MERAUDER
MINUS YEARS - CD

New York City has the historical significance for being the world's melting pot and churning out an amalgamation of cultural diversity. The evolution of New York Hardcore epitomizes the primordial ooze that is generated from mixing of multi styles of heavy music.

As the early days of New York Hardcore transitioned from the 80's into the '90's, it's hard to deny the growing influence of metal on the classic hardcore sounds. With bands like Agnostic Front, Sick of it All, Leeway melding their hardcore and punk roots with brash metal riffs, driving drums and signature breakdowns, a new genre of "cross-over" born. The music was hard, fast and melodic. It truly was an amazing period in hardcore music history.

New York's Merauder was no exception. Forming in 1990, their cross-over style quickly propelled them to the forefront of the NYHC scene and beyond. Merauder's musical style was well ahead of their time. The lyrics were deep and insightful. The musicianship was hailed as the next level of hardcore as they weaved in elements of metal with the "in-your-face" New York attitude.

For the first time ever, the early Merauder recordings have been compiled into one release, immortalized on tangible formats, confirming the internet folklore about the existence of these recordings. Vocalist, Marco "Minus" Rodriguez became known for his commanding vocal style and scene presence. Add in original members, Javier "SOB" Carpio, "Karate" Chris Bozeth, Eamon Carney and Vinny Vitale, Merauder quickly dominated the early 1990's music scene and beyond.

Merauder "The Minus Years" is a capture of New York hardcore nostalgia. For those that were there, these recordings will certainly refresh memories that have been tucked way in the memory bank for many years. For those that are relatively new to the hardcore culture, The Minus Years is a time-machine into where so many new hardcore and metal bands have been influenced by. The recordings are raw and analog. The energy that was captured is not masked by overdubs and over-production. Simply, five dudes in a room and when the "red" record button was enabled, history was made.