By Robert Dean
When it comes to the history of hardcore music, there are a
few periods that matter: the first wave of the 1980’s with bands like Black
Flag paving the way for CroMags, Madball, Sick of It All, Leeway, etc. Then,
there’s a second wave of bands from the late 90’s, early 00’s who took the
presence of mind from the first wave bands and reinvented the genre but only
with a lot more metal influence.
While yes, there are a lot of bands in the gray area (Burn,
Converge, Trial, Unbroken) of timeframe - there are a few from the East Coast
who were on fire during this later period: Indecision, Cave In, Snapcase, to
name a few. But, one band managed to write an all time, headbanging, freak out
mosh classic that a lot of people don’t know about: The Process Of and that band was Turmoil.
Honestly, I can’t give you an in-depth history of Turmoil.
They’re one of the few bands who aren’t steeped in nostalgia, hocking their
shirts, stickers and whatever represses of their records that are available.
You can’t find much about them online. The Facebook is barely managed, and none
of the members seem all too keen on living by the history of their younger
selves. All I know about Turmoil is they were from Philly, and they killed.
The Process Of is
twelve tracks that slit throats and offer no solace of reason or rectitude. For
any angry kid of my generation, it serves as a fantastic album that
encapsulated a time when you had to tour to get kids to know your music, and
you had to sell cd’s to get the next show. The record sounds mad. It sounds
desperate, and it sounds hungry. It’s a considerable shame Turmoil never
managed to get the mix right with their ability to land big tours and get the
band in a financially fortunate position because if you put on The Process Of in your car and don’t
want to murder everyone when the opening of Playing
Dead hits, you’re not human. And you’re certainly not metal.
The Process Of
stands the test of time because it doesn’t feel churned out. Instead, it feels
birthed – like it was a parting gift to the world, a final statement. The band
wasn’t big; they were lucky to get VFW halls or gym’s in whatever town they
played, but goddamn if the record doesn’t feel like a statement of absolution.
The guitar work is airtight, the drums are intricate, but the perfect blend of
fast punk sensibilities married with metal progressions. The vocals, though.
The frantic, angry sound of Jon Gula’s tenor is what brings this record home -
the viciousness is palpable and compelling because of its genuineness.
If you’re a metal dude, or someone with a history with
hardcore music and this one slipped past you, hunt it down. The CDs should be
easy to find online, and the vinyl was repressed a few years back (I’m still
trying to find one. You got one, holler at ya boi.) The Process Of is an incredible statement of what hardcore felt
like when it was a music that bubbled up from the streets. We didn’t have the
Internet to rely on. We had to go to shows or read zines to get our gossip. The Process Of sounds like a band
living hand to mouth and writing a record that had to carry their good fortunes
or else.
Now get off my lawn and buy everything you can with
Turmoil’s name on it. They deserve to be in the greater conversation with bands
who defined that era of hardcore music. It’s frankly fucking criminal they
aren’t.
Thank you for setting the record straight...Turmoil definitely deserves the recognition. You may or may not know that they had another band with all the members of Turmoil called The Kiss of Death. They released only one record &(CD) s/t. It is absolutely my all time favorite recording...and after listening to it for almost 20 years it never ever gets old. And that's what I think makes a band great. Albums that are timeless...here is the link to the only place I know it's available
ReplyDeletehttps://open.spotify.com/artist/7eEZkvYKuz6UjAmLPQpZjX