SALTY CITY HC

When I first moved to Salt Lake City, I admit I was real snobby about their hardcore scene. This may or may not have stemmed from the fact that I saw Mental and Justice there while I was visiting colleges in 2005, and no one (but me) moshed. In time, I came to appreciate it for what it is and at this point, I really miss it. Maybe not for the hardcore, but for the mountains, the cost of living and quality burrito joints on every gridded corner of the city. Good skate spots too.

For all intents and purposes, SLC's hardcore golden age was sometime in the 90's when straight edge as a legit philosophy scared "normal" people (wrestling fans had yet to hear the term) and coremen un-ironically sported JNCOs and hair gel. You've likely heard crazy stories about the violent shit that went down in the name of drug free livin', animal lib, latent mormonism and whatever else put that scene on the map, but there's rarely any discussion of the music.

Here's a journal drawing depicting some of my favorite SLC records of times past. Fans who like a little more METAL in their core, take note. Beaver-cleaver youthcore types? Maybe not your thing, save for that Insight record. 

Xessive ForceX - Vengeance is Mine
Excessive Force - In Your Blood
XCLEARX - The Sickness Must End
XCLEARX - Deeper Than Blood
Reality - Something Hurts
Decontaminate - Cleanse and Burn
Lifeless - No Time
Triphammer - Triphammer
Insight - Standing Strong