I would like to point out that this here entry marks my 100th post. A landmark achievement. Also, my little cluster map tells me that this site has now had over 5000 views. Not bad considering I never really publicised it or really expected more than about three people (including me) to read it. So I'm pleased with the progress. Thanks to anyone who reads & comments!
Next a quick explanation... I haven't made a post on here for ages now. My last entry was over a week ago. This is the longest I have gone without posting anything since I started this thing, which is due (mainly) to having no free time at all recently. Work has been insane, and there were also things going on outside work. So now I'm trying to catch up with a whole range of things, this being one.
However, the other reason that this hasn't been updated is that I haven't actually acquired many new records recently. A few weeks ago I was expecting something like 18 parcels at the same time, and I seemed to get something in the mail every day for two weeks straight. But I haven't had anything for over a week now. This is largely due to the value of the UK currency falling against the dollar. For all of 2008 the UK pound has bought me nearly two US dollars, but in the last two months the rate has been sliding, and current sits at circa $1.5 to the £. This month the exchange rate reached the lowest rate I have ever known, around 1.43. This means, of course, that even though prices have stayed the same in dollars, records from the States have become 25% more expensive for me. I've hardly bid on anything on eBay this past month as a result. Previously records were dirt cheap. Now they feel expensive. The situation is not good. Suddenly it feels like I am being affected by the goddamn world economic crisis. And with UK interest rates likely to fall, the situation is only likely to get worse. Balls.
Anyway, enough whining. Today's entry is something I am stoked about. I picked up some test pressings of some old UK hardcore records. These bands were mainly active around the early to mid 90s. These records are special to me because some of these bands introduced me to hardcore. And some of them had people in that I knew and respected. There's more of a personal connection to these than most records.
First up, a test press of the ABOVE ALL 7" on Sure Hand records:
This band came from Southend. The best show I saw them play was around December '94 in Bradford at the 1in12 club. They supported Earth Crisis. This was when Earth Crisis only had two 7"s out, before their first LP dropped. Earth Crisis were the buzz band at the time. But Above All came on and completely blew Earth Crisis off the stage. They could have achieved great things if they hadn't signed to Roadrunner & turned into a metal band. This 7" represents their best output. An incredible record.
Next up, a test of the DEAD WRONG 7" on Armed With Anger Records:
Dead Wrong were, I would say, one of the earlier bands pushing the boundaries between hardcore, rock & emo. I guess they would have been on Dischord had they happened to reside in Washington DC (if you hear this you will know what I mean). When I went to university in September 1993 I met their guitarist Rob, who introduced me to several bands I would otherwise not have heard. He sold me a Rorschach 7" for £2. I will never forget that. Not long after I saw his band play & was blown away. Back then it was like nothing I had heard. Great dude, great band, great record.
Next is a test of the KITO 7" on Armed With Anger Records:
I saw this band the very first time I went to the 1in12 Club in Bradford for a two day hardcore festival. I think this was late 1993, or maybe 1994. I can't remember exactly. But Kito played and I thought they were great, although kinda scary. Something about the club and the band felt kinda dangerous, and I wasn't entirely comfortable being there.. although, at the same time, I didn't want to leave. Shows weren't predictable back then like they are these days. This record takes me back to that time & place. An interesting time in my life.
Next, a test press of the UNDERSTAND 7" on Armed With Anger Records:
These guys were so far ahead of their time. They always got compared to Quicksand or Fugazi, although I don't think either of those comparisons is really very accurate. But back then, if you weren't doing mosh metal or thrash punk then you were probably gonna get compared to Quicksand. Understand used to support all of the touring US bands of the era, such as Sick Of It All, Helmet, Into Another and CIV. They also toured the States and attracted the interest of Equal Vision Records, who put out a 7" circa 1995. They were shit hot, and (familiar story) got signed by a major label, alienated themselves from the hardcore scene, had an album come out which didn't do very well, then split up. A couple of years later a band called Hundred Reasons came along and did something not too dissimilar and sold hundreds of thousands of records, even though they sucked big time. I guess life isn't fair sometimes.
Next, a test of the STALINGRAD 7" on Armed With Anger Records.I'm particularly stoked on this one, since the actual 7" that was released was a picture disc. So having a non-picture disc version is kinda cool.Here's a pic of the test next to the proper 7":
This band also played the first 1in12 festival that I went to. This was without doubt the scariest band I had ever seen in my life up to that point. Come to think of it, I have never seen a scarier band since. The singer (god knows why I'm referring to him as a singer, what he did could never be described as 'singing'!) spent half his time walking around the crowd screaming in people's faces. I'd never seen anything like that at the time. The dude had a shaved head and wore big Doc Martins and looked like he was trying to figure out which member of the audience he was going to kill first. I spent most of the time hoping that he didn't come anywhere near me. Fuck, I so wish I could go back in time & watch that show again. I'm intrigued as to whether, 14 years later with hundreds of shows under my belt, I would still be scared. Probably.
Finally, a test of the IRONSIDE 7" on Subjugation Records. The interesting thing about this one is that it comes with two different sleeves:
This is also the first test press I have ever seen that has the proper label on one side. I guess the point of this is to also check if the labels would come out as the label hoped.
I never actually saw this band. I think they played the festival I went to that I have mentioned twice already, but I missed them for some reason. In fact, I never got to see them play. But I remember picking up the 7" from a record shop in Leeds called Bad. I was amazed that this was a UK band. So good.
I was going to post up MP3s of these records so that anyone unfamiliar with these bands could check them out. But I don't have time. However, I will post them up later if people would be interested. Let me know via comments. If I get a sense that people would appreciate hearing these things then I will make the effort to post them up.
7 comments:
Best post yet!
Wow, this post really took me back in time...I only have the Dead Wrong and Stalingrad 7 inches, but seeing all those familiar names, like Kito and Understand, was like taking a time machine back to when my only resourse for new hardcore vinyl was through Ebullition mailorder. Damn, throw Bob Tilton and Voorhees onto that list of bands and it would be damn near complete for me.
Yep, deffo best yet.
I think I had secret beef w/ you back in the day because you said something in your zine about not being into people wearing slayer shirts at hc shows, and all i ever wore were slayer shirts, or powell peralta wade speyer versions of slayer shirts.
Wierdly I can't even remember Above All playing w/ ExC. I was so giddy to hear to ExC, I remember they were all sitting on the floor behind the pool table in the 1in12 and I kept walking past with my CAPTIVE NATION RISING cd in my hand that I'd just bought from Nick Royles, I figured they'd see it and realise I was down with the VEGAN SXE (and still am, but less likely to be interested whether or not "man defiles man" or if "women deny life" these days), anyways Karl was not exactly friendly (posi mike says he's still the same), but one of the other guys wanted to talk about the exchange rate (somethings never change).
ExC played at the 1in12 on two successive nights, i was and still am deeply troubled that some assclowns went to see DOG EAT DOG on the second night. Fuck that.
I absolutely adored IRONSIDE, i thought Arms was hella scary, i even bought some baggy STA-HI jeans and teamed them with DM boots to copy him. I was heart broken when they were no longer an edge band. Nathan and I were like utter fanboys when Arms came down to do vocals on our cover of Skincrawl last month, it should be out in the new year.
"Secret beef" is a good comment. I remember the comment you refer to though. I ranted about people being into metal and showing that off at shows via shirt choice. But it was secretly aimed at specific people. A specific group of kids in Leeds who had discovered hardcore about a year before, and then a year later I could see that they thought they had somehow outgrown it, and tried to prove this by wearing metal shirts. All I saw was that a bunch of metal kids had temporaily got into hardcore, had been embarrassed about & tried to hide their metal past, and then decided that actually hardcore was rubbish after all and metal was better and they wanted to shove that in peoples' faces. It annoyed me that people were effectively saying that hardcore was a stepping stone to metal. In my experience, for most people it is the other way round. But I by no means dislike metal or Slayer or people that like it. Just idiots.
Still, you can't say that all you wore were Slayer shirts. I distinctly remember seeing a Mean Season shirt at a show at Rio's (Strife & SOIA maybe?), and I'm sure that you mentioned on the old D&G board that you were the wearer of said shirt :o)
As for that show, I saw Earth Crisis on both days. I didn't even realise some people went to see Dog Eat Dog instead. Haha! I do know that Rob from Understand once "played" (i.e. pretended to play) guitar for Dog Eat Dog on Top Of The Pops though, and he got paid £90 for his services. But I have no memory of any other bands playing those two days at all. I went to both days and watched all the bands, and I've seen a listing and there were loads of bands each day. But all I remember is Above All and Earth Crisis. My memory is usually really good, so I find this weird.
Never liked Above All, kinda liked Understand (thought they were top notch guys tho) as for the others:
Ironside I digged, Kito were ok but the vocals always put me off, Stalingrad I digged also and Dead Wrong were the pick of that bunch for me. Almost a great Born Against vibe going on and really well done. Talking of Dead Wrong I actually bumped into their guitarist in Leeds about 2 month ago, he was working in size shoe store. Good to catch up with him even if I can't remember his name. Also anyone remember that HATE EDGE zine done to coincide with Ironside done by Jim Rushby!! Finally I was at the first E Crisis gig also, I remember them looking like car thieves! Sure I have a few pictures of that show somewhere.
ha ha yeah hate edge, with the kids will have their say rip off cover; it was 10p! ha ha
Bands like Stalingrad, Ironside, Above All, Underclass, Hard to Swallow, John Holmes, Slavearc, etc., really make me wish I'd lived in the UK in the 90s. FUCK.
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