OVER THE LINE

If you weren’t paying attention at the time, you may not have noticed that at the end of 1996 and into early 1997, OVER THE LINE hit the hardcore scene with a handful of high-energy shows in the tri-state area and a demo of blistering straight ahead hardcore, only to quickly dissolve as members moved on to new places. But even if you were paying attention, you probably didn’t notice that the band would still get together only a couple of years later with a slightly different line-up to jam on some songs that had been conceptualized; songs that went beyond the confines of the demo and drew on influences from the harder side of New York Hardcore. While it seemed illogical to try to fully develop these tracks considering that each member was scattered about the country, everyone who heard this material agreed that it needed to eventually be given a proper recording and release.

Fast forward to 2007, and interest from the band’s friends at Livewire Records was expressed in a four song seven inch of this yet-to-be-recorded material. While the basic ideas for these songs had been floating around amongst band members for years, the raw energy and urgency of the final tracks was captured in only a few brief late night rehearsals and even quicker studio session. The band didn’t have months to rehearse, record and remix. In this long weekend session they were able to capture these four blistering songs of dynamic hardcore. The recording here is the product of four friends who knew exactly what they wanted, and it captures that energy and creativity at its peak.

The underlying question remains, “After all this time, why even bother?” According to Lucuski, “We had these songs we loved that never materialized. They really showed the direction we wanted to take the band with the new line-up. We were happy with the demo at the time, but we knew we had songs in us that pushed in a different direction and were more than just basic hardcore songs. Don’t get me wrong, I was glad Crucial Response pressed the demo, but the image they created for the band wasn’t us. These songs are.”