Monday, July 6, 2009

DAY OF MOURNING


Canada's Day of Mourning was the perfect mix of hardcore and metal creating one of the darkest bands to ever exist. Each album was interlaced with soundbytes, and effects that accented the music just right to create a truly unrelenting listening experience. It's like a horror movie for your ears. Members went on to play in xIn This Defiancex, Slumlords, Pulling Teeth, and No Warning. I never got to see DOM live but my old band did have the pleasure of playing with xIn This Defiancex at a Chinese restaurant in Grove City in 2006. It was a really random but amazing show. Fudd's vocals were still as deep as ever. Get into it!

DOWNLOAD - Split w/ Clenched Fist
DOWNLOAD - Your Future's End

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

BORROWED TIME

I was introduced to Rochester's Borrowed Time about three years ago by my good friends in Dawn of War. Having grown up in Rochester, NY I've always tried to stay up to date on what the hardcore scene is doing up there even though I now reside in Erie. During a little Stand Firm/Dawn of War weekend on the road in 2006, they told me about a new Rochester act called Borrowed Time that I absolutely had to check out. They carried BT's No Escape From This Life in their distro so I picked up a copy and was immediately floored by how good it was. I'm not exaggerating when I say that they became one of my favorite bands after listening to only two or three songs. I had the pleasure of booking Borrowed Time in Erie on two seperate occasions. Once was with Wisdom in Chains and another time with some shitty drunken mess of a band called She Rides. They also played at the Shockwave reunion show in December 2008 thanks to EMS. All three times they played with a level of intensity and passion that is rarely matched. They also did some great covers by the Misfits, Cro-Mags and Entombed (A recorded version of the Entombed cover can be found on Annihilation).
I still run into these guys all the time whenever I attend shows in upstate NY and they are always the nicest guys you could meet. I can tell you from personal knowledge that they are the real deal. No wannabe tough-guy gimmick bullshit here. Just pissed off, honest and relevant hardcore.
They released a demo which unfortunately I don't have. Then came No Escape From This Life on Reaper Records and Annihilation on Surface Records. They also did a split with Sons of Disgrace but since it only included the tracks off of Annihilation it'd be a waste of time for me to include it here too.
Last I heard they are no longer active since Aiden decided to spend more time focusing on his tattooing. So if you didn't get the chance to catch these guys live you definately missed out. Still, do yourself a favor and check these albums out. If you like hardcore even just a little bit you won't be disappointed. And if you're ever in western NY visit Love-Hate Tattoo and hit up Aiden for some ink.

Monday, June 22, 2009

DODGIN' BULLETS

Dodgin' Bullets was a mash-up of east meets west hardcore fury. Featuring members of Erie's own xDisciplex and California's No Innocent Victim they brought the best of both coasts together to form a fun side project that gained quite a bit of recognition considering they were only a part-time band.
They released two EP's titled Soundtrack to the End of the World and World Wide War, as well as a full length called Earn Your Respect which featured most of the tracks from the previous EP's along with four new songs. Listen for guest vocals from Agnostic Front's Roger Miret and Figure Four's Andrew Neufeld. Also be sure to check out the hidden track at the end of World Wide War for a good laugh.

DOWNLOAD - Soundtrack to the End of the World
DOWNLOAD - World Wide War
DOWNLOAD - Earn Your Respect

Friday, June 5, 2009

STAND FIRM


This was a band that I played bass in for about 4 years. We had some fun, played shows around the north-east and mid-west, and eventually went down to South Carolina and back up to our home state of PA, playing through North Carolina, Kentucky and Ohio on our way back. Everything was recorded in our original guitarist's basement studio since he was in the process of earning his degree in music production. This allowed us to record for free and also helped him to build his portfolio. The only thing that wasn't recorded by him is a live bootleg that was made during our set at Lucky's Pub in Wilmington, NC. Some highlights for me personally were playing with bands like Wisdom in Chains, Borrowed Time (who I will post on here later), opening at the Jesus Wept Show's Over CD release, and playing at Edgefest 2006 in Dayton, OH with other straight edge bands who were popular at the time like Suffocate Faster, xTyrantx, and Too Pure To Die. We've all gone our seperate ways since calling it quits last summer, but most of us who were part of the final line-up still stay in contact and remain good friends.
VOCALS:
Josh Suter (2004-2006)
Aaron Harkness (2006-2008)

GUITAR:
Andrew Pomeroy (2004-2006)
Matt Eldridge (2006-2008)
Bryan Elchynski (2007-2008)
Shane Young (2008)

BASS:
Mike McCall (2004-2005)
Greg Waldron (2005-2008)

DRUMS:
Shane Young (2004-2008)
Shawn Bedow (2008)

P.O.D. THE EARLY YEARS


P.O.D. aka Payable on Death was the first "heavy" band that I ever got into, and despite the fact that they have mellowed out in recent years I still look forward to hearing new material from these guys. Anyone who listens to the current incarnation of P.O.D. would probably find it hard to believe that these pioneers of nu metal actually had close ties with Southern Cali's punk and hardcore scene in the beginning. In fact, in the early days it wasn't uncommon to see them sporting No Innocent Victim, Overcome and Zao gear. Just check out their video for 'Southtown' or look up any live pics from the mid to late 90's to see what I mean. They also opened for xDisciplex here in Erie. Unfortunately I was still living in Rochester, NY at the time and had yet to discover hardcore music (it was all just rock to me back then) so I missed out on what was surely an awesome show. If you listen to albums like 1994's Snuff the Punk or 1996's Brown, it's not hard to see why these guys brushed shoulders with various hardcore acts throughout the 90's. These albums are intense and hit hard, rivaling even the best hardcore bands of the time in terms of heaviness and sincerity. Nothing at all like the more recent reggae-inspired CD's that they've been putting out since 2001's Satellite. Once they signed to Atlantic records it's clear that they felt the need to take their music in a new direction. I'm not going to accuse them of selling out to make a buck, because the reggae-rock sound was starting to emerge as early as Brown but they definately took it to a whole new level with Satellite and everything that followed. I feel this was just the natural progression of their music however, and not some forced attempt to be radio-friendly. They still continue to pay homage to their roots by featuring guest vocals from various punk and hardcore bands of the past, including H.R. from Bad Brains and Mike Muir of Suicidal Tendencies.
Snuff the Punk and Brown were both released on Rescue Records which is owned by Noah Bernardo Sr. who happens to be drummer Wuv's father and vocalist Sonny's uncle. The label is also notable for releasing No Innocent Victim's Strength and No Compromise albums. Lyrically this early stuff is much more direct when it comes to the Christian message, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. They don't come off as abrasive or judgmental, but it could certianly alienate people of other beliefs simply because of how straight-forward it is. The Fundamental Elements of Southtown was P.O.D.'s first venture into the mainstream. This was their Atlantic Records debut and featured the hit songs 'Southtown', and 'Rock the Party' which saw significant airplay. Although the album is easier on the ears than their first two full-lengths it still maintains the same level of intensity and that's why I include it. This album marks P.O.D. at their finest in my opinion. It's where the rawness of the old material meets the diversity of the new material and forms an album that is as equally unique as it is heavy. The lyrics are noticeably more generalized. The album as a whole provides a positive message that speaks from a Christian perspective but it doesn't beat listener's over the head with biblical theology. Anyone can take something away from this album, which certainly contributed to it's success.
Other releases from this era include a live album simply called Live and a collection of demo tracks entitled The Warriors EP which was out of print for awhile but can now be found in certain copies of Greatest Hits: The Atlantic Years.
Regardless of how much these guys have changed over the years, they will always remain one of my favorite bands. Before P.O.D. music was just background noise to me. My appreciation for both hardcore and hip-hop is owed to them and their first three studio albums. So go ahead, download this stuff and see what I'm talking about:


DOWNLOAD - The Fundamental Elements...

Thursday, June 4, 2009

BLOODCLOT


If ever a hardcore supergroup existed, this is it. Bloodclot, which was formed in 2005 features John Joseph of Cro-Mags fame on vocals, Eric Klinger of Pro-Pain and Scott Roberts of Biohazard on guitar, Merauder's Rick Lopez on bass, and Biohazard's Danny Shuler on drums. This band is exactly what you would expect from such an esteemed line-up. The intensity of punk, the anger of hardcore, and the technicality of metal. It's hard to pigeonhole this group into one specific genre, they are a perfect combination of all three aforementioned styles. Just listen to tracks like 'Seeds of Destruction', 'Straight Jacket' or 'Asleep at the Wheel' to see what I mean.
It's because of Bloodclot's lyrical content that I initially took interest in them. Their music does not cover a wide range of issues, but generally stays focused on the topics of civil liberties, the police state/big brother, America's sheep mentality, and political corruption; topics which pretty much go hand in hand. These are issues that I am particularly passionate about so every time I listen to these guys I get fired up.
The band's name actually comes from the Jamaican slang 'bloodclot' which means a screwed-up situation. As the band describes it, what's happening in our country and world as a whole is a bloodclot situation and we need to fix it.
The debut full-length Burn Babylon Burn! is a testament to DIY ethic as it was independently released by the band in 2008 without the support of a label. This is a talented band with an intelligent and relevant message. Definately check them out if you haven't already.

DOWNLOAD - Burn Babylon Burn!