Brethren - To Live Again

So right about now, you're probably saying to yourself "Who the fuck is Brethren and why is Chip putting them on the blog?". Well the answer is pretty simple...they were one of the first hardcore bands I ever got into. I went to my first show in 1995 and enjoyed myself, so much that I decided to go to Cheers the following week to see whomever was playing. Cheers, from 1995 to 1997, was South Florida's CBGB's. Everyone played there, all the bands that came through played there and it wasn't uncommon to see at least 200 kids sprawled along the wall outside waiting for the doors to open. Brethren had just released their demo "Trapped In Reality" (which I hadnt heard yet nor did I have any idea who they were) and played 2nd on the bill of a list of other bands I can't remember. But as soon as that first note hit, the place exploded. I had never seen kids pileup to sing-a-long before nor had I seen kids dance that hard. The whole experience changed me and pushed me in the direction of who I am now. It turns out that the band featured members of Mindframe, another local Miami band who were pretty big for a while as well as Cavity and Anger. Eventually, I became friends with those guys and after a great 7 inch, they released this full length on Ohev Records which has since gone out of print. They toured a few times (once with Floorpunch I think) and continued to play out in South Florida until the broke up in 2001 or 2002. The band's demo and 7 inch was very much in the tough guy vein with a real heavy sludge influence (Luis, one of the guitar players, had previously been in Cavity as well as Anger so Im sure the sludge influence came from him) but they dropped that in favor of a more straight ahead Madball influence for the full length. While as a whole, Brethren may have not achieved nationwide success as some of their peers in South Florida did, the band was one of the bigger draws in the area for many years and left a lasting impression on me. The never set out to re-invent the wheel but they brought something to the table when many of the bands were going in a much more metalic direction. I hope you enjoy this as much as I do after these many years. Enjoy!

Brethren - To Live Again

http://www.mediafire.com/?tyz4nm4yubz