Chokehold is a Canadian

vegan straight edge Straight edge (sometimes abbreviated as sXe or signified by XXX or simply X) is a subculture of hardcore punk whose adherents refrain from using alcohol, tobacco, and other recreational drugs in reaction to the punk subculture's excesses. Some ...

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (commonly abbreviated to hardcore or hXc) is a punk rock music genre#subtypes, subgenre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots ...

band from

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a 2021 Canadian census, population of 569,353 (2021), and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which encompasses ...

. They were active from 1990 to 1996, and came together again for a reunion tour in 2015, and five dates in Japan in September 2016. They released their third album in 2019.

History

Chokehold was formed in 1990 in Hamilton. Their first release ''More Than Ever'' was in 1991. This was followed in 1992 by a split EP with Crisis of Faith and the ''Life Goes On'' EP. Their rise in popularity paralleled that of other vegan straight edge bands such as

Earth Crisis Earth Crisis is an American metallic hardcore band from Syracuse, New York, active from 1989 until 2001, reuniting in 2007. Since 1993, the band's longest-tenured members include vocalist Karl Buechner, lead guitarist Scott Crouse, bassist Ia ...

, and

hardline In politics, hardline or hard-line is an adjective describing a stance on an issue that is inflexible and not subject to compromise. A hardliner is a person holding such views. The stance is usually far from the centrist view. People, policies, ...

bands like Vegan Reich and

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. In 1993 Chokehold released the ''Prison of Hope'' LP through American label Conquer the World Records and sounded their own record label Structure Records to release music by Florida band Bloodlet. They released their next EP, 1994's ''Instilled'', on

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

's Bloodlink Records. This EP featured some of their most political material to date, notably the anti-religious song "Anchor", the anti-homophobia song "Mindset", and their manifesto on Human/Earth/Animal Liberation "Burning Bridges". They followed this in 1995 with their second LP, ''Content With Dying''. This album contained "Not a Solution", a vehemently pro-choice hardcore song. They signed in 1996 to Germany's Mad Mob Records and recorded four new songs, which were 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 Festival in Massachusetts. These four songs were released as a self-titled EP on Jawk Records the following year. Rhythm of Sickness Records posthumously released a split 12" vinyl with Left For Dead; Redstar Records later released one of their unreleased covers on the compilation ''The Sound and the Fury''. Members went on to play in such bands as Brutal Knights, Left for Dead, Haymaker, Our War, SeventyEightDays and Funerary. In 2015, remixed versions of the band's albums ''Prison of Hope'' and ''Content with Dying'' were re-released. The band reunited and began touring in support of the new releases. Comments by a band member and a subsequent violent confrontation at their first performance in Toronto led to allegations of racism and

transphobia Transphobia consists of negative attitudes, feelings, or actions towards transgender or transsexual people, or transness in general. Transphobia can include fear, aversion, hatred, violence or anger towards people who do not conform to socia ...

, which were denied by the band members and their label.

Members

; Current members *Chris Logan – vocals *Josh Fletcher – guitar (later), bass *Matt Beckman – drums ; Former members *Jeff Beckman – guitar *Jon Sharron – bass *Sandy Robertson – guitar, bass

Discography

; Studio albums * ''Prison of Hope'' (1993, Conquer the World) * ''Content with Dying'' (1995, Bloodlink/ The Great American Steak Religion) * ''With This Thread I Hold On'' (2019, Good Fight) ; EPs, singles and demos * ''The Whole World Is an Addiction'' (1991, self-released) * ''Life Goes On'' (1992, Arm's Reach) * ''More Than Ever'' (1991, self-released) * ''Instilled'' (1994, Bloodlink) * ''Tooth and Nail'' (1997, Jawk) * ''We're Not Gonna Take It'' (2015, A389) ; Compilation albums * ''Prison Of Hope'' (1994, Conquer The World) * ''Chokehold'' (2015, A389) * ''Sell It For What It's Worth Box Set'' (2016, A389) * ''Discography'' (2016, Cosmic Note) ; Splits * ''Chokehold / Crisis of Faith'' (1992, Grinding Edge) * ''Chokehold / Left for Dead'' (1996, Rhythm of Sickness) ; Compilation appearances * ''Reproach'' (1998, Ugly Pop) – ''Nothing''

Negative Approach Negative Approach is an American hardcore punk band, formed in Detroit, Michigan in 1981. The band is considered among the pioneers of hardcore punk, particularly in the Midwest region. Like most hardcore bands, Negative Approach was little know ...

cover * ''The Sound and the Fury'' (1999, Redstar) – ''Kickback'' Breakdown cover

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chokehold Musical groups established in 1990 Musical groups from Hamilton, Ontario Canadian hardcore punk groups Straight edge groups Animal rights movement 1990 establishments in Ontario Conquer the World Records artists Cosmic Note artists

History

Members

Discography

See also

References