Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Posted by xCHIPxSEM |




After Ryan Hex sent me the history of "Hanging Like A Hex", I asked him about the last record that The Funeral self-released. Well Ryan comes through again and sent me the songs plus scans of the inserts. Im almost positive that their full length "Ruled By None" is out of print so if thats the case, expect an upload of that as well as their demo. Again, big thanks to Ryan for helping us out. The download also includes the scans as well.

The Funeral - Self Released EP

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

Monday, March 30, 2009

Posted by xCHIPxSEM |


Poison The Well's first full length "The Opposite of December" blew the doors on everyone. Sure there were a few bands doing the screaming/singing thing (New Day Rising) but no one reached the level that these guys did as quickly. After releasing an Ep on Goodlife Recordings, Trustkill offered to put out their full length. I remember going to see them about 5-6 months before the full length came out and just saying to myself "Man they got real good". The CD came out in December of 1999 and from that moment, it was all uphill. The band started touring nonstop and every kid fell in love with Poison The Well. The lyrics did have the element of love in them but just not overdone like so many bands tend to do now. They also dropped the anti-religion thing they had going on and opted for the more personal lyrics. The layout was put together by Jake Bannon and featured just one picture of a wide-eyed, mouth open Derek Miller airborne with guitar in hand. I always felt that while so many bands of the day were cluttering their layouts with live pictures (which I personally like, see Strife "One Truth"), they went a different route and made the layout full of flowers. Also, the record lists Jose as the guitar player and Ryan Primack as having recorded guitar tracks. Ryan had quit the band briefly and Jose joined but eventually Ryan would rejoin just after the record was released (good timing too). For anyone who saw them play at Hellfest 2000, they were easily one of the most anticipated bands that weekend (along with Throwdown) and their set reflected that. It got to a point where you couldnt even hear Jeff over the crowd. Eventually the band went in a more experimental direction but this record to many is their defining moment. This featured the classic lineup and will always be recognized as one of the finest releases to come out of South Florida or hardcore in general.


Posted by xCHIPxSEM |
Ryan Canavan has been going to shows in Syracuse for years and has contributed much of his time and effort into the zine "Hanging Like a Hex". In the 90s, Hex was one of the best zines out there and was one of my favorites along with Hardware and Anti-Matter. The zine folded around 2005/2006 but the label, Hex Records, continues on and has numerous releases planned this year. Check out the label here: Hex Records. Ryan still lives in Syracuse and after singing in the much loved band, The Funeral, he know sings for Mistletoe. A very big thank you to Ryan for typing this out so quickly and sending it on over to us.

Words by Ryan "Hex" Canavan

Hopefully this won’t come off as too self-indulgent, but getting all biographical sometimes feels a little weird. It’s like telling your life story to a room full of people who never asked for it. But hey, Chip asked for an account of my old zine, Hanging Like a Hex, and how it came to be, so here it is for better or for worse.
The zine I created arose out of a long-standing love of comics and self-publishing. When I was about 14 or 15 my friends and I were obsessed with comic books and creating our own stories and characters. We soon began printing up our own mini-comics, which is how I learned how to do page layout and arrange a zine.
Soon I got into punk and hardcore, and with it my creative urges went along with it. My Dad had been a graphic designer all his adult life so I learned many of my skills from him and he gave me a crash course in doing layouts on a computer.
My initial inspirations for a zine were the issues of Anti-Matter, Rumpshaker, Extent, Second Nature, and Trustkill that were at every show. This was around 1994 and at each show at least one person would be selling zines. I typically had enough money to get in, buy a tape and a zine, so I had to choose carefully. Plus, you never knew what would be there. Sometimes Very Distro would show up. Often bands would not only have their records, but other bands stuff as well, and a zine or two. There was no ordering anything online. You just had to get what was there and to this day I value having my old Anti-Matter zines, and my Unbroken tape because that stuff just wasn’t as accessible as it is now.
Zines were the tools of communication back then (unlike messageboards, MySpace, etc today) and I wanted to create something vital like that except, of course, what I thought was important.
After a few attempts with a goofy little newsletter I got brave and made a move to doing something with staples down the side instead of the top corner. While bored in class I just started writing down a list of names off the top of my head that could be possible titles. I came up with Ignorant Hero. It just sounded cool. My girlfriend at the time let me borrow a micro-recorder (which she never got back) and I interviewed Sick Of It All at a show a couple of weeks later. They proved to be awesome guys, and to this day, I think they’re the epitome of what a hardcore band ought to be. Next, I had words with Snapcase, which I remember nothing of. Between that, some reviews, pictures, and a bit of naive 16 year old straight edge rhetoric I had my first real zine! Borrowing a computer at the lab in school and saving up some after school job money I was able to print up 100 copies of Ignorant Hero #1 at Kinkos.
Ignorant Hero lasted four issues and ended soon after I finished with high school. I kind of gave things a rest for awhile as I started college and actually began making some friends at shows.
By that Summer a few things had changed- I noticed a lot more zines going a bit more professional. It was more common to not only see more zines being printed on newsprint, and created with personal computers (instead of cut n’ paste), but to just see more zines period. Zines like Muddle, HeartattaCk, Eventide, Change, Dogprint, and more were popping up. Plus, I had started traveling out of town for shows and getting a broader perspective on scenes elsewhere.
I decided to try the newsprint route under a new moniker. I gave a glance back at that list I came up with a couple years prior and decided on Hanging Like a Hex. It wasn’t a title that was very memorable, or made for easy typesetting. A lot of people ask what it meant and here it is: ya know that band Clutch? It’s part of a line from one of their songs- “I hang like a hex on a barn”. It’s supposed to be an omen, bad luck, and rather ominous. It’s sort of hokey, but it stuck. Plus, it’s another indication that musically I’ve never solely identified with just hardcore. All sorts of music inspires me and I find parallels between HC/punk bands and other styles of underground music that has just as much integrity as the hardcore scene that I love. I guess that’s always been part of hat I tried to put forth in my zines.
Either way, that’s where it started. I started Hex at issue #5 because that’s where the old zine left off.
Here’s a funny story about that first issue: When I was working on it I was hanging around with Dave Agronoff alot, who was an old hardline dude who had moved to Syracuse from Indiana. One day he was putting together a zine of his own and I noticed that he was binding them with used rubber bands. I asked him why he didn’t just use staples. He told me that staples were a tool of ‘the man’. Perhaps there was a bit of an environmental piece to it all, as reusing rubber bands rather than new staples was probably a bit more ecologically sound, but the truth was probably closer to him not having a stapler and he was just fucking with me. Nevertheless, when I went to print the first Hex I asked that there be no staples in it, which ended up being a stupid idea because it fell apart really easy. What can I say, I was naive and impressionable.
I’d like to think I smartened up a bit since then. I got pretty good at putting out issues in a timely fashion, doing interviews with confidence, and better at design. I especially liked diversifying the content outside of just hardcore, but still show how the DIY ethic extended beyond the boundaries of just punk bands. For the most part I think it confused a lot of people, but it was pretty entertaining to me. I was really excited to interview bands as diverse as Neurosis, Discordance Axis, Tortoise, 25 Ta Life, Overcast, Buried Alive, Cause For Alarm, Deadguy, and tons more.
Additionally, it was getting easier and easier for produce their own zine. By ‘97 personal computers were very common, and you couldn’t go to a show without tripping over a pile of poorly produced newsprint zines with nothing new to offer. A few began rising to the top and I thought I had to step up my game a bit too.
I did one issue that pissed off a lot of people because of how it was packaged. See, not only was there getting to be a glut of bad zines, but also it was getting easier for bands to record and put out shitty records, and I seemed to get them all in my mailbox. So this one issue I made had the first 200 copies come in a paper bag that had the title branded into it (using the kitchen stove to do this not only made my house smell like it was on fire, but also pissed my Mom off something fierce). Inside the bag was the zine, as well as broken shards of various CDs that I thought sucked. I had smashed up a bunch of stuff I got for review and tossed in bits and pieces into the bags before stapling them closed.
Another way I tried to stay ahead was to do some spot color in the zine. This is when you do one or two extra colors in addition to black and white on certain pages. It worked well, but for one issue, on the cover, I decided to take a cue from one of my favorite records and put spaces between letters where there shouldn’t be and do different colors for groups of letters to further confuse readers. For instance HANGING LIKE A HEX was spelled HAN GLIK EAHEX while the featured bands had the colors in the wrong spots. I guess it was my attempt to get people to not just be swayed by a familiar title or solely on what cool bands were on the cover. You had to open it up and investigate for yourself, just like I had to seek out and search for punk when I was coming up. It wasn’t just handed to me. This proved to not really work very well because no one was interested in some zine they thought was in a foreign language. Oh well.
By this point I had started booking shows too, which made it easier to talk to bands I wanted to interview, and see things from more than merely a spectator’s point of view. Not long after that I transferred to school up in Buffalo where I occasionally booked shows and continued to do the zine.
As always, things got more and more serious. I saw zines turning into near professional magazines. It was hard to keep up and also made me question at what point was a zine a magazine, and where to draw the line? Nothing Left, I Stand Alone, Punk Planet, Skyscraper, Hit It Or Quit It, and more were all doing full color covers, special inserts, perfect binding (as in a spine on the side) and once again I felt like I had to step up. Instead of doing the covers myself I started getting others to do full color covers for me. And in retrospect, I got some very impressive artists- mostly well known (now) indie comic artists- to do covers before they really blew up. Al Columbia, Jordan Crane, and Mark Reusch all supplied covers, which I’m really proud of. It also marked a couple new things. I started getting distribution through chain stores, and I began putting out records. Nevermind that I was about to graduate college. That wasn’t really important. I had started printing 3000 copies of my zine, with the first 1000 having a cool compilation 7” in them!
But by then it was ‘99 and the internet was becoming a lot more common. Perhaps I’d made the leap into a full-blown professional zine too late because it became harder and harder to get my zine out and sold, as well as keep information relevant since the internet moved much faster. I became more interested in putting out records instead of laboring over 300 record reviews that took up entirely too much space in my zine. By 2003 I really slowed down and almost gave up completely. I began putting more zine content on my label site to keep up with my weird obsession with writing and documentation so a print zine didn’t seem as necessary. Finally, a couple years ago I published the last Hex zine, after sitting on a bunch of unused content for nearly three years just as a final, formal nail in the coffin. It ended up being more like a book of stuff I’d always felt was relevant rather than a zine with content that was outdated. And despite losing a bunch of money making it I’m glad I did it just to say that I got it done.
Since then I’ve rediscovered my love for just doing simple zines and I still make some from time to time because I’ll never get them out of my blood completely. I did a couple of 1/4 size travel zines called Return just to stay busy, and I do a small hardcore zine whenever I feel lie it called Translate so I can still feel creative and feel zero pressure to keep any sort of deadline. Plus, I continue to keep content on my blog site that also serves as my label page.
I know at this point hardcore zines are few and far between while blogs and webzines seem to dominate. And while there are a number of online forums that I enjoy and check all the time in the end the tangibility of the physical will always outweigh the temporary and easily forgettable nature of the digital.

Hanging Like a Hex zine/Hex Records
201 Maple Ln. N. Syracuse, NY 13212
www.hanginghex.blogspot.com
AIM: hanginghex
Distributed by Lumberjack/Mordam

NEXT:
Helms Alee 7"
Lemuria 7"
End Of a Year 7"
Oak and Bone 7"
Night Owls CDEP

SUMMER 2009
The Helm, "Home" full length
Prize Country, "With Love... From the Gutter" full-length

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Posted by xCHIPxSEM |

Real good chugga chugga 90s hardcore from Germany. This was released on Lost & Found (yeah them again) in 1994 or 95. The dudes in the band were 14 I think when this was released...I remember checking it out just based on how young they were. They did release 2 more records though Im not sure what they are doing (if anything) now

*NEW LINK*

Boiling Point - Conquered By Ignorance

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Posted by xjustinx |
You don't have a blogger account, so I don't know how to get in touch with you. Please shoot me an email at thedeadunknown@gmail.com. We have something of great importance to discuss.

Friday, March 27, 2009

Posted by xjustinx |
With all the talk on here recently of the youth crew revival recently, I decided to rip the Ten Yard Fight/Fastbreak split 7", which they dubbed "The Bout Of The Century". The first press of this record was limited to 1,000 on red vinyl, and I believe that only the first 500 were numbered. Another press came along on blue vinyl, and was limited to 500 copies with an alternate cover:

Ten Yard Fight / Fastbreak - The Bout Of The Century
[1997 - Contention Records / Big Wheel Recreation]
http://www.mediafire.com/?mm0e1tgxzum


Here's a flyer from 1998 when Ten Yard Fight and Fastbreak played Portland together. Downshift also played the show, and they were just about to change their name, and become Sworn Vengeance.

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Posted by xCHIPxSEM |

Someone asked me to up this so here it is. To me, this is one of the defining moments of late 90s hardcore and definitely one of the best records of the youth crew revival. Its almost a crime that this record is out of print. Someone seriously needs to re-release this (hint hint). If anyone knows the name of the bonus song at the end of "Photo Finish" please let me know so I can fix it in my Itunes.

*NEW LINK*

Fastbreak - Fast Cars, Fast Women
Posted by xjustinx |

Refuse To Fall's "Soulfire" 7" was the second release on Equal Vision Records. These guys were way into krishna. Honestly, I don't know a whole lot here. I was never a big fan of krishna, or this record really. I'd say side B is definitely better than side A though. Take a listen and judge for yourself.

Refuse To Fall - Soulfire
[1991 - Equal Vision Records]
http://www.mediafire.com/?nyzdt2zli3w
Posted by xjustinx |
I received this in the mail today from Brian, who played guitar in Canon. I was expecting a standard 11 x 17 poster, but was excitedly surprised to find an 18 x 24 poster inside the package. A big thanks goes out to Brian. Let's all hope a cassette of that one (or two according to some) unreleased track gets found sometime soon.


Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Posted by xCHIPxSEM |
One thing you may not know about me (Chip) is that as much as I love the 90s style bands (and boy do I), I do enjoy some of the 90s Youth Crew Revival bands. Granted the scene eventually became saturated with 1000's of bands that sounded the same, there were the few that stood out and did the style well. The first band I remember hearing about was Ten Yard Fight. The band released a demo and a 7 inch which would later be released together by Big Wheel Recreation before signing to Equal Vision Records. They were basically the front-runners of the genre and brought the 80s style of hardcore back to the forefront of the hardcore scene.
The next band I was genuinely stoked on was Fastbreak. Sure, their name seems like a bit of a play on the name Ten Yard Fight with the sports reference and all, but the band was its own. Their demo and 7 inch (Don't Stop Trying) showed some good youth crew jams but the band really came into its own on "Fast Cars Fast Women" which, to this day, Id list it in my top 20 Best Hardcore Records. Vocalist Pat Rorick is still in my top 5 favorite frontmen and man could he put on a good show. So much energy with the ability to get the crowds attention and keep it for the duration of their set. Its a shame that this record is now out of print. Anyway, the band eventually signed to Revelation, released another record and then broke up with Pat going to play in Right Brigade.
When I saw Fastbreak for the first time in 1997, they were on tour with Shutdown and had a fill in bass player named Neal. I spoke to Neal before they played and he told me to check out his new band called In My Eyes. I didnt have any money to buy it but he ended up giving it to me because he was a nice guy. That demo would be in constant rotation for quite some time and it is still my favorite recording from them. In My Eyes became the next big thing out of Boston at the time featuring Anthony Pappalardo from Ten Yard Fight and long-time showgoer Sweet Pete on vocals. The band also shared members with Fastbreak and would also sign to Revelation and release 2 records with them. The band literally blew up and became one of the biggest things in hardcore.
A little further south in New Jersey, members of Release and Ressurection got together and started a band called Floorpunch which was a return to more traditional hardcore. Their 7 inch "Division One Champs" pressed on gold has become the 90s version of "Chung King Can Suck It" in how limited it was and the amount people are willing to pay for it. They signed with Equal Vision Records and released 2 records. On the otherside of the world, Mainstrike was the premier European youth crew band along with Sportswear from Oslo.
While this is in no way covering all the bands of the day, it is just a small piece of the bands I felt were important at the time.
Posted by xCHIPxSEM |
To be honest, I dont remember what year this came out but I think it was 1994 or 95. This was included with an issue of Inside Front which was written by Brian from Catharsis. Tracks from Tension (FL), Timescape Zero, Abhinanda, and more...great comp. Check it out

Inside Front - CD Compilation
Posted by xCHIPxSEM |
Alright one more video. Again, I did not attend Cleveland Fest but all I remember hearing and continue hearing about is how incredible Abnegation was. The band really never got their due to be honest but watch this video and just see the intensity. Their material can be downloaded from AJ's "Path To Misery" blog. All of their material is out of print.


Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Posted by xCHIPxSEM |
I remember hearing about this when it happened back in 1996. To be honest I dont know what caused it but at 1:38 in, you can see a kid in a green shirt jump onto the crowd and give the singer the finger (at least thats what it looks like) during the song "Pure Disgust". Mean Steve proceeds to come off stage after the kid and a riot erupts. On the Moo Cow Records site, Jim, the owner of Moo Cow, talks about selling his brand new copies of the New Day Rising/Despair split 7 inch and then having to shield them with his body so as to not to have any break.
Youre going to need to turn up your speakers cause the sound is a little low but theres loads of big jeans, big shirts, and bleached blond hair to give everyone a nice trip back in time.


Posted by xCHIPxSEM |
This was shot at their reunion in 2005. Im pretty sure it was on the East Coast because they were supposed to play Hellfest that year. If anyone has the details, pass em on. Just the one song and man the crowd is loving it

Monday, March 23, 2009

Posted by xCHIPxSEM |
Southern California's Force of Change has announced they will be playing their final show, May 15 at the Chain Reaction in Anaheim, CA. This bums me out since they were one of the newer bands that I really liked and I never got to the see them. Their full length "The Bond We Share" was one of my favorite releases of 2006 and is still in constant rotation. Not sure what the rest of the members are up to now but the singer Dave is in Monument to Thieves and the guitarist Ryan is in Stick To Your Guns. Hopefully, they'll end up giving the band another go around later on when everyone has the time but until then, I bid farewell to one of the best current bands, Force Of Change.
For more info and to order merch click here: Force Of Change on Myspace
To order their full length "The Fire Still Burns" click here: Indecision Records

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Posted by xCHIPxSEM |
Heres a video I uploaded of the ISHC covering Shai Hulud's "For The World" with Chad on vocals. Members of Four Year Strong are on guitars and the rest is made up of Ian and Cyrus of ISHC/NFG. There was also a video of them playing the song the next day in Tallahassee which you can see myself and Tony Love stagediving when the song opens but its no longer available on Youtube. Heres the ISHC covering Shai Hulud in Jacksonville, Fl 10/4/08


Saturday, March 21, 2009

Posted by xCHIPxSEM |
Here we are with part 3 of our coverage on current bands playing 90s style hardcore. As stated before, I plan to continue doing these so if you have a band or know a band that should be mentioned here, shoot us an email at xstuckinthepastx@gmail.com

Monument To Thieves - Southern California
I was extremely excited when this band was announced...members of Throwdown and Force of Change playing Disembodied influenced hardcore. Sign me up. Super heavy. They have a 7 inch coming out and a rumored split 7 inch with Disembodied as well in the works. As of right now, just local area shows have been announced but Im hoping for a full US tour. Check their Myspace for more info.
You can order tshirts from Monument To Thieves here: Monument To Thieves

Mourningside - Orange County, CAMourningside sent us an email asking us to check out their band and needless to say I was pretty blown away. Mean Season influenced hardcore that if you were to hear it and not be told they were a new band, you'd swear that New Age released them in 1994. They just recorded a demo which can be downloaded for free on their Myspace. Im expecting big things from this band in the future so be prepared.
You can download the Mourningside demo from their Myspace here: Mourningside Myspace

Meantime - Daytona Beach, Florida
Meantime is one of my favorite newer bands. Real intense hardcore that at times has a bit of an Integrity feel. Since they started they have toured as often as possible and just released a split with Atlanta's Foundation. I was told they are planning on touring this summer so if they come to your town make sure to go out and see them. Another band that is going to be big in my opinion.
You can order their split with Foundation here: Ghetto Josh Records
You can order their self titled 7 inch as well as tshirts here: Double Or Nothing Records

Crystal Lake - Tokyo, Japan

Crystal Lake plays heavy hardcore that at times reminds me of older Poison The Well (without the clean vocals) but at other times reminds me of Morning Again and Arkangel. For some reason they have gotten little exposure over here but hopefully that will change soon. They recently played the Taste of Chaos tour in Japan and are in the studio writing a new rccord.
You can order their full length as well their splits here: Crystal Lake

Withdrawl - Winipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Withdrawl reminds me so much of Buried Alive. To me, this is a good thing since BA is one of the best bands to ever walk the Earth. Withdrawl is currently on tour right now and getting ready to release a 7 inch called "Unknown Misery" this summer. Real fast and heavy.
Check out the Withdrawl Myspace for upcoming dates: Withdrawl on Myspace

Foundation - Atlanta, GA

Foundation has been playing out and touring regularly for a few years now and are definately one of the best bands out there right now. At times, Im reminded of Trial and Integrity but they are able to make the sound their own. They just released a split with Meantime as well as a release on Triple B Records.
You can order their split with Meantime here: Ghetto Josh Records
You can order their self titled 7 inch here: Triple B Records
Posted by xCHIPxSEM |
Justin actually scanned this awhile ago for me and I just realized I had it. This is an interview with Canon that was conducted sometime in 1994 or 95 for Still Standing zine. Justin scanned the pages as well as the cover. Also I included a flyer promoting the 7 inch as well as the elusive "urban legend" of the Canon MCD that was to include 2 bonus songs. This has been a topic of discussion many times on the Catalyst Records board and Ive pretty much convinced myself they do not exist (please someone correct me if Im wrong). Henrik from Those Who Fear Tomorrow blog posted pictures that someone sent him of a Canon shirt. Check that out here. Now without further ado, Still Standing zine interviewing PA's Canon.

Friday, March 20, 2009

Posted by xCHIPxSEM |

Check out Chris Higdon's (vocalist and guitarist for Falling Forward and Elliott) new band, Frontier(s) on Myspace.
Posted by xjustinx |
Inside Front was a zine done by Brian D. of Catharsis/Crimethinc fame, and issues came out on a semi regular basis from 1994 to the early 2000s. It was quite common for the zine to be accompanied by a comp, and this one titled "No Exit" was the first of them. Although I often found the romanticized politics to be over the top, there's no denying that Catharsis, and most of the bands encompassing Inside Front/Crimethinc were awesome.

va - No Exit - Hardcore Compilation
[1994 - Inside Front]
http://www.mediafire.com/?xnnunyjz0q0
Posted by xCHIPxSEM |
Louisville had a knack for pumping out great bands and Falling Forward is definitely in my top 3. How this record is no longer in print is beyond me. "Hand Me Down" is just one of those records you have to get someone to sit down and listen to because when today's generation hears the word "Emo", they probably think of 4 or 5 guys dressed in extremely tight pants, ironed hair, goofy sunglasses and pastel colored shirts. If thats what you think of when you hear the word "Emo", extend your arm, make your hand into a fist, punch yourself in the face, then scroll to the end of this post and download this record to learn something. Emo or emo-core is emotional hardcore. Aggressive music with emotional lyrics and/or vocals. Rites of Spring and Embrace (arguably) started it and these bands from the midwest really did a great job perfecting it. Falling Forward and Split Lip were definitely my favorites (along with Dayspring) but lets not get off track. "Hand Me Down" had this energy that seems lacking in alot of music today. The vocals are yelled/sung with this strained style that you could tell when he finished tracking he was probably crying from the emotion. Live, I never got to see em (Louisville Joe may be able to help me with this one) but I imagine the crowd crying while singing along. This record was originally released on the now defunct Initial Records and has been out of print since the early 2000s. Such a shame...I wish someone would reissue this with a remastering for the new generation of kids who need to be educated. Members went on to Elliot but this is their defining moment in my opinion. I looked on youtube for a live video of the band but kept finding some new band of the same name. Either way, Ive included a link to download this amazing record so I encourage you to check it out and enjoy this as much as I do.

Falling Forward - Hand Me Down

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=DLJBDJET
Posted by xCHIPxSEM |
With the reunion of Split Lip/Chamberlain for Burning Fight in Chicago and a few other shows, Doghouse is reissuing "Fate's Got A Driver" on limited vinyl with new artwork and bonus tracks. This is only being issued on vinyl but does include a download code for all the tracks as well bonus songs not included on the re-release. Heres what Doghouse Records has to say about the re-release:


"We are proud to announce the vinyl reissue of Chamberlain's beloved 1996 record Fate's Got A Driver. The long out-of-print LP is being reissued with fully redesigned artwork and five previously unreleased tracks.For those unfamiliar, Chamberlain were one of the most important and influential bands in the underground Midwest music scene. Originally the Indianapolis hardcore band, Split Lip (under who's name the record was initially released), the outfit later decided to change their name to Chamberlain as their sound grew more melodic and mature. Chamberlain has been cited by the likes of Taking Back Sunday, New Found Glory and Dashboard Confessional as a major influence. This is an absolute essential album for any vinyl enthusiast or fan of 90s emo or melodic hardcore.You can pre-order the limited edition cream colored vinyl right now. It's safe to say you should probably put a move on it, because there are only 500 copies available of this edition. In celebration of the re-release, Split Lip/Chamberlain will be reuniting for a series of 3 Midwest performances."



For other Doghouse Records releases click here
Preorder the record here

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Posted by xjustinx |

Eighty-Eight were a short lived side project from Seattle that featured Timm McIntosh (Trial, Wait In Vain) on vocals, and the majority of Seattle hardcore band Last Man Standing as the musicians. They started just doing covers of youth crew songs, but eventually started writing some originals, and that's how this demo came about. The tape has two original songs, and a cover of Positive Outlook by Youth of Today. Eighty-Eight sets were always a lot of fun, and I wish they had gone on to record the 7", but the band imploded one night when a few members of the band decided to quit after a particular incident at a show in Seattle.



Eighty-Eight - Demo 98
http://www.mediafire.com/?vdnxwljqwdm


Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Posted by xjustinx |
This is one of the most highly anticipated reunion records of the last few years, and Earth Crisis definitely don't disappoint with To The Death. The people at Century Media were kind enough to send us a download of the album, and it's my humble opinion that this is probably the perfect comeback record.
The album opens up like a beast with the track "Against the Current." Leading into an album with a mosh part can be risky, but they pull it off nicely by transitioning into a fast part smoothly and following up with a riff that easily could have been on a Madball record in the mid 90s. As a nearly 30 years old straight edge nerd, it's nice to hear a combination of straight/straight edge a good ten times in the opening track.
Up next is the track that has been posted to the band's myspace page, "To Ashes." It's this song that gave me high hopes for the new record in general. The chorus chant of "every meth lab burned" is sure to become a new live staple for them.
Unfortunately, the download didn't include lyrics, but the third track sounds like the albums first foray into the topic of animal rights. Titled "So Others Live", it feels like a classic call for animal rights that would have been heard on any number of Earth Crisis records.
The middle chunk of this record is certainly no slouch. With tracks like "Security Threat #1", "Control Through Fear", and "Eye of Babylon", ExC are solidifying themselves as a legitimate contender amongst the current court of heavy hardcore bands.
The album ends itself with the title track, and it's a great ending to a great record. As the song plays out, it ends with "Vegan for life. Vegan to the death!" It's one of those moments in a song that combines a heavy piece of music with a potent enough chant that it makes you want to destroy whatever is sitting near you.Overall, I'd say that Earth Crisis have crafted a magnificent comeback record. A lot of the riffs sound like they could have been on Gomorrah's Season Ends, but they come through so much better because they don't have the mu-metal sounding production that Gomorrah's did. A number of riffs also sound like they could have found their way onto Destroy The Machines, but they take on a slightly different feel on To The Death, because the production of this record makes the chugs sound a bit more punchy than previous ExC records. As a whole, the production is very clean, but isn't so sterile that the songs seem stripped of all their raw power. This is the album that feels like what should have been their natural progression from Breed The Killers.
If Slither left a bad taste in your mouth, as it did with me, give this new record a shot. It comes out on April 20th in Europe, and May 5th in the US via Century Media, and I really don't think you'll be disappointed. If nothing else, maybe this record will at least get some of the lame scenester kids and flat brimmed hat douchebags into something more intelligent and passionate.
Bottom line: Earth Crisis sound pissed again!



Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Posted by xCHIPxSEM |

Was this any surprise? Disembodied killed it. I mean it wasnt even close. Beyond excited to see them in May...we started a new poll, Best Frontman part 2. We said we werent finished when we did the last one because there were just too many amazing frontmen to pick from so heres part 2.
Posted by xCHIPxSEM |





During the 90's, it wasnt uncommon to go to a show and see kids wearing Tulasi neck beads, usually wrapped around as few as once or covering the entire neck (come on, you know that one kid who did this). Hare Krishna's most vocal supporters came in the form of the two biggest Krishnacore bands in the 90s, Shelter and 108. While both of these bands could arguably be called the first Krishnacore bands, members of the NYHC scene in the 80s were preaching the ways of the Bhagavad-gita including Keith Burkhardt of Cause for Alarm, members of Antidote and John Joseph and Harley Flanagan of the Cro Mags. Eventually Ray Cappo discovered Hare Krishna and started the band Shelter which could be considered the first Krishnacore band. Vic DiCara also discovered spirituality and quit Inside Out to join Shelter. When he quit the band, he formed 108. Ray also started Equal Vision Records with Steve Reddy to release Shelter's record. The label would function as the only (to my knowledge) all Krishna label before releasing non-Krishna bands in the mid to late 90s. Shelter eventually signed to Roadrunner/Supersoul while 108 went to Equal Vision and Lost & Found before disbanding. The idea of Krishnacore spread throughout the scene domesitcally and globally. More and more bands began to spring up though many went undocumented. Equal Vision did release records for some of the bands including Prema, Refuse to Fall, and Project Kate but many bands usually just included a member who followed the beliefs so the band was not a full Krishnacore band. Shelter continued touring and are still somewhat active at the time of this writing. 108 is very much active having just recorded a new record and playing a US tour as well as a European tour. If you would like more info on Krishnacore check out the Krishnacore homepage:

Krishnacore on the internetz

108 on Myspace

Shelter on Myspace