Rites of Spring is a Hardcore Punk / Post-Hardcore band created in 1984 and ended in 1986 with members Guy Picciotto (guitars/vocals), Eddie Janey (guitar), Brendan Canty (drums), and Mike Fellows (bass). They are the ones to thank for the creation of the most divisive of all sub-genres, Emo.
Coming out the Washington, D.C. hardcore movement, Rites of Spring wanted to challenge the violent scene with melodic riffs and intensely personal lyrics. Picciotto wasn’t afraid to put his heart on his sleeve, and the band themselves were known for their explosive, energetic performances which amounted to only 15 shows during their tenure. But their only album, the self-titled Rites of Spring, proved influential for thousands of disaffected kids. The band and album garnered a following that would morph into Emocore, a label hated by all involved at the time.
Guy Picciotto and Brendan Canty would later join another influential post-hardcore band, Fugazi with Ian MacKaye and Joe Lally.
Kurt Cobain listed Rites of Spring on his top 50 favourite albums of all time.
Rites of Spring Track-list:
- “Spring”
- “Deeper Than Inside”
- “For Want Of”
- “Hain’s Point”
- “All There Is”
- “Drink Deep”
- “Other Way Around”
- “Theme”
- “By Design”
- “Remainder”
- “Persistent Vision”
- “Nudes”
- “End on End”
For Want of Tropes:
- The Cameo: "Persistent Vision" definitely has Ian MacKaye doing background vocals, though Ian is officially only credited as a Record Producer.
- Careful with That Axe: Especially on “End on End”.
- Epic Rocking: "End on End" clocks in at 7 minutes 23 seconds.
- Harsh Vocals: It sounds like Guy seriously hurt his vocal cords while recording the album.
- Indecipherable Lyrics: Picciotto is always a little hard to understand.
- One-Book Author: Only one full album was ever recorded by the band, and only released a single post-breakup EP afterwards.
- Three Chords and the Truth: As with most hardcore bands, albeit with a greater emphasis on melody than many of their contemporaries.
- Take That!: One could argue that the whole band could be a "take that" to the hardcore scene in general. In 1983, hardcore had become a violent mess of macho-posturing. Rites of Spring decide to write emotional, personal songs about love and life, not how hardcore they were.
- Self-Titled Album: They only released one studio album, and it was rereleased as End on End which included the All Through A Life EP.
- Shout-Out: The band name is an obvious reference the famous Igor Stravinsky ballet symphony, The Rite of Spring. The cover art to the self titled album seems to be an abstract depiction of a scene from the ballet, and "End On End" concludes the album with Spoken Word in Music that seems to be the narrator of a documentary briefly summing up the plot:"...to write a piece about a solemn pagan rite. Wise elders, seated in a circle, watch a young girl dance herself to death. They were sacrificing her to proficiate the god of spring."
- Surprisingly Gentle Song: “All Through A Life”…well, soft enough for hardcore.
