Many of you will be aware of Sergeant D from his website, Stuff You Will Hate, or maybe his contributions to metal news website Metal Sucks but for those of you who this is the first encounter, a little background;
Serge is a child of 90s hardcore and if you spend any time reviewing his written work, I think you'll get a sense of the same nostalgia we have at Atonement for that time, but with a healthy dose of cynicism towards the era. Personally, I think this article for Stuck In The Past is the best summary.
however, for all the cynicism, he has proven he knows what is up and with that in mind, I dropped him a line to discuss what he'd consider the top 3 under-rated records of the 90s and in keeping with the revival theme, what reunion show he'd like to see.
This is what he had to say;
3 underrated records
Capitalist Casualties “The Art Of Ballistics” 7”
One day back in 1992 or so, I went to the local DIY record store and randomly bought three 7”s: Helmet “Meantime,” No Comment “Common Senseless” and this. All three are certified classics, which I guess means I had great taste when I was 14? But of the three, this 7” is the one I hear the least about these days, which is a shame because it’s one of the most pissed off DRI-style hardcore records I’ve ever heard, and in my opinion the best release of their 25 year-long career.
Abnegation “Sown In The Remains” 7” and split with Chapter
For those who aren’t familiar, Abnegation were a vegan sxe moshcore band from Western Pennsylvania who were well known regionally, but nearly unknown in the rest of the country. Of all the bands doing the super metallic, chugga chugga thing in the 90s (and there were a LOT), I personally think Abnegation were the most brutal and ahead of their time. If you’re interested in learning more about these guys, check out this excellent article on Path To Misery (http://pathtomisery.blogspot.com/2009/01/abnegation-discography.html)
Earth Crisis “Destroy the Machines” LP
I know what you’re thinking: “This isn’t underrated!!” And you are correct in the sense that kids do jock ExC a bit these days. But I am not sure that they appreciate exactly how groundbreaking and important this album really is-- it is quite literally the blueprint for a whole generation of hardcore and indirectly inspired all the breakdown-laden scene bands on Warped Tour, Summer Slaughter and every other “verb the noun” summer tour package. But unlike those bands, ExC has actual SONGS, not just collections of random chugs pasted together. Untouchable riffing and one of my favorite guitar sounds of all time (ESP -> Rocktron Chameleon -> Mesa 50/50 power amp -> Mesa 4x12 cab, as I recall)
Reunion Show:
Like most of the other old people reading this, I have been to more shows than I could possibly even begin to count. And the truth is that at this point, I would rather hack off my dick with the pieces of a shattered Comin Correct 7” than watch a band play. Even my favorite bands bore me to tears after 1 or 2 songs, and let’s be honest: they never sound as good live as they do on a record. I’m just not interested. Shows would be great if bands didn’t play, and it was just me and my friends standing around bullshitting, making fun of kids, and listening to records. Which I guess would just be like what happens when we hang out at my house.
But if I had to pick one reunion show, I’d probably choose some horrible band that nobody gave a single fuck about just to see if we could get Tumblr kids to hop on the bandwagon and pretend like they were super excited about it-- maybe Green Rage or NJ Bloodline??
If you aren't already, we'd recommend you follow Serge on all forms of social media and take this opportunity to thank him for taking the time to chat about Hardcore history. Would also like to further recommend the Path To Misery blog, AJ over there does a great job at documenting 90s/Metallic/Heavy Hardcore and is a great resource.
Twitter: stuffuwillhate
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Email: stuffyouwillhate@gmail.com
