Elements DEC “Win or Lose” demo

If anyone reading this has ever heard of Elements DEC before (not including those who read my posthumous feature on the band four years ago on the old version of my site), pat yourself on the back, because if I had to pick five bands that are almost entirely unknown for no good reason whatsoever, these guys would be one of 'em. The band broke up in the late-90's, but I didn't even find out about 'em until 2001 because several of their former members were in Agents of Man at the time, and I was flipping out over Agents of Man (whose absolutely amazing new record is out now, so everyone should check that shit out), so I had to find out more about this mysteriously faceless group. Thankfully, I became acquainted with the band's vocalist, Larry Cooney, who was kind enough to send me both of the Elements DEC demos as mp3's, which was all the more awesomely appreciated when I was immediately floored by how incredible the material was.

Formed in New Jersey during the early- to mid-90's, the members of Elements DEC (which stands for Dead End Concept, or the Dead End Cruks crew) were childhood friends who had previously thrown down in local hardcore bands like Out of Hand, Colorblind, and of course most notably, Lifetime. Their music demonstrated the perfect blend between metallic hardcore heaviness and creatively atypical melodic sensibilities, with lightly hip-hop infused vocals dropping insightful lyrics that blended personal reflection with commentary on social ills. The only band I could even remotely compare them to would be a more modern take on Burn—and Burn's first EP is the best thing that Revelation Records has ever touched, so that's no small compliment from me!

This is the debut Elements DEC demo, "Win or Lose", from 1996. It's a little raw, for instance there are some noticeable tuning issues between the two guitars, but nothing too problematic—the recording is actually pretty damn good for its age and circumstances. And the writing is so damn creative, with the hip-hop influences that are going on with the vocal arrangements as tactful as they come. I sincerely believe that this band was way the fuck ahead of their time, and these four tracks will hopefully speak for themselves:

1. "The Game Ain't the Same"
2. "Fugue"
3. "Dust"
4. "Win or Lose"

That Elements DEC never moved on to bigger and better things is absolutely insane to me, and I cannot even begin to put into words the frustrated perplexity it creates within me to know that not only did the band go nowhere, but the mere nine incredible songs that they recorded probably barely made it out of their home state. I mean, you'll never find an original copy of this demo. Period. I bet the band members don't even have original copies!

Hopefully a good number of you will appreciate these songs even half as much as I do. If I had the money I'd pay to work with the band to press this shit up legit based on principle alone, I wouldn't give a fuck if people would be too stupid to buy the damn thing. I'll post their second and final demo in a couple of weeks, as well. Let me know your thoughts on this stuff in the meantime... I really fuckin' love this shit. By far one of the greatest lost treasures I've come across in all my years of searching out new music.