Let me preface this by saying I'm sorry to Distressed for taking so long to get this review written. The last few months have been quite hectic for me and Im trying to make up for all the people who have requested anything for the blog.
That said, let's get down to business. Distressed from Santa Cruz, CA. are a relatively new band who play hardcore in that 90s Chokehold/Unbroken vein that I love so much. The recent influx of bands who are influenced by bands like Chokehold and Unbroken are becoming more and more recognizable and I think its just a matter of time before this style really breaks through into the major hardcore circles. At just 5 songs, I feel cheated because I want to hear more from them. The recording of the demo is excellent, nice and crisp. All the instruments can be distinguished from each other, the guitars are nice and loud but not overpowering. The bass...as a guitar player, bass is not something I pick up right away. Its just not, I tend to notice the gutar sound first. But the bass sound and tone on the demo is HUGE. Nice and loud, thick and distorted. Its kind of up there with the bass sound that Buske had on the Santa Sangre fu
ll length (seriously one of my favorites). Having been a part of the hardcore scene for so many years now, I've gotten to a point where if the vocalist of a band does nothing for me, then I just won't be able to get into the band. Does that make me an elitist? I don't think it does, just picky. That said, I really like the vocals. Harsh screaming vocals with the occasional spoken word part. Definitely into it.
The layout is one of my favorite parts of any musical format be it CD, tape, or vinyl. Generally you can tell what kind of effort a band put into their release (or demo in this case) by perusing through the layout. While it is a demo, I don't expect a band to have a full color layout (it is nice to see though) or the disc to be factory pressed but in the case of Distressed, they went back to the 90s for a little influence. Silk screening both the cover and the disc was a nice idea but the lyric sheet is what really got my attention. A booklet hand tied with twine to hold the pages together. If you have seen the Morning Again "My Statement Of Life In A Dying World" 7 inch layout we posted, you'll have an idea of what I mean. Lyrically, the band deals mainly with animal rights and liberation. Each song is printed on one side of the page and the other is an explanation of what the song is about. I like to make my own interpretations of what the lyricist is writing about but I like even more to see what they really meant with the explanation included.
Overall, I'm expecting big things from this band. They have a 5 week tour booked with Contend as well as a 10 inch in the works. Oh did I mention that the demo has a Chokehold cover? Well now you know. Don't sleep on this band, I'm expecting big things from these guys. The band also included a link to download the 5 song demo so do yourself a favor and do so.
Distressed Demo Download
Check their blog for tour dates
That said, let's get down to business. Distressed from Santa Cruz, CA. are a relatively new band who play hardcore in that 90s Chokehold/Unbroken vein that I love so much. The recent influx of bands who are influenced by bands like Chokehold and Unbroken are becoming more and more recognizable and I think its just a matter of time before this style really breaks through into the major hardcore circles. At just 5 songs, I feel cheated because I want to hear more from them. The recording of the demo is excellent, nice and crisp. All the instruments can be distinguished from each other, the guitars are nice and loud but not overpowering. The bass...as a guitar player, bass is not something I pick up right away. Its just not, I tend to notice the gutar sound first. But the bass sound and tone on the demo is HUGE. Nice and loud, thick and distorted. Its kind of up there with the bass sound that Buske had on the Santa Sangre fu
ll length (seriously one of my favorites). Having been a part of the hardcore scene for so many years now, I've gotten to a point where if the vocalist of a band does nothing for me, then I just won't be able to get into the band. Does that make me an elitist? I don't think it does, just picky. That said, I really like the vocals. Harsh screaming vocals with the occasional spoken word part. Definitely into it.The layout is one of my favorite parts of any musical format be it CD, tape, or vinyl. Generally you can tell what kind of effort a band put into their release (or demo in this case) by perusing through the layout. While it is a demo, I don't expect a band to have a full color layout (it is nice to see though) or the disc to be factory pressed but in the case of Distressed, they went back to the 90s for a little influence. Silk screening both the cover and the disc was a nice idea but the lyric sheet is what really got my attention. A booklet hand tied with twine to hold the pages together. If you have seen the Morning Again "My Statement Of Life In A Dying World" 7 inch layout we posted, you'll have an idea of what I mean. Lyrically, the band deals mainly with animal rights and liberation. Each song is printed on one side of the page and the other is an explanation of what the song is about. I like to make my own interpretations of what the lyricist is writing about but I like even more to see what they really meant with the explanation included.
Overall, I'm expecting big things from this band. They have a 5 week tour booked with Contend as well as a 10 inch in the works. Oh did I mention that the demo has a Chokehold cover? Well now you know. Don't sleep on this band, I'm expecting big things from these guys. The band also included a link to download the 5 song demo so do yourself a favor and do so.
Distressed Demo Download
Check their blog for tour dates
![Mayday - Victim [demo 1993]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNu1BD8eki-O6k8I4pN5KD6E73RK9aq7z4l4BQs8qSGNa6AB4OhbO-u9ACy-gWD_cwSmLJUqY_l8FtIzl0dYgpxhNH_55rrU5fDoHK9ggKrl4rw_j0Xk4-wMmszw-wokfmB9b1xnOqcB74A_9P2gmv1isDkT0J4jPFGnCnPnVMrVW2MpjPRsPWnMkgORk/s72-c/cover.jpg)
5 comments:
these dudes are rad. my friend went on tour with them and they had a lot of people coming to their shows from what he had told me.
also, i saw them with lockstep in oakland and they were dope. good to see them getting recognition.
This is AMAZING! Thank you.
are they still selling the demo?
thank you for the positive comments.
you can buy demos and shirts by shooting us an email. we're also expecting the 10' vinyl version of the demo as well as a new cd with 4 new tracks to be in our hands in less than a month.
xdistressedx@gmail.com
woah.
that lettering is so similar to the conviction 9d2 demo. haha.
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