Vinyl Edge: 10 Youth Crew & Straight Edge Releases We Enjoyed on Vinyl

Two years of existence and two releases which sound as if the band has been around for like… 10. Yeah, I’m talking about ON! The same band whose debut EP Vital Times turned into one of the rarest vinyl only a year after it was released. But this time we were fast and after joining the pre-orders I’m finally able to hear what ON recorded this time. And the result is really cool again, little less than ten minutes and four new tracks.

If the first ON record had tiny bits from each former bands of the members, now I feel Control is nothing more than an ON record with its own unique sound. The songs are very different from each other and they are full of various and great ideas. It’s like you’re listening to a full length, not a short EP on 7-inch vinyl. The lyrics are explicit and integral. They are not catchy generic lines ensuring sing-alongs at shows but consist of meaningful messages to everyone willing to accept music is something you have to think about or just feel. Released by Legitimatebros.

This one takes us to Oslo, Norway. After some quick browsing through the search engine results you mostly get stuff close to “Probably the best Norwegian hardcore band” and even “The best European straight edge band”.

You gotta decide on your own if that applies for Sportswear but for us they are good enough to deserve a listen from each person pretending to be interested in European Straight Edge hardcore. It is 15 years since this record was released from Crucial Response and this doesn’t change anything about it at all. On the contrary, it sounds quite actual having in mind the number of new bands turning back to old school hardcore nowadays.

And Sportswear really have something from the past with a such a pleasant taste of the ’90s. The lyrics and the songs in general are not something revolutionary that you’ll have never heard before but they surely are from the heart and this is what counts.

It is a rough thing to be a vinyl collector even if a band decides to help you get a copy of their record. This was proved by our most recent experience with Angers Curse’s self-titled vinyl. We’d like to give our mates from Sweden big thanks for sending us the vinyl twice as obviously the first copy they sent got lost somewhere on its road to Bulgaria.

However, we finally had the chance to hear it and it would really be a loss if we didn’t. Inside the dark, stylish cover there’s a vinyl who carries some of the most aggressive and powerful contemporary hardcore songs we’ve heard recently. It is obvious enough how important the old school Sweden hardcore bands are the worldwide scene. It seems the currently active bands in Sweden are not wasting their time either.

Angers Curse are direct and deadly as a bullet in the head. These guys know what are they standing for, they know what they represent and are not afraid to say what they want. The lyrics are personal and are concerning everyday topics we’re all familiar with.

The seven songs might not represent the seven sins but what they picture is quite similar. Angers Curse show the sicknesses of our weak, modern societies—betrayal, lies, hypocrisy, underestimation, abandonment, lack of confidence and will. But what these songs leave in us is quite different from pointless negativism and despair.

Actually in less than ten minutes Angers Curse made us more determined than ever to have the guts to cope with everything standing in our way. What else do you want to hear? Go and find their music!

React! Records surely know how to make a special and unique releases. Taking part in the pre-orders didn’t actually get us any of the rarest colors of the vinyl but we still received a 100% real, straight edge record!

Everything in this vinyl tastes like pure dedication—from the artwork, sticker and lyrics booklet, through the great and sensible message from Sean O’Donnel (Youngblood Records), to the very last note of all Mindset songs. We are looking forward to getting more React! releases and we hope they will keep them coming in such a great form. In REALPOWER we got four tracks in little less than eight minutes.

The tracks are aggressive in a specific way, with nice, measured melodies and even few guitar solos. The vocals are aggressive, understandable and in no way monotonous or boring. Just a little more sing-alongs and the songs would be perfect. However Mindset’s music is inspiring and powerful enough so the crowds surely can compensate this insufficiency in the record.

This is a split I’ve been waiting to review for damn long time. Despite being only a seven-inch vinyl it’s still quite a polar release. From one side we’ve got Down To Nothing, a quite progressive and gaining more and more popularity American straight edge band.

Their music is fast and aggressive, definitely cannot be described as strictly positive hardcore but compared to On Thin Ice they are like Gorilla Biscuits standing next to Integrity. On Thin Ice are from UK and from the first second of their tracks you know you’re dealing with some rough and fast shit with WILD vocals.

A quick check for the status of the band—yeah, they are no longer playing, actually they existed only an year an a half but they succeeded in publishing two releases on seven-inch vinyls and broke up right before releasing their demo. There’s a bunch of stories about their destructive shows and fans which is totally not a surprise. And by the way a word should be said about their lyrics, “The Ides Of March” consists of one of the most sincere and impressive words we’ve ever read in a hardcore songs.

So tie the rope called Down To Nothing / On Thin Ice split on your neck and choke upon the amazing hardcore that is on that vinyl.

Right after seeing the artwork of the self-titled vinyl of Soul Control I knew there will be something special and different about this band. No live shots, no band photos, no Nikes or pissed off crowd. And there really is something different about their music too.

These guys come from Providence and incorporate bits from bands like Bane, Strife even Bad Brains. In the same time their music is not something you hear in every modern hardcore band. They have specific rhythmic sections and the guitar work is sometimes so twisted that feels closer to the post-hardcore genre.

The vocals are really tight but understandable which is in favor of the awesome lyrics. Soul Control is surely a piece of fresh air in the polluted by negativism contemporary hardcore.

When Seasons Change is a veg(etari)an straight edge band from northeastern Italy, who released their debut EP Time Will Tell Us in 2006 through Commitment Records.

Formed in 2004 under the name Nothing To Hide, they rebranded a year later and quickly made their mark on the European Straight Edge scene. The EP features six tracks of powerful, energetic, and melodic hardcore. Their sound fuses the positive straight edge styles of the late 1980s and early 1990s with contemporary influences, creating nothing more than pure hardcore music that’s both authentic and engaging.

The record shines with stylish artwork and intelligent lyrics, each accompanied by explanations that add depth to their message.

Quite a nice record which is followed by another seven-inch, this time a split with Miles To Go and a DIY release of the band’s last mcd. Then guess what… they broke up in 2008. Anyway thanks to Commitment Records their music is eternally a part of the hardcore music worldwide for everyone interested in checking them.

Pointing Finger are a straight edge band from Faro, Portugal. Their seven-inch vinyl called Transcend is one of our favorite Commitment Records releases.

This band is straight edge as hell, and the coolest thing about them is that they really, really sound young and pissed. Exactly the way youth crew hardcore should sound—like a reflection of everything that’s going on in the minds of bunch of pissed off kids full with desire to make a change.

The music is European hardcore at its finest which will satisfy fans of Hoods Up, Sportswear, True Colors and their American mates from The First Step and Insted. The final touch that makes Transcendent such a nice release, from musical, lyrical and conceptual point of view, are the lyrics and their explanations for each song. Sadly such a good band is not playing anymore. What a surprise…

Drug Free Zone by Cross Me is a straight-up homage to classic Straight Edge hardcore. Released in 2001 as a seven-inch vinyl, this record wears its ethos proudly, from the Nike sneakers and X’d-up hands on the members to the aggressive sound that screams Project X worship. The name Cross Me itself is a nod to that lineage, making their influences crystal clear.

The tracks are fast and punchy, with rough, no-frills vocals that get straight to the point. The lyrics tackle social issues like homophobia, alongside the expected straight edge themes. It’s raw, direct, and unapologetically rooted in the early hardcore formula.

While Drug Free Zone isn’t reinventing the wheel, it’s a solid record for those who love their straight edge hardcore stripped down and to the point. If you’re already nailed to the X, this might not change your life, but it’s worth a spin for the sheer energy and commitment to the cause. For anyone new to the sound, this is a reminder of what straight edge hardcore was built on: intensity, simplicity, and conviction.

I had been waiting for this record since I heard the Sink Or Swim demo tape few months ago. And it proved even bigger than my expectations. Thanks to Start A Fire and Epidemic Records everyone who got a copy (from the very limited edition of 1000 vinyls) can now enjoy a great piece of modern European hardcore.

On side A you find two brand new songs by our German favorites Sink Or Swim. This time they reveal another side of their music. The tracks are slower but still filled with energy, emotions and meaning. The lyrics concern religion, beliefs, faith. They are personal and are a direct statement full of determination, not the casual ‘bitching about shit’. In only two songs Sink Or Swim put such an obsessing impulse that can make a number of contemporary bands put a bullet in their creativeless heads.

In One Piece inhabit Side B—they were formed in 2008 in Finland and despite they are a new name for us they fully caught our attention. In One Piece are fast and have really specific sound especially their rhythm section. The bass sounds super powerful and drumming is quite intense.

As a huge Chokehold fan, hearing a familiar quotation in the lyrics in one of the songs made me really happy that there are still new bands who still find inspiration in the proper bands. So yeah, go find this.