A Reason For Living Compilation 7inch

A nice little 4 band comp. showcasing some mid-90's hardcore from a variety of styles. Despair play a heavier, but still somewhat fast paced style that, along with enigmatic singer Soctt Vogel, helped them become one of the better hardcore bands of the mid-90's. Against All Hope play a much punkier style on their track. Admittedly, at first the song didn't do much for me as the track that followed Despair, but repeated listens have helped it grow on me. It's still a bit of an oddball here even on its own, with its much more straight-forward HC/punk feel and slight melodic leads; yet big drums and loud double bass give it a real interesting charm.
The second side kicks off with Envy (from the US, not to be confused with Envy from Japan) playing a pretty common revival sounding hardcore/youth crew. Fast, simple drums, clear shouted vocals, and a little tempo change to mix things up a bit. The record closes out with an earlier

version of the infamous Snapcase track "Cabose". Not nearly as big sounding as on 'Progression Through Learning', the song still delivers and in  that signature Snapcase way- tight playing, layered guitars, and the distinct drums and vocals that give away every Snapcase song from the Steps ep to Designs For Automotion lp. A nice booklet with pages for each band round out this compilation put out on New Direction Records. I must add that I love the record label on Side A- it has so many of the classic signs of "Hardcore Record Center Label" - circular printing & a divided label with the title on one half and the bands and songs on the other half. Love it.

DOWNLOAD: A Reason For Living Comp 7inch