Bloodkrow Butcher - Nigh Hell (2013)

Yo! Sorry for my relative absence for the past month, been busy between a small tour/working a lot/being sick/etc. etc., not that anyone cares. Anyways, here's a heater -- Bloodkrow Butcher was a hardcore punk band from Boston, Massachusetts. They could probably fit under d-beat but I hesitate to use that term, because even though it's extremely obvious that these guys loved Discharge and they were probably their biggest influence, they seem equally as likely to have a Bastard tattoo as they would a SNFU tattoo.

Nigh Hell is their final offering, and, in my opinion, their best. I initially found this band through their excellent (and more raw) demo, but they fully develop their sound on this LP to be fantastically well-written, fun, catchy, yet without compromising any of the anger or speed. I find that a lot of d-beat bands lean more into the raw crasher style, which is good and fun and I love, but the side of the genre I adore even more is the verse/chorus/verse/chorus UK82-inspired incredibly catchy fast punk, and this embodies this perfectly. It's no shock that some of these guys were also in the Ramones-ripoff band Lude Boys, which will be posted later.

This download also contains 3 extra tracks included on the cassette reissue of this record from 2015, all of which are just as excellent as the original LP. Every time I put on anything from this record, I listen to the whole thing at least twice in a row, and have a hell of a time doing it. Check it out:

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The Farewell Bend - The Farewell Bend (1998)

 The Farewell Bend was an emo/indie rock band from Kansas City and Washington D.C., perhaps best known for being the band that spawned after the split of both Boys Life and Giants Chair. Musically, they continued in the same style as both of those bands -- technical yet tunefully idiosyncratic finger-plucked Midwest emo -- yet with even more of a poppy sensibility.

This is an all-time favorite band of mine, and one of the best in genre, which is a sentiment I've heard echoed by a huge amount of other deep cut emo nerds, which is bizarre given how deeply overlooked they are. For my money they were much better than both the bands they grew out of, which says so much considering that both those bands are phenomenal in their own rite. On-3 has some of the best lyrics I have ever read, by the way.

I also strongly recommend giving a listen to the LP, which is on streaming. In the meantime, check out this 7".

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Subconscious - Discography (1992-97)

 

Subconscious was a brutal death metal band from Fort Wayne, Indiana. In the age of hardcore kids jocking BDM, it's hard for me to emphasize enough how awesome this band is. Embodying the true 90's sweet spot between obviously longhaired and yet writing utterly fucking stupid dance riffs in like 75% of their songs, this is a band that should serve as a well of inspiration for anyone trying to be the next Demonstration of Power or Final Resting Place (not that I endorse trying to be that, cuz you're probably not gonna do it as good as them).

This discography has an interesting yet somewhat subtle natural progression. Funnily enough, even though it was released in 1992, the first demo might be the most danceable and "hard" by modern standards -- littered with breakdowns and hilariously pitch shifted vocals that make it sound like you're being chased by a monster, it's easy to imagine the tracks playing to a room full of kids in baggy cargo pants kicking the fuck out of each other. From there, it sticks to the obvious BDM roots but gets a little weirder, with the releases afterwards full of unbelievably fast chugs, less insane sounding vocals, and songwriting that gets shorter and more satisfyingly straightforward with each demo. There's even some weird, borderline Gorguts soloing here and there.

Subconscious were not NYDM guys who were used to going to like, Merauder shows, though make no mistake, they were certainly disciples of Suffocation and their ilk. They were through and through metal guys making through and through metal music, and it's fucking badass, even (if not especially) to my hardcore-poisoned brain. Every demo is worth a full listen. Check it.

Download for Torrid Inhumation (1992)

Download for Demo 93 (1993)

Download for Indignant Scripture (1994)

Download for Abominant Rendering (1997)

Wish - Demo 1992 (1992)

Wish were a post-hardcore/emo band from Pittsfield, Massachusetts. They are probably best known for being the band of Pushbutton Warfare vocalist/Withstand guitarist Justin Markou. They released two demos and a split with Focust before morphing into the more straightforwardly hardcore band Outlet.

I once described this demo to a friend as if Jawbreaker had been from the forests of the Berkshires and reared on consistent violence. It has a tough, obviously hc bite to it, but it's also shockingly melodic and, dare I say, emo. It's kind ahead of its time, especially for the region; I feel like most of the stuff like this, that sort of predates what we'd come to know as pop punk, was happening on the other side of the country. Regardless, this is a really good slab of what is obviously some kids from a shitty nowhere town (much love Pittsfield, shoutout Harrison) who loved both punk and 70's rock (hell, the last song is a Grateful Dead cover, lol) jamming out in a garage and putting out a product that, if you're a nerd, holds up pretty damn well and has a metric shit ton amount of charm.

As alluded to before, Justin from this band went on to be in a number of amazing WMHC bands, many of which will get posted on this blog at some point. Really, all 3 members of this band were in some fantastic hardcore bands. Anyways, if you fuck with punk/hardcore that leans melodic, check this out.

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Wrought: Ironsmile - Wrought: Ironsmile (1997)

Wrought: Ironsmile was an emo/post-hardcore band from Victoria/Sidney, BC, Canada. They existed from 1997 to 1999, played around western Canada/U.S., dropped a couple all-timer EPs, and then called it quits. Like many of their regional contemporaries (Engine Kid, Ache Hour Credo), they were obviously influenced equally by the sprawling soundscapes of Slint, the melodics of Cap'n Jazz, and the catchy emotionally charged rawness of Sunny Day Real Estate. Probably the three most basic building blocks for all emo, I know, but... bear with me.

Vancouver Island in the mid-90's experienced a weird influx of exceptional emo bands, with the aforementioned Ache Hour Credo at the forefront, along with Daddy's Hands, a concurrent/subsequent project with many of the same members. As good and known as those two are, though, this EP is probably the best thing to come out of the scene; Wrought: Ironsmile manage to, in just 3 tracks, capture the feeling of both warmth and desolation inherent to the northwest. Combining a really uncommon and profound sense of atmospherics with a nauseatingly good knack for melodics, this stands among bands like Old Hearts Club for how innovative, interesting, and yet oh-so easy to listen to it is.

From my research, members haven't done much that would be very interesting (musically speaking, at least) to most people who would read this, but they are wonderful and prolific artists in their own rite. This is one of my favorite emo EPs ever and, if you held me at gunpoint and forced me to make a list, I'd probably put Valentine's Day as one of my 3 favorite emo songs ever. I recommend this for repeat listening on a drive from Portland to BC around sunset on a spring day. Check it out.

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Frenzy - Demo (2002)

 Frenzy was a hardcore punk band from western Mass/Connecticut active in 2002. I can't find any record of shows they played, but I'm sure they played around in the area. They are notable, even in their obscurity, for being the first recorded project of Kyle Naumec of Laid 2 Rest/Jagged Visions, and Ryan Pitz of Fucking Invincible/High Command.

This is an absolutely excellent document of blisteringly fast, exceptionally fun, yet fucking mean youthful punk. Not a single song is over a minute long, and the 50 second ones feel almost slow after you've been  bombarded with 3 20-28 second songs right before them. There's a certain New England flair to this where you can tell that as much as they loved bands like Out Cold, they were more than tapped into youth crew at the time -- just listen to the break in the first track. This is really good, really fun, and really addictive stuff that I find myself listening to multiple times a week. Check it out.

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Gris - Il Était Une Forêt... (2007)

 

I strongly recommend buying this album directly from the artist, especially a physical copy. This post exists purely to democratize amazing music.

Gris were (are?) an incredible DSBM band from Quebec. A two piece of Icare (guitar/bass) and Neptune (lead vocals/drums/seemingly everything else), they originally formed as Niflheim in 2004, releasing a wonderful LP and a promo under that name in 2006. Since then, they changed their name and have released this record, and "À L'Âme Enflammée, L'Äme Constellée...", another LP, in 2013. Since then, both members have also joined the project Misere Luminis, which released a record as recently as 2023.

This record is generally seen as Gris' masterpiece, and obviously so. It's probably the single best record in all of DSBM, and it's arrestingly obvious from just the first track how far above the pack it is. No kitsch, no posturing, even among its dramatics it doesn't feel dramatic -- this isn't DSBM that relies on sounding creepy or disturbing or crazy to maintain your attention, though it can certainly contain moments that evoke all of those emotions at different points. This is extremely well-written and well-played music that is, in a sense, profoundly listenable and enjoyable beyond just the extremity factor inherent to the genre.

If you've seen this record mentioned, you've probably heard people talk about the vocals, which is more than deserved. This is probably the single greatest and most pained vocal performance in the history of metal, maybe ever. The track "Veux-tu danser?" is particularly strained -- there's moments in that song where his voice will stop me in my tracks, and even regardless of the vocals that song stands as perhaps the main highlight of the record for me. Check it out.

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