Hardcore

Live Review: Vision Of Disorder at The Whisky

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One of my favorite things about going to see bands that I’ve loved for years and years, is looking around at the crowd and seeing fans from the beginning till now reveling in the music. Vision Of Disorder has that effect on people. The legends that they are still pack one hell of a punch live and deliver with all their might. More on them in a bit.

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The night began for my friend and I with the band Matriarchs. This 5 piece hardcore band from Los Angeles was the surprise of the night. Not only did they pummel the crowd with their brutal intense brand of hardcore, they managed to get a Los Angeles crowd on a Sunday night into quite a frenzy. It’s been a while since I listened to this type of hardcore. They reminded me of old school Hatebreed and Terror. Matriarchs are legit and deliver the goods as each song goes into the next. This band is on my radar for sure.

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Next up was a band called Critic. These guys had something really cool going on. Musically they had elements of prog, industrial and hardcore, making for quite an intriguing set. Just as Matriarchs did, the crowd got into a bit of a frenzy during their set. Even the security guards at the venue were into them and Matriarchs. This band as well will see some more attention as time goes on.

After Critic, the reformed Pissing Razors took the stage. I have to say that while enjoyable, I couldn’t help but think they were taking their groove metal love of Pantera a bit too far. While watching them, I could see and hear the distinct similarities of Pantera in their music and stage personas. Not to take anything away from them, but when you start singing Pantera songs over their songs, you might want to revisit your own songs.

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The highlight of the night was of course the legendary Vision Of Disorder. Their unrelenting set consisted of songs from their beginning to their latest release Razed To The Ground (which by the way is a great album). The sheer magnitude of intensity that lives within each member of the band was left on stage last night. Songs like “DTO,” “Suffer,” “What You Are,” “Set To Fail,” and “Loveless,” killed. One of the coolest things during their set was watching a swarm of fans push forward to the front of the stage to sing along with Tim Williams. Amongst the crowd and singing along was Dave Peters of Throwdown. Seeing him in the crowd pushing to sing along instead of jumping on stage was quite an awesome move on his part. Very punk rock Dave!!!

The entire night was outstanding. Vision Of Disorder are still the real deal and continue to put out great new music. Matriarchs and Critic are two bands I will be following and writing about soon. It’s shows like this that make it fun for me still. As I get older I’ve noticed I’ve become more selective in the shows I go to, but as long as my favorite bands keep playing in Los Angeles, like VOD, I will be there.

 

 

By: Brian Lacy

Unsung Masterpieces: AFI- Sing The Sorrow
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AFI is a band that has gone through a lot of changes stylistically throughout their career. They started out as a punk band with hardcore roots, then shifted more to the Horror punk side of things. As time went on and the band evolved they found a balance of their roots of punk and added a more goth element to their music. So in 2003, AFI released their most ambitious album up till that point, Sing The Sorrow. Their die hard fans were caught off guard by the departure of their original sound, while at the same time finding a new audience. Sing the Sorrow was produced by Butch Vig and Jerry Finn, allowing the album to be more experimental. Lyrically, the album is darker and more poetic than their previous material. I for one, when I first heard the album wasn’t really in to it at all. It just wasn’t the AFI I was a fan of. Fast forward a few years and I revisited the album and really grew to love it. There is something truly intriguing about it. The depth of the songwriting really took things to another level for the band with the use of synths, strings and the all around lyrical content. Songs like “The Leaving Song Pts. I & II,” “Bleed Black,” “Death Of Seasons,” “But Home Is Nowhere,” really show the maturity of the guys in the band. There are some songs that are a little more radio friendly like “Girls Not Grey,” “Silver and Cold,” and “Dancing Through Sunday,” but that doesn’t change the fact that the songs are really good.

This is one of those albums that with time you really come to love. There is something about Sing The Sorrow that really hits home. Sure the production on it is a little too slick and AFI has completely changed from what they once were, but the growth on this album is truly astounding. Give it another shot if you gave up on them.

AFI- Sing The Sorrow:

By: Brian Lacy

Underrated and Influential Part 3: Only Living Witness

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There are certain areas in America that have spawned new sounds of music. Seattle had grunge, the San Francisco had thrash metal, New York had a punk revolution, and Boston, Massachusetts had hardcore. One of the most underrated bands yet very influential bands that came from the area was Only Living Witness. The band was formed in 1989 by Jonah Jenkins (vocals) Eric Stevenson (drums), Kevin Stevenson (guitar) and Kevin Costa (bass). In 1991, Kevin Stevenson and Costa were replaced by Craig Silverman and Chris Crowley. Only Living Witness was signed to Century Media Records. Their debut  Prone Mortal Form was released in 1993. The songs VTA and December are classic standouts. They embraced the hardcore roots with a melodic edge to them In 1996 their follow-up CD Innocents was released, but the band had already split up. Songs like Strata, Knew Her Gone, Total Particle Reversal and Downpour continue the melodic hardcore vibe but goes beyond with an added presence of more melody. Only Living Witness briefly reformed in 2008 for four reunion shows: 3 in Massachusetts and 1 in the Netherlands. After being in Only Living Witness Jonah Jenkins went on to perform the vocal duties in Miltown, Milligram and Raw Radar War. Craig Silverman now plays in Slapshot and is the touring guitarist in Blood For Blood. Eric Stevenson, main composer and drummer, died on August 9, 2011, at the age of 43.

Only Living Witness has left a mark on modern hardcore. Their influence of their vocal styles, riffs and drum patterns is very noticeable in many bands. Bands like Killswitch Engage, Shadows Fall, Every Time I Die, and others all have a lot to owe to the guys in Only Living Witness. One of the best things that have come from this band was their injection of a sense of melody into such heavy music.

December:

Strata:

https://www.facebook.com/onlylivingwitness

By: Brian Lacy