Sunday, June 26, 2011

Amenity - Forward Into the Past

Here is the Discography CD from Chula Vista hardcore band Amenity.  They appeared on the "They Don't Get Paid..." comp. I posted a while back and were a staple of the Southern California HC scene in the late 80s.  A straight edge band with posi lyrics and a healthy social conscience, musically they seem to me to straddle the line between bands like Ignition and Verbal Assault and the emergence of early 90s chugga-chugga style HC as practiced by groups like Groundwork and Chokehold.  Their "This Is Our Struggle" 7" was a mainstay on my turntable back then.  This CD, out on Vinyl Communications, includes their Eps and compilation tracks, demos and some live tunes, including cool cover songs.  The sound quality on much of this collection is lacking but the early tracks, though rough, include some great HC tunes.  The later material is more mid-paced and rocking, but still powerful and the lyrics are great.  I bet these dudes were awesome live.  It appears that they reformed a few years back to play a few shows and record new tracks but their reemergence seems to have been short lived.


Amenity - Forward Into the Past CD

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Unherd - s/t Lp

Here's another post from my neck of the woods, nearby South Carolina, USA.  Fugitive Equilibrium recently posted the 400 Day Headache comp. which features these dudes and someone in the comments requested this record, so I'm happy to share it.  Don't know much about this band, other than the fact that two members went on to form Assfactor 4.  This Unherd record, their only release besides a few compilation tracks, is some great early 90s emo-influenced hardcore.  Don't let the "E" word scare you, this record sounds like it could have come out on Very Small or Lookout Records or even Ebullition at the time.  They even do  Soup cover...  All in all, an underrated record that I happen to enjoy more than the more acclaimed Assfactor 4.  Check it out for yourself.

Unherd - s/t Lp

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Transgression - Cold World

Well, I'm back from Europe... had an amazing time and in-between museums, pubs and all the walking I was able to find a couple of record stores and score a few gems.  This week's post is one I picked up in Belgium, actually.  The band is Transgression, from Indiana.  This is their Cold World Lp, out on the great Manic Ears Records in 1988.  This band definitely had a So Cal thrash sound, though fused with elements of Mid-West HC greats Die Kreuzen.  On this record, produced by Paul Mahern of the Zero Boys, their singer reminds me a bit of Charles Maggio of Rorschach, even though they predate that band by a year or two.  Think early Rorschach meets Attitude Adjustment and you're not far off.  All of those references should have you downloading this record by now.  Transgression also has a split 7" with Apocalypse which I'll probably rip and post sometime soon...

Transgression - Cold World Lp