Classic Hardcore Revisited - Brotherhood - As Thick As Blood

Brotherhood - As Thick As Blood
Crucial Response Records - 1989

Brotherhood were a seminal Pacific Northwest straight edge hardcore band hailing from Seattle, WA. This is Brotherhood's second release after the five song 7" No Tolerance For Ignorance on Skate-edge Records. All five of these songs are found on this lp pressed in 1989 on Crucial Response Records. What set Brotherhood apart from other bands playing this brand of hardcore was a strong stance against racism, sexism, and homophobia. The band was very vocal in their points of view and as I've heard, the band often challenged people in the audience in defense of those opinions. The style Brotherhood played is extremely fast, very comparable to speeds that bands like Heresy and Larm played before them, as well as excellent mosh heavy breakdowns. The songs are actually kind of long for hardcore with all but one is at least 2 mins long, while a couple go over the 3 min point in length. Bands like Internal Affairs to my ears sound very much like Brotherhood for a modern style reference. The vocals on this lp are shouted and somehow sounds like the singer has a think European accent but are still quite strong. The production on the lp is very powerful due to the drums being pushed up high in the mix, and the cymbal crashes sound really big. The album layout of the lp has been copied many times by countless hardcore bands. The iconic photo of two of the band members looking over the city of Seattle is classic and very memorable. Members of Brotherhood continued on with music after the band broke up and would end up playing in well known bands. The most famous of them would be bassist Nate Mendel. After Brotherhood, Nate Mendel would go to a short stint with the very under rated Christ On A Crutch, and then landing a spot playing bass in the highly influential emo band Sunny Day Real Estate for two albums. When ex-Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl had self-written and recorded his Foo Fighters debut, he asked Nate Mendel to play bass for the songs live, and has been in the band ever since. Guitarist Greg Anderson would later play in Amenity briefly, as well as Revelation Records punk band Engine Kid through most of the 90's before forming metal bands, notably doom band Goatsnake, and the noisy SUNNO)) on his label Southern Lord Records. Word is that Greg Anderson is not to fond of people asking him about his straight edge hardcore past and the bands played in. The remaining members would form hardcore band Resolution in the early 90's. This lp is still technically in print, but ordering from Crucial Response Records can be expensive shipping. If you like the record, try to seek it from an online distro. Sadly, Revelation Records isn't carrying the record in their distribution.

Get the record HERE