Grade is a melodic hardcore band from Burlington, Ontario, often credited as pioneers in blending metallic hardcore with the honesty and melody of

emo Emo is a rock music genre characterized by emotional, often confessional lyrics. It emerged as a style of and hardcore punk from the Washington D.C. hardcore punk scene, where it was known as emotional hardcore or emocore and pioneered b ...

, and - most notably - the alternating screaming/singing style later popularized by bands like

Poison the Well Poisoning the well (or to poison the well) is a logical fallacy. Poisoning the well may also refer to: *Well poisoning, the literal meaning of the phrase *"Poisoning the Well", a ''Stargate Atlantis'' episode *Poison the Well (band), a hardcore pu ...

and Hawthorne Heights. Formed in 1994, Grade found inspiration in the hardcore bands Integrity and

Chokehold A chokehold, choke, stranglehold or, in Judo, shime-waza ( ja, 絞技, translation=constriction technique) is a general term for a grappling hold that critically reduces or prevents either air (choking)''The New Oxford Dictionary of English'' ( ...

. By 1995, however, they had discovered Indian Summer and

Rye Coalition Rye Coalition is a post-hardcore band based in Jersey City, New Jersey, United States. The band has released four full-length albums, three EPs, a split 12-inch with Karp, and several 7-inch records. Rye Coalition has released most of their a ...

and began developing the sound and style for which they'd become known.

History

The band performed under the name Incision, with a different bassist, from 1992 to 1993, releasing two demo tapes. In 1993 the band briefly broke up but reformed under the name Rebirth. After only two shows, Rebirth recruited bassist Matt Jones from the band Sun Still Burns and changed name to Grade in January 1994. Grade released their debut three-song demo tape in February 1994 through Workshop Records. Though '' And Such Is Progress'' would eventually be hailed as a "landmark album," it wasn't until 1997, when Grade released '' Separate the Magnets'' and toured with Hot Water Music, that they began to develop a following. During this time, band members collaborated in several side-projects. Bishop played in Acrid; Jones played in SeventyEightDays; Bishop and Jones played in The Swarm aka Knee Deep in the Dead; Bishop played in Tomb of the Worm; Taylor and Harris played in Jersey. In 1999, Grade signed with Victory Records and released ''Under the Radar'', the album for which they'd become best-known. ''Under the Radar'' spawned two singles, the videos for which received some play on

MTV2 MTV2 (formerly M2) is an American pay television Cable television, channel owned by the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. The channel launched initially as an all-music video service, once the original MTV had started to sh ...

in 1999 and 2000. In 2000, the band toured Europe and the United Kingdom, meeting up with American melodic hardcore band As Friends Rust for several cross-over shows. In 2001, Grade released their fourth and final full-length album, before disbanding approximately one year later. Jones, Magill, Danner and Casarin all went on to play in To the Lions. Since their break-up, Grade have reunited several times, beginning with a 2006 show in Toronto. In 2010, they wrote and recorded two new songs for a split 7-inch with

Bane Bane may refer to: Fictional characters * Bane (DC Comics), an adversary of Batman * Bane (''Harry Potter''), a centaur in the ''Harry Potter'' series * Bane (''The Matrix''), a character in the ''Matrix'' film trilogy * Bane the Druid, a Guar ...

. In 2013, Grade performed at Pouzza Fest in Montreal. In 2014, they toured the northeastern U.S. with Ensign.

Legacy

When asked by

Noisey ''Vice'' (stylized in all caps) is a Canadian-American magazine focused on lifestyle, arts, culture, and news/politics. Founded in 1994 in Montreal as an alternative punk magazine, the founders later launched the youth media company Vice Media, ...

in 2014 if he ever felt bitter for a lack of recognition, singer Kyle Bishop stated, "There’s a lot of accolades that people give us for supposedly starting something and I think that’s all bullshit, to be honest with you. I think that a billion bands were doing similar things before us and after that deserve just as much credit. And if we do get some credit from certain people, awesome. If we don't, it doesn’t really matter because I really don’t think it’s true anyway."

Discography

Albums

*'' And Such Is Progress'' (1995 Capsule Records, repress May 1997 Toybox Records, repress 1998 Second Nature Recordings) *'' Separate the Magnets'' (1997 Second Nature Recordings) *'' Under the Radar'' (October 12, 1999 Victory Records) *''

The Embarrassing Beginning ''The Embarrassing Beginning'' is the fourth full-length album by Canadian hardcore punk band Grade. It is a combination of two older releases with new packaging. The first eight songs are from Grade's first proper release, Grade/Believe split re ...

'' (November 21, 2000 Victory Records) *''

Headfirst Straight to Hell Headfirst Straight to Hell is the fifth full-length album by the Canadian hardcore band Grade Grade most commonly refers to: * Grade (education), a measurement of a student's performance * Grade, the number of the year a student has reached in a ...

'' (August 21, 2001 Victory Records)"CD REVIEWS: Bjork, Slipknot, Grade and many more"
''Chart Attack'', August 28, 2001. Keith Carman

EPs

* ''Grade'' (1996, Wheatfield Press Records) *''

Triumph & Tragedy ''Triumph & Tragedy'' is Grade's first release on Victory Records. "Panama" is a cover of a Van Halen song. This EP was included in its entirety on '' The Embarrassing Beginning''. Track listing # "Triumph & Tragedy" # "Stolen Bikes Ride Faster" ...

'' (1999, Victory Records) *Collapsed Lungs (2014, Dine Alone Records)

Split albums

*Split CD with

Believe Believe may refer to: *Belief, a psychological state in which an individual holds a proposition or premise to be true, with or without proof for such proposition *Faith, a belief in something which has not been proven Arts, entertainment, and me ...

(1994, Workshop Records) *Split 12-inch with

Incision Incision may refer to: * Cutting, the separation of an object, into two or more portions, through the application of an acutely directed force * A type of open wound caused by a clean, sharp-edged object such as a knife, razor, or glass splinter ...

(1999, Workshop Records) *Split 7-inch with

(2010, At Both Ends Magazine)

Compilations

*''Making the Impossible Possible'' (1999) *''

Victory Style 4 The term victory (from Latin ''victoria'') originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitutes a ...

'' (March 28, 2000) *'' Rock Music: A Tribute to Weezer'' (February 5, 2002) *''

Punk Chunk 2 Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

'' (February 15, 2002) *'' Victory Style 5'' (April 9, 2002) *''

Smoking Popes Tribute The ''Smoking Popes Tribute'' is a tribute album to the Chicago-based pop punk band the Smoking Popes. It was released March 25, 2003 by Double Zero Records, a label founded by former Smoking Popes drummer Mike Felumlee. Following the Smoking Po ...

'' (March 23, 2003) *'' Punk Goes Acoustic'' (October 21, 2003) *'' Initial Records Punk Rock Sampler''

References

External links

Band's Myspace Page
* Profile At All Music {{DEFAULTSORT:Grade Canadian hardcore punk groups Victory Records artists