Rejoice in nothing

It’s pretty hard to miss the presence of Christian bands in the hardcore scene, at least in the U.S. (curiously, I am not aware of any Christian hardcore bands outside of this country, though I would assume there must be at least a handful). Then there was Krishna-core, with bands like Shelter and 108, which are slated to reunite for this year’s Hellfest. (For some reason there was more of an export market for Krishna-core in its heyday, with imitators and vegan Krishna soup kitchens popping up in various places all over Europe. Someone should look into this; might make for a good dissertation.) And of course we all remember the burgeoning Jewish hardcore scene.

Say what?

Alright, it wasn’t so much a scene as just one band, and you wouldn’t even know it if their name hadn’t given it away – Sons of Abraham. The only place where they talk about their Jewish heritage is in the insert to their first release, a split 7” with Indecision on the long-defunct Wreck-Age imprint Exit Records, which also released their only full-length. The short text talks about the millennia-old attempts to extinguish the Jewish “heritage, culture and faith.”

But they also write that “the crass vandalism of reichskristallnacht is no match for the sophisticated seduction of the american media” and American consumerism that have turned Christmas into a truly all-consuming experience for people of all faiths, the “spirit of giving” thinly veiling the all-pervasive dictum You Are What You Buy. Their response, rendered in song, is: “no presents for christmas, no thanksgiving feasts/ no presents for christmas, no drunken new year’s eves/ you took your christ out of christmas and tried selling him to us instead.”

That song, here simply called ‘song #2,’ reappeared as the title track of Sons of Abraham’s full-length, Termites in his smile, which they recorded in late 1997. But references to religion are scant in the rest of the songs on this record (though ‘Dos Equis’ is about two-faced straight edgers, if that counts). Similarly, the insert text accompanying this release merely talks about what is arguably the essence of hardcore – finding beauty in new places and making new friends – and the lyrics are generally of a more personal nature.

As you’ll be able to tell from the songs below, what you get here musically is extremely well-written metallic hardcore, mixing rhythmic guitar leads with crunchy riffs and the occasional breakdown. Some of it actually does remind me of Songs of Separation-era 108, while the use of guitar overtones is reminiscent of Snapcase. Amazon sells new copies of this little beast of a record, but you can probably also find it used somewhere for a few dollars. As you may know, members of Sons of Abraham went on to play in, among others, Glassjaw and This Year’s Model.

Sons of Abraham – What brings May flowers
Sons of Abraham – Nowhere circles around a plastic toy
Sons of Abraham – Termites in his smile

On a different note, ever wondered which former members of [insert name of xSEx band] lost their edge? Go to How’s your edge and find out!