Long Island, New York has kept strong ties with the underground hardcore scene for decades now. One of the more prominent bands from the 1990’s local scene was Vision of Disorder. Disbanding in 2002, the band reunited in 2008 and, in 2012, released their first studio album together in over a decade titled The Cursed Remain Cursed. Returning stateside after a month long tour in Australia, the guys came to Amityville to play in front of a packed room of hometown fans at Revolution Music Hall on Saturday April 26th. Adding excitement to the homecoming, the evening’s line-up was graced by Johnny Booth, Doomsday Mourning, Shai Hulud, and Betrayal.
Getting the room warmed up early, local Long Island hardcore product Johnny Booth took the stage fast, furious, and powerful. The band’s new EP titled The Bronze Age was released January 21st and is worth giving a listen. Directly following was the Queens, NY band Doomsday Mourning. With a metal sound, built on grim and dark tones, the band kept the crowd awake while remaining extremely professional with the time they had on stage.
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Next was hardcore legends Shai Hulud. Forming back in 1995 in Pompano Beach, FL the band moved to Poughkeepsie becoming part of an already strong underground New York scene at the time. Sustaining a series of line-up changes over the years, guitarist Matt Fox has retooled the band with a strong mix of musicians including vocalist Justin Kraus, guitarist Thomas Colello, bassist Matt Fletcher, ad drummer Dave Joyal. Their chemistry was never more evident than the band’s latest release titled Reach Beyond The Sun, which the band also celebrated a CD release party in February 2013 at Revolution Music Hall.
The audience immediately recognized each tune performed by the band and felt it worthy to open pit up to wider lengths than any other point in the show. Unleashing a raw mix of hardcore and punk laced tunes, the band garnished a great deal of respect with their energy and intensity on the stage. The progressive guitar work of Fox and Colello provided a great atmosphere through the brutality storming on the floor. Showing pure dedication to their performance, Kraus began bleeding in the middle of the set from an unknown face wound, only to march right through, wiping his face and continuing. The audience applauded and admired his dedication. Their sound was tight, full, and engaging to watch as this aggressive crowd gave Shai Hulud plenty of love.
Following the assault of Shai Hulud, Californian band Betrayal were ready to go. With music that features relentless riffs and dominate vocals Betrayal are a force to be reckoned with. Having graced the stage of Revolution Music Hall on the Vanna tour last October, the band felt right at home in front of this Long Island crowd.
Showing a heightened level of intensity the band walked onto the stage in opposing fashion. Taking off through a set of their fast thrashing hardcore tunes their performance included a killer cover of The Offspring’s “Bad Habbit” and their chant-along track “Pieces of Home”. Vocalist Brendan Foley voice was thick and a rushing force pouring down on the audience. Betrayal kept the evening extremely honest and heavy, proving they were a perfect direct supporting act for Vision of Disorder.
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With the room packed with eager fans, one thing was certain and that was everyone was boiling with anticipation to see Vision of Disorder. The band’s history runs deep with Revolution Music Hall, going back to the days when it was called Ollie’s Point, where they filmed their CD release party back in 2012, which was featured on a documentary about the Long Island hardcore community. The feeling from the bar in the back of the room to the front of the stage was a clear understanding of what Vision of Disorder means to Long Island extreme music. This understanding goes more skin deep and judging by the broad age range of fans on the floor has reached across generations.
Opening up with “D.T.O.”, the band killed it from the opening first note. Vocalist Tim Williams screams were spot on and the band, as a cohesive unit, sounded stronger than ever before. You could feel the old school Long Island aggressive roots of hardcore oozing from the ground. Songs like “Loveless” and “Element” were just a few of the highlights of a well balanced set. The band made everyone feel like one big family telling stories. Williams spoke about their ride to the venue and stopping at Long Island favorite All American Burger in Massapequa. Exchanging laughs, the fans loved every moment of it.
As their performance triumphed on, the pit would have made any hardcore fan smile ear to ear as Vision of Disorder closed out their set with “Viola”. All wound up, these pushing and screaming Long Islanders were not ready to say goodnight just yet. The band came back out for ripping encore of “Beneath the Green” and closing the epic night with an intense version of “choke”.
Vision of Disorder are legends of Long Island hardcore. Performances such as these show the band has not lost a step in their two decade plus history. With it still early in 2014 one can only hope the guys will grace Revolution Music Hall at some point before the end of the year once again.
did anyone record this show?