Saturday, August 30, 2008

Overcast

Someone was reading my mind when they suggested that I post some Overcast in honor of their new record that just came out. Overcast only played Portland once, but the tour package was incredible, and it still sits as one of my all time favorite shows
Forming in 1991, Overcast were one of the true innovators of 90s hardcore/metal, or as they preferred to call themselves, Devilcore. They first released a 7" called Bleed Into One, which I still don't have a copy of, but it was re-released as the bonus tracks on the re-released version of Expectational Dilution (which originally came out on Endless Fight in 1994) that was put out by Edison Recordings in 1997.
Then came a 7" called Stirring The Killer on Inner Rage Records from France in 1992. It features two songs that would later be re-recorded a couple of times, but they still sound excellent on this early release

http://www.mediafire.com/?51aqyeuxkmd

1996 saw the release of two more 7"s from Overcast. First was the split 7" with Arise on Moo Cow Records. In all seriousness, Moo Cow deserves legendary status. Jim put out so many awesome records in the 90s, and I bought up just about every single one. If you're unfamiliar, got check out the labels discography here: http://moocowrecords.com/releases.htm

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

After that split 7" came the Begging For Indifference 7" on Edison Recordings. This record featured two of their best and heaviest songs to date.

http://www.mediafire.com/?v96keisemfg

In 1998, Overcast released the Fight Ambition To Kill full length on Edison, and mounted a full US tour. I still have the tour shirt that I bought when they played Portland, and I'm holding out hope that I'll be able to see them again sometime. They just released a cd called Reborn To Kill Again on Century Media, and it features 12 re-recorded classics, and two previously unrecorded tracks. Some of those old songs sound heavier than ever on this new release, but it also completely maintains the integrity of their old sound. I highly suggest picking it up when you can. The damn thing still hasn't left my car cd player in over a week and a half.
You can still purchase both Expectational Dilution, and Fight Ambition To Kill from Very Distro. While we're on the subject, I'd just like to mention that Very Distro is by far my favorite of all distros. I've been purchasing from them since the print catalog days of the mid 90s when I was still in high school, and they have always been super fast with filling their orders, super easy to deal with, and they always seem to send me all kinds of awesome extras with my order. I still make large orders from them about once a year, and they still pull through just as well as they did 10-15 years ago, before internet ordering. Not only that, but they also get huge bonus points for putting out some of the heaviest bands of the 90s via their label Edison Recordings: Overcast, Disembodied, Starkweather and Acme.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Hard Stance

Zack De La Rocha was never straight edge, right? So, he must have never actually played lead guitar for Hard Stance, right? Riiiiiiiiight. Before he sang for Inside Out, and long before the commercially viable days of Rage Against The Machine, Zack played guitar for Hard Stance. In the late 80s, Hard Stance were a great straight edge band that shared the stage with the likes of Insted, No For An Answer, Chain of Strength, Uniform Choice and many more.
This cd compiles the two 7"s that Hard Stance put out. I'm not sure what they had as far as a demo, or any possible comp tracks, so I can't say for sure if this is a complete discography or not. However, I'm guessing they didn't do any remixing, or remastering for this cd, because the tracks sound pretty much exactly the same as they do on the two 7"s that I own.

Hard Stance
s/t [Conversion Records, 1994]
http://www.mediafire.com/?cktzvz4l7gm


Tuesday, August 19, 2008

I've now added a Cbox over there to the side of the page. Feel free to use it to make requests, and to let me know if a file needs to be re-uploaded. I get a lot of emails while I'm at work, and that makes it all too easy for me to forget about them. With requests sitting right there on the side of the page, I think it will be much easier for me to keep on top of things to the best of my abilities.

Monday, August 18, 2008

Method

What can I say? I LOVE mid 90s metalcore! Method reigned from Milwaukee, WI, and were creating some pretty wicked riffs for the era. Living on the West Coast, I never really gathered a ton of information on these guys, but my friend Parker helped fill in a few holes when I saw him a couple of years ago here in Portland. Apparently one of Method's guitar players had a nickname of Survivor, which he gained by riding a bike across state lines to attend a hardline gathering. The same guitar player also served briefly as an original member of Killtheslavemaster.

I got Method's 5 song cdep from my friend Sam, who ran a straight edge distro (both music and shirts) out of Spokane in the mid 90s.
Self Titled cdep
self released 1996
http://www.mediafire.com/?ddygubp4enl

It seemed as though their follow up 7" really flew under the radar even more than their cdep did. However, I ordered this through the Initial Records catalog in 1997. I really miss the Initial print catalog. I used to order just about anything from that catalog that had a pentagram next to the record title. This 7" has two songs.
Self Titled 7"
self released 1997
http://www.mediafire.com/?ljkbwcl8xyr

From what I've been told, this is all that Method released, aside from a poor sounding demo that I still haven't managed to ever get my hands on.

Sunday, August 3, 2008

Undertow

Edge of Quarrel cd
Lost and Found Records

This cd contains all of the material that Undertow recorded with Joel on vocals, as well as 3 tracks with John on vocals, and then a very peculiar final track. Here's how it breaks down in the liner notes:
Tracks 1 & 2 - Undertow/Resolution split 7"
Tracks 3-6 - Demo '91
Track 7 - Words To Live By comp 7"
Track 8 - previously unreleased (from the same recording session as track 7)
Tracks 9 & 10 - no info

http://www.mediafire.com/?j3uutjcujib

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

long time, no post

I've had a handful of things going on lately, which includes: working hard on the Unrestrained 7" that should be out sometime in August, playing some wicked slowpitch softball games and installing a new OS onto my computer. Things should probably be back to normal in a week or so, and the uploads will start flowing again.

Monday, June 2, 2008

National Guard

A big name from my early teenage years is going to be doing a reunion show in less than two weeks, and in honor of that, I've decided to dedicate a post to them...National Guard! From 1994 - 1996, National Guard played hardcore punk in the Portland area. They received some airplay on Punk Uprisings, and also had a centerfold interview in MRR once. Members from NG went on to form Backside Disaster, which can be downloaded from a few posts prior.

I don't have cover scans for the demo tapes, but here they are:

Demo 1994 (or possibly early 1995. Matt was unsure.)
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=Y733BKB0

Green Berets: War Heroes, Hard Asses [demo 1995]
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=M2APZL2K

Star Spangled Losers! 7"
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=NMX7EV02

One Big Happy Slam Pit [2 tracks]
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=OGMI2DAP

Redrafted [unreleased full length from 1996]
http://www.distrorecords.com/nationalguard/00%20ALL%20SONGS.zip
This link will only last until June 14th. This was the last National Guard recording from 1996, and features 20 songs. They released it in mp3 format in preparation for the reunion show. The only bummer is the abysmal 96kb rate that it was ripped at.

From '94 - '96, National Guard shows were always so much fun. Circle pits like a mother fucker!




Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Chain Of Strength

Maybe it's just me, but the Chain Of Strength remix/re-issue fell short in a few regards. It wasn't necessarily the overall sound, but it had more to do with all of the instrument parts that they cut out, or altered. I decided to go ahead and rip my 7"s that I have.

True Till Death
This rip comes from my green vinyl copy from the first press.
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=LFCMFKK6

What Holds Us Apart
I have two copies of this 7". One is on First Strike Records out of Europe, and one is on Mindpower Records. I ripped the Mindpower Records version, which is technically just the 2nd press of the Foundation Records version.
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=3Y6Z4QXI

Most of you probably already have the One Thing That Still Holds True cd that Revelation put out back in like 96 or 97. Listen to these tracks, and then listen to the re-issue cd, and you'll be able to hear plenty of differences.

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

No For An Answer / Carry Nation


Love him, or hate him, there's no denying that Dan O'Mahony has created quite a legacy for himself in hardcore over the years. Along with the material he released with 411, these are two of his more legendary releases.

No For An Answer - A Though Crusade
http://www.mediafire.com/?tudkr4ozugy

Carry Nation - Face The Nation

Monday, May 12, 2008

The Best of Nemesis Live

The Best Of Nemesis Live
I was about to rip my No Control At The Country Club 7", when I remembered that I had this cd in my collection downstairs. This cd compiles the 3 live comp 7"s that came out on Nemesis in 89/90, and has some of my all time favorite bands on it.

http://www.mediafire.com/?jxzy3y9yomb

Chalkline

Chalkline - In The Present Tense

As request by a few people, here's the Chalkline full length that came out in 1998 on Shandle Records.
http://www.mediafire.com/?mmwzrf2j9d4

Friday, May 2, 2008

Torn Apart

Torn Apart were another one of the truly great, heavy hardcore bands of the 90's. They hailed from Baltimore, and never made it to Portland, but I always heard great things about their live show.

Extermination 7"
There's no recording dates provided within this 7", but if memory serves me right, it came out sometime in 1995 on Life Sentence Records. I'm not sure as to what they had as far as a demo is concerned, but this was the first release from Torn Apart that I had ever heard about, even though it took me years and years to finally get my hands on a copy. This record sounds a bit on the unpolished side, but the 4 songs on this 7" are still pretty damn good.
http://www.mediafire.com/?zpve2ynmxmq

Nothing Is Permanent...
This full length (9 songs) came out on Life Sentence Records in late 1996, and you can definitely hear a major progression in Torn Apart's song writing and playing abilities. They work more melodies into the songs, and the singer's vocals are just nutty. His low vocal parts were some of the most evil that I was hearing come out of hardcore in the 90s.
http://www.mediafire.com/?2gz7otbutzm

I wont' be posting their 59th Session EP that came out on Ferret, because it's still in print and you can order it from Ferret, or any of the major distros for pretty cheap. However, I do highly suggest that you pick up that record, or have a friend burn it for you, because it's fucking intense, and should be heard by everyone! Torn Apart then broke up, but got together a year or so later to record the Ten Songs For the Bleeding Hearts full length. I wasn't as into that record.

Saturday, April 19, 2008

Dawn Of Orion

Dawn Of Orion were from Georgia, and played late 90s metalcore, with a heavy emphasis on the metal, not unlike Day Of Suffering and Undying. Here are the only two releases from them that I was ever aware of.

On Broken Wings 7"
1998 - Undecided Records
http://www.mediafire.com/?vgx0oinlgyi

For The Lust Of Prophecies Undone
1999 - Immigrant Sun Records
http://www.mediafire.com/?vni7jiiymff

On a side note, I used to buy records off of Dawn Of Orion's guitar player, Erik, quite a bit during 98/99. After a good year of an excellent transaction record, he decided to take my 50 bucks, and not send me a handful of records (which I later saw turn up on ebay). If you happen to ever see that douchebag, feel free to punch him in the throat for me.

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Chalkline

The midwest had numerous, great "emo-core" bands in the 90s. Back then, the bands represented exactly what that kind of label should entail, and that's simply, emotional hardcore. Amidst the bigger emo-core bands of the 90s like Split Lip and Falling Forward, I always thought that Chalkline went a little underrated.

Chalkline / Figurehead split
This split came out on Shandle Records in June of 96, and features two songs from each band. Although this post focuses on Chalkline, don't underestimate Figurehead, as they were an awesome band in their own respects.
http://www.mediafire.com/?hwij9ybbjzx

Self Titled 7"
This record also came out in 1996, but on Toothless Records out of Louisville, KY. Chalkline do 4 songs on here that are similar in nature to the ones on the split with Figurehead. Each one ranges from the melodic, to the heavy.
http://www.mediafire.com/?zmffmkxn9ie

Although I wasn't quite as into their full length cd, I do still have it, and if anyone wants, I can rip it and throw it up here sometime later this week.

Monday, April 7, 2008

The Ourselves Compilation


The Ourselves Compilation
This great live comp came out on Omega in 1997. I don't really have a whole lot of info on this comp, nor do I know how many were pressed. The cover, however, is hand made from a priority mail box, and that's something that I always enjoy. There's nothing better than knowing that someone spent the time to make sure that their release is unique in some way. This comp has a lot of great bands, and a lot of great songs from those bands. Enjoy!
http://www.sendspace.com/file/mql8pp

Thursday, April 3, 2008

Disembodied

The 1990's produced some of the heaviest bands to ever hit hardcore, such as Overcast and Fortheloveof, but none were heavier than Disembodied. If someone tries to tell you that a band is or was heavier than Disembodied, call them a liar and punch them in the face. I find it horribly appalling that a good majority of their discography is now out of print. In this post, I'm going to post some of the more rare stuff from their time together.

Existence In Suicide
As far as I've ever been able to tell, this was Disembodied's first release. The "Demo '91" that has been floating around Soulseek for more than a few years now, is clearly just a demo from one of the 3 death metal bands in the US that were also named Disembodied. This CD/EP came out on Furface Records in early 1995, and was supposedly limited to 500 copies.
http://www.mediafire.com/?djzyxjdybr1

The Confession
These songs were recorded in September of 1995, but didn't come out until early 1996 on the legendary Moo Cow Records. I'd say it's with this release that Disembodied were really starting to set the new standard for the term "heavy" in hardcore.
http://www.mediafire.com/?tlkqydglzrz

Two Unreleased Studio Tracks from 1997 (Bootleg)
The rumor I had always heard, was that Disembodied actually put out this bootleg themselves. Two tracks are contained on this slab of vinyl, but neither of them are given titles. If I remember correctly though, one of these songs ended up on a comp. These two songs were recorded at the same time as the Diablerie full length that came out on Ferret Records. One of the copies on green mix vinyl has eluded me all of these years, but one of my two copies on mix color vinyl came with this alternate cover

http://www.mediafire.com/?2f2wb2xtnmj

And while we're on the subject, I've noticed a large influx of bands lately that are tuning their guitars down to B, or something similar. Please do us all a favor, and break up now. Disembodied knew how to do it correctly, but you just sound like a sad mush of bad chug mosh.

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Chokehold - Final Show

Final Show [New Bedford, MA 3/23/96]
This recording came straight from the soundboard at Chokehold's final show, which was at a fest (which I forget the name of) in New Bedord, MA. Frankly, the quality of this recording, sounds better than half of Chokehold's studio recordings.
http://www.mediafire.com/?zdtctzcd9dr

Saturday, March 1, 2008

Today, I get married!

That's why updates have been slow this week, and will continue to be non-existent until we get back from our honeymoon on the 10th. So, everyone have a great day, because I sure know I will be.

Sunday, February 24, 2008

Backside Disaster

I have so many great memories tied to Backside Disaster. These were the guys that I used to hang out with on a near daily basis. Fife-0-3 Crew in full effect! There was a hardcore punk band here in Portland called National Guard (I'm sure I'll be making a post about them in the coming months), and on New Year's Eve of 1996/97, the new lineup of National Guard played their first show as Backside Disaster. They sounded more reminiscent of Strife in the very beginning, but over time, they took on much more of an Earth Crisis (but with more melody) influence. They recorded a demo in early 1997, that featured some great songs they had been playing live, such as Payback and Nutrition, but they never released it. Matt (who now plays in Nora) had the old reel just sitting in the closet of their house, but ever since he moved to NJ, I have no idea what's become of it, and that's a bummer, because I'd still love to hear it. It's with the birth of Backside Disaster in 1997, that Portland finally started getting "new school" hardcore shows. It's a shame that they so rarely ventured outside of the Northwest, because they really had a lot of potential. Only a tiny handful of us from those days are still involved in hardcore, and even fewer are still straight edge, but those were some of the best times of my life.
The Coming Of Iad Urorobos [Demo 1997]
I also have a copy of this that was burned from the master disc, but PC CDR drives were still in their infancy, and so it's plagued with various pop sounds throughout the recording, so I dug out my old demo tape, and even after who knows how many hundreds of listens, it still sounds great. Only about 25 or 30 demos came with the handmade lyrics book pictured above.
http://www.mediafire.com/?octx0b9mfjh

Demo 1998
This demo was primarily sent only to labels, with a handful of cassette tapes given to friends, and roughly 25 CDRs sold at a couple shows.
http://www.mediafire.com/?45m4n0lyqbx

Self Titled EP
This was Backside Disaster's final release. They had a few new songs written, but they never got recorded before a member change happened. They changed their name to Dying Anthem, but never actually played a show. Then Matt moved to NJ, and it's all history now.
http://www.mediafire.com/?j3eel1i9mdl

This was their final show on April 1st, 2000And as an added bonus, if you're from Portland, or even the Northwest, you can use the picture below to play a cool game of "count the hardcore dropouts" (why I'm wearing a wifebeater [front and center] is anybody's guess. It was the 90s, cut me some damn slack!). If you're like me, you'll lose count rather quickly.

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Unrestrained

Demo 2007
Here's the portion of the blog where I blatantly promote my own band. We recorded this demo in August of '07, after only a couple of practices as a full band. We've been writing a bunch of new material lately, and it's definitely taking on a heavy Undertow/Strain feel. Keep your eyes on myspace.com/unrestrainedpdx for any and all updates on shows and future recordings.
http://www.mediafire.com/?avjw1oyzlzo

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

AC/DC



Can I Sit On Your Face Girl...You Can Sit On Mine
I picked this bootleg up a couple of years ago, and from what I've been able to dig up, it's limited to 500 copies on green vinyl. Although the back of the cover claims that the recording was done at Apollo Stadium in Adelaide, Australia on 12/04/76, reliable sources say that it's actually from the Haymarket Fest in Sydney, Australia on 1/30/77.
http://www.mediafire.com/?epwn0fd3bbj

Long live Bon!

Let's all take a moment of silence

for a true rock 'n' roller...


Monday, February 18, 2008

Raid

Above The Law
I always thought that hardline was stupid on so many levels, and yet, I always loved so many of the bands. Raid were one of the originals, and this cd has spent a good amount of time in my cd player over the years. The early material (which is towards the end of the cd) have more of a straight up hardcore sound, whereas the songs recorded specifically for Above The Law definitely took on a more metal influenced sound.
http://www.mediafire.com/?2mmly0ztncp