South Florida has been pumping out tons of new hardcore bands lately, including this new Vegan Straight Edge band: ECOSTRIKE. This demo is 4 songs taking influence from demo-era Earth Crisis, Strife, Strain, Tension, Slugfest, etc. Check it out if you're looking to satisfy your urge for early 90's-style Vegan "Chugcore".
Stream the demo here: https://ecostrike.bandcamp.com
There was a good amount of metallic hardcore being churned out of the Northwest in the late 90s, but Mourn The Sun were one of the few bands that were really bringing elements of serious metal into the hardcore scene.
In late1998, their singer, Myron, left the band, and I believe moved to California. He was briefly replaced by Fenny Perez, who came out of San Jose, CA and the band Cathy Ames. Unfortunately, Mourn The Sun didn't last all that long. They called it a day after their bass player, Tyler Hook, passed away in, I believe, early1999.
In the download below is their 4 song demo tape from 1998, and a small collection of unreleased tracks. The first unreleased song was actually pre-demo and was intended to be part of a comp on Dead End Records. The other two unreleased tracks feature Fenny on vocals, and were recorded in late 1998 at the Art Institute in one take.
Unless you've been living under a proverbial rock, you may have seen that Knives Out Records has been pumping out some great releases lately. Most recently, this has included a reissue of the Arkangel - Prayers Upon Deaf Ears 10", a Sworn Vengeance / St. Hood split 10" and this Grimlock - Songs Of Immortality reissue on picture disc 12".
This reissue covers the Songs Of Self CD, which had never been previously issued on vinyl, and the Thirst For Immortality 7" that could also be found as a hidden track on the Songs Of Self CD.
Historically speaking, picture discs never used to offer the best in sound quality, but this Grimlock reissue sounds really good. The bass rolls through without any distortion and the highs cut through without any sibilance. For those that actually listen to vinyl, as opposed to just collect it, this is a great benefit to the release as a whole.
One of the main stars of this show, though, is the packaging. The standard edition of 400 copies looks fantastic with a well designed layout, and the die hard edition of 100 is truly something to behold. A die cut cover featuring show flyers folds out to reveal the 12" picture disc. And another bonus to the die hard version is an impressive 32 page booklet filled with live photos spanning the bands time together. Both the die hard and standard editions are also hand numbered.
This is a truly fantastic reissue that I think fans of Grimlock will love from top to bottom. Take a visit over the Knives Out Records, their Grimlock page and , of course, the webstore.
For those that haven't heard yet, it's with a heavy heart that we have to pass on the news of the passing of Jody Taylor. You surely all know him from his time as vocalist for Vancouver, BC's STRAIN.
Last Thursday, Jody was killed in a work accident in British Columbia. He had worked as an arborist for the city for 16 years, and loved his job, but a large limb crushed him to death. An article detailing the event can be found here, and a follow up news story, including an interview with his work partner can be seen here.
For those that didn't have the fortune of knowing him personally, Jody was a great person and a true friend to all those that had the pleasure of knowing him. He had deep love and passion for punk/hardcore, records, photography and of course, his ten year old daughter. A GoFundMe account has been setup by a fellow STRAIN member to provide his daughter with a nest egg as she grows older. We implore everyone to check it out, donate if you can, and at the very least, spread the link around far and wide. - https://www.gofundme.com/czx35wt8