We're Back!

I got back from my week long vacation today. A week on the lake with the family. No stereo...no computer...no distractions. While it was nice to get away, man, I missed the non-stop barrage of music. First thing that I did, once everything was unpacked, was hit the stack of new vinyl sitting here next to my computer.

One of my newest obsessions has been Back On Black...a new record label, like Night of the Vinyl Dead, that specializes in classic Metal vinyl. Back On Black releases look fucking amazing, and have tempted me to start collecting a number of them. My first order from CM Distro was for two bands that have made a pretty strong return to Thrash over the past couple of years. First up was Onslaught. I never heard this band back when they were releasing albums in the 80's, but after a recommendation, I did check out Killing Peace when it was released last year. I loved the album...great modern Thrash, and has made me go back and visit the bands roots as well. The other band making a comeback has been Exodus. Fuck, I loved this band as kid...I even had the album cover of Bonded By Blood as a back patch for my denim jacket. The band has a new singer now, but I am still loving the albums that they are putting out, and Shovel Headed Kill Machine from 2005 is no exception. Brutal album. Since I had downloaded both of these albums, and hadn't bought them, seeing them get the vinyl treatment from Back On Black was all I needed to pick up these two killer albums.

So, yeah, just like some classic Thrash bands, I'm back. The week on the lake was perfect. We had great weather all week long, and I spent a lot of time swimming with the kids. In addition to swimming and hanging out on the beach, I got a ton of reading done. I finished book number two for The Manly Book Club. Brent made the selection this month with Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield. Unlike last month, I actually finished the book before our meeting. If I didn't have this past week off and was away from the computer and music, I'm not sure if I would have finished it. However, as strange as it may seem, I really enjoyed this book. I never would have believed that I would have gotten into a book based on the battle of Thermopylae, but damn, other than my inability to keep the names of all the characters straight, I had a great time reading this one. It's my turn to pick the book for next month. I may take the easy way out and go with something that Rob mentioned that he wants to read....Hell, it looks like a good selection, so I'll probably go with that.

In addition to my Book Club reading, I also managed to also finish reading Judas Priest : Heavy Metal Painkillers by Marin Popoff. This book was more up my alley. All the pictures of the band's old singles, and discussion around each song from every album...man, I really wanted to listen to this band over the past week. A really fun read, and I just love Popoff's books.

And since I can't help but act stupid when the camera comes out, here is a picture of me hitting the books this past week. Word.