Dead And Gold

I'm a huge fan of Articles Of Faith, so when Vic Bondi came along in 2012 with a new band, Dead Ending, I was excited to check it out. I quickly downloaded the songs for their first EP, and while I enjoyed them, I never got around to actually buying the record.

Four years down the road, and I'm finally getting it done.

When I finally got around to buying a copy, colored vinyl was the way to go. The gold vinyl looks great with the record packaging....oh hell, when doesn't gold vinyl look good?

I can't remember what drew me to the Discogs Marketplace page for this record, but once I saw the $8 price tag, it was love at first sight, and I had to make her mine.

500 pressed on colored vinyl.

UK Fireball

The seed was planted during Instagram's January Record A Day game back in 2015. On one of the days, we had to pick an album that we wanted to hear played live in its entirety. I wanted to pick Deep Purple's Fireball, but since I didn't own a vinyl copy, I was forced to make another selection.

A year and a half later, and I'm finally crossing Fireball of my Wantlist.

Last month, in the middle of an early-70's obsession, I found myself listening to the shit out of Fireball. Again, I was just in awe of how perfect that album is, and I set out to finally purchase a copy.

There are differences between the UK and US pressings...with the US version getting Strange Kind of Woman, and the UK getting Demon's Eye...and since Demon's Eye is one of my favorite Deep Purple songs, the UK pressing wins.

Plus the original UK pressing comes in a textured gatefold sleeve...and UK pressings tend to just be cooler for early 70's rock bands.

Easily one of my favorite albums of all time.

Break Broke

I'm sure there have been some cool Hardcore records released in 2016...for the most part, I just haven't cared enough to seek them out. While this year has definitely been dedicated to bands and albums of years gone past, every once in a great while, something new will slip through the cracks.

I loved the last Clean Break record, so I jumped in once preorders for the new 7 inch were announced. It takes a lot for a new Hardcore record to get my attention this year, so you know that Clean Break is doing something right for me to buy three copies of the damn thing.

Number 12 of 90 pressed with the pre-order NFAA rip off cover.

This new Clean Break 7 inch is easily one of my most listened to Hardcore records so far this year. Hardcore played with true conviction and passion.

110 pressed on black, and 300 pressed on yellow vinyl.

Along with my Clean Break records, they threw in a copy of the Go For Broke 7 inch as well. I downloaded these songs years ago, and while I liked them, I really only listened to them a handful of times. I'm happy to finally have a vinyl copy, which may push me to give it some more spins.

Ride The Deluxe Box Set

I was doing a good job keeping up with the Led Zeppelin box sets. I knocked out six of those things, but then Metallica had to come in and provide a damn fine distraction.

I jumped on Kill 'Em All when it was initially released back in April, but it has taken me a few months to work up the courage to drop the cash on Ride The Lightning. Collecting these things ain't for the faint of heart.

I put the original Megaforce silver label pressing is near the top of my Want List for the year, and instead of putting my money towards that, I grabbed this instead. I feel dirty for springing for this box set before crossing the original press off my list.

Just like Kill 'Em All, the Ride The Lightning box set is straight up amazing. Led Zeppelin box sets give you a bonus piece of vinyl with studio outtakes...Metallica gives you an exclusive live release. Way to take the deluxe box set concept and just make it better, Metallica. Well done.

With the repressing of the Creeping Death picture disc 12 inch single, the extra 5 CDs of outtakes, demos, interviews and live sets...this is well worth the price of admission. The live DVD is just icing on the cake.

But wait...there's more. Tour posters, a reproduction of the notebook containing handwritten lyrics, plus the hardcover book that is full of stories, old articles, and photos. What better way to immerse yourself in the experience than dropping the needle to the vinyl, and flipping through this book.

Now when do we get Master Of Puppets?!!?

Your Mistake

I love record collecting, but sometimes I look back at some of the things that I threw my money at, and I just shake my head. There was a time when I was a bit over zealous, and with a mindset of "more pressings the better", I was jumping to buy any and every piece of Hardcore vinyl that went up for pre-order.

Since I've been going through and reorganizing my collection recently, I've started weeding through some of those records that weren't the best decisions. Reissues and discographies make up a big part of those regrets.

I know that I've got some serious holes in my collection, and I'm trying to commit to finally filling those, instead of chasing a ton of new releases. Right now I just find it more fulfilling to buy one original pressing of an older record than 5 different colors of the new Angel Du$t LP. So when I recently pulled Victim In Pain off my shelf, and recognized that the only copies that I owned were the 2009 Bridge Nine pressing, I knew that I had to take immediate steps to rectify the situation.

With some money burning a hole in my Paypal account, I set out on my hunt for a Rat Cage pressing.

With the only difference between a first and second pressing being the "Important" logo on the back, I decided that second pressing was good enough for me. Funny though, because if this was a Black Sabbath record, I would spend an extra $200 for a legit first press...with AF, I'm like "meh, the only difference is the Important logo...good enough".

There is something 1,000 times cooler in owning this Rat Cage press, and it makes those three copies of the Bridge Nine pressing obsolete. Time to sell 'em on discogs, and make a couple of bucks for the next pursuit.

Flotsam And Jetsam

I'm continually impressed when older Metal bands can still come roaring out of the gates with a new album...when bands that were a part of my teenage DNA, can still make me bang my head like a nut as I head into the later part of my 40's. 2016 has already seen Metal Church and Death Angel shoot to the top of my Top 10 list, but the biggest surprise has been the new album from Flotsam And Jetsam.

I haven't bothered with Flotsam And Jetsam since When The Storm Comes Down was released back in 1990. Nine albums, and twenty six years later, I'm surprised to find myself interested to check out what the band have to offer again.

I've ignored everything the band has done to this point, but one again, the Bravewords messageboard sucked me in when people started talking highly of the new Flotsam single for their song Iron Maiden. I really wasn't expecting much, and the song really surprised me. I didn't want to get my hopes up based on just the one song, so I kept myself in check. When the second single, Time To Go, was released, I decided to check it out to see if that first song was a fluke. Nope! Not a chance. The second song the band released was even better. Oh damn, it's time to track down the vinyl.

Only 500 pressed, so I'm glad that I didn't wait on this one.

Mountain Climbing

In my continued obsession with albums that were released in 1970, I checked another one off the list with Mountain's debut album, Climbing!.

I've always loved the artwork on the front cover of this album. The bright colors framed in black, just makes the image jump off the cover. Plus I've always thought the character on the front was some wizard or hermit with a bald head and wild beard...but on closer inspection, I can now see it is some woman with her head back and arms up, in praise of the mountain. Sigh. I like my version better.

While I've always loved the art, it has taken me some time to warm up to the music on the record. I've probably downloaded and deleted this album off my iPod a small handful of times, as I would immediately be hooked with the Hard Rock blast of Mississippi Queen, but then, over the ebb and flow of the rest of the record, I'd lose interest.

There are different layers to this album, and not all songs are going to knock you over with the power of Leslie West's guitar, and once I recognized that, I found that I really started to appreciate it more and more. This is a legit 70's classic.