COREGASM

Smoke and Mirrors "Saranagati" (Shelter Tribute)

2010-10-04T00:50:00.003-04:00

I've never really used this blog to overly promote my own projects, but what the hell right!?! My band Smoke and Mirrors just added an exclusive track to our facebook today. It's a cover song from the early 90s krishna hardcore band Shelter that is coming out on One Voice Asia records in the near future.

The sounds of the chanting, the pounding drums, and the smell of the incense are all still very vivid in my memory from some of my first hardcore shows just shy of two decades ago. I had the honor of seeing Shelter, 108, & Prema all in one night at the height of Krishna hardcore. The energy each band put forth is still unrivaled today and I can distinctive remember Ray Cappo crushing me with a sweaty stage dive. Throughout the years the band continued to release one great record after another.

We’re super excited to be a part of this compilation with all of our worldwide brethren. We had a blast working on this song. It was actually recorded in an old friends house. The drums were done in his dining room, guitars in the basement, and vocals done in the 3rd floor bathroom. I think I scared the whole neighborhood screaming "Surrender" (which is what Saranagati translates to) at the top of my lungs. There was a backyard party going on across they street and they were just bewildered looking. Fortunately the police never showed up. I almost passed out doing my backup vocals as it was about 100 degrees in the bathroom too! Good times. Let us know what you think!

If you've never heard of us we're from Erie, PA. We feature a few ex-members of Problem Solver Revolver, Shockwave, & Brother's Keeper and are just doing what comes naturally to us. We have a self released split 7" out and a CD on The Path Less Traveled (US) / Superhero (Eur). We'll be entering the studio this month to start recording some more new songs for future undetermined releases. We also love a good magic trick.

To hear "Saranagti" and a few other tracks check out our facebook page here (feel free to "like" us as well). The songs are located on the lower left hand side:
http://www.facebook.com/smokeandmirrors814

Pailhead "Trait" E.P.

2010-09-29T17:08:00.003-04:00

The follow information was taken from Wikipedia since it sums everything up well:

"Pailhead was a short-lived side project of the industrial metal band Ministry, which featured Ian MacKaye on vocals (formerly of The Teen Idles, Minor Threat, Skewbald/Grand Union, Embrace, and Fugazi and currently of The Evens). The band's sound was a dark combination of menacing industrial beats and hardcore punk, predating what Ministry would later do with Jello Biafra in Lard.

Considering MacKaye's inadvertent role in the establishment of the straight edge community and Al Jourgensen's legendary drug use, it was highly unexpected for them to collaborate.

Pailhead released the single "I Will Refuse" / "No Bunny" (released in both 7" and 12" formats) in 1987 and the 4-song EP Trait in 1988, both on the Wax Trax label. The CD edition of Trait also incorporates both sides of the "I Will Refuse" / "No Bunny" single. The drummer for "No Bunny" was Eric Spicer of Naked Raygun."

In 1989 I was in 8th grade and would listen to Ministry's "The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste" cassette blasting in my Walkman headphones as I sullenly rode the bus to school. I loved the repetitive, grungy sounds of industrial at that time and loved me some punk rock as well. I pretty much tracked down everything I could involving Al Jourgensen and when I discovered he did a project with members of Minor Threat, my mind was blown. So I immediately ordered the CD from Black Label mailorder (I think i still have the receipt in a folder somewhere due to my collector nerdary). Upon first listen the CD did not disappoint by any means. I still pump it to this day. Hopefully it's something new for a lot of you guys to check out and appreciate. I'm pretty sure this is all they ever put out. I'd love to read an interview with Ian asking about the making of this record. If anyone has ever read him talk about this project please post a link!

I also stumbled across this youtube video of Ministry performing a Pailhead song live. Granted Ian is not there to sing it, but i still think it's cool as I didn't know they ever played those songs out. Let me know what you guys think of this stuff. - ems

PAILHEAD "Trait E.P." released 1988 on Wax Trax Records
DOWNLOAD: http://www.mediafire.com/file/buyabczcm4q68hi/Pailhead.zip

New School "Hardharderhardest" CD

2010-09-27T00:05:00.002-04:00

So I've been wanting to track down this CD forever. The CD is around 17 years old now and I'm just getting my hands on it. It's chocked full of crazy NY posturing, hip hop and hardcore. 3 things most people would run away from... not me! I love it! I'm not really sure what it says about my taste in music when you can purchase these CDs off of Amazon.com for only one dollar a few cents, but oh well. I'm gonna keep this short as I've posted New School's "strategy rhyme 1991" demo years and years ago. Check this stuff out if you can handle it.

New School "Hardharderhardest" CD
DOWNLOAD: http://www.mediafire.com/file/3m6g35gde9zgwag/newschool_hardharderhardest.zip
7 songs recorded with one of my favorites, Don Fury.
Released in 1993 on Jackson T. Bones Recordings / Dutch East.

Maximum Penalty "Superlife" & "Independent" CDs

2010-09-24T02:51:00.001-04:00

With a new record out and some recent touring NYC pioneers Maximum Penalty have been receiving a well deserved rekindling of interest from younger and older kids alike. MP started getting noticed over 20 years ago with their 1989 demo. I along with many others fell in love with them due to their songs on the "Where the Wild Things Are" compilation on Blackout records. People everywhere loved singer Jim Williams unique vocals with the ability to bust out great patterns with nothing short of style. Over the years they put out a few EPs and records that in my opinion, were awesome. Many of my friends couldn't get past the song "Hate" and seemed to just want different versions of that early song. I told them they were crazy and appreciated the experimentation that MP did throughout the 90s. To me these guys embodied what I love about hardcore. Some of their songs are melodic, some have great sing a longs, some are down right moody, and other songs are poppy. The one factor that was always present with these guys though was an underlying sense of heaviness not quite in a typical way. Simply enough, it had balls and originality.

I hate to be that guy who claims to have been waving their flag over 15 years ago (which I was haha) and I'm not bitter that kids are now checking them out. In fact, I'm quite happy because I've always been one who wants to share the great bands that are slightly off the beaten path. And MP are just what the scene needed recently. The band still consists of core members / song writers including; singer Jim, guitarist Joe, & drummer Darren. They were recently joined by Buske on bass (Promise, Terror, Ragmen, Another Victim, etc...) and Rey (who i think was in Elements DEC (awesome stuff!), and One4One possibly). What a great line up. A few months back they released "Life & Times" on Reaper Records who just keep flooring me with every release. Talk about a label that's been upping the ante the past few years!

I have uploaded some of Maximum Penalty middle of the road releases here. They are from 1996-1997 and have many stand out tracks! Don't get mad if you hear a horn section here or there as those songs still kill it too. Just remember that was almost 15 years ago all ready. Enjoy.

DOWNLOAD: http://www.mediafire.com/?6t1sj3cdnb21x73

"Independent" released in 1996 by Idjit Records.

"Superlife" released in 1997 by Gypsy records.

Maximum Penalty / Reaper Records webstore
MP on myspace: click here

NEW SCHOOL "live @ Club Babyhead 12-30-94" video

2010-09-19T02:33:00.001-04:00

So stoked someone sent us this link...

For all you closet New School fans (check an old post here "Strategy Rhyme"). I want to be in a band that sounds like this so bad (sans the ponytails).

DIGRESSION "From These Ashes" CD

2010-05-12T01:27:00.000-04:00

Digression were one the bigger bands during the mid to late 90s in Erie. Whenever they would play tons of kids would be singing along and stage diving. They had a pretty good run despite many line up changes. Here is a little insight into the band care of their guitarist Mike "Wiz" Wisniewski.

Years of bands existence: 1994 - 1998

Band members: The main members were Mike Wisniewski, Joe Nolan, Jay Teriberi, and Jon Burdick

Throughout the years there were a lot of different members that came and went....Steve Heatherington, Dan Quiggle, Bill Gerhelin, Mike Schwenk, and a couple of other temporary members but I can't remember their names.

Releases / year released:

Demo - 1995
Controlled 7" (Surprise Attack Records) - 1996
From These Ashes full length (Endless Records) - ?

Interesting stories form live shows, tour, recording sessions for particular releases, etc:

We seemed to have a rash of quitting that made for some interesting situations. We had a singer named Jason once that joined the band and after about a month he just disappeared and it was right before his first show. We had heard from the grapvine that he moved to Florida, but he never contacted us or let us know he was moving.

Literally the day after we finished recording our demo, our singer (Dan Q.) announced to us that he was leaving the band. Every time the band seemed to gain momentum, someone ended up quitting which ultimately took its toll on the band.

On our way to our first show of a mini-tour, the wheel of our trailer flew off while we were going 70 on the highway. It was early in the morning on 4th of July too. We ended up have to get towed off the highway to a parking lot & getting a wheel from a junkyard since everywhere was closed.

Why did the band break up: Couldn't keep a permanent singer

Did members join other bands: Joe went on to be in a couple of other bands & is currently in Smoke & Mirrors. Jon, Steve, and myself were in Fire at zero gravity for a couple of years.

DOWNLOAD their full length CD "From These Ashes" here: http://www.mediafire.com/?my1zzzjqw4g

Last Man Standing "Geography" CD

2010-03-15T01:27:00.000-04:00

Last summer Last Man Standing played a reunion show and at that show they had a brand new release. You might think that is kind of weird for a band that had been broken up for over 15 years… but we think it’s still very cool none the less! They played a great mix of post hardcore with a wide variety of aggressive elements. Michael Haley who played drums for LMS from 1992-94 hit us up and gave us permission to post it on here for all to enjoy which we thought was really awesome of him.

Last Man Standing is:
Ben Frazier – vocals
Jim Beveridge – guitar
Pat Bova – guitar
Pat Kowalski – bass
Mike Haley - drums

What’s the story with this release just now coming out after having been recorded in 1993?

Michael Haley - We recorded a final full length that was never finished until this summer. We never mixed / mastered or pressed it. I got it finished before the CB 20 reunion show at The Beer Mug as a final nod and to give everybody a finished product. Ben did the art and layout and I oversaw the mixing, mastering and pressing.

Can you give us a little bit on the break up of LMS?

Michael Haley - So we broke up in late 93, We were at our practice space above Shooter's and we were trying to initiate a new bass player since Pat Kowalski was leaving for school in Santa Fe, New Mexico and it was turning into a rough transition because replacing Kowalski wasn't going to be easy and the prospects were few. Needless to say the band as a whole was feeling the pressure since we had some upcoming shows. The tension between Pat Bova and Jim Beveridge was also at an all time high, the reason being that Pat was starting to bring more song ideas to the table but some of them didn't fit with the direction of the band. They had more of a rockabilly type feel and we were more or less post hardcore / rock and roll influenced. We had a feeling that Pat Bova also wanted to start his own band to pursue his song ideas. While we were at practice Jim and Pat Bova became involved in a heated discussion but I can't remember what is was all about so I don't want to speculate. I do believe the argument had a lot more to do with creative differences and personality conflict. I am not sure who said they were quitting first but in a matter of five minutes the band was done and Ben and I were looking at each other kind of dumb founded. Later Ben and I were approached by Mike Ski to start a new melodic hardcore project but for whatever reason it never got off the ground.

Did any of the guys go on to form other bands?

Michael Haley - Ben went on to front two bands, Crutch and The Stopgap Measure and he now lives in Rochester, NY. Jim Beveridge now lives in Avon, OH where he fronts his rock band Trainwreck Radio. Pat Kowalski and Pat Bova both live in Albuquerque, NM where they started a rockabilly band called Bovine which split and now perform as the Long Gone Trio, another rockabilly band. I live in Tacoma, Wa and play drums in two bands, The Peabodys, a pop punk band from Portland, OR and The Legend Of Bigfoot, a indie rock band from Tacoma, WA.

Last Man Standing “Geography” CD
Recorded in 1993, released 2009
DOWNLOAD: http://www.mediafire.com/?tgmzoymt4o2

1. Your Walls
2. Closet
3. Somebody’s Daughter
4. Time Alone
5. Y’know?
6. My Mask
7. Drained
8. If I Could
9. Oldintronew / Not Mine

www.myspace.com/lastmanstandingmusic

Check out a previous post on Last Man Standing's 7" here.

Out Of Hand "Practice Tape 1990"

2010-02-05T01:26:00.000-05:00

Somehow I wound up with a blank tape simply labeled “Out Of Hand Practice Tape 1990”. It sat in my collection for probably 10+ years until I finally checked it out. I was pleasantly surprised at how good it sounded! Obviously it's a little rough around the edges as it sounds like it was recorded on a 4 track and it's a good 20 years old now! I had previously released a song of theirs on the Erie Scene Report compilation Surprise Attack Records put out in 1996 and always really liked their song on there. To me it also represented a part of Erie Hardcore history in its early years. - EMS

Lead singer Ben Frazier did us the honor of answering a few questions about the band.

Years of bands existence: 1990.

Band members:
Ben Frazier - Vocals
Roger Hurlburt - Guitar
Brian Rieger - Lead Guitar
Mike Ski - Bass
Steve Rieger - Drums

Releases / year released:
S/T Demo, 1990

I joined the band under pretty odd circumstances -- Rob Whipple was the band's original singer, but a few weeks before the first show, he told the guys he couldn't make it because of an out-of-town hockey tournament he was playing in. The other guys kind of put their feelers out for another singer, but in the meantime had decided to play the show anyway, with Mike, Roger and Brian trading off instruments and each taking turns signing the songs each had written. A few days before the first show, I was talking on the phone with Mike — being the opportunistic jerk that I am, I volunteered myself for the position. (Mike and I had played together in a very short-lived project that never left his basement, along with Dan Parry and Gary Braunns.) Someone got the idea that I should just audition on stage at the show by singing the Raw Deal cover, so that's what we did. The show had a really great turnout (it was a "First Anniversary" show at the Continental), and we went over really well. At the end of the set, people were yelling for more, but the guys didn't have anything else to play. So they called me back up and we played the Raw Deal cover a second time. It was a blast, and the rest is history.

Why did the band break up?

If I remember correctly, the Rieger brothers felt as though the band was taking up too much of their time. They went in to the project with a "just for fun" attitude, and as we started playing more and more shows, I think they felt as though it was taking too much away from their full-time metal band, Talon. They broke the news to the rest of the band just before playing a basement show at Tim Scott's house in Harborcreek. I showed up late and missed the announcement, and when I got there, just went up to Roger, who just started talking about starting a new band, etc. I was pretty confused. The split was amicable, though, and we agreed to play one last show at the Continental. A few months after that, we did an impromptu reunion (again at the Continental) during a Face Value / Endpoint show when we were all in attendance.

Did members join other bands?

Mike started Mean Season with Tim Stinedurf, Roger formed Antagonist (pka Wayward) with Jason Hoderny and Shawn Rekitt, and I formed Last Man Standing with Jim Beveridge.

DOWNLOAD the 11 song practice tape here:
http://www.mediafire.com/?vrzytmgmyid

Lost "Self Titled" 7"

2010-01-28T01:25:00.000-05:00

Lost was a band that many of my friends would talk about in this mystical way as if it was just something that you had to have experienced first hand. Well unfortunately I didn't. But that didn't stop my intrigue. Maybe it was fate since this blog just started but I jumped on eBay and came across this 7" and got it for a steal. It's really cool to come across something that is from over 20 years ago (it even still had a Lost sticker inside). I bet many people who were into this band have not heard these songs in long time. So hopefully maybe someone who was around during this era & can fill in some blanks, or even better yet one of the band members might come across this. Either way I'm hoping to get more and more people writing memoirs for this thing whether you were fans/friends of the band, or you were actually directly involved. Either way you should take 5 minutes to write something and send it our way. I've got some people working on stuff as I type this and I think the reader involvement will be crucial to making this blog interesting. So please get in touch... lakeeffect814[at]gmail[dot]com

LOST: Brian - vocals, Jim - guitar, Craig - bass, Pete - drums.
(Bob Rhodes played bass on this recording and was credited for co-writing tracks 3 & 4)

Lost "s/t" 7" from 1989
DOWNLOAD: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=4IVUCCE9
1. 99%
2. More
3. The Clown
4. Cut Out the Heart

lyric sheet:

Never Say Never "Demos & Down This Road" CDs

2010-01-25T01:25:00.000-05:00

Never Say Never was a great mix of catchy melodic style hardcore punk with a bit of a pop punk influence to them. They came from Northeast, PA just outside of Erie and played many shows in the late 90s. NSN had some great grooves and some really catchy sing alongs. All of the members were very talented and exceptional song writers as these tracks will surely get stuck in your head. The first is a collection of their 2 early demos followed by their CD debut and sadly final recording.

Never Say Never was:
Dana Castaldo, J Morey, Phil Lavarone, & Jon Miller

Never Say Never “Demos”
1. Your Own Way
2. What You Believe
3. Favorite Company
4. Running Away
5. In The End
6. Choices / Can’t Relate
7. Nowhere to Run

Never Say Never “Down This Road” CD
Released 2001 – Barcode Records #002
1. Through the Glass
2. Out of Sight
3. Choices
4. Mind Your Own
5. Fade Away
6. Act Now
7. Quick to Judge
8. What We Do
9. In The End

DOWNLOAD: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=09XHLB00

Abnegation "final 2 songs"

2010-01-25T01:24:00.000-05:00

As you noticed we reposted the Abnegation discography from Path To Misery blog previously. Well after numerous members of the band had left bassist Dave Steele took over the vocal duties. They shed the vegan straight edge ethos and went for more of a death metal image. Some people loved it and a lot of people hated it. Regardless it was what it was and Doug, Chris, & Dave didn’t give a flying fuck what anyone had to say. In fact I think they loved the controversy. They released a full length on Good Life records from Belgium that featured some re-recorded older tracks and a handful of new material written by the 3 piece. After that CD came out they did one final recording. It was for a compilation called “One Hell of a Compilation” on Blasphemour Records. I personally felt like these two songs were awesome so here they are for everyone else to check. I feel like these were overlooked. One of the best dudes ever, Dave Steele, gave us a little insight to the recording of these two tracks.

“Ok so these last two songs of abnegation went far beyond anything and everything! It was one of the most fun recording sessions ever! We recorded at a house studio in Erie, PA called "HONEYBEAR STUDIOS". Honeybear studios was run by a minister of a Catholic Idealist church. So needless to say, we showed up and he had the look of fear… ha Dave Steele, Chris Leonard, and Doug Corey showing up with beer and instruments. This being right after Chris had gotten a pretty bad tattoo on his arm (no details as he covered it now but very shocking tattoo!) Chris was well known for his drumming skills and really one of the best! Chris was also known for his OCD patterns and made us go through the songs many times until he felt good and safe with the end product! Doing like the start 4 counts 18 times and taking drumming gloves on and off a few times in between! Amazing!

So halfway through the music recording one of the ministers people came in that he takes care of through the church and starts banging his head and yelling evil stuff at us and were all at a loss cause he looked like a preppie jock guy who turned out to be crazy drunk! Dude went upstairs to use the bathroom and then well didn’t make it cause he fell down the stairs onto the landing, then the minister runs over and talks to him and they start talking in the kitchen where drunk guy proceeds to cry on the ministers shoulder, pretty epic, troubled fellow we figured!

So that plays on for bout 45 minutes then we get back to recording, then vocals come into play during the next session and well, I think that scared the poopie out of the poor old minister, as I had to record in the sound booth, and once I opened up for the first time he cringed in his chair and put his head into his hands and started shaking his head a bit! All in all a pretty fun and amazing recording session for sure!

This recording:
Chris Leonard – drums, Doug Corey – guitar, Dave Steele - Vocals

Date of recording was like 1998 or 99 I’m not too certain but right round then! ha that makes me old! Holy crap!” - Dave Steele

Abnegation "One Hell of a Compilation" CD
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=94F5NCRD
8. Drug Programming
16. Sample 1 / Pig Juice

Brother's Keeper "Box Office Smash" EPK

2010-01-22T01:23:00.000-05:00

"This was footage filmed during their 2001 touring. It's a little insight into the band and songs from the "Box Office Smash" recording from that time. Filmed & edited by Doug Spangenberg from High Roller Studios. The line up at that time was Mike Ski - vocals, Scott Emhoff & Mike Peters - guitar, EMS - bass / bgv, & Rich Cali - drums."

Fight Of The Day "Demo"

2010-01-22T01:20:00.001-05:00

Fight of the Day was a project between 3 teenage friends who all happened to be talented musicians. Initially Scott, Andy, & Adam were all in Neverfall before Adam left to join Disciple. This project features 3 songs where all of the guys take turns on pretty much every instrument. I'm sure it was meant all in good fun. I don't think too many of these cassettes made it out there but it's still an interesting listen.

Fight of the Day "demo"
Recorded July 1997
DOWNLOAD: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=DRFJFK3A
1. There It Will End (Adam Salaga - vocals & guitar, Scott Turk - bass, Andy Berlin - drums)
2. Washed Ashore (Andy Berlin - vocals, Scott Turk - guitar, Adam Salaga - bass & drums)
3. It Means Nothing (Scott Turk - vocals & drums, Andy - guitar, Adam Salaga - bass)

MOTHER SHIP "Vital Indecision" Cassette

2010-01-21T02:46:00.007-05:00

You might remember Mother Ship who I had previously done a posting on. Well this is one of their other cassette tapes that I recently got a hold of (thanx Adam!). You might recognize the first track that was featured on the Erie Scene Report but on side B you will hear another hard to find gem called "CHAMP". Pretty cool.

MOTHER SHIP "Vital Indecision" Cassette - Preschool Records
Recorded 1995
Matt Salusky - Vocals, Dave Quiggle - guitar, Brian Oborski - bass, Mike Shreve - drums

1. Vital Indecision
2. Champ

DOWNLOAD: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=730N9J4D

NEVERFALL "Discography"

2010-01-20T01:50:00.002-05:00

Neverfall was a mid 90s Erie Hardcore band that had a good deal of success. They definitely got kids moving here in their home town with their fusion of metallic hardcore akin to Snapcase meets Strife. Alongside their friends in Brother’s Keeper, Disciple, & Digression these guys were the next up to really make some waves and were flying the Erie Hardcore banner. I especially liked their final release “Symbols of Inner Self” as I felt the song writing was at their peak and the intensity was at an all time high for the band. I can’t even remember if they really played a final show or anything. They definitely had a good run though that I think a lot of new Erie kids will appreciate hearing this stuff. Unfortunately as with most bands they were plagued by line up changes but we were lucky enough to get a few recordings from them over their years of existence. I’m pretty sure this is everything they had recorded and after many years of all of this being hard to find and out of print I offer it to you.

Alternative cover:

Neverfall “first demo” Cassette - self released
Recorded May 1996
Jeff Johns – vocals, J. Mozdy – guitar, Scott Turk – guitar, Adam Salaga – bass, Andy Berlin – drums
1. Accept
2. Right Through
3. Out
4. Neverfall

Neverfall “Healed” Cassette – Ritual Records #002
Recorded December 1996
Jeff Johns – vocals, J. Mozdi – guitar, Scott Turck – guitar, Brian Hanson – bass, Andy Berlin – drums
1. Healed
2. The Hardest Things
3. 814
4. Chance

Neverfall “8-1-Forever Split with Disciple” Cassette – Surprise Attack Records
Recorded May 1997
Justin Calabrese – vocals, J. Mozdi – guitar, Scott Turk – guitar, Jay Danowski – bass, Andy Berlin – drums
1. Healed
2. Bound By Silence (this version was also on Goodfellow Records “The Difference Between Us” CD compilation)
3. Right Through

Neverfall “Symbols of Inner Self” CD – Shandle Records #004
Justin Calabrese – vocals, J. Mozdi – guitar, Scott Turk – guitar, Jay Danowski – bass, Andy Berlin – drums
Recorded December 1997
1. Full Cycle
2. Outlet
3. Bound By Silence
4. Self Extention
5. Symbols of Inner Self
6. Face the Storm

DOWNLOAD: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=B9YYYKMV

END TO END "s/t" 7"

2010-01-19T02:19:00.002-05:00

End To End "s/t" 7"
Recorded Dec 1989 = Foundation Records #002

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=IRXSD8TD

REALITY "something hurts" 7"

2009-09-24T02:47:00.002-04:00

Early 90's Reality from Salt Lake City, Utah was Chris Carlton - guitar, Trent Falcone - vocals, Brad Butterfield - bass, Justin Spencer - drums, & Spencer Jacobs - guitar. They played a style of hardcore similar to later Insight meets Outspoken. I've had this 7" in my collection for ages and never really ever heard anyone talk about them or read anything about them in zines around that time. I always felt like it had a great sound to it and liked the vibe they were going for during this era.

REALITY "something hurts" 7"
Released 1992 on Flatline records

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=KRQOUGL2

1. Something Hurts
2. It Takes More
3. Chain of Fools
4. Black

LAST MAN STANDING "Unseen" 7"

2009-07-23T08:35:00.003-04:00

Anyone who knows me can tell you I'm a bit of a nostalgic Erie Hardcore & Punk nerd. This area has spawned so many well known bands and on the other end of the spectrum, obscure gems. I'm always eager to hear about new and old bands from the area at any given time of the day. In the mid 90s I released the Erie Hardcore Scene Report CD that featured some of my former band mates earlier bands called Out of Hand. The singer from that band, Ben Frazier, had also fronted another early Erie punk band called Last Man Standing that all of my older friends would rave about. I met Ben several times through mutual friends and he was always super nice and energetic guy. I missed a lot of the early 90s era of Erie as I didn't live in the region yet but I've heard many stories of the salad days of a lot of our friends. The Continental Ballroom on 20th and Plum St in Erie was a mainstay for punk and hardcore concerts for many years. This coming weekend is a little celebration in honor of those times. The list of bands that came through the tin foil lounge (check out the ceiling in the pic below) is legendary. I played my very first show in Erie, PA there and it will forever be ingrained in my memory as one of the most exciting times of my life. So if you've got the time this weekend to see some old school Erie vets dust off a few old songs come out to the Beermug as Last Man Standing is playing. Below is a 7" of theirs that I found on Ebay a few years back. To anyone interested in the Erie music scene it's a nice taste of the eclecticism that has been produced here over the years. Even though a lot of people like to stereotype what the "Erie Sound" is Last Man Standing is even further proof that there was and still is a lot of diversity in the area. I look forward to Saturday night this weekend.

Last Man Standing was on this recording:
Ben Frazier - vocals
Jim Beveridge - guitar
Pat Bova - guitar
Pat Kowalski - bass
Don Grace - drums

Last Man Standing on Myspace: www.myspace.com/lastmanstandingmusic

LAST MAN STANDING "Unseen" 7"
Released in 1992 on Smog Veil Records
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=XRMP8UIU
1. Boy
2. Temple
3. Tainted
4. Stigma

Last Man Standing @ the Continental Ballroom

LMS Live in Perry Square

BROTHER'S KEEPER "discography"

2009-05-06T01:55:00.007-04:00

I recently posted this on the Brother's Keeper myspace page. I could go on for hours with stories about touring, recording, writing songs, etc... We had a good run and I was always proud of what we did despite all of the criticism we received. so I figured with all of the wicked 90s nostalgia going on I'd put this stuff out there for people to check out in case they missed it.

For photos, fliers, and the BK CD/7"/LP pressing discography go to:
http://www.myspace.com/brotherskeeper814

"So apparently we (the actual members of Brother's Keeper) do not have the right to upload songs to the Myspace audio player. The songs I add get removed and I get a warning stating that if i upload more I could be kicked off of Myspace. Awesome, I only spent almost ten years of my life in the band and co-writing the music with the other guys. That's a great feeling to feel like the music you created isn't even yours.

So anyway, to anyone who has ever been interested in hearing or owning our music, here it is i its entirety. Everything from the first recordings, ever CD, 7", split, cover song, and our last demos... it's all in here. Enjoy." - EMS

Discography Volume 1 includes: Foreverneverending LP (all of our early stuff), The Continuum LP, Self-Fulfilling Prophecy EP, Sweet Revenge EP.

Discography Volume 2 includes: Fantasy Killer LP, Five Hits From Hell (Misfits Cover) EP, Oxymoron (Split w/ Disembodied) EP, Box Office Smash EP, a few covers (Slayer, Suicidal Tendencies), 2 other unreleased demo tracks, 1 unfinished instrumental song (when we were recording "Fantasy Killer" the tape machine (yes pre-digital) well it went nuts and in the middle of the song the tape ripped in half when Brian McTernan tried to manually stop it. So we never properly recorded it or finished it. This version was a demo of the music), and a our final 3 song recording.

DOWNLOAD VOL 1:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=EJXD58YL
DOWNLOAD VOL 2:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=SVXPMGJ9

NO JOKE "Discography"

2009-03-31T02:54:00.010-04:00

Do we have a treat for you guys today! Greg Gonzalez, guitarist from NO JOKE came across our post of his former band and was cool enough to send some words our way along with tons and tons of mp3s for you all to enjoy. Some of the recordings never really surfaced so this is a real treat. I'm pretty stoked on getting the chance to share these with everyone because the tracks that I had not heard before are fucking awesome. I've had a lot of people from the bands I've posted in here get in touch and everyone is always willing to share some stories and rare recordings. Hopefully contributions like Greg's will keep coming in as this is some really crucial stuff from Western NYHC. Enjoy and thanx Greg! - EMS / Coregasm

---------------------------

“Here is the deal with Jeff Johns. We met him when we played at Club Blitz and signed a deal with him. We were to pay half of the price to record the 7" and he was to pay the other half. He would then press the record (1000 copies), distribute it, and give us records to sell (I think 100 records).

Jeff sent us the money; we recorded the 7" and sent Jeff the master tapes, cover art, and band pics, etc. Then he disappeared. We called repeatedly over a period of months. He kept telling us he would have the records soon. At some point, he sent us a test press of the 7" and then stopped answering our calls.

We went to Chicago to find him, to no avail, and I think we had Dennis' father (an attorney) write Johns a letter. We were all between 17 and 20 at the time and did not have the savvy or resources to solve the problem. Ultimately, we wound up with no 7" after playing a year of shows with no product to sell. That did not help advance the band.

As you can understand, we were pretty upset with Jeff when we recorded our second 7". Thus, the note for him. I think there is also an extra song on one of our recordings with some vocals recorded backwards that lays out our feelings towards him.

In 2002, I did a google search for "No Joke" "Tragedy of the Masses" and found a listing for the TOTM 7" on Larry Ransom's website. I emailed him, and he told me that he bought it in a store (I think in Chicago). I couldn't get him to sell it to me, so I started looking all over for it. Eventually, I found a couple on www.gemm.com and bought one for myself and one for Justin. That is how we got a copy of our own record! Every once a while, another one pops up on that site.

I have posted all the NJ catalog to the site below for you to add to your site. We are cool with you posting all of the music as long as you make it available for free. We just want people to hear it. There are three additional studio recordings we did that not get much distribution (Buffalo, NY EP; New School EP; and Deadtime CD). Here is a list of what is in the folder:

Put into Place Demo 1989:
This was recorded on my four track and sold at shows. The band at that time is Justin, Greg. Dennis, and Rob.

First Demo 1989:
Although this is called First Demo, I think we recorded it second. It is also another recording from my home four track. Clint plays bass on this one.

First Live Show 1989:
This is a recording of our first show. We are opening up for SOIA at the River Rock in Buffalo. The recording is pretty good considering the equipment we used.

Buffalo NY EP 1990
This is a studio recording we made just prior to heading out to Club Blitz. We sold most of the tapes we put out on that trip. The band is the same as the TOTM 7".

TOTM 7"
You might want to check the quality of the 7"s I posted. They may be better than the ones you have.

Into My Words 7"

Practice with Dennis 1991
After Clint left the band, we brought Rob back. This practice recording is Dennis, Justin, and Greg playing "Second Birth" without the bass. We sent Rob a tape of the song so he could learn it while he was away at school.

New School EP 1993 (Fusion)
After Dennis left, Jesse Muscato (Buried Alive) joined the band. We released this three-song studio EP on our own label, run by Justin, called Fusion.

Deadtime CD 1994 (Fusion)
We recorded a full length CD at MetalWorks right before we broke up. The band here is Greg, Justin, Rob, and Jesse. For some reason, we released this under the name Deadtime rather than No Joke. We never distributed it, and I still have a pile of these at my house. The CD contains some new songs we wrote with Jesse and some old ones we wrote when Dennis was in the band. The CD also includes two songs from the New School EP.

If anyone wants more NJ info or wants to get one of the Deadtime cds, email me at gregtastic@aol.com

There are also some old NJ videos on You Tube or here:
www.myspace.com/nojokebuffalo

Thanks again for posting this stuff!"
Greg Gonzalez

DOWNLOAD: www.megaupload.com/?d=3DGPKQW0

MOTHER SHIP "Obedience" Cassette

2009-02-27T03:32:00.002-05:00

Mother Ship were an early 90’s metallic hardcore crossover style Erie hardcore band featuring bassist Brian "Alfred" Oborski and guitarist Dave Quiggle who later on founded one of Erie’s most well known bands xDisciplex A.D. The 2 of them paired up with brothers Mike (drums) and Matt (vocals) Shreve and churned out a few cassette releases, “Obedience” being one of them. I never had the chance see them live as I did not relocate to Erie until 1995 but many of my friends would often talk about them. Their songs had a bit of a thrash metal sound to them as opposed to the later on stripped down beginnings of xDisciplex A.D.. However you can see where their roots started and can hear the patented Dave Quiggle chugs as well as great bass breaks that Erie bands have always been about. Mother Ship was without a doubt a Christian band and you can hear subject matter of their faith through out the songs. In the instrumental track you can even sample some of these guys weird obsessions with movies and TV as the song is peppered with Star Wars and other samples throughout. The cover art of “Obedience” is some of Dave Quiggle’s earlier published work which is pretty cool as he’s gone on to do many small and huge artists in the world of hardcore and beyond.

I had the opportunity to posthumously release 2 different Mother Ship tracks on the “Erie Scene Report” compilation CD that was released in 1996. It featured another track entitled “Vital Indecision” and a different version of “Narrow Path” also featured here on the demo. At some point the band had a vocalists change and Matt Salusky (heard here on “Vital Indecision) came into play. Matt also later went on to be a founding member of xDisciplex and played drums on their first recording “Lantern”. There’s a whole other demo tape that I used to own with the tracks that Matt sang on but lost over the years. I definitely wish that would surface so I could post it.

xDisciplex A.D. has even given homage to their predecessors Mother Ship by covering 2 of their songs on different occasions. A cover version of “Dead Wrong” appeared on the same previously mentioned Erie Scene Report compilation that I released in 1996. The band recorded it during the “Scarab” 7” sessions. They also later recorded a cover of “Vital Indecision” in 2001 and it was not released until later on on Facedown Records “Doxology” CD. Check out this video of xDisciplex in their early days playing “Dead Wrong” live. This was a show at the Erie Art Annex and P.O.D. actually opened this show up. Yes the same P.O.D. that you are thinking of.

Hopefully some other Mother Ship recordings will surface once I start bugging some of the crew. I’d love to post them for everyone as they are definitely a part of Erie Hardcore history. I’m not really sure as to what led to their demise but a lot of good things came out of their humble beginnings.

MOTHER SHIP "Obedience" cassette
self released 1994
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=T6QHZ164
1. It Falls
2. Not A Breath
3. Floating Yellow Feathers in the Wake of 50 Ticked Imperial Troops (Instrumental)
4. Dead Wrong
5. Narrow Path
6. Bonus

Here's a video of Mother Ship @ Cornerstone Fest with Matt Salusky on vocals doing "Vital Indecision". Check out the first few notes as Brain aka Alfred stomps a hole right through the stage.

-----------------

This cassette tape was transferred using my new toy...the Ion Tape2PC deck. After a few hours of battling with my soundcards we made it happen and hopefully will continue. This will make it a lot easier to rip some of these sweet demo tapes I have laying around as my previous methods of using the mic input jacks were only coming out in mono. Get stoked.

NO JOKE 2 x 7"s

2009-01-29T01:14:00.004-05:00

No Joke were a Buffalo (West Seneca) area band in the early 90s. They had a bit of a metallic sound popularized by local bands Zero Tolerance & Solid State at the time. No Joke featured Dennis Merrick who later went on to join Earth Crisis & Path of Resistance notoriety. Featured here are two of their 7”s from 1991 and 1992 released on 2 different Illinois based record labels. Not sure of the back story but in the 2nd 7” “Into My Words” the band states “One last note: We all wish Jeff Johns, a slow and painful death. Rot in Hell Buddy!” Jeff Johns was also the name listed on the first 7” as the owner of Statue Records. Wonder if things went sour between the two. Kind of amusing. I enjoy the 2nd 7” "Into My Words" a bit more than “Tragedy of the Masses” as I think the vocals are better. Either way this is a good sample of things going on in Western NY circa 1991. No Joke was Justin – vocals, Greg Gonzales – guitar, Dennis Merrick – drums, and Clint Marriott on bass (later Rob Harris).

Download both 7"s here

NO JOKE “Tragedy of the Masses” 7”
Released on Statue Records 1991 (Statue #3)
1. Lost Soul / Stand and Deliver
2. Misery

NO JOKE “Into My Words” 7”
Released on Crown Records 1992
1. Nevermore
2. Into the End
3. Mark My Words
4. Endtro

FUGAZI "87 demo"

2009-01-19T23:46:00.004-05:00

Fugazi is definitely in my top ten bands of all time. After listening to them for just shy of 20 years I can honestly say I like them even more than when I was a young skatepunk rocking out to them in my friends bedroom. of course I got into them just because it was ex members of Minor Threat, Embrace, Rites of Spring and so on... but was pleasantly surprised to hear it was nothing like their previous noteworthy bands. At the time these guys ventured off and did their own thing and paved the road for many (quality) indie bands when emo wasn't such a bad word or tainted sound. Unfortunately I never saw them play and still would love to some day.

This demo recording is rough in some areas and a few of the songs sound very similar to their released versions. At some points in the songs you'll hear little different guitar or vocals parts that are kind of cool, that for one reason or another didn't make the final album versions. Also there's a few decent tracks that were never re-recorded on any of their full lengths (at least that I know of). so this is a pretty cool start to an amazing band that has been the soundtrack to many amazing points of my life.

FUGAZI "1987 demo"
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=QOPIL9QS
1. Merchandise
2. (Don Talking)
3. In Defense of Humans
4. Break In
5. Song No 1
6. Bad Mouth
7. The Word
8. And the Same
9. Waiting Room
10. Furniture
11. Joe No 1
12. Joe No 2

HELL NO "self titled" 7"

2009-01-08T01:06:00.004-05:00

Pre and post Hell No members were in Citizens Arrest, Kill Van Kull, Moses, All For One, Our Gang, Sleeper (Serpico), Go, Manacled, JJ Paradise Players Club, and also featured Ted Leo on guitar. They played awesome sounding NYC influenced punk and hardcore that sounds somewhat in between the lines of Born Against / Econochrist / Rorschach meets Mind Over Matter / Bad Trip kind of stuff. Very cool guitar riffs with a nice rhythm section and an almost snarling crusty vocal style made this 7" really stand out to me. Listening to it 16 years later from when I got it (mailordered it from the Relapse catalog) I can still pick out all of the reasons and sounds that made me stoked on it. And on top of all of the attitude this band exuded (the lyrics are pretty damn cool) the production is nothing short of some of Don Fury's top notch work. As much as I liked this 7" for one reason or another I never came across any of their other releases. I just found a myspace tonight that seems to have ties to the band. I'm going to seek out the rest of their discography and see if it keeps up with this great debut 7". My fingers are crossed.

Myspace - http://www.myspace.com/hellno1

HELL NO "Self titled" 7"
Released on Wardance Records (WAR #004)
Recorded 9-1-91 @ Don Fury's NYC

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=046WSCSI

1. Reformer
2. Consequence
3. Disciple
4. Shift

Flyer - V.O.D., Turmoil, Option, BK

2009-01-06T02:34:00.002-05:00

1995 Wilkesbarre PA. 717 mofos.

FOOD NOT BOMBS BENEFIT LP

2008-12-17T02:25:00.004-05:00

It’s weird to go back and listen to these old compilations that have a place in the heart and soul of the 16 year old me. I hate to say it but I try to be an honest person… if I heard such an eclectic mix of bands on a CD today I would probably cringe and chuck it out of my car window. What happened to that youthful energy I had? That ambitious and inquisitive nature? Everything seemed so new and exciting then. Bands were harder to come by, and putting out records was reserved for those who had the money, gumption, and know how. Politics and being socially conscious were at a great all time high with hardcore, crust, emo, and punk kids. Did we get lazy? Are we too wrapped up in quick fame, technology, business, and egos? With all of the worlds advancements I feel like things have changed so much and everything can sometimes seem like any sort of messages are lost or watered down. If you stand on your soapbox and talk about something you are chastised for being preachy. Remember the phrase “More than Music”? Maybe it’s all part of growing up. I’ll be 32 in just a few days and as much as I try to be as involved with the music scene I feel like I know less and less of what the fuck is going on. I think the 16 year old me would be proud of me in some ways, and in others want to kick me in my 32 year old dick. Who knows? Maybe the 30 year olds in 1994 felt the same way about my generation at the time. Punk rock saved my life and in other ways I feel like it ruined it. There are times that I wish I worked a 9-5 desk job, came home drank a can of Miller Lite, and played Xbox for 8 hours a night. But that’s not me, it’s not in my blood like the music and ideas such as the ones conveyed on this LP that I feel connected to. Maybe there should be a support group for the 30+ “kids” to help each other through our trials and tribulations of coping with everyday. It’s hard to stay blind to the bullshit of the world. Anyway, if that support group is out there, sign me up…

Well enough of that randomness… “A Food Not Bombs Benefit LP” on Inchworm records came out in 1994 with a great mixture of who’s who in the hardcore, metal, and emo world at the time. Many of these bands are still highly revered to this day. I think there’s a reason for this, these bands were ahead of their time and setting the standards for their sub genres. On top of all of that this LP was all about bringing awareness to homelessness, starvation, society's ills, and where our Country’s money is spent. These are all subjects more than relevant today as the US is still pissing away our finances into projects that are not really improving the general quality of life here on our own soil. These cool silkscreened covers (I still have a soft spot for those) also contained a thick zine like liner note booklet. Inside you will find a lot of information about FNB and also each band contributes a page of their lyrics that look like were individually designed by each band, further giving you a sense of their art. Overall everything about this release is what made me fall in love with punk and hardcore. The sense of being pro-active, giving a fuck, and actually getting off of your ass and doing something. I see flyers for benefit shows all over the US these days and there’s not one ounce of info stating what it is even for. I attend shows where there’s canned food drives and I don’t know if kids are doing it because it’s trendy or to save $2 off of the fee. But then at the show no one gets up and talks about where the food is going and what the point of it all was. Listening to this LP gets that fire going in my gut. I appreciate the fact that it can still invoke that sort of reaction out of me.

Various Artists - Food Not Bombs Benefit LP
Released on Inchworm Records in 1994 (IW 001)

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=VPVTAIS9

1. Ten Boy Summer - The History Of Blank Pages And The Conscious Decision To Discontinue The Tradition Our Gender Has Been Plagued With
2. Swing Kids - Disease
3. Campaign - Industry Slave
4. Indian Summer - Reflections On Milkweed
5. Starkweather - Mainline
6. Franklin - Slow Into Questionable
7. Fingerprint - Surrender
8. Braille - Capitol (previously mentioned in coregasm)
9. Half Man - Tripped Up (previous 7"s posted in coregasm here)
10. Premonition - Left Unsaid
11. Railhed - End Song
12. Current - Chairtied

THE DIVISION HAS BEGUN "CT HC 1999" 7"

2008-12-09T16:30:00.002-05:00

East Coast Empire was a really cool label in the late 90s that paved the way for a few bands. Focusing mainly on really heavy hardcore and also supporting their local scene, I had nothing but respect for these guys. They went away for a few years but now they're back which is pretty cool. This was a sweet 7” comp (man how awesome did comps used to be!?!) that featured some of Connecticut's finest at that time. There’s even a pretty sweet Death Threat track featuring guest vocals from the singer of Divided By Hate that I don’t think surfaced on any of their other releases. Fear Tomorrow has a great heavy sound and ECER released a split with them and Integ2000. I also think the 100 Demons track on here was an exclusive song and boy is it a heavy hitter. All in all I really miss these 7” comps showcasing a local scene. This makes me want to do an all Erie Hardcore 7” on Surprise Attack. Hmmmm…

The Division Has Begun “Connecticut Hardcore MCMXCIX” 7” (mines on clear!)
Released on East Coast Empire (ECER 010)
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=90UUWCHO
1. Fear Tomorrow “The Wretched:
2. Death Threat “Forgiveness”
3. 100 Demons “Straight to Hell”
4. Divided By Hate “Embers”
5. Mans Ruin “Better Off Dead”

East Coast Empire Records online

OVERSIGHT "After This Day" 7" / COUNTERPUNCH "s/t" 7"

2008-12-05T02:51:00.006-05:00

This 7” seems like it flew under the radar a little bit when you think of Syracuse Hardcore. Oversight features the very recognizable voice of Shane Durgee from Framework & Gatekeeper (previously posted on Coregasm) among other bands. His vocals are heavy and in your face but in a melodic, strong singing kind of way. Here and there a few of the songs even have that e-crunch that Green Rage and Earth Crisis spread to the whole world. These tracks were recorded in 1992 @ Penguin Studios. The players were: Shane – vocals, Dave – guitar, Jay – bass, and Casey on drums. Funny thing about the inner sleeve is that eccentric label owner Mike Warden from Conquer the World even has his own thanx list in the layout. I’ve never seen a label owner (not in the band mind you) do such a thing. Very weird… and to top it off Mike thanx “My mom for putting on my X’s”. haha, awesome. I’ll give him some credit though, this was his very first release so who knows!?!

OVERSIGHT “After This Day” 7” (mines on grey marble)
Released in 1992 on Conquer the World Records (CTW 001)
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=JD5FKDLV
1. Picking Up the Pieces
2. Princess
3. Reveal
4. The Pedestal

--------------------------------------------------

A little addition to this post is the 7” from COUNTER PUNCH. I picked this up back then simply because it was released on Shane Durgee’s label Reflection (not to be confused with the current awesome European label Reflections). There are no liner notes, lyrics, or any information other than song titles and that it was Reflection Records #4. So maybe some of you can fill in the missing pieces on this release and band. I actually really enjoy the songs so check them out! It’s kind of in a similar vein of groovy, raw, and heavy but on the melodic tip. Great stuff and I wish more bands were trying stuff like this.

COUNTER PUNCH “Counter Punch” 7”
Released on Reflection Records #4
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=FX8DOY99
1. Inner Reality
2. Letting Go
3. Freedom
4. Stranded
5. Outro

EVERLAST "drown the self" 7" / COLD WAR 7" comp

2008-11-27T03:25:00.006-05:00

Everlast's sound captures the mid 1990s sound to a T with their chugs, drum tom parts and double bass, feedback intros, the whole band just almost overplaying in a weird way, and layer upon layer of vocal tracks. I had seen many pictures of these guys in zines for what seemed like eternity before I could actually lay my hands on a recording. My introduction to them was the COLD WAR compilation 7" that is featured below and their track was really aggressive and up my alley at the time. The Within a Lie and None Left Standing tracks are really good as well and show a diverse cross section of hardcore for the era. I have always been a Mean Season fan but the live track just does not need to be released by any means. My friend Justin had all ready posted this compilation awhile back in his blog x43x but I re-ripped it and upped it for those who might have missed it.

A few months later after seeing ad upon ad for their "drown the self" 7" on the short lived Chapter Records I finally scored a copy. It was enjoyable but I think I liked their compilation track a little bit more. Regardless it is still "post worthy" as I'm sure many of you will enjoy this bit of Illinois hardcore history. I think the band had either broken up by the time this came out or shortly after. On my photocopied lyric sheet it states "Due to excessive laziness on behalf of the band the real lyric sheet was not finished (started) by the time the record was ready to be released..." haha, man funny times. I'm not too sure what the cover art was all about either...

Both 7"s: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=FNV1RAQU

EVERLAST "...drown the self..." 7" (clear vinyl)
Chapter Records #3
1. Drown the Self
2. Another Step
3. Broken At Last

THE COLD WAR "Hardcore Compilation" 7"
Foresight #001 / Stability Records #002
1. None Left Standing - Just Another War
2. Everlast - Crutch
3. Mean Season - Sea of Shame
4. Within A Lie - Him

FOUNDATION "demo" & "unreleased"

2008-11-26T02:19:00.004-05:00

One great thing about doing this blog is that when I post some tracks from an old band that I really like, I pretty much immediately start getting more emails chock full of hard to find info about them. Sometimes I even hit the jackpot and someone will have tracks that I don't have and swap them with me. This was the case here. I had posted two 7"s from the early '90s Rochester, NY band Foundation earlier this year and they seemed to go over very well. This eventually led me to scoring a copy of their demo and an unreleased 5 song ep from them. So here it is for all of you to enjoy. You'll notice other versions of the 7" songs on both releases but there are also plenty of other new (to me at least) songs that are nothing short of awesome. "Dragon's Mouth" is a real stand out track for me that would have surely got my head banging back in the day. Check them out and check out the original post of their two 7"s CLICK HERE.

FOUNDATION "demo"
1. Semi-Voluntary Reaction
2. Nothing Personal
3. Disaster
4. Your Deception
5. Enough
6. Communication Breakdown

FOUNDATION "unreleased" EP
1. Undefined
2. Broken
3. Down
4. Dragon's Mouth
5. Purity

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=67U73UUS

COREGASM turns 3

2008-11-17T01:02:00.002-05:00

The Coregasm blog has officially turned 3 years old yesterday and with each passing year I always try to share something humorous from the past. This little gem is nothing short of embarrassing. I had this band in 92-93 with two friends that would just jam out in one of the guy’s basement. None of us could really play well and we basically just did it for fun here and there. Well this straight edge beaut of a song somehow got made and here it is for all of you to enjoy.

We went through a slew of different names like Wish Pure and then Object Lesson among others, and we never made an official demo or played any shows. Like I said, it wasn’t a real band just more of a hang out / jam out type of thing. Our real songs were pretty much a combination of Youth of Today mixed with Next Step Up. And after typing that just now, that made me want to go out and start a band that sounds like that today. The band was Mike on drums, me on guitar, and my cohort Will who actually starting Surprise Attack fanzine with me on vocals. Somehow for this song it was me playing drums and Mike and Will on vocals.

We all went to tons of shows together throughout high school allover PA, NY, NJ, and the DC area. Those were great times. We eventually all drifted apart as life took us on different paths. Last I had heard (around ‘95) Mike was a pizza deliver guy and got hit by a drunk driver. He was banged up pretty good and shattered most of his one leg. Will went off to Kutztown College which was a bit of a hardcore Mecca back then. And I moved to Erie around that same time. I hope all of those guys are doing well in life with all of their adventures and if they somehow stumble upon this I’m sure they will be laughing.

xWISH PUREx “Live by the X” (circa 92/93)
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=DLYFSAQ7

Getting wasted, you think it’s cool.
Doing that shit you’re just a fool.
Tell yourself you’re living fast.
Faster you live, the sooner you die

Live hard!
Live strong!
Live by the X!!!

Look around, it’s going down.
Doing that shit, you’re gonna drown.
Lying in the gutter, Life’s a bitch.
Don’t blame me, you dug your ditch!

Live hard!
Live strong!
Live by the X!!!

STRAIGHT EDGE!!!

APPROACH TO CONCRETE "...failures" CD

2008-11-13T01:39:00.005-05:00

Approach to Concrete were a mid nineties hardcore band from Germany. Somehow we got a hold of their 6 song CD "failures" and proceeded to rock it a plenty whether it was in the van on tour or at my friends house that he tattooed out of. ATC did the fast yet not too youth crewy sounding hardcore really well. Brother's Keeper actually got the chance to play with these guys in 1996 and it was pretty awesome to see them live. I remember dancing for them and their singer commenting on how different (read violent) that US kids danced compared to the Euros. I felt bad but he was just busting my balls really. Anyway check out these 6 songs and see what you think.

APPROACH TO CONCRETE "...failures" CD
Released 1995 on Mad Mob Records (MM010)
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=W3LGIOI3
1. Absolution
2. I Fail Again
3. Bad Time Story
4. Ineffective
5. Did You Know
6. Blood Runs Red

THIRD DEGREE "opium" 7"

2008-10-29T16:16:00.004-04:00

Massachusetts band Third Degree's double 7" on Suburban Voice always intrigued me. Im not sure what made me pick it up back then other than it "looked hardcore" haha. That was pretty much the basis of many of my record store picks in the early 90s to be honest. I always thought it was weird to be a double 7" as I didn't see many of those and still don't. Even back then I hadn't really heard much about this band but this recording was decent. Kind of reminded me of a lot of stuff that started popping up at that time like early Iceburn, later Insight, Temperance, and Guilt type of hardcore. Kind of laid back and rocked out. It wasn't a life changing find but is definitely representational of some stuff that was going on at this era so I thought I'd share it.

Third Degree was: Frank Quintiliani - vocals, Dave Hunter - bass, Jim Mccobb - guitar, Brian Fraher - guitar, & Steve Meuse - drums.

THIRD DEGREE "Opium" 2x 7"
Released on Suburban Voice (SV #008)
Recorded January 1992 @ Bobcat Studios.
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=XPOBPUQD
1. Must
2. The Herd
3. Opium
4. Consequence Inevitable

-------------------------------------
On a side note you might have noticed it's been awhile since any updates. I've really enjoyed doing Coregasm which is almost reaching 3 years (next month!) but due to all of my other endeavors time is limited. Coregasm is not going anywhere and I will continue to post old gems as I have time so don't worry. I haven't given up. Since I've started this blog I've noticed a huge increase in other nostalgia filled hardcore blogs and I think that is amazing. Some of them are intense that I can barely keep up with reading them. I'm glad a lot of this is getting documented and put out there. I don't think you HAVE to know your roots to be apart of hardcore but I would like to think that there are some people who are interested in knowing where this lifestyle stems from and why we are all apart of it. A great book just came out called Radio Science and it is nothing short of amazing. Where else are you going to get to look at sketches of the original Minor Threat black sheep? You should do yourself a favor and pick this book up (I got it from Revelation Records for $25 here). If you like to look at lots of old high quality pictures, read stories of yesteryears, show flyers, accounts from legendary band members, and tshirt art this book has it all. Anyway, my point to all of this is that punk and hardcore have been a huge part of my life that regardless of how often Coregasm gets updated you can rest assured that sooner or later something will pop up. DIY til I die. - ems

Decembercon

2008-09-27T02:24:00.001-04:00

OPTION "In Memory..." 7"

2008-07-28T03:22:00.003-04:00

OPTION "In Memory..." 7"
Released 1995 on Ascension Records 001
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=DHYRA69M

1. Remembrance
2. Grasp
3. Clear Conscience

OPTION "Not Forgotten" Demo Cassette

2008-06-28T15:13:00.003-04:00

Looks like listening to these old tracks got some other old heads excited about the mighty Option! Check out Jimmy Buttons as they just posted Options earlier "Not Forgotten" Demo from 1991. It's a little more crude sounding but listening to it now I can tell it had an influence on some of my bands from this era. Good times man, great demo. Thanx Jimmy for the post!

Jimmy Buttons "Option" post

OPTION "1993 Demo" CASS

2008-06-10T00:38:00.002-04:00

Option were without a doubt one of my favorite PA hardcore bands in the early and mid nineties. Their demo was the first item I had mail ordered from VERY DISTRO and I remember my first listen. I'm guessing it was either 1991 or 92. I later caught them live at a festival in Wilkesbarre (their home town area) featuring a pre- "All Out War" 7" era Earth Crisis among many other great bands. All of the bands from that fest are still frequently listened to today. Option had a great heavy yet melodic touch to them, an energetic live show, and a good attitude. I went on to get to know some of the guys and hang out with them a bunch in the mid 90s and I always felt like this band deserved to be a lot more well known than they were. I think they put out like 4 or so demo tapes, a bunch of compilation tracks, and a 7". All of which had superb songs on them. For that era and all of our ages they just always seemed to be exceptional musicians. I always envied that about them. I have most of their back catalog so I'll be putting it up from time to time as I get the chance to turn them into mp3s. I couldn't even ball park how many times I have seen this band. It was never a disappointment. This is their 4 song demo cassette from 1993.

OPTION "1993 Demo" Cassette
Self released
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=ABRRQI4F
1. Siblings
2. Follow
3. Search
4. Shorehead
5. Endtro

SUBZERO videos

2008-06-02T03:12:00.002-04:00

"Higher Power" video

Equipment meltdown!!!

"Lionhearted" video

"Sick People" cover song

TASTE THE STEEL

2008-05-28T23:32:00.003-04:00

TASTE THE STEEL are one of the newer breed of Erie Hardcore bands that have come out post Y2K. Lead singer Buck has been going to shows as long as I can remember and while I was living down in Philly I had heard that he had a new band with him on vocals. I knew he was super into heavy brutal hardcore and his new project was no disappointment.

Here's a sample of their first demo (I think I'm missing a track). Their newer stuff is even heavier and more brutal and Buck has some cool lyrics dealing with societal issues, war, and government. These guys really need a proper release. Check out their myspace for current info: www.myspace.com/tastethesteel

TASTE THE STEEL "Blind Society" demo 2005
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=9FCMVUX7

PRAYER FOR A FALLEN ANGEL "Drawing Near Armageddon" CD

2008-04-17T00:07:00.005-04:00

Initially the idea behind Prayer For A Fallen Angel was to be an all Erie straight edge hardcore group featuring numerous different friends on vocals and featuring me on guitar, Mike Ski on bass, and Bob Williams on drums, all 3 of which were in Brother's Keeper at the time. We even started writing some songs and took some really cool group photos that have been lost over the years. I still wish those would surface as they came out really bad ass. Anyway, the idea started to kind of change for some people and the initial design of an all Erie band started to get scrapped. I didn't want to have to tell my friends that they could no longer sing in the project. Then there was a suggestion for a 2nd guitarist who was a good friend of ours named Nate. Nate is an amazing guy and a great guitarist but he was no longer straight edge. So I decided that I didn't want to be a part of the project any longer as I felt like I was compromising what initially attracted me to the idea. It wasn't really that dramatic or anything as it was still in its infant stages idea wise. And to be honest, Nate wrote way better songs than I ever would have even dreamed of and made the band much much better!

I think the idea got shelved for a little bit but Mike decided to pick up the pieces and got more momentum going again and enlisted some of our other friends to join in. The band added Dave Quiggle onto second guitar and asked some of my favorite vocalists/lyricists Chris Logan and DJ Rose. This band had nothing short of a super group resume at that point.

They wrote all 5 tracks and recorded them at our favorite local studio in Erie which was Miner Studios. Basically it was this old rocker dudes garage with a few mics and a tarp in it separating it in half. When I say garage I mean that he had to hit the automatic door opener when we wanted to go in or out. At the time every Erie hardcore band recorded there. The guys recorded the music and mailed off the recording to DJ and Chris who then penned some ideas down. The two eventually came down to Erie and they all put their ideas and lyrics together to finish out the songs. So basically the band never had a full practice with all of the members, not even one time in its existence. After all of the vocals were done a huge crew of us went out there and did the back up crew chants. It was a lot of fun with about 15 of us there encircling the microphone that was just sitting there in the middle of the floor. We all pointed our fingers angrily at it as we shouted our parts.

The band was later scheduled to appear at one of the highly successful Syracuse New Years shows but for one reason or another the band never got their act together and practiced, resulting in a cancellation even though most of the members were present seeing as how Brother's Keeper was on tour at the time with 78 Days (at least I think so). It's a shame too because I was very anxious to see them live and had plans on going completely apeshit. You see I just found this EP to be an awesome example of the hardcore that I grew up on and backed. It had all of the elements that make my heart pump a little faster and harder. Most of all I loved the lyrics, the originality, and the sincerity flowing through all of it. Granted the recording is a little rough and can be a little sloppy at times, the guitars have way too much treble (anyone remember those Line 6 pedals? ugh...), and the drums sound could be a bit better. I always looked past all of that and just enjoyed what my friends had created.

One of the singers Chris Logan released the CDep on his fledgling label at the time Goodfellow Records and I believe only 1,000 were pressed with no represses. Check out this gem and let me know what you think, I'm guessing a lot of people missed this one seeing as how it's over 11 years old.

PRAYER FOR A FALLEN ANGEL was:
Chris Logan - Vocals (Chokehold, 78 Days)
DJ Rose - Vocals (Path of Resistance)
Dave Quiggle - Guitar (xDisciplex AD, Shockwave, No Innocent Victim, Jesus Wept)
Nate Black - Guitar (Abnegation, Run Devil Run, Problem Solver Revolver, Thick As Thieves)
Mike Ski - Bass / Vocals (Sumthin To Prove, Brother's Keeper, Run Devil Run, The AKAs)
Bob Williams - Drums (Brother's Keeper, Thick As Thieves, Problem Solver Revolver, The AKAs)

PRAYER FOR A FALLEN ANGEL "Drawing Near Armageddon" CDep
Released in 1997 on Goodfellow Records (GF004)
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=RK2GHVQZ
1. Documentary
2. Losing Ground
3. The Jewel
4. Salvation's Voice
5. Bring It On

This is the show they were billed on but did not play:

V/A "Chop Chop" 7"

2008-04-15T00:01:00.003-04:00

V/A "Chop Chop" 7" compilation
Released in 1989 on Skene Records #4
Etchings A: "One otter, two otter..." B: "Team Caffeine"
http://www.sendspace.com/file/hcqb67
1. Constant Grief - Timely Failure
2. Bad Trip - Mixed Emotions
3. Payback - Gothic
4. Vicious Bite - 'Till Death Do You Part
5. A Bomb A Nation - Not Kosher / Belong Be Strong (Live at CBGBs)

(Larger images of the lyric booklet are in the zip file)

Cover:

Back Cover:

Booklet Insert:

EARTH CRISIS video

2008-04-03T23:05:00.004-04:00

I had always heard about this incident and was bummed that I missed it. I always love viewing a good debacle. I attended a bunch of shows at Middlesex while I still lived in Harrisburg and they were pretty legendary from this era. Attendance was great, bands were amzing, just an all around hardcore fucking utopia.

Obviously kids are more than welcome to voice their opinion if you have different ideas etc... but it's another thing to throw shit on someone, fuck with their equipment, and to mock them right up in their face. I mean you can't really be too surprised if you get some sort of intense (sometimes violent) reaction for doing something like that. I mean can you honestly be shocked or surprised if you're fucking with someone and pushing buttons that they stand up for themselves? Anyway, that's just my opinion. And really this was NJ in the mid 90s, fights at shows weren't really an unheard of thing haha. Enjoy.

On a side note, the lyrics to "Forged in the Flames" still ring truer today than they did 15 years ago. - ems

Description from the person who posted this video:

"ok here we go: earth crisis played middlesex, NJ in 96 and funny stuff happened.

i'll break it down so you can skip to the good parts.
1st they play forged in flames and nothing happens.
then they play inherit the wasteland and around 2:30 is when beer cans and yogurt get thrown on stage...cant really see much though and they keep playing the song.
around 4:40 karl gives a little speech and then they play forced march.

at right around the 6 min mark is when someone jumps on stage in a fur coat and all hell breaks loose. sadly...the fur coat is not caught on film but the aftermath is.
then they eventually play the song. (with guitars cutting out due to someone unplugging stuff under the stage)"

We're all friends at the Unisound!

2008-03-31T03:43:00.004-04:00

Mailers from 1992. Unisound club in Reading PA.

"Just Look Around" tour. SOIA still had the long haired dude on bass! I even had Pete & Lou sign the black and white posters they were giving out. They told me they felt really silly but I insisted. In fact, I still look up to Sick Of It All. I just saw them last month and they played just as awesome over 16 years later. Not too many bands that I can say that about.

You might recognize the band name NEW SCHOOL as they were featured in an earlier post.

TOE TAG "s/t" 7"

2008-03-26T02:41:00.002-04:00

Solid old style hate filled hardcore from Boston Mass. I just remember reading their name in a fanzine and knew I'd like them, not to mention Nemesis records had a nice back catalog. Does anyone know where I can actually find any pressing info on Nemesis records? I couldn't find anything on the web as far as a discography.

Toe Tag was: Mike Cahill - Vocals, Bruce Windom & Jerry Kyn - Guitar, Keith Arcari - Bass, Rich Fortin - Drums. This 7" still stands the test of time. Only complaint is there is no lyric sheet. Song titles like "H.I.V." & "Pro Lifer" make me want to read more!

TOE TAG "self titled" 7" red vinyl
Released on Nemesis Records #48
http://www.sendspace.com/file/ss0op1
1. H.I.V.
2. Tight Rope
3. Dillinger
4. Pro Lifer

SMOKE AND MIRRORS

2008-02-22T04:30:00.004-05:00

Well I have this platform so I might as well use it...

My new band SMOKE AND MIRRORS has just posted 2 songs from our debut EP "Fire Ashes Phoenix Rising" on myspace. You can check them out here... www.myspace.com/smokeandmirrors814

SCAPEGRACE & CONNIPTION

2008-02-06T02:36:00.000-05:00

Coregasm got a great response to the HALF MAN post I did a week or so ago so I figured I'd post some other really good NYHC bands. Not really the typical youth crew Revelation NYHC you would think of (not that there's anything wrong with that!). This stuff is raw, ugly, and punk as fuck. Fast and with a tinge of crustiness... and boy do I love it. The bass sounds so distorted on the Conniption tracks and the singer has such a burly voice. Scapegrace just have this awesome vibe going with so much attitude and a bit more of a noisy, discordant, melodic guitar style with screeching vocals. Just check it all out for yourself and see what you think. I've included the other half to the HALF MAN split that was mentioned last week. Enjoy. - EMS

All 3 x 7"s listed can be downloaded here:
http://www.sendspace.com/file/rr0hvk

SCAPEGRACE / CONNIPTION split 7"
Released by Reek Havoc & 01811 Records #002
1. Scapegrace - Crumbs of Crumbs
2. Scapegrace - Smokescreen
3. Conniption - Perverse Creation
4. Conniption - Negative Charge
5. Conniption - Culture of Hate
6. Conniption - Profane

HALF MAN / CONNIPTION "split" 7"
Released by Reek Havoc & 01811 Records #001
(Half Man tracks posted below 1 week ago)
1. Conniption - Gun Shy... and Hammer Down
2. Conniption - Contaminated
3. Conniption - Hopeless at 21

I also added the following (since it's so good) in the zip folder:
SCAPEGRACE "Plead" 7" (taken from their myspace page so it's not the best quality but still a great listen)
Side A: Suck the Dead / One Moment
Side B: Prayer / Sleepwalk

454 BIG BLOCK video

2008-01-30T15:20:00.001-05:00

HALF MAN 3 x 7"s

2008-01-27T01:26:00.000-05:00

Half Man were a hardcore punk band from NY that had a great Ebullition / Born Against / Econochrist vibe going for them. I always really enjoyed their 7”s. I was first introduced to them on April 1st, 1994 when they played a local show in Harrisburg, PA. The show was Timmy, Half Man, Floodgate, and locals Mainliner. I didn’t really know about any of the bands other than Mainliner so I was pleasantly surprised by Half Man & Floodgate. Both of their sets really left an impression on me as over the years I bought all that I could from both bands.

The funny thing about this show is that I wish I could go back in time and meet who had booked it. I was rather young and didn’t really know a ton of people in my area in punk and hardcore other than a few friends and penpals. I could tell there were a few people at this show that came out just for Floodgate and were probably involved more so within the DIY punk scene. I wish I could have met some more people like that around that era as I bet they could have introduced me to a lot of other great stuff.

Tonight I dug up my 2nd issue of Surprise Attack that I had put out that year (1994) and there was a show review of this one. It was hilarious to read. It really jogged my memory on the events that took place. You see Mainliner were a local Harrisburg area band that seemed to really attract punkers who both the band and their followers seemed to emulate what they thought was punk. You know, wear a leather jacket, slick your hair back, fake like you know what Mike Ness is all about and drink lots of beer and be rude. So most of the show goers were there for them and didn’t really support or give two shits about the other 3 bands. Half Man played second and people were just moshing like goof balls and a bunch of arguments broke out amongst the leather coat punkers verses the more PC punks. It got pretty tense at times and I’m surprised real fights didn’t break out. People we’re just throwing beer around, the floor got soaked, and at one point I saw a 250lb man smash a small girl on top of the PA speakers. Real classy shit that made me very embarrassed to be from the area. Half Man ended their set with an Inside Out cover of “Burning Fight” which I think about me and my 2 friends knew. Floodgate wound up playing and just killed it. I picked up their LP that night as well as Half Man’s “Force Field” 7”. Both releases of which I have consistently listened too over the past 14 years since. Floodgate wound up cutting their set short because the locals were being so disruptive and rude. They just weren’t having it. I remember going up to the bands at their merch tables and apologizing and trying to convey that those kids didn’t represent everyone from the area. They were all real polite and understanding. My one regret of the evening though was they were selling the Ebullition press of the Judge “Rev can suck it” 10” on white for $3. Why the hell I didn’t buy one I don’t know. Anyway… after the show was drawing close to an end the cops rolled up and were arresting kids for underage drinking and it was just chaos at this point. We then realized that my car was broken into and someone stole my friends skateboard from it. We didn’t really have much time to look around as the cops were being real pricks so we just got the fuck out of there.

Overall I was real excited to be introduced to 2 new bands that really struck a chord with me. But in retrospect of the whole night it was a bit of a bum out as I wish more bands like that would have rolled through the Harrisburg area, but due to the action of a bunch of kids who thought that just by being drunk dicks was punk rock, not too much like this really occurred for awhile during this time. I would have loved to have booked shows back then but I was 16 years old and broke and just a bit green as to how it all worked. Either way, here are 3 of Half Man’s releases for you to check out. You can really tell on the “No Choice” tracks that it was recorded at the legendary Don Fury’s due to the chunky drum sound and killer guitar tones. A few of the recording sessions had more songs not featured on the 7”s, I’d love to get my hands on those. I know Half Man had another split 7” that I can’t remember with who right now (I want to say Honeywell but I could be wrong) [edit: i was informed that the split was actually with hugs & kisses]. I also really loved the fact that the 7"s were all silk screened and had interesting booklets with lyrics and writings in them. I left out the Conniption side of the split as I will post that with more of their stuff soon as well. Enjoy Half Man as they really made an impact on me back then.

3 x HALF MAN 7"s: http://www.sendspace.com/file/odgnbt

HALF MAN "Force Field" 7"
Released on Mountain #002
Records @ Dare Studios April 1993 (tracks originally released on a 12 song demo cassette)
1. Force Field
2. Substitution
3. No Lunch Today
4. Change of Pace
5. Candle Stubs

HALF MAN "No Choice but to Learn" 7"
Released on Chicken Farm Records #004
Recorded @ Don Fury's November 1993
1. In Control
2. Welcome to the Insanity that I Created
3. Heritage
4. Lack of Order

HALF MAN / CONNIPTION "split" 7" (Conniption tracks can be found 2 posts after this one)
Released by Reek Havoc & 01811 Records #001
Recorded @ Tom K.s house January 1994 (3 of 6 tracks from that session)
1. Half Man - All Gone
2. Half Man - Scar(r)ed
3. Half Man - Flog

V/A "Lacking Mindset Compilation" 7"

2008-01-23T00:21:00.000-05:00

This early 90's four band 7" compilation knocked me on my ass when it came out. Having been a fan of all 4 bands featured on here and always wanting to hear more, this was just the release I had been needing. The original version of Unbroken's "Blanket" was so heavy it had me and my friends seriously geeking the fuck out. I can remember seeing them twice around this time and going completely ape shit to that song. Honeywell, Groundwork, and Struggle all offer some of their harsh and abrasive punk meets hardcore meets (then) screamo. Overall this was a great release.

V/A - "Lacking Mindset Compilation" 7"
Released by Spoonfed Records - FED 002
http://www.sendspace.com/file/kwbz57
1. Struggle - The Untitled
2. Unbroken - Blanket
3. Honeywell - Mesh Control
4. Groundwork - ???

Other Blogs

2008-01-23T00:02:00.001-05:00

Okay so I have added a bunch of "Other Blog" links on the sidebar there. I used to have one a year or two ago but it seemed like everything I had linked up kind of fizzled out. Well I guess a lot of people are re-stoked on sharing info on the past and present aspects of hardcore and punk, so I have started adding a links section again. If you do a blog or know of one that you feel should be linked up let me know. I'm always looking for more cool ones to read. Post links as a comment! - EMS

INTO ANOTHER videos

2008-01-21T22:44:00.000-05:00

I can remember going to the store right when Into Another's self titled CD came out. Upon getting home and hearing it I wanted to throw it out the window. I thought "that's no fucking Bold and that sure as hell ain't no Underdog". A few years later as my tastes matured and my barriers lightened up on what I allowed myself to absorb I realized that they were a total fucking force to be reckoned with. I got the opportunity to see them live plenty of times and the performances were pretty intense. This band was so ahead of the game...

Into Another - Poison Fingers

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Into Another - Splinters

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DISCONTENT "Chance to Live" 7"

2008-01-11T00:44:00.000-05:00

I think this piece of Buffalo hardcore history might only appeal to a few due to the rawness of the production on this 4 track 7". I remember in 1992 one of my best friends Will picked this 7" up and we just loved it. In fact our band at the time even ripped off a bunch of ideas from some of the songs it's kind of ridiculous in hindsight. I was always jealous that he owned this record until one day I finally found a distro that carried it as well and I got my very own copy. The recording is very crude and the vocal mix is really loud however it was done on an 8 track at Action Recording Studios in August of 1991. This was released on Round Flat Records who also put out one of the Foundation 7"s that we just posted about. A band definitely couldn't get away with cover like that these days! If you can look through the sloppiness and poor production (It sounds like he did all of the vocals in one take) and you enjoy this era of hardcore you might like this. They were a pretty obscure band that I think only people from the Western NY / Great Lakes region might have heard of. Let me know what you think.

DISCONTENT "Chance to Live" 7"
Round Flat Records 002 - Released 1991 or 92
http://www.sendspace.com/file/zmtjpw
1. Living in Anguish
2. Compassion of the Soul
3. Open Wound
4. Seize the Day

AREA 51 RECORDS COMP "We Shall Fight in the Streets" 7"

2008-01-08T00:06:00.000-05:00

I was feeling rather ambitious (don’t get used to it!) today and whipped up a 2nd post for you chums. Here’s a sweet 7” compilation that came out in 1995. It’s got some great bands on it. First up is an early Catharsis track from 1994, then an Integrity song from their 1987 “Off the Bat” demo, a pummeling track from NJ’s Backlash, and rounded out with a song from h800’s finest Congress. The 7” came with a cool 7” sized lyric sheet booklet complete with an Integrity interview and a brief interview with Backlash who mostly talked about the (then) current straight edge scene. The whole release had a very Inside Front (who conducted the interviews) meets Blood Book feel to it. I really like the grooving heaviness of the Backlash track (which was also on their CD) and the Congress track is a prime example of the predecessors of European metallic hardcore. Catharsis is pretty cool but the Integrity song, as interesting as it is, is pretty horrible. I definitely spun this record a lot when I got it. I can’t remember if Area 51 Records ever went on to release anything else. They were from Tempe, AZ.

Insert cover:

AREA 51 RECORDS COMPILATION "We Shall Fight in the Streets" 7"
Released 1995
http://www.sendspace.com/file/7nfzzt
1. Catharsis - 100 Years of Solitude
2. Integrity - Enough is Enough
3. Backlash - Why I'm Mad
4. Congress - Acoustic Life

FOUNDATION "Purity" & "Triphammer" 7"s

2008-01-07T00:29:00.000-05:00

This is an exciting first post for the new year. My awesome sister and brother-in-law gave me a great Christmas / B-day gift (I'm 31 today!). It is a USB turntable that plugs right into my computer. I am very excited about this as I hope my vinyl to mp3 transfers get even better! That will hopefully mean more frequent posts of killer hard to find stuff. Anyway, onto the music...

Foundation were a rather original band from Rochester, NY that had an interesting sound. It was a mix of heavy yet emotional stuff. Kind of like they grew up on Underdog and Gorilla Biscuits but decided to add some real slow and drawn out parts with a very emotional feel to it (note: i'm not calling this "emo" as i don't want to scare any of you readers away). I believe that both of these 7"s are from the same recording session at Suny Fredonia, NY in November of 1991. Fredonia is only a stones throw away from here in Erie, PA. Actually the "Purity" 7" was mixed by Fred @ Mark's Recording which is interesting to me because a few years later my band recorded there with Fred.

Foundation made the trip down many times to the central PA area and you would see their name on many flyers. I always really really liked these 7"s, some of the songs are really long but the playing on them is fucking top notch. All four members seem to be very proficient at what they brought to the table in the band. The line up consisted of; John Drenning on guitar, Mike Waney on vocals, Steve Korol on drums, & Bill Colgrove on bass. These 2 7"s might be over 15 years old but they still evoke a lot of the same feelings in me as the first time I heard them. Great stuff. I would love to get my hands on more material from them.

BOTH 7"S IN ONE ZIP FOLDER:
http://www.sendspace.com/file/znuhl9

FOUNDATION "Triphammer" 7"
Released 1992 on Significant Records
1. Down
2. Triphammer (instrumental)
3. Your Deception

FOUNDATION "Purity" 7"
Released 1992 on Round Flat Records / Fasthold Records
1. Disaster
2. Purity

B'ZRKER "self titled" 7"

2007-12-17T17:30:00.000-05:00

I just know that a bunch of people are going to love this 7". This shit is hard and pulls no punches. Yet again another band that was introduced to me from the "East Coast Assault" Comp just like my Bricklayer post earlier this week. B'zrker who were also from Massachusetts play a hard metallic style of hardcore along the lines of bands like Zero Tolerance, Icemen, Merauder, and Dmize. That's why I just know that some of you readers are going to be all about it. The harder a band is the more downloads it seems like they get. Lots of double bass drums, chunky bass guitars, and plenty of guitar chugs. My favorite vocal line from this 2 song 7" is the following:

"You fucked with the system and got off scott free. You claim you've got your ticket BUT NO ONE RIDES FOR FREE BUT ME!"

On top of all of that the 7" starts off with a sample from Nightbreed based on the Clive Barker book Cabal that I was probably reading around the time I got this 7". Although not an amazing movie it's still fun to hear the aptly used quote at the beginning. Anyone know if any other material from these guys exists? I'd love to hear more. B'ZRKER was: Tom Habelt - vocals, Alan Fisher - lead guitar, Joe Keinberger - rythm (sic) guitar, Charlie Steeves - bass, & Chip Adams - drums. This 7" was recorded by Ducky Carlisle @ Room 9 From Outer Space in Boston Mass.

B'ZRKER "self titled" 7"
Released in 1992 by Exchange Records
http://www.sendspace.com/file/v828on
1. Taking the Law
2. It Never Bends

BRICKLAYER LOCAL 630 "Thought Process '92" 7"

2007-12-15T01:33:00.000-05:00

Too Damn Hype released the “East Coast Assault” CD which was a bad ass compilation in the 92-93 eras. It made a lot of smaller demo and 7” bands well known. I mean think about it, this is pre-internet so exposure was really hard. All I had to go by at this time was a song on a comp, a thank you list, or even just an ad in a zine. I think I tried to get material from every band on that comp. A local Harrisburg area record store called “It’s Only Rock N Roll” would have a little shoe box worth of 7”s up by the register with small and unknown hardcore band 7”s. One day while flipping through I saw this Bricklayer 7” and got excited as their song “Release” was fairly decent on the East Coast Assault. So I snatched it up and listened to it fairly frequently back then. It’s funny because I paid $3.99 for this back in 1993 and 7”s today are still only being sold for like $4-$6. Inflation has affected everything in the world except for punk rock I guess. Anyway… Bricklayer was a 5 piece heavy hardcore band from the Medford, MA area. Other than this 7” I do not know how prolific this band was. I always thought it was a good listen for the ’92 era. Give it a try. There’s some great lyrics in “Welcome to the Real World” like; “So much censorship you’d think this was the USSR.”, “Treat some fat junkie entertainer just like a fucking god, worship his statues and his songs, even want his face on a stamp WHAT?” Bricklayer Local 630 was: Scott Turner – bass, Karen Bagrowski – guitar, Ed Bagrowski – guitar, Donnie Ferguson – Drums, & Dan Stagliano – vocals.

BRICKLAYER Local 630 “Thought Process ‘92” 7”
Released on Foundation Americia Records
http://www.sendspace.com/file/f38u2c
1. Regret
2. Welcome (to the Real World)
3. Release
4. Last Words

DISMAY "In Doubt" CD

2007-12-04T15:51:00.000-05:00

When Brother’s Keeper signed our first “contract” (I use that term loosely) in 1995 it was with We Bite America. WBA was to be distributed in the US by Victory and was a new venture for the European based label. The only other label mates we had at the time were 25 Ta Life and Dismay. When I first heard Dismay I had that young naïve approach to it. I thought “man this stuff is slow and boring, this ain’t hardcore”. Yeah I was stupid and totally missed what they were going for at the time. I quickly grew out of that mindset and honestly Dismay’s style of slow grooving hardcore is actually what I prefer rather than cliché mosh or old school. The guitar parts have such a thick sound to them and the beauty lies in the simplicity of their riff. The drums stick to a mid tempo and plod along most of the time and really get my head nodding. It’s this type of dramatic angst that gets my blood boiling. Bands like Burn, Beyond, Eye For An Eye, Quicksand, and Hard Response all had elements of this style as well and it seems like a lot of current bands are picking up on this vibe. I decided to post this album as a tribute to the band as I had recently read that the singer had passed away this past year. I never knew the guy or anything but here’s to you man, you made some good music and left a mark in the pages of East Coast hardcore. Rest In Peace.

DISMAY "In Doubt" CD
We Bite America Records 1995
http://www.sendspace.com/file/uvk285

-----------------------------------
In other news:

Coregasm turned 2 mid november. I wanted to post something ridiculous from my past but never got around to it because life has been hectic. Anyway, happy belated birthday CG. I can't believe it's all ready been 2 years since I started doing my random posts. Thanx to all who read and check out the bands.

Also, if you remember I had posted 2 different Icemen posts (R.I.P. / Buried Alive). Turns out some of the old members of the band have been posting responses to each other and it's a little heated. This was rather unexpected and weird and I'm not really trying to fan the flames but it looks like after many many years there's still some hard feelings.

XCESSIVE FORCE video

2007-11-29T02:15:00.001-05:00

FORCED DOWN "Mortal" CD

2007-11-10T01:35:00.000-05:00

If you listen closely to track 5 on this CD you'll notice it was also featured on the Voice of Thousands Compilation we just posted. I always thought that was one of the more original songs on the comp and found this CD lying around in my collection. Looking back this band seemed kind of ahead of their time. It's got a nice mix of the rawness of a lot of early hardcore, screamo, crust type bands like early Ebullition stuff but it also has elements of solid heavy hardcore like Inside Out meets Downcast. Who knows?... maybe I'm talking out my ass. Either way these guys could actually play their instruments and we're on what seems to be their own level. A lot of it is mid tempo and has interesting and intriguing guitar riffs as well as a cool sense of heavy melody and lots of predominant bass work. Members were from notable bands such as Amenity (also on VOT comp), Heroin, Pitchfork, and a slew of others. I believe that the band themselves had a lot to do with releasing their own records in true DIY form. This CD features a range of songs throughout 1990-91 and a few different recording sessions. All of which are an enjoyable listen and I can hear a lot of elements and musical approaches that popular contemporary bands are using right now.

Check out Forced Down on myspace by clicking here:
http://www.myspace.com/forceddown

FORCED DOWN "Mortal" 19 song CD
Released on Downside / Vinyl Communications (VC-45)
http://www.sendspace.com/file/ubu1av

BLACK FLAG interview

2007-11-01T15:05:00.001-04:00

BAD BRAINS vid

2007-10-29T12:23:00.001-04:00

V/A "Voice of Thousands"

2007-10-16T00:48:00.000-04:00

You might remember my rant when I posted the "Over the Edge" compilation; although the "Voice of Thousands" comp was a bit older (ranging from the 88-90 era) many of the same things can be said about this amazing piece of history. Releases like this were just vital in spreading the sounds for a virtually unknown group. Resources were extremely limited and getting your name out there took a lot more patience where as everything now is so immediate and over saturated. Anyway, I'll spare you the history lesson on the value of a good compilation from "back in the day". There weren't thousands of labels back then, pressing records was a lot more expensive, technology was limited, and basically the only way to get your name around was through comps, zines, and word of mouth. All you really need to know is that releases like this paved the way for many of these bands to expand upon what they were doing. In fact if you've never heard of some of these bands there's a good chance that members of these unknown bands went on to form other groups you've probably heard of. So I'll let some of you other historians fill in the gaps on any of the bands featured here. I'd like a little bit more reader involvement anyway! So yeah, chime in and let's hear some info!

V/A VOICE OF THOUSANDS
Conversion Records # 6
Released 1990-91ish
http://www.sendspace.com/file/rpudnf

Side WEST
1. Amenity "I"
2. Refuse "Trust"
3. Intent "Step Back"
4. Outward "Question to an End"
5. Insight "Get It"
6. Outspoken "Look Beyond"
7. Forced Down "Escape"

Side EAST
8. Integrity "Live It Down"
9. Relapse "Warpath"
10. Round 2 "Begin the End"
11. Force of Habit "Your Decline"
12. Endpoint "Model"
13. Raid "Liberation"
14. Face Value "Help Yourself"

---------------------------------------

On a side note, please don't email me asking to re-up things if it is no longer available. I've had a few things removed due to copyrights (even though they were out of print, go figure) and some older posts just weren't getting downloaded so sendspace deemed them inactive. If you miss it, you missed it. I'm not trying to be a dick but I just don't have the time or desire to keep reposting old uploads. Thanx for understanding.

SNAPCASE "Self titled" 7"

2007-09-23T23:42:00.001-04:00

Snapcase started out a lot different than what many of us think of today. Prior to bassist Daryl Taberski taking over the vocal duties was the unique voice of Chris Galas at the helm. With a different line up and an intense case of Zero Tolerance worship (can you blame them?) Snapcase had a bit more of a harder metallic edge to them with more of a "sung" style of vocals. This 7" was their first major exposure to others outside of their area and I loved what I was hearing on this. Shortly after this release you could hear their original version of "Fields of Illusion" on the Only The Strong 1992 compilation with Galas's vocals. Snapcase later redid this song on "Lookinglasself" but for some reason I still favor the Compilation version. It wasn't soon after this that Daryl put down the bass guitar and switched over to vocal duties. Michael Kimaid played drums on this recording and he had a nice metal influenced style with lots of double bass flare throughout his songs. He even played on half of the tracks on "Lookinglasself". The line up on this 7" was: Chris Galas - vocals (who reportedly showed up to a show in a boyscout uniform when they played), Scott Dresler - guitar, Joe Smith - guitar, Daryl Taberski - Bass, & Michael Kimaid - drums. It was recorded June of 1992. Check out that lead guitar work in the beginning of "Comatose"! That used to be a crowd favorite back then. I just wish a few years ago I didn't ebay my SOLID STATE Demo cassette (their previous band) when I was low on funds.

SNAPCASE "self titled" 7"
Victory Records 009 - 1992
http://www.sendspace.com/file/1e0pcl
1. Crown Of Thorns
2. Comatose

Although Snapcase just officially broke up 2 years ago they are reuniting one night for a benefit show in NYC. Here's some info copied from elsewhere:

"In celebration of the November release of The Anti-Matter Anthology, author Norman Brannon is having a release party, but rather than showing up at a local Barnes & Noble Brannon is doing something much more fitting to the book's tone -- he is setting up a benefit show.

On November 24th at the Music Hall Of Williamsburg, hardcore visionaries and progressives Snapcase, whom broke up in early 2005, will reunite for one night only. Joining them will be fellow Anti-Matter subjects 108 and Triple Threat. The show's proceeds will go to benefit Callum Robbins, son of Jawbox frontman J. Robbins. Cal Robbins was recently diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy, an incurable nerve disorder that is hugely expensive to treat.

:DETAILS:
Saturday November 24, 2007
The Music Hall of Williamsburg
66 N. 6th Street | Brooklyn, NY

A Limited Edition Presale Package will be available on September 28, allowing the first 55 people to buy their ticket alongside a stamped, numbered, and personalized copy of the The Anti-Matter Anthology at a combined reduced price of $29.99. Tickets for the general public will go on sale October 5. Complete details and presale information will be released through the Anti-Matter MySpace page: http://myspace.com/antimatterbook"

BRAILLE demo cassette

2007-09-04T19:51:00.000-04:00

This entry kind of goes along with the Knotwork post and was from the same era. Braille was a band whose demo I really enjoyed & reviewed in the second issue of Surprise Attack in ‘93 or ‘94. I only got the chance to see them once and they really delivered. They seemed like they were from the same age group as me (in high school at the time) but could actually play their instruments unlike the horrible bands I was in. They were from somewhere in the South NJ area just outside of Philly. Other than the demo and another great track featured on an amazing and diverse Food Not Bombs LP compilation by Inchworm Records from that same time, Braille didn’t have any other recorded offerings available.

If I can determine whether that comp is out of print I will most likely post it. That LP features a great lineup such as Ten Boy Summer, Swing Kids, Campaign, Indian Summer, Starkweather, Franklin, Finger Print, Braille, Half Man (I loved this band!) Premonition, Railhed, & Current. Pretty crazy comp! Anyway, I think that Braille was rather short lived which is a shame because this demo is pretty raging. It’s definitely got an early 90’s metallic hardcore vibe to it. The tempos are nice and the intensity is there. The slap bass on the instrumental before track 2 is a bit much to take and the metalzone guitar pedal sounding distortion is ever so prevalent from that era. Overall this is another gem from a local band that some of you from far away might not have ever had the chance to hear. Check it out & let me know what you think. – EMS 100%

BRAILLE "demo" Cassette
self released 1993?
http://www.sendspace.com/file/zqw9ac
1. Struggle
2. Instrumental / Torment
3. Absence

GG Allin on Springer

2007-09-01T13:43:00.000-04:00

KNOTWORK demo + 7"

2007-08-28T01:18:00.000-04:00

I finally had a chance to rip a 7” and even cracked out a new ghetto setup to transfer cassettes into mp3s. So with that said I give you KNOTWORK. Knotwork were from the surrounding area of Philadelphia known as Upper Darby. In 1993-95 I was heading down that way to catch shows very regularly. Knotwork played a handful of these and always gave an energetic, youthful set. This was the era of bands that were straight edge but had hope for changing the world and their selves for the better. Groups like Frail, Bleed, Lifetime, Policy Of Three, Iconoclast, Elements of Need, & Autumn all were doing well in the area and the first wave of Victory Records bands blowing up was starting (like Earth Crisis, Strife, and Snapcase). Shows were happening very often in the Philly area and always had a decent turn out. I always thought that Knotwork were really good but not too many people outside of the area got a chance to hear of them. Singer Jon Pepe eventually went on to play guitar in the infamous I HATE YOU. Listening back to these songs they definitely feel dated but bring back lots of good memories from many moons ago. I have included their 3 song 7” that was released on Kids Dream Records in 1995. It’s complete with construction paper layouts and all hand done cut and paste artwork that was popular for that time era. I have also included their 5 song demo cassette that came complete with a “It’s Okay Not To Drink” photocopied sticker. Musically the 7" is a bit more mature than the demo with longer guitar intros and a little more experimenting vocally. Overall I really enjoyed going back and hearing these again for the first time in probably 10 years. Wonder what some of these guys are up to these days?

http://www.sendspace.com/file/sbpcrr

KNOTWORK “self titled” 7” (recorded at Why Me? Studios)
1995 Kids Dream Records 003
1. Distance
2. My room
3. When the Bough Breaks

KNOTWORK “demo” Cassette
Self Released 1994ish?
1. All Fall Down
2. Far Too Long
3. This Time
4. Fuck Your Drugs
5. Identity

KINGHORSE "s/t" & "too far gone" CDs

2007-08-10T01:04:00.003-04:00

In the late 80s and early 90s I was an avid reader of Thrasher magazine / Puszone (Artist Pushead’s feature column). For a few months I kept seeing these ads for a new Caroline release. The album was Kinghorse “self titled”. I was a little unsure of what to think of the ad for this unknown band (to me at least), but some things just kept pulling me towards wanting to check them out.

1. The cover art was drawn by none other than the legendary Pushead.
2. One of the band members was wearing a Bad Brains shirt in the group shot. Back then this was enough to make me want to buy a record.
3. The album was produced by Glen Danzig.

Even with all of these traits combined I was still hesitant. I’m still not sure why, probably because I was a broke ass little skate punk. Then a new skate video from Plan B Skateboards or maybe it was Girl Skateboards… either way the video came out and featured some amazing aggro segments of gnarly street skating accompanied by this raging unknown band. The songs fit the intense skating so well it made the video so much better and made me want to go wild in the streets “Thrashin” style. I checked the credits and wouldn’t you know it, it was Kinghorse. I was fucking stoked – time to go buy the CD. Their style of raw, balls out twist on punk, hardcore, and metal was right up my alley. All 4 members of this band have super strong elements that make them truly unique and powerful. Kinghorse started after Louisville band Maurice (who toured with Samhain) split up. 2 members went into Kinghorse and 2 other started the also legendary Slint.

I used to play this CD all of the time while I was on tour but no one else in the van ever appreciated it. In fact it got to the point where they thought I would just play it to drive everyone nuts but in truth I just loved it so much. It even came up as a discussion that I would no longer be allowed to play it in the van, Kinghorse was about to get vetoed which is just unacceptable. The tempo changes, hanging riffs, and dynamic vocals just made me want to go over the edge. But I guess the crazy vocals were a bit much for some people. Which ironically enough, I was in Brother’s Keeper who was notorious for our vocals, and no one in my band could stomach Kinghorse so go figure!?

Many years later I Stand Alone fanzine ran a very lengthy and in-depth interview with singer Sean. It was so long it spread through 2 issues. Adele I Stand Alone too had a soft spot for this Louisville, KY band. Louisville was one of those scenes were local bands could draw 500-1200 people a show and had a wide variety of talent & style unheard of throughout the rest of the US. Kinghorse were no different. Reading the interview it turns out that Danzig didn’t really have shit to do with producing their album, and I think he might have even chose the cover art more so than the band themselves. Kind of a bum out but interesting none the less. The band basically seemed like they weren’t into the album and the way it came out. Well I for one think it’s a great gem that more people should get into and give a chance. I purchased this CD probably in 1991 (I even have the CD longbox that they used to package CDs in back then – some of you younger whippersnappers will have no clue as to what I’m talking about) and it is still in heavy, heavy rotation here. I’ve always wanted to obtain a copy of it on LP but it’s been rather elusive so far. Turns out they had two 7” releases as well. After the Caroline CD local KY label Slamdek issued “Too Far Gone” which is basically all of their unreleased work from 1988-92. I have included both for your enjoyment as I believe both are out of print. I’m curious to hear some feedback on these guys, I’m guessing it’s not everyone’s cup of tea but that’s okay because I’ll always be a diehard listener. It seems that was always the case for Kinghorse, just never really fitting in anywhere in particular. This is probably why I like them so much myself. If I could get my hands on a Kinghorse shirt, now that would be something else! It's kind of crazy when you look back and think "Shit, I've been listening to this record for 15+ years!"

12 unreleased MP3s & homage to the band site: http://www.louisvillehardcore.com/bands/kinghorse/
Check out the Kinghorse fan myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/kinghorse502
Bio info here: http://history.louisvillehardcore.com/index.php?title=Kinghorse

KINGHORSE "self titled" LP/CD
1990 Caroline Records - Recorded by Steve Ett @ Chung King NYC
http://www.sendspace.com/file/v5y3my

KINGHORSE "too far gone" CD (unreleased material from 88-92)
1994 Slamdek Records
http://www.sendspace.com/file/qbknfz

KINGHORSE "brother doubt" video

2007-08-08T03:18:00.000-04:00

One of my top, favorite bands EVER...
unfortunately, everyone I have ever played them for seems to not agree. Oh well, I still think they were amazing... more to come on Kinghorse.

BROTHER'S KEEPER "I Shot JFK" video

2007-08-02T02:10:00.000-04:00

Filmed in 2000 this was Doug from High Roller studios first video that wasn't live footage from a show. It was fun to make. We filmed all of the newspaper scenes at the Erie Daily Times at about 2am. We brought all of the night crew a bunch of pizzas and sodas and they let us go at it in the plant. The noise of the machines was deafening and having a handful of salt of the earth types staring at you while you're acting like you're playing music was... well, rather strange. But fuck it, it was fun and we were always up for new experiences. Our one guitarist Scott almost didn't make it into the video. He was flying in that day from a trip to CA I think. (mind you this was before the whole planet owned cell phones) So we really had no idea how to let him know when or where to be as a lot of this was "on the fly" so to speak. Almost at the end of the shoot Scott just comes strolling in wearing his "uniform", puts his guitar case down, opens it up, and says "let's do this". It was very comical at around 3am and luckily enough for him, he's in the video because it would have been weird otherwise. Some of the other scenes were shot in NJ and you might recognize one of the secret service agents as none other than lead vocalist Anderson B. from Another Victim / The Promise. I know this video might be a bum out because it's not a tale of a guy whose heart was broken and he was stabbed in the back by a female, and there's no gratuitous mosh shots either. But hey, we tried.

Recently I've been helping a friend update a BROTHER'S KEEPER MYSPACE page that he had started awhile back. It features a lot of stuff if you'd care to check it out.

More SPUDMONSTERS & BIOHAZARD

2007-07-31T02:26:00.000-04:00

The response to the Spudmonsters post was awesome! Seems like Coregasm was able to turn a lot of new listeners on to them. I was even able to get my hands on their in between full length "No Guarantees" so I'm gonna share that with you clowns since someone was awesome enough to share it with me. Many of you were emailing me desperately seeking this gem. The wait is over my friends.

SPUDMONSTERS "No Guarantees" 1995 Massacre Records
http://www.sendspace.com/file/9ve3jx

Also some other friends were awesome enough to share with me some more Biohazard "bonus" tracks. One of which is a sweet Cro-Mags cover that was featured on a version of "Uncivilization" that also had the "Sex & Violence" cover. I just pulled out my copy of this CD (sans bonus tracks) and for some weird pack rat reason I always keep my receipts underneath the CD tray... anyway check out the date of when I picked this record up. Weird. I think later that night we just didn't really know what to do with ourselves as my head was still spinning from the events of that day. My band was actually just about to head from Erie to Manhattan to record some new stuff in the city that day.

BIOHAZARD "Life of my Own" (Cro-mags cover) - Bonus tracks from "Uncivilization"
http://www.sendspace.com/file/9rbspy

BIOHAZARD cover tracks

2007-07-12T01:36:00.000-04:00

It's no secret that I'm a huge Biohazard listener. I don't have "Down For Life" tattooed across my stomach for nothing. Here's a couple rarities that I'm guessing not too many people have. These were "B-sides" on a few singles released to help promote the awesome "New World Disorder" release back in 1999. First is the single for the track "Resist" followed by a single for "Switchback". I only included the cover songs from the singles because if you don't have the "New World Disorder" CD i dont really want you reading my blog anymore. Go away.

BIOHAZARD "Resist" promo CD single
http://www.sendspace.com/file/mo89j8
1. "Sex And Violence" (Carnivore)
2. "Friend or Foe" (Negative Approach)

BIOHAZARD "Switchback" promo CD single
http://www.sendspace.com/file/vn4zns
1. "Power" (Agnostic Front)
2. "Not Worth Shit" (Rest In Pieces)

SPUDMONSTERS

2007-07-06T02:15:00.001-04:00

I can vividly remember my first trip to Erie. It was my senior year of high school (94/95) and I had been corresponding with my friend Mike Ski from Sumthin To Prove. He had just started a new band (Brother’s Keeper) and told us to drive up for a show. The drive was about 5 and a half hours and I remember rolling into Erie thinking “What the fuck happened to this place?”

There were 2 shows happening that day. First was an all ages matinée which featured Strike Three, Wargasm, Brother’s Keeper (pretty much still Sumthin To Prove at this point), and Spudmonsters. Later that night was a 21+ show featuring all of the bands minus Strike Three. I had never heard of Spudmonsters and the name left me not expecting much. Boy was I in for a shock.

The night provided many insane experiences that definitely led me to eventually move up here to Erie, PA. The weekend consisted of tattoos, hangouts and meeting tons of straight edge hardcore kids (who all snuck in for the 21+ show), fistfights and people getting smashed in the face, low riders rollin' on 3 wheels, and the highly energetic lead singer of the Spudmonsters ordering the crowd to demolish the place. People were swinging from the rafters, ceiling tiles were being ripped down and smashed over people’s heads, and pitchers of beer were going everywhere. I loved every minute of it. The Spudmonsters put on an amazing show and the amount of energy the entire band put forth was more than impressive. To my knowledge they were really only known in Cleveland and surrounding areas, and were huge in Europe. I think the poor name and lack of US touring / CD distribution might have discouraged kids from checking them out and man did a lot of people miss out.

The band has a heavy mix of Cro-Mags, M.O.D., meets early Biohazard influence to them. In fact many different members of the Spudmonsters went on to play in bands such as: Run Devil Run, Biohazard, Pro-Pain, Bloodclot, Among Thieves, FVK, & Sons of War. I’m not really sure what led to the demise of the Spuds but I still regularly listen to their CDs. I had been planning on posting these albums now for awhile. Coincidentally enough, just last weekend during a trip to a Cleveland Indians game a tattooed gentleman wearing a Ringworm jersey walked up to me outside asking me if I had any tickets for sale. After getting a good look at each other and realizing we knew each other it was none other than Don Foose singer of the Spudmonsters. It was pretty funny running into him there. Spudmonsters just did a reunion show in May 2007 and due to my wedding and obligations I wasn’t able to make it. I heard it was amazing though.

I encourage all of you to check out these two albums featured from here. The “STOP THE MADNESS” + “ACE OF SPADES” ep were released in 1994 (recorded at Mars Studio) and have a great early 90s crossover vibe to them. I can vividly remember certain tracks from this album when I first saw them. “Garbage Night”, “Beer”, & “Death Sucks” are all stand out tracks. There’s even a cover of “Ace of Spades (bio monster remix)” Featuring Evan and Billy from Biohazard singing with them. The “MOMENT OF TRUTH” CD released in 1997 (recorded at Normandy Sound) has a bit more of a modern sound to it with a fabulous Biohazard meets Bad Brains vibe to it completed with a cover of “Right Brigade”. The opening track “Isolation” will immediately want to make you jump through a wall its so balls out. "In Check" & "100%" are other favorites of mine. Tons of crew chant backups and amazing guitar riffs make this album an unfortunately unknown gem. Enjoy.

SPUDMONSTERS "Moment of Truth" CD (1997 Century Media)
http://www.sendspace.com/file/lnwz9i

SPUDMONSTERS "Stop the Madness + Ace of Spades EP" (1994 Massacre Records)
http://www.sendspace.com/file/36tv54

FACE VALUE "The Price of Maturity"

2007-06-10T23:44:00.000-04:00

Yeah yeah, everyone is writing and saying “are you ever going to update Coregasm again?” Well the answer is yes. I went off and did the whole wedding / honeymoon thing for most of May and now I’m home trying to get caught up on life after a killer cruise. So that’s my excuse.

I played my first real show in July of 1995 with Brother’s Keeper. Location: The Grog Shop in Cleveland, OH. Other bands on the show: Ignite, One Life Crew, Integrity. Yeah, quite an intimidating first show for an 18 year old kid. Regardless I went out there and did my thing and all of the skinheads moshed it up for our blend of new school hardcore and I’m sure my pants were way too big for me. Sad thing is that I probably actually wear that size now. Ignite ended up never showing up for whatever reason so on went One Life Crew (pre-Crime Ridden Society) and kids went nuts and it was so cool hearing the Meanstreak/Confront songs I was familiar with. I remember after they played I was still coming down off of the buzz from playing my first real show let alone that it was with one of my favorite bands Integrity. I was sitting outside on the curb as I could hear the sounds of Integrity’s set beginning. Not too long after they started the whole club started pouring out onto the street gagging and coughing. Apparently someone had pepper sprayed the whole room. I was fortunate to be standing outside and didn’t have to deal with any of the consequences. The gossip was that it was Tony Erba who sprayed the crowd that night. Whether that’s true or not, I don’t know. I just found it to be amusing. You could never really tell with any of the Cleveland guys whether or not they were friends or enemies because they all kind of treated each other like both. Either way, that night was just the start of many amusing and exciting nights spent in Cleveland.

I first heard Face Value on Victory Records Only the Strong 1990 7”/CD and thought they were pretty good. It wasn’t until I picked up “The Price of Maturity” CD that they recorded in 1991 at Mars Studios that I really started liking them. The CD was fast, aggressive, yet still kind of had a posi feel to it and a lot of heavy moshy sing along parts. Tony Erba had a very memorable voice and I felt like the songs were memorable musically and lyrically. Here’s the full length in it’s entirety for you to enjoy. There's 22 tracks!
PS: Check out the cover art done by the Human Furnace of Ringworm fame.

FACE VALUE "The Price of Maturity"
released on Conversion Records (CR12) 1991
http://www.sendspace.com/file/hny0m5

JUDGE "Where It Went" video

2007-05-02T03:55:00.001-04:00

DMIZE "Backlash" CD

2007-04-08T02:28:00.000-04:00

This is for anyone who has never heard these classic NYHC tracks featuring members who later went on to be in Madball & 25 Ta Life. There are a few different recordings featured here that are quite different but uniquely amazing in their own ways. I first heard Dmize from their track "Soul Search" featured on the East Coast Assault compilation. It took me a few years to track down this CD bootleg released by the infamous Lost & Found Records but I knew that I had to have it.

Aversionline.com did a write up on Dmize a few years back so I'm not going to comment much, I just wanted to make it available to true fans of historic heavy hardcore. Definitely read Andrew's post on the record and check out the comments because a few of the band members even contributed some info. CLICK HERE TO READ AVERSIONLINE

DMIZE "Backlash" CD bootlegged by Lost & Found Records
http://www.sendspace.com/file/6gqec0
1. Intro
2. Backlash
3. Feeling Inside
4. Nation
5. Us
6. No Way Out
7. Soul Search
8. The Dawn
9. Misery
10. Trapped
11. From Reality
12. Short End

SLUGFEST video

2007-03-08T00:46:00.000-05:00

Sick of it All intro into a Judge song? Nice...

Live at the Scrapyard in Buffalo, NY. June 6, 1992. Posted by Larry Ransom.

DISSOLVE "s/t" 7"

2007-02-11T01:29:00.000-05:00

If you liked the Dissolve tracks on the “Over the Edge” CD compilation I posted a few weeks back look no further as I have more treats for you. This Poughkeepsie, NY band made some pretty interesting music. The music had weird elements, influences, and time signatures not unlike Deadguy / Kiss It Goodbye mixed with some Bloodlet and at times they even remind me of a more metallic Econochrist for some weird reason... but the vocal delivery was totally different than those bands. (I know people are going to hate those comparisons). It would be an understatement to say that the raw passion and emotion that singer Paul Thorstenson puts forth was intense. I liked the songs on the “Over the Edge” comp so much that right after I got that CD I sought out their 2 song 7” that was also released on Endless Fight Records around 1994. The mp3s are a little rough sounding but both songs have some amazing parts to them that make me want to smash through my desk and stand up just giving the middle finger to any person walking past my window. Listen to the lyrics on “Sandcastle”, they’re right up my alley.

Dissolve started in 1991 and never really officially broke up. According to their myspace bio they recorded an album entitled “Caveman of the Future” scheduled to be released on MIA records. If any of you were around at that time you’ll remember that the same label featured Candiria, Darkest Hour, and Disassociate and that the label abruptly folded and ceased all operations, leaving all of the bands hanging out to dry. The Dissolve album was sadly never released. (Man I’d love to get my hands on that!). “As fate would have it, this never happened. Day jobs, distance, and side projects began to take precedence resulting in a hiatus from touring for Dissolve. While the band never broke up, gigs tailed off and performing stopped. The band went into a kind of hibernation.” They did play a show in 2004 & another one in 2005.

Nevertheless check out their 1994 7” and enjoy it. I feel that their sound has stood the test of time and if they would have had the right label support and proper releases throughout their existence plenty of more people would know their name.

DISSOLVE 7" on Endless Fight Records
http://www.sendspace.com/file/eyh4bh
1. Sandblaster
2. Gabriel's Wrench

DISSOLVE on Myspace also check out their video for "Graverobber" live in Massachusetts in 2000. Click here for the video.

ONE KING DOWN "Absolve" CDep

2007-02-09T00:18:00.000-05:00

One King Down was well known for their "Bloodlust Revenge" CD released on Equal Vision Records in 1997 but before that CD was the hard to find "Absolve" EP. No strangers to different line ups this CD features their 1st of 3 singers featured on recordings. Absolve kicks in hard with their signature "ONE KING DOWN!!!" sing along & set opener.

Many people will remember OKD more so for their touring and performances with Rob Fusco on vocals but this EP is still a great listen. However Bill Brown still had a strong presence on this CD giving One King Down an even harder, tough edge to their sound. It's a nice mix of contemporaries of the time like Victory Records all stars Snapcase & Earth Crisis mixed with a good amount of influences from the Albany / Troy hardcore scene for instance local heroes Stigmata.

The core of the band, brothers Bill & Michael Scoville on guitar and bass, Derrick VanWie on drums and Matt Wood on 2nd guitar were all highly proficient players of their instruments. I loved that OKD weren't afraid to slow things down and have the songs kind of plod along in a heavy rocked out fashion. I'm a sucker for mid tempo songs. Listen to some of those guitar riffs and transitions. Not too bad considering how young they were at the time.

I'm not really sure why vocalist Bill Brown left after this EP but they definitely went on to do a lot more down the road. In 1997 One King Down & Brother's Keeper did a full US tour together and I got to know them pretty well. We definitely had a good time on the road together even if we did hide cups full of human feces inside their van only to awaken the next day to shit smeared all over our front window, windshield wipers, and underneath the door handles. It was gnarly... Unfortunately at one point in the tour I had to fly home due to a death in the family. Mike from OKD was nice enough to learn 7 BK songs on bass in one night and filled in for a few dates until I flew back out and caught up with the guys.

It was a 5 week full US tour and I remember after our last show which was in Pittsburgh, PA, OKD were going to come back to Erie and crash at my apartment before heading back to Albany. Once we arrived home I quickly realized that my place had been broken into while we were on tour and it had been burglarized. OKD rolled up and saw me outside with the police and we're just kind of like "What the fuck happened?" The bastards stole my original nintendo but didn't take the power adapter, idiots! Oh well, such is life.

Derrick VanWie went on to play drums in The Promise for many years, Mike Scoville even got a chance to audition for the Foo Fighters at one point, Rob Fusco has been seen wearing scarves while playing chess at shows and can be found singing for Most Precious Blood these days, and some of the OKD crew have been working hard at Equal Vision Records for many years now.

ONE KING DOWN "Absolve" CD TRK 003
released on Trainwreck Records in 1995, recorded in Aug '94 @ Max Trax Studios.
http://www.sendspace.com/file/hqls59

1. Nine Eyes
2. Bleeding
3. Reawakened
4. The Killing Fields

One King Down & Brother's Keeper in front of my apt in Erie, PA 1997.

LEEWAY "Kingpin" video

2007-02-05T00:10:00.000-05:00

Old INTEGRITY photo

2007-01-26T04:02:00.000-05:00

Small Break

2007-01-16T01:53:00.000-05:00

Coregasm will most likely be a ghost town until March. I'm in the process of buying my first home and moving back to Erie, PA. So the rest of Jan & Feb will be occupied with all of that shizzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.... stay tuned though and browse some of the older posts if you haven't all ready. Cheers. - EMS

DOG EAT DOG "funnel king"

2006-12-29T17:09:00.000-05:00

HAPPY NEW YEARS EVERYONE. R.I.P. Two Thousand & Sick. Be safe and have fun. Here's a little song to end the year with. Shit is hard yo. - EMS

DOG EAT DOG - "FUNNEL KING"
http://www.sendspace.com/file/y1fhti
taken from their 1994 CD "All Boro Kings" on Roadrunner Records

Wake up Monday nothing new
Weekend has caught up with you
Lie in bed hold your head
Pray to god you ain't dead
Alarm clock rings out like a bell
Start this day a living hell
Take a breath and what's that smell?
Well it smells like shit... but you can't tell

Just like you - always there
Just like you - never care
Just like you - head's in a sling
Just like you - the Funnel King

Puke it out think its gone
But you're in for a marathon
Lips are blue eyes are gone
Grab the rim and just hold on
This is like a weekly thing
'Cause you are the Funnel King
OK now but you ain't done...
Just wait until next Monday comes
Knock knock knockin' at your door
Never ever gonna drink that filthy beer no more

v/a OVER THE EDGE volume 1

2006-12-25T03:37:00.000-05:00

The value of a good compilation these days is pretty much non-existent. I don’t know if it’s just because every joker out there tried to put one out & oversaturated the scene with sub par bands, or the fact that labels can now afford to give away free samplers these days. Either way, you just don’t really see much focus on them like there was a decade ago. Compilations like “East Vs. West”, “Voice of the Voiceless”, “NYC The Way It Was”, “Only the Strong”, “Where the Wild Things Are”, “East Coast Assault”, “In Our Blood”, and so on and so forth… At the time when every kid on the corner didn’t have a record label, t-shirt company, webzine, or a band that went straight to releasing full length records; bands were struggling to be heard. Hardcore kids didn’t really have the kind of money they do now or the readily available resources there are present day. A good compilation was an amazing way to hear so many new bands. I would sit there and track down releases from just about every band on the comps. I’d order 7”s or demos, anything I could find. It was just a great resource for up and coming bands. Normally a few bands on a comp from that time would go on to do bigger and better things. It’s a shame such a great avenue for promoting new music has gone the wayside for myspace music players.

In 1993 a well known but troubled label called Endless Fight released a 14 song compilation with some of the groups that were playing frequently along the Northern East Coast of the US. You would have either seen their name in a zine or read it on a flyer at one time or another. Many releases from this label were pretty damn solid but I believe that it eventually folded in on itself for reasons that I can’t really remember. Regardless Vol 1 of this compilation turned me on to many great New England and other area new comers.

A few standout tracks would be; Shift who played a nice rock influenced brand of Quicksandy hardcore whose female drummer went on to play in Hole & Motley Crue I think. Their track is actually one of their heavier ones from their back catalog as it wasn’t too often you would hear them bust out a break down like in the middle of this track. Jasta 14 features a very young Jamey Hatebreed on vocals (or as you could have guess, Jamey Jasta). This was a great track and I’m regretting not being able to locate my Jasta 14 demo these days. Overcast as you know went on to turn a lot of heads with their early brand of metallic hardcore. Mayday as well was a great sample of a band ahead of their time. The Converge track is from early on and you can hear a big difference in their approach. Vocally Mr. Bannon seems to be going for a bit more of a Starkweather feel. Dive would round out this comp with more of their brutal take on music. All in all this compilation served its purpose by turning this young kid onto many new and exciting bands of this time.

v/a OVER THE EDGE volume 1
Released 1993 by Endless Fight Records EFR 001 CD
http://www.sendspace.com/file/b63axk

Tracks:
1. Shift - No Avail
2. Jasta 14 - Broken Records
3. Overcast - As a Whole
4. Mayday - Arcane Eye
5. Time's Expired - Total Awareness
6. Malachi Krunch - I'm De Kat
7. Dissolve – Wire
8. Dissolve – Ambition
9. Frostbite – Traditions
10. Alert – Penance (That Song)
11. Converge – Divinity
12. Age of Reason – Portrait
13. In-Line – I Survive
14. Dive – Now They Run / The Water Drove Her Crazy

YOUTH OF TODAY "no more" VIDEO

2006-12-23T14:29:00.000-05:00

NYHC on Donahue in 1986

2006-12-21T00:57:00.000-05:00

SHELTER & 108 flyer

2006-12-20T01:37:00.000-05:00

05-15-1993

This was the last show at the Reading, PA location of the Unisound which was pretty much the end of an era for me as I'm sure many others. I got to see so many amazing shows at that venue. Krishna Consciousness was very present at this show with the usual drum circle before Shelter. Every band was awesome that night including the very energetic and young Prema. Note that Forethought is misspelled on the flyer. Kinda funny since they played the Unisound quite frequently. No Drugs... No Alcohol... No Prejudice.

BURST OF SILENCE "Thicker Than Blood" 7"

2006-12-12T03:21:00.000-05:00

BURST OF SILENCE were a straight edge hardcore band from Ontario, Canada. Their songs covered pretty much the standard fare for the time. On this album it was; 1. "Hold True" - staying true to the edge, 2. "Thicker Than Blood" - unity, 3. "I Refuse" - smoking stinks, and 4. "Senseless" - vegetarianism / animal rights. Musically this is a lot like their peers of the time - Chokehold, Earth Crisis, & Integrity. Not too shabby.

BURST OF SILENCE "Thicker Than Blood" 7"
Released on Stability Records (SR #001) and was recorded in Fall of 1993.
http://www.sendspace.com/file/0mf9ld
1. Hold True
2. Thicker Than Blood
3. I Refuse
4. Senseless

KILLING TIME writeup in Puszone

2006-12-08T04:14:00.000-05:00

In the late 1980s artist extraordinaire Pushead had his own column in Thrasher magazine. Puszone covered a good bit of NYHC over it's existence. I used to read about all of these bands very intently and I would even cut out every picture of them and hang them on my wall. Well, somehow I have managed to hold on to some of my clippings for a good 15+ years and here's a small sample of what has been sitting in my "vault". This is a brief write up about one of the many legendary albums to come out of the NYHC scene during this era. The band was KILLING TIME and the album was "Brightside" which was released on In Effect Records around 1989.

Half page advertisement featured in the same issue:

NO ESCAPE "Just Accept It" CD

2006-11-28T20:42:00.000-05:00

I first heard NO ESCAPE on their split 7" w/ TURNING POINT. I immediately feel in love with both bands. NO ESCAPE were a great band from the historic early 90s hardcore scene of New Jersey. No Escape had a cool slowed down vibe to them as opposed to many of the bands playing circle pit anthems of that time frame. Vocalist Tim Singer later went on to front the slightly more chaotic group known as Kiss It Goodbye. I believe that guitarist Steve Crudello also did his time in Turning Point. This CD was released on the now defunct Overkill Records from Seattle WA. It was recorded in March of 1993 at Why Me? Studios. The bonus demo tracks are from 1990.

NO ESCAPE "Just Accept It" CD + bonus demo tracks
http://www.sendspace.com/file/pslehq
1. Falling
2. Just Accept It
3. Bed of Nails
4. Left Hanging
5. No Question
6. Time Bomb
7. Downtime
8. Framework
9. Guilty
10. No
***BONUS - Demo 1990***
11. Falling
12. Thread
13. Blind
14. Search
15. Guilty

-----------------------------------------------------
UPDATE: xYosefx requested that I put up scans of the full Gatekeeper Demo that was posted last April. So here you go man... hope they are good enough.
Insert side 1 - Insert side 2

ARMS LENGTH "s/t" 7"

2006-11-23T00:28:00.000-05:00

The Cleveland, Ohio hardcore scene has spawned many heavy and dark hardcore bands through out its history. One not too heard of is Arms Length who hold their own with the scenes past. Arms Length have more of a fast old school feel to it along the lines of Confront more so than the metallic leanings of Integrity. However I'm sure they all shared the stage at one time or a nother.

After I dug this out of my collection I was reading the liner notes and was surprised to see that the typesetting and layout was done by none other than John McKaig which I thought was pretty cool (although John there's a lot of typos in the lyrics haha j/k). The cover and band logo's font definitely do remind me of my old 11x17" Attack & Answer fanzine that McKaig did back then. Another Syracuse connection to this release is that it was put out on Shane Durgee's (singer Framework, Gatekeeper, etc...) label Reflection Records (not to be confused with the current Reflections Records from the Netherlands). The 7" was recorded back in 1992 and some liner notes mention that there were 10 tracks recorded in all and that the other 6 were available on a cassette directly from the band. That would have been cool to check out. I'm sure there's only a real limited amount of those around. Anyway, if you like the history and sound of the Cleveland hardcore scene over the past 20+ years hopefully you'll enjoy this as well.

"Roaming down the street. There's a corpse lying in front of me. A bullet in his head and blood dripping from his eyes. Self-inflicted death - a suicide. What justifies this action? Why did he have to die?" - Realm of Hatred

ARMS LENGTH "s/t" 7" recorded May of 1992 in Canton, OH.
Released on Reflection Records.
http://www.sendspace.com/file/0xj1h7
1. Intro / Your Control
2. Blood From Stone
3. Realm of Hatred
4. Last Draw

SOULSTICE "Dark Hour" 7"

2006-11-22T03:11:00.000-05:00

More syracuse vegan straight edge coming at you in coregasm. There seems to be no shortage of this stuff in my collection which some people will love and others will hate. This '90s hardcore band had everything going for them; they were from syracuse, had the same drummer that displayed his amazing skills in Green Rage, Guav the straight edge weapon did their logo, and Joel Jordan did their 7" layout. This 3 song 7" was recorded at Penguin Studios in January of 1994. I think it took forever to actually come out and somehow i scored one on red vinyl. Check out those freaking dive bombs in EVERY song! The band later went on to release a CD on Lifeforce records and you can still find it at Very Distro for only $4.99.

SOULSTICE "Dark Hour" 7"
Released on Scorched Earth (Stanton, NJ) in 1994
http://www.sendspace.com/file/wmjosy
1. Turn Away
2. Blind
3. Dark Hour

BK / OKD / DOS flyer

2006-11-22T03:04:00.000-05:00

BLUDGEON "Body Lure" 7"

2006-11-20T03:18:00.000-05:00

It bums me out whenever I go to rip a 7" that I was in the mood to put up on here, and then as I'm listening to it, it starts skipping. Therefore ruining my chances of putting it into MP3 format. This happened twice tonight, first with the Falling Down 7" (Pre-Day of Suffering) and Chicago's Everlast 7" (not Whitey Ford the rapper). Oh well, life goes on...

So I decided to settle on this 2 songer. I normally can remember a lot about bands and when or why I bought their releases. This 7" is not the case thought. I think the only reason I mail-ordered this back in the day was for 2 reasons; 1. they were a straight edge band and 2. its from the same label that put out a pretty kick ass 7" comp with Integrity / Catharsis / Backlash / & Congress (which will eventually be on here) .

I believe that Bludgeon was a band from the Reno, NV area. They have that whole evil straight edge thing going on that was big for a few years around this time. I mean hell, they thank "Satan and... the Straight Edge!" The 7" is also complete with a Star Wars sample which will also show you the era it was from. For some reason Star Wars was huge with the Straight Edge scene and then so was Calvin and Hobes. Why? I have no fucking clue. Anyway these guys were definitely influenced by the likes of Integrity but pulled off more with the skills of Chokehold. The 7" says it's from a pressing of 200 (mine is stamped 092) and is on clear vinyl. So I don't know if that means there were only 200 pressed all together or if that only indicates the colored vinyl. Either way I wouldn't expect to find this anywhere soon so check out the mp3s and maybe you'll like it.

BLUDGEON "Body Lure" 7"
Released 1994 on Area 51 Records from Reno, NV.
http://www.sendspace.com/file/wgls6c
1. Body Lure
2. Darkside

HAPPY BIRTHDAY COREGASM!!!

2006-11-16T02:25:00.000-05:00

As of today Coregasm is officially 1 year old. It’s crazy to think that 365 ¼ days ago was my first post about Disembodied. We’ve accomplished a little bit in spotlighting some obscure gems (in my opinion) but I still have A LOT of ground to cover. I still have a stack of about seventy five 7”s sitting beside my turntable waiting to be put into mp3 form for your enjoyment. I have boxes of demo tapes that need to be dusted off and popped up on here (although my cassette deck just crapped out on me). So yeah, 1 year is over with but there is still so much good stuff to share and talk about. So here’s to the future! As a little token of appreciation I am going to give you guys all something that will hopefully amuse you…

At the end of the 80’s I had found myself immersed in the skate boarding scene and punk rock. I thought it was the greatest thing ever. In 1990 I started to have the notions of wanting to be in a band so me and a few buddies of mine all got instruments. I got a guitar (a canary yellow Vester), my friend Chad also bought a guitar, and his brother Jakie bought a bass. We all started taking guitar lessons. I started out by taking in music from the Misfits, DRI, Danzig, Suicidal Tendencies, Minor Threat, the Sex Pistols, & Agnostic Front for my instructor who was a long haired dude named Ray and taught us out of his basement. We didn’t know anyone who played drums so somehow we ended up all pitching in and buying a drum kit off of someone for $40. It didn’t even have a bass pedal so we just used the floor tom.

The McGinty brothers and I used to steal. I mean we stole a lot. You name it, we stole it. We decided to name our band after our little crew of bandits. The name of our thieving crew was The Guild of Thieves. Hell we even stole that name from an old Apple game of the same name… you know, when computer monitors only had one color screens that were all green dots… and there we had our first band.

The first song we ever all played together was “We Bite” by the misfits followed by “Some Kind of Hate”. We would all take turns playing different instruments. We only ever went on to write 2 more songs. One of which the lyrics were all taken from a verse from the Satanic Bible (which we stole the books of) called Das Tierdrama. The other song was called “Loser” (with me laying down some sick vocals) and was our own little anti-drug manifesto. The lyrics are quite humorous to hear now. We were so pumped on it that we ran up stairs and played it for their mother who responded saying that she appreciated the sentiments but didn’t really care for the language.

The “band” later broke up when one of the brothers picked a fight with me over reasons I can’t even remember (I think I was spending more time skateboarding instead of playing with the band). It was my first full blown fist fight and it happened in the morning when we got to school. We were bashing each other around between the lockers and a huge group of kids surrounded us cheering. We proceeded to pound each other pretty good. I had to get my hand x-rayed from the fight and landed some good hits but Jakie also managed to chip one of my teeth. Unfortunately we were never really friends again but the legacy of “Loser” by The Guild of Thieves lives on.

(my general appearance at this time)

The Guild of Thieves were on this song:
EMS – vocals, Jakie McGinty - drums, Chad McGinty – guitar.
It was recorded on a boom box in their basement in 1990.

Click here to listen to "Loser"

“LOSER” by The Guild of Thieves

You’re a fucking loser and you know it’s true.
You huff gas and you like to sniff glue.
You smoke dope ‘cus you think it’s cool,
But all you are is a motherfuckin’ fool.

You’d take it up the ass just to get another hit
‘Cus you’re addicted to that motherfuckin shit.
You spent a lot of money and you kissed a lot of ass
And all you got was a bag of fucking grass.

You stupid asshole.

NO ONES HERO "no ones hero" 3rd 7"

2006-11-06T23:03:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago I was at a friends house in Erie. I looked in his closet and he had a small stack of 7"s given to him from another friend to sell on ebay. I freaked out as I pulled this gem out of the pile. You might remember NO ONES HERO from an older Coregasm post that you can hear/read by clicking here. Well this is their 3rd 7" and I was more than excited to finally hear this. I can't believe it took me over 10 years to randomly find it in my friends closet.

Check it out as it's 3 more powerful songs from this great band. The vocals are even a little bit more frantic and the kick drum just cuts through to your chest. There's some sweet grooves that remind me of some older Turmoil parts here and there and the vocals sound somewhat like the singer of Starkweather only in a full blown hardcore band. Over all a good solid release by Motherbox Records & No Ones Hero in 1996.

NO ONES HERO "s/t" 7" on Motherbox Records(#17) 1996
http://www.sendspace.com/file/l46vfo
1. Roadside
2. Car 54
3. Crow

TRUE BLUE set list from 2001

2006-10-30T02:15:00.000-05:00

TRUE BLUE were an awesome hardcore band from Europe with a great mix of The Icemen meets Bad Brains with a German vocal flair. I really enjoyed their stuff and was fortunate for my band to play with them in Europe. I also got to see them in the U.S. as well. This was their set list from one of our Euro shows together and their singer Patrick (who now runs Reaper Records out of Syracuse NY) signed it at the bottom as well as "signing" it for their drummer Rene (who is now in World Collapse).

ONLY LIVING WITNESS video

2006-10-25T20:21:00.000-04:00

I saw this video on the bands myspace page and knew I had to repost it. This MA band had such a unique sound of Kiss meets sludgy hardcore played by punk & metal dudes, it was just awesome. It just shows you that during that era you could really do whatever you wanted and all walks of the music scene would accept it. You can hear some of their MP3s on their myspace page as well. I strongly recommend it. You can also pick up the recently reissued 2 cd set on Century Media @ Surprise Attack Records Webstore.

CANON "the solution" 7" - inserts / lyrics

2006-10-24T15:55:00.000-04:00

It seems like a bunch of people were stoked I posted Canon's "The Solution" 7" awhile back. I received a request for the lyrics for those so I figured if I'm going to take the time to scan them I might as well post them for everyone. So here you go, here's the Canon 7" inserts.

Side 1 - Side 2 - Hardline Disclaimer

SHOCKWAVE pictures

2006-10-23T01:23:00.000-04:00

I was looking through some old stuff tonight and came across a handful of really old pictures of Erie's favorite Transformer / GI Joe loving hardcore group, SHOCKWAVE.

This pic is from their first show ever. It took place at the Harborcreek YMCA most likely in 1997. Their demo was all ready out at that time.

I'm pretty sure Shockwave played this show as a surprise guest. Another Victim also canceled this show because they couldn't wait one more day to kick out their bassist. It took place at IQ Records in Erie PA. Jan 3rd 1998.

Jan 3rd 1998:

This flyer is for their "Warpath" 7" / Cassette release show in Erie, PA which took place at Ace Auctioneers in Erie PA. April 4th 1998.

Pics from the release show April 4th 1998:

FEEBLE "self titled" 7"

2006-10-19T01:32:00.000-04:00

Pennsylvania's East Stroudsburg punk/hardcore band FEEBLE played a great mid nineties mix of energetic punk along the lines of Avail blended with a little bit of an Oi! flavor to it. It was upbeat and even had a bunch of quirky little lead guitar work in the songs very indicative of mid nineties punk like Lagwagon or Nofx. Their singer Jotham Oliver has a nice gruff but slightly melodic twist to his vocals giving their songs that anthemic feel to them.

Now if you didn't immediately recognize that name maybe you have heard of what he goes by in his current records, Mad Joe Black. That might ring a bell for anyone who knows of my favorite bringers of the Thug Rock BOXCUTTER as well as one of my favorite hardcore bands that have been pounding the streets lately, WISDOM IN CHAINS. He's even spent some time playing bass in OUT TO WIN. Yup, it's the same guy only a decade later. And you can definitely tell in his delivery where his current styles have come from.

There's brief explanations of the songs in the liner notes which are very reminiscent of the time. Anyone who grew up in Eastern / Central PA during the mid and early 90s hardcore scene can definitely relate to songs like "Myself":

"This was written after a couple of Nazis harassed our singer at a mall and we asked the question "Why does everyone put up with this..."

Or the obligatory song bashing hippies as in the song aptly titled "Hippies". They also have the track "No Sense" on a personal reflection about a friend who would change identities often:

"This song is about a kid we knew who convinced everybody he was for real but then became a "gangsta" followed closely by his sudden overnight change into a tie die wearing hippie." Man, Jotham really doesn't seem to be a fan of hippies huh?

After not hearing this 7" for so long I got a good chuckle out of the track "Anthem" which mind you is over 10 years old. The song goes on to talk about a kid they knew:

"We once met a kid who lied, stole, who claimed he was Mr. vegan straight edge while eating KFC & drinking Jose Cuervo he also claimed to be "Core to da bone" while lying and stealing from friends and family. This song is about him."

Ironically enough, judging by the last name in the song and the references to "Or we'll send you back to Cherry Hill" leads me to assume this song is about the same person who was one of the organizers and part of last years debacle known as Hellfest. You know, the fest which was was turned into a media seeking prostitute and canceled the week it was supposed to happen. Said person also being arrested while driving the hellfest bus around in the parking lot of the venue in protest. I guess that dude has had his share of problems throughout the years with people because not every average joe can get a whole song written about him! Did anyone actually ever get their money refunded from them for Hellfest tickets?

Anyway, this is a great 7" not only just because Mad Joe Black is still an active member of the PAHC scene, but the songs are catchy and a good listen. Did any of these other guys go on to be in other bands?

Feeble: Jotham Oliver - vocals, Mike Borrasso - guitar, Evan Ivkovich - guitar, Simon Oliver - bass, Keith Yosco - drums.

FEEBLE 7" released on Stirling Records 1996
http://www.sendspace.com/file/y4i77t
1. No Sense
2. Anthem
3. Myself
4. Hippie Song