What Goes Around Comes Around

Back when Dead By 23 records was in its prime I was a bit out of touch. I had this period of a couple of years when I was extremely busy with studying and I lost touch with everything. I was on the verge of losing touch with hardcore completely and giving up as it felt like there was just no time for it. Other stuff had become a priority. And at that point, Dead By 23 came on the scene and changed what record collecting was and would become. Gone was the traditional ‘one colour vinyl version, the rest black’ model that had previously existed. In came an approach which jacked up the collectability factor tenfold. There would be at least 5 different versions of each record as a minimum, with almost endless uber limited nerdy versions in stupidly low quantities. I have a friend who, a few years ago, had about 16 different Frostbite 7”s. Someone else commented the other day that they used to have 17 different Final Plan 7”s. And this is why it was cool – if you liked a band or record enough, there was always more to try to get. It was a collectors dream and worst nightmare at the same time, depending on your viewpoint. Initially I thought it sucked but then as time went on I got sucked in. And even though the label hasn’t really been active in a few years, rare variants that I don’t have (or have never seen) still pop up from time to time. So here’s the latest one I was keen to grab. This is a black vinyl copy of the first Down To Nothing 7”.

Interestingly, there was actually never a black vinyl pressing of this record. But, outside of the ‘regular’ colours of this record that were made for the first pressing, there were 31 copies that were swirls / transitions (not sure what the correct term is according to the discography as it’s no longer online). These 31 7”s were numbered in order of colour. The numbering started at the blackest copies, and continued to the lightest version. I once saw a photo where some dude owned literally about half of the 31 copies to himself, and when laid out in order you could clearly see the transition from black to purple. Anyway, of these 31 copies, only three were pure black, and as you can see it is one of these that I have just acquired.

I actually already owned two other different shades of the 31 numbered transition copies, so I took those out to show the progression from black to purple. I think this photo looks pretty good itself – there’s no need to see an additional 28 copies to see how the numbering and colouring works.

Given that I was pulling these copies out, I also figured I would pull out the other copies of this 7” I owned to take a family photo. I posted this on instagram yesterday.

Pictured (from left to right, starting at the top) are:
- Test press on black vinyl
- Release show sleeve on greenish vinyl 9/30
- 1st press regular sleeve on greenish vinyl
- 1st press regular sleeve on clear/purple vinyl (quite clear in colour)
- 1st press transition copy #1/31
- 1st press transition copy #9/31
- 1st press transition copy #29/31
- 1st press regular sleeve on clear/purple vinyl (almost opaque)
- 2nd press red vinyl in regular sleeve
- 2nd press transition copy on solid red vinyl #3/30 in hand coloured sleeve
- Red screen printed sleeve sold at This Is Hardcore #1/6

The seller also threw in a copy of the Frostbite 7”. This one comes in a Floorpunch rip off sleeve. I already had one of these on clear red vinyl. However, this copy is a red/black mix copy. Not sure how came out like this, but probably not many. This is Dead By 23 after all.

There are still probably lots of Frostbite variants I don’t have as (including this one) I ‘only’ have 9 different versions. There are a couple of very limited sleeves that I would like, but they are so stupidly rare that I'm not even going to bother adding them to my wants list.

Chinchilla Test

A dude on eBay sold a LOT of Revelation color vinyl a couple of months back. The seller was a guy who owns a record store called Standards Records. Turns out that the reason he had so much to sell was that he had bought someone's collection. Someone with a big collection who, in the mid 90s, used to work at Revelation. Whilst most people were fighting over the Into Another and Nerve Agents records, I had my eye on an item I figured nobody else would care about. Unsurprisingly, I won it, although it went for a little more than I expected. I think I paid $26 for it. At least one other person placed a bid on this, which surprised me. Anyway, it's a test press of an LP by a band called Chinchilla entitled '101 Italian Hits'.

It comes in a plain white sleeve, so here's the regular cover next to it just for fun.

This record was released by Revelation's 'sister label', Crisis Records, in about 1996. It's an LP that comes on a 12" and 7" format, so of course there are tests of both records included. This band has a female singer. It's quite poppy and is pretty much just indie rock. I never liked this as much as other female fronted bands (Ashes, Baby Gopal, Junction, Copper), but it's in the same ballpark so not sure why as I loved those other bands at the time.

That's 44 tests now. I'm counting this as one, not two. I'm not so desperate to hit my 52 target that I'm going to cheat.

You Can't Kill Us All

I ended up with this record and was disappointed. It's a second press copy of Coalesce 'Functioning On Impatience' on red/black marble (out of 110 copies). I love this band, I love this record and I did want this record, but winning it was still a disappointment.

The reason it wasn't quite as exciting as it should have been is because it was my second choice win. The same seller had a test press of this record up on eBay. I wanted that badly. I bid but came second. I had been watching it for days and the price wasn't that high really. I immediately wished I had bid more and was gutted to not win it. This was a nice consolation, but I imagine that every time I look at this record I will always think about that test that I didn't win.

Free To Think... Again

It's been a long time since I added anything to my Bane collection. There's barely anything I don't have is the main reason for that. But this particular version of the second 7" has eluded me for long time. To be honest, it was only a couple of years back that I realised that it existed and that I didn't have one. I watched a few on eBay but was never motivated enough to bid. But eventually I saw one that looked to have been missed by the rest of the world, so I grabbed it.

This is the eleventh copy of this 7" that I own. I have no idea where this fits in terms of pressing info. I always thought that the first press was black and the second press yellow. However, there are black copies with stamped white labels numbered out of 300, and then there are black copies like this with the bane logo labels. No idea if both variants are first press, or whether one is first press and another second. Anyone? Murphy?

Yet More Rev Represses

Everyone has seen them, everyone owns them, and there's not really much to say about them at this point. I'm sick to death of them now, but still buying them, although I'm literally months behind everyone else. Doesn't matter though. It's not a race. Here are my latest additions to my now overstocked Rev collection...

I don't think that even I could have ever guessed that I would one day own three different colour copies of the Rage Against The Machine 10". Lucky me eh?

War Hungry

Almost two years ago I bought a compilation LP on Six Feet Under Records called 'Striving Higher' (see THIS POST). It was a good way to force myself to listen to some new bands. At the end of my blog entry on that record, I wrote this:

My stand out favourite, however, is the song by War Hungry. Why did I never listen to this band before? If this song is anything to go by this could be my new favourite band.

Back then I tried to get a copy of the LP, but it was sold out and I couldn't find one anywhere. Well, finally almost two years later, I finally managed ot get a copy of the bloody thing.

Even though I only just picked up the plastic disc, I downloaded these songs nearly two years ago & it was one of my most listened to records in 2012. It didn't make my end year list because I didn't have the vinyl, but if I had have had it then it certainly would have been up there. It's a great record and every household should have one.

I have no idea on pressing info for this thing. As well as the white I've also seen a red vinyl copy and one with a release show sleeve on black. Anyone know what the deal is?

Generations Test

So I mentioned a couple of tests languishing in my backlog, and here's one just in time for (ahem) 'Test Press Tuesday':

This is boring to look at, being a plain black record with plain white labels in a plain white paper dust sleeve. Other copies of this test that I have seen have all had a Revelation logo sticker on the dust sleeve. This one, alas, does not. I could put one on myself I suppose, but that would seem wrong. So instead I pulled out the regular record to make for a more interesting photo:

The 'Generations' compilation came out on Revelation back in 2005. I remember being stoked at the time for two reasons - firstly, the front cover and colour scheme seemed to be heavily influenced by the 'New York City Hardcore The Way It Is'. Secondly, it was pressed in the States, which was a big relief after the disgusting Judge discography pressed on shitty european vinyl (although after this record, Rev disappointed me by returning to the euro pressing plant for the next few releases). Aside from that though, this comp kinda missed the mark. Not sure why. I mean, it has some great bands of the time (Righteous Jams, Mental, Fucked Up, LOJ, Blacklisted, Mind Eraser, Cold World, etc) but for some reason it just felt unnecessary. My theory is that the 'NYCHCTWII' comp came about at the start of the era, whereas this comp came out at the end of an era. Still, regardless of how unsuccessful or pointless this record may have seemed, it does have some good songs on it.

43 tests done.

More Boston Straight Edge

It's funny, because for years I was never interested in 'regular' black vinyl records. I never had need for them. Back before the internet era of collecting, I would just want one copy of each record... albeit the most limited one. These days I feel I have been sucked into buying regular black vinyl copies of records to 'complete' collections. Well, if nothing else, the 'regular' copies don't cost much I suppose, so I can't complain. Here's an example. The black vinyl version of the No Tolerance demo 7":

And here's why I needed it - because I already had the test press and the limited gold vinyl, and I badly wanted to take this photo:

Job done, as they say.

Magic Circle

Everyone's got the Magic Circle LP by now, or at least knows who's in it & what it is. I will openly admit that I was never a metal kid, but that doesn't mean I don't like anything from that range on the musical spectrum. I'm a big fan of the first six Black Sabbath LPs (never heard anything after that though), so when I read that Magic Circle was Sabbath styled doom from the current day Boston hardcore superstars, I was curious. I downloaded this back in about March this year and it was the soundtrack to painting my new kitchen... which took me about two weeks (doing section by section, rather than going insane by trying to do the whole thing in one go). The only problem was that (unsurprisingly) the record sold out stupidly fast & I missed out. Fortunately, the label decided to make some more. They announced it by saying 'Completely identical to the original pressing. There is no way to tell them apart, no colored vinyl, no limited editions. Just a killer record'. Even better. So I was finally able to grab one.

This is one of my favourite records of this year. I don't care about musical styles, but when I look back on 2013 this LP will be up there for sure. However, 'no limited editions' isn't what I wanted to hear, so when a test press appeared on eBay being sold by the singer, I figured I would make a play for it. And wouldn't you know it, I somehow won. So I did end up with a limited edition after all.

That's now 42 tests this year so far. I don't think I am going to make the 52 target to be honest, but it's going to be close as I already have a couple that are in the blog backlog.

Free Spirit

It's taken a long time, but I finally managed to get myself a Free Spirit 7". This thing sold out before I'd even heard it back in 2010, and the price stayed at a reasonably high level ever since. I bid on a few of these on eBay the past three years, and always got outbid. Or I'd watch them and then, before I even got around to bidding, they would fly out of the range of what I wanted to pay. But I learned patience a long time ago. And eventually, a couple of reasonably priced copies fell into my hands.

I really like the front cover of this record. It's a great image and I like things that are a little different, and this is about as far away from the traditional hardcore record cover as you can get. Musically its a great little record though. 300 on clear and 700 on red. Done.

Going Confetti Again

It's been a while since I've seen any Give records on any record blogs. The band's output seems to have slowed. I guess they must be in between records or something. Well anyway, I'm not sure if people didn't notice or if they just aren't bothered, but this second press of the 'Singles Going Confetti' 12" appeared a couple or months back. There were 100 on clear and 400 on black. Naturally, being a fan of both Give and clear vinyl, I couldn't resist picking one up.

Not only is clear the best looking vinyl, but it also makes for the best (and most effortless) photos. But despite how rad this clear copy looks, I still can't believe that I didn't pre-order the European press with the limited cover. I think that one is going to haunt me for a while to come.

The Lost And The Damned

Did I ever mention that I collect Revelation Records? No? Really? Well, let me tell you all about it. I collect Revelation Records. Except for black vinyl that is. Well, unless it comes in a limited sleeve, or is a test press. Or is just rare. Basically, there's no real pattern to it. I just collect the rare ones. And I don't just stop at Rev 23 either. I have every release that has come out on vinyl. I've been collecting them for about 20 years now, and until about 2005 or so, it used to be easy to maintain the collection. Rev used to press one limited colour of each release, so I'd buy one colour copy and job was done. But then in the mid 00s, Rev started pressing multiple colours of each new release. Not only that, but the bands would make their own limited release sleeves, and most of these aren't even recorded on the rev discography. The label probably doesn't even know about half of them I would guess. And here's one such example - the Living Hell LP in release show 'sleeve', numbered out of 50 copies:

Seeing the date of the release show on the sleeve, it seems crazy to think that this came out six years ago now. Wow. The other thing of note is that this band doesn't really seem to fit on Rev. Never did. Kind of a weird choice if you ask me. Still, I wouldn't have heard this if it weren't on Rev, so it's not all bad. This is actually a really good LP if you like bands such as Integrity or Mind Eraser. And in a strange twist of fate, aside from this release show edition, the most limited version is the black vinyl... which of course I don't have.

Murder Weapon

The best thing about having lots of records is re-discovering things. I mean, I picked up a copy of the Murder Weapon 'Nervous Wreck' 7” years ago when it came out, and I enjoyed it. I remember having it taped (well, on a minidisc, I think, rather than an actual tape) with a load of other 7”s of the same era. It always stood out as one of the best of the time, but I haven't listened to it for years. Well, recently I realised that I was missing these songs from my ipod, so I downloaded them, and it was almost like discovering the record all over again. So of course, with the songs back on rotation and the band back on my mind I looked around to see if there were any records for sale, and I chanced upon this blue vinyl copy of the 7” for pretty cheap:

I already have this on pink and white. Blue is/was the most common colour, but for some reason I never bothered with it back then. I guess a few years ago I was happy with one copy of a record, or two in exceptional circumstances. Maybe that’s why I never felt the need to add a third colour to the collection? Who knows. Anyway, if you have never heard this then you need to sort yourself out. This sounds pretty much exactly like the first No Warning LP.

I looked around a bit and it seems that there are release show and final show sleeve variants of this thing out there which I naturally now want. No doubt I could have picked them up ten times over by now if I hadn't completely forgotten about this band.

Rev Mystery Box

Like many people out there, I got suckered by the Revelation mystery box recently. I wanted to avoid it and not play the game, but the tempatation of an exclusive 7” (coupled with the remote chance of winning a test press) proved too much and I paid in. In order to save 400 dollars on shipping, I had mine sent to a friend in the States. I then had a choice – I could either get him to forward it on to me unopened, so that I could have that ten second moment of excitement as I fumbled with the package to see if it contained a Burn test press, or I could get him to open it for me and tell me what was inside, to hopefully avoid having to pay to ship over a box full of junk. Well, the sensible part of me won over and I went with the latter option. I had my friend open the box and then email me to tell me that, as well as the exclusive Down To Nothing 7”, all I got sent was five CDs. I told him to throw the CDs in the bin and just send me the 7”. So here it is. A brand new 7” that I paid about $25 for… which has one exclusive song on it. It had better be the best song of all time for that price.

Ok, so it’s not that bad. I mean, I’m happy to have this as it’s DTN and it’s Rev. And even though I didn’t get lucky in the test press lottery, there was always a small chance that I COULD have. A couple of other dudes in Europe got some good stuff, so it's not like the whole thing was a con. So basically, what I’m saying in a roundabout way is that, even though I got a box of useless overpriced crap, I’d probably do it all again.

Power Trip Tour 7" (Kind Of)

So I went to see Power Trip last week in London. They played with Bane at the Underworld. I got their Lockin’ Out 7” a year or so ago and I really enjoyed it. I mean, I loved the second Iron Age LP, and in my mind Power Trip sound pretty much the same. The funny thing is, I remember that when I bought the first press of the Lockin’ Out 7”, a second press had just surfaced. I remember this because I remember saying that I didn’t feel that I needed to own a second copy of this 7”. Yet when I found myself stood at the merch table last week after just having watched the band play, my eyes were drawn to the 7” on the table in front of me. If I’m honest, I think it’s mainly because it has a different cover. The artwork is the same, but the colours are reversed (what was black is now white and vice versa) which was enough to make it interesting to me and decide to part with my £5 note.

I’m pretty sure I have also seen the second press red vinyl in black ink on white sleeve colour scheme, so not sure whether this inverse cover is more or less limited.

I was pretty lucky to get this. I asked for one and the dude gave me one with a crease across the corner of the sleeve. I asked for a different one that wasn’t creased, and he told me the only other copy that they had left was the one on the table, so I took that instead. As you can see in the photo above, the front cover is slightly scuffed, but I'm not too fussed. Anyhow, about two seconds after I paid, some other kid bought the final copy (the creased one that I rejected), meaning they were then sold out.

I filmed the first song of their set. I uploaded it so that anyone interested could check it out. Enjoy…

Real Fear

A few weeks ago I posted about a new(ish) Casket Lottery 7" that I picked up which came out last year on No Sleep Records. Well, there was an LP which followed it, and I've now finally picked up one of those as well. Unfortunately though, the fool who sent it managed to pack it in such a way that the obi strip got ruined.

This white vinyl copy is the most limited 'Subscription series' pressing. It's been a long time since the last Casket Lottery LP. This one feels a little more downbeat than the last one, but it's unmistakably The Casket Lottery, which is certainly good seeing as that's what I paid for. Now, where the hell can I get a replacement obi strip...

One Man's Shit...

It's tough to resist lists of stuff for sale whenever I get sent one. Most people have something good in their collection, or rather, something I want. So when Doug recently sent over his list of stuff for sale, it was almost inevitable that I would find something on there I wanted. Thankfully there was nothing too rare or expensive, although Doug wouldn't have let anything of that nature go anyway. The things I grabbed were picked to fill some small holes in my collection.

In alphabetical order, the first item is this Breaker Breaker 7". This came out on Bridge Nine way back in 2001. I have a red vinyl copy (which for some reason isn't shown on the B9 discography) but always wanted a clear copy. It's always been low priority though. I used to like this when it came out, although I'm not sure it has held up as well as some other things from the same era.

Next up some Iron Boots 7" variants I was missing. Nothing too exciting though. The final show press of the Demo 7", the black vinyl press of the 'Easy Green' 7" and the regular black vinyl copy of the 'Weight Of The World' 7".

And to round off this batch of 7"s, the clear vinyl second press of the Mindset 'Real Power' 7". I missed this when it came out. Come to think of it, I missed a lot of React! second pressings, but most of them I am not bothered about.

There's gonna be a lot of stuff appear on here for the next few weeks. My last three months' worth of purchases have just shown up in the mail. I can probably blog every day from now to the end of the year. Watch this space...

A Good Trade, No Doubt

It's not often I trade these days, but I always like to trade when the chance arises. Who doesn't? This one was with fellow blogger Chris. We were talking about a record he wanted to buy from me, and then he let me know he had a spare Mindset 'Leave No Doubt' LP on white. I sent him a link to my trade/sale list, but I don't think he was into anything on there. But then I managed to come up with something he did want that wasn't on my list, and the deal was agreed. The package he sent me arrived a couple of days ago. So here's the white vinyl Mindset LP he sent me:

When I opened the package, however, I found two records inside. It turned out that Chris also sent me a black vinyl copy of the same LP. I guess he must ahve looked at my blog and realised I didn't have one.

Naturally I was / am extremely grateful for this extra LP, and it made me feel a bit shitty for only sending the record I agreed to send! Ha! Anyway, this now means that I have 5 copies of this LP. Kinda funny as I didn't pre-order originally and struggled to even find one copy when it came out. But while five copies may seem like a lot to some people, it still feels like not enough copies to me. After all, I'm still a long way from Mike's complete collection.

Thanks Chris! I owe you one.

Clear Red City Streets

Last year not many people knew who they were. This year everyone's sick to death of seeing their records everywhere. Here's another Violent Reaction LP for the collection. This one is the UK pressing on clear red vinyl. There were 100 of these made for some tour or other. I got this from my friend Mark who actually went to see the band play live, whereas I went to the gym and listened to the songs on my iphone whilst doing squats. Punk rock.

After missing them twice, I finally got to see this band play the other week. They were good, although compared to The Rival Mob they seemed a bit tame in a live environment I thought. I'm still not sure which of the two albums I prefer to be honest, but it'll be interesting to see who prefers which in the inevitable bloggers' best of 2013 lists.