Key Of Crime

Installment 4 of my recent haul from a friend who has decided to sell his collection.

Today's post is a record that I literally have no idea what anybody thinks about it. Another test press, this one is Equal Vision Records number 56.

The band is called The Stryder and the record is titled 'Masquerade In The Key Of Crime'. It was released in September 2000, which is now somehow 20 years in the past. At the time this came out, I was still firmly buying everything that Equal Vision Records released as they were a really solid label at that point. So basically I just bought this blind with no clue about who the band were or what they sounded like. But on first play it seemed to me this was some new band who were ripping off Saves The Day. It came out a year after 'Through Being Cool' and a year before 'Stay What You Are'.

What I remember about this time period was that this is when it started to feel like things were changing. Bands like this were somehow still part of the 'hardcore' scene, but they clearly weren't really hardcore. This was also when I started to notice a younger generation of kids appearing at shows, and also more girls. And I remember that at the time there was some kind of controversy about the cover. If you've never seen it before, this is what it looks like:

I actually thought that this cover was kinda funny. The band legging it down the street, then you flip it over to find that they're being chased by a bunch of female fans.

What stands out about looking at this cover now is how young everyone looks. I was 25 when this came out, and these people didn't look like they were much younger than me. Now, the band and the girls on the back all look like kids. Crazy.

Anyway, back when this dropped and did actually find it quite catchy. I liked it enough to then buy their second album that came out 3 years later on CD only. But in all the years that have followed, I don't thinkg that I have ever heard anyone speak of this band or record even once, and I have literally no idea how big they got nor whether anybody ever really cared, or if anyone cares anymore. Judging from the prices of their records on discogs, I think the answer is 'probably not'.