Bane - 6:58 PM Boston 7"

Ok, so I haven't managed to maintain my 'one entry per day' objective exactly. But I am still on track to catch up with my backlog seeing as I haven't actually bought much recently. If I wasn't weeks behind then December would have been a pretty quiet month over here.

Today's entry is the US pressing of the Bane 7" that I posted about a few weeks ago HERE. Except, of course, this one has a different title. This one is called '6:58 PM Boston' even though it contains the same three songs. And just like the Euro version, there are three colours of this one.

First up, clear blue of which there are a mammoth 700 copies:

Next, clear red, of which there are also 700:

And finally black. There are 800 of these:

Here's an artsy shot of the three together:

Overall, I like this one a lot better than the Euro version, for the simple reason that this one is pressed on good quality US vinyl. However, this one suffers from the same annoying design fault that the other one suffers from - the labels. The whole point of this series of 7"s is that they are supposed to be based around photos taken at the same time in different cities. So the label has pretty much the same photo on every 7" - a picture of a phone showing the time and, I think, the date. Except, of course, it doesn't quite work, as you can see:

I guess that whoever designed the labels forgot to take account of the hole, so that something is missing. Oh well.

When I ordered this record, I also added a blue vinyl Foundation 7" to my order. Unfortunately though, the label messed up and sent me a black one.

Is it my imagination, or is it getting increasingly difficult to actually get what you order thee days?

Lard Test Press

One of the first records I bought when I was about 17 was an album called 'The Last Temptation Of Reid' by a band called Lard. Lard is/was Jello Biafra on vocals and Ministry playing the tunes. I think I got into it because there was a song on a skate video. Anyway, this was about 1992, and about a year later I started getting into hardcore and straight edge, and whatever other stuff, and I pretty much stopped paying attention to Alternative Tentacles.

Well, I always assumed that Lard was a short-lived project for Biafra circa 1990 or whenever. So I was pretty surprised to find out recently that Lard actually made more records. There was another album in about 1997 and a 12" EP in 2000. Now granted, this isn't exactly "news" since both releases are pretty old now. But it was news to me. And I only found out because I stumbled across a test press of one on eBay... which I subsequently bought. So here it is:

Not exactly much to look at huh? This is what the cover of the regular version looks like (not that I've ever seen it!):

The auction claimed that the record was straight out of Jello Biafra's collection. I'm not sure I believe that. But regardless, it's pretty funny that I now seem to have stooped to buying tests of records that I don't own a regular version of or have never heard.

Iron Age LP - UK Version UPDATE

Today's update is a short one. But it's important that I keep the daily posting momentum going in order to clear the backlog. Every post counts.

Two months ago I received one copy of the UK press of the latest Iron Age LP, despite ordering three copies (you can see pics HERE). Anyway, I FINALLY received the other two copies I paid for:

Despite sending several emails about this, I never got one reply. But the records did turn up. Does this mean that the label is sketchy or not? I'll let you decide.

I originally ordered three copies of this thinking that people in the States might want one and I could do some kind of trade. So if you fit this description and want one of these suckers then get in touch.

Avail Gold 7"

Somewhere around ten to twelve years ago I traded away my Avail 7"s. I have no memory of what exactly I traded them for. But I had the first one on gold vinyl. I always planned to get those 7"s back again. But I never actively pursued them. Then, this year, I picked up both as part of a big haul on a road trip (read the entry HERE). If you click the link, you will see that the copy of the first 7" I picked up was black vinyl in a sleeve with blue writing on the front.

Well, a few months later some dude was asking on the Livewire Board if anyone could help him finish his Avail collection. He was missing the first 7" that has the cover with the blue writing. So I got in touch and told him that I would happily trade mine for any other copy of the same record. A few weeks later he got back to me saying he had acquired a spare copy of the record. And coincidentally, the spare he had was on gold vinyl. So we did a straight trade.

Feels good to have another copy of a record that I traded away half a lifetime ago. I don't even care if the one I have just given up was a first press or the rarest version. I'm happier to have the gold vinyl one. It looks nicer. Don't you agree?

This That Records

So a few weeks ago I got an email from a dude called Tim, who has recently started a small label called THIS THAT RECORDS, asking if he could send me a couple of records to feature on my blog. Naturally I said yes. I mean, if someone asked you if it was ok for them to send you some free records, you'd probably do the same, right? Well, the package turned up a few weeks ago, but as usual I am WAY behind on this blog. But at least this has given me the time to listen to these things properly to give them a fair "review" (not that I am a reviewer or want to be one, but that just seems like a reasonable term to use for my stupid opinion on these things).

I got sent the label's first two releases. Since the label is based in Texas, both releases are by Texas hardcore bands. The first is the 'Sidewalk Slam' 7" by a band called THE LION OF WALL STREET, which is Tim's own band:

This is hand numbered out of 300 copies. I am not sure how many (if any) are still available.

I am really glad that I got sent this 7". This is some pretty raging Texas hardcore which I have been playing a LOT the past few weeks. I am rubbish at trying to describe what things sound like, but this reminds me of the kinda stuff that B9 was putting out in about 2001-3. But rather than listen to me waffle on about this, Tim has put the songs up on mediafire for people to download, so you can check it out for yourself. The songs are HERE. My only complaint is that the final two songs are from different recording sessions and the mix is different to the previous four songs. But that small point aside, this 7" rips, and I would advise you to spend a couple of minutes checking it out.

The second (and third) record(s) I got sent is an album by a band called GRAVE ROBBERS. Another Texas band, these dudes are difficult to pigeonhole. Imagine some tough ass band who sound like Merauder but who perform covered in blood and have an obsession for horror. Well, that's Grave Robbers for ya. I got sent two different versions, as you can see, both of which are limited to 104 copies:

The overall package here is pretty good, although I gotta say that I think the cover art is pretty bad and immediately makes me not want to listen to the record. Ignoring the cover though, this record reminds me of the Himsa album that came out a few years back that sounded like hardcore crossed with Iron Maiden in places... oh, and bits of it reminds me of Converge too. I guess this is pretty interesting for this genre, although I would probably have been a lot more stoked on this about ten years ago when I was more into that kind of sound.

Overall though, a good start from This That Records. It seems there are a lot of interesting bands in Texas at the moment, so I'm looking forward to seeing what they come out with next.

XClaim! 3 - SSD 12"

Ok, after a short period of being lazy, I am back. I am going to post every day now until I have caught up. This will be like the twelve days of christmas... except with good stuff rather than useless shit like leaping lords and partridges in pear trees. So here we go... on the first day of christmas, my true love gave to me...

An SSD 'Get It Away' 12"!

This is the third release from the legendary XClaim! Records, and originally came out in 1983. Often bootlegged, the original is recognisable by the grey labels:

Also, it's really nice if you get one with an insert, eh Dobek?

This now marks five of the six for me. I am now one step away from being inducted into the club and being taught the secret handshake. Come on!

Pegboy 7" Test Press

Goddamnit, I am so far behind with this blog right now. Ugh. It's beginning to feel like a chore. I see this little stack of records next to me that I "need" to write up and it just feels like something I HAVE to do rather than something I WANT to do. Am I getting tired of doing this? Well, no, not exactly. It's just that I have so little time right now and this feels like a waste of it. I need to keep it short else I will never catch up.

Today's update is a pointless test press:

Pointless in the sense that it looks boring and isn't even for a record that I am that bothered about. But I picked it up because it was pretty cheap. It's a test for a Pegboy 7"... a band that I got into back in about 1992 because they were on a skate video, although I don't remember exactly which song it was nor which video it was. Well anyway, I picked up this 7" in about 1993. Here's what the regular version looks like:

Pegboy were always one of those bands that should have been bigger than they were in my opinion. Their best record is the album 'Strong Reaction', a test press of that sold on eBay a few months ago for next to nothing and, like a fool, I forgot to bid. I guess this 7" is some kind of consolation prize.

Finally, here's a video I found on youtube. Interesting whether you know the band or don't:

ON 'Control EP' - White

Back in August I got given a black vinyl copy of the ON 'Control' 7" on by a friend. I didn't actually want to get into ON at all. But I have ended up doing so, and recently took an opportunity to pick up the same record on white vinyl.

I have no idea on the pressing info for this one. The pressing info for the 'Vital Times' 7" (which I don't have at all) is all over the nerd, but the info for this 7" is hard to find. I checked the HYE trade board and a few people have this listed as being out of 350, but maybe one person wrote that and then everyone else just copied it. Who knows eh?

Oh yeah, if anyone wants the black vinyl version, I'm happy to let that one go.

Hellmouth LP

So here we go. Hellmouth 'Destroy Everything, Worship Nothing' LP on Livewire Records. I bought this simply because because Livewire put it out, even though it didn't look like the kind of stuff I like much anymore. I mean, the CD is on Ferret, which puts out some pretty awful stuff. But anyway, I figured I'd trust the Livewire guys' judgement and check this out. There were 666 copies made, with the first 166 being on red vinyl:

I really wanted to like this. I like the feel of this record, and I used to listen to a lot of stuff like this about ten or twelve years ago.

I also like the statement on their myspace page:

HELLMOUTH want to take people back to the glory days of the underground and remind people of the fear, anger and honesty that once existed in a music scene that's since gone soft and has lost all integrity. It's back to brutal basics; making music that flows in the blood. Not punk. Not metal. Not hardcore. A crossover of all three to create a soundtrack for pain, misery and the end of existence.

Unfortunately though, I'm not into this. I haven't managed to listen to it through once in one sitting. I just struggle to listen to stuff like this these days. But I plan to stick with it & try again. I mean, there's a lot to like here.

This LP is hand-numbered out of 666 copies, and I got a pretty cool number - 48. I guess most people wouldn't like number 48, but it's perfect for me.

Reminds me of another record I own with the same number:

Bane - 11:58 PM Dublin 7"

SO THIS IS IT - The first of too many Bane 7"s to be released in the next few weeks. A total nightmare for collectors, there are 6 songs being released as two different 7"s… and different continents are putting out their own versions. So the two 7"s in the States are on two different labels, and the two 7"s in Europe are on another label. Each version of each record has about three versions (excluding tests), except for the first Euro 7" which has five versions. So, in total, there are going to be at least 14 different 7"s to pick up. Excluding tests. Oh yeah, then there's some other Bane 7" coming out with some zine, which also has two or maybe three versions. So basically, my Bane collection is going to double in size by the end of the year.

So what is this 7" like? Well, it sounds much more like "Give Blood" than "The Note" to me. Although, that said, perhaps it's just to do with the time of year it has come out. I remember back in 2002 when "Give Blood" came out that I was playing it whilst travelling on the bus to my night job at Milo's in Leeds. I remember it being dark and cold and Bane being the perfect soundtrack to life at that time. Well, these three songs give me the same feeling. Each night I drive the dark, wet roads to the gym and I play these three songs.

I'm into the songs, but I am not into the aesthetics of this record too much. I don't like the layouts much, and I sure as hell don't like that this is the first Bane record pressed on inferior euro vinyl. And I also don't like that two of the three colours are pretty much the same colour. But hey, I'm fussy.

Most limited version is orange with white speckles out of 200:

Next is plain orange out of 300:

And finally, black vinyl out of 380. These have different labels to the orange vinyl due to a pressing plant error. These labels are from the tour version, which I should have got over two months ago but still don't have.

And finally, the money shot:

Rot In Hell LP Test

I managed to find a test for one of my fave records of the year - the ROT IN HELL 'Hallways Of The Always' 12" on A389 Records. The only slightly disappointing thing is that it only comes in a plain white paper sleeve - I was hoping for something a little more interesting.

This marks 6 versions of this record. I'm betting that not many people can match or beat me on this one.

If you still don't have so much as one copy as this yet, please sort your life out.

XClaim! 5 & 6

Thanks to Fred Hammer for breaking his own "no shipping to outside of the US" rule, I now have parts 5 & 6 of the XClaim! puzzle.

XClaim! number 5 is the F.U.s 'My America' LP. Otherwise known as "the one with the weird cover". Or "the one with the cover that isn't quite wide enough so that when you put the record in a little bit of the dust sleeve sticks out of the side":

XClaim! number 6 is the Jerry's Kids 'Is This My World?' LP, which is debatably the best of the XClaim! releases:

Numbers 2 & 3 still elude me... but hopefully not for much longer.

Random eBay 7"s x 3

Picked up three records from the dude who does Rivalry Records on eBay a couple of weeks ago. He was selling lots of rare Rivalry stuff plus a load of other things. I had my eye on three items that I thought most people wouldn't be interested in and got them all for a bargain price.

First up is the Life's Halt / No Reply split 7" with the Misfits sleeve for the final No Reply show:

In fitting with the Misfits theme, there were 138 copies made, which makes this about the third most common version of this record:

I now have 4 versions of this record. So only 26 more to go to have the full set. And no, I am not exaggerating.

Next up, a test press of the Holding On / Coalition split 7":

I don't even own a regular version of this record. Just bought it because I liked the label.

And finally, continuing today's "138 copies made" theme, here's the second Worn Thin 7" on Youngblood Records on white vinyl, made for some 2004 tour:

I love this band, and (finally) now have the final version of this one i was missing. Cool.