- Chokehold (band)
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Chokehold were a vegan straight edge hardcore/punk band hailing from Hamilton, Ontario in Canada. They first formed in 1990, releasing the "More Than Ever" demo tape in 1991. This was quickly followed in 1992 by a split EP with Crisis of Faith and the Life Goes On EP that same year. Their rise in popularity paralleled that of other vegan straight edge bands such as Earth Crisis and hardline bands like Vegan Reich and Raid. While bands that adhered to Hardline were totally opposed to abortion, Chokehold was vehemently pro-choice.
In 1993 Chokehold released the Prison of Hope LP through American label Conquer the World Records (CTW). They released their next record, 1994's Instilled EP, on Philadelphia, PA's Bloodlink Records. This EP featured some of their most political material to date, notably the anti-religious song "Anchor" and the anti-homophobia song "Mindset", and their kind of manifesto "Burning Bridges", that proclaim the Animal, Earth and Human Liberation.
They followed this in the next year with their second LP, Content With Dying. This album contained "Not a Solution," a militantly pro-choice hardcore song.
They signed in 1996 to Germany's Mad Mob Records and recorded four new songs to be released as a split CD with Feeding the Fire, but after a European tour in 1996 the band decided to break up. They played their last show in March at the New Bedford Fest in Massachusetts. These four songs were released as a self-titled EP on Jawk Records the following year. Members went on to play in such bands as The Swarm, Brutal Knights, Left for Dead, Haymaker, Our War and Seventy-Eight Days.
Contents
Discography
Demos, EPs and Splits
- The Whole World Is an Addiction (1991), self-released
- Split w/ Crisis of Faith (1992), Grinding Edge Records
- Life Goes On (1992), Arm's Reach Records
- More Than Ever (1992), self-released - demo tape
- Instilled (1994), Bloodlink Records
- Split with Left for Dead, Rhythm of Sickness Records
- Tooth and Nail (1997), Jawk Records
Full Lengths
- Prison of Hope (1993), repressed in 1997, Conquer the World Records
- Content with Dying (1995) , Bloodlink Records/The Great American Steak Religion
Compilation Appearances
- Negative Approach Cover Track on the Reproach compilation EP, 1998, Ugly Pop
- Breakdown Cover Track on the Redstar Records compilation "The Sound and the Fury," 1999
Categories: Canadian hardcore punk groups | Straight edge groups | Canadian vegans | Animal rights movement | Musical groups from Hamilton, Ontario
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