Articles Of Faith were a five-piece hardcore punk band from Chicago, Illinois that were formed in 1981 by vocalist Vic Bondi and originally disbanded in 1985. They reunited in 1991 for a European tour that wrapped up in 1992, and were inactive again until 2010, when they released a new EP and played a handful of shows. Sonically, the band got their start playing fast, loose and raw hardcore influenced by Bad Brains with overtly political leanings in their lyrics. Where AoF really started to take on a sound of their own was with the addition of a second guitarist in 1983. 1983's Wait EP was a transistional record for the band, with their straight-forward hardcore viciousness still very much intact, but with a darker, noisier, take on it.
They released their debut full-length Give Thanks in 1984, with Bob Mould (of Hüsker Dü) as producer. That influence is definitely apparent on this, as they retain the same fast-paced frenzied attack they developed in their early years, but took a more dynamic, sometimes even melodic approach to it. They were crafting strong songs, with the dual-guitar interplay in the foreground on tracks like "In This Jungle" which was incredibly ahead of its time. After a fantastic debut, the band disbanded the following year, but not before recording its follow-up. In This Life was released posthumously, with Bob Mould once again helming production. The album incorporated those big, distorted and reverb-soaked guitar chords akin to Hüsker Dü, but with one hand still very much on the hardcore wheel that the aforementioned had completely mvoed away from at this point. Lyrically, they eschewed their politics to take a more personal and introspective approach, which paired better with the more melodic sound they grew into it. In some ways you could say they were a precursor to emo, though that's a whole other discussion.
Their full discography was compiled in 2002 by Alternative Tentacles in two volumes. It's worth it to go through everything they released to hear their strong start and quick evolution. I included the individual releases as well (as well as a compilation and live album they also put out posthumously) if you wanted them individually, though the collection is the definitive essential. Highly recommended and insanely underrated, enjoy!
Great blog. Do Jones Very next. Underrated post hardcore from Bondi.
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