Chris Higdon from Falling Forward/Elliott's new band: Frontier(s)

Check out Chris Higdon's (vocalist and guitarist for Falling Forward and Elliott) new band, Frontier(s) on Myspace.

No Exit comp

Inside Front was a zine done by Brian D. of Catharsis/Crimethinc fame, and issues came out on a semi regular basis from 1994 to the early 2000s. It was quite common for the zine to be accompanied by a comp, and this one titled "No Exit" was the first of them. Although I often found the romanticized politics to be over the top, there's no denying that Catharsis, and most of the bands encompassing Inside Front/Crimethinc were awesome.

va - No Exit - Hardcore Compilation
[1994 - Inside Front]
http://www.mediafire.com/?xnnunyjz0q0

Classic Records: Falling Forward "Hand Me Down"

Louisville had a knack for pumping out great bands and Falling Forward is definitely in my top 3. How this record is no longer in print is beyond me. "Hand Me Down" is just one of those records you have to get someone to sit down and listen to because when today's generation hears the word "Emo", they probably think of 4 or 5 guys dressed in extremely tight pants, ironed hair, goofy sunglasses and pastel colored shirts. If thats what you think of when you hear the word "Emo", extend your arm, make your hand into a fist, punch yourself in the face, then scroll to the end of this post and download this record to learn something. Emo or emo-core is emotional hardcore. Aggressive music with emotional lyrics and/or vocals. Rites of Spring and Embrace (arguably) started it and these bands from the midwest really did a great job perfecting it. Falling Forward and Split Lip were definitely my favorites (along with Dayspring) but lets not get off track. "Hand Me Down" had this energy that seems lacking in alot of music today. The vocals are yelled/sung with this strained style that you could tell when he finished tracking he was probably crying from the emotion. Live, I never got to see em (Louisville Joe may be able to help me with this one) but I imagine the crowd crying while singing along. This record was originally released on the now defunct Initial Records and has been out of print since the early 2000s. Such a shame...I wish someone would reissue this with a remastering for the new generation of kids who need to be educated. Members went on to Elliot but this is their defining moment in my opinion. I looked on youtube for a live video of the band but kept finding some new band of the same name. Either way, Ive included a link to download this amazing record so I encourage you to check it out and enjoy this as much as I do.

Falling Forward - Hand Me Down

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=DLJBDJET

Chamberlain - Fate's Got A Driver "Deluxe Edition" Reissue

With the reunion of Split Lip/Chamberlain for Burning Fight in Chicago and a few other shows, Doghouse is reissuing "Fate's Got A Driver" on limited vinyl with new artwork and bonus tracks. This is only being issued on vinyl but does include a download code for all the tracks as well bonus songs not included on the re-release. Heres what Doghouse Records has to say about the re-release:


"We are proud to announce the vinyl reissue of Chamberlain's beloved 1996 record Fate's Got A Driver. The long out-of-print LP is being reissued with fully redesigned artwork and five previously unreleased tracks.For those unfamiliar, Chamberlain were one of the most important and influential bands in the underground Midwest music scene. Originally the Indianapolis hardcore band, Split Lip (under who's name the record was initially released), the outfit later decided to change their name to Chamberlain as their sound grew more melodic and mature. Chamberlain has been cited by the likes of Taking Back Sunday, New Found Glory and Dashboard Confessional as a major influence. This is an absolute essential album for any vinyl enthusiast or fan of 90s emo or melodic hardcore.You can pre-order the limited edition cream colored vinyl right now. It's safe to say you should probably put a move on it, because there are only 500 copies available of this edition. In celebration of the re-release, Split Lip/Chamberlain will be reuniting for a series of 3 Midwest performances."



For other Doghouse Records releases click here
Preorder the record here

Eighty-Eight - Demo

Eighty-Eight were a short lived side project from Seattle that featured Timm McIntosh (Trial, Wait In Vain) on vocals, and the majority of Seattle hardcore band Last Man Standing as the musicians. They started just doing covers of youth crew songs, but eventually started writing some originals, and that's how this demo came about. The tape has two original songs, and a cover of Positive Outlook by Youth of Today. Eighty-Eight sets were always a lot of fun, and I wish they had gone on to record the 7", but the band imploded one night when a few members of the band decided to quit after a particular incident at a show in Seattle.



Eighty-Eight - Demo 98
http://www.mediafire.com/?vdnxwljqwdm

Earth Crisis - To The Death review

This is one of the most highly anticipated reunion records of the last few years, and Earth Crisis definitely don't disappoint with To The Death. The people at Century Media were kind enough to send us a download of the album, and it's my humble opinion that this is probably the perfect comeback record.
The album opens up like a beast with the track "Against the Current." Leading into an album with a mosh part can be risky, but they pull it off nicely by transitioning into a fast part smoothly and following up with a riff that easily could have been on a Madball record in the mid 90s. As a nearly 30 years old straight edge nerd, it's nice to hear a combination of straight/straight edge a good ten times in the opening track.
Up next is the track that has been posted to the band's myspace page, "To Ashes." It's this song that gave me high hopes for the new record in general. The chorus chant of "every meth lab burned" is sure to become a new live staple for them.
Unfortunately, the download didn't include lyrics, but the third track sounds like the albums first foray into the topic of animal rights. Titled "So Others Live", it feels like a classic call for animal rights that would have been heard on any number of Earth Crisis records.
The middle chunk of this record is certainly no slouch. With tracks like "Security Threat #1", "Control Through Fear", and "Eye of Babylon", ExC are solidifying themselves as a legitimate contender amongst the current court of heavy hardcore bands.
The album ends itself with the title track, and it's a great ending to a great record. As the song plays out, it ends with "Vegan for life. Vegan to the death!" It's one of those moments in a song that combines a heavy piece of music with a potent enough chant that it makes you want to destroy whatever is sitting near you.Overall, I'd say that Earth Crisis have crafted a magnificent comeback record. A lot of the riffs sound like they could have been on Gomorrah's Season Ends, but they come through so much better because they don't have the mu-metal sounding production that Gomorrah's did. A number of riffs also sound like they could have found their way onto Destroy The Machines, but they take on a slightly different feel on To The Death, because the production of this record makes the chugs sound a bit more punchy than previous ExC records. As a whole, the production is very clean, but isn't so sterile that the songs seem stripped of all their raw power. This is the album that feels like what should have been their natural progression from Breed The Killers.
If Slither left a bad taste in your mouth, as it did with me, give this new record a shot. It comes out on April 20th in Europe, and May 5th in the US via Century Media, and I really don't think you'll be disappointed. If nothing else, maybe this record will at least get some of the lame scenester kids and flat brimmed hat douchebags into something more intelligent and passionate.
Bottom line: Earth Crisis sound pissed again!

Heaviest 90s Band poll ends. New Poll posted

Was this any surprise? Disembodied killed it. I mean it wasnt even close. Beyond excited to see them in May...we started a new poll, Best Frontman part 2. We said we werent finished when we did the last one because there were just too many amazing frontmen to pick from so heres part 2.

Krishnacore in the 90s

During the 90's, it wasnt uncommon to go to a show and see kids wearing Tulasi neck beads, usually wrapped around as few as once or covering the entire neck (come on, you know that one kid who did this). Hare Krishna's most vocal supporters came in the form of the two biggest Krishnacore bands in the 90s, Shelter and 108. While both of these bands could arguably be called the first Krishnacore bands, members of the NYHC scene in the 80s were preaching the ways of the Bhagavad-gita including Keith Burkhardt of Cause for Alarm, members of Antidote and John Joseph and Harley Flanagan of the Cro Mags. Eventually Ray Cappo discovered Hare Krishna and started the band Shelter which could be considered the first Krishnacore band. Vic DiCara also discovered spirituality and quit Inside Out to join Shelter. When he quit the band, he formed 108. Ray also started Equal Vision Records with Steve Reddy to release Shelter's record. The label would function as the only (to my knowledge) all Krishna label before releasing non-Krishna bands in the mid to late 90s. Shelter eventually signed to Roadrunner/Supersoul while 108 went to Equal Vision and Lost & Found before disbanding. The idea of Krishnacore spread throughout the scene domesitcally and globally. More and more bands began to spring up though many went undocumented. Equal Vision did release records for some of the bands including Prema, Refuse to Fall, and Project Kate but many bands usually just included a member who followed the beliefs so the band was not a full Krishnacore band. Shelter continued touring and are still somewhat active at the time of this writing. 108 is very much active having just recorded a new record and playing a US tour as well as a European tour. If you would like more info on Krishnacore check out the Krishnacore homepage:

Krishnacore on the internetz

108 on Myspace

Shelter on Myspace

Ezekiel 24: The Edge of the Earth

If you went to Hellfest 2001, there's a good chance you saw some kids dressed as Amish folk moshing. You also may have noticed them selling something next to the Pizza Hut which directly next to the roller rink. They were selling a cassette of their band "Ezekiel 24", the first Amish Straight Edge hardcore band. While they ended up not really being Amish, I bought the cassette and proceeded to go nuts. The music was fast and heavy with 3 singers screaming about killing tourists and stabbing tourists with their pitchforks. The lyrics which have been posted above had great lines like "with your camera you stole my soul, with my pitchfork Ill steal your life". Amazing. I do remember being seriously bummed out when I found out they werent really Amish...rumor had it that Eulogy would have signed them if they were really Amish.
Anyway, the recording isnt that great, Im not gonna lie. But its defintely listenable and still after all these years I still listen to it pretty regularly. All the scans have been included in the mediafire folder as well. Make sure to read the story about how the band formed...classic.

EDIT: For some reasom I seem to be missing the lyrics to the first track. Ill see if I can find it

*NEW LINK*

Ezekiel 24 - The Edge of the Earth

Barrit - 7"

This Barrit 7" contains only two songs; Godless Disease, and Transient, which was later re-recorded for the full length that Chip posted last week. It was the first release on Ellington Records. If memory serves me correctly, the guy that ran Ellington became a college professor, and ended up moving to San Francisco from MA. He kept the label running for a short time after his move, but then it seemed to just fade away. I have two copies of this 7" for some reason, although neither of them are on the limited color of red, but one of them has an insert detailing some of the first releases to come out on Ellington:

A very old Barrit website can still be found here.

Barrit - self titled 7"
[1996 - Ellington Records]
http://www.mediafire.com/?m1jetjmmodt