Lash Out/Contention split 7”

I've never been able to name many hardcore bands from Norway at all, and it seems as though there have never been a great deal of them anyway, but more than 10 years ago two of the country's finest did a split 7" together, and I was lucky enough to stumble across a copy for a mere buck in a used bin about a month ago. Released in 1994 as Stormstrike Records #2, Lash Out recorded their track in August of 1993, while Contention recorded two of their own in January of 1994, just prior to the record's release.

I remember Lash Out being big with the Inside Front zine crowd, though the band never seemed as "progressive" to me as they were always billed back in the day, but they were a badass band, so I've been kicking myself for years for sleeping on 'em when they were still around. After recording a demo in 1993, they actually went on to release a fair amount of material, from splits and 12" EP's, to the "What Absence Yields" full-length. 1994—1996 were the band's most productive years by far, and they called it quits in '98, with some of the former members moving on to what I'd have to deem much less interesting acts such as JR Ewing, Thunderbolt, and Sportswear.

I think these two tracks on side B may have been Contention's only released material. They had later recorded a full-length, also for Stormstrike Records, but it was never released due to financial constraints and a subsequent falling out between the label and the band. A damn shame, because this basically sounds almost exactly like a Norwegian version of Outspoken, just with a little more chugging metal involved. I'm pretty sure most folks wouldn't give a shit these days since people are fuckin' dumb, but I'd love to see a posthumous release of their full-length come about.

1. Lash Out "A Reflection in Blood"
2. Contention "Perish"
3. Contention "Burned"

This one's long out of print, so trade lists are probably your only bet unless the label happens to have a handful of extras sitting around. I've been scanning eBay for other Lash Out material for awhile now and have yet to get a bite, so if anyone knows where the hell can I get some more Lash Out, please shoot me a line. There are too many fucking bands out there that deserve discography CD's, it just kills me. It's a shame such undertakings would be financial nightmares due to the aforementioned idiocy of the general listening audience these days. There are also people out there that are sitting on a shitload of old records like this that they never listen to and no longer give a fuck about, and these people need to sell that shit to me!