Prepared for War three-way split!

Here is a three-way split released on Boot to Head Records in 1995, featuring Clay, No Innocent Victim, and Overcome.

Prepared for War: Clay, No Innocent Victim, & Overcome split (1995 - Boot to Head Records)

Part One

Part Two

Check out all the previous posts about each of these bands (minus Clay considering this is my first post including them).

I got this rip from Justin over at xStuck in the Pastx. All credit to him.

The Through and Through Collection

The Through and Through Collection was put out in 1999 by band member Mullet. I got this copy at Cornerstone from Caleb Olsen/BTH. I am not sure where other copies went, but I do know that they were hand numbered to 100, and this is copy 13. It is a 16 page zine with a cdr inside of it. The cover / back picture is actually 2 pages each. The text is printed on a clear paper on the outside and the pictures are printed on normal pages inside. The cd contains a total of 29 tracks, including some live, unreleased, demo, and previously released songs, and some random things like interviews and chatter. I highly suggest tracks 28 and 29. Page 14 in the zine offers some more insight on where some of the tracks came from. I doubt you might find this zine in a distro or something anywhere, but if you ever find any of the regularly released material, you should totally pick it up. Boot To Head probably still has copies of Joshua Aiken (1 , 2) and Subterfuge split.

- Ryan

Here are the pages from the zine:

















The Through and Through Collection (1999)
Part One
Part Two
Part Three

Thanks for the rip and the scans Ryan!

more Ceasefire!

Thanks to Ryan, we've actually got a rip of Ceasefire's Statement record. So, so, so crucial.

Statement (1999 - Boot to Head Records)



Look out for a lot more rare and hard to find Christian hardcore records, thanks to Ryan who is going to become quite the contributor to this blog.

Through and Through

I personally know hardly anything about Through and Through. I discovered them when I was very young and found a split that they had done with Zao. At that age, I wasn't part of a family with internet and money and all that stuff, so I didn't have many resources as to getting my hands on bands' stuff besides going to shows and some local records stores. Through and Through was a band I always kept my eyes open for, and shortly after discovering them (after they had broken up, of course), I came across three records at the Cornerstone Festival in Illinois on which I spent my only spending/food money for the week. I had found their split with Zao (check my huge post on Zao), their split with Subterfuge, and their only full length record, Joshua Aiken. The only thing I ever knew of them was that they were on Boot to Head Records, released their split with Zao on Steadfast Records, released their split with Subterfuge on Declaration Records, and were from Canada. Luckily, Boot to Head has bios on all of their past bands, and here is what they have to say about Through and Through:

"Hailing from Vanderhoof Canada, Through and Through made a name for themselves over their short existence, both in their home of Canada, and here in the States. T&T began roughly in the winter of 1995, as a typical metallic hardcore band and a four piece, and went on to refine their sound into a sweet blend of emo, insane vocal screams, and pounding metal, to create their own haunting sound. As a five piece the band was able to express their creative aptitude to the fullest of their ability.

In Fall 1998 T&T released their only full length record entitled "Joshua Aiken" and it blew people away, they seemed to come out of nowhere, but don't get me wrong though, these guys definitely weren't newcomers, they had two demos which sold well throughout Canada and the States, making it possible for them to hook up with Steadfast Records, on whom they released a split 7" record with ZAO. T&T were also been featured on many compilations across the States, and Canada and Brazil.

Having toured the States independently twice for roughly Six weeks each time (this was a tough feat for a signed band back then, let alone an independent band) the band built a loyal and steady following, but even though T&T seemed to have the world ahead of them, and just when things started to take off for them, the band called it a day in early 1999 when a few members quit to peruse other interests. "

Well, that's them. Now onto their records...

Treadwater... Split with Zao (1996 - Steadfast Records)

Joshua Aiken (1998 - Boot to Head Records)

Part One

Part Two

Split with Subterfuge (1998 - Declaration 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

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)