The Quest

Considering the fact how much I like youth crew music, I have a very weak collection when it comes to European bands of that ilk. Mainstrike is probably one of the 90s European hardcore bands in general and definitely of the bands that helped establish European youth crew to begin with. A Quest For Answers is the band’s debut LP, offering 12 songs of youth crew influenced hardcore, but not necessarily with typical youth crew lyrics. Definitely an important record for European hardcore. 

1st Press on Black on Crucial Response /???

Two Words

A couple of weeks ago I met with a good friend of mine for a coffee date. We hadn’t seen each other in person in quite a while, which is one of the woes of adult life: one-on-one time with friends is getting scarce. At some point during that period of time he’d texted me that he’d finally picked up a bunch of classic 80s hardcore records he’d long wanted to own. We acutally ended up having a fun conversation about those records (and some newer stuff) during the aforementioned coffee date. What he hadn’t told me was that along with the records he’d ordered, he’d been sent an album by a relatively current band called Two Words.

Since he wasn’t into the album, he decided to give it to me because he knows my love for youth crew. I really appreciate the gift. Thanks again. In case you were wondering, yes, youth crew is what you get on Rejoining The Forces. I mean, the band name, the name of the album, the insert, the cover art - it’s all there. Add the fact that the album was released on Crucial Response. Even without looking it up, I sort of knew this was a project by slightly older folks, which as it turns out, was the correct assumption as all of the band members are veterans of the Italian (straight edge) hardcore scene. This is a well done record and you get exactly what you expect. 

1st Press on White on Crucial Response /???

Don’t Look A Free Record In The Mouth

When we played the festival in Berlin some time ago, there was a table with records right next to the bands’ merch tables. Best of all, the records were all free. I was told that someone decided to liquidate their old distro and just wanted to get rid off all the remaining records. I browsed through the records and noticed a record by this band Think Twice. The cover looked kind of interesting and the name is sort of cool (a Minor Threat reference?). When I flipped the record, I saw it was released on Crucial Response and I figured it’d be stupid not to take a free record that somehow had peeked my interest. 

I don’t know why, but I expected a youth crew record. There are some youth crewish elements to the music, but the vocals are much more Revolution Summer influenced. All in all, this record was a pleasant surprise and getting this for free makes it even better. 

1st Press on Black on Crucial Response /1349

Stuck in the 90s

The great thing about many records from the 90s is that you can pick them up for rather cheap. Of course, there are many records that are more expensive, but once you dig a little deeper you can get a lot of good or even great music for little money. 

I wasn't too familiar with Drift, but a good friend of mine kept telling me how good they were, so when I had the chance to pick up their only 7" for a good price, I didn't hesitate. My friend was right. I didn't expect the vocals to sound somewhat screamo, but it works for me. 

Spawn and Feeding The Fire both play more of what you'd expect from hardcore bands from the 90s. Mid-tempo, very moshy hardcore. I've been flipping this split over and over for the past hour or so and couldn't tell you which side I like better. But maybe that's also a good sign. 

Onward

Filled a small gap as far as older European hardcore is concerned recently. A repress will do just fine for me though. This was repressed for RSD last year. Three versions, but I don't know detailed numbers. I really dig the songs on this 7", except for the one with all the scratching going on. Sounds really off to me. But all in all, it's a pretty good record.

For The Sake Of Dedication

This is a rad compilation from the late 90s. Pretty much all of the bands contributed good songs here and the youth crew revival that was going on at that time is documented pretty well I guess. I can't stand Floorpunch though, and them having a song on this compilation is kind of the fly in the ointment. Musically I quite understand why Floorpunch was and is appealing to many hardcore kids. Their lyrics, however, suck for the most part. I've never been able to get behind overly zealous edge bands, so reading lines like "I pray to God you OD on that shit" makes me really cringe. The only thing you're doing by writing lyrics like this is demonstrate that a clear mind is not necessarily the better state of mind.

EDIT: I just remembered that the seller tossed in this 7" for free. Building were a straight edge band from Belgium from the late 90s and they sound exactly like what you would expect from an edge band from that time.

Times Still Here

Last part of my shopping haul in London. I've had the s.t. 7" by Mainstrike for years and actually liked the music, but I never got around to picking up more of their releases. This is a first press copy on black vinyl of their debut 7" (/1660). The cover was originally supposed to be blue for the most part, as is the 2nd press cover, but somehow the printing job got fucked up.

Sex Drive

Holy crap, where do all these good records at the end of the year come from all of a sudden? If a band names itself after a Necros song, there's probably a good reason for them to do so. No frills, all thrills hardcore that could have easily been recorded in the early 80s. There are 98 copies on green vinyl, 110 were pressed on white vinyl and another 330 copies come on black vinyl. 

More Empowerment To You

This is the second part of the split series Empowerment is doing. This time they teamed up with their recent tour buddies AYS. Both bands play one of their own songs, plus a cover song of a band from their region, which is the whole concept behind this split series. I don't care too much for the new Empowerment song to be honest, mainly because of the guest vocals. Kind of ruins it for me. The cover is well done, but musically it's just not my cup of tea. The same goes for AYS. I think I saw them live once when they opened for some band I actually wanted to see and I vaguely recall wishing their set to be over quickly. I got the same feeling when I listened to their side of this split 7" for the first time. They just don't strike a chord with me.

I hope the next split will be better again seeing that I did like the first 7". Clear vinyl out of 262.



I ordered another record from the label's distro section. Damage Control were a band from Oslo, Norway and were around during the mid and late '00 years. If you're into bands like Champion, Go It Alone, Carry On and the like, you should give them a listen. I really like this 7" and I'll definitely pick up their other releases in the nearby future. This is the least rare version on black vinyl out 1,860.

Judgement Day

I was finally able to get my hands on one of those dark yellow copies of Burn's Shall Be Judged 7" that came out for RSD 2011. There were 1090 made with mainly two main variants, dark yellow and light yellow, as you can see in the pictures, but who knows how many slightly different shades there really are. I'm definitely satisfied with the two yellow copies I have. No need for transition colours or slightly different shades of yellow for me. I still 'need' a first press and third on black, but I won't loose any sleep over this one. Probably.

Here's what I have so far (starting top left).

Burn - …Shall Be Judged - Revelation - 2nd press on black /????

Burn - …Shall Be Judged - Revelation - 1st press pink /1000

Burn - …Shall Be Judged - Revelation - 4th press on black /300

Burn - …Shall Be Judged - Revelation - 4th press on light yellow /1090 total

Burn - …Shall Be Judged - Revelation - 5th press on blue /487

Burn - …Shall Be Judged - Revelation - 4th press on dark yellow /1090 total

Same old story. I didn't want to pick up just one record from the guy selling the Burn 7", so I also bought the Brotherhood LP Words Run… As Thick As Blood. I wanted to get a copy of this for a long time, so it was just as well. This 2nd press version comes on nice pink vinyl with some black smudges/streaks. There are 375 copies of this particular variant.

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.