Strongarm - These Time That Try Men's Souls demo

As I stated before, Christian hardcore is frowned upon by many in the hardcore scene but the funny thing is, Strongarm always seems to be the exception. When they would play South Florida, they always kept their personal views to a minimum on stage. Generally it went something like this "We're Strongarm, we are a Christian band. If you believe what we believe, awesome, if not, thats cool too. Lets go". Never a preachy band in South Florida, though I can't speak for other places. This is the demo they recorded that got them signed to Tooth & Nail Records and its a good one. 4 songs that were later re-recorded for their debut "Atonement". I apologize for the low quality of the MP3s....Ill see if I can find a better rip of it.

Strongarm - These Time That Try Men's Souls demo

http://www.mediafire.com/?hm2dw3hcau1

We have a Twitter!

So I caved in and made a Twitter account. I figured this might be a good way to spread the word of what's going on with us and when we update. Add us, follow us, whatever it is that people do on there. Thanks for all the support

xStuck In The Pastx on Twitter

A Look Back: South Florida Hardcore in the 90s (Part 1)

I started going to shows in 1995. At this time, South Florida was a hotbed for bands, supportive kids, and venues. It seemed like every weekend there was a show and they were always good. I can't count how many weekends I spent at Cheers (THE club in Miami, kinda like our own version of CBGBs) during 95 to 97. Gaye, the woman who owned Cheers, was extremely nice to everyone and very respectful of us and we reciprocated this. Unfortunately, the venue closed during the summer of 1997 and South Florida changed from that point on. It was still good, just not the same. Even before Cheers there were venues such as Washington Square, The Foundation, The Old School House in Vero Beach, Plus 5, The Button South, Churchills (which is still putting on shows) among others. Many of these closed before I started going to shows so I never was able to experience it but Ive heard stories...anyway, I wanted to take a look back at some of the bands that made South Florida what it was during those special years of my life. Some you have probably heard of, some you may not so Im hoping that you will find something new to listen to.

Tension - Pompano Beach

From 1993 - 1997, Tension was South Florida straight edge. To understand the power of their live show around this time was something you just had to see to believe. So much energy and I always felt that Mike a great lyricist who could really work the crowd. They released the "In Our Time" 7 inch which was followed by (in my opinion) a true classic "The Sickness of Our Age". They later released their only full length "Agent of the People". Check out one of the greatest bands to ever come out of South Florida. Members were in and went on to Endure, Shai Hulud, Strongarm, and Further Seems Forever.

Shai Hulud - Pompano Beach

Shai Hulud was a band that when I heard the name I said "Are they Hare Krishnas?". I can remember my friend coming back from seeing them and saying "You got to hear this band Shai Hulud...they have a kid singing for them who's 14 and he's got this voice...". I had to hear it for myself and was blown away by the mighty mite Chad, at the young age of 14. Chad quit to pursue New Found Glory and the unit eventually moved to NY for touring purposes. One of my all time favorite bands and still a great live act. All of their material can still be purchased through Revelation Records and they are now signed to Metal Blade Records. Also, this is another band that Damien Moyal was a part of. Their demo is by far one of my all time favorite recordings of any band ever. If you like his vocals in Morning Again, then you will love this. The 6 song demo appears on the Comprehensive Retrospect record.

Strongarm - Pompano Beach

Alot of people in the hardcore scene frown upon Christian hardcore and I can understand why. Many object to the preaching during the sets and the blatant (obviously) religious message but going to shows in South Florida we always had 2 bands that did neither of these during their sets: Strongarm and Set Apart (which will be up soon). Basically, Strongarm got on stage and said "this is what we believe, if you don't believe it it's cool." In the numerous times I saw them, very little preaching ever went on. Strongarm has a very distinct sound and to this day many have tried to copy it but few have been able to duplicate it (Shai Hulud has a very heavy Strongarm influence). I was happy that I was able to see them one last time at Furnace Fest in 2000...there has also been talk of a reunion of sorts. Ill be crossing my fingers for that one...
Their demo is available for download and both of their full lengths "Atonement" and "The Advent of a Miracle" are still available through Solid State Records. Members were in previously and went on to Endure, Ichtus, Tension, Further Seems Forever and Shai Hulud.

Brethren - Hialeah

Brethren was one of the best and well respected bands from the 90s in South Florida. They had a sludgey sound with breakdowns early on but then changed a bit when they released their full length and went for more of a Madball style with a faster tempo. One of the first shows I went to was a Brethren show in 1995 and Im happy that I became pretty good friends with them.

Morning Again - Ft. Lauderdale

Morning Again is my FAVORITE band to ever come out of South Florida. So much energy and passion that I can't even describe it. There was a period between 1996 and 1997 that you could see them once a month and we made a point to never miss them. Luckily for everyone, all their material is still available.

Culture - Ft. Lauderdale/Gainesville

Culture is where the legend of Damien Moyal began. He would later join other bands and the legend would continue but this is where it began. Culture started in Ft. Lauderdale and to my knowledge were the first Vegan Straight Edge band in South Florida. After 1995 or 96, they very rarely played South Florida so I only saw them a few times but they were awesome. Damien really knew how to work a crowd. While the band was never huge in the US, they were like gods in Europe. If you get a chance, check out the Culture Myspace which is run by an awesome guy named Alex. He has loads of information including band member timelines and pictures of old merch so take the time and check it out. Members were in and went on to As Friends Rust, Shai Hulud, Bird of Ill Omen, Bridgeburne R, Morning Again, Blood Has Been Shed, Terror, One Nation Under, Salem, Where Fear and Weapons Meet, Night of Broken Glass, Until the End and Trust No One.


This concludes part 1 of my look back...as I was workign on this I was realizing how many bands I wasnt going to be able to include for fear of being monotonous. So Ill have a part 2 soon. Hope you enjoyed this as much as I have.

Turmoil "New Record" Update

Ive heard quite a few people asking when the new Turmoil record would finally be released. I too was wondering so I got in touch with John Wylie, owner of Eulogy Recordings, and heres what he had to say regarding the record

"Does anyone really think that eulogy would have the record finished and in hand and not release it? Apparently people actually think this. I can promise everyone that as soon as we have it in our hand we will get it out. We are waiting for the record to be delivered by the band. We have heard most of it and have been told that it's close to being finished. That's all the information we have at this point."

Hey its a start. I hope this record comes out and fulfills peoples expectations for what a Turmoil record is even if Jon Gula is no longer in the band. In the meantime, head on over to the Eulogy Webstore and check out the Turmoil merch.

Disembodied "Psalms of Sheol" CD Review

So here it is...after years of waiting, here is the collected odds and ends of the Disembodied discography. Many of these songs have been long out of print while some have never been available on CD before. The fine gentlemen at Prime Directive Records have a done a great job in putting this together and making these great songs widely available. So where do we start? First off, the CD is packaged in a beautiful digipak with full color artwork. The CD collects the following: their track from the Goodfellow Records compilation "The Difference Between Us", the 2 songs from the "Bootleg" 7 inch which had never actually been given names on their release (also never before available on CD), a demo version of Burning Cupid, the "Confession" 7 inch, the original Existence in Suicide EP, and their cover of Metallica's "Creeping Death". Alright so you might be saying, I already own all these releases (if you do, good for you) but heres the real clincher: the entire release has been REMIXED and REMASTERED!!!!! This thing sounds monstrous, as if the entire record was recorded recently. Im not kidding..."Enochian Prayer" is the perfect start to this CD. Long thought to be their best song (according to one Scott Pesek among others), this new mix just crushes. Its also nice to actually have names to the "Bootleg" 7 inch which had been circulating for some time. The rumor was that the band released it themselves...truth? No idea but that's what I heard.
The debut EP "Existence in Suicide" which was released in limited quantities is represented well here and shows the band's beginnings. The best addition to this compilation is the addition of the Metallica cover they recorded for Undecided Records "Metallica Tribute" compilation which never saw the light of day in the late 90s. The song did see a release on a compilation that Undecided released called "The Old, The New, The Unreleased" which also contains a few other Metallica covers as well. The remix gives the song whole new life. Its also nice to hear a band tackle the solo. This is something that many bands tend to skip and write a mosh part in place of. Not the care here...they learned the solo and performed it so well that even Kirk Hammett would be proud.
Someone on a message board asked why the songs from the Brother's Keeper split were not included and the answer is, the release is still readily available. Trustkill is apparently out of stock right now but check Amazon.com.
All in all, this is the perfect start to phase 2 of Disembodied's resurrected career. I for one am extremely excited to see what they have in store for the upcoming year and this CD is the perfect way to tide you over until we find out some new info. Disembodied is, in my opinion, the heaviest band to ever walk the Earth and this CD continues to solidify that claim. My final verdict: 2 thumbs way up for a beautiful release and also for Chase and Jav for making this available for a whole new generation of kids who may have missed it the first time around. Lastly, check out Hellfish who have printed up a bunch of merch for Disembodied as well as a monthly limited tshirt design which will continue until September of next year.

You can order directly from Chase and Prime Directive through Paypal for $10 ppd.

PAYPAL: pdrecords@gmail.com

Cash: Prime Directive Records, PO Box 571, Balboa, CA 92661

Groundwork - Today We Will Not Be Invisible Nor Silent

Courtesy of a very generous Ryan Hex, I was able to finally obtain the Groundwork CD. While I don't know an incredible amount about this band, this releases by Bloodlink Records collects the "Today We Will Not Be Invisible Nor Silent" LP, their tracks from the split with Unbroken, the Living In Fear 7 inch, the Lay Down 7 inch and their track from the "Lacking Mindset" 7 inch comp. The only thing making this an incomplete discography is the exclusion of the demo (as far as I know). Every other rip of this has always sounded kinda crappy, so I did a nice high quality VBR rip and scanned the cover as well as the back which explains which tracks are from which release. The actual insert is enormous, probably a good 20 pages of lyrics, essays by the band members and whatnot. If anyone wants, Ill scan it but itll take some time. I asked Justin to write a few words about the band when he has the time, so be on the lookout for that. Until then, heres the almost complete discography from Groundwork.

*NEW LINK*

Groundwork - Today We Will Not Be Invisible Nor Silent

Youth of Today - Take A Stand (Live)

Techincally yes, Youth of Today is not a 90s hardcore band but this live recording from the late 80's was released in the 90's by everyone's favorite label, Lost & Found. Someone had requested this a few months ago and I was finally able to get it from my parents house. I did a high quality VBR rip of the record as well as a nice high quality scan of the cover. The quality is pretty damn good and has a good variety of songs spanning their career (minus the last 7 inch) as well as covers of Crippled Youth, Gorilla Biscuits, and the Cro Mags. The CD is actually 2 different shows, the first being better quality. Either way, check it out. To whomever requested this, I apologize for taking so long getting it posted

Youth of Today - Take A Stand (Live)

Part 1

http://www.mediafire.com/?wdmmymyn1jo

Part 2

http://www.mediafire.com/?ajhaxoraww2

Threadbare - Vitality (Beyond cover)

I had no idea that Threadbare did this cover but its pretty awesome. Either way, this was on a comp called Hardcore Maniacs 5 released by All About Friends (this is the info I got from the Threadbare myspace). Real short song but definitely cool for the completest, like myself.

Threadbare - Vitality (Beyond cover)

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

Nathan Napolitano's Liskfest 2.0 Flickr photo sets

Strife - http://www.flickr.com/photos/cience/sets/72157622287728172/

Eleven Thirty-Four - http://www.flickr.com/photos/cience/sets/72157622287716040/

Cro-Mags - http://www.flickr.com/photos/cience/sets/72157622287739520/

Bold - http://www.flickr.com/photos/cience/sets/72157622287672368/

Insted - http://www.flickr.com/photos/cience/sets/72157622287749146/

Ignite - http://www.flickr.com/photos/cience/sets/72157622162996495/

Against The Wall - http://www.flickr.com/photos/cience/sets/72157622287661714/

CRUE (not Motley) - http://www.flickr.com/photos/cience/sets/72157622287761218/

Pillar (pre-Harvest, Disembodied)

Our good friend Edwin, the xEmonerdx, just posted this on his blog and I wanted everyone to make sure to check it out. Pillar featured Dave Walker of Harvest and Justin Kane of Disembodied. Im not going to go into loads of info but go to Edwin's blog and download this demo. Click the link below to go directly to the post Edwin made for all the info as well as a link to download the demo.

Pillar Demo on One Path For Me Through Destiny