Ravening Champion

One of the releases from 2020 that was looking forward to the most was the new album from Eternal Champion. I was so stoked for this record that I was prepared to buy the new novel that Jason Tarpey was having published as well. By the time I got in for the preorders, I'd completely missed out on the colored vinyl options that the band was selling, and I was so disappointed that I had to settle for the black vinyl pressing that I didn't bother with Tarpey's fantasy novel. I just grabbed the black vinyl and checked out.

I ordered the new Eternal Champion record back in October, and after multiple delays my copy finally arrived 6+ months later. You can say one thing for sure, EC definitely deliver some great traditional metal, but they also serve it up with some dragons and boobs. That cover is epic...although I'm not sure what happened to the arms of that woman in the foreground.

While Ravening Iron was pressed by No Remorse in Europe, the band self released this in the States on their new label, Sword Worship. I obviously decided to order from the band and save on overseas shipping,

Nice touch with the personal thank you note from the band on the cardboard packaging.

Ballistic, Sadistic

I heard all kinds of good things about the new Annihilator album last year, but given that the only record that I listen to from their 15 album career is their first one from 1989, I didn't really buy into the hype. I ignored their 2020 release, Ballistic, Sadistic, all of last year, but as we moved into 2021 I finally decided to give it a listen to see if it was as bad as I expected it would be. I've checked out a few Annihilator albums in the past, but they have all fallen a bit flat, so I was not expecting this new record to hook me from song one.

Ballistic, Sadistic absolutely rips and is catchy as fuck. I can't believe how much I enjoy this record. Hilarious to think that the three guys joining the only original memeber, Jeff Waters, on this album weren't even born when the first Annihilator album, Alice In Hell was released. It's all cool though because whatever chemistry they have, it works here. Goddamn, if this was the lineup on the previous Annihilator album, I'm going to have to go back and check that out too.

While the front cover album artwork is a little questionable, at least the colored vinyl looks amazing.

Sodom And Genesis

After picking up the recent releases from old 80's metal bands like Raven and Accept, it got me thinking about some records from last year that I never bothered with at the time. One of those albums that I wanted to check out was the new Sodom record.

Sodom released a couple of classic thrash albums back in the 80's, and while I've checked out some of the band's other stuff over their sixteen album career I just find that I don't return to it like I do with Persecution Mania and Agent Orange. The band has been through a number of lineup changes over the years, but with the return of Frank Blackfire on guitar...and some very positive reviews for Genesis XIX...it kind of had me interested to see what the hype was all about. After previewing a couple of songs on Spotify, I was quickly scrambling and trying to track down a copy of the vinyl.

This record is an all-out German thrash attack! Clocking in around 55 minutes, it is a bit too long...and cutting a couple of the songs would have made this album an absolute crusher...but I still can't help but be impressed by this shit. It is cool when older bands can still pull off something like this...a total throwback to the Sodom glory days.

Blue Discipline

At some point last year, I found myself in the Painkiller webstore looking to buy the Rated X record. While I was in there, I noticed that the label also had a record available from a band named Heavy Discipline. I'd never heard of this band before, but since they had the same name as an old GBH song, I figured that I'd check them out. After being disappointed that Painkiller was already sold out of the Rated X colored vinyl pressing, and that Heavy Discipline didn't sound anything like GBH, I left the store empty handed.

I didn't think about Heavy Discipline until Marcus posted about the record a few months later. He seemed into it so I figured that I'd give it a second chance. These guys definitely fall into that early Boston hardcore sound, and I'm glad that I received the push to check them out again. Honestly, I'm surprised I let this one pass me by the first time around...I mean, if someone had clued me into the fact that this is the same singer from Hounds Of Hate, I would have been all over it from the start.

I was surprised to find that Painkiller still had the blue vinyl available when I went back to the store, and I didn't hesitate to grab one this time around.

Don't Sleep With Revelation

It has been a long time since I've been interested in a Dave Smalley band. When I was fresh into hardcore during the early 90's, I loved the triple D's...I'm talking about DYS, Dag Nasty and Down By Law, you pervert! Eventually, the Down By Law records started to lose their punch and I stopped paying attention...and there is no need to speak of that DYS reunion song. When Smalley got a new band together with Don't Sleep and released an EP a few years ago, I wasn't interested and stayed away. I'm not sure what sparked my interest when I saw that the band released a new album in 2020, but I must have been caught on a off day from being old and jaded, and I give the songs a spin on Spotify. Not bad...not bad at all. Surprisingly I was kind of digging some of the album, but I still wasn't sure if I wanted to fork over the money for the vinyl.

When I saw that Marcus posted about the album a few weeks ago, I decided to revisit it and see if it really interested me or if my initial reaction was just a passing whim. Damn, some of these songs are too much fun to ignore, and I've got to move and sing along. I gave the album a few more spins and then finally decided to grab a copy before the end of the year.

I ended up grabbing a copy from the REVHQ store on Discogs. They had listed it with a cheap price because of a "crushed corner". I exchanged a couple messages with them and determined that it really wasn't that badly damaged, so I bought it. REV had it listed as the yellow vinyl which was a REVHQ exclusive, but when it arrived, the vinyl is definitely more orange than yellow. Is it really the "canary yellow and red apple" pressing and they listed it wrong, or is it some transition color that REV is famous for with their greens and greys? I honestly have no idea, but it is still a fun record, so I'm happy to have one.

Mil-House

At some point last year, someone recommended that I check out Mil-Spec. I listened to two songs, shrugged my shoulders and moved on. It didn't do anything for me, but to be honest, I didn't like the band name, so I had already written them off before I'd even started to play that first song. When the band was due to release a full length album this year, I decided that maybe it was time to give them a chance with a more open mind.

This record clicked with me right away. I'm obviously going to have to go back and check out the songs from the 7 inch again, because this album is really good. Of course I was a little slow to check out this record, so by the time I went to buy a copy, there was only black vinyl left. That wasn't going to cut it for me, and I figured that I'd playing the waiting game over on Discogs and pay a stupid price for the cream colored vinyl. Therefore, I was thankful when Marcus gave me the heads up that Lockin' Out had added a few more copies of the colored vinyl to their webstore, and I didn't hesitate to grab one.

327 pressed on cream colored vinyl.

Nights Of The Dead

One of the last big concerts that I went to, before Covid shut everything down, was Iron Maiden's Legacy Of The Beast tour. That show was so much fun. The setlist was fantastic and the stageshow was amazing. Damn. I miss shows. We are talking about Iron Maiden, so of course they released a live album to document the tour.

Honestly, I'm not sure that we needed another live Maiden album...I think this is number nine in their discography... but since I had such a great time seeing this tour live in Massachusetts last year, of course I was excited to pick up the album release... and really... it's Iron Maiden, so I was obviously going to buy it. I'm not a fan of the Eddie cover artwork, but I can't say enough good things about the packaging for this live album.

The thing that made this tour so special was the track listing. To hear some deep tracks... like The Clansman, Sign Of The Cross, and For The Greater Good Of God... as well as some older classics that haven't been in the setlist for a long time... like Flight Of Icarus, Where Eagles Dare and Revelations... this setlist was entertaining as hell.

The live photos on the inside of the triple gatefold look great.

Got to have all the tour dates listed so that I can find the one show that I went to.

The dust sleeves show the three themes that Maiden used for this tour, War, Religion and Hell. Each theme had songs that fit the subject matter and with a stage set that matched. Each theme gets its own slab of colored vinyl and the dust sleeve has cool writing about the songs and what was happing on stage at the time. These details take the packaging here to the next level. Quality.

Goddamn you, Iron Maiden, for forcing me to buy from Walmart.

Triple B Speedway

Triple B was huge for me in 2019. I was introduced to so many great bands through that label last year, but as we started to close out 2020, I felt like they really fell short compared to the year before. Sure, they released a couple of great records this year, but overall, there was a bunch of stuff from them that I just didn't care about. Still, I try to check out most of what they release to see if it catches my attention, and when I was in their webstore recently, wringing my hands over if I should buy a couple of repressings, I saw the Speedway record and I decided to check out the songs.

Triple B lists Speedway as "premier Swedish hardcore". I wasn't sure what made them "premier", but I figured that I'd check them out. Initially I thought the songs were okay...not great, but still good enough that I threw the 7 inch in my cart when I was picking up some other records from the label. But the more I sit with these songs, the more I dig them...and the video for Endless Stride really made me sit up and pay attention. I don't know...there is just something about young bands that play hardcore with passion...that shit still moves me.

I was way too late to get the limited pressing, but Triple B still had the purple vinyl in stock, so I grabbed that one. 400 pressed.

Triple B was running a special over Black Friday where all orders get a free flexi of the latest Mindforce song, Reign Of Terror. Flexis are kind of dumb, but this song is great, so I was glad to pick one up.

For Whom The Vinyl Club Tolls

At the start of 2020, Metallica made an announcement that they were rolling out a subscription vinyl club. This subscription will include four 7 inch records, exclusive to members that have signed up, and were scheduled to ship throughout the year. Then COVID hit and it all went to hell. There were numerous delays at the pressing plant, and then the postal system compounded those issues causing tons of stress as invalid tracking numbers were emailed out, and then records continued to sit at their warehouse and sporadically ship out. Some people started to receive their first record by the middle of October, while mine didn't arrive until late in November. What a shit show.

Once the record arrived, all the stress and frustration melted away and it was all worth it. Two songs, For Whom The Bell Tolls and Leper Messiah, recorded live at Doningon from '87. This record is amazing. Say what you want about Metallica, but they certainly have delivered quality when it came to this record subscription. The record cover is made of a nice thick stock with some great artwork, and even the dust sleeve is nice and sturdy and covered in some amazing live photos.

The package even comes with a little poster of the band from the day of the Donington fest.

Each record is numbered, which is both kind of pointless and cool at the same time. It would be nice if they can keep the numbers the same for each release, but I imagine that would be difficult to manage, so it probably isn't the case. Also included in this first package is my membership card that has my name printed on the backside. Great package, and I'm looking forward to the second one in the series!

PWR/UP

I was pretty sure that we had seen the last of AC/DC when the Rock Or Bust tour came to a end in a ball of flames in 2016. Malcolm Young was already out of the band with dementia, and then Brian Johnson had to quit mid-tour with hearing issues. Oddly enough the band got Axl Rose to step in as the vocalist to finish the tour, but then Phil Rudd hired a contract killer and got busted for meth, so they had to get Simon Wright to jump in on drums, and by the end of the tour Cliff Williams was like "fuck this" and he quit too, leaving Angus as the last man standing. Honestly, I didn't expect them to come back after that. When rumors started flying around about a new AC/DC record in 2020, I was a bit skeptical.

Not only are AC/DC back, but holy fuck, they come back with an album that leaves me awe struck. Power Up is the band's sixteenth album (well, seventeenth if you are counting from their Australian catalog), and it is good...like really fucking good. I'm not sure if it is because my expectations were low, but Angus pulled Brian, Phil, Cliff, and cousin Stevie back for an impressive showing. The more I listen to this record, the more I dig it. I don't know if it matches the hype that people keep throwing around, like "it harkens back to Flick Of The Switch", but if this is the album that AC/DC go out on, it is an exclaimation point to a solid fucking run.

Solid yellow vinyl was only available in the US AC/DC webstore.

Grinning Like An Undertaker

Accept reunited back in 2010 and with their new singer, the band went on an impressive four album stretch. Each one was a great slab of metal, but by the time The Rise Of Chaos when it was released in 2017, the band's formula was getting a bit stale. That last album wasn't terrible by any stretch, but I found that I just didn't return to it very often like I had the first three. At some point last year, Accept released a new single for the song Life's A Bitch, but it barely made a blip on my radar. When they released another single earlier this year, this time for the song The Undertaker, I had the same kind of shoulder shrug reaction. I just didn't feel compelled to rush and check it out.

Spotify does this thing where after you finish listening to an album, they immediatly start a random playlist based on what was just playing. At some point they threw the new Accept song, The Undertaker, at me. When the song started, my first impression was that it kind of goofy, but as it continued to play, I started to get into it, and by the time the song was finished, I knew that I was going to have to revisit it and dig in a little deeper. After giving it a few more spins, I knew that I was going to have to head over to Nuclear Blast to pick up the 7 inch.

This 7 inch single is a lot of fun, and now I also want that Life's A Bitch 7 inch from last year...unfortunately it doesn't seem to be available. There aren't even ridiculously priced ones on Discogs or eBay. Very strange. Either way, these single have done their job because now I'm really excited for the new Accept album due out early next year.

Soul Ship

I was scrolling through Instagram a while ago and saw that someone posted a photo of a new Soulside record. At one point I might have been surprised, but these days it seems that pretty much every old band has reunited in one way or another. I've always enjoyed those Soulside records from the late 80's, so I was interested to see what they would deliver thirty years later.

Initially, this record fell flat for me. I had the record in my cart in the Dischord store and all ready to go, but after giving the songs a spin on Spotify, I cancelled the order and walked away. Nope. I wasn't feeling it. I really love old Soulside, and I really wanted to like this new EP, so I gave it a shot again a few weeks later...meh, it was okay, but I felt like maybe I needed repeat listens to appreciate it. Fuck it. I went back to Dischord and ordered the record anyway.

I've given this record a few spins this month, and I've really come to like the song This Ship. Great song. The second track, Madeleine Said, is taking a bit longer, but I'm starting to come around on it. The third song, Survival... which is only available as a download, and isn't even on the fucking record (so that bothers me)... I'm still struggling with. It's okay, but the chorus doesn't sit right with me. So, overall, I had higher hope for this record, it isn't terrible, but it also isn't Trigger... and this is probably unfair of me.

Punching The Sky

It has been five years since the last Armored Saint album, Win Hands Down. Having seen the band play live twice when they toured for that record, I have fond memories of it. When I heard that we were getting a new disk from the band in 2020, I was looking forward to what they would deliver. As soon as preorders went up in the Metal Blade store, I was quickly grabbing my copy.

The album is a solid slab of Armored Saint. It took me a few spins to warm up to Win Hands Down, and that was the same deal with this new one, Punching The Sky. It takes a bit for the songs to hook me, but after a few spins, I finally start to settle in and really enjoy it.

When I ordered my copy, I went for the special edition. Lavender colored vinyl, numbered and limited to 300, and includes a bonus patch and 7 inch.

Over the Covid Summer Lockdown, since all touring was shut down, a lot of bands were getting together virtually and recording some songs for fun and posting the videos online. Armored Saint decided to do a stripped down acoustic version of Isolation, from their 1987 album, Raising Fear. Glad that they took the opportunity to include it on the bonus 7 inch here.

Green Nightmares Of The West

Back in the day, I was a huge fan of the first couple of Strike Anywhere records. I absolutely loved Chorus Of One and Change Is A Sound, but after that, their other albums failed to make much of an impression on me. I mean they were okay, but nothing really hooked me. Still, I was hopeful when I heard that Strike Anywhere were releasing a new record in 2020. If ever there was a time that we needed a blast of their brand of political punk rock, it is now.

Nightmares Of The West delivers exactly what I needed. Seven songs in 21 minutes that makes me want to bounce around, sing along, and throw up a middle finger to so much of the bullshit that made this past year so much of a hellscape. Try watching the video for Frontier Glitch and not be moved... emotions were stirred when I tune in to it for sure.

Because I was dragging my feet on ordering this record, I had to settle for the second pressing. That's cool. I dig the look of this colored vinyl, so I'm happy.

Haunting Flashback

No band is more productive than Haunt. Since releasing their debut EP back in 2017, the band has released a staggering amount of material. It is ridiculous how many records they have pumped out in such a short period of time. Haunt already released a new album, Mind Freeze, earlier this year, but hey, with touring bands trapped at home due to the pandemic, might was well write and record another one, right?

Flashback is Haunt's fourth album overall, and these eight songs give you exactly what you'd expect from the band. Solid traditional metal.

Haunt decided to stay away from streaming services like Spotify with this release, and are limiting it's release to only Bandcamp and physical formats. I get that Bandcamp is a more attractive option for bands, but I only use it to preview a record to see if I want to buy it...I'll never actively go to Bandcamp to listen to an album, so it looks like Flashback will only get playing time on my turntable...which means that I'll probably only give it the occassional spin.

200 pressed on blue vinyl.

I was recently talking with my friend Jeff, who had just discovered Haunt, and he was very excited about the band. That excitement was contagious as I then rushed out to buy another record from the band.

The man behind Haunt, Trevor William Church, was not happy with the recordings for their first full length album, Burst Into Flame. He recently spent some time cleaning up those songs, and decided to release them as this limited Burst Into Demos record. I'm not sure that I really needed this, but I loved the album art work, and after talking with Jeff, I couldn't resist adding another Haunt record to the collection. Only 250 pressed, and all on this red colored vinyl. There is supposed to be some gold splatter in the red vinyl, but thankfully my copy doesn't have much of it.

In A Night Demon Trance

Night Demon have been releasing a series of 7 inch singles throughout 2020, and I've been having fun picking up each one...with the exception of the Vysteria single, where FedEx lost the entire shipment of records to the distributor, and the band ended up having to reimburse everyone that bought it.

Typically the Night Demon singles feature one new original song, with the band recording a cover song for the b-side. For their latest single, we get two Scorpions covers that were recorded live in Germany. I'm usually not too hot on bands recording cover songs, but Night Demon always manage to make it worth the while. Their live version here of In Trance features original Scorpions guitarist Uli John Roth, and it sounds amazing...the b-side cover of Top Of The Bill sounds great too. Two classic Scorpions tunes and Night Demon pull them off flawlessly.

The band did pressings on black, red and yellow vinyl...you know, to match the German flag...and I grabbed the yellow pressing, which was limited to 250.

My record arrived with a note from Night Demon's singer/bass player, Jarvis...and it's not some simple generic "thank you"...love the personal touch.

Rated X

More often than not, it seems that I'm late to the party for new bands. I feel disconnected and out of the loop, so it was no surprise that when I was finally tuned into Rated X that the limited pressing of their United Front album was already sold out. I thought that someone out there might have given me a heads up on this, as it is obviously something that I'd be into, but no, apparently my friends only think of themselves.

Rated X is another project from the man behind Violent Reaction, and you get exactly what you'd expect...fast and ripping straight edge hardcore. These twelve songs do not let up...from start to finish, you are just pummeled.

Once I'd discovered that I'd missed the colored vinyl option through Painkiller, I added it to my Discogs want list and hoped for the best. Thankfully I didn't have to wait long, and a Discogs seller came through rather quickly, and at a great price too, and I didn't hesitate to jump on it before someone else snatched it up. 160 pressed.

Multiple Copies For A Change

I can't remember the last time that I bought multiple copies of a record for a preorder. It is a rare thing when it happens these days, but seeing how I used to go nuts collecting React Records, I figured that the new Change record was a good enough reason to buy every pressing that I could get my hands on.

Change is fronted by Aram, and based on his history with Betrayed and Champion, I was condfident that this record was going to be great. No risk. I didn't even need to mess around with the songs that were released as a preview prior to the albums release. I just dove straight in and placed my order. How great does that pink vinyl look next to that cover? So good. 100 pressed on this color.

This album delivers the goods. It is exactly what I wanted from the band. With Aram's voice, I can't help but compare Change to Betrayed, however, musically this record takes a couple unexpeceted twists on some of the songs for a bit of variety. Great record. The only thing that I didn't need here is the last poetry track. I get that it is a nod to the Uniform Choice "Silenced" thing, but I didn't care for it there, and don't need it here. No thanks.

300 pressed on purple vinyl.

In addition to React, Refused Records handled the pressing for the Change album over in Europe, and RevHQ got their own exclusive pressing. Refused is a bit of a pain in the ass to order from, so I didn't bother, but I did jump on the REV pressing. I get that the yellow vinyl is a match for REV's logo, but it isn't really a good match with the cover...and next to the pink and purple vinyl (plus the blue pressing from Refused), the yellow is a bit jarring. Oh well, I'm still happy to grab this one. 200 pressed on yellow.

Along with the Refused pressing there are still a few copies that I need for this record. Hope that I can get them all at some point.

Summer's Fleeting Majesty

The mid-90's was such a unique time for hardcore punk. I bought record after record through mailorder with limited to zero information about what I was buying. If I was buying from the Ebullition mailorder, I just trusted that it was going to be good. Just about everything was a gamble, and it meant that my record colleciton from those days has some wildly different styles of punk. The style that was defined as "emo" at that time is a sound that seems to have been buried in a time capsule from that time. Bands rarely play this style outside of that time period, and even more rare is when they manage to capture my attention with it.

Chris over at Unwavering Spirit was a good barometer for current bands doing this style well, and a couple years back he let me know about this band called Moonkisser. Their first EP was good, but it was extremely difficult to get the record, so I really only gave those songs a handful of listens at the time.

This past summer, when I saw over at No Echo that Moonkisser had a new record on the way this year, I quickly preordered it. There was no way that I was going to find myself empty handed again for this band. No Echo name drops bands like Quicksand and Shift, but Moonkisser has my ear tuned more to the records from Christie Front Drive and Lincoln. Either way, this band definitely has that mid-90's thing going on, and when I need something a bit different than what I'm usually spinning, Moonkisser gives me what I need.

100 pressed on "orange" vinyl for a single sided 12 inch.