Tuesday 21 May 2013

The Faith and Void - Split

'The Faith/Void Split LP'
The Faith and Void
1982

'Two bands from DC that aren't Minor Threat'

While I'm not going to claim I know much about 80s hardcore (because I really don't), I can claim that this probably up there as one of the greatest 80s hardcore releases - mostly thanks to Void. While The Faith certainly aren't a bad band by any means, it's Void's side of this LP that really steals the show.

Faith's side is an enjoyable listen - think mid tempo, repetitive hardcore in the style of Discharge. Interestingly enough, The Faith's lead singer was Alec Mckaye, Ian Mackaye's brother (and that dude on Minor Threat's self titled EP). While there's nothing wrong with this side of the LP, it is rather forgettable and pales in comparison to Void's material.

On their side, Void basically take hardcore to the extreme; you'll be hard pressed to find a more chaotic release from that era. Void utilized feedback before it was cool, played thrash metal guitar solos before thrash metal was a thing and were just really, really fast and angry. Void were one of the first bands to enter crossover territory, and the fact that Pig Destroyer covered 'Who Are You' is a real testament to this band's influence.



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