Encounter might also refer to a radio series produced by the state broadcaster Voice of America that is available via podcast. Encounter was an emo/hardcore band from Cherry Hill, NJ. They released a 4-Song Demo in 1990, A 7" entitled Lost on Redemption (which was co-ran by Jason Jordan, the singer) in 1991, a split 7" with crivits entitled Live in Belgium, and a split 7" with Blindfold in 1994. They appeared on three compilations; the No Exit, No Return 7" (1991), the Voice of The Voiceless 12" (1991), and the Horizon Hardcore Compilation 7" (1992). They toured Europe in the summer of 1991, and broke up shortly after. Joel sang/played guitar for Rain Still Falls, and was in Flagman for a short time. He also did a band with Josh Trustkill in 93/94 called Campfire. They had another band in 91/92 called Reveal, in which Joel played drums and Jason was on guitar. Jason is head of A&R for Hollywood records now. Here's a review from Middle Aged Youth: Encounter - Lost Here's yet another example of a great band dropping one phenomenal record and proceeding to drop off the face of the earth. Encounter were a Straight Edge Hardcore band from New Jersey that hit the scene at a time when the massive SE boom of the mid-late 80s was collapsing on itself and all of the old bands were either going post-Hardcore or dropping out of the scene altogether. The "Lost" 7" was released on Redemption Records in 1991, containing 4 songs that were recorded at the infamous Don Fury Studios NYC in June. The band also appeared that year on the Smorgasbord Records Animal Rights compilation "Voice of the Voiceless" with a song that was a leftover from the same Don Fury session. That comp had some great bands on there and deserves it's own post (and will get one eventually), but rest assured that Encounter absolutely blows every other group on that thing straight to shit - and that song is nowhere near the level of the 4 on the EP! Even though the record sold quite a few copies initially, it quickly disappeared from sight and they were gone right after this brief flash. I believe that the entire career of this band spanned the course of a single year (1990-1991). All I know about any of these guys is that the singer Jason Jordan was co-running Redemption right after this and moved to Philadelphia along with the label, so that may be one reason for the band's demise. Other than that, I couldn't tell you a thing about why they broke up or what they went on to do. But damn, what a record. Their sound was sort of a slowed-down version of Youth Crew SEHC, with more emphasis on melody musically and less emphasis on SE lyrically. The singer had that "pleading" vocal style, where he sounds like he's really trying to convey something to you but it's just not working out the way he hoped. Many singers have done a similar thing, but this fucker had that shit perfected, conveying pure agonizing emotion in the process. The music added to the tension - build-ups that sort of dissolve rather than release into the mosh part that you would expect, though plenty of mosh is present (slow to mid-tempo). To me the sound screams "New Jersey Hardcore", but in any case this whole style would come to be the norm in a much smaller scene shortly after their ending and just before the mid-late 90s SE/Vegan revival that brought on the Metal Core and/or Screamo bands. "Break Free" has the killer HC mosh intro that was an absolute necessity at one point for HC bands. It breaks out into some nice mid-tempo galloping moshiness as well, before slowing back down again for the ending. And the title track is full of the tension I was describing above, lyrically summing up the record's theme and overall mood: "I tried to rise above my heart's hopeless hold And in my last dying breath, I admit myself to this cold I'm lost in this cold..."