Futches Reich

So here's an interesting idea. First up, get hold of an ammo tin like this (ammo not necessary):

Then spray paint your band's name on the side, call it 'Futsches Reich', then fill it with records and CDs. Cool idea, right? Yeah, well, it may sound cool in theory, but only one band has actually done it & made this idea a reality. Who? Rot In Hell of course. Who else? There were only 35 of these made, and it seems that people overseas have had trouble getting theirs due to customs issues. At least, that's the theory. Anyway, since I didn't have to deal with overseas shipping on this one, mine arrived quickly and in great shape.

Within the box are several of the recent and semi-recent 7"s, each with a specially made red sleeve. God only knows how long it must have taken to put this together. Anyhow, enough chit chat. On to the contents...

First up is the split with Wayfarer. This sleeve has been cut out and looks pretty special.

The split with Moloch. Rather than a sleeve this one just has a smal folded strip:

The split with Horders in a 'regular' photocopied sleeve:

And the split with Vegas, also in a 'regular' photocopied sleeve:

The split with Integrity in a unique and simple sleeve:

And another copy of the lathe cut 'Studies In Emerald' 7". This is the one that came in very special packaging on it's own.

There were also four CDs included. I'm not exactly sure what is on each of these, but I probably already have the songs so that's not as stupid as it sounds.

There was also a couple of envelopes included. The smaller one contains, I think, a bullet. The larger one... who knows? It's sealed.

The envelope does have a pretty special stamp on it. The stamp is actually where the box gets its name. If you are remotely interested in what 'Futches Reich' means then I'd suggest starting here.

This final photo shows all the contents in one go, minus the tin. Kinda crazy, isn't it?

I've almost lost track of all the fancy ass Rot In Hell records there are. I'm pretty sure that this one can't be topped though. Can it?

Yet Another Rev Catch Up

So I got another Revelation 'catch up' package this week. This one actually contains a couple of new releases, which makes a nice change, although most of the contents are just represses.

I'm not sure if I'm the only one, but I'm not overly stoked on the latest Down To Nothing LP, 'Life On The James'. I mean, it's ok, but it doesn't stand up to the band's previous LPs. Still, I probably haven't listened to it enough... although I'm not that motivated to listen to it. It's a vicious circle of disappointment right here. Still, could be worse - I could have been sent two copies on the same colour, rather the one of each of the blue and green.

Next up is the Title Fight 'Spring Songs' 7". When I heard this was coming out, I downloaded a couple of albums by this band, and I have to say, I quite like them. But again, emphasis on the word 'quite'. This band is interesting for sure, and has some catchy hooks, but I guess I was hoping for something that was gonna excite me like Farside, Into Another and Sense Field used to back when their records were released. Still, at least these dudes ended up with their records pressed on cool vinyl colours.

This next one nicely bridges the gap between the new releases and the represses. I got this one on eBay. It's the gold vinyl pressing of the The 'Rev 25 CA' comp. Gold was the rarer colour only available to people at the show. As there were 300 of these made, I thought there would be loads of these for sale after the show and they would be cheap to pick up, but that hasn't proved to be the case. They don't pop up too often, and when they do they still tend to go to nearly $40, which I figured too much. Well, my patience paid off and eventually I got one for a not too unreasonable $20.

I still need a copy of the 'Rev 25 NY' LP on green if anyone can help... although I don't plan on spending more than $20. Or trading for something equally as useless.

Ok, so now it's on to the next round of represses. Nothing to say about these really. They are what they are at this point.

And of course, the day after I ordered these, more colour represses went up for sale. I will definitely order them, I know that much, even though I don't really want them. I'm actually starting to question my own sanity at this point. I have reached a point where I seriously hate these represses, yet I can't say no for fear of breaking my 'complete' collection. I guess if you're reading this then perhaps you are in the same boat. I just wonder how far it could possibly go before I stopped buying. Perhaps 2014 will hold the answer...

True Miracle

Yes, it's a true miracle - I managed to finally get my last Youngblood order. The main item ordered was the 'regular' versions of the True Head 12", as I picked up the test and release show versions back in April this year.

I do love the packaging for this. The artwork is very suited to the music, which is a departure from the usual Youngblood hardcore sound. Overall this is a great release for Youngblood and is one of those records that gets more interesting with time.

I picked up all three versions available - black (200), pink (100) and clear (150). Good colour choices that go well with the artwork.

So of course, on receiving these and taking photos, I had to get the other two copies out to take a collection shot:

Test press is the one in the top left, with the record release version in the top right. I think I'm supposed to get a cover for the test at some point. If you want to see it, maybe come back here circa 2017.

Get Out

It's been quite a long time since I listened to Lights Out. I saw them live back in about 2005 and all I remember about it was thinking how young they all looked. But back in 2004-05 they were one of the bands I listened to most. I don't really know why I don't listen to them anymore. I guess it's mainly just a case of forgetting about them. But what better way to get re-acquainted with a band you haven't listened to in a while than to grab a test press? This is a test of their 'Get Out' 7" on Youngblood Records, numbered 19 of 24.

This test just comes in a plain yellow paper dust sleeve with a glossy Lights Out sticker in the top corner. It's minimal, but at the same time I like it because it's a little different to the usual plain white dust sleeve or alternative, photocopied cover.

Test count is now 47.

Another Reason To Believe

So here's one that not many people even know exists - Reason To Believe's 'The Next Door' 7" on Nemesis Records on purple vinyl. I'm not sure exactly when I became aware that this existed. Probably some time in the last three years or so, because that's how it's been since I picked up a green one, and I didn't mention needing a purple one in my post. On a related note, I seriously cannot believe it was three years ago that I got the green copy. Until I searched the blog I seriously thought I picked up the green one last year. Wow. Time is just getting faster and faster. Anyway, the green one is numbered out of 50 and is itself seldom seen. The purple, however, is never seen. It's super rare. So of course, when I got the chance to pick one up, I had to take it.

The green one has a numbered sleeve. This one does not. The sleeve on this particular copy is pretty tatty. The paper dust sleeve is quite interesting, however. It has 'Reason To Believe' written across it in fancy scrawl. No idea if it came like this or a previous owner added it. I'll probably never know either.

It's also interesting that the words are written over the top of the word 'Headfirst', which is written in much smaller writing. No idea why this may be. But like I say, it's interesting.

Receiving this seemed the appropriate time to take a photo of all of my Reason To Believe 7"s together.

The only one I still don't have is a test press. I know that it comes on red vinyl. I doubt one will ever surface at this point. But if it does I hope I'll be there waiting.

Green Swiz

Another relatively long time want crossed off this week - the green vinyl copy of the first Swiz 7", 'Down'. The sleeve has seen better days, but I didn't pay too much for it so I'm not gonna complain too much.

To celebrate the latest addition to the family, I got the other copies out for a photo:

I seem to average one of these every 8 or 9 years. I think I picked up the gold one circa '94, the blue in 2005 and the green in 2013. Apparently there were only 3 tests made, which I will obviously never own, so I think I'm done with this one... although if I am to get a shot at a test it will most likely be somewhere round 2022. Check back in then to see how I get on.

'Sign By 'Sign

I've crossed some fairly longtime wants off of my wants list recently, and here's two more. I was never a huge Ensign fan. I always felt that they were a second tier band. They were around for a while and most people liked them, but not many people loved them. Still, the tour versions of their two Indecision Records 7" are up there with the most collectible of their era. There were (I think) 100 of each made, and they don't pop up too often. I've had them on my wants list pretty much since they came out, and been outbid on eBay many times. Finally though, my time came and I was able to grab both at once.

The first 7" comes in an Underdog rip off sleeve. This one is really well made. Most rip off sleeves are just a photocopies piece of paper, but this is a proper glossy printed, folded and glued pocket sleeve. Possibly the best quality rip off sleeve I have ever seen (which is saying something, believe me).

The second 7" comes in a Side By Side sleeve. This one is not quite such a quality job. It's the usual 'photocopied piece of paper folded in half' style sleeve. Still looks pretty rad though.

This post made me wonder what the most ripped off sleeve is. I would imagine potentially the Side By Side 7" as it's quite easy to replicate. Can you think of any other ones that have been 'used' several times? If so, please comment.

The Edge Of Quarrel

This record has been on my wants list forever. It's super rare and not many people even know it exists. It's a Undertow 7" called 'The Edge Of Quarrel'. The story on this record is that this is a rare variant of the Undertow / Resolution split 7". The songs got sent to the pressing plant, but somehow the plant sent back a 7" which missed off the Resolution songs completely, meaning that this version contains only the Undertow songs (one on each side of the record). Covers were made and these were sold, then the proper split 7" was pressed. Just like the Chung King, only 110 copies of this exist in total (plus tests).

According to discogs, some of these have the song titles hand written on the labels. If I was an ultra nerd, I'd probably want one of those too. But given the number of years it has taken me to find one of these at all, I'm happy with what I have for once.

Positive Youth

Sometimes when you miss something, you can wait a while and interest will fall away and you can pick it up cheap. Other times, the longer you wait, the more expensive it becomes. It's not always possible to tell which records are gonna go which way, but this one eluded me for so long that eventually I just had to stop waiting for a cheap copy to appear and pay up.

Youth Of Today 'Break Down The Walls' was repressed in 2001 on white vinyl. There were 400 copies on white vinyl, but somehow 60 of the covers were damaged during shipping, so the label decided to make up some covers for so that they could sell the records. They made up 60 covers on a weird black textured paper that was then stuck onto some unknown LP jackets. These things were then numbered out of 60 and sold at Posi Numbers 2002.

This picture shows something I'd never seen until I had a copy in my hands, which is that this sleeve is just made out of another sleeve turned inside out.

I remember back in about 2007 or 8 when Revelation sold one of these via their eBay account. I'm pretty sure that it went for about $63. I think I bid $62. After that one the price started going up every time one appeared. The last one to sell on eBay is listed on popsike as being almost a year ago and ending at $256. That's quite some jump. These don't sell too often. I'm guessing that this is because most of them have fallen into the hands of people like me, Doug and Geoff, who never sell anything. So it will be interesting to see what the next one of these that comes up goes for, whenever that may be. I'm interested to see whether the price I paid was sensible or stupid. I don't really care either way though. I'm just happy to have finally crossed this one off the wants list all these years later.