I talk a lot about the 1990s, that historically maligned decade in DIY punk that according to some modern listeners produced but a handful of worthwhile bands. I talk about how that period of hardcore was great in part because there weren't any rules yet; you didn't have to play DBeat or crust or emo or post punk....you could just rage. And bands raged. These five songs from KODIAK are a perfect example of what happens when earnest music is played by earnest people who are simply putting everything out there. You can feel the intensity, and it doesn't come from a huge recording or technical perfection, it comes from honesty. "Antietam" is an overwhelming track, thirty seconds of piercing guitars and total anguish that just implodes and then the dust settles into the introduction to "Anicin Awakening," a tempting calm interrupted by the harsh aluminum distorion of that same guitar coming back to wreak more havoc. Vocals lean towards what we now call screamo, but if you want to malign this kind of intensity with a supposedly derogatory descriptor then that is your loss. Just some dudes from the '90s, unleashing fury.
2 comments:
What is it with people shitting on that era? Looking back, the sheer amount of quality bands was staggering. Fuck, Post-90s hardcore was good as well but the 90s could be praised just for the amount of diversity people had when getting into hardcore.
Agreed! And ^^^agreed.
So much diversity. Really why I got into hardcore and punk in the first place. I know I always sound like an old dude what I say it, but I loved the 90s. Such a great era of underground music.
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