Hydrahead Revisited

What seems funny nowaways is that I used to buy Hydrahead Records by sending dollars through the post, which I would have to buy from a bank and send in an envelope. Even funnier is that I used to call up Aaron Turner on the phone and ask him to put records aside for me until my cash arrived. Seems crazy that it was possible to call Aaron Turner up. I guess he's too much of a global superstar these days to talk on phones or touch records. He pays fools to do that shit for him these days. And rightly so. I wish I didn't have to talk on phones. What a waste of time. But anyway, in 1996 I somehow stumbled across Hydrahead (which was a new label at that point), I liked what they were putting out, and bought pretty much all colours of all records they released. Although, that said, I did miss a few through being too slow. Luckily though I have managed to plug four of those gaps in one day with the latest parcel...

First is a Converge / Brutal Truth split 7", which was the second 7" in the Black Sabbath cover series. I have two colours of this one already, but this is the first press with limited cover numbered out of 100:

Next is the Cave In "Creative Eclipses" 7". This was their 2nd 7" on Hydrahead, and the one where the wheels fell off. In other words, Cave In changed their sound completely and became some kind of rock band. Not that this is a bad thing. I actually prefer their rock opus, "Jupiter" to their previous metal records. But this 7" was interesting when it came out because it was such a shock to the system. Nobody expected them to actually start SINGING!

This came out in about 1999, and it has taken me since then to finally get hold of one of the clear vinyl versions numbered out of 118. I picked one up on ebay last year, but frustratingly it wasn't numbered. So I'm happy to finally cross this fucker off the want list.

Next, another of the Black Sabbath 7" series. This time, the split between Cave In and Botch, on solid yellow vinyl.

I have this on red/yellow split vinyl, but clearly one is not enough so I need another one to stick in a box and never look at or play. On reflection, this is probably the best of the Sabbath tribute 7"s. The Botch song especially is incredible.

Finally, the sixth and last installment in the Black Sabbath covers series, the Neurosis / Soilent Green split on messy pink vinyl. I couldn't care less for the Neurosis song, but the Soilent Green side is a cntender for best Sabbath cover in the series:

I'm guessing that to most Black Sabbath fans, the idea of Converge, Cave In & Soilent Green covering their songs sounds horrendous. However, I disagree completely. What most of these bands do is take the Sabbath songs and make them heavier, but without straying to far from the original versions. I would even seriously say that some of these versions are actually better than the originals. And yes, I am a big Sabbath fan. In fact, I'm going to do you a favour and give you a chance to judge for yourselves. I've uploaded all the Sabbath covers, so that you can download them and form your own opinion. These songs are all ripped from my records, but you wouldn't know that, because the quality is so fucking good. You'd be excused for thinking that these songs were from the CD that Hydrahead never got around to releasing. Here ya go:

http://www.sendspace.com/file/koj8nf

Now, what I'm interested in is what people think is the best Sabbath cover in this series. I'm so interested, in fact, that I'm going to run my first ever poll. You have until midday on Hallows Eve to vote. I'm voting for Botch. Come on!