Substance - Demo (1989)

With members that would go on to play in All Fall Down, Cutthroat, and Stigmata, Substance were hardcore from the Cro-Mags school of mosh (rumor is their original name was Hard Times) that made them sound tough as fuck aside from their already raw demo. Usually this side of hardcore isn't really my thing, but this demo really rips from track one to the end. A lot of music that is supposed to be pissed off comes across as disingenuous at least on occasion but these dudes are really really pissed off and it shows from the riffs, to the vocals, to how hard the drummer hammers his kit.

Tracklist:

1. Suppressed
2. In Touch
3. Breaking Through
4. Pressure Point
5. Over the Top
6. Draw the Line
7. Build Up

Download URL: https://www.mediafire.com/file/5jldt73qj6dkr7c/substance.zip/file

New Life - Demo (2017)

Time for another one of my old bands! This supergroup of local weirdos was put together by JR of Lone Ranger who went on to be in the Royal Hounds in NYC (probably one of the best new oi bands going right now) with me, Welf and Joey from Aggressive Response, and David from Flowers of Evil. Okay so, the story goes like this: we originally were supposed to be a band for exactly one show, which was Iron Cross coming through Albany on tour. It so happened that that show was cancelled, and due to some weird law of transference we ended up becoming a real band.

With some hard hitting JR riffage, David's proselike lyrics and spastic stage presence, Joey and Welf filling out the sound, and me keeping a steady beat, we actually became something I am still kinda proud of. Only one demo recording exists and the sound quality is the perfect kind of shitty to compliment our sound, but we did have a handful of other songs that were never properly archived and that is a damn shame. We wanted a band that would be short lived and burn out quickly, and even if we started doing some outta town gigs here and there we still ended up becoming that band. Relationships soured with several members and it was decided we'd part ways. I had a good time in the band, but it was hard to be bummed while having 14 hour days between work and school before I'd even get to practice. Now that all that shit is over, I'm definitely missing these days. Pretty unforunate we never got to record the War At Your Door 7" but hey, it is what it is!

Tracklist:

1. New Life
2. They Say
3. Social Captivity
4. Human Waste
5. Religious Penetration

Download URL: https://www.mediafire.com/file/n05lc3gam32jmsj/NewLife.zip/file

Danger Field - S/T (2011)

Don't really know much about these dudes either, but I'm pretty sure I saw them a couple times while they were around. While their name is a nod to one of the greatest comedians of all time, they seem to keep some of that humor without seeming schlocky and delivering some pretty solid NYHC tunes recorded by the legend Don Fury. NYHC is a little out of my area of expertise so I'm at a loss to think of a good comparison, but if that's up your alley you should check them out.

Tracklist:

1. Domi Nation
2. My Helping Hand
3. Gorilla Monsoon
4. Crystal Mansion
5. Oh, Albany
6. Unsaid
7. Day of Reckoning
8. S.I.T.H.
9. Wax On, Fuck Off
10. Pangaea
11. Broken
12. Staying Out and Calling In!
13. Hardcoretown
14. The Long Road Home

Download URL: https://www.mediafire.com/file/pvbj87hqkujzej8/Danger_Field_-_Danger_Field.zip/file

Pointblank - The CD (2009)

Originally starting off with the equally terrible and awesome name Reagan's Still Dead, Pointblank was built from remnants of The Jury after they split with members of Anal Warhead to bring some serious Cleveland by way of Albany style hardcore that sounds a lot like Cheap Tragedies or Gordon Solie Motherfuckers. If I remember correctly, their first gig they weren't even playing their own songs but a cover set of Black Flag tunes along with a band made up of me, members of Plastic Jesus, and Aggressive Response for the punkest book tour ever that stopped through Valentine's to promote Barred For Life. Maybe a few more shows passed before they changed their name, leading to a nigh incalculable amount of no-not-THAT-Pointblanks muttered from members and friends of the band alike. I'm not sure if the band ever really broke up or if they just kinda, well, stopped. I remember the singer Joe (former guitarist of The Jury) saying he took more lyrical inspiration from Richard Stark novels, known for his hard boiled detective stories, than anything else. This rules though, download it.

Tracklist:

1. Reagan's Still Dead
2. The Hunter (Part One)
3. Pills
4. Monster
5. Joke
6. Bloodshot Mind
7. The Hunter (Part Two)
8. She Kills You Faster

Download URL: https://www.mediafire.com/file/8b63eftjqxdzbee/Pointblank.zip/file

Stewart's - Cone of Love (2008)

Wish I had some pictures of this band, but I was far too drunk and camera phones hadn't evolved yet to the point where they were worth busting out in a dark club. This band was the other real standout act for the 2008 Band Olympics, rumor was they had found out that every member at one point or another had worked at Stewart's which was too sweet a coincidence to pass up. They hung up a Stewart's Milk Club banner, donned their uniforms, and even threw out pints of ice cream to the crowd while singing sugary power pop ballads about all things relating to upstate NY's favorite convenience store chain. Some of the songs are clearly filler, but still contribute enough to the gag to not be out of place, while the good songs are really fucking good.

Tracklist:

1. Stewart's
2. Milk Club
3. Frozen Aisle
4. Cone of Love
5. Cafe Stewart's
6. Chocolate Kevorkian
7. Cotton Candy
8. Philly Vanilla
9. 7-Eleven Fuck You

Download URL: https://www.mediafire.com/file/bp7584f205dhoac/Stewarts-ConeofLov.zip/file

Spread 'Em - Pizza Crisis 7" (2009)

Been waiting to post this and the next post at the same time for a little while. For those of you from Albany in the aughts you most likely remember the Band Olympics, where local musicians all threw their names in a hat and were drawn at random to see who their band for the month was. This gave an opportunity for some real serious shitshow material, but sometimes it really paid off. In the case of the Band Olympics of 2008, there were two real standouts: Stewarts (who will be featured in the next post), and Spread 'Em. Consisting of Brendan from Scag Rotter, Matto of everything Albany, Heather of Zahnarzt, and Ben of the Honor Society, they penned a few songs and recorded a demo.

Hilariously cocky, Spread 'Em even showed up to the Band Olympics with t-shirts that declared them the winner printed long before the show even happened. To the surprise of some, but certainly not them, they did indeed win. Punk comedy sounds so shticky I know, but there are a lot of genuine laughs contained on their demo and this follow up 7" with the addition of Kurt from the Disenchanted on guitar. Pretty straight forward punk with songs covering topics like inflated cost of pizza, malicious zits whispering dark commands, and even the desire to be the son of King Kong. No other band in Albany, to my knowledge, has had such an impact in their short lives that several young women got the band name tattooed inside their thighs. What a ride this band was while it lasted.

Tracklist:

1. Punk Rock Son of Kong
2. Too Many Zits
3. Megatron
4. Pizza Crisis
5. Jamie Lee Curtis Fingerbang
6. Group Hug

Download URL: https://www.mediafire.com/file/c0yybhc3nyjb849/SpreadEm-PizzaCrisis.zip/file

Bourbon Scum - Self Titled (2014)

Well, technically this came out as a posthumous release in 2018 but I believe this was originally recorded in 2013 or 2014 and was supposed to be pressed as an LP on Loud Punk but it never really came together which is a goddamn tragedy. This band was fucking fantastic and should have been on the cover of Maximum Rock N Roll and Teen Beat magazine at the same time and it is a crime they weren't. When you get a crew of weirdos like this together though, sometimes shit gets in the way. I have more stories than I can count of gigging alongside these dudes, partying with them, seeing them play countless times, and from talking to them about the history of the band in general. Trying to shoehorn all of those stories in a short blog post would do none of them any justice, but I'm always going to look on those days fondly.

Total '77 punk worship here! You can hear clear cut Johnny Thunders, Slaughter & the Dogs, and the Damned influences along side '50s rock n' roll and ripping skate punk that make all of their releases total gems. Sorry suckers who missed out on your chance to see it live which is undeniably the best way to hear it, but you can still download these tracks and get a taste. These sleazy jerks are no more which is very unfortunate, but the worst part about it is the passing of bassist Nick who we referred to in an earlier post about his band after this called The Rigs. He was a great dude, and a killer bassist that helped the already ripping guitar work come to life with a steady punk beat on drums.

As you may already know Gus moved on to Mystery Girl who isn't unlike Bourbon Scum, but they bring a lot more glammy power pop into the mix. Rick, the on again/off again second guitarist, has his own projects going including his primary band Onlyness which is good but totally not punk. Paul is probably skating at this very moment down in Catskill. I know I speak highly of almost all the releases I post on here, but I cannot stress enough how essential this band is to your Albany punk collection. You can see the full video of their last show ever posted up on YouTube, and I highly recommend you do.

Tracklist:

1. Boy in the Balloon
2. Motivation
3. Mean Streak
4. Psycho Brain
5. Here She Comes
6. All Alone
7. Dead Children
8. So Fast
9. Don't Move
10. Bastard System
11. Your Voice Means Nothing
12. Wanna Get Some Action

Download URL: https://www.mediafire.com/file/6grji8hw7w9fhbx/Bourbon_Scum_-_Bourbon_Scum.zip/file

The Graboids - Demo (2010)

This band was very short lived and I don't think I ever saw them play. I feel like there were some issues among band members, but I am not going to speculate on what they were because I don't know for sure, and it isn't really that exciting, so let's just say this band stopped existing because one of the members was eaten by Graboids. You know, from Tremors. Basically a follow up to Outa Commission with three returning members, with two of them having changed spots, and they even include a cover of the OC tune "Fag It." The sound isn't very similar though, but still very cool with a huge heavy fuzz '70s riff rock influence alongside some catchy American hardcore.

Tracklist:

1. High Five (You're an Asshole)
2. White Whale
3. Stuck
4. the Hammer
5. Medicaids
6. At Lunch
7. Fag It

Download URL: https://www.mediafire.com/file/5i8f9a3vdocya7s/Graboids-Demo.zip/file