Gooooooooooooooooooooo!

A buddy of mine posted a picture of his Go! collection on instagram some time ago, which made me listen to the two Go! 7"s I already had. Something I hadn't done in a long time. Too long a time actually. I'd almost forgotten how good they were. Good, powerful hardcore with very outspoken political lyrics. All the 7"s originally came on black vinyl only as far as I know. Luckily, a lot of people seem to have forgotten or simply never cared about this band, so you can pick up their records for rather cheap. Buy them all! Okay, maybe you don't need the live 7" and the Root Canal flexi (!), but you should definitely check out the other ones. Really good NYHC band, which sadly flies under the radar of most people.

Go! - Your Power Means Nothing
Go! - Why Suffer?
Go! - Root Canal
Go! - And The Time Is Now…
Go! - Only Sheep Need A Leader (Live in Utrecht)

More Iron Chic

Another release by my latest new favourite band Iron Chic. This is a split 7" with a band called Pacer. Never heard of the latter and probably won't in the future either. Not really my cup of tea. The Iron Chic songs are good, but not awesome. But of course it'd be a little bit too much to ask to have outstanding hits on every single release. Nevertheless I'm glad I finally have a copy of this. First press on white vinyl out of 400.

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.

Head Over Heels

So, a good friend of mine and I were djing together a couple of weeks ago. Yes, I actually play the records I buy, sometimes even for other people. Now I'm not saying I'm any good at it, but getting to listen to exactly the music you want to listen to for a whole evening and getting free food and drinks on top of that sounds like a good deal to me. Anyway, said buddy put on this one song that immediately got me hooked, so I had to ask him what band this song was by and that's how I fell in love with Iron Chic.
Not only did I fall in love with this band though, but my girlfriend did, too. Now the good thing about having a girlfriend who is into the same music as oneself and thinks about music the same way you do is that you don't have to explain about buying and spending way too much money (only in the eyes of others of course) on records. On the contrary, me and the missus teamed up and got as many Iron Chic releases as possible for now. Sounds like an awesome girlfriend? You're right about that. Since I apparently live under an enormous rock, not all releases were still available, so it looks like I'll have to hit up ebay or discogs at some point in the nearby future. Expect to see more Iron Chic posts soon.
For once I seem to be extremely lucky since the band is going on tour in Europe in a couple of weeks, which I'm really stoked about. Enough time to learn the lyrics to sing along. Shouldn't be too hard considering that Iron Chic is being played 95% of the time in the apartment these days.


Going clockwise:

Spooky Action tape on Bridge 9 records - white - /250
Not Like This LP - European press on YoYo Records - black (180g vinyl) - 3rd press out of ???
(Cosmic) Future 7" on YoYo Records - clear vinyl - 3rd press out of ???
The Constant One LP on Bridge 9 - baby blue vinyl - 2nd press out of 1000
Spooky Action 7" on YoYo Records - clear vinyl - 1st press out of 400

Not too interesting from a collector's point of view. But as I said I had lived under a rock for too long, which means that all the releases have gone through multiple pressings by now, so I'm not even thinking about trying to go down that road...

5 O'Clock Shadows At The Edge Of The Western World

If there was one release in the last couple of months I was really looking forward to, up to the point of sheer excitement, it was the new Dangers 7". The drawback of high expectations is that you imagine the new songs to be so awesome that it's almost impossible for the record to meet said expectations. This is especially true for new material by your favourite bands. As it happens Dangers is one of my personal favourites. Music, lyrics, attitude and live performance, I could go on raving about all of that for hours. I won't though. Let's just say that Dangers - to me - is what a hardcore band should be like. To say I love the band would still be an understatement and the day they're gonna call it quits will be a really sad one for me.
But let's focus on the present. As I already hinted at, I had really high expectations for this 7". It took me some time to get into the record, but after listening to it constantly for the last few weeks it finally made click. The A-Side still sounds a little off to me, mainly because the vocals sound so differently from the earlier releases, but the B-Side is where it's really at. The last song is just so unbelievably good. One of my favourite (Dangers) songs ever.
On a different note, Vitriol Records is one of those labels that always puts great effort into all their releases. I'm really digging the whole package here. Cover, the printed inner jacket, lyric sheet and the colours chosen for the records all work together really well. Great release of a great band by a great label.

I can't really say anything about the individual numbers here, but there are three different colours for this release, which account to a grand total of 2,000. I like the brownish colour the best by a mile. It looks really sick.

It gets better though. If you hold it against the light, the record turns golden with black swirls, which makes it look even better. Try doing that with your CDs or MP3s, ha! One of the best looking records I own.

True Till Death

Hands down, it probably doesn't get any more classic than a Chain Of Strength - True Till Death 7" on green vinyl. Pretty much everything about this record screams classic: the artwork, the music, the lyrics, the colour of the vinyl and last but not least the name itself, which has become the namesake for one of the most prominent SXE catch phrases there is. Now I'm not the biggest Chain Of Strength fan out there, let alone a collector, but this 7" is really great. Simple and plain. Sometimes it doesn't need a lot of words to sing the praises of something. What I love most about this record is the intro to True Till Death. It creates this intense atmosphere that persists throughout the whole song. Great stuff.
Anybody should own one of these in my opinion. Unfortunately there are only 2000 copies on green vinyl. I say 'only', because 2000 copies sounds like a lot, but since this is as classic as classic a record can be they are highly sought after. Really glad I was able to pick up this near mint copy and add it to my collection. Good times.

It All Comes Down To ….

This. This record. This band. This. This means everything.

It All Comes Down To This is quite different from the 7"s before and everything Bane released afterwards. I once read an interview with Bedard in which he said that in hindsight the band is not really happy with this LP and that's why they  rarely play songs from the first LP anymore. I think it was something along the lines that they wanted to experiment a lot and push the songwriting further. Which they definitely did. Actually they managed to do it quite well in my opinion. But I can see the band's perspective here. I imagine some of the songs on It All Comes Down To This to transform not well into live songs. Except for What Makes Us Strong and Can We Start Again for obvious reasons.
On a personal level, I really, really like this LP. We're talking about Bane after all. However, it's not my favourite Bane release. I've never been able to bond with this record as much as with some of their other releases, but I still hold it dear.
On a general level, I think this record is outstanding. It was so much ahead of its time when it was released in 1999. It's been 15 years since this album was first released, but if you were to ask anyone who doesn't know this record or band (WHUT?),  they would have a hard time pinning it down. Could have been released in 2006 or last year. The phrase "modern hardcore" would probably not exist without Bane or this LP.

From the pictures I'd seen before I actually could hold this record in my hands I always thought that this record was solid pink. But actually it has some nice marble effect to it. There are some white and even some very faint yellow streaks visible here. Looks really good. Easily the best looking version of the lot.

So I'm finally done with this one. Minus the test that is. But chances are I'll never get that. Which I'm fine with actually. Any Bane test pressings, or at least the ones of the early releases, are extremely hard to come by. If I ever could get one of those, that would be the cherry on top of the whipped cream on top of the sundae. Vegan style of course.

Bane - It All Comes Down To This (from left to right)

Bane - It All Comes Down To This - Equal Vision - pink - /100 (record release)

Bane - It All Comes Down To This - Equal Vision - red - /150 (tour)

Bane - It All Comes Down To This - Equal Vision - orange - /300 

          [it really is orange, not almost yellow like in the picture]

Bane - It All Comes Down To This - Equal Vision - black - /???

This And That

Work sucks. Period. Whoever tells you the opposite is lying. It consumes way too much time. Which we don't have too much of to begin with. Then you're too exhausted to do the things you actually want to do. Ugghh. The only upshot is that it provides you with the means to buy cool stuff. Like records. Speaking of which, I recently went to an actual record store, which is sadly not something I do as often as I'd like to. Most of my records come from the endless depths of the internet. I'd love to go record shopping at a real shop more often, but there aren't that many around where I live. Let alone ones that sell the music I usually listen to.
There's a 2nd hand store close to where my parents live though, so whenever I visit them I hit up the store as well. Sometimes they have some used cool punk rock or even hardcore records, but not this time. However, the shop owner recently decided to sell new vinyl, too. There were some sweet records like the first Quicksand LP or the latest Get Up Kids album. I opted for At The Drive-In's Relationship of Command though. When it came out I didn't really care for it because it wasn't 'hard' enough for me at the time. When I realized that music doesn't have to be hard to be good, the record was long sold out of course. So I'm really glad I was finally able to pick up this LP without having to pay through my nose.

Having good friends is probably the best thing there is. Even ahead of collecting records. There, I said it. Having good friends who bring over records in exchange for a free meal is even better. Mind you, this was not part of the dinner invitation. It was just a nice gesture.
If you like Reagan era hardcore à la Negative Approach and the like, you should check out Chainbreaker from Berlin. Standard press of the 2005 s.t. EP. Good stuff.

The Youth

Comadre is one of those bands that called it quits way too early. I would have loved to see another tour. I'm still bummed out that they cancelled the already booked tour with Dangers last summer. Anyway, I can comfort myself with their records, I guess. Luckily, there's plenty of them and they're all awesome. Comadre were one of the few current bands in my opinion that actually managed to stand out from the crowd as far as their sound was concerned. Quite experimental and open towards many different influences within that tight frame that is Hardcore. They always put in great effort in the way their records looked, too. Something that I really appreciate. I also loved the 'mix tapes' they used to put out.

This is the first LP that Comadre released on DOOD Records back in 2006. 100 of these came on red and white split vinyl, 400 were pressed on the splatter vinyl you can see here. There's nothing better than a release with matching vinyl and sleeve. This one here is especially beautiful. Nothing but love here for this band.

Catching Up With Today

Richmond's very own Down To Nothing have released a new LP on Revelation. I really liked all the early stuff that DTN released and I still love the Splitting Headache 7". The LPs just never could live up to that in my opinion. Save It For The Birds is still the best of the lot. Not that the LPs are bad records by any means. It's just that they never were as good as the early releases. Life On The James follows that trend. There was also a first press clear green edition, but I believe this is one of the second press copies on clear green vinyl mainly because I bought it kind of late.

I also grabbed a copy of the The Fact Remains LP by Focused Minds. When I buy current records I mainly follow the descriptions of the distro (which are usually copied and pasted from the labels, I know), but I never listen to records online beforehand. I'm kind of old-fashioned that way. The main reason is that I really like being surprised. Positively that is of course. This is not always the case obviously the case but if it happens, it's such an awesome feeling. Well, this is one of those LPs where this is not the case.
The description said something about 'drawing influences' from the past but 'putting a contemporary spin on the youth crew sound'. I haven't checked out any current youth crew bands lately so I thought I'd give it a shot. It's a good enough record and I might listen to it a couple of more times, but so far it's not that special. Generic youth crew sound, which is always ok in my book, but it doesn't get me overly excited either. 1st press out of 600 on black vinyl.

Speaking of contemporary youth crew records, I picked up Test of Time's self-released first 7" as well. I had read some good things about this band and seeing that they were recently bumped up by joining the B9 roster I thought I ought to give them a listen. Sadly the record doesn't do anything for me. There's not one song that really got stuck in my head. Maybe I'll give them a second chance and buy the 7" released by B9. This copy could be on grey /70 or cranberry /180. Don't really know. If you do, let me know. Gotta keep things in order here. Record collecting is serious business after all.

I really like split 7"s because they're a sweet way of checking out new bands for cheap. However, there's no wrong in putting two well established bands on one slab of vinyl. Shook Ones and Death Is Not Glamorous hardly need an introduction. Or at least I hope they don't. If you're not familiar with their back catalogue, you should change that quickly. I'm a little prejudiced towards Death Is Not Glamorous as they're easily one of my favourite Euorpean bands in the last couple of years and I still listen to their records on a regular basis. Good to get a couple of new songs by both bands, but the DING side wins in my book. Clear red /750.

I know, I know, this is not really catching up with new records. Re-presses don't really count. One of too many versions of Have Heart's debut LP that I already own. 8th pressing on white vinyl. And there's already a new one version out there. I wonder when I'll decide to call it quits on this record before it becomes way too ridiculous.

When it comes to represses, there are basically two way of how you can do it in my opinion. One, you
stick to the original as closely as possible when it comes to format, cover, lyric sheet, inlays etc and change as little as you have to. Two, you put in a lot of effort and create something new that is just so over the top it'll make your head spin. Radio Raheem opted for the 2nd way when they decided to re-release The Abused's Loud and Clear 7" and they did a bang-up job. This should be the standard of how reissues of classic records should be done.

Originally released in 1983, this classic NYHC 7" has been made available again for the first time in 30 years. That is if you don't count the 90s Lost and Found release, and who really cares about them. You get the songs from the Loud and Clear 7" plus the 1982 demo and a couple of unreleased live tracks. 21 songs all in all. The sleeve is a pseudo-gatefold of sorts with a flap in which you can put the record and everything that comes with it. You get a really cool booklet with a few texts and loads of pictures and flyers from back in the day. 24 pages all in full colour. Radio Raheem did truly a great job here. You also get a sticker sheet with replicas of OG stickers from the 1980s. Stickers are always cool, so why not throw some in here? I don't know what to say about the music except it's a classic record for good reasons. The music still holds up well today. I don't know if the songs are remixed since I've never heard the original 7", but who really cares.

If you don't want to spend a small fortune on this record, this is the way to go. If you want to spend that much money on the original 7", you should pick up the re-release nonetheless because this is a nice looking record and quite honestly, you probably just spent at least $700 on a 7" so you should be able to splash out $18 more for this LP.

Catching Up With The 90s

Happy new year, everybody! Let's see what 2014 has to offer. Still got some catching up to do from 2013, though.

This would have probably been a more apt name for this blog since it seems to be what I mainly do: catch up. So many records by so many bands, and so little money to buy all of them and so little time to listen to all of them. It's hard enough to keep up to date with today's music as there seem to be myriads of (new) bands all around. But since I was a little to late to start buying records - sadly not due to young age, but to stupidity - I have to play catch up with the past decades, at least the 80s and 90s that is, too. Luckily there's this shopping paradise for old vinyl called discogs.com. I picked up all of these nice 7"s from the same seller. Money saved is money earned, right?


First goes Grade's s.t. EP, released in 1996 on Wheatfield Records. Not too interesting from a collector's point of view, but that's not what it is always about. This here 7" comes on plain black vinyl. I'm not even sure if there are any other versions out there.

Next up is the s.t. EP by Mouthpiece. Again, no fancy cover or coloured vinyl, just plain black vinyl.
The internet tells me this is the 1994 repress because of the purple labels. Good one.

I also got this early Youngblood release, Rancor's Never Hold Back (= YBR 003), to be precise. Youngblood had some great releases in the late 90s and early 2000s. Lots of catching up to do though. One down, many to go.

I love compilations because it is a cool way to get to know new bands. Or at least it used to be. I know, the easy way to check out new bands nowadays is to use the internet. I also do that I have to admit. There aren't that many compilations being released anymore to begin with, and using the internet is admittedly easier. Plus it doesn't cost anything. I get that. But there is no better feeling than listening to a new record or a song on a compilation by a band you didn't know before and being floored by it, because it's just that good. You rarely get that feeling of "Fuck, this is just awesome!", but if you do, it beats anything. Sitting there in your room, reading the lyric sheet, looking at the sleeve, checking out every small detail. You don't get that same feeling from listening to music on the internet. At least I don't. Here's to more compilations in the future again.

First press of the Growing Stronger Compilation on Teamwork/In My Blood Records (red lettering on the front cover). 

Speaking of good compilations, the last 7" I picked up is a copy of the Rebuilding Compilation on Temperance Records. There are many different versions known of this 7". 100 respectively 200, depending on the source, were pressed on gold vinyl. This here is on black vinyl with yellow/green labels. There are four more versions on black vinyl, all with different labels. I don't think anyone really knows the precise pressing info for the black editions as far as numbers go. If you do, enlighten me. This compilation is really awesome. On different levels that is. Burn. Gorilla Biscuits. Turning Point. No Escape. Need I say more about the music? Thought so. Rebuilding was released as a benefit compilation back in 1990 to collect money for an animal rights organization and to promote the idea of vegetarianism/veganism. The texts and the info flier are informative and educational without being preachy or condescending. I don't know why, but none of the songs deal with animal rights/eating meat. Seems like they could have picked different bands/songs. Or maybe it was part of the non-preachy aspect? But in the end, it doesn't really matter. Good release for a good cause. 

Collector's Bane

Is there actually anyone out there who likes picture discs? No? Didn't think so. I've never met a single person that does. Yes, it's kinda cool that you can put pictures on vinyl but that doesn't mean that you really have to do that, right? I can think of three more picture discs that I own. One was a present that came with a trade, the other two are part of another collection. Now, if you decide to collect a particular band and you want to get all releases, well, I guess then you have to bite the bullet occasionally and go after these abominations that are called records. Probably the only good thing about owning a picture disc is that you get the satisfying feeling that you don't have to worry about getting this version any longer. Erm, or something like that... Bane - The Note - Equal Vision - picture disc - /1000 - check.

Believe The Hype

Sometimes people are as stupid as stupid can be. Take me for instance. I used to ignore hyped bands simply because they were hyped, only to realize a few years later that the hype had been more than justified. Best example: Have Heart. I remember getting a copy of The Things We Carry some time after it was released in 2006 and kind of liking it, but I couldn't really get into it simply because they were the next big thing at that time. I fear I'd have shrugged at many a classic band and made some smug remarks if I had been born a few years earlier.
Fast forward to 2013: I love Have Heart. The demo already had some good songs on it. The same goes for the What Counts EP. The songs are still kind of rough and a little simplistic maybe, but they're already foreshadowing the things to come. But The Things We Carry is what it's all about. Everything about this record is great. Music, lyrics, artwork, packaging - you name it. One of the best and most powerful records of the 00s. I'm pretty sure that hardcore kids in 20 years will talk about this record in the same vein as people talk about let's say Start Today nowadays.
Coming back to me being stupid. So I missed out on an awesome band for too long. That's one of the drawbacks of behaving like a close-minded idiot. Another one is that you have to pay a lot more for records when you jump on the bandwagon a couple of years too late. At least I have this 1st press out of 260 copies covered now. And at a moderate price, too, thanks to my new favourite website discogs. This record is going through its 8th pressing at the moment, which is an insane amount for this day and age, but it just shows how huge and important this band was and still is.

I guess sometimes it can be a good thing to believe the hype.

Relentless

Man, I love Sick Of It All. They've been delivering awesome hardcore for such a long time. Yes, the recent records pale in comparison with their early releases, I'll admit that, but it's still good hardcore. Solid tunes on this 7", too. 550 copies were pressed on white/maroon vinyl. There are also 300 of these pressed on white vinyl and 100 on black vinyl with blank pinkish/purple labels. The latter ones were sold at a Posi Numbers Festival, I believe. Most likely in 2003 when this 7" was released on Bridge 9. There are also ridiculously limited versions out of 12 (clear red/white split) and out of 4 (clear with the dragon motive). Good luck with these.