Pyramids - Following the Tracks, Forcing Motion Through Phases

Artist: Pyramids
Title: Following the Tracks, Forcing Motion Through Phases
Release: 2006
Label: Slave Union

Track List:
1. Stationed
2. Drifting
3. Sleep Spindles & K-Complexes
4. Slow Wave
5. Delta
6. Paradoxical
7. Lucid

Sprawling, beautiful, and to use a disgustingly cliche word: epic screamo with a slathering of post-rock from Philadelphia. I'm definitely way late on this album but I suppose that's better than never. "Sleep Spindles & K-Complexes" is my favorite track. Very City of Caterpillarish.

As with any screamo you'll likely have a hard time understanding the lyrics. I haven't read them yet, but apparently this whole album is a metaphorical train ride. An odd concept, but the little bits of spoken word or nearly sung lyrics aren't as goofy as that may sound.

Download: Pyramids - Following the Tracks, Forcing Motion Through Phases (LAME 3.97 V0) Multiupload

Download: Pyramids - Following the Tracks, Forcing Motion Through Phases (LAME 3.97 V0) Mediafire

Calling Gina Clark/Dispensing of False Halos - split

Artist: Calling Gina Clark/Dispensing of False Halos
Title: split
Release: 2003
Label: Init Records/Crucificados Pelo Sistema

Track List:
1. Calling Gina Clark - Wir Nehmen Abschied
2. Calling Gina Clark - Blumen Gießen
3. Calling Gina Clark - Ich Fühle Mich Von Ihrer Autorität Auf Den Schlips Getreten Herr Oberkommissar
4. Dispensing of False Halos - It Does Not Not Hurt
5. Dispensing of False Halos - Which Way to Transparent Blue

Here's some more screamo from my collection. If you've read this blog before you probably already know I'm a huge fan. This split was actually one of the earlier records I ever bought. I got it from Init Records when they still had copies.

Calling Gina Clark was from Germany. They changed their name A Fine Boat, That Coffin sometime around 2005. Dispensing of False Halos was from Des Moines, Iowa and was part of that wave of late 90's early 00's American screamo bands that were all the rage for a short period of time. They just don't make it like they used to.

A quick note about the track order. The track listing on the record itself and elsewhere on the internet is incorrect. The Dispensing of False Halos side is out of order. "It Does Not Not Hurt" is the first track on the record even though it is listed as the second.

Download: Calling Gina Clark/Dispensing of False Halos - split (LAME 3.98r V0) Multiupload

Download: Calling Gina Clark/Dispensing of False Halos - split (LAME 3.98r V0) Mediafire

Pools/Cleric - split

Artist: Pools/Cleric
Title: split
Release: 2008
Label: self released

Track List:
1. Pools - Who We Are
2. Pools - Succombs to a New Life
3. Cleric - Men of Blasphemy

I promise I'll get back to posting more hardcore records soon, but first here's the 2008 split between Denton/Austin's Pools and Dallas' Cleric.

It's rare that I meet people who actually like screamo as much as I do. It's not exactly easy listening. Even amongst fans of hardcore, which to the general public is little more than yelling and chaotic noise, "screamo" is often a four letter word no matter the context. Getting a chance to talk with Garrick, guitar and vocals for Pools, and Jason Warhammer (of Resigned to Fate) about music while sitting on his roof during Chaos in Tejas a few years ago was a memorable experience for myself. I always get a little excited whenever I talk to someone in person about bands like pg. 99, Orchid, and Saetia. It's not something I get to do often.

Even though it's so close I really wish I made it up to Denton more frequently. Pools, even though they are on hiatus or whatever now, is part of the reason for that. There's a whole lot of dudes up there who love good screamo and play in lots of awesome bands whose shows I don't go to enough.

On the other side of this split is Cleric. Birthed from the remains of Cøma in 2007/2008, my memory kinda blurs on when exactly, they play what I guess would be called doom metal. I don't really know. Much like Oi (see this post), it's something I know I like, I just don't have a whole lot of experience with so I don't feel comfortable talking about it lest I sound completely ignorant.

Regardless of what you might call it, Cleric is loud, heavy, and evil. Knowing that, it should be no surprise that Kill the Client's Chris "Hollywood" Richardson is the mastermind behind it all. Before Cøma/Cleric I knew he sure as shit could play guitar but it turns out he's pretty good at vocals too.

Needlessly high resolution scans included. I dunno if I'm gonna keep including high res scans of my own records. It takes too damn long to do and it increases the file size of the download by as much as 200%.

Download: Pools/Cleric - split (LAME 3.98r V0) Multiupload

Download: Pools/Cleric - split (LAME 3.98r V0) Mediafire

City of Caterpillar - Demo + Live Recording

Artist: City of Caterpillar
Title: Demo + Live Recording
Release: 2002
Label: Level Plane Records

Track List:
1. A Heart Filled Reaction to Dissatisfaction (Demo)
2. Shadows of Ghosts Passing on City Streets (Demo)
3. Demo Track 3
4. Demo Track 4
5. Demo Track 5
6. When Was the Last Time We Painted over the Blood on the Walls? (Live)
7. An Innocent Face (Live)
8. Shadows of Ghosts Passing on City Streets (Live)
9. A Little Change Could Go a Long Ways (Live)

While no means what I would consider a "hardcore" band City of Caterpillar nevertheless deserves some attention here. Active back in the days when screamo was for the most part not yet a dirty word City of Caterpillar played what I think is best described as a fusion between their contemporaries and Post-Rock. At times they lean so heavily towards the sort of beautiful and eerie sounds typically associated with bands like Mogwai that it can be pretty jarring when they suddenly shift into the harsh noise and screaming.

Somewhere around 7 years ago I left their self-titled album in my car's CD player when my mom asked to borrow it. Later that day when she returned it to me she made the comment that whatever was in my CD player sounded really pretty until it started to get really ugly. That's a pretty accurate description I'd say.

This particular recording is a little more on the ugly (in a good way!) side of things than their self-titled release but it's just as great of a listen. Rather than type out my own description, from the insert:

Songs 1-5 were recorded at Signal to Noise Studios by Duncan & Jay in the April of 2000 in Richmond, VA. These songs were originally released on demo tapes & CDRs. Song 3 also appeared on a split 7" with System 2600 which was released by the Sea of Dead Pirates record label.

Lineup... Brandon, Ryan, Adam, Jeff.

Songs 6-9 were recorded live on WNYU by Steve Roche in Manhattan, NY in the December of 2000. Songs 6 & 8 were released on a one sided tour edition 7" which was pressed by the Level Plane record label.

Lineup... Brandon, Ryan, Kevin, Jeff.

This release is intended to make these songs available at a reasonable price. There should be no need to pay ridiculous prices for these recordings on out of print records.

...Endless thanks go to...
Planes Mistaken for Stars, System 2600, Level Plane, pg 99, Lilac Sky, Adagio 830, Fil "Mako", our friends & families, and everyone who has supported us.

It's kind of funny now since this record can go for a good amount of money on eBay. I was fortunate enough to get my first copy on black vinyl for normal retail price. I won't say how much I paid for my second copy on clear vinyl, but it was as Brandon said, ridiculous.

I'm kind of in the process of organizing my mp3 library right now. Since I don't actually own a CD copy of this record I was curious to see if it is even available for sale anymore and sadly it appears it isn't. The only downloads I could find through Google find were low bit rate and probably done poorly. Fortunately, even though I don't have the actual CD I do have a FLAC rip with an EAC log that says it's damn near perfect. So for your convenience here it is in V0 mp3.

Download: City of Caterpillar - Demo + Live Recording (LAME 3.98r V0)

Summertime Compilation

Artist: Various
Title: Summertime Compilation
Release Date: 2000
Label: Kordova Milk Bar Records

Track List:
01. Ache - Falling from the Sky to Our Heads
02. Five Stars For Failure - Fired
03. Joshua Fit for Battle - Detication
04. Knives and Greenwater - On Horsell Common
05. Landed - ---
06. Lycosa - Lycobra
07. Numbers Are Neutral - Fedaykin
08. Off Minor - Visible Distance (Live on WNYU, on 5-11-00 by Steve Roche, Orig. by UOoA)
09. Neil Perry - September 15th, City Lights and The Clouds That Suck Them Dry (Live on WNYU, on Winter 99)
10. pg. 99 - Mary Get Your Knife
11. Racebannon - The Boy in the Bathtub
12. The Assistant - f.Orever a.Ngry at m.Y I.Nner l.Ove For y.Ou
13. The Awakened - Put on Ice
14. The Cable Car Theory - Second Guessing
15. Keyboard Masters - Is That a Bichon Frise, Young Man
16. The Scarlet Letter - I'm Just a Lonely Bumblebee and That's the Way I Like It
17. The Vida Blue - ...So the Pirate Says
18. Thursday - This Side of Brightness
19. To Dream of Autumn - The Pill Versus the Springhill Mine Disaster
20. Usurp Synapse - More than Meets the Eye

This is a bit of a change of pace considering my recent posts, but I figure since this is such a rarity I just had to post it. All I know about this little compilation is from the liner notes that are in the booklet it came with. It seems two high school kids in Rhode Island put this out sometime in 2000 after March and only 1000 of these were made. My copy is hand numbered 12/148. I'm not certain if that means the particular packaging I have is limited to 148 or what. The money from this compilation went to help underprivileged kids go to summer camp. Hence the name I suppose.

This is a fantastic comp with bands you should probably already be familiar with and a few you've probably never heard before. It's got a slew of awesome screamo bands in their prime all in one place. But what I think I like most about this is that it was put out by a couple of 10th graders who just wanted to get involved in their local punk/hardcore scene and put something out for people to enjoy and help a good cause at the same time. That's the kind of DIY ethic that makes all of this such an awesome and fun thing to be a part of.

I'm including the entire booklet scanned at 600 DPI (lol overkill) because it's got a pretty neat layout and it has information and lyrics that might be of interest. Just a warning though, it's a good 281 MB. I could have scanned it in at a lower resolution but I wanted to make certain it was all readable.

Download: Various Artists - Summertime Compilation (LAME 3.98r V0)

Download: Various Artists - Summertime Compilation booklet