THE EXPLODER

Band: EXPLODER, THE

Genres: Punk / Hardcore / Emo / Screamo / Skramz
Related artists: Regents, The Pilgrim, Liars Academy and Strike Anywhere.
Country: Richmond, Virginia USA
Years Active: 1997-2000
Song: "Last Picture Show"
Album: "Griver split"
Year: 1998
For fans of: Transistor Transistor, Sleepytime Trio, Twelve Hour Turn, The Blood Brothers, Bravo Fucking Bravo, Maximillian Colby, Frodus, Four Hundred Years, Aim Of Conrad, Bright Calm Blue, Ecorche, Closure, Indian Summer, The Fiction, Vade, The South, The Last Forty Seconds, Since By Man, Hugs, I Hate Myself, Portratis Of Past and Rye Coalition aka PROPER SCREAMO.

Label(s): Reptilian Records / Jackpot Records / Dim Mak Records / Skylab Operations / Fragil Records / Independence Day
This post's artist is from the March 2016 Mix. This is track #10.

You can download: the March Mix#4 right here or get the new April 2016 Mix#5 here.

THE EXPLODER were a Richmond, Virginia band that began in 1997. They ended up becoming Strike Anywhere. What? Yes, Strike Anywhere. They sound very little like Strike Anywhere and a lot more like late 90s emo/screamo such as Sleepytime Trio, Twelve Hour Turn and early Four Hundred Years.

The 1997 'The Exploder' 7" is much more on the 90s emo side of things, boasting yelled, screamed and awkwardly sung vocals and driving melodies that flop from heavy to serene on a dime. The sound is rooted in hardcore styles also used by Twelve Hour Turn and Indian Summer. The only LP released by THE EXPLODER was 'This Sound Starts Right Now' the same year has eluded me digitally thus far but I've jammed some songs on youtube and it sounds like the stepping stone from the 7" to the 1998 material, with The South and Closure being decent comparisons. The extremely intense "Dedicated to Memory Of..." and "Jane Grey" are the best songs I've heard off it, and holy moly they're killer.

By 1998 THE EXPLODER had morphed into a much sassier beast with dancey and screamy hardcore being the end result and it fucking rules. Songs such as "Last Picture Show" bounce around like Transistor Transistor and Sleepytime Trio and must have been a riot to catch live as I can imagine the members running around screaming like crazy. "Twelve Months" builds for over a minute with biting, Bright Calm Blue talking/yelling vocals before ripping into a bombastic screamy hardcore session reminiscent of Vade and Four Hundred Years. And oh boy those bass lines are just pumpin'. The 'Cut the Chord' is nearly as good, and I would even say more energetic and spastic than the 'Griver split' which was just discussed. "Code Red" and "Aspirin Mouth" should appease any The Blood Brothers and Since By Man fan with all of that back and forth screaming and I'm pretty damn sure that "Self Destruct" includes an appearance by Ralph of Rye Coalition.

From what I've heard of the band's later material it just doesn't really jive with me much. The screamy and driving sounds are gone, although some sass remains it's filtered through some shit that sounds like they're trying too hard, the clean vocals on "The Letter" are a pretty good example.

There's an excellent write up of all the band's material, some of which I haven't heard, linked right here at Creation Of Minerals blog. I hope to acquire the rest of THE EXPLODER's discography and post it as a full discography because this is true 90s emo.

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DISCOGRAPHY
Click )==>here<==( to download 3 of the 6 releases in mp3 form.

1997 - The Exploder 7"EP (download in zip here)
1997 - This Sound Starts Right Now cd/12"LP (does anyone have this? if so, please post!)

1998 - Cut the Chord cdEP (download in zip here)
1998 - Griver split 12"LP (download in zip here)

1999 - West End Kids Crusade cd/10"EP (does anyone have this? if so, please post!)

2000 - Cross My Heart split 7"EP (does anyone have this? if so, please post!)

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(1998) THE EXPLODER - "Last Picture Show" (from 'Griver' split)

(1998) THE EXPLODER - "Twelve Months" (from 'Griver' split)

(1998) THE EXPLODER - "Aspirin Mouth" (from 'Cut the Chord')

(1998) THE EXPLODER - "Code Red" (from 'Cut the Chord')

(1997) THE EXPLODER - "Dedicated to Memory Of..." (from 'This Sound Starts Right Now')

(1997) THE EXPLODER - "Jane Grey" (from 'This Sound Starts Right Now')

(1997) THE EXPLODER - "Escrow" (from 'The Exploder')

(2000) THE EXPLODER - "The Letter" (from 'Cross My Heart' split)

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THE EXPLODER out of print mp3/wma partial discography download

(download here)

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