The only thing that I
might like more than movies is music. Often people will refer to a bands
"shitty second record" or something along those lines, and a lot of the time
that record will be one I like the best. So here are my picks for forgotten
records that I think deserve a second chance.
Insted - ‘What We Believe’
Insted was one of the all
time great cheesy posi core bands that started in the late 80's, when
straight edge was huge. Insted had the simplest of songs, fast part, fast
part, mosh part, fast part. That's it. Throw in some super positive "I can
take on the world and win" lyrics and you have Insted. The demo, 7" and the
first LP are all considered classics, but people often forget this record.
It came out in 1991 on Epitaph. By 1991, the straight edge scene was in its
death throes, with its former members discovering the wonders of alcohol or
just plain moving on in life. So this LP came out, got some good reviews,
and was quickly forgotten amidst the metal core nonsense that was about to
plague hardcore for the next four or five years. But, I still think this is
the best music Insted recorded. The songs are still catchy, but the
musicianship had improved tenfold and a lot of the songs had different
paces. Basically, the overall quality of the songs was way better than
anything else they had released. Recently, they recorded three songs for
release on a discography CD, for an upcoming summer reunion tour. Opinions
on that may vary, but this is still a top notch record that a lot of people
never even heard.
Underdog – ‘The Vanishing
Point’
Underdog is my all time
favorite band, so I might be a little biased. But most people hate this
record. Everyone prefers the Demos LP, which is a classic hardcore record
for sure. But this is just as good. Hell, most of the songs from Demos are
on here, just redone. They added a second guitar player, so the sound was
more full, but most people hate it because of the production, which is
definitely fine tuned compared to earlier releases. That never bothered
me. The singing was even better than before, and the music was the same.
Plus, the songs that are on here that weren’t on previous releases are their
best songs, like “Back To Back”. And of course, there are even more reggae
parts than before. One of my top ten records of all time, which
unfortunately often gets overlooked.
Macabre – ‘Sinister
Slaughter’
The is one of the
strangest bands I have ever heard or seen. They release records with a lot
of death metal, but they throw in hardcore parts, acoustic parts and even
jack in the box sounding parts. I don't know what they were thinking, but I
always thought it was creative. All their songs are about different serial
killers, so I guess the lyrics kind of wrote themselves. I would always see
this band referred to as a joke in many metal magazines, which is lame
because the music here was catchier than almost all of the 500 lame death
metal releases that come out every month. When a fan of heavy music asks me
what I think is good, I always recommend something from Macabre.
Pungent Stench – ‘Been
Caught Buttering’
I first
heard this glorious record when I was in 8th grade. I was big time into
death metal at that point. This band came from Austria. I don’t think any
other good death metal bands came from there. But anyway, I saw the tape in
the store, with the two severed heads kissing on the cover, and I had to
have it. And what did I find? My all time favorite death metal record. I
liked this more than ‘Left Hand Path’, and anyone who knew me at that time
knew I was OBSESSED with Entombed. I had an Entombed shirt for each day of
the week. But this was way better. The music is definitely death metal,
but they always threw in some weird stoner rock guitar parts that made them
stand way out. Plus, the lyrics were the most over the top absurd gore and
filthy sex obsessed things I had ever read. They put Cannibal Corpse to
shame. After this they released a record called ‘Dirty Rhymes and
Psychotronic Beats’, which I also liked a lot, but everything after that, in
my opinion, was bad. Especially last years comeback record. Yikes. But
this is a stellar record, and its a shame that this band never really
caught on in the US.
Insted was one of the all
time great cheesy posi core bands that started in the late 80's, when
straight edge was huge. Insted had the simplest of songs, fast part, fast
part, mosh part, fast part. That's it. Throw in some super positive "I can
take on the world and win" lyrics and you have Insted. The demo, 7" and the
first LP are all considered classics, but people often forget this record.
It came out in 1991 on Epitaph. By 1991, the straight edge scene was in its
death throes, with its former members discovering the wonders of alcohol or
just plain moving on in life. So this LP came out, got some good reviews,
and was quickly forgotten amidst the metal core nonsense that was about to
plague hardcore for the next four or five years. But, I still think this is
the best music Insted recorded. The songs are still catchy, but the
musicianship had improved tenfold and a lot of the songs had different
paces. Basically, the overall quality of the songs was way better than
anything else they had released. Recently, they recorded three songs for
release on a discography CD, for an upcoming summer reunion tour. Opinions
on that may vary, but this is still a top notch record that a lot of people
never even heard. 
Underdog is my all time
favorite band, so I might be a little biased. But most people hate this
record. Everyone prefers the Demos LP, which is a classic hardcore record
for sure. But this is just as good. Hell, most of the songs from Demos are
on here, just redone. They added a second guitar player, so the sound was
more full, but most people hate it because of the production, which is
definitely fine tuned compared to earlier releases. That never bothered
me. The singing was even better than before, and the music was the same.
Plus, the songs that are on here that weren’t on previous releases are their
best songs, like “Back To Back”. And of course, there are even more reggae
parts than before. One of my top ten records of all time, which
unfortunately often gets overlooked. 
The is one of the
strangest bands I have ever heard or seen. They release records with a lot
of death metal, but they throw in hardcore parts, acoustic parts and even
jack in the box sounding parts. I don't know what they were thinking, but I
always thought it was creative. All their songs are about different serial
killers, so I guess the lyrics kind of wrote themselves. I would always see
this band referred to as a joke in many metal magazines, which is lame
because the music here was catchier than almost all of the 500 lame death
metal releases that come out every month. When a fan of heavy music asks me
what I think is good, I always recommend something from Macabre. 
I first
heard this glorious record when I was in 8th grade. I was big time into
death metal at that point. This band came from Austria. I don’t think any
other good death metal bands came from there. But anyway, I saw the tape in
the store, with the two severed heads kissing on the cover, and I had to
have it. And what did I find? My all time favorite death metal record. I
liked this more than ‘Left Hand Path’, and anyone who knew me at that time
knew I was OBSESSED with Entombed. I had an Entombed shirt for each day of
the week. But this was way better. The music is definitely death metal,
but they always threw in some weird stoner rock guitar parts that made them
stand way out. Plus, the lyrics were the most over the top absurd gore and
filthy sex obsessed things I had ever read. They put Cannibal Corpse to
shame. After this they released a record called ‘Dirty Rhymes and
Psychotronic Beats’, which I also liked a lot, but everything after that, in
my opinion, was bad. Especially last years comeback record. Yikes. But
this is a stellar record, and its a shame that this band never really
caught on in the US. 