First Verse

I recently won the first Verse record, simply titled Four Songs, on eBay. It's the first pressing on black vinyl and limited to 500. I saw that it was up for auction with no bids and a starting price of $2.75. I figured that I might be able to pick it up for cheap, and won as the only bidder. I remember buying this on CD when it was first released in 2003. At the time I was listening to a lot of punk rock like Good Riddance, Dillinger 4 and Anti-Flag...still good stuff, but I had pretty much lost touch with what was going on in the underground hardcore scene. I remember stumbling across the How's Your Edge messageboard, and reconnecting with a friend from the old Boston scene. Anyway, a lot of people were talking about this band, What Feeds The Fire, that had recently broken up and a couple of members were in this new band called Verse. They were talking about bringing back the early 90's style of straight edge hardcore, and mentioned Outspoken as an influence. Being such a fan of Outspoken, I was excited to check out this new band and try to reclaim that excitement in hardcore. I bought the CD and while it was good, it didn't really grab me the way that I'd hoped. It wasn't until Verse released the Rebuild album and seeing them play with The First Step that I really started to fall in love with this band. So kind of like Champion, the first output from Verse seems kind of mediocre, but seeing where the band is, and how they have grown, and can appreciate this first seven inch for the raw, sincere hardcore that it is.

Stay Cruel

Another pre-order has arrived! Last week the mailman delivered Cruel Hand's new LP, Without A Pulse. The vinyl is on orange with blue splatter, and limited to 300. The singer of the band used to play guitar in Outbreak, and while the band plays some pretty thrashing hardcore, there isn't much similarities between the two bands, with Outbreak winning the contest hands down. First saw the band when Rob and I went to the End of Summer Jam last summer, and while I thought they were just okay at that show, I had some high hopes for the album. All in all, it is a pretty average outing.

Speaking of cruel hand...my Boston Celtics were dealt one last night with the NBA lottery. They had one of the better chances to draw a top two pick and they ended up getting the number five pick. The team had some serious issues last season, and when Paul Pierce went down with an injury, it was damn near impossible for them to pull out a win. I had high hopes for this lottery and when their name was pulled from the envelope at number five, my heart sank. I'm imagining that the team will look very different at the start of the season. Either the pick, and some young players (maybe Gerald Green) will be traded away to provide Paul Pierce some veteran help, or Pierce will be traded and the team will be starting from scratch and building around Big Al Jefferson. Either way, I'm nervous that next season will bring more of the same disappointing loses as last year.

Nothing Done and Knife Fight

As soon as I got the mailorder update from Revelation that listed the new Nothing Done album, Everybody Knows, I immediately placed an order. Their last album was so much fun, I did not want to miss the first pressing of the new record. It does not disappoint. Amazing thrashy hardcore. 10 songs in 13 minutes. Limited to 500 on baby blue vinyl.

While I was shopping on REVHQ, I saw the new Knife Fight album, Crisis. I had never heard the band before, but from checking various messageboards, there was certainly a buzz about them, so I took a chance and ordered the album. The chance didn't really payoff. There is certainly some potential in the songs, they are ripping fast, and there are some catchy choruses, but a lot of it is lost is the muddy production...kind of disappointing.

Second Outbreak

I got the second pressing of the Outbreak album the other week. It's red vinyl with some slight yellow streaks in it...limited to 1,000. One of the surprises for 2006, this album is so much fun. The band is from my home state of Maine, so it is pretty sad that I have only seen the band live 3 or 4 times, but then again, I don't get out to shows very much anymore. Modern Life is War played down the road from my house last week, and it was too much trouble for me to get out and see them. Fuck, I'm getting old.

Fired Up and Getting Warmer

I got more records from Youngblood last week. I got the new Justice album, Escapades. The packaging of this record looks amazing. The white and blue vinyl, limited to 225 pressed, looks incredible. The album cover looks fantastic, and the photos on the inner sleeve really capture the the good times of a band on tour, and how great they can be live. Pictures of the band on stage, X'd up, with kids screaming along to their songs. I put the album on the turntable and the music on the record didn't really have that sound that was portrayed in those pictures. I listened to it once, and was really put off by the bands sound. I've never been a fan of Supertouch, and this had Supertouch stink all over it. The record ended and I was glad it was done. Later that afternoon, I decided to give it another chance. Yup, Supertouch...and every once in a while I can hear a little Underdog in there as well. I love Underdog, but this Justice record still blew. A few days later I've got the record cataloged in the database program I have on my computer, and I'm ready to file the vinyl away in my record collection, and I figure that I'll give it one more shot. I drop it on the turntable, and pull out the lyric sheet to fully immerse myself into the record. Hey wait a minute, this first song has a pretty good groove to it and the lyrics are pretty tight. Alright, this record is starting to grow on me, and I'll continue to give it a chance.

The other records I got were a few pressings of the Fired Up 7 inch. Youngblood had just pressed the second pressing on red (limited to 300) and on green for the labels 10 year anniversary (hand stamped and numbered 40 of 200). While I was at it, I figured that I would pick up the first pressing on black (limited to 400). As you can tell, I am loving this new record. I plug in my headphones at work a couple times a week and spin this CD. The opening riff to the title track, When The Lights Go Out, is so great. Straight forward, "generic" hardcore. Awesome.