Wednesday 29 April 2009

The Prodigal Son Brings Death

The latest release from Youngblood Records is a 7" by Mind Eraser entitled 'The Prodigal Son Brings Death' 7". The pre-orders went up for this in early December, and the demand was so high that the Youngblood online store got taken down later the same day. Unfortunately, I missed out on the first press colours. Given that I have nearly every version of every YB release, I was pretty disappointed. Oh well. It's just a matter of time before I pick them up on eBay I guess. Anyway, last week I discovered that the second press is now available, so I bagged myself one. 354 on red vinyl:

There are 10 songs on this 7". There's also the most useless lyric sheet in the world. Well, I assume it's a lyric sheet. I can't actually tell, since it's pretty much illegible. Check it:

This band destroys. I heard they were touring Europe his summer. I can't find anything about it on the internet, but I hope its true.

Monday 27 April 2009

Never Give In!

Recently it has seemed like there have been a lot of opportunities to pick things up that I have been after for a long time. For the most part, this is cool, although there is a downside - which is that, unfortunately, these things aren't free. Every time I find some cool records, even if they are going at a reasonable price, I still have to pay for them. And whilst I love records, I hate spending money. So when Dave Byrd posted up his whole trade list for sale recently, I saw a great opportunity to pick up some things that have been on my want list for way too long... although I did worry that I was probably going to miss my monthly savings target. Oh well... there's always next month!

Avail are a band that I always liked, but whose records I never bought (well, that's not strictly true, I used to have their 7"s and the live 10", but I traded them away in the years of the Revelation trade board and I never got around to getting them back). Recently, as part of my "get everything I have on vinyl onto my ipod" challenge, I downloaded the first Avail LP and have been listening to it a lot for the first time in a LONG time. And it made me want to get the other records too. So I was took the opportunity to pick up most of their output in one go:

Next, another goddamn copy of that Blacklisted record. I think that clear vinyl is my favourite colour though, all things considered.

This next one is my favourite of the lot. American Nightmare 'The Sun Isn't Getting Any Brighter' 7" on orange:

There were only 100 of these made, back in (I think) 2001, and it has been on my want list ever since. I have missed out on this on eBay several times, mainly due to the price continually going up and me never quite being prepared to pay what it would take. I figured it was time to put that right.

Next, the A-Team 'Clusterfuck' 7" on orange. Not a lot to say about this one.

Crippled Youth 7" on clear. Again, it's been on the wants list for a long time. Too long.Four Walls Falling 7" on mint green. I have it on clear green. I didn't know the mint green existed until I saw it in a friend's collection in 2005. It's been on the want list since. No more.

My Luck 'Is Frozen' 7" on purple. I ordered this record when it came out & got sent orange. Purple is the rarest colour, which I have had on my want list for years.

Time Flies first 7" on clear. This is the first press on InVAsion Records. Again, this has been on my want list forever. Probably for about 9 or 10 years. Another one that I have missed several times on eBay.

I really like this next one. Wheelbite 7" on Malfunction Records. This is a limited version with the 'Wheeljungen' cover:

The back cover says that there are 46 copies. And it's numbered in the top right cover. Interestingly, the number is stamped using a stamp with 6 digits. My guess is that they set the first three digits to 666 and then numbered from 1 to 46 using the last two digits. If this assumption is correct then it looks like I have number 001. Can anyone confirm this?

I've seen this on eBay before, but never knew that the cover is printed on the flip side of a Barfight 7" sleeve:

There's also a cool insert explaining the cover:

Finally, Dave was kind enough to throw in something extra, which was a nice surprise. The Set To Explode 7", on red vinyl with silver labels. There were only 50 with silver labels (the rest of the press had red labels).

There was also a cool personal message on the dust sleeve:

And inside were some lyrics penned on a piece of note paper. I asked what this was, and it turns out to be the sheet that Dave used to sing from when the 7" was recorded, so a nice little piece of history related to this record.

Overall I'm stoked with this stuff, and glad to reduce my wants list for a change. Not often that happens these days.

Tuesday 21 April 2009

Black Flag - Who's Got The 10½ on Purple?

The answer is, of course, me. Although you wouldn't guess it to look at this picture:

The colour only reveals itself when held to the light, at which point it looks a bit like this:


I won this on eBay. Fourth time lucky. The first couple of times I watched it for a few days and then just forgot to bid and the auction ended. Third time was only a couple of weeks ago. It sold for more than I expected and I didn't win. It went for £16. Then another one appeared and I got it for £6. So it took a while, but at least it feels like a good deal. I used to own this in a previous life. I bought this album from (I think) HMV on Oxford Street in about 1992. A couple of years later, when I sold all of my Black Flag records, it went out the door. Nice to be reunited with it. Not really one that most people are bothered about, but in my quest to get all Black Flag coloured vinyl, it's a must.

Not sure how many more colour Flag records are out there. Ones I know I am missing are 'Damaged' on clear purple, and 'My War' on both blue and red. Apart from that I don't think there are any. If anyone knows of what's out there please let me know.

Monday 20 April 2009

Bargain 7"s

A pretty unremarkable day here. Two 7"s I picked up on eBay for cheap. First, a Wind Of Change 7":

This one is a "special pressing of 100". Not sure what the difference is to the regular version. Don't know if its a different insert or different cover, since this is the only copy of this record I have. Anyone know the score?

From the same seller, a Piece By Piece 7", Posi Fest 2004 edition:

Not the best record of all time, but a good one to add to the Malfunction collection, and a good deal at only $2.99.

Sunday 19 April 2009

The Blackest Curse

Back in January 2007, Pulling Teeth played a set of Integrity covers with Dwid on vocals. The band went by the name THE BLACKEST CURSE. A year later, a limited LP was pressed of the recording of this show, which was sold only at the A389 Records 5 year anniversary show in Baltimore. I didn't go, but luckily managed to get a hold of one of these records through a friend. After a lot of waiting, it finally arrived this week:

I'm slightly disappointed by the artwork on this thing. In one way its cool. I like the black paper used for the sleeve, and the minimalist packaging... but at the same time, it's a little bit of a let down. I'm not sure why exactly, it just is. Still, I'm lucky as hell to have one, I shouldn't complain. There were only 125 copies made.

The other cool thing is that the dude who sent me this told me he also found an Iron Boots test press that he had forgotten he owned, and asked me if I wanted it. By the time the package turned up weeks later, I'd forgotten about it too, so it was a nice surprise to find this as an "extra":

The funny thing is that I don't even own the regular version of this record. It's the only Iron Boots record I don't own. I need to sort that out.

The only bad thing about this stuff is that I owe for it. And I hate being in debt. Pressure to find something good to repay the favour. Bear with me dude, I will sort you out, I promise. Oh, and once again - Thanks!

Saturday 18 April 2009

Higher Learning

If you're a collector you sometimes do stupid things. For example, you might buy something that you don't really want because you feel that you NEED to own it. Here's a classic example - Down To Nothing 'Higher Learning' 7" on Orange:

Why did I feel compelled to buy it? Well, because I've been collecting Revelation records for many years, and my brain tells me that something isn't right if there's one that I don't have. Getting this has made life feel slightly easier because now I have the full set:

Pressing info on this one is:
1st Press - Purple (104), Orange (328), Yellow (614)
2nd press - Green (500)
3rd Press - Blue (524 made)

Interestingly, I hated this when it came out, because it has whack cover art and was pressed on crappie euro vinyl. But owning 5 colours and placing them side by side for this pic, I thought they looked kinda cool. The moral therefore seems to be that if you own a crap record, buy four more versions of it!

Thursday 16 April 2009

Over The Line 7"

The second post in two days about a 7" by a band whose name starts with the word 'over', this is the new 7" by OVER THE LINE. As usual, Livewire Records have pressed only 300 copies, with two colours of vinyl:

I'm not actually sure what the pressing info is on this one. On the Livewire homepage they say 200 Red and 100 Blue. However, in a previous article on Livewire they said there were 200 Blue and 100 Red. So yeah, there's 200 of one colour and 100 of the other. As usual with Livewire releases, the packaging is pretty impressive, and this 7" comes with a large fold-out poster.

I don't know much about this band. I think they were around back in about '97, did a demo and then disappeared. Then they came back a couple of years later and recorded some more and then disappeared again. So I think that this recording is from about '99... but I might be wrong. Anyway, I'm not sure if I'm into this or not. I listened to it about 3 or 4 times now and it doesn't really grab me too much. That said, however, there's a song called "Dead Eyes" which I am into because there are moments where it sounds just like BURN to me, which is always a good thing. I'd link you to a myspace page so you could check them out, but I think this is the only band in the known universe to not have one. So instead you can preview one song on Livewire HERE (mp3 link is at the end of the first paragraph).

Tuesday 14 April 2009

Overstand 'Kali Yuga' 7"

About 7 years after I ordered it, I got my Overstand 7".

I don't really know anything about this band. Former member of Charge apparently, although I have never in my life heard Charge before, so that doesn't mean a lot to me. To be honest, I only really bought this to support my friend Adam who put this out on his label, The Essence. I got some numbered version:

I don't know what the pressing info is on this. I think there was going to be only like 300 total or thereabouts. Not sure what the difference is between the version I got and the regular version either.

Anyway, considering I had no real expectations for this thing, I'm into it. I played it a few times and I like these songs. The first song, 'Brainwash Mind Games' is probably my favourite, it has some Annihilation Time type rock guitar riff going on which I am into a lot. But there are 4 good songs here. I'd recommend checking this band out and picking up a 7" before it vanishes. To help you, here's a couple of links.

First up, the band can be found and listened to here:

http://www.myspace.com/​overs​tandn​j

And the label can be found here:

http://www.myspace.com/​thees​sence​hc

Enjoy!

Friday 10 April 2009

Redlisted

One of my favourite releases in recent years, the Blacklisted 'Our Youth Is Wasted' 12". This red vinyl copy came with free tear in the bottom of the cover. Lucky me.

Tuesday 7 April 2009

Wolfpack!

Today's entry comes courtesy of my man in Japan, Dobek. He sold a whole bunch of records recently so that he could buy another record, so I picked up something I'd never heard before - The New York Wolfpack LP:

What I know about this band you could write on the back of a postage stamp. The vocalist was Steve Reddy, who owns Equal Vision Records. If you want to know more about this band, read the only known interview HERE.

Monday 6 April 2009

Capital LPs

Once again I got suckered into buying a record for the cover. I was checking Revelation's website a few weeks back & this picture of a church against a blue sky caught my eye. The picture in question was the cover of an album called "Homefront" by a band called CAPITAL. I liked the picture, so decided to read about the band. Then I decided to order the record.

I think there were 300 copies on gold vinyl. Blue vinyl also exists, which I think is rarer. I also decided to order the band's first album too, since it's uneconomical to buy just one record, with the crazy exchange rate and postage rates. I bought two versions of this one:

Even though I was initially attracted by the cover photo, I'm glad that something drew me to this band. I can't say enough good things about this. I don't know exactly what to say, so I am just going to tell you the things I like in no particular order:

1. The singer used to sing for a band called Silent Majority. I used to listen to this band a lot.

2. There's a song called "On A Mission", which is a story of how the singer discovered the "New York City Hardcore - The Way It Is" LP in a second hand record store. The lyrics are fantastic. The chorus is "And now I've spent half my life just chasing that excitement of hearing something new", which somehow seems to sum my life up perfectly.

3. There's a song on the first album called "Early Nineties", which features the line "I tried searching for the light, then I cried the holy name". As far as I am concerned, references to early 90s records are cool.

4. They have a song called "Goth N Roll" which is about shitty fake bands, which features really great lyrics, the best bit being "I'm resurrecting Minor Threat just to take you out. All you scream about are dead girls bleeding hearts and fake worlds. As you can see, I'm not that frightened". Genius!

5. Both albums were recorded in a local kindergarten for free. Talk about punk!

It's not often that a band can come along and make me want to like them so badly. I guess this band just seem to sum up what hardcore is to me. Musically they sound like a few bands from the more melodic end of the spectrum. I can hear bits of bands like Silent Majority (obviously), Avail, Death By Stereo, Dag Nasty, Strike Anywhere and Quicksand. The songs are catchy. But its more the band's principles, intelligence and sincerity that I'm into at this point.

You can check the band out here:

www.myspace.com/capitallihc

If you want to order any records, the vinyl is on Underground Communiqué, which you can find here:

www.myspace.com/undergroundcommuniquerecords

Enjoy...

Saturday 4 April 2009

Jazz June Test

I'm not sure how you would define this band. Emo rock? I'm not a huge fan of stuff like this, but I got into this band many years ago because one of my favourite labels at the time (Initial Records) put out a 7" by them. I really liked the record, so then tracked down a couple of 12"s. My favorite was their first album, "They Love Those Who Make The Music". I played this to death back in 1998 or so. Anyway, I was checking eBay recently and found a test press of it. I figured I would bid, and was extremely surprised to win it for only $15... especially since the same seller had another Jazz June test that went for $63. It's always good to pick up something nice for a bargain price.

I hadn't played the regular version of the record for years, so I got it out to compare. This is what my copy looks like:

What's interesting is that my regular version of this album was a split release between Choke & Workshop Records. But the matrix on this test press has a Workshop code (WR-011V-A & WR-011V-B), whereas the regular record has a different matrix that reads "Choke 2A" & "Choke 2B". So I immediately wondered if the test I picked up is a test press of an earlier pressing or a later repress, or is it a possibly an initial test press that was rejected for some reason? I asked the seller. He thinks that the original pressing of the album was on Workshop Records and on black vinyl, and the split release with Choke Records that I have was a later version. Which would suggest that my test press is a test of the original version. But not sure I'll ever know. Regardless, it's still a nice one to have.

Friday 3 April 2009

1986 > 2009

This week I received the latest Dischord colour vinyl re-issue. The Embrace LP.

In my opinion, this is probably the best Dischord release of all time. Such a good record, and one which has stood the test of time for me. These songs never get old or boring. It's nice to own this on colour vinyl, and great that Dischord had it pressed somewhere decent, unlike some of the recent re-issues which came on crappy vinyl with paper thin sleeves.

Whilst shopping, I also picked up an LP by a band called ONE LAST WISH. The album is called "1986". The band was made up of 3 people who would later go on to form Fugazi, and Michael Hampton (who was also in Embrace and SOA). This album has just been issued for the first time on vinyl, previously being available on CD only.

It may be 23 years since these songs were recorded, but this has aged well. I'd never heard this band before, but I've been spinning this a lot the past couple of days. I'd highly recommend checking it out. I was never a big fan of Fugazi, but this record is great. It kind of mixes the best elements of Embrace, Rites Of Spring and Fugazi. And even though they only existed for 8 months in 1986, they still have a myspace, so if you don't trust me and aren't sure whether you should part with the few dollars it would take to own this, you can try before you buy. Go here:

www.myspace.com/onelastwishdc

Thursday 2 April 2009

Forgotten Trade

Apologies for the lack of updates recently. Posting on here has definitely slowed down, due to the exchange rate. Only a few months ago I was getting something new every two or three days, and now I'm getting maybe one parcel a week. Things are gonna get better for the next few days though, since I've just received a few items in the last couple of days.

Anyway, on to today's update... I did a rare "in person" trade a couple of weeks ago, but I'm only just getting around to posting about it here because I placed the records in a stupid place in my room, so I immediately forgot about them (I guess I probably wouldn't have misplaced them if they were exciting though, haha!). First up is an Ignition 7":

I'm not a big Ignition fan if I'm honest. I always thought they were one of the weaker Dischord bands. I have the CD with everything on, and it never really grabbed me as anything special. I still wanted this 7" though. I like the art and the vinyl colour. This one also comes on blue. Both colours seem to sell for about $15 these days. Not a bad price for a Dischord half number, in my opinion. Anyway, if someone can tell me about Ignition I'd appreciate it. Tell me something that is gonna make me more excited than I am now. Please.

Second 7" is a Wind Of Change 7" called "A Promise Kept" (inspiration for the Champion LP name perhaps?)

I guess the most noteworthy point of this 7" is that it's on Step Forward Records, which is the label that released the first pressing of the Unit Pride 7".

I like it when the record contains pressing info. As you can see, there were 1000 copies of this one made back in June 1988.

This was just before I started skateboarding. I guess the me of 1988 would have found this band cool as hell... although, looking back, it's difficult for me to take a band seriously who looked like this:

(Photo borrowed from Double Cross)

It's not often that a record makes me laugh, but this one did. Check it here:

I just love how they apologise for messing up and missing a song off the record, yet at the same time tell you that if you want to hear it you have to spend more money. Fantastic!

If you want to read a recent interview with one of the dudes in the band, there's a good one on Double Cross HERE