Despite my love for New Jersey hardcore of the '90s, I had never been exposed to Unanswered—later known as Hope (Delusion)—prior to being informed of this collection coming together. The effort compiles 18 tracks in about 45 minutes spanning 1995 - 1998 and consisting of a demo, self-titled 7", split 7"s with Entropy and Charles Bronson, tracks from the Possessed to Skate comp, and a final 7" as Hope (Delusion) plus two unreleased tracks from that same session.
While seeing them linked to Charles Bronson and Possessed to Skate might imply some form of blasty, fast-paced "thrashcore"-type leanings, that's actually not the case at all. The early work of course feels rawer and has that dark and dissonant Rorschach style of influence to it, with some quirkily spasmodic riffing that brings to mind a less grinding Assück.
But the band progressed quite a bit over time, with the 1996 recordings offering a bit more clarity while retaining the chaotic atmosphere; the writing becoming a bit more frantic and intense but not without powerfully surging mid-paced rhythms and that same sense of discordant intrigue. It's fairly evident early on that from a writing perspective, Unanswered had a definite edge over many of their contemporaries operating within this sphere of the genre.
Then there's the final recording session from 1998—as Hope (Delusion)—undertaken at the almighty Trax East, thus demonstrating their growth toward a level of quality not terribly far off from Converge/Deadguy territory. And I'm not trying to be hyperbolic there. The group's final outing strikes me as incredibly underrated considering that I don't think I'd ever seen prior mention of this 7" in almost 30 years. I feel like this material on the "right" label could've had listeners quite excited, especially given that the timeline was parallel with classics such as When Forever Comes Crashing.
Fairly strong lyrics, too:
standing face down turned my back and walked away choking on my words never had much to say your world let me down your lies wore me out sobered up to find I was still empty wish I wasn't here this is not a game searching for the light always ends this way
The physical release is a pro CD-R in a two-sided black and white foldover on thick cardstock with most of the lyrics, credits, and images of the original cover art inside. There's also a double-sided insert with images of old flyers and some liner notes from scene figures sharing memories about the band. Oh, and a small, circular sticker, too. Just $5 shipped in the U.S., which honestly seems impossible!?
Only a handful of copies remain as I type this, so... interested parties should act quickly (or name-your-price download)!
Get It
- Bandcamp (CD-R, mp3)
