Encyclopedia of American Traitors

New Jersey's Encyclopedia of American Traitors shared members with bands like Spirit Assembly, Yaphet Kotto, and Fields Lay Fallow. Their sound was chaotic, yet more metal influenced than many emotional hardcore bands. Their tougher-than-most sound was complimented by their tougher-than-most looks. When I saw them at Dick Street, I remember ogling the guitar players sleeve of tattoos and thinking they were the toughest looking, and sounding band I had ever seen that I wasn't afraid of. If you can't guess from the band name, the lyrics are extremely political

This is their Discography CD from 2002 which includes both 6”s, the split 6” with Kwisatz Haderach, the split 6” with Orchid, as well as comp tracks and a bonus Black Sabbath cover at the end.

 Encyclopedia of American Traitors - Discography (2002)

Disembodied

Disembodied were from Minneapolis and had an influential sound that was heavier than almost every other hardcore band. They down-tuned their guitars farther than seemed possible to still get actual notes from them. Their sound was similar to Unbroken but darker and more polished, probably due to better musical competency (let's face it, a lot of life.love.regret. is downright sloppy) and better production in the studio.

One of my favorite breakdowns ever is from "Dislocation" on If God Only Knew... partly because it's not a typical breakdown, and partly because it sounds like the guitar player's wrist is going to fall off. Musically it chugs a long in E, but one guitar is downpicking 16th notes the whole time(!) while the other does a rhythm part that makes your head bob.

Here are my three favorite releases. They all happen to be EP's.

Existence in Suicide (1995)

The Confession (1996)

If God Only Knew The Rest Were Dead (1998)