Battery (band)

Battery was a Washington D.C. hardcore band that existed from 1990 until 1998 and re-formed for a brief reunion in 2012. During this time they released a 7", a split 7" with Ignite, two MCDs and three full-length albums on Deadlock, Lost & Found, Tidal, Conversion, and Revelation Records.

The guitarist and main man was Ken Olden, who also played in Damnation A.D., Better Than a Thousand, When Tigers Fight, Worlds Collide, Far Cry and Fort Knox and filled in on bass for Youth of Today on their 2003 European reunion tour.

Singer Brian McTernan, a well known hardcore record producer, presently owns and operates Salad Days recording studio in Baltimore^[1] and also played guitar in the D.C. emo hardcore band Ashes, as well as Miltown and My Best Mistake.

Biography

Battery, originally entitled "Fury",^[2] was first established in 1990 and released a 4 song self-titled 7" on Deadlock Records in 1991.^[3] The record featured Brian McTernan on vocals, Ken Olden and Matt Squire on guitars, Toshi Yano on bass and Zac Eller on drums. The songs from this original 7" were re-recorded and released as an EP entitled We Won't Fall in 1993 on the German record label Lost & Found.^[4] The band, as it states in the liner notes of the EP, then turned into Worlds Collide with Matt Burger becoming the new vocalist.

Battery achieved phenomenal success in Europe, especially in Germany, whereas in the USA they were only well known in the D.C. area. The band was eventually reformed with Brian McTernan and Ken Olden, a new bass player (Ben Chused) and a new drummer (Al Rosenberg) and embarked on an extensive European tour. They released their first full length album in 1994, Only the Diehard Remain, on Tidal Records in the USA and on Lost & Found Records in Europe.^[5] This album featured the cover of 7 Seconds We're Gonna Fight and featured Ken Olden performing all of the guitar and drum tracks. In the same year they released a four song E.P. entitled Let the Past Go^[6] as well as a split 7" with Ignite,^[7] both on Lost & Found Records.

By 1996 they released Until the End,^[8] their second full length album, which featured another 7 Seconds cover, Young Till I Die. By this stage they had a new drummer, Jason Hamacher, who was also a member of the D.C. spazzcore band Frodus. This album saw the refinement of the bands old school revival sound, as they moved towards a more stripped down and melodic style. Ben Chused then left the band and began playing drums in the Boston hardcore band, Ten Yard Fight. He was replaced with Graham Land who had played guitar in Worlds Collide and founded Better Than a Thousand with Ken Olden and Ray Cappo, the singer of Youth of Today. The band then began their first major tour in the United States, headlining with Ten Yard Fight, as well as their second major tour of Europe with Damnation A.D.^[9]

Their third and final full length LP, Whatever It Takes, was released on the major hardcore label Revelation Records.^[10] The drums on this album were, for the first time since We Won't Fall, not performed by Ken Olden, but by Jason Hamacher. This album was by far the softest and melodic of their releases and Brian McTernan explained in an interview that the next record would be "more aggressive sounding". After the release the band toured the United States and Europe with Revelation Records labelmates, Better Than a Thousand, In My Eyes and Speak 714.

Unfortunately another release would never materialise and the band broke up, reportedly due to differences between Brian McTernan and Ken Olden. Frustrated with Lost & Found Records continually bootlegging the band's back catalog, Ken authorized the release of a compilation CD in 2002 entitled Final Fury: 1990-1997 on the Spanish hardcore label Soul Force.^[11] Many years later the band would briefly re-form in October 2012 in order to play a set for the Revelation Records 25th anniversary shows in New York City at Irving Plaza and also performed a warm-up show in their hometown of Washington D.C at the Red Palace. ^[12]

Discography

• Self Titled 7" (1991) - Deadlock Records

1. Shattered Stone
2. Fury
3. I Won't Fall
4. Fading

• We Won't Fall (1993) - Lost & Found Records

1. I Won't Fall
2. Overcome
3. Fury
4. Shattered Stone
5. Fading

• Only the Diehard Remain (1994) - Tidal Records (USA), Lost & Found Records (Europe)

1. Left Behind
2. Trap
3. Empty Room
4. Unwound
5. Success Story
6. Choke
7. Last Dance
8. To Hold
9. No Right
10. Only The Diehard Remain
11. We're Gonna Fight (7 Seconds cover)

• Let the Past Go (1994) - Lost & Found Records

1. Bitter Taste
2. These Are The Days
3. Piece Of You
4. Do You Believe

• Split 7" with Ignite (1994) - Lost & Found Records

Battery

1. These Are The Days
2. Choke

Ignite

1. In My Time
2. Aggression

• Until the End (1996) - Conversion Records (USA), Lost & Found Records (Europe)

1. In Our Hands
2. Has Been
3. Why Is She In Pain?
4. Go Back To The Gym
5. That'll Never Be Me
6. Never Forget
7. Say It
8. In The Dirt
9. Move On
10. The Factory
11. Until the End
12. Young 'Til I die (7 Seconds cover)

• Whatever It Takes (1998) - Revelation Records

1. What I'd Give
2. Brand New Place
3. Throughout
4. Leave It Behind
5. Part 2
6. Another Reason
7. Half My Time
8. You Can't Win
9. To Want
10. Retrace
11. Who Are You
12. Whatever It Takes

• Final Fury: 1990-1997 (2002) - Soul Force Records

1. In Our Hands
2. Has-Been
3. Why Is She In Pain
4. Go Back To The Gym
5. That'll Never Be Me
6. Never Forget
7. In The Dirt
8. The Factory
9. Until The End
10. Left Behind
11. Trap
12. Empty Room
13. Unwound
14. Success Story
15. Choke
16. Only The Diehard Remain
17. Do You Believe
18. Bitter Taste
19. These Are The Days
20. I Won't Fall
21. We're Gonna Fight (7 Seconds cover)
22. Young Till I Die (7 Seconds cover)

References

External links

• BATTERY (tribute line up completed !!) | Free Music, Tour Dates, Photos, Videos A Tribute to Battery - MySpace page