All On Black II

Not only did I manage to pick up a whole bunch of 7"s on black vinyl, but with the same order I got three LPs that came all on black vinyl, too. What are the odds, right?

Some time ago I complained about the lack of compilations nowadays. So when I heard that Crucial Response was to release a compilation I knew I had to get it. Crucial Response had some quality releases in the past and from what I read the list of bands on this compilation sounded really promising. I do have mixed feelings about this LP though, now that I actually have it in my hands. There are some really good bands on it, both veteran and current. My favourite songs on here are probably by Snob Value, Sniffing Glue, Skaggs and Become. I'm really bummed that the latter already broke up. I had really enjoyed their demo and was looking forward to more to come. If you're into early, Boston-style hardcore at all, you should definitely check out Skaggs and get the two tapes they have put out so far.
However, my mixed feelings stem from including this band Dogends on the compilation. If anyone out there still thinks it's ok to use words like 'faggot' as an effort to insult someone, you can fuck off. I don't know if this was just 'meant as a joke' or that 'if I knew these guys, I'd know they weren't bad guys and didn't mean it like that' - these being the most common excuses around -, but that doesn't make it any less stupid. I also wish the label had taken more interest in the lyrics their bands have. Somewhat ruins this for me.

I've heard and read a lot of good things about this LP and it ended quite highly on many of the TOP 2013 lists that I saw, so I had to get it and see for myself. And I didn't get disappointed, that's for sure. Rough hardcore played in an early 80's style. X-Claim bands come to mind as a reference, but there's also some hint of early British hardcore in there. What makes this band really special is the fact that it consists of only one band member, Tom Pimlott, who plays all the instruments on the recordings. Talk about your DIY ethics. Will be listening to a lot in the future most likely.
This is the Painkiller version on black vinyl. 'City Streets' also comes on blue and red vinyl, and to make it more interesting for collectors, it was released on two different labels.

This is probably my favourite release of the lot 'All On Black' that I recently got. Left in Ruins' 'Ghost' LP, which is a split release by Per Koro, Epidemic and Ruins Records, is 10 songs of pure rage. One-sided LP, 10 songs in 14 minutes, no fancy gimmicks. Just pure raging hardcore. Plus one of the best covers I've ever heard. Classic rock song goes hardcore. So, so good.

All On Black

After crossing off a couple of old records on my want list, it was time to focus on the current hardcore scene again and so I ordered a couple of records that either sounded interesting or I had heard people I know talk about. By some weird coincidence I managed to pick up only records on black vinyl, which in this day and age is somewhat of a marvel. I don't really care about that, but it's kind of astonishing nonetheless.

Let's start with Caught In A Crowd's second 7" 'The Fight', released by React! Records. Caught In A Crowd play youth crew SXE hardcore, as you have probably already figured out from the band's name and the label. It's good music for what it is, but from the couple of times I listened to the songs, this 7" is nothing that got me overly excited. They're often compared to the likes of Carry On and Count Me Out, which is why I bought the record in the first place, but 'like' does unfortunately not mean 'as good as' in this case. Maybe it'll grow on me though. First press out of 400.

I got to know Kids Insane via a message board I frequently use when someone posted a link to their bandcamp page. The songs got me hooked immediately and I bought their LP soon afterwards. I really liked said first LP and listened to it on a regular basis for a couple of weeks. So when I heard that they were going to put out a new 7", I had to get it. And what can I say, I wasn't disappointed when I listened to it the first time and the many times after that. I'm pretty sure this 7" will rank highly on my 2014 list. I really like the cover, too.
Most common version comes on black vinyl again. There are 317 other 7"s on black, but if you're looking to add some colour to your life, 'Frustrated' also comes on silver and blue vinyl. You can even pick up a test press for cheap as far as I know.

Next up is Sea Of Shit's s.t. 7". Decent power violence, but nothing that really got stuck in my head. Might have to give it a couple more spins, but for now it's 'just OK'.

Many people seem to be fed up with the seemingly endless flow of reissued records, but I'm rather stoked about most of them. I can see the perspective of collector's here, but for me, and many others I guess, it's a good and cheap way to pick up records that wouldn't be affordable otherwise. A good example is this Deep Wound 7", which usually goes for $400+ on eBay. Now I really wanted to have that record - and and still want many other classics as a matter of fact -, but not at that price. Since bootlegs are out of the question, I always have to hope for a reissue of a classic record. Armageddon Records seem to have heard my prayers and even more importantly answered them. The first legitimate reissue of this classic 80's record, at least as far as I know. And again, this is a classic for good reasons. Great guitar, awesome drumming and the pissed off voice of the singer make this 7" really stand out. If you're into early 80's hardcore at all, you need this. On a sidenote, the drummer and the guitarist went on to form this band you might have heard of called Dinosaur Jr. Must have.