For any music fanatic devoted to the hardcore genre, the name Shelter is not unfamiliar. This New York-based group is best known for its founder and frontman, Ray Cappo, who is considered as one of the most prominent representatives of the charismatic ’krishnacore’ scene, which conjoins the elements of hardcore music with a strong spiritual message based on Krishna Consciousness.
Formed in the early 90’s, Shelter was Cappo’s second band - previously he was the frontman of Youth of Today, a straight-edge hardcore group, in its time highly acclaimed by the underground community. Much heavier and extreme than Shelter, Youth of Today based on aggressive performance as a form of expression. However, the more successful the band grew, the more Cappo became frustrated with his life: "When we started, I was anti-greed, anti-lust, anti-anger. But as the band got bigger, instead of those things going away, I found them blossoming more. They were weeds choking the life out of me." Looking for an alternative, he begun studying Buddhism and practicing yoga. Eventually, he met H.H. Dhanurdhara Swami, a longtime Western devotee of the Prabhupada, who made a huge impression on Cappo: "He was the happiest person I’d ever met. I wanted to be like that." In 1988 Youth of Today played their final tour, after which Cappo took a trip to India. Two years later he returned to the scene with a brand new band and a brand new message. Musically, Shelter ventured much further than Cappo’s previous band. No longer sealed in the boundaries of extreme hardcore, the group was not afraid to experiment with their style, making each next record into a completely new experience. The one thing that was common to all Shelter’s offerings, however, was the strong devotion to promoting a healthy lifestyle, spirituality and vegetarianism. Based on the Krishna Consciousness movement, Cappo’s lyrics were a strong influence to all who were searching for an alternative life-style.
In 1995 Shelter released their first album for the major label Roadrunner Records, entitled "Mantra". The record’s oriental artwork announced the band’s strong return to the Krishna roots. Indeed, songs like "Message to the Bhagvat" come directly from this source. The rest of the material was quite a surprise to the regular Shelter fan, as it compromised between rough hardcore guitars and an almost pop-oriented sense of melody. The songs contained a real variety of surprising elements, stretching out from hard rock ("Here We Go Again". "Letter to a Friend"), to pop-punk ("Empathy", "Surrender To Your T.V.") and even rapping ("Civilized Man", "Not the Flesh"). Some tracks were being compared to the likes of Green Day or The Offspring. Overall, "Mantra" featured a truly selective musical mixture, able to satisfy even the most demanding listener. It is without doubt that "Mantra" remains one of the most melodic and eclectic albums in Shelter’s discography, accessible even to listeners unfamiliar with the hardcore scene; nevertheless the record’s mellow direction had a clear purpose - to spread the message as far and wide as possible.
"Mantra" was followed by another successful release for Roadrunner Records, "Beyond Planet Earth". Even more concentrated on mixing several genres, the albums showcases a variety of songs strictly differing from each other, basing on Shelter’s hardcore roots ("Rejuvenate", "Refusal") and adding elements of pop ("Whole Wide World"), ska ("Alone On My Birthday"), funk & hip-hop ("Helpless") and ’77-style punk ("Hated To Love"), altogether forming a stunning musical experience. Of course, not all fans appreciated the mellow style change the band presented, accusing Cappo of selling-out for commercial success. These accusations, however, fell flat confronted with the lyrical message of the album, basing strictly on the band’s Krishna-oriented beliefs, not at all compromising with the music industry. The point was only to expand the message’s horizons and make it available for the masses. But even being the most commercial album in Shelter’s whole career, "Beyond Planet Earth" served an intense musical content followed by a powerful spiritual background, to this day strongly appreciated and respected among the fans. The album was the last offering recorded for Roadrunner; next albums were all released by different labels, mostly the ones connected with the underground hardcore community.
Shelter managed to stay active on the scene for over ten years, until finally dissolving in 2002. The break-up, however, lasted only to 2005, when Cappo recorded 10 songs which he wrote when the band was still in top shape. In 2006 "Eternal", containing the mentioned tracks and a new version of "In Defense of Reality" (the title track from Shelter’s first record), is released. Produced under the watchful eye of Chad J. Hughes, acclaimed and award winning sound designer, the new album strikes with the same positive energy as the previous offerings. An extensive European tour took place after the release of "Eternal", with Cappo teaming up with members of Dutch hardcore bands to form a temporary line-up for the reborn Shelter. The band’s future, however, still remains unclear, but hopefully the fans will be granted a new, thrilling full-length release, once and for all confirming the return of this krishnacore legend.
