I first heard of BioHazard in October of 1992. At the time Sick of It All was one of my favorite bands and their 'Just Look Around' tour was stopping in Green Bay. My friends and I bought tickets and made the trek up north. When we got there we were surprised to hear that Sick Of It All was 'co-headlining' with some band we had never heard of called BioHazard (Sheer Terror was the opener). Judging by their promo posters they appeared to be a metal and not hardcore group: they were big, tattooed, hesher, long hairs.  As they took the stage we were unprepared for what we were about to hear – they were hardcore, even harder than SOIA! The pit was on fire, the SOIA guys lined the side of the stage and watched approvingly and I, along with everyone else in attendance was blown away.

After their set and during Sick Of It All's show, the BioHazard guys walked amongst the crowd. We found it curious that not only had we never heard this band, but, as big and scary as they appeared, they were cool. Nice even. They seemed really appreciative and happy to be there. That evening I purchased a SOIA baseball hat and rather than buying an accompanying shirt, I spent my last dollars on the new BioHazard CD,' Urban Discipline.'

These days I'm not an avid hardcore fan. I probably haven't listened to this CD through in 12 years. I forgot how good this record is.

From start to finish a tone is set and from what I recall, the sound on this record was new. It was different. It was one of the first successful mixtures of metal and hardcore (however I never did get around to listening to BioHazard's debut so maybe it was one of the second successful mixtures?). In my mind, the only other record of its kind from that early 90's period that rivals it is Integrity's ' For those who fear Tomorrow' or possibly the first Clutch album and one of the things that set it apart from those is its subject matter is more 'realist.' Thinking back to the gritty rap emerging out of New York at the time I can hear this record being played back to back with Wu-Tang's first album. Also, a good number of the songs contain the precursor to the rap/metal hybrid that was soon to become popular (and awful). BioHazard, with their alternating vocals (like a hardcore Fugazi or Hotwater), showed how the rap/metal genre could actually be something worthwhile. Unfortunately for our collective popular culture not enough people picked up on the idea that an essential ingredient in the rap/metal hybrid is hardcore. The hardcore chorus is prevalent throughout the record and harkens back to the late 80's hardcore scene. BioHazard was a part of the scene – the underground.  

That truism is reflected in the vehement attack on the music industry on track 4, 'Business' wherein they scream, "MUSICs for you and me, not the fuckin' industry, You fuckin' tell us what is cool? You see we come from different schools … The message in the music is the reason that we're in this, That's what matters to us, not business." And messages abound throughout the album: messages of integrity, against selling out, striving to be a better person and creating or finding a better world.

I really enjoyed revisiting this record. It is strong and filled with testosterone but it's also smart. I was shocked and delighted to hear toward the end of the album a remake of Bad Religion's 'Were All Gonna Die (Of our own Arrogance). This is a record that has that quality that I'm searching for as I search blindly through my CDs. However, at this time in my life I can only listen to it so many times before it is time for a change and so I am now getting up closing my eyes and selecting a new record...and the new selection is: Mark Eitzel's 'Caught in a trap and I can't break out because I love you too much, baby.'