Shai Hulud – “Damage Inc.” from Crush ‘em All (split with Boy Sets Fire) (2000 Undecided Records)
The year was 1994, and I was angry. It wasn’t fair. Barely sixteen, I could see absolutely no reason for my parents to not let me travel in my weird older friend’s bright yellow van that had spray paint all over it two states away to a Christian music festival run by what in retrospect was a real cult-like Christian community. Total bullshit.
Strongarm played the new band stage that year. My weird friend and I interviewed someone or other in that band for our zine, Throat Culture, not to be confused with the other zine called Throat Culture that we had no idea about. That’s the way it goes sometimes. Anyway, I think that’s also the year that my friends came home with the Strongarm demo, which we practically wore out moshing in that stupid van.
I was there in subsequent years, watching as the Christian hardcore scene ballooned. I was there in 1995 when all of the hardcore and punk bands played sweltering shows in an overcrowded barn (the “Underground Stage”). I remember seeing live photos from those same shows in ads and packaging for Tooth and Nail releases from those same bands — it was fun to look for friends in the crowd, like a sort of weirdo Christian subculture version of Where’s Waldo. I was there in 1996 for the Steadfast Records Tooth and Nail parody “God Save the Scene” shirts, which I purchased and wore proudly at the festival (man I wish I still had one of those, though it would need to be substantially larger these days). I was there a bunch more, though might have missed a few in there somewhere.
I did see Strongarm again at least once, and later saw Further Seems Forever, their new project, also play the new band stage, if memory serves. But who cares?
Turns out Strongarm was a big influence on Shai Hulud, featured today. This makes sense chiefly because they shared a member in Matt Fox early on. I’ve always been a little beguiled by the South Florida hardcore (and other heavy music) scene, mostly because, well, South Florida is kind of the end of the line. Seems to me like it would be hard to build a scene there, because it would be so difficult to get touring bands to make the trek down the entirety of the Florida peninsula. But then maybe that’s just the thing — kids there had to make their own fun.
This might be my former Christian bias coming through, but I am of the opinion that Strongarm has aged better than Shai Hulud, but I remain a big fan of both bands. “Damage Inc.,” of course, is a cover of a Metallica song, from a split 7” Shai Hulud put out with Boy Sets Fire*, who also turned in a Metallica cover.
This was during a time when hardcore bands just couldn’t get enough of Metallica. It seems weird, now, but I remember seeing a lot of bands even at that sacrosanct Christian fest covering Metallica.
Thing is — and you can judge for yourselves below — it’s fine. It doesn’t sound as good as the original, and doesn’t really sound like Shai Hulud, but it’s a cool idea that probably made a lot of people happy at the time, and there are worse crimes than that.
*in 1998 my band had a chance to play with Boy Sets Fire, who I think remain very big in Germany. I loved them — I think we all did — but was convinced that God was telling me to go evangelize a bunch of fucking hippies at a Rainbow Gathering instead, so that’s what I did. It pains me to tell you this, but I think it’s important to be honest at this point, don’t you?
The Shuffler 
