The Blizzard Of '26

The early 2000's were a weird time for me with hardcore. While I was still into well known hardcore bands like Bane and Over My Dead Body, for the most part I just remember being really excited over stuff from Anti-Flag and Good Riddance more. There were a lot of bands from that time that I didn't check out until a couple of years later simply because I was so disconnected from what was going on, and some bands that I'm still not really too familiar with.

History lesson. A little over 12 years ago, back in 2013, Marcus made a post over on his blog that included a copy of the Frostbite 7 inch with the Floorpunch rip off cover. I admitted in the comments that I'd never heard Frostbite before, and I told by Marcus and Nico that I needed to fix that oversight as soon as possible. I quickly rushed over to Soulseek and downloaded the songs... I listened to them once and then proceeded to let them gather digital dust on my hard drive.

Near the end of last year, I found myself digging into that early 2000 shit, and spinning stuff like the last Reach The Sky EP and Cut The Shit, and I saw that Frostbite EP sitting there in my iTunes. I gave it a listen and it clicked with me immediately. It was so good that I rushed to Discogs to pick up the record. I saw the Floorpunch rip off cover with a good price and I didn't hesitate to add it to my cart.

I don't know what my problem was back in 2013 because this 7 inch rips. Straight forward and raw hardcore... I really dropped the ball on this one. "Fuck that and fuck you and fuck everything."

I was loving this record so much that I felt the need to pick up another cover variation. I saw a seller had this Robby Redcheeks birthday bash edition with the Philly Liberty Bell cover and I decided to pick this one up too.

As I was obsessing over this 7 inch, I felt like I couldn't make a post about the record without at least picking up a copy with the regular sleeve, so I grabbed this very light baby blue colored vinyl pressing.

There are a lot of different versions of this record out there, and grabbing these three were a nice start. I'm not sure how far I want to chase these, although there a few more versions that I'd really like to pick up at some point. I was set to pick up the Sex Pistols rip off sleeve but then the seller flaked and changed his mind, wanting to keep it for himself... so that was too bad... but yeah, I have the collector itch right now, and want more of these.

Eternal Vio-lence

Forced to pick a favorite thrash record, 9 times out of 10 I'm probably picking the debut LP from Vio-lence, Eternal Nightmare. It's possible that you'd catch me on an off day, and I'd maybe say Reign In Blood, The Legacy or Bonded By Blood... but for the most part, that first album from Vio-lence can't be beat. 36 minutes of a never ending thrash attack. Perfection.

It is shocking that it has taken me this long to finally pick up a copy, but sometimes these old thrash classic sit on my wantlist forever as I wring my hands over the perfect copy to pick up at the perfect price. Fuck it. When I saw the seller that I bought the Acrophet album from on Discogs also had Vio-lence, I wasn't playin'. Time to buy.

So happy to finally have this in the collection.

Acrophet Minds

Near the end of last year, I'd was looking at some of the old metal records that I'd picked up from Tim's collection, plus new releases from Testament and Coronor, and it put me in a nostalgic mood for those classic late 80's days of thrash. 1988 was a high point for me with music... I was graduating from High School and hanging with friends and thrash was king for us... so one night I reached back to my playlist for that year and noticed an album from Acrophet sitting there at the top of the list (because my playlist is sorted alphabetically by band name obviously).

I was about 30 years late in discovering Acrophet's Corrupt Minds album, when it was put on my radar in 2019... I'd been listening to Mindforce and digging back into DRI and Suicidal, so I probably stumbled upon the Acrophet name after searching through lists of crossover bands and trying to decide what to listen to next. I did a quick download of the Acrophet album and while immediately enjoyed what I heard, I also quickly forgot about it for years. When I saw the songs on my 1988 playlist I decided to give it a listen and it was perfect for me at that time. Socially conscious anti-authority lyrics set to lightning fast music... and metal dudes on the back cover wearing Minor Threat and Agnostic Front shirts... yeah this was exactly what I needed and set the album up for repeat listens for the next few days.

When I started checking Discogs to see what may be available, I noticed that there was a blue vinyl pressing from back when the record was first released in '88. I've mentioned here before how colored vinyl releases for old 80's metal releases seems like such a rarity from those times... so I obviously needed this version. That blue wax from Triple X Records looks so good!

Gaskin's World

I haven't done a great job keeping up with my New Wave Of British Heavy Metal collection. In fact, I haven't picked up a single one since the great NWOBHM Chase Of 2022. There are still some crucial records from bands like Samson and Satan that I need in my collection, but I've just been so obsessed with hardcore lately that I haven't been listening to much NWOBHM and therefore I haven't been buying it. However, spending time with Jeff the past couple of weekends, on late night drives to New Hampshire and Boston, the NWOBHM playlist has been ripping and it's had me thinking of chasing those records again.

So it was perfect timing when the first Gaskin album, End Of The World, came up in my blog backlog for this post. This has been a weird record for me... strange because when I saw it available from Tim's collection, I was fairly certain that I already owned it. I asked Jeff to set it aside so that I could double check, but I was like 90% sure that I already had a copy. I got home and checked my record shelves and didn't see it. That's odd. Maybe I filed it incorrectly and it was stuck in a different section. I checked Discogs and my record database tool, sure that I would see it marked as owned there. No and no. I was shocked that I didn't already have this album. Thankfully it was fairly cheap to pick up from Tim's collection, but at least now I know that I own this.

Gaskin are one of those classic NWOBHM bands. Their sound and songs are not really at the level of the bigger bands from that era, like Iron Maiden, Raven, Angel Witch and the first Def Leppard, but goddamn, the youthful passion for this music and the conviction behind it is so endearing to me... I can't help but love it.

Total Soul Ignition

If I'm thinking about my favorite newer hardcore bands from the last five years or so, Method Of Doubt would definitely be near the top of that list. Their Staring At Patterns album came out at the end of 2021, and I still bounce out of my seat when that bass line kicks off the record. Fuck. So good. What other new band can make me want to chase down every pressing they make? It's a short list for sure, but with Method Of Doubt, I need it.

I don't fuck around with Scheme releases. I'm still sore about missing out on the colored vinyl for the Wreckage 7 inch a couple years ago, so when Scheme releases something that I'm interested in, I don't waste time thinking about it... I just buy it. So when the label announced preorders for the new Method Of Doubt 7 inch, Total Soul Ignition, I didn't hesitate to grab both colors of the vinyl.

With this new 7 inch, Method Of Doubt do not disappoint and they give me exactly what I want. Look, there is no denying the classic hardcore greats... that shit can't be beat... but when I hear new stuff like this record, it makes me excited for hardcore. "I know our youth is leaving, but I still feel the same."

108 pressed on pink vinyl, and 165 on mint.

Mil-Sandwich

I was a couple years late when Mil-Spec's Marathon album landed on my radar. When Marcus tipped me off that Lockin' Out had the colored vinyl in their store I quickly grabbed one. Marathon ended up being such a surprise to me. I loved what I heard, so when the newest Mil-Spec EP went up for sale a couple of months later I didn't hesitate to place my order.

I said the same thing about the Marathon LP, but if I saw this new Mil-Spec record in a store, based on the cover alone, I'd pass right by this. There is nothing going on here that would entice me to buy this. The guys like their six foot sandwiches apparently. Thankfully the Mil-Spec name is all that I needed to check this out because these songs are so good.

Five songs... well four, since the last song here is just an extended version of the record opener, When The Music Ends... and I've been listening to this daily.

Forethought Of Autumn

A few years ago I picked up the new retrospective LP for the old mid-90's hardcore band Autumn. The band seemed a bit obscure to me, so it was kind of surprising that someone took the time to put this record together and a press a few hundred copies to vinyl... but I love that someone felt that level of passion for the band, and wanted to get the Autumn name back out there 25+ years later. I admire that commitment because fuck yes, there are a number of lost 90's bands that I would love to see finally get a this kind of treatment. Anyway... as I was reading the notes on the insert covering the history of the band, I learned that before they changed their name to Autumn, they were previously called Forethought. I did a little digging and found that they had released a 7 inch under that name, and I knew that I needed to check it out.

Forethought recorded the Sands Of Salvation 7 inch in 1992, and this is quintessential early 90's hardcore... think bands like Framework, Encounter, Another Wall etc... and you know that I eat that shit up. With that in mind, it should surprise no one that when I first heard these songs, I immediately went on the hunt for this record.

The pink colored vinyl for this 7 inch doesn't show up too often on Discogs, so when I recently saw that there was one available, I jumped on it. No better feeling than discovering and falling in love with an obscure hardcore band from the 90's.