Monday, December 31, 2012

Orange Goblin On Red

That's it. Time is up for 2012. There are a few more new releases that I need to pick up, but this post cleans out the last of the 2012 albums that were sitting in my vinyl backlog.

Fellow Doom Metal fiend, Sandwell, posted about the new Orange Goblin LP back in February. The band has been banging around for the last 15 years or so, and while I enjoyed thier 2007 album, Healing Through Fire, I still didn't know much about the band. Mark seemed to dig the new album, so I figured that I'd give it a shot and I downloaded it.

Early into 2012, I was obsessed with early 80's Hardcore, and the majority of my time was spent listening to bands like Black Flag, Circle Jerks, and Angry Samoans. Because of this, A Eulogy For The Damned sat on my ipod and was largely ignored for a better part of the year. While going through my 2012 playlist on my ipod, it would get the occassional spin, but it really wasn't grabbing my attention.

As was the case with most of the new Metal releases this year, the new Orange Goblin just needed to settle in and marinate. With repeated listens, I've found that I enjoy it more and more. What was originally a low rated album for 2012, has steadily climbed, and now finds itself as a possible Top 10.

With Rise Above reissuing the band's catalog on vinyl, I need to dig in and start spending some time with these older releases to determine if I should pick these up as well.

Sandwell's copy was on clear vinyl, which was for the first pressing. Second pressing was on red vinyl. Limited to 1,000.

Sunday, December 30, 2012

Iron Reaganomics

Music in the 80's ruled. Both Metal and Hardcore were at the top of their game, and in the middle of all that were bands blending the two to create the Crossover sound. Crumbsuckers, Corrosion of Conformity, Suicidal Tendencies, Agnostic Front, and of course Dirty Rotten Imbeciles. As a kid that was slowly transitioning from Metal over to Hardcore, these bands were crucial to opening up my musical world.

Crossover bands don't seem to exist these days, and instead we get shitty Metalcore bands in their place. On the rare occasion, we get lucky, and bands like Iron Reagan show us that the 80's aren't dead. Featuring members of Municipal Waste, Iron Reagan sound like an awesome blend of Crossover-era D.R.I. and Nuclear Assault. Throw Reagan's name and face on it, and you have 80's perfection! They recorded 5 songs for their demo this year, and prior to the release of their 2013 LP, they pressed those songs to vinyl.

It was damn near impossible to photograph, but between each song, there was a chunk of dead wax with the song title etched. Never seen that before.

Sweet looking etching on the b side.

A total of 1,500 were pressed, but only 300 were on green vinyl.

Saturday, December 29, 2012

Dissecting The Kadavar

I despise the radio, but I've found that I've started using my iphone to listen to my last.fm radio station after the gym each morning, when I've got the locker room to myself. I use last.fm to capture the stats for all the music I listen to, and they use that as the basis for what my radio station plays. Typically I play it safe, and set the radio to play only the songs that I have in my library. However, after a vigorous 7 mile run a few weeks back, I was feeling a bit adventurous, and I set the station to allow some new music to be played based on their recommendations for what I usually listen to.

While I was in the shower, I could hear this unfamiliar song playing from the radio. It had a great doomy 70's sound to it, that immediately had me thinking of bands like Witchcraft and Graveyard. I needed to find out who this band was that was playing, and quickly grabbed my towel and checked the screen on my iphone. The band is Kadavar and the song that's playing is All Our Thoughts. I can't wait to find more from this band, and after a quick search and download, I'm on the hunt to find some vinyl.

Already in it's fourth pressing, I was able to grab a copy on yellow vinyl. Limited to 1,000.

Friday, December 28, 2012

The Few That Remain

Here we are...the end of the year rush, as I try and clean up the backlog of 2012 releases that have stacked up next to my turntable, before the year is done. I'm going to have to bang out a post a day until New Years if I want to get them up before my year end review.

Break Away may not be the most original name for a Hardcore band, but if you are looking for something fresh and new, feel free to go jerk off to the new Title Fight record. However, if you are looking for a band that reminds you of Right Brigade, and just punches you in the face with some Straight Edge hardcore, quit fucking around and listen to this shit.

Solid Bond Records only has a "vinyl pre order" option available to order. I'm assuming that outside of the record release version, this was only pressed on black vinyl.

Thursday, December 27, 2012

Keep It In The Family

A few years ago, when I picked up a colored vinyl copy of Th' Inbred's A Family Affair LP, I raved endlessly about how much I loved that band. The post probably went largely unnoticed back then, so I'll resist the urge to repeat myself here. If you are interested, you can go back and check it out, and if you aren't, feel free to move on.

Back in 2009, Alternative Tentacles decided that the discography for Th' Inbred needed to see the light of day. The band is probably a good fit for the label, considering the similarities between them and the Dead Kennedys. I was pretty happy for another chance to spread the word about how much I love this band...but given the quantity that were being pressed, I didn't rush out to buy it. Seeing the vinyl in the bin at Generation Records was the push that I needed to finally grab a copy.

With two LPs and a 7 inch to make up the discography, the vinyl pressing had to be split into two albums. They were packaged separately as Volume One and Volume Two...with each one pressed in quantities of 1,000 for colored vinyl.

Volume One contains the Reproduction 7 inch and the Family Affair LP on red wax.

Volume Two contains the Kissin' Cousins LP and three unreleased songs on blue vinyl.

25 years later, this stuff is still as relevant and as vital sounding. A true classic.

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Three Witches

I love Witchcraft. When Rise Above reissued the band's first three albums on vinyl, I couldn't resist and placed my last large order for 2012.

I had never owned the first Witchcraft album...not on vinyl...not on CD. In fact, I've never really spent much time with this album. The production is so rough and raw, I always just preferred the band's two follow up albums. Listening to it today, I'm really impressed with this record, and the Pentagram influence here is undeniable. This is a great record that I'm finally starting to appreciate.

400 pressed on silver vinyl.

The reissue of the self titled Witchcraft LP came with a bonus one-sided 7 inch, containing the Pentagram cover of Yes I Do, which was included on the original 2004 album release as a vinyl only bonus track.

I've only owned Firewood on CD, so I was pretty excited to get the opportunity to grab it on vinyl with this recent reissue. Easily my favorite Witchcraft release. While I was listening to this piece of vinyl this week, I was surprised to discover that the vinyl contains a song that was never on the CD, and therefore, a song I've never heard. Made my day.

400 pressed on bronze colored vinyl.

Like the eponymous debut, Firewood comes with a bonus one song 7 inch. Again the 7 inch color matches the LP, and again we get a Pentagram cover...this time When The Screams Come.

Finally, we have The Alchemist. Witchcraft went a bit more "modern" and more "rock" with their latest LP, Legend, but The Alchemist still found the band fully entrenched in that Sabbath/Pentagram Doom Metal sound. Classic.

100 pressed on clear vinyl.

No bonus 7 inch with this release, which is odd as I would have thought that Rise Above could have done the same deal and include the b-side to the If Crimson Was Your Colour single, I Know You Killed Someone. Since that single has long sold out, and I've still never heard the song, I would have thought that Rise Above would have included it here in some format.

Sure I already owned a copy of The Alchemist on vinyl, but given the opportunity to pick up the ultra rare version on clear vinyl, I had no problems in picking up a second copy.

Monday, December 24, 2012

Lights Out In The Graveyard

Nuclear Blast has been releasing the best records this year. Orchid, Overkill, Witchcraft, Testament, Accept...they will all top my list of favorite Metal releases this year, and each one of them falls under the Nuclear Blast label. Add another heavy hitter to the list with the new Graveyard LP.

In the past, it has taken me a while to warm up to each Graveyard release. Their new LP, Lights Out, is no exception. It took me about a year to fully appreciate last year's Hisignen Blues, but once it hit me, I fell in love with it. I was excited to check out the new record, but I was feeling pretty underwhelmed upon the first couple of listens. I don't know...it seemed too mellow overall.

As expected, repeated listens have me enjoying this album more and more. As a whole, it doesn't knock me on my ass yet, but there are still some killer tunes on this. The band continues to evolve and impress.

Like most of the recent Nuclear Blast releases, they come with a handnumbered sticker on the shrinkwrap. "Golden" vinyl is limited to 250.

Nuclear Blast has gotten into the habit of releasing a 7 inch single with some of their albums this year. They did it with Witchcraft, and do the same with Graveyard. The b-side to the Goliath single features a great song. Don't miss out on it just because it is limited to the b-side. Get on it.

Sunday, December 23, 2012

Supertouch Live

When it comes to Supertouch, I've always leaned towards their earlier stuff...and by that I mean only their first 7 inch. Sure I've warmed up towards their LP over recent years, and if you catch me in the right mood, I can even hang with that newest record. But man, those songs off What Did We Learn and the REV comp...that's the best.

Given that I prefer the early days of Supertouch, you'd have thought that I would have checked out their Live on WNYU set from 1988. Nope, hadn't really done that. I made an attempt back in September, when Marcus posted that he had a few extra copies that he was looking to trade or sell off. I showed some interest in buying a copy, but it fell through when I had to sink $1,000 into car repairs. With this drain on my bank account, I had to put the breaks on some of my record spending.

When I found myself at the REV25 shows in NYC this past October, Supertouch had a table set up, and they were selling copies of the Live on WNYU vinyl. The band played a great set that night, and it seemed like the perfect time to finally buy one.

Purple vinyl. Handnumbered labels out of 100.

Friday, December 21, 2012

Stalag 13

It has always been an internal struggle for me...should I search and buy the original pressing for vinyl, or do I take the nice new option with a recent repress? I've spent more than my share of cash on Back on Black vinyl and Bridge Nine reissues, and at this point, I'm starting to feel burnt out on them. More and more, I'm feeling the pull towards eBay to check out those old Metal albums on vinyl, and stop bothering with the recent flood of new colored vinyl and picture disc reissues. While this is the direction that I want to go in, sometimes I can't resist the call of immediate gratification, and grab that repress that is in the rack in front of me at the record store.

Such is the tale of buying the Stalag 13 LP. I think I first downloaded the songs on this album around 2004, and while I've wanted a physical copy of it since then, I obviously haven't put forth much effort in my search. While flipping through the stacks of vinyl at Generation Records in NYC, I saw a copy. There it was in my hands. No searching for an online seller, or checking around for the best price. It was an easy shortcut to finally owning the vinyl, and I took it. Repress be damned.

Originally released in 1984, this copy is the newer 2010 repressing. While this pressing also saw red and gold vinyl, my copy is on black vinyl. Yawn.

Monday, December 17, 2012

Double-Edged Sword

I've been a fan of The Sword since their first album, Age Of Winters, back in 2006. I've purchased each album they have released since their debut...on vinyl. It was a pleasant surprise to find that the band was releasing a new album this year, and I was soon looking forward to it's arrival.

You know what you are going to get when you buy a new album from The Sword. They have that rocking Stoner Metal sound...they know it, and they stick to it. The new album, Apocryphon, might bring more of the same, but it is what I like, so I approve.

2,000 pressed on lava orange swirl vinyl.

When I picked up a copy of Apocryphon, the store was giving out free copies of the album on cassette. I think that we are all aware that I'm not a fan of this format. Still, the 14 year old kid in me found it kind of cool. I bought most things on cassette as a kid, and a bit of nostalgia kicked in when I was holding this tape in my hand and exiting the store. Still, I'm not sure why I'm holding on to all these old tapes, and whenever I think about them, I wonder why I'm not putting them up on eBay for record money. A part of me hates to let go of that history, and while I have no way to play them, flipping through those old Iron Maiden and AC/DC tapes, reminds me of those innocent days of youth...when music was new for me, and each purchase was precious and exciting. Music started to take over my life with cassettes, so I wonder if I'll ever be able to let that piece go from my collection.

If you make something "limited" to 3,000 pieces, what is the point of numbering it?

Sunday, December 16, 2012

I Am Not The Discography

Ressurrection were pretty big in the early to mid-90's. Hardcore kids loved them. They captured some great energy and emotion, but for me, they were always the second option behind bands like Mouthpiece, Four Walls Falling, and Outspoken. I've always felt that part of the reason why I didn't put them at the same level as those other bands was because of the poor sound they had on their records. When I heard that Deathwish was releasing the I Am Not discography, and that the recordings were going to be remixed by Kurt Ballou, I thought that it was finaly a chance for those songs to shine.

I've been meaning to pick up this discography for a year or so, and when I saw it for sale at Generation Records in NYC, I figured that it was finally time to buy a copy. The packaging looks great, and the songs sound better. Perfect for when I'm stuck in an early 90's kind of mood.

Now I'm fairly certain that at some point over the past 10 or 15 years, Rob Fish mentioned that there were a few songs that Ressurection had recorded prior to breaking up, but they had never been released. I was hoping that this discography would feature those unreleased songs, so I was disappointed to not see anything new here. Who knows, maybe I imagined reading that somewhere, and those songs don't really exist.

Red vinyl pressing is sold out, but I was content to grab the white vinyl pressing. Limited to 733.


Thursday, December 13, 2012

Fire & Ice Finale

Just when I thought that I'd finished my Fire & Ice collection, along comes another pressing of Not Of This World to prove me wrong. After picking up the last copies that I needed for Gods & Devils and Grim, I thought that I was all set...and then one of the band members goes and posts that he is selling a copy of the new LP that I'd never seen before. Damn. This quest was going to drag on for a little longer.

Of course I wasn't going to let it slip by me. No way. This copy was going to be mine. It was the last piece of the puzzle, and I was going to own it at any cost.

This one comes with a special cover for the Sound & Fury 2012 fest, and was limited to only 30. You can count on the special FNI pressings to look amazing, and this one is no exception. Another job well done.

When building my collections, I don't really consider test pressings to be mandatory...they are a nice bonus, but I don't feel the need to own them in order to call it complete. So while I'm missing the test pressing for both of the 7 inches...and I'd pick them up if I found them for a decent price...I'm considering this case closed.

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Clear Case Of Prisoner Abuse

Earlier this year I finally picked up a copy of the Mongrel record from Think I Care. I hadn't really paid the band much attention over the years, but for some reason things just started to click, and I couldn't get enough of them.

As if on queue, Painkiller recently announce that they are releasing an album from a band called Prisoner Abuse, which happens to feature members of Think I Care and No Tolerance. Goddamn right. I typically like to check out new bands before I buy something from them, but for this one, I took a chance and bought the LP blindly.

My impulse buy pays off, because this record is Hardcore perfection. Brutal, uncompromising, and sounding like Think I Care's twin brother.

100 on clear vinyl.

Friday, December 07, 2012

White Escapades

In case you didn't notice, I've been posting a bit of Justice vinyl lately. This marks the seventh piece of Justice vinyl that I have purchased this year. I still can't get enough of this band. I still have a long way to go, so the hunt continues...

525 pressed on white vinyl from Youngblood Records.

Thursday, December 06, 2012

Repress is the Reason

Like every other Hardcore record collector out there, I'm getting sick of trying to keep up with all these Revelation Records represses. I've never really collected REV colored vinyl, so why the Hell do I feel compelled to keep dipping into my savings account for these things...well, other than the obvious reason of total awesomeness.

I already owned the Texas is the Reason 7 inch on vinyl, but I was pretty happy to have the opportunity to finally grab a copy on colored vinyl. When I'm in a mid-90's Hardcore/Punk mood, this band never disappoints.

Quicksand is pretty hot right now. Since they played the REV25 show out in California this year, they have played the Jimmy Fallon show, and are touring early in 2013. Are they a full time band again? I'm not sure where they are headed, or if I even want them to record new material. It has been over 15 years since I've liked anything that Walter has done, so how would I feel about new Quicksand songs?

I had four different pressings of this Quicksand EP, so I figured that it was time for a photo. Three different pressings in the past year and a half...yeah, they look great, but I hope that REV chills out on this one.

It was nice to see REV repress one of their more recent titles with Down To Nothing's Unbreakable LP. Although, seeing this new pressing reminds me that I missed the boat on picking up the red vinyl they originally released back in 2008.

The dark purple vinyl doesn't look too impressive until you hold it up to the light.