2013 The Way It WAS

So 2013 is done and dusted, and what a weird year it was for me with music. The year started strong, and 3-4 of my top ten releases for the year came out in the first three months of the year. After that, as usual, my motivation to pick up new releases was lacking as I concentrated my efforts on picking up more copies of records I already owned, or just stuff that came out prior to 2013 (more on that stuff later). I also strangely found myself thinking a lot about what the best record of the year was going to be throughout the year, as from early on it was always going to be a three horse race. In the end it wasn't an easy choice, but my over-thinking means that I'm happy with my choices. So here goes...

TOP 10 NEW RELEASES IN 2013

1. The Rival Mob 'Mob Justice' LP (Revelation Records) - It was between this, the Violent Reaction LP and the Magic Circle LP. In the end I chose this based on two factors. Firstly, I saw 'em live back in October and it was one of the best shows I have ever seen. Secondly, when I looked at my itunes play count, I listened to this one the most. Great record, and great to see Rev releasing new bands again.

The best of the rest looks like this...

2. Violent Reaction 'City Streets' LP (Painkiller Records / Quality Control HQ) - A truly great LP and nice to see a UK band getting so much attention worldwide. Plus the diffrent pressings gave record collectors something to chase.

3. Magic Circle 'S/T' LP (Armageddon Shop) - this one came out of nowhere, and whilst not my usual bag, I could not stop playing this. Neither, it seems, could anyone else.

4. Turnstile 'Step 2 Rhythm' 7" (Reaper Records) - the only 7" in my list. The intro makes me want to put my fist through a wall.

5. War Generation LP (Rise Records) - sneaking in at the end of the year, this features Jon Bunch from Sense Field, and has been playing 2-3 times a day for the last couple of weeks in my house. So far it's having the same effect on me as Sense Field did in 1995. Well, nearly.

6. Red Hare 'Nites Of Midnite' LP (Dischord Records) - Jason Farrell & Shawn Brown from Swiz's new band that sounds a lot like Swiz... which is absolutely fine.

7. Mindset 'Leave No Doubt' LP (React! Records) - the best straight edge album since The First Step 'What We Know'. Technically this 'came out' in 2012 although the vinyl didn't really get sent out until 2013, so this counts as a 2013 release if you ask me. Shame in a way. In 2012 this would have been even higher up the list.

8. Ancient VVisdom 'Deathlike' LP (Prosthetic Records) - not as good as their first album, but still a dark & haunting record which I played regularly throughout the year.

9. Integrity 'Suicide Black Snake' LP (A389 Records) - another Integrity album landed this year which fortunately sounds just like Integrity. Some people think everything after the Melnicks left sucks, but it's their loss. Just a shame there was an impossible number of vinyl colours to collect... although, that's probaby a good thing.

10. Down To Nothing 'life On The James' (Revelation Records) - this one didn't hit me right away, but it has grown and grown. I don't think it touches their previous two LPs, but it's still a great record and a current gym favourite.

TOP 10 PICKUPS IN 2013

I didn't pick up many new releases in 2013, but I sure as hell picked up a lot of great records, and crossed some long standing items from my wants list, including a couple that I never ever thought I would own. Here are my favourite items... (click to read the entries I wrote on each)

1. New York City Hardcore The Way It Is - Green vinyl second press test press

2. Cave In 'Jupiter' - Test Press

3. Supertouch 7" Test Press

4. Farside 'Keep My Soul Awake' 7" Test Press

5. No Warning 'Ill Blood' LP on PB&J vinyl

6. Freewill 'Sun Return' LP

7. Youth Of Today 'Break Down The Walls' LP w Posi Numbers cover

8. Reason To Believe 7" Purple vinyl

9. Undertow 'Edge Of Quarrel' 7"

10. No Tolerance 'Boston SXE' 7" - Test press, Gold vinyl & black vinyl

COMPLETE LIST OF TEST PRESSES I PICKED UP

As I mentioned in my last post, I narrowly missed my dumbass target of picking up 52 test presses in the year and 'only' got 50. Here's the complete list of those 50 tests, in the order I picked them up.

01. Cave In 'Anomalies Vol. 1' (Hydrahead Records)
02. Cave In 'Planets Of Old'(Hydrahead Records)
03. America's Hardcore Volume 2 (Triple B Records)
04. Antidote 'No Peace In Our Time' LP (Bridge Nine Records)
05. V/A 'NYCHC The Way It Is' LP Green vinyl 2nd press(Revelation Records)
06. V/A 'The Rebirth Of Hardcore 1999' LP (Supersoul Records)
07. Times Together 7" (Anger Battery Records)
08. Iron Curtain 'Year Of The Wolf' 7" (Anger Battery Records)
09. Threadbare 'Escapist' 12" (Doghouse Records)
10. Omaha 'S/T' LP (Doghouse Records)
11. Get Up Kids 'Woodson' (Doghouse Records)
12. Cave In 'Tides Of Tomorrow' 12" (Hydrahead Records)
13. Cave In 'Jupiter' LP (Hydrahead Records)
14. Piebald 'When Life Hands You Lemons' LP (Hydrahead Records)
15. Cave In 'Lift Off / Lost In The Air' 7" (Hydrahead Records)
16. Cave In 'White Silence' LP (Hydrahead Records)
17. Self Destruct 'All My Friends Are Dead' 7" (Zandor / Rumour Control)
18. Joshua 'A Whole New Theory' LP (Doghouse Records)
19. Piebald 'We Are The Only Friends We Have' (Big Wheel Recreation)
20. True Head 'S/T' (Youngblood Records)
21. Cave In 'Creative Eclipses' 7" (Hydrahead Records)
22. Supertouch 'Lost My Way' 7" (Reaper Records)
23. No Tolerance 'Boston Straight Edge' 7" (540 Records)
24. Supertouch 'S/T' 7" (Combined Effort Records)
25. Unity 'Blood Days' 7" (It's Alive Records)
26. Dempsey / Kill Holiday Split 7" (Indecision Records)
27. Boxer Rebellion 'S/T' 7" (Hydrahead Records)
28. Boxer Rebellion 'The Romance Of Aeronautics' LP (Hydrahead Records)
29. The Hollomen 'S/T' 7" (Hydrahead Records)
30. Huguenots / Sevenpercentsolution 'Split' 10" (Hydrahead Records)
31. Ancient VVisdom 'A Godlike Inferno' LP (Magic Bullet Records)
32. Integrity / Gehenna Split 7" (Holy Terror Records)
33. Integrity 'Systems Overload - A2 / Orr Mix' Lp (Organized Crime Records)
34. Cave In 'Perfect Pitch Black' LP (Garden of Exile Records)
35. Times Together 1st 7" (Just Another Day Records)
36. Roses Never Fade 'The Man They Want To Hang' 7"
37. Farside 'Keep My Soul Awake' 7" (Crisis Records)
38. Rot In Hell / Vegas 'Split' 7" (Organized Crime Records)
39. Police & Thieves / Remission 'Split' 7" (Amendment Records)
40. Seaweed 'The Weight' 7" (No Idea Records)
41. 108 'Songs Of Separation' LP (Lost & Found Records)
42. Magic Circle 'S/T' LP (Armageddon Shop)
43. V/A 'Generations' LP (Revelation Recods)
44. Chinchilla '101 Italian Hits' LP (Crisis Records)
45. Citizens Arrest 'Soaked In Others Blood' 7" (Painkiller Records)
46. Freewill 'Sun Return' LP (Wishingwell / Giant Records)
47. Lights Out 'Get Out' 7" (Youngblood Records)
48. Casket Lottery @Real Fear' LP (No Sleep Records)
49. Seaweed 'Four' LP (Sub Pop Records)
50. V/A 'NYCHC The Way It Is' LP 1st press(Revelation Records)

STUFF I LISTENED TO A LOT

As I said at the start, despite not picking up too many new releases, I spent a lot of time listening to stuff that either came out prior to 2012, or stuff that I didn't even buy at all that was picked up through the black magic of the internet. The main stuff that I spent a lot of time listening to in 2013 (aside from the records listed above) was:

Black Sabbath '13'
Down By Law 'All Scratched Up'
Husker Du 'Metal Circus' and 'Flip Your Wig'
Leeway 'Born To Expire' and 'Desperate Measures'
Metallica 'St. Anger' (yes, seriously!)
Righteous Jams 'Business As Usual'
Title Fight 'Floral Green'

Sure, these weren't new releases, but they were new to me, so I think they're worth a mention.

THE FINAL WORD

Quite obviously, these lists are just a bit of fun and not to be taken remotely seriously. This one is mainly for me. Thanks primarily to anyone who reads this and also to those who comment. Thanks also to all the people who have emailed me offering records for sale, wanting to trade or buy, or to those who just want to chat the universal language of the nerd. See you all in 2014...