Pretty Low

I was in a foul mood a few weeks back. I was stressed at work and people were pissing me the fuck off. Nothing seemed to be going my way and so I put on some music that fit my mood. Listening to some Expire was just what I needed to vent some of that frustration. I wanted to put my fist into my laptop screen, but instead I just bought a record. Deep breath in... Buy It Now... and exhale. Namaste.

Expire released their second album, Pretty Low, back in 2014, and as much as I liked Pendulum Swings from 2012, it still took me seven years to finally check it out. When Pretty Low was released, it was an off year for me with hardcore. All I wanted to listen to was metal, and I couldn't be bothered with the latest Expire. This year, however, has found me absolutely obsessed with newer hardcore bands... where "newer" could be defined as anything from the past ten years... and somewhere along the way Expire showed back up on my radar, so I figured maybe it was a good time to check out that Pretty Low album. Oh man, this record is exactly what I wanted. It had been around eight years since I've listened to Expire, but this record punched me in the throat and made me apologize for ignoring the band and this album for so long. So much anger and aggression. Fuck.

Initially, I wanted to chase down a pink vinyl pressing for this album, but when I saw how good the brown and purple split looked, I changed my mind and grabbed that one instead.

No Cure For Fools

Over the summer I picked up the West Coast Tour pressing of Foundation's Hang Your Head. Man, that is a cool looking package. In that post, I mentioned that some of the special pressings for Foundation records carry a high price tag, and it wasn't something that I really wanted to fuck around with...and yet, here we are just a few months later with me eating my words.

Foundation play a hard and heavy style of hardcore that really reminds me of 90's bands like Chokehold and One King Down, and when I'm in the mood for that shit, this band delivers every fucking time. So when I was recently on a mid-90's hardcore kick, I started throwing the Foundation records into the playlist and before long I was looking at Discogs and wondering if there were any Foundation record that I might want to buy. I noticed that someone had a copy of the record release pressing for When The Smoke Clears available, and while it was't cheap, the price wasn't over the top crazy. However, the thing was, I had no idea what the packaging was for the record release press, and since Discogs had no photos, I was even more intrigued due to the mystery. I couldn't resist the temptation so I bought it.

For the record release pressing the dust sleeve for the record is printed and numbered out of 150. Damn, this looks absolutely fantastic. The record also comes with a fanzine style booklet with a bunch of photos and writings from friends reflecting on the band.

I've never put any thought into collecting Foundation records, and it's never felt like it has been something I've actively pursued, yet somehow I keep slowly adding pieces here and there. It still isn't an impressive collection, but hey, check with me in another ten years and let's see where we are at then.

Bad To My World

With each Backtrack album, I've been resistant to checking it out...I'll dig my heels in, and make assumptions that I'm not going to like it...and each time I end up surprised at how much I end up enjoying the album. With Bad To My World, from last year, I stayed predictable, and I ignored the record because I was spending my time listening to other stuff, and couldn't be bothered with a third Backtrack record. I mean, I'm sure that this time they would be played out, right? Wrong again.

I feel like it has been years since I've been excited over newer Hardcore releases, but lately, that shit has been moving me. Maybe it has been my mood and mindset...or maybe bands have been delivering what I'm looking for...or maybe it is both...but damn, it feels good to be excited about some newer Hardcore records recently. While, I've been in that Hardcore headspace and was recently jamming through my 2014 playlist, I came across Backtrack's Lost In Life album. I'd forgotten how good that shit was, and I found myself spinning it every few days...then I remembered they released a new album last year that I'd let pass me by. Shortly after grabbing a download off of soulseek, I knew I needed to grab the vinyl too.

When I started looking at vinyl options, Bridge Nine had options of a shitty looking splatter or a boring gray version. Neither one of these were going to cut it for me, so I coughed up a bit more cash to get the superior looking tri-colored pressing from a discogs seller.

300 pressed.

Still Having Their Say

I've been interested in a bunch of books lately. In addition to the fiction that I read constantly...and I'm racing to finish Stephen King's Dark Tower series before the year is up...I've got a stack of music related books growing on my bedside table. Books on the New Wave of British Heavy Metal...books on Thrash...a book on Led Zeppelin...a book on AC/DC...the list goes on and on. It is going to take me years to work through the ones that I have, so the last thing that I needed was to add another one to the pile. Yet, when Bridge Nine announced preorders for the xXx Fanzine book, I was so excited, I didn't just order a copy...I ordered the deluxe package deal.

I don't know what came over me. Totally blinded by the excitement of the moment, and a loss of self control, really. If you had tried to sell me a record full of cover songs, featuring a bunch of bands that I didn't know, I wouldn't give you a dollar for it. Yet, here I was jumping at the deluxe package for the xXx Fanzine book with the Still Having Their Say comp.

Listening to this record, my reaction is exactly what I'd expect. This is shit. I hate myself for ordering it, and the chances that I'll ever listen to it again are slim. Sure there are a handful of decent songs...Strife do a great job with the Void cover...Done Dying covering Government Issue is cool...nice addition of Voivod doing a Die Kreuzen cover live...but over all, I just found this incredibly irritating to sit through. Look, I'm old and jaded, and apparently hate a bunch of newer Hardcore bands. I should have seen this coming and saved the extra $20.

xXx Fanzine ran from 1983 through 1988, documenting the Hardcore scene through interviews and photos of the classic bands of that time. I'd never seen a single issue, and surprisingly wasn't very familiar with the 'zine until the announcement of this book...but I was hot to get my hands on a copy and dive in.

This book is amazing. The hardcover packaging really speaks to the quality of this whole thing. I'm really looking forward to sinking my teeth into this.

Oh, I almost forgot...because I hadn't thrown enough money at this book, I felt compelled to buy the mini-zine that Bridge Nine released in advance to help promote the book. I got sucked in with that great looking shot of Dag Nasty on the cover, and the talk about additional photos and interviews.

There really doesn't seem to be that much exclusive content, and I'm not terribly excited over the Nomads flexi, so overall, I probably could have skipped this as well, put my money elsewhere, and just ordered the book.

Man, I don't mean to sound so down on this package, because Bridge Nine did a really great job...I just could have spent my money much more wisely and skipped the deluxe package.

No Cure For Fools

I started adding my collection to the discogs database, and during the process, I decided to start selling some stuff through the marketplace. My shelves are quickly running out of space, so in an effort to delay having to come up with a solution for more storage, it seemed like a good time to finally thin the herd a little bit. So, here I am, cutting my losses and letting go of some those multiple pressings that I no longer care about, and yet, I couldn't resist the call to buy another copy of Foundation's When The Smoke Clears LP. One step forward, two steps back.

I don't know what it is, but I've been obsessing about Foundation lately. I think it started when I recently revisited their Turncoat record that I'd picked up last year. I was late to the party for this one, and ended up with only the black vinyl. I started looking at discogs, just to get an idea of all the colored vinyl that I'd missed out on. Things snowballed from there...soon I was researching what other pressings from their catalog I was missing, and was listening to them daily.

I had to feed the need, and a nice cheap score from eBay for the tri-colored vinyl did the job nicely. Grabbing a record a few years down the road for cheaper than the original sale price is always a good feeling.

Back From The Dead

I'm a big fan of Articles Of Faith...hell, even that EP that the band recorded a few years ago was pretty tight. Two years ago, when I heard that Vic Bondi was fronting a new band, Dead Ending, I was interested to check them out. Thankfully the band sounded more like AOF than Alloy. Alternative Tentacles released two quick EPs, and while I liked what I heard, I just never got around to picking them up.

I was surprised to see that Bridge Nine was releasing the band's third EP. I don't pay much attention to the bands that B9 are releasing these days, but with this Dead Ending record, I didn't think twice about finally buying some DE vinyl.

This record continues in the same tradition as the first two, and man, it just rips. Putting all three EPs back to back, and they still don't break the 28 minute mark. No frills...just straight forward hardcore. Vic sounds just as passionate and powerful as he did with AOF in the early 80's.

300 pressed on red vinyl.

Lost In Backtrack

I really enjoyed the last Backtrack album, Darker Half. It was much better than I was expecting, yet for some reason, I really wasn't all that interested in their latest release, Lost In Life.

I think the main cause of my indifference was the strong similarities between the new cover artwork, and what we saw with Darker Half. I assume that the band was looking for some consistency with the look of their albums, but for me, it just seemed boring. Because of this, I ignored the Bridge Nine preorders. No sweat. 2014 has started with a strong Metal presence on my playlists, and I figured that I could wait on the new Backtrack. I was too busy banging my head, and throwing up devil horns to be concerned about checking out this new album.

When Bridge Nine announced that they were doing a second press of Lost In Life, I finally started to pay attention. The second press was some horrible florescent green and orange color, so if I wanted the best looking vinyl of the bunch, I'd better grab the blue and white split color from the first press before it sold out.

After placing my order, I decided to check out my instant download from B9. I'm not sure why I was so surprised, but this album is amazing! It reminded me what I loved so much about Darker Half, and somehow managed to improve upon it. If you were disappointed that the new Down To Nothing record was missing that harder edge like they had on The Most, this new Backtrack album is for you.

While I was in the Bridge Nine store, I took the opportunity to pick up the newest pressing of Have Heart's The Things We Carry. Ninth pressing, and limited to 1,000 on solid yellow colored vinyl.

Cut The Chic

I've been looking forward to, as well as dreading, the release of the new Iron Chic LP. I knew it would be damn near impossible for the band to follow up the greatness of their last LP, Not Like This, so I was a bit pessimistic as to how this new album going to stack up?

While there is no denying that The Constant One is still a great album, it simply falls a bit short of the debut. While the first LP was infectious as hell from the start, this new one is a bit of a grower. I was somewhat disappointed after the initial spin, but after letting it sit for a couple of weeks, I'm loving it more and more. Great melodic punk that makes me think of Dillinger Four.

Half pink/half white colored vinyl is limited to 700, and just seemed like the best choice when I was picking up a copy from Bridge Nine.

Test Of Time

It feels like it has been ages since Bridge Nine put out a record for a Straight Edge band. Looking at their discography, I guess they did have the Foundation LP last year, so I guess it hasn't really been that long. I guess it just feels like it's been a while because I generally tend to have zero interest in what that label releases nowadays.

When I saw the cover of the new Test Of Time 7 inch that Bridge Nine was releasing, I was very interested in checking it out. That bold red X across the front certainly helped in grabbing my attention.

Overall, this just falls a bit flat for me. The vocals are very unique, and sometimes this can help to separate bands from the pack and give them a signature sound. I really want to love this, but really, it's just okay.

Bridge Nine did pull all the stops when I comes to the packaging though. The vinyl looks great, and the five panel, die cut cover is extremely well done. I love how this thing looks.

100 pressed on red smoke vinyl.

While placing my pre-order with B9 for the new record, I noticed that they also had the vinyl pressing of the band's 2012 demo, Inclusion, available as well. I had downloaded it, and while it didn't immediately grab me, I was hoping it would grow on me, so I bought a copy. Meh...I don't know if it ever will, but at least I didn't buy three copies of the damn thing.

Mental Panic

While I'm trying to be more selective about the vinyl repressings I buy, there are some that I will step up and buy every time. Have Heart, Champion, In My Eyes, Chain Of Strength, Youth Of Today...okay, so maybe there are a lot of repressings that I will buy each time they are released.

Bridge Nine has done a lot of reissues lately, and I've passed most of them by, but there was no way I was going to be able to resist a chance to pick up some more Mental vinyl.

I'd forgotten how great Mental was. It has been a while since I've queued them up in my daily playlist, but this Bridge Nine reissue of Get An Oxygen Tank was a nice reminder of how much fun this band is to listen to. Some bands don't withstand the test of time...Mental has no problem with it.

One of the things that really excited me on this reissue was how great the vinyl looks. Once again, Bridge Nine picks some nice color combos. 300 on white/green haze vinyl.

The original CD pressing of GAOT included the songs from And You Know This, so I was surprised to see that those songs weren't included on this vinyl reissue. Instead, the B Side has the live set from WERS that was a bonus on the Yo! CD. Strange, but I guess it is nice to get the live set on vinyl for the first time.

700 pressed on red/yellow split vinyl.

Along with the Mental reissue, B9 also pressed another version of the Panic discography. The original version of Strength In Solitude only included the first two 7 inches, but this reissue includes the songs from the Circles 12 inch as well, plus some demo and unreleased live tracks. I'm not sure why I thought I needed this, as I already owned all the important pieces of this discography...still, it's kind of cool to have another version of the Strength In Solitude record. Maybe it is time for me to put some effort into building that Panic collection?

300 pressed on white vinyl.

Feeling Nervous

When I first started collecting records, around 2005, I used to obsess over Bridge Nine releases. I would check their discography webpage daily, and just study that history. I made up a checklist of those records that I wanted, and my aim was to collect every one of them. Then there came a string of releases that I just didn't give a shit about...Death Before Dishonor, Crime In Stereo, Ambitions, Energy, New Found Glory...I hated the direction they were going in, and I bailed. Every once in a while, the label would release a Cruel Hand or Ceremony record to remind me that they were still around, but for the most part, I'd stopped caring.

It has been a couple of years since I've been really excited about a new Bridge Nine release, but this Nervous Impulse 12 inch has certainly grabbed my attention. This record has a ton of spastic early 80's punk energy. The vocals are a bit odd, which is just a part of it's charm...kind of in the same way that Jello Biafra helped define the sound for the Dead Kennedys. I love this record, and with each listen it continues to climb up in my Top 10 list for the year.

500 pressed on yellow vinyl.

Iron Chic Action

I first heard Iron Chic last year, based on a recommendation from Sandwell. I was hesitant to do so as everything about the band seemed "cute" and "silly"...two things that I have a low tolerance for in hardcore/punk. Still, I checked out their album, and I'll be damned if I wasn't completely hooked on it. Over a year later, I still can't listen to it without turning up the volume on my stereo and singing along like an idiot.

Honestly, it feels like it has been years since I've cared for a new Bridge Nine release. When it was announced that Iron Chic had signed with B9, I figured that was it...the band would probably start to suck now. I worried that a release on B9 would leave them too polished and poppy. I approached their new 7 inch, Spooky Action, with some low expectations. While not as great as their last LP, the songs on the new 7 inch are actually quite good. Two originals, a Ramones cover that is only available on the Bridge Nine US pressing...the Euro pressing has a Butthole Surfers cover instead. This is a solid release, an it leaves me looking forward to the new LP they are recording.

350 on red vinyl.

While in the Bridge Nine store, I saw that they were also carrying Iron Chic's Split n Shit 7 inch. This record captures the songs from their (Cosmic) Future 7 inch and their split with Pacer.

500 pressed on black vinyl.

There were numerous delays at the pressing plant for the Iron Chic 7 inch. To make up for the long wait, Bridge Nine threw in one of Soul Control's 7 inches that I would have never bought otherwise.

Have Heart Repress

Every year or so, Bridge Nine gives us another pressing of Have Heart vinyl. This time they drop all three LPs on us at once.

Since it's release in 2006, I've probably listened to The Things We Carry more than the majority of the records in my collection. For years, this thing dominated my stereo. I've played it death, and it doesn't get many spins these days, but when I do hear it, I'm reminded of why this album is a Hardcore classic.

Amazing that this is now in it's eighth pressing. 1,000 on solid white vinyl, that will no doubt sell out in a couple of months, giving B9 another opportunity to press it again and take more of my money.

Songs To Scream At The Sun doesn't command my attention nearly as much as Have Heart's first album. It is still a solid record, but as a follow up to perfection, it was a bit of a disappointment.

This album is now in it's sixth pressing, with 1,000 on red vinyl. Yes, the album cover still sucks.

Honestly, the only reason that I keep buying the live album is because it is a part of Have Heart's legacy. I rarely reach for live Hardcore albums, and this one doesn't really move me. I haven't bothered to chase either the green or red copies from the first pressing, but here I sit with five copies of this thing.

Third pressing of 1,000 on brown vinyl.

Foundation For Appreciation

Some bands just grow on you. You don't initially appreciate them, but over time you suddenly find yourself listening to them more and more. That was certainly the case with Foundation. I was digging their Hang Your Head 7 inch from 2009, but to be honest, I never really spent much time with their 2011 LP, When The Smoke Clears. Since it's release, I'd probably only listened to it about 15 times. It just never grabbed me...until earlier this year.

One day, recently, I was trudging through my workday, listening to the 2011 playlist on my iPod when the album came on. It suddenly hit me like a ton of bricks, and soon after that, I found I could not listen to it enough. Passionate and powerful Hardcore.

I've never sent out to collect Foundation records, but I've still managed to pick up more than a handful of different pressings over the years. While in the middle of my Foundation obsession, I couldn't resist an eBay search to just check out what what was currently out there. Yeah, I was just looking...I wasn't really going to buy anything...until I saw the United Blood fest cover. Fuck. I immediately knew that I was going to make it mine.

The record itself was their 7 inch preview of When The Smoke Clears. You know, those obnoxious records that have a song or two from the band's upcoming album, but lure you in with one exclusive track. So annoying. Still, it is worth it when it comes in a limited fest sleeve, hand stamped and numbered out of 150.

...if you don't listen to Avail, we feel so bad for you...

Wait. There is a possibility that some people might actually not listen to Avail? How could someone not like that band?

Foundation have such a strong early 90's Straight Edge Hardcore sound, so a tribute to Avail seems like an odd choice...but I've got to applaud the band for doing something a bit off the beaten path with their choice for their United Blood fest sleeve. Since this cover was a tribute to Avail's first 7 inch, I figured that I'd drag out my copy to get a picture of them side by side.

I'd tried to talk myself out of buing another copy of Foundation's When The Smoke Clears LP. There were three colors for the first pressing, and I only bought one copy when it was released. It would be stupid to buy a copy of the second pressing that Bridge Nine had available, right?

I currently can't get enough of this album, and during a recent stop at the Bridge Nine webstore, I couldn't resist the call and added another copy to the cart before checking out.

1,000 pressed on clear olive green vinyl. Damn, am I going to have to go back and buy a copy of that colored vinyl that I missed from the first pressing?

Pink Hearts

There are a few things in this world that I can not resist. Have Heart reissues would be one of them. We are now up to 51 pieces of HH vinyl, and 7 copies of Songs To Scream At The Sun. It may sound ridiculous, but as we head into 2013, I hope to put forth some effort in obtaining a few more pieces for this collection.

This is the 5th pressing for this album. 1,000 on pink vinyl.

Verse 2012

In 2006, Verse released one my favorite albums of the year with From Anger And Rage. It was my mission to collect every pressing for that record...in fact, I think I tried to buy every pressing for most of the records that I bought at that time. It ain't 2006 anymore. I'm trying to be a bit more selective on which bands I collect vinyl for, and after failing to really ignite me with Aggression in 2008, I basically walked away from actively trying to collect Verse vinyl. It's not that Aggression was bad...it still maintained some passion and intensity...but something was just missing, and it never got it's hooks in me.

Verse proceeded to break edge and break up...although not necessarily in that order. In any case, when it was announced that they were back together and recording a new album for 2012, I struggled to show any interest. Bands that go away and then come back, rarely maintain any of magic that made them so good the first time around. Still, it was Verse, and based on the strength of those first two albums, I figured that I owed it to them to at least give the new record a listen.

While I find Bitter Clarity, Uncommon Grace to be a bit better than Aggression, they certainly haven't strayed too far from where they left us four years ago. They are still some intense motherfuckers, and there is no doubt that they pour every ounce of emotion into these songs. Lyrically, this is some serious shit, and Verse still can create a rally cry for those looking to change the world around them. Impressive on all fronts, but I still hang on to From Anger and Rage and Rebuild, and think, "yeah, but it is nowhere as good as those first albums". So while I do like Bitter Clarity, maybe it just needs to marinate in my playlists, and it will improve as I become more comfortable with it...or maybe it will be like Have Heart's Songs To Scream At The Sun, and forever be in the shadow of those that came before it.

As typical with Bridge Nine releases, the packaging is outstanding. I love the look of the clear with red smoke vinyl. In buying only one copy of this LP, I'm glad that I went with this color.

Harder Than You

Live Hardcore albums...there are really only a few that I care about. Mindset's Liveset, Misfits Evilive, Black Flag's Who's Got the 10 1/2?...and the list wouldn't be complete without including Agnostic Front's Live At CBGB. I've never owned the original vinyl for this classic AF live album, so I couldn't resist picking one up with Bridge Nine's recent re-issue.

I consider myself pretty far from patriotic, but damn, when I saw that Bridge Nine was repressing this classic live album on red, white and blue vinyl, I knew that I needed to score a copy. Just like all Bridge Nine re-issues, the packaging on this is top notch.

When In-Effect was around, they used to use the Harder Than You logo on all thier releases...so cool to see Bridge Nine use it here.