Fluff pick ups

I went to Fluff Fest last weekend and picked up a few records, or more precisely variants of records I already have. Bane apparently decided to drive collectors crazy since this is the 9th variant of their final LP, with the 10th variant already out there. I haven't given in yet, but I don't know how long I'll keep buying these things. Probably forever. Can't lie here, haha. I'm really stoked for the band though. Can't wait to see Bane a couple of times on their on-going European tour very soon. From a collector's point of view I'd have loved it if they had done a special cover for this (or any other) tour or maybe a record release show cover. Those are always fun to collect. 

A few months ago I received a wrong record, but I knew right away that I could most likely trade it to a buddy of mine. He went to Fluff Fest, too, so that's where we swapped records. I got the record release edition of Pessimistic Lines' LP Overcome, he got Bane's Holding This Moment on gold. This LP comes on orange vinyl, like the pre-order version, but it has this sweet Sex Pistols rip-off cover that pokes fun at another Stuttgart hardcore band called Empowerment. 50 of these exist. Thanks again, Hagen.

Catching Up with Assault

Keeping up with pressings of Punch records is a rather hard task as I've hinted at before. This time there's been a repress of the 2nd LP Push Pull on Assault Records. It comes on extra heavy 180g vinyl on beautiful white marble. As with the previous pressings on Assault this comes in a gatefold sleeve.

Close-up held up against the light. Looks so awesome. How can people seriously just buy CDs or listen to MP3s?

I also picked up the Demo 7" by Death Injection. If you're into SXE hardcore in the vein of early Boston bands you should definitely pick this up. Fast and angry as hell. This is the version on clear/black splatter vinyl out of 103.

Seeing that the guy running Assault Records also runs XSentientX Distro, I took the opportunity to get my hands on yet another version of Bane's final LP Don't Wait Up. This one comes on white vinyl. Equal Vision pressed 700 of these. The gatefold sleeve comes the way it should, so I guess the one my copy on yellow came in was just a singular fuck-up.

Catching Up with today

Enough with the represses already! Time to check out some current bands. First off we have Everybody Row's first 7" The Sea Inside on Vitriol Records. Everybody Row shares members with the late Comadre and you can hear that very clearly. If Comadre had made another record after their self-titled LP, it would have probably sounded something like that. A lot more pop, but still very powerful. I really dig this release. Hopefully there'll be more material from this band soon.

 

Gas Rag from Chicago play hardcore-punk with the emphasis on punk. Throw in some D-Beat, throw in some rock, throw in some classic mid-western hardcore and you get Gas Rag. This is their first 7" Human Rights released on Way Back When. Definitely the most 'punk' record I've bought in a while. Good one.

I saw SVFFER live last year once or twice if my memory serves correctly and I really liked what I heard. I'd meant to pick up one of their records for quite some time but only got around to do so recently. Sadly this record doesn't do anything for me. I'll probably have to listen to it a few more times but so far I'm a little disappointed. Will try to catch them live again though to see if I was completely off somehow.

A couple of months back I got the Violent Reaction LP, which was really really good. The band also put out a 7" last year and I finally got around to picking one up. Just as good as the LP. Looking forward to hearing more from the band and hopefully seeing the band at some point.

Catching Up with Bridge 9

 Another label. Another reissue. Bridge 9 first released No Warning's Ill Blood back in 2002. More than a decade later the reissued this record, that many hail as a modern classic. I wouldn't go that far, but it is definitely a very good record. This reissue also includes the demo and the first 7" on a separate LP. Beautiful packaging all in all. This is the "blood and shit" edition on red and brown vinyl out of 700.

Catching Up with Revelation

I had the first CIV LP as MP3s for a few years, but I hadn't really listened to it in a long time. I'd almost forgotten how many good songs there are on this record. It is definitely a lot more pop than Gorilla Biscuits but you can still hear the roots. Perfect summer record. Now that Rev rereleased the LP (I missed out on the repress last year), I thought it'd be a good opportunity to finally pick this up. Nice pink vinyl out of 550.

I also got me a repress of Farside's first LP Rochambeau. Been hearing a lot of - for me surprisingly good things in hindsight - about this record. Not my cup of tea. Far too poppish, which isn't something bad per se, but it doesn't work for me on this record. Bummer. 2012 repress on clear green vinyl out of 558.

Catching Up with Dischord

My Dischord collection boarders on embarrassing. Maybe it is even beyond the border of embarrassing, but I caught up with Dischord's catalogue at least a little bit.

Artifical Peace were around for only a short time in 1981/82 and apart from the three songs on the Flex Your Head sampler and one split 7", they had never really officially released anything as far as I know. It was definitely a good thing that Dischord finally decided a few years back to release the material recorded in November 1981. I got a copy on black. don't know if there's any colour vinyl available. Don't really care either. Very good early 80s hardcore. If you liked the songs on  Flex Your Head, you should definitely pick this up. If you don't know the band, pick it up anyway.

The second record I picked up from the Dischord catalogue is Red Hare's debut Nites Of Midnite. The sticker on the shrinkwrap advertised this as a band featuring members of Swiz and Dag Nasty among others and you can definitely hear the influences. This is really, really good. I've been hearing many people say a lot of good things about this record but unfortunately I managed to get this one only a few days ago. This is the second pressing on blue vinyl with matching blue cover art. Sounds good, looks good. I hope there's going to be more material by this band in the nearby future.

Don't Wait Up... Any Longer?

'Don't Wait Up' is an aptly chosen name for the final Bane record and even more so for the pre-order for this record on Equal Vision. Due to the fuck up at the pressing plant this took forever to come out, like two months late, then after finally getting the confirmation the record was actually in the mail, the parcel got held up at the customs office, which also meant paying more money. And to top all of that whoever packed that parcel at MerchNow forgot to put in the copy on blue vinyl that I had ordered. At least the yellow, which is slightly marbled, looks really awesome. So that kind of makes up for the rest I guess. Need to find me a blue copy soon somehow since blue vinyl is officially sold out on the MerchNow website and I haven't heard back from them about their mistake either. Oh well, where'd be the fun in collecting if everything was easy, right?

Could there have gone wrong any more with this pressing? Not likely, you might say. Wrong. Just look at the gatefold sleeve and you know what I'm talking about. Whoever folded that sleeve or operated the machine doing the folding did one hell of a poor job. This is what the sleeve looks like when being put flat on a table. I feel really sorry for the band because their final release got so messed up.

Out On A Ghostlimb

I first heard Ghostlimb on one of those (digital) mix tapes that Comadre used to put out when they were still around. I really liked the song, but I only managed to pick a couple of their records now. These won't be the last ones though. I like Bearing And Distance a little better than the s.t. LP, mainly because it's a little more melodic. Doesn't mean that the s.t. LP is bad, not by any means.

This is the second press of the s.t. Ghostlimb LP. You can tell by the cover, the nicely etched B-Side and the red ink on the cover. There are 300 copies on black vinyl. You can win me over easily with these kinds of covers, too.

I like the cover and overall packaging of this LP even better than the other one. I should probably get some historical maps to put on the walls here at some point. First press of Bearing & Distance, Ghostlimb's 4th LP, on red vinyl out of 800 copies.

Punch

Ever since I've heard Punch for the first time a few years back I've been hooked on the band. Great on vinyl, even greater live. As far as collecting goes, it's pretty hard to keep up with all the represses. I think this may be the 6th (?) press on Discos Huelga, but I'm not altogether sure. There are also pressings on Assault Records based in Germany, so it's all a little confusing. Anyway, I know that this is the latest repress on Discos Huelga on clear vinyl. Still need to fill some gaps here.

I already mentioned before that I don't like ordering only one record from a seller, so I also picked up this 2nd press of Ruined Families' s.t. 7". Comes in a beautifully designed fold out cover. I believe there are 300 copies of this pressing. I really love the fact that Adagio830 alway put in so much effort to create a nice package for their releases.

We Shall... Overcome

No, I haven't gone Christian hardcore lately. Far from it actually, if you know the people behind this record, haha. I've had the new Pessimistic Lines record for some time now and the plan was to write about it as soon as I had the other versions, but since that won't be the case for a few more weeks, I thought I might do it now just as well. Pessimistic Lines are a band from Stuttgart, Germany, for those who don't know the band. Check them out if you're into modern hardcore with an old school twist. I really liked their demo and their first 7", so of course I was looking forward to their latest release. And I didn't get disappointed, although I would have preferred if the production had been a little rawer. It sounds too clean for my taste. But that's just me. Good record by good people. Pre-order sleeve with orange vinyl out of 50.

I also picked up a black copy of their first 7" No Future to complete the set. 

Pessimistic Lines - No Future - Cobra / Drastic Actions - record release edition on yellow /33

Pessimistic Lines - No Future - Cobra / Drastic Actions - pre-order on yellow

Pessimistic Lines - No Future - Cobra / Drastic Actions - first press on black 

Don't Wait Up

It's so awesome that Bane's latest and last release has been received so well. I love this LP and I'm really happy for the band. 'Don't Wait Up' has already gone through its second pressing. At least the European version has. Still no pressing on Equal Vision in sight. I've heard that the pressing plant screwed up big time. Consequently the band didn't have any records to sell on tour, not to speak of the delayed pre-orders. Anyway, End Hits Records has been keeping busy with the aforementioned second pressing. 500 copies on clear vinyl, which I really like.

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the Bane test pressing my girlfriend got for my birthday, but as I've been told lately, this was only plan B. Originally she'd wanted to get me a test pressing of 'Don't Wait Up', but she didn't hear back in time from the guy running the label. He eventually got back to her and that's how I got my hands on this gem. Thanks again to my girlfriend and Oise of End Hits Records for hooking me up. A few days ago End Hits posted on their Facebook page that they were selling the remaining test pressings so if you want one, you'd better hurry and shoot Oise an e-mail.

Crucial crew shot

Bane - Don't Wait Up - End Hits - test pressing #16/20
Bane - Don't Wait Up - End Hits - purple - 1st pressing /300
Bane - Don't Wait Up - End Hits - turquoise - 1st pressing /400
Bane - Don't Wait Up - End Hits - orange - 1st pressing /500
Bane - Don't Wait Up - End Hits - clear - 2nd pressing /500

Scratch The Surface

Another record to cross off of my want list. This record is now 20 years old and it still floors me every time I listen to it. Last one I still need is a copy on clear red.

Old Departures, New Beginnings

Another record I'd been looking forward to a lot: the latest release by Trainwreck. Hopefully not the last one, although the title of the record might indicate otherwise. Who knows.
When I heard that pre-orders were up, I put in an order immediately and messaged a couple of people I knew shoe are into this band. However, instead of paying right away as I usually do, I forgot to do so for whatever reason and didn't really think about the whole matter for a couple of weeks. Until I got a reminder by the label that - much to my shock - I hadn't paid yet. That's why I didn't get the pre-order edition with the alternate cover, but this version. Actually it's not a real version since it's the pre-order pressing vinyl with the regular pressing sleeve. Guess the label ran out of pre-order sleeves and decided to use the regular ones. I'd love to have the pre-order cover, too, since it looks really sick. Stupid record collecting thoughts aside, Trainwreck have managed to put out yet another good release. A little more melodic than their previous records maybe, but I don't mind that development. The record still has to grow on me a little I guess, but that's what it's been like with all Trainwreck releases for me. Can't wait to see this band live again, hopefully soon.

Odd and ends

Punch is one of favourite current bands. Powerful music, great lyrics and the band consists of very nice people, too. All the good markings of a good band. I missed out on the latest repress of their debut 7" Eyeless (on Discos Huelga), so I had to pick it up via discogs. This is the 5th press on olive green vinyl. If you are into fastcore and generally dig bands on 625 Thrashcore, you should check out Punch. 

I've heard a lot of people talk very euphorically about The Ropes formerly known as The Repos. I had the chance to pick up one of their 7"s from the same seller I got the Punch 7" from for cheap, so I thought this might be a good opportunity to give a listen to the band. Quite honestly, I don't get what all the hype (is there really one?) is about. The music and the singer's voice are not really my cup of tea. As with most Youth Attack releases, artwork and the overall design of the whole package are superb (custom foldout double-sided envelope sleeve that comes with a sixteen-page booklet!). But since it's still the music that a record should be all about, this is most likely the first and last The Ropes release for me.

Tides

Just Went Black is my favourite hardcore band from Germany ever. I fell in love with the band in 2006 when they played a show with Good Clean Fun at one of my favourite venues. They were so good live that I just needed to pick up their records. That's when I fell in love with the band for the second time, because they also rule on vinyl. I'm still bummed that they broke up a few years ago and that I wasn't able to make it to their last show.

My favourite release by them and one of my all-time favourite records in general is their only full-length LP Tides. This one falls into the category 'perfect record'. Not only are the music and the lyrics nothing short of great, but the artwork for the cover and the inside is so well done in my opinion, too, and fits the overall tone of the record perfectly. I also really like the colours chosen for this release. I've had the versions on clear and black vinyl for the longest time, but the marbled off-white/sperm coloured one had eluded me in what felt like forever. I contacted a few people who had one, but none of them wanted to let go off it. Quite understandably.

A few weeks back I posted a picture of my copies of the LP and the 10" they released on Instagram. In my comment I added that I was still looking for a copy of the rarest version, hoping that someone might  sell or trade me the record. A few days later someone commented the picture, saying he was the former singer of Just Went Black and that he still had a spare copy of this version. So I wrote him a message and he offered to send it to me. That alone was a really nice surprise, but what was more, he told me that he didn't want anything in return, not even for shipping. Basically he told me that the record was only collecting dust standing around on his shelf and if he could help me out with my collection, he'd be more than happy to do so. Way to make me speechless and enormously grateful at the same time. Thanks again, Sven. Life can be pretty good sometimes.

Just Went Black - Tides - Assault Records - marbled off-white/sperm - /90
Just Went Black - Tides - Assault Records - black - /700
Just Went Black - Tides - Assault Records - clear - /200