Monday, October 27, 2014

Into Another Repress Round From REV

I gave up on the Revelation repress game a while ago. Shit got out of hand, and took something that once was fun, and turned it into a bank breaking chore. I don't mind collection ridiculous amounts of vinyl for some bands, but when you try and do it for every band, lines start getting drawn in the sand. Hey REV, when die hards like Marcus start to struggle justifying it, it might be time to check yourself before you wreck yourself.

I'd never purchased the Ignaurus LP from Into Another, so I was okay with the label repressing this one. I already own three different pressings of the self titled debut, so I didn't feel the need to grab the newest pressing for that one, but Ignaurus...yeah okay, it's not like I was going to bother chasing down an original pressing any time soon.

While this album was originally released in 1994, it took me until last year to finally check it out. Yeah, I was late to the Into Another party. I hated them when I first heard them in the early 90's, but time has been good to them, and I find that I'm digging them more and more these days..

Four dudes in a bed. Hawt.

Yawn. Another pressing of the Inside Out 7 inch...this time on green vinyl. Just one of the bands that I feel compelled to keep buying from REV.

While picking up these reissues, I spotted the On Point 7 inch. I'd downloaded this demo a few years ago, and seeing the vinyl available from REV for $2.00, I figured that I'd go nuts and buy a copy. This is surprisingly very good, and well worth the price of admission.

Saturday, October 25, 2014

Your Kid's An Asshole

Sometimes when I'm posting stuff up on my blog, my enthusiasm over a record ebbs and flows based on where my head is at musically. I suppose it is a natural reaction. I'll buy a record, and like it, but when it comes time to post it, I'm just like "meh" because I'd rather be jamming something else at the moment. Such was the case with the last Iron Reagan album, Worse Than Dead. I've already posted my apology here, so I won't repeat myself, but with a new LP due this year, I was primed and ready for it.

My Metal mood certainly helped put me in the right place for it, but with the release of their Eyeball Gore video, I was rabid with anticipation. I'm squeamish when it comes to the eye, so it was a tough video to sit through, but man, I loved every eye popping part of it. Even the video for Miserable Failure helped set the tone that this album was going to be a fucking blast.

So, unlike their last album, with The Tyranny Of Will I can say that this album rules from the very start. Fast and aggressive...easily one of my favorite Metal records for the year.

500 pressed on red/black swirl vinyl.

Thursday, October 23, 2014

React! And Powered Extras

With my recent Not Afraid orders from React! and Powered, I took the opportunity to grab a couple additional records that I've had my eye on.

First up is the Double Vision LP from ON. This was released back in 2009, and Powered had so many issues getting their shit together to mail this out, kids were nailing them to the wall left and right. Here we are, five years later, and the label seems to be getting it's feet back under itself. The Powered store lists a copy of the Double Vision LP on white vinyl, and I figured that I'd finally grab a copy. Ugh...nice job...this isn't white vinyl.

While it wasn't white vinyl, it did still put me at nine copies of this LP. Might as well take a group photo!

From the React! distro, I ordered the Appraise 7 inch. I'd heard good things about them, so I figured that I'd check 'em out. This is the vinyl pressing of their 2012 demo...pretty solid hardcore out of Spain.

Second pressing. Limited to 300.

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

No Fear

Has it really been three years since Not Afraid released their debut 7 inch? Still stinging from the True Colors break up, Not Afraid stepped in and filled that hole without missing a beat. I remember being out of town when Back To Back put up the preorders for that first record, and feeling the kick in the gut as I ended up missing out on the limited pressings. With the release of the full length LP, I wasn't going down that same road. As soon as preorders went up, I was all up in the internet, making sure that I got all of the available pressings.

Locked Out is a split label release, with the dudes over at Powered taking care of things overseas.

250 pressed on blue vinyl that was exclusive to Powered. Half of them were hand numbered with the Powered preorder sticker.

Over here in the States, Ev and the React! crew take care of the North American pressing. Orange colored vinyl is exclusive to React!, and is limited to 250.

I was really looking forward to this album, and while it is still a solid release, I'm left feeling a bit underwhelmed. I think a major reason for this is that it sounds like it was recorded in a cave...everything feels claustrophobic and muddy. Where are the guitars? It is too bad because the songs are there, and can stand up next to their excellent debut, but I just wish that it didn't sound like I had cotton in my ears whenever I listen to it. Maybe I just need a few more spins to grow accustomed to that production.

500 pressed on black vinyl.

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Safe And Sound In The Tides

When I picked up the Winds Of Change compilation earlier this year, one of the biggest surprises for me was Safe And Sound. Man, that song jumps off the vinyl at you, and really sets the tone for a great comp.

I was really looking forward to hearing more from the band, and when Life To Live put up the preorders, I grabbed the three different pressings. While I couldn't resist one of each of the regular pressings, I did manage to show some restraint, and I passed on buying the test press. Life To Live seem to make a few of these available to buy when their preorders go up. I think it is a very cool option, and if I had the money to throw around like Chris, I might have grabbed one too.

This is a pretty solid Hardcore record and shows some promise. Hey, when you've got Aram from Betrayed singing on one of your songs, you know that you've got something going on.

150 pressed on blue splatter vinyl for preorders. 200 pressed on blue. 300 pressed on black vinyl.

Monday, October 20, 2014

Straight Edge Protest

I've spent the better part of the last ten months obsessed with Metal. I didn't give up on Hardcore...I just haven't felt any desire to listen to it. Instead I find myself listening to stuff like the first Metal Church album...or Megadeth's Killing Is My Business. And I don't just give it a spin and then move on...no...those albums were in constant rotation and getting daily spins. Old 70's shit like Kiss and Budgie, or newer stuff like Mos Generator and Grand Magus. It just hasn't gotten old, and I just don't seem to tire from it.

Then something funny happened.

Edge Day rolled around, and since I couldn't make it to the show in Boston to see Step Forward and Stick Together, I decided to queue up an Edge playlist. After starting in '88, with stuff like Against The Wall, Chain Of Strength, No For An Answer, Insted, I found myself craving more and more, and soon was tearing through Carry On, Fastbreak, and Floorpunch. Damn, I've missed this stuff, and it was good to have it back.

People have been hyping the hell out of the Protester record for months, and once Chris posted about it over at Unwavering Spirit, I figured that I'd take a chance on it. I hit up the Trash King store for the gold vinyl, and when it arrived I just set it aside...yeah yeah, I'll get to checking it out later. Seeing the Protester 7 inch in my pile of records on 10/17, with that big X on the cover, it seemed like it was a good day to finally give it a spin.

Holy shit. This might possibly be my favorite Hardcore record of 2014. This thing rules. Fast and pissed off...it goes right for the throat, and does not let up. Do yourself a favor and get into this.

Sunday, October 19, 2014

Jagz Jamz

Jaguarz were a part of the Lockin' Out scene, but I was out of touch with what was happening in Boston at the time, and just like a lot of Hardcore bands at that time, they came and went and I never had a clue. Since the band only released a demo tape, and had a song on the Sweet Vision comp...and even after an epic 13 page thread about them in the early days of the REACT! messageboard...I'd still never bothered to check them out. With Climbin' Aboard doing a limited vinyl pressing, I figured that I'd waited long enough.

When the record first went up for pre-order, I remember having a conversation with Doug, questioning the need to buy every pressing of this Jaguarz record. I was really trying to focus my spending on other collections at the time, and did I really need to divert that money to this Boston Hardcore band that I'd never heard of before? Obviously the habit of buying one of everything was hard to break, and I still added three copies to my cart and checked out.

Yeah, the Jagz definitely fall in with that Lockin' Out sound. Great Hardcore style that doesn't get too serious, and they are just having some fun being straight edge kids. I can get down with that.

100 on green, 150 on yellow, and 250 on black vinyl.

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Nuclear Assault Live at CBGB's

A picture disk of a live album? You'd think this would be a hard sell for me, wouldn't you?

With the minimalist packaging of a single hard stock piece of paper and a clear plastic sleeve, the new live album from Nuclear Assault captures perfectly what I dislike about picture discs. I hate sliding records into their place on the shelf, and having them disappear into the collection. Records need an album cover with a spine so you can find them on the shelf.

And while a live album may capture the excitement and energy of a band, nine times out of ten, I prefer to just spin the studio recordings...and get all of the songs, not just the hits that a band will play live.

So what could possess me to buy this thing? Two songs from Nuclear Assault's early days that I've never heard before. Meteors and Satan's Call. Oh hell yes! These songs rule, and are worth the price of admission. Thrash!

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Till Death...

Last year, when Ron Brotherhood commented on my post for the No Tolerance 7 inch, he hinted that big things were coming in 2014.

Here we are, and Southern Lord follows up on the hype of their Bl'ast reissues with this one for Brotherhood. According to the Double Cross interview with Greg Anderson, the guy was never that thrilled with the Crucial Response release, so when the opportunity came to release that Brotherhood material on his own label, he ran with it.

Revelation Records exclusive on blue vinyl. Limited to 600.

My Brotherhood collection is rather weak, so I didn't hesitate to take this opportunity to beef it up, and I ordered every piece of colored vinyl that I could get my hands on.

300 pressed on Seahawks blue, green and gray vinyl.

There were two different options for the LP with a bonus No Tolerance 7 inch. One with the red vinyl LP and a blue vinyl 7 inch...

...And another red vinyl LP with a red 7 inch.

Honestly, two different red vinyl LP options felt a little...ahem...overkill. I could see maybe doing a couple different options, but you've got to change up the LP color at least. My only other complaint on this whole package is the 7 inch style booklet. The lyrics and photos are cool, but seriously, I couldn't have given a shit about Nate Mendel's essay. Christ, I didn't even know what he was trying to say. Go play with the Foo Fighters and drink your "animal beer"...pffft...not interested. I would have preferred to have something from Ron, or even Greg.

Nice touch from Southern Lord with the stickers.

So, I thought that I had all the pressings until someone reminded me that I never bought the black vinyl of this. Damn. All this, and it is still incomplete.

Monday, October 13, 2014

Boston To London Painkillers

I can't really call these two 7 inches "the most anticipated hardcore releases of 2014", since I really didn't know they were coming until I saw that Painkiller posted the pre-orders for them.

Sure, there has been some talk about a new Step Forward release, but since it has been eight years since their last 7 inch...well, let's just say that I wasn't holding my breath. Sure there was the demo tape a couple of years ago, but I like to pretend that cassettes don't really exist, so that one didn't count.

So here we are, eight years after their debut. Can Step Forward still hold down the Boston Straight Edge? Damn right, they do. Well worth the wait.

200 pressed on clear vinyl.

Along with Step Forward, Painkiller also released the US pressing of the new Violent Reaction 7 inch, Dead End. The band released one of my favorite hardcore albums last year, and this short blast is a fun follow up.

The first pictures that I'd seen of this record, the vinyl was kind of an army green color. When I received mine in the mail, I was disappointed that I didn't get the limited pressing. How could that be? I ordered my copy, and then let Marcus and Sandwell know they were available for pre-order...so how did they end up with the green vinyl, and I only got black? Further inspection revealed that my copy was actually more of a dark grey marble variation on the green vinyl pressing. I did get the limited vinyl, it just doesn't look very impressive.

Tuesday, October 07, 2014

David Lee Rock

You know I get distracted easy, right? I start collecting one thing, only to jump to something else when it catches my eye. I've got so many holes in my Metal vinyl collection, it is embarassing. Hell, I still don't have all the Dio records yet...and I don't even own a copy of Sabbath's Sabotage on vinyl. I need to get some priorities straightened out and address some of these issues.

About seven years ago, I picked up my first couple of pieces of Van Halen...and since then...nothing. While flipping through the used records at Moody Lords, I came across a copy of Fair Warning. Since this is probably my favorite VH record, I immediately pulled it from the bin and added it to the stack of records that I would be purchasing. I know it is difficult to call any Van Halen record "dark", but man there is just something a bit more raw when it comes to Fair Warning. Maybe because it contains the only VH song where David Lee Roth drops an F bomb...or maybe it is the artwork for the album cover that William Kurelek painted while being treated for depression and schitzophrenia in a London mental hospital. Whatever it is, Van Halen does not get any better than this.

On the other side of the coin, we have Van Halen's 1984 album. With the opening synth keyboards for Jump, there isn't anything dark about this album. I really wasn't too familiar with this one. I guess in the general scheme of things, I didn't think too much about this record, and kind of rated it just above Diver Down (which sits at the bottom of the six crucial Van Halen albums)...but giving this vinyl a spin, I was surprised at how much I really enjoyed it.

Okay. At this point, the only VH album missing from my collection was their debut. I was so close to completing the collection, I jumped to eBay to finish this thing off. There was some confusion on my part as to what defined a first pressing for this record. I did some minimal research, and believed that the white Warner Brothers label, with the roman numerals for sides I and II, indicated it was a first pressing, and that's what I set out to win on eBay. Days after I won a copy, I discovered that I was wrong, and an actual first press has the Warner Brothers label with palm trees. Damn. Stupid mistake. Oh well, I guess it really wasn't that important, as I'm not going to worry about chasing one down at this point...but if I happen to stumble across one in the used records bins, I might not be able to resist.

The only Van Halen albums that people need to pay attention to.

There it is...seven years to finally collect six easily obtainable albums. It probably shouldn't have taken this long.

Saturday, October 04, 2014

Kiss Double Alive II

The used record shopping spree continues. Picking up the Venom live double LP had me in the mood for some more live records.

While Venom come at you "from the very depths of Hell", Kiss shows us why they are "the hottest band in the world". The first live Kiss record surprised the Hell out of me. While I generally don't pay much attention to live albums, Kiss Alive! lived up to it's reputation as one of the best ever. Man, after I finally gave it a chance a month or so ago, it dominated my playlist...working it's way into a daily rotation. I loved it so much, that I decided to give Alive II a shot.

While it doesn't quite match the powerhouse that is Alive!, Alive II is no slouch. Detroit Rock City is a Hell of an opener, plus King of the Night Time World and I Stole Your Love may be a couple of my favorite Kiss songs...but damn, Beth is on here, so it gets negative points for that alone. Even live, this song is a stinker. Come on, that roar of the crowd once the first notes are played on the piano...shit has to be fake. Still, I'm not going to let that one song ruin this for me. The album still rules.

While the Venom live album was extremely light on the packaging, Kiss does it up right. Gatefold packaging with an explosive photo to capture the live Kiss experience...full color printed albums sleeves with a shot of the crowd...plus a booklet on The Evolution Of Kiss.

Thursday, October 02, 2014

Venom Double Live

Continuing, the record shopping spree, Jeff and I head up the street towards a small hole in the wall used vinyl store called Strange Maine. On our way, we were met on the sidewalk with a sign advertising "vintage vinyl". The store was called Moody Lords, and there was all kinds of vintage clothing in the windows...I didn't have very high expectations, but as soon as we walked in and I saw that they had a vinyl section just for Metal, things started looking up.

One of the first things that I pulled from the rack was this Venom live double LP. It was still sealed, so I knew that I wasn't going to find one in better condition...my only question was, did I want to spring for this US pressing, or did I want to wait and get the original UK pressing from Neat? This US pressing has a completely different cover than the original pressing, so what the hell? What's wrong with getting both of them?

I originally bought this as a double cassette with the Neat label around '86...then a year or so later, I grabbed the US pressing of the CD. Feels good to finally have this on vinyl. Classic.