Staring At Patterns Of 2022

Another year gone. Some major personal milestones as I made my first attempt at a 100 mile race (and bonked at 50 miles because the temps shot up over 90 degrees). Plus, I became a grandfather (which is still blowing my mind) and I'm excited for when he is older and I can be the first to introduce him to Black Sabbath's Heaven And Hell.

Time travels with such speed these days that I look back over the past 12 months and it is one big blur. I went into the year with a mission to really add to my New Wave Of British Heavy Metal collection, but soon my attention started to wander over to some late 80's thrash records and I really focused on that for about two seconds before I started to obsess over cheap and forgotten hardcore records from the earlyl 2000's. I was all over the fucking place, but one thing stayed constant and that was wave after wave of great hardcore records that were being released in 2022. Of the 170 records that I bought this year, 56 of them were new releases. I really wanted to catch up with some older classics, but hardcore was on fire and kept me chasing new shit.

Record collecting was fun in 2022, but looking back at my list there were very few heavy hitters on there. The game has gotten stupid expensive, even for the most common shit, and I played things very conservatively this year. Each big record that I'd look at, I'd sweat the price and think it was too expensive, and I'd back off. I failed to add another AC/DC Australian first press to the collection, which was a huge disappointment, and I barely fucked around with my Top Wants list, but I still had a good time. Here are some of the records that I was pretty excited to pick up.

Typically I only do my Top 5 new pickups for the year, but I'm trying a new format for this end of the year recap. I'm a sucker for a clean look, and going with a Top 9 square made the most sense to me as I was pulling this post together, so my apologies if this gets a bit obnoxious.

1. Alert 'Demo 08' test press - It might seem ridiculous to be so excited over a demo 7 inch for a long forgotten straight edge band that probably didn't leave much of an impact in the hardcore scene, but if you know me at all, you know that I hold tight to those insignificant bands that most people have either left in their rearview mirror or have never cared about. I was fucking stoked to score this test press.

2. Caught In A Crowd 'You've Lost' record release - Yo, coming in hot on my favorite pickups is another Massachusetts straight edge band. Hand numbered and getting 1/50 was very cool. I listened to a lot of CIAC this year.

3. Fire & Ice 'Not Of This Earth' United Blood cover - Holy shit. I was so happy to pick up this one. I've had this on my Want List for about nine years, and it was the last record I needed to complete this collection. This album still makes me move.

4. Avail 'Front Porch Stories' on red - This is a record that I've always wanted, but never made it much of a priority. When Marcus was selling some records for a friend, and I saw this on the list, I figured now was a good time to drop some money and grab it. Once it arrived, and I saw how great that red vinyl looks, I'm glad that I jumped on it. An underrated Avail classic that I was happy to rediscover with this purchase.

5. Atrophy 'Socialized Hate' original press - As I was obsessing over late 80's thrash, I listened to both Socialized Hate and Violent By Nature from Atrophy a lot. Violent By Nature is a bit harder to come by, so I was happy to snatch up the band's first album for relatively cheap.

6. Endeavor 'Crazier Than A Shithouse Rat' on grey - During a mid-90's obsession earlier this year, I rediscovered the first album from Endeavor. It proved to be a bit more difficult to find a copy than I expected, but as soon as one was available on Discogs, I pounced.

7. Pegboy 'Strong Intention' - I really wanted a copy of this record when I discovered it last year, but it wasn't as easy to track down as I expected. I love this record so much and can't believe that I was over 30 years late in discovering it. When Marcus was selling off his friend's collection and let me know that he had some Pegboy records available, I was happy to finally grab a copy.

8. Warzone 'Open Your Eyes' Caroline press - I suppose that I should include this Warzone record on my list. It was the only record that I was able to cross off my Top Wants list for the year. A classic for sure.

9. Rigor Mortis 'Freaks' US Metal Blade pressing - That first Rigor Mortis album continues to elude me. Each year I tell myself that this is year that I finally grab one, and each year I fail. I've kind of obsessed over that first album for a few years, but I'd totally forgotten about their follow up EP, Freaks. Buying this copy reminded me just how great this record is... and that cover art work is amazing.

1. Method Of Doubt - Staring At Patterns

2. Bent Blue - Where Do Ripples Go?

3. Almighty Watching - Doubtless

4. Berthold City - When Words Are Not Enough

5. Statement Of Pride - A Fire Inside / Summer '22 Promo

6. Bitter Branches - Your Neighbors Are Failures

7. Mindforce - New Lords

8. Abstain - Infirm Of Purpose

9. Moral Law - The Looming End

I'm not sure if my new graphic works for showing the ranking, so I've listed it as well. I don't know, maybe I should just use an image of the album cover instead of a vinyl photo. Oh well. Like I mentioned earlier, there were a lot of great hardcore releases this year. I really wrestled with this Top 9, and it was tough to cut some records from it. One thing was certain, and that was that the Method Of Doubt record was going to be my number one. Sure it might have been released digitally at the end of 2021, but fuck it... my list, my rules... I'm including it here. Bent Blue made a solid number two though. I discovered their 2020 demo earlier this year, and along with the new EP, I listened to that band a lot. The surprise of the year was the new Bitter Branches. I enjoyed the first record alright, but this new one hooked me quick... plus "have you tried jogging?" is now my go-to response for any complaint or problem that someone has. Other records may seem like odd choices, and while I felt the need to include Spite House, Praise or Combust here, in the end I did a gut check and just enjoyed some of the ones listed here more.

1. Satan - Earth Infernal

2. Ghost - Impera

3. Midnight - Let There Be Witchery

4. Savage Master - Those Who Hunt At Night

5. Sumerlands - Dreamkiller

6. Clutch - Sunrise On Slaughter Beach

7. Saxon - Carpe Diem

8. Voivod - Synchro Anarchy

9. Early Moods - Early Moods

How about some metal? Satan continue to release amazing records. Everything they have released since thier reunion in 2013 has easily landed near the top of my favorite metal albums for the year, and Earth Infernal was no exception. Lots of surprises from bands that I already was familiar with. Ghost, Midnight, Saxon and Voivod all delivered records that were much better than I was expecting. Early Moods was a last minute addition, and I haven't even received the vinyl for it yet. I checked them out last week when I saw them on someone's Top 10 list, and was floored by their doomy Candlemass sound. I'm not sure how I'll feel after sitting with the record, but for now, they ended up bumping Vio-lence or Municipal Waste from this number 9 spot.

One last thing that I wanted to capture here was something that I picked up from Marcus last year... what I was listening to outside of the new 2022 releases. As I bounce between hardcore and metal, and become obsessed with different eras, I'm always interested to see what rises to the top. I contemplated writing about each one, but instead I'll keep it quick. I definitely listened to that Power Alone record more than anything this past year (yes, even more than the new Method Of Doubt). It is probably one of my favorite records from the past five years, and someone needs to sell me a white vinyl copy at a reasonable price. The Coolside and Blangk 7 inches were great finds this year that I returned to again and again. I was kind of surprised to see Bloodlust Revenge this high on my list, but I guess I did follow up Ecostrike spins with some One King Down, so it makes sense. Lastly, the Atrophy and Forbidden records saw a lot of playing time, and one of my biggest disappointments of the year is that I wasn't able to find a nice copy of Violent By Nature or Twisted Into Form for a decent price and pick them up.

Phew. Sorry for all the words. I know that was a lot, but if you are still hanging on and reading this blog, thanks for playing along.