Chalice

Chalice fucking rules. I heard Chalice ONCE before ever getting my hands on a copy of their Deathmask Grin record released in 1999 on Takehold Records. What is great about bands like Chalice, Abnegation, Outcry, late 90s Zao, and so many others is listening to them and totally being reminded about the mid and late 90s metalcore that was totally all about looking and sounding super evil. Dudes would be playing on stage looking possessed, shit was amazing. Chalice is definitely one of those bands. Super sludgy, super heavy, and super evil sounding. What was also great about Chalice was them calling themselves Viking metal and on their Deathmask Grin record they even have a hidden track titled "Viking Way of Life" that has epic singing on it. Pretty rad. I don't know a whole lot of Chalice, like most 90s Christian hardcore bands that didn't really go anywhere, but they are totally worth owning the album. Check it out and go buy it on Amazon.com or Ebay. I think just by listening to the album you can totally hear their influences: Neurosis, Isis, Carcass, but still sticking to their hardcore roots. Very awesome stuff, especially if you're like me and are obsessed with that 90s sludgy metalcore stuff.

Deathmask Grin (1999 - Takehold Records)
Part One
Part Two
Part Three



...also, the only other recording that I know of, is a split they did with Florida's Set Apart, but I only have the Set Apart tracks that I got from Justin over at xStuck in the Pastx, an amazing blogspot. I will be posting a few releases of Set Apart in the very near future.

More Born Blind stuff

As promised, I have posted Born Blind's debut release, Pressing On, which was released as one of Facedown Records' earliest releases in 1998. Same hardcore punk sound that continued on through their next record, One for All, which I posted before. Not much more to say about Born Blind that I haven't already. For more info, check my previous post on this blog of Born Blind.

Pressing On (1998 - Facedown Records)

Outcry

More hardcore from Cleveland, OH. Outry is a band I wish I would have discovered when they were around because their music is so heavy. I think the best way to describe it is; musically it is a lot like Disembodied, and vocally it is like how Zao's Daniel Weyandt sounds on their split tracks with Training for Utopia or on their 1998 full length release Where Blood and Fire Bring Rest. Shit is so good. Not much to know about them, but there is a fan-ran MySpace page and the only recordings of them that I know of is a five song ep released in 1999 titled Hope for the Torn Heart and a split they did with Christian hardcore band Vessel. I love that chuggy 90s metalcore stuff, especially Disembodied, and this band hits the spot. I'm not sure how long Outcry was together, where all they played, but I'm glad I eventually got to hear of them.

Hope for the Torn Heart (1999 - Clenched Fist Records)

Embodyment

Arlington, Texas' Embodyment is band that changed SO MUCH, and not for the good in my opinion. Starting as a group of young teenagers in 1993, Embodyment played really technical death metal under the name Supplication. When being signed to Solid State Records in 1997, under whom they released their first full length record, Embrace the Eternal, they continued the technical hardcore/metal style, but shifted from the death metal sound. This album consisted of mostly new stuff, but did include some old material that they revamped for the new sound. I have all of their old demos and their first full length posted below, but that is all because after their first full length they became an entirely different band. They may as well have changed their name while they were at it. They changed to a more emo styled hardcore sound after the departure of their vocalist Kris McCaddon, who went on to be in not-so-good bands such as The Famine, Demon Hunter (which included a member from Focal Point), and Society's Finest. A couple other members of Embodyment too went on to join Demon Hunter, while majority of the guys went on to form The Famine after the breakup, playing music more metal-influenced. Embodyment lasted from 1993 until sometime in 2004, but real Embodyment lasted only through their Embrace the Eternal record. Thankfully, Tooth & Nail Records released a collection of Embodyment's demos from 1993-1996. Also, the only version of their song "Halo of Winter" was released on the This is Solid State: Volume One comp in 1998.

Demo Tape (1996)



Embrace the Eternal (1998 - Solid State Records)



1993-1996 (1999 - Tooth & Nail Records)

Indwelling

As promised, I've posted Indwelling, the three piece death metal act featuring three members from Overcome: Thomas Washing, Ethan Pajak, and Jason Stinson. Forming sometime in 2000, Indwelling signed to Clenched Fist Records, releasing a demo, but after some time dealing with issues with the release of their full length, headed over to Facedown Records and released And My Eye Shall Weep in 2003. They unfortunately broke up shortly after, never playing shows outside of California and Arizona I believe.

And My Eye Shall Weep (2003 - Facedown Records)

Overcome

Before I get to the bio, let me just say that anyone who loves good Christian hardcore (which mainly came from the 90s era, like most hardcore) has to know and adore Overcome. If you're ever in a hardcore band for the right reasons, it's to gain the notoriety that Overcome did. Overcome didn't have to tour a bunch and over publicize themselves to gain the HUGE impact they had on the scene, their music did it all. Besides the fact that their lyrics are intelligent and profound, their music heavy, hardcore, metal, punk all wrapped into one sound with these vocals that could last forever. I always viewed Overcome as a pretty intimidating band, never played much, I think maybe I have seen ONE Overcome shirt all these years, and I had to hear of them through word of mouth and coming across them on a comp. Below I have posted most of their records, but I have more being uploaded in the very near future which I will, of course, post on here. Before ever becoming the first band to sign with Facedown Records in the late 90s, Overcome went from Boot to Head Records where they recorded a split with No Innocent Victim and Clay, to Life Sentence Records where they released their As the Curtain Falls record, then over to Tooth & Nail Records where they recorded several records but were dropped due to not touring, then to Facedown Records where they released an ep and their last full length record. Sadly, Overcome broke up in 2000 after going on only their second, and final, tour. They did however reunite for Facedown Fest 2003, which you can see on the Facedown Fest dvd. To my knowledge, the only notable projects to come from Overcome members after the breakup was death metal project Indwelling, who signed with Clenched Fist Records but were forced to head over to Facedown Records to released their one and only record, a full length titled And My Eye Shall Weep. I will post Indwelling soon just for the sake of it being related to Overcome. Overcome is one of the few bands that will always last for years and years even after they no longer play. My band is even going to be covering Overcome's "Reconstruction" from their full length album When Beauty Dies. And if anyone has an Overcome shirt (the only one I've seen was the black tshirt with with white ink) or knows where I can gets my hands on one, please let me know.

Blessed are the Persecuted (1996 - Tooth & Nail Records)



When Beauty Dies (1997 - Tooth & Nail Records)



Immortal Until Their Work Is Done (2001 - Facedown Records)



More Than Death (2001 - Facedown Records)
Part One
Part Two

Six Feet Deep

I have always been all about Six Feet Deep because they are another one of the many amazing hardcore bands to come out of Ohio. I have both of their full length records, Struggle and Road Less Traveled and are posted below. I figured I would just post their story as said by Tom, of Six Feet Deep, on their MySpace page:

"Myk Porter, Tom Wohlfield, Matt Simmons, and Mike Shaffer were all friends and deceided to start a CLEVO-style hardcore band, I am gonna guess here and say the fall of 1991 we were asked to play a party at Cherie Szucs house and we wrote and covered enough songs to play for about an hour or so. After that we liked what we were doing and figured we would start Six Feet Deep. At this point we started playing shows nothing huge, Ymca's in Canton, small church shows, partys, whatever, We recorded our "SELF" EP demo tape at a studio in Lakewood, Ohio, I wish I could remember the name of it. We started playing concerts with mainly Crashdog, we knew these guys and kept in touch with them so when we had our demo tape they let us play some of their tour. We shopped our tape to record labels there was not much in the way of christian "punk" record labels then, this is before tooth and nail as far as we new, we got a response from Tyler Bacon of R.E.X. records who had Living Sacrifice, Believer etc. so we went for it and signed with them. About that same time, we heard of a new label out of California called Tooth and Nail records, more of a punk/hardcore label which we would have rather been on, but it was pretty much too late to even pursue this as an option. So we pressed on. It was time to write and record our first album "STRUGGLE" for REX. While we were writing we met Johnny Amansi, a good lead guitarist, and asked him to join us. We were asked by Dwid of Integrity to record a song for the "Dark Empire Strikes Back", Cleveland Hardcore compilation CD. We recorded Angry Son, definetely a better version than that which actually got on the Album! At some point, I can't remember exactly when, Johnny decieded to bow out of the band for family reasons (alot of good that did due to his later divorce). Anyway, we decided to stay a four piece and just record the album. When Struggle came out, and mind you, this is my opinion, we were at the forefront of "Christian hardcore" there was metal, glam metal, and The almighty Crucified, Crashdog, but that was about it, At or about the same time as us 'Focused' came out on Tooth and Nail, it was great. Others in the same scene, their music was a little less "hard" in fact I might blame them for the EMO sound that was yet to come (just kidding). We toured some but mostly played weekend type shows and long road trips, this was due to the fact that nobody seemed to go to hardcore shows much during the week, its a drag to drive for 15-20 hours to play for 10 people. The absolute best show we could ever do was Cornerstone. I think that made it all worth while. Somewhere in this time frame we added a new person to play guitar for us, Matt Traxler. At this piont we started to hear more and more hardcore bands coming out like Strongarm, Unashamed, and NIV. I'm pretty sure I remember them on the new band showcase at Cornerstone, Bloodshed, P.O.D., and probably a lot more. I cant remember right now, most, if not all of these bands were on Tooth and Nail except P.O.D. It was great, more and more bands. It came time for us to start writing our second album, "The Road Less Traveled". We wrote, in my opinion, a solid album. Rex sent us into the studio to record 1/2 of the album, I dont know why, maybe they just didnt tell us they were in financial trouble, I'm not sure. At this time, we had it rough. For some reason, Mike Shaffer and Matt Simmons both left the band due to family problems. Myk and Tom were left to record the rest of the album. We finished the album and REX pushed back the release date for what we now know are money problems. They pressed 1000 cds with no cover and gave them to us for promotion for Cornerstone. At this point, I am pretty sure Matt and Mike both were back in the band and it felt as strong as ever. Rex eventually released the Road Less Traveled about 2 months before they went under causing our album to get absolutley 0 promotion. It boils down to the break up of Six Feet Deep. We were falling apart for some reason, Tom could not tour as much because he had a daughter, Myk started working on what he called a side project, Brantson, a sort of EMO thing. With Matt and Mike leaving the band earlier, I dont think Myk's heart was into it anymore and wanted to sort of mellow out the sound one way or the other. Me, Matt and Mike all did not like this idea and basically, this ultimatley led to the demise of Six Feet Deep. Myk eventually took Traxler and started his own thing, and Six Feet Deep was no more. -Tom"

Six Feet Deep definitely played the hardcore that was coming out of Cleveland in the 90s likes bands such as Integrity and Ringworm. You can definitely hear major Biohazard influences in their music too, creating really heavy stuff without needed "mosh". Both records are amazing and top hardcore albums, not just Christian hardcore. Check them out.

Struggle (1994 - R.E.X. Records)
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four



Road Less Traveled (1997 - Steadfast Records)
Part One
Part Two

Redeem

Never knew much about New Jersey's Redeem at all. Honestly, I can't even remember how I heard of them, was 10 or so years ago, I was way young. All I know is that they released one record, a full length titled Diadem of Beauty in 1999 on Sofa Records, a label that I believe may have been lost in time. I never saw Redeem, never seen a picture of a show or seen a show flyer with their name on it, but I remember hearing from some older dudes at my church when I was young saying Redeem was insane live. For the longest time, I couldn't find Redeem's stuff because if we all can remember, hardcore wasn't so commercial and all over the internet. I didn't even have internet back then anyway ha. Anyway, I do know that a few of the members in Redeem went on to be in Kissing the Hands of Wrath, another New Jersey act, much more metal influenced though. If you liked when Zao came out with their Where Blood and Fire Bring Rest record in 1998, then you'll be way into Redeem and their Diadem of Beauty record.

Diadem of Beauty (1999 - Sofa Records)

Innermeans

Innermeans was a GREAT band. They played pretty heavy 90s metalcore, but weren't around long enough to make that great of an impact on the scene. A few of the members were in Bloodshed before starting Innermeans, probably accounting for why Tooth & Nail Records picked them up so quickly after getting their demo. Innermeans only released one record, a self titled ep with Tooth & Nail Records in 1997, but unfortunately disbanded before having the opportunity to record their planned full length release. For a tad bit more information, including an interview with Timothy Clark of Innermeans from way back, check the Innermeans MySpace.

Self Titled (1997 - Tooth & Nail Records)

Burning Records' Ears to the Ground Compilation, Volumes One and Two

These Ears to the Ground compilations were put out by Burning Records, a Christian alternative music record label that of course no longer exists, Volume 1 in 2000 and Volume 2 in 2002. The bands on these compilations are not all hardcore, but has like Vessel on it and some others.

Ears to the Ground, Volume One (2000 - Burning Records)



Ears to the Ground, Volume Two (2002 - Burning Records)

Ceasefire

All I know about Ceasefire was that they were from Australia, and I got two of their three releases, I'm just missing their first one titled Statement. They released Statement and Oppression, Toil, Friendlessness on Boot to Head Records and in 2001 released their last record, The Cycle of Unbelief, on Facedown Records. Here is a decent, but kind of lengthy, bio for Ceasefire from CDBaby.com:

"In 1996 Matt, from Australia old school hardcore act Minute Minder, and Daniel from Scum of the Earth, Sydney punk rock, joined forces and started Ceasefire. They recruited metal head Pete, and indie rocker Dave and went on to blend the best of the oldschool and newschool hardcore with socially, politically, and spiritually minded lyrics, which expressed the interests on their heart. This set Ceasefire apart from the landscape of bands in Australia, but surprisingly didn't hold them back, Ceasefire thrived, quickly becoming one of the most well known Australian hardcore bands ever (not to mention the first Australian hardcore band ever to tour the USA).

In their day they embarked on more than a few tours. They toured with Strife (at Strife's request), Sick Of It All, and Good Riddance, and turned down (all for good reasons) tours with Agnostic Front, Madball, Snapcase and Fear Factory. Ceasefire also shared the stage with the following bands: Zao, Strongarm, Blindside, Pensive, Fugazi, Toe To Toe, Pitfall, Burn It Down, xDisciplex, Mindsnare, No Innocent Victim, and many, many more.

Ceasefire, though not prolific in the amount of songs they wrote, came up with gems in the ones they did complete. Their first release was the album Statement and the title certainly did them justice, it was a statement to the masses that these guys had something to say and here it is, like it or not. The cd received rave reviews from across the globe for its healthy mixture of oldschool hardcore and just enough metal hardcore to keep it interesting.

After touring the States on this release, they began to write for their second record and it was not simply a step above, it was a leap, and to many peoples surprise. It included guest performances by Lou Koller from Sick Of It All and Russ Rakin from Good Riddance. This masterpiece was entitled Oppression, Toil, Friendlessness.

This release opened the ears of countless record labels and offers came rolling in, soon enough though the band settled on Facedown Records, where it stayed for one album, The Cycle Of Unbelief, before the band called it a day. "

Oppression, Toil, Friendlessness (1998 - Boot to Head Records)



The Cycle of Unbelief (2001 - Facedown Records)

Bloodshed on No Exit Hardcore Compilation

Bloodshed was an amazing hardcore/emo band from the 90s. They were on awesome tours and appear on some compilations. One of these compilations is the No Exit, Hardcore Compilation put out by Inside Front. By no means are the other bands all Christian, just Bloodshed, and that's why it's on this blog.

No Exit, Hardcore Compilation (1994 - Inside Front)

Anchor

Before the other bands of the same name around nowadays, Anchor was one of the many Quiggle projects. Out of Erie, PA, they only released one record, Shipwrecked Life on Facedown Records in 2001. The band had that same sound that a lot of the Quiggle brothers' bands do (Shockwave, xDisciplex, Dodgin' Bullets, etc.) mixed with some H2O similarities. It's good stuff, pretty catchy old school sounding hardcore. I don't know too much more about them, never got to see them if they toured, pretty sure it was pretty much just a side project.

Shipwrecked Life (2001 - Facedown Records)

Born Blind

Born Blind was one of the first Christian hardcore bands I had ever heard. I was really young and always considered them and Sick of it All as the same kind of hardcore, because I really was into the more 90s metalcore sounding stuff like Morning Again, Culture, Disembodied, Chokehold, Converge, etc. Never knew too much about them but that they were one of the early Facedown Records bands in the late 90s, that they all used to play in No Innocent Victim, they were around from about 1998 until 2001, and that they played more punk styled hardcore. Anyway, here's a short bio of Born Blind from their Wikipedia page:

"The Christian punk rock four-piece Born Blind was originally from San Diego, California, playing shows in the western part of the United States. All four members of the group- Judd Morgan, Chris Beckett, Kurt Love, and Nate Jarrell- were former members of No Innocent Victim before forming Born Blind. They released their debut album, Pressing On, on Facedown Records in late 1998. Their riveting old-school punk sound continued on their last album One For All in mid-2000 on Solid State Records. They only did one U.S. tour in late 2000 before calling it quits in January 2001."

Check out below for their second, and last, full length record. I will have up their debut full length record, Pressing On, in a later post when I finally get to it.

One for All (2000 - Solid State Records)

Band posts...

I seem to have quite a bit of bands' stuff on two different external hard drives and I'm uploading all the stuff to Mediafire as I'm posting on this blog. Therefore, I seem to have more stuff of some bands on my other hard drive that I won't get online until I'm through with this hard drive. Just a heads up, I'll post more stuff from bands as I get to it through my uploading process. I have also decided to post Christian hardcore bands that may not have been either all that good or bands that I was real into, but may be pretty rare or just lost through time.
Josh

Anguish Unsaid

Don't know too much about Anguish Unsaid. I was about 13 or 14 when I first heard them, and I remember the band I was in at the time, a horrible blend of sludgy hardcore and grind (guess that's what we all call "power violence"?), for awhile became heavily influenced by the fast, chaotic sound Anguish Unsaid presented. The band formed in 1995 and last for about 7 years, leading to them splitting in 2002. I only know of two full length records that they put out and I do have them posted below. The only other thing I recall about Anguish Unsaid is at the Cornerstone Festival one year I really looked forward to seeing them but ended up not for whatever reason, but did stop by the Bettie Rocket Records (the label they released both records on) booth and spoke with some girl about wanting my band's demo. Looking back I'm so glad I never sent it. So, if you're into the weird artsy, chaotic, fast, grind stuff from the late 90s, check them out. At times they remind of Refused also, which is never a bad thing.

Wanting...Waiting (1999 - Bettie Rocket Records)



The Chronicles of the Restoration of the Church (2000 - Bettie Rocket Records)

Six Feet Deep on Dark Empire Strikes Back Comp

Six Feet Deep was a Christian hardcore band that was always enmeshed in the hardcore scene, not just the Christian scene. They are featured on many regular hardcore comps, including the Dark Empire Strikes Back Cleveland comp. It features tons of Cleveland, OH bands from the time, including Mushroomhead ha. I will have more Six Feet Deep posted soon, including their two full length records Struggle and The Road Less Traveled.

Dark Empire Strikes Back, Cleveland Compilation (1994 - Dark Empire)
Part One
Part Two

Unashamed reunion!

As of August 10th, it is official that Unashamed will be reuniting. According to their MySpace
Unashamed has reformed and will be playing shows soon and the lineup will be as follows:
"Bobby Canaday (Guitar)
Jeff Jacquay (Vocals)
Randy Baranosky (Drums, ex- Memphis Belle)
Dom Macaluso (Bass, ex-Throwdown)
Matt Mentley (Guitar, ex-Throwdown)"
I'm psyched, and you should be too. This year has been THE year for 90s hardcore reunions. I will be posting all updates regarding the reunion, but also check their MySpace for updates as well.

xDisciplex live 1997 video

Just stumbled upon this little gem on YouTube. This is the great xDisciplex covering the Mother Ship song "Dead Wrong" during a set in their hometown of Erie, PA in 1997. I've only had the privilege of seeing them 2 or 3 times live, but every time it was so fun. Check it out below.

Focused

One line always comes to mind when I think Focused...SACRIFICE ME! This band has to be the most influential Christian hardcore band to date. The music was always your typical 90's hardcore sound, but the lyrics are so powerful. Focused spent 6 years playing their hearts out, briefly reuniting in 2000, creating a unreleased demo that never got picked up by a label, and again reuniting in August of this year for a show in California (check the previous post regarding their reunion shirts). Focused began playing in 1990, but only put out demo after demo before being picked up by the infamous Tooth & Nail Records in 1993, under whom they released their only two full length records, Bow and The Hope That Lies Within. Bow set the standard for "spirit-filled hardcore" in the scene and put Focused at the top of my list for sure. The only other Focused recording I have been able to get my hands on is their unreleased demo from 2000. All of their stuff is great "spirit-filled hardcore" and will always leave a legacy. Check out their releases below.

(I apologize for the multiple part downloads for Bow and The Hope That Lies Within)

Bow (1994 - Tooth & Nail Records)
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four



The Hope That Lies Within (1996 - Tooth & Nail Records)
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four



Demo (2000)

Focused shirts!

Kings of Christian hardcore, Focused, have new shirts! They are from their reunion show in California, their home state, back in August of this year. They are amazing.
From Tim focused 's Myspace blog:

"focused T-Shirts
from Aug show with Demon Hunter
We have S, M, L, & XL they are black with white printing. focused spirit filled hardcore, there is nothing on the back there kind of basic but with a new twist on the old logo. Interested YOU can send money order or bank check what size YOU want. And an address where to send it. Just send $23 to
14608 Seaforth Ave. Norwalk Ca. 90650
attn. Timothy Mann
If there any ??? please ask"


I will be getting one of these shirts. Focused has a been a big part of my life for a long, long time. I did not make it to their California reunion all the way from Ohio back in August, but if I had the funds then, there would have been nothing that could have kept me from seeing them.
My next post will be for Focused in light of these amazing new shirts.
SACRIFICE ME!!!

Focal Point

California's Focal Point is probably the heaviest Christian hardcore band to ever hit the scene. If you like Earth Crisis' Destroy the Machines record, then Focal Point is a must. I believe they made their debut in the hardcore scene, writing and playing, when a few, if not all, the members were still in high school. They only put out two releases in the short-lived career, but what was great about Focal Point was their willingness to mesh into the rest of the hardcore scene and not limiting themselves to only the Christian hardcore scene. Their first release, a 7" titled Neglected, was released on the straight edge record label Life Sentence Records, and featured the original recordings of two songs, "Neglected" and "Upright", that would later appear on their full length, Suffering of the Masses, released on Christian label, Tooth & Nail Records. Sadly, members of Focal Point did not go on to form great bands, and were a part of bands such as Training for Utopia and Demon Hunter. One good project that Training for Utopia was a part of was a split with Zao in 1998 that featured two awesome Zao tracks, but the Training for Utopia were not impressive.

Suffering of the Masses (1996 - Tooth & Nail Records)



Neglected (1996 - Life Sentence Records)

Strongarm

AMAZING southern Florida hardcore. My all time favorite band. Strongarm was around from 1993 until 1998 I believe, performing their farewell show at Cornerstone '98 and doing a reunion show at Furnace Fest '00. Members of Strongarm came from past bands such as: Ikthus, Endure (their song "Together" was covered by Strongarm as a hidden track [unless you have a newer pressing; it is track 10] on The Advent of a Miracle record), Amboogalard, Pull, Planet X, Shai Hulud; and went on to be in bands such as Tension and Further Seems Forever. Strongarm's earlier stuff, such as their demos and their Atonement record, had a more straight up hardcore sound, almost similar to that of Strife. The Advent of a Miracle record was and always will be the greatest album ever. That album is very melodic, similar to what Shai Hulud used to play, but more emotional sounding. Strongarm has to be the most underrated and overlooked hardcore band to date, definitely check them out, if anything The Advent of a Miracle record.

The Advent of a Miracle (1997 - Tooth & Nail Records)



Atonement (1995 - Tooth & Nail Records)















These Times That Try Men's Souls Demo (1993)