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Absolution re-union show in NYC

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 May 30 2008 at 07:31:37 PM




What the fuck? Hardcore being covered in the virtual pages of the Left Hand Path? You fuckin' bet.

Absolution is a band who will always get a pass to grace this music compendium. Scratch that. Anything Gavin Van Vlack related will always get the green light from me. Burn, Side by Side, Pry, Die 116 and even Big Collapse... it doesn't matter. He is one of only a small handful of hardcore (as in the genre, not attitude, although that could well apply to his persona) guitarists I've ever looked up to musically. And yes, I've even told him that once during a diminutive discussion at a CBs matinee, fan-boyish as that is (crucify me, I don't care). And no, my delight of having the that opportunity wasn't diminished after getting the 'look of death' by him, for god knows what reason, at Kate's Joint before attending a SUNNO))) show a few years back in New York.

If you've ever listened to or seen Absolution, Burn, Die 116 or any other Van Vlack endeavor, you would hear why I hold him in such high regard. He brought a bit of complexity into the NYHC genre with Absolution and then full on with Burn (and continued the churn with Die 116). The NY style at the time was more or less based around simple, albeit expressive, power chords. He didn't bring complexity through speed though. No, this was a tinge slower, waaay more intricate but every bit as ferocious, if not even more so, than your Youth of Today's, No For An Answer's, Straight Ahead's and Cro-Mags. The power was and still stands, as undeniable.

And compared to the current crop around the time of Burn, one could say Gavin was the Robert Fripp of NYHC. Maybe that's stretching things a wee bit, but he was progressive. He was seeking new ways to assault fans and haters alike through different means of aggression. Instead of going the 'loud fast rules' direction, home skillet SLOWED the shit down giving the listener an opportunity to fully absorb the love, fear, hatred, strength and anger in every single note, harmonic, hammer-on and progression he commanded with his battle scarred hands. Even with clean guitar passages, the shit was still hard. The play between negative and positive space/time within the measures brought out a different type of intensity. The constant build up and break down, over and over bashed your senses to madness. It proved to be, in my opinion anyway, a totally refreshing concept in the realm of HC. It wasn't orthodox hardcore and it wasn't metal. Post hardcore? Eh... we'll leave that for Quicksand.

That debut Burn EP, you know, the one on pink wax with the spelling mistake in the layout, stands as the best record Revelation Records has ever released in their long and influential history. Quite possibly because it's one of the few singles from Rev I still listen to with any regularity. To digress, my other favorite single from Revelation might possibly be Judge's last single. Forget This Time comes on... you're moshin'. This either says a lot or a little about my tastes, so have at it.

But the subject at hand is the short lived, often glazed over yet incredibly incredible, Absolution. My appreciation for Absolution came about five years after first hearing Burn. For the record, I just missed seeing Burn in it's first incarnation by about a year. My hunt to hear the sole Absolution single subsequently led me into record collecting, who's poisonous wrath has still have yet to wash out of my body some 13+ years later, very much to the dismay of my bank account and fiancée. But that's a different story for a different day.

There are definite similarities between both Burn and Absolution, but I view as Burn as the smoothed out, methodical yet still tough, older brother while Absolution is the more raucous, abrasive and rebellious younger brother. While short on recorded and widely spread material, ala Krakdown, Straight Ahead and Altercation, they managed to create a big impact in NYHC much like the aforementioned. The EP, while mastered slow (giving it a real eerie sound) is great but their two tracks which graced the Murders Among Us and New Breed compilations are the smoking aces. An awesome mix of speed, intricacies, heavy back beat and Djinji's distinct vox set them well apart from the EP.

So, the point of this long and perhaps aimless entry is the fact that Absolution have reformed to play two shows. One is tonight, May 30, in Miami and the other is on August 15 at the Knitting Factory in NY. So rather than make this a quick news update, I felt inspired to write about bands and people inspired me when I actually gave a shit about hardcore music. While my love for hardcore has surely withered away, I still respect and listen to Burn, Absolution and Die 116.

While I'm on the fence sometimes with reunions, I have to admit to being really excited to seeing Absolution. To begin with, they're only doing two shows... as of now. My old hardcore mindset is hoping that's all they do, just so it seems more credible and from the heart. I saw Die 116 play numerous times throughout NY and Philly and I was happy just to watch Gavin play. When I heard Burn were re-uniting, I was stoked. Them too, I caught a bunch of their shows but never saw them when Vic 108/ Inside Out joined (nor did I want too, to be completely honest). So having the chance to see Absolution makes me giddier than a schoolgirl winning the prom queen crown.

The trifecta will be complete come near midnight on August 15 of this year.

These pics were graciously stolen without permission from the Double Cross blog headed up by my two friend's, Tim and Gordo. I implore you to check their blog out as they have a super long (four part) and super interesting interview with Djinji Brown, singer for Absolution, about his history in NYHC, Absolution trials and tribulations, what he's been up to now and the reasons behind the two re-union shows.

Tickets for the NY show are being sold via Ticket Web.

[-c]
type: articles    keywords: show report, hardcore,   

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