HAIL MARY

BORN AGAINST is easily my favorite hardcore band of the early '90s. I saw them in Cudahay, Wisconsin in 1993, got the self titled EP and was hopelessly hooked. I had never heard music like that, and I had never had music and attitude shoved in my face like that, and I loved it. As a geographically challenged late bloomer I missed out on the band's infancy, but consider myself lucky to have seen them at all. While scores of other bands have influenced musicians, even influenced genres, BORN AGAINST still manage to stand alone. No one sounds like them, and no scene sprouted up from their completely irreverent and sharp take on hardcore punk. No one, that is, except Albany's HAIL MARY. This demo is BORN AGAINST worship in its purest imaginable form, from the song structure to low end guitar yowls to the snarky bite of the atonal vocals. While I don't think this demo approaches any of the output of New York's finest shit stirrers, HAIL MARY crank out quality tunes on this 1997 demo, as they continued to do on a handful of EPs and one sweet 12" platter during their brief run.  Now, who else has the first BORN AGAINST record on clear?

HAIL MARY