Non-Stop Feeling

There was a lot of hype for the new Turnstile album. While I was initially disappointed with the band's last record, Step 2 Rhythm, it eventually grew on me in a big way. Would I experience that same kind of disappointment with the new record? Would Turnstile be able to carry that energy level across an entire LP? While I was looking forward to Non-Stop Feeling, I was still hesitant to set expectations very high.

With the new album, Turnstile continue their tradition of having the worst covers art in recent Hardcore history. Ugh...I'm not feeling it at all. No pun intended. Once we get past the cover though, all is forgiven, as Turnstile deliver the goods. The songs jump off the vinyl, and soon I'm bouncing along. As I'm listening, I can't help but draw vocal comparisons to Zach de La Rocha from Inside Out...hell, even the opening riff to Fazed Out kind of reminds me of a Rage Against The Machine song. Considering how hesitant I was going into this, I'm surprised at how much I'm loving it. Record of the year so far.

While I'm not impressed with the front cover, I do dig everything else about the packaging for this LP. The back cover looks great, the poster conveys the energy that band brings to the stage, and the lyric booklet is pretty sweet.

There was a time when I would have ordered every available vinyl option for this record, but for this LP, I only ordered the one copy. I limited myself this time around for a couple of reasons. First of all, I didn't want to repeat the experience I had with the Take Offense record from the year before, when I spent a ton of money on multiple copies, and then album ended up being a disappointment. One copy of that record would have been sufficient.

The main reason that I only ordered one copy was that I was fed up and disgusted. Record collecting is fun, but I've started to feel taken advantage of when labels churn out an endless supply of limited colored vinyl pressings. Reaper gave us three new pressing each of the two Turnstile 7 inches at the start of 2014, and I bought one of each...six new pieces of vinyl. Then as we approached the end of the year, the label was back with four more pressings of each EP...throw in shipping and I'm looking at another $50 to try and keep up...and then on top of that, we get five different pressing for the Non-Stop Feeling LP? Fuck off. It isn't fun anymore. If the reason that labels like Reaper keep flooding the market with different pressings is because people keep buying them, then I'm not participating.

300 pressed on black vinyl.

Collecting Du$t

Like it or not, this blog captures everything that I'm buying, and it is an honest representation of where my head is at. I know that I've been sidetracked with a bunch of metal/rock vinyl lately, and I haven't paid very much attention to hardcore. I've got a lot more metal vinyl queued up to post here, but for now lets take a break with some Angel Du$t.

I absolutely loved the Angel Du$t 7 inch last year. Manic and snotty, with a rumble of pop punk running underneath it all. I was really looking forward to the LP this year, and hit up orders with React! and Reaper to make sure I grabbed every pressing available.

400 pressed on white vinyl that was only available through React!.

When the vinyl finally arrived, I had a good feeling about the album. The layout and design looked great...how could this record not be totally fucking cool? I slapped it onto the turntable and dropped the needle expecting big things. The first spin left me rather underwhelmed. That's okay...no need to panic...it took me a little while to get into the 7 inch, so maybe I just need to give it repeated listens. Two spins, three spins...man, there are some really great songs on here, but there are also a handful that fall really flat for me. Overall, I'm disappointed. We'll see if it holds up over the next month or so, but right now, it just makes me want to go back to listening to metal.

400 on clear vinyl that was exclusive to Reaper.

800 pressed on black vinyl. There was another 150 that were pressed on pink vinyl that Angel Du$t sold on tour. Pink is obviously the best color to own for this record, but I don't know if I really want to track one down at this point.

Triple Threat From Turnstile

I've been buying each pressing of Turnstile vinyl since I discovered that first 7 inch back in 2011. I'd missed the pre-order pressing for Pressure To Succeed, and I'd vowed to never let another one get by me. It hasn't been to difficult to keep up so far, but when Reaper released three new colors of both records, I had to pause for a second. Well, I'm in too deep to turn back now.

As much as I dislike the cover for this record, I will say that the multiple vinyl colors all look great with it.

A total of 2,000 pieces of vinyl were pressed for the third pressing, so hopefully it will be a while before I have to sink more money into this one. 400 on silver, 600 on purple, and 1,000 on baby blue.

Reaper changed the b-side labels between the first and second pressing, and it was cool that they changed it again with the third press.

No cool b-side label changes for the third pressing of Pressure To Succeed, but the new orange colors for the cover is a nice touch.

Again, 2,000 pieces were pressed for this run. 300 on blue, 700 on orange, and 1,000 on clear.

Yeah, I know that I'm missing a couple, but I own enough copies of these records, so I figured it was time to get a group shot.

Out Crowd And Out Some Records

This one is long overdue. I took the pictures for this post back in March last year. At the time, I'd just placed an order with Six Feet Under for a charity pressing of the Out Crowd/Written Off split 7 inch, as well as the new Written Off record (plus the Agitator LP), and I thought that it was a good idea to wait and combine them all for one post.

By June, SFU sent me a message saying that my package had been destroyed in the mail. I was given a few options on what we could do to fix the situation...one of them being to wait until the label got in new vinyl for the Out Crowd/Written Off record, and he would put that together with an extra copy of the charity sleeve that he had. I told him that I had no problem waiting, so this was the option that I chose. Months pass, and Six Feet Under moves their mailorder distribution over to Deathwish...and I don't receive my order. I send an email asking about my records, and get no reply. I see SFU sell some of the new Out Crowd/Written Off vinyl on ebay...and I don't receive my order. I send another email...no reply. I post on the label's Facebook page...no reply. At this point, I'm pretty convinced that in the shuffle of moving the distribution over to Deathwish, my order was lost. I hold little hope at this point of ever getting those records.

Fuck. I might as well post that Out Crowd 7 inch now.

Truth be told, I originally didn't pay much attention to the Out Crowd side of their split with Written Off. When the Just Us 7 inch was released back in 2012, people seemed to be talking about it a lot, so I figured that I'd give it a chance. Yeah, this is some solid Hardcore. I'm digging it.

Nothing limited or rare here. I was content with the regular pressing on green vinyl. 1,600 pressed.

Double Done Dying

I've always been a fan of all things Dan O'Mahoney...well, I've never bothered to check out God Forgot...but with that one exception, I've always been excited to check out Dan O's new bands. I'd been hearing about Done Dying all summer, with word about two 7 inches on the way, and as soon as they dropped, I pounced on 'em.

When you bring together ex-members of No For An Answer, Outspoken, and Collateral Damage, you've set my expectations pretty high. Thankfully, Done Dying do not disappoint.

Reaper Records gave us the Shelf Life EP, and I'm loving these songs. When I first heard the old Carry Nation song, Temple Walls, kick in at the end of the record, I was ready to lose my mind in excitement. As I'm getting ready to start moshing through my music room, the song starts to fade 20 seconds in. What the fuck? Goddamn it...what a tease! I would have loved to finally have a studio recording of this song.

300 pressed on red vinyl. 400 pressed on yellow.

While Reaper gave us Shelf Life, Irish Voodoo releases Dress For Distress. Only three songs on this one, and it's over in 6 minutes. Thankfully we have both records, because just one would not be enough.

A total of 500 pressed for the first press of Dressed For Distress...100 on clear vinyl, and 200 each for red and black. Second press is now available, and looks to be going fast.

While Reaper threw their Done Dying test pressings up on eBay, to score over $100 for one auction, Irish Voodoo decided to sell their test pressings direct through their webstore, and charged the ridiculous amount of $6.00. Fucking scumbags at Irish Voodoo are looking to rip kids off with those prices. If this was the 90's, people would be calling for boycotts.

Seriously though, how great is Irish Voodoo? Support them and buy this record...well, not THIS record, because the test pressings sold out in about 5 minutes. You should still go pick up something from them though.

Such a great looking cover for the test pressing...weird that it is on colored vinyl. Only 28 of them, and I snagged number 9.

No Offense

When I first heard the first Take Offense album, Tables Will Turn, I was blown away. They had a sound very reminiscent to Join The Army era Suicidal Tendencies, and I could not get enough of that album. I might have missed the limited pre-order color for the first album, but when their 12 inch follow up, Under The Same Shadow, was released, I made sure I hit the Reaper store as soon as pre-orders went up. I loved that EP as well, and ended up going back to Reaper to buy the other two copies of colored vinyl. I was stoked for the new Take Offense album this year, and did not hesitate to buy one of everything.

The album arrived and I couldn't wait to drop the needle to the grooves to hear what Take Offense had to offer. Whoa. What the fuck? Upon first listen I was incredibly disappointed in the whole thing. I don't know if it the production, the guitar tone or the vocals, but they seem to have lost all of that Suicidal sound that set them apart from other Hardcore bands going on today. The whole thing sounded very generic and uninspired. My initial impression was not a good one.

300 pressed on clear vinyl.

I wanted to like this record so much, so I tried desperately to not dismiss it. Maybe it wasn't as bad as I initially thought, and I needed to just spend some time with the album. I stuck with it, and after a handful of listens, I got to know the songs a bit...bit by bit I started to hear the band's signature sound come through.

700 pressed on green vinyl.

I've warmed up to the album since my initial spin, but it doesn't come close the band's first two releases. It's too bad. This thing could have been a top release for the year, but I think it comes up a bit short. 1,000 pressed on silver vinyl.

In addition to the new album, Reaper also had a live 7 inch from Take Offense available. I'm not a fan of these things, but it was Take Offense, and I felt the need to buy a copy...even though I'll probably listen to it once and file it away, and never think of it again.

Hand numbered and limited to 500.

Another worthless purchase that I made was for the Place Your Bet single. Released on a green flexi, this may be the most pointless item in my record collection. Nothing new or special. Why, Reaper? Why?

At the end of the day, I spent $60...when really, just one $15 copy of the album was probably enough. I need to make better decisions.

Second Press Turnstile

Turnstile's new 7 inch has certainly surprised me. When we started off the year, I was a bit disappointed with Step 2 Rhythm. Here we are in the closing months of the year, and now I find myself wondering where I should place it within my Top 10 list for the year. This record certainly grew on me, to say the least.

When Reaper Records announced the second pressing of Step 2 Rhythm, I didn't hesitate this time around.

800 pressed on pink vinyl.

200 pressed on lime green.

I love the vinyl colors for this pressing. Strangely enough, my lime green pressing comes in a Second Pressing sleeve, while my pink one does not.

Another variation between the first and second pressings are the b-side labels. I love it when record labels do these little changes to differentiate pressings. Too bad they didn't extend the changes to the entire front cover. I still hate that fucking thing.

Shortly after the second pressing of the Turnstile was available, Reaper uncovered a few copies of black vinyl from the first press. I was slow to move on the inital pre-orders for Step 2 Rhythm, and I missed out on the more limited pressing. I was glad for the opportunity to make up for that mistake, and I quickly added one to my cart.

300 on black from first press.

While I had all my Step 2 Rhythm vinyl, out I figured that I'd snap a picture. Looking good.

Tolerate Hardcore

You never know what you are going to get with Reaper Records. I have no interest in some of their stuff (what, people still listen to Terror?), while some of their other releases pepper my annual Top 10 list. With that said, I approach each Reaper release with a bit of trepidation.

I must have been in a adventurous mood when Reaper put up the pre-orders for a new band called Tolerate. I'd never heard of them, but I did a quick search on the band, and found a free download for their 2012 demo. Wow...I did not expect this. Tolerate remind me of bands like Disengage and Beware...they would totally fit in with the Back To Back roster. You can bet that my next move was to order both available colors for the new 7 inch.

I'm not sure how many were pressed on blue, but if Big Hoss approves, it is good enough for me too.

300 on clear with another message on the dust sleeve. What a solid record, and nice surprise for this year.

Step 2 Turnstile

As a testament to how I'm trying to cut back on some of my record spending, I delayed picking up the new Turnstile 7 inch. I wanted to pull the trigger as soon as pre-orders went up, but I forced myself to hold off a litle while. No surprise that I missed out on the more limited pressing on black vinyl.

First off let me say, holy fucking shit...how can one of the hottest bands in Hardcore right now, release a record with one of the worst covers that I've seen for a long time. Add in my my utter contempt for the use of numbers in place of words, and its a wonder that I even bothered with Step 2 Rhythm at all. Stupid record name and font, unimaginative cover...and don't get me started on the character dude on the back cover that looks like he has a vagina with a nice bush...Jesus Christ, if it wasn't for the strength of Pressure To Succeed, I wouldn't have given this record a second look.

But it is the music that matters, right? So if we look past the packaging, does this 7 inch stand up? At first I was a little skeptical. There are a few "singing" parts on this record that didn't sit very well at first...they didn't seem like they fit, and just felt awkward. But I found that this record settles into a groove after a few listens, and with each spin, I'm liking it more and more. Yeah, this is a worthy follow up to Turnstile's strong debut. Solid.

No Longer Trapped

I've avoided Trapped Under Ice for the longest time. I refused to buy into the hype, and because of preconceived notions that I had of the band, I hated them without even hearing them. Then, much to my surprise, I found myself really enjoying the harder style of bands like Downpresser and Backtrack. But it was Turnstile that finally pushed me to open my mind to the possibility that Trapped Under Ice might not be as bad as I had imagined. I absolutely love that Turnstile 7 inch, and I figured that since the singer for that band is also in Trapped Under Ice, maybe I should give them a chance.

I checked out the song Pleased To Meet You on youtube, and I was sold. How can you listen to that song and not move? Once I removed my prejudices that this was some badly tattooed, tough guy hardcore band, I found that I really enjoyed them. Albums like Big Kiss Goodnight remind me that it doesn't pay to be a jaded dick. Sure it will fill the dance floor with douchebags, but that doesn't mean that I can't like the songs.

590 pressed on red vinyl.

Under Two More Shadows

Occasionally, I'll try to cut back on the number of records that I buy. I've spent so much money on records this year, it is ridiculous. In an effort to cut back, I only ordered one copy of Under The Same Shadow from Take Offense. Yeah, that level of restraint didn't last very long, and a few months later I was ordering two more copies.

With their brand of Join The Army/Suicidal style hardcore, Take Offense can do no wrong in my eyes. Why did I think that I could get away with only one copy of this record?

600 on gold vinyl.

950 on clear.

Green Turnstile

Earlier this year, Reaper Records did a second press of the Turnstile 7 inch. 300 on black vinyl. They ran out of covers at some point and had to print up some extras. To keep things interesting, they went with an alternate green cover, splitting the second press between 168 with the inital blue cover, and 132 with the new green one.

This actually reminds me that I still need the pre-order cover for this. I'm going to have to set up an automatic ebay search to alert me when someone puts one up.

Fire & Test

Yeah, it's true. Once you break a price barrier in record collecting, it is much easier to do it again. After buying the Get The Most test press last year, and then the In My Eyes 7 inch earlier this year, I didn't even bat an eye when I threw down a bid for the Not Of This Earth test from Fire & Ice.

I wasn't fucking around, and I put in a pretty serious maximum bid. I mean, how awesome is that cover art! Holy shit, I needed this. At the last second, however, I lost the auction. Still, I didn't give up hope. Reaper Records was the seller for this on eBay, so I was hopeful that I'd get a Second Chance offer as they mentioned that the label had five copies. One week later, that offer arrived and I didn't hesitate to accept. Not Of This Earth is one of the best albums this year, and I was stoked to win this test press.

Reaper test presses are limited to 15.

Second Press Of Turnstile

There is no denying how much I love the debut Turnstile 7 inch. For about two weeks straight, it was the first thing that I would listen to in the morning as I got ready for work. I finally had to choose a different playlist because the wife and kids got tired of me turning our kitchen into a dancefloor and knocking them to the ground when Death Grip would kick in.

Second press on black vinyl. Limited to 300.

I'm Not Of This Earth

I can't seem to get caught up with this blog. I've been banging out a high number of post counts each month, and I'm still around 25 posts behind. Still, I guess too many records is a good problem to have. The new Fire & Ice vinyl as been on my shelf for a while now...Hell, even Marcus beat me to the post by a month, so you can see how far behind I still am.

The new Fire & Ice has been one of the more anticipated releases, for me, this year. I've been all over this band since the end of 2010, and looking to collect their vinyl since hearing their first two 7 inches. I had some high hopes for Not Of This Earth, and didn't hesitate to order the three record package deal. Weeks later, Reaper was offering these packages at a discount. Damn. Are Fire & Ice not as "hot" as I believe them to be?

First off, let me say that the album cover is head and shoulders above what we saw with Gods & Devils and Grim. The cover art for Not Of This Earth is finally a good representation of the quality of songs that Fire & Ice produce...and man, they truly deliver and meet expectations with this LP. It took a few spins to start to sink in and for me to appreciate, but once it got a hold on me, it did not let go.

When Reaper released the last Take Offense 12 inch, they had the black vinyl as the most limited pressing. Since labels usually make black vinyl the most common pressing, I was surprised. Once again, Reaper keep the black vinyl limited for the Fire & Ice release as well. 300 pressed on black, 700 pressed on blue, and 1,000 on white.

I've Got No Values

No Values are from Richmond VA, and have a couple members from Fire & Ice. Don't expect them to sound anything like FNI though, as No Values rip with a more early-80's L.A. punk rock style. In fact, they reinforce that vibe with the cover for their record. Everything about this record just seems to set them apart from the standard Reaper Records roster, and had me interested to check them out from the first time I saw their record.

Reaper Records was sold out of the red vinyl, and only had the second pressing on black in stock. I noticed that REVHQ had a colored vinyl pressing of the No Values 7 inch listed, so I ordered my copy through them.

496 on red for the first press.

While ordering the No Values record, I also decided to pick up another Black Flag 7 inch on colored vinyl. I had picked up TV Party a couple months ago on colored vinyl, and was looking to add to that collection. Fuck. Even though REV had it listed as colored vinyl, the copy they sent me was on black.

Oh well, still cool to finally have a copy in the collection.