We put out Parade Brigade Fanzine #1 in the spring of 1999. I have no idea what show we released it for, but I think it was at Manville Elks Lodge. Maybe.
Amendment 18
Demo
This band has members of a number of bands (Insted, Chorus Of Disapproval, Outspoken, etc) I had different expectations for this demo expecting more moshy stuff, but I got straight forward hardcore with interesting breakdowns. Lyrically, this isn’t as “militant,” as xChorusx was, but good all around especially “Eulogy.” I look forward to more. BW
Bane
Holding This Moment
Equal Vision Records
Bane sort of reminds me of Burn (!!!), but pretty new schoolish but still very hardcore. The singer reminds me of the singer of Absolution a bit. BW
Jello Biafra
If Evolution Is Outlawed, Only Outlaws Will Evolve
Alternative Tentacles Records
Jello returns and the usual stuff is discussed on here with some updates for the mid to late nineties. Crucial just for the information Jello talks about. BW
Botch
The Unifying Theme Of Sex, Death, and Religion
Excursion Records
Crazy noise stuff played rather tightly (most bands in this genre are too chaotic), but this is way too metal for me. This band would have been huge in 1994. Points though for covering a song from an Opera. BW
Built to Last
Self Titled
Resurrection AD Records
If you like moshy NYHC you will love this band. Kind of new school meets old school with a tolerable amount of metal that doesn’t really make it lame. Really good band to look out for. BW
Carry On
Stabbed In The Face
Jitsu Records
Carry On remind me of Insted, which means I don’t really dig this record. I think the posi core stuff has really gotten ridiculous. Seems like any band can throw out a seven inch and kids will go apeshit for it. The layout is ultra slick too. Ugh. BW
Committed
Demo
This demo features Casey Kulas from Cleveland and rocks hard. This demo reminds me of Unit Pride with hard breakdowns and great vocals that are usually lacking in most cookie cutter posi bands. Committed is now on Punk Uprisings. Look for a seven inch soon and an interview in here maybe if things go right. BW
Creed Fanzine #4
Immediately I can say that the white background needs to go. I have done that in the past and it is really annoying. Interviews here with Ten Yard Fight, Kill Your Idols, and some others. Note to fanzine author: In My Eyes DO NOT sound like Blood For Blood. Dude, where did you get that from? BW
Edge Of Quarrel Fanzine #2 and #3
Craig Edge has done it again putting out an awesome fanzine pissing off the right people and never holding back anything in his opinions on things. I especially agree with his stance on the story about a few overdoses at his college. Interviews in #2 with Iron Cross, Price Of Silence, Cro-Mags, and Minute Minder. #3 has Slapshot, Firrst Failure Fanzine, Mindsnare, Toe To Toe, Anti Heroes, Minor Threat, 7 Seconds, The Faith, SSD, and Strife. BW
Distant Reach Fanzine #1
Good fanzine out of Canada featuring Saves The Day, Ensign, and Strung Out. I see a lot of potential here. BW
Finish Line Fanzine #1
Brian from The Parting Shot and Impact Online has put out his first issue and it is really good. Really well done interviews with Floorpunch, Automatic, and Hands Tied plus lots of pictures and flyers. A lot of effort was put into this fanzine and it shows. BW
Floorpunch
Fast Times At The Jersey Shore
Equal Vision Records
Album of the year. Sixteen songs that go by in like a minute. More or less this album is the Breakdown demo done sixteen different ways. Favorites on here include Shottsie, From The Outside, and of course Let It Ride. BW
The Punch is back. It’s been a long time since Division One Champs, which I thought was kind of sub par, and it was well worth the wait as Floorpunch release their best material so far. Sixteen songs and all of them are great with no filler. Lyrics range from the Duncan Barlow incident or Atlantic City. Commence moshing. John
Full Speed Ahead
The First Two Years
For those living under a rock, Full Speed Ahead is one of the best bands in hardcore right now. There is only one new song to me on this tape, which is their cover of Youth Brigade’s “It’s About Time That We Had A Change.” This tape has both demos plus a live set from one of the first Full Speed Ahead shows I have missed. Do you like Black Flag? Well you’ll love this band. Seven inch on Teamwork Records in the fall. BW
Full Speed Ahead
Born & Bred
Teamwork Records
Full Speed Ahead have gotten a lot tighter and really embraced the Black Flag sound with some hints of Negative Approach. This record also has a very raw sound to it unlike most overproduced youth crew records out there. Bands should look at Full Speed Ahead as an example of what hardcore sounds like. BW
Genuine
A Bond Still Strong
Excursion Records
This came hyped up a lot by a few friends. I was expecting some kind of diehard “88” impersonation here, but what I got was even worse. Boring, annoying, Strife-core with about eight different singers. There are fifteen songs here, but somehow it is still so boring and slow. BW
Go For It! Compilation
Reflections Records
This came with the new issue of Reflections Fanzine. Strength Approach is decent, and I think Reinforce could be big in the European market. Flipping the record over gives you three songs from the excellent H-Street demo that all rock a lot! See interview in here for more information. BW
Good Clean Fun
Who Shares Win
Phyte Records
Five more songs from Good Clean Fun in the same humorous vein as the demo. The front cover is pretty funny, making fun of the pseudo hard ass looking cover to the Path Of Resistance record, but this one has teddy bears. These songs seem to remind a lot of people of Gorilla Biscuits. BW
H-Street
Demo
From Austria come H-Street with an intro, six songs, and a Project X cover. Think Chain Of Strength/Atari with lyrics about skating and The Straight Edge. The vocals on this demo rule so much, the singer sounds like he is begging for you to listen, screaming, pleading, for you to hear him. I think this band is the real deal. Another plus of this demo is they have to have a distaste for rollerbladers, which is always a plus. Good stuff with a seven inch coming soon. See interview for more details. BW
Harkonen
Hung To Dry
Excursion Records
Nine out of ten times, three song seven inches are horrible. This is not an exception. Emo/metal crossover I guess trying to sound like Converge. There are a lot of slower parts that fit in well though. This just isn’t my thing. BW
High Score
Demo
Straight out of 1988 come High Score from Europe. This band would have fit in really well on The Way It Is. Reminds me of Side By Side, but does not remind me of Infest as some have said. BW
In Control Fanzine #2
Interviews with Slapshot and Uniform Choice catch my attention. The Slapshot interview is awesome! Also interviews with Up Front and Count Me Out and a feature on Friday The 13th, which is cool I guess but I am not really into horror films. A good read anyway. Old and new pictures are included including an awesome one of Steve Reddy singing for Youth Of Today. BW
Mad At The World Fanzine #1
Dan Skebra has returned to the fanzine world with the first issue of his new fanzine, which I like a lot more than his previous “Scheme” fanzine. This one has interviews with Agnostic Front, Breakdown, Slapshot, The Templars, Awkward Thought, Degenerics, and many others plus scene reports and some really good writing from Dan. BW
Mainstrike
No Passing Phase
Crucial Response Records
Europe’s finest return with a new LP that rocks! I’m no super into European bands that try too hard to be all “88” sounding, but Mainstrike have always impressed me. They need to come to America. Did I mention awesome cover art? BW
Mincing Words Fanzine #13/14
Christina hits the first year mark with this one and as always it rocks. This one features pictures of Fastbreak, Ensign, and Purpose plus some personal writing. It is only a stamp so go get it! BW
Minute Minder
Self Titled
No Deal Records
I had heard Minute Minder sounded like Minor Threat, but this, much like Australian contemporaries Next Step, has a pretty melodic 7 Seconds influence to it. It’s good and plus a Straight Ahead cover makes for a good record. BW
Mosh Of Ass Fanzine #1/#2
This is a one pager done by Max from Spazz/625. Lots of demo and tape reviews mainly hardcore, grind, and thrash. I think Max has something really good going on here. This is a great idea to get the word out n up and coming bands from all over. BW
The Nerve Agents
Self Titled
Revelation Records
The Nerve Agents are a side project of Eric from Unit Pride/Redemption 87 and members of Model American. If you’re expecting this to pick up where Redemption 87 left off you are pretty close, but the Nerve Agents come off as harder and more aggressive than Redemption 87. I hear bits and pieces of Bad Brains, Negative Approach, Cro-Mags, etc, but with more of a west coast flavor. The lyrics are very pointed and angry, which is a rarity amidst all the boring rhetoric most bands resort to and the cover is awesome. Don’t pass this up. John
Next Step
Time To Speak Up
GPO Records
Holy 7 Seconds Batman! Next Step come from Australia with a very 7 Seconds influenced sound. Six songs which, for the most part, are great. They have a demo too, which is really good also. BW
97a
It’s In Our Power
Teamwork Records
Finally after much delay 97a have returned with what shows much promise for the future. One new song with some really right on lyrics plus two redone from earlier recordings. This are only a thousand of these, so get it while you can! BW
One Sided War
The Sum Of Days
Ambassador Records
Obviously, this band will be popular simply because of the people involved. The idea of Matt Warnke and members of Citizens Arrest doing a band is very intriguing, but I think this band has a lot more to offer than just ex member credentials. One Sided War play fast, clean, hardcore with enough heart to make it truly unique. This one’s too good to give away…you’ll have to hear it yourself. John
Parting Shot
Sampler Tape
Is this the same band? This is a million times better than their demo. The first demo had a Cornerstone feel to it, but was lacking on some songs. These two songs have more of a Beyond/Moondog feel to them, which was surprising and very welcomed. This stands out a lot because of this maturity. Hell, I am just glad it isn’t another posicore demo. BW
Rancor
Never Hold Back
Youngblood Records
Rancor have totally improved on what was already really good with this new record. Andy’s vocals sound a lot better on here, but are mixed kind of weird. The music is a lot tighter and mature sounding, sort of reminding me of the last Mouthpiece seven inch. BW
Reach The Sky
Open Roads & Broken Dreams
East Coast Empire Records
Reach The Sky have gotten a lot tighter and heavier, still having a bit of a Supertouch feel. The introspective lyrics are still there, which makes for a great record and a better live band. BW
Redemption 87
All Guns Poolside
Blackout Records
Nearly two years later I think this record was worth the wait. The songs on here remind me of the sound that The Nerve Agents eventually took on, which makes more sense to me now. I haven’t stopped listening to this since it showed up a few days ago. BW
Redemption 87
Spidey Sessions
Breakout Records
This is four demo songs from before the first Redemption 87 record. This is just four songs from that LP. This band had members of Token Entry and Unit Pride and reminded me of early Youth Of Today and Circle Jerks. I don’t really think this is mandatory for anyone but big fans of this band. BW
Second Choice Fanzine #4
David has been putting these out pretty consistently lately. I wish I could get them out as quick as he does. This is reallty slick looking, but some of the layout is a big waste of space with three or four words on each page. Fuck, you should try to pack as much as possible into each page! Interview in here with Fastbreak, Avail, Speak 714, The Get Up Kids, h2o, and Nine Lives. As always this is a good read when if you don’t like the bands. BW
Self Born
Demo
One of the members of the band gave me this demo. This is okay I guess. There is kind of an Ensign vibe here, but the lyrics are pretty blah. With a little work and another release this band could be a lot better. BW
Skarhead
Kings At Crime
Victory Records
Skarhead has gotten a lot better. The DMS all star band rips out a ton of new songs plus a few from their first record. If you don’t know, Skarhead features Ezec from Crown Of Thornz and various other people from NYHC bands. While the first record reminded me of something more “old school,” this record is much more influenced by Crown Of Thornz. BW
xSpiritx Fanzine #2
Luke from Arms Reach has a new fanzine after the demise of Talk Is Cheap and it rocks. Awesome cut and paste style. Interviews with Forward Defense, Conation, The Pact, and Mugshot. Get in touch if you want this or the Arms Reach 7”. BW
Sportswear
It Runs Deep
Crucial Response Records
This band is so overhyped it is unbelievable. I don’t like “Speak Out” and I don’t like this either. Minus an extra point for thanking Tommy Hilfiger. BW
I picked up Sportswear’s “Keep It Together” seven inch and I was whisked into a world of pick slides, stage dives, and Nike wristbands. “It Runs Deep” is the follow up to “Keep It Together” and features better production and a super slick and posi layout. The music is comparable to “Speak Out” era Bold and when I say comparable, I mean the resemblance is unsettling. To top it off, the lyrics and very worn out and predictable so I guess talk really is cheap. Nevertheless, Sportswear delivers some seriously powerful hardcore in spite of their funny name. John
Straight Force Fanzine #3
I picked this up mainly because it had Ensign and Fastbreak interviews, but it also has Up Front, Tenfold, and 25 Ta Life. Fans of those bands should check this out, but there is nothing else to really make it stand out in my mind. BW
Standard Issue
As We Grow
Siton Records
This is the European pressing of the Standard Issue record. Sounds perhaps remixed, but besides some minor layout changes is the same record. Fast Wide Awake sounding hardcore plus a Crippled Youth cover. Any band that has “Youth Crew 98” on their record I have to wonder about though… BW
Stray Bullets
Self Titled
Doing It For The Kids Records
Totally awesome Boston inspired hardcore! Oh my god I wish more bands sounded like this. BW
Step Ahead
There’s Always Hope
Initforit Records
The CD went by me really fast. Kind of reminded me of Black Train Jack, but pretty blah. BW
Stormshadow
Black Power
I promised Sue I wouldn’t bash this to bits so…This record is really weird emo/swing/hardcore mix that scares the hell out of me. However, interesting lyrics and a booklet with some explanations. If you are looking for something different check this out. BW
I’m rather puzzled by this record. I’m not totally disgusted, I’m just surprised. There are definitely not interesting things going, but I wouldn’t have the slightest clue. So let’s just say it’s not Chain Of Strength. John
Time Flies
Can’t Change The Past
Teamwork Records
I did not really like their demo, but this seven inch kicks ass! Lots of octaves and creative mosh parts make this record sound fresh. Now on Indecision Records as far as I hear. BW
The Trust
Self Titled
Bridge Nine Records
Sweet Pete always talks about this band and now that I have the record I know why. Slightly melodic hardcore with some pretty original guitar work. Look for an interview in this issue (Editor’s Note: I have absolutely no recollection of even considering this). BW
