Thursday, May 21, 2009

Krakdown - 1985-1990 Discography



Revised: 5/22/09, to include a much better sounding rip of the '87 demo (the one posted before was slightly sped up, and had major tape-hiss problems). I also added some more tracks, including the 1985 demo with Chris Notaro (Crumbsuckers) on vocals, plus the comp tracks from NYHC: The Way It Is and Seeing With New Eyes.

Here's a great collection of all the best sounding Krakdown recordings you're likely to find. Krakdown were a great, fast hardcore band from New York who went through many lineup changes, played lots of shows in the late '80s, and never really got the recognition they deserved. This collection is most of the band's recordings between 1985 and 1990. Enjoy.
Krakdown Collection: Revised Edition

First off is the band's self titled 7" released in 1989 on Common Cause Records. Excellent sound quality on this, unlike most of the rips i've heard online, including the especially awful one on 7inchpunk.com, which has an annoying buzzing sound running through the entire recording. Thanks to Jared (B9 board) for this one. Next we have the band's recordings from 1988. I'm not sure if this was an actual demo, although that's how i've always seen it labeled. These recordings are rumored to be their side of the unreleased split LP with NY Hoods, which unfortunately never happened. Thanks to Andy (Mortville Records) for boosting the sound on this, and cleaning it up, finally giving these songs the power they lacked for years online. These are some of my favorite Krakdown recordings, they just sound massive and pissed off here, powerful stuff. That split LP would have been a killer album, maybe one of the best things to come out of the late '80s NY scene. I'm not sure if the NY Hoods side ever actually got recorded, but i'd love to hear it if it did. Next up is an instrumental track recorded during the Pipeline Studios sessions in '88, which apparently was the band's recording sessions for their 7", followed by the band's cut from the Revelation comp "NYHC: The Way It Is", released in 1988. After that is the amazing '87 demo. This demo was my introduction to the band back in '87, and it rips from beginning to end. The sound seems to drop out for a few seconds on a couple of tracks (most noticeable on Trust), but that's how every recording of this demo i've ever heard sounds since i first heard it in '87, so i'm guessing that's how it sounds on the original tapes. I'm happy with the quality on this demo finally. Nice and loud, full sound, and minimal tape hiss. Also included are 5 tracks recorded live on WNYU's Crucial Chaos in 1987. These 5 tracks were mastered for the bootleg CD compilation "Those Were The Days Vol. 2", which also has tracks from Nihilistics, Token Entry, Norman Bates and the Showerheads and Warzone, all recorded live on WNYU. Ending the collection are 2 covers (Void and Negative Approach) recorded live at CBGB in '88, and finally the band's first demo recorded in 1985. Most of the versions i've seen of this tape have 4 songs (5 if you include the intro), this one has 6 tracks. The quality is a bit rough, but it's the best sounding rip of these recordings i've heard so far. Last minute edition to the collection: the band's cover of Sock Woman by Mental Abuse, released on the Seeing With New Eyes comp 7" in 1990.

The lineup during the '85 sessions:
Chris Notaro - vocals
Richie Dowling - guitar
Bob Cuomo - bass
Phil - drums

The lineup during the '87-'88 sessions ('87 demo recorded at Don Fury studios):
Jason Surface - vocals
Richie Dowling - guitar
Damon Tillman - bass
John - drums

J-Bird replaced Damon on bass for the 7" in 1989. After that their were some more lineup changes, some more shows, and the band finally called it quits later that year.

Besides the recordings here, the bands also had tracks on various compilations, including "New York/Montreal Connection" and "Thrasher Skate Rock Vol. 9".

Apparently there's been talk of the band reforming, with Richie and John being the only members from past incarnations. We'll see...

14 comments:

  1. It's saying that the link is invalid. Maybe it's just the old link?

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  2. Jake, i just tried it and it worked fine. Give it another shot. Mediafire's been going down a lot lately.

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  3. Got it this time. I'm guessing my computer was acting funky. Thank you, sir!

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  4. This is awesome...thanks alot for sharing this with us !!

    Kim

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  5. Any KRAKDOWN reunion would need to include Jason Surface and Damon most likely.
    Richie is a given.

    The band was KILLER live - Had the pleasure of opening up for them in '88 and '89.

    That '87 demo line up was the line-up most of saw from '87 - till the band's demise and the idea of a reunion without Jason is pointless.

    Jay Bird might cover for Damon but Jason and Richie and the '87 demo line-up with John would be the reunion to see.

    '' SICK SOCIETY !!! ''

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  6. The add-ons and corrections are great, I was hoping you could fix this one up to a better quality, and I am happy you did.

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  7. wow this is really cool to see, but just for your Info Richie D' and I were growing the new lineup in fall 85, keep up the good work..Damon

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  8. Thank you so much for this. I was turned on to you amazing site today when i was thinking about Krakdown and if i had transferred my stuff to the computer off vinyl and casette, no i have a discography of a band i loved with jason as front man and saw many many times at Sundance LI and the Ny area.

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  9. Eddy Calabritto long time friend of the band and of the Long Island Oi/ hardcore band the Elite a off shoot of the 1983 seminal hardcore band Justified Violence guest sang at a few shows where Jason couldn't attend and joined as bass player at the tail end of Krakdown

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  10. Did Sick Of It All cover the song Freedom? I swear it sounds like one of their tracks.....maybe from Scratch The Surface?

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  11. I've been friends with Richie along time and can say for sure there's no reunion in the works but u can get good recordings that all the band worked on from state of mind records and I did the cover art

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  12. Here is Thrasher Skate Rock Vol. 9, Pawns of the Apocalypse Tape => http://www.4shared.com/zip/6FdFT1w8ce/1990_-_Thrasher_Magazines_Skat.html?

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  13. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  14. Any chance we can get this re-upped?

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