Overcast

Someone was reading my mind when they suggested that I post some Overcast in honor of their new record that just came out. Overcast only played Portland once, but the tour package was incredible, and it still sits as one of my all time favorite shows
Forming in 1991, Overcast were one of the true innovators of 90s hardcore/metal, or as they preferred to call themselves, Devilcore. They first released a 7" called Bleed Into One, which I still don't have a copy of, but it was re-released as the bonus tracks on the re-released version of Expectational Dilution (which originally came out on Endless Fight in 1994) that was put out by Edison Recordings in 1997.
Then came a 7" called Stirring The Killer on Inner Rage Records from France in 1992. It features two songs that would later be re-recorded a couple of times, but they still sound excellent on this early release

http://www.mediafire.com/?51aqyeuxkmd

1996 saw the release of two more 7"s from Overcast. First was the split 7" with Arise on Moo Cow Records. In all seriousness, Moo Cow deserves legendary status. Jim put out so many awesome records in the 90s, and I bought up just about every single one. If you're unfamiliar, got check out the labels discography here: http://moocowrecords.com/releases.htm

http://www.mediafire.com/?vzchfaowaet

After that split 7" came the Begging For Indifference 7" on Edison Recordings. This record featured two of their best and heaviest songs to date.

http://www.mediafire.com/?v96keisemfg

In 1998, Overcast released the Fight Ambition To Kill full length on Edison, and mounted a full US tour. I still have the tour shirt that I bought when they played Portland, and I'm holding out hope that I'll be able to see them again sometime. They just released a cd called Reborn To Kill Again on Century Media, and it features 12 re-recorded classics, and two previously unrecorded tracks. Some of those old songs sound heavier than ever on this new release, but it also completely maintains the integrity of their old sound. I highly suggest picking it up when you can. The damn thing still hasn't left my car cd player in over a week and a half.
You can still purchase both Expectational Dilution, and Fight Ambition To Kill from Very Distro. While we're on the subject, I'd just like to mention that Very Distro is by far my favorite of all distros. I've been purchasing from them since the print catalog days of the mid 90s when I was still in high school, and they have always been super fast with filling their orders, super easy to deal with, and they always seem to send me all kinds of awesome extras with my order. I still make large orders from them about once a year, and they still pull through just as well as they did 10-15 years ago, before internet ordering. Not only that, but they also get huge bonus points for putting out some of the heaviest bands of the 90s via their label Edison Recordings: Overcast, Disembodied, Starkweather and Acme.