INTEGRITY, Mönchengladbach, Rock Babylon (ca.1992)

This is it! The holy trinity is completed - yep, there is no better way to end up this first round of photo-sets with the most important band. Damn right, everybody who knows me should be aware of the fact, that if there is only one band to choose from for me: it's INTEGRITY

Dwid

CRO-MAGS and NEUROSIS both did and do have alot of impact not only on my musical taste but as a somehow guiding line through emotions, thoughts and inner reflection.

A-Double

But when INTEGRITY hit the shores, I got it all in one place. And more. There is this vast vvasteland of topics and feelings that is touched and offered by INTEGRITY. It ranges from simple "animal rights/hunters are weak" to the political in "Armenian Persecution" to in-depth hatred and fear analysis. There are demons, enemies and..."YOU MOOOOTHERFUCKERS".
There is Holy Terror, there is strangeness, there is something beyond - and there is alot of fun, simple, raw attitude. Music-wise, no one could be more to blame for the "Metal-Core"-Tag so overused in the 2000s.
M.A.N., was I awaiting the "Those who fear tomorrow" from Overkill back then, and it was no let-down, but to this day the ONE album that has been played the most out of every single music piece I own...

Yes, this is total Fanboy, and yes, I am aware about alot of rumors and shittalking and stuff - but what better way to respond when it comes to INTEGRITY:
"I don't care for your little world, this is MINE, and always will be!"

Mobile Blog for Android & iOS

The headline pretty much says it all: if you access this blog w/ an Android-(recommended) or iOS-device, you'll be redirected to a mobile version.
More specific, this is true for any Webkit-derived browser that does not have mobile sites switched off. You'll be able to access the "real deal" (great 90s-band & 80s-song btw) by a footer link. In case you are using Blackberry, Windows Phone, Opera or anything else but just want the Mobile: http://horizonsinc.blogspot.com/?m=1
Now, this iThingy makes me think of skipping/altering Flash-use. If you wanna leave remarks about that, would be helpful...

IMPORTANT LAST NOTE: if this is all just Gibberish to you - you're somehow RIGHT!!!

PS: Next up -  Integrity !

CRO-MAGS, Bielefeld, Kaffee Kleinkunst (ca. 1990)

The Cro-Mags...the fucking Cro-Mags. No band is more legend and gossip in the same vein as this New York powerhouse. All the different line-ups, all the different battles, all the different opinions - but nothing ever will weaken the impact, the truth and the power their "Age of Quarrel" demo and album has. If there is anything close to a HC-bible, it would be this.
In those days, Germany's most talked about Fanzine was ZAP, which presented this tour - still the ultimate one in my opinion. I was starting out to be part of that zine, I was starting out to take part in the scene - and haven't it not been for those to CRO-MAGS shows I saw back then, Bochum and Bielefeld, I wouldn't have felt that much love for it probably.
I hope you can see and feel all the energy, the sweat, the rage, that was in this room. Everybody was fighting his/her fight with the outer world in this place (name unknown, i'm old), but all were kinda friends. They/we catched Harley every time he dove off-stage whilst playing, and even JJ got caught when he climbed above all the big speakers, like 8 meters high. An awesome night, an awesome band... well, and over the course of time, i talked to most major players, mostly Harley and JJ, and they all were nice - yep, and special.
I spare you the part with JJ now (and hopefully forever) being with a very good friend of mine - which is, with all that being said, abit strange, but wonderful.

NEUROSIS, Dortmund, FZW (ca.1992)

The first in a small series of shots (read previous entry for details WHY and WHUUUT) is a band that impressed me alot in my early HC years. I came from a kinda NYHC-vibe, but very soon simply fell for all the deep shit, that was kinda bridge to where I came from (first Metal and later on the "Alterna"-scene).
For years and years, I would have told you that "Souls at Zero" is THE perfect record, in all it's negativity, nihilism, pain and catharsis. It stood right up there with "Age of Quarrel", that taught me another lesson about the very same topic: life. Well, I only realized somewhat later, that it is none of both, which I would like to be my sole soundtrack on that infamous desert island... save that for later.
So - the pictures where taken at a place with great memories for me concerning Hardcore (which always was just a small portion of what they had there). It now has resettled to another place which I haven't been to. Before the show, maybe after, I and some of the BLURR-fanzine-Crew did an interview for said Zine, which will come up here in the future for sure. This is not much, just do what NEUROSIS can do best to you: let your mind wander! Click on a picture to see the full shot...

Photography

Due to request, I am going to include some band-photos/live-shots I did on this blog.
I guess I will not have THE ONES, because I have never been that photography guy. To be honest: I suck in taking pictures. Maybe these days I know something about balance, contrast, focus - but way back, maaaan...
But, as said, there was request to share some of the moments that I captured, so be it.
Most of them are unpublished, but I guess the few "hot shots" I did take all got used in some fanzine or another. If any of those look familiar to you, scream for me...

VVe.gas or VEGAS or .vegas. or brilliant - but for sure: "Wake"-Promosheet

Ladies and Gentlemen, we are proud to present to you this item. Supposedly this has never gained a bigger audience, since it's the promotional sheet that accompanied VEGAS' release "Wake". Therefore, only magazines, distributions and media-partners are on the knowing side. And now: you!
I got asked by T. to do this, since we both got a tradition in exchanging. If this thing was kinda help-/succesful I don't know. But I have to admit, that at least in Germany, it's sad to say that VEGAS never got the recognition they deserve. And I guess, they are far more popular now for being the kinda "cult" they are, than by trying to be an actual band in the phase that was represented on "Wake". At least, I am happy, there still is VVe.gas, and there still is great work and shows and releases...
Technically, the PDF is with German text, but I tried to provide a translation. This is a halfway Google-thing, and I am quite unsure about my abilities these days, so for people who do understand both languages fluently: let me know about corrections!

Vegas - promotional sheet for "Wake"

Text-translation:
"WAKE


"Wake" is more than a showcase. With this album .VEGAS. leave an unparalleled found essence.
"Wake" also creates space. Space for something that is always to feel as new, but also at the same time the remaining, the beloved, the what you're looking for.
Adami, Gross, von Ehr and T laid a foundation in 13 tracks for a variety of emotions, with a musical setting that reflects exactly what seems to be already clear in the first few seconds. The knowing-one of their world of experience only needs a few moments to capture in which light the way of views of .VEGAS. appears bright. Those who collect this unconditional "search & destroy" in themself, see the standing of the way of this band.


.VEGAS. adress in their lyrics, invariably written by T, almost pornographicly exact, a something that others will call an "inner hell". Unlike these others might once again do, this here will not be seen to be weeping and lamenting songs, but evokening a cathartic rage, a self-sacrificing power: crucial nihilism.
The soundtrack is much more than a single scream of guitars and march rhythms. The so-called hardcore band .VEGAS. is a conglomerate of listening experiences, which appear to be structural-known is their resound in the ears of the untrained viewer. In truth, this expression is only the structured cacophony of life in sound. Listen to the track 14, at first in the booklet to decipher as "sagevisule" by a projct with a programmatic name: NEVER PRESENCE FOREVER.
Tracks of those recordings from 2003 serve to provide a sound landscape that can be cast in accordance with the catharsis of the essence of "Wake." The usage of samples, percussion and electronic music in this style is not new - but successful.
.VEGAS. do not copy what they like, they are of the same blood and the same flesh as the most close references. Last but not least there are not only an incisive vocals ofDwid H. INTEGRITY in "Rhythm of Decline", also layout, video, and especially humor are found in a Holy Terror vein. The very undervalued Clevo attraction of PALE CREATION finds the way into this work, and not least one also could be of the mistaken impression many riffs are from "Seasons in the size of days". But it remains clear, .VEGAS. are friends, are of the same seed, are a conglomerate of the same experiences. Also commonly shared: style as an expression, not for its own sake.
"Escape the confines of your fate. do not be a prisoner in someone else's scheme "
     .VEGAS. representing with "Wake" a creative phase of the millennium. This includes both the five-song demo from 2002, and all eight shots out of the Anno Domini 2003-recording. Nevertheless the CD is a complete impression, because everything was newly remixed and remastered. The Heavy Mucke flag of the open razor is also not the only amusing visual component, is also worthwhile to look at the CD-Extra video for the song "Feel the leash." Director Dwid deposited with the song truly unexpected images. Have a good laugh!
       .VEGAS. "Wake" CD enters a phase that is documented very impressive. The future belongs to:
www.sagevisule.com"

Advertisement for HORIZONS-Distro

This entry is no commercial break - it's history. Here we have the first offical mentioning of "Horizons", which I choose to brandmark everything I do in Hardcore. In 1989, if I remember this right, I didn't even know, there was more to come. But here it is. And what it was for many years is: a Distro.

Later on, the catalogue grew extensively. But it also got shut down - twice. The first time, due to lack of interest. The second time, because it was alot of financial trouble and killed alot of my time. I overdid it, to be quite honest. Very early on, I also did wholesale, first items being INSIGHT, EVEN SCORE and the "Only the Strong"-7" directly from Tony Brummel. Later on, started doing Scorched Records, of Ron Guardipee, with the RESOLUTION 10" and GALLEON'S LAP 12". But it was somehow Old Glory-Records, remember the East Coast-Iconoclast on Ebullition, that broke my neck. Well, I did... Whatever - it did not work out anymore, the distro, the wholesale. 

Back to the ad, the experienced reader might recognize the comical style used here. This drawing is by Bart Griffoen, and can easily be compared to the work he did for the PROFOUND-7" on Crucial Response. This thing here, was handed to me by Peter Hoeren. It was a sketch and Peters' supposed choice for the cover of the CHARLEY'S WAR 7". I might assume, not too many of my readers might remember this: there was some kind of quarrel about the layout of the 7". The infamous David "Speed" Strempel was wearing an AGNOSTIC FRONT-T-Shirt on the photo chosen for this 7". Apparently, Peter did not like that and chose to let this get retouched. Those were the days... Anyway, I asked Bart if he was okay with me using this thing for an ad, and it found it's way into the Step by Step-Fanzine of Sven Gagelmann. If you have not heard of that one, you will be seeing stuff here later on. Through Sven, I got to know not only himself, a strange but great mind and household name in early German-Straight Edge, but also other great guys like Uwe Korsch and Jan-Hendrik Meyer (aka Capt Cosmotic or Bassist for THUMB)... Vow, I am kinda impressed what goes along with one little ad! That's what this is about...

HARD STANCE "horizons"

on i look, for my place to be. 

i search and i run understanding. 

i want this feeling and i have this hope. 

i can't let go i have to go. 

give me some room 

cause' if you don't give me my freedom 

and destroy what i'm made of 

you'll just get what you're asking for!