Book Review /// The Anti-Matter Anthology

I picked this book up while i was on tour over in Europe. I remember hearing about this a few years ago when they did the book release show with Snapcase and 108 in Brooklyn but i had forgotten about it until recently. I was extremely shocked when i picked this up and read through the list of band interviews that were featured inside. Before reading i did not know all to much about Anti-Matter and what type of impact it had on the post-punk/hardcore scene in the early 90′s. After reading this book i realized how much i really wish i was a hardcore kid in the 90′s.

Here is a brief history of Anti-Matter:
“For those who don’t know, Anti-Matter was a fanzine published between 1993 and 1996 from a bedroom on the corner of East 10th Street and First Avenue in New York City. Anti-Matter was also a compilation album, released in 1996, that documented sixteen hardcore, post-punk, and indie bands who weaved the fabric of the music that featured prominently in the fanzine. On November 6, 2007, for the first time ever, Anti-Matter will become a book: The Anti-Matter Anthology: A 1990s Post-Punk & Hardcore Reader will be issued by Revelation Publishing, the literary sister of Revelation Records.

Anti-Matter was conceived and created by Norman Brannon — in 1993, a former guitarist for Ressurection, 108, and Shelter. Upon its demise, Brannon went on to form Texas Is The Reason and New End Original, in addition to working as a DJ and running an independent dance label called Primal Records. His work has been published in Alternative Press, Punk Planet, Ego Trip, Soma, and VIBE, among others. Brannon is currently working on new music, as well as a second book of short-story nonfiction. He lives in Brooklyn, New York, and online at Nervous Acid. Also, he apologizes to anyone who bought Fuzzy or Inch records at his behest.”

This book includes most of the interviews that were featured in every issue of Anti-Matter plus additional bonus material. Some of the many highlights for me personally were the interviews with Into Another, Mike Judge, Farside, Quicksand, Shelter, Jawbox, Samiam, Rage Against the Machine, Snapcase, and Sunny Day Real Estate.

The interviews are on a much more personal level than most zines and interviews that i’ve read. Brannon asked a lot of personal and emotional questions that would often make me wonder if i would want to answer some of the questions if i was being interviewed. In the interview with Mike Judge he explains why he wears sunglasses when he is in front of people or being interviewed. In the Shelter interview Porcell talks about the few incidents were he sold out numerous times one being with Walter of Quicksand at a Morrissey concert.

Zack de la Rocha gets very political during the Rage Against the Machine Interview. Zack talk about Leonard Peltier for two and a half pages as well as the direction RATM was taking at the time, being on MTV and making music videos. Every interview in this book is different from the on prior.

The whole idea behind Brannon’s interviews are to get on a personal level and to interview people who he knows really well. I mean how could you get personal if you hardly know the person that your interviewing? That is why the interview with RATM was very political and the interview with Richie of Into Another had a slew of questions related to personal and emotional problems involving his ex girlfriend, the way he felt about his friends and his home, as well as questions involving the direction Into Another was going in and if he as ready to take on fame.

The one question that was asked numerous times throughout all of the interviews was “when was the last time you cried?”. I was surprised that everyone who was asked that questions answered it without shame or embarressment.

This book is one of the few books that I’ve read about punk and hardcore that Ive thoroughly enjoyed all the way through. Most books just have pictures and boring bio’s of bands, i do enjoy reading up on bands that i admire but sometimes it gets old. This book is something more, it goes deep into the heart of the people being interviewed and really makes you understand why we do this and why punk and hardcore is apart of our lives. This is more than the lyrics and the music, its a personal and emotional state of mind and the interviews in this book captures that state of mind.

A lot of great bands and people were involved in the punk and hardcore scene during the 90′s and it was a very innovated time for punk and hardcore. This book is by far one of the best I’ve read about the era and punk an hardcore in general. There are a few good books out there but for me personally this one is the best. Go and pick this up, if you are a fan of the 90′s or any of the bands featured in this book than you will not be disappointed.

 

Reviews /// Picked Up Some Gems At This Is Hardcore

I picked up a few new releases while I was at This Is Hardcore in Philadelphia this past weekend. I picked what I knew was going to be good to review for the zine. These are some great bands that are doing good things, so be sure to pick these up and to support these bands and the labels that put out these records.

Foundation – Hang Your Head
August, 2009 | Six Feet Under Records [8.5/10]

This release is the first release for Foundation on Six Feet Under Records and it has been very well anticipated for a while now. This is by far the best record this five piece from Atlanta has put out. They have definitely grown in the past few records they’ve done. “Hang Your Head” has a much heavier sound to it and the overall message is very powerful and straight forward, not too many bands do that nowadays. Foundation has been through some lineup changes since their previous records, adding a new bass player along with a new guitar player and the alteration is noticeable. This band has always had a 90′s sound to them and there is no lacking of that with this record but I feel that there has been some newer influences added to their sound. Bands like Buried Alive, Converge, and Indecision come to mind a lot when listening to the structure of these songs. Starting off with the track “Fireproof”, which has one of the strongest opening riffs on this record. The vocals come in very hard and are backed by powerful gang vocals that sound like The Path of Resistance (“Who Dares Wins” era). After that follows the title track “Hang Your Head” which is the longest song on the record. The chorus is very heavy and kicks in at the end of the song even heavier. My two favorite tracks off this record are the last two “Heartless” followed by “Pray For (Atlanta)”. I can’t really express how heavy both of these songs are, so you really need to just go pick this up. “Heartless” opens up with a riff that sounds like it would be on an early Converge record which i think really adds to the effect of the song. “Pray For (Atlanta)” kicks in right after with a very strong guitar part guided by a sample over everything. I think It goes along great with the lyrics and the actual feel of the song. Once you read the lyrics and hear what is being said everything should start to click, the concept of the song along with sample is very coherent. Along with the record SFU put a digital download card in and on that was a re-recorded song “Evaporate” which is off the first 7″. This recording features a quest spot from Justice of Trapped Under Ice which was a cool thing they did and it came out sounding great. Foundation have always been very proud of where they come from and if you look closely at their lyrics and the layout of this record you will see that very clearly. Not too many bands hold onto their own scene not to mention talk about unity and pride in their lyrics and display it within the artwork and layout. This record is without a doubt their best work yet and I'm glad they decided to go with such a great label to do this on. Everything from the artwork and layout to the actual record came out great, this will be a very well received release for both Foundation and Six Feet Under Records.

Soul Control – Silent Reality EP
August 2009 | Bridge 9 Records [8/10]

This is the first release on Bridge 9 for SC, following this release is their full length LP titled “Cycles” which will be out later this month. This EP features two songs “Silent Reality” which will be on the LP and “Feel the Pain” which is a cover by Dinosaur Jr. When i heard talks about SC doing a cover for the EP I didn’t know what to expect but I knew that they had something good up their sleeves. When i found out that it was a Dino Jr cover and that it was spot on and “radio worthy” i knew i had to pick this up to hear for myself. For once the rumors were not wrong. I was expecting maybe to hear Rory’s normal yell over the song but this is in fact sung intentionally to sound like J Mascis and it turned out great. Everything about the cover is exact, the guitar/bass tones and even the drums. I had to go and listen to the actual recording by Dino Jr to compare the two and it was like i was just listening to a different version by the same band, but clearly it wasn’t the same band. I suppose i should at least talk about the SC song which is on side A of the EP. Soul Control has always had their own sound to them even with the addition of Rory on vocals they have still managed to withstand their own style. This track is nothing to out their for these guys but it is defiantly a step up. The production is very well put together and I’m looking forward to hearing the rest of the LP. The guitarist has defiantly messed around with some more effects on this record which i think is cool, Ive always been into the weird stuff that this band has been able to pull off. This EP only features one song off the LP so its hard for me to judge the rest of the record but from the sound of this song i can tell its going to be a step up from their previous records. And if your into Dino Jr pick this up and hear it for yourself because its a work of magic, i don’t know how they got to sound so close to Dino Jr but they certainly pulled it off, i was hoping a hardcore band would do this sooner or later and I’m glad it was Soul Control.

Gypsy – s/t 7″
August, 2009 | Six Feet Under Records [9/10]

New band with a new sound and with a strong first release like this one its no surprise that Gypsy will be talked about and well received. Featuring members of Cold World, ex-Blacklisted, and Let Down this four piece has a very different sound than its predecessors. This record reminds me a lot of older 90′s alternative/post hardcore bands such as Handsome, and Braid mixed with a dirtier grunge sound similar to Dinosaur Jr and Hum (minus the space rock sound). Both songs have a different aspect to them, the first track “Relatively Distant” has a heavier feel to it and is very upbeat, the riffs and structure remind me a lot of Helmet. The second track “Skeleton Parade” is much slower and more relaxed than the previous song. It reminds me a lot of Dinosaur Jr or something along those lines, especially when the guitar solos kicks in. The vocals are very dynamic but yet not all over the place and that is a very good thing. Especially when the vocals are actual sung, its almost like a Braid/Hum hybrid. They did the right thing with this record, there is not to many songs to keep the listener from wanting it to be over. This record is short and makes you want to hear more. They put their sound out on the table and people will know what to expect from this band with future releases, which i hope they do more. I feel like this formula has happened before, you take members of hardcore bands and you make them play in a rock band (like Quicksand or Renee Heartfelt) which I’ve always been a fan of. These songs are very catchy and can easily be stuck in your head, this is a very strong EP and a band like this has needed to come along for a while now.