End on End

Rites Of Spring | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 19, 1994)
• Original Release Date: 1992
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Dischord
• ASIN: B000000JNN
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #55,301 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Takes me back to my teenage days at DIY warehouse shows..., October 31, 2003

By 

Travis Miller (Shepherdstown, WV United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: End on End (Audio CD)

Imagine a rawer, faster, more desperate Fugazi, and you've got Rites of Spring. That's simplistic, of course, but since RoS included members of Fugazi before there was Fugazi, it's not too far off the mark.

This is a great CD, especially when you're feeling bitter and anxious. The performances are full of the raw, immediate energy that only punk rock can deliver, and the lyrics deal intelligently with themes of alienation, frustration, and dejection - intelligently enough that they have appeal for both angsty teenagers and, well, angsty adults. If you're not familiar with the sound of old-school DC emocore, it's melodic, but not poppy, with surprisingly sophisticated songcraft for punk, but plenty of rough edges for authenticity.

And although others have already pointed this out, I'd like to add my voice to the chorus: THIS is real emo, and it has very little to do with what they call "emo" today. RoS and other DC hardcore bands from back in the day have a far better claim to the term than any of these new-school pretty boys with horn-rimmed glasses and maudlin lyrics about getting dumped by their girlfriends. Will someone please school these young whippersnappers before I have to beat them with my walker?

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The definition of hardcore, May 9, 2003

By 

Nathan B. Hyatt "Psychonaut" (San Francisco) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: End on End (Audio CD)

Forget about "emo." Yeah, I remember when the term first came out, almost fifteen years ago, but the bands that were originally termed "emo" (basically Fugazi, and in retrospect, this band) sound NOTHING like today's emo. PERIOD. So you should erase the word emo from your vocabulary, and go out and buy every Fugazi album along with this one. To me, this is a five star album, but let's be honest; if you give everything five stars, it loses its meaning. I try to reserve 5 stars for something with a widespread appeal, something I can recommend to literally everyone and know that most people will/should like it.

Thankfully, this album will NOT be appreciated by everyone, because then it wouldn't be hardcore. But it IS hardcore, not emo (although there's plenty of emotion, but there is in all good music...).

The songs are intense; the first time I listened to this, I was taken back to my childhood; I hadn't heard these guys in my elementary school days, but the emotion is so real it took me there straight away. This is the pinnacle of punk music: violent but still melodic, lyrics that are angry but still intelligent, thought-provoking, and in some cases, heart-wrenching.

The style isn't for everyone; seriously raw guitar playing, distorted to hell, yelling vocals are going to turn some people off; that's fine. This is not the kind of music you share with everybody. This is the kind of music you listen to and go, "Oh yeah, that's what I'm feeling," and you take joy in the fact that not only are there others who feel the same way, but there's somebody who's made the most kick-butt soundtrack to your teenage woes that it will transcend all time and age barriers. People who don't get this stuff just don't. Their loss.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars emo is bad, August 21, 2003

By 

Mike (Boston, Ma) - See all my reviews

This review is from: End on End (Audio CD)

Take all your dasboard cds, your tbs, your std, your starting line every other cd you want to call "emo." Take these out back and poop all over them. that isnt emo, that isnt emotional, that isnt sadness. Take your sappy little frown over to your nearest record store and buy this Rites of Spring cd put it on your stereo as loud as it can and cry your balls off. you'll never feel sadder, but you'll never feel happier when you realize you no longer have to listen to dashboard to crave your sadness.