Southern Lord Reissues Two Classic From Ashes Rise LPs

The 1990s were a strange and glorious time for hardcore punk in Tennessee. There was a wave of bands who played to tiny crowds and released small quantities of 7-inch EPs and cassettes — which are today sought-after by record nerds around the world. They fostered an ominous style blending the bleakness of U.K. anarchists Amebix, the raw fury of Poison Idea, the heaviness of Neurosis, the rhythms of Scandinavian D-beat, and the distorted melodies characteristic of a cadre of Japanese punk groups collectively called Burning Spirits. 

Memphis had a dynasty of these bands, like Copout and His Hero Is Gone. Nashville’s greatest contribution to the sound was From Ashes Rise, an open-chorded, down-tuned monstrosity of full-stack amplifiers and unbridled rage. After cutting their razor-sharp teeth at basement shows and Lucy’s Record Shop, F.A.R. released a demo and a pair of 7-inches with a revolving list of members. The lineup solidified when Brad Boatright, Dave Atichison and John Wilkerson imported Ryan Teetzen from Arkansas’ Burned Up Bled Dry. 

This unit scheduled grueling runs of tour dates around two separate recording sessions at Oakland, Calif., studio Polymorph in 2000. The result was a pair of the heaviest, most throat-shredding LPs to ever come from the Volunteer State: Concrete & Steel and Silence, released just a few months apart on Feral Ward Records. It wasn’t long before most of the band pulled up stakes and relocated to Portland, Ore. The town that’s been lampooned as a hipster paradise also became a haven for Tennessee punk expatriates like Tragedy and Deathreat. 

Now both LPs from F.A.R.’s Nashville era — two of the most crucial rippers from Music City — have been reissued by premiere heavy-music label Southern Lord Records. All 24 tracks have been remastered by guitarist Brad Boatright at his Portland studio, Audiosiege. As a tribute to all the Japanese hardcore F.A.R. drew influence from, each LP comes wrapped in an obi sash.

You can pick up copies at your favorite record store, directly from Southern Lord or via Bandcamp. For a taste, turn down your headphones and check out the photo-slideshow vid below of “All Eyes on the Tease.”