Your Favorite Trainwreck LP

Probably about two or so years ago I got some email from someone in the States asking me to review a split 7" featuring a band called Your Favorite Trainwreck. It did peak my interest a bit because the email said it featured the vocalists from Farside & Gameface, two bands that I enjoyed a lot when they were active. I think the email may have linked me to an mp3 or something. Dude seemed to have missed the point of what my blog was. I said I would feature the record if he actually sent me a record. He never did. A couple of years later and a full length has just dropped. I wasn't sure whether to bother with it, but after checking a couple of songs online and finding them better than I expected, I figured it was worth picking up.

I got this from RevHQ. It's not on Revelation, but you'd be forgiven for thinking it was as bits of the packaging look just like Rev releases, such as the 'color vinyl' sticker and the Revelation logo on the back of the sleeve.

As much as I like this record, I think this is a poor example of a gatefold sleeve. Pictures of some random crap. I'm getting a massive deja-vu vibe from this but I can't for the life of me figure out what it is that this reminds me of.

After being initially unimpressed with this LP, I have since found myself playing it every day for the past week or two. Popeye from Farside takes lead vocal duties on a couple of songs, and the way I see it, his voice is/was Farside. So these songs may as well be Farside songs in my book. And given that Farside are one of my all time favourite bands, this is not a bad thing. Jeff Caudill also has a great voice, and the songs that he leads on are also good, and again, because of the vocal, just make me think of the later Gameface stuff. Ok, so there are a couple of songs that have keyboards in, and although these irritated me at first, I now barely notice. And as was the case with the Gypsy LP a couple of months ago, I can feel this LP still growing on me with every listen. At this rate it may well make my best of the year list, if I do one. It's just a shame about the record cover though, which is (by anyone's standards) pretty damn awful. Still, once I file it away I'll never have to see it again, so it's not too much of an issue.

ISIS 'Oceanic' Clear

I never set out to collect ISIS records. I mean, I like the band an' all, but I was happy enough with one copy of each record at the time when each record came out. But especially in the later years of the band's existence, they sent record collecting into new territory, whereupon each release got reissued time and time again on many different colours of vinyl. The original pressings of each record weren't TOO bad, with probably an average of three colours each. But then the re-pressings started coming, and I just completely lost track of where it got to, especially as most were done on horrible splattery vinyl which I hate. Ugh.

Still, as far as I'm concerned, the original pressings on the original labels on good old US vinyl are still cool, and I am always tempted when they pop up for sale. As such I couldn't resist this clear vinyl copy of 'Oceanic' on Escape Artist Records.

I think this is second press. I already have both first press green colours. There are also two third press colours on this label, then a whole host of reissue colours that came years later. For once though, I don't want any more than what I already have. I'm done here.

Power Trip

Thrash. Crossover. Hardcore. Whatever. I don't know what the correct genre description would be for the band Power Trip. I generally don't believe in genres. All I know is that I like this 7". To me, it sounds like the last couple of Iron Age records, which I totally loved.

This 7" is on Lockin' Out Records, which I didn't realise was still going to be honest. This purple vinyl is the regular color. The limited version was black I believe.

As usual, I'm so far behind that there's now a second press of this one on clear red vinyl. I don't plan on picking that one up but then again, you never know.

Pelican 'Ataraxia / Taraxis'

I haven't listened to Pelican much these past couple of years since their last album came out. But I went to see them play a couple of months ago, which was a nice reminder of how good they still are, and now there's a new record out. 'Ataraxia / Taraxis' is on Southern Lord and contains four 'songs'. It starts out quietly and then builds into the usual chugging riffs for the remaining songs. Unsurprisingly, if you already like the band then you'll like this as it is no great departure from their previous records, despite the last song on their last album hint that they may start experimenting by adding vocals.

I've seen this on clear, 'bone', black and the blue vinyl that I picked up. No idea what the pressing info is for this one. Anyone know?

Oh, also I picked up a spare if anyone in the UK wants it. Get in touch if you do.

Surprise Tests

I read something on Nick's blog recently that struck a chord with me. Here's what he said:

I always say bid, even if you believe you can't win. The reason is because no one does that. They think they can't win, and decide not to waste their time. Or they forget about the auction cause they're not excited enough to win it, because they don't think they can win.

I can now attest to this being great advice. Here's the proof...

A couple of weeks ago I stumbled across a test press for sale on eBay that I wanted. I then checked out the seller's other items & saw that he was selling two other tests, both of which I also kinda wanted. But I figured that people would probably go after these, especially as the seller was selling three tests at the same time, and was thus three times as likely to pull in the buyers as if he were selling only one. So I clicked 'watch' and sat back to see what would happen...

Well, after a few days the last couple of hours of the auction came around and I was surprised to see that all three records were still sitting at pretty low prices. Now, I really thought that other people would be going after these things, and that at least one of them would go for big money. I figured that, as usual, all the action would go down in the last sixty seconds. But even though I didn't think I would win any of these auctions, I remembered Nick's advice and decided to bid anyway. So I put in my bids and then went to bed.

In the morning when I awoke I was pleasantly surprised for two reasons. Firstly, because I ended up winning all three records, and secondly, because they all sold for what I consider to be low prices. So what were they?

Firstly, a test press of the Internal Affairs LP on Malfunction Records. I always liked Internal Affairs but I consider this LP to be their best record. This one comes in a sleeve and is numbered out of 20 copies. I won this one for $26.55.

The second record is for a test press of the first Metroschifter LP. Unfortunately this is not the original pressing on Slamdek records, but the reissue on Conversion Records. Still, it's a nice one to have. This comes in a paper dust sleeve and has the standard Erika labels. This one ended on only $19.41, even though there were 7 bids. That means that there were 6 other people other than me who wanted this, but I guess none of them wanted it enough to pay more than $19... which almost suggests they didn't really want it at all.

And here's a pic of the test next to the regular sleeve as it makes for a more interesting photo.

And finally, the one I wanted most. This is a test pressing of the 108 'Holyname' LP on Equal Vision Records. I figured this would sell for a reasonable amount, but somehow I won it for only $27.

And again, here's a pic of the test next to the regular sleeve.

The only thing that's weird about this one is that I got the regular record out to compare that the matrix is the same (which I actually do for all tests I receive), and lo & behold they are different. This suggests that there were two pressings of this record, probably a few years apart, and possibly using different pressing plants. But now I'm not sure which version my regular copy of the record is. I bought mine about two years after this record originally came out. Does that mean that the copy I have owned for about 18 years is a first press, or a repress? And if I have the first press, then what does the second press look like? Does it have different labels or insert or anything? Anyone got a copy so we can compare notes?

Give Up

A few weeks ago I spotted a couple of Give 7"s on eBay that I wanted. Or rather, I spotted three Give 7"s I wanted. The last three 7"s (on Triple B, Painkiller & Youngblood Records) all came with limited tour sleeves featuring 'temporary' members of the band. I saw all three for sale and figured I would get them all at one time.

First up, the 'Petal Pushing' 7" on Painkiller Records with the 'Doug Free' cover. 115 were made for the React! Records showcase in September 2011 that I didn't go to.

And unfortunately, that's where the 'buy all three limited sleeves at one go' plan came to an end. I was outbid on the one on Triple B records, and then I won the one on Youngblood records. Or rather, I thought I did. But then when it sold for only $10 I started to think maybe something wasn't right. Seems that I misread the description of the record. It said something about record release version. It did, however, not say record release sleeve. And given that I didn't previously own a copy of the Youngblood Records 7" at all, I didn't know that this was not one of the limited sleeves. So I won it and then realised it was just a regular copy of the record on clear vinyl. I don't think there's anything special about this one at all. Whoops! Still, I can't complain too much as I didn't previously own a single copy of this 7" at all.

I'm sure that Mike will be glad to hear that I didn't get two out of three after all. I imagine he's laughing at his screen as he reads this.

Repress HQ Order

Got my big RevHQ order on Friday last week. I originally ordered some records which were showing as pre-orders. Then the Chain T-shirt / poster thing happened, so I placed another order for that. Then the YOT reissue LPs appeared, and then the Quicksand 7" on green. So I decided that placing a third order seemed stupid. So I emailed and asked to add to my existing orders and have everything sent at one go. Emails went back and forth and it took weeks to resolve. But eventually it arrived safely in a giant box.

When opened, I found a lot of these polystyrene packing beads:

And underneath was another, smaller box:

Which, when opened, was found to contain more polystyrene packing beads:

In the end the pile of records probably accounted for about a quarter of the space in the big box. The rest was polystyrene. Pretty funny.

Anyway, this order contained the latest repressings of some of Rev's classics. Being a Rev nut I needed to buy these things yet again.

In case you're not sure of what's what from the picture, here's a list:

Youth of Today 'Break Down The Walls' LP on Red

Youth of Today 'We're Not In This Alone' LP on white

Sensefield 'Killed For Less' LP on green

In My Eyes 'The Difference Between' LP on purple

In My Eyes 'Nothing To Hide' LP on green

Ignite 'Call On My Brothers' LP on orange

Into Another 'S/T' LP on gold

Farside 'Rigged' LP on red

Kiss It Goodbye 'She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not' LP on white

Quicksand 'S/T' 7" on green

And finally, at the front is the one exception - the one that isn't a repress, but a new release (of old songs) - the Rev 25 LP, on blue.

Tarpit / Victim Record Releases

Here's a two record lot I won on eBay recently that would probably do quite well in a 'crap but vaguely amusing record covers' competition. These two are both copies of the same record, a split 7" between Tarpit & Victim on Last Anthem Records. I always liked Tarpit and I really like their LP, but in all honesty I'm not sure why I felt the need to add two more copies of this record to my collection. I think sometimes I will just buy something if it's cheap and if there's not much else to buy that week. Anyway, both versions with very high quality covers as you can see. The first is the Burt Reynolds record release cover #8/55:

The second is the Get Real record release cover #1/50. I can only assume this was for a show that Tarpit played with Get Real. But not sure why one record gets two release show covers. I assume one was for the Tarpit release show and one the Victim release show, but I'm just speculating. Anyone know for sure?

Well, now that's over please remember to come back tomorrow for more high quality releases.

Voorhees Colour LPs

I arranged a trade a few weeks ago with Mike. He sent me a white vinyl OFF! LP and I was to send him a red vinyl copy of the Voorhees 'Spilling Blood Without Reason' LP that he'd seen on eBay. The only problem was that I didn't actually have a copy of this record myself at the time. I was aware that it existed, but for whatever reason I hadn't picked one up myself when it came out. The colour vinyl copies that were made last year constitute the third pressing of this LP, this time released by Grot Records. I was going to say that these were pressed in time for the Voorhees reunion show last year... but then I searched youtube and realised that the Voorhees reunion show was two years ago! Jesus christ, how time flies these days! Anyway, I thought these were pressed in time for this show, but now I'm not sure as I didn't think they came out two years ago. But clearly I have no idea, especially as I didn't go (because travelling more than ten miles to do anything seems like too much effort). Maybe Lecky can correct me?

This album was originally released in 1994 by good old Armed With Anger Records. The first time I ever heard it was when I did a trade with Lecky back then and he added two copies of this LP into the package. At the time I was at my Dad's house in Southend, and the copies he sent me were not for me, but to give to Rob from UNDERSTAND and Tony from ABOVE ALL. I was supposed to just pass these copies on to those dudes as a favour to Lecky, but I couldn't resist playing the record a few times first. After this I was tempted to pass on one and sneakily keep one for myself, but in the end I passed both on as I had agreed to do. I then had to buy myself a copy of the record. Pah.

This LP then went on to become a modern classic. Ten years after its initial release, it was re-pressed by Zandor records. Just like the original press on AWA, there was no colour vinyl. So, these colour copies are the first colour copies in the record's history. Yet until Mike mentioned them I wasn't really bothered. I guess that's mainly because there are a lot of reissues & repressings these days, and I'm tying to stay happy with my originals in an effort to save both money & shelf space. But as soon as Mike mentioned this, I realised that I did want them after all, mainly because it would be cool to finally own this record on colour vinyl after owning it on black for so many years. So I was lucky enough to get one of each colour.

Clear with red splatter is limited to 100 copies. I'd like to say that this was for the reunion show, but I can't be sure anymore.

Red vinyl is out of 400 copies. You can still pick this one up from the Grot records store.

One of these days I might even get Mike's copy into the mail, rather than just keeping it in a mailer on my floor. You never know. Weirder things have happened.

Reason To Believe 7" Blue

Latest addition to my Reason To Believe collection. The 7" on Nemesis Records on blue vinyl. Not much else to say about this one really.

Still looking for this one on purple. If anyone can help I will reward you handsomely.

Bacteria Sour Volume 2

It's funny, sometimes I can feel myself drawn towards certain bands or records over time. I think a lot of it has to do with art work, although sometimes it's completely inexplicable. Just a feeling that I want to get involved with something.

Over the last couple of months I have found myself taken with Pushead's releases. I have a small number of his releases in my collection from bands I like (Strain, Jawbox, Sunny Day Real Estate), but I've never felt the need to branch out and pick up other bands he has released. I guess because a lot of the bands he puts out are bands that musically I'm not so into. However, recently I felt myself wanting to own more of his releases, mainly for the packaging. If you own any of the records he has released then you know what I am talking about. If you don't, then here's a small introduction...

This record is a compilation, simply titled 'Bacteria Sour Volume 2' (although the words 'Volume Two' don't actually appear anywhere on the record cover at all). This one was released in 1997 on (surprisingly) the Bacteria Sour label, out of Japan.

The cover is great - a tri-fold affair with silver ink and a nice bright orange colour. The custard / mouthwash vinyl is kinda interesting too.

This record is the second press from 1998. The first press was a double 7" in 1997. This compilation features In My Eyes (US), Stompede (Japan), Devoid Of Faith (US), Cluster Bomb Unit (Germany), Roswell Project (US), Detestation (US), OAC (Japan).

Numbered on an extra colourful insert out of 207.

I guess I mainly picked this up for the In My Eyes song. Then again, maybe that was just an excuse. Who knows where this may take me next...

Integrity Euro 2012 Tour 7"

I've gotten behind with my Integrity collection these last few months. I didn't even know the last couple of 7"s that came out were coming out, and by the time I found out, the colour copies had sold out. Bummed. So I kinda forgot about Integrity records for a while. Well, until a friend posted a picture of a 7" he picked up from Integrity on their recent tour. Then I realised that I needed to get back in the game.

This a split between Integrity and Gehenna on Holy Terror records. There are a few different colours of this one. But this particular colour is the tour version, limited to 100 on green vinyl. Kinda cool as it also comes with the standard Rainbo Records test pressing labels.

In the end I didn't go see the band as the London show line up was full of bands I'd never heard of & wasn't interested in. Plus I didn't know anyone else who was going. But thanks to my friend Mark I was still lucky enough to get one. Thanks dude!

What Goes Around Comes Around...

I spotted this 7" on eBay a couple of weeks back and decided I wanted it. But then I noticed that the seller was going to charge me $25 for shipping. I emailed and asked if this was a mistake or what he was really going to charge. The response came back that yes, that was the charge. I then asked if I could have it shipped to my post bitch in the States. No. The seller would only ship to the registered paypal address. Turns out that the seller had been burnt by overseas rip-off artists in the past and was paranoid about it happening again. I guess we've all been there & know the risks. Anyway, to cut a long story short, after a few emails back and forth and it turned out that the seller reads this blog and decided that he would relax his overseas shipping policy for me. This gave me the green light to bid, and thankfully after all the emails, I won.

This is a copy of the first Down To Nothing 7" on the now defunct Dead By 23 label. Originally released circa 2002, this version here was created for last year's This Is Hardcore festival. When this was originally released, the red vinyl was the second press of (I think) 500. I can only assume that, ten years on, Robbie Redcheeks still had a few copies left & decided to make up sleeves for them. This is a nice looking variant. Silver ink screened onto maroon card. There were only 6 & this happens to be number 1.

Big thanks to the seller for being so cool about this. Much appreciated.

Fire & Ice 'Grim' 7" Lot

I saw three Fire & Ice lots on eBay a couple of weeks ago. If I'd have won all three I think I would have picked up every Fire & Ice 7" there is in one fell swoop. Unfortunately I didn't bid enough, and won only one out of the three (I wish like hell I had bid more for the 'Gods & Devils' lot as I imagine it will take me forever to collect all the variations of that one!). Still, I can't complain. This isn't a bad lot. A test press and a gold vinyl copy.

I still have a long way to go to catch up to Mike, but I guess I'm happy to play the role of tortoise in this particular race...