Take Three Painkillers

I picked up three 7"s on Painkiller Records recently. This was purely coinsidental. Each came from a different source, but I decided to bundle them together in one post in an effort to catch up on here and not feel so constantly behind.

The first 7" was from a friend, and is a copy of the A-Team 'Clusterfuck' 7". This was actually Painkiller Records number one, originally released back in 2003.

This is a second press copy on blue vinyl, hand numbered out of 100 copies on the b-side label.

I haven't listened to this band for a while, but I always liked them. Then again, I really like that early 00s era of hardcore generally. So many good bands and records, many of which are kinda forgotten about today.

The second record I picked up is a 7" by a band called Beyond The Pale. I hadn't heard of this band before, and looking online it feels like they have a pretty low profile. But this 7" rules. It's total Infest worship, done really well.

This 7" contains 11 songs, but only one of them is over one minute long. Six of them even clock in at under 30 seconds. For such a short record though, this is a really interesting listen. 330 copies on gold vinyl.

This actually came out in 2023, and I have no idea if this was a one off fun project for someone, or if this is an actual band. But I would definitely listen to more of this. I hope they're still going and about to bust out something new soon.

Finally, I picked up this Heavy Discipline 2019 Demo 7".

I already own two other records by this band, both of which sound like classic Boston hardcore. I had no idea this 7" existed, even though it came out before either of the 12"s. Apparently there were 330 copies on white vinyl.

After putting this post together, I'm unclear if Painkiller Records is still going. The last release was in 2023, which is now three years ago. And whilst these days three years goes by in a blink and isn't really a long time, it would represent the longest gap in the label's history, so the signs aren't good. I really hope they're just going through a dry spell, but no doubt time will tell.