Review: Left for Dead - Devoid of Everything

Left for Dead

Devoid of Everything

A389 Recordings

Anyone familiar with Left for Dead knows that it’s nearly a foregone conclusion that a review written about them by a hardcore fan is going to be glowingly positive. So let’s just get this out of the way: I love Left for Dead.  And yes, I giggled like a school girl when I found out they were releasing this discography and recording new material. Also, anyone familiar with Hamilton, Ontario will not be surprised to find out that there was a time in the late-90s/early 00s that this city consistently produced the most angry, fast, metallic hardcore Canada had to offer.  The epitome of this working-class-teen aggression came from Left for Dead, led by Chris Colohan (Swarm/Cursed/Burning Love) and Jeff Beckman (Chokehold/Haymaker/Pick Your Side).

My only issue with Left for Dead up to this point was their piss-poor production.  Now, as a fan of both hardcore and black metal, I’m really not caught off-guard by bad recordings and production, but I always knew that it was an injustice that such a furious band had such flat, tinny sounding recordings.  Fortunately, thanks to a complete remastering from the original ¼” reels by Kevin Bernsten and James Plotkin, the days of Left for Dead sounding like garbage are over!  I’ve never considered myself an audiophile in the sense that I don’t obsess over sound quality (I either listen to music on my $100 record player or on my phone at 128kpbs) but the change in quality between Devoid of Everything and Splitting Heads (or any other release) is unbelievable.  And to anyone who is about to get nostalgic and talk about how they hate remasterings...you are wrong.  Flat out.  Devoid of Everything is the best that Left for Dead has ever sounded, on any format.  It’s heavier, crunchier, warmer, cleaner, and finally gives this band the sound they’ve always deserved.

In other words, you can now listen to songs like “Eight Floors Above”, “Who Do You Know?” and “Left For Dead” and they will be even more crushing and aggressive-sounding then they previously were...and these are some of the most destructive, scream-your-guts-out confrontational songs I had ever heard....and now they are remastered and even more obscenely heavy.

Go buy it now!

Review: To the Lions - Baptism of Fire

To the Lions

Baptism of Fire

Goodfellow Records

I first heard about To the Lions through the Goodfellow Records website.  I used to check it obsessively, believing (rightfully) that whatever that label put out was worth listening to.  While I loved most of what I heard, To the Lions stuck out more than anything else (except for Cursed).  Unfortunately, with Goodfellow Records and To the Lions now both defunct, all that can be done is a review of this underrated record.

To the Lions was a short-lived hardcore band based out of Hamilton, Ontario.  Despite only being around for a short time, their full length album Baptism of Fire definitely left a permanent mark.  Very much in the straightforward/insanely angry vein of dominated the earlier part of the decade, this album (if not so well executed) would’ve seemed out of place when it was released in 2007.  Fortunately, the band’s members (formerly of SeventyEightDays, Grade, and Chokehold [I think]), know exactly what they are doing when it comes to writing pissed off 90’s hardcore. 

Tracks like Born to Die, Nightmare Begins, and The Foresaken are about as nihilistic and violent as they come, and really lay the track work for an album that avoids becoming repetitive or boring, while still never straying from the musical path that the band became known for.  I can’t understand how this album didn’t earn a place in the ‘essential hardcore albums to own’ lists that are everywhere on the net, but it should have.  Every single song is catchy, well put together, aggressive, and stand the test of time.  I may be biased because this was the type of hardcore that I grew up listening to and playing, but even stepping outside of that dynamic, there really isn’t a bad thing that I can say about this album.

My only issue with this album is as follows:  They have a track called Nightmare Begins, which starts off with a great build up/intro, culminating with a furious scream of “And so it begins!”....and this isn’t the first track on the album!  Now, I’m not one for complaining about how an album is put together, but when a song with this name, structure, and lyrical introduction is track 5 I think a re-ordering should be considered.

So if you like well-written, well-structured 90’s-influenced hardcore then I highly suggest you find a copy of Baptism of Fire and give it more than a few listens.

As far as I know you can't buy this album anymore, but all of the remaining Goodfellow collection is found through Relapse Records, so have a look in their e-store I guess.