Thrashard

I've been chasing a handful of different record collecting goals this year, but one of my favorites has been those albums celebrating their 30th anniversary. When the year started, my collection for 1989 was pretty pathetic, however, the past nine months has slowly seen me pick up some top tier stuff...many of my favorite metal albums from that year. It has been a few months since I've grabbed a classic from '89, so it feels great to pick up another one.

I was still a metalhead in 1989, and while I was buying albums from Sick Of It All and Cro-Mags, I was probably still a year away from really discovering the hardcore scene. The Thrash Zone album from D.R.I. was pretty big transition album between the two worlds for me.

Shortly after a group of me and my friends took a trip to Boston to catch Testament at The Channel, I discovered that D.R.I. were playing in Providence in early 1990. It was a good three hour drive to Rhode Island, and when a couple of friends bailed on the trip, I decided to make the trip alone. This was before GPS and smartphones, I packed a state map in my car and headed in the general direction of Providence with no real idea where I was going. I stopped at various gas stations to ask for directions and drove through some sketchy parts of town, but eventually found the club. Growing up only knowing about big arena shows...to be up front, stagediving with Kurt Brecht putting the microphone in my face to sing along to Suit And Tie Guy, and then having the entire band come out on the floor to talk with everyone...that shit was life changing. This was the real deal, and soon after I was travelling to see Agnostic Front and Slapshot play live, and from there, there was no turning back.

It had been a while since I'd given the Thrash Zone album a spin, but diving into my 1989 playlist this year, I've rediscovered how much fun this record still is. Hey, it is no Dealing With It or Crossover, but fuck, this album is a blast.

Thirty Years Older... 1989

I love reconnecting with older albums that I'd long forgotten about. Some albums end up getting pushed aside to collect dust at the back of the collection, and it feels like you'll never need to listen to it again...but then somehow that album ends up on your radar, and it sinks its fucking hooks into you and won't let go.

While I enjoyed Gang Green through the late 80's and saw them open for Social Distortion at The Living Room in Providence...getting kicked out of the club for stagediving when Gang Green played Another Wasted Night)...as we moved through the 90's, I kind of wrote off those crossover albums from the band. A couple of years ago, I was reminded just how good You Got It was when I was reviewing my 1987 playlist, and the same kind of thing happened this year when I queued up the Older... Budweiser album from '89.

I was surprised by just how much I loved revisiting this record. So much fun...and one of my favorite rediscoveries from 1989.

Initially, when I was recently looking to buy a copy, I picked one up from a US seller for a good price, however, when the record arrived, I didn't think it was worth the VG+ rating that the seller had given it. I was disappointed with the condition, and the seller was cool with it, and refunded the money provided that I send it back to him. Man, I don't usually complain about the condition of records that I buy, and letting it go was a tough call, but I immediately was on the hunt for another copy, and found an overseas seller with a bunch of cool shit available, so I loaded up my cart, and soon had my hands on a nice looking copy...which included a cool merchandise insert. Good deal.

1989 Aggression

As excited as I've been for some of the recent new releases, I really just want to hangout in my 1989 playlist, so I'm happy to get back to my mission of picking up albums from that year.

One of my favorite metal albums from '89 is Extreme Aggression by Kreator. Holy shit. As an 18/19 years old kid, this album ruled my world. It was so fucking angry and fast, and as I was starting my first year of college and feeling more out of place and awkward than ever, it fit my teenage world perfectly. From start to finish, this record just continues to assault you, never letting up.

When I started looking at my playlist for 1989, and saw this Kreator album slugging it out with Sepultura's Beneath The Remains and Overkill's The Years Of Decay for the top spot, I knew that I needed to make a move and grab this record. When I started checking Discogs to see what was available, I knew that I needed to chase an original German Noise pressing. There was something about those US Epic that looked totally out of place and awkward. The Noise labels are where it's at.

Blessing In 1989

One of my favorite things to do this year has been to dive into those albums celebrating their 30th anniversary, and chasing down those records from 1989. Man, so many great albums were released that year, and it has been a blast immersing myself into that time period and reminiscing about those days when I was 18/19 years old.

I've been looking to pick up a copy of Metal Church's first album with Mike Howe, Blessing In Disguise, for a long time. Seems like I spend some time each year trying to hunt one down, but it never works out, and then I forget about it and move on to something else. I've been after this record for so long, I've come close to adding it to my Top Wants list for the year, just to keep front and center on my radar, but once I started chasing those 30th anniversary albums this year, I was bound and determined to finally get the job done.

Blessing In Disguise was the first Metal Church record since their departure with vocalist David Wayne. Those first two albums with David Wayne as the singer are kind of a big deal, and they are straight up classics. When he left, they were some big shoes to fill... but then Mike Howe came into the band and brought the band to another level. It is like trying to compare DiAnno and Dickinson era Iron Maiden, with Wayne and Howe, I'm torn between which one I prefer...both are just so good.

Handle With Care

I am loving this 30th anniversary goal of picking up 1989 albums this year. There were some amazing albums released that year, and it has been a lot of fun to revisit these classics. I've picked up amazing records from Sepultura and Annihilator so far this year, and I still have a long way to go, but let's cross another banger from the list with Nuclear Assault.

Nuclear Assault were hugely influential to me at that time. I was an angry young metalhead that was down with all the satanic and violent imagery that came along with the music, and then suddenly there were bands that were tackling environmental issues, police brutality and vivisection. The message was important and vital, and suddenly I was starting to stand for something. Given the heavy topics of the Handle With Care album, it's no surprise that a year later, I was really starting to cross over to hardcore, and getting more and more into music with a stronger message.

I'm not sure why, but I've been struggling to find US sellers with these records from 1989, and I keep dealing with sellers from overseas to get these into the collection...even for records that were pressed in the US. I guess that by '89, vinyl was breathing it's last breath over here in the States because once again, I found myself tapping the German marketplace for this Nuclear Assault album.

Annihilator In Hell

I've been having a great time immersing myself into those albums that I was listening to back in 1989. Thrash ruled my world at that time, and it was such an exciting time to be buying albums. '89 was the year that I finally got out of Portland, and hit the road with some friends to go to our first concert in Boston. Testament, Wrathchild America and Annihilator were playing at The Channel, and so we decided to head down for an adventure. We had no fucking idea where we were going...we just knew that if we took interstate 95 south, it would go right through Boston. I bought a street map of the city, and we drove around for hours, trying to figure out how to find the club. Thankfully we gave ourselves plenty of time, and we still managed to get to The Channel hours before the show started. It was my first club show, and it changed my life. This was no arena show...this was electric and felt dangerous. After watching the bands play, I knew that I was going to have to come back, and soon I was making trips to Boston and Providence a couple times a month for shows.

I haven't really given Annihilator much thought over recent years, but in going through my 1989 playlist, Alice In Hell has really blown me away. I'd completely forgotten just how amazing this record is. After giving it a listen and kind of getting reacquainted with these songs, I immediately wanted to listen to them again. This shit was so good, that I had to keep returning to it, and of all the 1989 albums that I've been spinning lately, I've probably listened to Alice In Hell more than any of them. I knew that it was time to track down the record.

I ended up buying the Euro pressing from overseas, because it was just easier than trying to track down a US pressing in great shape.

Primitive Future

I may have gotten myself in too deep with all the goals that I've set for 2019. First up, I created a list of ten records that I've wanted for years, but haven't had the focus to make any solid moves to actually acquire them, so keeping them front and center on my radar, I hoped that it would motivate me to finally pick them off. There are some heavy hitters on that list, so just sticking with that goal pretty much filled my plate...and then I kicked off January with a New Wave Of British Heavy Metal obsession, and I started to get excited thinking about chasing down some NWOBHM rarities. Then, if that wasn't enough, I got it into my head to really get aggressive over my 30th anniversary challenge, and grab some of my favorite albums from 1989 that I still need to own on vinyl...and I'll tell you, that list is fucking huge.

Right now, those records from 1989 are commanding most of my attention. Because I was so focused on buying CDs back in '89, my record collection for that year is fucking pathetic. When I looked in my collection for that year, I came up with a total of two metal records...and one of those was the Sea Hags album that I was introduced to this year. Jesus Christ. I needed to do some work.

I wanted to come out of the gates with a bang, and scoring Sepultura's Beneath The Remains was a great way to kick off this latest obsession. This thing is mint. With the shrink wrap and hype sticker still a part of the package, I don't think that I could have found a better copy.

Holy shit. This album is a monster. It has been a blast revisiting it, and every single one of these songs still hit like a brick to the face. Easily a contender for the best album from 1989...which is saying something for a year that was full of great metal records. More killer albums from 1989 to come...

Sea Hags

Back in October, Doug sent me a message, letting me know that he'd just picked up the Sea Hags album. He was obviously excited over his new purchase, and I was sitting there thinking, "Who the fuck is that?" I'd never even heard the name Sea Hags before. Doug gave me a quick lesson on their sleazy hair metal style, and I tucked the name away to check them out at a later date. Since I latched on to my obsession over Dokken, Ratt and early Motley Crue last year, I've been taking baby steps into the Hair Metal world, and checking out some bands that I ignored back in the day, so the Sea Hags record seemed like something that I'd be down to check out at some point.

A few days after Doug's message, I was flipping through the used bins at a local record store, and was surprised by the coincidence to see the same Sea Hags album sitting there. I had no idea if I was going to like it or not, but for six dollars, I figured that I'd take the chance.

Yes! This is exactly the kind of thing that I've been craving. Great sleazy rock and roll. I don't know if I'd qualify it as hair metal, but it does sit nicely next to stuff like Faster Pussycat that I've been digging lately.

One of my missions this year is to chase down the vinyl for albums that were released in 1989, and it just so happens that this one falls into that category. Not bad...30 years after it's release, I'm discovering it for the first time.