No Grounds for Pity
Encyclopedia
No Grounds For Pity was a compilation album of early demo material (including a 1986 demo of the same name) by the New York hardcore
band, Sheer Terror
. The tracks were recorded between 1985 and 1988 and released in Europe on Blackout Records
in 1996 – a year after the band made their first major label release, Love Songs For the Unloved, on MCA Records
.
The album demonstrates the heavy metal
influenced hardcore punk
style of the band and the production is suitably raw – nearly every track initiates with a brief blast of feedback leading to heavily distorted guitar riffs.
1985 demo
1. "Obsoletion" – 2:04
2. "Smile For a Price" – 2:53
3. "Howard Unruh" – 2:29
4. "Not Giving Up" – 3:02
5. "Burning Time" – 3:51
6. "Owe You Nothing" – 2:31
7. "Into My Life" – 4:31
8. "Fashion Fighter" – 2:37
9. "Ready to Halt" – 2:15
No Grounds For Pity demo
10. "Owe You Nothing" – 2:30
11. "Burning Time" – 3:46
12. "Into My Life" – 4:32
13. "Not Giving Up" – 2:50
14. "Only 13" – 2:01
15. "Obsoletion" – 1:57
16. "Howard Unruh" – 2:19
17. "Rome Song" – 1:45
Fall From Grace demo
18. "Ashes, Ashes" – 2:29
19. "Walls" – 2:33
20. "Ready to Halt" – 2:20
21. "Only 13" – 2:02
22. "Into My Life" – 4:28
23. "Burning Time" – 3:43
Live 1986
24. "Smile For a Price" – 3:02
25. "Everything and Nothing" – 1:51
1988 demo
26. "Twisting and Turning" – 2:48
New York hardcore
New York hardcore refers to hardcore punk and metalcore music created in New York City and to the subculture associated with that music. New York hardcore grew out of the hardcore scene established in Washington, D.C., by bands such as Bad Brains and Minor Threat. Hardcore '81 is an album by the...
band, Sheer Terror
Sheer Terror
Sheer Terror was an American hardcore punk band from New York City. The band was one of the first to combine elements of heavy metal with a hardcore punk base, pioneering a heavier style of hardcore that would become popular in the following decades. Formed in late 1984, the band, stayed together...
. The tracks were recorded between 1985 and 1988 and released in Europe on Blackout Records
Blackout Records
Blackout! Records was an independent record label which specialized in the hardcore punk genre.It was formed in 1988 by Bill Wilson – now forever known as "Bill Blackout" – and, together with friend Jim Gibson, the label released its first record – a New York hardcore compilation...
in 1996 – a year after the band made their first major label release, Love Songs For the Unloved, on MCA Records
MCA Records
MCA Records was an American-based record company owned by MCA Inc., which later gave way to the larger MCA Music Entertainment Group , of which MCA Records was still part. MCA Records was absorbed by Geffen Records in 2003...
.
The album demonstrates the heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
influenced hardcore punk
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
style of the band and the production is suitably raw – nearly every track initiates with a brief blast of feedback leading to heavily distorted guitar riffs.
Track listing
- All songs written by Sheer TerrorSheer TerrorSheer Terror was an American hardcore punk band from New York City. The band was one of the first to combine elements of heavy metal with a hardcore punk base, pioneering a heavier style of hardcore that would become popular in the following decades. Formed in late 1984, the band, stayed together...
1985 demo
1. "Obsoletion" – 2:04
2. "Smile For a Price" – 2:53
3. "Howard Unruh" – 2:29
4. "Not Giving Up" – 3:02
5. "Burning Time" – 3:51
6. "Owe You Nothing" – 2:31
7. "Into My Life" – 4:31
8. "Fashion Fighter" – 2:37
9. "Ready to Halt" – 2:15
No Grounds For Pity demo
10. "Owe You Nothing" – 2:30
11. "Burning Time" – 3:46
12. "Into My Life" – 4:32
13. "Not Giving Up" – 2:50
14. "Only 13" – 2:01
15. "Obsoletion" – 1:57
16. "Howard Unruh" – 2:19
17. "Rome Song" – 1:45
Fall From Grace demo
18. "Ashes, Ashes" – 2:29
19. "Walls" – 2:33
20. "Ready to Halt" – 2:20
21. "Only 13" – 2:02
22. "Into My Life" – 4:28
23. "Burning Time" – 3:43
Live 1986
24. "Smile For a Price" – 3:02
25. "Everything and Nothing" – 1:51
1988 demo
26. "Twisting and Turning" – 2:48
Credits
- Paul Bearer – vocals, all tracks
- Alan Blake – guitar, all tracks
- Baron "Barry" Misuraca – bass, tracks 1 – 17
- Mark Neuman – bass, tracks 18 – 26
- Sam "Reid" Lohman – drums, tracks 1 – 17
- Jason Martin – drums, tracks 18 – 26
- Recorded between 1985 – 1988 in New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, USA - Produced by Sheer TerrorSheer TerrorSheer Terror was an American hardcore punk band from New York City. The band was one of the first to combine elements of heavy metal with a hardcore punk base, pioneering a heavier style of hardcore that would become popular in the following decades. Formed in late 1984, the band, stayed together...
Miscellanea
- The back cover contains a misprint in that it lists a 27th track, another version of "Burning Time" which does not actually appear on the album
- Howard UnruhHoward UnruhHoward Barton Unruh was an American mass murderer who killed 13 people on September 6, 1949, in Camden, New Jersey, when he was 28 years old. Unruh is considered the first single-episode mass murderer in U.S. history. He died in 2009 after a lengthy illness at the age of 88...
is a WWII veteran who embarked on a killing spree in 1949