04 March 2010

DOWNLOAD: Klopeks' Furnace - New Martinsville



In the wake of the the disbandment Wheeling's foremost hardcore group Ahimsa, guitarist Wes Ebeling rounded up his musically-inclined friends from nearby New Martinsville (Wes's hometown) to conceive a new project. Equal parts straight-edge youth crew (Youth of Today, Gorilla Biscuits), '90s hardcore revival (By the Grace of God, Stretch Arm Strong) and post-hardcore revival emo (Silent Majority, At the Drive In), Klopeks' Furnace breathed fresh air into West Virginia hardcore they formed around 2000.

At the time, hardcore music and straight edge were in a fragile transitional period. The culture and music was beginning to garner mainstream attention, and many people involved with the scene were taking themselves too seriously, becoming cynical, or just abandoning the scene all together. Not Wes Ebeling. Not Klopeks' Furnace. Taking its namesake from one of the members' favorite flicks The 'Burbs, and combining it with a love of all things Arnold Schwarzenegger, Klopeks' proved they were playing music to have fun. Despite the name (less ironic than it is a tribute to a great movie) and Kindergarten Cop and Terminator 2 samples on the album (again, no irony intended), Klopeks' Furnace's songs are seriously - both musically and lyrically. (Except maybe for their incredible one-time cover of Journey's "Separate Ways.")

This album (supposedly entitled New Martinsville) was recorded around 2000, but received a very limited release amongst the band's friends. It is eight tracks of full-steam-ahead punk hardcore that is driven by two guitars that max chugging power chords with a melodic elements, throaty vocals and plenty of back-up chorus chanting. Despite the band's short-lived existence and the fact that this album has rarely been heard, Klopeks' Furnace is still one of the best hardcore bands West Virginia has produced.

Artist: Klopeks' Furnace.
Album: New Martinsville.
Year: 2000.
For fans of: Stretch Arm Strong, Youth of Today, Silent Majority.


2 comments:

  1. FUCKING FINALLY! I've been trying to get this from someone forever now. I'm at work and can't listen to it right but I believe the album was released, was titled "New Martinsville", and was not a demo.

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  2. why am i surprised to find this online
    why am i not surprised to see derrick shanholtzer here before me

    i think you actually gave me my first klopek's cd..

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