Ominous

I've never been a huge Into Another fan. I've dug them off and on over the years, with the high point hitting when I saw them at the REV25 show in New York City. They were such a powerful force live, and it made me appreciate them more. So with a new record on the horizon for 2015, I was more intrigued than I normally would have been, and I was looking forward to seeing what Into Another could deliver.

I was surprised by how excited I was when REV made the new record available for pre-order. I had a good feeling about the record, and I was not disappointed once it finally arrived. Damn, Richie and the band haven't released any new Into Another songs in 20 years, but Omens is so powerful and infectious, it feels like they've never stopped.

Once the record started to ship, kids everywhere were posting them on Instagram, and jumping in on the game to collect various different shades of the purple vinyl. Fuck that. I've got my one copy, and I'm good.

Into Another Repress Round From REV

I gave up on the Revelation repress game a while ago. Shit got out of hand, and took something that once was fun, and turned it into a bank breaking chore. I don't mind collection ridiculous amounts of vinyl for some bands, but when you try and do it for every band, lines start getting drawn in the sand. Hey REV, when die hards like Marcus start to struggle justifying it, it might be time to check yourself before you wreck yourself.

I'd never purchased the Ignaurus LP from Into Another, so I was okay with the label repressing this one. I already own three different pressings of the self titled debut, so I didn't feel the need to grab the newest pressing for that one, but Ignaurus...yeah okay, it's not like I was going to bother chasing down an original pressing any time soon.

While this album was originally released in 1994, it took me until last year to finally check it out. Yeah, I was late to the Into Another party. I hated them when I first heard them in the early 90's, but time has been good to them, and I find that I'm digging them more and more these days..

Four dudes in a bed. Hawt.

Yawn. Another pressing of the Inside Out 7 inch...this time on green vinyl. Just one of the bands that I feel compelled to keep buying from REV.

While picking up these reissues, I spotted the On Point 7 inch. I'd downloaded this demo a few years ago, and seeing the vinyl available from REV for $2.00, I figured that I'd go nuts and buy a copy. This is surprisingly very good, and well worth the price of admission.

REV25: Chicago Style

The first two Revelation 25th anniversary shows, first in CA and then in NYC, they gave us a shitty live compilation record for each as a souvenir. A nice keepsake, but pretty pointless and not something to really get excited about. I had friend hook me up with the Cali record, and then I went to the NYC and grabbed a copy of that one while I was there. When REV25 takes place in Chicago, they create a 7 inch package with unique pressings of the Gorilla Biscuits, Youth Of Today, Into Another, and Texas Is The Reason records. Figures that the one release I was excited about was also the one that was the most difficult for me to acquire.

I didn't know anyone going to the REV25 Chicago show, so this meant that I was going to have to hope the label sold the extras in their webstore if I wanted to score a set. Doug was good enough to send me an alert when REV added them to the store, but I was unplugged at the time. By the time I got the message an hour or so later, they were all sold out. When REV put the second round of records in the webstore, they again sold out before I was able to grab one. Third times a charm though, and when REV bundled the 7 inch set along with other REV25 odds and ends, and stuck a $60 price tag on it...that was when I was finally able to get my hands on a set.

I love the look of these records, as each on gets a start black cover with each band's logo on the front, and is pressed on clear vinyl.

The Chicago skyline b-side labels, along with the REV25 logo on the back cover, is a nice touch.

As I was going through my set of vinyl for this blog post, and was taking pictures, I noticed that my copy of the Texas Is The Reason 7 inch had Youth Of Today labels, with the YOT name crossed out and TITR's name hand written. What the hell? I checked Doug's post...nope, his had the right labels. How many were made like this?

Overall it was a pretty good package deal. I already have the NYC LP, and I'm not too bothered with the posters, but the REV mug and the shirts are nice...especially the NYC once, since I was there.

Not Record Store Day 2012

I was a little confused when Revelation announced their vinyl reissues for Record Store Day this year. It took me a few weeks to realize that there were two different colors...one specifically for Record Store Day, and then a different color for the REVHQ store. I got so caught up in all the excitement, that I made sure that I got one of everything.

The best thing about these reissues is how much it has pushed these bands back into view. Ever since buying the Keep My Soul Awake 7 inch from Al Quint at Rockit Records along Route 1 on the way to Boston, I've been a fan of Farside. I've never set out to collect their vinyl, but having three copies of Rigged on my shelf makes me think I want to take a stab at it.

If you had told me back in 1991 that someday I'd own three copies of the self titled Into Another record, I would have laughed at how absurd it sounded. First of all, I didn't understand the point of collecting vinyl back in the early 90's, and second I thought that the Into Another LP sucked. How the times have changed...I can't listen to this album enough these days.

I've always loved the first couple Ignite records. Call On My Brothers and Past Our Means blew me away in the late 90's, and I'm scratching my head as to why I've never sought out the vinyl until now.

I was happy to pick up the RSD pressing of the Sensefield LP (wait, is it Sensefield or Sense Field, I've never known)...I'd never owned it on vinyl, and I was glad to add it to my collection. After ordering the regular color vinyl pressing from REV, I was scratching my head as to what the point was in buying another copy. I like a couple of the Sensefield records, but I will never care enough to actively collect them. So why did I feel the need to buy two pressings? Sometimes even I can't figure out the answer to these things.

After pulling out the Record Store Day pressings to compare and take a picture of them next to the regular colored vinyl pressing, I suddenly felt happy that I picked up that Sensefield record after all. While I may not actively seek out all the vinyl from each of these four bands, it gave me a good feeling to see this complete 2012 collection.