Light Up Ahead

A couple of weeks ago I was in a record shop over here in the UK, which is a pretty rare event. Rarer still for a UK shop, this place also had a used section. I've bought from them online a couple of times, but there wasn't much there on the day that I was in the shop. I did however find a great record for a great price that I've had on my discogs wantlist for a few years.

Restless Youth were a Dutch band active around 2004-06 ish. This was in an era when a few mainland european bands attracted the attention of US labels (others being Justice and Dead Stop). Restless Youth had a 7" released by Painkiller Records in the States, and the same record was also put out as a CD by Dead And Gone Records over here in the UK. I have that 7" but I never got around to picking up this LP, probably partly because it was black vinyl only, so was never a priority.

Interestingly, this LP has a gatefols sleeve. This was a period when pretty much every record came in a gatefold sleeve, which it turns out is because back then, the european plant could make gatefold sleeves for super cheap (someone told me this a couple of years ago).

This is such a great record. Like a lot of records from the early 00s, it holds up really well, and sadly seems to have been completely forgotten about. But if you see this for sale you should definitely grab it.

Sliver III

Last year I finally got around to picking up a copy of the Nirvana 'Sliver' 7" after wanting one for years... and then it became an obsession and I ended up with 4 different copies. But that's just about scratching the surface of all of the different verions that are out there, so I knew that this one was going to roll on for a whike longer.

Anyway, I reached out to a friend to ask some questions about the record, and he replied with a link to a copy for sale at a good price that was for sale in Italy. I imagine that some people are still wary of ordering from Italy, but I decided to take the chance. Fortunately it paid off and this rad aqua blue version of the record turned up in the post.

This is a later pressing because (just like the other copies I have) it comes in a glossy, glued sleeve. The colour of the vinyl is super nice, being a clearish blue with some whisps of white and purple. It definitely goes well with the cover art.

There are way more colours of this 7" out there that I don't have, so this collection is likely to run on for quite some time. But what this has done is ignited a renewed interest in Sub Pop 7"s generally. I have a few Sub Pop releases in my collection, but have decided this year to try to pick up a bunch of the earlier 7"s that I was never interested in previously. Stay tuned for more small records with big holes in 2024.

The Two

Back in 1997 Revelation released a 12" by a band called Bluebird. When it came out I had no clue who they were, and unlike most Rev bands of the time, it felt that there was no real promotion or information about them either. The record came out and I think that it's fair to say that it was pretty much ignored, and quickly forgotten about. To this day their 12" remains one of the weirdest choices for a Rev release, and even at the time when the label was clearly branching out into different sounds, it made little sense to anyone. I always thought that the record was ok, although I struggled with the opening song which meanders along for over ten minutes. But if you just push past the first song, the other 5 are actually pretty good, and reminiscent of the kind of stuff that Dischord was putting out at the time.

Well, some 25 years or so after Rev released that weird 12", I became aware that the band released other stuff (who knew?) and I decided to check it out one day when I was feeling particularly bored and adventurous. I started out with their first full length, 'The Two', and instantly thought it was a good listen. It then worked its way onto my daily playlist, and was a perfect record to listen to whilst working. So i decided to buy a vinyl copy.

This record was released in the year 2000 by Dim Mak Records (a label owned by superstar DJ Steve Aoki before he was a famous cake thrower), and I have no idea how many copies were made on green vinyl, but it's the only colour that exists (other than black which we all know doesn't count).

Kinda funny how long it has taken me to get around to giving this band a chance, but it's nice to get into a band whose records I can pick up for next to nothing. There will be more no doubt...

Recipe For Hate

I recently saw a pic on instagram of a couple of coloured vinyl copies of Bad Religion's seventh album, 'Recipe For Hate'. Turns out that it was a 30th anniversary pressing. I originally bought the record back when it first came out in the Summer of 1993. At the time I was excited for a new Bad Religion LP, but it was an instant let down, so much so that I sold it at some point thinking I never needed to listen to it again. However, in my pop punk phase two years ago I gave it another chance, and I found myself enjoying it. So when I clapped eyes on this red with black smoke colour pressing, I figured it would be a good time to add this record back into my collection.

This 'red with black smoke' version is apparently an exclusive for european indie stores. It does seem like an appropriate colour to me, as it is a good match to the artwork... when held up to the light.

It's funny, because I really did think this was a half arsed effort back when it came out. But these days I like it a lot. It's a good singalong record, and although it's not quite as 'punk' as their earlier records, it does have some great moments. I'm glad to have it back in the collection 30 years after I sold it, but goddamn it makes me feel old as hell.

Failed States

This is the third and final pick up from the Newburu Comics exclusives section, where I bought three records that were on sale for great prices.

This final record is the 6th album by Propagandhi, 'Failed States', which was first released in 2012. This was in some ways a straneg buy for me, because my relationship with Propagandhi is in itself a bit weird. I bought their first album, 'How To Clean Everything' back when it first came out in 1993. I quite liked it at the time, but for whatever reason I never listened to anything else... so when I saw this record on pink vinyl for $15 or so, I figured it was a good opportunity to check them out again for the first time in 30 years.

My first observation was that the front and back covers are at opposite ends of the spectrum. The front cover looks like an interesting piece of art, whereas the back cover is one of the worst that I have ever seen. It looks more like something that would be on the front cover of the latest Triple B release.

When you've been out of touch with a band for years it is not easy to figure out which are their best or most popular records, but I get a feeling that this one is not regarded as one of Proagandhi's best. But I have found it an interesting listen. This definitely sounds like a hardcore record and band, and not the political pop punk band that they sounded like in 1993. Definitely an interesting record and makes me want to listen to more of their output... although I feel I should probably check them out in chronological order from this point.

Bloodmoon

Here's another record that I bought from Newbury Comics because it was on sale at a great price, and because I seemingly can't resist records that are in my hands.

I haven't bought a Converge record for a long time. It's not quite the same band that I started listening to in 1996, and I lost interest in them years ago. But I had read with interest how their latest record, 'Bloodmoon I', featured Steve Brodsky. Plus it also looked kinda impressive on an aesthetic level. So when it was in my hands for $17, I figured it was worth a chance.

The Newbury Comics exclusive pressing comes on a pretty horrible looking swirly mess colour of black, red and light blue vinyl.

So this record turned out to be a lot more interesting than I was expecting. First up, this is not strictly a Converge record. Instead, this is a collaboration between Converge and Chelsea Wolfe, but it also features Steve Brodsky, and his part is a lot more significant than I had initially thought, to the point where this pretty much just sounds like a Cave In record. Musically its a lot less fast and chaotic as Converge usually sound, but sounds like some of the mellower Cave In moments. I've listened to this pretty much every day through January, as it is a prefect record to pop on in the background when I'm working.

Overall a great record that I would not have bothered with if it wasn't cheap. Just a shame the record itself looks so damn ugly.

Abandon All Life

So I ended up having an extra day in the States last month because my flight got cancelled the day before we were due to fly home. This meant that we had an extra day in Boston. So we wandered around for a couple of hours, and at some point ended up in Newbury Comics. One of the things that is great about most US stores is the used section, but Newbury Comics doesn't have one of those. It only sells new records. But one thing that is interesting is that they get a lot of exclusives, where labels press colours just for Newbury Comics... so many, in fact, that there was a whole section of the shop just for Newbury Comics exclusives. I decided to have a quick flick thruogh, which probably took me fifteen minutes as there were literally hundreds of records, and I found three records that were so cheap I was pretty much forced to take them home.

Nails is a band that I don't think about too often, but when something jogs my memory and I listen to them I am flawed. The band is (was?) so incredibly relentless and savage that it still blows my mind. So seeing this grey vinyl copy of their second LP, 'Abandon All Life', for $12 was something that I couldn't turn down.

Shockingly, this record came out over ten years ago, in 2013. I downloaded it when it came out but didn't actually end up buying a vinyl copy as the only option was black vinyl. Then a couple of years ago it got repressed on a few different colours. I'm less fussed about which colour I have given all colour copies are represses, so this is absolutely fine and a great bargain buy.

So it seems that Nails broke up back in 2020 (which I had no idea about until today), but then there was an instgram post a few weeks ago announcing a new album will be coming out in 2024. So that's something to look forward to this year then. Can't wait. Bring it on.

No Regrets

The final post in my month long series documenting all of the records that I walked out of Wanna Hear It Records with in December last year. And what an anti climax this is...

I am a fan of bad records generally. I actively enjoy Uniform Choice's 'Staring Into The Sun' and I genuinely really like Metallica's 'St. Anger'. I think the reasons for both are simply that I was not eagerly anticipating their respective release dates when they came out, so I was not disappointed or heartbroken when they changed their sound. I listened to both records years later and assessed them as records in their own right. So I have a skill for tolerating bad records, or so it seems.

The third Warzone LP, however, I could never hang with. I have bought it twice in the past and sold it twice, finding it unbearably bad. Yet somehow when I came across tihs copy in the used section in the record shop, I instantly pulled it out and decided to buy it.

I think my decision was partly fuelled by how much harder to find this seems to be these days. Twenty years ago you'd struggle to give this away. But, like with every record these days, this appears to pop up for sale much less frequently than it used to, and when it does appear most liekly it is listed by some fool charging $100. So as ever, a reasonable price made me think that this could represent a good opportunity to grab this one... again.

The other reason I wanted this is that it just felt like I had a hole in my Warzone collection. And whatever your opinion on this, the front cover looks kinda cool, right?

This is indeed a slightly odd Warzone record. Raybeez isn't referred to as Raybeez, instead he is called Ray James. Also, he's stood at the back in the group photo on the back cover. Oh yeah, and he has hair. No doubt this was a strange time for NY hardcore, so in a way it's cool that this exists as a document of a weird blip in the timeline.

Well of course, after buying this I had to give it another chance. I think previously I found it impossible to make it through the first song without turning it off. Yet somehow this time it didn't seem anywhere near as bad as I had expected or remembered. And in the last month I have listened to it several times, and here I am now thinking that this isn't anywhere near as bad as I previously thought. Ok, so it's not a great record, but in 2024 this no longer sounds terrible. I guess I must be getting old.

Final thing to say on this one is that I also managed to download the demo that was recorded before this LP was recorded, and the same songs sound WAY better on there. Well worth seeking out if you like the band and have never heard it.

In Defiance Of Acoustic Times

The penultimate record in my series of things that I picked up from Wanna Hear It Records on my US trip last month.

Last year I spent a bit of time checking out some Strike Anywhere records online. I have one of their albums in my collection, and I always liked it, but I was never really blown away by it. But I'm always interested in hearing more from bands that I know have a big fanbase, because I assume there must be something there that I haven't fully grasped yet. So I checked out a couple of records and thought that they were ok, and that I definitely wanted to invest more time in them. So when I came across a Strike Anywhere record for $10, it was a no brainer.

Well, being slightly unfamiliar with the band, I wasn't quite aware what I had bought, but when I got home and listened to it I was immediately disappointed because this record is two types of bad record rolled into one... a live record, and an acoustic record. Yup, this is a live acoustic record, which with hindsight kinda explains why it was so cheap, and why it is still in stock and Bridge Nine some twelve years after it was released. Everyone else knows what this is and decided they didn't need it.

Triple B Bargain Bin

More stuff that I bought from Wanna Hear It Records last month, and this is a great example of finding it hard to say no to things that are right in front of me.

After I was done perusing the used LP section, I noticed a bin of records on the floor. Turned out is was a sale section, although nothing was priced. I asked for the price and was told that the records in the bin were $5 each. I'm not even sure that I managed to look through everything, but immediately I pulled out three records that I was happy to take away for a bargain price. All three were slightly older Triple B releases, from the days before the label changed direction (and pressing plant).

First up is this clear vinyl copy of a 12" EP by a band called Glory, which is imaginatively titled 'the twelve inch'. This came out in 2016 and the band featured Sam (who runs Triple B) and, as the cover kinda suggests, played straight up hardcore. The record contains 8 songs that are done in 9 minutes and is a one sided 12". It's not exactly going to change the world, but this is a solid hardcore record, and also looks pretty cool. AN absolute steal for five bucks.

The second record I found in the bargain bin was this green vinyl pressing of the Freedom 'USA Hardcore' LP. This was released in 2015 and somewhere around then I downloaded it and listened to it a few times, but never actually got around to buying a copy. Just like the Glory 12", this is a pretty solid hardcore record in the vein of Boston Strangler, and this second press green vinyl is a nice looking version to end up with.

And finally, the second album by Red Death, 'Formidable Darkness'. This is also from the same period as the two records above, having been released in 2016. Given how much I enjoyed the first record, I'm not exactly sure how I never ended up getting a copy of this one previously. This copy was sealed, and I was slightly disappointed that it as black vinyl. But still, for five dollars I can't be too upset.

Past, Present, Future

The next in my series of records I picked up from Wanna Hear It Records last month, and this is a record that I always figured I would add to my collection at some point.

'Who The Hell Is Wild Side?' is the debut album by Wild Side, and I was pretty into this when it came out back in 2019. It was in my list of top releases for the year, and it has taken me over 4 years to get around to picking up a copy of the record. This 'platinum' vinyl copy is the rarest colour from the first press, and it cost pretty much nothing from the used section.

It turns out that the answer to the question posed by the title of this record is that Wild Side is a hardcore band from Niagara Falls in Canada. Triple B touted this as what the third Warzone album should have sounded like, and to me it kinda sounds like stuff that was Lockin' Out in 2004.

I was really happy with this one until I got home and realised that it had a huge seam split in the top of the sleeve. I can only assume it was like this in the shop and I missed it, which is slightly annoying.

This was absolutely one of the best records from 2019, and it still sounds great today. I wasn't sure if this band was still going, as they haven't put out anything since this record, but as far as I can tell the answer is yes. If that's the case I hope they have something new on the way pretty soon. Although given that they're on Triple B, I probably wouldn't end up buying it anyway as no doubt it would be pressed on vinyl that looked like a dog ate several pots of neon paint and then threw up.

Words To Die For

>Another 7" that I got from Wanna Hear It Records last month, and this one is one of the cntenders for 'greatest 90s hardcore compilation'... although admittedly, there is a fair bit of competition. The 'Words To Live By, Words To Die For' 7" was released by New Age Records in 1991, and it reads like a who's who of early 90s straight edge bands, with songs by Mouthpiece, Turning Point, Outspoken, Undertow, Drift Again and Counter Punch. To me, the Drift Again song steals the show. Always has.

The original pressing of this record came in a photocopied sleeve. At some point it was repressed in a glued, card sleeve with revised artwork. Discogs says that the repress was from 1994, and the labels of the record have 1994 printed on them, but I don't remember seeing this version until many years later. Anyway, there were two different coloured vinyl pressings of the repress, and the one I just picked up is this clear vinyl version.

There are also copies of this on red vinyl, which has always felt more common to me than this clear pressing.

Interestingly, the original release of this record was also pressed on clear vinyl, although there is no danger of the two being confused as both pressings also have different labels on the records as well as the different sleeve. This is shown in the photo below, which shows all four copies that I now own.

Best Of Times

Another 7" that I got from Wanna Hear It Records last month, this is a classic release on Bridge Nine Records when the label was truly at the forefront of modern hardcore.

Released in 2002, the Death Threat / Over My Dead Body 7" was one of three split 7"s that Bridge Nine put out which were great records and with multiple versions for nerds to collect (the other two being the Right Brigade / A Poor Excuse 7" and the Good Riddance / Kill Your Idols 7"). At the time when this came out, Death Threat already had a full length out on B9, and Over My Dead Body had a full length out on Indecision Records. Both bands were very much at the top of their game, I would say.

This pressing is one of two slightly different tour versions, with a photocopied sleeve showing a group shot of all of the band members together. There were 100 of this sleeve made printed on white paper, which were sold by Over My Dead Body. There is also another version of the tour sleeve which is printed on red paper instead of white, which was sold by Death Threat. Both copies are limited to 100 and each contains a green vinyl record (with green being the more common colour of the 1st press).

This 7" contains three songs by each band. Two original songs each, and then the third song by each band is a cover. Death Threat cover 'Best of Times' (Chain Of Strength) whilst Over My Dead Body do 'No Class' (Reagan Youth). Overall the split feels like a genuine, well planned split rather than a few songs from two random bands cobbled together. I love buying records from this era, and with at least three more versions out there that I don't have, I'll probably be collecting this one for a few more years yet.

Last Great Prison

Another 7" that I got from Wanna Hear It Records last month, and this one was inspired by fellow blogger in a post just before my US trip.

This split between Burn and Prison came out in 1995 on Lost & Found Records. I've seen it a lot over the years and always considered it a boot, so was never interested in it. But when I saw Ralf's post, for the first time I thought that it looked kinda cool. And then, by chance, it was there in the used 7" section at a low price.

Both of the Burn songs on here have been released previously. The song 'Decay' is, I think, the same version from the 'Forever' 7" compilation, which sounds much rawer (and better) then the version that ended up being released on the 'Cleanse' 12".

The other band, Prison, I know nothing about. I can see from discogs that they were from California, and had 3 dudes from Visual Discrimnation and a drummer who was in Chorus Of Disapproval. Their two songs on here are actually pretty good. Seems that they also had a full length that was also released by Lost & Found, on CD only, in 1995. And that's it.

I also decided to pick up this black vinyl copy of the Burn 'Last Great Sea' 7". Again, it was pretty cheap. I wouldn't usually bother with regular black vinyl copies, but I kinda wanted this one as I have a test press and thought it would be cool to have a complete collection. Plus, this copy is actually rarer than the orange vinyl repress from 2016. When things are sat in front of me it is hard to say no.

One More One Up

Another record I rescued from the racks of Wanna Hear It Records on last month's trip to the States is one that I could have sworn I owned until Mike posted a copy last year. This is the final show version of their third 7" EP, titled 'The Single'.

There were 100 copies of this thing, and they are numbered on the back cover. Somehow my number doesn't show up in the photo (not that it matters really).

When Mike posted this last year I was convinced I had it, and given Mike was talking about how many One Up 7"s he had, I figured I would check what I had against what was made. So I checked discogs and checked my collection and then realised that I was missing this one. Not only that, but I then realised there were several other One UP 7"s that I also didn't have. In my mind I had more than I do, somehow. Or maybe I just never realised before exactly how many existed. But of course, when I then came across this record in the used 7" section in the store, I knew I didn't have it, so it was worth the few dollars price tag to take it home.

Third Truth

For my next bunxh of posts, I'll be posting up the records I bought at Wanna Hear It Records last month. I went there to pick up a Bane test press and ended up coming away with a bunch of 6131 Records releases and then a whole bunch of stuff that I found in the shop... and believe me, I didn't even gget to look through everything. I'm sure I could have found a whole load of other stuff if I'd have had another hour or so. Anyway, here we go...

Given that my last post was a Strife LP test press, I thought I would follow up with another Strife record that I simply could not resist buying. This is a repress of the best Strife record, 'One Truth', which was pressed on 'Blue, Black & Grey Starburst' vinyl.

I took a look at the record in the store and immediately knew I wanted it. I'd never seen this colour before, but think it looks amazing, and a pretty good colour match to the artwork. I think this record proves that swirl vinyl can look good, but what is interesting to me is that this record was clearly pressed at a US plant, and there are subtle differences to US pressed records and records pressed at the plant in Europe that everyone uses. As I have always said, the US pressed swirls look good whilst the Euro pressed swirls look cheap.

According to discogs, this was a Newbury Comics exclusive from 2020, limited to 150 copies.

I have owned both original colour vinyl pressings of this record pretty much since they came out, and they both come in the gatefold sleeve. This pressing right here does not come in a gatefold sleeve, but instead there's a huge fold out poster included which has most of the photos from the inside of the gatefold.

I listened to this record again today and I struggle to wrap my head around the fact that it is almost 30 years since this record came out. I remember buying it, and then seeing them live a few months later. How the hell is that almost three decades ago?

Witness A Rebirth

The final in my series of posts of records that I was given by Joey from 6131 Records on my recent trip to the States, and I was pretty stoked on this one.

This is a test press of Strife's 'Witness A Rebith' LP from 2012. I have to say, I have had a regular copy of this record in my collection for a few years but I have no memory of it. For me, there is only one Strife record ('One Truth') and everything else is inferior and almost sounds like a different band.

As is customary around these parts, I am duty bound to take a photo of the test next to the regular cover for the record to make things more interesting.

Listening to this in 2024, and I have to say that it isn't a bad record at all. Clearly I didn't give it much of a chance when I got it originally. But that's me all over I guess... a decade too late most of the time.

Dead Horse

Today is the penultimate post in my series on records that I was given by Joey from 6131 Records, and this one surprised me.

I've said it before, but it is funny how I decide which bands to listen to. These days there are far too many bands and it is impossible to check out everything. So I do what I have always done. I make decisions about how interested I am in a band based on factors which include the band name, the people in the band, the label that the record is on, and sometimes the front cover art. All of these things will influence how interested I am in giving something my time.

When the band Touché Amoré surfaced years ago, I decided that they were not for me. To start with, the name didn't exactly draw me in. Secondly, I think I read something or saw something that described their sound in a way that made me think that I just wouldn't be into it. And that was it. Decision made.

Well, after I was given a copy of the band's debut LP '...To The Beat Of A Dead Horse', I figured that the least I could do was give it a chance. So I sat down and gave it some of my precious time.

The first thing I decided was that the cover art is pretty cool. The silhouette of a kid riding a bike into an oncoming storm. Almost a metaphore for life itself. And then when I took the record out, it comes in a printed inner paper sleeve, which I have rarely seen. It looks nice.

This is a first press copy on grey from 2009, which was an era when pressing records at decent quality pressing plants seemed more common. It looks nice.

So aesthetically this ticked a lot of boxes. In terms of how it sounds, I hear a mix of Modern Life Is War and American Nightmare. I'm not sure what I read years ago, but this is very much up my street. Eleven songs in a little under 20 minutes and it's also pretty much the perfect length for a hardcore record. Oh yeah, and add in a song title which is clearly a reference to The Smiths, and I'm all in on this. Clearly I made a bad decision a decade ago or whatever. But I will definitely check out more of this band's catalogue at some point.

And to close out this post, I was also given a test press of this record too. It's not a test press for the above first pressing, but appears to be a test for a repress from (I think) 2015, when the cover got 'upgraded' to a gatefold sleeve.

This test press doesn't seem to exist on discogs, so probably isn't overly common. And even though its a repress, it's still a nice one to have.