| Ahh, 1997. That was 8 fucking years ago and boy do I feel old right now. Back then I was heavily into hardcore. I remember that the whole youth crew revival thing was going on strong with bands like Ten Yard Fight, In My Eyes,
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Rancor, etc…But also around this time at the opposite end of the hardcore spectrum, a more intelligent scene was happening. Bands like Saetia, Antioch Arrow, and The VSS were incorporating more artistic aesthetics and diversity into a stale hardcore scene. The VSS really stood out due to Sonny Kaye’s distinct vocals, haunting keyboards, and a rhythm section that would later go on to form the Slaves/ Pleasure Forever. Mix Ebullition style hardcore with some dark wave and you have The VSS. Their only full length record, Nervous Circuits, was released during this period and is now out of print. I was obsessively searching for this CD for a year until I finally found it in Amoeba’s used bin. So I give you two songs from this great record and a bonus extra song from Epitonic.com.
The VSS- Death Scene mp3
The VSS- Lunar Weight mp3
BONUS TRACK
The VSS- In Miniature mp3 (from Epitonic)
Abhinanda were from Sweden and played boring early 90’s hardcore ala Dayspring, Strain, and shit like that. But in 1998 they released an incredible record on Simba called Rumble. This was around the same time Refused released their epic The Shape of Punk to Come, and Abhinanda undoubtbly took cues from that record. Their guitarist Par even played with Refused during their early “hey look at us, we’re hardcore” years. On Rumble, the band experimented with different tones and harmonies which produced an angry, climactic, and rocking hardcore record. One minute you’re enjoying a Denver omelet, the next minute someone’s got a gun in your face.
Abhinanda- Showdown mp3
Abhinanda- La Musica Continua mp3