DOWNLOAD: My 5 favorite albums with less than 30 downloads

This blog is nearly two years old, and in that time I've posted about 100 records that are available for free. Some of those records have been downloaded almost 400 times (Hasil Adkins's Peanut Butter Rock and Roll) while others have been only been received 12 hits. Some of those rarely accessed albums are ones I truly love, and it disappoints me that more people have not heard them, which was part of the goal of this blog.

I am giving some of these records a second chance. These five demos, full-lengths or discographies are my favorites that have been downloaded less than 30 times, which frankly needs to be a lot more. So here are some haikus to try to convince you to put these tunes in your digital collection.

1. The Beautiful Down - Ashes and Vanity / Of Angels and Of Men (27 downloads)

Redneck boys from Boone
In vein of At the Drive In
Christian sure can shred

2. Horns to the Matador - We Own This Town, Johnny! (15 downloads)

Big guitars play emo
Think Journey as indie rock
Broke up way too soon

3. Malicious Intent - The Sound of Diesel (29 downloads)

As thick as gravy
Lighthearted death metal punk
Changed my fucking life

4. The Dick Brothers - The Dick Brothers (16 downloads)

Iafrate bros
Listen to Hazel Dickens
Play great folk music

5. Steel Nation - Forever Wounded (13 downloads)

Nineties hardcore lives
Hard style like Biohazard
Ethan Mania

DOWNLOAD: Steel Nation - Forever Wounded

Here is the most recent full-length release from Pittsburgh's Steel Nation, which features drummer Ethan Raese, whose first gig was as a teenager in Morgantown hardcore band The Warriors. This album is 13 songs, about 35 minutes of heavy, brutal and honest hardcore with plenty of hard riffs, dual vocals and a lot of double bass from Ethan. It sounds straight from the mid-'90s (a good thing) and comparisons to Ringworm, Integrity, Biohazard or Pale Horse are much deserved.

From a reviewer: "Unlike many hardcore records that are accorded more hype and credit than they should, 'Forever Wounded' is built on an ethos of all work, no slack. Neither Neil and Steve’s vocals, nor their Slayer-influenced buzzsaw guitars, nor Ethan’s relentless double-bass drumming let up for one second. Therein lies the formula for animalistic crossover with a whole greater than the sum of its parts. 'Forever Wounded' is the kind of record that can successfully bludgeon metal-hungry audiences just as much as fickle hardcore kids, provided Morrissey isn’t your God."

Artist: Steel Nation

Album: Forever Wounded

Year: 2009

For Fans Of: Ringworm, Biohazard, Integrity

DOWNLOAD: Steel Nation - Forever Wounded

WATCH: Steel Nation live in Richmond, 2010

Here is a pretty solid video of Steel Nation playing in Richmond, Virginia, in early 2010. From what I understand, they are recording a new album due out this year. According to drummer Ethan Raese (a native of Morgantown), it is the best stuff they have done yet.

Steel Nation from KOFILMS on Vimeo.

DOWNLOAD: Steel Nation - Split with Crucified

At the request of Steel Nation drummer Ethan Raese, here is the follow-up to 2007's album Soul Swallower - a split with California's Crucified. Steel Nation's two songs were the band's first recording after vocal duties were turned over to bassist Steve Fisher (singer for the now defunct Van Damage) and guitarist Neil Demi. The sound is an improvement upon Soul Swallower - vocally and musically, while the lyrics take an even more pessimistic tone with a lot of mention of pain and suffering. "Everything that I've ever loved has turned its back on me." I know its rhetorical, but I can't help but giggle at hardcore bands nowadays. (Sorry, Ethan.) I haven't even listened to the Crucified side of this split, but I have my presumptions. This is perfect for fans of Integrity, Ringworm or Biohazard.

Artist: Steel Nation/Crucified.

Album: Split.

Year: 2008.

For fans of: Integrity, Ringworm, Biohazard.

DOWNLOAD: Steel Nation/Crucified - Split.

DOWNLOAD: Steel Nation - Soul Swallower

"We came to wreck everything, and ruin your life. God sent us." That quote, a sample from the 1992 film about Russell Crowe as a skinhead, is not only how this album starts, but it's also the lead to too many reviews of this album. Despite the lack of originality, I had to use it, too - not because it's a good quote or because it's even the introduction to Steel Nation's 2007 debut Soul Swallower. It has more to do the fact that Pittsburgh-area tattooist Josh Mason recently muttered the line repeatedly in the recent presence of Steel Nation drummer Ethan Raese as Raese bitched about having to listen to Texas Is the Reason.

Though Steel Nation is a hardcore-metal band based in Pittsburgh, Raese is a native of Morgantown and has played in West Virginia bands such as The Warriors, Better Off Dead and A Toast to the Winners. He is a tough dude with a body builder's physique covered in tattoos. He doesn't listen to any "pussy shit" like Texas Is the Reason or Jimmy Eat World. Raese listens to bands that sound like his own - Ringworm, Integrity, Biohazard and Strife to name a few. Steel Nation is heavy and fast-paced with plenty of double bass and breakdowns - appropriate for circle pits and mesh short-clad kung-fu styled mosh. On top of that, screamy vocals of pessimistic lyrics from band members who probably don't have much to be pessimistic about crank out songs with titles like "Hate of the World" and "Deliverance of the Devil." (I, too, see the irony in contemporary hardcore, but we still love it!) Steel Nation has since parted ways with the singer on this album and with strings players sharing vocal duties have taken an improved direction with its sound to be more metal than hardcore, but this is where it started.

Artist: Steel Nation.

Album: Soul Swallower.

Year: 2007.

For fans of: Ringworm, Integrity, Strife.

DOWNLOAD: Steel Nation - Soul Swallower.

WATCH: Steel Nation live at Yesterdays in Wheeling, 2009

Steel Nation is a Pittsburgh-based hardcore-metal-thrash band in the vein of Ringworm and Integrity. It is also the band of drummer Ethan Raese, who played in The Warriors, A Toast to the Winners and other Morgantown hardcore bands. An incredibly skilled drummer who has also toured with Strength For a Reason and Cold World, Ethan is a legend in his own right - in both the East Coast hardcore scene and to women across the country (and to robots in Canada). He is also a talented hockey player and dedicated weight lifter, whose physique shames Michaelangelo's David. A graduate in four year from Temple University in Philadelphia, Ethan is also covered in tattoos from some of the best artists in the country including Jeff Zuck and Josh Mason. Ladies...

Anyway, I digress. Here is a video of Steel Nation playing at Yesterday's in Wheeling in 2009. The audio quality is terrible (completely absent in some parts). But it gives you an idea. Check these guys out at: http://www.myspace.com/thesteelnation.