**Announcement**
Please welcome Vancouver, Canada’s BURDEN to Blackhouse Limited.
The late 1990s and early 2000s were a strange time for hardcore and especially straight edge. Traditional hardcore sounds were few and far between as metallic hardcore and metalcore dominated. Along with the sonic change, there was also a change in culture; namely, straight edge became associated with violence and authoritarianism instead of self-improvement and self-discipline. This narrative became so overblown in parts of the United States that straight edge became a common headline in mainstream media often being associated with gang violence. In the wake of all this, there was a backlash in the hardcore scene of bands who revitalized traditional hardcore music and mentality. Bands like Floorpunch, Trial, In My Eyes, and Ten Yard Fight led a youth crew revival in the United States, and simultaneously on the other side of the continent in Vancouver, British Columbia, BURDEN did the same.
Burden was Vancouver’s first straight edge band to make a mark outside of Vancouver and probably one of the first to bring a hint of new school hardcore into the local scene. At the time, there really wasn’t much to brag about in the western Canadian hardcore. All the attention was given to Ontario. But Burden was one of the bands who changed that.
Formed by founding members Jason Kolins (vocals), Sean Spear & Mike Orpen (guitars) and Mark Thomson (bass), the band appeared on numerous compilations and had a handful of certainly successful releases worldwide, respectively. After years of touring Canada, the United States and Europe, Burden disbanded in 2004, with members going on to play in Blue Monday, On, Go It Alone, Bishops Green, Keep It Clear, Vacant State, Still Above Snakes, Eliminator Stagnation73 and others.
Fast-forward to present day, 2021, original recordings were unearthed, and “True Until the End” 1997-2014 The complete discography, will see Burden’s music available once again in physical format. Set for a Spring release through Blackhouse Limited, it will be available on CD, cassette and digital worldwide. Keep an eye out for more info soon, including pre-order launch info.
