Blogged and Quartered

Confusion (NY) studio recordings 1990-1993

2011-11-26T18:58:00.000-08:00

Heavy metallic hardcore from Brooklyn, NY. The demos are in the vein of the heavier NYHC bands like Breakdown, Fit Of Anger, Maximum Penalty, Dmize etc. As time went on the band tuned to a more metallic approach, while still retaining an angry as fuck hardcore vibe. They pulled it off better than most in my opinion. Killer shit. Enjoy.

Confusion: The Studio Recordings

My next post will be a Confusion live CD with a set recorded live on WNYU's Crucial Chaos on Feb. 13, 1992 and a full set from City Gardens recorded in March of 1993. That should be up in about three weeks. The live stuff kills as well. I want to thank bassist Mike Scondotto for all the great music he's decided to share, for all the art and info, and especially for choosing my blog as a home for this monster of a collection. Cheers!

CONFUSION LINEUP:
Mike Fried - vocals 1990-1994, 2003, 2007
Mike Scondotto - bass 1990-1994, 2003, 2007
Mike Price - guitar 1991-1993, 2003, 2007
Dennis the Kid - drums 2003, 2007
Ralph Canovic - drums 1990-1994
Pete Melucci - guitar 1993-1994
Frank Collins - guitar 1990-1992

CONFUSION DISCOGRAPHY:
1990 "Four the Force" demo (100 made, possibly less) recorded in the Fall of 1990 @ Fastlane Studios Brooklyn, NY
1991 "Distorted Visions" demo (100 made, possibly less) recorded in early 1991 @ Fullmoon Studios Brooklyn, NY
1992 "Taste of Hate" 7" on Hardway Records (1,000 pressed) recorded in the Spring of 1992 @ Fastlane Studios Brooklyn, NY
1992 "Beheaded Cadaver" compilation cassette (a Death Metal comp.)
1993 "East Coast Assault" compilation CD on Too Damn Hype Records
1995 "A Call for Unity" compilation CD on Back ta Basics Records, features the track "Storm The Walls", recorded in 1993 @ Fastlane Studios Brooklyn, NY

CONFUSION BIO: by Michael Scondotto
Confusion started in the summer of 1990 as the second wave of NYHC was coming to a violent end. Bands that had initially inspired Confusion (like Killing Time, Breakdown, Sheer Terror, Outburst, etc.) were either breaking up or changing their sounds, and the CBGB Sunday matinees were gone by the fall of 1990. It was also during this time that Brooklyn forged its own scene outside of NYC at places like L'amour and the infamous Crazy Country Club. The bands that made up the Brooklyn scene were Confusion, Patterns, Lament, Merauder, Life of Agony, Darkside NYC, Nobody's Perfect, Judgement Day NYC, and non-Brooklyn bands like Subzero, Dmize, and a little bit later bands like Starkweather, Next Step Up, and All Out War. Confusion's first show was in August of 1990 in a backyard in NJ with Lament, Patterns, Merauder, Dmize and Social Decay...I was there, but I was not the bassist yet. I did become the bassist about a week or 2 later after they kicked out the original bassist and asked me to audition. I was a high school senior and about 2 and half years into Hardcore and my old band Close Call was done so I was like "why not".

I don't think by any means that Confusion invented "Deathcore" or the idea to mix real hardcore with Death Metal. One could say that in NYC maybe Sheer Terror may have done that accidentally as early as 1985 on their first demo. But by 1991 our initial HC heroes were dropping like flies and Confusion had become pretty obsessed with bands like Obituary, Morbid Angel, Malevolent Creation, Entombed, Death, and Deicide. So much so that NYHC was no longer a part of our sound, but only in our roots and attitude. We were a metal band completely by 1992, hardly even playing the songs on our 1990 or 1991 demos. We wanted to be the most "brutal" band in Brooklyn and we eventually did just that I would say.

In the spring of 1992 we recorded our first and only 7" EP called "Taste of Hate", for the French label Hardway Records. How the owner Stephan (Kickback) found a small band from Brooklyn? Tape trading..ah the lost art! The cover art hand drawn by our friend John from Patterns, who went on to become Candiria's guitarist many years later. Candiria was around back then too, but they were a satanic Death Metal band that didn't even play with hardcore bands until after Confusion called it a day.
The record finally came out in the early fall of 1992. Only 1,000 were pressed and it didn't even sell all that great initially since the band didn't tour and "distros" hardly existed. But eventually they all sold and it was never re-pressed to this day. As opposed to the demo songs, the songs were longer and had a Death/Thrash vibe mixed along with it's Hardcore parts for sure.

Confusion played both Hardcore and Metal shows, but by 1993/1994 the Metalheads were embracing us much more due to how heavy we had become. We were quite popular in the states of Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey due to the fact that outside of the five boroughs of NYC, those were the only places we played. The best Hardcore shows for Confusion were the out of state shows and those that we played with our friends' bands in Brooklyn or NYC. But the biggest shows as far as attendance goes were Death Metal shows. We played with Cannibal Corpse, Disincarnate, Cancer, Unleashed, Incantation, and countless others. I remember one show in 1993 with Deicide, Dismember, and Vader in front of 600 kids in our hometown of Brooklyn at the defunct club L'amour. Glen Benton told us how much he liked us and the Hoffman brothers smoked weed with my singer and guitarist.

Confusion as a band didn't really get along all that well sometimes. We fought a lot and there was even a time when I was kicked out of the band for like two weeks! Our lead singer Mike was going off to college in Florida and in the summer of 1994 we decided that we would end the band at the end of the year. Our last show was in December at L'amour with the mighty Deicide, and it was a good one. In 4 years time we did 2 demos and a 7" and played a ton of shows. My biggest regret was not ever recording our best material though - the songs that make up the brunt of the infamous City Gardens show in 1993 like "Half Dead", "Gasping For Air", "Seeds of Greed" and later on a sick song called "The Fire Burns All". These songs are very Death Metal, but have mosh parts, no real guitar solos, and are kinda short, thus in my opinion what "Deathcore" should sound like.

In the summer of 2002, original Confusion guitarist and founding member Frank Collins was killed in a motorcycle accident in Brooklyn. Although Frank was kicked out of the band in late 1992, we were all still friendly and were shocked by his death. A benefit to raise money for his mother was organized by Rich from Darkside NYC and myself and was held in January 2003 at CBGB's. Confusion reformed for the night and played one more time in honor of Frank. It was a sold out show that also reunited Darkside NYC, our "Deathcore" brothers. The lineup also included All Out War, Next Step Up, Shutdown, Bulldoze, Subzero, Kickback, Most Precious Blood, Inhuman, and many more. It was Confusion's first time on stage in nine years and it was a lot of fun, but there was no talk of an actual reformation.

Confusion decided to start jamming again in the summer of 2007 and managed to play 2 shows and a small amount of t-shirts were made. One show was in Kearney, NJ with DARKSIDE NYC and ALL OUT WAR and one in Peekskill NY, a festival with a ton of bands including DARKSIDE NYC, INHUMAN and many more. Our next show of that year was supposed to be the memorial show for our friend Javier "SOB" Carpio of MERAUDER, but the Confusion curse struck and we did not end up playing.

I have to say, there were a lot of fights at our shows in the 90's and at the shows we were attending at that time.
Brooklyn was pretty crazy, the NYC shows at the time were really crazy and so were our fans and friends...just plain crazy and angry! There was this vibe back then where you really did not know what was going to happen at a show and looking back, it was fucked up a lot of the time. But, I wouldn't trade those days for anything and I have many friends I made from that era that are a part of my life today. You experience good and bad together and you grow up together. So "hello" and "cheers" to everyone from back then who is able to read this and smile or remember this shit fondly.

As I type this it is late November 2011 and after a lot of personal back and forth, I decided to put all of the CONFUSION stuff here on Blogged & Quartered for FREE as a gift to the fans and friends. In the scope of things, Confusion was a small band, but for some reason or other, I get asked and emailed about the band and it sometimes blows my mind. The early 90's were an odd time for Hardcore. Confusion got heavier and heavier, eventually having very little "Core" in our sound, but we were Hardcore kids in our attitude and background for sure.

I want to say thank you to Vinny of B&Q and thank you to all who care.
I hope you enjoy the music and I am looking forward to the comments section!

CONFUSION:
www.facebook.com/confusiondeathcore

MCS
inh722@yahoo.com

Radio To Saturn - Unreleased LP

2011-09-09T09:07:00.000-07:00

Early Guns
Exiled in Pairs
Small Fry
Bleeding Kansas
American Cousin
Puddle Drinking Crow
Rumble Seat
Bee Stung Lips
Beat Down
Porridge

Danny Leo - drums/vocals
Andrew Reuland - guitar/vocals
Nick Forte - guitar/vocals
Tom Marsh - guitar/keyboards

Recorded at The Cold Room in Boston during the winter of 1995/96.

I feel like the material all hangs together really well as an overall statement, but for archival reasons:
The first 7 tunes are all from the same recording session, at some point in 1996. "Beat Down" is an early track of ours, recorded at the same time as our first 7", and it appeared on a limited tape compilation, the name of which escapes me, but also on the comp were some of the earliest released recordings by Modest Mouse. Porridge was the last song we ever recorded at our very last rehearsal, it's just a live demo with overdubbed vocals, but came out really well, and further points towards the direction the band was moving in had we stuck it out.
Enjoy
-Nick Forte

Ripped at 320kbps.
Radio To Saturn - Unearthed

If you saw my previous Radio To Saturn post here, you know how much i love this band. Members of Native Nod, Rorschach, and The Holy Childhood (just to name a few) playing unique, spacey pop. The music on this unreleased LP has a much more laid back, mellow feel compared to the ep and split recorded a year earlier. I hear a definite Chisel vibe in some of the tracks. Always a welcomed sound. I haven't been this excited about an album in quite some time.

Endless thanks to Nick Forte for sharing this.

For more band info from Nick and others, check out the comments section of the previous RTS post.

Enuf - 1988 demo (restored)

2011-08-10T11:34:00.000-07:00

1987 was the year i got into hardcore. The amount of stuff coming out of the East Coast at the time, especially out of NY and NJ, was overwhelming. Dozens of classic demos, records, and other recordings just flooded the scene between 1987-1989. For me it was like discovering a new world. The 3 demos from the Jersey scene that stand out the most of me would be the Turning Point demo, the Release demo (both would go on to continue recording into the early '90s), and the classic Enuf demo. Half a dozen recorded songs, a handful of shows, and then they were gone.

So here is is. Fully restored. Songs that still sound great after 25 years. Enjoy!

Enuf 1987

Demo lineup:
Ajay James - vocals
Andy White - guitar
Pete Sanchez - bass
Ari Katz - drums

After the demo was recorded, Chip Laturo joined to play 2nd guitar. When Pete left the band, Chip stayed on as the guitarist and Andy moved on to bass duties. The band split up in 1989. Sucks they never recorded more material during the years they played together.

Ari Katz also played drums in Up Front, Courage and Lifetime, just to name a few.

Pete Sanchez was kind enough to write to me and share some info on the demo, his time in the band, and some of his favorite shows with Enuf:

The demo was recorded to my recollection in August/September 1988 at Trax East in South River. The studio was brand new and it was my impression we were one of the first Hardcore bands to record there but I could be wrong. It was also down the street from Andy's house.

When I was in the band there were a couple songs we just stopped playing as they were not that great we probably played some of them at our first couple shows.. After my time I have no idea.

My favorite shows was the first and my last. Our first show was in March of 1988 at Middlesex County College in Edison NJ and we played with Vision and P.E.D. I recall being both nervous and excited and remember drinking a lot of Jolt that night. It was a pretty good debut as I recall. My last show was at Scott Hall at Rutgers in New Brunswick and we played with Vision and Bold. I thought that was by far our best show to date.

As I went back to school full time and then law school, I never really had the time to devote to any band. As for the other guys I am not sure whether the played in any other bands as I have not spoken to them in a long time. But it was a great experience and I am just surprised that anyone even remembers the band never mind the demo.

- Peter Sanchez

For interviews, pictures and other info on the band, check out the always amazing Double Cross site and do a search for Enuf.

The image used for the cover in this post (photo by Ken Salerno) is not the actual demo cover, which i couldn't get a quality scan of unfortunately.

Bad Brains In The City

2011-07-27T09:53:00.000-07:00

This is a compilation of rare, and not so rare, studio and live recordings. All nicely restored from the best possible sources. There are no full sessions or complete live sets. This is more of a collection of the best sounding recordings i could find. Everything flows together quite nicely though, and it turned out better than i expected. Hope you enjoy it as much as i do.

Bad Brains in The City

"Bad Brains in The City" is a nod to both the song Redbone in The City and the Bad Brains taking over New York City in the early '80s after being banned from D.C.

Hard to believe that some these songs, including tracks that were later injected with steroids for the band's self-titled cassette on Roir, and the Rock For Light LP, were written in the late '70s. While the classic rock scene was winding down, and post-punk was thriving with bands writing great songs, the Bad Brains were busy writing blueprints. Taking inspiration from the fresh new punk scene, and introducing the elements that would be the very beginnings of the hardcore sound that exploded in the early '80s. The speed, the anger, the buildups, the breakdowns, the energy... the template. Of course there's countless arguments about "who was the first hardcore band?", and bands like D.O.A. are brought up. Well, i can't tell you who was first, i can only tell you who was the best. In my opinion, by 1981, the Bad Brains had recorded material that is unsurpassed in the genre to this day.

OK, enough ranting about the greatness of the band as i could go on forever about it as i'm sure many others could. On to the recordings in this collection..

First up are four tracks that are reason enough to start downloading. These are demos recorded sometime in 1980. There's no information i can find on these sessions, but they are as essential as any Bad Brains recordings you've heard. These songs sound similar to the 1979 "Black Dots" versions, but these are faster, heavier, and more aggressive. They sound (both production and performance wise) much closer to the sound on the Roir tape than the "Zientara Sessions" on the Black Dots release (recorded on 4-track at Inner Ear Studios). I wouldn't be surprised if they were recorded at 171A Studios, but i'm not sure if they recorded there prior to 1981. The first three tracks are especially vicious, and maybe the earliest true representation of the powerhouse the band would become. There were two other tracks from these sessions not included here. Don't Bother Me, which was unfortunately cut, and Supertouch/Shitfit which had some major drop-outs and other problems. The sound quality on the four demo tracks that did make the cut are excellent. Restored to the best of my abilities from FLAC files and converted to 320kbps mp3s. Absolutely essential.

Next up are three tracks recorded at 171A in NYC by Jay Dublee in 1981. Two rippers (Black Dots and Send You No Flowers) and one Sex Pistols tribute (Redbone in The City), that didn't make it onto the Roir tape, but were finally unearthed and released as a 7" on Cleopatra Cafe Records in 2009. This unofficial release, made in Ethiopia, also included an unreleased reggae influenced track entitled Recognize, recorded live in San Diego on Nov. 10, 1985 at Wabash Hall in San Diego, CA. The band's self-titled cassette on Roir was recorded at 171A from August-October of 1981. Jah Calling, Pay To Cum and I Love I Jah recorded live at 171A on May 16, 1981.

Pay to Cum is from the original 7" version (the band's vinyl debut), originally released on Bad Brains Records in 1980 and both bootlegged and re-released countless times since (to this day). Recorded in December of 1979 at Dots Studio in NY. This track was ripped from a remastered CD version.

The Rat Music For Rat People compilation LP was originally released on Go! Records in 1982. These versions of How Low Can A Punk Get? and Don't Bother Me (printed as "You") were exclusive to this comp, and to me are the definitive recordings of both. Recorded live at The Elite Club in San Francisco on March 20 of 1982. I can only imagine hearing the opening riff to How Low Can A Punk Get? for the first time back in '82. Fuck, nearly 30 years later and this songs wipes the floor with anything considered hardcore recorded during the past two decades. The Rat Music For Rat People comp also included D.O.A., Flipper, Circle Jerks, Crucifix, Dead Kennedys, Black Flag, T.S.O.L., Avengers and The Dils (great song). How's that lineup? Yeah, they don't make 'em like that anymore. The comp was re-released in 1988 on CD Presents Ltd. with new cover art. CD Presents Ltd. followed up Rat Music For Rat People with Vol. 2 in 1984 and Vol. 3 in 1987 (not as great as the first 2, but worth it for the amazing Rocks of Sweden by Naked Raygun and a few other stand-out tracks). CD Presents put out a comp of selected tracks from all 3 LPs, released in 1987 on CD. In my opinion they should have went the whole ten yards and re-released all of it. Once again, these tracks are ripped from remastered CD versions.

Next is one of the best live Bad Brains sets i've yet to hear. A great soundboard recording of Bad Brains tearing up The Elks Center in Philly, PA on January 30 of 1982. This is not the complete set. Supertouch/Shitfit (is this song cursed?) and Riot Squad were both cut off mid-song so i left them off the set. I Also left off Attitude, as it sounds like they didn't have the recording levels adjusted properly yet, and the song has a kind of "wall of noise" sound. After that the set sounds fantastic, and includes all the classics you would expect from an '82 set. The reggae songs sound especially great on here, Rally Round Jah Throne being a personal fave.

As to make up for the three missing tracks, i included Riot Squad and Attitude from a set live at the Filmore, recorded on March 20, 1982. I also included The Regulator and I and I Survive from this set, as they are not on the Elks Center set. The entire Filmore set is available for download on various "pay for mp3" sites, including Amazon. It should be free.

The demo version of Re-Ignition was recorded in 1985. No info on this recording. I prefer this version of the song over the LP version. It's a bit slower and looser, and has a cool little dive-bomb guitar part during the main riff. Hopefully more I Against I demos make their way online. I'd love to hear more.

Next up are 3 songs recorded live at The Bandshell in Daytona Beach, FL. recorded 3/20/87. Excellent sound, excellent performance. I Against I especially kills.

The unreleased song was recorded at Madam's Organ in 1980. Sound is a bit rough on this one but it's a great hardcore song. It's tracks like this and the unreleased song Success from 1979 that makes me wonder just how many tracks the Bad Brains recorded (or just rehearsed) that never saw the light of day.

H.R. - vocals
Dr. Know - guitar
Darryl Jennifer - bass
Earl Hudson - drums

If it's not this lineup, it's not the Bad Brains.

Lethal Aggression - 1985-1990 Anthology

2011-07-14T10:34:00.000-07:00

Lethal Aggression were a crossover hardcore/thrash band from Asbury Park, NJ. One of my favorite bands to ever come out of the NJ hardcore scene. Being from Jersey myself, it was classic NJHC bands like Lethal Aggression, Mental Abuse, Social Decay, Dirge etc that inspired me to start my first band back in 1987. At some point, one of my old bands (possibly S.M.O., one of the many demo-only bands i was in at the time) most likely played with Lethal Aggression. The late '80s/early '90s are a blur to me now. All i remember is that for a while we had one a hell of a scene, and it was a fun time. So here's the music. All ripped at 320. Enjoy!

Lethal Aggression Anthology

The original Lethal Aggression lineup didn't last too long. John Salterelli on vocals, Rob DeFroscia on guitar, Spencer on bass, and Phil Giordano on drums. That incarnation of the band lasted a few shows until Spencer and Phil were replaced by George Yeck and Kenny Lund. With this lineup the band recorded their 1985 demo and first full length LP.

From The Cunt Of The Fucking Whore demo

lineup:
John Salterelli - vocals
Rob DeFroscia - guitar
George Yeck - bass
Kenny Lund - drums

This classic NJHC demo was recorded on Nov. 4, 1985 in a garage in Hoboken. Opium-fueled and cranked out in 3 hours (from 3:30 to 6:30), for less than $60 bucks. My favorite Lethal Aggression recordings by far. In 2001, the demo was released on CD by Relapse Records, along with the band's unreleased Godservation LP from 1991. The demo rip here is not from the Relapse CD. This is a restored version. Nice full sound, no tape hiss or other noises. I personally think it sounds better than the one on the Relapse CD, which is well worth buying (if it's still in print) for the great Godservation album.

Life Is Hard... But That's No Excuse At All! LP

Excellent debut. Re-recorded songs from the demo plus a shitload more. Originally released on both LP and CD by Funhouse Records out of Germany in 1988. Recorded at Waterfront Studios in Hoboken, NJ. Mixed in Ohio and mastered in Germany. In 2007, the CD was re-issued with lots of bonus material. The Circle Pit Of Life demo (2006), the Subliminal Erosion 7" (1990), the "Just Killed Rock n' Roll" 7" (1987), and 2 live tracks from the band's first show. Recorded in May of 1985 at the Brick Roller Forum. All remastered. For some odd reason, the track-list for the LP was changed on this re-issue. Another release well worth hunting down for all the great bonus material. The rip here is from this re-issue, with the tracks put back in the correct order, or as close as possible since their seems to be tracks both missing and added from the original 1988 version.

Between 1987 and 1988 the band contributed tracks to various compilations, including the Complete Death 2 LP (1988 Metal Blade/Death Records) and the live L'Amour Rocks comp LP (1987 Mercenary Records).

Subliminal Erosion 7"

Shortly after the release of the LP, Rob DeFroscia left the band and joined Breakdown. Former Social Decay bassist Dave Gutierrez came in on guitar. With this lineup the band recorded the Subliminal Erosion 7". Originally released on Virulence Records out of France in 1990 with fold-out lyric sheet. Another fine slab of madness, only letting up for the comical Spooge 2. Seems the band could never get away from that song. This rip is also from the 2007 re-issue.

The rehearsal tracks were recorded on 5/5/86. Thanks to the amazing Lockjaw blog for this one. Once again, these tracks have been fully restored and sound much better than the original rip. These rehearsal tracks are fantastic. The band speeds through 9 tracks including a cover of Bad Brains' classic Right Brigade. The rehearsal version of I'll Fight is just furious. It kills the LP version. I get a big NYC Mayhem vibe from these recordings, both in the music and the production. Awesome.

In 2009 Lethal Aggression released the Ad Nauseum full length on Horror Pain Gore Death Productions. 13 new tracks and 36 minutes of live recordings on the "untitled" tracks 14, not credited on the CD. Check it out.

Hopefully this post exposes this great band to some people who may have never heard them. This is stuff that needs to be heard. If you like what you hear, buy whatever is available. It's all top shelf.

For more on the band, check out the great Demo Tapes blog run by Tommy of Social Decay.

side note - there will now be "Easter Eggs" on the blog. If you see anything that is a clickable link (it could be a letter, a word, a comma etc), it leads to a surprise download.

Septic Death - studio collection 1984-1992

2011-06-19T08:49:00.000-07:00

Now ripped at 320. I had this on the blog at a lower bit rate when i first started B&Q. I felt like this one needed an upgrade, considering i doubt an official Septic Death discography will ever happen. The rumors have been going on for too many years now.

This is basically the long out of print Crossed Out Twice CD put in chronological order. All the studio recordings (that i know of) released between 1984-1992. One of the greatest of all time. They just don't make 'em like this anymore. Enjoy:

Septic Death Studio Collection

Brian "Pushead" Schroeder - vocals
Jon Taylor - guitar
Mike Matlock - bass
Paul Birnbaum - drums

All the band's most essential recordings (to me anyway) were released on the Now That I Have The Attention What Do I Do With It? LP released in 1986 on Pusmort. A collection of the bands output from '83-'85. Vocals and guitars were re-recorded on side A.

The Need So Much Attention... Acceptance Of Whom 12" ep was recorded in December 1983 and released in 1984 on Pusmort Records. Great cover art by Pushead, and insert illustration by the godly Nick Blinko of Rudimentary Peni.

From 1984-1986 the band released lots of excellent comp tracks (Terrorain being on of my favorite hardcore songs ever, just complete madness), and then released the great Burial Mai So 7" in 1987. Five tracks. The song Burial is an absolute monster. Backing vocals on the ep credited to James "No" Hetfield among others. For me this was the band's last "classic" release. The eps that followed (most of which make up the Theme From Ozobozo LP), while good, don't seem to have that same demented and crazed quality that made the earlier stuff so great.

The amount of Septic Death "fan club" type records (with previously released material) and bootlegs of live and studio/demo recordings and whatever else, are overwhelming. The most notable being the Somewhere In Time 7" and the Gore Story LP. Live recordings and rarities released on the Lost & Found label.

Youth Korps - 1982

2011-06-08T12:16:00.001-07:00

Great hardcore band from Connecticut who released one incredible demo in 1982, played some shows and called it a day. If ever an '80s hardcore band should have stuck it out and released more material, this would be it. Youth Korps were way ahead of their time, being maybe the first band to throw quick 2 second bursts of speed into slower paced hardcore songs. Listen to JB Theme, it's pretty much the blueprint for what bands like Crossed Out perfected 10 years later. Amazing how one obscure demo from 1982 had such an influence, although it's rarely acknowledged in the same way bands like Deep Wound and Siege are. The demo remains an absolute classic of the genre and will always be a personal favorite.

The demo seems extremely popular now though, and litters the internet on various blogs and message boards. I figured i'd post the version i have, as it's the best sounding rip i've heard. As a bonus, i've added on a great sounding rehearsal track (the vocals on this one are vicious), and a quick 4 song live set, with 2 unreleased tracks and an alternate, slower version of Hang On Belushi (thanks to Damaging Noise). All ripped at 320. Enjoy.

Youth Korps 1982

Jon Bauer - vocals
Ed "Wedge" Feltch - guitar
Mike Hurley - bass
Bobby "Pin" Pyn - drums

The demo was recorded on September 18, 1982 at Radiobeat Studios in Boston. Produced and engineered by Lou Giordano. Finally released as a 7" in 1991 by Crucial Response Records out of Germany.

I've seen the demo labeled as the "Quick and the Dead" demo, although i've never seen an actual copy. The demo cover that i've seen online (shown in this post) has an illustration by Al Feldstein, which was used for a cover of an old issue of EC Comic "Tales From the Crypt".

Youth Korps contributed tracks from their demo on the Birth Defect comp tape (1983), and the Brain of Stone comp tape (1984 BCT).

According to online sources, the band formed on November 14, 1981 and broke up on October 25, 1982.

As a side note - there's a file floating around the web of a supposed rehearsal set. Only the first track is legit (the one in this collection), the other 3 or 4 songs are badly recorded versions of demo tracks being passed off as rehearsals.

For more Youth Korps posts, check out Pay No More Than blog, and Rare Punk which has some great scans.

Freewill - 1988

2011-05-06T08:33:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the delay. I'm finding myself with much less time for this blog since my work hours changed (and having another kid), but i intend to keep it alive, and have lots of great music on the way. In the works - Jersey Fresh, Mecht Mensch discography, revised Absolution and Warzone collections, and a huge goth punk/deathrock post. Until then..

Freewill were a melodic punk band from California who recorded some excellent music in 1988.

Their legacy is a 7 song demo (cleaned up for this post), and 10 tracks recorded for an LP on Wishingwell Records titled "Sun Return" which was unfortunately never released. Besides some test presses which are out there, this LP was released as the "Almost Again" CD in 1995 by the notorious Lost & Found Records out of Germany.

Describing the music here is a tough one. The songs have a certain charm to them that i just love. It's punk. It's hardcore. But they have a pop, almost emo vibe that makes them unique. Maybe a lo-fi, minimalist Dag Nasty meets Descendents? Most of these tracks wouldn't sound out of place on those old Shredder "The World's In Shreds" comps from the late '80s. There's really no description that will do the band justice, just check it out. Enjoy:

Freewill discography

Scott Gravois - vocals
Paul Cranston - guitar
Charlie Trujillo - drums
Mike Hartsfield - bass
Kevin Necessary - bass

The CD on Lost & Found is a mess. Besides the mixed up and incomplete track list, the CD has Kevin Necessary credited to playing bass, although i can't find anything else online to confirm he played on any recordings (the demo maybe?). The CD also mistakenly credits Mike Hartsfield as Mark Hartsfield. Mike also played in Outspoken, Strife, Enswell, Solitude, Against the Wall and several other bands. He founded New Age Records in 1988 and co-founded Network Sound Records in the early '90s with Outspoken bandmate Dennis Remsing. You can check out an interviews with Mike Hartsfield here and here. As far as other Freewill members playing in other bands, i have no info.

Shortly after recording for the unreleased LP, Freewill changed their name to Stone Telling and re-recorded 9 of their songs for an album on Network Sound Records, released in 1994 on both LP and CD.

According to the album notes: Recorded in November 1988 at Pendragon Studios in Hermosa Beach, California. Additional recording in August 1990 at EP Productions in Huntington Beach, California.

I've never heard the Stone Telling re-recordings, and really have no desire to.

I've heard rumors of a second unreleased Freewill LP, but have never came across any solid proof. If anyone has any further info on the band, please comment.

Fuck Rock: ABC No Rio comp LP 1991

2011-02-03T07:40:00.000-08:00

This is the final version of the Fuck Rock compilation that came out in 2010 along with the 25th anniversary issue of Artcore Fanzine. I want to thank all the bands & people involved that waited a couple of decades for this record to see the light of day. Eternal gratitude to Welly from Artcore for masterminding the project & Aston from Boss Tuneage records for his role in putting it out. Last but not least, Vin from B&Q for graciously putting this up on this blog. The comp is dedicated to the memory of friends that have passed away since these recordings were made: Francisco (Pancho) Alegria from Huasipungo, Tom Ota from Warning & Pete King (early ABC scenester)- RIP old buddies.
-Freddy Alva

FUCK ROCK: ABC NO RIO NEW YORK 1991

Side A

ABC NO RIO - Intro
Rorschach - Synthetic Intelligence
Warning - Blind Leading The Blind
Citizens Arrest - Pressure's On (Red C)
Animal Crackers - Roadkill
Born Against - Resist Control
GO! - The Dead Ones
Inflatable Children - Ignore Me
Antiem - God Dog

Side B

DJ Chuck Love - Intro
Animal Crackers - Farting Is A Spiritual Release
Citizens Arrest - Touch & Go
GO! - Kept
Inflatable Children - Landshark
Hell No - Deal With It
Huasipungo - Stupid Ambition
Born Against - Well Fed Fuck
GO! - The ABC Song

I'm excited to have this on the blog again. The final version (5 extra tracks) of the long lost ABC comp, excellent sound quality straight from the master tapes. Ripped at 320. Thanks to Freddy and all the bands for letting B&Q be the home for this piece of hardcore history. Enjoy!

Following text taken from the previous Fuck Rock post:

Rorschach
Charles Maggio - vocals / Keith Huckins - guitar / Nick Forte - guitar /
Chris Laucella - bass / Andrew Gormley - drums
Tom Rusnak replaced Chris on bass in 1992
Synthetic Intelligence. A crushing version of the track that originally appeared on the "Fear of Smell" comp LP (Vermiform 1993). I was lucky enough to see Rorschach a few times back in the early '90s, and they were completely devastating every time. One of the most powerful live bands of the era. Probably of any era.

Warning
Neil - vocals / Todd - guitar (more info as i get it)
Blind Leading The Blind. Great Discharge inspired track. I can't find any info on this band at this time, but i'll be updating this page as more info comes in. If you know anything about this band, please leave a comment.

Citizens Arrest
Daryl Kahan - vocals / Janis Cakars - guitar / Joseph Martin - bass /
Patrick Winter - drums
Touch & Go / Pressure's On. An alternate recording of Touch & Go from the mighty "Colossus" LP (Wardance 1991) and a cover of Red C's "Pressure's On" from the classic "Flex Your Head" comp LP (Dischord 1982). CxA were my favorite hardcore band of the '90s, yet, as many times as they played ABC, i missed them every time. I'm still kicking myself. They're playing shows again with the original lineup, including Ted Leo who sang on the demo. Fuckin' A!

Animal Crackers
Ted Leo - vocals / Janis Cakars - guitar / Squeaky - guitar /
Charlie Adamec - bass / William Tarrant - drums
Roadkill / Farting Is A Spiritual Release. Christ, i haven't heard Animal Crackers in over 15 years. Fast hardcore punk songs with Ted Leo's vocals adding a pop edge. I'm pretty sure this stuff was recorded around the time he was starting Chisel (who i love).

Born Against
Sam McPheeters - vocals / Adam Woodrow - guitar / Javier Villegas - bass /
Jon Hiltz - drums
Bret Blue replaced Javier on bass somewhere between '91-'92, so i'm not sure who plays drums on these recordings. Born Against had tons of bassist and drummer changes during their existence (for more info check out the Born Against WFMU Sessions post).
Resist Control / Well Fed Fuck. Resist Control was originally performed by Adam's former band, Life's Blood, and Well Fed Fuck is an alternate recording of the closing track to their "9 Patriotic Hymns For Children" LP (Vermiform 1991). I got to see Born Against at ABN No Rio once (with Merel i think) and they were just insane. I'm not sure what Sam was on, but i wanted some. "We're Jock Gestopo, and this first song is called Born Against".

GO!
Mike Bullshit - vocals / Aaron - guitar / Steve - bass on "The Dead Ones" and "Kept" / Anthony Emo - bass on "The ABC Song" / Jim Paradise - drums
The Dead Ones / Kept / The ABC Song
These tracks are not exclusive versions unfortunately, but GO! was a huge part of the ABC No Rio scene and i'm glad they're represented on the comp. Two tracks from the "There Is No Man" 7" (Tasty Records 1991) and one track (The ABC Song) from the great "Why Suffer?" 7" (Forefront Records 1990). GO! is still putting out records and playing shows. Very fun shows.

Inflatable Children
Derek Stukuls - vocals / Gregory Benton - guitar / Gregory Stukuls - guitar /
Brian Huppi - bass / Jeff Moynihan - drums
Landshark / Ignore Me
I'm pretty unfamiliar with this band. But i plan of fixing that, as this is killer stuff. Pretty sure "Landshark" is an exclusive track, as it's not on the LP or split. "Ignore Me" was released on the split 7" with Puzzlehead (Old Glory Records 1991). Not sure if this is the same version, as i've never heard that split.

Antiem
Rich Trash - vocals / Jon Hiltz - guitar / Joe Martin - bass /
Melissa York - vocals / Patrick Winter - drums
Dog God. A massive sounding wall of noise by this ABC "supergroup". I couldn't believe this was Rich Trash (Manacled) when i first heard it. He sounds like a rabid dog here, ready to kill someone. Monster of a song. I need more of this.

Hell No
John Woods - vocals / Janis Cakars - guitar / Joe Martin - bass /
Jim Paradise - drums
Deal With It. Yet another band with Janis on guitar and Joe on bass, and yet another great live band. This song sounds familiar, and i'm pretty sure it's a re-working of a song from the first record, with a different name.

Huasipungo
Esneider - vocals / Ivan - guitar ('91-'92) / David Wilentz - bass/guitar ('91-'92) / Mike - bass ('91-'97) / Francisco - drums ('91-'92) / Naoki - drums ('91-'92) / Amanda - guitar/vocals ('92-'93)
Stupid Ambition. I'm not sure the exact lineup of these recordings, as Huasipungo was contantly changing members (and their were more member changes after '92 that i didn't list here). This is a re-recording of one of the band's earlier songs, when they played completely chaotic and frantic hardcore. One of my favorite, and one of the most overlooked and under-appreciated bands of the '90s.

Crowd Of Isolated - 1987-1989

2010-12-03T09:49:00.000-08:00

I Try To Tell About A Way is my single favorite hardcore album to come out of Germany. I first heard the band sometime in the late '80s on Pat Duncan's radio show on WFMU in NJ. Crowd Of Isolated seemed to be on the playlist just about every Thursday night for at least a year. From the radio show i taped a few songs which i listened to constantly. My favorite track was Don't Stop My Fight, which made it's way onto just about every mixed tape i made during that time. I still can't help but sing along every time i hear it. That track just struck a chord with me and i couldn't go a day without listening to it. A few years later i was able to get a copy of the album through some German mail-order. Eventually i came to appreciate the album as a whole, and it became one of my favorite hardcore albums on the late '80s.

Until recently i was not at all familiar with German hardcore/crossover and at the time Crowd Of Isolated sounded like no other hardcore band i'd ever heard. They had a definite Iron Maiden vibe in just about every aspect of their music, yet it still remained very much hardcore punk. It was crossover, but not in the usual way. The vocals were like a combo of Bruce Dickinson and Elmer Fudd, and once in a while a little Rozz Williams would creep into the mix. Although that may not sound good on paper (or a computer screen in this case), it worked. The music was a mix of melodic, catchy metal riffs, hardcore, and even maybe a touch of emo at times, for lack of a better term. Favorite tracks other than the amazing Don't Stop My Fight would be Under Pressure, Cold Dark World and Love Of My Life, but the album is perfect from start to finish. Absolutely essential.

The rips of the lp, ep, and comp tracks here are excellent. Absolutely no surface noise or pops. All 17 tracks are as close to CD quality as you will ever find. Enjoy!

Crowd Of Isolated

vocals - Gurke

guitar - Guschtel

bass - Claus

drums - Jürgen

The I Try To Tell About A Way LP was released on X-Mist Records in 1987, on both black and white vinyl. It was recorded at Kong Studio in Reutlingen in November of '87. The LP came with a foldout lyric sheet. It was mastered by G. Pauler at Pauler Acoustics. Produced by Armin Hofmann. Great cover art by Jaenette. Never repressed as far as I know, and never released on CD.

The Hardcore Vol. 1 comp LP was released on Starving Missile Records in 1988 as a limited edition of 1,000 copies. Produced by Mike Just. Cover design (which reminds me a lot of Richard Kern's photography) by Pyhacore. Bands on the comp: Artless, EA80, Aidscats, K.G.B., Crowd Of Isolated, Boskops and Dream Police. The 2 C.O.I. tracks on this comp sound like they were from the LP sessions, as the recording is closer to the sound on the album than on the Bad Actors ep which followed.

The Life Is Change comp LP was released on Beri Beri Records in 1989. It included a 12 page booklet about the bands: EA80, The Vernon Walters, Magnetic AD, Crowd Of Isolated, H.D.Q., Putten, Billy And The Willies, Karma Sutra, The Plot and The Ex.

The Bad Actors 7" was released on X-Mist in 1988. Lyric sheet included. Recorded at Kong Studio by Heinlin. Produced by Armin Hofmann. Insane cover artwork by "Paul". 250 copies came in special self-made covers.

The band's second full-length, Memories and Scars, was released on X-Mist on LP in 1990 and on CD in 1991.

Other comps C.O.I. appeared on:

Small Bands Big Sound comp 7" (1989 Anti-Schelski Records)

tracks: Dear Old Man / Mr. Tear

Rough Enough comp 7" (1989 Vibration Hardcore)

track: In A Field Of Roses

X-Press comp LP (1990 X-Mist Records)

track: Indian Girl

Remember The '90s comp LP (1990 Gusch Records)

track: In A Field Of Roses

Laugh And Hate comp CD (1991 Rough Trade)

track: Tremendous Strength

Trust #10 flexi ep (199? Trust Vinyl)

track: No One Can Stop Us

If anyone has any of these tracks and can share them, please get in touch.

Crowd Of Isolated on Myspace.

Breakdown - 1987-1997

2010-11-20T20:17:00.000-08:00

Massive hardcore from Yonkers, NY.

If you're even slightly into NYHC then you already have most of this stuff. I try and avoid posting stuff that's still available, but i've seen the '87 demo and Blacklisted ep on at least a dozen blogs, so i don't think including it here will make a difference. In a perfect world, if any of this stuff is still in print and you don't have it, you should buy it and this collection should only act as a convenient companion piece, not as a final product. If there's a problem just let me know and i'll revise the collection.

This is a collection of Breakdown material spanning ten years. Every track like a brick to the head. Enjoy.

Breakdown: 1987-1997

1987 lineup:
vocals - Jeff Perlin
guitar - Don Angelilli
guitar - Carl Porcaro
bass - Rich McLoughlin
drums - Anthony Drago

The '87 demo was recorded at The Loft on May 26, 1987. Six tracks from the '87 demo were released as a 7" in 1990 on Blackout! as a combined effort with Noiseville Records. I remember seeing a double 7" of the entire demo back in the '90s as well. I'm not sure if that was a bootleg or not. In 2002 Blackout! released all 9 tracks on CD. There was also an unofficial CD release put out by Lost and Found in 1995 titled Dissed and Dismissed which included the demo along with 2 extra tracks, all remastered with new cover art. I'm pretty sure the last re-issue of the demo was the 7" put out by Dead Serious Records in 2005.

Shortly after the '87 demo was recorded, Carl, Rich and Anthony left the band due to personal differences and formed Raw Deal with Anthony Comunale (formerly of Token Entry) and Mike Sentkiewitz (formerly of Sick Of It All). Raw Deal were good, but in my opinion they never recorded anything even close to the intensity and heaviness of the Breakdown demo. One of my favorite NYHC demos ever. Total caveman shit.

1988 lineup:
vocals - Jeff Perlin
guitar - Rob DeFrosia
guitar - Richie Kennon
bass - Mark Sisto
drums - Larry Kaplan

I'm pretty sure somewhere between the '87 lineup and '88 lineup there was someone named Pete who played drums for a short time with the band. I'm also pretty sure he's credited as playing drums on the version of Sick People from the New York Hardcore: The Way It Is comp LP.

The NYHC: Where The Wild Things Are comp LP was recorded in 1988 and released on Blackout! / Noiseville in 1989. Mastered at The Loft. Incredible comp with my personal favorite Breakdown recordings. Dissed And Dismissed in particular is a monster. The stellar lineup was Outburst, Killing Time, Life's Blood, Breakdown, Sheer Terror, Maximum Penalty, Uppercut, Norman Bates And The Showerheads and Gorilla Biscuits.

New York Hardcore: The Way It Is was released by Revelation Records on LP in 1988 and on CD in 1993. Liner notes by Ray Cappo. Photography by B.J. Papas, Beth Lahickey andRichard Unhock. The bands: Bold, Nausea, Warzone, Gorilla Biscuits, Trip 6, Breakdown, Youth Of Today, Sick Of It All, Krakdown, Side By Side, YDL and Supertouch. Like many people, this comp was my exposure to Breakdown and lots of other great bands. I think Sick People floored everyone back in '88.

The Runnin' Scared demo was recorded sometime in 1988. I have absolutely no info on this demo, and i've never owned or even seen an actual copy. I only included (and revised) the 2 tracks on the demo that were exclusive to it at that time. I had a shitty rip of the other 2 tracks to work with (All I Ask and Dissed and Dismissed), plus the comp versions are infinitely superior. I put a lot of work into these 3 tracks and i think they sound great. The song What It Is from this demo later appeared on the New Breed tape, and 2 of the tracks were re-recorded nearly 10 years later for the Blacklisted ep.

The Song Don't Give Up was taken from the New Breed cassette. A great exclusive (at the time) track to that tape. Cleaned up nice.

1997 lineup:
vocals - Jeff Perlin
guitar - Mike Dijan
bass - Larry Susi
drums - Lou Medina

Completely different lineup again, with Jeff being the only remaining original member. With this lineup the band released the Blacklisted ep on Eyeball Records in 1997. Recorded at Mother West NYC. Mastered West West Side Music. The vinyl release contained 5 live tracks (all '87 demo songs). Great ep.

The live tracks were recorded in 1987. I'm not sure of the date or venue, or even city for that matter. It was listed as live in CT, but i get the feeling it was a NYC gig. Great, yet pretty sloppy set. They do an instrumental version of Telltale, originally written to be a Breakdown song, but later recorded (with lyrics) by Raw Deal on their first demo.

The song We'll Be Back was taken from the live WNYU set from 1988. This song was unreleased, although according to an online article by Christ Minicucci, Breakdown recorded this track, along with an alternate version of All I Ask, at Gian Studios on March 25, 1988. I'd love to hear those tracks! You can read that article here.

Lions and Cheetahs!

Show of Force - 1990

2010-10-18T17:48:00.000-07:00

More great New York Hardcore. Show of Force existed for a very short time, starting in '89 and ending in '91. During that time they released three demos (one of which was never released), and one track for the New Breed cassette. Here we have an excellent sounding rip of the band's second demo. Thanks to Claude for the rip, Mike Dijan for the info and for letting me post this, and Freddy Alva for the help (once again). Enjoy.

Show of Force - 1990 demo

1989 lineup 1:
vocals - Nick Cirillo
guitar - Nick Benetos
bass - Mike Dijan
drums - Tony Kastanos

With this original lineup the band recorded the track Finding It Hard at Don Fury Studios for the New Breed tape in 1989. They later re-recorded and re-named the song Black Walls for the 1990 demo. Both Nick Cirello and Nick Benetos played for Fit of Anger, and Mike Dijan played for Breakdown, Crown of Thornz and Skarhead.

1989 lineup 2:
vocals - Randy Rodriguez
guitar - Mike Dijan
guitar - George Derico
bass - Jay Rufino
drums - Tony Kastanos

At this time Mike Dijan moved from bass to guitar, and George Derico and Jay Rufino, both from Outburst, were brought in for 2nd guitar and drums. With this lineup the band recorded a demo at Don Fury Studios, which is extremely rare.

1990 lineup:
vocals - Randy Rodriguez
guitar - Mike Dijan
guitar - Hector Moncada
bass - Franklin Rhi
drums - Tony Kastanos

For the 1990 lineup (which Mike Dijan referred to as the "definitive lineup"), Franklin Rhi (Shelter, 108, Crown of Thornz) was brought in on bass, and Hector Moncada on 2nd guitar. In the Spring on '90 the band recorded their second demo (the one available for download here) at Wildfire Studios in NJ. The demo was produced by A.J. Novello, guitarist for Leeway. Shortly after the band recruited Nick Cirillo back on vocals and recorded a third demo which was never released. The band broke up in 1991.

Interview with Mike Dijan here.

Chisel - Early Recordings 1991-1994

2010-10-14T17:45:00.001-07:00

Chisel were one of my favorite bands of the '90s. As much as i love the band's 2 full lengths (8am All Day and Set You Free), and the Nothing New collection, these early songs were always my favorite. I was fortunate enough to see Chisel once sometime in the early '90s at ABC No Rio. They were amazing, and everything they've ever recorded was nothing short of excellent.

This is a collection of the band's earliest recordings, most of which was recorded in 1991. I restored all the tracks to the best of my ability. I'm really happy with this one.

Chisel - Early Recordings: 1991-1994

1991 line-up:
Ted Leo - vocals/guitar
Chris Infante - bass
John Dugan - drums

Starting off the collection is possibly the rarest Chisel recordings, 5 tracks recorded at WFMU in July of 1991. I'm not sure if this is the full set, but these were all the songs on the tape i recently acquired (thanks Matt!!). After listening to this tape for the past 2 weeks, this has become possibly my favorite Chisel stuff. The live studio version of Spike (later renamed Swamp Fox/Spike) is a killer. Following are perfectly executed renditions of 4 of the band's earliest songs, ending with a track i'm not familiar with which i titled "unknown". Great sound quality, considering it was ripped from a 20 year old cassette.

Next up are 6 tracks from the Stanford Hall Demos tape. Recorded on February 2, 1991 at, you guessed it, Stanford Hall, at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. The track Elusive Butterfly (originally recorded by Bob Lind in 1966) was labeled (Revenge of) The Bright Elusive Butterfly of Love on the actual cassette. There were 2 versions of this cover on the demo, but i only used the first version (in my opinion the superior version), and i also left out the closing track, a funky, and quite sucky instrumental entitled Pornomental. Thanks to the amazing South Bend Power Nineties blog for this demo. Check this blog out for other Chisel rarities, as well as tons of other great bands from the South Bend scene, which seemed to be an like an explosion of inspiration during the '90s. Hopefully the blog is OK with me abducting these tracks, and are happy with the restoration.

Next up is my all-time favorite (yet sadly least-known) Chisel song, Sloth. This track was recorded in March on '91 at Inner Ear Studios in Washington, DC (possibly during the Swamp Fox sessions?), and released in 1992 on the Superpowers compilation cassette by Troubleman Unlimited. Sloth, with it's amazing bass line by Infante, was exclusive to the Superpowers tape, as were many of the songs of the comp. The tape came with issue #4 of Wanna Communicate fanzine. The first 300 were hand-dubbed with tapes stolen from ShopRite, then 700 professionally duplicated with the profits. This is an absolutely incredible comp, with more great bands than i can name. Standouts for me, besides Chisel, were Greyhouse, Heroin, Shudder to Think (band's best recordings), Assuck, Sticks & Stones, Merel... fuck, the whole thing is fantastic.

Now we come to the band's first record. Known as the "Swamp Fox ep", the self-titled 7" was recorded at Inner Ear Studios on March 14, 1991 and released on Assembly Records in September of the same year. Thanks to my good friend Mark for an excellent job ripping my vinyl to mp3. There's a bit of surface noise on the b-side (Listen), but not anything major, and this is certainly the best sounding rip i've heard of this track so far. Anyway, great first record.

1993 line-up:
Ted Leo - vocals/guitar
Chris Norborg - bass
John Dugan - drums

The split 7" with Brian, Colin and Vince was recorded in May of 1993 at Miami Street Studio and released on Sudden Shame Records (Colin of BCV's label) in August on 1993. On this slab, Chisel covered Brian, Colin and Vince's classic Spectacles, and BCV covered Chisel's One in Ten. Chisel's version of Spectacles was played during the closing credits of the Songs for Cassavetes documentary.

Next we have the Sunburn 7" released on Gern Blandsten Records in August of 1994. Chisel are on the top of their game here, delivering three of their best. Little Gidding (my personal favorite of the 3) was recorded in October of '93 and mixed in February of '94 at WGNS Studios. 3 O'Clock High was recorded in March of '93 at Idful Music Corp, Chicago, IL. Sunburn was recorded in June of '93 at Idful Music Corp. The Sunburn 7" was later released as bonus tracks on the CD version of the Nothing New collection, put out on Gern Blandsten in 1995.

Closing the collection is an unreleased song called My First Resume, recorded live at 242 Main on April 16, 1994. Nice sound quality.

Check out the official Chisel Myspace page here.
For more info on the band, check out the band's Wiki page here.

For those who don't know, Ted Leo is now touring with his old band, the mighty Citizen's Arrest.

Enjoy!

Life's Blood - The Don Fury Sessions 2/3/1988

2010-09-22T17:12:00.000-07:00

I had a Life's Blood discography posted on the blog many months back, but removed the link by request due to the upcoming discography on Prank Records. Then just recently i got a CDR of the entire CBGB set from 9/25/88 courtesy of Freddy Alva of New Breed fame (thanks Freddy!). This is the infamous set with Sean Murphy of Collapse on vocals. If you've heard the tracks from the New Breed tape, you can imagine how awesome this set is. That was to be my next post, but one of the band members heard the set and decided it should be included on the discography, and kept off the blog. I'm far from being bummed about it though. I'm glad this stuff is getting a proper release as opposed to just some mp3s online, and am looking forward to this discography like no other in the past few years. Hopefully the WFMU set makes it on there as that's my favorite Life's Blood recording. We'll see.

I still wanted this great NYHC band represented on my blog. Besides being one of my favorites, i'm striving to post collections by every band (or as close as possible) that were featured on the New Breed tape. Soon there will be a New Breed post with links to all related bands.

I've seen the band's 7", radio sets, and demos on various blogs, and wanted something exclusive to Blogged & Quartered. These unreleased Don Fury sessions seemed like the perfect choice. This is a collection of a dozen tracks selected from the sessions recorded on February 3, 1988. The entire Don Fury sessions can be downloaded here, all in one mp3. The tracks here were hand-picked by myself as my favorite versions of each song. Sound quality is really good. With any luck some of this stuff will be remastered and included on the Prank discography. In any case, i see no harm in posting it here. There's not a Life's Blood fan alive who will not buy the discography because they have some mp3s of selected tracks from these sessions.

Enjoy.

Life's Blood - Unreleased Don Fury Sessions 2/3/88

The following info is taken from my past Life's Blood post, which is now deleted.

Jason O'Toole - vocals
Adam Nathanson - guitar
Neil Burke - bass
John Kriksciun - drums

Defiance 7" - 1988 Combined Effort Records, unknown pressing. Reissued by Vermiform in 1990. 4166 made, 4 pressings.
New York City Hardcore: Where The Wild Things Are Compilation LP - 1989 Blackout Records, unknown pressing.
Life's Blood/Sticks & Stones split 7" - 1990 Radcore/Forefront Records. Limited edition of 2000. Comes with lyric sheet. All songs recorded live on WFMU on 03/17/88.
Murders Among Us Compilation 7" - 1990 Vermiform / Combined Effort Records. 2500 made.
New Breed Compilation cassette - 1989 Urban Style Records. Cassette & fanzine, 1000 made (and many bootlegs in the 90's). Two live tracks. Sean Murphy (Collapse) on vocals.
Demo - 1988
Don Fury Session - 02/03/88
Live on WFMU - 03/17/88
Live on WNYU - 03/24/88

from wiki:

Life's Blood was a hardcore punk band formed by four first year college students in New York City in 1987. It consisted of Adam Nathanson on guitars, Neil Burke on bass, John Kriksciun on drums, and on vocals, Combined Effort promoter and fanzine editor Jason O'Toole. They were part of the scene that grew out of CBGB's Sunday matinees and the long defunct Some Records store, where they all hung out. Known for their sound which blended East Coast hardcore-punk with melodic Oi!, as well as their biting, intelligent lyrics, Life's Blood performed with bands as diverse as Agnostic Front, Sheer Terror, Beyond, Judge, Project X, and Soulside before breaking up little more than a year later. Nathanson would go on to form Born Against out of its ashes with Sam McPheeters on vocals. Burke would go on to many bands, including Born Against, Sinking Body and Men's Recovery Project. Life's Blood played live on WNYU and WFMU, and played 26 shows throughout New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Ohio. Their songs have been covered live and on recordings by bands from as far flung as Sweden and Japan as well as by American hardcore bands. One notable cover being the version of "It's not in your heart" by MK-ULTRA. Among Life's Blood's recordings are Defiance originally on Combined Effort, the Vermiform Records compilation EP Murders Among Us, the New York Hardcore compilation Where the Wild Things Are on Blackout Records as well as a rash of bootlegs. Vermiform released a CD containing the original "Defiance" ep along with extra material. Prank Records now has the rights to Life's Blood recordings and a re-release of this hard to find material is forthcoming.

Assück - The Audio Death Collection 1989-1998 (revised 8/08/10)

2010-08-22T16:13:00.000-07:00

Grindcore perfection from St. Petersburg, Florida. This is as good as it gets. Assück created an effortless blending of hardcore punk and grindcore/death metal, in a way i'd never heard before or since. The band's first full length LP, Anticapital, is my favorite recording in the genre, only after the early Napalm Death Peel Sessions.

This is a collection of 7"s, compilation tracks, demos and live tracks, most of which are not on the band's 2 CD releases. Excellent sound throughout. Enjoy.

Assück: The Audio Death Collection

1996 line-up:
Steve Heritage - guitar / vocals
Rob Proctor - drums
Steve Kosiba - bass

The song "Alabaster" is the last song the band released. It was featured on the 403 Chaos Comp: Florida Fucking Hardcore CD in 1998 on Schematics Records (Steve Heritage's label). The comp was a collection of hardcore/punk bands that have played at 403 Chaos in Tampa, FL. The CD was packaged as a ten-inch, filled with lyrics, fliers, and contributions from the zines In Abandon and Haili. Tracks (mostly exclusive) by Reversal of Man, Tomorrow, Assuck, Strikeforce Diablo, Hot Water Music, Combat Wounded Veteran, Cavity, Omega Man, Nineteen Hundred and Twelve, Early Grace, Discount, Dragbody, Twelve Hour Turn, Cease, Hankshaw, Bird of Ill Omen, I Hate Myself, Scrotum Grinder, and Jud Jud. "Alabaster" was also on the Can't Stop This Train comp CD in 1999 on Join The Team Player Records. The song was recorded sometime after the Misery Index sessions at Morrisound Studios. The Misery Index LP was released in 1997 on Sound Pollution Records. Jason Crittenden replaced Steve on bass after the LP was recorded, and did a couple of tours with the band.

The song "Corners" was featured on the Big Pants Waste Precious Fabric comp CD, released in 1995 on No Idea Records. The CD (mastered by Steve Heritage) was included with No Idea Fanzine issue 11. 10,000 were pressed. Paul Pavlovich is on the vocals for this version of the song, and Steve Kosiba played bass. "Corners" was re-recorded for the Misery Index LP a year later.

Big Pants Waste Precious Fabric was an excellent compilation, and a great document of all the different sounds that were going on in the punk scene during the early-mid '90s. From Assfactor 4 to Rain Like The Sound Of Trains, from Drop Dead to J Church. And everything in between.

1992 line-up:
Paul Pavlovich - vocals
Steve Heritage - guitar
Rob Proctor - drums
Pete Jay - bass

The Bloodless Unreality comp 7" was released in 1992 on Forfeit Records (Forfeit 01). Artwork by Paul Pavlovich and layouts by Steve Heritage. Mastered at Fullersound. The sleeve came as an 8 page booklet with lyrics and info on the featured bands. All great tracks by Destroy, Hellnation, Confrontation and Assück. "Procession", from the Anticapital LP, was remixed for this comp with a bass track added in. "Blindspot" was on the Blindspot 7", originally released on Open Records in 1992, and re-released by Schematics Records that same year, and by Sound Pollution in 1993 as a limited European tour edition. The Blindspot 7" was the band's first record with a bass player (Pete Jay). It was recorded in June/July of '92 at Morrisound Studios in Tampa. FL, and mastered at Fullersound. Great artwork again by Paul Pavlovich. Produced and engineered by Scott Burns. An incredible 7" with a sound that perfectly bridges the gap between Anticapital and Misery Index.

The Apocalyptic Convulsions comp 10" was released in 1992 on Ax/ction Records. Limited to 1500 copies (500 came with bonus 7"), the comp included a poster insert with liner notes contributed by each of the bands. Amazing cover art by Morbid Mark. The 2 Assück tracks from this comp, "Anticapital" and "Spiritual Manipulation" were both previously on the Anticapital LP. I'm not sure if these 2 tracks were re-recorded, or if Pete Jay just added bass tracks to the original LP recordings. Check out the Infest post for further info on this (mostly) great comp.

1989-1991 line-up:
Paul Pavlovich - vocals
Steve Heritage - guitar
Rob Proctor - drums

The State To State 7" was released in 1992 on SOA Records. With the exception of a spoken-word piece called "A Nation's Tear" (spoken by Dawn Wilson, and early roadie for the band), all tracks had previously been released on the Anticapital LP. These songs were recorded September 16-19, 1991 at Morrisound, Tampa, FL. Released in 1991 on Sound Pollution Records on blue and black vinyl. Engineered by Scott Burns and produced by Rob Proctor and Steve Heritage. Anticapital was re-released by Sound Pollution in 1994 on CD, along with the tracks from the Blindspot 7", the 2 tracks from the split 7" with O.L.D. (1991 No System Records), and the track from Bllleeeeaaauuurrrrgghhh! (1991 Slap A Ham).

Even though these tracks are on the Anticapital LP/CD, i decided to include them here for 2 reasons. First, the sound is much fuller than on the album. It's ripped from the Old Days Nostalgia 3xCD (SOA Records). And second, these 4 tracks just flow perfectly together, it's the perfect ep.

The Necro Salvation 7" was recorded in 1989 at Morrisound, and released in 1990 on Rigid Records. Engineered by Scott Burns, produced byAssück. Original pressing was black and white sleeve with green vinyl. Later repressed on No System Records with different cover art. Some versions came in a 10" sleeve, not sure which label or pressing though. I've come to love this ep over the years. Less political than the later records, this one is lyrically more sex and Satan. Juvenile, but with tongue planted firmly in cheek, with a few moments of greatness, and little hints as to what was to come. This is a really nice sounding rip. Best i've heard yet.

Next up is the band recorded live on January 10, 1990 at a sports bar called Body Talk in N. Pinellas Park in Florida opening for a band called Meatwagon. Roughly 25 songs, really good quality. Sounded like a fun show.

Ending out the collection is a nice treat. The hard to find, entire 17-song "Born Backwards" 1989 demo. This is a nice, loud and clean sounding rip (320). Best you'll hear. I didn't remove any of the tape hiss as i didn't want to mess with the sound, but aside from a few tracks (like the first one), it's hardly even noticeable. The wall of noise music actually covers up 90% of the hiss.

It's mind-blowing how much this band progressed both musically and lyrically in one year.

From the Discog site:

Final line-up:
Rob Proctor - Drums (Crucible, Anthem Eighty Eight, No Fraud, Manic Dose, Nasty Savage, Cease, Discordance Axis)
Jason Crittenden - Bass (ex-Reversal of Man, Early Grace, Anthem Eighty Eight, Frogg Pound)
Steve Heritage - Guitar, Vocals (ex- Jud-Jud, Bombs of Death, Anthem Eighty Eight, People's Court)

Past line-up:
Paul Pavlovich - Vocals (currently in Track the Curse)
Dave "Spinach" Malinski - Vocals/Roadie
Austin Farrell - Roadie/Tour Manager
Daryl Kahan - Vocals "1993/1994 European tour" (ex-Citizens Arrest, Abazagorath, Funebrarum, Forced Expression, Taste of Fear)
Pete Jay - Bass (ex-Meatwagon, No Fraud, Manic Dose, Peepole, Black Queen, currently in Oakhelm)
Steve Kosiba - Bass (ex-Inhumanity, Scrotum Grinder)

Hogan's Heroes - 1985-1995 2xCD

2010-08-07T18:38:00.001-07:00

Hogan's Heroes Volume 1

Skip Hoefling - vocals
George Barberio - guitar
John Cuccinello - bass
Tony Scandiffio - drums

"Built To Last" LP

Excellent debut from this NJ (Tom's River) hardcore band. Recorded in 1987 at Waterfront Studios and first released in May of 1988 on Straight-Ahead Records. The LP was re-released worldwide on LP and cassette in May of 1989 on New Red Archives. The LP was mostly a collection of re-recordings from the band's 1986 demos, and really (for me anyway), just a hint of the greatness that was to follow.

"Hogan's Heroes" LP

My personal favorite Hogan's Heroes material, and just one of my favorite hardcore albums in general. They up the energy and intensity level on these tracks and produce some vicious music, hardcore with elements of black metal (especially on the opening track "First") and reggae (most of side 2). Standout track would be the furious "Breaking Your Rules". For this song i used the version from the Hardcore Breakout USA CD for superior sound quality.

The self-titled LP was recorded in August of 1989 at S & Saatchi Studios in NYC and released on New Red Archives in 1990. Two of the tracks, "Soulsight" and "Kick It In" were originally recorded for a 7" on Straight-Ahead Records titled "New Jersey", but was never released.

Hardcore Breakout USA comp LP

Released September 5, 1990 on New Red Archives on LP, CD and cassette. The comp featured 3 Hogan's Heroes tracks, "Last Will" from the "Built To Last" LP, "Breaking Your Rules" from the 1990 LP, and one exclusive track called "Full On". Hardcore Breakout USA was re-released in 1995 on J!mco Records Japan with a new title, "Snowboard Addiction", and new artwork. Other bands on the comp were Ultraman, Jawbreaker, Samiam, Bedlam Hour, Crucial Youth, Kraut, G-Whizz, Dirge, Agitators, UK Subs and P.E.D.

101/3 Fists And A Mouthful CD

Released in 1995 on New Red Archives. Six of the tracks were recorded in August of 1991 at Ocean Gate Studios. Guitarist George Barberino played both guitar and drums for these tracks, as well as bass for 4 of them. There are a couple of re-recordings of 1985-86 demo tracks, and some killer, and (until '95) unreleased songs. Some of the band's most aggressive and heaviest material, and my favorite recordings after the self-titled 1990 LP. The other 5 tracks (not included here) were recorded between 1994 and 1995 at Sonic Edge Studios in Manhattan, and Excello Studios in Brooklyn. These songs were recorded with a mostly new line-up, and the music went in a much more rock direction.

Hardcore Breakout USA Vol. 2 comp LP

Released in 1995 on New Red Archives. Two excellent exclusive tracks, "Cold" and "Fill It Up", a re-recording of an old 1986 demo track with George playing guitar, bass and drums. I'm guessing this track was recorded during the "Fists And A Mouthful" 1991 sessions. Hardcore Breakout USA Vol. 2 featured many of the bands from the first comp as well as tracks by MDC, Reagan Youth, No Use For A Name, Christ On A Crutch, and many more.

Many of the tracks in this Hogan's Heroes collection went on to appear on various compilations. "Last Will" and "Breaking Your Rules" were on the "Radio Sampler" comp (1990 New Red Archives). "Corporate Life" and "Self Defense" were on "The Punk, The Bad, And The Ugly" comp (1997 Cleopatra Records). "Corporate Life" was also on the "At War With Society" comp (1998 New Red Archives), the "Mighty Attack" comp (1999 Flavor Records Japan), and "A Triple Dose of Punk" 3xCD (2000 Cleopatra), which included all 24 tracks from "The Punk, The Bad, And The Ugly".

Hogan's Heroes Volume 2

1986 Demos

Known as the "Straight*Proud" demo. Released on November 15, 1986, shortly after the new vocalist and drummer joined the band. This is the entire 13 song demo, nicely restored.

1985 Demos

Scott Cassidy - vocals
George Barberio - guitar
Gerry Daseking - bass
Matt Gunvordahl - drums

John Cuccinello - bass on "T.S.A." (track 23)

The first 9 tracks were recorded in December of 1985. The last track, T.S.A. (Terry Schaefer's Ass) was recorded in June, '85. The songs "Self Defense" and "Batman" were featured on the "Blastin' Out Of New Jersey" comp in 1986 courtesy of Faith Zine. All tracks cleaned. The quality on the first track is a bit rough, but it gets better.

Uncle Ben 7"

Skip Hoefling - vocals
Ian Smith - guitar
John Cuccinello - bass
Brian Strahle - drums

Released in 1995 on Mofo Records.

Sorry, that's all the info i have on the demos and the "Uncle Ben" ep. Any further info would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks to Michael, Moe, David, Tommy (Social Decay), Dan (Old, Fast & Loud), and anyone i may have forgot for helping out with the music.

Enjoy.

Psycho Squatt - Anthology 1988-1990

2010-07-24T18:03:00.001-07:00

Incredible and unique punk from Dijon, France. The "Liberté, Précarité, Fraternité" 2x7" was one of my most-played records during the early '90s. I just recently re-discovered this amazing band after getting a rip of the band's live demo (thanks Mickael!), and it's pretty much all i've been listening to for weeks now.

This is a collection of most of the band's recordings spanning 1988-1990. The 4-song "Liberté, Précarité, Fraternité" double ep released in 1989 on Maloka (Anarcho Punk Collective), six tracks from the "Lutin De Vie" live demo, recorded in December of 1988, and the band's two rare comp tracks - one track from the "Mentally Broken Vol. 3" tape, released in 1989 on Broken Tapes Productions, and one track from "The Control of Violence" comp tape released on Violence in 1990. The only songs not included (unfortunately) are the demo tracks that are also on the band's 2x7".

Rudy - guitar
Looping - guitar
Mul - bass
L.N. - vocals
Steph - vocals
David - sax
Fred - drums

Maloka released these tracks on CD a while back, but it's long out of print. I got the files from the Maloka site (which are in .ogg files) here, cleaned up the hiss on the demo and comp tracks, adjusted the levels so all the tracks are the same volume, and converted the files to mp3s. Excellent sound, excellent songs. This gets my absolute highest recommendation. Trust me and just download it. Enjoy.

Psycho Squatt collection

I have no further info on this band, aside from at least one member now plays in a band called Anarkrose, who perform some Psycho Squatt songs live (check out the band's Myspace page for footage). If anyone has any info to share, please leave a comment. Thanks.

A Tribute to Sid Sludge

2010-07-01T02:58:00.000-07:00

Sometime during my first year at art school in Dover, NJ (maybe around 1989 or so), one of my roommates told me his friend Sid was coming over to the building we all lived in for a visit. It turned out to be Sid Sludge from my hometown heroes Mental Abuse. I'll admit i was a bit star-struck. I was young and had been into hardcore and punk for maybe 3 years at that point, and Mental Abuse was one of my favorite bands at the time. We talked about hardcore for a bit, mostly Agnostic Front which he wouldn't stop talking about. It was the first time i had a conversation with someone who i thought of as a hardcore legend, and it was a day to remember. He was the nicest guy ever, and funny as shit. When he left, my buddy asked him where he was parked. Turned out his car broke down in the middle of the Lincoln Tunnel, so he just left it there, walked out of the tunnel, and jumped on a bus. That sealed it for me. This guy was the epitome of punk. I hope he's still out there somewhere, doing crazy shit. I've heard rumors of his death for years, hopefully it's not true. Anyway, here's the collection. Enjoy.

A Tribute to Sid Sludge

Every Thursday night back in the late '80s, Pat Duncan would play at least one Mental Abuse song on his radio show on WFMU. It was always from a live set recorded at CBGB in 1985. Years later i was able to get a copy of the Streets of Filth LP, which was a great album but paled in comparison to the energy of the live versions of the songs i would hear on Pat's show. Sometime during the mid '90s, i was lucky enough to get a copy of the entire live CBGB set, which i still listen to, and think is one of the best live hardcore sets i've ever heard. It's rare that a live set is better than the band's records, but in this case it's a definite. They just nailed it on this one. Every song is perfectly executed, and the music is faster and much more intense than on the LP. I've included the set in it's entirety here (the first 11 tracks of this collection), hopefully you enjoy it as much as i do. For me it's essential listening.

Mental Abuse info i found online, i'm not sure how accurate it is:

Sid Sludge - vocals
Dave Jones - drums
Andy Kelb - guitars
Mike Lucas - bass
Paul Dieter - guitars

Mental Abuse were founded in August of 1982. Sid and Paul started the band, then Dave (who is the ex-Agnostic Front drummer) joined them. They went through 4 guitarists and shortly after that they broke up - from August 83’ to November 83’. They then reformed with Andy on guitar (the lineup now incuded Mike Porath “Spike” on bass). Spike recorded with M.A. on the “Streets Of Filth” LP, then decided to split, and was replaced by Mike (since has passed away).

Paul (guitar) switched to bass, Dave also left the band, and was replaced by Billy Psycho (from the NY band The Psychos with Billy Milano M.O.D. - S.O.D., etc.).

Some of the places M.A. played included: A7, The Loft, Delmonties, Anthrax, Pogo’s, The Showplace, The Dirt Club, CBGB’s, party’s, party’s, and High School “Battle Of The Bands”.The Danceteria (NY), Club Hell, and opened for C.O.C. in someone’s basement in Poughkeepsie, NY…

Aside from their “Streets Of Filth” LP (Urinal Records), Mental Abuse had tracks on the “Message To America” comp (Urinal Records).

I can't find any info on Outgroup online. They used to have a website but it was taken down a while back. I'm pretty sure the band (during the 1983 sessions) was the same lineup as Mental Abuse. Sid sang one of the band's 3 demos, the "Bleecker Street Studio Demos", recorded in the Fall of 1983 (while Mental Abuse was disbanded). Included here is the entire 21 song demo, taken from the "Out Completely" CDR, which also includes the band's other demos without Sid. This demo is full of raw, fast (and about as un-PC as you can get) punk rock anthems. The song Get Away is a NJ classic, covered by many bands, including Outgroup-related bands like Mental Abuse and Clenched Fist. Also on this demo you'll hear early versions of Mental Abuse songs and the blueprints for songs they would revise and record years later for the Streets of Filth album.

If anyone has any info on Outgroup, or any Sid Sludge stories to share, please leave a comment.

I had a Mental Abuse collection on the blog about a year ago and was asked to remove it (still not sure from who). There should be no problems this time, as i'm not posting anything that was officially released, like the LP or comp tracks. And i'm pretty sure the Outgroup CDR is impossible to find since the website was removed, so everything should be OK. And after all, it's just good old, long out of print, '80s NJ punk rock. Let the fans enjoy it.

Thanks to Cade Perrin for the great Sid Sludge pic.

Update 6/23/10 - Uploads, news and other bullshit

2010-06-23T00:42:00.000-07:00

Hey, it's been a while. Sorry for the lack of updates, i'll blame it on my crazy work schedule and the fact that i'm working on 3 things at once (bad idea). In the works: Hogan's Heroes 2xCD, Absolution remastered 2xCD and a tribute to Sid Sludge (An amazing sounding Mental Abuse live 1985 soundboard set from CBGB and the complete Outgroup "Bleecker St. demos"). Whatever gets finished first goes up first. Other stuff that will be up in the near future: Nunfuckers 30+ track discography, Rain Like the Sound of Trains discography, Youth of Today rarities, Born Against demos and live... In the meantime here's some rare (and not so rare) uploads of some music i've been listening to a lot lately:

Somethin' Else "Any Time Now" demo (1986)

Great '80s "NJ Shore Core". Thanks to Brett Beach for sending me the tape (which i ripped and cleaned in Audacity), and for the following info:

Sean Thompson - vox
Tony P. - bass
John - drums
Dirk - guitar

The "Any Time Now" demo was recorded in 1986. By 1987 or so Sean Fox was playing drums and Jason Burns on guitar. The band went on hiatus and started playing shows again in 1988 with Kevin Craig on vocals, Rich Walter on guitar and Sean Fox on drums. Sean left and Chris Macalouso took over. By this time Tony was the only original member left.
Anyone on Facebook, go to the NJHC Reunion - Jersey Shore page; there are a couple videos posted in the group from the Christmas show at the Fast Lane (Kevin line-up). Demo upload here.

Bitter Quarrel "More Torment" demo (1992)

Thanks to Miikka H. (Livewire board) for the upload.

More great NJ hardcore.
Info from the band's Myspace page:

Brian - vocals
Alap - guitar
Keith - drums
Stein - bass
Ant - guitar
Wayne - guitar

Influences: Cro-Mags, Agnostic Front, Biohazard, Leeway. Death. Bad Brains and too many more to remember.

Bitter Quarrel started in the fall of 1989. By spring of 1990 we had the original lineup in place and started playing the summer of 1990. We played locally with a few out of state shows until our demise in 1992 when we decided to move on to bigger and better things. Our first songs were very basic punk rock with a touch of Oi! and some metal influence. By the time we broke up we had completly evolved into a pretty heavy band. We recorded two demos, four songs for a seven inch we never pressed and finally our "More Torment" demo which was never really released. I am glad that after all these years people can finally hear it. Demo upload here (excellent sound).

Leeway - Live @ JC Staddijk, Nijmegen, The Netherlands 12/07/1991

Thanks to Jean-Philippe (Livewire board) for the upload.
Soundboard set. Incredible sound, great performance and a great track-list (especially the second half, i'm more of a Born to Expire guy myself). All topped off with a Clash cover. Seriously, one of the best live NYHC sets i've ever heard. Grab it here.

01 The Future
02 Enforcer
03 All About Dope
04 Marathon / On The Outside
05 Who's To Blame
06 No Heroes
07 Kingpin
08 Stand For
09 Ball Hugger
10 Catholic Highschool Girls In Trouble
11 Unexpected
12 Rise And Fall / Mark Of The Squeeler
13 Born To Expire
14 Should I Stay Or Should I Go (The Clash)

Some months back, a NY band called Activator sent me their 7". Great stuff here. Taking influences from NYHC bands like Burn, Cro-Mags and Bad Brains and mixing it with elements of metal and rock for a unique and fresh sound.

Activator - The Unfortunate Lovely 7"

Shannon - vocals
Jared - guitar
Willham - bass
Sanal - drums

Highly recommended. Download here. Mypace here.

1.6 Band - The Checkered Pasts Of All Kings Present 7"

Check out the new 1.6 Band ep available for free download here. Ripped at 320 complete with PDF file of the artwork and lyric sheet. Awesome as usual. Myspace page here.

Free For All comp LP (Hawker Records 1989)

And last on the list, a few people have requested a rip of the Free For All comp. Sorry for the delay, but i finally got around to ripping it, so here it is.

Originally released on Hawker Records in 1989. All songs recorded April 9, 1989 at CBGB, NYC.

01 Token Entry - Jaybird
02 Token Entry - Pink Things
03 Token Entry - The Edge
04 Wrecking Crew - Why Must They
05 Wrecking Crew - Old Enough
06 Wrecking Crew - Troubled Youth
07 Rest In Pieces - Not Worth Shit
08 Rest In Pieces - Divided
09 Rest In Pieces - Keep Your Distance
10 No For An Answer - Imperfection
11 No For An Answer - I Spy
12 No For An Answer - When Will It End

Thanks to all the people who have been helping me out lately and sending me lots of great music. Mike, Jon, Claude, Dave, Brett, Cooch... and especially Dan over at Old, Fast & Loud for letting me steal his Mecht Mensch discography, which i will eventually clean up and post. Get over to his blog and grab some tunes, especially the Brotherhood collection. I forgot how much that band rules.

Enjoy, and keep the suggestions coming.

Vin.

Close Call - The 1989 Demos

2010-05-19T02:28:00.000-07:00

CLOSE CALL - The 1989 Demos

Text by by Michael Scondotto:

Marc Nolan - vocals
Mike Scondotto - bass
Tom Trippi - guitars
John LaMacchia - guitars
Wayne Schneiderman - drums

Discography:
CLOSE CALL - "On The Line" demo recorded on March 3, 1989 @ Don Fury's NYC
CLOSE CALL "Self titled" demo recorded in June 1989 @ Don Fury's NYC

About the recordings:
Both demos were done @ the legendary Don Fury studio in NYC and were done 100% live with no overdubs. Some of the songs sound a bit out of tune, and they probably were... but hey, we were 15 to 17 and had never done this before.

Although the drummer on the 2nd demo is listed as "James", the drums were indeed done by our first drummer Wayne. For the record, "James" is James Loud, drummer for the short lived NEW BREED COMP band from Brooklyn - DIRECT APPROACH. James did replace Wayne, but never actually recorded with the band.

Close Call shows list:
1. WNYU's Crucial Chaos 5/18/89
2. Backyard party in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn NY 6/10/89
3. L'amour - Brooklyn, NY with MR. PICKLE, AMERICAN EAGLE and 7 more bands 8/27/89
4. L'amour - Brooklyn, NY with KILLING TIME & FIT OF ANGER 9/17/89

Close Call History: by Michael Scondotto

Close Call was a Hardcore band from Sheepshead Bay Brooklyn NY and my very first band. We started in fall of 1988 and broke up in January of 1990.

The band was initially formed by myself on bass and my friend since grade school, Tom Trippi on guitar. I do not remember who came up with the name Close Call, but it was either me or Tom. We were both 15 years old and were really into bands like Breakdown, Raw Deal, Token Entry, YDL and Leeway...hell, we liked every HC band we had heard at that point and were influenced by all of them. Our collective best friend John LaMacchia ( whom I knew since kindergarten and we are still friends to this day) was a bit reluctant to make the switch from being a Metalhead to a HC kid, but John was the best musician of the three of us and he eventually came around. John wanted to play metal and if you listen, there is quite a bit of metal in the band for sure. Vocalist Marc and drummer Wayne were 2 years older than the rest of us and went to high school together. Marc was one of the guys that got us all into Hardcore and took us to CBGB's (Marc can be seen as the skinhead kid in the YDL ringer shirt on the cover of the "Where the Wild Things Are" comp by the way) and Wayne was a Rush fanatic and awesome drummer who somehow Marc got to play with a bunch of Hardcore kids. Wayne was also the only Close Call band member who did not skateboard. Without skateboarding, Close Call would never have happened since that was what really brought us all together. The five of us lived within a five block radius of each other in Sheepshead Bay.

Close Call was one of the few Hardcore bands from Brooklyn at the time (88-89), along with bands like Mr. Pickle & Social Disorder. Then you had bigger bands like Y.D.L. and Biohazard and of course Carnivore. We were all about the NYC bands who played CBGB's and we desperately wanted to be just like those bands and hopefully play shows with them. But we never really got to, mainly due to the fact that back then we knew no one outside of our circle of Brooklyn friends and we were young and really naive. We didn't network at all, just hung out and had fun.

The first demo was called "On The Line", named after the instrumental on the demo. The second demo was self titled. I'm going to say that we made about 30 copies of the first demo and about 60 of the second, but I bet it is less for both.
Some copies of the demos were mailed out to zines though, that I remember for sure. The artwork for the demos was done by John, very influenced by both graffiti and comic artist Vaughn Bode. We all actually wrote graffiti, some better than others for sure. The cassettes were all copied on the home stereos of myself and the rest of the band.

The one band I think we sounded a lot like was Token Entry, especially in the vocals department and we also had a lot of guitar leads just like Token Entry did. The Breakdown and Raw Deal demos, the Sick of It All, Side By Side and Gorilla Biscuits 7"'s and Leeway's "Born to Expire" were in heavy rotation for sure.

Close Call had a lot of band practices, sometimes twice a week. Our last studio of choice was called Counterpoint Studios in Marine Park Brooklyn. It was owned by Sal Asbrucato, who went on to be Type O Negative and Life of Agony. Sal was hilarious back then & always gave us a great sound.

Close Call did a total of 4 shows which are as follows: a WNYU Crucial Chaos set, a backyard party, and 2 gigs at L'amour. One of the L'amour shows was with Fit Of Anger and Killing Time. I'll never forget after the show with KT, Anthony Communale coming up to us afterwards and handing us money out of his pocket because he heard we didn't get paid. I relayed the story to him once or twice over the years and he got a kick out of it, but we never forgot how cool that was.

Towards the end of 1989 things kind of fell apart and the band officially broke up in January of 1990 via a series of phone calls. John, Tom and Wayne went on to form a new Hardcore band called Patterns with our friend Les on vocals, and I went on to the band Confusion by the fall of 1990. We all remained friends and hung out with each other though and Patterns and Confusion did plenty of shows together, so there was never any animosity at all.

What are the members of Close Call doing now in 2010? Since 1995, I have been the lead singer for the NYHC band Inhuman. John and Wayne are again playing together in a great band called A Family Plot. Tom is living in Florida and still plays guitar and Marc is living in Brooklyn. Is there a chance of a Close Call show in the near future? I never like to say never, but who knows...

I want to say thank you to Vinnie of Blogged & Quartered.
I want to say thank you and hello to John, Wayne,Tom and Marc.
And I want to thank YOU for reading this.
I hope you enjoy this small piece of NYHC history.

I was pretty excited when Mike sent me these demos. Late '80s NYHC that i'd never heard before, always a beautiful thing. Needless to say these demos kick serious ass. I wish i could have done a better job with the sound quality, but i did the best i could transferring the tapes to mp3s and digging the songs out from under the tape hiss. Regardless, these are songs that need to be heard. Hopefully everyone enjoys it as much as i do.

The s/t demo (tracks 1-9) are in the exact order that they appeared on the demo tape. The "On the Line" demo was changed up a bit, the tracks with the worst sound quality being at the end.

A huge thank you to Mike Scondotto for the music.

Enjoy!

Bad Trip - 1988-1992 anthology

2010-04-25T23:54:00.000-07:00

Great hardcore punk from Queens. This is everything the band recorded between 1988 and 1992. They released 2 more records after 1992, but the band went in a more indie rock direction with those releases, and i wanted to keep this as a document of the band's hardcore material, as well as keep it under 80 minutes. Great sound throughout. Thanks to Mike Fairley, Andy (Mortville Records), Brian Meehan, Dirty Steve and Rick Smith for helping out with music, scans and info. Enjoy.

Bad Trip: 1988-1992 anthology

Fred Muench - vocals
Marcos Siega - guitar
Luke Montgomery - guitar
Brendan White - bass
Erik Matheu - drums

Tracks 1-7: Positively Bad 7". Recorded at Don Fury Studios in January of 1989 and released the same year on Bell Bottom Records. Repressed in 1990 on Wreck-Age Records. Excellent debut. The tracks here were taken from the CD version of the Fear and Loathing LP, where they appeared as bonus tracks.

Track 8: Chop Chop comp 7". Released in July of '89 on Skene Records. Other bands on the comp were Constant Grief, Payback, Vicious Bite (formerly Under Pressure), and the great AbombAnation. 1,000 made, lyric booklet included.

Track 9: New Breed comp tape. Yet another band (that makes 15 for this blog) that was on the legendary cassette put out in 1989 by Urban Style Records aka Freddy Alva and Chaka Malik (Burn). Of the 3 different recordings of this track in this collection, this is by far my favorite.

Tracks 10-11: Look At All The Children Now comp LP. These 2 killer tracks were recorded at Don Fury Studios in November of '89 and released by Evacuate Records in 1990. This was the first release by the short lived Evacuate Records, and a great document of the more "alternative" (for lack of a better term) side of the NYHC scene closing out the '80s. Bad Trip starts off this comp, and are followed by SFA, Moondog, GO!, Yuppicide, Bustin' Out, Citizens Arrest, Bugout Society, World Discrimination, Team Effort, Rorschach, Product 19 and MAS. Besides a few lackluster tracks, this is a great compilation. Citizens Arrest steals the show (of course) with Won't Allow and the monstrous Death Threat. The album came with a 16 page booklet containing lyrics and other info. The other 2 Evacuate releases were the Yuppicide 7", and the Inflatable Children 12", both also released in 1990.

Tracks 12-13: GO!/Bad Trip split 7". Also known as the "Split Tour ep", released in September of 1990 on Skene Records. Two more great tracks, including an extended version of the song Fading Away (from the Positively Bad 7"), with a nice 2-minute Black Sabbath medley finishing off the song.

Tracks 14-23: Fear And Loathing LP. Recorded by Don Fury (who also produced, engineered and mixed the album) during August-November of 1991. Released in 1992 on Wreck-Age Records on both LP and CD. The CD also contained the first ep and the song No Easy Answers from the Look At All The Children Now comp as bonus tracks. LP tracks here taken from CD version. A bit more metallic sounding than the band's previous recordings, but i love this album.

Tracks 24-30: Demo. Recorded at Don Fury Studios in January of 1988. These songs were recorded before Marcos joined the band, so there's only one guitar player on these tracks. Some great exclusive tracks on here like Faces Go By (my personal fave), Trip To Nowhere and Joe Cool. Sound is a bit rough on these recordings, but it sounds great to me. Solid, raw, late '80s NYHC demo. Can't ask for more.

Between 1993 and 1995, the band recorded 2 more records. The Elevator 7" (1993 Wreck-Age), which i like a lot, and the Buzzy LP (1995 Wreck-Age). Both records recorded at Don Fury Studios. During this time, Luke was replaced on guitar by Arty Shepherd.

Buzzy was dedicated to the memory of Herb "Buzzy" Meier and Hank Matheu. It seems to be a "love it or hate it" album. I haven't heard it enough times to form a solid opinion, but i'd say check it out yourself. It should be pretty easy to find online.

Bad Trip have recently reformed and are playing shows again. You can check out the band's Myspace page here.

After Bad Trip, guitarist Marcos Siega went on to direct music videos, and from there went on to direct various Hollywood movies etc. He even directed 9 episodes of Dexter!! Check his IMDB page here.

Jordin Isip, who did much of the band's artwork, went on to become a well-known illustrator who's work regularly appears in the Village Voice, and even Time magazine. You should check out his amazing website right here.

Release - 1988-1991 Discography

2010-04-10T20:35:00.001-07:00

Late '80s straight edge hardcore from NJ. This is a collection of everything the band released between 1988-1991, aside from one song exclusive to a comp known as the Inner Journey Sampler Tape (which seems impossible to find). Great sound throughout. Enjoy.

Release: 1988-1991

Original lineup:
Rob Fish - vocals
Joe Coia - guitar
Chris Zusi - guitar
Greg Shafer - bass
Chris "Cap" Caponegro - drums

The band's demo was recorded during the winter of 1988. Great raw hardcore, with some catchy riffs (Drug Free Youth and Set You Straight come to mind right away), fronted by a young Rob Fish, later of 108, Ressurection, and Judas Factor, who couldn't have been much more than fourteen years old during these demos. As usual, the demo is my favorite Release recordings. I've always been a demo guy. It just seems like a band's initial burst of inspiration put onto tape always feels so "real" for lack of a better term. Once they hit the studio and try and get everything perfect, there's a certain charm that's usually missing. That's not a blanket statement by any means, and Release's records are pretty damn good. The demo here sounds great compared to other versions i've heard. No tape hiss, nice full sound, and the bass is more prominent in the mix. The first track sounds a bit rough, but after that it's a really good rip.

"The Pain Inside" 7" was recorded April 15 and 16, 1989 and released in July of '89 on Axtion Packed Records (the label's 2nd release). It was mixed and mastered at Audio Plus. Layout and art by Kyle Talbott (who's artwork you may recognize from other late '80s East Coast hardcore bands). 1,000 copies of the 7" were pressed onto black vinyl, all hand numbered on the inner white sleeve. Two demo tracks, Drug Free Youth and Greed were re-recorded for the ep, as well as three new songs and an intro. The recordings here (as well as the split ep and No Longer ep) were taken from the "Shelter" CD on Lost & Found Records. Great sound quality.

The split 7" with Courage, also known as the "Bring It Back" 7", was released on Threshold Records in 1990. 1,000 on black vinyl, 50 with dark brown cover, the rest with black and white cover. The 2 tracks on the split are a bit longer and more complex than the earlier material, and you can hear the band going into a more metal direction while not exactly veering off into crossover territory. Think more later Uppercut than Leeway.

The "No Longer 1988-1990" 7" was released in 1991 on Inner Journey Records. The record came with a lyric sheet and flyer, and was pressed on black, gold & red vinyl. All came in multi-fold 2-color semi-gloss covers. The red vinyl had a hand-stamp on the dust sleeve or inside cover that said something about 'European press' even though it was pressed in the USA on Inner Journey. The test presses had generic typeset covers that just said 'Release - No Longer' test press with the Inner Journey logo and song info. The test presses had 'United Record Pressing' white labels, and were on black vinyl. There were also special "Wolverine" editions on black vinyl with different covers and Marvel cards inside. The ep was later repressed with a different cover on Noode Records. Thanks to Dave Brown for the pressing info.

The unreleased live track was pulled from a show in Harrisburg, PA. Not the greatest quality, but i did my best to extract the song from a wall of static. It's a great song. Before the song the band introduces Dale as the new bass player (later to play guitar). I'm pretty sure Dale didn't join until after all the recordings in this collection were recorded.

Rob Fish on Release:

Well, Release started with members including me (Rob), Chris Cap, Greg Shafer and Joe Coia. After being together for about two months, we started playing out and got ourselves a second guitarist (Chris Zusi). We released a demo in the winter of 1988, started playing out a lot in February of 1989. We then got a 7" offer from Axtion Packed, recorded for it and that record was released in July of 1989. We did a short two week tour all over, came back, practiced a lot, recorded a new 7 song tape, 5 songs went to a new 7" on Inner Journey, 2 songs went to a split 7" we did with Courage. Greg got kicked out and we brought this kid named Tony in on bass. After awhile Tony got moved up to guitar and Greg came back on bass. Now that Courage has broken up, Chris has left and we've added Dale on guitar. We're now working on some new songs, trying to get tight and I'm starting to book shows now. Hopefully we'll do a full length record.

You can check out the entire interview on the Double Cross web-zine here, as well as other Release interviews and lots of great photos.

You can also check out the band's Myspace page here. It hasn't been updated in nearly three years, but there's some nice pics and artwork on there worth checking out. Seems there was word back then of a possible Release discography, which i'm guessing has long been dropped.

Rob Fish, as already mentioned, also played in 108, Ressurection and Judas Factor. Chris Zusi also played in Ressurection and Judas Factor, as well as Floorpunch. Chris Cap also played in Up Front and Courage.

Fit Of Anger - 1988-2000

2010-03-17T01:52:00.001-07:00

Fit of Anger were a late '80s NYHC band that played heavy, ominous sounding hardcore that, to me, sounded like a darker version of Breakdown. This is a collection of 26 tracks, all restored, taken from five different recording sessions. Enjoy

Fit of Anger: 1988-2000

1988 lineup:
Nick (Grampa) - vocals
Chris Benetos - bass
Al Koos - guitar
Todd Lung - drums

With the original lineup, the band recorded their massive sounding first demo, and the 2 tracks for Freddy Alva's New Breed tape compilation. The New Breed tracks (The Oppressed and Revealing the Truth) were recorded at Monkey Hill Studios in College Point, NY on 8/27/88. Shortly after that they added a second guitar player, Nick Benetos. They played lots of shows with this lineup, with just about every '88 NYHC band you could think of. In 1989 Chris Benetos left the band and was replaced by the band's long time friend, John Boles.

1989-1991 lineup:
Nick (Grampa) - vocals
John Boles - bass
Al Koos - guitar
Nick Benetos - guitar
Todd Lung - drums

The WFMU set was recorded in January of 1989. The set here is unfortunately missing one track (the mp3 i had was cut off mid-song), an unreleased song called Changing Our Time. Also, the set in this collection is strictly the music, no banter. It was nearly impossible to find the actual songs under the wall of static and hiss i had to work with, never mind any dialogue. I'm happy with the way it came out though. It's raw and rough and heavy as shit. Some amazing bass playing on these recordings.

The band recorded another demo in 1991 which i've never heard. From what i've read it's more metallic and less heavy than the '88 demo, and sure as hell hard to find. After the second demo, Todd left and was replaced by drummer after drummer, none of which seemed to fit the band. Then Al split and the band was pretty much over by 1992.

In 1996, bass player John Boles passed away. Nick, Grampa and Chris got back together along with Vinnie (NRSV/Warzone) on drums to play a benefit show for his family. In 1998 another friend from the NY scene passed away and once again Fit of Anger got back together to play a benefit. After the show Greg from New Found Hope records who had been a longtime fan asked the band to record a full-length. Nick, Grampa and Chris hooked up with drummer Dimroc (COT, Skarhead, Stillsuit, Cold Front,Yuppicide). Each member picked their favorite tracks and went into the studio to record an album for New Found Hope Records in the US and on KingFisher in Europe. The CD, released in 2000, contained 8 newly recorded tracks of songs from both demos.

1996 lineup:
Nick (Grampa) - vocals
Chris Benetos - bass
Nick Benetos - guitar
Vinnie Verga - drums

1998 lineup:
Nick (Grampa) - vocals
Chris Benetos - bass
Nick Benetos - guitar
Dimroc - drums

All info taken from the band's official website (which hasen't been revised since early 2001).

Update: 02/24/10

2010-02-24T10:57:00.000-08:00

Fist off, the AbombAnation collection has recently been revised. I cleaned up the comp tracks and live set and was able to get a much better version of the demo. You can grab the new collection here. Revisions of many more older posts are on the way. The next new post will most likely be a Fit of Anger collection. Or a Release discography... i haven't decided yet. Keep the suggestions coming.

In case you missed it in the comment section of the Infest post, some amazing Infest videos have just made their way online by way of a fellow who goes by the screen name Infestguy. So far he's put up live sets from 1989 at Foe Hall, 1990 at Spankys, and a clip of the band playing at KXLU Studio from 1991. Both the sound and picture quality of these videos are excellent. Seriously, i've watched these a dozen times already, this is the best footage you'll ever see by one of the greatest hardcore bands ever. Check it out here.

I finally started reading Dave K's unfinished book, New York Hardcore: 1986-1993. Great read so far. If you don't want to download the PDF, you can conveniently read the book online right here.

Back to work.

Vin

Life's Halt - 1997-2003 Discography (revised)

2010-02-20T21:11:00.000-08:00

Here's another collection i've wanted to revise for some time now, especially since some people (including a member of the band) were nice enough to help me compile all this music. Unfortunately it was at a time before i had the capabilities to improve on the sound, and the end result was a mess. This extensive collection of some of the best hardcore songs of the late '90s/early '00s deserves better treatment, so i spent the last week trying to do it justice. I cleaned up all the recordings that were ripped from vinyl or cassette as best as possible, and adjusted the levels so all the songs are at roughly the same volume. It was worth the effort as this CD now sounds cohesive, and all the tracks have a loud, full, and clean sound.

Life's Halt formed in the late '90s in Southern California. Their debut 7", We Sold Our Souls For Hardcore was without a doubt the best thing to happen to hardcore in the late '90s. I consider it to be the last true "classic" hardcore 7" of the era. Fast, raw and powerful stuff with great riffs and tons of energy and passion. It just seemed to come out of nowhere at a time when real hardcore punk was nearly on it's deathbed. I hear a huge late '80s NYHC influence in their early recordings (especially the demo, first ep and split with No Reply), and a heavy dose of Los Crudos in the later stuff. All of it kills. Riffs like the opening of To The Heart and Race For '97 were just instantly memorable. They seemed to revive hardcore in the late '90s the same way bands like Citizens Arrest and Born Against revived it in the early '90s.

This collection is a complete discography of the band's studio recordings between 1997 and 2003, including a dozen unreleased recordings (all alternate versions or instrumentals of released tracks). They also had live tracks on a 7" called Intense Energy (Camel Clutch Records) and a live version of To The Heart on the Short, Fast + Loud compilation (Slap A Ham), not in this collection. Thanks to Rich, Jon, Dan and anyone else who sent me music and/or info, it's very appreciated. So here you go, 55 tracks of the mighty Life's Halt. Enjoy.

Life's Halt: 1997-2003

Lineup #1 (1997 to mid 1998 - demo only)
Ernie - vocals
Felix - bass
Charlie - guitar
Anthony - drums

Lineup #2 (1998 to June 2000 - 1st 7", NR split, comp session #1, comp session #2)
Ernie - vocals
Felix - bass
Charlie - guitar
Yvo - drums

Lineup #3 (Summer 2000 to December 2001 - WHN split, comp session #3)
Ernie - vocals
Felix - bass
Charlie - guitar
Jon - guitar
Noel - drums

We Sold Our Souls For Hardcore 7" was originally released on Youngblood Records in 1998.

This Is Springfield, Not Shelbyville comp CD came with the Sept. '98 issue of Change Fanzine. The entire issue was dedicated to The Simpsons, and the CD included 50 tracks of punk bands doing Simpsons tribute songs. The Life's Halt track was a parody of the song Oxnard by Ill Repute. Change was published from 1991-2002, owned and operated by Pat West out of CT and NY. Thirteen issues were printed along with two 7"s and one CD.

As The Sun Sets: A Southern Hardcore Compilation CD was released by The Association of Welterweights Records in 1999. Other bands on the comp included No Reply, Ignite, Carry On, Death By Stereo, as well as lots more, but lesser-known bands. The label released only one other CD, A Sometimes Promise discography.

Life's Halt/No Reply split 7" was released on Indecision Records in 2000. The tracks were re-released on CD in 2001 as part of the Indecision Records Split Series CD, along with five other split 7"s.

Barbaric Thrash Demolition Vol. 2 7" was released on 625 Records in 2000. Other bands were Discarga, Esperanza, Jellyroll Rockheads and Limp Wrist.

Memories of Tomorrow comp LP was released on Youngblood Records in the Fall of 2000. Other bands were No Justice, H-Street, No Reply, Best of Times, Holding On, Dirty Dirt & The Dirts, Carry On, What Happens Next?, Gazpacho, Handplant, Vitamin X, Varsity, The Gate Crashers, Committed and Rancor. Released on both LP and CD. Great comp!

Sk8 or Die comp 7" was released on Pigpen Inc. in March of 2001. Other bands were Fistfull, No Reply, WHN? and Dirty Dirt & The Dirts.

Life's Halt/What Happens Next? split LP aka Start Something, was a split release with Youngblood and 625. Released in 2001 on both LP and CD.

Four Corners: An International DIY Positive Hardcore Compilation LP was released on 625 Records in November of 2002. Other bands were Highscore (Germany), Dead End (Sweden), Point of Few (Holland) and Razlog Za (Croatia).

Histeria Vol. 1 comp LP was released on Lengua Armada Discos in 2003. Other bands were Limp Wrist, DS13, Deathreat, Seein' Red, E-150, Esperanza, Sin Orden and Melee. Lengua Armada Discos was run by Los Crudos/Limp Wrist front-man, Martin Sorrondeguy.

The Life's Halt demo tape was self-released in 1997. Lyrics included. Some of the demos were early versions of tracks from the band's first 7" and split with No Reply, others like Kingdom Come, Ranker and Down were exclusive to this tape. The demo was bootlegged onto vinyl as the '97 Demo 7" (no label). It came with a flyer for a show at Head Line Records, and had a fold out sleeve with lyrics on the back.

The unreleased material is all alternate versions and instrumentals of released songs, taken from a few different recording sessions. Even though i cleaned up these tracks, the sound quality varies from track to track. It all sounds pretty good though. The last track, comprised of instrumental versions of Skate Fer Fun and No Substance is excellent. Icing on the cake.

Check out the Life's Halt Myspace page here.

Hopefully either Youngblood or 625 release an official Life's Halt discography in the future. If so, BUY IT! Same goes for an Infest discography, or a Born Without A Face discography, or anything else on this blog. I'd hate to think there are people out there who would be satisfied with a bunch of mp3s on some blog over an official release.

Born Without A Face - 1984-1986 Discography

2010-02-05T02:32:00.000-08:00

Born Without A Face were a great diverse hardcore band from Grand Rapids, Michigan. They covered it all, from fast and chaotic hardcore, to doomy dirges, to more psychotic and darker sounds. They had an element of metal in their sound at times, but never enough to put them into crossover territory. The band took obvious influences from Corrosion of Conformity, Discharge, Black Flag, The Fix, Black Sabbath, and the early '80s hardcore scene in general, and melded it all into their own powerful sound. They had a lot of great demo material, but unfortunately only released two 7"s, keeping the band relatively obscure. I think a full length would have put this band over the top, and they would have been held in the same regard as their more well-known contemporaries.

Punks Before Profits Records was supposed to release a discography LP entitled "This Is The Hate", but the project got scrapped about a year and a half ago. So here you go, the band's discography (as i know it to be), in great sound quality. Thanks to Geeheeb and Cooch for the music. Enjoy!

Born Without A Face: 1984-1986

Here's a quick rundown:

First up is the band's debut 7", Unbecoming, which was recorded in 1985 and self-released in 1986. A lyric sheet was included, which you can check out here. This is a monster of a record, and my personal fave. Next is the band's follow-up 7", Worship, which was also self-released in 1986. They end this ep with a pulverizing and ominous cover of Heartbreak Hotel (originally recorded by Elvis Presley in 1956), which has to be heard to be believed. After that is Hostages, an exclusive track to the excellent compilation LP, There's A Method To Our Madness, originally released on Phantom Records (Alaska) in 1986 and repressed on We Bite Records (Germany) in 1987. Cover art by RK Sloane, who passed away on October 20, 2006. Born Without A Face contributed 2 tracks to this comp, but the other track, Maelstrom, was released on the Unbecoming 7". Ending the collection are the bands demos. Freakshow (1985) and Psych! (1984). Both fantastic from beginning to end, but i'll say Seven Steps To Hell stands out as my favorite song.

Many of the band's demo tracks appeared on various compilations, mostly tape comps. Here's some that i know of:

"Hideous Freaks Search For Happiness" tape (BCT 1984)
tracks: Only Human / Slum Feeder / Not A Love Song / Another American Success Story

"Numb Tongue No Taste" tape (Empty Records 1984)
tracks: Trash Is Truth / Seven Steps To Hell

"Save The Dead" tape (KML Records 1986)
tracks: Feed Your Head / Next Big Thing

"Godsmell" 2 tape comp (Empty Records 1988)
track: Not A Love Song

"War Between the States: South" comp LP (TPOS 1989)
tracks: Sloth / Seven Steps To Hell / Stubborn Beast Flesh

There's not much info to be found on this band online. Mark Dancey (founding member) went on to play guitar for Big Chief with Barry Henssler of The Necros.

The members of Born Without A Face (during the first 7") were: Mark Dancey, Robert Eastway, Dan Ross and Eric. I'm not sure who played what instrument, as it's not mentioned on the ep. According to an interview, the band had 3 constant members but went through a dozen drummers. You can check out the interview here.

In 1991, the majority of Born Without A Face formed a band called 36D (which i have yet to hear). This was the lineup:
Robert Eastway - vocals
Dan Ross - guitar
Mank Dancey - bass
Ed Alterman - drums
additional personel: Barry Henssler and Phil Durr

If anyone has any more info on this great band, please leave a comment.

INFEST 1987-2002 - Discography (remastered)

2010-01-23T22:20:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the delay. So here's what i've been working on for pretty much the past month. 110 tracks of Infest, and by "remastered" i just mean nicely cleaned up. All surface noise and pops removed, and all levels adjusted so every track is the same volume. I think this is going on year 10 that Deep Six Records has had the Infest discography on it's "coming soon" list, so i'm going to take a wild guess and say it's never going to happen. With that in mind, i tried my best to make this collection as close to CD quality as possible. I think it came out great. This is pretty much everything the band has ever recorded, aside from one demo track (Machismo), which i couldn't get a decent version of to work with, and a few samples before certain tracks. I've wanted to put this together for a long time, and it was a labor of love to be sure. I'm glad the fucking thing's finally done. If any band needs to be properly documented, this is it.

I'd say Infest was the band that had the single greatest impact on me as far as hardcore/punk music goes. My first time hearing them was on Pat Duncan's radio show in 1988, during the time the Slave LP was released. The songs were Mindless and Where's the Unity?, and the second i heard those tracks it changed my perception of how powerful music could be. Everything about it just clicked with me immediately. Up to that point i had heard a decent amount of the faster and heavier bands like DRI, Siege, and even Napalm Death. But Infest was a different kind of fast, and a different kind of heavy. It was just monstrous hardcore, like Youth of Today on steroids and speed. This was the band i'd been waiting to hear. I taped Pat's show every Thursday night and would catch an Infest song every now and then, which to me was like hitting the lottery. It was almost a full year later that i finally got a dub of the entire Slave album from a friend in art school. Thanks Marty! I never thought a band would ever have that much of an impact on me again, until the day i heard Neanderthal... but that's a whole other long-winded story.

OK, enough ranting. Here it is. 110 tracks taken from a dozen recordings. Thanks to Dan Hashthrash for the Slave and KXLU rips, Andy (Mortville Records) for the Apocalyptic Convulsions rip, and Gen (Ruido) for the 1987 demo rip. Enjoy!

INFEST Volume One
INFEST Volume Two

Volume One

Slave LP (tracks 1-19)
Originally released on Off the Disk Records (out of Switzerland)/Draw Blank Records (Infest's own label) in 1988. The Slave LP contained the 10 tracks from the band's previous self-released, self-titled 7" (known as the Machismo 7"), plus 8 new tracks. There were 1,000 made of the original press, which came with a lyric sheet, poster, 2 stickers and 1 flyer. It was recorded at Spot Recording by David Kory in June, 1988. Produced by Infest. Mixed by Matt, John O.D. and Joe. Back-ups by Dave, Matt, Joe, John O.D. and Jeff Banks. Awesome cover art by Seelenlos and graphics by Erich. The LP was re-issued in 1991 by Draw Blank/Deep Six Records, and the artwork changed to the more well known black and white image of a slave being led through the grass on a leash. Slave was bootlegged on LP in 1993 on Sand Im Getriebe Records (out of Germany of course) and also included the band's 2nd 7" (1991), 11 unreleased rehearsal tracks, and the sleeve was a 20 page booklet full of political propaganda. The LP was finally officially re-issued again in 2002 by Deep Six/Draw Blank. The tracks in this collection were taken from the 2002 re-release. Sound quality is fantastic, but unfortunately it's missing the sample at the opening of Sick-O.

1988 lineup
vocals - Joe Denunzio
guitar - Matt Domino
bass - Dave Ring
drums - Chris Clift

Matt Domino on the releasing of the Slave LP:

How did you get everything together so fast, like the 7" and 12"? How did you hook up with a Swiss label?
It actually went slow. We were planning to do a 14 song 7", but I ended up trading our demo to Erich and Thomas of Mega-Wimp fanzine in Switzerland. They really liked us and offered to do a 7" for us. So we recorded 18 songs, 10 for our 7" and eight for them to press up. Later on, they offered to do a 12", so we put 10 of the songs on our 7" as a US pressing and all 18 on their 12" as a European press.

What are the pressings of both the 7" and 12"?
The 7" is: 1000 black and 100 clear. Our 12" on Off the Disk is: 100 amber, 100 pink, 800 black. The colored vinyl came with posters. There might be a second press of the 12" of 500 on multi-colored vinyl, but we are not sure yet. The 12" and 7" are both sold out.

You can read the entire interview here.

The Slave LP still stands as my favorite Infest release. As amazing as the 2nd 7" and the No Man's Slave LP are, there's just something missing that made Slave so great to me. Everything from Matt's guitar sounds, to Joe's rabid vocals, to that thick bass sound that just cuts through everything. Add to that the raw production and perfect arrangement of songs from the start of Break the Chains to the end of Fetch the Pliers. It was a formula that comes along once in a lifetime, and then of course imitated endlessly, but never topped, for over 20 years now.

Infest 7" (tracks 20-29)
Commonly known as the Mankind 7". Originally released on Deep Six/Draw Blank in 1991. Recorded January 1991 at the Annex by Dickie Moe, and mixed by Dave, Joe and Matt. It was bootlegged in 1991 on limited edition blue vinyl (no label), and again in 1994 as a 3-sided 2x7" (no label). "Mankind" on one 7", and the live Gilman tracks from the PHC split 8" (1990 Slap A Ham) on the one-sided 7". The flip-side was screen-printed with a red Infest logo. It was legitimately re-released on 10" vinyl in 2006 (Deep Six/Draw Blank) and included the songs from the Apocalyptic Convulsions 10" (1992 Ax/ction Records) and the Bllleeeeaaauuurrrrgghhh! - The Record 7" (1991 Slap A Ham) as bonus tracks. It sounds like the "Mankind" 10" is a different mix than the original 1991 7". The tracks in this collection were taken from the 10". Excellent sound.

Bllleeeeaaauuurrrrgghhh! - The Record 7" (track 30)
Released on Slap A Ham Records in 1991. 64 tracks! Matt Domino plays guitar in 2 other bands on the comp. Neanderthal and Mouthfart (who only have 1 known recorded track). I assume it's Neanderthal under a different moniker... but it could just as well be Infest actually. Give the track a listen. In 2003, Goatsucker Records out of Mexico put out a CD containing all 3 Bllleeeeaaauuurrrrgghhh! 7"s. Bllleeeeaaauuurrrrgghhh! - The Record (1991), Son of Bllleeeeaaauuurrrrgghhh! (1992), and Bllleeeeaaauuurrrrgghhh!: A Music War" (1998). All originally on Slap A Ham, and all with a shitload of songs.

Apocalyptic Convulsions 10" (tracks 31-32)
Released on Ax/ction Records in 1992. Limited to 1500 copies. 10" vinyl with poster insert containing liner notes contributed by each band. First 500 copies came with a bonus 7". Great cover art by Morbid Mark (who also did art for MITB). I'd say this comp was half great. It had some killer songs by some of my favorite bands of the time, like Assuck, Charred Remains AKA Man is the Bastard, A.C., Rovsvett and The Scam, but unfortunately had a bunch of 'not so good' bands on there as well, to put it nicely. The 2 Infest tracks on this comp were labeled as "untitled", but had titles later when they appeared as bonus tracks on the Mankind 10".

No Man's Slave LP (tracks 33-51)
Released on Deep Six/Draw Blank in 2002. The music was recorded in 1995 and the vocals were recorded in 2000. For this amazing comeback album, R.D. Davies from Visual Discrimination replaces Chris Clift on drums, and Matt Domino lays down both the guitar and bass tracks. Easily one of the most anticipated hardcore albums of all time, and it's safe to say if knocked everyone on their ass.

Fear of Smell LP (track 52)
Released on Vermiform Records in 1993. Two pressings, 2,441 made. The first 1,000 LPs has custom, hand-made covers. Most were badly drawn cartoons with a marker over a white background (by Sam McPheeters, band members and friends i'm guessing), and some were actually pretty artistic and creative. There's a website that is trying to catalog all 1,000 variations of the LP. Check it out here. And if you have a copy, send in a picture. Fear of Smell was released on CD in 1998 (Vermiform) as 1 pressing of 1,900. One of my favorite compilations of the '90s, and of all time. The Infest track here was ripped from the CD version.

Reality 2 LP (track 53)
Released on Deep Six Records in 1997 on both LP and CD. Issued with a one-sided 8.5"x11" insert. The Infest track on this comp, Cold Inside, was also the opening track to the No Man's Slave LP. Ripped from CD version.

Reality 3 LP (track 54)
Released on Deep Six in 1999. First 300 LPs of first press were on orange vinyl. Released on CD the same year. This is a kick ass song, but i have no idea when it was recorded. I'm guessing it's an outtake from the No Man's Slave sessions? Also ripped from CD version.

Volume 2

1987 demo (tracks 1-19)
This is missing the song Machismo because the track i had was damaged, but i think there are at least 3 other versions of this song in the collection. Tracks from this 20 song demo were bootlegged a bunch of times. First i know of was a one-sided 7" put out in January, 1993 on Shiny Happy Records. Tracks were Where's the Unity?, If I Were You, and Which Side? Six more tracks were bootlegged in 1994 on the Not Over Yet 7" (no label). Not sure how many of these were pressed, but i remember these being everywhere in the late '90s, on various colors. It was re-issued on black vinyl in 1996. Tracks were Sick of Talk, Life's Halt, The End, Dirty Dope Dealer, Son of the Sun, and Going. Finally (at some point in the past 10 years), the entire 20 track demo was put onto 12" vinyl. It was a Fanclub release, and contained 25 tracks. Kind of an odd release, it contained the demo, plus 3 rehearsal tracks (with samples at the beginnings), and a track titled "Outro", which was actually The Melvins (Echo from the album Gluey Porch Treatments). I'm not sure why that was thrown on there, but if you've never heard that Melvins track, i'd say it would be pretty easy to be tricked into thinking it was Infest. The 1987 Demo LP also came with a lyric sheet and a fold out poster sleeve full of classic flyers.

There was a second guitarist on the demo named Rob Arvizu, who left the band shortly after it was recorded. After the Slave LP, the demo has some of my favorite Infest recordings. Lots of great exclusive songs on here like If I Were You, Snooze-U-Loose, Son of the Sun, Going, The End, and Dirty Dope Dealer (one of my favorite Infest tracks). These songs would have made a hell of a 7". The demo has a great raw sound, and Joe's vocals are more psychotic and manic sounding than on the LP, with a weird echoey effect at times that fits the frantic madness of this demo perfectly. I'm really happy with the sound quality of this one. I was able to bring down the high-end a bit so it doesn't sound so blown out.

Infest/PHC split 8" flexi (tracks 20-27)
Released as an 8" flexi-disk on Slap A Ham Records in 1990 as the label's first release. The original version had 5 Infest tracks recorded live at Gilman on 2/10/89. The Infest track Head First is labeled as "Pissed!". Slap A Ham re-released the record as a 7" in 2000 with 3 extra Infest tracks (from the same show), and 2 extra PHC tracks. The split was bootlegged at some point as the Live and Pissed 7" (no label), with a pretty cool Robert Crumb "Fritz the Cat" cover. These are great live recordings, with a very full and powerful sound.

Live KXLU LP (tracks 28-45)
Recorded live on KXLU on July 1, 1991. This radio set was first put out as a bootleg in 1996 on 10" vinyl entitled How They Poison the Young (Ear Wax Records). Deep Six released it on a 12" in 2001. The majority of the set is from the Mankind 7", with a few comp tracks and a few Slave tracks thrown in. The song entitled Seen It All Before was renamed You're A Star, and Blinded was renamed Freeze Dried, both for the No Man's Slave LP. These are my least favorite Infest recordings, mainly because of Matt Domino's guitar sound which is usually so vicious sounding. To me it's like Infest "unplugged". The energy is still there, but the power is missing. Most people i've talked to have disagreed with me on this, and that's fine. To each his own, i just find it lacking. And with that said it still takes a huge shit on most anything hardcore related in the past 10 years.

Rehearsals (tracks 46-56)
Completely fucking rabid rehearsal session of all Slave tracks. Joe sounds like a complete madman on this, ready to jump out of the speakers and tear your head off. These rehearsal tracks are the one good thing that came out of that completely awful Still Fighting bootleg CD out of Germany. Christ was that thing a mess. They put both the band's first self-released 7" on there as well as the Slave LP, even though they're the exact same recordings. The songs from all of the records (besides Slave) were all lumped into 1 or 2 tracks (28 tracks total for an Infest discography?). And then there's the sound quality. Oof. Anyway, i snagged the rehearsals off that CD and split them up, so like i said, it was good for something. It makes a cool Infest coaster too. Actually i'm being too harsh here. At least they made an effort to get the music out there at a time when the vinyl was hard to find. Cheers!

"INFEST" The dictionary definition: "To overwhelm, swarm, and mar, in a menacing way".
- from Joe Denunzio's Myspace page here.

Unofficial INFEST Myspace pages here and here.

Infest pioneered an entire genre of aggressive hardcore later coined "powerviolence" by Eric Wood of Neanderthal/Man is the Bastard.

Update: 12/24/09 (Straight Ahead collection revised)

2009-12-24T20:42:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the month-long intermission. Be assured, the blog is far from dead. I'll get back on track after the holidays, and have tons of great new music in the works.

The Straight Ahead collection was recently revised for superior sound quality. All the studio tracks (the 12-song demo and the Breakaway 12") have been cleaned up nicely. We're talkin' CD quality here. Well worth the download. Check it out here.

I'll be revising lots of older collections in the coming months, until i'm happy with the blog up to this point, then i'll move forward again. First up will be Warzone, Token Entry and AbombAnation (i didn't realize how poorly that demo sounded). I'll also be updating the INFEST collection as a 2xCD, with a lot more recordings and much better sound. Since i don't think the discography on Deep 6 will ever happen, i'll try and make it as comprehensive as possible. I also found a new way to clean tracks which i tested on a few INFEST tracks, and i'm really happy with the results.

The Born Without A Face discography will most likely be the first new post (thanks to Geeheeb), and will contain the "Psyche" demo from 1984, the "Freakshow" demo from 1985, both the band's eps and some extras. Roughly 40 tracks, all mastered.

Please keep the suggestions, downloads and band info comin'. I appreciate all the help.

I'm still looking for the following sets recorded live on WFMU:
Merel
Native Nod
Infamous Basturds
Rorschach (without the first track cut)
Huasipungo
Token Entry

also looking for NY Hoods live at CBGB (i know this exists!)

Happy Holidays

Vin

No For An Answer - 1988-1994

2009-12-03T02:46:00.000-08:00

The late '80s straight edge scene in Orange County, CA had it's share of great bands. Insted and Uniform Choice come to mind as being at the forefront. But No For An Answer, fronted by the always outspoken Dan O'Mahoney, were my personal favorite. They seemed to be on another level. This is a collection of most of the band's released material, aside from the "You Laugh" ep, which is still available through Revelation Records. Great live versions of all the songs from that 7" are scattered throughout this collection, so all the songs the band wrote are in here. Sound quality is excellent. Thanks to Mark Anthony, Claude, Graig and anyone else who helped with the music. Enjoy.

No For An Answer collection

A Though Crusade LP
Dan O'Mahoney - vocals
Gavin Oglesby - guitar
Sterling Wilson - bass
Chris Bratton - drums

NFAA's full-length was a huge step up from the band's debut 7", both musically and lyrically. "A Thought Crusade" was recorded at Spot Recordings 8/88 through 10/88 and originally released on Hawker Records later that year. It was re-released in 1996 on CD with the Carry Nation "Face the Nation" ep as bonus tracks. Carry Nation was a Dan O'Mahoney and Gavin Oglesby side project band, who's only ep was originally released in 1989 on Workshed Records. All versions of "A Thought Crusade" and the CD re-issue with Carry Nation are long out of print.

Free For All comp LP
This classic comp was a 4-way split (Token Entry, Wrecking Crew, Rest in Pieces and NFAA) all recorded live at CBGB on April 9, 1989. Released on Hawker Records in 1989.

The Icemen Cometh comp 7"
This comp featured Pushed Aside, Hard Stance, Slapshot and NFAA, all recorded live at the Whiskey in Hollywood on May 17, 1989. It was released on Nemesis Records in 1990. Great live version of an unreleased song called Man Against Man. The recording here was taken from the CD version.

Open Your Eyes Vol. 1 comp tape
This was the first in a series of cassette compilations released by Open Your Eyes fanzine out of Seattle. Vol. 1 (released in '89) was a collection of various demo and live tracks from lots of great bands, including Unit Pride, Breakaway, Brotherhood, Insted, Our Gang and Trip 6 just to name a few. Vol. 2 (my favorite of the 2) had tracks from Infest and Turning Point (among many others), and a full live Antidote set recorded at CBGB tacked onto the end. The 3 live No For An Answer tracks from this tape are a bit rough sounding compared to the rest of the collection, but i cleaned them up as best as possible. The live version of "Just Say No" kills.

Live in Treviso, Italy
Recorded on Feb. 11, 1994. Easily the best sounding No For An Answer live set i've ever heard. The sound is amazing, and the set-list and performance is just perfect. Some classic Dan O'Mahoney stage banter as usual throughout this set, and at times pretty amusing because of the language barrier.

"Somebody tell him in Italian... it was a stagedive... there are infinitely more important things in this world... and he's making an ass of himself. And he's pissing me off."

Great stuff. Plus the usual (and always intelligent) ranting about child abuse, police brutality etc.

Aside from what's in this collection, the band also released the "You Laugh" ep in 1988 on Revelation Records (Rev 06) and appeared on a few other comps (still in print). There was also a studio bootleg of the band's demo for the "You Laugh" ep called "Last Warning", released in 1993 on We Laugh Records. 500 made, and includes an unreleased a cappella type song labeled "We Are the World".

You Laugh ep (1988) lineup:
Dan O'Mahoney - vocals
Gavin Oglesby - guitar
John Mastropaolo - bass
Casey Jones - drums

After NFAA broke up, Dan formed 411, and later Speak 714.
Other members of the band have played in various hardcore bands, including Inside Out, Unity, Justice League and Ignite.

Dan O'Mahoney on No For An Answer:

NFAA was supposed to be mid paced and somewhat melodic like mid-model GI or Stalag 13, Dag Nasty even... whoops!

When Youth off Today came through opening up for 7 Seconds (in '86 I believe) everything changed. They were so aggressive, so bent on networking with everyone they met, knowing those guys made you immediately a part of something. I remember Ray getting my number from Billy and calling me at home even though we'd never met simply because we shared so many friends. We talked for an hour and worked together and sometimes in opposition to each other but always as friends for many years to follow. In those early days the group identity had not yet become quite so codified. By '87/'88 NFAA was making waves of its own and already starting to resist several facets of the youth crew movement. If you look at the lyrics to the "A Thought Crusade" record this resistance is pretty clear.

Check out the full interview (in 7 parts) right here, on Double Cross.

Update 11/26/09: DFPS

2009-11-25T23:08:00.000-08:00

Blog to check out: Dave K's Digital Fanzine Preservation Society (DFPS) blog. An archive of scanned hardcore zines spanning the early '80s into the '00s. The site has been up for a very short amount of time and already Dave Koenig and company has amassed well over 30 zines, including issues of In Effect, Boiling Point, Even the Score, Urban Decay, and of course every issue of Dave K and Brett Beach's classic Hardware zine. Plus much more. As if that wasn't enough, there's a the "History of Hardware Omnibus". Dave K:

This PDF has my history of Hardware Fanzine, Brett's intro, all the flyers were made and handed out to advertise the 'zine and interviews conducted by others with us. This pretty much lays out what Brett and I accomplished with Hardware.

And the icing on the cake. A free download of Dave's unfinished book "New York Hardcore 1986-1993: A Time We Will Remember". Just over 200 pages in PDF format. If you're reading this post right now, chances are this is a book you'll be interested in. I can't wait to sink my teeth into this one myself. NYC during the late '80s and early '90s was an amazing time for hardcore.

So take a trip down memory lane. If you're an old timer like myself, you'll find this blog to be a goldmine. Stop by, download some zines you lost, sold, or traded 15+ years ago, and leave a comment letting Dave know his hard work is appreciated. It literally takes 10 seconds to say "great job, keep up the good work" or whatever. I'd say this is one of the most important hardcore related blogs kicking right now, and hopefully it lives on for a while.

The DFPS blog is always looking for help. If you can contribute in any way by contributing or scanning old zines etc., i'm sure that would help a great deal. Check the blog for more info on how to help out.

And spread the word. If you have a blog, link DFPS. Tell people about it, put it on message boards... whatever.

Altercation - 1987 (the revised collection)

2009-11-19T23:41:00.000-08:00

I posted an Altercation collection back in April, but after recently listening to it, i decided it was about time to revise as much of it as i could. Basically i was able to clean up the bare essentials: the 1987 demo, the 3 unreleased rehearsal tracks, and the CBGB set. Unfortunately the WNYU set and interview were beyond repair, but the band only wrote 10 tracks, and most of them are already here twice. I'd say this is all you really need, but if you want to check out the radio recordings, the old Altercation post is still on the blog. I think the demo came out great. The first track is still a bit rough, but after that all the tracks sound really clean, and each instrument clearly audible. Since this is my favorite NYHC demo, it's great to finally hear it like this, as opposed to the muddy wall of noise i've been listening to for years. Two of the three rehearsal tracks, "Liberty or Death" and "A New Tomorrow", also came out really well. "Getting Away With Murder"... not so much. The CBGB set came out pretty good, considering the source i had to work with was a blown-out mess under a thick blanket of tape hiss. Bottom line... this is as good as it gets. Which is a shame really. If ever a NYHC band needed a legit discography, this would be it.

So here you go. 18 tracks of fucking Altercation. Best quality you'll find. Thanks again to Patrick Lindenhof (great guy) for his help (even though i didn't use his version of the demo). Enjoy!

Altercation: 1987 (the revised collection)

Crazy Jay Skin - vocals
Rude Paul Crude - guitar
Myles Reiff - guitar
Eddie Cohen - bass
Andy Guida - drums

The Altercation demo was recorded at Don Fury Studios in 1987.

Andy Guida on the Altercation demo:

I remember bits and pieces of recording the demo at Don Fury's but nothing worth nothing. Vague memories of listening back to each take and sitting in the tiny shit ass drum booth he had. We tried to record a second demo at some studio in Brooklyn but I think Eddie didn't show up and I don't know what happened to the tapes.

I think the songs are great, the lyrics are pretty stupid but we were kids. Actually Paul's girlfriend at the time wrote the lyrics. I think we played really well for a bunch of kids. I still listen to it for enjoyment once in a while. We were so short lived but we got to leave a mark. We were lucky. I still meet new people who tell me that they really like that demo. There was a time when I was embarrassed by the band but I am grateful now that I was a part of it.

Excerpts taken from Double Cross. You can read the entire interview here.

The three rehearsal tracks were recorded at the Grid Box Studio in Brooklyn on April 3, 1987. There were actually 3 rehearsal sessions recorded, the other two recorded on March 4 and March 21, both rehearsals of demo tracks. The final session (included here) was a 3-song rehearsal of the songs that didn't make it to the demo. "A New Tomorrow" and "Getting Away With Murder" also appear on the CBGB set, but "Liberty or Death" is exclusive to this session. Info by Chris Minicucci. You can read more on the Grid Box sessions here.

Andy Guida on the beginning of Altercation and the Grid Box days:

I went to high school with Myles, who played rhythm guitar in Altercation. He and I were trying to start a band. We had some songs and we practiced in my parents' basement. He knew Eddie, who played bass in the band, from the hardcore scene. Eddie knew Jay (vocals) and Paul (lead guitar) and the three of them were trying to put a band together. We were all kids from Brooklyn so we got together at a studio that was called Gridrock (Grid Box), in Brooklyn. I still remember sitting in McDonald's after one of our rehearsals trying to come up with a name. I was looking through the newspaper and I came across the word "altercation." It seemed a sufficiently angry word which fit our collective mindset. We were a study in varying degrees of teenage anger and frustration. Some of us started or got into a lot of fights and did a lot of drugs. Altercation rehearsals were a cloud of pot smoke. Amazing we remembered our songs because we smoked a shit load of pot. How were we so stoned and still so angry? Amazing.

Excerpts taken from the always great Double Cross.

According to Andy, Altercation only played 4 shows, 2 at CBGB and 2 at The Pyramid. The live set in this collection was recorded at CBGB on June 7, 1987, with Sheer Terror and some metal bands. The other CBGB show (4/5/87) was a double record release party for Warzone and Youth of Today, also on the bill was Side by Side. Apparently a great sounding soundboard tape of this exists. If anyone has it, please get in touch. Thanks to Chris for the info.

Walter Schreifels (Gorilla Biscuits, Moondog, Rival Schools) on Altercation:

Altercation were so amazing that they scared me. They were so good but so evil and fucked up. There was a second there when I thought the dark side just might win. Altercation were fucking awesome Brooklyn skinhead metal... it was the first time I ever heard metal techniques in hardcore, like a proper guitar squeal. Biohazard probably capitalized on their spirit, but say what you will about them, I think that Altercation was about a million times better.

You can read the entire interview with Rival Schools (Walter and Sammy) here.

Altercation's last show was at the Pyramid with Death Before Dishonor. Shortly after that show, Jay and Paul left Altercation to join Warzone and Altercation broke up. Mark Ryan, vocalist of Death Before Dishonor (now called Supertouch), was so impressed with Andy's drumming at the Pyramid show, that he asked him to join Supertouch.

The break-up of Altercation came too soon, as (according to Sammy Siegler of Side By Side, Youth Of Today, Judge, Project X, Gorilla Biscuits...) there was talk of Schism releasing an Altercation album shortly before they broke up. That ranks up there with the Krakdown/NY Hoods split LP as a record that would have destroyed most anything else at the time. Oh well, i'm just glad we have the demo. It's timeless.

Sammy Siegler on Altercation:

I think Altercation were the best unsung band from back then.

I agree.

Some notes of interest:

Eddie Cohen also played in Sick Of It All and Leeway.

Myles Reiff went on to do some great things in the entertainment business. Including co-writing The Road to Graceland, a trilogy of animated prequels to the Warner Bros. release, 3000 Miles to Graceland, starring Kevin Costner and Christian Slater. From there he went on to do work for Universal , Lions Gate Films, A&E, the History Channel, FX and Bravo. You can read his IMDB bio here.

Clenched Fist (NYC) - 1987 Demos and live

2009-11-11T20:19:00.000-08:00

Clenched Fist were a great, but short-lived hardcore band with members in NYC and North Jersey. Kind of a NY hardcore supergroup with members that were in (and would go on to be in) Mental Abuse, Breakdown, Born Against, Life's Blood, Citizens Arrest, Jersey Fresh and Outgroup. This is a collection of the band's 1987 demo, and 6 songs recorded live at CBGB. Great sound quality. Thanks to Chris Fist for the info, and for letting me put this collection on my blog. Enjoy!

Clenched Fist: 1987

Demo lineup:
Perry Pelonero - vocals
Chris Fist - guitar
Neil Burke - bass
Dave Jones - drums

The band formed in '86, and before Perry joined, the infamous Sid Sludge of Mental Abuse was on vocals. Apparently there are rehearsal recordings that exist with Sid on the mic. Maybe one day they'll surface. After Dave Jones left the band, Daryl Kahan and Todd Waladkewics both filled in on drums for a while.

I discovered Clenched Fist back in '87 on Pat Duncan's radio show on WFMU. The songs "Eagle Eyes" and "At the Beach" were on Pat's playlist most Thursdays (which i taped every week religiously). It was only a couple years ago that i was able to get a copy of the entire demo, and the live set. This stuff sounds just as good as it did over 20 years ago.

The demo was recorded in New Jersey in '87. The song "Inner Strength" would later be the template for the song "Eulogy" by Born Against, which was released on a 2-song 7" (the other song being a cover of X's "Riding With Mary") on Vermiform Records in 1990. It came with issue #37 of Sam McPheeter's zine "Dear Jesus". The last track on the Clenched Fist demo, "Get Away" was originally an Outgroup (pre-Mental Abuse) song. Mental Abuse would also play this song live on occasion, and it's probably been covered by bands countless times. It's a NJHC classic.

The live set was recorded at CBGB on July 5th, 1987, with Tommy Prong working the board. Also on the bill was Dag Nasty and Suburban Uprise. The first track, titled "Mud Party", was the music to another old Outgroup song called "I Hate Japs", with the lyrics altered to be less offensive. The original Outgroup version was barely 30 seconds long. The rest of the set is basically all the songs from the demo.

CF also played shows with Youth of Today, Sheer Terror, Dag Nasty, Token Entry, and many other great NYHC bands.

Perry Pelonero was in Krieg Kopf (for about 2 weeks). Dave Jones was in Mental Abuse, Outgroup, and most notably played drums on Agnostic Front's classic "Victim in Pain" album. Chris Fist was in Breakdown, Mental Abuse and Life's Blood. Neil Burke was in Life's Blood and Born Against. Daryl Kahan was in Citizens Arrest, Born Against, True Colors and many death metal, black metal and powerviolence bands. Todd played in Jersey Fresh. Sid Sludge played in Mental Abuse and Outgroup (and i'm still not sure if he actually passed away).

Members of Clenched Fist have recently reformed, and Chris Fist is in the process of writing material for a new ep. It's going to kick ass so keep your eyes peeled.

You can check out the Clenched Fist Myspace page here.

Up Front - 1987-1989 Rarities

2009-11-06T20:12:00.001-08:00

Up Front were (and still are), a great straight edge hardcore band founded in NY. This is a collection of rare material recorded between 1987 and 1989. Raw and fast hardcore punk in the vein of bands of the time like Pressure Release, Unit Pride, Wide Awake, Our Gang etc. Thanks to David Michaels (once again) for helping with the music, and Jeff Terranova and Jon Field for helping with info, and for letting me post this collection. Enjoy.

Up Front: 1987-1989 Rarities

Demo (1987)

Steve Keeley - vocals
Jon Field - guitar
Jeff Terranova - bass
Dan Pettit - drums

The band's first demo was recorded in April of 1987 (only about 2 months after the band had been together), and was recorded in Jeff's parents basement by Mitch Mitchell on an 8-track recorder. This demo is a personal favorite of mine. It's the band at their most raw and abrasive. Certainly not the tightest of recordings, but for me that only adds to it's charm. Many of these songs were later re-recorded for the band's first LP, "Spirit", released in 1988 on Chris Daily's Smorgasbord Records (now run by Jeff Terranova), and the track "One Step Ahead" was recorded for the 1987 comp ep "X Marks the Spot", also released on Smorgasbord (and also featured tracks by Wide Awake and Pressure Release). The three Up Front tracks on this comp, "Something To Strive For", "One Step Ahead" and "Live and Let Live" were the band's first officially released material.

As to not cause any confusion in thinking some of the demo tracks were labeled wrong (as i did the first time i heard it), the track "Up Front" was later renamed "Our Best", and the track "Growing Stronger" was later renamed "Up Front".

Time Gone By (live 1987)

This unreleased song was taken from an early show at The Anthrax in 1987. It's a much more straight forward punk song (and pretty catchy too) than any other Up Front song that i've heard from that time period. I like this track a lot.

Jeff Terranova on "Time Gone By":

Time Gone By was an Up Front song that we used to play live... When we recorded the OG demo tape, we actually recorded like 11 songs and multiple versions of a few songs, which have never been heard by anyone. There was a time that I was contemplating releasing a "Demos" CD because the band recorded other demos over the years... one in 1991 and 1996.

Hopefully an Up Front "Demos" CD gets released one day, as i'd love to hear the studio version of this song.

Live on WNYU (1988)

Steve Keeley - vocals
Jon Field - guitar
Jeff Terranova - bass
Jim Eaton - drums

In December of 1987, Dan Pettit was replaced on drums by Jim Eaton. The band played on WNYU's Crucial Chaos show 3 times. July of 1988 with Steve on vocals (posted here), June of 1989 with Roger on vocals, and one more set years later with Jeff on vocals. Five of the eleven tracks from the '88 WNYU set were released as the "Doin' It Live on WNYU" ep, released on New Direction Records in 1996.

Rehearsals (1989)

Roger Lambert - vocals
Jon Field - guitar
Jeff Terranova - bass
Jim Eaton - drums

In December of '88 (a few months after the recording of the "Spirit" LP), Steve left the band. He was replaced on vocals by Roger Lambert in January of '89. These 14 rehearsal tracks were pulled from a session that was closer to 20 tracks, but since some of the tracks were different takes of the same song, and other tracks suffered from awful sound, i chose these 14. It's a great session consisting mostly of "Spirit" material. Roger does a perfect job putting his vocals to these classics. Soon after these rehearsals, Jim Eaton left the band and was replaced by former Enuf drummer Ari Katz.

I made it a point not to clean the tracks in this collection as much as the last few collections i've posted. I was able to get rid of the tape hiss and surface noise, but made sure to keep the raw, rough sound of the recordings. I think that's how these songs should be heard.

Up Front released a bunch of great records after "Spirit", went through some more lineup changes, break-ups and reformations, and are currently back together and playing shows.

If you're new to Up Front, i'd recommend checking out "Spirit" first, then "Daybreak" and "Movement" (my personal faves). From there you can make your way though the 7"s, which are all conveniently collected on the "Five By Seven" CD available from Smorgasbord Records.

For an extensive history of this band, plus discography, pics, current info etc, check out the band's official site here, and the band's Myspace here.

You can check out Jon Field's amazing collection of live hardcore footage (that he's digitized from his own personal collection) here. Lots of stuff by Up Front, Unit Pride, Pressure Release, Supertouch, Judge... you get the picture.

And lastly, don't forget to check out Jeff's "Anti-Emo Empire" radio show, which i'll plug even though i like emo. Ha.

American Standard - 1987-1992 Demos and more

2009-10-19T20:10:00.000-07:00

American Standard were a great punk rock band from New Jersey. They were kinda grouped into the NYHC scene (the song "Away" even appeared on the "Sunday Matinee: The Best of NY Hardcore" comp LP released on Another Planet Records in 1994), although the band's sound was pretty far removed from the NYHC scene. They took influences from the DC scene, and the emo sound that evolved from Rites of Spring, gave it a bit of a harder rock edge, added some pop hooks, and created some unique and catchy music. This is a collection of material recorded prior to their amazing first album "Wonderland". Thanks to Jon Shiver, Jeremy Dean and Scott Bilbrey for the music. Enjoy.

American Standard: 1987-1988

William "Bill" Dolan - vocals
Matt Dolan - guitar
Scott Bilbrey - bass
Jay "J" Colangelo - drums

The "Thank You" demo (tracks 1-5) was recorded at Inner Ear Studio in Arlington, VA sometime in early 1988. These are my favorite versions of these 5 songs, and the sound quality is excellent. Versions of these tracks appear on other demos posted here, and all 5 were re-recorded for the "Wonderland" LP in 1989.

Tracks 6-9 are rough mixes of the Wonderland sessions recorded at Chung King in 1988. The opening track "Grin" is the only track exclusive to this session, as "It Comes Around" and "Building Blocks" are on the "Thank You" demo, and "Without Asking Why" is on the 1987 demo. Still, these are great renditions of these tracks, and definitely worth hearing. I cleaned up these tracks as best as possible.

Next up (tracks 10-16) is a great set recorded live on Pat Duncan's show on WFMU in East Orange NJ (at the time, the WFMU studio has since moved to Jersey City, NJ). This version of the set is strictly the music. I cut out all the in-between song banter because while de-hissing the set made the music sound much better, it made any talking between tracks sound much worse. You're not missing much though, the band introduces a few of the songs and makes one show announcement. The music sounds much better than any of the other copies you'll find, and that's all that counts. To me anyway.

Tracks 17-21 were the band's very first recordings, known as the "Paul Noser Demos". Some great exclusive tracks on this demo like "Blind Leading Blind", "Shadows" and "Love and Trust".

Scott Bilbrey on the "Paul Noser Demos":

Paul Noser was a friend and musical mentor of the band (and amazing musician) who had a small studio in his basement in suburban NJ, not far from where we lived and formed as a band. This was recorded in early 1987. Just some context, Matt and J were 16 years old -- juniors in high school. We were still finding our way musically and as a band, so go easy! :)

We played all of these songs in our real early shows (1987) but by mid-1988 the only one that survived was Away -- which we played pretty much to the end.

This is actually a rough mix of the demo, so there are a couple glitches (vocals fade in on Shadows; a clown horn that Bill was goofing with can be heard on Away -- was supposed to be edited out).

Blind Leading Blind was the first song we ever wrote.

I know we played Shadows at our first CBGB's gig in January 1988 (with Swiz) but I don't know if we played it much beyond that.

Away made it onto Wonderland -- this is the first recorded version.

This version of Where'd They Go is pretty much how we played it live, unlike the other version from the first Inner Ear Demos, which was a bit experimental. We played it live only a few times.

To read the full story behind the demos, check out the comments section of this post.
Also check the comments section for the original upload of the "Paul Noser Demos" (before i cleaned them).

Last in the collection are 4 demo tracks recorded at Inner Ear Studios in 1987. The quality varies from track to track, but considering these tracks were buried under so much tape hiss, i think they came out really well. The original '87 demo had 5 tracks. I didn't include the song "Thank You" due to horrible sound quality that was beyond repair. But that song is already in this collection twice, so no harm. Thanks to Scott Bilbrey for the info on all these recordings.

Matt Dolan on American Standard:

Washington DC. That was where our biggest influences were- the DC scene. Dag Nasty, Fugazi, bands like that. We were really inspired by that because it wasn't as 'aggro' as the New York scene was. There starting to call bands Emo-core now, and they were calling them Emo-core back in '95.

You can read the entire interview with the band here.

And check out the American Standard page on the Maggadee Records site for lots of great band pics.

As a bonus, i've included the band's long out-of-print first LP. "Wonderland" was recorded in 1989 at the 'Chung King House of Metal' and released on Power House Records (distributed by Caroline Records) on both LP and CD. On the back of the original LP it says "A percentage of the proceeds from this album are donated to aid the homeless." The album was re-released on CD in 1996 on Another Planet Records. Even the re-release goes for nearly a hundred bucks these days, they should really re-issue this stuff again.

This was ripped from the CD version for superior sound. Enjoy.

American Standard - Wonderland (1989)

Track list:

01 It Comes Around
02 Building Blocks
03 Without Asking Why
04 Grin
05 4510
06 Thank You
07 Away
08 Should've Known
09 Superficial
10 So Much

And as an added bonus bonus, here's a quality rip of the band's "Coming Up 3's" ep. Recorded in 1990 and released in 1992 on Blackout Records. According to Scott, this was the band's transitional record. Moving further away from their hardcore/punk origins and into more rock territory. Thanks to Rob Muz (Give Thanks zine) for this one.

American Standard - Coming Up 3's ep (1992)

Some notes of interest:

Matt also played in Underdog and Footstone.
J also played in Crashwagon and Iron Lung.

Discography
"Wonderland" LP (1989 Power House Records)
American Standard / Crucial Youth split ep (1991 Suburban Voice)
"Coming Up 3's" ep (1992 Blackout Records)
"Trial Size" ep (1994 Maggadee Records)
"Piss and Vinegar" LP (1995 Another Planet Records)
"The New American Standard Classics" LP (2001 Maggadee Records)
American Standard / Shades Apart split ep (2006 Maggadee Records)

compilations:
"Sunday Matinee: The Best of NY Hardcore" LP (1994 Another Planet Records)
"Life on Another Planet" CD (2000 Triple Crown Records)

A Tribute to Skip Candelori

2009-10-13T02:12:00.000-07:00

This is a tribute to Frank "Skip" Candelori, the vocalist for Turning Point who died unexpectedly on June 19, 2002. I've compiled a collection of bands Skip was in from 1986-2000. Included are both Pointless (pre-Turning Point) demos, 3 Turning Point demo tracks, the Godspeed "Swimmer's Ear" ep, and the Memorial Day demo. All great sound quality. All great music. Thanks to Patrick Lindenhof for helping clean up the sound on the Pointless demos (they came out great). Also thanks to David Michaels and Jeremy for the music. Enjoy!

A Tribute to Skip Candelori

Pointless
"Confusion" demo (1986) lineup
Skip Candelori - vocals / bass
Jay Laughlin - drums
Ed - guitar

"One Force" demo (1987) lineup
Lee - vocals
Skip Candelori - bass
Jay Laughlin - drums
Ed - guitar

Pointless started in 1986, as Skip and Jay were just getting into hardcore and wanted to start a band of their own. For a bunch of kids who were just learning their instruments, Pointless put out 2 demos worth of some great memorable hardcore. The first demo "Confusion" (with Skip on vocals) is raw, stripped down, angry hardcore with a healthy dose of an early '80s punk sound (bands like 7 Seconds and Circle Jerks come to mind). The song "Confusion" has a bit of a darker edge, and sounds like it wouldn't be out of place on some '80s LA punk compilation. The "One Force" demo, my favorite of the two, is pure youthful energy. The first track "Staying A Youth" is just your classic hardcore punk song, with great riffs and a catchy singalong chorus. The kind of stuff that gets stuck in your head for days. On this demo, Skip just handles the bass duties, and the band's friend Lee steps in for the vocals. He does a killer job.

Jay Laughlin on Pointless:

Skip and I started talking about doing something, since we were both getting into punk and hardcore more and more. So I said "let's start a band!" I taught him how to play bass and then I taught this dude Ed to play guitar, and figured I would play drums. At first we would just goof around and play the intro to "We Gotta Know" or whatever. But we kept playing and this would end up being the band Pointless. The guy I took drum lessons from had a set up in his house to record, so we would go there to do stuff.

We were young, but we were playing out. Our first real show was at Club Pizazz in Philly sometime in 1987 with Government Issue. It sounds like it should have been a cool show, except the same night at City Gardens was DRI and GBH, so there weren't many people at Pizazz. But it was still cool, even if it wasn't so packed. Overall though, Pointless didn't play too much, I guess kinda due to a mix of things.

We did two Pointless demos. The first one is with Skip singing, the second is with Lee singing. Skip could play bass and sing, but not at the same time. We never played with him singing though, his first time singing in a band on stage was Turning Point.

Turning Point
Skip Candelori - vocals
Jay Laughlin - guitar
Nick Greif - bass
Steve Crudello - guitar
Ken Flavell - drums

I did a Turning Point post a while back, so i won't be redundant and ramble about how great they are again. I posted 3 tracks from the 1988 demo. The source of these 3 tracks is from a cassette given to my bud Jeremy from Skip and Jay when Jeremy sent for a Pointless demo and asked to do an interview. The 3 tracks from the (at the time) not yet released '88 demo sound much fuller and heavier than any Turning Point demos i've ever heard, including the ones on the discography CD on Jade Tree Records. I'd love to get a copy of the entire demo with this sound. Thanks to Jeremy for sending me these tracks. I was blown away when i heard them.

Jay Laughlin on Turning Point:

By 1987 we were totally into hardcore, like full on. We met the guys from Failsafe by them playing with Pointless. We just got friendly through playing, so we knew their drummer Ken, who lived in Tabernacle. From dabbling with guitar more and more, I decided that's what I wanted to play. So me and Skip talked to Ken about doing something. And we also had met Nick through a friend of a friend, he lived in Vincentown and played bass. We all had the same ideas and focus, and we were all on the same page. We decided to get together and do a band - which was Turning Point.

For the entire interview, and lots of other great interviews with members of Turning Point (and shitloads of other bands), check out the fantastic Double Cross online blog-zine.

Godspeed
Skip Candelori - vocals
Jay Laughlin - bass
Dave Grubb - guitar
Sean Byrnre - drums

After the demise of Turning Point in 1992, Skip and Jay started the short-lived Godspeed. Listening to later-Turning Point, the music they played in Godspeed was the logical next step. The "Swimmer's Ear" ep, released on Temperance Records in 1993, was more in the vein of the early '90s "emo" scene, and much more indie rock (for lack of a better term) oriented than the hardcore they played years prior. At times it's similar to what bands like American Standard were doing early on, and at other times it has a kind of Native Nod or Greyhouse vibe. Whatever the case, it's a great ep. I only wished they would have kept it going a while longer.

Memorial Day
Skip Candelori - vocals
Steve Crudello - guitar
Nick Fantazzi - guitar
Anthony Montemurro - bass
Brandon Wallace - drums

Another short-lived project with Skip on vocals, and joined this time by ex-Turning Point 2nd guitarist Steve Crudello. Memorial Day only released one demo during their existence in 1999/2000. It's similar to what Godspeed were doing, but a bit more noisy and experimental in the guitar dept. Think Dinosaur Jr. meets Jets To Brazil. I'm not too good with comparisons, just check it out for yourself, it's an excellent demo, and my favorite Skip-related project after Turning Point.

Since 2000, members of Turning Point have continued to play music in countless bands. In 2002, Jay Laughlin, Dave Grubb, Sean Byrne and others (in a band called Lenola) released a a 2xCD called "Sharks and Flames" which they dedicated to Skip.

RIP SKIP

Note of interest: Both Pointless demos are missing one track each. There was a song on the "Confusion" demo called "Cardboard Box", which i left out because of the awful sound quality. It breaks apart in various spots and sounds like it was recorded under water. Also, the last track on the "One Force" demo is missing. It was labeled as "Untitled", and the mp3 i had cuts off after only 20 seconds. If anyone has these missing tracks, please get in touch.

The Pointless photo was taken from the Double Cross blog. Head over there to check out other pics of Pointless, Turning Point, and related bands.

In Your Face - 1988-1993 Discography

2009-10-07T04:14:00.000-07:00

Hardcore punk from Long Island. This is everything the band recorded between 1988-1993. Enjoy.

In Your Face discography

1988 demo lineup
Marc - vocals
Eric - guitar
Joe - guitar
Mike - bass
Johnny - drums

The 1988 demo is my favorite In Your Face material. The music has a bit of a crossover feel to it, and juvenile lyrics as you can see from the song titles. Don't write this off because of Faggot Stomp (a song the band has since apologized about), it's a great demo.

1989 "Grub" lineup
Marc - vocals
Joe - guitar
Dave - bass
Ernie - drums / guitar

The "Grub" 7", released on Common Cause Records in 1989, has a more mature sound, although the lyrics are still a bit on the silly side. The music here is much different than the demo. At their best moments they sound like a mix of 411, Angry Samoans and Token Entry. Great ep, with artwork by drummer Ernie Parada, who also played in Token Entry as well as other notable NYHC bands. The song "My Turn" is a classic.

The first comp track, a great cover of Devo's "Gates of Steel", was originally released on the compilation 7" "Seeing With New Eyes" on Scooby-Doo Records in 1990. I'm not sure where the other comp track is from, if anyone knows, please leave a comment.

Up next is the unreleased "Henpecked" 7", recorded sometime in the early '90s. This ep sees the band changing sounds yet again. This one has much more of a pop-punk feel. Very Screeching Weasel influenced, even going so far as to cover Johnny Nash's "I Can See Clearly Now".

After that it's back to the early lineup for the live at WNYU set. This set has Timmy Chunks of Token Entry filling in for Marc on vocals, and Mike, the bass player for Ludichrist, filling in for Joe on guitar. The sound quality is a bit rough on these recordings, but it's listenable (and gets better as it goes along), and it's a great set. Energy and antics, that sums this set up.

Closing up the collection are 2 live songs recorded at CBGB sometime in 1988.

Thanks to Mark Anthony for the music and the artwork. I included the covers he sent me below.

Neos - 1980-1983 Discography

2009-10-07T03:10:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite '80s Canadian hardcore bands, alongside Negative Gain (which i already posted), Genetic Control and Nunfuckers (both of which i plan on posting in the future). Neos were just pure youthful energy. Absolute chaos put to vinyl. This is a collection of the band's 2 7"s, both released in 1982, an unreleased studio track from '83, and the "Fight With Donald" 7", recorded in '83 and released in '97. 43 essential tracks of frantic hardcore from one of the pioneers. The first 26 tracks were all ripped from the long out of print CD released on Break Even Records in 1997, so the sound is excellent. "Fight With Donald" is a vinyl rip i found online. I fixed it up as best as possible, but it's still pretty rough sounding compared to the rest of the collection.

Supreme Echo Records is planning on releasing a discography LP which will include remastered versions of all the material here, plus unreleased '82 demos, 7" outtakes, rehearsal tracks, live soundboard tracks and songs from an unreleased LP from 1983. For more info check out the band's Myspace page here. Until that happens, you can enjoy this:

Neos: 1980-1983

Steve Bailey - vocals / guitar
Kev Smith - bass / vocals / drums
Mario Kasapi - drums

Hassibah Gets The Martian Brain Squeeze 7" (Alandhiscar Records 1982)
Recorded at Hole In The Wall Studios, Victoria on Sept. 18, 1982. Engineered by Scott Henderson on 3 tracks. No overdubs, except vocals on tracks 4 & 9. Mastered as a combined effort of Hole In The Wall and Subteranean Studios by Scott Henderson and Bob Wright on Oct. 3, 1982. Pressed at IRC, Vancouver, in Dec. 1982.

The Hassibah Gets The Martian Brain Squeeze 7" was repressed in 1983 on Ratcage Records in NYC. For some odd reason, many of the song titles were changed on the repress. For instance the first song "Destruct" is labeled as "Racetrack". The recordings are the same though.

End All Discrimination 7" (Alandhiscar Records 1982)
Recorded with Subterranean Studios Mobil Unit. Rhythm tracks done in 25 minutes in Steve's basement on Sept. 11, 1981. Vocals done at the Vancouver St. House, in the living room on Dec. 22, 1981. Mastered Jan. '82. Pressed at IRC, Vancouver, Jan.-Feb. of 1982.

All recording info taken from original first pressings of records.

The song "Sleeve" was supposedly the only song recorded during the sessions for an LP the band was working on in 1983. It was released on both the Fight With Donald 7" and the CD on Break Even Records. Of course i included the CD version.

Fight With Donald 7" (Schizophrenic/Break Even Records 1997)
All material recorded live in 1983, except for the song "Sleeve", which was recorded at Hole In The Wall Studios, and "Fight With Donald" recorded in 1980.

Neos were on a few comps, although none of the comp tracks were exclusive. They had a few songs on the Raw War tape, Grevious Musical Harm tape, and Beating The Meat LP, all released on Xcentric Records between 1983-1984.

After the Neos broke up in late '83, Steve and Kev continued as Harvest of Seaweed for roughly one year, releasing various cassettes. Members also went on to Sludge Confrontations, Mexican Power Authority and Showbiz Giants.

Update: 10/02/09

2009-10-02T03:56:00.000-07:00

The Funeral Oration collection has been fixed. Was this corrupt the entire time? Damn! If so, i urge everyone to check it out NOW. The "Nothing Left To Laugh About" demo may be one of the greatest hardcore punk demos you will ever hear in your lifetime.

I've been working on lots of stuff over the past few weeks. I'm hoping to have it all on the blog by the weekend. Until then i recommend checking out Old, Fast and Loud for some great hardcore rarities.

Vin

Update: 9/28/09

2009-09-28T02:09:00.000-07:00

The True Colors collection has been revised. Thanks to Patrick, who did an amazing job of restoring the files. Seriously the best clean-up job i've ever heard, it sound like it was professionally remastered in a studio. Check it out here and listen for yourself.

I want to give a quick thanks to Jeremy, David, Mike, Tom, Dirty Steve, Doug, "The Crazy", Mauricio, Sean, and everyone else who has been sending me great music lately. You guys rule.

Supertouch - 1987-1988 Rarities

2009-09-28T00:47:00.000-07:00

Here's a collection of my absolute favorite Supertouch recordings. It's a shame this stuff was never documented, as most of these songs were never released, and some never even recorded in a proper studio. So here you go, 19 tracks recorded between 1987-1988, as the band made their transition from Death Before Dishonor to Supertouch. All files cleaned up to the best of my capabilities. Enjoy.

Supertouch: The Early Recordings

1988 lineup
Mark Ryan - vocals
Jon Biviano - guitar
Joe - bass
Andy Guida - drums

The first 5 tracks were recorded at Don Fury Studios in late 1988 to be released as a 7", which obviously never happened, although 3 of the 5 tracks were later re-recorded for the "What Did We Learn" 7" on Combined Effort Records in 1989. Excellent sound quality on these 5 tracks.

Tracks 6-12 were recorded live on WNYU's Crucial Chaos in March of 1988. Some of the tracks here, like Stugglin' To Communicate and A Death In the Family were never recorded outside of the WNYU Studio, and various live shows (most of which suffer from awful sound). The first track sounds a bit rough. It sounds like whoever was working the boards was adjusting the levels during the intro until they got the guitar right (about halfway through the song). After that, the set sounds great.

Tracks 13-19 were recorded sometime in 1987 when the band were still called Death Before Dishonor. Although they started playing live in the early '80s (according to some of the flyers i've seen), they never recorded any material until just before they changed their name. Supposedly these tracks were recorded to pass around to friends and hopefully find new band members, and never actually released as a demo, although it's usually labeled as the '87 demo. The original Death Before Dishonor lineup consisted of Mark Ryan on vocals, Mike Ferraro on drums, Jimmy Yu on Guitar and Steve Yu on bass, although i don't think that's the lineup that played on these recordings. Mike and Steve of course went on to play in Judge shortly after leaving Death Before Dishonor.

If anyone knows the real lineup of the Death Before Dishonor 1987 sessions, or has any other info on any of these recordings, please leave a comment.

Negative Gain - 1985-1986 Discography

2009-09-19T02:58:00.000-07:00

Killer thrash hardcore from Toronto, Ontario. Fast and aggressive but with a dark edge at times. Classic stuff that was unfortunately never re-issued or released on CD. This collection compiles the band's 1986 "Back From the Dead" LP on Pusmort Records, and the band's self-released demo tape from 1985. Excellent quality on both recordings, and i boosted the demo to match the volume of the LP. Sounds great. Enjoy.

Negative Gain: 1985-1986

Peter Warner - vocals
Grant C. Slavin - guitar
Steve Currie - bass
Andrew Mosely - drums

Band History (by Grant Slavin):

Negative Gain was founded in Toronto, Ontario by Peter Warner who wrote all of the lyrics and provided rehearsal space in his basement. Filling out the lineup was Grant C. Slavin on guitar, Steve Currie on bass, and Andrew Mosely on drums. All members were in their mid-teens at the time. Their influences included Minor Threat, Millions of Dead Cops, the Misfits, and the Dead Kennedys, as well as local TO bands Direct Action and Sudden Impact.

Negative Gain got their first break in '83 when we were asked by local Toronto promoter Jill Heath to open for Jodie Fosters Army at the city's legendary punk club The Turning Point. After the show Pete and Grant went skateboarding with JFA. The evening was documented in a subsequent issue of Thrasher as JFA's guitarist Don Pendelton was writing a column for the rag documenting their tour. Other memorable Negative Gain gigs around this time include warming up for bands like the Circle Jerks, Gang Green, the Descendents and 7 Seconds. The young thrash band soon went from listening to their favorite bands' records on a daily basis to hanging out with them backstage and stealing their beer rider!

More help from Jill Heath came when the promoter sent Negative Gain's 1985 demo tape, Attack of the Killer Bears, to Pushead for review. Pushead evidently like the tape so much that he offered to release a full-length LP for the band. Negative Gain recorded their album in Oakville, Ontario in about five hours on a Saturday afternoon, as studio time was limited to what the young band could afford to spend on the recording. The session was produced by Brian Taylor of the Toronto band Youth Youth Youth.

Sadly, Pete Warner committed suicide not too long after the recording was completed, and never lived to see its release. His last gig with the band was with Toronto's Bunchofuckingoofs. Negative Gain continued on as a three-piece for about two more years, before splitting in the late 1980s.

Info taken from the Kill From the Heart site. Go here for more info and lyrics to the "Back From the Dead" LP.

Rancor - Promo collection for upcoming discography

2009-09-15T01:20:00.000-07:00

This is a promo collection for the upcoming Rancor discography, to be released in 2010 on Youngblood Records.

Rancor played fast hardcore punk in the spirit of other early Younglood bands like Life's Halt, Rain on the Parade, Tear it Up etc. This has the riffs and energy of the late '80s "youth crew" sound, with plenty of sing along choruses and positive lyrics, but this is no carbon copy band, or "retro" by any means. Far from it. The songs sound fresh. And they rip.

I was stoked when i found out i'd be working with the label that released "We Sold Our Souls For Hardcore", one of my favorite records of the late '90s. And here we are 10 years later, and Youngblood is still putting out records by some of my favorite current hardcore bands like Iron Age, Mind Eraser, and Police and Thieves. Who said punk is dead? Oh yeah, that Bluth guy.

So here you go. A collection of Rancor's earliest material. The demo and first ep, all ripped directly from the master tapes for excellent sound quality. Thanks to Sean Youngblood for his enthusiasm with this project, and for turning me on to a great band. This stuff will all be re-mastered soon (with plenty more music), so here's your chance to get these early songs in their original pre-mix versions. Enjoy! I sure did.

Rancor: 1995-1996 Collection

In anticipation of the upcoming Rancor reunion at this year's Youngblood Records Showcase we wanted to work with one of our favorite blogs to bring you some out-of-print Rancor material. Hell, all of Rancor's material is long out-of-print but we are in the process of compiling and mastering their full discography which is due out in 2010.

This collection couples the "I Won't Take Part" Demo and "Flip The Switch" EP. The tracks are taken straight from the masters but are in un-mastered form. Despite the tracks being un-mastered, they are clean rips that sound pretty great.

Hailing from Allentown, Rancor's "Flip The Switch" EP was our first release so we will always be grateful to them. They were some of the funnest guys you could ever know and their live shows were intense. Andy (the singer) was especially nuts on and off the stage and he always had a prank up his sleeve.

Listening to these tracks takes me back to 1997 when hardcore on the East Coast was really popping with bands like Floorpunch, Ten Yard Fight, Hands Tied, Fastbreak, 97a, Atari, Rain On The Parade & Rancor playing out every weekend. It was exciting to be working with a band that we were 100% stoked on and the trips up to Allentown to hang out, plan records, work on layouts, etc. were some of the most fun we've had doing the label.

Thanks for checking it out. Enjoy.

— Sean O'Donnell
Youngblood Records

I Won't Take Part Demo
Recorded 1995

Jamie Heim - guitar
Andy Frobase - vocals
Mexically Mike Madrigale - bass
Chris Kayes - drums

Flip The Switch ep / The Time Is Now Comp Session
Recorded 1996

Jamie Heim - guitar
Andy Frobase - vocals
Ryan Buenaflor - bass
Chris Kayes - drums

Never Hold Back ep
Recorded 1997
Memories Of Tomorrow Compilation LP/CD
Recorded 1998

Jamie Heim - guitar
Andy Frobase - vocals
Greg Tomszack - bass
Chris Kayes - drums

Discography
"I Won't Take Part" Demo (1995)
"Flip The Switch" 7", Youngblood Records, YB-1 (1997)
"Time Is Now" 7" Compilation, Tension Building Records (1997)
"Never Hold Back" 7", Youngblood Records, YB-3 (1998)
"Memories Of Tomorrow" Compilation LP/CD, Youngblood Records, YB-6 (2000)

The Youngblood 2009 Showcase is Saturday, October 10th in Harrisburg, PA. More information can be found at the Youngblood Records website, and Myspace page. You can also check out the Rancor Myspace page here.

Under Pressure - 1988 Discography

2009-09-13T12:15:00.000-07:00

More late '80s hardcore from New York. Under Pressure had a heavy sound in the vein of bands like Outburst, Breakdown, Raw Deal etc, with a bit of a patriotic slant in the lyric department. So here you go, more short-lived "New Breed" NYHC brought back to like. This collection compiles both the bands demos and a rehearsal session, all recorded in 1988. Thanks to Mauricio for all his time in helping me put this together. Enjoy.

Under Pressure 1988 Collection

Mauricio Vega on Under Pressure:

Under Pressure started out started as an oi hardcore band, sometime in the early part of 1987. The band was originally from Staten Island, NY. I was the only member that lived in Queens, NY. In April of 1988, Under Pressure released an 8-song demo titled “Vicious Bite”.

With the line-up of:

Mauricio Vega – Vocals
AmeriKen – Guitar
Dom Viola – Bass
VinSkin Conti – Drums

By the end of the summer of ‘88, Under Pressure started to go thru line up changes. At one point, Eric (Guitar player from the first “In Your Face” demo) played guitar for few gigs. After trying out numerous musicians, the new Under Pressure line-up was set.

Mauricio Vega – Vocals
Louie Negron – Guitar
Jimmy Lean – Bass
Scott Goettelmann – Drums

This new line-up was from Hicksville, Long Island NY. The band went from being from Staten Island, to Long Island. Looking back, I did a hell of a lot of traveling just to rehearse, LOL.

This was the line-up that recorded the song “Supremist” for New Breed Compilation. But by the end of 1988, Louie Negron left the band and Garret Snied took over on Guitar.

In December of 1988, Under Pressure released a 9-song demo titled “Vengeance”.

The line-up of:

Mauricio Vega – Vocals
Garret Snied – Guitar
Jimmy Lean – Bass
Scott Goettelmann – Drums

I’ve noticed on a few blogs that they claim to have the Vengeance demo, but they do not. What they have is a rehearsal session that we recorded with Louie Negron on Guitar. We used that recorded rehearsal tape mainly for seeking a new guitarist, and for booking gigs.

I have no idea how they got those recordings but, they do not have the real Vengeance demo. You will be the first to have the real Vengeance demo.

The new Under Pressure line-up had a much more heavier sound than the original line up. By the summer of 1989, Under Pressure decided to change their name to “Vicious Bite”.

Vicious Bite released, “Till Death Do You Part” (Taken from the Vengeance Demo) for the Chop-Chop Compilation on Skene Records. By the end of the summer of 1989, bassist Jimmy Lean, was diagnosed with cancer and left the band (RIP Jimmy). Since I wrote a lot of the music, I decided to play bass, and Tommy “Thunder” Goettelmann became the new vocalist.

The final Line-up was:

Tommy “Thunder” Goettelmann – Vocals
Garret Snied – Guitar
Mauricio Vega – Bass
Scott Goettelmann – Drums

Vicious Bite played a few shows with this line-up, and played a live set at the WNYU Spermicide radio show. But by the end of 1989, Vicious Bite broke up. Their last show was at The Anthrax in Connecticut sometime in the fall of 1989.

Since then, I’ve been playing bass in a band called the “Accidental Tribe” under the name Moe Cash.

Recently, I’ve been talking to my former Under Pressure band members about doing a reunion show, and possibly, re-recording all our old songs. Unfortunately, there is a band from Canada called Under Pressure, which has absolutely no relation to the NYHC band Under Pressure. So if we do re-unite, it will be under the name Vicious Bite.

—Mauricio Vega

As usual, i restored the files a best as possible. The Vicious Bite demo was especially a challenge, as the songs were buried under a layer of tape hiss. I'm pretty happy with the end results.

I've been listening to these songs for the past week and it's all great stuff, but the rehearsal session is probably my favorite recordings. That could be due to the fact that the New Breed track, and the rehearsal (which i always thought was the Vengeance demo) was my exposure to this band. Such a great sound on those rehearsals though, it actually could have been a demo, or even made a great ep.

If anyone has the Vicious Bite live WNYU set, or any other Under Pressure rarities, please get in touch.

Burn - Live at CBGB 10/14/90 (revised 03/07/10)

2009-09-09T03:46:00.000-07:00

Since i had to delete the Burn collection i had posted a while back, being that most of the recordings were still available from Revelation Records in various formats, i've decided to post the live set from the collection, as to still have this great band documented on my blog.

This set was recorded at CBGB on 10/14/90. The first track starts off a bit rough, but it gets better, and is most likely the best sounding Burn set you'll ever come across. This exact set was bootlegged on CD and labeled as "Live in NYC 1991". Not only did the bootlegger get the year wrong, but most of the song titles were wrong as well (most just seemed to be made up). Also, a lot of the stage banter was cut out and their were a few tracks that were poorly separated (the end of a song would be at the start the next song etc). So here's the set in it's entirety. Correct date, correct titles and correctly separated. Not to mention the quality is better. I've also included two unreleased studio tracks. On And On and Onlooker were taken from a 1990 rehearsal, most likely at Don Fury Studios during the 7" sessions, but i'm not 100% sure of that. The rehearsals were basically several takes of these 2 songs, and one or two other songs. I picked what i thought were the best sounding, and best performed versions of the 2 unreleased tracks, and cleaned them up as best as possible, removing all tape hiss and boosting the sound. I think they came out great. Thanks to Brett Beach and Graham Hooper for helping out with the music, and Chadski, Adam, Daily and the rest of the Livewire crew for helping out with the info. Enjoy.

Burn: Live at CBGB 10/14/90

Burn were incredible. After the demise of great bands like Collapse and Absolution, Burn took NYHC into the '90s in a powerful and progressive way. They could have paved the way for an incredible scene, instead, they turned out to be one of the last true great NYHC bands. Don't get me wrong, their were still great hardcore bands that followed throughout the '90s, but as far as the traditional NYHC sound goes, for me Burn was the swan song.

Chaka Malik - vocals
Gavin Van Vlack - guitar
Alex Napack - bass
Alan Cage - drums
John Kricksiun (who played for Collapse, Life's Blood and Absolution) played drums on the 2 comp tracks.

The Burn s/t 7" was recorded May-June of 1990 at Don Fury Studios and released in 1990 on Revelation Records.

The Last Great Sea was recorded in 1992 at Don Fury Studios and made the rounds throughout the '90s as a demo. It was finally released in 2002 by Revelation. Three killer tracks.

The Forever comp 7" was released in 1990 on Irate Records and also featured tracks by Turning Point, Born Against, Rorschach and Citizens Arrest. The best 7" compilation of the '90s? To me it is.

The Rebuilding comp 7" was released in 1990 on Temperance Records and also featured tracks by Turning Point, Gorilla Biscuits and No Escape. Temperance re-released it in 1996 on CD with the Turning Point/No Escape split 7" and the Burn song from the Forever comp as bonus tracks.

Burn started in '88 and broke up in '94. Chaka formed Orange 9mm, Gavin (Absolution, NY Hoods, Side By Side) joined Pry and Die 116, and Alan Cage (Beyond) joined Quicksand. Prior to Burn, Alex Napack played in Pressure Release, and Chaka helped Freddy Alva put out the infamous New Breed tape.

The band reformed in 2001 with the addition of guitarist Vic DiCara (Inside Out) and bassist Manny Carrero (Glassjaw) and released the "Cleanse" ep (2001 Equal Vision Records), which i have yet to hear.

Ringworm - 1990-2003

2009-09-06T18:44:00.000-07:00

'90s metallic hardcore is a genre i'm not too familiar with, or really have any interest in, but Ringworm are in a league of their own. From Cleveland, Ohio, the band started as Force of Habit (with only one known recording under that name), then changed their name to Ringworm and self-released the completely powerful and vicious 1991 demo. The band went on hiatus after the demo and didn't record anything again until 1999. 8 years later and the "Madness of War" demo sounds like it picks up right where they left off. They've been putting out records ever since, and are still active today.

This is a collection of demos, split eps (all out of print), cover songs, live tracks, alternate mixes of some tracks from their first full length, and the only known Force of Habit track recorded in 1990. 27 tracks spanning 1990-2003, all excellent sound quality, and all tracks mastered to be at the same volume. I put this one together for myself, but it came out so good i decided to share it here. Enjoy!

Ringworm: 1990-2003

1991 demo lineup:

James Bulloch (Human Furnace) - vocals
Frank Novinec - guitar
Chris Pellow - bass
Kenny Carpenter - drums

The original demo was recorded on August 5, 1991 at Mars Studio in Cleveland, Ohio and released as a 7" in 1995 on Blood Book Records. All music written by Frank Novinec and all lyrics by the Human Furnace. These tracks were later re-recorded for the band's first LP entitled "The Promise" released on Incision Records in 1993. The demo recordings are far superior in my opinion, and the version in this collection is devoid of the samples before each track. The 1991 demo is by far my favorite Ringworm recording, and i never seem to get tired of it.

The band went through many lineup changes throughout the years, and i'm not sure what the lineup was in '99 when they returned with the "Madness of War" demo. Three crushing songs, 2 of which were re-recorded for the band's split 7" with Cold As Life released on Stillborn Records in 2001.

The split cd ep with Godbelow, known as "Hollowed Soul" was released on Surface Records in 2000. One new track, a crushing re-recording of Necropolis (from 1991), and a cover of Killing Time's "Brightside".

The split 7" with Terror was recorded on May of 2003 at Spider Studios and released on July 15, 2003 on Deathwish Inc. Records. Both tracks were re-recorded for the third full-length "Justice Replaced by Revenge" released Oct. 18 on Victory Records.

The Circle Jerks and Angry Samoans covers threw me for a loop when i first heard them because of the clean guitar sound and clean vocals. They stay true to the originals, and there's really no way you can even tell it's Ringworm unless told. These tracks were recorded in 1991, and "I Just Want Some Skank" was released on the 1991 compilation "Dark Empire Strikes Back: Cleveland Compilation" released on Dark Empire Records. I'm not sure if the other tracks were released on any compilations, i got all 3 of them from the "Flatline" CD put out by Lost & Found Records in 2005.

The live tracks were recorded at Peabody's in June of '94. I'm pretty sure this is the original lineup with the exception of Chris Dora on drums. Such a vicious rendition of Urine. These tracks were also taken from the "Flatline" CD, as were the next batch of songs, the alternate mixes of various tracks from "The Promise".

The last track is the only known Force of Habit (pre-Ringworm) song, taken from the "Voice of Thousands" comp released on Conversion Records in 1990.

If anyone has any further info on lineups during certain recordings (or just any further info in general), please leave a comment.

Current members:
Human Furnace - vocals
Matt Sorg - guitar
John Comprix - guitar
Chris Dora - drums
Mike Lare - bass / vocals

Former Members:
Matt Devries - guitar
Frank "3-Gun" Novinec - guitar
Danny Zink - drums
Chris Pellow - bass
Bblaze Tishko - guitar / bass
John Lock Jaw - bass
Chris Smith - guitar
Kenny Carpenter - drums
Bob Zieger - drums
Aaron Ramirez - bass
Aaron Dallison - guitar
Steve Rochourst - bass
Ben Hhallowell - bass

If you like this stuff, be sure to check out the Holyghost 1999 demo, which is available on CD from Deathwish Inc. Records with 2 bonus tracks. Human Furnace on vocals.

Pressure Release - 1987-1989 Discography

2009-09-05T01:22:00.001-07:00

Yet more great hardcore from the late '80s? Damn, it seems never-ending. This is a collection of just about every Pressure Release song recorded between 1987 and 1989, and i think it's a great document showing the progression of the band's sound through the years. From their 1987 demo and 1988 sessions when the band played raw, fast, pissed off hardcore in the style of their NY/CT contemporaries like Our Gang, True Colors and Wide Awake, to the more brooding and complex songs on their one and only 7" in 1989. And much like Collapse, Burn, Beyond and several other hardcore bands from the late '80s/early '90s, they called it quits just as things were getting interesting. So here you go. 29 tracks all cleaned up and brought back to life. Enjoy.

Pressure Release: 1987-1989 Collection

Original line-up

Doug Byrnes - vocals
Tom Kuntz - guitar
Sam Haffy - guitar
Alex Napeck - bass
Tae Park - drums

Sam left the band early on, and shortly after the recording of their "Prison of My Own" 7", Doug was replaced on vocals by Ben Smith.

The demo was recorded at the Music Box in NYC between Dec. 19-20 of 1987. Six tracks (if you count the intro) of raw, fast, blown-out hardcore with a weird reverb effect on the vocals that only adds to it's charm.

The tracks from the New Breed compilation tape (released in '89), the rehearsal tracks, and the tracks from the "X Marks the Spot" comp 7" (Smorgasbord Records) were all recorded at Don Fury Studios in 1988. The "X Marks the Spot" 7", which also featured tracks by Wide Awake and Up Front, was re-issued on CD in 1995 by Striving For Togetherness Records as part of a collection of out of print 7" releases. The various 1988 sessions are my personal favorite Pressure Release recordings.

The "Prison of My Own" 7" was originally released on New Age Records in 1989. This is the band's darkest and most experimental recordings, complete with synthesizers and layered guitar work. The band cites BL'AST! and Void as big influences during the recording of this record, and you can definitely pick up on that vibe. The 7" was originally recorded with Doug Byrnes on vocals, but when he was replaced by Ben Smith shortly after, Ben went in and re-recorded the vocals. Then (thankfully), in a pressing mix-up, the record was pressed with Doug's vocal track. Both versions of the 7" are in this collection. Both sound great but I prefer the Doug version.

Closing out the collection is a live set. I have no info on this set other than it was recorded in 1988. 2 of the tracks were left off due to various problems. The first track which was just so horribly recorded i couldn't bring myself to post it, and the song Brotherhood which was cut in half. If anyone has any info on this set, or any further Pressure Release info in general, please leave a comment.

I cleaned up all these recordings as best as possible, removing any tape hiss, and boosting levels so all the songs are roughly at the same volume. The demo and Don Fury tracks are still a bit rough sounding, but that's pretty much how they were recorded.

Thanks to all the fine folks over at Livewire for the help.

For some great Pressure Release stories, interviews, pictures etc., go to the Double Cross webzine and use the search function. Tons of great stuff.

Turning Point - Demos & Live on WNYU 1988-1991

2009-08-27T02:00:00.000-07:00

One of New Jersey's finest. Here's the entire 10 track 1988 demo , and a great sounding set recorded live on WNYU in 1991. Enjoy.

Turning Point: Demos and Live

The demo was recorded July-August of 1988 at Bill Cribbin Studios in NJ. This is by far my favorite Turning Point recordings. Many of these songs were later re-recorded for the band's first s/t 7" on Hi-Impact Records released December of '88. Great record, but i'll take the demos any day. Eight of these ten tracks were released on the Turning Point discography released on Jade Tree Records in 2000, which i highly recommend purchasing.

The live set was recorded on WNYU's Crucial Chaos show on February 7, 1991. Fourteen tracks, spanning the band's output from '88-'91, including a few unreleased tracks. I cleaned up this set as best as possible, fixing any sound problems, removing tape hiss, boosting the sound, and editing the tracks to make it sound as "professional" as i could. I think it came out excellent. The band played an incredible set which deserves to be heard this way. I prefer many of these versions to the official releases, especially the LP tracks, as the raw production and added energy put these recordings over the top. Classic stuff, check it out.

Skip Candelori - vocals
Jay Laughlin - guitar
Nick Greif - bass
Ken Flavell - drums

Steve Crudello played 2nd guitar on the band's s/t 7" and the track "Insecurity" from the Forever comp 7" (1990 Irate Records). He also played live with the band between 1988-1990.

discography:

Turning Point Demo Cassette
Recorded July-August 1988 at Bill Cribbin Studios, NJ

"Turning Point" 7" (Hi-Impact Records)
Recorded December 3, 1988 at Audio Plus, NJ

"Forever" Compilation 7" (Irate Records)
Recorded Spring 1989 at Why Me?, NJ

"Words to Live By, Words to Die For" Compilation 7" (New Age Records)
Recorded Fall 1989 at Bill Cribbin Studios, NJ

"Rebuilding" Compilation 7" (Temperance Records)
Recorded August 1990 at Why Me?, NJ

"It's Always Darkest Before the Dawn" LP (New Age Records)
Recorded January 12, 13, 15 1990 at Why Me?, NJ

Turning Point/No Escape Split 7" (Temperance Records)
Recorded February 1991 at Why Me?, NJ

Discography info taken from the Jade Tree website.

Radio To Saturn - 1994 Discography

2009-08-23T01:48:00.000-07:00

I've always been infatuated with this band. They seemed to come out of nowhere, release a handful of great unique songs in '94, then fade away into obscurity. A total mystery band, and pretty much no info to be found about them aside from the fact that Nick Forte (Rorschach) and Danny Leo (Native Nod) were involved. Their sound is hard to describe, but chances are if you're into '90s bands like Native Nod, Moss Icon, Indian Summer etc, you'll love this. Although they sound nothing like any of those bands. They don't really sound like any band i can think of actually. Anyway, they were too short-lived (although Charles of Gern Blandsten/Rorschach says there's an unreleased RTS album sitting in his closet, which gives me chest pains), and totally overlooked. According to my ears, Radio To Saturn should have been huge. So here's all their released recordings, lovingly ripped from my vinyl by my good friend Mark. Enjoy.

Radio To Saturn: 1994 Collection

Like i said, there's absolutely no info that i can find on this band. The lineup, and who plays what is even a mystery. Here's the lineup as printed in the s/t 7" on Unskilled Labor Records.

Rhythm Guitar - Nick
Rhyming Guitar - Tom
Rhythmic Guitar - Andy
Rhythm - Danny
Tom Doesn't Sing

Recorded Summer 1994 by Chris Pierce and Radio To Saturn at The Lanes, Allston MA.
Unskilled Labor 001

Actual lineup according to Nick Forte (guitar/vocals):

Andy Reuland - guitar / vocals
Danny Leo - drums / vocals
Tom Marsh - guitar
Nick Forte - guitar / vocals

I know i hear a bass in there, so i'm not sure who played bass on these recordings.

I remember playing the song "Young Friends" (from the split with Van Pelt) for a co-worker back sometime in the mid '90s when the record had just come out, and he said it sounded like "punk for pre-schoolers". That always stuck with me. It fits the track perfectly.

So, if you've never heard Radio To Saturn before, do yourself a favor and check it out. Songs like "Piedmont", "Rumble Seat", and my personal favorite, "(She Likes The Part) About Wolves" are just classics of the genre. Whatever genre that is.

If anyone has any additional info on this band, please leave a comment.

Update: 8/22/09

2009-08-21T03:00:00.000-07:00

The Born Against collection is now fixed. Track 12 was corrupt, but everything should work fine now. I also revised the Born collection. The way the tracks were separated bothered the hell out of me, so i finally got around to fixing all the tracks today. The updated collection is up and running. I'll be fixing the same problems with the Warzone Rarities collection soon. After that, there's a couple more collections i'm not too happy about, so i'll be working forwards and backwards at the same time during the next couple of weeks. The next posts will most likely be Pressure Release and Radio to Saturn.

The Fuck Rock: ABC No Rio '91 comp was revised on 8/15/09. There was a lot of dead space after certain tracks, including nearly a half minute of silence after the Vocal Outro. That's all fixed, so if you downloaded the comp before the 15th, you may want to grab the new one.

I guess i'm a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to this stuff, but eventually i'll have all the posts the way i want them. Then i can just move forward.

Vin

FUCK ROCK - unreleased ABC NO RIO comp '91

2009-08-14T08:19:00.000-07:00

Link removed due to request. This will be available on vinyl in the near future. Can't wait!

The ABC NO RIO compilation (FUCK ROCK) was originally intended to be a 10” record chronicling the ABC scene circa ’90-’91. The name being inspired by the title of a Sam McPheeters essay/rant lamenting the (then) lame musical climate. The bands recorded exclusive tracks for it, a full-size booklet was planned with contributions of ‘zines like: DEAR JESUS/INWARD MONITOR/RIGHT TRASH. Local photographers like Chris(tine) Boarts and Justine Demetrick submitted dozens of incredible pictures for inclusion. I had a great layout in mind, everything looked good to go and then… I dropped the ball; the project became too overwhelming. By that time I was heavily involved with the day to day operation of RECONSTRUCTION Records so the comp was pushed into the back burner until my interest in putting out records and being involved in the “scene” had dissipated.

Flash forward to now; I’ve had the master tape of the comp and tons of photos/flyers languishing in an old shoebox throughout the years & with the recent advent of putting up an old project of mine online (New Breed), I was motivated to revisit this comp and listening to these tracks, it made me realize how much they have stood the test of time, shit still rocks.

I apologize to all the bands/zines/people that submitted material back then. I hope that this can, in some small way, help to rectify my fuck-up. Please check out the myspace page and blog for the comp, we'll be putting lots of old photos/flyers, etc... feel free to contribute/comment. As someone said, those early days at ABC weren’t the best or worst or worst of times, but they were always fun.

The revival of the comp is a collaborative effort between Rich Trash, Daryl Kahan & myself. Thanks so much to Vin for putting it up for download.

— Freddy Alva

FUCK ROCK - ABC NO RIO '91

Here's a comp i never thought i'd see. The long lost unreleased ABC No Rio comp 10" from 1991. You may recognize many of the tracks on here from various records, but these are all alternate recordings exclusive to this compilation, and to my ears, every one of them destroys the released versions. Had this comp been released in 1991 it would have been right up there with "Fear of Smell" as one of the best hardcore comps of the '90s.

Listening to this brought back a lot of memories. The early '90s ABC No Rio scene was a breath of fresh air to me. A plethora of great and innovative bands that couldn't be further removed from the typical NYHC sound, especially the way that scene was headed at the time. This was a revival of real hardcore punk.

Thanks to Freddy Alva and Daryl Kahan for deciding to dig this comp out of it's grave. It really needed to be heard.

For more info on the comp, check out the FUCK ROCK - ABC No Rio '91 Myspace page here.
And for tons of great photos and stories check out the ABC No Rio blog here.

Rorschach
Charles Maggio - vocals / Keith Huckins - guitar / Nick Forte - guitar /
Chris Laucella - bass / Andrew Gormley - drums
Tom Rusnak replaced Chris on bass in 1992
Synthetic Intelligence. A crushing version of the track that originally appeared on the "Fear of Smell" comp LP (Vermiform 1993). I was lucky enough to see Rorschach at least 4 times back in the '90s, and they were completely devastating every time. One of the most powerful live bands of the era. Probably of any era.

Warning
Neil - vocals / Todd - guitar (more info as i get it)
Blind Leading The Blind. Great Discharge inspired track. I can't find any info on this band at this time, but i'll be updating this page as more info comes in. If you know anything about this band, please leave a comment.

Citizens Arrest
Daryl Kahan - vocals / Janis Cakars - guitar / Joseph Martin - bass /
Patrick Winter - drums
Touch & Go / Pressure's On. An alternate recording of Touch & Go from the mighty "Colossus" LP (Wardance 1991) and a cover of Red C's "Pressure's On" from the classic "Flex Your Head" comp LP (Dischord 1982). CxA were my favorite hardcore band of the '90s, yet, as many times as they played ABC, i missed them every time. I'm still kicking myself.

Antiem
Rich Trash - vocals / Jon Hiltz - guitar / Joe Martin - bass /
Melissa York - vocals / Patrick Winter - drums
Dog God. A massive sounding wall of noise by this ABC "supergroup". I couldn't believe this was Rich Trash (Manacled) when i first heard it. He sounds like a rabid dog here, ready to kill someone. Monster of a song. I need more of this.

Animal Crackers
Ted Leo - vocals / Janis Cakars - guitar / Squeaky - guitar /
Charlie Adamec - bass / William Tarrant - drums
Roadkill / Farting Is A Spiritual Release. Christ, i haven't heard Animal Crackers in over 15 years. Fast hardcore punk songs with Ted Leo's vocals adding a pop edge. I'm pretty sure this stuff was recorded around the time he was starting Chisel (who i love).

Hell No
John Woods - vocals / Janis Cakars - guitar / Joe Martin - bass /
Jim Paradise - drums
Deal With It. Yet another band with Janis on guitar and Joe on bass, and yet another great live band. This song sounds familiar, and i'm pretty sure it's a re-working of a song from the first record, with a different name.

Huasipungo
Esneider - vocals / Ivan - guitar ('91-'92) / David Wilentz - bass/guitar ('91-'92) / Mike - bass ('91-'97) / Francisco - drums ('91-'92) / Naoki - drums ('91-'92) / Amanda - guitar/vocals ('92-'93)
Stupid Ambition. I'm not sure the exact lineup of these recordings, as Huasipungo was contantly changing members (and their were more member changes after '92 that i didn't list here). This is a re-recording of one of the band's earlier songs, when they played completely chaotic and frantic hardcore. One of my favorite, and one of the most overlooked and under-appreciated bands of the '90s.

Born Against
Sam McPheeters - vocals / Adam Woodrow - guitar / Javier Villegas - bass /
Jon Hiltz - drums
Bret Bue replaced Javier on bass somewhere between '91-'92, so i'm not sure who plays drums on these recordings. Born Against had tons of bassist and drummer changes during their existence (for more info check out the Born Against WFMU Sessions post).
Resist Control / Well Fed Fuck. Resist Control was originally performed by Adam's former band, Life's Blood, and Well Fed Fuck is an alternate recording of the closing track to their "9 Patriotic Hymns For Children" LP (Vermiform 1991). I got to see Born Against at ABN No Rio once (with Merel i think) and they were just insane. I'm not sure what Sam was on, but i wanted some. "We're Jock Gestopo, and this first song is called Born Against".

Update: 8/10/09

2009-08-10T06:41:00.000-07:00

The Merel collection has recently been revised to include a full live set recorded on WNYU in 1990. 11 tracks, excellent sound, mandatory listening. Thanks to David Michaels and Ed Mckirdy for the help.

For the people who have been contacting me wanting a rip of the original Warzone "Lower East Side Crew" 7", here it is:
Lower East Side Crew
Like i said, these tracks are all on the Some Records demo (which is in the Warzone Rarities collection) in much better quality. But you want it, you got it.

I'm slowly going back and updating the info on past posts, as they were pretty bare-bones when i started this blog, and i want this blog to be as useful a recourse as possible. So far i've updated info on the Leeway, Token Entry, CIA and Die Kreuzen posts.

Unfortunately i won't be able to post as often as i used to because of my new work schedule. But the next 3 collections will be Pressure Release (a shitload of great music), Turning Point (demos and live sets), and Burn (discography with lots of rarities). After that the blog will most likely be on hiatus for a while.

Vin

Judge - Demos and Live 1988-1990

2009-08-04T11:25:00.000-07:00

Fucking Judge. Here's an excellent sounding rip of the 1988 demo and various live sets from 1988-1990, including the WNYU set from '88 which is my all-time favorite Judge recording. Extremely essential. Thanks to Ben Alvie, Jeff G., Claude and Brett Beach for the help. Enjoy!

Judge: Demos & Live 1988-1990

Judge were a powerhouse NY hardcore band formed in 1987 by Youth of Today guitarist John "Porcell" Porcelly and former Youth of Today drummer Mike "Judge" Ferraro. To be honest, i only recently started getting into Judge. I loved the band's first 7" when i first heard it back in the late '80s, but i never checked out the albums that followed. The NY hardcore scene exploded in the late '80s, and between 1987 and 1988 dozens of great bands seemed to just be coming out of nowhere. But it just kind of faded as quickly as it started, with the New Breed tape kinda being the final chapter of it all, for me anyway. By the time 1990 hit i was too concerned with the ABC No Rio scene and bands like Citizens Arrest and Born Against, and the beginning of the West Coast "powerviolence" scene with bands like Neanderthal and Crossed Out, to care about what Judge and related bands were up to. Needless to say i missed out on some great hardcore. So here i am at 40 years old discovering fucking Judge, and i'm loving it.

The 1988 demo was recorded at Don Fury Studios

1988 lineup:

Mike Ferraro - vocals
John Porcelly - guitar
Jimmy Yu - bass
"Lukey" Luke Abbey - drums

1989 lineup:

Mike Ferraro - vocals
John Porcelly - guitar
Matt Pincus - bass
Sammy Siegler - drums

Mike "Judge" Ferraro played drums for Death Before Dishonor (who later became Supertouch), and Youth of Today. John "Porcell" Porcelly played in Violent Children, Youth of Today, Project X and Shelter. Jimmy Yu played in Death Before Dishonor. "Lukey" Luke Abbey played drums for Warzone and Gorilla Biscuits. Sammy Siegler played in Side By Side, Gorilla Biscuits, Youth of Today and Project X.

I cleaned up all the recording as best as possible. The Live in Minneapolis 7/15/90 set is missing the track "Take Me Away", as i wanted to keep the collection under 80 minutes and that track had the worst sound quality.

Negative Trend - 1978-1979 Discography

2009-07-31T20:27:00.001-07:00

Negative Trend was '70s San Francisco junkie-punk at it's finest. This is a collection of 3 different recordings, each with a different vocalist, and each great in their own way. Enjoy.

Negative Trend: 1978-1979 Collection

The first 4 tracks are from the "We Don't Play, We Riot" 7", originally released in 1978 on Heavy Manners Records. This amazing slab was also known as the "Black & Red" ep or simply "s/t". It was repressed onto 12" vinyl in 1984 on Subterranean Records, and most recently in 2006 on 2.13.61 Records as a CD-EP. I'm not sure if it's still available, but i see no harm in posting it here. I would have to imagine any Negative Trend fan would have snatched up this repress within the past 3 years, or already have it in some format. This post is more to expose the band to those who may have never heard them. I love this record as it's the band's darkest material. Proto-deathrock, with hints of the doomy slowcore that would follow with Flipper. I think this ep had more of an influence on the early '80s LA scene than people realize. The recordings here were ripped from the 2006 CD, so the sound is excellent.

"We Don't Play, We Riot" lineup:

Mikal Waters - vocals
Craig Clay - guitar
Will Shatter - bass/vocals
Steve DePace - drums

Tracks 5 through 17 were taken from the "Miners' Benefit" CD released on White Noise Records in 2003. These songs were recorded live on March 21-22, 1978 in Mabuhay Gardens, SF. The other bands that played the benefit included U.X.A., Sleepers and Tuxedomoon. This is my personal favorite Negative Trend lineup. Total raw, stripped down, dirty rock 'n' roll in the vein of bands like The Pagans and The Stooges. Rozz's drugged out vocals fit the band perfectly, and from what i've read he was completely out of control when performing live, swinging from the rafters and attacking the audience. White Noise Records released an album in 1998 under the moniker Rozz and Negative Trend entitled The Pop Sessions. Turns out it's just a batch of songs Rozz recorded solo in 1978.

"Miners' Benefit" lineup:

Rozz Rezabek - vocals
Craig Gray - guitars
Will Shatter - bass
Todd - drums

Tracks 18-22 were taken from the "Beach Blvd." compilation LP released in 1979 on Posh Boy Records. 5 songs recorded in 6 hours with the infamous Rik L Rik on vocals. 2 of these 5 tracks also appeared on the "Tooth and Nail" comp LP put out in 1979 on Upsetter Records. Rik puts his spin on some classics from the 1978 ep, as well as 2 great new songs.

"Beach Blvd." lineup:

Rik L Rik - vocals
Graig Gray - guitar
Will Shatter - bass
Tim Mooney - drums

Will Shatter and Steve DePace went on to form Flipper.

Merel - Early Recordings 1990-1991

2009-07-30T02:55:00.000-07:00

Merel were a hardcore band from New Jersey, and simply one of my favorite bands of the early '90s. By the time they released their only full length in 1993 (s/t on on Gern Blandsten Records), they had the emo tag firmly attached to them. But the material they recorded the years prior was just chaotic and melodic hardcore at it's best. The live version of Fountain Wishing (later re-recorded as Roadkill) sends shivers down my spine. To me it's one of the best hardcore songs on the '90s, if not of all time. This is a collection of the band's recorded material between 1990-1991. Most of it is not on the discography CD. It should have been. Enjoy!
Merel: The Early Recordings 1990-1991

The "Castles and Pies" demo was released in 1991. The first 3 tracks were recorded live on WFMU in May of 1991, and are my favorite tracks in the collection (they actually appear last on the actual demo, but these songs belong up front). The remaining 5 tracks of the demo were recorded between October and November of 1990 at Bunkie Studios. Back-up vocals on the live version of "The Give and The Take" by Justin. All other back-ups by the Schwantzes.

The "Superpowers" compilation cassette was released in 1992 on Troubleman Unlimited Records (their very first release). The 2 Merel tracks on this comp were recorded somewhere between 1990-1991. These tracks kick ass.

Thye band's s/t 7" was released in 1991 on Gern Blandsten Records. Most of these tracks were on the discography CD, aside from the last track, "Bile (The Golden Years)". Here it is in it's entirety.

Also included is the band's entire set recorded live on WNYU in 1990.

I cleaned up all the files as best as possible, removing all tape hiss and boosting the sound. The demo and Superpowers tracks sound better than ever. This is a crucial collection of excellent early '90s hardcore. Don't pass it up.

Jose Ruiz - vocals
Mike Solski - guitar
Jon Ariz - guitar
David Leto - bass
Greg Leto - drums

Merel continued on until 1993. They released a split 7" with Iconoclast in 1992 on Old Glory Records, and appeared on several compilations including "Fear of Smell" (1992 Vermiform) and "God's Chosen People" (1993 Old Glory). They released their LP on Gern Blandsten in '93 and broke up shortly after.

David and Greg Leto both went on to Rye Coalition.

Update: 7/30/09

2009-07-29T21:00:00.000-07:00

I've decided to go back and revise a few older collections now that i have the software fo fix certain problems. I'll be starting with the Warzone Rarities as the track separation on the Some Records demo is pretty screwy, and i hate shit like that. The new collection should be up soon, and may even have some extra tracks.

When i started this blog, my posts were pretty bare bones as far as band info goes. Since i have some spare time here at my job, i've also decided to go back and put more info, and personal writing, in most of the older posts. I want to make this blog into more of a useful resource than just a collection of downloads. Any help with info on any of the bands on this blog is always appreciated.

Lost of great stuff in the works right now, including a Merel "rarities" collection, an 18 track Negative Trend collection, another N.O.T.A. collection, and as usual some great NYHC.

And like i said before, i'm always open to suggestions.

Vin

Moss Icon - Live 1988-1991

2009-07-28T00:58:00.000-07:00

Here's a nice companion piece to the 2xCD Moss Icon discography i posted a while back. 12 live tracks from 3 different shows. Enjoy!
Moss Icon Live

The first 5 tracks were recorded live in Annaplois in March of 1988. I had these tracks on a cassette that a friend had made for me back in the mid '90s, and just recently got around to converting the tape to mp3s. This is a rare set, and probably one of the earliest live recordings of this band you're likely to find.

Tracks 6-10 is a set from '91 that i recently found online, and a great contrast from the band's late '80s hardcore sound to the more subdued and "emo" sound they developed into the early '90s.

The last 2 tracks are from side 2 of the "It Disappears" LP, recorded live sometime between 1990-1991, and released on Vermin Scum Records in 1994. The last track, "It Disappears" is announced as "The Life" for some reason. But those are certainly 2 different songs.

original lineup:
Jonathan Vance - vocals
Tonie Joy - guitar
Monica DiGialleonardo - bass
Mark Laurence - drums

Tonie Joy also played in bands Universal Order of Armageddon, Born Against, Lava, The Great Unraveling, and The Convocation Of...

The NY Hoods - 1986-1988 Discography

2009-07-27T02:25:00.001-07:00

Yet more great '80s hardcore from Astoria, Queens. This is a collection of both the band's demos and radio sessions. Enjoy:
The NY Hoods Collection

All the files here were found online, and i cleaned them up as best as possible. I was able to remove the tape hiss from the "Neutral" demo without interfering with the sound. I fixed the problems with the "Built As One" demo, the major one being that the tracks were poorly separated. I also separated the WFMU set, which was all one mp3, and boosted the sound. The WNYU set i posted as is. It's missing the song Anger Builds unfortunately, as that track had major problems, but this collection is already an exercise in redundancy, so i don't think it's an issue. Some of the tracks are a bit rough sounding, especially the "Built As One" demo, but i'd say these are the best rips you'll find anywhere.

The "Neutral" demo was recorded in 1986, and had the skull image on the cover which i've used here. Engineered by Mick Neal and John Steigerwald.

1986 lineup:
Bobby - vocals
Matty - guitar
Nicky X - bass
Kevin - drums

Gavin Van Vlack also played for Side By Side, Absolution and Burn.

The "Built As One" demo was recorded in 1988, and was released with at least 2 different covers.

1988 lineup:
Bobby - vocals
Rich - guitar
Jay - bass
Jason - drums

Seems the only constant member was the vocalist. Also, i'm pretty sure one of the NY Hoods members was in Breakdown at one point. If anyone has any further info, please leave a comment.

Swans - Live in Bochum 1987

2009-07-18T20:31:00.000-07:00

This is an excellent sounding recording of Swans live in 1987 (Children of God era) at Zeche in Bochum, Germany. This is one of those live shows you listen to and think 'fuck, i wish i could have been there'. Completely devastating set. Thanks Ronald. Enjoy.
Swans live in Bochum 9/29/87

Swans are a band you can become easily obsessed with. I only got into them less than 10 years ago and hearing them for the first time was one of those magic moments in music that i really never thought would happen again after the mid '90s. By the time i heard Soundtracks For the Blind, no other band mattered to me for months. I consider Soundtracks to be one of the top 5 greatest pieces of music ever recorded. Fuck, Children of God might make that cut as well.

Children of God (1987) lineup:

Michael Gira - vocals, sounds, keyboards, acoustic guitar
Norman Westberg - electric / acoustic guitar
Jarboe - vocals, all female background vocals, sounds, piano
Algis Kizys - bass
Theodore Parsons - drums, percussion
William Barnhardt - piano on "Blackmail"
Simon Fraser - flute on "In My Garden"
Lindsay Cooper - oboe on "Blackmail" and "Trust Me"
Audrey Riley - cello on "Like A Drug"

Children of God originally released in the US on Caroline Records as a 2xLP (Carol 1346) in 1987 Re-released in 1997 with World of Skin as 2xCD on Gira's own Young God Records (YG02)

You're Not Real Girl, Our Love Lies, New Mind, Blind Love, Blackmail, and Sex God Sex originally released on Children of God (1987)

Your Property originally released on Cop LP (1984)

Wandering Star previously unreleased

Gorilla Biscuits - Rarities 1987-1990

2009-07-13T17:31:00.000-07:00

Here's a collection of 35 Gorilla Biscuits rarities (demos, unreleased rehearsals, and live tracks), and 6 compilation tracks. I cleaned up all the demos and rehearsals as best as possible by removing all tape hiss and adjusting the levels. This is easily the most time i've ever spent on any collection on this blog, and the end result sounds great. These are all excellent GB recordings that needed to be revised for a long time. Thanks to Mark Anthony, Adam Tanner and especially David Michaels (hope you don't mind me stealing the cover design). Enjoy.

Gorilla Biscuits Rarities and Comp Tracks

First up is the band's original demo from 1987. There's not much info on these recordings besides the fact that the band used the cheapest tapes possible (without cases) from a dollar store, and did a quick cut and past photocopy job for the covers, just to get their music out as rapidly as they could. These still stand as my all-time favorite Gorilla Biscuits recordings. I love the rough, raw sound on this stuff, and the demo version of Big Mouth was never topped in my opinion. I do like the band's s/t 7" (Revelation Records 1988), but when i want to hear these songs i always go for the demo versions. More than likely it's because i heard the demo first, and it just struck a chord with me. The '87 demo was bootlegged in 1991 onto 7" vinyl, and later appeared on the Walter Sings the Hits CD (bootlegged in Germany sometime in the '90s), along with Start Today demo (with Walter on vocals), the Moondog 7", and various live recordings. To say the CD had awful sound quality would be a huge understatement, as most of it is barely listenable.

Next up we have some great sounding unreleased studio rehearsals. These tracks were pulled from an 11 song session (where they did more than one take of some of the songs). I took the one best recording of each song, both performance and quality wise, and wound up with 6 excellent tracks, including an unreleased instrumental (song is a killer), a few re-worked earlier songs, and an instrumental version of Cats and Dogs. If you've never heard these rehearsals, you're in for a real treat.

After that it's the entire Start Today demo with Walter Schreifels replacing Civ on vocals. I cleaned this one up as best as possible, but it's still a bit rough around the edges. Especially the first track, which breaks apart at the beginning and later on in the song (it's like this on every version of these recordings i've heard), but it starts to get better after that. The sound quality varies from track to track, but this is the best version you'll ever hear of this demo, and it's great stuff. I actually like this demo just as much as the released Start Today LP. Walter's kid-like vocals give the recordings a kind of pop-punk vibe in a way, and it fits the music perfectly. Both versions kick ass. There's also a demo of the album with Civ on vocals (with different lyrics to certain songs) which is also worth hunting down.

For the various live tracks, i just stuck with unreleased songs and cover songs. The first track, Distance, later became a Moondog song, as did The Man With No Money (later named Are You Really Down?). The Western has never been released, or recorded in a studio as far as i know. Don't Tread on Me is originally by Cro-Mags, Fed Up is originally by Judge, Friends Like You is originally by Sick of it All, Should I Stay or Should I Go is originally by The Clash, and We're All Gonna Die is originally by Bad Religion. Six Times Around and The Chance are supposedly covers as well, but i've never heard them before. These live tracks were taken from the Puzzle of 38 Pieces bootleg CD, released on Deny Everything Records.

Ending the collection are a 4 compilation tracks, all taken from pretty well known records. So no further explanation needed there, and 2 bonus tracks from the CD re-issue of the band's first 7" on Revelation. There is absolutely no info on these 2 tracks, so i'm assuming they're demos or outtakes.

original lineup

vocals - Anthony "Civ" Civocelli
guitar - Walter Schreifels
bass - Arthur Smilios
drums - Luke Abbey

Luke was later replaced by Sammy Siegler (who had been in the band in the early days)
later Alex Brown (Side by Side, Project X) came aboard for 2nd guitar
John Porcelly (Youth of Today) and Mark Hayworth also joined in later incantations of the band

After Gorilla Biscuits, Anthony went on to form the major label rock band CIV.

Walter had also been a member of Warzone, Youth of Today and Project X. After Gorilla Biscuits he went on to form Moondog, Quicksand and Rival Schools.

Arthur played bass for Token Entry and Underdog for a while. After Gorilla Biscuits, he joined CIV with Civ.

Luke also played in Warzone and Judge.

Sammy would eventually go on to play drums for CIV.

Update 7/10/09

2009-07-09T23:44:00.000-07:00

The Violent Children collection was a bit of a request post. ThefleX, enjoy. I may eventually get around to that Reflex From Pain discography as well. Who knows.

Hopefully all the links work now. If anyone has any problems with anything, please let me know.

There will be longer gaps between posts for the next month or so, due to changing work hours and various other excuses. But there's some great stuff on the way, incuding a collection of live Absolution material and another N.O.T.A. collection (including the 1982 "Out On The Pavement" demo, the 1984 demo, and a live set). Next up will most likely be a Gorilla Biscuits collection of some kind. I recently cleaned up the '87 demos and '89 rehearsals and they came out amazingly well. Seriously, wait til' you hear this stuff. I'm still looking for any quality sounding Gorilla Biscuits live sets (and any Absolution sets for that matter), so please get in touch if you can help out. Got some great sounding live Swans sets on the way as well. Stay tuned.

Still looking for the following recordings as well: Jawbreaker live on WNYU, a clean sounding rip of the Neos "End All Discrimination" 7", anything by Ultraviolence, any good sounding Void demos or live sets, both demos by the band Sadistic Sex ('80s NJHC), and anything by NY Hoods (aside from the rips currently online which are poorly separated).

Also looking for just about anything recorded live on Pat Duncan's show (WFMU) between the late '80s and early '90s. Especially sets by Merel, Native Nod and Infamous Basturds.

I want to once again quickly thank everyone who's been helping me with the blog lately, by either sending me music or artwork, providing information, or just writing with words of encouragement. Mark Anthony, Bill Wend, Cooch, David Michaels, Freddy Alva, Brett Beach, Jenia, Claude, Adam Tanner, Rich Oliver, Gen, Steve, Ronald, just about everyone over at Livewire, and many more. Appreciated as always!

I'm always open to suggestions. So if there's a band you would like to see get the Blogged & Quartered treatment, let me know.

Also, leave more comments. I'm a bit of a music nerd, and love to talk about music just as much as share it.

Vin

PS: Listen to Naked City

Violent Children - 1984 Discography

2009-07-06T02:21:00.000-07:00

Classic Connecticut band from 1984 that played raw and powerful hardcore with a heavy anti-smoking, pro-skating, and "hardcore pride" theme in the lyrics department. This is a collection of everything the band released. The first 8 tracks are from the band's self titled 7", released in 1984, followed by the band's demo, recorded shortly after the 7". Excellent sound quality, as these tracks were ripped from the "Split Scene" CD, mastered and released by Lost & Found Records in 1994. Enjoy.

Violent Children 1984 Collection

Dave Rinelli - vocals
Mark Cassanova - guitar
Warren Kennedy - bass
Chris Goetz - guitar
Ray Cappo - drums

John "Porcell" Porcelly replaced Chris and Mark in September of '84
Bill Knapp (Reflex From Pain) played drums on the track "Live Free or Die"

The s/t 7" was recorded at Blue Cellar Studios and was originally self-released by the band. It was repressed in 1993 (United Nutmeg Records no. 1).

The demo was originally recorded by the band in Sept. of '84. It was bootlegged in 1991 as the "Skate Straight" 7", and later repressed in 1993 as "Rock Against Spindlers" (United Nutmeg Records no. 2), minus a couple of tracks.

Their songs have made it to a few compilations as well. The track "Violent Children" appeared on the great comp LP "Big City: One Big Crowd" (Big City 1985), the track "Rad-Con" appeared on the "CTHC: The Way It Was" comp 7" (Flex! 1994), and various 7" and demo tracks appeared on the "Die Jerry Die" comp LP (Anthrax Records 1988). I'm sure their are more.

In 1994, Lost & Found Records released all their recordings as the "Split Scene" CD, and later on a CD comp called "A Time We'll Remember Vol. 1", which also featured recordings by 108, Project X, and The Abused.

Track 16 is kind of a mystery track. It appears on the Lost & Found releases as "Something Else" (which is how i've labeled it). I've also seen it labeled as "Talk" or even simply "?" on various bootlegs.

Of course Ray Cappo and John Porcell went on to form Youth of Today. But that's a whole other chapter.

Corrupted Morals - 1986-1989 Discography

2009-07-03T20:36:00.000-07:00

Of all the late '80s California punk bands based around the Gilman Street Project, Corrupted Morals were my favorite. They played the perfect mix of punk and thrash, almost veering into crossover territory at times, but always remaining 100% hardcore. These songs are guaranteed to kick your ass.

This is a collection of every song the band recorded between 1986-1989 (that i know of), 36 tracks in excellent sound quality (most of this stuff sounds like it was taken straight from the master tapes). The "Chet" 7" (1988 Lookout! Records) was ripped from the "Punk Seven Inch Vol. 1" CD, released on Lookout! in 2003. I boosted the sound on all the other tracks in the collection to match the volume of those recordings. An official Corrupted Morals discography CD is long overdue, and most likely will never happen. For now this is the best sounding, and most comprehensive collection you're going to find, so don't pass it up. Thanks to DirtySteve, Gen, Lookout!, and especially Very Small Records for the music. Enjoy.

Corrupted Morals 1986-1989 Collection

1986

tracks 1-12 were released as the "Think About It" demo

one track (Big Man) was released on "The Thing That Ate Floyd" 2xLP (1988 Lookout! Records)

six tracks (Think About It / Money Goes Around / No Assholes / Quality Control / Go Home / What?) were released as the "Think About It" 7" (1989 Very Small Records)

two tracks (Mad Reign & Big Man) were released on the "People of the Pit" comp LP (1987 Goddam Church Records)

one track (Quality Control) was released on "Four Two Pudding 1989-1993" (1993 Very Small Records)

1987

tracks 13-22 were recorded at Art of Ear in San Francisco, CA in June of 1987

five tracks (Be All You Can Be / Peer Pressure / Corrupted Morals / Power / The Adventures of Edwin Meese) were released as the "Chet" 7" (1988 Lookout! Records)

four tracks (I'm Not Smiling / Mr. Liberty / I Don't Know / American Dream) were released as a 4 song demo

one track (Where Is He?) was released on the "Turn It Around" 2x7" (1987 MRR)
later re-released on the "Turn It Around" LP (1991 Very Small Records)

several other of the 1986-1987 demos were released on various tape compilations, including "Hit the Button", "Dry Shaving Disasters" and "Risen From Obscurity"

Lineup for the 1986-1987 recordings:

Rick Morgan - vocals
Dan Boland - guitar
Ray Sebastian - guitar
Roman - bass
Joel Wing (bass on the "Chet" 7")
Jose Mariscol - drums

1989

tracks 23-36 were released on the "Cheese-It" LP (1989 Lookout! Records)

The track Peer Pressure from the "Cheese-It" LP has been omitted from this collection for a couple of reasons. The first being that the recording i had sounded awful and cuts off before the track finishes, and the second was i wanted the collection to clock in under 80 minutes (as usual), which is now does. The song Peer Pressure does appear in this collection though, as part of the 1987 sessions (the superior version in my opinion), so the collection is still complete as far as i'm concerned.

Lineup for the 1989 recordings:

Rick Morgan - vocals
Dan Boland - guitar
Larry Lalonde - guitar
Roman - bass
Jose Mariscol - drums

some notes of interest:

Larry Lalonde also played for Primus and the great metal band Possessed.

Billy Joe Armstrong from Green Day has also been noted as playing in Corrupted Morals, although i'm not sure which, if any, recordings he appears on.

Before Corrupted Morals, certain members played in an '80 metal/hardcore band called Desecration. Check out their stuff if you can find it.

The Manacled

2009-06-29T22:59:00.000-07:00

The Manacled 7" was recorded at Don Fury studios in 1991 and released on Vermiform Records in 1992 (VMFM8), 1,000 copies pressed. I played this record endlessly in the '90s, and thanks to Rich Trash, who was kind enough to send me the mp3s, i'm enjoying it all over again nearly 17 years later. This is as punk as punk gets. The Manacled are the polar opposite of bands who spend countless hours in the studio, doing take after take until everything is perfect. This is the real deal. Raw production and great hardcore songs with all mistakes in tact. Rich Trash's fuck everyone and everything attitude in the vocal department and Janis Cakars (Citizens Arrest) trademark guitar sound was the perfect match. Rounding out the foursome were Charlie Adamec (who started the band with Rich in '89 when they were called Atrocity), and Melissa York who played drums for many bands in the '90s including Team Dresch, and even played with Born Against for a while (who hasn't?). My favorite band she was in was Sugar Shock, who contributed one of my favorite tracks on the infamous Fear of Smell compilation LP, released on Vermiform in 1993.

Listening to this again brings back a lot of memories, but hearing some of these songs also reconfirms my belief that this band called it quits too soon. Present At Interest is especially great, with York's back-up vocals, and ending on a Cakars riff that wouldn't sound out of place on Citizens Arrest's "A Light in the Darkness" ep. And the track Paradox, which shows the band at their tightest and most aggressive until erupting into Deep Wound style madness. Then there's the completely insane Drugs, and the closing track, with Rich ranting about everything he hates over the same riff for 2 minutes, with the chorus "I hate everything!!". Great stuff. If only The Manacled had stayed together, they could made a hell of a full length. Who knows, maybe they could have taken over the world.

Hi, I'm Rich Trash, from The Manacled. I'd just like to take this opportunity to thank you, sincerely, for inviniting us into your home.
The Manacled

Rich Oliver aka Rich Trash aka Trashman - vocals
Charlie Adamec - bass
Janis Cakars - guitar
Melissa York - drums

Rich also appeared on the Fear of Smell comp LP (Vermiform), contributing a spoken word piece called "Fuck Everything". He was also in the short-lived Antiem along with Melissa York, Joe Martin (Citizens Arrest, Hell No) and Jon Hiltz (Born Against, Greyhouse). If all goes well, i should be getting some Antiem stuff pretty soon, which i'll of course share here.

Janis Cakars played in Citizens Arrest, Hell No and Animal Crackers, along with Charlie Adamec, and a young Ted Leo.

Melissa York played in Team Dresch, Vitapup, The Butchies, Sugar Shock, Born Against, and also did the album art for Hell No's debut album in 1992.

You can check out The Manacled page on Myspace here.
You can watch some insane live footage of The Manacled here.
And you can check out Rich's blog "The Trash Man's Disposable Reader" right here.

Absolution - 1988-1989 Discography

2009-06-23T23:54:00.001-07:00

Absolution were a NYHC band during the late'80s, but they were in a league of their own. They played some of the most creative, energetic and powerful hardcore of the time, with some of the most thought provoking and intelligent lyrics the '80s NY hardcore scene had to offer. Because of their small output of recorded material, and because the second-wave of hardcore in NYC (1986-1989) was overloaded with (mostly) great bands, Absolution kind of remained an obscurity. In my opinion, they were head and shoulders above most of their contemporaries, and every bit as good as any classic NYHC band you can name. Bottom line... they should have been huge.

In 1997, Temperance Records put out a "discography" LP/CD which turned out to be one of the worst documentations of a band's recorded work i've just about ever seen. Various tracks thrown together without any rhyme or reason, not to mention the demo, which was not only incomplete, but suffered from awful sound quality. I appreciate the effort, but it just seemed hastily put together, and is simply a bad representation of this great band's work. The one good thing about the release was the live tracks, which had no info unfortunately, but sounded great. I recently found out the set was from CBGB on 4/17/88, and was thankfully complete. I'll be posting that set as well as some other live Absolution sets in a future collection. For now, you can enjoy this collection, which hopefully does the band more justice than the Temperance release. The first 6 tracks are the band's studio tracks. The track from the Murders Among Us comp 7" (Vermiform/Combined Effort) was recorded in 1989 and released in 1990 after the band had broken up. The next track is the band's incredible opening to the New Breed comp tape, released in 1989 by Freddy Alva and Chaka Malik Harris. It's a killer song that many people will tell you is the highlight of the comp. Tracks 3-6 are from the band's only 7", released in 1989 on Dave Stein's Combined Effort Records. Seems i'm in the minority, but i really like this record. Next up is the band's classic 13 song demo from 1988 (my personal favorite Absolution recordings). I was able to get a nice sounding rip, plus I boosted the sound to just about match the volume of the studio tracks, and also cleaned them up a bit. This is the band at their most raw and aggressive, and just one of the best demos of the late '80s. After that we have 2 unreleased outtakes from the 7" sessions. I spent some extra time on these tracks (removing tape hiss, amplifying the sound etc). The rips of these songs making the rounds online are barely listenable. Ending the collection is an excellent sounding set recorded live at the Anthrax Club on 5/20/88. It's a short set (i'm not sure if it's complete), but it's the best sounding live Absolution i've heard yet. Thanks to Freddy Alva and Eric Himle for the music. Thanks to everyone over at Livewire for the info and help. Enjoy

Absolution Collection

Djinji Brown - vocals
Gavin Van Vlack - guitar
Alan Peters - bass
Greg Johnston - drums

Gavin also played in NY Hoods and Side By Side.
Alan Peters played on Agnostic Front's "Liberty and Justice For..." LP (1987 Combat Core).

Shortly after the release of the Absolution 7", Alan joined Crawlpappy and was replaced by Sergio Vega (Collapse). Greg also left, and was replaced by by John Kricksiun (Collapse / Life's Blood). They played two shows with this lineup before calling it quits.

After the breakup Gavin and John formed Burn. Later Gavin played for Die 116 with members of Rorschach. Sergio eventually joined Quicksand, and Djinji went off on his solo venture, releasing albums of world music inspired hip-hop.

Absolution reunited in 2008 for some shows. I wish i could have been there.

The band's fan Myspace is here.

Naked City - Live in Bremen, Germany 1989

2009-06-20T19:52:00.001-07:00

An excellent sounding recording of Naked City performing live in Bremen, Germany on November 3, 1989. This is Naked City at their very best, as Zorn and his incredible group go from a haunting rendition of the theme from Rosemary's Baby, into an amazing version of the Hawaii 5-0 title track, straight into a short hardcore jazz number that Zorn describes as "Gang Green meets Ornette Coleman". From there it's a mash of movie scores, jazzy rock songs, and short grindcore and "thrash jazz" songs that at times sounds like an insane mix of Albert Ayler and Napalm Death. Only Naked City could pull this stuff off, and do it so precisely and effortlessly that it leaves you with your jaw hanging. My personal favorite track, Reanimator, amazes me every time. It starts out in usual Naked City fashion, but soon turns into doomy, morbid sounding madness, with what sounds like each instrument playing a different song. And it somehow works perfectly.

I've posted a set by Torture Garden a while back, which was Naked City's Japanese counterpart, but this is the real Naked City. Amazing musicians to say the least, and some of the best drumming you're likely to ever hear in a live setting. Joey Baron is flawless. If you're a Naked City fan, you need to hear this. If you're not, you will be after listening to this set. Thanks again to Ronald. Enjoy.

Naked City Live in Bremen, Germany 11/3/89

John Zorn - saxophone, composer
Bill Frisell - guitar
Fred Frith - bass
Wayne Horvitz - synthesizer, piano
Joey Baron - drums

No Yamatsuka Eye vocals on this one sadly.

Some notes on these recordings:

Back in the Earth originally recorded by Live Skull and released on the band's 1987 album, Dusted, on Homestead Records.

The score to Roman Polanski's cult classic Rosemary's Baby written by Krystof Komeda.

The title track of the hit TV series Hawaii 5-0 written by Morton Stevens.

The score of John Huston's 1963 film The List of Adrian Messenger written by Jerry Goldsmith.

Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang composed and conducted by John Barry for the 1965 film Thunderball.

The Yodel originally recorded by John Patton and released on the 1966 album Got A Good Thing Goin'.

The title track of the TV series The Man From U.N.C.L.E. written by Jerry Goldsmith.

Original score to Lawrence Kasdan's 1981 film Body Heat composed by John Barry.

Original score to Norman Jewison's gritty 1965 film Cincinnati Kid (starring Steve McQueen) composed by Lalo Schifrin.

I've been on a huge Naked City kick lately. To those interested in checking out the band's studio albums, i would highly recommend the s/t album (a great mix of all Naked City styles), Torture Garden (over 40 tracks of complete grindcore madness, featuring the inhuman vocals of Yamatsuka Eye), and my favorite, Radio. To give the beginner an overall feel for the band, i've uploaded the track American Psycho from the Radio album. To me this track represents the band's full potential. 6 minutes showcasing the band at their most creative, and most insane. Check it out, it will make you a believer.

Collapse - 1989 Don Fury Sessions and live

2009-06-17T19:08:00.000-07:00

Maybe the most overlooked of all the late '80s NYHC bands. Collapse were a powerhouse. Far from the typical NYHC sound, Collapse were as heavy as the genre ever got, incorporating elements of Black Sabbath (most noticeable in songs like Collapse and Not Today), Black Flag and Motorhead into their sound. Powerful stuff to say the least. This collection contains the 4 tracks recorded at Don Fury Studio in 1989, two of which are instrumental versions of songs that appear in the live sets with vocals. Also here are three great sounding live sets all recorded in 1989. Two of the last shows they ever played at CBGB and The Pyramid Club in NYC, and an earlier set recorded at the Anthrax. Thanks to Freddy Alva for all the recordings, thanks to Dan and Bart for the art, and thanks to everyone over at the Livewire board for their help with info etc. I've been listening to this stuff a lot lately, and it floors me every time. Enjoy.

Collapse 1989 Collection

Sean P Murphy - vocals
Camillus Peluso - guitar
Sergio Vega - bass
John Kriksciun - drums

The song Failure appeared on the New Breed compilation tape released in 1989. There was also a 7" released in 1993 on Mat Gard's label, HLH Records in NJ, which features 2 of the Don Fury recordings and some songs from the band's final performance at The Pyramid.

Sean P. Murphy on the CBGB 4/23/89 show, which also featured American Standard, Supertouch and Underdog:

The tracks are live and raw but featured the band at it's tightest. We were blessed to have as our soundman and friend the legendary Jerry Williams aka Jay Dublee - the man that brought us the Bad Brains Roir cassette and also the Cro-Mags original demo.

The cuts have never been released in any form but they do document the bands sound well - as well as the sound of the End:
The End of the Eighties and of the original hardcore scene.

The band saw the changes - and heard them of course.

We wanted to move forward musically.

We wanted to go ''Into the 90's - and The Collapse''.

Check out the band's Myspace here.

Cro Mags - Live at Wellington's 1986

2009-06-17T18:38:00.001-07:00

The Age of Quarrel lineup playing Age of Quarrel from start to finish, plus Crush the Demoniac. I've seen some vinyl rips of this on some blogs, but this one is ripped (at 320kb) from the hard to find CD version, also known as We Gotta Know and Hard Times, so the sound is excellent. Thanks to DirtySteve from Livewire. Recorded July 26, 1986 in a tiny basement club in Winnipeg called Wellington's. As always they played their hearts out and completely destroyed. Enjoy.
Cro Mags: Live at Wellington's 1986

John Joseph - vocals
Parris Mayhew - guitar
Harley Flanagan - bass
Doug Holland - guitar
Mackie Jayson - drums

A couple notes of interest: Crush the Demoniac (later to appear on Best Wishes) has different lyrics here. Supposedly there is a second Wellington's bootleg out there that was recorded a day earlier at the same venue.

The Abused - 1982-1983 Discography

2009-06-17T17:38:00.000-07:00

The true originators of the NYHC sound. The Abused. Here's a collection of 21 songs, great sound quality. The first track was recorded live at the infamous A7 Club in 1982. Thanks Alvie! Also included is the entire 12 song '82 demo. These tracks were ripped from the CD on Lost & Found Records, so the quality is excellent. And last is the Loud & Clear 7", released on Abused Records in 1983. These tracks were taken from a collection of NYHC links posted on the B9 message board a while back. Cheers to whoever's responsible for the rip. I boosted the sound a bit to match the volume of the demo, and also cleaned it up as best as possible. There's still some slight surface noise, but the entire collection sounds great. Loud and full. Many of the tracks from the 7" were also on the demo, but the recordings are completely different. I prefer the 7" as far as the tracks that appear on both, but the demo has some killer songs like Rule on You, Psycho Song (listed as Aaargh on the Lost & Found CD), and We Need A War. Supposedly the band members have been talking of releasing some rare live recordings, with lots of unreleased tracks, sometime in the future. Hopefully that happens. Until then, you can enjoy this collection:
The Abused Collection

Kevin Crowley - vocals
Raf Astor - guitar
Dave Colo'n - bass
Brian Dundon - drums

9 of the 12 demo tracks were bootleged as the the New York Hardcore 7" on Dick Dance Records in 1992. The Lost & Found collection was put out as an LP sometime in the '90s, then later released on CD and also as part of a Lost & Found series of CDs called A Time We'll Remember. They were on Vol.1 along with 108, Project X and Violent Children.

This is heavy, violent sounding, burly hardcore that became the blueprint for all who followed in New York City. Check it out.

N.O.T.A. - 1983-1986 Discography

2009-06-04T19:22:00.000-07:00

Classic hardcore from Tulsa, Oklahoma. None of the Above existed between 1979 and 1987, and released some great thrashy hardcore punk records and comp tracks during that time. This is a collection of most of the band's recorded material between 1983 and 1986, excluding the Live at the Crystal Pistol demo (a set recorded at a cowboy bar on "punk night" on 1/11/83) which was later re-issued with bonus tracks by Prank Records. It's still in print. They also put out a "garage practice" style demo in 1982 called Out on the Pavement, which they immediately scrapped after giving some out to friends. Three of the tracks from that tape made it on to the re-issue of Live at the Crystal Pistol CD. Aside from those 2 demos, the only tracks missing here would be their tracks on the Birth Defect compilation tape, which seems to be impossible to find. So here you go, 39 tracks in 79 minutes. All keepers. All great quality. Enjoy.

N.O.T.A. Collection

Jeff Klein - vocals/guitar
Russel Love - guitar
Bruce Hendrickson - bass
Bob Purdom - drums

Dave Scum replaced Jeff on vocals for the 1986 demo.

The first track on this collection is from the international punk compilation Welcome to 1984, originally released by Maximum Rock 'N' Roll. Apparently MRR loved the band's Live at the Crystal Pistol demo so much, they used the song Propaganda Control from that tape. N.O.T.A. shared the comp with The Crucifucks from Michigan to represent the US. I'd say using the band's live demo track from '83 on the Welcome to 1984 comp is a testament to the band's greatness. This song was ripped from the re-issue CD put out by Sonic Reducer Records. Next up is the band's first 7" Moscow, released in 1984 on Unclean Records. This is my personal favorite, just loads of energy, a raw production, and the title track is just a classic. Good sound quality. Not perfect, but it fits these recordings perfectly. After that is the band's follow-up 7" Toy Soldiers on Rabid Cat Records, also released in '84. Sound is great on this one, as it was ripped from the CD compilation Punk Territory Vol. 3: US Hardcore 1981-1984. The entire Punk Territory series is excellent, so find them if you can. Next is the bands vicious tracks from the Empty Skulls tape, followed by the self titled LP from 1985. I love this album. Just the perfect combination of thrashy hardcore and punk anthems with a great production. To me it plays more like a compilation rather than a cohesive album, but some of the band's most powerful stuff is on here. I spent some time on this one, cleaning it up as much as possible, so the sound quality is great. Ending this collection are some rarities i recently came across. Two unreleased tracks from the LP sessions, and a demo from 1986. For more info on these recordings, check out this blog. And to top it all off is a cover song (by a band i've never heard of called Brown 25) recorded live at the Lawrence Opera House on 12/01/84 (by Jason Willis). You can hear that entire live set here.

After the initial 1979-1987 lineup, the band reformed in 1993 with mostly new members, and released a bunch of albums. Maybe one day i'll check them out.

Born Against - The WFMU Sessions 1990-1991 (revised)

2009-06-01T18:58:00.000-07:00

My first exposure to Born Against was hearing them play live on Pat Duncan's radio show on WFMU in 1990. Of course i immediately ran out and bought their s/t 7", and was even lucky enough to score a copy of Dear Jesus #37 (Born Against front man Sam's zine) which came with a copy of the Eulogy/Riding With Mary 7". The records were great, but i think i played that WFMU live set (which i had recorded) way more than the records at that time. It was just so much more intense and frantic than the studio recordings. By the time the full length came out, Born Against were one of my favorite bands of the '90s, along with Citizens Arrest and Rorschach. They played ABC No Rio constantly from '90-'91. The one time i got to see them play there was in October of 1991 with Merel and 1.6 Band. That was their last show with Javier on bass. What a kick ass show.

So here's the two sets Born Against played at the WFMU studio in East Orange, NJ (currently in Jersey City, NJ). The first one was recorded on 11/11/90, and was their first show with Jon Hiltz on drums, replacing Daryl Kahan (Citizens Arrest), who played on the band's first 7". The second one was recorded on 5/16/91. These sets are some of my favorite recordings this band ever did. Sound quality is good. Enjoy

Born Against: The WFMU Sessions

the lineup during these recordings:
Sam McPheeters - vocals
Adam Nathanson - guitar
Javier Villegas - bass
Jon Hiltz - drums

Born Against existed between 1989 and 1993 and played over 218 shows in 37 states, and in 14 different countries. They went through many lineup changes during their existence, with Sam McPheeters and Adam Nathanson (ex-Life's Blood) being the only constant members. They went through 7 different drummers, and 4 bass players, including Tonie Joy of Moss Icon and Neil Burke of Life's Blood. All the records they released were on Sam's own label (Vermiform), besides their split with Screeching Weasel (Lookout Records) and their split with Universal Order of Armageddon (Gravity Records).

The song Eulogy, which was a re-working of a Clenched Fist song (a short-lived band from the late '80s with Neil Burke, Daryl Kahan and some members of Mental Abuse), was written about Steve Reddy of Equal Vision Records (founded by Ray Cappo in the early '90s).

After Born Against broke up, Sam went on to Men's Recovery Project and Wrangler Brutes, and Adam went on to Young Pioneers. All great stuff.

There's a quality sounding Born Against set recorded live at Gilman St, Berkely, CA on 2/19/93 that you can download from this blog.

You can hear the infamous Born Against vs. Sick of it All debate here. Sam, Adam and Charles (Rorschach) go head to head with Lou and Pete (SOIA), and the head honcho of In-Effect Records. Awkward to say the least.

Torture Garden - Live at the Knitting Factory 1990

2009-05-29T19:49:00.001-07:00

As John Cleese would say "And now for something completely different..."

Torture Garden was "the Japanese side of Naked City", and played the shorter, more hardcore/grindcore oriented songs of John Zorn's Naked City project. They never recorded a studio album with this lineup, but played some shows in New York, one of which is documented here.

If you've heard Naked City's "Torture Garden" album, then you'll know what to expect here, as this is pretty much all material from that album. If you've never heard it, just expect complete insanity. Free form jazz grindcore with Zorn's screaming sax and Yamatsuka Eye's almost inhuman vocals. It just has to be heard to be believed. This set was recorded live at the Knitting Factory in NYC on October 6, 1990, and the sound quality is excellent. Thanks Ronald. Enjoy.

Torture Garden Live

John Zorn on Torture Garden:

I hear you have a hardcore band in New York. Is that true?

Zorn: Well, in Japan, I have got a group of musicians that I have worked with a lot, that concentrate just on the hardcore stuff, say, that Naked City has been working on. We have like a repertoire of sixty songs now.

Wow. Does it have a name?

Zorn: It's called Torture Garden: Yoshida, the drummer from the Ruins; Eye is the vocalist, Ema Hori who is an incredible guitar player. And the bass player is also from the Ruins, this guy Kimoto. We just played at CB's last week. I brought them all over to New York to do some gigs.

Great. Is there going to be anything coming out on vinyl or CD of that band?

Zorn: For that particular band, nothing is planned yet. I'd like to do a twelve-inch with 5 songs or something like that. All the Torture Garden material has already been recorded by the band Naked City. That'll come out on Earache out of Great Britain and Shimmy Disc here in the States [ed. note: It came out in 1991].

Shimmy Disc is licensing the Earache record?

Zorn: Well, it's a complicated thing. Basically, this Naked City record (the first album on Nonesuch) came out, right. In the middle of it are about ten songs that are really short and hard. I said I wanted to do a record of 40 of those pieces, cause I was really interested in the compression and compactness of form that that music gets to.

You can read the entire interview here.

Zorn's discography seems to be endless. His band Painkiller with Mick Harris (Napalm Death) on drums, and Bill Laswell on bass, is also worth checking out. A great mix of thrash and ambient, mostly improvised. I'd also recommend the first Naked City album, which includes covers of movie scores, as well as songs in the more psychotic style of the Torture Garden album, with Yamatsuka Eye (Boredoms) on vocals, and some other goodies thrown in. Zorn and Eye were both a huge influence on Mike Patton, who also collaberated with Zorn and sang for Naked City for a while. Outside of Naked City and Painkiller, i've never really checked out any of Zorn's other work. The volume of his recorded work intimidates me i guess.

Outburst - 1987-1989

2009-05-28T19:51:00.000-07:00

Tons of great hardcore bands came out of Astoria, Queens during the '80s. Kraut, Leeway, NY Hoods, Token Entry, Murphy’s Law, Abombanation, Breakdown, Fit Of Anger... and one of all-time favorites, Outburst. Their demo (recorded in 1987 at Don Fury studios) has stood the test of time for me as one of the best demos to come out of the late '80s NYHC scene. Just total anger and energy put to tape, with such a massive guitar sound and pissed off vocals. The way hardcore should sound. Thanks to drummer Joe (a hell of a nice guy) for letting me use this demo as part of this collection, even though it's on the CD released by Blackout, along with the Miles To Go 7" from 1989. I'm not sure if the CD is still in print, but if it is, buy it. Also included here is the band's 3 tracks from the classic New Breed compilation tape from 1989, two studio songs not on the demo, and one live track. Next up is the band's set recorded live on WNYU's Crucial Chaos in 1988. The sound quality on the first track starts off a bit rough, but it gets better. Then there's a set recorded live at CBGB on 2/28/88. Same deal as the WNYU set, it starts off a bit rough, but gets much better as it goes on, and it's a great set that ends with kick ass cover of All Twisted by Kraut. Ending the collection is GB Foolaround, kind of a partial cover of Gorilla Biscuits' No Reason Why, recorded at Don Fury's during the demo sessions. These are all the best sounding rips i could find of all this stuff. It's not always perfect, but this is raw and angry NYHC, so it's not meant to sound pretty. Enjoy.

Outburst Collection

VOCALS: Brian Donahue
GUITAR: George D'errico
GUITAR: Jay Rufino
BASS: Chris Bruno
DRUMS: Joe Songco

members after original lineup:
VOCALS: Chris Benetos
BASS: Mike Welles

Besides the tracks here, the band also recorded 2 songs for the NYHC: Where the Wild Things Are comp LP and a 7" entitled Miles To Go, both released on Blackout Records in 1989.

For some great Outburst photos, interviews and stories, check out the Double Cross web zine (check my links). Just type Outburst into the search box, you'll find lots of cool stuff.

The band's Myspace is here.

Updates, Thank You's and Fuck Off's (5/26/09)

2009-05-26T02:13:00.000-07:00

The Token Entry collection has been revised as of 5/26/09 to include 4 unreleased tracks from the Ready Or Not... Here We Come 7" sessions (1985) with original vocalist Anthony Comunale (later of Raw Deal/Killing Time). Apparently their were enough tracks recorded for a full length (which was the original plan), but the band opted to choose 4 tracks and release a 7" instead. So their are rumored to be more unreleased tracks out there somewhere. Maybe one day we'll get to hear them, but for now we have these 4, so go check it out. I really like them.

The Krakdown collection was revised (for the 2nd time) on 5/22/09. If you've downloaded it before then, i highly suggest dumping what you have and downloading the new one. The sound on the '87 demo is much better (the other one was slightly sped up and had major tape hiss problems), plus i added more tracks, including the 1985 demo with Chris Crumbsucker on vocals, and the cover of Sock Woman from the Seeing With New Eyes comp 7". I'm finally happy with this collection.

Also, as many people have suggested, i'm going to start putting the cover art, as a jpeg, in the zipped folders along with the music. I can't go backwards obviously as it i would take too much time, but going forward that's the plan. As you'll see, ther'es a cover jpeg in the revised Token Entry collection.

I'd like to quickly thank all the people that have helped me so far with this blog, as i don't take that shit for granted. Andy from Mortville Records for helping make shitty sounding recordings listenable. Guy's a miracle worker. Alex, Mike Fairley and Claude "Brooklyn" for their help with the Krakdown recordings (among other things), and Jared from B9 for the Krakdown 7" rip. Jon Gaasland for the Our Gang help, Chris "Cooch" for the Leeway and many other rips. Rich Booher and Jon for the rare Life's Halt stuff. Paul (Daghouse) for the Hated stuff. Zeno for the great M.A.N. rip. James Gatz, Robbie Crash and Tyler for their help with the Sons of Ishmael recordings. Dan Hashthrash for the Infest. Mike BS for the SFA. Gen for the Ruido. Smegma and Imagnry War for the Jawbreaker help. Jenia for the Token Entry. Flame Still Burns (B9) for the Samuel. The guy who runs Day Without A Record (as well as the Scam Myspace page) for the Scam discography. The amazing Lockjaw for the NYC Mayhem rehearsals. Fernando for all his CCM info. Freddy Alva for letting me use songs from his New Breed comp for certain collections. Best comp ever. Thanks to whoever runs firstpress.net/hc for all the great live sets and The Hardcore Archaeologist for all the great art. Thanks to the bands that didn't mind me putting up their music, even when some of it was still available. A Priori! Thanks also to Joe (Outburst), Dave K, Gatsby, Daryl Kahan, Mike and anyone who helped out in any way with info or just encouragement. My first collection was NYC Mayhem. I got one of the demos from Good Bad Music (I think now it's called Good Bad Music for Bad Times), and one or two of the other demos from Damaging Noise. So thanks to those 2 blogs for that. And all the other great folks over at Livewire, WITB, B9 and B10. You all rule, and sorry if i left anyone out.

Speaking of Good Bad Music, i recently asked the guy who runs that blog to trade links. His response was "Vin: Why should I bother trading links with you when you post my rips on your blogs? I’m pretty sure this will end up on your blog too, so you’ve got your “link exchange” then." I thought that was a rather odd response, as i gave him full credit for the NYC Mayhem demo (which sounded much better than mine). He then mentioned my Damage post. I actually got all three Damage recordings (the 85 demo, Sins of Our Fathers, and Live Off the Board) from this batch of links:
http://www.thorprecords.com/boards/viewthread.php?fid=1&tid=10559&action=printable
Don't get too excited when you click that, as most of those links are expired now. But at one point a while back, that group of links made it's way from message board to message board, in just about every upload thread made. I told him there was no way i could have known it was his rip originally, but got no response. Anyway, i just wanted to vent a little. I love Fear of God and i love the guy's blog, but this will serve as my "fuck off". I could care less about the link, but i'd love a rational response, as opposed to more insults. I'm an old man for christ sake, let's talk like adults.

Also, if anyone ever wants to use any parts of my collections, or even the entire collections, on their blogs, feel free. You can even use the custom covers if you like. No need to ask, and no need to give me credit. For me it's not a pissing contest, i just like to assemble and share music that i love. I figure the more blogs it's on, the more people may hear it. That's all i care about. But i guess not everyone's like that. Oh well...

GO! - Rarities 1989-1991

2009-05-26T01:01:00.001-07:00

Here's a great collection of GO! recordings not found on their discography CD entitled Existence. Here we have the original version of their first ep And the Time is Now, originally released on Noo Yawk Rehkids in 1989. This record does appear on the Existence CD, although for some reason they decided to re-record the guitar parts for that discography to go for a more metalic sound. As you'll hear in this collection, the original versions are far superior, and i can't imagine why they would choose to tamper with those recordings. Also included is their split 7" with Bad Trip, Pay to GO! on Skene Records, their live 7" Only Sheep Need a Leader, their 2 second track from the legendary Slap A Ham comp Bllleeeeaaauuurrrrgghhh!, and the entire 12 track demo recorded in 1989, shortly after Mike Bullshit left SFA and was replaced by Brendan. The Existence CD, which is currently being repressed, contains the band's 4 studio eps, and 4 tracks from the demo. It's well worth your money, as the Your Power Means Nothing 7" is an absolute classic. GO! also released a great live flexi in 1990 called Root Canal, which i didn't include because it appears in it's entirety as bonus tracks on the band's 2006 CD ep Reactive. Also worth your money. I'd say between Existence, Reactive and this odds 'n' ends collection, you'll pretty much have all the GO! you'll need as far as the early stuff goes. The band put out a couple more 7"s after Reactive, and are still kicking. Although at the moment i think they're looking for members. You can check out the band's website here and Myspace page here. Thanks as usual to Andy (Mortville) for his great vinyl rips and for boosting the sound on the demo. Enjoy.
GO! Rarities 1989-1991

As far as the music goes, in case you haven't heard GO!. They were from NYC, and played great hardcore. Far removed from the NYHC sound of the early '90s, they played fast and aggressive punk songs, with anti-homophobic, anti-sexist and anti-violence dominating the lyrics, although still having a great sense of humor. And Mike is one of the nicest guys you'll ever talk to.

And The Time Is Now... 7"EP
Recorded Nov. 1989 at CMA, mixed by Don Fury
Vocals: Mike Bullshit
Guitars: Aaron
Bass: John
Drums: Ronn

The Word Is Go! Demo
Recorded April 1989, engineered by Jaques Kralian at the Music Box
Vocals: Mike Bullshit
Guitars: Aaron
Drums: Ronn

All music by Go! 1989-1991 except:
"You Say You'll" by Javier Villegas,
"Electricity" by OMD, and
"Milk" by Billy Arbizu/SFA 85/86

All lyrics by Mike Bullshit except "The A-Train" by John

NYHC Mayhem - The Rehearsals 1985

2009-05-23T14:07:00.001-07:00

More great sounding NYC Mayhem stuff i recently discovered. Great sound quality and great versions of classic songs from all the demos. It's all here, from their insane version of death metal to their short bursts of positive hardcore. Some of the band's best recordings are in these rehearsals Thanks to the Lockjaw blog. Enjoy.
NYC Mayhem Rehearsals

From the band's Myspace here:

Founded by ex-Corrupt vocalist / drummer Tommy Carroll and former Assault personnel guitarist Gordon Ancis and bassist Tony Marc. Mayhem issued a six track demo in 1985 after which Marc was substituted by erstwhile Smegma bassist Craig Setari. Setari later journeyed through Youth of Today, Rest in Pieces and Agnostic Front. Ancis has also had a stint in AgnosticC Front. Last line-up: Tommy Carroll - vocals, drums, Gordon Ancis - guitar, Craig Setari - Bass.