Anasarca

"At the time (1994-1996), Anasarca was a big draw in DC and beyond. There were almost four hundred people at their last show in the basement of the Happy Hardcore House. Anasarca shows were big affairs, and kids always cried. Their music actually was that powerful."

- Power Rambling

"Later that night, I recall feeling my knees weaken at the sight of what was unquestionably the most cathartic, emotionally charged live set I’d ever seen. It was as if I were watching an exorcism. This is the collection of all the material that countless bands have ripped off and attempted to replicate ever since. To those of us who were touched by this band in some way, it doesn’t seem at all inappropriate that someone took the time to put out a discography for a band that only released seven songs. It’s long overdue. Music this risky is seldom made anymore."

- Status

"Emo? Screamo? Don't listen to them-- the shit is metal."

- Pitchfork / Camilo Arturo Leslie

"So many bands seem to be passed up in their prime that discographies can seem somewhat pointless. Why spend time, energy and money on bands that are no longer together? After all, if they were really that great wouldn't their releases already be in the hands of those who wanted them? Well, in the case of Anasarca, no. This collection of seven songs, recorded in three installments in 1994 and 1995, are so good that they are worth having even today. Especially today. With hardcore music reaching new levels of ridiculously terrible and unoriginal songs on an almost daily basis, bands like Anasarca are desperately needed to breathe life into a genre that, creatively, scarcely had a pulse to begin with. The fact that these songs were written and recorded more than five years ago is an amazing credit to the members of Anasarca and "Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt" is aptly named, bridging the gap between angst-fueled energy and the melodic craftsmanship that is often lost on the disenfranchised, crusty youth of today. While the first three tracks show a capable and forward thinking mode of operation, they also show the stark development over the latter four songs in the course of only a year. Anasarca moved from the short, fast, deliberately chaotic hardcore formula to a more composed and mature state in such a short time that it is frightening to think of where they could have gone, had they stayed together. This album, worthy of praise for its content alone, is completed by a beautiful series of photographs and a smart, elegant layout. Beautiful packaging for the beautiful gift inside. This is one of the best records I've heard in a while and it leaves me a bit depressed that I couldn't have heard it a few years ago when I still had faith in hardcore music."

- Lost At Sea - Eric J. Herboth

"Musically aggressive yet melodic, eschewing metallic leanings for the more abrasive flailing more common in hardcore at the time, as compared to the overwhelming dominance of metal in today's landscape...while not voluminous in its expanse by any means, Discography 1994-1997 is a welcome reminder of felled star. "

- Exclaim! - Chris Gramlich

"It sounds sort of like the demon from The Exorcist covering an Offspring song, but whatever. Shit looks tall when you're in a crater this deep."

- Pitchfork / Camilo Arturo Leslie

"Well, along comes the tellingly titled Discography 1994-1997 to well up a tear of nostalgia in this writer's eye, wholly compelling me to don a V-neck sweater and black postal-worker shoes with white socks – yep, it's that good. ... Scarcely original, yeah, but a none-more-accurate encapsulation of a time I remember fondly, all misty-eyed and in a fetal position."

- Ink 19 - Nathan T. Birk

"First and foremost Anasarca were around in the golden age of screamo, when bands could actually combine screaming and emotional content in an intelligent and non-pretentious way."

- Invisible Youth/Sparkplugg

"If anything suffers, it’s the vocals, with an all too familiar prepubescent Kermit the Frog flavor that rubs against raw nerves after a few songs."

- Friction

"With a mere seven-song discography, you wouldn't think this D.C. band could leave such a lasting impression. But with rough and jarring hardcore - complete with great pivotal vocals that crash through dramatic breaks- the noisy guitar-and-bass tug of war going on within Anasarca's music - the band leave more than an impression… they leave a scar. Each of the songs here mounts quiet interludes that erupt into energetic explosions, achieving that angry nirvana that most people only experience once in their entire lives."

- Spank

"Anasarca’s impact will certainly be felt now more than ever. Their stripped down, though extremely epic sound was very far ahead of its time. In their time as a band, only these seven songs were recorded, and they released a 7” of their own, a split 7”, and a demo. But with that, their impact is still felt today, at least enough to warrant this release, more than three years after their final show. I guess it’s a bit ironic that one of the best releases to come out yet this year was recorded more than three years ago. And though it’s only seven songs long, it covers more ground than most bands can cover in 15 songs. A very highly recommended document of a very important, and talented band."

- The New Scheme

"Anasarca was a D.C.-area five piece that recorded very little in their three-year existence, yet somehow managed to earn themselves a substantial fanbase and subsequent "influential" status. And influential they are. The music on this seven-song retrospective will definitely influence me to drop their CD into the garbage incinerator chute on my next trip to the elevator."

- Pitchfork / Camilo Arturo Leslie

"Though their recorded output was a bit on the skimpy side, Anasarca definitely had it’s place in the rise of mathematical emotional hardcore. Blending a complex mix of DC post-punk and hardcore, the seven tracks on ‘Discography’ will appease many a fan of the current crop of “screamo” aficionados, as well as those interested in the progression of the genre of mathematically-diverse hardcore. And while Anasarca may seem to be another in the crop of “new school” core, remembering that the band was doing this some 7 years ago opens ones eyes to the undeniable impact they must have had on those who witnessed their emotional outpouring. Based in DC, it is only fitting that Anasarca would incorporate the off-kilter song structures of Fugazi and combine it with the fury of metal and hardcore. Relying on complexities, tracks like “Eugene Debs” continue to evolve with each listen; the work and passion that went into these tracks is one of uncompromising dedication. There are few 4/4 time structures, but rather a diverse mix of subtle palmed treble charged guitar atmospherics that give way to thick chords (and accented with high string plucks at each swelling bridge). Strongest track for me was most definitely “Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt”; beginning with straight ahead hardcore and delving into emo and mathematical territories without losing focus amid the clatter."

- Michael Farr

"Remember Cobra Commander from the "G.I. Joe" cartoons? (Hint: he was the one with no face, screeching like his voicebox was on fire.) You might have assumed that all this time he was living off the residuals from his glory days. Or maybe you thought he'd fallen through the social service cracks and resorted to squeegeeing motorists' windshields for spare change at a random inner-city intersection. Anything is possible, but we know for sure what he was doing from 1994-1997: he was Nick Pimentel, frontman for Anasarca. Granted, his abrasive "I-don't-do-notes"-style singing has, since 1997, become an established vocal genre of its own. But I personally see no reason to explore the roots of this fine tradition."

- Pitchfork / Camilo Arturo Leslie