For some inexplicable reason, Philadelphia's Dare to Defy seems to have fallen off the map of awareness in the years since their dissolution, but their early- to mid-90's material—consisting of their debut full-length, "The Weight of Disgust" (released in 1995 by Too Damn Hype), alongside their tracks from "East Coast Assault" and "Philly Dust Krew"—most definitely deserves more attention these days. Jammed with absolutely sick rhythms loaded with raging mosh breaks and thick, chugging riffs over plunky basslines, they utilized just the right amount of eerie dissonance to add a slightly darker edge to their bitter, in your face brand of "metalcore". And check out the acoustic intro to "Warm Itch" (one of the band's greatest tracks, without a doubt)! God damn, I love that shit. I'd prefer to go into more detail, but I never knew a ton about these guys, so I'm not gonna ramble on and on here. This album's a total scorcher that I know a shitload of people will appreciate now that this particular style of hardcore's (finally) starting to come around again. Just check this shit out:
Dare to Defy "Warm Itch"
Dare to Defy "Hiding in the Light"
This one's also long out of print, so here's the entire album, in all its glory:
[DOWNLOAD] Dare to Defy "The Weight of Disgust" (@ Mediafire)
However, if you act fast, you can score a used copy from Amazon.com for dirt fuckin' cheap, so... I highly recommend you do so while you still can! "The Weight of Disgust" is a sorely underrated classic of 90's metallic hardcore in my book...
Comments
yet another album to put into collection. bought the Philly Dust Crew but mainly listened just Starkweather song.
Thanks for this write up!
10.30.2008 | By Carlos
I hope you’re not the only one! I thought this one would get a good amount of comments, but then… I tend to be way off on those predictions, ha!
10.30.2008 | By Andrew Aversionline
Seriously? No love for this!? I’m shocked. AGAIN. Fuck…
10.31.2008 | By Andrew Aversionline
I like this shit. sounds like a blueprint for bitter end’s last album.
10.31.2008 | By Tim
Never heard of them until now, but I’m sure glad you posted this gem. Not too fast, not too slow - I love it. Damn I wish I wasn’t so close minded towards metalcore during the ‘90’s. Oh well, at least I’m finally discovering what I missed- thanks to your site.
10.31.2008 | By paul
Damn, The Philly Dust Crew Returns…
1.22.2009 | By Tone
I’ve been looking for “shut the gates of mercy” since my East Coast Assault cassette wore out in the early 2000s! Thanks for keeping D2D out there!
4.12.2009 | By Scotty Lush
Love this record!
5.16.2009 | By Big Gary
Thanks for the review & the comments.. I sang on this release. I was from Brooklyn & hooked up with Met & Too Damn Hype through my boy Joe Affee from Maximum Penalty who passed my number along to him. We had fun with the Too Damn Hype Label & also the magazine we did, ‘Chord’. My good friend Rich from DarkSide NYC helped out with vocals on 2 songs, we went to highschool together ( I also ended up doin the logo & artwork for DarkSide NYC ). We only played a few shows.. mainly with Starkweather and a few with Merauder, VOD & Sheer Terror.. I moved to Oakland, California awhile back, where i am now.. Anybody in the Bay Area lookin to jam, hit me up.. .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)..
Thanks AGain for the review.
5.17.2009 | By FuckenLes718
I grew up outside of Philadelphia and I remember this band being around as far back as 1985. They were incorporating metal into hardcore even then—vastly underrated and ahead of their time in my opinion.
8.12.2009 | By troubleclub
Shut The Gates of mercy simply CRUSHES! The Weight of Disgust was ahead of it’s time. An awesome release. I actually have a copy of the CD that I bought back in 95 or 96 after hearing them on the East Coast Assault comp.
10.15.2009 | By Reverend DeathMachine
Wow! I’m amazed anybody still remembers us! I was the drummer in that band! If anybody is looking for me I’m at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
4.17.2010 | By Met
To this day, i’m still pissed at myself for misplacing my Dare to Defy - Heidnik EP cassett i picked up at the West Chester Community Center where I saw them for the first time. I skated with McRadd in the parking lot before the show. What a great mosh pit session while Sean the lead singer sang and moshed simultaneously. Effin’ great memory.
2.27.2011 | By Naylor
great band. i remember you guys practicing in the basement where i worked. the entire building would rumble. BADAZZ!
12.29.2011 | By paul
One of the best releases in 1995. Great album.
10.26.2012 | By Towey