New Mindforce Lords

Mindforce have consistently delivered since I discovered them with their The Future Of... 7 inch back in 2017. It seems like they have dropped something new just about every year since then, which is pretty impressive for a hardcore band, and that productivity has kept the band at the center of my attention. It seems that most years, I'm trying to figure out where they are going to fall within my Top 10 list, and this year is no exception.

Initially, my reaction to New Lords was a bit tepid. With my first couple of casual listens, it became backgroung noise and I was just thinking "Yeah, no surprise... it sounds like Mindforce." Once I really sat down with the record, and really paid attention, that's when the record started to hit me a bit harder. No doubt this is a great record, but time will tell if they reach the level set with Excalibur or The Future Of. It is a solid history to live up to.

There were 50 different exclusive pressings for New Lords and I imagine that they all look terrible. The ultra clear & neon green pinwheel with neon orange splatter is a mouthful.

Dead Heat With Mindforce

The Mindforce / Dead Heat split was originally released as a 7 inch back in 2018. I was unaware of the record when it was released and it took a year or so before it popped up on my radar. I wasn't familiar with Dead Heat at the time, and wasn't feeling their side of the split when I first heard it, so I ignored the entire record. It took me until 2020 to finally recognize how good Dead Heat were, but by that time the split 7 inch with Mindforce was dropping on Discogs for over $40. I wasn't paying that price for a newer record that was only pressed on black vinyl, so I figured that I'd wait until the hype died down and the price was more reasonable.

When Triple B announced that they were doing a reissue of the Mindforce and Dead Heat split, I figured that this beat waiting around for the original 7 inch to show up at a decent price. The reissue moves up to the 12 inch format and gives us a different look with the cover art. I dig it.

I like the look of the red and black split colored vinyl, so I'll happily take this one over the shitty looking splatter option. 500 pressed.

While I was picking up the split with Dead Heat, I figured that I might as well grab the new pressing of Excalibur. The 5th pressing changes things up again for the cover, and goes with a nice looking white and blue colorway. The vinyl on the other hand looks bland. It was supposed to be a tan and blue mix, and the mockup looked good...the actual record on the other hand misses the mark.

This pressing includes the Man Of Peace flexi, this time on white plastic.

This is the third copy of this record that I now own. I still love this record, so I have no problem owning multiple copies.

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.

Peace Of Mindforce

No doubt, the Mindforce album from a couple years ago was an absolute banger. Excalibur still holds up and is in regular rotation in my playlists...but I was still able to maintain a level of self restraint and not buy multiple copies. One first press copy was enough for me...until Triple B played to my weakness with a different cover design.

Initially, I didn't think too much of the variation on the artwork, but now that I've sat with it for a couple of weeks, I'm liking it more and more, and I think it is a nice compliment to the original.

Of course the question now is, am I satisfied with two copies of this album, or do I want more? One first press copy made sense, but a copy from the first and fourth pressing? That just seems weird.

Green with purple splatter is limited to 300 for the fourth press.

Outside of the new cover artwork and layout, the biggest draw for me to pick this up was the bonus flexi with the song Man Of Peace taken from the original Excalibur sessions but not included on the LP. It is cool to have it here, although the flexi format is kind of lame and a total pain in the ass to put on the turntable for one song.

Swingin' Swords

Mindforce are probably one of my favorite newer bands lately. Both their first 7 inch as well as their Excalibur album are still seeing plenty of spins, and I don't see that action slowing down any time soon...so it feels good to inject some new Mindforce songs into the mix.

Triple B announced that preorders for the new Swingin' Swords Choppin' Lords 12 inch were going live at midnight. What the hell? Midnight? Am I expected to stay up that late to order records? Hard pass. I can't miss my bedtime. I figured that I'd just jump on it in the morning...well, much to my surprise, the more limited pressing was already sold out before I'd wiped the sleep from my eyes. Surprising. I didn't think that kids still went that hard for preorders anymore. Mindforce must be something special.

Yeah, this 12 inch EP delivers exactly what you want from Mindforce. Four songs of that classic crossover sound, pressed to a one sided 12 inch.

I Swing This Sword

Mindforce came very close to taking the top spot as my favorite hardcore record in 2017. That 7 inch impresses the fuck out of me to this day with it's killer crossover sound. That record was fire...so I was excited when I started to hear word that Triple B was going to be releasing an album from the band earlier this year.

Oh hell yes! This album delivers and hits all those crossover sweet spots with some killer riffs and at times the guitar tone sounds like Slayer. Damn near perfect.

Somehow I missed the word that preorders were up for this record, and by the time I got in there, the limited splatter vinyl that is limited to 100 was sold out. Initially I was bummed, but the bone/bronze swirl looks great, so it's all good. 300 pressed on this colored vinyl.

Strength Of The Mind

I don't always do the best job of keeping up with new bands, but thankfully I'm on Instagram about 10 times a day and if something hot is going down, I might pick up on it...just hit me in the head with it a dozen times, and maybe it will start to sink in and pull me out of the 80's long enough for me to pay attention.

I'd seen Mindforce photos peppered through my Instagram feed through the summer, but usually just scrolled passed them. A photo recently caught my eye though, and comments from the poster seemed to mirror the same kind of excitement that I felt when I heard the Ecostrike record earlier this year. A few months late, but I finally decided to see what the Mindforce hype was all about.

Goddamn! The comparisons to Leeway are dead on, and the record rages with a kind of Crossover fury. Man, They Just Want War rips so hard and fast...I'm wondering how high this record is going to climb in my Best of 2017 list. Believe the hype!

278 pressed on blue vinyl.