Finding Any Joy In 2023

I don't think that I've ever had a year like 2023 when it came to collecting records and just listening to music in general. I really spent the majority of the year feeling a bit lost when it came to what I wanted to listen to. Hardcore and metal were still in the rotation but I really felt the pull to listen to different things. I've always been a full album kind of listener, but this year had me doing specific songs from Spotify playlists and checking out a lot of stuff that I never would have expected to like. Songs from The Smiths, Orville Peck and Zack Bryan... stuff that I would have never been open to listening to in years past were suddenly getting repeat plays... and Lana Del Rey ended up with the most listened to song on my Spotify list, so yeah, even I didn't know who the fuck I was for most of this past year. It was weird and I enjoyed it. Plus, a lot of my focus was pulled off of records and instead I obsessed over books. I've always been a big reader, but this year I met some new friends that shared that obsession and they turned me on to different reading challenges on StoryGraph which only fanned the flame of that passion. With my thoughts consumed with books, I suddenly wasn't too concerned with my Discogs notifications or keeping up to date with this blog, and I pulled way back on buying records. I still picked up some good shit though, so let's check that out.

I never have a lot of focus on what I'm buying. My mood shifts and my buying habits flow with it. Basically I just listen to something, and if it really strikes me a certain way, then I just want to buy it. I went from wanting to buy some classic thrash records this year, and then thinking that I wanted to buy some crucial punk stuff... but then my eye would catch on an album that I hadn't listened to in a long time and I WOULD NEED THAT IMMEDIATELY. So here is the randomness that is my Top 9 purchases from this past year.

1. Judge 'New York Crew' on blue - I didn't expect to ever own this record, and I don't really know why. Small collector thinking. So when I worked a vague trade with Marcus for a record that he wanted, and he ended up sending me this one from a list of wants that I drew up on the spot in about 3 minutes, I was shocked that he pulled it off and was able to score this for me.

2. Striking Distance 'March To Your Grave' supreme court cover - This is decent hardcore record. I like it, but I've never lost my mind over it. This cover though? Fuck yes. That I wanted in a bad way.

3. AC/DC 'Highway To Hell' Australian first press - This isn't the last AC/DC Australian pressing that I need, but it is the last big one for the collection. All that I'm missing right now is the live LP, If You Want Blood. Could not be happier to finally have this Australian alternate cover in my possession. Why the fuck didn't I rate this one higher on my list?

4. Black Flag colored vinyl - Colored vinyl for Black Flag was a fucking mission for this year. I've wanted this for the collection for years, and early this year I really wanted to make it happen. I spent a lot of time in the Spring listening to the later era Flag, so I was stoked to get these two.

5. Sick Of It All 'Yours Truly' on red - It had been a long time since I'd spent time with this Sick Of It All record. Fuck, it has been years since I've probably bothered with any of the SOIA Fat Wreck albums. I'd kinda forgot about them, but when I was spending some time in my early 2000's playlists, Yours Truly came up and wow, I'd forgotten just how fun this shit is.

6. Over My Dead Body 'Sink Or Swim' final show - Okay, technically I bought this one at the end of 2022, but it didn't make the blog until the first of this year, so I'm counting it... plus, these past few years I've rediscovered how great OMDB were. Bands can get buried in time and dust, and that was the case with Over My Dead Body. This band was so good. Finding this special cover for their final show at a record store in Boston was not something that I was expecting.

7. Trouble 'Psalm 9' on white - Dude, this record has been on my immediate want list for years, but I keep putting it off for one reason. *whining* "That is too expensive" and "That condition isn't good enough". Fucking hell. I got sick of dicking around about it and I bought one with little regard of the price. Just give it to me.

8. Unified Action record release - Lins from Unified Action is an old blogger friend, and when I heard that his band was going to have a special cover for their record release show over in the UK, I immediately sent him a message asking how I could get one. I didn't really expect that he would hold one aside for me, but it didn't hurt to ask. I was grateful that he not only did that for me, but that he also gave me number 15 out of 15. Very cool.

9. Overkill 'Under The Influence' orignal press - An old school thrash classic and the final album I needed for the early Overkill collection. Originally released in 1988 when I graduated high school, and there is no denying how important this record was to me at that time.

1. Drain - Living Proof

2. As Friends Rust - Any Joy

3. Drink Deep - DD

4. Vantage Point - Against Myself

5. Scowl - Psychic Dance Routine

6. Wreckage - Our Time

7. Magnitude - Of Days Renewed...

8. Envision - The Gods That Built Tomorrow

9. Buggin - Concrete Cowboys

There were some really great hardcore records released this year. I didn't think much about it over the past 12 months, but sitting here right now and looking at this list... there is a lot of stuff here that I'll be getting a charge out for years. Dude, that Drain album? I did not expect much from that one, and when I started putting this list together, I was thinking that it was going to end up somewhere in the middle. But the more that I thought about it, the higher it climbed. Fuck it. It deserves the number one spot. I also kind of forgot about that Scowl record because it feel like it was released so long ago, but yeah, I still have a good time spinning that one. I wasn't overwhelmed with a bunch of hardcore releases, but the ones that I did pick up are so good.

1. Enforcer - Nostalgia

Blood Star - First Sighting

3. Blood Ceremony - The Old Ways Remain

4. Overkill - Scorched

5. Metallica - 72 Seasons

6. Pest Control - Don't Mess With The Pest

7. Cirith Ungol - Dark Parade

8. Night Demon - Outsider

9. Metal Church - Congregation Of Annihilation

This year I had a hard time getting excited about the metal albums. Very solid albums from Blood Star and Blood Ceremony, and a nice rebound for Enforcer to put them back at number one... plus I was surprised with how much I enjoyed the new Metallica... but overall, for the most part I just didn't find myself in a hurry to return to many of them.

Yeah, it was kind of a weird year. Like I mentioned, I was kind of lost early in the year for what I wanted to listen to. I think that I spent so much time with new hardcore records in 2022, that this year I was burned out on it. The last couple of years I've kind of rediscovered R.E.M., and that really took off this year. I listened to that band a lot. Plus, The Smashing Pumpkins connected with me in a big way... specifically the Mellon Collie album. I've never given the band much thought, but I started to slowly check them out last year, and when I wanted something different, this band always hit what I wanted. Yeah, I was slow to fully appreciate High Vis, but their last album finally clicked and I listened to that a lot earlier this year. I didn't expect to like the Actions and Indications album from Seaweed as much as I did. I figured that it would be okay, but nothing special. I was wrong. I loved it.

There were a number of bands that were introduced to me by a new friend that I met in an online bookclub on Instagram. She had me listen to Gulch and Amyl and the Sniffers from a couple years ago, and they both blew my mind. Plus she made me check out Life Of Agony because I had actively avoided them all these years, and the River Runs Red album surprised the hell out of me. It was not what I thought it was at all, and it shocked me just how good it was. Another one that I wasn't expecting was the Downer album from 2001 that was just released on vinyl this year. Marcus told me to check it out, and it fit that different vibe that I was looking for perfectly.

So yeah, it was a different kind of year. I'm not sure if I'll get back on track for 2024, but if you are still hanging out and checking this nonsense, I appreciate it.

Concrete Cowboys

The clock is ticking towards the new year, but I want to get at least one more 2023 new release up on this blog before the new year hits. Something is definitely not going to make the cutoff before it shows up on my year end post, so I had to put a lot of thought into which record I was going to pull for this.

I picked up the Buggin album earlier this year, but like most new records, I didn't really spend much time with it. This past week though? Holy shit, this Concrete Cowboys record is so fun and I've been giving it repeat spins. This record has some great hardcore attitude. There is a lot of bounce and swagger with these songs, and listening to them makes me smile because they are just such a great time.

I grabbed the green vinyl that was exclusive to Flatspot Records. 545 pressed.

Restrained In Time

The last Restraining Order album was a fast favorite. That thing was catchy as fuck, and it got to a point where I had to deliberately set it aside and not listen to it so that I didn't overplay that shit. So yeah, when their latest, Locked In Time, went up for preorder, I didn't hesitate to quickly grab a copy.

This new Restraining Order album wasn't the instant fave like the first one. There isn't any great change in style or sound, but it feels similar to when Boston Strangler released their Fire album. It is good and has some really fun songs, but compared to the first? Come on. Still, while it might not rate at the top of my list this year, I can see myself pulling this out in a couple of years and asking myself what my problem was. Restraining Order have to be one of the hardest working bands in hardcore and I hope they keep things rolling through next year.

I can't remember if I was late to the preorders and missed out on the limited colors, or if I just didn't give a fuck and picked one that I thought might be the least offensive to look at. This is the common pressing of the 3 color black/white/yellow smash and it doesn't look terrible. Limited to 524.

Against Myself

I didn't spend a lot of time listening to new hardcore records this year, but there have been a few new releases that I was really looking forward to. I've already posted about As Friends Rust and Magnitude, and to complete my Big 3 for 2023, Vantage Point comes rolling in at the end of the year with Against Myself.

I've really enjoyed Vantage Point since hearing their first demo back in 2016/2017. They play a straight forward style of hardcore that will hit me in the chest every single time. Even at this age, I'm a sucker for it. I don't even know what to say about it anymore. Either you get it or you don't. This shit has moved me since I first discovered the hardcore scene around 1990, and even during a year where my musical tastes have been all over the map, this brand of hardcore will forever grab me by the throat. The Vantage Point 7 inch from the end of 2019 was great, and this full length, clocking in just over 17 minutes, gives me exactly what I want from the band.

165 pressed on some kind of nasty puke looking colored vinyl.

The Decision Is Ours

Striking Distance were around in the early 2000's, which was a time when I was a bit out of touch with what was going on with hardcore. I was aware of some bands at the time, but I was really more interested in stuff like Good Riddance and Anti-Flag. I did have the March To Your Grave CD around then, but I never really gave it much attention. Since I've started collecting record around 2005, I've had a few moments when I would want to build a solid Youngblood collection, but for one reason or another, I've never made moves to pick up the vinyl for that Striking Distance LP.

In 2022, when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade, they proved that once again the American conservative powers-that-be doesn't give a shit about popular opinion or the rights of it's citizens, and effectively no longer protected a woman's right to abortion. A month after the ruling, Striking Distance played a couple of reunion shows, and packaged March To Your Grave in one of the best special reissue covers ever, so I knew it was time for me to get this record into my collection. Fuck every one of those conservative pieces of shit. Here is something sent special delivery with your name on it.

I really enjoy going back to that early 2000 era. I never really spent a lot of time with those bands, and it seems like most people have forgotten about that period these days, so it feels like you are in an exclusive club when listening to this stuff now.

According to discogs, there were 200 pressed on red vinyl for this reissue, but only 100 of them received this special cover... and of those, half of them had red poly bags while the other half had a regular clear bag... and then 70 of those had the regular glossy insert, while only 30 had a photocopied insert on red paper. Give me the most limited of the bunch.

Sun Blue

Bent Blue was one of my favorite discoveries in 2022. There was something about that band that hit me in a big way and I listened to their two records a lot throughout last year. So yeah, I was definitely on board for something new from the band this year.

This split 7 inch between Bent Blue and Sunstroke doesn't offer a lot, since it is only one new song plus a cover from each, but I'll take it. Fuck, the new Bent Blue song is so good. I hope the band gives us more because I'm not done with them. I've always appreciated Sunstroke and their very strong influence from the DC Revolution Summer style, so these two bands compliment each other very well. Perfect match for a split release.

I don't collect records for either band, but when preorders went up, I still felt the need to buy both colored vinyl options that were available. Both colors limited to 150 each.

Pitchfork Impalement

I don't listen to a lot of Cannibal Corpse, but when my brain is set to destroy, the band will deliver everytime. You know exactly what you are going to get, so if you want it fast, growly and violent, Cannibal Corpse have you covered.

A few months before the official news of the new Cannibal Corpse album was announced, the album cover got leaked and was making its way around the internet. As soon as I saw that completely over the top ridiculous cover art, I immediately started looking forward to it... which is a weird thing to say, because I've only listen to the last two Cannibal Corpse albums a total of ten times combined and couldn't tell you a single song off of either one, but sure, give me something new. Still, Chaos Horrific is such a fun listen.

When I was preordering the album, I saw a colored vinyl option of "charred remains". Fuck yes. That is the version that I want. Thankfully the vinyl looks as good as it's name.

Magnitude Renewed

Magnitude play a brand of 90's straight edge hardcore that I will love for fucking ever. Thank chunky metallic sound in the vein of One King Down is just so perfect to my ears, and I will fall for it every time. Their last album, To Whatever Fateful End, was so good that I ended up buying three copies of it just because Triple B would reissue it with a different colored cover. I didn't go full stupid, but I still dipped my toes in it.

There was never any doubt that I was going to buy and love their latest record, Of Days Renewed, and it delivered on all fronts. As soon as the opening song kicks off with a "Deliverance!" and then the chugging riff... fuck me, I was dead on the floor it was so good. I must have played that opening six seconds over and over twenty times in a row because it was just so fun.

I know that Triple B love those shitty splatter patterns, but what am I gonna do? I still need one in my collection. 200 pressed on an obnoxious clear vinyl with orange blob and purple splatter.

Drink Deep

I first heard the Drink Deep demo earlier this year. I loved it so much that I was tempted to track down the cassette for it. Thankfully Refuse Records saved me from that, and released a 7 inch from the band.

Drink Deep features Philippe Arama, from Remission, on vocals... and he has such a signature sound that you can't help but compare the two bands. While Remission started leaning in a bit more of a melodic direction by the time they released their final album, Enemy Of Silence, Drink Deep takes it back to a more of straight forward hardcore approach. Eight songs in seven and half minutes is my idea of perfection.

Refused Records had two version of the Drink Deep 7 inch available. I was so excited for this record, and because I was paying overseas shipping, I decided that I might as well order both of them... even if one was just black vinyl.

Not sure if this was intentional, but the covers for my clear and black vinyl had a different shade of blue. 100 pressed for clear, and 270 on black vinyl.

Any Joy

The end of the year is fast approaching, and I've been doing the bare minimum with this blog since this past summer... so if I want to pull together a solid End Of Year post, I've got to get some shit up here quickly. Let's see if I can hold on to some level of commitment for the next couple of weeks.

Those singles from As Friends Rust in the early 2000's easily make my list of favorites from that period... and when they reunited and released a new two song 7 inch in 2020, I listened to them more than any other songs that year. Fuck. I still go back to them often. So when I heard that they had a rew record, Any Joy, due out this year, I jumped in to order the more limited shit.

I really like the look of the special screen printed cover that End Hits did. Nice heavy card stock that wraps around the regular cover... but man, that skull and bones with the blue print looks so good.

Number 27 out of 130 on the shittiest looking clear vinyl you can imagine.

When I first listened to the album, I was a bit underwhelmed. I was expecting this thing to hook me quick, and maybe it is because I just wanted to listen to different shit, but this initially didn't do it for me. Recently though... with a few more listens under my belt... goddamn, this record is so good. The music and melodies... the smart lyrics... this record gives me everything I want from As Friends Rust. Perfect.

Jumping in to the End Hits store as soon as preorders opened up, I quickly grabbed a test press along with the screened cover version. Nothing too exciting with the plain black cover with white text, and it isn't even numbered, but I'm still happy to own one because I love this record so much. Test press is limited to 35.

2001 Downer

One of the best surprises for me this year is the self titled Downer record. It was only released on CD back in 2001 from Roadrunner, so it is no surprise that I'd never heard it before... because seriously, Roadrunner in 2001... yeah no. Still, when Marcus asked me to give it a listen earlier this year because he was interested in my opinion of it, I figured that I'd give it a chance.

Honestly, I was not really feeling these songs with my first listen. This wasn't a style that I typically listened to, and I was not really vibing with it. Still, throughout the summer I really found myself leaning into different music that I don't traditionally spend a lot of time with, and this Downer record kept sounding better and better... and eventually it became one of my favorite things to listen to.

I'm not sure how to describe this. I've never listened to Deftones until this summer, and I think I hear a bit of that sound... but with some Quicksand in there as well maybe? Discogs tags it as nu metal, but that doesn't feel totally correct. I don't know, but it is so good.

This year the Downer record finally saw a vinyl release, and it looks great. The front cover artwork looks better than the original, and all the little extras are a nice touch. 100 pressed on violet colored vinyl.

World I Hate

I really like some of the bands on WAR Records... stuff like Berthold City and Bent Blue have been a couple of my favorite hardcore bands recently... so when the label announces a new band, I will check them out.

When I first heard the name World I Hate, I didn't have very high expectations. It just seemed that it was going to be too "tough" for what I typically look for in hardcore. On the one hand, I was correct because this is HARDcore, but on the other, I really fucking like it. These songs remind me of some early 2000 shit like Think I Care, and I can totally get down for that sound. There is a lot of aggression and anger here. It just hits hard and doesn't let up.

As typical with WAR Records, the actual vinyl looks terrible, but I still jumped in for the "lead" colored wax. Limited to only 90.

Blood Star Sighting

One of my more anticipated releases for this year has to have been the Blood Star LP. I first heard of the band when a friend turned me on to their 7 inch back in 2020. That record came from out of nowhere, but it quickly became a fav for the year. Even with only two songs, that Blood Star 7 inch still shot to number two on my ranking for the year. It was that good.

Even though I was very much looking forward to First Sighting, I still wasn't too hyped on new releases, so the record went untouched for months after it arrived. I was too preoccupied with other music, so the new Blood Star was going to have to wait until the time was right. Apparently that right time didn't kick in until we were approaching the end of the year and I needed to try to get all my new 2023 records up on the blog before we roll into the new year (yeah, I'm not sure if I'm still going to be able to do that).

Once I did finally check it out though... FUCK, this is so good. Tradition metal and the vocals of Madeline Smith fit this sound perfectly. No doubt, Blood Star is going to be high on my ranking again this year.

I wasn't very happy with how the colored vinyl looked for the 7 inch and I expeced the same with the LP, so when preorders went up and I saw that the more limited press was on black vinyl, I figured that's the way that I'd go. Turns out that the colored vinyl didn't look as terrible as I'd expected and given, the chance to do it over again, I may have made a different decision. 300 pressed on black.

Songs For The Willow

One Step Closer released their second record, This Place You Know, a couple of years ago. I expected big things from that record, but it didn't hit like I'd expected it to, and with all the other cool shit released that year, I kind of forgot about it. Of course that didn't stop me from jumping in to preorder the latest EP from the band.

The latest 12 inch, Songs For The Willow, arrived at my house months ago, but I just haven't been in the mood to check it out. One Step Closer covered Turning Point's Broken a couple of years ago, so I always think of them trying to take that same trajectory of going from a hardcore band and progressively getting more and more melodic. OSC aren't Turning Point though, so with this latest EP, I was worried that they may have tried too hard and completely diluted their sound. Despite my hesitance, these three songs are a great blend of hardcore and melody. I'm kind of impressed... and at around 10 minutes, I can see myself revisiting these songs often.

"Sunset orange" colored vinyl is limited to 500.

Congregation Of Annihilation

Mike Howe had rejoined Metal Church in 2015, and released two great albums with the band before his untimely death in 2021. Metal Church has seen a few different singers over their long career and the Mike Howe albums are just as crucial to me as the original David Wayne ones. I figured that the loss of Howe was the end of the band, so I was surprise to hear that the band had a new singer and were releasing a new album. Initially I wanted nothing to with it. No thanks, I'm good.

After the album was released, I didn't want to be that guy that cuts a band off and doesn't give them a chance after a change. Kurdt Vanderhoof is still the guy writing all the music for Metal Church, so I decided to check a new song with an open mind, and goddamn, it was really good. Metal Church still delivers some great traditional metal, and after checking out the full album, I knew I had to pick one up.

Rat Pak has always done a great job with packaging for the recent Metal Church albums, and Congregation Of Annihilation is no exception.

Out Of Time

It has been a weird year for me when it comes to listening to music. I've been kind of lost and searching for something different to listen to, and I've found myself gravitating towards bands and styles that have been a bit unexpected. I spent a lot of time last year with new hardcore records, but this year I've just felt kind of indifferent. I can feel that changing a bit as we approach the end of 2024, and I'm starting to listen to some newer shit more and more, but overall, my listening habits this year have been odd and all over the place. Case in point... R.E.M.

I've listened to more R.E.M. this year than I probably have ever in my life. I mean, I liked the band in the early 90's, but even then I didn't listen to them as obsessively has I have this past year. After spending over a decade thinking that I never needed to listen to them again, my enjoyment of the band has grown over the last couple of year. This year, however, I just keep returning to them again and again... specifically their 1991 album, Out Of Time. I don't know what it was about this record, but I've listened to it a lot. Before this year, I don't think that I'd listened to it but two or three times over the past 30 years... it has never been my go-to R.E.M. record, but when I gave it a casual listen back in January it hooked me hard, and I've easy listened to it more than any of their other albums this year.

I've listened to Out Of Time so much that I needed a copy in my collection. I thought that I'd be able to pick up an old copy of it for cheap, but I guess that since it was released in '91, when vinyl was in a decline, those original pressings may have seen smaller numbers, and therefore are more expensive than I expected. Since an original press was priced the same as a newer colored vinyl press, I decided to put my money toward the newer version. That yellow vinyl looks so good that I couldn't resist.

New York Blue

First of all, I don't like letting go of any record that I own. Even if I don't particularly like it. What if 25 years from now I have a change of heart, and that band suddenly becomes a favorite. The thought of having to buy a record that I already once owned would literally kill me with wave after crushing wave of regret. Nope. Best to just keep everything. Second, record trades always make me feel awkward. I'm glad I came into record collecting in the day of eBay, and I could just buy what I want. I get such anxiety if someone asks me if I'd be willing to do a trade for a record that I have. No, I don't have a trade list, or a handy list of records that I would be looking for... it is fucking random chaos in my world of collecting. No organized plan or order.

So when someone recently messaged me through Discogs asking about working a trade for a record that he wanted from me, I promptly ignored it. That worked for a month or so, until he tracked me down through Instagram and dropped me a message there. Ooof. That one was more difficult to ignore. I immediately hit up Marcus to see if this guy was legit, or if he was just a pain in the ass. Marcus vouched for him, and said that if I was interested, I should draft up a list of records that I would be willing to trade for, and see if the guy could make it happen. Now I wasn't really attached to this record, but after a lot of hand wringing, I finally got back to the intial offer to tell him that I just wasn't interested in making a trade at that point... but in reality, Marcus had mentioned that he wouldn't mind having this in his collection, and that was all that I needed to hear. I just didn't want to give it to anyone other than Marcus.

When I went to visit with Marcus this summer, I was delivering a bunch of records that he'd purchased and had shipped to my house, so that I could pack them on the plane and deliver them like the little vinyl drug mule that I am. I dropped that record into the pile for him. He knew what I was thinking of asking the original trader for, but I honestly wasn't concerned about it. I gave it to him with a "you deserve this more than anyone else, so just trade me anything that you think is fair". A couple of months later and he came through. Fair ended up being the blue vinyl for Judge's New York Crew.

I can't begin to explain how happy I am to have this record in my collection. I've never actively sought it out or given it much thought. It always just seemed to be one of those classic record pressings that was too big for my collection. It was kind of dumb thinking, because I've definitely spent more on a record than it would have taken for this one... but still it never entered my brain as a possibility until I was forced to come up with a list of possible trades for that intial message. Now that I have this Judge record, it makes me want to chase other big shit like this.

Fucking Assholes Don't Get It

While on holiday in the UK this past summer, we took the opportunity to fly over and spend a couple of days in Paris with Marcus and Anna. Soon after we had landed at the Charles de Gaulle Airport, Marcus gave me a heads up that there was a special edition of the new Planet On A Chain LP that was available. There were only 50 made with a special screen printed cover, so as soon as we got to our hotel for the night, I was on the wifi and ordering myself a copy. Shortly after arriving back home in the States, the record landed in my mailbox like a hardcore souvenir of my trip overseas.

Apparently the guys from Armageddon and Drop Dead are long time friends with the guys in POAC and wanted to make a special edition cover for their newest album, Boxed In. Named the Fucking Assholes edition from the Drop Dead song of the same name, the packaging on this looks hardcore as fuck. Bad ass looking cover screen printed on a heavy black card stock that folds around the original sleeve.

The website states that there are only 50 of these, so why does it look like there are still some available months later?

Insignificant 7 Inch

Prior to travelling over to the UK, Marcus and I had discussed the old zines that we did in the mid 90's. Thankfully, I only had a single copy of the embarassing personal zine that I had done called Still Hope, so I wasn't able to get him a copy. Marcus, however, had additional copies of the Insignificant zine that he did, and was able to give me the two issues that he had done. Right out of the gate, I can tell that Marcus's zine was way above the quality level that I was working at at the time. Cleaner layouts, interviews with band, and actually printed as opposed to running off copies on the office photocopier like I had done. I haven't taken the time yet to read through these, but I'm sure the writing is more interesting as well.

One of the more interesting things about this zine, was that issue number two came with a 7 inch. Evel are one of those 90's melodic bands out of the mid-west that no one knows or will remember... I know that in my case, I'd never heard them until Marcus handed me this copy of his zine. The record was released by Foresight Records prior to getting scooped up to be included as a bonus 7 inch with Insignificant, and while I was aware of the label and had picked up couple of their early releases (including the excellent Ceilishrine 7 inch from '94), by the time this Evel record was released in '96, it didn't even register on my radar at the time.

To be honest, I was not really interested in this Evel record when Marcus handed it to me. I'm sure that he told me what they sounded like, and I know that we talked about Ceilishrine, but my mind is stubborn and I was too fixated on the band name and assumed that this was some metalcore bullshit that I wouldn't like... which again is dumb, because I definitely like what was considered metalcore in the 90's. I have no idea why I was being so stubborn here, but when I finally put this record on the turntable as I was preparing to write this post, I had to stop and reevaluate because I did not expect this record to be this good. This record just fits that mid 90's melodic vibe so well and I eat this shit up. Fuck yes, this is such a great find 25+ years after its release.

"We firmly believe in limited edition and personalised products."

Nice sticker with info about the Insignificant version of the Evel 7 inch, and hand numbered out of 531.

Red Rhythm

Back in 2015, I fucked up and without doing any research on pressing information, I bought the common black vinyl version of Rhythm Collision's second album, Now. It was an impulse decision and an amateur move, and Marcus didn't hesitate to call me out on it. At the time, Marcus had never heard Rhythm Collision, and it took him about 8 years to finally check the band out... and then quickly pick up some colored vinyl for cheap. When I was visiting him in the UK earlier this summer, he took the opportunity to finally set me straight with a colored vinyl pressing of my own.

Rhythm Collision are just a fun band. They play an uptempo and melodic brand of punk, but they still have plenty of grit to keep it interesting. Definitely a summertime band, and one of the few Dr. Strange bands that I listen to.

No doubt, the red vinyl is the color of choice for this album. Such a good look, and I'm glad that a great friend helped to correct my previous mistake.

Bane Reunion

When Bane played their "last" show back in 2016, I couldn't get myself interested enough to make the trip to Massachusetts for it. When I saw the photos and videos after the show, and all of the old acquaintances that were there, I kind of regretted not going. When it was announced 7 years later that Bane were going to start playing shows again, I quickly jumped in to buy tickets for that reunion. My brother was on board for the show, and two of his boys wanted to be there as well. Kind of weird to be going to see a band with my nephews, when I'd first seen Bane before they were even born, but I was looking forward to it.

The show ended up being a few days before I was set to leave for holiday in the UK, and in an effort to do my best to avoid covid, I decided that my best move was to stay away from all the action at the front of the stage, and resign myself to the sidelines. Once Bane started their set, and I could see my brother and nephews launching themselves from the stage into the crowd, I regretted my decision.

As we were eating dinner before the show, my brother let me know that he had heard there was going to be some special edition vinyl at the show. I've never really collected Bane records, but if there was a special pressing for the reunion show, I wanted it. As we would come to learn in the days to come, while there were a couple of colored vinyl options that were available at the show, there were still 5 or 6 other versions that were available through multiple exclusive retailers. With that many different versions, for me, it just means that none of them are that special. I'll take the copy that I got at the show, but it isn't really a big deal at this point.

The packaging on this is really nice though. With the diecut gatefold cover, and the booklet attached to the inside cover, this a great looking edition.

I do like the bright pink vinyl for this.