Horizon Hardcore

It's funny how two of my favorite finds this year were for 7 inch comps from 30 years ago. A few months ago I discovered the Beneath the Wheel comp with Admiral and Greyhouse, and then a month or so after that I found the Horizon Hardcore comp. Both were from 1991, and I didn't even know that either of them existed until this year.

When I discovered the Horizon Hardcore comp recently, I was floored. How have I never heard about this record? The 7 inch contains some great bands from the early 90's and this record could be the kid brother to the Words To Live By comp from New Age Records. How it has flown under my radar for the last 30 years is a fucking mystery.

I first discovered this comp when the new Encounter 7 inch finally arrived in September. I started digging into their Discogs page, and was totally shocked when I looked at the page for all the compilations that the band had appeared on. What the fuck is this? A Horizon Records Hardcore Compilation? A song from Encounter named Solitude? How have I never heard this song before? Plus there is a Flagman song here that I've never heard as well? Give it to me. I don't fucking care how much it costs.

While this comp is worth owning for the Encounter and Flagman songs, the early recordings from Ressurection and Lifetime songs are pretty cool to hear as well.

Cheap 7 Inch Haul: 1993 - Flagman

Early 90's hardcore had a sound. Bands like Kingpin, Encounter and Temperance...even the Daybreak 7 inch from Up Front...when I hear those records it immediately transports me back to New England shows at the time. Just getting into hardcore at the time, and discovering all of these bands felt special to this kid. I'd grown up on arena concerts, metal mags from the local grocery store, and shopping for music at the mall. Traveling to Boston and discovering the hardcore scene...man, that shit felt more personal and real. They were special times for me for sure.

Flagman fit that early 90's style, but for some reason I find that I have never really spent much time with their records. I definitely remember them making some noise at the time, but for one reason or another, they were never a band that made much of an impact with me at the time. Hell, I never even heard their Restraint 7 inch until a few years ago.

Records like this seem to get buried by time and dust, and buying this green vinyl pressing has been a great reminder that I need to break out my Flagman records more often.

I picked up the purple vinyl pressing back in 2012... 20 years after it's initial release. Considering it only took me another 8 years to grab the green vinyl, it is impressive how quickly I move these days.