Heidnik - Nothing CD

Today's post is a slight departure from the usual posts. One of my Instagram buddies, Lada, contacted me about Heidnik's Nothing CD, which was released on Too Damn Hype in 2002. Unfortunately I don't have it. But when he managed to acquire it, he ripped it for me so I could share it on here, so here it is.

Heidnik were a metallic hardcore band from Philadelphia, PA, and they combined the chaotic metalcore sound of the early 00s with a tougher and heavier edge. Good stuff for sure, a bit like a more chaotic All Else Failed, but fairly underrated. During their 4 year run they managed to do a couple of releases including this CD. Their stuff is pretty hard to come by these days it seems, so I'm happy Lada was kind enough to share it with me, and OnexPath. Merci beaucoup, mon ami!

Members of Heidnik moved on to band such as Dead In The Face and Eaten Alive. Guitarist Max Moya died unexpectedly a couple of months ago, which also signaled the end of Eaten Alive. All proceeds of their new album will go to Max's family, so if you feel like supporting them, please check here. RIP.

Heidnik - Nothing CD

Planet Freek - Payback E.P. demo

If you're ever in Brussels, Belgium, make sure to visit Electrocution, a small record store in the center of Brussels owned by Kirby (Deviate, Length Of Time, Arkangel). I was in Brussels this past weekend and as usual dropped in for a quick browse, and walked out with a bunch of old demo tapes. Including this Planet Freek demo from 1995. I had seen their name on a few NYHC flyers from back in the day (including a couple that Rick Ta Life sent me in the mid 90s) but never heard anything by them, and had all but forgotten about them... So obviously finding this demo was a nice surprise!

In any case, Planet Freek were a hardcore band from Long Island, NY who were around for about 4-5 years but I don't have a clue if they recorded anything else besides this 'Payback E.P.' demo. This demo is a solid slice of heavy metallic NYHC with 'Tragic Fool' as my fave from this demo. Not sure about closing track 'Walk Away' which is more on the punk-ish side, but overall I really enjoy this demo. If anybody has more information about Planet Freek, please leave a comment!

Planet Freek - Payback E.P. demo

Mindwar - s/t MCD

A few years ago I blogged about the Evolve/Mindwar split 7". As mentioned in that post I was looking for the other Mindwar releases, and I found them, I just never got around to blogging about them... Here's their self-titled MCD from 1992. Despite what I said in the other post, Mindwar from New Britain, CT didn't sign with Germany's XNO Records in 1994 but a few years earlier. This was the first record they did with them, followed by the full-length 'Degeneration' in 1994 (I'll post that at a later date), which would also be their last record. This 4-song MCD comes in one of those thin CD-single cases that required the covers to have these weird 'cutouts' (always hated them). If you don't know what I mean, check the scan in the zip to see what I mean. Ugh. Anyways, this is good stuff no matter how it was packaged, heh... Mindwar played a style that had its roots in early 90s metallic hardcore but combined this with a ton of heavy alternative rock/metal. They had a sound of their own, but I'm not sure if that worked in their favor or not, this band seems rarely mentioned. Underrated is good word to describe this band. Please give them a try!

Mindwar - s/t MCD

Step Aside - I'll Take Darkness... 7"

I first heard VA's Step Aside on the 'A Change For The Better' comp 7" from 1990, which I blogged about here. I loved their track on there but I somehow never managed to add it to my record collection. Soon after posting that comp 7" I corrected that oversight and I now own on black & red vinyl heh (I am still looking for any of the alternative covers tho, in case anybody's willing to part with one). In any case, Vicious Circle Records who released that comp, released this 7" in 1991. And it's simply awesome, right up my alley, so much so that I somehow thought I had already blogged about this 7" soon after I got my hands on it, haha... Early 90s mid-tempo metallic hardcore with great semi-spoken/shouted vocals. And it even has some guest vocals by Lance from As It Stands (and the almighty Mayday afterwards), how could this not rule! I am pretty sure that regular readers of my blog will eat this shit up. Unfortunately I have no idea what else this band did besides a couple of comps and this 7", nor what the members did before or after Step Aside. If anybody has any information, please leave a comment!

As an aside, a couple of years later another Step Aside, from Brooklyn, NY, would appear on a couple of compilations (including one of the amazing East Coast Assault comps)... Good stuff, but not the same band tho.

Step Aside - I'll Take Darkness... 7"

Asphalt - 357 Knockout CD

Project or band, Cleveland, Ohio's Asphalt was one of a kind. Their sound was both unlike anything that came out of the Clevo scene at the time, while at the same time fitting right in with the creepy, brooding atmosphere it created. In 1994 2 members of Integrity, guitarist Chris 'Hawthorne' Smith and drummer David Nicholi Araca, got together with the bassist of their old band False Hope, Sam 'Salvatore' Lopiccolo, and started jamming. They enlisted the help of various people from the Clevo scene for doing vocals and additional instruments, including Dwid who does vocals on most tracks. The end result was the '357 Knockout' CD which was released on Dwid Integrity's Dark Empire label in 1994. The album also includes one track each from 2 other projects/bands they were doing at the same time, Backslider and Mammoth. All in all, this is a great release, altho I admit it took me quite some time before it really grabbed me, it's just not yer average Clevo hardcore album, hah. If you don't like it, give it time and some more plays... It's well worth the effort.

Within weeks after finishing the recordings for this album, drummer David Araca died of a brain aneurysm. Hawthorne and Lopiccolo would do another 7" a year later (which I don't have unfortunately), but that was basically the end for Asphalt, a unique entry in the already quite diverse history of Cleveland hardcore. Their other band Backslider stayed active for quite a few more years and Hawthorne also ended in Keelhaul.

 Asphalt - 357 Knockout CD

Omega Man - s/t MCD

While Florida bands like Morning Again and Culture got a lot of attention, other awesome Florida bands stayed fairly obscure and underrated, such as Omega Man from Tampa. I don't know why tho, Omega Man was every bit as great as them. Maybe it's cuz they weren't as prolific and their sound was less polished? In any case, Omega Man deserves more recognition... Formed out of the ashes of another underrated band, Scrog, Omega Man stayed around long enough to contribute to a couple of compilations and self-release a MCD, in 1997. A year later, No! Records out of California re-released that MCD, which is the copy I have (and yes, I'm still looking for the self-released version in case anybody wants to part with it!). Lyrically the band touches upon their straight edge background, but also topics such as domestic violence and rape culture. Oh, and if you're someone who enjoys samples with their metalcore, Omega Man is just the band for you!

Omega Man - s/t MCD

Force Feed - Offerings Season demo

Here's another of many demo's that I picked up at Alain OFB's distro at a show back in the day, twice actually as the tape of my first copy broke soon after I got it. Anyways, Force Feed was a short-lived band from the Île-de-France, which includes Paris and the surrounding cities and towns. They released this demo in 1998, and as far as I know that's all they did unfortunately. This demo is a prime example of what the term deathcore stood for in the late 90s, it's a mix between death metal and mid-tempo beatdown-ish hardcore with deep guttural grunts. A band like End Of One comes to mind. I quite enjoy this demo, I just wish the production was less dense and muddy. If anybody has any information on this band and its members, leave a comment please!

Force Feed - Offerings Season demo