Catalyst Records - Bandcamp page featuring discography downloads

 Catalyst Records is now on Bandcamp with a page that will feature free downloads for the entire discography. Each week, two releases will be uploaded and will be available with a "name your price" download option. The first releases on the page are the Advance 7" (CR001) and the Jackhammer demo cassette (CR002). Check it out!

PS: The Advance demo cassette, aka the release that shared the "CR002" label with Jackhammer, will be uploaded soon as well!

http://catalystrecords.bandcamp.com/ 

From the Dying Sky - "Truth's Last Horizon" EP

From the Dying Sky was a vegan straight edge metalcore band from Italy, active from 1999 to 2003. The band had only one proper release, an EP entitled "Truth's Last Horizon", which was released on Dark Sun Records in 2000. Five songs of crushing metalcore, not unlike Abnegation, Arkangel, and Caliban. FTDS also provided a track that didn't appear on the EP called "To Allow the Sun to Shine" for a Catalyst Records compilation called "The Path of Compassion," alongside bands like Maroon, Risen, and Another Victim in 2001. Barely two years after the release of the EP, a re-release came out on Burning Season Records due to the surprising interest. FTDS broke up shortly after in 2003.

Below is a link to download FTDS's only EP.

Track List:

1) Disciples of Terror

2) Black Dawn

3) From A Dead Sky

4) Towards the Burning Horizon

5) By the Grief of Disgrace

 http://www.mediafire.com/?rat9oqd94vdvgqi

Deathbed - Reduced To Nothing exclusive stream and pre-order.

Deathbed have a new EP titled "Reduced To Nothing" that is coming out on Catalyst Records, and we have the exclusive stream of it here at Stuck In The Past.  Give it a listen and then check out the pre-order information below.



"Reduced To Nothing" 7 inch along with shirt packages can be pre-ordered from Catalyst Records here.

Kurt Schroeder (Catalyst Records) Sounds Off On His Top 5 Catalyst Records Releases

Recently, I asked Kurt to tell me what his 5 favorite releases are for his label, Catalyst Records. Here's what he had to say:

Five of my personal favorite releases, in no particular order.

- CR14 Point of No Return : Sparks
This was a band and release that had some special meaning for me, partially because I was introduced to Point of no Return (through the "Voices" Brazilian hardcore compilation CD) at a time when the hardcore scene in the US seemed to be at the pinnacle of it's backlash against meaningful or message-oriented hardcore. Seemingly out of nowhere comes this bad ass band from South America (which I had no idea even had a thriving hardcore scene at the time) with a ton of passion and a really sweet mix of influences. Although the whole three-singer thing has become pretty cliche at this point, but PONR pulled it off in a way that really worked. In addition, they were a group of older guys (in the context of the average age of people involved in the hardcore scene), and they were just super dedicated, intelligent and sincere.
What really sealed the deal with me for this band was first having the pleasure of hanging out with a couple of the members independently (one visited me in Indiana, and I spent time with another in Europe), and then accompanying them on a European tour. It was a really awesome experience, and was an awesome learning experience for me, interacting with hardcore kids from another continent, and really experiencing what they meant when they labeled themselves as "Third World" hardcore.
I did three releases with Point of No Return, and I loved all of them, but Sparks is definitely my favorite out of the three, both musically and lyrically.


- CR26 Anchor : The Quiet Dance
There are bands and people that I meet up with and just immediately feel an awesome connection, and become friends with within minutes. Anchor, much like Point of No Return was one of those bands. Though I had met a couple of them in person very briefly before we started working on their record, I really didn't spend any face to face time with any of them until I met them to join up with their tour somewhere in Western Germany. It was another of those times when I felt an immediate connection, everyone in the band was just fun and easy to get along with.
In addition I just love Anchor's approach and message. The music is energetic, and heavily influenced by more early 90's hardcore bands that were experimenting on the traditional/ youth crew style, and the lyrics dealt with important themes, but in a less typical and still passionate way.


- Day of Suffering : The Eternal Jihad
This release will always be a favorite of mine. I saw Day of Suffering play in Indianapolis when they were still called Falling Down, it was a super small show in the middle of nowhere, but the guys hung out with us for a couple of days before heading off to their next show. Just cool down to earth people. That's not really what makes this one of my all time favorites though, it is that this record is just so fucking good from start to finish. DOS was ahead of the curve when it came to playing some awesome metal with a hardcore mentality. I wasn't sure what to expect when I received the master CD for the recording, but as soon as I put it on I was just blown away. Totally different than anything I had released up until then, as well as being the first full-length Catalyst released. It's still pretty amazing the amount of influence this band had, especially on future bands, given the relatively little touring they did.


- Gather : Beyond the Ruins
Gather is one of those bands that came along when I was really getting jaded about hardcore and the hardcore scene in general, and their energy and passion was really a big part of what snapped me out of just being bummed about the direction of the US hardcore scene at the time. It was another band that I basically made friends with immediately, and some of them remain some of my best friends to this day. There were so many things I loved about Gather, the music they put together is just authentic, and represents some of my favorite elements of hardcore musically. They were totally dedicated to their message, and always did their best as a band to live up to their message, which is a rare thing. I was also happy to help promote a band that talked about atypical issues, or at least ones that had been receiving little attention in the modern hardcore scene such as feminism. Awesome band, great release, great friends.


- Extinction : Hypocrisy Breeds Traitors
Honestly Extinction kind of came out of nowhere. Around the time Indianapolis and Chicago had just started making some connections, and I knew Jim and the other guys from playing shows in Chicago or previous bands they had been in that had played in Indianapolis. It didn't take long for Extinction to become one of my favorite bands to see live, they did such an awesome job of capturing energy and intensity in their songs, and combining what would seem to be incompatible influences like youth crew bands and Damnation AD. This choice should be a no-brainer just looking at the other bands that members went on to play in. Totally underrated.

Another Victim Interview: Abstraction zine #3

A short little interview with Another Victim that took place after the record on Stillborn but before Apocalypse Now came out. Also, note the early ads from both Eulogy Recordings and Catalyst Records.

Stream the new Abandon full length

Kurt Catalyst just messaged me saying that the debut full length from Abandon is now available to stream on the Catalyst Records site. We did a review for the record last week and its killer (the record, not my review). Kurt is still taking preorders for the next week or 2, so jump on that before its too late to get a limited tshirt.

Record Review: Abandon "The Death Of Urgency"

When I first heard of Abandon, Justin told me there was a video of them covering Morning Again's "Stones". Obviously, I was extremely excited. I watched the video and was impressed. I later found out the band was relatively young (their ages) and that they could actually play their instruments. It was refreshing to hear a group of young people who fell in love with the 90s hardcore sound and were able to put a fresh take on it. I ordered the demo directly from the band which took some time to show but it was worth it.I messaged the band to tell them that I was into it and that I would do a review for it. Fast forward 7-8 months and I received an email from Francisco asking if I'd like to review the full length. Of course, I said yes.
The record opens with "Walls" which has some serious Unbroken worship (Life.Love.Regret era) with its chugging riffs as well as some Seven Generations influence. I like that bands draw influence from their contemporaries and 7 Gen had a big influence on the current scene. "To Defy" opens with a choral march. It sounds like something you would have heard during WWII...is it? Possibly but I dont have the liner notes. The chorus is swallowed up by a tribal beat and chugging riff followed by a slower, half time feel. When the band does play fast, Im glad the drummer knows how the play the fast beat correctly. To me, there is a right way and a wrong way and he pulls it off quite well.
2 of the songs are re-recorded from their demo and they greatly benefit from the top notch production. Everything is leveled perfectly and nothing seems to overpower. Being a guitar player, I have always noticed guitar tone (and the tone on this record is great) but the bass tone is what gets me. SO HEAVY. It reminds me a lot of how Buske's tone on the Santa Sangre record sounds. Lyrically, I was given a copy of the lyric sheet but to be honest, as Im getting older, Im finding it harder and harder to pick up the subtleties and hidden meanings in songs. The lyrics are well written and thought out though dealing with personal issues as well as straight edge and veganism.
Overall, Im extremely happy with the record. I preordered it through Catalyst Records and am anxiously awaiting it to come in the mail. Pick this and go see this band if they play near you. One to watch in 2010.

Catalyst Records Catalog 1997

Found this while cleaning... i know 7 pages is a lot, and i left a few uninteresting ones out. The best part is the explanation of why Abnegation is no longer on the label.