Condensed Flesh

I'm mainly a 90s hardcore guy. I mean, sure, I listen to a fair bit of the stuff from the 80s, but its not my era, and I don't profess to know much about a lot of it. So for years I thought that the Void 'Condensed Flesh' 7" was a bootleg. In my head I just thought that Void was a DIschord band, and figured that the 7" was a cheap knock off of some other Void record. I guess where it gets confusing is that the 7" was an official release, but then at some point there was a German bootleg of it. Maybe that's the one I saw first and so I just figured that the 7" was a bootleg. But then a year or so ago there was an official repress to mark the 30th anniversary. I saw someone post a pic of one and thought it looked kinda cool, so I made a mental note to pick one up at some point. And here we are.

This 30th anniversayr pressing was 500 copies on gold vinyl. Mine also has a nice black smudge in it that somehow makes it look cooler. There were also a few copies with blue or black labels, but the green labels (that I have) are the most common.

This one also includes a little insert that makes clear that this one is the 30th anniversary press. I think this is a pretty smart move. It's always good to do sometihng a little different with a repress to make clear that it is in fact a repress. And the artwork is rad.

It's interesting that I had always assumed that this was going to be poor sound quality as it was (in my mind) some kind of bootleg. But I was happy to be wrong abotu that too. This sounds great. And as I often mention, the length is just right, as there are 9 songs blasted through in 8 minutes or so. This is probably not an essential record, but still a fun one to own, and with another 4 colours out there, could be a fun one to collect in time. Although I'm really kicking myself for not picking up a copy sooner.

Urban Sprawl

Last year I finally got around to checking out the Urban Sprawl 'Concrete Altar' 7". I picked it up because it was a Revelation release, and I wasn't overly into it. Musically it was alright, but it didn't hugely excite me at the time. However, in time I found myself returning that 7" over and over, and even though I wouldn't rank it in list of favourite 7"s of all time, it definitely has something about it. Well, I then became aware that their 2018 demo had also been pressed to vinyl, and at some point I was buying something or other from someone and noticed that they also had one for sale. Even better, it was one of the 100 copies on orange vinyl copies. Boom. Done.

Well, a couple of weeks ago I finally got around to posting this on here and then discovered that there was also a blue vinyl copy. According to the label's website, there were 100 blue copies exclusively for the band. And by good fortune, there was a copy for sale from a UK seller. So I felt compelled to grab that too an save this post until I had both copies.

What's great about this 7" is that it's not pressed at the pressing plant that I hate. Top marks for that. And the cover art looks much better than the Rev 7". So aestheticaly this one scores highly. But what does it sound like? Well, given this is a demo, the sound is great. It sounds every bit as good as the 7" on Rev. The band plays very fast and raw hardcore, which now and again slows for a mosh part. And even though I still don't think I'd be putting this anywhere a list of best 7"s, I've been playing it a lot. Five songs in nine minutes is a great length when you're in the mood for something hard to push you on, but when you're so old that you don't really have the stamina to keep going. The story of my life these days.

Addicted To The Underground

Last year I got into the band Skullcrack. I picked up 3 of their releases and enjoyed their crossover style and Pushead inspired artwork. Great records, and it was cool that I got to help pick up the latest one from the pressing plant. Well, a few months later and I got around to grabbing a test press of their second album, 'Addicated To The Underground'.

This one comes in a minimal sleeve. It's a basic 'DJ' sleeve, with sticker on the top corner on the front, and also one on the back.

Indecision sold a couple of these and I'm glad I pulled the trigger. This is a great album, and it's always nice to pick up a test that comes in a cover, however minimal it may be.

I'm still surprised at how little attention this band seems to have got to date, but I'm sure it will all change at some point, as they're too good to be ignored for much longer.

Only In America

Many years ago I had a friend who was a huge Pegboy fan. He picked up their 'Strong Reaction' LP and championed the band to his group of friends, of which I was one. As a result we all got into Pegboy. My friend was really into them though, and this in turn led him to Naked Raygun, which he also seemed to really enjoy. I tried Naked Raygun but they just didn't sound as accessible. I think the combincation of the cover artwork plus some of the songs, I had them filed in my head as a little weird. It didn't click with me and that was that.

Well, that same friend gave me his records a few months ago and the Naked Raygun records kinda stood out to me. I'm always interested in listening to something new or different, and a lot of times I am more keen to go back and listen to something old. There are so many bands that I decided that I wasn't into like 30 years ago or so, and I am always keen to see if my tastes have changed over time. So I checked out the Naked Raygun records and found myself enjoying them both. So I decided to keep them for myself.

'Throb Throb' is the band's 1st LP. It originally came out in 1984. This copy is an original pressing on Homestead Records. It's an enjoyable record, especially the song 'Only In America' with it's saxophone (no, I am not joking!).

'Understand' is the 4th LP from 1989. This copy is an original on Caroline Records. This one is a little less manic than 'Throb Throb'. I'm guessing that that the 4 years in between they changed a couple of members and settled into a more pop punk kinda vibe.

It's so difficult sometimes getting into older bands late. Naked Raygun have 7 albums (although one looks like a live one, and one is some kind of reunion record from 2021). All have been reissued, and original pressings seem to be more expensive than they really should be. I guess it's a case of being patient and eventually I am sure that I will pick up more of their records, but for now these two are doing just nicely thank you.

Now

I don't subscribe to any streaming services. Never have, and I don't intend to. So if I want to check out something new, I'll often just go to youtube and play it on there. And then most of the time it will finish playing and some other random thing will come on. A few weeks ago I was listening to god knows what, and then at some point I realised that the something different had come on, and it was pretty cool. Turns out it was a band called Rhythm Collision, and I was pretty into it. I knew of the band, but had never in my life knowingly listened to them before. After listening to it again, I decided to investigate what records they had, and a few minutes later I had made a purchase.

These days, this is pretty much the dream scenario - finding a 'new' old band and also finding out that their records aren't overly saught after or expensive. Result! I had the choice of about 4 different colours to choose from, so I went for the purple marble as it looked by far the most interesting looking version.

Rhythm Collision were a band from the LA area who were active for the whole of the 1990s. In their time they put out 5 albums and a long list of 7"s. This record I just bought is their second LP from 1993 titled 'Now', released by Dr. Strange Records. The band plays melodic punk which for me is pretty perfect for this time of year, as the sun starts to appear for the first time in months.

Rev Catchup 2022

After formerly giving up collecting Revelation Records represses in about 2015, three or four years later I made a decision to keep collecting. I try my best to keep up with the new releases, but there are still a bunch from the 2015-2019 years that I am missing. None are too rare really, so I am pretty confident that I will get them in time. Anyway, today's post is a bunch that were released in the last few months of 2022. I got them right at the end of the year, and it's taken me until now to find the motivation to lay them out for a photo. As with the last Rev catchup post, I decided to take one photo of the lot, rather than photos of each record. So here it is:

Shown in the photo are the following:

Beyond ‘Dew It! / Live Crucial Chaos WNYU’ – Opaque violet vinyl (500 made)
Drain ‘California Cursed’ – Translucent pink w/ green marble vinyl (5th press, ??? made)
Elliott ‘US Songs’ – Coke bottle clear vinyl (2022 press)
Elliott ‘False Cathedrals’ – Coke bottle clear vinyl (2022 press)
Gorilla Biscuits ‘Start Today’ – Clear green vinyl (2022 press, 3000 made)
Ignite ‘Call On My Brothers’ – Clear yellow vinyl (2022 press, ??? made)
Judge ‘Bringin' It Down’ – Clear Yellow vinyl (2022 press, 2067 made)
Kill Holiday ‘Somewhere Between The Wrong Is Right’ – Red vinyl (2016 Press, 299 made)
Praise ‘All In A Dream’ – Green vinyl (2nd press, 1079 made)
Shelter ‘Perfection Of Desire’ – Peach vinyl (2022 press, 550 made) - light variant
Shelter ‘Perfection Of Desire’ – Peach vinyl (2022 press, 550 made) - dark variant
Gorilla Biscuits ‘S/T’ – Turquoise vinyl (2022 press, 2500 made)

At some point later in the year I'm pretty sure there will be another of these posts as they have continued to knock out a few more new releases and represses in the first few months of 2023.

Indivisible Songs For Walking

Last year I discovered the band Lungfish for the first time in my life. The band was active from 1990 up until the mid 2000s, and cranked out an impressive 12 full length albums on Dischord Records in their career. I was attracted to the cover art for one of their records last year, and then got sucked into buying 4 colour vinyl represses. I figured that maybe they would get around to repressing their entire catalog on colour vinyl, and it feels like this is likely to happen as two more have followed since. And of course, I bought both.

'Talking Songs For Walking' is the band's 2nd album, originally released in 1992. It has been repressed on a nice looking clear vinyl.

'Indivisable' is the 6th album, originally released in 1997, pressed on clear blue.

Looking at the cover of this record, I have to wonder what happened back in 1997 when this was being released. Was there a deadline to get it out and the art guy called in sick for the week?

Usually when I get into a band that has a lot of records in their catalog, it will take me years to work my way through them. But I've listened to a lot of Lungfish these past few months. The music is pretty laid back and relaxing, which makes it the perfect choice to have on whilst working. So I'm working my way through their catalog a lot faster than any other band I have ever listened to. With the recent colour vinyl represses, I now own 6 of their 12 albums, and I don't doubt that the rest will follow in the not too distant future.

9-13

A friend of mine posted a pic of the first Iron Monkey LP on instagram a couple of weeks. I hadn't listened to it in a long, long time, so I gave it a spin and it was a blast. This then jogged my memory that there was an album released recently (which it turns out was 2017!), so I went to discogs to have a look and within a few minutes I had bought a copy.

'9-13' was put out by Relapse Records, so of course I wanted the clear vinyl version. I was lucky to find one for sale in the UK for a good price. I've said it before, but if there's anything I want on Relapse then I'm only buying it on clear vinyl. They make 100 of each release on clear and they go to the label, band and friends only. Plus clear looks the best.

Iron Monkey was a UK band in the mid to late 90s. They released a CD back in 1996 that I bought when it came out. I can't remember how I'd heard of them. But back at the time a lot of hardcore was pretty metal, and this band stood out. Rather than play fast, they played slow and heavy. I saw them play once in Bradford and they were really good live. I also bought a t-shirt at that show that had 'Iron Monkey' on the front in the Iron Maiden font, which I ended up selling a few years later for a lot of money. There's still a skateboard video on the internet somewhere and I'm wearing that shirt at one point. Good luck finding it.

The original vocalist of Iron Monkey sadly died back in 2002. The band had already broken up a couple of years before. But for some reason a couple of members got together and recorded a new album in 2017. The guitarist also sings on this one, which I think is better than drafting in someone new entirely. I remember being really confused when I saw this was coming out, thinking that it just didn't seem right to get a band back together so many years later without the original vocalist. But I still wanted to check it out. Turns out this is a great record, although I'm still not sure that it feels right that it even exists in the first place.

Goat Chariot #5

I've said this before, but sometimes I end up collecting things that I didn't intend to collect, and this is another example. Back in 2019 I stumbled across a cheap Even Score 7" in a shop and bought it because it was pretty cheap. I then found another one a couple of years later. And then a third one fell in front of me this year. At that point there was one left that I needed - the clear vinyl version.

Unlike the previous three, I actually went out of my way to get this one. I went to discogs and paid probably double than what I paid for any of the other copies for it... plus postage. But for some stupid reason I had just decided that I wanted to 'complete' the collection.

There were 5 different colours of this one pressed by Victory somewhere around 1998 or 1999. It was the first release in the Victory Swingin' Singles Club, which never really took off. Each of these is hand numbered on the back cover out of 500 copies. Given Victory was pretty huge at the time this was pressed, I always assumed that there were 500 copies of each colour. However, I recently asked Clint who used to work at the label, and he confirmed that there were 500 in total, with around 100 copies of each colour. After 25 years or so, it was good to finally find this out for the first time.

The craziest thing about this is that a couple of months back I was looking at a picture of a collection of this 7" on instagram from a few years ago, and I came across a comment that I had posted. My comment included this sentence:

I have it on red and used to have both purple and white but never knew there was a pink.

The weird thing about this is that I have no memory of even owning any copies of this 7" aside from a red vinyl copy that I got back when it came out. Yet a few years ago I seemed to know that I once also had purple and white copies. My memory for this stuff is pretty good, so it confused me that at some point I remembered something that now I have zero memory of whatsoever. I must be getting old.

Straight Edge Violence

I picked up the debut release by a UK straight edge band called Eyeteeth. I don't know much about the band other than they have Nate from Rot In Hell & On Thin Ice on vocals. WHen I saw the name of the band and the logo, I figured that this was something that was not going to be for me. But then hearing that the title of the record is 'Straight Edge Violence' I figured that maybe it wasn't a death metal band after all, gave it a listen and decided I was in. A small UK label put out the 7" in a very limited run. There were 102 copies, all hand numbered, with the first 30 copies in a limited Godzilla sleeve.

I'm not sure why they decided to press such a small number of copies. Possibly because there aren't 100 straight edge people left these days. Still, they probably could have sold 2 or 3 times as many without too much more effort.

To me this sounds a little like a raw version of early Blacklisted maybe. It's pretty vicious and the band is (obviously) straight edge, so if you're into that kind of thing then you'll probably dig this. Ten songs in around ten minutes so there's no time for any bullshit. Sadly the 7" is already sold out, but I'm sure you can check it on digital formats if you're curious.

Fumble

No matter how much time you spend listening to music, it is impossible to listen to everything, and as a result it's easy to overlook stuff for a long time. Here we are in 2023 and I've only just got around to hearing this 1993 LP by Scream for the first time.

I've had the first two Scream LPs in my collection for a number of years, but I was never really overly interested in hearing anything later simply because I had made the assumption that it would be weak. Still, when this recent yellow vinyl repress popped up, I figured I'd grab one along with the Hammered Hulls LP mainly just because I was in the mood to buy records.

Well, what an absolute moron I was for ignoring this for so long. I put this on and within about 20 seconds it was clear that this is a great record. The first song sounds kinda like Bad Brains, and the rest of the record sounds bigger than anything else I have ever heard by Scream. It is such a huge step forward from 'This Side Up'

This record features some dude called Dave Grohl on drums, and there's one song that he sings on too. I had always assumed that Dave joining Scream was towards the end of their career and him joining the band pretty much marked the end. But goddamn I was so wrong. I think I have had this for two weeks now, and I have listened to it at least once a day in that time. So not only is this my favourite Scream record, it's also my favourite record that I have heard in months. Shame it came out 30 years ago else it would definitely have been my record of the year. Still, better late than never right?

Localism

So I had arranged a trade for the Pillsbury Hardcore 7" (in my last post) but when I opened the mailer after the trade went down I found that the other dude had thrown in an extra record. This wasn't random though. When we were working through the trade I identified a list of records that I wanted, and this was one. So it was really cool extra surprise.

Last year I picked up two different 'Nardcore compilation LPs ('Nardcore' and 'Nardcore For Life') and I became aware that there were a couple more out there it kinda became another collection to complete. This compilation is titled 'Localism... A Compilation LP Of Bands From The Oxnard, California Area' and was released by It's Alive Records back in 1996, which was a time when compilation records served more of a purpose than they do today. Looking at discogs, this was pressed on a few different colours, although the one I have ended up with isn't actually shown.

There are 17 different bands on here, but other than the three big names (Stalag 13, Ill Repute, No Motiv) I hadn't actually heard of any of these bands before. Oh yeah, and Strife, although I'm not really sure how they ended up on here given that they are definitely not from Oxnard.

As usual for It's Alive releases, this one comes with a lot of extras in the form of flyers and stickers, which I thought was a recent thing with the It's Alive represses from the last couple of years. I guess not.

There's still one more Nardcore comp LP that I know that I don't have, so you know how it goes. I'm gonna have to go after one now.

In A Straight Edge Limbo

This one has taken me ages to get around to posting because I struggled to get a half decent photo. It happens sometimes. I put time aside for photos and then after they are taken and I review them on the computer, they don't quite cut it. I waited until I had a day with good light (which took way too long), so this post is happening months after I picked up this record in a trade that took place in Philadelphia airport. I had arranged the trade in advance and it was one of those moments that I will probably never forgot, because within 5 miuntes of getting off the plane I was hanging out with a fellow hardcore enthusiast, swapping records and chatting about Rocky filming locations and their varying degrees of sketchiness.

I picked up the Pillsbury Hardcore reissue LP last year, and after spending some time with it I kinda wanted the 7"s. So when an opportunity came along to get this in a trade, I was pretty excited.

The 'In A Straight Edge Limbo EP' was released in 1985. This orange vinyl version is a second press copy (first press were all black), but it looks great, and this copy has all of the inserts. For a record that is getting on for 40 years old, this is in pretty damn good shape.

There's also a green vinyl version of this one out there, and I kinda want one now. Funny how that happens isn't it? I figured I'd be happy with one and then when I have one I suddenly want a second one. What the hell is wrong with me?

Careening

One of the best releases of last year was the debut LP by Hammered Hulls. 'Careening' came out at the end of October 2022, and was initially received on black vinyl only. I really loved their 7" that came out back in 2019 and had been expecting a full length for the last couple of years. I'm surprised that it took as long as it did to come out. Anyway, when this album was released I told Nico that I was going to wait for the second press on coloured vinyl to come out before I bought a copy. And here we are.

The second pressing is on blue vinyl, which I think is a pretty good choice as it goes well with the cover. I guess a lot of other people think the same, because Dischord is now sold out of this one.

Another thing that I like about this one is that it comes with a small booklet with the lyrics inside. I think it's cool that they made a booklet in 2023, rather than the usual single sheet. It has more of a 90s DIY feel about it which, being an old fart, I love.

If you haven't checked this out then I'd recommend changing that situation ASAP. This is a really great record. I've been playing it pretty regularly for the last 3 months and I'm nowhere near to getting tired of it. If I'd have bought it last year then it would definitely have made it into my list of best releases of the year, without a doubt.

Too Much, Too Late

The goal for the complete Revelation Records collection is in many ways a futile one to chase, but one that I have been chasing none the less. Pretty much every month I take more steps forward, but then the rate at which they crank out the new releases and represses puts me right back where I started, miles from the goal. Still, some steps forward mean a lot more than others, and this one is a super important record for me. A test press for Revelation 69... Farside 'The Monroe Doctrine'.

I clearly remember this album coming out back at the end of the 90s. I was already a huge fan of Farside, and so the release of a new full length was super exciting, especially back then as all music was generally more exciting from a position of youth. A lot of people consider this to be their best record, and I can see why, although for me that's not the case. A couple of the songs on here are the best they ever wrote, but I feel that the greatness of the record is slightly lessened by the 'non traditional' songs that kinda break the flow of the record a little. But that's just me. And whilst I'd always put 'Rochambeau' as the best Farside record, this is a close second.

At some point in the past there was a thread on a message board about what people's top 10 Rev wants were, and my top 10 was Into Another, Farside and Sensefield test presses. I haven't made much of a dent into that list in the last ten years or so, but this is a particularly satisfying one to get. The number of test presses made is not known, but it is likely to be either 4 or 8, as those seem to be the common numbers of tests that Rainbo Records would send out. Either way, this is a nice one to have and I am honoured to be able to give it a home.

Well, after I picked up the test press I also wanted to get hold of the other two repress colours that I was missing. The red came out in 2015 and there were over 1000 copies made.

The green vinyl came out in 2020 and there were around 450 copies. The main thing I notice about this one is how the colours on the label have changed slightly from previous pressings.

So this one represents an almost complete collection. Although as ever there are more copies that I still need... most notably a new test press for the 2020 version. But that's the game I play... endless.

Until Your Heart Stops 25th Anniversary Box

I've been a big fan of Cave In for a long time now. Over the years I collected more and more of their records that I ended up with a pretty extensive collection. My spreadsheet tells me that I have 74 Cave In records, which seems kinda nuts, but that's because I have multiple copies of every release. But last year when the band released their latest album 'Heavy Pendulum' I decided to give up collecting multiple copies, because the label put out about 15 different versions right off the bat, with most of them being exclusive to some place or other. Making lots of different versions is one thing, but making them exclusive to different places makes it way more expensive, as it requires the payment of umpteen different postage charges. So I decided to pick up just one version and leave it there. The game was well and truly up.

Well, it was then announced that Relapse Records were going to reissue all of their previous albums too. And whilst I decided to give up chasing a complete Cave In collection, when the first one was announced a few weeks ago I was still tempted. 'Until Your Heart Stops' was Cave In's first proper full length, released 25 years ago in 1998. I remember buying it when it came out, and I played it a hell of a lot. It was a HUGE record back then, and it felt super advanced compared to everything else at the time. And even though I am trying to not buy as many reissues these days, the deluxe version looked so good that I decided I wanted one. The only rule, however, was that I would only buy a clear vinyl copy. Relapse always press 100 copies of each release onto clear vinyl, which they don't sell, but give to the bands and friends of the label. The clear vinyl Relapse pressings are without doubt the best version of any release you can buy. They are the rarest and always look the best, especially these days when the label presses everything on splatters and swirls from my favourite pressing plant.

I managed to bag a clear copy and it turned up yesterday. And goddamn, it is a pretty amazing item. The label describes it as 'Housed in a custom designed hardcover 4xLP book, sheathed in a rigid board slipcase'. Basically it is a box set, and the outer box is a thick slipcase.

Inside the exterior slipcase is a big thick book, with a 12" record slipped into every page.

The first two records contain the original album, which has been remastered.

The second two records contain demos, outtakes and alternate versions of the songs from the original recording session.

Even though I am not a fan of the euro vinyl, I will freely admit that their clear vinyl these days does actually look good. It's pretty much the only acceptable colour of vinyl that they make. Ther are 3 other pressings of this and all are on horrendous looking splatter and swirl colours. Looking at pictures of them on discogs, I'm very happy with this one.

There are also 3 different colour pressings of a 2xLP version, which is the remastered original record, without the two records with the extra demos and unreleased stuff. There were over 7,000 copies pressed and the label is sold out of those already, which seems nuts to me. But if nothing else just shows how popular vinyl records are these days... unlike back in 1998 when this was originally released.

I have to say, this is a really beautiful item, but to I have to acknowledge that it is pretty much totally unnecessary. In my mind, the demo versions and earlier outtakes were deemed not good enough to release 25 years ago, so I'm not convinced that they really needed to be put out there on a format that required money to be paid to hear them. But having said that, there's a great version of the Sabbath cover 'N.I.B' with Dave Scrod singing instead of Steve Brodsky, which is worth hearing.

Involution

I've spent a little time the past couple of weekends tidying up my record room. I had a year and half's new records in various places and had wanted to find some time to file them away in the correct place in the collection. In doing so I found a couple of records that I didn't really know I had. Or rather, I had but didn't plan on keeping. This is one - a black vinyl copy of the Soul Control 'Involution' LP.

My friend Kyle sent me some copies of a 7" of his old band a couple of years ago, and also threw in a couple of other bits and bobs. One of the extras was this black vinyl Soul Control LP. I added it to a pile of things to sell as I had no interest in a black vinyl copy of a record that I already owned on colour vinyl.

Well, last week I was tidying up and decided to list this for sale... at which point I realised for the first time since it entered my house that this is actually the rarest version of this record. There were 100 copies on black which were sold as record release copies back in September 2007. So based on this 'new' information, I decided to keep this one and sell the orange & yellow swirl vinyl copy that I had in my collection since I bought it from the band on their 2008 european tour. I don't feel that I need two copies of this LP, and if I'm going to get rid of one then a second press swirl copy would be the one that I would be happy to send out into the void. If anyone happens to want it then get in touch.