This 2 x 7" marked my first exposure to New Day Rising. It was the Canadian band's first solo vinyl release; prior to this they appeared on a split 7" with New York's Atlas Shrugged put out by Moo Cow Records a few months earlier. Shortly after putting out the self-titled release on display here, they turned up on another Moo Cow split 7", this time with then-fledgling Buffalo powerhouses Despair. I have to say, I was hooked on this band from the very first time heard them. For those of you who may not be up to speed on what they were all about, New Day Rising wrote music with a ton of energy, yet their songs were basically completely devoid of "fast" parts. Many (if not most) NDR songs combined quietly-strummed guitar parts with rousing, sung vocal passages that flowed straight into some dope as fuck mid-90's mosh bits, complete with furious, frantic dual screaming and loads of high-pitched china boy cymbal bashing going on (translation: SHIT YEAH). These four songs are fueled by equal parts angst, compassion, and the need for societal change, and are quite well done. With what they achieved on this EP, It's not hard to see why this band went on to become rather popular during their course of life, albeit somewhat alienating many people at the very same time. Sometimes their lyrics were governmental in nature, and on other occasions they dealt with more social topics (for example, the pro-choice masterpiece "Woman's Right", one of my absolute favorite songs from our scene written during the middle part of the 1990's). They always had something to say and, similarly to fellow countrymen Chokehold, they didn't really give a fuck what you thought about their opinions...and rightfully so. You know, 'cause it's their fucking band and not yours.
There is definitely a good bit of diversity (and personal writings) to be found in releases these boys and girl did, and I still listen to this band with regularity today partly due to this fact. Every song turned over a different stone during their search for the answers to the questions which they were on a quest to find. New Day Rising was an inspiring merger of monstrousness and beauty, and the end result was something hauntingly awesome. I mean, just look at how much that kid with the hat is feelin' it in that live pic on the second record. That right there is the complete summation of 90's hardcore punk circa 1996, y'all. Catch the vibe for yourselves below.
These songs were recorded by Rob Sanzo at Signal To Noise during October (they think!) of 1995.
For those of you keeping track, these two slabs of wax are UR-666 and 667.
Tracklist:
1) Revolution Song
2) Driven
3) Innocence and Rage
4) Shattered
-"what you put into hardcore, or anything, is what will give it meaning"-
