Jane Doe Split

I mentioned a couple of days ago that I've always backed Coalesce over Converge. Well, that's true, but that doesn't mean that I don't like Converge. Au contraire. I always liked Converge, although I mainly up to and including what is widely acknowledged to be their greatest record - 'Jane Doe'. I bought two copies of this one back when it came out in 2001, but I always hoped that at some point I could add the most limited version to my collection, and I finally did. It comes on red & orange split vinyl. Apparently there were only 150 made.

I really struggled to get a picture of this where the split was obvious. It's one of those records where the colour is more impressive and interesting in real life. The only way that I could capture it was to hold it up to the light:

I've actually been listening to quite a bit of Converge lately. The funny thing is, at the moment I'm really into the first LP 'Halo In A Haystack'. I remember buying it from Very Distribution when it came out because Very's catalogue said that it sounded like Resurrection. Ha!

Cold World 'How The Gods Chill' LP

Here's another record that will undoubtedly feature in my 'best of the year' list - the new album by Cold World. This is slightly confusingly called 'How The Gods Chill'. The reason it's slightly confusing is because Cold World released a 12" EP about three years ago which was also called 'How The Gods Chill'. I mean, why would any band recycle the name of a record when the two records didn't even have any songs in common? Anyway, aside from that small gitch, this is a damn solid record.

Judging from the pictures on the sleeve, it seems that how the gods chill is by walking their dogs on the train tracks and sitting in puddles:

... and by putting water pistols in their mouths:

There are four colours of this thing out there, and I managed to bag three of them - blue, clear and white:

The pressing info on this thing is pretty crazy. 300 on opaque blue, 720 on clear and a whopping 3136 copies on white vinyl. Also, not pictured (because I don't have one) is a clear blue of which there are 328 copies. So in total across the four colours, there are 4484 copies of this LP. Now I don't know about you, but these seem like pretty high numbers to me, and really shows the popularity of vinyl in the current day. Pretty cool huh?

Give Them Tests

I've always loved Coalesce. I remember in the mid 90s when I got into them, and not long after Converge appeared and the two did a split 7" together. It seemed like the hardcore world was being dominated by these two powerhouse bands with names starting with a 'C'. I decided there and then that if someone pushed me to pick a side, I was backing Coalesce. And nineteen or so years later, I'm still backing them.

Back in 2011, No Sleep Records re-pressed the first album, 'Give Them Rope', as a double LP. It contained two different mixes of the album on two seperate records - the first contained the original mix of the album as released by Edison Recordings back in 1997, and the second contained the re-mixed version that was released by No Idea Records in 2004. I didn't bother with this when it came out because I felt that I could live without another reissue. But I recently spotted a test press going for cheap on eBay, so I placed a sneaky bid and won it. It comes in a nice sleeve with a large Coalesce logo screened on the back and is numbered out of 20 copies:

This is now the second Coalesce record for which I own only test press and not a regular copy. Sometimes I think it would be cool to ONLY buy test pressings and sell everything that isn't a test press. That would be some next level collecting right there.

Angel Dust 'A.D.'

Angel Dust's 'A.D.' LP is definitely a strong contender for the record of the year in my book. I wrote a comment on Mike's blog a couple of months ago about this record. In case you don't read it, here's what I wrote:

Bought everything React! put out, up to a point. Lost interest. Completely stopped buying React! releases. Decided to check out the batch of releases that came out a year or so ago. WarXGames, Caught In A Crowd and Angel Du$t. Liked CIAC, wasn't keen on WarXGames, and thought Angel Du$t was one of the worst things I had ever heard. Nearly a month ago I saw Judge play. At the end of the night I was given a flyer for a show the following week, being Turnstile & Angel Du$t. Decided to download the Angel Du$t new LP to check out before the show. Got addicted to the Angel Du$t LP and couldn't stop playing it. Played it like 4 times a day before the show, to the point where I probably knew the songs better than anyone else at the show. Wanted to go down the front and sing along, but felt too old so stood back. Still can't stop playing the album. Know all the words. Got a clear one coming, badly want a white one, would give my left arm for a pink.

Well, fortunately for me I didn't have to give my left arm for a pink one. Instead, I had to give three records to Willem in trade for a spare copy that he had. Man, I love pink vinyl, and it seems especially fitting here with the pink cover of this album. There were 200 copies on pink, making this the rarest colour pressing of this record.

There were also 400 White vinyl copies, available to order from React! Records. I actually missed the white one when it was up for sale as I thought at that point I didn't actually like Angel Dust, so I had to buy this one on discogs.

Clear vinyl was the Reaper Records exclusive colour. There were also 400 copies of this one. It seems that the Reaper copies didn't see as fast as the React! copies as I was able to buy this one direct from the label.

One of my copies (I think it was the one from Reaper) came with this promo shot of the band. I haven't actually seen 'Iron Man 3' but this makes me want to watch it.

So here are all three copies together. The observant among you may notice the severe absence of a test press and release show copy. One day... maybe.

War Zone Trade Of The Century

So a couple of weeks ago I posted up an 'aborted' copy of the War Zone 'Lower East Side Crew e.p.' that I'd picked up. At the end of the post I mentioned that, after owning it for one week, I was sending it off to someone as part of a trade. Well, my side of the deal came in this week. So for anyone who was keen to see what I traded it for, here's the answer...

I traded with someone who had been looking for the aborted press for many years. Someone who has an incredible Revelation collection (which makes mine look amateur) and who just happened to have doubles of two of the most elusive War Zone 7"s out there. So, rather fittingly, I traded my War Zone 7" for two War Zone 7"s...

First up is a third press copy on green vinyl, of which only 200 were made.

The second is the fourth press on clear vinyl. There were apparently 300 of these made. According to the Rev discography, 150 of these were given to the band without sleeves, whilst the rest went nowhere and still reside at RevHQ, apart from a few that got given away over the years. So even though there are more clear than green, the clear is way harder to find.

I actually used to own a clear vinyl copy, but stupidly traded it away in 1997. I've never owned a green copy though. To say I am stoked with this trade would be a huge understatement. I've wanted both of these for so long that it's ridiculous. To pick them up in one go is the stuff of dreams. Here's a couple of pics of the two together, just because I can:

It's funny, but I always felt that my War Zone 7" collection was embarrassing. Well, not any more. It just hit a respectable level. I figure I'll never own another aborted press, and I'm fine with that, but I would like a first press copy at some point. Hopefully I'll find one in less than the 17 years it took me to replace my lost clear copy.

Stone Dagger

One of my top 3 favourite records from last year was the Magic Circle LP - Sabbath style doom from some Boston Straight Edge superstars. Well, earlier this year I heard that pretty much the same dudes had recorded more songs in a similar vein, this time going by the name Stone Dagger. A two song cassette came out last year, but the rumour was that it was being pressed on to vinyl. Seeing as I don't believe in tapes, I decided to wait for the vinyl version. As is always the case with these Boston bands, I missed out on the first press because I was too slow, but I grabbed a second press as soon as it appeared.

I love the minimal packaging on this one. Basic artwork and a bunch of text on the flipside. I also love the colour of the cover, although I can't seem to get it to look the same in the photos as it is in real life (it's a nice bright pink). It sounds kinda like Magic Circle, but sped up a bit. I don't know metal genres or bands at all, so can't really describe what (or who) it sounds like, but what I do know is that this is one of my favourite records of the year. If only there were more than two songs!

RSD 2014... Only 6 Months Later

Six months after Record Store Day happened, I'm finally posting the last of my haul. I only received these items three months after the day, but it's taken me an additional three months to get around to posting the last of my haul (the other stuff was included up in other posts).

The first thing I'm posting today is The Fix double 7" reissue. Clearly a lot of time and effort was put into this. It comes in a gatefold PVC wallet with a sticker wrapped around to seal it, which is numbered out of 1,000 copies.

I didn't mind slicing through the label so that I could open this thing up. As you can see, this features both of The Fix 7"s reproduced exactly as per the original pressings. The label is proud to boast that no text has been altered.

Firstly, the 'Vengeance / In This Town' 7". There were only 200 copies of this thing made originally, and it remains one of the most rare and expensive hardcore records there is. An original will set you back anywhere between $3,000 - $6,000 depending on condition. So a repress is the only way that a lot of people are ever going to own this, me included.

The second 7" is the 'Jan's Rooms' 7". There were 1,000 of the original copies of this, so it's easier to find than the first 7", but it's still a $300-$500 record. So again, a repress is quite welcome.

The original of this one came with one of two different inserts - a white one with typed lyrics, and a bigger, yellow one with spray painted centre. Rather than go for one or the other, the reissue gives you both, which I think is a pretty nice touch.

Overall this is one of the best reissue packages I have ever seen. I really like that they have recreated the originals so closely, but doubling the two records up into one pack was a real stroke of genius. I think it works really well. Clearly, everyone else must have thought the same as this thing sold out pretty much instantly and has sold for a fair price itself over the past few months.

Next up, another RSD reissue, although this one seemed like an odd choice to me - the Up Front 'Spirit' LP on red vinyl. Do people really care about Up Front in 2014? I mean, don't get me wrong, I've had a copy of this LP for years, but I just don't think that it's one of the classics that everyone has and loves like, say, Judge or Turning POint. Still, the artwork is rad and it IS a good LP, so I'll gladly take one. I just find it weird that someone picked this one to press 700 copies of in 2014 is all.

Picking this up reminds me that I never did get around to collecting all the different pressings of this one. All I have is a black vinyl first press. I used to have the blue and white vinyl copies but I traded both away at different points in the past. I really should try to pick them back up again.

The next one is another weird one, but for a different reason. This is a split 7" between Sunny Day Real Estate and Circa Survive. I only picked it up for the SDRE side, I've never heard Circa Survive to be honest and I am not really fussed about listening to their side of this record.

I was interested to hear this as it is a new SDRE song, but after hearing it I felt disappointed. I guess I shouldn't have let me expectations build. I mean, clearly it was never going to touch 'Diary' or the pink record. I've seen this on clear vinyl as well as this maroon colour, although I have no idea which is rarer or if there are other colours.

Finally, another reissue of a rare hardcore classic. This repress of The Dicks 'hate The Police' was given to me for spending $100 in a store on RSD... which I didn't do, but someone else did on my behalf.

Again, the original pressing of this record is a very expensive record if you can find one. You'd need at least $500 to bag one of these, so a repress is going to be more than good enough for a lot of people. Even more so if it's free. There were different colours pressed of this but again I'm not sure what the deal is. But if anyone wants this yellow one then I'd be down to trade or sell it.

Longest War

I was intrigued by a post on the Stuck In The Past blog a few months ago. It was a brief entry, but caught my attention none the less. It simply announced the arrival of a band called Longest War, Featuring Chris Logan (ex Chokehold) on vocals and ex-members of Despair, Union and Achilles laying down the crunch. I was sold.

I finally got around to picking up a copy of the 7". I was stoked to have grabbed the (most limited) pre-order version, which looks great:

It's not often you see a screen printed poly bag.

This pre-order version has a large hole and comes in a stamped dust sleeve which is numbered out of only 49 copies:

What does this sound like? Well, it kinda sounds like the bands that the previous members were in all rolled into one. If you like any of them, you will like this. It's very 90s, yet at the same time sounds modern and up to date.

Surprisingly, you can still buy this in the Press Gang Records Store. Go get 'em kids.

Pursuance

It's been something stupid like 7 years since the last Only Crime LP came out. I wonder if it's a coincidence that Aaron Dalbec is in the band, and there also hadn't been a new Bane LP since 2005 until this year? I guess there must be some magic in the air this year. Anyway, with two previous LPs on Fat Wreck Chords, Only Crime have returned with their third album, 'Pursuance', this time on Rise Records. I picked up both colours that went up for pre-order, being white and orange:

I've definitely enjoyed this album over the last couple of months. The band is headed by ex Good Riddance vocalist Russ Rankin, and in a similar vein, this band nicely sits in between hardcore and pop punk. It's good for when I need something a little less aggro. I'm not getting this as much as I did their first LP, but I prefer it to the second one. Not that this helps you I would imagine.

I think there are at least three other vinyl colours of this one. I've seen purple, clear and a white/blue mix. I don't think I can't be arsed to try to collect them all to be honest... although, having said that, I imagine a photo of all five would look pretty cool. Hmmmm...

An Orange Shed

Another purchase from an actual real life record store, this is the first Title Fight LP 'Shed'. When I saw the record in the rack with a 'colored vinyl' sticker on the front, I hoped that it may be a red or blue vinyl copy that had somehow remained unpurchased for three years. Yeah, I know, this was ridiculously unlikely, but I've heard many stories over the years of people who have bought rare records years after they came out from backwater stores. Unfortunately, it was not to be. Turns out that this is a second pressing on orange vinyl that came out recently.

I saw that they also repressed the second LP too on almost exactly the same colour vinyl as the first press. I definitely won't be needing that one.

War Zone 'L.E.S.C.' Aborted Pressing

It's not very often you get a chance to own a record like this. So when the chance comes along, you have to take it.

What you are looking it is the 'aborted' press of the War Zone 'Lower East Side Crew e.p.'. It's not 'officially' known as the aborted press, but that is how it has become known among the die hard Rev collectors. I'm not exactly sure of the story behind this either. It's just one of those variants that the world only really became aware of in the internet age. Prior to that, I imagine that the only people who saw them probably thought that they were copies that some fool had ruined with an orange marker! I guess the theory is that the first few copies made had the wrong colour (white) labels; a mistake that was quickly spotted and corrected, with the remainder of the copies being pressed having the blue labels. Like I said, that's just a theory. But maybe that's not what happened at all. Perhaps there was just a small batch of white labels mixed in the blue. Or perhaps the plant ran out of blue labels towards the end of the run and used white. I guess the story doesn't really matter. The point is that there aren't many. There are either 41 or 42, depending on which of Rev's two discographies you are looking at. The text version states:

There was 41 copies of the initial pressing that come with white paper labels rather than blue and have the 'Warzone' logo on the sleeve colored in with orange magic marker. Besides the normal lyric sheet, a number of the first press come with one of two fold out inserts that have a photo of a band member on either side.

Note the total absence of the Revelation logo on this record. The logo hadn't been designed at this point in time.

As the discography says, a number of the first press come with one of two fold out inserts that have a photo of a band member on either side. This has one of those inserts, which I don't remember ever seeing before. It also comes with the standard lyric sheet, and a War Zone sticker too. There's a lot of paper with this record for sure.

And here's everything all in one shot:

This also represents a different kind of record for me, in terms of being the most expensive record I have ever bought. I'm not going to tell you how much I paid, but it beat my previous record by $200. And what's more interesting, I have owned this now for precisely one week, yet today I packed it up in a mailer and tomorrow I will be mailing it to someone else. Yup, I decided to trade it to someone who needs and wants it more than I do. I hope he's happy when he receives it. I'm pretty sure I will be when my side of the deal shows up. I imagine that you're intrigued as to what I've given this up for. All will be revealed in the near future...