Hers Never Existed was an indie-punk band from Berkeley, California. Drummer and vocalist Kamala Parks also played in some other influential bands, including Malcriada, Cringer, and Naked Aggression. Hers Never Existed's sound struck a balance between aggression and melody; featuring soft, clean vocals one moment and dark, harshly screamed dissonance the next. They are comparable to other femme-fronted groups such as Huggy Bear and The Fisticuffs Bluff, so if you are a fan of those bands, I'd recommend checking Hers Never Existed out! I picked up their sole LP at a local store on a whim, (shout out Recordland) and despite the somewhat lackluster artwork, the material itself turned out to be surprisingly impressive and memorable.
Meadowlark was a hardcore band from Austin, Texas. Notably, the band included Chris Pfeffer, who also played in Kodiak, Severed Head of State, J Church, and Scorched Earth Policy; as well as Jeb Beatty from Bucketfull and The Desert Jet Set. Meadowlark was featured on the impactful but underrated Highwater Records, releasing a diverse array of sonically distinctive tracks during their brief time together. Meadowlark's sound was a maelstrom of chaotic intensity and wild tempo changes, with unexpected breaks of graceful melody. I could loosely compare them to bands like Born Against, LigOD and Loomis Slovak. If you have any flyers, pictures, live videos, or additional recordings of this band, please send them our way!
Combatwoundedveteran was a grindcore/emo-violence band from Tampa, Florida who were active throughout the latter half of the 90s and into the early 2000s. They shared members with the prolific Reversal Of Man. They only ever released one full album, but had various splits which were later released on a compilation.
Combatwoundedveteran have an incredibly intense sound, melding all the best elements of screamo with all the best elements of grindcore giving them a sound that really is all their own. Pure chaotic dissonance comes in spastic bursts leaving your ears feeling like they're going to bleed.
Drawing inspiration from powerviolence bands like Assück, Charles Bronson, and Man Is The Bastard, but putting a unique twist on it with shrill shrieks; more reminiscent of "screamo" than typical grindcore. Their instrumental sound, though rooted in grindcore and power violence, screeched vocal also has noticeable elements of math-rock and more technically complex styles.
They're one of the more documented bands of the time, a host of photos, videos, fliers and all of their recorded music online for streaming, but I still thought they deserved a post for being such a unique and influential band.
