Friday, July 31, 2015

Sticky Bros.

This year I haven't been too tuned into what's going on in the Hardcore scene, and as I've been trapped in an 80's Metal playlist, I haven't been very excited to check out new releases. It the rare case, where a Hardcore release catches my attention, I typically just settle for one copy, and pass on throwing money at every available pressing. With Stick Together, all that went out the window.

I was a big fan of the first two Stick Together 7 inches, and was really looking forward to the band's first full length. Only in Hardcore could you call a 19 minute record an LP...any other genre and it would be considered an EP.

Man, this thing does not disappoint. I'm not a huge fan of the layout for the front cover, but I love that the band stuck a nice big X on there. Straight edge in your face!

I love the nod to Sick Of It All with the photo layout on the insert. Classic Blood, Sweat and No Tears look.

Clear vinyl was limited to 200, with 500 pressed on blue, and 800 on black.

Friday, July 24, 2015

Breaking All The House Rules

In my head, I have a list of record collections that I want to tackle. Some of them, like the Megaforce silver labels or Black Sabbath UK Vertigo pressings, are works in progress...others have started to take root with a few pieces of vinyl, like UK Vertigo pressings for Thin Lizzy, or UK Neat pressings...while others, like the green Combat labels, are just waiting to get started.

Also on the list of things that I want to focus on are the Bronze pressings for Motorhead, and UK pressings for the Budgie albums. When my friend Jeff quickly grabbed a few of the Motorhead records for himself, I felt like I needed to compete and go in a different direction, and immediately jumped to see what I could find for Budgie vinyl.

Since the first Budgie album that I ever listened to was the Bandolier LP, when I first discovered them back in 2007, it made sense to me that it be the first one that I picked up on vinyl.

I was initially hesitant to buy records through the discogs marketplace, but more and more I'm finding that is the place I check for used vinyl, and overall, the experience has been great.

This album rules so much, and I've been listening to it every other day for the past three or four months. Such an underrated classic, and Budgie is slowly climbing my list of all-time favorite bands.

Saturday, July 18, 2015

Sheavy Chase

A couple months ago, I picked up my first piece of sHeavy vinyl. Having never heard The Electric Sleep before, it immediately increased my appreciation for this band. I couldn't get enough of that album, and was soon looking to check out the follow up from 2000, Celestial Hi-Fi.

While Celestial Hi-Fi didn't set the hook immediately, I've found that with repeat listens, I enjoy it more and more. God damn, this band has jumped on my radar big time this year. Such a great Sabbath/doom/stoner sound.

I've been pretty hot on this band recently, and it was very tempting to spend the extra money and buy the clear vinyl Die Hard edition direct from Rise Above. In the end, cooler heads prevailed, and I saved the $60 shipping from overseas, and just bought the US pressing at a local record store. 1,000 pressed on solid purple vinyl.

Sunday, July 12, 2015

Done Dying For A Test Press

A couple months ago, Marcus gave me a heads up that Workshed was selling test pressings of the upcoming Done Dying LP. I sat on this piece of news for a few days, internally debating if I wanted to spend the money or not. I'd been hit with a few big expenses this year, and with the thoughts of other home improvement projects dancing in my head, I knew that the wise move would be to walk away, and save my money. After sitting on this choice for three days, I figured that if Workshed still had the test press available, then I'd buy one. I was fairly certain that they would be gone by this point, so I was very surprised when the label emailed me back to let me know they still had some on hand. Hey...a man can only stay strong for so long, and I bought one.

If I'd seen the sleeve for this test as soon as they were available, I might not have waited so long before deciding to buy one. Great black and white design with hand written labels.

I loved the first two Done Dying 7 inches, and this LP continues down that same well worn path. Straight forward, no frills Hardcore is what Dan O and Mike Hartsfield do best.

Hand numbered out of 20 pressed. I was happy to receive number 9, which coincidentally is the same number I own for the Dress For Distress test.

Saturday, July 11, 2015

Bedemon

Bedemon features Bobby Liebling plus a couple of dudes from the early Pentagram years. It was basically a project of guitarist Randy Palmer, who was in Pentagram in '74 and '75. Prior to joining the band, he wanted to record some songs that he had written. Nothing too serious...he just wanted to get them down on tape for his own enjoyment. He recruited the singer and drummer of Pentagram, plus another friend, and they laid down these tracks.

The recording for these songs is pretty rough, and sound like demo recordings...because basically, that is what they are. The fact that these songs were never expected to see the light of day, makes this a really cool find...especially for those interested is the early Doom sound. Those Sabbath riffs with the voice of Pentagram...this shit is history right here.

While this isn't the first time that these songs have been released, this Relapse pressing is the first official release, so it is cool to finally see the band get credit and compensated for this record.

Relapse did a great job with the packaging, with a giant insert/poster that details the history of the band with stories behind the recording process and each song that was written. Very cool to finally learn about this hidden gem.

Saturday, July 04, 2015

I'm A Sick Boy And There's No Cure

A few months ago, I picked up a handful of punk singles. New records in the mail is always exciting, but receiving those 7 inches from G.B.H., The Exploited and Dead Kennedys gave me a bit of an extra charge. There are times when blogging about new releases can get a bit monotonous, and I'll procrastinate on writing about them because I struggle to find the words. However, with those old punk singles, there was a new spark of excitement. Even though I'd first heard those songs 30 years ago, finally owning an original vinyl pressing brought my appreciation to a new level. Suddenly, I had a new obsession.

I know that I have trouble concentrating on finishing what I've started, and I bounce from one obsession to the next without ever completing any of them. I'm trying to lock shit down better this year, and after a few months of "window shopping" for G.B.H. singles, I finally found a couple in the States, and pulled the trigger.

There are two different pressings for the Sick Boy 7 inch from G.B.H.. One with the black an read cover, and one with the blue and orange cover. I assume that the black an red cover is the original pressing, and blue and orange is a later press...but really, I have no idea. Either way, I'd never seen the blue and orange cover until I started digging into the G.B.H. vinyl options, so that was the one that I decided to grab first. Of course I'm going to need the black and red cover at some point as well.

Sick Boy is classic G.B.H., but the two other songs on here, Am I Dead Yet and Slit Your Own Throat, are a couple of my favorite songs from them.

The Do What You Do 7 inch was a bit more difficult to come by. Sure the 12 inch version, with the two extra songs, seemed to be easy enough to get my hands on, but I really wanted the original 7 inch pressing. There will be time for the 12 inch later down the road...maybe I'll have to do another Sick Boy/Do What You Do post with the variations that I didn't pick up this time around.

Goddamn. I can't listen to G.B.H. these days without thinking about all those roadtrips to Boston and Providence for shows around 1990/1991. G.B.H. was mandatory for the car ride back home at midnight...pop a couple No-Doz, crack open a Jolt Cola, and turn up the stereo for the two to three hour drive back. The best of times.