Triphammer's six-track EP, released through Life Sentence Records, is one of my favorite SLC releases of all time. It's right up there with Lifeless, and maybe even a little bit higher.
The slow drone was different than the straight-forward hardcore that Lifeless and Clear had been perfecting for the better part of the late 90s, but that's what set them apart. Their live show was also something to be seen. Jared Hooper was constantly throwing up on stage and their set regularly ended with a lengthy drum solo. They were a band that was never afraid to try something a little different. It's a shame they broke up before they released anything else.
The Triphammer SLHC 101 is in the works, and will hopefully be available soon. In the meantime, download and listen.
In Fall of 1995, Alex Slack, Taylor Williams, Dustin Black and Zach Clough got together in Williams’ parents' basement to start a new band that was darker and heavier than anything Salt Lake had ever seen. Williams and Black each brought half a song—which would, by the end of the night, become “Darkness” and “No Time” respectively—and one of Salt Lake’s most revered bands—Lifeless—was born.
In 1996, Lifeless unleashed their new sound on Salt Lake City in the basement of the now-burned-down Club DV8. “It was an awesome show. Alex and Dustin were pretty prominent members of the local hardcore scene and Pathway (Williams and Clough’s previous band) had gained a decent following as well, so I remember it being pretty packed,” said Williams. “I think we only had like 4 songs and I wasn’t sure what people were going to think of it because it was pretty aggressive and different from other SLC shit at the time. All of our songs were about death, suicide and self-loathing.”
To their surprise, people loved it. The band built a solid following and were soon turning heads with their new, darker approach to hardcore. The Salt Lake scene had been dominated by the likes of Insight, Iceburn and the Flatline Records roster during the early 90s--either traditionally-rooted or bizzarely-experimental. But with the rise of Lifeless, and metallic compatriots Clear, Climb and Triphammer, the modern Salt Lake Hardcore sound was born.
Later that year, Excessive Force came to town for a show at the New Hope Center in North Salt Lake. Lifeless was on the bill and another Salt Lake band that had just formed, XClearX, was set to open. XClearX took the stage for the first time and when their set was over, Dan Gump approached a the band and told them he wanted to put out their record on his label Life Sentence Records.
“Everyone in Lifeless was flabbergasted,” said Williams. “It was [XClearX's] first show and someone already wanted to put out their record? We were a little jealous and a little mad, but said ‘fuck it’ and went up and shredded our little hearts out.” This frustration paid off.
“We got done with our set and Dan approached us saying he wanted to put out a record with us as well," said Williams, "We were stoked." Later that year XClearX's The Sickness Must End and Lifeless' self-titled 7" were released on Life Sentence.
The record made a big splash but was the band's only release. Two more songs, “Stomp A Mudhole In Your Ass” (an homage to the band Bowel) and “Opened Up” (the inspiration for the early 2000s band), were recorded but were never put out in any official capacity.
“We had a period of intense writing where we didn’t play any shows and wrote about 6 or 7 new songs that were a huge step forward,” said Williams. “We were going to debut our new material with Madball at an old venue called Spanky’s, but there was a full-scale riot during the show and we didn’t get to play.”
The band eventually did get the chance to debut their new songs when they opened for Vision of Disorder. Sadly, that would end up being their last show. Slack was a huge hockey fan and shortly after that show, he and his girlfriend took a trip to Denver to see a Colorado Avalanche game. As the two were driving back to Salt Lake, they hit a patch of black ice on that dangerous stretch of I-80 that has plagued nearly every band trying to make it through and the car rolled into a ditch. Slack severed part of his spinal cord and was paralyzed from the neck down.
Without Alex’s presence—a vital part of Lifeless’ energetic live shows—and his attitude, the band was through. Bands replace singers all the time, but Alex was different. He was such an integral part of Lifeless that it seemed silly to even entertain the notion of carrying on without him. Initially, there was talk of having James Hart (singer of Eighteen Visions and a good friend of Slack's) take over, but in the end it just wouldn’t have been the same.
“Alex just had this energy and brutality to his singing and his performance that just couldn’t be replaced,” said Williams. “It sounds kind of hokey, but he really did have an aura about him. He was a really magnetic sort of person. He was the type of person that people wanted to be around and listen to.”
On June 29, 1999, more than a year after his accident, Alex Slack committed suicide.
Dustin Black tried a few times to get a new version of Lifeless together after his death, but none of them made it past the practice stages. “I didn’t really want anything to do with it anymore,” said Williams. “It ended up being this huge black hole of negative feelings for me, mostly associated with Alex’s death. Without Al there was and is no Lifeless for me.”
It’s been over a decade since the last time Lifeless played live, but the band’s legacy is still very alive in Salt Lake City. “No Time,” “Darkness” and “Zero” have been covered by numerous bands and getting your hands on a copy of everything the band recorded is something of a right of passage in the Salt Lake hardcore scene.
“I think it is pretty fucking sweet that people in SLC still have love for Lifeless,” said Williams. “Jesus, it was 14 years ago when we formed and kids are still into it! That blows my mind!
Williams may have grown as a musician and a songwriter, moving onto more experimental acts Glacial and Black Sleep of Kali, but he’s still got a soft spot for those early, stripped down Lifeless recordings.
“It is kind of funny because when I listen to those early songs they are really simple and kind of crude, but they still work. The recording is so shitty, but I think it helped showcase how raw it was. We set out to create something that hadn’t been done before. We were after a brutal sound and wanted that to come across in the lyrics, the music and the artwork. I think we accomplished that.”
Lifeless performing at the Life Sentence Records Showcase:
Spidey, of Dogwelder fame, has established a download blog over at www.saltlakehardcore.blogspot.com that will feature all those rare Salt Lake hardcore releases that you always search for but never find on eBay.
Featured so far are releases from Unbound, Triphammer and Lifeless.
Climb began crafting its brutally-heavy hardcore sound in the mid-nineties -- an era when brutally-heavy hardcore in Salt Lake City was the exclusive domain of outspoken straightedge bands. Only problem, Climb liked to party and they weren't sure how that fact would go over with the city's predominantly sober scene.
This did not deter a local straightedge kid from knocking on Climb's door at the now-historic practice space Downtown Music and asking them to play a show with his band Clear.
"We had heard many rumors at the time about crazy shit that went on in that scene but we were all about getting the music out. Plus if the rumors were true, we had all taken a beating at least a couple of times in our lives... so we did it," recounts Climb frontman Jimmy Scott.
The band's first show alongside Clear also featured Salt Lake's Lifeless and legendary Long Island act Vision of Disorder! Climb's brutal combination of traditional New York Hardcore and heavy, heavy metal was instantly accepted by Salt Lake and the band went on to play dozens of Salt Lake Hardcore shows over the following 3 years.
Climb released its first full-length, Live in the Now, in 1997. The album's heavy breakdowns and hate-fueled lyrics fit perfectly into Salt Lake's heavily-metal influenced scene.Around the time of this release, Jimmy approached the Tower Theatre about putting on hardcore shows and an important era in Salt Lake hardcore began. The venue would play host to legendary acts from Agnostic Front to Hatebreed to Today is the Day during the late '90s.
In 1998, Climb planned to release its second album, Reborn, through Salt Lake-based label, Life Sentence Records. For reasons still unknown to the band, it never saw the light of day. Climb broke up soon after.
The band recently posted the album, Reborn, on their MySpace page, where it can be previewed and purchased. Imagine every aspect of Live in the Now turned up to 11 -- vocals more demonic, guitars more metallic, breakdowns heavier and lyrics harder.
Rumors of a Climb reunion began to circulate at the beginning of 2009, but nothing has been confirmed.
To no surprise, Lifeless took the poll with 38% of the vote. However, to the surprise of some, Clear took second with 29%. Deadfall, Triphammer and Climb followed in that order meaning more people need to listen to these bands! Don't worry though, Grudge City 101 columns on each of these acts are coming very soon.
Lifeless, Climb, Clear, Triphammer and Deadfall played the first shows that many of us attended in Salt Lake. And whether loved or hated since those days, we can't deny that they had a major impact on what we call Salt Lake Hardcore today. So who was the best?
And yes we're aware that all but Billy disappeared from the hardcore scene during the late 90s as well.
Four months ago at breakfast the conversation moved in a direction that sent out a ripple effect that made the unforgettable show this past weekend. For many of us, this was something that we have only dreamed about.
When we finally decided to make it not just a dream, there were many obstacles we had to over come. Of course, money was the biggest issue. We meet up at a coffee shop to talk about how we were going to go about it. The first thing I said as we sat down was, "I don't think we can pull this off, we need a lot of money." Lucky for us I was wrong, and we have the best friends anyone could ask for. Not only did our friends say that they would help us cover if we lost money but, we had one very handsome but crazy friend, Nathan Steele, put up $1800 to bring six guys out to salt lake.
Plane tickets were bought, the venue was booked and the clock was counting down to dec 6. We chose the three most deserving bands to play the show and started promoting the show as best we could. I did nothing but stress out about making enough money to cover the cost of flight and venue, but the only thing I could do was put posters up and hope people would show up.
Three months later Mike, Jack, and I were picking Starkweather up at the airport, not having any idea what the next 48 hours had in store. We dropped them off at their hotel, and the next morning, Jack and I went and hung out with the six guys we had just met the day before. I can honestly say that it was like being with friends I haven't seen in a long time. If nothing else, you could never say that "..those starkweather guys are fucking terds." Fuck, I might hit someone if I heard them say that..
After a walk up to a pawn shop we parted ways and went to get everything we needed to get the show going. We met up at the venue and loaded everything in. As we were setting up for the sound check and me now stressing about the drum set, there is nothing that can be done but hope everything goes as planned.
The sound guy was ready and told Starkweather to play a song to check the levels. In the venue at this time were the few people helping with the show and other three bands, so a total of about 25-30 people. They started playing and everyone in there stopped in shock. My stomach turned, I was in complete awe, it was really happening. You could feel the excitement in the room with only the few people in there. Nothing made me feel that way since I was 16 and thought that the holy ghost and jesus were real existing beings.
The doors opened and people started to fill the club and if you were there you know the rest. Every band played as good as they ever have. The feel of the show was something I have not felt in a long time and to everyone there I say thank you. You have no idea what you help start. Please keep coming to shows. You are the life blood to our scene. With out all of you we would have just another sub par hardcore scene. So I thank you all.
I would like to give a very big thanks to those 7 guys I got to meet this week end. I would like to let Starkweather know with out you Salt Lake wouldn't be what we are. Bands like Lifeless, Triphammer, Climb, Cherem, Aftermath, Tamerlane, Reflect, ect. and the many up coming bands wouldn't exsist.
I would like Tamerlane, Sleeping Giant and, Reflect to know how much you mean to Salt Lake Hardcore. I look up to you as to many other kids, young and old. With you as examples I have very high hopes for what is coming next.
I would like to thank Blake Foard for all his hard work with all the past shows he has done, and more importantly the ones he will do in the future.
I would like to thank Nathan, Dan, Sias, and Trevor for all the hard work they put in to this show. Thank you for making this happen, I know Salt Lake thanks you too. With out you it wouldn't have happened.
And Big Dog, thanks for starting this crazy idea. You have many of them, keep them coming.
We have big plans, we have great ideas, WE HAVE SOMETHING NO OTHER PLACE HAS. Be proud to say you are apart of the Salt Lake City Hardcore scene.
