Gift - Demo

Right Click (PC) or Ctrl Click (Mac) the cover pic above to save a high res version of the cover including insert.
Downloadable tracks (as above Right/Ctrl click to download):
1.Stand Strong
2.Standing...
3.Submission
4.Change
5.Peace of mind

Gift were a shortlived but solid band from Hamilton around 96 - 97 (from memory) They put out this demo cheap and had a song on an international comp' called Mother Earth. They played a style influenced by bands like Outspoken, Inside Out etc. The singer went on to sing for Vargas after Gift split.
Cashdog

Nothing At All - Busted demo

Right Click (PC) or Ctrl Click (Mac) the cover pic above to save a high res version of the cover including insert.
Downloadable tracks (as above Right/Ctrl click to download):
1.Busted
2.Clean me next week
3.Super bullet
4.Nothing at all!

Alright well I know this is kind of a weird one because Nothing At All were never really a hardcore band but I do have hazy drunken memories of seeing them play at places like Squid, Pod and Bobs bar along side bands like (early) Balance and Diswomble as well as bands like Pumpkinhead and Muckhole. Nothing At All shows were always fun, I thought of few of the older people lurking out there might enjoy this.
Sorry about the sound quality at the end of 'Clean me next week' but the tape is really old and has been thrashed over the years. What you hear posted is the best of five attempts at quailty control.

State Of Grace!

Hands down my all-time favourite New Zealand Hardcore band and the band that inspired the name of this blog.
I only saw them a few times before they called it a day but they made a huge impact on my growing interest in New Zealand Hardcore and the shows I saw (including the set recorded for the Live Hardcore CD)are still some of my favourite shows to this day.
The first two tracks below come from the 'All we have is metal comp' on Kafuey Records released in '98 or '99 a comp that showed the heavier side of New Zealand Hardcore at the time. These are, to the best of my knowledge, the only recorded tracks State Of Grace released.
The second part of this update is the 4 tracks taken the Live Hardcore CD, one of the earliest 1157 Records releases. The release documents the last Balance and State Of Grace shows. Obviously i am bias towards this release beacuse it is a recording of one of my favourite NZ Hardcore shows and the actual night was an awesome farewell to these great bands.


State Of Grace - All we have is metal tracks
Right Click (PC) or Ctrl Click (Mac) the cover pic above to save a high res version of the lyric sheet.
Downloadable tracks (as above Right/Ctrl click to download):
1.Lease of life
2.All we have is hardcore


State Of Grace - Live hardcore tracks
Right Click (PC) or Ctrl Click (Mac) the cover pic above to save a high res version of the insert.
Downloadable tracks (as above Right/Ctrl click to download):
1.Walk among the enemy
2.Take it back
3.Acceptance
4.Lease of life

Diecast - Lead grey world

Right Click (PC) or Ctrl Click (Mac) the cover pic above to save a high res version of the cover including lyric sheet.
Downloadable tracks (as above Right/Ctrl click to download):
1.Lead grey world
2.Controlled by freedom
3.These walls
4.Suit wears you

Alright so now we hit Welly for the first time with the '96 EP from Wellington band Diecast. I saw these guys a copule of times when they were still around and thought they were good then but after listening to the demo now they were better than I remembered. I first saw the play at an Auckland skatepark with either Nickel or Witness, pretty sure it was Nickel though. One thing I like about this EP is that it sums up really what what hardcore sounded like in '96.

Balance - Straight Away

Right Click (PC) or Ctrl Click (Mac) the cover pic above to save a high res version of the cover including lyric sheet.
Downloadable tracks (as above Right/Ctrl click to download):
1.Straight Away
2.Reminder
3.Taken Back
4.Time

Alright one more Balance EP and probably my favourite recording of theirs prior to 'One Existence' being released. Classic fuckin' NZHC. Probably one of the best/most original tape covers from a NZ hardcore band as well. There's not much else left to say about this band that hasn't already been said, Balance fuckin' ruled!

Face - Self Titled EP

Right Click (PC) or Ctrl Click (Mac) the cover pic above to save a high res version of the cover including lyric sheet.
Downloadable tracks (as above Right/Ctrl click to download):
1.Old
2.Boat
3.One line
4.Contact
5.Skinfall
6.No gain
4.Hollywood

Well it seems I accidentally deleted the Face EP when I was doing my last update so here it is again.

West Side Straightedge

Alright well this is something I planned to do right from the start of this blog and seeing as I haven't bothered to update for a while it's time to put up four West Side Straightedge releases at once. Obviously there are more WSSE releases than just these four but these are the ones that would be the hardest to find and I have had people ask me for them in the past.
Love 'em or hate 'em WSSE were responsible for a lot of bands and releases, mainly during the '98 to '03 period of New Zealand Hardcore. This update contains one of my favourite NZHC releases - the amazing DSM/Dust split. Although certainly not all still straightedge, you can find members of WSSE and associated bands in some of New Zealand's more well known mainstream bands like Blindspott and The Bleeders as well as international acts like Day Of Contempt and Roger Miret and The Disasters.
Dave ex-DSM singer and current Blindspott bassplayer also runs Dynamo Promotions and brings over a lot of overseas Punk and Hardcore bands including the likes of NOFX, Agnostic Front, Ringworm and Sick Of It All to name a few. Ex-AOV singer and current Bleeder Angelo Munroe can also be found running Deadboy Records alongside ex-Deadletter drummer/ex-Kill Me Quickly bass player and all round good cunt Bondy.


DSM - Stronger We Stand demo.
Right Click (PC) or Ctrl Click (Mac) the cover pic above to save a high res version of the cover including lyric sheet. For this release click here to download a high res version of the inside of the demo cover.
Downloadable tracks (as above Right/Ctrl click to download):
1.Open your eyes
2.Kelston
3.Our scene, your fear
4.Stronger I stand

I picked up this demo after seeing DSM open for Sick Of It All at the Globe bar I just can't remember if the show was in '97 or '98? One of my first ever

NZHC releases (along with the Balance 'One Existence' CD) I thrashed this release for quite a while after the Sick Of It All shows. Total One Life Crew worship on this release especially the intro. 'Stronger we stand' is still one of my favourite DSM songs.



DSM/Dust - Lest we forget split CD.
Right Click (PC) or Ctrl Click (Mac) the cover pic above to save a high res version of the cover including lyric sheet.
Downloadable tracks (as above Right/Ctrl click to download):
1.Way Of Life
2.Loyal
3.Talk is cheap
4.All I need
5.What will become
6.Dust

Hands down one of my top 3 New Zealand releases of ANY genre. I was lucky enough to grab one of these off DSM bass player Dan Smith at the Vision Of Disorder show at The Squid Bar in Auckland. Both bands put forward their best material on this release. In case you're wondering, track six is two songs - the first being the Dust song 'Dust' the second one is both DSM and Dust with extra backup singers covering Integrity's 'No One'. Dust played a short reunion set a couple of years back at the Kings Arms in Auckland for those lucky enough to be in attendance.



Act Of Vengeance - demo.
Right Click (PC) or Ctrl Click (Mac) the cover pic above to save a high res version of the cover including lyric sheet.
Downloadable tracks (as above Right/Ctrl click to download):
1.In this day
2.Act Of Vengeance
3.Forever true.mp3

One of Aucklands first Vegan SXE Metalcore bands. Act Of Vengeance sounded like a cross between Earth Crisis/Morning Again and countless Euro Edge-Metal bands. Everything from the music to the artwork on this demo screams late '90s Metalcore. This demo definitely doesn't really do the band justice. You can tell this by how much better the re-recorded songs sound on the split with DSM, which you can find below as the final part of this update.



DSM/AOV split CD.
Right Click (PC) or Ctrl Click (Mac) the cover pic above to save a high res version of the cover including lyric sheet. For this release click here to download a high res version of the inside of the CD cover.
Downloadable tracks (as above Right/Ctrl click to download):
1.Cheated reflection
2.No more lies
3.Never a friend
4.Purify
5.Acceptance denied
6.Image of perfection
6.Forever true

Well, so far in this update we've had demos from both DSM and Act Of Vengeance so I thought I would finish this update with the split CD featuring both bands. This split CD shows a musical progression from both bands and most importantly a distinctly fuller production for both bands. Daves vocals on the DSM songs are a vast improvement over earlier releases and all the DSM songs on this CD are more focussed and harder hitting. AOV's heavier style shows through a lot better on this recording.

Alright that's it for this update. Any questions/complaints/hatemail etc can be emailed to me at geneterror@gmail.com. As always if you have any more info on these bands or any of the other bands on this blog please feel free to email me. If you've got any good/funny stories or info to share with the rest of us about any of the bands on this site, email them to me and I'll go back and post it up in the relevant archived post.
I'm still trying to find someone with a copy of the xVendettax demo so if anyone can help me out get in touch at the above email.
Thanks to Wadzy for the AOV and DSM demos and all those that have emailed me lately with info/suggestions/offers of help etc.

Balance - Demo '92

Right Click (PC) or Ctrl Click (Mac) the cover pic above to save a high res version of the cover including lyric sheet.
Downloadable tracks (as above Right/Ctrl click to download):
1.Balance
2.In reply
3.Jayz
4.Spring

Following on from yesterdays Obscured demo here is the Balance demo given out at the same show as the Obscured demo.

Obscured - Demo '92

Right Click (PC) or Ctrl Click (Mac) the cover pic above to save a high res version of the cover including lyric sheet.
Downloadable tracks (as above Right/Ctrl click to download):
1.Enlightened minds
2.Killing the hatred

The first of 3 updates in a row for the new year. Kickin' off '07 with Obscured, a band I never saw so I'll leave the description up to somebody that did.

"Obscured came charging out of the gates in Feruary of 1992. They played ripping fast Venice Beach style crossover thrash/hardcore. This demo was given out for free at a show in March of that year with Balance. Balance also gave out there first 4 song demo (with Keiran from Salad Daze on vocals) for free at this show (watch this space). Obscured played fast ripping sets, mostly with Balance from 92 - 93 before changing their name to FACE and releasing a mini album (watch this space). They used to cover Cro Mags and Suicidal Tendencies to round out their set and they fitted in just fine. That gives you an idea of their live sound." - Cashdog

Check back real soon for Balance 4 track demo and Face EP.

Promise Of Bloodshed - Live at bFM

Right Click (PC) or Ctrl Click (Mac) the cover pic above to save a high res version of the cover including lyric sheet.
Downloadable tracks (as above Right/Ctrl click to download):
1.Forever contempt
2.Cursed/Promise Of Bloodshed
3.Swallowed in pain
4.Darkest one
5.Agony
6.Child of decay

Without a doubt the best Metalcore band to come out of New Zealand. Probably my favorite live band from New Zealand, so many relentless shows. Enjoy!

The Creed - demo '97/98

Right Click (PC) or Ctrl Click (Mac) the cover pic above to save a high res version of the cover including lyric sheet.
Downloadable tracks (as above Right/Ctrl click to download):
1.Money is your master
2.Why wait?
3.Animal
4.World

Here is a killer demo from a band that I only ever saw twice. Unfortunately one of those two times was their last show at Grey Lynn Library Hall, at least I think thats where it was, my memory of it could be wrong.
Some of you might recognize track two as being released on the "All we have is metal" comp but under the name Day One.
Basically after The Creed split a bit of a lineup change happened then they emerged with the name Day One and obviously kept a few of the old songs while Ben G was still singing. Day One then replaced Ben G with Mike and went on to become one of the most well known names in New Zealand Hardcore.

Balance - Foundation Demo '97

Right Click (PC) or Ctrl Click (Mac) the cover pic above to save a high res version of the cover including lyric sheet.
Downloadable tracks (as above Right/Ctrl click to download):
1.Foundation
2.This is what you wanted
3.Blind

I am making Balance the first band to get the "Walk among the enemy" treatment because they were the first band to get me into Auckland and New Zealand Hardcore. I have so many good memories of this band it's crazy. I also made so many friends from this era of NZ Hardcore that remain good friends to this day.
I first saw Balance at the '97(?) Warped Tour after being told by a complete stranger (who I would later get to know as Angelo) to go and check them out when he came and struck up a conversation with me because of the Strife hoodie I was wearing. After that I took every oppurtunity I could to see this amazing band live!
To this day the best show I have been to in New Zealand is the last Balance show at what was then the Squid Bar with State Of Grace (also their last show), Witness and DSM.
Thank you Balance for all the good times!
Thanks to Andy and Wadzy for making this and future posts possible!

If anyone has any more info on this recording please post a comment and I'll update this post. Everyone please feel free to leave comments about this first "Walk among the enemy update". All feedback is greatly appreciated.

New Zealand Hardcore resource now online includes classic NZHC mp3s, old show flyers and pics as well as some current stuff.