all things old school: March 2020

Saturday, March 28, 2020

SKOURGE - Condemned

Location: Houston, USA
Release: Lockin' Out, 2019

Age of Quaratine, day #9 - hope that everyone reading this is safe as well as your dearest ones!

At the very end of 2019, Lockin' Out released the new EPs by SKOURGE and Big Contest. I was siked by the later one but they didn't deliver as much as in their previous efforts.

On the other hand SKOURGE put out their best stuff so far! Pulverizing death/thrash crossover, ugly as hell but with way better production when compared to earlier releases.

This 4-song EP also came out on cassette by Teeny Tiny Records. The band shared members with Dress Code, Narrow Head and other Lockin' Out alumni BACK TO BACK.


COPE MERCH / VINYL


Wednesday, March 25, 2020

ENVY - Buffalo Straight Edge

Location: Buffalo, USA
Release: New Direction Records, 1995-1997
Artwork: Lance Mountain

Age of Quarantine, day #6 - In times like these we must reach for positiveness. For today's post I chose ENVY, a posi-core band from Buffalo (NY), heavily influenced by Gorilla Biscuits.

I found barely everything by ENVY (thanks to xSTUCKINTHEPASTx) except the demo tape but since the band only improved through the years with their last album What Went Wrong? being my favorite, the demo might fall short. If only the drumming were better it could have been a more memorable band overall. The CD version of What Went Wrong?  has 88 tracks!! Most of it are short audio tracks of a long prank call, I ended up leaving the hidden bonus instrumental track only.

The band featured guitar player Joe Garlipp who played in bands like Fadeaway, Despair and World Be Free, all of them alongside Scott Vogel (who played drums in Fadeaway) and he gave back his share to the Buffalo hardcore scene in the 90's, doing the layout and artwork for many other sxe bands.

The label behind both ENVY's official releases, New Direction Records (another homage to GB), owned by ENVY's singer Larry Ransom, just put out 5 or 6 albums in total, including one weird AF rap group Skatemaster Tate.


DOWNLOAD I includes:
Envy - Self Titled 7" (New Direction, 1995)
Envy - Never Forget... (Promo, 1996)
Envy - What Went Wrong? LP (New Direction, 1997)

DOWNLOAD II includes:
Against All Hope - Breaking Through (Round Flat Records, 1990)
Against All Hope - Demo Cassette (Promo, 1993)
Against All Hope - Dry Wall (New Direction, 1994)
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Fadeaway - Blindsight Demo (Watchmen, 1993)
Fadeaway - Self Titled CD (Conquer The World, 1994)
Fadeaway - Split w/ Two Line Filler (Last But Not Least, 1995)
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VA - A Reason For Living Comp (New Direction, 1997)

Sunday, March 15, 2020

BIG SNIFF - Long Island Punk

Location: Long Island, USA
Release: Do It! Records, 1993
Artwork: Bob Fingerman

Imagine dudes in LUDICHRIST and SHEER TERROR playing melodic punk (aka 90's emo)? Imagine no further, BIG SNIFF was a short-lived project from West Babylon (NY) with one EP and one full-length out.

Both released in 1993, the songs on the EP "We're Only In It For The $"  are all featured on the LP "Experiment", used as promo I guess. Bob Fingerman did an excellent job for the band as he did all the art, especially on the EP where the cover really pops-out with the skinhead-girl, the martian hobos and all.

Sonically they deliver something between Black Train Jack and early-Gameface, fans of other 90's punk/emo bands like Big Drill Car and Lifetime might find something very interesting in BIG SNIFF.

The band is comprised by Alan and Mike from Ludichrist (who also played in Sheer Terror), the singer of NY's IN YOUR FACE Marc Adams, and the riffs where handled by Gary Bennett from Kill Your Idols/Black Anvil, he also played in a short-lived punk-emo band called CLOCKWISE together with Eddie Reyes (Taking Back Sunday).

This was actually a request by a fellow follower of this blog, thanks for presenting the band to me, if any of you have a request hit me up and will try my best! 

DOWNLOAD these records:
Big Sniff - Experiment CD (Dot It! Records, 1993)
Clockwise - Dead End EP (Motherbox, 1993)
Clockwise - She Was (Pie Records, 1996)


in times of virus breakout, hear big sniff and chill out!

Tuesday, March 10, 2020

REVULSION - Discography

Location: Norwich, UK
Release: Boss Tuneage, 2013

While doing the article about DECADENCE WITHIN I came across REVULSION in the Boss Tuneage Retro Releases webpage and upon checking their video clip I got hooked, excellent melodic Punk done in 1990!

I found a few blogs talking about this band but I decided to do it anyway, maybe more people could be surprised by them. REVULSION started in 1983 and recorded their debut EP in '85, influenced by the blooming UK82 and the likes of Varukers and Conflict but my favorite material is the melodic stuff which came about at the end of the 80's. (They've put the anarchopunk aside a bit and started to listen to Hard-Ons and Dinosaur Jr.)

In 2013 Boss Tuneage released a compilation CD with all their studio recordings (with the exception of their '85 EP). The CD gather tracks from various compilations, unreleased stuff and the killer final EP "The Only Revolution" from 1991. The bonus track is from the comp Words Worth Shouting and talks about animal abuse and exploitation.

I was going to add the rehearsal '86 tape to this but I didn't like what I heard at all, the focus here is really the Boss Tuneage release. 

DOWNLOAD these records:
1985 - Ever Get The Feeling Of Utter... Revulsion EP (Radical Change Records)
2013 - Self Titled CD (Boss Tuneage)