SHOULDER: Touch

I feel like I need to balance out the blog with all of this over-the-top hardcore shit I've been posting lately. I've always contemplated starting to post up some more "indie" type shit despite it not really having much influence on Path To Misery outside of the attitude of the bands. I then realized that Shoulder probably has as much of a musical influence on Path To Misery as Krutch does and, in turn, have every much a right to be here as does Comin Correct. From here on in, I will be posting good music regardless of genre or amount of influence on the Path.

That being said, Shoulder is pretty much perfect. Coming out of London, Ontario, Canada, they were one of those bands from the mid-90s (album was recorded in 1995) that really blurred the lines between what was "hardcore" and what was "emo" or "indie" or whatever term was being thrown around at the time. The songs most certainly do not lack in the emotion category, while at the same time regularly having the ability to burst into considerably fast, upbeat punk parts. Every bit of melody is matched by equal parts intensity. I'm not one to romanticize hardcore in the 90s, but listening to this album makes me long for a day whenever bands playing music this varied still were linked together by a mutual scene; sharing a similar outlook on life, music, and society. I am sure this band shared the stage with quite a few open E-chord chug bands in their day and were more than OK with it. Fuck, they even put out a split 7" with Morning Again. Band also apparently had some sort of connection to Grade as Kyle Bishop took all of their pictures and did their layout for them.

If the band chose to, I get the impression that they could have easily taken their songs to a producer, polished them up and made themselves considerably well-off considering the musical climate at the time. The band had the song-writing ability and enough of a knack for writing catchy songs to where they could have just as easily have been writing hits as big as Hey Jealousy or Found Out About You. The bands definitely shared a tendency for driving their songs through their clean channels but I'm not saying that Shoulder necessarily sounds like Gin Blossoms. You can definitely hear where the band easily had the talent to write such songs if they would have chosen to though.

Perhaps that is where the influence on Path To Misery lays; the band's unwillingness to write accessible music despite having the knowledge and musical prowess to do so. It also appears as though the band was working on a very limited budget despite doing their best to create an inventive full length album. Out of 21 tracks found on this full length effort, only 9 of them were recorded in a studio setting. Presumably the band was forced to cut costs and chose to record all of the acoustic interludes in a home studio setting. These acoustic interludes are also possibly my favorite part of the album. They make their appearance in between each studio track on the album and gives the full length a feeling of being, well ... full. Despite its length of roughly 68 minutes, the album is a surprisingly easy listen and plays through quite nicely, even despite the addition of their demo tracks at the end.

These demo recordings found at the end of this album sound almost as good as the 9 featured tracks, quite frankly. The only failure on this release was the lack of song titles and lyrics for said demo tracks. If anyone by chance has this information, I would love to get my rip labeled up properly. In fact, I would LOVE a copy of the original demo which ideally would include the lyrics. I'd also love to get a copy of the Kindling album which was the follow-up to Touch in 1996.

If you're looking for something different to listen to, I'd strongly suggest this full length that lives up to its title.

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Lake Effect In Effect

There's two people who do as much for Erie as I do for Pittsburgh: EMS and Josh Buck. I mean, there are probably just as many others in Erie who I am not mentioning as there are in Pittsburgh that I'm not mentioning, but we are the ones who relish in old, bad hardcore the most. On top of that, we make blogs about it and try to push the garbage on everyone else as well.

On the real though, EMS' new blog which is dedicated to solely Erie Hardcore Lake Effect In Effect bands is off to a good start. Not really sure how he manages to run a blog when he's already handling Forward Hall (Erie's flagstaff venue) as well as his band Smoke & Mirrors and tattoo shop Ink Assassins, but that's the kinda shit you do when you are addicted to HxC.

He re-posted my Abnegation discography that I did over a year ago now (which is weird to think about) and was apparently inspired to do his own rip of their original Life For A Life demo cassette. I really wish he would have done so before I made my post because his rip sounds literally twice as good as whatever it was I had included in the zip file (which has been downloaded over 500 times thusfar). Had I known this many people were going to read my bullshit I probably would have been more polite about the Verses Of The Bleeding full length. Oh well, it really isn't that good. It's cool though, they kinda redeemed themselves with the final two tracks they recorded for some evil and darkness comp that EMS also posted on his blog.

Anyhow, you can hear it here if you are interested. It also includes scans of the cover, which has some very unhappy straight edge cattle on the cover.

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I hope we all sleep well at night knowing that we are solely responsible for reproducing whatever it is that we do into the digital age to exist for all eternity. I know I do. Check out EMS' blog HERE and check out Josh Buck's blog HERE if you're looking for shit that should have been left for dead in the 90s.

On a side note ....

Set An Emo Kid On Fire

Back in 2001, when I was 15, I decided to follow in the time-honored tradition of putting together a compilation in order to get my shitty hardcore band tagged along with some better bands. Down To None (my first band) had just finished recording for the first time and I was more than anxious to get my band's recording circulating amongst the hardcore world. At the time, CD-Rs were still slightly expensive and, not wanting to waste that valuable space, I decided I was better off filling up the discs as a compilation instead of an eight-minute Down To None demo. It was all about hardcore scene brotherhood and I was always looking for ways to further the unity.

I was doing reviews for hardcorewebsite.net at the time on top of getting into the fine art of show promotion. I was meeting a lot of bands and decided to put my contacts to use. Rick Ta Life had been rearing me (and the entire hardcore scene) to put together a zine, start a label, and to support the scene in whichever way humanly possible. I had already done a zine and was obviously living my life based around supporting the scene at the time; I figured putting out a compilation to start my label was the only natural path in life for me to take.

Most of the bands mailed in CDs in order to get me their tracks. Mp3s were still in their infancy and most people were still ripping at 128 kbps if I was lucky. I specifically remember having to write out instructions to Bad Luck 13 explaining what Mp3s were, what programs to download in order to create them, and how to e-mail them to me. It took over 10 back-and-forths if I remember correctly. I ended up getting a 60 kbps wav file.

In fact, even the bands who sent me their discs didn't get any sort of recording quality justice for this comp. I believe the highest quality rip Windows Media Player was capable at the time was 192 kbps. In turn, the comp sounded like shit. Most people don't notice shit like this, but I actually think that this comp was the reason I've developed such a hatred for low-quality Mp3s. I remember being so bummed that I couldn't really do anything about the sound quality of some of the songs. This post, however, is my redemption.

Call it a re-mastering of the comp if you will, but I went back through and re-ripped all of these songs from their master copies at 320 kbps for your listening pleasure. This comp sounds fresher than ever and I've actually been jamming it for the past few days.

Thinking back, I don't know if it was because things were different back then or if the bands assumed the compilation would never actually come out, but getting permission to include the bands all happened within a week if I remember properly. It was as simple as writing a polite e-mail to the bands and them writing back asking for an address to mail the CD to. No labels, managers or agents needed to be consulted amongst this decision making process. Some young kid was putting out a comp to support the scene and that was that. Sure, why not?

Of course some of the songs did not stand the test of time (or weren't really that good to begin with), but in general this is a pretty solid comp considering it was put together by a 15 year old. I was always pretty proud of this thing for the most part; mainly due to the fact that over half of the tracks were exclusive to the comp at the time. Even to this day, some of the songs never ended up being officially released (Untold Truth, On Our Own, Strength From Within, Inner Revolution, Closer Than Dying).

From a monetary standpoint (yeah right) the comp also did quite well. I remember selling 300-400 copies at a few bucks a pop. It made me enough money to start my label which I called Preserving Silence Records. I put out a few CD-R releases thanks to the money I made from this comp. You can thank (or blame) this comp for the release of The Struggle, Better Off Dead, and Down To None CDs.

As for the bands on the comp, there are a few things that always stuck out to me.

- I definitely put Comin Correct as the first band on the comp due to Rick Ta Life's continual motivation to get me to put this thing out.
- Strength From Within was a local band who I looked up to a lot at this time who essentially recorded a 6 song demo in order to have something to contribute. The band broke up right after the recording and as far as I know, I am the only person to be in possession of these tracks.
- I was the first person outside of the band to hear the new No Retreat track, One By One. Considering they were my favorite band at the time, I was slightly more than excited.
- I have no recollection who the hell Untold Truth is. I remember them being from Connecticut and nagging me so often to put them on the comp that I finally just gave in and did it. I would love to know what this band went on to do.
- Eric Klinger from Built Upon Frustration sent me a CD-R priority mail that not only had Matter Of Time on it, but also three other unreleased Built Upon Frustration tracks that I listened to solely for many weeks to follow.
- The Nailed To The Cross track on here is fucking killer despite the horrible recording. I really wish I was still in touch with their vocalist, Mike, who gave my first band it's first out-of-state show (with Comin' Correct) and made us feel validated in everything we were doing.
- Thinking back, the best part of doing this comp was having Krutch mail me a copy of their Whatever It Takes album. It is by far my favorite Krutch disc and I have never come across another copy in all my days of CD searching. Lucky me.

As for the name of the compilation; well, when you're 15 you don't always think about the repercussions of your actions. After I had put all of these bands together, I realized I had no name or layout for the comp. The title was quite tongue-in-cheek and seemed so over-the-top in my mind that I couldn't imagine anyone taking it seriously. While I was a pretty well thought-out kid, I guess I was either naive or extremely modest in thinking that no one outside of my circle of friends would buy this compilation. Not everyone shares the same sense of humor, however, and a few people were quite turned off by the name.

Oh yeah, the "hidden tracks" on this album make-up the infamous Silent But Deadly demo. They turned into xRepresentx a year or two down the road. Go figure.

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BURIED ALIVE: Demos

I did a post a while back on The Death Of Your Perfect World. It is quite possibly the best hardcore full length of all time. Everyone knows this and many blogs have made posts about it. Therefore, I've decided to do something no one else has done to keep things interesting.

You may or may not be familiar with the Last Rites "full length" that came out both after The Death Of Your Perfect World AND after the band had broken up. Essentially, the album served as a means for Victory to continue to cash in on Buried Alive after their demise. Apparently the band still owed Victory another release or two and the label took it upon themselves to release a collection of pre-production demos that the band was readying in preparation for their sophomore full length which obviously never saw the light of day.

The release annoys me for several reasons. First and foremost, it doesn't contain the tracks from the Reach The Sky split 7". Those are two of my favorite Buried Alive tracks. Secondly, Last Rites fails to offer up the songs in a chronological order. The nine studio tracks included on Last Rites are actually from three different recording sessions that were laid down throughout 2000. For whatever reason, Victory chose to put them in a random order; robbing the album of any sort of cohesion or continuity. Finally, only half of a live set is present on this album; with the rest of the set making its appearance on the poorly distributed New York City Takeover comps that Victory put out around the same time. I have taken it upon myself to fix these shortcomings.

In this upload, I have taken the Last Rites album and sorted it out to the best of my abilities in hopes that it sheds light on the final days of Buried Alive. I sorted out the songs into the separate recording sessions and put them in chronological order so that one can hear the "progression" of the band throughout the year 2000. If anything, this realization somewhat substantiates the claims made by certain members that other certain members wanted to make the band "sound like Papa Roach". In summary, the songs recorded in May of 2000 are drastically different than those recorded in October of the same year. Listen to the tracks and judge for yourself.

Also, after finally tracking down a copy of the New York City Takeover comps nine years after their release I decided to match up the Buried Alive tracks in order to piece together a complete set. I put them in order of how I think the set went and needless to say, it is quite a solid set. Of course I also included the tracks from the Reach The Sky split, which were actually from the same session as one of the tracks on the Last Rites album.

I hope you enjoy. I'm also re-posting the live video I have of an unreleased Buried Alive track that I uploaded to Vimeo a while ago. Any information about this track would be great.



Last Rites was anything but a suitable farewell to such a legendary band. If Buried Alive would have ever released another full length, I am sure it would been every bit as intimidating as The Death Of Your Perfect World.

Just for the fuck of it, I'm throwing in the original Six Month Face 7" (master CD rips at 320 kbps) as well as the 1998 demo. PIT!!!
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Huge Collection Score!

This past weekend I decided to take my first show road trip in quite some time to see Disembodied in Syracuse, NY. Needless to say, they fucking killed it. The promoter of the show (syracuseshows.com) was gracious enough to allow me to set up my distro to offset some of the gas costs to get up there and back. You'd be surprised at how rare something like this is becoming amongst "hardcore shows" in 2010. Either way, Architect was also on the bill (also a large factor playing into my road trip) and they also managed to play the best set I've ever seen them play. My friend Keith from Architect (or maybe Keith from Hell Fest if you're out of the loop) approached me at my distro and offered to donate "some" CDs for my distro and/or blog as he is a strong supporter of both endeavors. I followed him to his house after the show only to find that "a few " CDs meant over 200 discs of pure metalcore gold.

If any of you know me, you know that my CD collection is an equally respectable entity (humor). There are times when I feel as though there is nothing else left for me to acquire. Well, Keith's collection proved me to be nothing more than entirely wrong. It was almost as though his collection was the missing piece to mine. Despite having very comparable musical tastes, there were very few discs that overlapped amongst our collections. His collection of obscure Syracuse acts was rivaled only by his gathering of "Hell Fest demos" (aka demos of bands who I saw at Hell Fest 2001 in which I have never been able to track down since). As we all know, Hell Fest 2001 remains to be the single greatest show in which I've ever witnessed; and these demos brought back quite a few fond memories.

Some of the most notable CDs donated to me include: Dissolve's Graverobber EP, a pre-Godbelow band called The Last Season's full length album, the original EP and split CDs from xMaroonx only released internationally in 2000 & 2001, Ebony Sorrow's demo (the band who opened up Hell Fest 2001 in which I entered the room and immediately started moshing), Andromeda's self-released full length album, and just hundreds of amazing albums which I will be posting up here over what I'm guessing will be over the next month or two.

I'll start this off by telling a short story related to my trip to Syracuse. I ran into Ryan Hex who I hadn't seen since Sincerity Fest 2007 when his current project Mistletoe was playing. He had his distro set up from which I picked a few gems up from. We got to talking about one of his past projects, The Funeral; and subsequently their elusive 4 song demo. I used to have this as Mp3s from my SoulSeek days. I lost that computer full of Mp3s; most of which I recovered without problem. For whatever reason, however, The Funeral's demo has eluded me for well over 4 years now. If it wasn't so fucking awesome I probably would have forgotten about it by now.

It was no longer than 15 minutes after Ryan and I concluded our conversation about combining efforts to try and get this thing back into Mp3 circulation that I had it given to me by Keith Architect. Life is strange sometimes. Anyhow, here is this perfect fucking demo in its four song entirety.
DOWNLOAD THE DEMO

If this demo gets you as hyped as it does I, go to my previous post I did on the band almost exactly a year ago HERE and check out their full length efforts.

THROUGH THE DISCIPLINE: Demo 2003

As with my post on Palehorse, I had the pleasure of getting to book Through The Discipline many times throughout my hardcore career. Luckily for me (and Pittsburgh in general) however, Through The Discipline were consistently one of the most reliable bands I've ever booked. Showing up despite snow storms and anything else you could think of that would deter most bands, Through The Discipline ALWAYS made the extra effort to ensure playing in Pittsburgh; and that is why they were treated as though they were a local whenever they'd play here.

While they had released an EP prior to this 2003 Demo (and a full length afterwards), this 3 song effort remains unrivaled as my favorite material from the band. Through The Discipline brought an entirely new level of professionalism to our little hardcore world. The live performance and equipment was obviously always top notch; but even the simple things such as the release and packaging of their demo was new to us. Fully packaged, shrink wrapped, and pressed came this 3 song demo. I won't even speak of the recording quality as it will speak for itself upon download.

Through The Discipline truly had a unique style. Blending elements of legitimate 80s thrash metal such as Cerebral Fix (lifted a riff or two), Cancer, Sepultura and other Roadracer Records bands along with the worthwhile elements of NYHC (the over the top dance breaks), they managed to craft a style of metalcore all their own. As with mostly every band featured on this blog, the deserved recognition was never received for this outfit and they prematurely broke up not long after the release of their one and only full length.

I'm continuing to hold out hope for a reunion show at some point.

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KILLSWITCH ENGAGE: Demo

Killswitch Engage's debut full length is perfect. I'd post it but I'm pretty sure it is still in print and I don't feel like getting my blog shut down. I'm thinking it is OK to post up these master copy rips of their 1999 4 song demo, however. These are pretty much my favorite songs from the album anyhow.

There is a reason that Killswitch Engage took off above all of the other countless metalcore bands who were experimenting with this style at the time. The musicianship is rock solid even on this self-recorded demo. The riffs somehow blend some of the most beautiful melodies known to man seemlessly with parts which would evoke mosh from even the most timid of show-goers. The emotion shown amidst the vocal tracks are outshined only by the lyrical content which focuses on spirituality, individuality, and human empowerment. The percussion work somehow manages to be catchy within itself; everything from the galloping beats to the syncopated double kick riffage.

There is not enough that can be said about this band's early work. They genuinely changed my perspective on music at the time. I won't even get started on my thoughts on the band post-Jesse Leech; we're just going to keep this thread a nice and positive one. Do yourself a favor and pick up their self-titled debut on Ferret Records that came out back in 2000. Metalcore perfection.

DOWNLOAD THE 1999 DEMO

ANNE GOHRA

So I know of at least one person who is going to get upset that I posted this, but that's fine because this band legitimately ruled. Well, the final two songs they recorded ruled, at least.

In 2004, when I was still doing Drain This Blood, we played with a lot of really bad bands who played a similar style to us. It was always kind of expected for us to automatically enjoy or be down with bands who had a mutual inclination for ripping off Terror. I usually tended to be moreso into the metalcore bands we would occasionally get to play with; especially the polite christian ones in their early teenage years. During the multiple times we got to play with Anne Gohra, I was always quite excited. They started in 2003 when they were ages 14 & 15 I believe and I remember watching them consistently getting better. Metalcore in 2004 is metalcore the way I like it. Melodic, swedish metal knock-off riffs, syncopated open chug mosh parts, gang vocals, passionate guitar leads ... the works. These guys nearly perfect the style with these two songs. Of course they were christian and one can only imagine the pile-ons whenever they would play Cancel The Debt (who's lyrics consisted of the Our Father prayer) at the local christian venue. The song structures are damn near perfect as well; very consistent flow to the songs that don't allow room for boredom.

Upon second listen, their first demo was rather forgettable ... their 2 song, 2004 demo however still gets played pretty often around these parts. I won't mention which band the lead guitarist went on to join, but I WILL say that I recently made a post about them (the best band currently in hardcore).
DOWNLOAD THE 2004 DEMO

PALEHORSE: Discography

I recently realized that there seems to be quite a bit of confusion surrounding the band Palehorse. Thinking back, I was barely familiar with their releases myself. I had the pleasure of booking and seeing the band more often than most can say. You see, Palehorse was always a considerably unorganized band. While I did actually get them down here multiple times, I had them booked five or six times, I think; with them showing up for maybe half of those. The same confusion carried over with their releases. I'll try to sum it up as best as possible.

I initially got their demo CD from my friends in Swear To God back in 2003. I was blown away instantly whenever the demo kicked off with the infamous track Mayday. Amongst The Flock and Forty Eight, the successor tracks, did not let up in the slightest. Luckily for me, it wasn't much longer that I'd have to wait to see this band. Coming down from CT along with Swear To God, Palehorse brought one of the most intense sets of their career in the small town of Charleroi, PA. It was from then on that I would become obsessed with this act and would continue to bring them to Pittsburgh at every opportunity possible.

Apparently only a very small quantity of this demo CD-R was ever produced. Years down the road (after their full length was out), it would be pressed to a 7" record by Get IG! Records. No clue how many were made, but I had some LIMITED COVER out of 25. No one seems to know about this one, so yeah ... your guess is as good as mine.

It wasn't long after the release of their demo, however, that the band released their debut EP entitled Secrets Within Secrets on Martyr Records. The recording on this record remains to be topped by any of their other releases in my opinion. Regretfully for the band (and the hardcore scene in general) there was something along the lines of a "buy out" of Martyr Records by some larger label. I don't remember the details other than knowing that Dave from Palehorse rambled for an hour about it and I didn't understand a word of what he was saying. Either way, this EP never really received the distribution or attention that it deserved. The intro rings of mid-tempo, mid-nineties hardcore along the lines of Outspoken or Mean Season. It is not long after, however, that the band once again kicks off with the effort with Mayday. The recording sounds even better than the demo version. The band carries on the intensity throughout the release and leaves you wishing it was more than a five song effort.

The band recorded another set of three songs for a split release. I'm not sure which of the releases was the original intent, but the same three songs appeared on splits with both Under One Flag and Colin Of Arabia. While neither band holds a candle to Palehorse, both releases are both having due to their different formats (UOF on vinyl, COA on CD). I remember the split with Under One Flag being delayed well over a year, which makes me think it was the original intention. This recording session is the only one to feature possibly their best track, Martial Law. Actually, picking a favorite Palehorse track is next to impossible, I might just be partial to Martial Law considering it contains THE breakdown from my old band's demo, haha.

Following the release of the Colin Of Arabia split, Bridge 9 Records decided to hold onto Palehorse for a full length. For whatever reason, some of the best tracks were never re-recorded for their debut full length (most notably Martial Law and Broken Cross). Nonetheless, the album contains a few gems of its own. While I am not personally a fan of the recording of the full length, the song quality remains flawless. Witch Hunt starts off with one of the most unique and flawless drum parts of all hardcore time.

Rumor has it that Palehorse has started playing again intermittently. They have played several benefit shows in Connecticut but have yet to traveled outside of their hometown. I'm hoping that the band decides to reform as a fully functioning unit.

DOWNLOAD THE PALEHORSE DISCOGRAPHY

MUSHMOUTH: Discography

As you may already know if you are a follower of the blog, I did a write-up on Mushmouth for the blog several months ago. I was unhappy with the post for several reasons; mainly due to a lack of completion and a serious case of writer's block. Thanks to the efforts of Henrik at the Bring Honour Or Walk Away blog combined with my recent USB turntable acquisition, I can now post up a full Mushmouth discography. Here we go again...

For whatever reason, Mushmouth seemed to remain relatively unknown outside of the Pennsylvania Hardcore scene during the tenure of the band. While the lack of label support could definitely be argued, there have been bands represented by much smaller labels who have managed to attain attention for themselves while writing music that doesn't even touch what Mushmouth was putting out. Mushmouth's lack of notoriety certainly was not due to a lack of talent, sincerity or any other reasons that usually keeps a band unknown. Whatever it was, Mushmouth/Out To Win are arguably one of the most underated hardcore bands of all time.

Out To Win was formed under the name Mushmouth during the Summer of 1995 in Reading, PA. After gaining a loyal following in the regional area, Mushmouth released a demo entitled "Look Ahead" and began playing shows all over the Northeast. Guitarist Chris Mahmood was also in charge of vocals on this debut demo which was apparently recorded as a three piece. Three of the five tracks were featured on the infamous East Coast Assault Volume 2 compilation put out by Too Damn Hype. You can check out a blog on this compilation posted by Edwin on the Stuck In The Past blog HERE. This compilation also featured early tracks from All Out War, Hatebreed, Indecision, Comin Correct and Stigmata amongst many others.


Things were continuing to look up for Mushmouth with the recording of their second demo, "Thick As Thieves". They once again returned to Gamut Recording Studios in Latrobe, PA which was responsible for the recording of the infamous Passover/No Retreat split as well as the equally legendary Pensive/Seasons In The Field split. The second recording effort saw bassist Dave moving to vocal duties as well as the addition of a second guitarist named Mike. While I am quite a fan of both of these earliest demos, it wouldn't be until their next release, a 1997 Demo, that Mushmouth would truly come into their own with both a new line-up and sound.

It was with the release of this 1997 Demo that Mushmouth added what would become the signature vocals of one Chris Henzel. The rage heard within these vocals are apparent even through the low quality cassette rips in which you'll be hearing this through. Three of the six tracks (Abrasion, Uncertain & Steppin' Out) would go on to be re-recorded for their monumental debut full length entitled Out To Win. This recording session revealed a sense of bitterness that fails to develop on some of the most produced albums. In a similar fashion to their earliest demos, the band lent two of their 1997 demo tracks, "False Belief" & "Uncertain", to the infamous Call For Unity compilation put out by Rick Ta Life in 1997. Another two tracks (Abrasion & My World) would make their way onto a split 7" with Livin' Proof.

The debut album, Out To Win (which would later become the band's moniker), was preceded by a split 7" release with Skarhead featuring a preview track entitled Fearless. When the album was finally released, it contained 11 tracks of pure hostility which far surpassed the efforts of all three demos combined. Produced by AJ Novello of Leeway, the album had a feeling of both relentless pessimism and boundless rage. Not to be outdone, the band successfully followed up their debut full length with a fitting sophomore album entitled Lift The Curse. As with the all previous efforts, the album's lyrics tend to focus on hatred and disgust towards most people encountered in daily life. Songs of betrayal and revenge are in abundance. More ofter than not, said subject matter becomes quite mundane and over done in my eyes; not in Mushmouth's case. Vocalist Chris Henzel seethes a sort of genuine disgust that rings true, even throughout over two albums' worth of venting on the subject.

Somewhere in between the release of Lift The Curse in 2000 and the release of their follow up EP in 2002, the band decided to change their name to Out To Win due to the surprisingly high number of other bands using the name Mushmouth. Coinciding with the name change, the band released the Persist And Destroy EP. While still maintaining their sound, the band started to lean a bit more metallic with this release; at times being reminiscent of Arkangel's "Dead Man Walking" album. Being recorded at Trax East Studios in NJ and then mixed at Atomic Studios in NYC on top of that, the album was by far the group's most fierce sounding effort. While there were no guest vocals by James Ismean on this album (a first), Sal from Sworn Enemy contributed vocals which were more than sufficient. Ironically, the band also chose to re-record the track "Out To Win" from their "Out To Win" album released back when the band was still considered to be Mushmouth. I've included the Lift The Curse and Persist And Destroy albums together in the same upload as they are both equally necessary listening.

The band also released a final album before breaking up in 2007 entitled Beg For Life. I'm not uploading it due to the fact that its still readily available through Thorp Records. While I personally don't feel as though it is as strong of an album as any of the ones I have uploaded, it definitely contains two of their best and most original songs in the form of "Ghost Army" and the title track, "Beg For Life". Yes, James Ismean does guest vocals on this album ... and this time its about bringing the wrath of the lord down on your ass.

As previously stated, the band has regretfully parted ways with their final show taking place at the Earth Crisis reunion show at Sonar in Baltimore, MD in early 2007. The band is known, however, for their surprise sets of two or three songs whenever they manage to get to the same place at the same time. One can only hope the band decides to pull their efforts together once
more.

DOWNLOAD - Thick As Thieves, Look Ahead & 1997 Demos
DOWNLOAD - Out To Win
DOWNLOAD - Lift The Curse
DOWNLOAD - Persist & Destroy