By the Grace of God

By the Grace of God was easily the most sincere, radical, and politically outspoken band of the straight-edge and hardcore revival scenes of the mid-'90s. Which are two scenes that the band would eventually distance itself from as they became increasingly political and more highly critical of the hardcore scene's turn toward "mainstream" thinking and mass marketing. By the Grace of God began as little more than an excuse for vocalist Rob Pennington and guitarist Duncan Barlow to play uplifting, politically charged, high-energy hardcore together again. The two had cut their teeth fronting the phenomenally emotional Louisville hardcore band Endpoint and had since drifted off into various post-hardcore, metal, and indie-oriented projects -- most notably Barlow with Guilt. By the Grace of God started out playing small shows, quickly amassing a following with their outspoken and passionate performances. The duo had assembled a veritable who's who of the local scene that included Thommy Browne (Enkindels) on drums, Jay Palumbo (Empathy/Elliott) on guitar, and Benny (Elliott) on bass, all of whom would join in the sloganeering as By the Grace of God shouted their anti-corporate local-business-supporting message at audiences between songs. The five of them quickly inked a deal with Chicago's Victory label, issuing the For the Love of Indie Rock EP shortly thereafter. The title of the record was a playful jab at some former friends of the band. The "friends" in question were members of an Indianapolis band called Split Lip, who had seemingly abandoned their own hardcore roots. Hardcore roots that By the Grace of God was wearing on their sleeves. Split Lip began to favor a more indie approach after the release of their For the Love of the Wounded LP on Endpoint's former label,...