Meantime

I hadn't heard of Meantime until I saw Marcus post about this record a couple of months ago. I don't really follow what Indecision Records is releasing, so I wasn't surprised to find that this came out a couple of years ago and that it had passed me by undetected, but once Marcus dropped comparisons to Go It Alone and Champion, I sat up and took notice.

That isn't to say that Meantime exactly sound like either of those bands, but their sound does bring me back to those mid-2000 hardcore days. Man, those were special times for me with so many good bands, so Living In The Meantime clicked with me immediately and I had to rush over to Indecision to pick up a copy.

150 pressed on this splatter pattern vinyl, and while I'm not really looking to collect multiple copies of this, it would be really nice if one of those record release versions managed to become available to pick up at some point.

The Pearls You Clutch

One of the newer bands that tops my list anytime they release a record is Bent Blue. That band just delivers every time, so when I saw that Indecision Records was releasing the bands newest album, you know that I jumped to get my order in.

Dude, this record. Damn. Bent Blue have always played around with that Revolution Summer hardcore sound, and they continue to do that here, but for some reason So Much Seething feels like a more urgent and angry record. I mean, when The Pearls You Clutch kicks in, I just want to rage... dancing and taking down everyone that has the misfortune of being in the kitchen while I'm preparing dinner and listening to this record. That's right, I own the dance floor in this house. This record is so good, and I'm glad that Bent Blue still keep that spark going a few records in.

I don't tend to buy multiple copies of records these days, but when I was in the Indecision store and saw that they only had two colored vinyl options available with the release of So Much Seething, it confused me to see a label being reasonable... and I bought both of them. I don't know what came over me, but it was nice to not see 5 or 6 different options and I was like "oh two? yeah, I can collect two." 150 pressed on purple and 350 pressed on green.

Field Of Flames

I wasn't too excited when I was buying the recent Side By Side reissue, so while I was placing an order with REVHQ, I had to find something else to add to the cart to make things more interesting.

I'd seen the Field Of Flames (not to be confused with Fields Of Fire) name pop up as a suggested artist on Spotify quite a bit recently. Like, oh I see you are listening to Magnitude, here are a bunch of other bands that you might like. I've never had much faith in those algorithms, but surprisingly Spotify has come through on more than a few occasions. Also, I'm pretty sure that at some point I'd heard the guys on the 185 Miles South podcast mention that Field Of Flames worships that 90's hardcore sound, so after quickly checking out some of their songs, it seemed like a good move to add this record to my REVHQ cart.

Field Of Flames definitely has that 90's influence, I mean, hell, there is a cover of Blanket from Unbroken on this record, so that should give you some kind of indication where they are coming from... although FOF definitely has more of a metallic edge than Unbroken. But even with those older influences, Field Of Flames still definitely sounds like a modern hardcore band, and while I can imagine that this will turn off older hardcore dudes that are stuck in the past, I'm just happy that kids are doing shit like this today.

Drug Free Adult

I've been slacking when it comes to posting here on the blog. Part it has to do with being unhappy with my photos recently, and not having the time to retake them, but also, it has been a weird start to the year and I just haven't been motivated to write about the huge backlog of records that I have sitting here next to me... most of which I picked up back in 2022. Time to get back to it, and we might as well stick to the theme of those older Indecision records... this time it is the No Runners 7 inch from Over My Dead Body.

I've picked up a few OMDB records over the past couple of years, but I still didn't own a single copy of their first 7 inch. Given how much I loved this record back in the day, it is strange that all these years later, I still didn't own a copy on vinyl. I mean, I used "drugfreeadult" as my messageboard screen name for years because of the Over My Dead Body song, so it really was a big hole in the collection to not own a copy.

I'm very happy to finally have a copy of this record in my collection. Now I really need to chase down more versions of this 7 inch.

Mike V And The Rats

I spent a lot of time last year hanging out in my early 2000's playlists. For one reason or another, records from those years just never got a lot of attention from me. It was probably because those years were such a weird time for me musically, and I was probably downloading about 20 albums a week in a search for something that would grab me, and never really spending much time with any of it. I left a lot of those downloaded albums in the dust many years ago because a lot of the nu metal, hip hop, pop punk stuff didn't make a lasting impact... but when I go back to the hardcore records from that time, some of that shit sound exciting and new to me.

One of the records that caught me off guard recently was the Mike V And The Rats EP from 2002. I remember thinking this EP was okay back in the day, but I could probably count the number of times that I've listened to this over the past 20 years on one hand. I wasn't a skater, so Mike Vallely wasn't a big deal for me, and their Black Flag influence didn't move me too much at the time. Yet somehow, listening to this thing in 2023, I'm really having a good time with it. As a bonus, I just discovered the other day that Mike V And The Rats also released a 3 song CD in 2006, so I've been jamming those songs as well.

Since I only had this on CD originally, I figured that it was time to grab the vinyl. Why not? No one else seems too interested the band, and you can grab the 7 inch for cheap. Nice looking blue vinyl.

Kill The Messenger

Similar to The Suicide File, Kill The Messenger were another band from that late 90's/early 2000 period that I didn't appreciate at the time. I remember picking up the All The Angels Crash And Burn CD back in the day, mainly because it had the singer from Outspoken, but I don't remember it really leaving much of an impression on me. I think that I wanted something that was more in the vein of My Heart Still Beats, but Kill The Messenger was seemed to be more influenced by Black Flag or B'last... and because it wasn't more of that Outspoken sound, I kind of dismissed it.

I dusted off that Kill The Messenger CD last year when I was obsessing over a bunch of stuff from around 2000, and I was surprised with how fucking great it was. Man, I slept on some really great bands during this time.

Everyone's favorite format... the 10 inch! Oh well, at $6, at least it was cheap.

Wanna Buy It

Early in December, I had the opportunity to meet up with Marcus for an afternoon down in Boston. After a great lunch at Veggie Galaxy, we were thinking about hitting up Armageddon Shop for some records, but when it was recommended that we check out Wanna Hear It, we decided to head over to that store instead.

I don't hold out a lot of hope when I go to record stores these days. Usually the selection is very thin for what I'm looking for, and if they do happen to have a record that I'm interested in, it is usually overpriced. None of these things were the case for my first trip to Wanna Hear It. I'm still thinking about records that I saw in that store that I wish that I'd picked up while I was there. I'm going to spread my record haul out over a handful of posts, so lets get things started with this one.

To be honest, I never paid much attention to The Suicide File. I was kind of out of touch with what was going on in hardcore in the early 2000's when the band was active. They were from Boston, and I would go to shows in Boston, so the fact that I never really picked up on them just shows how far removed I was from what was happening. In 2005, I did pick up the Some Mistakes You Never Stop Paying For comp, that collected the songs from their 7 inches and splits, and while I dug it, it didn't leave a lasting mark on me.

Last year, as I was diving in deep with some of those early 2000-era bands, I had a pretty solid stretch where I kept returning to those songs from The Suicide File. The hooks were finally in me, and they were in deep. Fuck, I was loving this stuff. I had wanted to pick up some vinyl from the band throughout 2022, but I'd never made it happen. When I saw the white vinyl for the Things Fall Apart 7 inch at Wanna Hear It, I knew that I was leaving that store with it.

Indecision And Change

Change is one of the more recent bands that I'm collecting multiple variants for. I think it has to do with the React Records connection, and I used to be a fiend for collecting that label and sometimes old habits are hard to break. I scooped up multiple copies of the original colored vinyl (although, I'm missing a couple Refuse pressings), and then when React did a second pressing, I had an internal debate if I needed that one as well (apparently, I did). Now, here we are, two years after the release of Closer Still, and Indecision Records delivers a new pressing. There are still copies of the original pressing on Discogs at decent prices, but I guess someone wanted to get some fresh colored vinyl into the market, and here we are. This is still a great album, but it would be nice to get some new Change material at some point.

The promo image that Indecision used to sell this latest pressing hooked me. The three colors of vinyl, while they didn't match the cover at all, looked nice as a set, so I bought each option. Of course, the mock up doesn't look like the finished product and the colors don't complement each other as much as I expected. That lime green is a bit jaring. Limited to 200.

Indecision changed up the packaging for the Change records, and applied the lyrics and photos from the original insert into a gatefold sleeve. 350 pressed on clear orange.

Finally, the more common version is clear vinyl. 450 pressed.

What really sold me on buying this set was that I already owned six copies, and I knew that three more would give me a nice even square at nine copies. I'm a sucker for symmetry.

Live At The Country Club

I'm generally not too interested in live recordings from hardcore bands. They are rarely around long enough for a setlist interesting and varied enough to warrant a live recording, so I typically avoid them. When I saw that Indecision was releasing a live Insted album, I was tempted to just ignore it... then I remembered that I own three copies of the Live At CBGB's that was released in 2005, after the quick run of Insted reunion shows, and I figured that I might as well grab this album that was recorded back in '89.

Insted had a song on the No Control At The Country Club live 7 inch from Nemesis back in 1990. This new live Insted album is their entire set from that night. I've never owned a copy of that live Nemesis 7 inch, and have never really been too fussed about owning one. For some reason, now that I have this live Insted record, I kind of want the 7 inch with songs from Carry Nation, Visual Discrimination and Bad Religion as well.

I really like the album cover for this, and it is a big part of why I felt compelled to buy it, but there is nothing else for packaging here. Considering that this live set is now over 30 years old, it would have been really nice to get some writing from the band on memories from the night and what not. Still, this is a great sounding, high energy live set, and I'm glad to own it... even if I never listen to it again.

Be Cool

For the past 4 years or so, I've really been on my game when it comes to checking out newer hardcore records. That shit gets me fired up and it's where a lot of my focus has been. If a band gets even the slightest bit of hype, I'm there checking them out. Yet, sometimes there are bands that never enter my periphery. Marcus really delivered earlier this year when he posted about Power Alone, and he managed to surprise me again with Coolside. Both bands had records from Indecision a couple years ago, and somehow I managed to miss out on both of them at the time.

I'm not sure what I was expecting when I opened Spotify to give this Coolside 7 inch a quick listen, but I certainly didn't think it was going to hit me as hard as it did. I absolutely love this record. I'm not really sure who to compare them to, but they just play hardcore the way I like it. It didn't take long before I was hitting up the Indecision store to buy a copy. Thanks for the tip, Marcus, now lets see who can track down that elusive first 7 inch.

500 pressed on this great looking cool blue vinyl.

I'd Rather Be Alone

I write up my blog posts in the order that the record arrives in my possession. I've been itching to write the post for this Power Alone record for a while, but I've had to work through a considerable backlog to get here. No skipping to the front of the line, no matter how excited I am about a record.

Marcus sent me a message back in March asking if I'd ever heard the Power Alone record before. It was released back at the start of 2020, and I kind of remembered that people at the time were making some strong comparisons to that 90's hardcore sound. If I bothered to check them out back then, I probably only gave them about 20 seconds of my time and then quickly moved on when I heard the vocals. Revisiting this in 2022, I'm blown the fuck away and so glad that Marcus made the recommendation.

This album hits me fucking hard. These songs are packed with rage, and while initally the singer kind of put me off, I've come around and I'm totally sold on her delivery now. There is so much frustration and anger in her words, and they completely hook me into those emotions each time I listen to it. Honestly, Rather Be Alone is one of my favorite hardcore records right now.

When I was looking to buy a copy of this record, there was a Discogs seller that had the pink vinyl available for less than the current repress that's available through REVHQ. Pink is such a great color, and with that price tag it was obviously the way to go. At the time there was a white vinyl copy available as well for a few dollars more, and seeing how much I'm loving this record, I now wish that I'd bought that one too. Tempting to chase multiple copies for this one.

Creep Division 1, 2, 3...Go!

Earlier this year my musical mindset was kind of stuck in the early 2000's. I was digging in deep on releases for that time period and I was rediscovering bands that I hadn't thought about for the better part of ten years. I was having a blast and chasing records from bands like Over My Dead Body and Tear It Up, and I wanted more.

It had been years since I'd even thought about Creep Division. The band was made up of dudes from Good Riddance and had Craig Ahead on vocals, and in the year 2000 it was the best damn supergroup that I could imagine. Craig singing songs like Busted with Sick Of It All was so great, and with Good Riddance being one of my favorite bands at the time...well for me, there was no way this record could miss. It basically took that song Busted, and stretched it out over an entire album. I fucking loved it.

When I rediscovered the Creep Division album earlier this year, I was desperate to own the vinyl. The only problem was that there wasn't a single copy available on Discogs...there weren't even shitty hardcore kids trying to sell ridiculously overpriced copies. I guess that's one of the upsides to collecting bands that no one gives a shit about anymore... although to be honest, I'm not sure if anyone really cared about Creep Division in the 2000's either... no one is able to cash in by selling this stuff. I was patient and after 6 months or so, one finally popped up and within seconds of getting the notice, I was dipping into my Paypal account and making this one mine.

Red Vinyl And Broken Badges

A couple months ago I picked up the purple vinyl pressing for the Rusty Medals And Broken Badges LP from Over My Dead Body. It was so fun revisiting that record that I started checking Discogs to see what other pressing there were for it.

Discogs told me that in addition to the purple vinyl, there was also a transparent red pressing that was sold at the band's record release show. This was limited to 103 and there weren't any available for sale, in fact at that time Discogs had no record of one being sold on the site. I was interested in adding it to the collection, so I threw it on my Discogs want list.

I think that I got fairly lucky when I received a notification shortly after that stating that one was available, and at only $15, I'd say it was a very good deal and I immediately snatched it up.

This transparent vinyl is so dark that the only way to really appreciate the look is to put some light behind it...so here is a decent picture with both the red and purple vinyl.

Rusty Medals And Purple Vinyl

The section in my record collection for 2001 is pretty thin. I was still focused on buying CDs at the time, so I don't have the vinyl for a lot of those releases, plus it really wasn't a great year for hardcore. Sure there are a few records from that year that stand out, but overall, when I scroll through my iTunes playlist for that year, there is just a lot of stuff that doesn't really excite me.

One of my favorites from those early 2000's was Over My Dead Body. They were a great blend of hardcore and punk, and the big attraction for me was that they were straight edge. I was 31 years old in 2001, so it was cool to still have older guys X'd up and singing songs like Drug Free Adult. "Doesn't mean shit 'til you're 21!"

As much as I liked Over My Dead Body back in the day, they kind of fell off my radar for the last ten years, and I've never really chased their records. When I was picking up a Third Degree 7 inch a couple months back, I noticed the seller also had a copy for Rusty Medals And Broken Badges available, and given how reasonable the price was, it seemed like the perfect time to finally add the album to my collection.

The vinyl is a nice dark shade of purple that is hard to see until you put some light behind it.

Misdirection Of Things To Come

I'm usually very careful when I order through Discogs, and I typically will only buy a record if the sleeve condition is rated higher than Very Good. Ring wear, crushed corners and beat up sleeves are a major turn off, and I usually pay very close attention to those things when I'm buying from a seller. For some reason I was asleep at the wheel when I ordered this Ensign album.

I was buying a bunch of records from a Discogs seller, and they were having a small sale in their store. I got so caught up in the text mentioning the sale as I blindly added records to my cart. Somehow I completely missed that the condition was listed as Very Good for this sleeve (and it isn't even that), and I didn't even see that the seller pointed out that the "sleeve has some edge wear and a corner crease". I'm completely dumbfounded at how blind I was when ordering this. That edge wear on the corner is inexcusable, so I'm going to need to fix this with a better sleeve at some point.

Regardless of how disappointed I am over the wear on the cover, this is still a great album that I'm happy to add to the collection. Ensign seemed like such a huge band at the time when they released this album in '97. I don't know how kind hardcore history has been to their legacy, but they were pretty fucking important back in the day.

Headfirst To Last

A few years ago, I went a little overboard with the Underdog double LP discography that Bridge Nine released, and I ended up buying three different pressings. At the time, I was still in a mindset where if I bought a record, I needed to buy every available copy of the record. What can I say? I was still a little overzealous, and apparently had too much money lying around that I could throw at these things.

To this day, Marcus still teases me mercilessly over it. I've calmed down a bit since that experience, and I try not to throw money around so frivolously. Seriously, there are more important records to buy than repressings and multiple copies of discographies. I've learned my lesson, and tend to have a bit more of a conservative approach to these things.

Back when I really started to get into Hardcore around 1990, Headfirst's Back In Control 7 inch was one of the first records that I picked up. When I heard that Indecision Records was doing a discography for the band, I was thrilled that Headfirst was going to get some exposure to today's kids.

There were two things that got me interested in buying the discography. First, there was just one colored vinyl pressing for this triple LP, so there was no chance that I was going to get stupid, buying multiple copies. Second, between a couple of unreleased songs, and two demo recordings, there were a bunch of songs on here that I'd never heard before. Solid. I'm sold on it.

The band's second demo sounds great, and is in the same vein as the Back In Control record, but man, that first demo is a tough listen. I'm glad that it was included to truly document the band's discography, but the production is pretty bad...even for a demo.

Overall, this is a great discography, and I hope that more kids check out this underrated band from the early 90's.