Roads To Shiloh - Discography (1999-2001)

    Roads To Shiloh was a hardcore band from Ottawa, Ontario. Over their short stint in the late 90s to early 00s, they played shows with bands like Slow Parker, The Plan, Weights and Measures and Engine Down. The band started out with a chaotic hardcore/screamo sound on their first demo CD, with a few melodic sections thrown in, sounding akin to New York's Closure or Saetia. 

    The second demo had a much more metallic and heavy sound, more along the lines of contemporaries Buried Inside, Uranus and Orchid. I honestly enjoy both demos equally despite the stylistic differences, the first can be a bit rough around the edges but they both are executed quite well. Overall, Roads To Shiloh is a very cool and often overlooked piece of Ottawa's punk history. I am happy to be sharing their discography here in better quality than what was previously floating around!

Discography

ST CD 

Demo CD 2000

Split CD

Van Johnson - Discography (2002-2005)

    Van Johnson was a screamo band from Ottawa, Ontario. After the dissolution of the late 90s band Roads To Shiloh, Van Johnson started up with a few of the same members. During their active period Van Johnson played shows with bands like Love Lost But Not Forgotten, The Corta Vita, City Of Caterpillar, Yaphet Kotto, Lost Kidz, Funeral Diner and many more. (featured in the tour diary on their website - linked above). 

    The band has that quintessential 00's screamo sound similar to bands like pg.99 and City Of Caterpillar. Van Johnson's songs were rife with chaotic shifts, huge riffs and post-rock inspired sections. I will say that Van Johnson has a more melodic disposition compared the bands mentioned above, which really works in their favour to create some catchy grooving songs. 

Bandcamp (support here)

Discography

Split w/ Kaospilot

Self Titled LP/CD 2005 (Intimate Space)

Self Titled 7" 2004 (Fire Walk With Me)

Demo 2003

Split 7" w/ Kaospilot 2004 (Level Plane)

A Smile For Weakness - Discography (1997-2001)

    A Smile For Weakness was a metallic screamo band from Ottawa, Ontario. The band seemed to have been a mainstay of the late 90's/early 00s Ontario screamo scene along with bands like Roads To Shiloh (pre-Van Johnson) and Vincent Black Shadow. I can't remember where I came across this information but ASFW also played shows with Saetia, which makes sense as they were featured on a Mountain C.I.A compilation. I am happy to say after at least 3 years of searching I have finally come across the CD demo and will be sharing it here for the first time. (Big thanks to Andrew Butko from Van Johnson for sending it over) I would reccommend this band to fans of the late 90's metalcore/screamo sound encompassing bands like Love Lost But Not Forgotten and Joshua Fit For Battle. Alex Edkins would later go on to play in METZ.

Discography

Farm Benefit Compilation CD

Demo CD 2000

Demo Tape 1999 (still missing 2 songs from this!)

Farm Sanctuary Benefit Compilation CD 2001 (The Mountain C.I.A)

Fuck You I'm Stealing Home - Demo (1997)

    Fuck You I'm Stealing Home was an emocore band from Victoria, British Columbia. This might be a bit of a sparse post, as I have virtually nothing on this band besides the demo itself and its cover art. Dustin Hawthorne of the band would later go on to play in Hot Hot Heat. He was also in the short lived Victoria band Letters To The Lord Himself with Dave Truscott and Jode Shortreed of Breakwater fame; their sole track "Bombdrop" off the Carlos Compilation 7" is an absolute must listen. 

    Like their contemporaries in Victoria and the greater B.C. area, FYISH occupied a niche in the emocore scene that echoes the sounds of bands like Republic Of Freedom Fighters, Ache Hour Credo and New York City Rhythm. The band has an infectious, frenetic sound on top of these influences that preludes the more sassy art-core of early Hot Hot Heat. Overall this demo is a really cool little hidden gem and well worth checking out if you're a fan of the Victoria emo scene.

Demo

Pecola - Discography (1994-1999)

     Pecola was a post-hardcore/noise-rock band from Toronto, Ontario. Sporting tracks composed from jagged time signatures and blownout guitars, Pecola was an ever evolving vehicle of chaos existing from the mid to late '90s. Pecola refused to be pinned down, with every release having a new, unique sound; but one that was still distinctively Pecola. They were a force to be reckoned with on stage, constantly projecting an unalienable intensity and energy. All that energy can be seen in the newly unearthed footage below. My favourite release by them has to be the 1996 Dat Hoang EP, which was the band at its most aggressive. I could compare them to Toronto scenemates Smallmouth, as well as later Shotmaker and Drive Like Jehu.

Discography

Dat Hoang EP 1997 (Teenage USA Recordings)

Planet Of Ugly 7" 1995 (Skull Geek)

Smallmouth split 7" 1998 - (Teenage USA Recordings)

The Mexican CD 1999 (Kosher Rock)

Demo 1995