Formed from the ashes of Urban Waste, Major Conflict existed for a short time in the early-80's NYHC scene, and this aptly titled CD documents what one would have to assume is all of the band's recorded output, including their self-titled 7", apparently unreleased studio sessions, and several live tracks. The style? Basic 1983 hardcore with a pretty significant early punk rock tinge, fused into short songs that never really get too fast. The unreleased recording session has an understandably dated sound dominated by vocals over relatively thin guitars and a decently solid rhythm section, but the songwriting and performances are pretty damn strong, I have to say. On these particular outings the vocals are a bit gruffer at times, and the approach is more straightforward and punk rock oriented in terms of utilizing gang vocals and borderline "catchy" song structures (see "Still Far Away" especially) formed around simplistic chord progressions. You could actually probably even argue that there are elements of what has become more often tagged oi/street punk in some of these songs, notably "Fading Memory".
As far as the 7" is concerned, the sound quality is thicker and a little dirtier, while the songwriting is perhaps a bit less direct in that there's a little bit of subtle melody within the midpaced chord progressions, while lightly noisy leads keep things raw and unrefined within a heavier sort of general approach. "Not Just a Song", the only track herein that tops three minutes, even unexpectedly opens with a strange keyboard pulse before the tone changes and a driving surge comes in with a few grating trills that later give way to a pretty crunchy chord progression. The live tracks come from various classic settings, among them CBGB's and A7, and despite varying recording sources (one of which is a mere handheld tape recorder), the live tracks all sound almost shockingly tolerable - if not effective.
Included are takes on some of the studio tracks, as well as otherwise undocumented material such as "No 1 Man System" and "No Patience", so for once, I have to say, this is a collection where the live tracks are actually a great inclusion. Very nice. The packaging keeps things simple with some black and white band photos, most of the lyrics, and several contributors' liner notes trying their best to express just how different a world it was for hardcore/punk in New York in 1983 as compared to today (a point further nailed home by the brief CD-Rom video for "NYC", which shows the delis and vacant lots and such that now exist in the former homes of classic New York venues). Despite that fact, or perhaps because of it, most of the lyrical themes are almost identical to today's hardcore, dealing with staying true and doing things for yourself, inner city violence, frustrations, etc. "Cigarette in one hand bottle of beer in the other, Living in a world of fear go tell it to another, Waiting for a major change, Trying to survive in this life..."
This is the first CD of this nature that I've heard from Mad at the World, and I have to commend them on expertly handling matters here, so I'd be really curious to see what else they've done (or plan to do) in this realm, as they've got a great handle on how these types of things should be delivered. Those listeners with a soft spot for the obscure, or for this particular timeframe of hardcore/punk, would likely be very enthused about this one, so keep an eye out. Good work.
Genre: Hardcore
Year: 2005
Tracklist:
01. Intro
02. The Message Of The Underground
03. Still Far Away
04. NYC
05. Stand By Your Guns
06. War On The City Streets
07. Fading Memory
08. Variety Sucks!
09. How Do Ya Feel
10. Outgroup
11. Not Just A Song
12. Show Announcement For World's Most Violent Club
13. No 1 Man System
14. NYC
15. How Do Ya Feel
16. No Patience
17. Outgroup
18. Outro
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