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.

Church Obsessed

While I've enjoyed some stuff from The Obsessed, I've never been crazy about them. I've bought their last two albums, Sacred from 2017 and Gilded Sorrow from 2024, but I've never really spent much time with their more classic albums from the 90's. My friend Jeff, on the other hand, loves their classic Lunar Womb and The Church Within records. A month or so ago, I noticed that The Obsessed were playing a gig in New Hampshire at this place called The Stone Church. I did a quick search to see how far away it was, because if it was convenient I'd consider going. As soon as I saw a picture of the place, which looked like this perfect old New England church, I knew that I had to see the band play there. I quickly fired off a message to Jeff, and we made plans to go.

The Obsessed finished off a European tour in October last year playing just about everything off of The Church Within. I didn't expect that they would do the same for this latest tour, but since I was unfamiliar with the album I spent a lot of time with it in February. I was glad that I did because The Obsessed continued clebrating this record with their show in Newmarket, New Hampshire, and played nine songs from that album.

While I was just looking forward to a nice night out with live music, I didn't expect to be so excited with the show. There weren't a lot of people there, so I was able to easily step right up to the front of the stage... the sound was great and the band was tight... and within a few songs I was hooked and having such a great time.

Immediately after the set, Jeff and I were standing there at the merch table checking out what the band had available. I really wanted to buy something to support the band on the road, but I wasn't sure if I wanted a shirt from them. As we were standing there, Wino came up and was thanking us for coming out to the show. We started talking with him a bit and he was genuinely nice and appreciative that we were there (even if the photo makes him seem more annoyed with us). Jeff asked if he would sign a record if he picked one up, and Wino agreed. Now I'm not usually one that is interested in signatures from the band, but there was something about this moment that felt right, so I bought The Church Within vinyl and had him sign mine as well.

Goddamn. It is amazing how a live experience can change your perspective of a band. I've been listening to a lot of The Obsessed since that show and loving it.

Preach The Legacy

I'm still over here mining thrash classics from Tim's collection. This time I took the opportunity to grab a couple of Testament records.

Testament's Practice What You Preach album was a big deal for me at the time. It was released on my birthday in August of 1989, and when I found out that they were going to be playing at The Channel in Boston that November, I decided that I wanted to go see them. I'd never gone to a show out of state, so the thought of it was both thrilling and terrifying. I convinced a group of friends to make the trip with me, and we all piled into my car and headed to Boston for the day. This was obviously back in the day before GPS, so we just grabbed a map and hoped for the best. The two hour drive to The Channel ended up taking us more like four as we continually got lost within Boston's confusing roadways, but we eventually found the club and it was a life changing show. Until that point, I was only used to big arena shows for those few bands that toured as far north as Maine... but to be on the floor of a packed club opened my eyes to how great and intimate a live show could be. Honestly, I don't remember much about the band playing because I was probably acting a fool in the mosh pit, but from that moment on I started making regular trips to Providence and Boston to see bands play.

While probably not considered as strong as the previous two Testament albums, The Legacy and The New Order, Practice What You Preach is still a classic from the band, and I'm so glad to finally have this in my collection.

Technically, I guess that I didn't need to buy this copy of The Legacy, but personally I kind of needed it. Mark Sandwell gave me UK pressings of The Legacy and The New Order when he was visiting the US back in 2019, and I was most thankful for his kindness with this gesture. That said however, I was a little bit disappointed that I didn't have US pressing for these albums. I felt like for classic US thrash bands, a US pressing was the proper way to go.

I was content with the UK copy from Mark, until I had the chance to pick up the US Megaforce version from Tim's collection, and I took the opportunity when it was in front of me.