Sons of Ishmael
I honestly don’t listen to that much thrashy hardcore anymore, but I still give the Sons of Ishmael’s debut 7″ Hayseed Hardcore a spin now and then. Forming in Meaford, Ontario in 1985, Sons of Ishmael would go on to release a full length, 1987’s Pariah Martyr Demands a Sacrifice and a couple of additional singles before splitting for good in 1991. Hayseed Hardcore was released in 1985, and contains 13 tracks of wild, hyperactive hardcore that reminds me of early Verbal Abuse or Antidote. My favorite release by these guys
From Hayseed Hardcore
Sons of Ishmael - Small Town Mentality.mp3
Sons of Ishmael - Break Free.mp3
Sons of Ishmael - Democracy.mp3
Sons of Ishmael - Mr. Personality.mp3
Sons of Ishmael - Governors of Death.mp3
Sons of Ishmael - Todays Victim Tomorrows Aggressor.mp3
Sons of Ishmael - Parasites.mp3
Sons of Ishmael - Explanation.mp3
Sons of Ishmael - Social Drinker.mp3
Sons of Ishmael - Condemned to Live.mp3
Sons of Ishmael - Another Groovy Tune.mp3
Sons of Ishmael - Follow The Leader.mp3
Sons of Ishmael - Service to Your Country - End To Your Life.mp3
>> Band bio from Punk History Canada
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This, the LP and the Sing Generic Crap EP are all fucking amazing.
Adding to the amazing list of Canadian hardcore/punk rock:
Personality Crisis (Winnipeg)
Lowlife (Winnipeg)
Ruggedy Annes (WInnipeg)
House Of Commons (Vancouver or Victoria I think)
Wow, never heard of these guys before your blog! I had a band in ‘85 on Canada’s west coast (small town also) and never really realized how hardcore was evolving when we were writin’ tunes back then - never realized how the scene had evolved already. SOI almost sound like Italy in ‘82 to me - the way I like it!!!! The way were doing tunes in ‘85 - DC in ‘81 style! Cool post dude!
This is exactly why the Internet is a good thing! This EP is a classic. I bought it on a whim when it came out and wasn’t disappointed. I recently found an old cassete recording of it (the original was stolen) and converted it to MP3 (horrific sound quality).
Thanks again Eric - now I have a listenable copy of these songs again!
damn straight!!! great 7″. my old band played w/these guys and they were silly and fun to hang with. Canada had so many great bands that went un-noticed and put to shame alot of U.S.H.C. that people drool all over themselves for.
for example- beyond possession, nunfuckers,genetic control,guilt parade,direct action,youthyouthyouth
stretch marks & these guys.
thanks for posting this……..
This is great - I’ve got a bunch of SOI stuff on cassette that the singer’s(?) brother sent me back in the day, and I’ve never been able to afford this on eBay. Good looking out!
(and I second the Nunfuckers…that was some good shit that’s almost impossible to find now.)
They were great live and nice guys.
Ah yes… I had the original pressing of this (the one depicted is the repress). Corresponded with the singer Tim Freeborn (real name) and put out a cassette comp. with several of their songs in around 1986. One day (I was still living at home, no more than a year later) the phone went, it was Tim and he was in my (small UK) hometown - he’d got stranded on his tour of European squats, could he stay over? He did, was really amusing company, charmed my parents, and we haven’t been in touch since… Tim, if you’re out there, reply to this. My fanzine/comp. was called SON OF QUINCY. To make sure it’s you, take a guess at how old my dad was at the time, and include it in any reply. Adios! James
Great post. Thanks for the new find.
this is classic canadian hardcore single that has since been lost from my collection, thanks for bringing this one back to life for me.
I grew up in Meaford and seen these guys play at a few parties and shit, the best was when they opened up at our highschool for the Forgotten Rebels, and Tim got so wasted the principal threw him out and he missed most of the rebels. Great Days.
Anyone got any contact information on Tim or his brother Rob?, I’d really appreciate it.
This band was the only good thing about growing up in Meaford. I was almost sure that i still had an Angry Thalidomide Babies (Tim’s earlier band) demo cassette in my old boxes of shit, but i’ve never been able to find it. I also had an old tape with a bunch of Sons of Ishmael stuff on it, and i’m not sure if any of that was practices or demos or anything. I can’t find that anymore either, but i haven’t looked through everything.
That Forgotten Rebels show in the gym of GBSS was awesome. Didn’t SOI play a noontime “Sockhop” or something, as well? my memory sucks, but I seem to remember seeing them at some farmhouse party once, too.
Tim really was always hilarious. His brother Rob, too. I was a bit younger than these guys, so i never was great pals with them or anything. I haven’t really hung out a lot in Meaford since and never really kept in touch with anybody, so i have no contact info for them, sorry.
Anyway, i still listen to this and all their other stuff all the time. It’s good to see that others love it as much as I do.
Hey! I’m the brother of the bassist from SOI. I was never into the punk scene and never really heard his stuff. It ain’t my type of stuff, but it’s cool to be able to finally hear it. Thanks!
goddammit, i was gonna post this on the 7INCHPUNK site, you beat me to it! yes i also corresponded & hung out with Tim, great intelligent nice guy. remember gifting him the Bob Dylan biography when they came to Kent OH in 1987, which he said he read throughout the U.S. tour so he was pretty eclectic even back then. really miss that guy. rockin’ band, too :>
Thanks loads for posting this stuff! I actually cannot find any of the copies I used to own…..
This band was one of the best times I had in my life and I met loads of life long friends in the years we existed. I never appreciated it as much as I do now.
I never stopped playing during these years and have recorded and performed with many other bands, but I owe my love for punk to Tim and Kenny.
Currently I am playing in a band with Rob (Tim’s brother and a good friend) and Scotty, an exceptional drummer and an outrageous personality that I met through SOI and have been friends with for more than 20 years.
Hey Paul, Mike or Chris!? You guys still out there? Gimme a shout!
Peace, Love and Brown Belt!!
OH God thank you thank you for posting this. I’ve been looking for it for years. I had a first pressing at one time but traded it to a guy in Europe about 15 years ago and have long since lost my taped copy. I’ve been fishing the net for years looking to buy this back. Thankfully the web has made it so I don’t have to pay 50 bucks for it.
Thank you thank you thank you. I have Sing Generic Crap and the LP. Maybe I’ll post them when I have time (which, is rare these days).
It’s so cool to read these comments! I put up an SOI page on myspace if anyone wants to check it out www.myspace.com/sonsofishmael. It would be cool if anyone had mp3s of Mimsy, Generic Crap, or comp songs, or comments/gig stories, as well as any pics they’d like to share. I’ll post ‘em!
Cheers,
Chris
sonsofishmael@rogers.com