Hell Of A Record

I‘ve been a big fan of Sunstroke ever since I first listened to Bloom At Night when it came out in 2019. The music is just right up my alley, very melodic, but it still has this hardcore punch to it. What’s more, they always put in a lot of effort with their artwork and packaging, which is something I really appreciate. It reminds me of later 7 Seconds records like Soulforce Revolution and Praise aesthetics as far as the vibe goes. Love all the stickers, too, and you can never go wrong with a Seinfeld inspired sticker. 

Hell of a Year for Daisies came out some time last year, but I only got the record recently, which is how things are with records these days. The only thing I have to criticise is that there are only two songs. I do appreciate bands still releasing 7”, but please put more than two songs on them. Flipping records after just one song is such a drag, and of course I would have loved to listen to more new songs by Sunstroke. 

1st Press on Baby Blue on Sky Valley ‘Rev Exclusive w/ Alternative Cover‘ /115

Total Soul Ignition

2026 is almost half way through and I‘m just getting records released in 2025, which I had actually pre-ordered. I was born to late to experience hardcore in the 80s and I‘m kinda bummed that the waiting for ages for records part is the one I get to experience almost 40 years later. 

Anyway, I’ve been really looking forward to finally getting my copy of Method of Doubt’s new release and it’s a banger for sure. I love the cover and especially its color scheme. The second press, which has just come out, was pressed on purple vinyl, which looks so nice with the cover. If I’d known that, I would have just waited to order the record and would have ended up with the much nicer color, but it’s just as well. I really hope there’ll be another release soon. 

1st Press on Black on Scheme /271

It‘s A Beautiful Record, What A Beautiful Record

Skinhead is a weird band name and it had kept me from checking out the record(s) for some time. Had I only seen the cover (without the band name), I for sure would have listened to it right away. It took the folks over at Axe To Grind podcast talking about this band and comparing them to Fucked Up to trigger my interest, and I can definitely see the similarities. This is a really good record and apparently I’m not the only thinking that because for a record that was released only last year to be already on its fourth pressing by now, is quite remarkable. Now I need to check out their debut LP. 

3rd Press on Mint Green on Pure Noise /700

God Save The Gun

Militarie Gun have had a great run so far as a band as far as I’m concerned, so when I heard there was a new record about to be released, I was pretty stoked. Then I heard someone on some podcast draw comparisons of the record to Angel Dust, which made me a little hesitant to order the record, because I’m not really into Angel Dust. But my inquisitiveness got the better of me and I decided to order a copy. I only managed to get my hands on a black copy, which is the most common colour for the first press, but I actually like how this works with the cover. Extra props for the gigantic poster of which you can see only two-thirds because it is so big. 

I’m really glad I decided to buy God Save The Gun, because this is an excellent record. It flows really nicely as a whole and is just a fun listen. I’ve been listening to the record daily since I got my copy and usually it didn’t leave my record player after only one listen. Maybe I need to listen to Angel Dust again, just to be able to compare the music myself. But be that as it may, Militarie Gun delivered another really, really good record. 

1st Press on Black on Loma Vista /???

Manic Perfection

I love anniversary presses, well, I love anniversary presses that give you something besides the actual record. And Quicksand and Iodine went above and beyond. I’d be hard pressed to say what you can do actually better with an anniversary presses. 

Manic Compression is a great record - Landmine Spring is a phenomenal song and one of the best songs in Walter Schreifels’ extensive catalogue - and the artwork is just so awesome. One of my favorite album covers of all time. Despite the fact that I love the original art work, I really like how they made this bascially a black and white cover, gives it a totally different vibe.

The red/orange swirl looks pretty sick and works really well with the adapted cover art. For once I’m glad I had access only to the most common variant.

30th Anniversary Press on Red/Orange Swirl on Iodine /1500

The book is done so incredibly well. Lots of information, quotes, flyers and pictures. It was so hard to choose a page, but I went for Walter Schreifels in a Minor Threat shirt. 

Now I’m really bummed that I didn’t get a copy of the 30th anniversary presses of Slip, because those reissues are pieces of art in themselves.