best material the band put to tape,

http://www.sendspace.com/file/5oqfr4 - Unborn - Covenant

http://www.sendspace.com/file/ix4t36 - Unborn - Convoluted

Sensual Sounds

2007-04-25T08:05:00.001Z

God how long ago it seems since the heady summer of 2003 and what great times, I was looking forward to a long break after my first year of college and the Goodlife summer fest was placed at the pinnacle of that summer break. A big crew from the UK headed out and we all met up to enjoy the likes of Congress, Liar, Die My Demon, Shai Hulud, Heaven Shall Burn, Arkangel etc, etc. It was a great line up and a great fest but one band that surprised everyone there was this mysterious Japanese entity, Naiad. They had flown out for this one show and stole the fest from pretty much all the big names present (which included The Haunted). The appearance (and release of the MCD) was one of the big factors for Goodlife on this fest, and after the performance (and then buying the MCD and listening to it after) its not hard to see why, Naiad were incredible live, pulling in pretty much everyone in attendance with their mesmeric show, which included a burning of incense (if memory serves me correctly) and hypnotic visuals before each member plunged body and soul into a half hour catharsis. Even Shai Hulud (who headlined on the same day) had a tough act to follow (but were still great) as Naiad had truly, stolen the show.

But none of this truly reveals the sound of Naiad.

Well, they managed to concoct a rich, vibrant musical tapestry that is seamless in its execution. In spite of the moments where they swing from melody to mayhem, each transition is so smooth, so lush, that it made the record finish way too quickly. At the time, the band was compared to the likes of Hopesfall and Poison The Well, two fair comparisons due to the mingling of beauty and brutality, but Naiad were no mere impersonation of those two Stateside giants, rather, they were their own, independent entity.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/rrmd0z - Naiad - Sensuous Tone

http://www.sendspace.com/file/vvj5o6 - Naiad - Believing Dreams

http://www.sendspace.com/file/bpg33g - Naiad - Waves Of Influence Strike Within What Truly Moves You

http://www.sendspace.com/file/rwwf2s - Naiad - Song Of Nature

http://www.sendspace.com/file/z7d65r - Naiad - Hopeful progress

This is still about, and there are copies here, so if you feel it, pick it up - http://revhq.com/store.revhq?Page=search&Id=ED091

Naiad unfortunately disbanded in 2006, a full CD was set for release but the band imploded due to line up problems and thus decided to cancel the release of their full length. A real shame because the potential on this MCD hinted at vast and incredible possibilities.

Still if you enjoyed this, then you should scroll down and check out Birthplace who play a similar (bit more aggressive) style and are still together.

Facing The End

2007-04-24T15:47:00.000Z

Canadian hardcore. Some good bands have come from there, proving that the country isn't an anomaly when it comes to hardcore. Before the likes of Figure Four and A Death For Every Sin started tearing shit up there was the almighty Day Of Mourning who mixed up the tough east coast side with holy terror style atmospherics and feel, shit, on this EP the band even drafted in Human Furnace and Dwid for guest vocals. Whilst Day Of Mourning were adept and knowing in how to pen crushing songs, one of their most distinctive features was vocalist Fawad Bokhari, whose fearsome lungs added a more heaving weight to the songs that made them all the more crushing.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/suol92 - Day Of Mourning - Iconoclast

http://www.sendspace.com/file/456ixg - Day Of Mourning - Demons Who Wear The Same Face

http://www.sendspace.com/file/4a3xu4 - Day Of Mourning - Enshrouded In Briars

http://www.sendspace.com/file/y9ktll - Day Of Mourning - Under A Veil

http://www.sendspace.com/file/xgzyzf - Day Of Mourning - Enemy Of Angels

I grabbed this at a fest in Belgium sometime in 2002/03, I can't pinpoint exactly when, but I was lucky as it was not only the last copy available but its a record that had been (and still is) long, long out of print. I have found a copy though currently going at ebay -
http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?sofocus=bs&sbrftog=1&amp;catref=C6&from=R10&satitle=day+of+mourning+&sacat=11233%26catref%3DC6&sargn=-1%26saslc%3D2&sadis=200&fpos=BR3+5BT&ftrt=1&ftrv=1&saprclo=&saprchi=&fsop=1%26fsoo%3D1&amp;coaction=compare&copagenum=1&coentrypage=search

Despite the hefty tag for you stateside readers, I do feel that this is worth it, this is a rare gem that will not be reissued. Likewise if you come across their debut full length from 1998, 'Reborn As The Enemy,' or the split with Clenched Fist, then pick those up as they are both equally devastating.

Pure Brutality

2007-04-23T09:34:00.000Z

Finally. I've been meaning to do a death metal post for such a long time and this is the first of several so for you death metal freaks, watch out, shits gonna start getting BrOOtal ;) So it begins with one of the underground's most obscure but beloved gems 'Drowning In Tragedy,' by the long deceased Eternal Suffering. The band began in 1994 and took their first major step with the release of the demo 'Remain Forever In Misery,' which was a primitive but viral slab of brutality. However, the progression for the material for the full length was astounding as the band managed to juxtapose deftly the brutality factor (as well as escalate it) with stunning atmosphere. Check the doomy riffs that open and then run throughout 'Let The Dark Waters Flow,' it adds so much more personality to the material and makes it much more memorable. Where Eternal Suffering excelled though was their breakdowns, absolute towering monoliths that crushed everything.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/8995q1 - Eternal Suffering - Let The Dark Waters Flow

http://www.sendspace.com/file/svaorc - Eternal Suffering - The Warmth In Her Torment

http://www.sendspace.com/file/cwp270 - Eternal Suffering - Love Can Never Conquer Hate

http://www.sendspace.com/file/gy9mat - Eternal Suffering - Rise

After the album's release in 1999 the band played numerous fests and then began work on their next batch of songs for a split with the almighty Vomit Remnants in 2000. Well for varying reasons, that split never happened (a tragedy, it would have been one of the best ever) and in 2001, the band disbanded.

Now whilst 'Drowning in tragedy,' has been long out of print and is very hard to find there is good news.

Firstly pathos productions (www.myspace.com/pathosproductions666) will be reissuing (but god knows when) the band's entire discography, in the meantime, if you really need to find a copy of the album, then hit http://www.ebay.com/.

The good news doesn't end there, the 6 tracks that were set to be featured on the split with Vomit Remnants will be reissued with some bonus material this year on the awesome Inherited Suffering (http://www.myspace.com/inheritedsufferingrecords) you can preview a track on there.

Screaming For Justice

2007-04-20T11:40:00.000Z

Bloody hell this has been a fucker to get up today, clearly my pc doesn't like the 'Verses Of The Bleeding,' tunes. Minchia. Anyway, of all the 90s bands that I have become most obsessed with, Abnegation rank near the top, due to the rumours and stories that this band have caused because of their music, because of their politics and because of their history. Whenever I have quizzed anyone about Abnegation, I have received a cast iron opinion, that is either one of praise or one of sheer hatred. In regards to the latter, the reasoning stems from this due to their views as well as the absolute abomination of a full length that they released in 1997, even though I, like many others, don't consider that album as the true Abnegation. Hence, this post features cuts from their golden days and from the full length so that a fair balance is maintained but also to show the (not progression, far from it) the direction the band took in their twilight period.

'Extinguish The Sickness,' is one of my favorite 7 inches. The amount of times I have spun it now even surprises me, more so if the queasy feeling of excitement that enters my stomach each time a song starts. On this release the band had excelled from their demo 'Life For A Life,' which was bestowed with a sincere energy but lacked quality songs. For 'Extinguish,' they took the raw materials from the demo and unearthed (probably from the depths of hell) some of the hardest riffs, poignant lyrics and punishing beats from the mid 90s. Fuck. If only this band could have got a good deal and released a proper full length at this time...

http://www.sendspace.com/file/ryds04 - Abnegation - Birthright

http://www.sendspace.com/file/fb20lx - Abnegation - Siphon

http://www.sendspace.com/file/fi6aua - Abnegation - Extinguish The Sickness

http://www.sendspace.com/file/dz9dvz - Abnegation - In The Eye Of The Storm

'In The Eye Of The Storm,' was actually the second track on this 7 inch, but the version I have included here appeared on the 7 Inch of the same name released by Enigmatic records in 1995. Musically it is of the same ilk as the 3 other cuts but with the 'harsher,' vocals that Iggy employed for the remainder of their releases with him on the mic.

I have seen 'Extinguish The Sickness,' on www.ebay.com a lot recently, so keep watching there for it.

Now, that abominable full length. 'Verses Of The Bleeding,' reared its ugly head in 1997 and by this time, the line up had drastically changed. Vocal duties were handled by Dave Steele after Iggy left and Doug Corey became the band's sole guitarist after Paul Nowoczynski jumped ship. The notable progression that the band choose here was to gorge and overdose on their metal influences and to eradicate any trace of their former 'core,' self. What was left was a sludgy, primal and very primitive. The tracks that had began to earmark this progression were also featured (but re-recorded) here, one of them being 'Hopes Of Harmony,' one of my favorite Abnegation songs but was completely desecrated for this full length.

Anyway, make your own minds up,

http://www.sendspace.com/file/z8kp8l - When The Smoke Clears

http://www.sendspace.com/file/9x1605 - Verses Of The Bleeding

http://www.sendspace.com/file/rb7ave - Hopes Of Harmony (Horrible Version)

http://www.sendspace.com/file/ufobxl - Cry Of The Ezurate

If you do like this record, then it is readily available for a cheapo price here - http://www.verydistro.com/moreinfo.aspx?id=1021.

Let me know

2007-04-17T17:44:00.000Z

If anything is broken. I have added my email if you want to get in touch, but if anything does break (like the Caliban songs), let me know!!! And Nick, there you go my friend, the whole Caliban EP is now back up, enjoy and thanks for the comment ;) !!!

No longer a joke...

2007-04-11T13:42:00.002Z

Reaching back into the folds of memory, I recall that when my interest for black metal began to ferment (around 1999/2000), American bands weren't held in the highest regard. Granted, there weren't very many of them, but those that were operating simply couldn't hold a candle to their European peers.

Post 2000, this began to change when artists as diverse, not to mention classy, such as Weakling, Leviathan, Xasthur, Nachtmystium and legions more, commenced a bloody crusade to not only establish credibility for American black metal but show their peers that they could create their own sound which didn't rely or attempt to mimic that of Europe.

Be it the psychedelic blackened other worldliness of Leviathan and Xasthur or the grandiose brutality of Weakling, the releases by these bands (and others) have become staples as well as hallmarks of the black metal genre. Furthermore, the likes of Xasthur have gone on to cause controversy by switching labels, being 'appreciated,' by trendy rags and declaring all out war on pretty much everyone that has tried to halt or demean the band's progress. This confirms that USBM no longer has to look over its shoulder to examine what's going on in Europe, they can look to trace their own path without that need to acknowledge (or in fact respect) their peers.

One of the strongholds of USBM is the West Coast, both where Leviathan and Xasthur reside but also the focus of this post, Fanisk. Like their contemporaries (especially Weakling and Velvet Cocoon) Fanisk are shrouded in mystery, the members choosing pseudonyms and numerically titling their pieces. The music itself is even more mystically. Each piece if a vast, ambitious canvas that works within but more so beyond the constituents and constraints of black metal. The result is that each song is an ominous but enticing beast, fluctuating and oscillating through various moods, riffs and melodies but always coalescing poignantly so that coherence is maintained.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/v110lv - Fanisk - I

http://www.sendspace.com/file/mxzgzw - Fanisk - II

Locating this one is not going to be easy, I suggest to try the band directly www.myspace.com/fanisk to see if they have any copies left. I know that http://www.supernalmusic.com/ had some copies but I fear they have disappeared. Otherwise, you can consult http://www.ebay.com/ to see if any copies arise.

There's chugging and then there's Another Victim...

2007-04-10T10:47:00.000Z

Yet another monster from Syracuse (I should have done a weekly feature on these bands) and one that certainly could have become as notorious (although perhaps not as famous) as the scene gods, Earth Crisis, they had that much potential.

Whereas the likes of Green Rage, Contempt and Soulstice (as well as many others of the Syracuse Vanguard) had 1 or at a push 2 significant releases (excluding demos), Another Victim where constantly releasing material, even if the most at any one time was 6 songs (the Equal Vision EP). Their first significant release was this, their debut from 1997 on none other then Stillborn Records. Damn, if only Jamie had the budget and resources that he had now, who knows what Another Victim could have gone on to release.

At just shy of 12 minutes, this EP shows Another Victim at their juiciest, each riff is a smoldering firestorm of a pure metallic fury, intensified by Andrew's gut wrenching bark. Every track moves so quickly with none topping more then 3 minutes. In spite of the brevity their is a unique character weaved into each song, making it distinguishable and memorable but as always frustrating because they are so addictive and often leave me pleading for more...

http://www.sendspace.com/file/73ny08 - Another Victim - Martyr

http://www.sendspace.com/file/xpeo5k - Another Victim - The Undertaker

http://www.sendspace.com/file/7rlqt0 - Another Victim - Ritual Of Decay

http://www.sendspace.com/file/3vbn6x - Another Victim - Trial For A Waste Of Life

http://www.sendspace.com/file/q78jte - Another Victim - A Portrayal Of Vengeance

Well, this is another record that is long out of print, only one place to look people - www.ebay.com

Still Striking Back...

2007-04-10T10:15:00.000Z

Better late then never.

Well, here is the second part of the Resurrection comp tracks as promised and as with part 1, the quality and variation is still very high. The latter part of the disc though features two of the 168/178's more unusual artists, these being Eric (named after Unbroken's guitarist, Eric Allen, nice touch I thought), and Unboy (who also sound a little like Unbroken, especially musically) but coupled with Unboy and Eric are two bands that typify the expected (but not typical per se) Japanese sound, these being Canopus (awesome mix of Arkangel and Children Of Gaia) and God's Heritage (one of my fave Japanese bands, now broken up :(.
So enjoy,

http://www.sendspace.com/file/w7j3ym - Eric - Education Of The Arrow

http://www.sendspace.com/file/p7jtgj - Canopus - Born II Die

http://www.sendspace.com/file/6pcy7z - Unboy - Hold Kindled Truth

http://www.sendspace.com/file/g2rm9n - God's Heritage - Traditional Evangel

Again, if you want a copy of the CD (and why wouldn't you???) then hit xHirox up directly at www.retributionnetwork.com, but, I have heard that copies of this will be soon available at www.verydistro.com, so the choice, is yours!

More metal than your ma's...

2007-03-30T19:24:00.000Z

Mix tapes. Remember those? God I do miss them. There was a point from 99 until 2001 where I made so many of them for people (and like wise, them for me) and I would spend so much free time carefully collating a good mix, balancing it and then setting to the task of conceiving it, but now, fuggedhaboudit, damn IPOD'S and you cretins on soulseek, you've ruined it.

The type of mix tapes I received from people varied, thinking back some of the mixes I got…anyway, I digress, one of my favourites was from Mark of Downtrodden in 2001 (now Hellbent Diehard, fuckin check these mofos out, they are seriously lethal, www.myspace.com/hellbentdiehard), who dedicated one side to new school/metalcore and the other side to death/grind. That tape was run ragged, played all the time in my car and it served as a source for new bands, to track down their releases which leads to the focal point of this post, Aftershock.

The track from that comp (Nothing) hit me hard, and began to dig around to find info on the band discovering that 3/5 of them had gone into Killswitch Engage so, wasting little time (as always) I ordered whatever I could find and awaited for the precious package to arrive. At the time, the only CD to be found was their sophomore effort 'Through The Looking Glass,' but no sign of this track 'Nothing.' Further digging let me discover that there had been another full length, this monster, 'Letters,' released on xLifesentencex, but tracking the bastard down has taken until now to do so.

Damn this was a record that was so prototypical, sowing seeds that would be ripped from the ground in the years to come but, in spite of the sheer mass of bands now playing metalcore, none have the sound, the atmosphere of Aftershock. This comes down to two salient factors, the fearsome vocals of Tobias and the cast iron riffs of Adam D.

Now whatever you think of the latter (he certainly doesn't help his personal self image by declaring how he is going to anally rape people's mothers and daughters whilst playing live with KSE), his talent for writing riffs is immense. 'Letters,' showcases some of his finest, they are volatile, they brim with a potent energy that make speakers rumble. Yet, despite their ferocity and intensity, they are so instantly memorable and thoroughly addictive that I have often found myself continuously gorging on Aftershock for days.

So see what you think, and tell me what you feel about the changes in style between Aftershock and KSE, I know that there are variables such as label, popularity and what not that have affected this, but I like to see an open dialogue on how people feel about these changes,

http://www.sendspace.com/file/ogm5mu - Aftershock - Nothing

http://www.sendspace.com/file/xu4xq7 - Aftershock - Divest Your Entity

http://www.sendspace.com/file/fho5fg - Aftershock - Apparitional State

Now, 'Letters,' was reissued as part of a double CD set with all of Aftershock's other material a few years ago, dubbed as 'Propaganda,' which you can still find here, http://revhq.com/store.revhq?Page=search&Id=DHR11

But, if you desire the original pressing, only one place to look peeps - www.ebay.com

I'm not dead...

2007-03-30T09:50:00.000Z

Sorry sorry sorry, but things have been way too intense here, what with chalking up another year on terra firma, family issues, ordeals and problems and the fact that I've got a mate coming tomorrow and staying until Wednesday has seen me slacken with the blog, so sorry peeps, there will be a post today (maybe 2), so keep coming back, there will be an update ;)

Darkness surrounds...

2007-03-20T21:17:00.001Z

Despite this theme is constantly recurring, I'll stress it one more time, the mid 90s was a brilliant time for music and although I had no part in the world of hardcore during that time (admittedly, I wish I had been born 10 years earlier, then I would have seen our (Italy) World Cup Victory in 82 as well) the more research I have done and the more stories told to me endear me all the more. However, one prominent premise that has arisen to me is that whilst the mid 90s was a great period and produced some extremely powerful, profound music, it is a frustrating period that had many great bands that didn't get the opportunity to fully demonstrate what they could have and should have done.

Tons of my favourite bands from that era were unable to release much material, of course there were the lucky ones, if you were signed to Victory, you had a chance of getting out at least one full length. But for the legions of bands that expired after a demo and a 7-inch, I lament and wish you had stayed together! However, I recognize and respect that there are variables that would have a siginifcant influence on the fate of a band, such as money (lack there of), member drop outs, member conflicts of interest etc etc etc. But I do often wonder whether bands such as Contempt and the countless others would have been able to sustain themselves if they had gone beyond 2 albums, whether they would have absorbed the most despicable trends of that time and marketed them as a 'progression.'

This is all speculative though, but it does pain me to have to ration the music by bands like Contempt, simply because, I love it so much that it could end up being played all the time. This would then lead to the CD becoming 'un-listenable.' Due to every detail being memorized, every beat imprinted so that when it hits it causes a synchronized tap or kick to coincide with it.

The music to be found on 'One Justice,' is pretty much how I imagined it to be due to the label it was released on ( www.xcatalystx.com), the time it was recorded and released (late 90s) and the band's location (Syracuse, need I say more??). Featuring one of my all time favourite songs (the title track), for little more then half an hour, Contempt brutally confront metallic hardcore, questioning the style's integrity, reminding it of its initial intent, of its initial essence and feeling,

http://www.sendspace.com/file/hgmjna - Contempt - One Justice

http://www.sendspace.com/file/3btsmu - Contempt - When Darkness Falls

http://www.sendspace.com/file/60s6mn- Contempt - Casualty Of War

http://www.sendspace.com/file/t3012g - Contempt - Burn

It's such a shame they couldn't have continued this.

Now this badboy is still in print, there are copies here http://www.verydistro.com/and here, www.xcatalystx.com/store.

From The Depths...

2007-03-19T18:20:00.000Z

How does the man do it? Seriously, Justin K Broadrick is a goddamn machine. As if conceiving some of the most godly music in his primary musical vehicle, Godflesh, wasn't enough, he has also worked in and instigated equally powerful and challenging music in a series of side projects. One of the best being the mysterious but totally captivating, God, a nine man ensemble that featured Kevin Martin (Techno Animal, Pathological Records), John Zorn (Mr Bungle, Naked City), and not one, not two but three bassists (one being a double bass). The result was not simply a record, it was a musical world, drenched in the horrors of urban decay, urban struggle and urban depression.

I feel that words cannot really encompass the immensity of this band, you have to hear it for yourselves,

http://www.sendspace.com/file/7pxs9c - God - Fucked

http://www.sendspace.com/file/3g49ur - God - Lord I'm On My Way

In terms of the band's background, they debuted in 1990 with a 12 inch entitled 'Breach Birth,' then followed that up with 'Loco,' on Martin's label, but for this record, they somehow secured a deal with Virgin records, I wonder if Richard Branson was even aware of this investment?? And if anyone has any details, or stories related to this band, please, please, let me know!!! The band would go onto release one more hellish full length 'The Anatomy Of Addiction,' in 1994, and again, it was another cold, alien blast of primal human emotions that stupefied as much as it intrigued.

Unfortunately, as this record has become horribly out of print, it has also attached seriously inflated prices on the likes of http://www.ebay.com/ and the marketplace at http://www.amazon.com/, however I do recommend this record, so keep your eyes peeled on those outlets for a cheaper copy to come along, or perhaps a better move would be to root among the bargain bins in your local record stores...???

Striking Back With The New School Fury...

2007-03-13T16:52:00.000Z

In theory, a compilation is an excellent concept but often in execution they fall short due to three salient factors. The first being that the tracks featured are usually (but admittedly not always) to be found on another release by the artist. Secondly, if there is a track on there that you haven’t already heard, chances are its so half baked that only the most fanatical of fans will look to own it. The final, and surely most condemning factor that plagues the compilation is consistency, if there are say, 16 to 20 tracks, how many of those are really going to be good, but more so, how many of those 16 to 20 artists are you actually going to like? Maybe 50%, and that’s if your lucky.

Now believe it or not, through the years, there have been some good compilations, such as the first two East Coast Assault collections, the Animal Truth compilation (which is so out of print, if anyone has a copy they are willing to part with, hit me up) and one known as ‘The Document,’ which emerged from Japan a few years ago. All of these (and many others) were eclipsed when this disc, fittingly titled ‘The Resurrection,’ was bought forth in 2005 and has stood as one of the best played, burned and enjoyed discs in my collection, that shows not only how good it is, but how addictive it can be.

Giving 9 bands two cuts each helps with the disc’s continuity, and even though the running time clocks in at just over 75 minutes, the quality never lets up and most importantly, the majority of the material here is exclusive to this compilation ( post release, some of the songs have gone to be featured on band’s other releases, the only exceptions though are God’s Heritage, Shiver and Canopus, however the latter 2 put out rougher versions, not the crisp, clinical cuts found here).

As you have no doubt ascertained, there is a pattern emerging with the type of Japanese bands being featured here, once again, these bands are all from the notorious 168/178 area of Tokyo and all specialize (be it in different areas) in recreating the new school sounds of mid to late 90s hardcore from both Europe and the States but as mentioned in previous posts, these bands take these foundations, modernize them and then build upon them. Take the opening cut from The Ten Commandments, their demo was total Sentence/From The Dying Sky worship and admittedly, tones of those bands linger in their newer material, but in this incarnation the band are far more bestial, far more intense and far more metal. The Ten Commandments cites Malevolent Creation as an influence and that is apparent here as their two tracks have strong ties to the first 3 MC releases (interesting to note that the band was once called Eve Of The Apocalypse).

Following that opening blitzkrieg comes The Fortress, who, despite the reference to a certain vegan band from Syracuse don’t entirely sound like them. On the contrary, this is how Earth Crisis should have sounded when they recorded Slither instead of the nu-metal abomination it turned out to be. Moving back into a more metal direction is the considerably vehement Extinguish The Fire, who have progressed considerably from their primitive beginnings where they sounded like a very slowed down Sentence. Now they are an intricate maelstrom of new school metallic fury, and trust, this shit rips live.

The final two tracks I have enclosed here from Shiver and Blood Calls We Die, the former is one of the more well known Japanese bands sounding like a more threatening, angrier version of Abnegation. Strangely, Blood Calls We Die sound more like their Godfather’s Statecraft here (particularly from their ‘Until The Darkness Is Gone,’ MCD) but I do hear some other slight influences buzzing underneath, particularly that of the Italian Vegan overlords xAbsencex.

So see what you think,

http://www.sendspace.com/file/dosdxz - The Ten Commandments - Seven Cardinal Sins

http://www.sendspace.com/file/llcax6 - The Fortress - Burn It All

http://www.sendspace.com/file/pli3el - Extinguish The Fire - Absolutely Nobody Freedom

http://www.sendspace.com/file/jnxt5m - Shiver - The Compassion

http://www.sendspace.com/file/amlk5w - Blood Calls We Die - Reveal The Truth

What I decided to do with this one was to break it into 2 posts, so the second part of the Resurrection will published early next week, giving you enough time to fully digest what is on offer here.

As far as I know this one is still readily available, so hit up www.retributionnetwork.com for a copy.

Turning Back East...

2007-03-12T07:22:00.000Z

Coming from the same scene as Statecraft, Birthplace are one of the older bands from the 168/178 area of Tokyo. Like the aforementioned scene Godfathers, the latter has progressed incredibly from their primitive beginnings. Early Birthplace was much like the formative years of a child, they had energy, bundles of it in fact and they had a sense of direction but one that was fraught with distraction. This often lead to them losing their composition and form in their early material, thus making the impact less significant and their music not as strong as it should have been. However, through patience, perseverance and countless shows and practices they have blossomed into one of the finer and certainly more elegant Japanese bands on this, their first proper full length 'Ameliorate.'

The catalyst of this manifestation of elegance has been through Birthplace's masterful command of melody within their pieces. Whereas the majority of the 168/178 bands tend to not overly indulge with melody, (Endzweck being the one other exception together with Birthplace), this command that Birthplace possess stands as one of their most distinctive qualities. Their approach echoes (but doesn't mirror directly) that of Shai Hulud, a band that most will know, are exceptional in their utilization of melodic elements in that they create an entire sound where melody is rooted within. Likewise Birthplace are able to, like Hulud, immerse their melodies so that they are not an external connection to the music but are wholly integrated to become a key component of the musical flow. Another asset to Birthplace is their vocalist, Knight. His powerful bellow is somehow able to naturally fit into whatever stage the music moves to, be it a moment of calm introspection or brute force, never once sounding unnatural or forced,

http://www.sendspace.com/file/9pm0ny - Birthplace - From The Neverending

http://www.sendspace.com/file/utupby - Birthplace - Not Wither

http://www.sendspace.com/file/90861i - Birthplace - Swell the Bliss

http://www.sendspace.com/file/8xcy6b - Birthplace - On Oath

Seeing Birthplace last year at the Bloodaxe fest in Tokyo was incredible, their songs were already extremely vibrant on CD, but live it was an inferno and the small room convulsed with excitement throughout their way too brief set

Tracking down a copy of this record is not only worth it but shouldn't be overtly taxing, try the band's site here - www.myspace.com/birthplace or hit up http://www.retributionnetwork.com/ and ask xHirox if he has any copies or can get you one.

Things Take A Turn...

2007-03-11T16:41:00.000Z

Well, I'm really honoured and extremely delighted to announce that I will be joining the ranks of the extremly awesome www.digitalmetal.com, look out for my first reviews in the next weeks, I cannot wait, this will not be having an impact on No Need To Belong, it will be still updated on a regular basis.

Sworn To The Black

2007-03-11T16:18:00.000Z

Pulling a late one here, I try not to work on this on weekends but as I am now facing a back log of posts which are fast piling up, I thought I'd get this treat out before resuming the regular schedule tomorrow.

This release typifies my current mood, its groggy, groaning, miserable and very edgy, you'd think by now, nearly being 24, I'd be able to withstand at least one really late night a week, but no, my body still seems to be unable to give me the luxury of a lay in to recuperate and enjoy my Sunday in a comfortable, ma la vita va cosi...

Now as stressed in the previous black metal post on Ohtar, I adore the suicidal, depressive black metal that took root through Burzum's first 4 records, now whilst also having a great affection for the more merciless, ripping black metal out there, the artists that create this noise is what really affects me, what really connects with me. Now Wigrid's debut album reared its ugly head back around 2002/2003 on the awesome http://www.no-colours-records.de/, my gut tells me it came out in 2002, but it took me a long time to get my hands on a copy. It was worth the wait, like its kindred spirits coming out at the time, i.e. Xasthur, Leviathan et al, Hoffnungstod was bleak, dirgey and horribly misanthropic. The German lyrics and tongue add to the morbid feeling of the record I can only speculate what Ulfhednir was wretchedly cursing but as German is one of the heavier (if not the heaviest) European language, I can imagine that his lyrics were filled, in fact, crammed with utterly hateful annunciations of mankind.

So if you can speak German, maybe you could validate my assumption here, otherwise, simply feel the darkness,

http://www.sendspace.com/file/m8200u - Wigrid - Die Entstehung

http://www.sendspace.com/file/mf2vnm - Wigrid - Schreie Der Verzweiflung

I find this record a good accompaniment for reading, not as background music but to enhance my concentration and immersion within the material, (its helping me overcome the novels of Proust, a truly toiling (but worthy) effort that require you integrate yourself into Proust's world so that you can comprehend it but also so you don't switch off from it because it is detailed).

Now this record is readily available from the label, and http://www.aquariusrecords.org/ is still listing it here, http://www.aquariusrecords.org/bin/search.cgi.

The Blast From The North

2007-03-07T06:14:00.001Z

Canvas were a pretty crazy band. Whether it was their demographic lodging that was responsible for this (they were from Leeds you know...) or they were just a little maladjusted, little can explain the outright insanity of their releases. This CD was a collection of sorts, compiling early EPS that were recorded by the erratic Dave Chang, but as Andrew mentioned in his Decimate post on his blog (http://www.aversionline.com/, check that shit people), when that guy got his production job on the spot, it was crushing, just as it is here.

Despite this, and the quality of the material here, this has to be one of the most frustrating CDs that I have in my collection. Of the 10 tracks listed on the CD, 3 are noisy, and in my view, superfluous skits, that add absolutely nothing to the flow of the material, there are just there. Furthermore, another track is a slight remix of the first track featured here, so in the end, there are only 6 actual tracks to enjoy here and that's no way near enough. The quality of the material then heightens the sense of travesty and annoyance as these tracks are complete monsters, crammed to the rim with slamming, not to mention razor sharp riffs, which have a glorious crunch that is potently bought forth through the recording. Then there's the vocalist, maronna santa, if that guy is even able to put together a sentence today I'd be surprised, the damage he must have done to his vocal chords,

http://www.sendspace.com/file/uhwbs4 - Canvas - Unworthy Of Perfection

http://www.sendspace.com/file/oajyxx - Canvas - Last Prayer For Judas

http://www.sendspace.com/file/242qj8 - Canvas - Unworthy Version 6.66

For some reason, I never saw Canvas. I knew they were around but I only heard about them upon the follow up full length Lost In Rock's release. That record saw Canvas metamorphosis into something totally different to the band here, exploring some very peculiar tangents and writing songs that were again, demented. Some of the nastiness from their early incarnation remained but was restricted and reduced in presence, replaced by longer more elaborate songs. Although I appreciated the bravery Canvas had to make Lost In Rock, even today, six years since I bought the two records together, I still can't decide whether I actually like that CD, especially when measured up to this.

Now this is readily available, and for stupid prices (1 cent), as is Lost In Rock, so if you like it, get that shit in your collection, http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_m/104-4492477-3459918?url=search-alias%3Dpopular&field-keywords=canvas.

Tracing the roots...

2007-03-06T06:02:00.000Z

Tracking the mutation of a record label is an interesting endeavor, it can often give one a map or perhaps a better word is a snapshot of a musical environment from a given time. For example Equal Vision was one of the best hardcore labels, and I feel there is no need to do a laundry list of the various luminaries that graced their roster during the 90s and early 2000s. The fact that Equal Vision is now so far removed from hardcore stimulates two hypothesis in my mind. Either they felt that the scene and the bands were on the verge of becoming stagnant and decided to jump ship before the rot set in too thickly, hence their shift in focus to indie/experimental/alt bands. Or they felt that hardcore wasn't generating enough capital and felt that it was time to change their portfolio to save the label.

Perhaps its a little of both or perhaps I'm completely off the mark but one thing I will say in Equal Vision's defence is that they have always looked to sign bands that were distinctive and doing something a little different, and not just sign any old shite (not that I like all of their recent signings). Secondly, they have maintained their excellent aesthetic values with packaging (which really begin to evolve in the late 90s with seminal examples by Converge and Bane). Anyway, as per usual, I'm digressing here, my point here is that labels (like bands) change, and whilst this observation isn't the most astute, what I find interesting is the level of change that a label undergoes. To contextualize my Equal Vision example, lets take a label such as Relapse. Now, Relapse have focused on metal of the extreme nature since its inception, and whilst they have been broadening their palette in recent years, they do tend to stick to music that they know, that they are comfortable with and that is inherently metal but most importantly is inherently Relapse. Whereas Equal Vision have all but abandoned the music that they began with (although I realize that they have recently acquired Modern Life Is War).

This brings me to a label that I have been fascinated by in its shift of musical portfolio, Eulogy, who have gone from releasing New School/Emotional Metallic Hardcore and Emo to focusing purely on tough, moshy bands such as Shattered Realm, Hoods, Bury Your Dead etc, etc, etc!
I have been monitoring Eulogy's activity since around 2000 and became infatuated with the label through the releases by Red Roses For A Blue Lady and then a little later with Unearth and This Day Forward. Whilst in Belgium in 2002, someone (I cannot for the life of me remember who) told me about Upheaval, that I had to hear them and especially the first MCD, released by...you guessed it, Eulogy.

Perhaps not as heralded as some of the other vegan straight edge bands of the time (particularly Day Of Suffering and Morning Again), Upheaval do deserve recognition and credit for the style of music they were playing. They had a really strong grasp and blended well the new school hardcore with tints and hints of black and death metal, so see what you think,

http://www.sendspace.com/file/2qlt0t - Upheaval - Forced Into Extinction

http://www.sendspace.com/file/k9zy27 - Upheaval - Suffering Of The Masses

http://www.sendspace.com/file/g0e65t - Upheaval - The Descending Path

http://www.sendspace.com/file/j78kai - Upheaval - Blood Ritual

http://www.sendspace.com/file/43nngz - Upheaval - Abhorrent Traditions

They would become even more metal on the following full length (which was also brilliant), Testimony To The Atrocities on the very metal, Willowtip.

Both of the Upheaval releases are long out of print, so it pains me to once again offer http://www.ebay.com/ as your first source for looking, I searched around the main distros but came became empty handed I'm afraid, hence why I have posted the whole MCD up here, so enjoy!

Scroll Down cuz

2007-03-05T06:07:00.000Z

All mp3s from the first 2 posts are back now, so get downloadin and leavin feedback for Above All and Loyal To The Grave ;)

The Search For Sleep

2007-03-05T06:06:00.001Z

Some time ago I developed the tendency that unless I put music on before going to sleep, I will lay awake half the night trying real hard to do so. Of course there have been times when I have attempted to do so, and even when my fatigue was so potent that my body just ached to sleep, I simply couldn't, not without music. Strange, but also amusing how we develop these needs, these dependencies and habits. However, to make the quandary even more of an ordeal, I find that I can only fall asleep to certain types of music. If its of the hardcore or metal genealogy, forget it, sleep will be nigh on possible to achieve, it has to be something gentler, more soothing, enter Jessica Bailiff.

Again, another Kranky gem, this gorgeous siren released a pair of ethereal records in 98 and 99, these being 'Even In Silence,' and the one featured here, 'Hour Of The Trace.' To me these have remained her finest work, although I have thoroughly enjoyed her last 2 records, and her collaborative project Clear Horizon with Dave Pearce (of the totally brilliant Flying Saucer Attack) from 2003. Still, those first 2 records, have endeared me the most through the years and have often been a popular choice when deciding what record is needed to lull me into slumber.

Musically, Bailiff occupied a fine line between gentle acoustic driven material and lush, shoe gazing drifts ala My Bloody Valentine and other early 90s luminaries such as Ride, Slowdive et al. 'Toska,' is one of her most beautiful songs that she has ever written, its glacial tones cradle and carry her voice which is buried amid minimal strumming. The spirit of My Bloody Valentine duly possesses the bones of 'After Hours,' a drugged out mantra that stealthily slides throughout its duration whilst Bailiff's voice again lingers in the ether of the track's drones. The final track I have chosen here, 'Amnesia,' is a stumbling search through the fabrics of time itself, Bailiff sounds encased inside the ghostly guitar melodies as if she herself is looking to recover her memory.

Now you decide whether my descriptions resemble the music,

http://www.sendspace.com/file/s4nt4y - Jessica Bailiff - Toska

http://www.sendspace.com/file/f5p7cw - Jessica Bailiff - After Hours

http://www.sendspace.com/file/fw8gko - Jessica Bailiff - Amnesia

All of Bailiff's records (and the Clear Horizon record, which if you like this, then I recommend) are readily available (and through paypal) here, http://www.kranky.net/, and there are some used copies here, http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_m/104-1758773-0703147?url=search-alias%3Dpopular&field-keywords=Jessica+Bailiff+.

Her last record 'Feels Like Home,' came out last year, four years after the self titled, hopefully she will bring forth more ghostly tales soon.

Slowly but surely

2007-03-03T13:49:00.000Z

It's all coming together now, I'd just like to thank those who have posted thus far, its greatly appreciated and interesting to hear your thoughts! Keep em coming and don't hold back, I want to hear all your views ;)

Got some good stuff uploaded for this week, so hold tight, and I am still toying with this blogger layout, so that will be changing too!!!

I forgot to say this earlier, my first two posts are missing some tunes, so these will be going back up either tonight or first thing tomorrow!

The Sickness Will End

2007-03-03T10:56:00.000Z

This has been one of the most elusive records (another one right?) that I have sought in recent times. Although the search was not as lengthy as that for the Caliban EP (or as costly) I finally managed to acquire but I finally managed to acquire a copy and am delighted to post it and more importantly, share it here. When the package containing the CD arrived I was consumed with excitement (lucky me, the package also featured other rarities such as the first Soulstice 7 inch, the Prevail 7 inch and the first Aftershock CD ahhhhhhhhh). So after gleefully ripping through the parcel I was bound to be confronted with that queasy, unwelcome feeling in the stomach known as disappointment.

But why? Especially as the CD hadn't even been played yet.

Firstly it was in a cardboard sleeve, now I cannot stress this enough but I detest, actually, I loathe cardboard sleeves. Secondly, upon scanning the track list I immediately noted that two of the songs I'd already heard (these being from the decidedly more metallic and heavier full length 'Deeper Than Blood' which followed). Upon regaining my composure from these unexpected (read unwanted) surprises, I deemed it best to play it, to see if it would be ending up on eBay at the moment.

From the first riff, this thought vanished and a smile returned to my face, thinking 'why did I question that the music would be anticlimactic?', and thus, since its day of arrival, 'The Sickness Must End,' has been glued to my CD player, itunes etc. This EP was typical of the mid 90s xLifesentencex output, i.e. heavy handed hardcore, with a healthy presence of hefty metallic crunch and song writing that was utterly infectious and became lodged within the grey matter instantly.

So, see what you think,

http://www.sendspace.com/file/ua5ico -xClearx - Acetone

http://www.sendspace.com/file/fbnwbm - xClearx - Fuel

http://www.sendspace.com/file/veg4t1 - xClearx - Falling Into Ashes

http://www.sendspace.com/file/oyxh9p - xClearx - Lust

http://www.sendspace.com/file/pc42nj - xClearx - Fire Walk With Me

Sadly I know very little of this band and what became of them, I did hear that they recently played a reunion show this year but whether they will reform is unknown. What I do know is that the aforementioned full length that preceded this EP was released on Stillborn records. The two songs here present on that release were 'Falling Into Ashes,' and 'Fire Walk With Me.' Again as mentioned above 'Deeper Than Blood,' was far heavier, strapped with far more vicious riffs and vocals and was overall injected with an unhealthy metallic dosage thus pushing it quite far away from the foundations laid down here.

However, like this EP, 'Deeper Than Blood,' is very elusive and a chore to find, so unfortunately I have to resort to recommending that you watch http://www.ebay.com/, but if your in Europe, or if you don't mind paying a little for it (if your Stateside), then you can try this http://www.pyrrhus.be/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=180846.

But I warn you, this Belgian distro sometimes lists items that they don't have, or that they sell before fulfilling your order, 80% of the time they are reliable and are very friendly but seeing as its a two man operation, I can see how an order can get neglected, so perhaps it would be best to contact them in advance before putting that order in.

The only other alternative I can offer in finding the full length or the EP is to track down Dan Gump, the owner of xLifesentencex, the problem is that the label site has been down for some time, so maybe you could stalk him out on myspace (if your really that desperate...).

How the mighty fall

2007-02-28T06:01:00.000Z

I wanted to do this straight after the show Caliban played last Friday but time constraints have restricted me from doing so, but better a little late then never and the show is still fresh in my mind.

Caliban were an important band for me, back when I was beginning to discover the more underground metallic hardcore bands at the start of this decade, they were one that I become enamoured with instantly. Thanks to 'Vent,' 'Small Boy and a Grey Heaven,' and the split with Heaven Shall Burn, they fast became one of my favorites and then when I saw them in 2002, first in London then at the Stormfest in Belgium they solidified their position in my eyes as one of the best European bands.

But what the hell happened? They have managed to sully their reputation and everything they worked for in the past 3 years by releasing terrible albums, desecrating their older material on the second split with Heaven Shall Burn (which if you bought solely for the Caliban material...look I aint going there, I'll just say that it wasn't good), and have become more increasingly sterile, lifeless and above all painful to watch each time they play live. Case in point being said show show last Friday in London with Bleeding Through and All Shall Perish (who smashed it), where for the entirety of their set, I was left wondering A) why does this band continue, and B) why am I here watching this? I stayed to banter with some old heads and call out for old songs but after the final song being I made a swift exit from the venue, trying not to get swamped by the amount of excess hair flopping around from the dodgy toni & guy haircuts.

In spite of these ill feelings towards the current Caliban, it doesn't stop me from regularly spinning their material up to and including 'Shadow Heats.' For years though, one record eluded me, one that I couldn't profess to owning and one that I always wanted to have so that I could complete their golden period. So the above rant has been a precursor to the real focus of this post, the self titled EP from 1998. Tracking this bastard down has not been easy nor economical, thanks to http://www.ebay.de/ I finally managed to do so this year thus ending years of searching and years of frustration (once I thought I had found it but when the package arrived, it was another Caliban, one that played Celtic folk and with the worst cover art ever...).

Of all of their output, this EP is certainly their most visceral, bestial and direct, its hard to believe that the same man who now strains 'WHERE IS YOUR LOVE???' was responsible for the demented shrieking found here. Musically this is mid 90s new school hardcore bastardized and defiled, made even more intense and destructive but also coursing throughout the EP's duration is a very sinister atmosphere and feel of the material. At times they remind me of Abnegation here especially the 7 inch that band released on xcatalystx.

Check it,

http://www.sendspace.com/file/zia1bf - Caliban - One More Lie

http://www.sendspace.com/file/ngoyrb- Caliban - Sophisticated

http://www.sendspace.com/file/ap257c - Caliban - Empty Silence

http://www.sendspace.com/file/brev3o - Caliban - Ignorance

http://www.sendspace.com/file/wclul0 - Caliban - Sick

http://www.sendspace.com/file/h5wpz1 - Caliban - One Day

Although it has been elusive to me for many years, http://www.ebay.de/ is definitely the best place to source it, I have seen 3 copies of it go on there this year, so even though there were apparently only 1000 copies made, they are out there in circulation, it just depends if you want to pay the hefty price...

In terms of Caliban's future, I presume they will continue producing the material that has been present on their past 3 releases, they announced at the show that a new album is all set for April, where vocalist Andy declared that it will be 'kick ass metal.' No doubt there will be metal, no doubt it will be heavy, but whether it will 'kick ass,' is another matter, rest assured, I won't be itching to find out.

Digging your grave

2007-02-19T18:50:00.001Z

It's funny how bands change, be it in a respectful manner or to merely cash in on a record buying public who will consume and listen to any old shite. But what's even more amusing is how some of us will stay with a band through thick and then, defending them, naively believing that the next record will be better, a return to the roots, while the others or the realists as I like to call them flee screaming blasphemed remarks and uttering sworn vows to relinquish any association with said band and never ever listen to them again. A few times during my life I have threatened to do so, particularly with the likes of 18 Visions and Caliban who have pushed my patience and granted I hate their newer material and can't stomach seeing them live, but, I do continue to say I like the bands and play their old records regularly and have not sold them for a pittance in a record store or on ebay.

Where am I going with this?

Well I remember quite a few of the London hardcore heads turning quite severely on Belgium's Crawlspace when they released their full length 'Enter The Realm Of Chaos,' via Goodlife (although it was on the subsidiary Final Beatdown and then Soulreaper), declaring that the record was too metal and bad metal at that. Personally, I loved that record, and I would agree with what Ed Goodlife said to me back in 2001, that being it was an update of the Bulldoze style, be it with a hefty injection of primal death metal (very much though the more direct death metal, trust, Crawlspace didnt turn into Nile or Suffocation in terms of their technicality).

Regardless, before the backlash came against the full length, Crawlspace were regarded as one of the premier tuff European bands, and even today, this EP is still heralded as a classic amongst underground heads, so see what you think,

http://www.sendspace.com/file/xby7td - Crawlspace - The Chapter

http://www.sendspace.com/file/f3h4aq - Crawlspace - Digging The Grave

http://www.sendspace.com/file/gk8f0d - Crawlspace - Creation Of Hate

http://www.sendspace.com/file/s04dw5 - Crawlspace - Way Out

http://www.sendspace.com/file/htbbvk - Crawlspace - Hypocrite Bastard

http://www.sendspace.com/file/wv5uk5 - Crawlspace - Don't Ged Mad....Get Even!!!!

Whereas the full length is still readily avaliable from the label http://www.goodliferecordings.com/webstore/ , but this EP...damn, sorry peeps, its another hard one to find, so watch www.ebay.com.

Beauty In Chaos

2007-02-19T18:49:00.002Z

Where to begin with this album? Yet another one that has been with me through good and bad times since its release in 2000 and one that has remained one of my favorites and most played since then. Firstly I think should contextualise Skycamefalling's position in the hardcore landscape. They released their first MCD on Goodlife in the late 90s, around 1998 if I'm not mistaken, it set them as one of the bright new voices of the metallic hardcore explosion during that time and one that had competently grasped the tricky equilibrium of beauty within chaos. Enter the year 2000 and the band bought forth this masterpiece, on Ferret, back when that label were only really interested in metallic hardcore.

10.21 was just shy of an hour in length but despite the longevity, it never drags, never wastes a second to maximize the impact of every note, every beat, every lyric. What makes the record so alluring and addictive is something that I have mentioned before, this being its flow. Skycamefalling were more then adept in composing a flowing record that made it mesmerizing, especially during pieces such as 'The Truth Machine,' and the title instrumental track.

I challenge anyone who denies the credibility of this release, it is a masterwork, and deserves to be owned by anyone that is an enthusiast of metallic hardcore,

http://www.sendspace.com/file/5uzf7m - Skycamefalling - With Paper Wings

http://www.sendspace.com/file/aw7ucf - Skycamefalling - The Nothing

http://www.sendspace.com/file/ko3ya9 - Skycamefalling - Healing Yesteryear

http://www.sendspace.com/file/z4kf4y - Skycamefalling - The Truth Machine

Finding this record is not going to be easy, I believe Ferret were going to be releasing it with a series of other older records on http://www.itunes.com, failing that, keep checking http://www.ferretstyle.com for updates.

However, there are 3 copies of the records reasonably priced here, www.amazon.com.

Tragically, Skycamefalling broke up in 2002, playing their last (but also first) European show at the Goodlife New Year's fest. Luckily I managed to attend that show and see of one of my most adored bands. Amusingly, I remember some of the members of the band coming to the house where I was sleeping that night, and talking for a good hour and a half to my friend who was letting me sleep there, me, completely exhausted from a day of travelling and dancing was itching to get to bed, but the skycamefalling boys were intent on keeping me (and Birgir) up until the smallest hours of that dark Belgian night, after all, it would have been rude of me just to go straight to sleep on the couch...

Different Shades Of Darkness Part 2

2007-02-19T18:49:00.001Z

Awwwwwwwwww Kranky, cue drooling, and unfocused rambling and babbling when it comes to my reasoning of how good this label has been since its inception. Labradford have to be one of their flagship bands, releasing all of their best material on the label (although their releases on other labels are also excellent) of which 'A Stable Reference,' stands as their definitive creation.

Accurately pinning down Labradford's sound has always been part of their appeal, not quite post rock, not quite indie and not quite shoegaze but rather a meeting and implementation of the three. Thus creating an alluring, intoxicating soundscape of ethereal beauty that is dangerously addictive and has sometimes left me (especially on days where I have been confined to spending them in bed) to playing the record constantly for several hours.

Yet, their approach and methodology is so simple but so effective, while the cliched saying of 'less is more,' is often a petty euphemism that the artist has decided to water down their music, here the phrase is applicable. Guitars move solmenly and slowly like the thick fog that engulfs London, vocals occasionally ghost through the fog and seldomly a beat of some sort will emerge to provide a rhythmic backbone.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/1zyndh - Labradford - El Lago

http://www.sendspace.com/file/11gyeu - Labradford - Streamlining

http://www.sendspace.com/file/mrc54s - Labradford - Banco

This one is still readily avaliable from http://www.amazon.com/Stable-Reference-Labradford/dp/B000008PKY/sr=1-6/qid=1172013929/ref=sr_1_6/104-4492477-3459918?ie=UTF8&s=music both new and used.

Different Shades Of Darkness

2007-02-19T18:45:00.000Z

Surprise. For a change, not crunchy metallic hardcore, the complete opposite in fact, totally harrowing black metal from one of Eastern Europe's most productive quarries of grim darkness, Poland. The Polish hordes have always a far rougher style to my ears in comparison to the Norwegians and Swedes who I feel are more clinical, even professional in their execution of black metal. Whereas bands from Poland, Russia, Ukraine etc, focus more on feeling, emotion and atmosphere to distinguish their music.

Ohtar play the kind of black metal that I really connect with, this being the completely misanthropic variation that has a sound that is doomy, dirgy and discerns the listeners wish to be comfortable when listening to this record. The guitars are as sharp as the incision to be found on the unfortunate cover art victim, but simultaneously, the guitars are equally mournful in their tone. Vocally, Ohtar can be best compared to Burzum and thus sits next to Burzumic followers such as Wigrid and Leviathan in post 2000 Black Metal.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/cogu97 - Ohtar - Order!

http://www.sendspace.com/file/y33n7t - Ohtar - Delighting the edge of the knife

Unfortunately this is totally out of print. I remember picking this up instantly in 2003 as the individual who recommended it forewarned that it was on one of those minuscule black metal labels that do a single 1000 pressing and then disappear into the black metal portal unlikely to return.

Ohtar did go on to record a second album but again, from what I can see, its also out of print, my advice is to watch the likes of http://www.redstream.org and http://www.supernalmusic.com too see if any copies come back into stock (these are my two favorite black metal providers).

If anyone really needs the other songs, hit me up, I'd be glad to send out a copy.

Veering Toward The End

2007-02-06T16:35:00.000Z

Belgium was one of the hardcore Meccas in Europe during the 90s. The early 2000s weren't kind to Belgium though, as there was a severe lack of new blood coming through, fortunately though, in the past few years, old veterans (Arkangel, Congress, Liar) and the next generation (Whatever It Takes, The Boss, Die My Demon), have hit back with stellar records and proved that Belgium is far from a spent force in the Euro Hardcore scene.

The mid to late 90s was its heyday though, epitomized by the H-8000 explosion. However, not all of the best bands came from the heralded H-8000 area. One of the best but often most overlooked and therefore least well known (and appreciated) was Deviate. They were also one of the most prolific bands in terms of putting out records, trust, they didn't need 5 years to follow up an album (Arkangel I'm looking at you and still waiting for the alleged split with Kickback...) and showed a genuine progression from each release. 'State of Grace,' is by far the most complete Deviate album and certainly their most metallic. Its crammed with pummeling, chugging riffs, slamming breakdowns and plenty of heaving double bass, and when all these elements amalgamate, they create a fearsome, crushing metallic hardcore onslaught that is seldom heard these days.

Most importantly though, these are songs that get stuck in your head, and stay stuck for days,

http://www.sendspace.com/file/4aldf5 - Deviate - Wounds Of Time

http://www.sendspace.com/file/lqoz84 - Deviate - State Of Grace

http://www.sendspace.com/file/ixcrjc - Deviate - Circle Of Friends

http://www.sendspace.com/file/x72w78 - Deviate - Dawn Of Mankind

http://www.sendspace.com/file/cyhsvr - Deviate - Walk With Death

I don't recall exactly when Deviate decided to break up, it was around the time their last full length came out in 2002 (The Red Asunder, a very interesting record). From the fallout vocalist Danny went to pursue the awesome Angel Crew, and guitarist Kirby was already a member of Arkangel and Length of Time (who have reformed for one show in Belgium in March, hopefully they will do a record...).

This record isn't too hard to find, if you dig the tunes, you'll find it here for a paltry sum, http://www.verydistro.com/search.aspx?typeofsearch=artist&keywords=deviate

The Harder They Come

2007-02-06T16:30:00.000Z

NYC. Responsible for some of the hardest and darkest music ever conceived, and they don't come much harder or darker then Denied. One look at the cover and one can immediately deduce the sound of this record, that's right, its tough, thugged out, immensely merciless beatdown hardcore, however, there is a small surprise awaiting in the opening track...you'll see what I mean.

No doubt the first word that comes to mind when drawing influences to this band is 'Bulldoze,' and certainly, that band are hugely influential on this EP. However, Denied were able to enter within the essence of Bulldoze without ripping them off. To elaborate, whilst to the casual ear, Denied will sound nothing more then a shameless copycat, those with a more refined listening capacity will hear that this isn't the case. Denied had a darker feel in their riffs, an almost doomy aesthetic that emphasized their heaviness and bought a weighty feel to their sound but also one that was emotive. To me Bulldoze are about pure aggression, Denied have this but I also feel there is much despair in their music, which makes it all the more crushing.

See what you think.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/18c597- Denied - Intro

http://www.sendspace.com/file/7x0qbz - Denied - Through Pain

http://www.sendspace.com/file/dogl6i - Denied - Together As None

http://www.sendspace.com/file/0m2s04 - Denied - Lies Upon Lies

http://www.sendspace.com/file/gf5ggp - Denied - Stand Strong

http://www.sendspace.com/file/69zinl - Denied - Drown In Sorrow

Some may find this interesting but this EP was released on Time Served records, none other then Kevone from Bulldoze's label. Sadly, Denied didn't release much more then this EP, which is now out of print, their other official material can be found on two splits, one was with the UK's BDF and came out on Filled With Hate a few years ago, which is actually also out of print. The other was the 'Step To The Plate,' compilation on Thornz records which featured 2 alternate cuts from this EP and 2 other songs.

The latter you can find here http://www.verydistro.com/search.aspx?typeofsearch=artist&keywords=denied.

For their other releases, I recommend http://www.ebay.com

The storm of a season

2007-02-02T15:09:00.001Z

The second of many features to come on Japanese bands, in fact, I should have started with this record first and then moved up to the Loyal To The Grave release. Never mind, things happen for a reason, or some I'm told...Anyway, enough senseless ramblings, background. Statecraft were one of the (if not the) first heavy hardcore bands from Japan. What is indisputable is that they were the first too be playing the 'new school,' hardcore sound, patterned by the likes of Morning Again, Culture, Day Of Suffering, Upheaval (and countless others) etc. They debuted with their first MCD in 1996 entitled 'Never Forget.' Little over a year later they dropped their next MCD on the now deceased xlifesentencex recordings. They become a stable in the Japanese hXc, and believe me, some of the shows from the 98/99 years were chaos, not that I was there, but I saw the pictures. In 2001 they played one of their final shows with the almighty Aftershock and then disbanded, with both guitarists going into Loyal To The Grave.

At the height of their popularity, Statecraft bought forth their only full length, 'To celebrate the forlorn seasons,' during the peak of Belgium's Goodlife Recordings (1998-2002). Today, almost 6 years since I bought it, this record stands as one of my favorite releases of all time. I've lost count of how many times I've listened to it since I bought it way back in 2001 (how time passes) and have many romantic memories of those early years of this decade that are connected to this record. Back then, what first struck me was that this band was Japanese, not European or American, but Japanese, now bearing in mind that my musical knowledge was in its formative stages I was not privy to knowing much about music from more exotic demographics.

Upon putting the CD in my hi-fi I was astounded further, the music was incredible, the lyrics were honest but also serenly uplifting and the packaging was something else too, to that point I had never seen a hardcore band with such unusual artwork which conjured presupposed images of a land that I knew nothing of but felt I now had a piece of it in my hands.

The music itself is monumental, goddamn, its sooooo heavy it moves mountains, but its not just brute force, laced amongst the mayhem are gorgeous harmonies, sharp leads and sumptuous melodic riffs that are concocted from so many different influences that they take a shape all their own. The aforementioned new school bands such as Morning Again (especially) and Upheaval (likewise) were influential, but also the band drew inspiration from sources that were more metallic such as Malevolent Creation, Morbid Angel, even some black metal bands.

Truly these are some of my favorite songs, they've been with me whilst I was commuting to my shitty full time jobs in 2001-2002, through when I was studying for my degree and wherever I have managed to travel since getting my IPOD at the tail end of 2003, thus, enjoy,

http://www.sendspace.com/file/jtmb68 - Statecraft - Heaven's Final Deception

http://www.sendspace.com/file/glp3tq - Statecraft - Into the snowlight gate

http://www.sendspace.com/file/0oo0dn - Statecraft - Bloodshed Revolution

http://www.sendspace.com/file/298jj6 - Statecraft - Nocturne

As for picking this one up, there are still copies at http://www.goodliferecordings.com/webstore/ but in the US, there are some used copies going for good prices at http://www.amazon.com/Celebrate-Forlorn-Seasons-Statecraft/dp/B00005Y9ED/sr=1-1/qid=1170797146/ref=sr_1_1/105-4150900-5751647?ie=UTF8&s=music

A Declaration Of War

2007-01-25T21:15:00.000Z

In the midst of the vegan straightedge explosion during the mid 90s in its focal point, Syracuse, came this gem. 4 tracks, no more then 15 minutes (if that) of material but Green Rage cemented themselves as one of the most kvlt (bring it on you black metal bitches) straight edge bands from the 90s. For about the last 2 years I've been dying too hear this, so when I went to Japan last year and stayed with my crazy Japanese hardcore collector friends, one of the first things I asked to burn was this. However, there's nothing like having the real thing in your own collection and I managed to score a copy of this from an auction held by https://www.xcatalystrecordsx.com/ , last year.

But that isn't really telling you how this record sounds? Well, for the record's all to brief duration it has one premise to chug, then chug again, and finally chug some more, that's it, nowt more, nowt less, but the sheer ferocity (especially with those vocals) and burning passion that drives this songs along draws you in so strongly that the lack of variation becomes insignificant, its just about pure rage.

Since acquiring this, I have actually seen quite a few copies floating around on the Internet, obviously http://www.ebay.com/ would be the best place to keep an eye out for it.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/jh71bj Green Rage - Declaration

http://www.sendspace.com/file/icvybo Green Rage - Sea Of Blood

http://www.sendspace.com/file/ooc6si Green Rage - Disinfect

http://www.sendspace.com/file/xd09g8 Green Rage - Existance

On a side note, an almost romantic (if possible) memory I have of this record was when I was discussing it with Monster (vegan sXe overlord who has been a part of Purification/Dehumanize/Opposite Force and now Doomsday), "awwwwwww, si, si, quel disco assomiglo' completamente Firestorm di Earth Crisis!!' and then he hammered out that opening riff of 'Declaration,' upon the steering wheel as we drove through the Roman night.

The Beast From The East

2007-01-25T21:14:00.000Z

Even though the mid 90s style of hardcore has become more and more scarce in the US and to some extent Europe, it has been left to more untraditional demographics to continue the endeavour. The two current strongholds are South America and Japan, more so the latter and especially the Tokyo 168 and 178 crews who seem to be determined to preserve but also improve the sound of those who founded the style in the aforementioned epoch. At the centre of this is Hiro Kohama who is now involved in 4 bands (if not others he hasn't told me about) that are dedicated to the sound of those mid 90s illuminaries such as Earth Crisis, Morning Again, Culture, Day Of Suffering and a million others who have, over time become almost legendary in their obscurity (such an example being Blood Of Judas a band that released a tape only demo and it has become an obsession for Japanese kids and vegan diehards to find this tape).

Fortunately the productivity of these Japanese bands is far more efficient then the majority of their influences and at the forefront is Loyal who released their second full length at the tail end of last year. No tracks are posted here, although I seriously recommend that you check them out on their myspace page, http://www.myspace.com/loyaltothegrave168. Before doing that, you can sample some of their older material,

http://www.sendspace.com/file/k3lud8 - Loyal To The Grave - 168 Set Terror

http://www.sendspace.com/file/ul7m33 - Loyal To The Grave - Jasper

http://www.sendspace.com/file/83b0al - Loyal To The Grave - Countless Attempts

http://www.sendspace.com/file/n9r13u - Loyal To The Grave - Endless Maze

http://www.sendspace.com/file/3yt928 - Loyal To The Grave - Epidemic (guess who wrote this one)

The lead track showcases the direction that Loyal have moved towards, the riffs flow fare more loosely and whilst there is still that ominpotent chug at the basis of their writing they are able to entwine deftly with subtle melodies making it memorable whilst rendering the riffs even more powerful. The tracks 'Jasper,' and 'Countless Attempts,' are from their debut full length, here they were far more rigid in their approach focusing on choking the listener with their riffs. The final two tracks are from a stop gap EP which featured 5 smoking originals and 2 interesting covers, you'll have to pick up the CD to see who the other cover is!

In terms of finding this stuff, its still a tad frustrating, Surprise Attack has copies of the full length, http://www.surpriseattackrecords.com/store/index.php?main_page=advanced_search_result&search_in_description=1&keyword=loyal+to+the+grave.
I believe that the new full length will be coming out on that label sometime this year, but if you can't wait, its best to go directly to the source and get in touch with xHirox for a copy, http://retribution.ocnk.net/.

From the Kingdom...

2007-01-24T08:34:00.000Z

Well, after many false starts and much frustration with this blog I think it will finally get going in 2007. As promised in the dying months of 2005, I would be featuring for the majority of posts items from the world of metallic hardcore and one couldn't wish to start in a more obvious manner with the choice of this gem.

Above All were one of the first UK heavy hardcore bands, precedeed only by the likes of the enigmatic Ironside. They released a 7 inch on the almighty Sure Hand records and then bought forth this metallic monster on, of all labels, Roadrunner.

Unfortunately when this came out (1996), it was well before my time of being involved in UKHC so I can't really provide much primary background of what was going on (meaning that what I know wasn't experienced first hand but cobbled from various sources over the years). What I do know is that from around 96-98, UKHC was thriving with countless bands spawning all over the country and Above All were considered too be the absolute pinnacle of that talent.

They took all 3 tracks from the 7 inch and bolstered them with 6 new cuts for this full length. Being the mid 90s, the influential shadow of Earth Crisis is cast profoundly on the material here, especially on the final track 'Empire,' which has plenty of sumptious riffs that echo 'Destroy The Machines.' Additionally there is an apocalyptic feel to the material, reminding me of the almighty Overcast, although Above All weren't as technical as the Bostonians, they share that urgency and aforementioned 'apocalyptic,' quality that gives their work a definitive edge in terms of impact and memorability (the songs from this record are constantly stuck in my head).

What happened to Above All is a mystery, I'm not sure when or why they broke up, I only know that vocalist Tony Maddocks resurfaced with Light of the morning in 1999, who, sadly, were rather dismal. If anyone does know what happened to Above All, please fill me in, in the meantime, enjoy the choice cuts selected here,

http://www.sendspace.com/file/djlfym -Above All - Allies

http://www.sendspace.com/file/nlywdi -Above All - Threshold

http://www.sendspace.com/file/1f6ukf -Above All - Forebearer

http://www.sendspace.com/file/30kuf1 -Above All - Empire

Unlike some of Roadrunner's more obscure records, this one, whilst out of print, is easy to find, I have seen plenty of copies on http://www.amazon.co.uk and http://www.amazon.com as well as quite a few copies on http://www.ebay.com.

Also, I am planning to post the tracks from the 7 inch to show a contrast, especially vocally, those will be up soon but before then, other obscure items will be posted!

Trying, trying, trying

2007-01-23T13:23:00.000Z

Well, we shall see if this shit works, and if it does, watch out world ;)

http://www.sendspace.com/file/amtfp1

Through the pain....

2006-07-10T14:18:00.000Z

It's been a hard ride, we've had luck but I finally get to see la mia squadra win a major competition, non so come posso esprimire la mia gioia!!! FORZA ITALIA!!!!!!!

2006-06-29T13:46:00.000Z

testing 123...

CLICK HERE TO SAMPLE THIS SHIT!

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Quisque magna mi, commodo sed, sodales quis, porta ac, massa. Nulla facilisi. Praesent turpis. Vivamus erat. Aenean et nisl quis felis sodales viverra. Cras venenatis, nunc ut placerat hendrerit, lectus ipsum ultrices erat, non consectetuer turpis massa et felis. Donec sit amet libero ac sem pretium tincidunt. Donec gravida. Nunc pharetra. Aliquam sed neque. Fusce at dui. Quisque enim. Ut rutrum lorem eget turpis. Praesent odio orci, fermentum in, tempus eu, pellentesque et, ante. Vestibulum elit nibh, congue sed, interdum ut, imperdiet vitae, neque. Quisque vitae dui et nibh commodo venenatis. Mauris tempor ipsum id massa.

Aliquam nisi urna, luctus ut, sodales nec, tristique mattis, orci. Aliquam eleifend arcu vitae ante. Nam posuere nunc sit amet turpis placerat aliquet. Duis ut elit. Sed a diam sit amet velit faucibus imperdiet. Aenean malesuada vestibulum tellus. Sed metus. Quisque suscipit. Duis malesuada nisl et metus. Pellentesque viverra semper diam. Phasellus ac libero. Vestibulum nisl mi, placerat ut, viverra non, sodales eu, sem. Cras nibh. Vestibulum eu libero. Nulla tellus tortor, nonummy at, aliquet in, accumsan eu, justo. Etiam dictum, pede vitae varius faucibus, mauris massa volutpat justo, at consequat mi nisl nec urna. Ut euismod est eu dui. Praesent nibh nulla, dictum at, porttitor ac, viverra a, nisi. In sed dolor.

TRACK 1

TRACK 2

TRACK 3

Been a while and a lot of shit's happened....

2005-11-12T10:43:00.000Z

Oh well my intention to use this blog as an MP3 site has thus far failed, due mainly to my lack, (scratch that, VOID) of technical knowledge. Nevermind, I have a plan but doing this shit as an MP3 blog may take longer then I thought....

Fortunately one of the weights in my life has now passed, this being the NYC marathon which was last Sunday. After a respectable pace I proper crumbled on the 18th mile, I was fucked and without my awesome mate AJ I would never have made it over the finish. We finally crossed the line at 5 hours 24 minutes, but our actual time was 5 hours 10. Not bad, could have been better but fuck, it is 26.2 miles....

So with that gone I will have more time, however this is likely to be gobbled up by my studies which are heating up, especially my lovely dissertation, fuck.....

Other than the marathon had some proper good times in NYC, in probably one of the most obscure moments in my life I somehow stumbled across the ex bass player of Irate in the gym in our hotel, HOW FUCKING WEIRD IS THAT????!!!! He spotted my everybody gets hurt shirt and from there we waxed about hXc, hXc and more hXc, damn cool guy.

Another t-shirt related incident happened in the Diesel shop near Bloomingdales, some very hot assitant spotted my Between the buried and me shirt (trust me peeps, I do have other clothes...) and exclaimed that she was a good friend of Tommy....you know what I'm thinking but fuck if you'd seen this girl!!!

Otherwise it was the usual holiday shit, shopping, walking, sight seeing, bitching (usually about the walking) etc etc, either way, its always a pleasure to be in NY.

Tonight L'Azzurri face the Dutch, I'm not feeling confident at all, especially as we lost Totti, Vieri and Peruzzi this week and its on their turf, fuck, I think we'll get smacked 3-1....

Music wise, I didnt pick much up in NY but had some good packages waiting for me once returning home, the particular delight was....COLD AS FUCKIN LIFE!!!!

Shit I've been looking for that CD for years and now its sold out already, shit I hope they press more for other people....either way, this CD is a serious classic, fuckin get it.

As well as that I've been listening to Since The Flood a lot, Morning Again, Turmoil, Statecraft, Everybody Gets Hurt, but not just brutal metallic hardcore, also DJ Shadow, Sigur Ros (saw them the day after I got back from NY), 65 Days of static (just ordered their new one), Lustmord etc etc

I've been getting loads of good shit to post to, some really obscure stuff but I'll keep stum until this MP3 is actually working...

Damn, this is a fuckin long post, well I'll sign off for now, I got to get down to work, that damn dissertation won't write itself....

The first of many, hopefully......

2005-10-26T11:42:00.000Z

Well, well, well, looks like I've been bitten by the blog bug as well.

Firstly I have to acknowledge the likes of Andrew at Aversionline.com and Jonathan at an attitude exhumed for inspiring me to do this shit. Their blogs are always interesting and full of great music, I hope that this blog will be able to emulate what they have been doing thus far.

In regards to my blog, it will be using this to spread the knowledge of music that is palatable to my own personal (self proclaimed) eclectic musical persuasions. Initially my posts will centre around metalcore and hardcore from places other than the US. The point being to capture the worldwide hardcore craze that is currently occurring and to prove that hardcore and metalcore, despite their tarnished reputations are still valid musical entities.

Additionally I will try and future music from older periods, but being a mere pup (22), I don't have the good fortune to say that I have experienced any widespread musical revolution that was of any real genuine significance. I can't say I'm proud of experiencing the explosion of Nu-Metal in the late 90s and definitely don't hide the fact that I went to some of those shows and bought some of the records (C'mon, young impressionable 16 year old and Slipknot, lack of any real good metal in the mainstream, can I really be chastised for that shit!), thus you see my predicament, but I have learnt the error of my ways and expelled those awful records...Whether my taste has improved is something you'll have to judge yourselves.

Therefore, I will strive to include older music but I won't be able to relate to it in the same way as some of you more distinguished bloggers out there!!

Anyway, that's it for now, look out for my first blog coming soon.....