Reign In Pain

It has been a while since I've picked up a new bootleg. I'd gotten in the habit of checking the Hells Headbangers store for Iron Maiden boots, but once those seemed to stop showing up there, I stopped checking for anything. Thinking that it had been too long since I'd added one to the collection, I took a look. As soon as I saw this live Slayer bootleg, I quickly added it to the cart.

There are a few bands that I'm a sucker for live bootleg recordings, and Slayer is one of them. I'm not sure if it is the intesity of a live setting, or if it is Tom Araya's between song banter, but sign me up every fucking time for this shit. I was thinking that I only had a couple of Slayer boots, but checking the collection for this post, I discovered that this live set from the Reign In Blood tour is my fourth from this band. I've already got a live recording from this tour... a week later for a show in Berlin... but this one at the Odeon Theatre in Birmingham sounds so much better. The quality of this is great... the sound and the cover art are fantastic.

The D side of the vinyl has songs from a live set at Studio 54 in New York. There is only five songs here, so I'm assuming it is an incomplete set, and it was just thrown in to take up space, but it still sounds great.

Black Mask

In discussing music and sharing songs with my friend Sarah last year, there were a few things that she introduced me to that I liked so much that I had to buy the record for my collection. The Gulch record that I posted a week ago may have been one of my favorite discoveries from her, but there were a few other things that had me scrambling to Discogs as well. One of the first things that I ended up buying based on her song suggestion was the Black Mask 7 inch.

This shit is fucking harsh. It is noisy, chaotic and absolutely unrelenting in its brutal attack. Six songs in ten minutes, and it does not allow you any time to catch your breath. This style would have been a bit outside what I was into in 2012, but I'm kind of surprised that I'd never even heard of this Pennsylvania hardcore band until now.

I'm guessing that no one else knows Black Mask either, as this record cost me less than $5 on Discogs. Black in blue vinyl was limited to 100, but this dust sleeve is numbered out of 15... or is that 25... so this is a nice version to have, even if I have no idea what that writing is supposed to say.

Endless Torment

It has been a couple of years since we've heard from Dead Heat, so it was cool to see a new EP drop from them last year.

If you are familiar with the band, you know exactly what you are going to get with Endless Torment. Dead Heat nail that crossover thrash sound that I absolutely love. Think bands like Suicidal, Excel and Crumbsuckers... they just play that style perfectly, and I will eat it up every time. There are only five songs here, but at 18 minutes it is kind of the perfect length. Get in, rip it up, and leave 'em wanting more. Great stuff.

Maybe it is because the cover art is so over the top, but I kind of like the look of this obnoxious splatter pattern and screened b-side. 250 pressed.

Self Inflicted Mental Terror

I had a lot of musical surprises last year. Things that I never expected to like, and would have previously dissed and dismissed, but sitting down and approaching it with an open mind was shocked to find some bands that I really enjoy. One of my favorite surprises was Gulch.

Gulch were around a few years ago, and I remember at the time making assumptions that I would not like them. They were associated with record labels that didn't hold much interest for me, and I just assumed that they would be some shitty modern hardcore sounding band... whatever the fuck that might mean. So yeah, I avoided them. Then last Fall, a friend shared their song Self Inflicted Mental Terror with me, and with my first listen it was everything I expected it to be. It was noisy and chaotic with some over the top vocals throughout, and I didn't like it. It didn't fit that straight forward hardcore sound that is my default setting. Still, the song ended up on a playlist that I was visiting frequently, and after a handful of listens I started to settle in and get it. Then, before I knew it, everything that made me intially pull back from it, was exactly what I loved about the song. It had me thinking of the chaotic and noisy stuff from the 90's, like Rorschach and Born Against, and then I was visiting the entire Impenetrable Cerebral Fortress album regularly and I needed to own record.

Side note: Self Inflicted Mental Terror came up on a Spotify playlist when I was in the car with my wife recently, and I was trying to explain to her how I didn't think that I'd like it at all when I first heard it, but that I absolutely love it now... and her response was, "Really? It sounds exactly like the other stuff you listen to." Maybe she knows my music taste better than I do.

I thought that I'd hate the look of this colored vinyl, but I actually think it looks great next to the crazy cover art. Since I was so late discovering Gulch, I paid a bit more for the vinyl off of Discogs, but the $35 that I spent is nothing compared to the seller that has one listed now at $300. Good luck with that, pal. Limited to 300.

Anklebiter Straight Edge

Back in 2022, I caught an article over on noecho.net about a new band that that was kicking it around the Northeast of the US. Anklebiter were described as a straight edge band, playing fast hardcore that's influenced by the early Lockin' Out bands like Mental and Righteous Jams. Well fuck. That was all that I needed to hear, and I downloaded a copy of their demo. Those four songs were a lot of fun, and as soon as it was announced that they were releasing a new 7 inch this year, I didn't hesitate to order one.

I'm really not a fan of the cover art on this 7 inch. I assume they are going for a more colorful and playful style similar to Mental, but this doesn't work for me here and I kinda hate it. The songs on the other hand are a blast... and watching videos of the band rippin' it up on a stage with big fat 90's style X's on their hands will get my attention every time.

100 pressed on pink colored vinyl that was exclusive to Brooklyn Vegan. I have no idea what a Brooklyn Vegan is, but apparently they rate high enough to get their own colored vinyl to sell.

Wrong War Reflection

I love the band Current from the mid 90's. They play a style of hardcore punk that doesn't get old or stale for me, and their records are still in rotation in my playlists today. Absolute perfection. While Wrong War has the singer from Current, they play a more straight forward style of hardcore... and while I very much enjoy what that band is doing today, there is still a bit of me that wants them to lean into that Ebullition emo sound a bit.

Either way, Wrong War pull influence more from that early 80's hardcore sound, and really remind me of Articles Of Faith. The band has been very productive, releasing albums in both 2021 and 2022, and just kept things rolling with this 7 inch in 2023. Everything from this band has been solid, and this EP is no exception.

250 pressed on translucent red vinyl.

Cirith Parade

When Cirith Ungol reunited and released a one song single back in 2018, it took me by surprise. I never expected this obscure 80's metal band to get back together, let alone produce music that approached the quality of their classic albums... but with their first full length in almost 30 years, Forever Black in 2020 proved that they still could deliver.

I didn't even know that Cirith Ungol had a new album on the way until I was in the Metal Blade store picking up the new Cannibal Corpse back in September. Seeing Dark Parade listed for preorder, I immediately added it to the order. This album is just so solid. Traditional metal with a touch of doom. The band has remained relatively intact over the years, with the exception of adding Jarvis Leatherby from Night Demon on bass, but goddamn, they sound exactly like they did back in the 80's. How is it that the singer still sounds the same after all these years? Impressive. For some reason, I don't pull out the Cirith Ungol records very often, but I can tell that I'm going to enjoy listening to this one anytime that I do.

Nice looking "mineral marbled" colored vinyl.