Mayday “Staplegun” 10”

Oddly enough, what I would refer to as the two most criminally underrated hardcore bands of the 90's—Lash Out and Mayday—both had "prominent" (or at least "important") releases on killer German label Stormstrike Records. It's really inexcusable that I've never written about Mayday before, but despite the fact that they were from right here in Virginia, I really don't know a ton about 'em. Maybe that's just as well, though, as they seem to have remained somewhat of a mysterious unit, and the almost total lack of information about the band out there on the web just adds to the intrigue of the recordings they've left behind. But I've been loving all their old records more than ever lately (bordering on worship), so... better late than never.

Probably best known for their "Les 120 Journées de Sodome" split 7" with Integrity, while everything they recorded was fucking outstanding, their final release, "Staplegun" (1995), remains my favorite of the bunch. I'm not sure if Mayday was ever actually referred to as having the "holy terror" sound back in the day, but they most certainly did—right down to the visual imagery and lyrical content—and were significantly ahead of their time in terms of pioneering a completely dark, twisted "metalcore" sound that falls somewhere between the chugging rhythms and abstract subject matter of Integrity and the eerie atmospheric dissonance and sick vocal sneers of Starkweather—and without sounding like either of those bands, I might add. There are just a lot of pulsing rhythms with super thick basslines interspersed with clean passages often accentuated by subtle little noise textures and general weirdness buried deep in the mix... not to mention the maniacal vocal work.

If you've never heard the band before you can't possibly understand how far ahead of the curve they truly were, nor properly determine what to expect. It's just a really creative and powerful sound that puts Mayday in the company of a very select few, so rather than bothering to continue with my fanboy gushing it's probably best for me to shut up and let you hear the goods for yourselves. You can find these tracks online in various spots out there, and I'm pretty sure all this stuff is basically out of print, so here's the whole record:

[DOWNLOAD] Mayday "Staplegun" (@ Mediafire)

Forefathers were not saved for meat is craved man's will with mighty quill will enlighten his own grave through your power I was able and in your showers cradled to die for worship sky for tell me tell me anoint me this sickness disappoints me...

Surprisingly, as of 2004, Stormstrike Records still had copies of this 10" available, but I'm not sure if that's the case today. If you're interested in a physical copy of the vinyl (and you should be), shoot 'em an email from the site first and see what's up.

Also, Mayday is without question one of the unsung bands most deserving of a proper discography CD. I know I'm far from the only one who would love to see that shit happen one day...