Spirit of ‘99: A Hardcore Competition
Various
GO! Team
Never to be accused of slacking back on supporting the scene in Orlando, the folks at DIY Records have decided to release a CD chronicling a moment when Orlando bands were showing diversity and ability. Don’t let the tongue-in-cheek demeanor fool you, the bands on this CD include everything from mellow emo to screamo to metal to old school HC. There is also a multimedia piece in the form of a movie. There is something here for everyone.
Pistis leads off with a emo song that is minimal and pretty. Sunday afternoon music, if you will. Carlisle plays some melodic music with switched-off vocals, some screamed, some sung. Imagine a pterodactyl attacking a Get-Up Kids show, you’ll get the concept. After Carlisle comes Song of Kerman playing hardcore music with some art. Political and introspective lyrics blend with music that is beauty and chaos all at once. Shyster have been Orlando mainstays for years now, and they don’t disappoint on the two songs here. Punk with emotion is hard to come by after the vogue of snot punk, but Shyster throws real feeling into what they do. Peterbuilt are no longer with us, listen up to what you missed out on…a few emo cliches thrown into a very heavy style of music that never touches on metal or traditional hardcore, just heavy old rock-n-roll. As a member of the band Coriolis, I don’t feel right reviewing myself. We played instrumental music and a foreign ‘zine review once described us as “fucking ace”. Nuff said.
Bible of the Self are metal in the way that the kids all love. An asylum of twisted changes and tempo switches, this one song would probably be 2 or 3 songs for most bands. Dear Ephesus are a band of quality, again living up to some emo cliches, but these guys have a rock side to be reckoned with. The melodies are spot on and their onstage energy is a sight to behold. Backhand suffer from sloppy production, but you can get a definite feel for what they do. This band is growing into an exceptional live act and will hopefully keep up this high energy melodic punk for quite some time. Of all the bands on the comp, they most seem to represent potential for the future. Next up is Kills Competition with more intense energy. This music is furious and political and seemingly sung by a very pissed off Pygmy warrior. Last stop on the tour is Fortitude, old school hardcore like they made coast to coast in the ’80s and early ’90s. While the concept is dated, Fortitude definitely feel it in their hearts, and that matters most.
The Quicktime movie and other multi-media bits on the CD+ are definite must sees. The movie is done by Anthony Torres and stars John Pinto of the Coldspot 8. Think Spinal Tap done for the Sunday matinee CBGB’s crowd circa 1986. I was in convulsions I was laughing so hard, I would actually love to see a fully realized 30 minute version of this movie, the potential for riotous fun is too much to pass by. If you live in Florida, you probably already know of these bands and don’t need to be sold on them. Just buy it, you’ll help out your local economy. For those who live beyond the Land of Flowers, get wise to the fact that Florida rocks, here are 19 reasons why.
GO! Team, P.O. Box 3941, Winter Park, FL 32790-3491; http://www.gosluggo.com
