The greatest era / locale combo in hardcore history is New York circa 1982-1994. This is not up for debate. It is a fact. Every band in this era is important / critical. What's even crazier is that the bulk of the most acclaimed output in this era come, not from albums, but from demos. Even when the albums are considered the greatest (Age of Quarrel), people still refer to the demos as better (Before The Quarrel). If any scene embodied the spirit of the phrase "the demo was better", it was NYHC 82-94. The list of immortal demos is literally endless. Altercation, Show of Force, Dmize, Merauder, Leeway, The Psychos, Skinhead Youth, Breakdown, Trip 6, Life's Blood, Uppercut, Outburst, and so forth. In recent years, there has been a lively debate within the subculture about the best NYHC demo ever. Most people will say Breakdown 87 which is a good answer. It just isn't the right one. The right answer is Raw Deal 88 / 89. Both demos are so good that you can't pick one. They're tied for first. Simple as that.
For the uninitiated, Raw Deal is what would eventually become Killing Time. The band was started, ironically enough, by three members of Breakdown (who had only released the 87 demo a year earlier): Carl Porcaro, Rich McLoughlin and Anthony Drago. For vocals, the band enlisted Anthony Comunale (of Token Entry). On guitar, the band brought in Mike "Hellfire" Sentkiewitz (of Sick Of It All). The band made a name for themselves as one of the leaders in the emerging second generation of NYHC.
While the first generation's heroes were on their way out toward crossover metal and post-hardcore, the likes of Raw Deal, Breakdown, Dmize, Madball had begun to dig their heels in to take over the scene. By now, NYHC wasn't developing and it wasn't searching for its identity. It was a group of kids in the LES / BK / Queens who had spent the better part of a decade fighting a war against everyone. The "tough guy" motif that often gets laughed out of the room these days wasn't a motif for these bands. It was life. By the late 1980s, CBGBs had banned hardcore shows for the violence that would regularly happen during them. NYHC anecdotes would often tell stories about its members beating someone nearly to death or a fight gone awry and someone getting stabbed. All of these stories were often told with the storyteller laughing about how funny it all was. When Raw Deal sings "Only The Strong Survive" or Madball sings "Down By Law", you knew that it wasn't an image, it was just who they were.
The Raw Deal demos are the product of living in the first generation of New York hardcore. They survived long enough and wrote the acoustic philosophy of NYHC. What would be on the Raw Deal demos became the bedrock principles of NYHC going forward. Songs like "Brightside", "Only The Strong Survive" and "Telltale" told you all you needed to know about getting by. Musically, the band had style. It wasn't the knockdown, drag out stuff you'd see from Dmize and Breakdown. It had more groove and bounce to it. You could just as easily dance to Raw Deal as you could fight to it. The Raw Deal demos are the best NYHC demos because its authors were warriors who survived the first generation long enough to tell the next generation what they needed to know about life in NYHC. Much like Homer wrote the Iliad to tell the story about the Trojan War, Raw Deal was there to write the story of NYHC circa 82-88.
Included are both 88 & 89 demos.
http://www.mediafire.com/download/2nhgvey467q9fxv/Raw_Deal.rar
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
Eucharist
The 90’s in extreme music were a very peculiar time. This decade of terrible haircuts and awkward fashion incepted two highly bastardized forms of music that, in some people’s eyes, lie somewhere in between the cringeworthiness of ska and tribal-tattoo clad radio rock. These genres I speak of are screamo (or skramz, or emoviolence or whatever the fuck you want to call it) and (hardline vegan straight edge) metalcore. Feel how you will about either style of music; no one is stopping you. However, you simply can’t deny the fact that saying you’re a full-fledged proponent of Prayer For Cleansing’s musical styling will not subject you to a double-take or maybe even a chuckling dismissal. Even with the whole circle of bands like Saetia, Orchid, and Pg. 99. These are simply bands that you either love, hate, love to hate, or hate that you love. That’s it.
What does this mean in the grand scheme of things? The 90’s brings to mind three styles of music: metalcore, screamo, and alternative rock. Even more so, when I think of the 90’s, why doesn’t hardcore punk come to mind unless you really really try to rack your brain? Did the questionable bands overshadow the good ones or were the good bands just so few and far between? Maybe it’s just my musical naïveté, but it did take me some time to realize that the 90’s were not all about handing pamphlets out at shows and to understand that hardcore punk was still thriving through this decade, there was just a lot of hilarious fluff that you had to sift through.
Case in point: Eucharist. This band was on very few people's radar during their time, and seemed to gain little recognition after the fact, despite how good their debut (and only) release was. Taking cues from other bands that happened to fly under the radar like Citizens Arrest, Heresy, Born Against, and so on, Eucharist was fairly simple; they played hardcore punk without a gimmick or byline to their band. That is something that was seemingly rare for a 90’s band.
Eucharist did one US tour, played a bit in the Northeast and released their record on The Mountain Collective For Independent Artists, who also put out records from bands like Iceburn and Saetia. If you were a band in 1996 and planned on releasing a record, you needed to step your game up because this was a year of seminal releases in extreme music. From Eyehategod's Dopesick to Integrity's Humanity is the Devil to His Hero Is Gone's Fifteen Counts of Arson. On every end of the spectrum, 1996 featured a release that had a high probability of still being listened to today. It’s a shame that Eucharist is not included on that list, but it’s never too late to start and maybe Eucharist can find the resurgence of interest that bands like YDI would benefit from some decades later.
While hardcore punk was extremely easy to seek out in the 80’s and the USHC surge in the 2000’s brought it to the forefront again, this style of music didn't go anywhere in the 90’s, there was just more dirt to dig up to uncover the hidden gems. Not sure if there are even physical copies of the record floating around anymore, but if you come across it, its definitely worth copping. I highly encourage seeking out more great releases from this time. If you need a different place to start, Google “Judgement- No Reason Why”. 1996 was a good year.
- Jay Chary
http://www.mediafire.com/download/xrs774h02zbb321/Eucharist.rar
What does this mean in the grand scheme of things? The 90’s brings to mind three styles of music: metalcore, screamo, and alternative rock. Even more so, when I think of the 90’s, why doesn’t hardcore punk come to mind unless you really really try to rack your brain? Did the questionable bands overshadow the good ones or were the good bands just so few and far between? Maybe it’s just my musical naïveté, but it did take me some time to realize that the 90’s were not all about handing pamphlets out at shows and to understand that hardcore punk was still thriving through this decade, there was just a lot of hilarious fluff that you had to sift through.
Case in point: Eucharist. This band was on very few people's radar during their time, and seemed to gain little recognition after the fact, despite how good their debut (and only) release was. Taking cues from other bands that happened to fly under the radar like Citizens Arrest, Heresy, Born Against, and so on, Eucharist was fairly simple; they played hardcore punk without a gimmick or byline to their band. That is something that was seemingly rare for a 90’s band.
Eucharist did one US tour, played a bit in the Northeast and released their record on The Mountain Collective For Independent Artists, who also put out records from bands like Iceburn and Saetia. If you were a band in 1996 and planned on releasing a record, you needed to step your game up because this was a year of seminal releases in extreme music. From Eyehategod's Dopesick to Integrity's Humanity is the Devil to His Hero Is Gone's Fifteen Counts of Arson. On every end of the spectrum, 1996 featured a release that had a high probability of still being listened to today. It’s a shame that Eucharist is not included on that list, but it’s never too late to start and maybe Eucharist can find the resurgence of interest that bands like YDI would benefit from some decades later.
While hardcore punk was extremely easy to seek out in the 80’s and the USHC surge in the 2000’s brought it to the forefront again, this style of music didn't go anywhere in the 90’s, there was just more dirt to dig up to uncover the hidden gems. Not sure if there are even physical copies of the record floating around anymore, but if you come across it, its definitely worth copping. I highly encourage seeking out more great releases from this time. If you need a different place to start, Google “Judgement- No Reason Why”. 1996 was a good year.
- Jay Chary
http://www.mediafire.com/download/xrs774h02zbb321/Eucharist.rar
Autopsy
Best United States death metal band of all time? It isn't ANY band from Florida. The best American death metal band is from Concord, California: Autopsy. Formed in 1987 by Chris Reifert and Eric Cutler along with Danny Corralles, Autopsy began as a project that sought to highlight the themes that modern death metal is most known for today. These themes were rooted in gore, horror and the overall discourse on death itself.
Autopsy's biggest ace was their drummer / vocalist Chris Reifert who had previously served in legendary USDM act Death. Reifert joined Death at the age of 17 with Chuck Schuldiner, who had moved to Reifert's native California Bay Area. After the release of Death's acclaimed debut album, Scream Bloody Gore, Schuldiner returned to Florida leaving Reifert behind in California. Reifert took the departure as an opportunity to make something of his own. Along with Cutler, he formed Autopsy.
Autopsy is the best USDM band for a variety of reasons. The first being their broad influences that played a huge part to making Autopsy's sound so unique. Autopsy's early work utilized a strong thrash element (thanks in part to Reifert's background in hardcore punk, which would later be showcased in his side project Eat My Fuk). The second was Autopsy's emphasis on the rhythm section. Eric Cutler's guitar work is closer to an Iago than a Caesar. While most death metal bands place almost all of their stock in their guitars, Autopsy would beat you down with the rhythm section and, after exhausting you, would have Cutler tear you apart with cutting riffs and slicing solos. This is the third reason Autopsy is the best USDM band. Their sound was different. It was thrash, it was death, and later it was doom. The band's versatility allowed them to not lose speed. In eight years, the band released four full lengths, two EPs, and a barrage of demos.
Autopsy has two albums that are important to the modern death metal discussion. The first is their 1989 debut album Severed Survival. The album's heavy use of gore and horror themes would become widely influential in the death metal genre going forward. Earlier, there was mention of Autopsy's imposing rhythm section. On Severed Survival, this was both held back and showcased by the abhorrent production of John Marshall (of Metal Church). On the album, the drums were recorded badly. To the point where the kick drum can barely be heard on it. In addition to the drums being recorded badly, Marshall mixed the bass up way too high. In almost all cases, this is another terrible gaffe on the part of the producer. Luckily for Autopsy, then bass player Steven DiGiorgio (later of Death) put on a virtuoso performance. Severed Survival is an album about displaced body parts and fluids and the dreading of death. It is meant to make you feel dirty. Hearing DiGiorgio's bass the way it sounds on the album helps achieve this goal.
The second album is their 1991 follow-up, Mental Funeral. For this album, Autopsy uses a great deal of doom influence in the sound. Doom influenced death metal is not an easy genre to excel in. When we discuss it, we think of Bolt Thrower, Asphyx, Paradise Lost, Winter, Anathema, and others. Doom influenced death metal requires a certain kind of intensity and precision to the guitars. For Mental Funeral, Autopsy used it as a chance to make Cutler & Corralles' guitars drone as well as cut along with Reifert / Steve Cutler (on bass). The rhythm section continues to assault listeners. In death metal, it is rare to see a rhythm section assume so much control of a band's overall sound. When we think about death metal, we typically think of the biting guitars (read: Sunlight Studio).
Autopsy is the best USDM band of all time because of their ability to keep things interesting. Even when things were not necessarily good (notably the band's last album in 1995, Shitfun), they were still trying different things. When things stopped working in 1995, the band called it quits. Corralles and Reifert would go on to form Abscess which carried on the hardcore punk influences shown first on Severed Survival and later Shitfun. After a fourteen year layoff, Autopsy got back together in 2009 and began writing new music again.
Included is the Awakened By Gore which is a compilation of the band's early demos as well as both Severed Survival and Mental Funeral.
http://www.mediafire.com/download/wjfdhatwhfxh6hh/Autopsy.rar
Autopsy's biggest ace was their drummer / vocalist Chris Reifert who had previously served in legendary USDM act Death. Reifert joined Death at the age of 17 with Chuck Schuldiner, who had moved to Reifert's native California Bay Area. After the release of Death's acclaimed debut album, Scream Bloody Gore, Schuldiner returned to Florida leaving Reifert behind in California. Reifert took the departure as an opportunity to make something of his own. Along with Cutler, he formed Autopsy.
Autopsy is the best USDM band for a variety of reasons. The first being their broad influences that played a huge part to making Autopsy's sound so unique. Autopsy's early work utilized a strong thrash element (thanks in part to Reifert's background in hardcore punk, which would later be showcased in his side project Eat My Fuk). The second was Autopsy's emphasis on the rhythm section. Eric Cutler's guitar work is closer to an Iago than a Caesar. While most death metal bands place almost all of their stock in their guitars, Autopsy would beat you down with the rhythm section and, after exhausting you, would have Cutler tear you apart with cutting riffs and slicing solos. This is the third reason Autopsy is the best USDM band. Their sound was different. It was thrash, it was death, and later it was doom. The band's versatility allowed them to not lose speed. In eight years, the band released four full lengths, two EPs, and a barrage of demos.
Autopsy has two albums that are important to the modern death metal discussion. The first is their 1989 debut album Severed Survival. The album's heavy use of gore and horror themes would become widely influential in the death metal genre going forward. Earlier, there was mention of Autopsy's imposing rhythm section. On Severed Survival, this was both held back and showcased by the abhorrent production of John Marshall (of Metal Church). On the album, the drums were recorded badly. To the point where the kick drum can barely be heard on it. In addition to the drums being recorded badly, Marshall mixed the bass up way too high. In almost all cases, this is another terrible gaffe on the part of the producer. Luckily for Autopsy, then bass player Steven DiGiorgio (later of Death) put on a virtuoso performance. Severed Survival is an album about displaced body parts and fluids and the dreading of death. It is meant to make you feel dirty. Hearing DiGiorgio's bass the way it sounds on the album helps achieve this goal.
The second album is their 1991 follow-up, Mental Funeral. For this album, Autopsy uses a great deal of doom influence in the sound. Doom influenced death metal is not an easy genre to excel in. When we discuss it, we think of Bolt Thrower, Asphyx, Paradise Lost, Winter, Anathema, and others. Doom influenced death metal requires a certain kind of intensity and precision to the guitars. For Mental Funeral, Autopsy used it as a chance to make Cutler & Corralles' guitars drone as well as cut along with Reifert / Steve Cutler (on bass). The rhythm section continues to assault listeners. In death metal, it is rare to see a rhythm section assume so much control of a band's overall sound. When we think about death metal, we typically think of the biting guitars (read: Sunlight Studio).
Autopsy is the best USDM band of all time because of their ability to keep things interesting. Even when things were not necessarily good (notably the band's last album in 1995, Shitfun), they were still trying different things. When things stopped working in 1995, the band called it quits. Corralles and Reifert would go on to form Abscess which carried on the hardcore punk influences shown first on Severed Survival and later Shitfun. After a fourteen year layoff, Autopsy got back together in 2009 and began writing new music again.
Included is the Awakened By Gore which is a compilation of the band's early demos as well as both Severed Survival and Mental Funeral.
http://www.mediafire.com/download/wjfdhatwhfxh6hh/Autopsy.rar
Saturday, November 8, 2014
Trash Talk
"Sell out"; a term that has been used so many times in the subculture that it has almost lost meaning. The problem with this term is that the people who use it are often too dumb to understand what it means. Sell out is a subculture slur used to criticize acts for a variety of reasons. The #1 reason being the most obvious: the band in question is simply doing better than you or your friends. What is the criteria for a sell out? What makes a sell out a sell out? To the less intelligent, a sell out is someone who plays bigger shows and tours with bigger acts and that's pretty much it.
There are actually two forms of selling out and it has nothing to do with venue capacity or who is on the bill. The first form is transformation. When a band stops being what they once were and become something completely different. They compromise their sound in such an egregious way that the band does not sound anything alike from their last album to the present one. Regardless of how you want to cite personal growth as a factor (and it certainly is), a band can't defend tectonic shifts in the band's style with it. Metallica can't defend Reload from Ride The Lightning because they became dads and started to care about how much they were paying in taxes every year. The second form is caricaturing. Caricaturing is when a band has an established winning formula, likely from a successful earlier release, and they make a career out of trying to write a more diluted version of that earlier success... over and over again. Consider these two forms and you arrive at one conclusion: Trash Talk are not sell outs.
The band's beginnings are so humble that their current station in music defies logic. The band started in the Central Valley, California. If you know anything about this place, know that it is awful and not much of anything comes from there. The band's first break on the national stage was signing with young east coast label Rumble Records (who also had Shipwreck on their roster). Rumble Records (along with a very young Six Feet Under Records) would release Walking Disease, an album with many of the band's classic tracks. Eventually, Trash Talk was snapped up by DC / VA based label Malfunction Records (with Ceremony, Bitter End, and others on their roster). On Malfunction, Trash Talk would release the Plagues EP. Malfunction would be absorbed by Boston label Deathwish Inc who, at the time, were THE label in modern hardcore and Trash Talk would end up with them. Trash Talk would have a falling out with the label and walk out of Deathwish Inc, thumbing their noses at the outfit on their way out.
Here's where the story takes off: the band's next LP, which was already written, was ready to record. For the effort, the band enlisted the services of Chicago hardcore legend / music industry legend Steve Albini to produce it. Instead of Deathwish Inc, the band opted to self-release it and, in turn, made the best decision of their career. The album was the band's declaration that they were far from done. To drop their strongest effort to date as a free agent made them highly sought after. After that, the offers for gigs and tours as well as other opportunities kept pouring in.
Here's the thing about hardcore that a lot of people don't get: it is as much an anchor to a band as it is a community. Hardcore has a ceiling and, at some point, you will hit it. When that happens, then what? That's why so many bands sell out by transforming or caricaturing when they get to the ceiling. Trash Talk is the exception to the rule. From their demo to now, you can still say it's Trash Talk. There are no eras, no gimmicks, no tectonic shifts. More to the point, the fact that they've reached the level of success that they have without having to make any dramatic changes says a lot.
What Trash Talk was able to do with each release was add nuance to it as opposed to transform or caricature. So instead of a dramatic change or dilution, the band would just change it up a little. Maybe bass player Spencer Pollard would do more vocals on a song or vocalist Lee Spielman would change up his flow / delivery or guitarist Garrett Stevenson would try different pacing. The point is that they used nuanced understanding of their own personal influences on the band and always made sure to do enough to keep things fresh without actually hurting Trash Talk itself. Imagine a sushi chef, whose job is preparing delicate dishes, who uses knives and precise technique to ensure that the meal is perfect. Trash Talk has done the same with their music.
Trash Talk are not sell outs. They gave hardcore kids the model for success. The band tours the world and play wild, sold out gigs everywhere they go. They get to make a living off playing hardcore music. Above all else, they never compromised themselves to do it. When you talk about the ethos of hardcore punk and what is punk and what is selling out, evaluate Trash Talk's history and conduct and score it all. What you arrive at is one of hardcore punk's biggest success stories, not another sell out story.
Included is Walking Disease EP, Plagues EP, self-titled LP, Awake EP, East of Eden single, and their 2008 United Blood live set.
http://www.mediafire.com/download/v3shglmgr1d30b0/Trash_Talk.rar
There are actually two forms of selling out and it has nothing to do with venue capacity or who is on the bill. The first form is transformation. When a band stops being what they once were and become something completely different. They compromise their sound in such an egregious way that the band does not sound anything alike from their last album to the present one. Regardless of how you want to cite personal growth as a factor (and it certainly is), a band can't defend tectonic shifts in the band's style with it. Metallica can't defend Reload from Ride The Lightning because they became dads and started to care about how much they were paying in taxes every year. The second form is caricaturing. Caricaturing is when a band has an established winning formula, likely from a successful earlier release, and they make a career out of trying to write a more diluted version of that earlier success... over and over again. Consider these two forms and you arrive at one conclusion: Trash Talk are not sell outs.
The band's beginnings are so humble that their current station in music defies logic. The band started in the Central Valley, California. If you know anything about this place, know that it is awful and not much of anything comes from there. The band's first break on the national stage was signing with young east coast label Rumble Records (who also had Shipwreck on their roster). Rumble Records (along with a very young Six Feet Under Records) would release Walking Disease, an album with many of the band's classic tracks. Eventually, Trash Talk was snapped up by DC / VA based label Malfunction Records (with Ceremony, Bitter End, and others on their roster). On Malfunction, Trash Talk would release the Plagues EP. Malfunction would be absorbed by Boston label Deathwish Inc who, at the time, were THE label in modern hardcore and Trash Talk would end up with them. Trash Talk would have a falling out with the label and walk out of Deathwish Inc, thumbing their noses at the outfit on their way out.
Here's where the story takes off: the band's next LP, which was already written, was ready to record. For the effort, the band enlisted the services of Chicago hardcore legend / music industry legend Steve Albini to produce it. Instead of Deathwish Inc, the band opted to self-release it and, in turn, made the best decision of their career. The album was the band's declaration that they were far from done. To drop their strongest effort to date as a free agent made them highly sought after. After that, the offers for gigs and tours as well as other opportunities kept pouring in.
Here's the thing about hardcore that a lot of people don't get: it is as much an anchor to a band as it is a community. Hardcore has a ceiling and, at some point, you will hit it. When that happens, then what? That's why so many bands sell out by transforming or caricaturing when they get to the ceiling. Trash Talk is the exception to the rule. From their demo to now, you can still say it's Trash Talk. There are no eras, no gimmicks, no tectonic shifts. More to the point, the fact that they've reached the level of success that they have without having to make any dramatic changes says a lot.
What Trash Talk was able to do with each release was add nuance to it as opposed to transform or caricature. So instead of a dramatic change or dilution, the band would just change it up a little. Maybe bass player Spencer Pollard would do more vocals on a song or vocalist Lee Spielman would change up his flow / delivery or guitarist Garrett Stevenson would try different pacing. The point is that they used nuanced understanding of their own personal influences on the band and always made sure to do enough to keep things fresh without actually hurting Trash Talk itself. Imagine a sushi chef, whose job is preparing delicate dishes, who uses knives and precise technique to ensure that the meal is perfect. Trash Talk has done the same with their music.
Trash Talk are not sell outs. They gave hardcore kids the model for success. The band tours the world and play wild, sold out gigs everywhere they go. They get to make a living off playing hardcore music. Above all else, they never compromised themselves to do it. When you talk about the ethos of hardcore punk and what is punk and what is selling out, evaluate Trash Talk's history and conduct and score it all. What you arrive at is one of hardcore punk's biggest success stories, not another sell out story.
Included is Walking Disease EP, Plagues EP, self-titled LP, Awake EP, East of Eden single, and their 2008 United Blood live set.
http://www.mediafire.com/download/v3shglmgr1d30b0/Trash_Talk.rar
Friday, November 7, 2014
Carry On
Redoing this one.
These days there are two kinds of hardcore that are often maligned and paid little notice: straight edge and melodic hardcore. This wasn't always the case. In the late 1990s, the USA saw a youth crew revival featuring bands like Ten Yard Fight, In My Eyes, Right Brigade, Floorpunch, The First Step, Fastbreak. The mid 2000s saw the boom of melodic hardcore bands like Champion and really, the entire Rivalry Records roster. In the middle of all this was Carry On. Here's what can be said for Carry On that a lot of people don't say and should: 1) they are lyrically the best straight edge band ever and 2.) the music on A Life Less Plagued effectively broke the melodic hardcore genre.
Formed in 1996 and lasting until 2001, Carry On hailed from Los Angeles. The band featured vocalist Ryan George, guitarists Todd Jones & Corey Williams, bass player Jon Westbrook, and drummer Lucas McFadden (Terror founding member Nick Jett would also feature for the band). The aforementioned line up is what would hit the studio to record A Life Less Plagued. Before this, the band had other personnel come and go (including guitarist Jordan Johnson RIP) and the music was not quite what it would be, but it was still straight forward hardcore able to stand up to their peers in quality. The CD compilation It's All Our Blood, released by Youngblood Records, highlights the early years of Carry On. Even on these early releases you can hear the strengths of the band: George's lyrics and Jones' guitar work. George's lyrics were pointed and hostile, bearing the markings of a lot of the straight edge bands of the day. He had a bone to pick with the world and was ready to fight over it. Jones' guitar work across his career is some of hardcore's most beloved. After Carry On, he would go on to be a founding member of Terror, Betrayed, Snake Eyes and Nails (and I'm probably forgetting some others).
Carry On is an immortal band and it is because of what happened on their debut full-length A Life Less Plagued that cemented their position in the stars. Earlier I said Carry On was lyrically the best straight edge band ever. On A Life Less Plagued, George's lyrics take on a completely different tone than any other straight edge band before them (or after, for that matter). They're not uplifting, preaching positivity, or even combative toward anyone in particular. They're lost, despondent, and cynical. George's lyrics hit a chord about someone who had spent years of his life fighting a lost cause and for what? He doesn't feel a part of something or better for it. As a hardcore kid gets older, this feeling becomes more prevalent and harder to ignore. We have to see people around us get married, have kids, buy houses, and settle in as we get older. Meanwhile, we stop to look around at what we have and ask if it was all worth it. Sometimes we can talk ourselves into it and say 'yes it was', but most of the time we feel like George does on A Life Less Plagued. That's what makes them so important. They're not a regurgitation of some doctrine about brotherhood or a philosophy. The lyrics are the result of hardcore coming into contact with time. This is most true on the album's final song "Rethinking". The song's lyrics tell the story about a straight edge kid who is finally hit by the realities of life and understands that hardcore does not exist in a vacuum and that real life happens to people. The closing lines, clever allusions to straight edge heroes Mouthpiece and Judge, encapsulates the disconnect in hardcore over time, "with what was said and what it meant, what did it have to do with me anyways?" "Rethinking" is this generation's "Salad Days" and it says a whole hell of a lot more about what growing up in hardcore feels like than Ian MacKaye's "I'm bored with it".
The second part of the album that sticks out is Todd Jones' guitar work. Jones' guitar work on A Life Less Plagued broke melodic hardcore. After the release of this album, everyone else in the melodic hardcore game spent the next 6-7 years chasing Jones and trying to come close to A Life Less Plagued. Imagine the part from Iron Man when Jeff Bridges' character is trying fruitlessly to rebuild an Iron Man suit and not being able to understand how Tony Stark was able to build one, and that's the story of melodic hardcore since Carry On. The guitar work on A Life Less Plagued has its own life. From the first note, Jones is able to dominate the entire album, not letting up, and best of all able to capture the feelings being exuded by George. On "So Much Of You", Jones' hooks are as memorable as the fills. On "Rethinking", he plays a grand build up to close out the song / album. The chemistry between Jones / George on A Life Less Plagued is special. Listening to Jones' guitar work on this album tells the story of an entire genre. Everything in melodic hardcore that would come after Carry On, by way of guitar work, was everyone else trying to reverse engineer what Jones had done.
This not to say that the rest of the band didn't put in memorable performances. Drummer Lucas McFadden plays fast and precise and puts in some of the best snare work on a hardcore album. On "Waiting On Forever" & "Killing A Sound", the rhythm section, conducted by Jones' leads, kick into some great breaks.
A Life Less Plagued is a perfect album. We use this term a lot to talk about albums, past, present, and future, but how often can you really say it every year without even second guessing it? There won't be another seminal melodic hardcore band going forward, let alone another Carry On. Bands who try to emulate George's lyrics will likely miss the point and take his feelings for simple sadness or some kind of misplaced anger. The lyrics on A Life Less Plagued are some of the most sober perspectives on life in, and after, the subculture. Jones' guitar work defined and broke a genre. That sounds like a pretty bold statement, but name a melodic hardcore band since Carry On that has come close to what Jones was doing on A Life Less Plagued. You can't. Carry On is a band that becomes more important and real for a hardcore kid as they get older.
Included is It's All Our Blood & A Life Less Plagued.
http://www.mediafire.com/download/6y2h13b3icmngkh/Carry_On.rar
These days there are two kinds of hardcore that are often maligned and paid little notice: straight edge and melodic hardcore. This wasn't always the case. In the late 1990s, the USA saw a youth crew revival featuring bands like Ten Yard Fight, In My Eyes, Right Brigade, Floorpunch, The First Step, Fastbreak. The mid 2000s saw the boom of melodic hardcore bands like Champion and really, the entire Rivalry Records roster. In the middle of all this was Carry On. Here's what can be said for Carry On that a lot of people don't say and should: 1) they are lyrically the best straight edge band ever and 2.) the music on A Life Less Plagued effectively broke the melodic hardcore genre.
Formed in 1996 and lasting until 2001, Carry On hailed from Los Angeles. The band featured vocalist Ryan George, guitarists Todd Jones & Corey Williams, bass player Jon Westbrook, and drummer Lucas McFadden (Terror founding member Nick Jett would also feature for the band). The aforementioned line up is what would hit the studio to record A Life Less Plagued. Before this, the band had other personnel come and go (including guitarist Jordan Johnson RIP) and the music was not quite what it would be, but it was still straight forward hardcore able to stand up to their peers in quality. The CD compilation It's All Our Blood, released by Youngblood Records, highlights the early years of Carry On. Even on these early releases you can hear the strengths of the band: George's lyrics and Jones' guitar work. George's lyrics were pointed and hostile, bearing the markings of a lot of the straight edge bands of the day. He had a bone to pick with the world and was ready to fight over it. Jones' guitar work across his career is some of hardcore's most beloved. After Carry On, he would go on to be a founding member of Terror, Betrayed, Snake Eyes and Nails (and I'm probably forgetting some others).
Carry On is an immortal band and it is because of what happened on their debut full-length A Life Less Plagued that cemented their position in the stars. Earlier I said Carry On was lyrically the best straight edge band ever. On A Life Less Plagued, George's lyrics take on a completely different tone than any other straight edge band before them (or after, for that matter). They're not uplifting, preaching positivity, or even combative toward anyone in particular. They're lost, despondent, and cynical. George's lyrics hit a chord about someone who had spent years of his life fighting a lost cause and for what? He doesn't feel a part of something or better for it. As a hardcore kid gets older, this feeling becomes more prevalent and harder to ignore. We have to see people around us get married, have kids, buy houses, and settle in as we get older. Meanwhile, we stop to look around at what we have and ask if it was all worth it. Sometimes we can talk ourselves into it and say 'yes it was', but most of the time we feel like George does on A Life Less Plagued. That's what makes them so important. They're not a regurgitation of some doctrine about brotherhood or a philosophy. The lyrics are the result of hardcore coming into contact with time. This is most true on the album's final song "Rethinking". The song's lyrics tell the story about a straight edge kid who is finally hit by the realities of life and understands that hardcore does not exist in a vacuum and that real life happens to people. The closing lines, clever allusions to straight edge heroes Mouthpiece and Judge, encapsulates the disconnect in hardcore over time, "with what was said and what it meant, what did it have to do with me anyways?" "Rethinking" is this generation's "Salad Days" and it says a whole hell of a lot more about what growing up in hardcore feels like than Ian MacKaye's "I'm bored with it".
The second part of the album that sticks out is Todd Jones' guitar work. Jones' guitar work on A Life Less Plagued broke melodic hardcore. After the release of this album, everyone else in the melodic hardcore game spent the next 6-7 years chasing Jones and trying to come close to A Life Less Plagued. Imagine the part from Iron Man when Jeff Bridges' character is trying fruitlessly to rebuild an Iron Man suit and not being able to understand how Tony Stark was able to build one, and that's the story of melodic hardcore since Carry On. The guitar work on A Life Less Plagued has its own life. From the first note, Jones is able to dominate the entire album, not letting up, and best of all able to capture the feelings being exuded by George. On "So Much Of You", Jones' hooks are as memorable as the fills. On "Rethinking", he plays a grand build up to close out the song / album. The chemistry between Jones / George on A Life Less Plagued is special. Listening to Jones' guitar work on this album tells the story of an entire genre. Everything in melodic hardcore that would come after Carry On, by way of guitar work, was everyone else trying to reverse engineer what Jones had done.
This not to say that the rest of the band didn't put in memorable performances. Drummer Lucas McFadden plays fast and precise and puts in some of the best snare work on a hardcore album. On "Waiting On Forever" & "Killing A Sound", the rhythm section, conducted by Jones' leads, kick into some great breaks.
A Life Less Plagued is a perfect album. We use this term a lot to talk about albums, past, present, and future, but how often can you really say it every year without even second guessing it? There won't be another seminal melodic hardcore band going forward, let alone another Carry On. Bands who try to emulate George's lyrics will likely miss the point and take his feelings for simple sadness or some kind of misplaced anger. The lyrics on A Life Less Plagued are some of the most sober perspectives on life in, and after, the subculture. Jones' guitar work defined and broke a genre. That sounds like a pretty bold statement, but name a melodic hardcore band since Carry On that has come close to what Jones was doing on A Life Less Plagued. You can't. Carry On is a band that becomes more important and real for a hardcore kid as they get older.
Included is It's All Our Blood & A Life Less Plagued.
http://www.mediafire.com/download/6y2h13b3icmngkh/Carry_On.rar
Thursday, November 6, 2014
Conqueror
Western Canadian black metal collective Ross Bay Cult have a guiding philosophy on their approach to black metal: they are at war. All of RBC's members are decked out in camo, bullet belts, combat boots, and war paint. The bands in the RBC include genre legends Blasphemy, the newly unearthed and revisited Antichrist, Chile's Wrathprayer, Spain's Proclamation, and Conqueror along with affiliates Black Witchery & Revenge. If Blasphemy took it upon themselves to be the Bolshevik-type revolutionaries and Proclamation were the Visigoth-like barbarians, Conqueror were the Black September of the RBC.
Conqueror, formed by RBC founder Ryan Forster and Revenge founder James Read, were only around briefly from 1994 to 1997. In that time the band was an actual force. Violent, oppressive, and dominated by sheer will. The band released two demos, Anti-Christ Superiority & Annihilate. Only one was released before the band's demise. In 1998, Annihilate was released followed by the release of the band's legendary full-length War Cult Supremacy in 1999.
Conqueror existed more as an acoustic abstraction than a music project. They never played a show. The lion's share of their music was released after they broke up. They did not identify themselves as Satanic or Pagan like a lot of black metal bands do. Instead they identified as Superions. A Superion, according to Read is "the quintessential command for triumph." This belief is a callback to the RBC's call to war. Expanding on it, Read also abandons the black metal stereotype of embracing Satan or Biblical villainy. He says he does not care about LaVey and regard those who refer to the Bible in any capacity as inferior people. This viewpoint is fascinating as it is a clear rejection of everything black metal is purported to be by both its constituents and critics. Conqueror's end was not because of a murder or some insane mendacity concocted on the internet. The band simply ended because Read moved away. For as straight forward as the band itself was, it is appropriate how straight forward their ending was.
On what Conqueror sounds like, Read says "fans of melodic music don't waste your money... fans of profound poetic lyrics don't waste your money". Conqueror is one of the best death metal bands. The disgusting progeny of Necrovore following the tutelage of Blasphemy. What was true for Conqueror would become true for Revenge. Conqueror are one of the best black metal (or death metal, depending if you want to nitpick) bands ever.
Included are both demos and the War Cult Supremacy album.
http://www.mediafire.com/download/53n1324ilg72rrb/Conqueror.rar
Conqueror, formed by RBC founder Ryan Forster and Revenge founder James Read, were only around briefly from 1994 to 1997. In that time the band was an actual force. Violent, oppressive, and dominated by sheer will. The band released two demos, Anti-Christ Superiority & Annihilate. Only one was released before the band's demise. In 1998, Annihilate was released followed by the release of the band's legendary full-length War Cult Supremacy in 1999.
Conqueror existed more as an acoustic abstraction than a music project. They never played a show. The lion's share of their music was released after they broke up. They did not identify themselves as Satanic or Pagan like a lot of black metal bands do. Instead they identified as Superions. A Superion, according to Read is "the quintessential command for triumph." This belief is a callback to the RBC's call to war. Expanding on it, Read also abandons the black metal stereotype of embracing Satan or Biblical villainy. He says he does not care about LaVey and regard those who refer to the Bible in any capacity as inferior people. This viewpoint is fascinating as it is a clear rejection of everything black metal is purported to be by both its constituents and critics. Conqueror's end was not because of a murder or some insane mendacity concocted on the internet. The band simply ended because Read moved away. For as straight forward as the band itself was, it is appropriate how straight forward their ending was.
On what Conqueror sounds like, Read says "fans of melodic music don't waste your money... fans of profound poetic lyrics don't waste your money". Conqueror is one of the best death metal bands. The disgusting progeny of Necrovore following the tutelage of Blasphemy. What was true for Conqueror would become true for Revenge. Conqueror are one of the best black metal (or death metal, depending if you want to nitpick) bands ever.
Included are both demos and the War Cult Supremacy album.
http://www.mediafire.com/download/53n1324ilg72rrb/Conqueror.rar
Wednesday, November 5, 2014
Get Real
New Jersey has the weirdest reputation. On the one hand, everybody makes fun of them for a variety of reasons that they've likely only heard about because they've never actually been to Jersey. Jersey is my least favorite favorite place. I can't deny that north Jersey is a third world wasteland that smells from the sewage running out of NYC. I can't deny that the rest of Jersey is a giant suburb that is completely devoid of anything interesting. What I also can't deny is that New Jersey just keeps giving. Jersey is that kid who knows a lot and does a lot for a lot of people but never quite gets the respect / appreciation it deserves. Jersey has given the world The Sopranos (best TV show ever), fat sandwiches (coolest junk food idea ever), and an endless supply of awesome bands. The Misfits, Adrenalin OD, Samhain, Turning Point, Lifetime, Rorshach, Mouthpiece, Floorpunch, Tear It Up, and Get Real just to name some of them.
Formed by Brett Jaeger & JR Hogan, Get Real is the closest thing New Jersey will get to having a Lockin Out band. Technically Get Real's inclusion on the Sweet Vision comp does make them a Lockin Out band, so yes, Get Real is a part of the LOC. Get Real was a cool band. Their music was influenced by Breakdown, Outburst, and Killing Time but with more bounce to it. Despite the obvious connections to so many scenes / styles, Get Real made it a point to brand themselves as their own outfit, independent from others. The band plastered Shore Style everywhere they went to represent Jersey. The band fashioned their logo from a piranha, a logo that has since become iconic among many east coast people. The most important thing about Get Real was that they made sure you knew it was Get Real from Jersey you were listening to / seeing.
Too often these days, kids want their band to fold into a specific scene or school. Bands that claim NYHC but aren't actually from New York, bands that say they're Lockin Out but don't get that that's just a label you need to be on to actually claim Lockin Out, kids that say they're Holy Terror but don't actually know what that entails. Get Real was cool because they went about things their own way. They didn't claim NJHC as much as they were Shore Style. They didn't change up their image. There was the piranha and the piranha was Get Real. Get Real is about identity found in self-awareness; reaching that point where you know you are actually doing your own thing. Get Real is about doing it for yourself as opposed to playing to a crowd or archetype.
Included is their discography.
http://www.mediafire.com/download/8nycz3fthfdzkvy/Get_Real.rar
Formed by Brett Jaeger & JR Hogan, Get Real is the closest thing New Jersey will get to having a Lockin Out band. Technically Get Real's inclusion on the Sweet Vision comp does make them a Lockin Out band, so yes, Get Real is a part of the LOC. Get Real was a cool band. Their music was influenced by Breakdown, Outburst, and Killing Time but with more bounce to it. Despite the obvious connections to so many scenes / styles, Get Real made it a point to brand themselves as their own outfit, independent from others. The band plastered Shore Style everywhere they went to represent Jersey. The band fashioned their logo from a piranha, a logo that has since become iconic among many east coast people. The most important thing about Get Real was that they made sure you knew it was Get Real from Jersey you were listening to / seeing.
Too often these days, kids want their band to fold into a specific scene or school. Bands that claim NYHC but aren't actually from New York, bands that say they're Lockin Out but don't get that that's just a label you need to be on to actually claim Lockin Out, kids that say they're Holy Terror but don't actually know what that entails. Get Real was cool because they went about things their own way. They didn't claim NJHC as much as they were Shore Style. They didn't change up their image. There was the piranha and the piranha was Get Real. Get Real is about identity found in self-awareness; reaching that point where you know you are actually doing your own thing. Get Real is about doing it for yourself as opposed to playing to a crowd or archetype.
Included is their discography.
http://www.mediafire.com/download/8nycz3fthfdzkvy/Get_Real.rar
Tuesday, November 4, 2014
Hum
Justified Arrogance would like to welcome its newest contributor to the fold: Hayden Roberstson.
Ninety’s alt rock and, more specifically, space rock can be characterized by its tendency to explore the reaches of the mind. Notable acts such as My Bloody Valentine spent years experimenting with sound, becoming louder and more intricate as time passed. On the other hand, bands such as Failure & Deftones would drop much of the experimentation to add bolder and powerful backgrounds juxtaposed to play quiet and loud against one another.
Hum had been a band for six years when they released their highly praised watershed album "You’d Prefer an Astronaut”. If My Bloody Valentine wanted to experiment with your mind, and Failure wanted to bring you into space, Hum sought to physically leave Earth. Hum’s sound is the spacey, soft, and bold play of the era with full intentions of getting out of their realm. The intro track “Little Dipper” immediately shoots you into the ebb and flow of the cosmos upon the first snare hit; from then on its complete immersion in the hopelessness and uneasiness of being stuck on Earth. Hum’s dejected lyricism and willingness to journey the unknown instills the desire to get passed that trapped, suffocating feeling of being home. Some standout tracks such as “Stars”, “The Pod”, and “I Hate It Too” fully capture the feeling of the band at the time and to send you deeper into the unknown realm the record illustrates.
Downward is Heavenward, Hum’s follow up record in 1997, is just as good as its predecessor. The record further developed the band's desire to leave Earth and even incorporated the idea to come back. The track “Green To Me” displays their travel through the cosmos as well as an extraterrestrial meeting. This is their display of how comfortable they became with being in a different realm than the rest of the world. However, Hum is never actually comfortable or content. On the single “Comin’ Home” singer Matt Talbott says they “will have to turn and come back soon” which further expands on the bands constant feeling of unrest. In short Hum is an important band, not only for me, but for anyone who wants to familiarize themselves with 90’s alt rock.
Included are both albums You'd Prefer An Astronaut & Downward Is Heavenward.
- Hayden Robertson
http://www.mediafire.com/download/wa29ur2fg9ng4h9/Hum.rar
Ninety’s alt rock and, more specifically, space rock can be characterized by its tendency to explore the reaches of the mind. Notable acts such as My Bloody Valentine spent years experimenting with sound, becoming louder and more intricate as time passed. On the other hand, bands such as Failure & Deftones would drop much of the experimentation to add bolder and powerful backgrounds juxtaposed to play quiet and loud against one another.
Hum had been a band for six years when they released their highly praised watershed album "You’d Prefer an Astronaut”. If My Bloody Valentine wanted to experiment with your mind, and Failure wanted to bring you into space, Hum sought to physically leave Earth. Hum’s sound is the spacey, soft, and bold play of the era with full intentions of getting out of their realm. The intro track “Little Dipper” immediately shoots you into the ebb and flow of the cosmos upon the first snare hit; from then on its complete immersion in the hopelessness and uneasiness of being stuck on Earth. Hum’s dejected lyricism and willingness to journey the unknown instills the desire to get passed that trapped, suffocating feeling of being home. Some standout tracks such as “Stars”, “The Pod”, and “I Hate It Too” fully capture the feeling of the band at the time and to send you deeper into the unknown realm the record illustrates.
Downward is Heavenward, Hum’s follow up record in 1997, is just as good as its predecessor. The record further developed the band's desire to leave Earth and even incorporated the idea to come back. The track “Green To Me” displays their travel through the cosmos as well as an extraterrestrial meeting. This is their display of how comfortable they became with being in a different realm than the rest of the world. However, Hum is never actually comfortable or content. On the single “Comin’ Home” singer Matt Talbott says they “will have to turn and come back soon” which further expands on the bands constant feeling of unrest. In short Hum is an important band, not only for me, but for anyone who wants to familiarize themselves with 90’s alt rock.
Included are both albums You'd Prefer An Astronaut & Downward Is Heavenward.
- Hayden Robertson
http://www.mediafire.com/download/wa29ur2fg9ng4h9/Hum.rar
Ink & Dagger
There's a schism of understanding in hardcore as it relates to performance. The bedrock of hardcore punk is rooted in authenticity and realism. What you see on stage is the real deal. There's no room for pageantry or artistry. Most of the time when bands do try to be artistic, it comes off as contrived and bad. In recent years, we've seen a spate of psuedo-poetic, pseudo-philosophical hardcore bands that modern hardcore kids have been eating up (a more glaring indictment of modern hardcore kids' sensibilities than the bands' artistic chops). In truth, artistry in hardcore is a formidable challenge, if not near impossible. Your audience are usually kids who wear a hood of cynicism (at least they should) and usually come to the show expecting some kind of catharsis out of it. The problem for artistry in hardcore is that kids are either too smart or too dumb for it.
Then you get a project like Philadelphia's Ink & Dagger and things become different. Formed by Sean McCabe & Don De Vore in the mid 1990s, Ink & Dagger was a project based entirely in artistic immersion. It wasn't about self-expression as much as it was the two members becoming other people during their sets. Ink & Dagger was hardcore's most successful performance art band. Their entire gimmick was based on vampirism. They painted their faces white with black around the eyes (think Nosferatu) and incorporated a lot of fake blood in their sets. Their sound was more complex and interesting, even for 90s hardcore which prides itself on being more abstract and interesting. Ink & Dagger's sound incorporated electronics, post-hardcore, 90s screamo, and other elements. Ink & Dagger's sound, as well as their persona, are truly one of a kind.
The band's persona is far more admirable than their musical accomplishments. Up to now, Ink & Dagger has been explained as a 'performance art' band. You probably think that the members were a couple of emaciated dorks who went to an east coast art school, are PC to the bone, and are egalitarian pacifists. This description is not even in the same galaxy as what Ink & Dagger was. Not only were they a performance art band, but they were easily one of the most confrontational hardcore bands ever. They loved to mess with people and not like "your shirt is stupid" mess with them, I mean like "what do you value highest? Watch me trash it" mess with them. McCabe once vomited on a Christmas tree on stage. He threw eggs at Hare Krishna devotees. Most famous of all was the Earth Crisis incident. During an Earth Crisis performance, McCabe hit the stage in a fur coat (that later proved to be fake, but in the moment no one knew that) and pelted the band with yogurt. McCabe's antics bordered on hyperbole.
Another famous Ink & Dagger incident was their first Halloween show in New Brunswick, NJ. Here is noted Philadelphia hardcore personality Robby Redcheeks' account of the show in a 2007 interview with blog All Philly, All Day:
"Trope built a coffin to carry Jenny Jamz (Jennifer Layne Park) out to into the show. The show was PACKED. So we put Jenny in the coffin outside of the show, me and 3 other dudes carried her in pushing through the crowd. People were like “WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?!" We were all in Dagger makeup also. We set the coffin down in front of the crowd. Jenny got out wearing a black leather body suit and started reciting the oath she wrote in the Drive This 7”. Reciting, im sorry, more like inciting a riot. She was pushing people and yelling in their faces. I had previously prepared a batch of Dagger blood, (this was actually the first time it was used), a mix of 1 bottle of club soda & 1 red color food dye. We made 4 bottles of it and perched on each side of the band for when Jenny was done. When she reached the end, Dagger had already been building up feedback and noise. She finished, and they started off with the beginning to "Changeling" (if I remember correctly) . Then BLAM~ we covered the crowd with blood. And chaos erupted throughout. Needless to say, anyone that was at that show will remember that show forever. Including me."
Of course in bands with personalities as volatile as McCabe's, these things don't last forever. Ink & Dagger broke up in 1999 after only a few years of activity. Luckily, they produced a pretty lengthy catalog before they went. Two full lengths, four EPs, two splits. De Vore went on to feature for a parade of bands: Amazing Baby, Sick Feeling, Frail, Ghost Note, Giant Drag, The Icarus Line, Lilys, Souls She Said. Sean McCabe died in 2000. He was found in a motel room in Indiana. He was 27. McCabe would have probably smiled at this last detail. We all have to go to sometime, but not everyone gets to go as a member of the 27 Club. Hardcore was lucky enough to get one Ink & Dagger and there will never be another one like them.
RIP Sean McCabe
http://www.mediafire.com/download/gb1qvknbg1i99ga/Ink_&_Dagger.rar
Then you get a project like Philadelphia's Ink & Dagger and things become different. Formed by Sean McCabe & Don De Vore in the mid 1990s, Ink & Dagger was a project based entirely in artistic immersion. It wasn't about self-expression as much as it was the two members becoming other people during their sets. Ink & Dagger was hardcore's most successful performance art band. Their entire gimmick was based on vampirism. They painted their faces white with black around the eyes (think Nosferatu) and incorporated a lot of fake blood in their sets. Their sound was more complex and interesting, even for 90s hardcore which prides itself on being more abstract and interesting. Ink & Dagger's sound incorporated electronics, post-hardcore, 90s screamo, and other elements. Ink & Dagger's sound, as well as their persona, are truly one of a kind.
The band's persona is far more admirable than their musical accomplishments. Up to now, Ink & Dagger has been explained as a 'performance art' band. You probably think that the members were a couple of emaciated dorks who went to an east coast art school, are PC to the bone, and are egalitarian pacifists. This description is not even in the same galaxy as what Ink & Dagger was. Not only were they a performance art band, but they were easily one of the most confrontational hardcore bands ever. They loved to mess with people and not like "your shirt is stupid" mess with them, I mean like "what do you value highest? Watch me trash it" mess with them. McCabe once vomited on a Christmas tree on stage. He threw eggs at Hare Krishna devotees. Most famous of all was the Earth Crisis incident. During an Earth Crisis performance, McCabe hit the stage in a fur coat (that later proved to be fake, but in the moment no one knew that) and pelted the band with yogurt. McCabe's antics bordered on hyperbole.
Another famous Ink & Dagger incident was their first Halloween show in New Brunswick, NJ. Here is noted Philadelphia hardcore personality Robby Redcheeks' account of the show in a 2007 interview with blog All Philly, All Day:
"Trope built a coffin to carry Jenny Jamz (Jennifer Layne Park) out to into the show. The show was PACKED. So we put Jenny in the coffin outside of the show, me and 3 other dudes carried her in pushing through the crowd. People were like “WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?!" We were all in Dagger makeup also. We set the coffin down in front of the crowd. Jenny got out wearing a black leather body suit and started reciting the oath she wrote in the Drive This 7”. Reciting, im sorry, more like inciting a riot. She was pushing people and yelling in their faces. I had previously prepared a batch of Dagger blood, (this was actually the first time it was used), a mix of 1 bottle of club soda & 1 red color food dye. We made 4 bottles of it and perched on each side of the band for when Jenny was done. When she reached the end, Dagger had already been building up feedback and noise. She finished, and they started off with the beginning to "Changeling" (if I remember correctly) . Then BLAM~ we covered the crowd with blood. And chaos erupted throughout. Needless to say, anyone that was at that show will remember that show forever. Including me."
Of course in bands with personalities as volatile as McCabe's, these things don't last forever. Ink & Dagger broke up in 1999 after only a few years of activity. Luckily, they produced a pretty lengthy catalog before they went. Two full lengths, four EPs, two splits. De Vore went on to feature for a parade of bands: Amazing Baby, Sick Feeling, Frail, Ghost Note, Giant Drag, The Icarus Line, Lilys, Souls She Said. Sean McCabe died in 2000. He was found in a motel room in Indiana. He was 27. McCabe would have probably smiled at this last detail. We all have to go to sometime, but not everyone gets to go as a member of the 27 Club. Hardcore was lucky enough to get one Ink & Dagger and there will never be another one like them.
RIP Sean McCabe
http://www.mediafire.com/download/gb1qvknbg1i99ga/Ink_&_Dagger.rar
Monday, November 3, 2014
Dmize
Hardcore is one of the few genres of music where a name is more than a name. I don't mean that names command adoration (and they do sometimes), but more than any other genre, a name can command fear. It isn't like in metal or rock where you hear this person is around and you want to shake their hand and get an autograph or a picture. In hardcore, the sound of some names will make you stand on your toes and make sure you don't look the wrong way. For the uninitiated, this element of fear is off-putting. "Why would I go to a show to be afraid?" It isn't about fear so much as it is about tangibility. The fear is real because the name is real. When you go to these shows, you know that everything around you is real. Hardcore's best asset has always been its atmosphere of authenticity that envelops you when you walk in.
When you hear the name Phil Anselmo, you jump to so many anecdotes about his drug use and Pantera, but is any of it real? When you go to a Down show, do you actually have a chance of running into Phil? To this end, Phil is as real as Pecos Bill. He's a folk tale, not a real person. In hardcore, there are personalities that are so feared that people make it a point to say hello to them to make sure they're on an even-footing with them (imagine Paulie from Goodfellas) or, more common, make sure they don't get within twenty feet of the person. Around the country there's a variety of personalities and crews that bear this respect through fear motif. In New York, one group has a monopoly on this: D.M.S.
DMS AKA Doc Marten Skins AKA Drugs Money Sex AKA Dirty Money Syndicate's start began in the late 1980s. According to prominent DMS member / leader Danny Diablo (of Crown Of Thornz / Skarhead fame) in an interview with Mass Appeal, he says that the foundations of the crew were with himself, Hoya Roc (of Madball), MQ, and Nark. It was "an Irish guy named Jere" who officially organized DMS into what it is today. The common thread of the crew was pretty straight forward: hardcore, graffiti, brotherhood, and New York. DMS' existence is as accomplished as it is mysterious. For as many great bands and followings in both the hardcore and graffiti world the crew has, much less is known about them.
Dmize is widely acknowledged as the first official DMS band. Formed in the late 80s, Dmize featured John (first vocalist), Chiqui Rodriguez (second vocalist), a young Hoya Roc (before he joined Madball), Rob "Beto" Rosario (25 Ta Life), Steve Pettit (25 Ta Life), and Richie Nagle. The band became the planted flag for DMS. In their first song, Dmize lays down an intro that was indicative of what New York's DNA would be going forward: rhythmic, slower, and above all else, punishing. After the introduction finishes building up, Dmize says "I am" by shouting the crew's letters: D.M.S. What would follow from Dmize was an entire generation of bands and an entire style of NYHC that redefined the way the city was viewed. Gone were the days of the Cro-Mags, Antidote, and Breakdown. Today, a lot of modern kids think of NYHC as Madball, Crown Of Thornz, and Skarhead. While that aforementioned perspective is unfortunate, it doesn't lose sight of the reality. By the early 90s, much of the first generation of NYHC had abandoned the scene for greener pastures in metal and post-hardcore. DMS held it down for NYHC in its second generation. Without them, who is to say what would have happened to New York going forward?
Dmize should be more loved than they are. They are a template for the second generation of NYHC. When Dmize started, Madball still sounded like Agnostic Front. It wasn't until Dmize's Hoya joined Madball that Madball became the band that wrote Set It Off. Dmize is a textbook case of the saddest story in hardcore: good bands that fall by the way side all the time. Most of the time it is because they don't do a whole lot or they ended quicker than they should have or they're just an old band and what they did was lost to the ages. It made sense for Dmize to become more of an initiated thing. Their music isn't the easiest to find. Most people are happy to just listen to Madball or Crown Of Thornz and call it a day. Dmize is an important band for their contributions to the second generation of NYHC's sound, for them being DMS' first foot forward into music, and for just being really good.
Included is the Backlash CD that Lost & Found put out, all three of their demos, and a live WNYU set.
http://www.mediafire.com/download/1us8ci9lslg7kai/Dmize.rar
When you hear the name Phil Anselmo, you jump to so many anecdotes about his drug use and Pantera, but is any of it real? When you go to a Down show, do you actually have a chance of running into Phil? To this end, Phil is as real as Pecos Bill. He's a folk tale, not a real person. In hardcore, there are personalities that are so feared that people make it a point to say hello to them to make sure they're on an even-footing with them (imagine Paulie from Goodfellas) or, more common, make sure they don't get within twenty feet of the person. Around the country there's a variety of personalities and crews that bear this respect through fear motif. In New York, one group has a monopoly on this: D.M.S.
DMS AKA Doc Marten Skins AKA Drugs Money Sex AKA Dirty Money Syndicate's start began in the late 1980s. According to prominent DMS member / leader Danny Diablo (of Crown Of Thornz / Skarhead fame) in an interview with Mass Appeal, he says that the foundations of the crew were with himself, Hoya Roc (of Madball), MQ, and Nark. It was "an Irish guy named Jere" who officially organized DMS into what it is today. The common thread of the crew was pretty straight forward: hardcore, graffiti, brotherhood, and New York. DMS' existence is as accomplished as it is mysterious. For as many great bands and followings in both the hardcore and graffiti world the crew has, much less is known about them.
Dmize is widely acknowledged as the first official DMS band. Formed in the late 80s, Dmize featured John (first vocalist), Chiqui Rodriguez (second vocalist), a young Hoya Roc (before he joined Madball), Rob "Beto" Rosario (25 Ta Life), Steve Pettit (25 Ta Life), and Richie Nagle. The band became the planted flag for DMS. In their first song, Dmize lays down an intro that was indicative of what New York's DNA would be going forward: rhythmic, slower, and above all else, punishing. After the introduction finishes building up, Dmize says "I am" by shouting the crew's letters: D.M.S. What would follow from Dmize was an entire generation of bands and an entire style of NYHC that redefined the way the city was viewed. Gone were the days of the Cro-Mags, Antidote, and Breakdown. Today, a lot of modern kids think of NYHC as Madball, Crown Of Thornz, and Skarhead. While that aforementioned perspective is unfortunate, it doesn't lose sight of the reality. By the early 90s, much of the first generation of NYHC had abandoned the scene for greener pastures in metal and post-hardcore. DMS held it down for NYHC in its second generation. Without them, who is to say what would have happened to New York going forward?
Dmize should be more loved than they are. They are a template for the second generation of NYHC. When Dmize started, Madball still sounded like Agnostic Front. It wasn't until Dmize's Hoya joined Madball that Madball became the band that wrote Set It Off. Dmize is a textbook case of the saddest story in hardcore: good bands that fall by the way side all the time. Most of the time it is because they don't do a whole lot or they ended quicker than they should have or they're just an old band and what they did was lost to the ages. It made sense for Dmize to become more of an initiated thing. Their music isn't the easiest to find. Most people are happy to just listen to Madball or Crown Of Thornz and call it a day. Dmize is an important band for their contributions to the second generation of NYHC's sound, for them being DMS' first foot forward into music, and for just being really good.
Included is the Backlash CD that Lost & Found put out, all three of their demos, and a live WNYU set.
http://www.mediafire.com/download/1us8ci9lslg7kai/Dmize.rar
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