Remember the awkward portion of your adolescence when you finally discovered the finer points of the “fairer-sex”, (Or “sXe”) and made the oft painful transition of shifting the general focus of your life to that of finding ways to impress them and draw position attention to yourself? Remember the sweaty-palms, hours of purile phone conversations, and the the first kiss (headbutt)? The romantacised memories of history’s byways with an undercurrent of inadequecies and a general apprehension of the unknown – all whilst prodded on with the excitement of what possibilities lay ahead. Like our “first love” music and our subjective tastes are bound to “evolve” over time, and the divergent path often opens a few new doors while hammering a few nails in sundry articles of the past. The music of Revelation Records was a vital part of my life during the crucible of adolescent development and as such, is inseparably connected with many of my experiences and the first foray into the world of hardcore music. Revelation started in the late 80’s helmed by Jordan Cooper and hardcore legend Ray Cappo (Of Youth of Today fame), and presented a viable recording medium for the “youth-crew” giants of east coast hardcore of said period of time. However, the label went through various transistory periods and refused to be typecast as a mere “hardcore label” – as evidenced by the post-hardcore and metalcore push in the mid-nineties and onward. Just to drive the point home: how many other labels can boast of housing the hardcore giants like Gorilla Biscuits and Youth of Today, to post-hardcore giants like Texas Is The Reason and On The Might of Princes, all the way down to the crazed jazz-improv of Iceburn Collective? Perhaps Dischord could, but in a specialised world, you’d be hard pressed to find a label as eclectic and quirky as yellow Rev. As you can tell, I’m a huge fan – so at the risk of gushing in typical “fan-boy” fashion – I’ll attempt to address a few of my favourite releases from the aforementioned label. (For the record: Classics like Gorilla Biscuits “Start Today” and Youth of Today’s discography go without saying! I’ll spend the bulk of my treatise discussing a few favourites of the “underdog” variety)
Shades Apart – Seeing Things
A power-pop band on Rev!? Ha! Its enough to make a “tried-and-true” hardcore kid fold his arms and scowl. These Jersey gents are perhaps are definitely on the upper-echelon of underrated nineties pop-inspired bands. They gained a bit of noteriety for being the “the band that covered Tainted Love” in the early 90’s on the “Save It” full-length. That little wedge of plastic, however, doesn’t hold a candle to the caustic yet wonderfully catchy drive of “Seeing Things” though. Who says pop-rock can’t have a bit of grit, a few deftly placed discordant riffs and not be enough to appease the masses?
On The Might of Princes – Sirens
This one might leave a few scratching their heads, but I firmly believe this record deserves to be here as much as the next classic Rev release. They struck me as a more accessible version of Yaphet Kotto (Which is not to imply that Yaphet Kotto isn’t accessible, or mind-numbingly awesome) that you could use to get your little brother off his Geoff Rickley worship. The dual guitar squeal around 1:48 on “My Hands: Landmines. Landfills” always reminds me of why I love this record so much. Its a tad less screamy than their prior releases, but is definitely the most fleshed-out of all their material.
Bold – “Looking Back” EP
This EP amply proves that Bold was at their best when they infused clean, melodic metal leads , and lyrical content that strayed from the archetypical “youth-crew” mold. Don’t get me wrong: the content (From a lyrical stand-point) still leaves much to be desired, but the Capone leads more than make up for this discrepancy. If you place your ear next to the vinyl ,as it spins, you can almost hear Aram Arslanian of Betrayed testing his skills alongside Mr. Capone. Hi ho! Ladies and gentlemen! We have a walk-off!
Into Another – Ignaraurus
Prog-Metal perfection! I bet the hardcore scenesters nearly wet themselves when their hardcore-hero Richie Birkenhead started up this unit and entered stage-left with a flowing silk shirt and wicked 80’s style “mane”. Goodness, I would’ve given my left arm to see that in action. The vocals might kill it for some, but the intricate instrumental work is bound make a body drop their jaw – even a good decade or so after the fact.
Ignite – Past Our Means A keynote in the time old adage of “not judging a book by its cover”. Ignite fans tend to have a preference for “Call On My Brothers”, but I think this one is short, sweet, and doesn’t overstay its welcome. Plus, having posi-core ragers like “Holding On” and “Embrace” tend to dissuade one from stating that any other Ignite record holds a candle to “Past Our Means”. Seriously, name one Ignite song that ragers harder then “Holding On”? Top it all off with lyrics that not only address what they’re concerned about, but offer a solution in a non-preachy fashion…all belted out with Zoli’s impassioned, operaesque voice. Its a win-win scenario, my friend…no matter how you slice it.
In My Eyes – Nothing To Hide Sweet Pete may have been a self-righteous, Bostonian “edge” snob, but he definitely knew how to nail the “sweet-spot” in the melodic-hardcore department. Youth-crew revivalist fare that invoked some of the best “pile-ons” and “finger-points” of the 90s. As great as “The Difference Between” was, this one was the full-package deal for me. They’d inspire the pseudo youth-crew movement around 2004 with the likes of Champion and The First Step. The Faith cover was pretty decent too.
Texas Is The Reason – s/t EP
Post-hardcore in a literal and sonic sense. Arenas and company were quite the formidable post-pseudo-“emo” quartet during the mid-nineties, and its no small wonder their contract with Capitol never panned out. One can only wonder if the sonic landscape of the nineties would’ve played out differently if these chaps got on the mainstream circuit. Garrett Klahn definitely has one of the most distinguishable voices of that era (Raspy, yet melodic and oddly soothing) – and the general blueprint they left behind has inspired a myriad of bands. This EP, undoubtedly, houses my favourite works by these Yorker yaps – and unlike its LP brother, is “in and out” without overstaying its welcome. I’m still baffled as to to their fixation with the JFK assassination? Does anybody know why it still keeps Chris Daly up at night?
Nerve Agents – Day of The White Owl
They’re definitely not the most revolutionary band around – but the amalgamation of Ray Cappo-esque vocals with Misfits macabre fashion in a punkcore blender worked wonders back in 2000. Dante had these crazy off-kilter basslines that’d just work into your skull, and Eric’s raging vocals always stir up the urge to annihilate all in your path. It was a tough call between the EP and this slab, but this full-length edged it out by a hair.
Damnation AD – Kingdom of Lost Souls
Argueably my favourite metalcore release on Rev. For all the bleak atonal sounds, hopeless lyrics, and machine-gun rattle drumming, its surprising that this one was a “grower” record for my general taste. There isn’t a lot of variation in Mike’s “singing”, but you can tell he’s sincere and that he lets it all out on the table when he performs. Its like digging through the painful and repressed memories of a tortured being, only sans Jennifer Lopez’s incessant nagging and lame VR machines (Sorry, I had to make a Cell reference). Hearing the pain in his voice as he screams out “I’m reaching out for your hand. I can’t fight it alone” in “Climbing and Climbing” still gives me chills.
Inside Out – “No Spiritual Surrender” EP
The major “selling-point” of this band seems to be the infamous front-man who went on to “bigger things” in the years to follow. However, I’d like to take a moment to celebrate Mr. Vic DiCara’s and his geeter-genius (Even if his religious preference is part of the reason why these gents called it quits so long ago). The opening riff of “Undertone” and subsequent change-up still causes the hair on my arm to stand. Goodness, they just don’t make songs like that anymore! Mr. de la Rocha’s preachy commentary and lyrics grate a bit, but everything else is solid GOLD. As a random aside; history speaks of a time when Ebullition Records sought to do a full-length with these guys before Revelation came around. When I heard the live bootleg of “Turn and Face”, a large part of me (Next to my subconcious and my “laundry sense”) wished the aforementioned LP would’ve been released on Ebby (No offense Rev!). Rage Against, who?
Shapes Not Too Selective 