New Jersey hardcore unit Ensign formed as a quartet around vocalist Tim Shaw, guitarist John Fraunberger, bassist Nate Gluck, and drummer Ryan Murphy, drawing ex-members from Vision, H20, and Undertow while taking cues from East Coast hardcore pioneers Youth of Today. Their self-titled debut EP appeared on Indecision and was followed soon after by the four-song Fall from Grace, which contained a cover of Instead’s “We’ll Make the Difference.” The band’s first full-length, Direction of Things to Come, surfaced in 1997 and received strong critical acclaim, quickly building a nationwide audience. Nitro Records from California issued the next album, Cast the First Stone, in 1999, now featuring guitarist Ryan “Mackenzie” Donoghue and drummer John O’Neill. Indecision compiled the group’s early material as Three Years, Two Months, Eleven Days in 2000. Ensign’s third studio album, The Price of Progression, arrived on Nitro in early 2001 with guitarist Chris Byrnes and bassist Chris Oliver aboard, Gluck having shifted to guitar. Blackout released the covers collection Love the Music, Hate the Kids in fall 2003, on which the band saluted Descendents, Dag Nasty, the Replacements, and additional acts. By that time further personnel shifts had left Shaw and Gluck—now returned to bass—alongside drummer Brian Kozuch and guitarist Frank Piegaro.
