Reversal of Man

Reversal of Man launch pre-orders for vinyl discography comp 'Nothing More, Nothing Less'

Tampa hardcore/screamo greats Reversal of Man have just launched pre-orders for a full-discography 3xLP vinyl release, Nothing More, Nothing Less, which is coming out via Repeater Records. The compilation includes everything the band released between 1995 and 2000, including their first demo, three split LPs, various split 7″s, a 10″, compilation tracks, and their sole album, 1999’s This Is Medicine (which we included on our list of 25 essential screamo albums). The release “comes wrapped in a gatefold sleeve with a massive booklet gathering all record art plus various flyers and photos from the beginning of the band through to the end.” Two different color vinyl variants are available. Pre-order here.

For more background on the band and the material included on this comp, the label writes:

Forming the band in their late teens, Reversal of Man emerged with a self-titled 1995 demo, finding a surprising middle ground between Moss Icon and Snapcase, mirroring their early influences. This was followed by a split 7” with fellow Tampa hardcore band Cease that was released jointly by RoM singer Matt Coplon and Blacksmith Records (run by Scrog singer Bill Rogers).

1996 was a tumultuous year with the band turning over their bass player and both guitarists while still releasing two split LPs and a 7”. The self-titled 7” was the last recording with the original roster and the new lineup immediately got to work in the studio, with the subsequent Holocron and Puritan split LPs at times recalling I Hate Myself and Shotmaker yet maintaining their metallic screamo roots. A split 7” with Virginia grind/power violence heavyweights Enemy Soil followed in 1997, foreshadowing a shift in focus toward heavier and more abrasive territory.

The Revolution Summer 10” was released on Independence Day Records in 1998 and quickly caught the attention of the hardcore/screamo underground. From the hand screened covers to the booklet full of writings from band members and friends to their strongest recording to date (care of Steve Heritage from Assuck at Morrisound), this record was a marked turning point for the band. The songs lean into the churning, stuttering rhythms of bands like Union of Uranus and Morser from deep within a growing wall of distortion. The infamous ‘Get the Kid with the Sideburns’ is included here, as well. A full summer tour opening for Assuck across the US and Canada further elevated the band’s profile and the popularity of this EP demanded more than one repress.

By 1999, long running California label Ebullition Records showed interest in doing an LP and later that summer, ‘This Is Medicine’ was released. Further escalating the distortion laden pummeling and swirling menace of the music, and with the vocals and lyrics taking on an increasingly desperate tone, the band brought in Steak Mtn for appropriately dystopian art to match. Recorded at the legendary Morrisound Studios (Napalm Death, Sepultura, Obituary) again with Steve Heritage at the helm, the sound is bigger and even more oppressive this time around. The LP came out during the cross-country tour with combatwoundedveteran and was well received but the band had already started to fray by then, with ROM carrying on as a three piece only two weeks into the tour.

After returning home and settling on yet another lineup change, ROM soldiered through European and US tours in 2000, recorded one more record (a split with CWV, with whom they shared three members by this time), and finally called it quits later that year.

Stream This Is Medicine below…

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