Jerry's Kids -Kill, kill, kill LP

Every self respecting hardcore collector should own a copy of the first Jerry’s Kids LP ‘Is this my world’ (preferably an original on X-Claim) but hardly anyone ever mentions the second LP (Kill, kill, kill). Released at the end of the 80’s  on Taang ( and licensed through Europe on Emergo) this album saw Jerry’s kids go in a more rock/metal direction  not unlike their Boston comrades (and old X-claim label mates)  SSD and DYS but the difference being that their later stuff wasn’t utter dog shit. To be honest like many other folk I still never bothered with this until a while ago when I came across it in a file of Boston HC MP3s that I downloaded and was surprised that it was actually pretty decent. By no means a classic and certainly not essential (unlike their debut) but still worth picking up at a decent price. As luck would have someone I knew was selling it cheap so there it was-a good excuse to add it to the collection….unfortunately that second DYS album still lives there.

Boston Strangler-Primitive LP

One of the most sought after recent hardcore albums in years-this started going for silly money straight away. Probably because it wasn't clear who had released it and where you could actually purchase  a copy (apart from ebay and discogs). Anyway it turned out that Fun with smack records put this out although getting a copy was still tricky. Mike got in touch sending a link to their big cartel site when some were available but when I finally logged on they were gone, damn!!! A couple of weeks later he alerted me when more were available and this time time I got lucky. Only snag that it was part of a combo package deal where you had purchase a record by a Dinosaur Jr-esque band called Mudlark-with a name like that it's no wonder the only way to shift their album was by paring it up with a highly sought item. Actually that record isn't too bad but no way would have I had bought it individually.
 So not much needs to said about boston strangler-even if you know nothing about them the name should indicate what they sound like-Total '82 Boston HC worship-oh and they come from Boston too.. This is a instant classic. Thanks Mike again.

Crusades-The sun is down ....LP White

When I heard there was another colour pressing of this LP I jumped on it, I've ranted and raved about this album enough. It was my fave thing of last year and I listened to it religiously which is ironic as every track is rather anti-religion.

So this is my third copy on colour and even though the other two are the It's alive US pressings, this is a European press between It's alive, Razor, Destructure and hardware records,  Apparently this was done for their recent European tour (which I missed) and I'm not sure of how many were pressed.

Needless to say if any more colours get released then I'll be on it because that's what I do.

 

 

 

ISTERISMO - Folia Verso L’interno MLP Purple

I've been getting more and more into Japanese hardcore over the last year or two (can't believe it took so long) and funny enough Isterismo were one of the bands that got the ball rolling when I picked up a Discography LP of sorts a while back. They actually worship early 80's Italian hardcore and even sing (well shout) in Italian.Anyway they're back with a brand new release and it's a stormer, a split release between LA VIDA ES UN MUS DISCOS records of the UK and Crust War records of Japan so you already feel you're getting something a bit special. 100 were pressed on colour and they went within a couple of hours. I was real lucky getting hold of one. Of course this needs to be played LOUD for full effect.

Operation Ivy-Hectic 12" Clear

Originally released back in 1988 on Lookout records, nearly quarter of a century later Hellcat records have decided to reissue this again but on 12". Don't ask why. Sure it looks nice but it seems pretty pointless to be honest not that didn't deter me from buying a clear vinyl copy. I can try and justify to myself that I don't own an original anymore but I still feel a bit of a dick for being suckered into getting this.
 Never been a fan of Ska so Ska punk has never really done much for me but for some reason I always had a soft spot for these guys when I first heard them back in the early 90's. This record is a lot rawer than the now legendary album. It's nice to hear this again and at least I can file it away now with the LP but still I reckon I must have 'idiot' tatoo on my forehead that only I can't see.

Natural law-Spring trash 7"

Originally released as a tape in 2010. Everyone knows how much I hate those fucking things but thankfully Hardware records of Germany have put this out on the format it deserves. Basic no thrills hardcore which is so much better and effective for it's simplistic approach. The packaging for this is pretty minimal too. Good, good stuff though not up to the same standard as their LP, this is still worth grabbing if you're a fan. 100 on white vinyl and there's still some left in the hardware store so get in.

Propagandhi-Failed states LP

New Propagndhi album-about damn time. It's also exciting to see this band evolve with each release. They've certainly come a long way since their fat wreck days even though despite having a similar sound to most of the other bands on the label they still stood out from the pack-mainly due to their political views which are still strong today. Describing them these days is a tricky chore. It's like prog-thrash metal-hardcore if such a term exists or even makes any sense. Whatever-this album totally rules and will be in a lot of folk's best records of 2012 lists. Now on Epitaph records, I managed to bag a colour copy. Also it comes with an actual CD rather than a download so even those charlatans without turntables can grab one. Great package, great band, great record.

Off with their Heads/Discharge-Split 7" Second pressing/Fest version

Probably the oddest release for me last year was this 7". These two bands actually together on one record released by small UK label Drunken Sailor records?
 I have no interest in what Discharge are doing these days (they were so boring when I saw them in Summer) but I do like OWTH a lot although they put out too many split releases with other bands (this being one of many of them). This was originally meant to be a one off release but here's a second pressing anyway. 300 all on on white vinyl and 50 came with this white sleeve which was made up for some festival (Don't know which one). I bagged one of the leftovers when they hit the store. Look very nice I must say. Discharge don't sound that bad here but at the end of the day I actually prefer quite a few of the bands that they actually influenced rather than them. OWTH are still the reason to tune into this though. Good stuff!!!

Buzzoven-Sore LP

Another long time want removed from my list. I actually bought this on CD at the time and skipped the regular vinyl little knowing back then  that years later it would become a highly collectable item. Ah, the gift of hindsight. Anyway, Buzzoven were one of the first Sludge bands around. This was their big label debut (to Roadrunner). Knowing Roadrunner they probably dropped them when they failed to sell as many records as Sepultura-the guys who ran it were all about money. Still while Buzzoven may have never cracked the big time they were one of the pioneers of this style and have influenced many other bands. Members went on to play more angry and hateful bands like Weedeater, Sourvein etc. All good stuff!!!
 This was in the batch of stuff that I bagged the other weekend and I'm pretty damn stoked to finally own it on vinyl. With a cover like that, it needs to be 12 inches big to be apprecaited.

Carnage-Dark Recollections LP

Last weekend an old friend called me and told me he was having a record clearout. There went my plan of the window with not buying anymore records this month. One visit later and my collection was slightly bigger and my bank account a bit smaller. I'm not complaining though, one thing that I've learnt over all these years with my record collecting habit is that if you see something you want and you can afford it then grab it there and then because especially these days it may not be around if you decide to hold off and try picking it up later,particarly if the price is more than reasonable.
It was a pretty good haul but one of the crown jewels for me was this LP-the first and only ever Carnage album. It's become of a bit of a holy grail for collectors of Swedish death metal as not only was it one of the first records to capture that trademark Swedish sound but also because members went onto other highly acclaimed bands such as Dismember, Carcass and Arch enemy.
 It was released back in 1990 on Necrosis records-a short lived sub division of the mighty Earache records. It's a lovely item to have as this is from probably favourite era and genre of death metal. Listening to this reminds me why I have very little interest in what's going with the majority of current death metal these days unless they're playing it in a retro-style and you can't beat the genuine article-which is what this is.

Bad brains-I against I LP White

 

 

Picked this up in my local store last week in the second hand section which was a nice find. It's not the best Brains LP but by far the worst. This is a German Pressing on the Instant/Line records label. Line also did a white vinyl pressing of 'Rock for light' (Which I have a spare of, if anyone's interested). It is notably different next to the SST (blue lettering on the cover for a start). As I have the clear and green vinyl on SST already I decided to include a snapshot of the boys together.

 

Darkest hour-Undoing ruin LP Test press

 

I've been with Darkest hour since pretty much the beginning-since they first dropped their first CD on Art monk construction. That shocked many at the time as that label was notable for really releasing only Emo-ish stuff.  Needless to say Darkest hour stood apart from the rest of the Art monk roster. They moved onto others labels such as East coast empire, southern lord and eventually Victory. It wasn't until 'Mark of the Judas' where I really got into the band. What a blinding album that is. I still need a clear copy of that one.
 Recently I saw this on Ebay-a test press which is also signed by all members. Pretty much a unique item which I was pretty surprised that I won. Are the kids not as down with DH in 2012 as they were previously? Anyway I'm not complaining-my only gripe is that this purchase has made me realise how lacking my collection is DH vinyl. Damn, it all begins-again!!!

Entrapment-Crawling morbidity 7"

I caught Entrapment last weekend at the bloodshed fest. I'd never heard of them before and had my friend not recommended them to me about five minutes before they played I'd still be ignorant to their existance. It's safe to say they were the best 'surprise' band of the whole weekend.
 They play old school death metal, a point their guitarist kept making when my friend talked to him 'Old school death NOT new new school' was what he apparently kept stating. It's most certainly that-with also a hint of hardcore punk in the style of  their delivery. Anyhow on the strength of their preformance I picked up this 7" on the soon to be defunct Detest records and on the strength of this record I'm gonna pre-order the debut LP.  Not sure how many of these there are but I'm guessing 500-1000 copies. With Detest records in it's death throes I can't see it being around too long.

Wolfbrigade-Damned LP Euro tour edition

Yeah I know it's been a while. I had loads of trouble with this account for uploading photos (it's still shaky now!) and then my damn camera died on me. Anyway fingers crossed that I'm back up and running and can catch up with the shedload of vinyl I've picked up lately.
 This weekend gone I was at the Bloodshed fest in Eindhoven, Holland. Great times!! I came back with my luggage heavier than when I went which is always the way with these things but hey-that's part of the ritual, right? Anyway  amongst the many other goodies that I acquired I picked up a limited tour version of the new Woldbrigade LP. It comes in a cool paper sleeve to wrap around the original one and it's on what could be the 'rust' vinyl that Southern lord were meant to send me before they cocked up another order (there's a surprise!!). I do like Wolfbrigade I must say. I've been a fan of their D-beat assault since the days they were called Wolfpack -in fact I remember going to see them at a near empty gig in Bradford at the 1 in 12 club in 1998. I was still blown away despite hardly any bugger being there. It's pretty mad to see how their fan base has grown over the years although unfortunately they attract a lot of idiots too so it seems. (Stupid drunken crusty assholes).
 So this is their umpteenth album and it's what you'd expect-hard hiting and smoking hot.

Bear with me!!!!

Not posted on here for a bit-not because I'm lazy (well actually that normally is the reason) but because there's a fault with this blogger account-having looked online  and other users are experiencing the same problem-that they can't upload pictures. Hopefully this shit will get sorted soon. As soon as it does-I'll be back.

Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell Don't Hear it... Fear it!! LP

I've missed the boat on a a couple of rise above releases which shows how high in demand their more limited versions are (usually the clear vinyl or die hard ones). I was determined not to miss out on this. I even stayed behind later at work so I was next to a PC when they hit the webstore. The ironic thing is unlike the other releases (like the uncle acid & deadbeats repress on clear which sold out in minutes) the most limited version (on clear, out of 100) was actually still in the store the next day. Needless to say it's gone now and commanding daft prices on Ebay but at least I managed to luck out this time.
 'Amazing' is how my mate described this album and I'm not going to argue with him. It is exactly just that. 70's style rock with a really dirty, gritty edge. Rise above don't half release some high quality stuff.
 The diehard versions came with a bonus 7". As already mentioned 100 were pressed up on clear and another 300 on purple. I only actually ordered the clear version but some of the purple ones got into the UK stores and my local record shop got one I decided to grab another copy. It actually was cheaper than Rise above and that was even before they added their overpriced post charges onto it. I don't mind owning another copy of this superb record and even the purple is sold out now.
 With a mouth watering menu of future releases lined up on Rise above (like the orange goblin represses) I'm hoping I'm back on the ball and ready to grab them too.

Violent reaction-s/t 7"

Okay I know I've been slack of late. For some reason my camera wouldn't connect with this blog. Anyhow it seems sorted for now so let's get on with it....
 Last week I went to see Violent Reaction in Manchester. Hailing from Liverpool, Violent reaction started as a one man sXe project but has turned into a proper band. The demo got loads of hype and many folk I know were banging on about it saying it was some of the best old style hardcore next to the Boston strangler (and you know how hot that band is at the moment). Even Nick Royles made a surprise appearance at the gig last week in Manchester so it must have been huge. Anyway after I was convinced-Violent reaction are the real deal and THE shit. Also it was the record release show for the band's debut 7" and all the copies on sale were sold out even before the first band played. Damn, that's impressive especially in this day and age.
 So this record then. It's a co-release between Quality Control and Static shock records and I believe this first press is limited to just 326 copies. I can't see them lasting too long. If you like your hardcore with bite then this is well worth picking up. No limited colour of vinyl (I bet there will be on the next pressing) but I believe there are different coloured variations of the sleeve. Personally I'm not assed about that at the moment. It's just good to have a copy. Play this fucker LOUD!!!!!

Quicksand-s/t 7"

One of the many recent represses from revelation records is the first Quicksand 7" on green. Although I was a fan of the first album (not so much with the second one) this is still my favourite Quicksand release. Revelation wasted no time in marching into the 90's with records by bands like this along with others like Burn, Inside out and Shelter. This ushered a new era in hardcore. The youth crew orienated hardcore of the late 80's seem to suddenly become a thing of the past (until the revival). Quicksand featured Walter from Youth of today and Gorilla biscuits-which I found ironic. What was that line about 'coded messages in slowed down songs'?
 Contridictions aside, this was and still is a storming record-heavy , hard hitting yet big on groove.
As this post was originally meant to be about the aforementioned green vinyl repress  but I decided to dig out my other copies of this record since I have all the colours. There's the first pressing of black and the limited version of white (to 1000) and then around 2001-2002 Rev decided the 'final' press (yeah right!) would be on gold vinyl (300 copies). Skip forward to last year's record store day and a blue vinyl version was pressed up for the day. There were 1000 of these I think-and there were two different varients of the same colour. I only bagged one. And now we have a green version. Of course I'll grab the next colour whenever it surfaces. You can never own too many copies of this record.

Crusades-Parables 7"

‘The sun is down…’ by Crusades was my favourite album of last year hands down.  It’s hard to describe how awesome that record is. Dark sounding yet melodic punk with an strong anti-religious slant. These two new tracks on this 7” released by Destructure records continue the tradition yet musically sound  more mature. Here’s a band that’s constantly improving. As great as that debut album is you still feel the best is yet to come.  I got lucky with this release as I only checked the Destructure website to order the Hark 7” but was stoked when I saw this was up for pre-order. First 100 on clear.

Walk the plank-Dead weight in hostile waters LP Reunion edition

I’m doing a Marcus i.e posting about a record that was only available at a show which I never attended. The show was Walk the plank’s latest final gig ever (until the next one) which held in Livepool the other weekend. In fact I missed their other last ever gig too in 2007 which was held on a boat. I did however see the bands a few times before then and I did catch the first reunion show this year at Morrowfest in Nottingham (which was ace). I couldn’t make this one though but my friend Lee picked me up a special copy of their album ‘Dead weight in hostile waters’ which was on sale. Thanks a million dude.

Originally released in 2006 by (the now defunct) Dead & gone records, this was easily one of the best UKHC records of the 00’s. And next to Voorhees, Walk the plank were my favourite band with Lecky on vocals. This record is a beast.

 This special reunion edition is limited and numbered out of 50 and features a Pushead spoof cover dubbed ‘shithead’. Pretty damn funny. It’s got me thinking that I still need a test press and  one with the ‘Save out of step’ cover.

Burning love-Rotten thing to say LP

The curse of Southern lord mailorder strikes again. I placed an order recently and only half of it was right when it arrived. They certainly live up to their notorious rep and after half a week and a few emails later asking them to sort this out I still haven’t heard anything back…..useless!!!!

Anyway I’m pleased that the part of the order they didn’t stuff up involved the new Burning love LP on colour. I love this band and I’m aiming to get a big Burning love collection going (if anyone has any of their test presses for sale or trade….!!!) so I would have been miffed to miss out on this. Not sure how many were pressed on this colour. The stoned dude who does the mailorder at Southern lord probably doesn’t know either…

Musically it’s in the same vein as all their other stuff. Heavy but groovy. Chris Conlon’s vocals rule. This has already had plenty of plays in the ipod and has helped me get through the days at work this week so far.

YACOPSAE- Einstweilige Vernichtung LP Die hard

Chris Dodge's Slapaham records was and still is one of my favourite labels ever. I bought stuff religiously from the early nineties onwards because nearly everything he put out was a classic in the making (and definately is regarded as such today). Even towards the end of the label  in 2001 I was buying off him direct so I could get the colour versions (usually limited to 200 each). Thankfully he had switched to paypal (in it's early days before Ebay bought and took it over) so I didn't have to send dollars in an envolope via air mail anymore. Some of the very last releases were on CD so I ended up skipping them hoping they would get the vinyl treatment . Such was the case with this Yacopsae LP which did eventually-only years later on another label (FOAD records) as Slapaham folded leaving an awesome legacy and discography.
 Hell,this is power violence pretty much at it's finest. Seriously this shit knocks off your head and shits down your throat. Shame it never got the same props as Crossed out, No comment etc because it probably wouldn't be out of place amongst the all time greats like such.
 I'm not a fan of the most limited colour vinyl being on black (I'm old school you see) but in this case I can make an exception of this 'die hard' version-housed in a plain black embossed cover this actually looks pretty damn good. Only 100, all hand numbered.  Glad it finally made it out on wax, shame it wasn't by Slapaham but props to FOAD for unleashing this beast on us once again and at last on the format it deserves.

Iron Maiden-Women in uniform 7"

Sometimes you tend to find scores in the most unusual of places-okay it's not uncommon to find records at a hardcore gig but it's not that often you pick up early iron maiden records at a show-better still this was really cheap. I've droned on before about letting my iron maiden collection go in the late 80's but I still have an hard on for the early stuff (Paul Diano period). The artwork was amazing for those first records. Having Maggie Thatcher on the front certainly gives it a punk feel. Hell, it was more punk looking than most punk records anyway although Steve Harris swears they had nothing in common with it. Anyway a nice pick up. I want a copy of 'twilight zone' again next.

Extortion/Cold world-split LP

Another new record from Extortion. This time a split with the long running and long overlooked Cold world from Austria (not to be confused with the tough guy band of the same name). Both bands play full on raging shit. I'm ashamed to say this is the first time that I've ever heard cold world. Now I need to locate their other stuff.
 I picked this up last week at the extreme obscene festival as the guy from RSR record had a stall. There are 100 on red and 100 on white which went to the bands to sell (and have gone already) with the rest on black. If anyone knows where I can find a download of this then please hook me up. I've had a search but come up short so far.

Grand Magus-The hunt 2XLP

Grand Magus are a band that I regularly rock out to on the Ipod. I was going to wait until after my trip to obscene extreme and pick up this new album. As luck would have it, I actually picked up a rarer version while I was there, at a cheaper price than if I would paid for if I had picked up a regular version at my store.
 This copy is on dark red and numbered out of 250 where as the normal release is on white vinyl (on Nuclear blast records).
Musically this band never let me down. It's the same catchy rocking shit they are famous for cranking out. I love his vocals and the guitar sound is awesome too. Truth be told I took a sneaky download of this a couple of months ago but I'm glad I've managed to bag a copy.

Death side-the will never die 7"

Another classic 90's Japanese hardcore record-the second Death side 7", released on Devour records back in 1994. 3 raging tracks that leave you gagging for more. I was lucky recently to acquire a big batch of this stuff but seriously, there should be more represses. Hell, I'd buy another copy of of this and other records if they were on colour.

Life Sentence-s/t LP

I haven't heard this LP since the late 80's and my memory of it was sullied by their second (and pretty poor) LP which I did own for a short while before selling or tading it on. Anyway years and years later I managed to bag a copy of this record which I had been meaning to track down for ages anyway. Although recorded/released in 1986 you'd think that it was at least 3-4 years older by listening to it. Fewer bands at that point were playing straight up fast hardcore as many were either going crossover (not a bad thing) or doing the post-hardcore weird thing (not good). Yet here were Life sentence dishing out the pure stuff. Despite Lar Ulrich of Metallica sporting one of their shirts they never did get the same recognition or interest as say, the misfits who Metallica also endorsed (and let's face it despite their already cult status the Misfits wouldn't become the enigma/legend/merchandise machine if James Hetfield & co hadn't have sported their shirts and raved on about them in the late 80's when they had already broke up). Even today this band remain largely overlooked which is a huge shame. Fans of straight up fast old school should be rocking it. Hell knows it's taken me long enough to get involved. That said, I'm still giving their second album a wide birth.