Downshift - Flame Still Burns Demo

This is the first demo from Downshift, the band that would eventually evolve into Sworn Vengeance. To those unaware, Downshift was a Straight Edge band that was originally formed in 1996 by two brothers; Eric (bass) and Marc Fortner (drums). After placing some newspaper ads, the Fortner brothers eventually hooked up with Brian Baumgartner (guitar) and Ryan Encinas (vocals). The band put some songs together, and played their first show at the Danville Grange Hall in January of 1997.

Downshift continued playing shows throughout the Bay Area and quickly decided it was time to record a demo. The “Flame Still Burns” Demo was originally released in 1997 on cassette and featured 4 songs along with an Undertow cover (“Cutting Away”). This recording is a far cry from the later Sworn Vengeance material, so don’t expect to hear any Viking-metal here, just straight up Hardcore. I’d really recommend this demo to fans of heavy 90’s Hardcore, especially bands like (early) Earth Crisis and Unbroken. The cover artwork has been re-sized for itunes.

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V/A - California Hardcore: A Call To Arms

Sorry for the lack of updates over the weekend, I have been pretty busy lately. Hopefully we can start things off strong this week… I had been mentally debating about what to post first this week, but without further due here is the “California Hardcore: A Call to Arms” compilation. Definitely a classic release in my opinion, this record had a huge impact on me as a kid, and served as my introduction to a few bands that I was only just discovering at the time. This was also the first release from San Ramon label, Breakout Records (now defunct) back in early 1998 (this was released by Gain Ground Records in Europe).

I’ve always felt that this record was (and still is) a pretty good representation of what was happening in California at the time. Although most of this material can be found on other releases, there are some exclusive songs on here as well. The bands featured are: Hoods, Powerhouse, AFI, Forced Life, Built To Last, Redemption 87, No Innocent Victim, Downshift, Fury 66, Model American, Second Coming & Ignite.

Pretty good mix of some different styles here, while still retaining a metal-free, ‘straight up’ Hardcore feel to the record. A criminally underrated release, it’s a shame that it’s no longer in print. I’d definitely recommend this compilation to anyone interested in seeing what was happening out here in California during the late 1990’s, or just to anyone interested in tracing their Hardcore roots. Enjoy.

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