Life Sentence: Demos 7″

Description

In December of 1985, after a long grueling two month tour, Life Sentence entered a “real” studio for the first time. Not really knowing their way around, they invited friends Barry Stern and Kenny Black of Chicago Metal legends Zoetrope to help guide the way. They recorded 10 songs, 5 of which would end up on their first LP. The other five on the first LP were re-recorded several months later, again at Solid Sound, to represent the new line-up of the band, with Losurdo and Brockman taking over vocal duties for the recently departed Morris. The original versions of those 5 songs featuring Ray on vocals are presented here for the first time as well as the 4-track demo version of “Open Your Eyes” which was also later recorded at the second Solid Sound session. Enjoy!

Six songs on 1000 blue, heavyweight (45g), 7 vinyl records. Housed in a full color, heavy duty 7 jacket.

Our take: Im a big fan of Chicago hardcore band Life Sentences 1986 debut LP, but its a record I have little context for I know little about the scene the band emerged from or how the record came to be. This 7 of demo recordings from Alonas Dream offers some enlightening details. I didnt know, for instance, that the band lost their original vocalist before they recorded that LP. In fact, to my ears it sounds like the original vocalist Ray Morris is singing (uncredited) on the album tracks Problems, In the Streets, Figured It Out, and Take a Stand, with guitarist and bassist Eric Brockman and Joe Losurdo handling vocals on the other tunes. Id always thought Problems was the standout track on that album, but Id never even noticed the vocalists were different on more than half the tracks, but now I hear it clear as day. Ray Morriss vocals are awesome hes a dead ringer for Kevin Seconds, and his strong melodies take the bands blistering hardcore songs and elevate them to something even more special. This Demos 7 presents the original recordings of five songs from the self-titled album along with a sixth, Open Your Eyes, that didnt appear on the LP. As I understand it, Life Sentence recorded these versions at the same time as the songs on the self-titled album that Morris sings on, while the songs he didnt sing on were recorded at another, later session. Im sure Life Sentence wanted the LP to document the bands current iteration, but fuck Morriss vocals are excellent, and really elevate these songs. This 7 also benefits from a stronger mastering job than the original album, with bigger and beefier drum and bass sounds (the original LP was quite tinny). It would be cool to combine these tracks with the songs on the LP that Morris sings on and have the version of the album that might have been, but Im just happy the tracks are out there. I think Life Sentence often gets overlooked, perhaps because the LP came out in 1986, when the world had largely moved on from this kind of blistering hardcore. However, these tracks are scorchers, and I feel confident any early 80s US hardcore head will love them.