Horror Epics

At the start of each year, I like to try and come up with a loose idea of the direction that I want to take my record collection over the next 12 months. It is never a really solid plan, as the slightest thing can blow it off course, but it is fun to fool myself into temporarily thinking that I have it all together and know what I'm doing.

This year, in addition to a slight New Wave Of British Heavy Metal obsession, I'm really trying to keep my focus on those classic records that I grew up with in the 80's. Those albums that I'd either picked up on CD or cassette back in the day, but now I need them in my record collection.

While the Horror Epics album from The Exploited may not qualify as a classic to some people, but man, everything that The Exploited did through the 80's was in constant rotation for me. As an angry teen, I had even taken the song title for I Hate You and I carved it into the dust and road dirt along the side of my car. Plus, there was just something about being an American and singing "Maggie, you cunt" so that you can pretend that you have a grasp of world politics. There is no emotion as pure as teen angst.

Five years ago, something triggered me to put the Combat pressing for Horror Epics on my Discogs Wantlist. I was chasing a bunch of singles for The Exploited at the time, and this Horror Epics pressing must have caught my eye and excited me enough to add it to the wantlist. Funny enough, I haven't listend to a single song from the album since then...which is a pretty good indication as to how deep things can get buried once I lose focus and start chasing other things. I grabbed a copy for a decent price recently, and when it arrived I was surprised to find myself pretty fucking excited to listen to it. The album isn't on Spotify, so it hadn't been easily available for me to give the songs a spin. I'd forgotten completely what some of these songs sounded like and I got a charge out of revisiting this one. Very happy to finally own a copy.

Army Life

I've got a lot of new 2018 releases waiting in the wings, and ready to blog about here, but before we get to all that, let's hit up a few older 7 inches that I've grabbed recently...and by "recently" I mean a couple months ago, because I've been slow as fuck in keeping this blog updated.

A few years ago, I picked up a few punk singles, and it ignited a spark to start chasing down some of those classics. I picked up a few of them over the following years, but it had been a while since I'd made any moves on my collection for The Exploited. I've been watching my Discogs want list for the Army Life 7 inch for a while now, and it got to the point where I just wanted to cross it off my list.

As those early punk bands have a reputation of not being able to play their instruments, these songs are catchy as fuck, and hook me every time I hear them. So good.

This single was another winner for me, as I'd never heard Fuck The Mods. I mean, it isn't that great of an Exploited song, but it was cool to finally discover it all these years later.

Not Dead...Just Damaged

Is there anything more disappointing than buying a record online, only to have it arrive packaged in nothing but a bubble envelope. No cardboard reinforcement...nothing...just your vinyl stuffed into an envelope with no protection. Seriously. What kind of person would think this is acceptable?

Needless to say, when my Punks Not Dead record arrived on my doorstep, the corners were pretty well crushed. It wasn't damaged beyond recognition, but it was still heartbreaking.

Buying that GBH EP opened the punk floodgates, and within two days I'd also sent payments for the Barmy Army 7 inch, and The Exploited's first LP, Punks Not Dead. Once I started buying old punk classics, I was on a roll, and couldn't stop hitting that Buy It Now button.

Punks Not Dead is an absolute classic. The record is 35 years old, and still does not fail to get me moving as soon as those riffs kick in.

Barmy Army

Buying that G.B.H. EP recently, served as a reminder that I'd fallen off from buying old 7 inches from The Exploited. One purchase lead to another, and as soon as I'd purchased a record for one classic UK punk band, I was on the hunt for the other.

I probably spent more money than need to pick up the Exploited Barmy Army 7 inch, but truth be told, I've been chasing it off and on for a while now, and I finally got sick of the game, and I just pulled the trigger....plus it was a US seller, so I could justify the higher price as offsetting the savings on overseas shipping.

Before The Exploited signed on with Secret Records, they released their first two singles on their own independent Exploited Record Company. Never mind those Secret reissues, first press was the way to go for me. Cool little record that is still a blast to sing along with. Anarchy!

Computers Don't Blunder

Something funny happened recently. After a two year obsession with Metal, I've recently started queuing up late 70's and early 80's punk in my daily playlists. The Damned, The Adicts, G.B.H., Articles Of Faith, Naked Raygun...I currently can't get enough. Don't worry, Metal still gets plenty of playing time on the stereo, but right now, I only want to buy punk records.

When I started thinking about what punk records I should start chasing, at the front of my mind was the collection I started last year for The Exploited. It was left fairly incomplete, so I set out to see what was kicking around out there on eBay. Finding a copy of the Computers Don't Blunder 7 inch from a US seller at a decent price was an immediate buy.

When I started checking out singles from The Exploited last year, I discovered that there were a handful of songs from the band's early days that I'd never heard before. Here we are, 34 years after it's release, and I'm finally hearing the two songs from this Computers Don't Blunder single for the first time. A part of me is glad that I missed these songs back in the 80's, because finding them now is like finding a long lost treasure. Amazing.

Alternative Attack

Last month I picked up a few punk singles, and had a blast revisiting those old classics. Without warning, I had a new obsession, and I was on a mission...searching eBay and discogs for cheap additions to the collection. I was trying to avoid overseas shipping prices, and limit my purchases to the US...and when you are looking at UK punk bands, that limits your search considerably.

While I was on my search, the dude over at Massive Waste left a comment on my punk post, stating that Attack was probably his favorite song from The Exploited. Whoa...wait...I've been listening to The Exploited since I was probably 15 years old, and over the next thirty years, I'd somehow never heard this song? What the fuck? As I started digging around, I noticed that there were a handful of songs from The Exploited singles that I'd never heard. Damn...that's what I get for only bothering with the band's full length albums.

Thirty three years after its release, and I'm discovering new Exploited songs. Awesome. Finding treasures like this is one of the things that keeps record collecting exciting. Never stop searching.

No Survivors

Growing up as a metalhead in the early 80's, listening to Maiden and Priest, and then gravitating to harder and faster stuff like Metallica and Slayer...I suppose it was inevitable that I was going to discover punk and hardcore. Attracted by band names like Dirty Rotten Imbeciles, Suicidal Tendencies and Dead Kennedys, it seemed like a natural fit with the shock tactics and aggression of thrash.

Given that I've been listening to a ton of metal lately, I guess that it is a natural progression to find myself starting to listen to more and more of those punk bands that I started blasting from the stereo when I was 15 and 16.

Growing up, the big question was always "Who's better...Iron Maiden or Judas Priest"...and then as time went on, the two big names that I'd pit against each other were G.B.H. and The Exploited. It was always a tough call as to which one I liked better. Here we are, 30 years later, and I think I can finally crown G.B.H. as the winner.

I've been listening to those early G.B.H. songs a lot lately. Every day, I'm listening to City Baby Attacked By Rats, City Babys Revenge, or the first Leather Bristles album, and I'm amazed at how well these songs have held up over the years.

So what do I do when I start obsessing about bands? I start checking eBay, of course.

Just like the Raven records I bought at the start of the year, I found myself drawn to the 7 inch records when I was looking at the options to buy. Right off, I found a near mint copy of the Catch 22/Hellhole 7 inch...and it was in the States as well. Sold.

Once I had one G.B.H. 7 inch, I couldn't stop there. I needed more, and a UK seller quickly gave me the fix that I needed with the No Survivors record. It was beat up a little, but it still plays fine, and the one two punch of No Survivors and Self Destruct kicks my ass every time.

While I was buying the G.B.H. record from the UK seller, I noticed that they also had a few other punk classics available for auction, so I went after them as well.

While I still don't find them as strong as G.B.H., the early Exploited stuff is no slouch. It had been a long time since I'd heard these songs, and now that I've listened to this Dead Cities 7 inch, I've had to add The Exploited to my list of current obsessions. This shit is catchy as hell...let the eBay searches continue!

The final 7 inch that I'd won from the UK seller was the Holiday In Cambodia record from Dead Kennedys. My introduction to this band was their Give Me Convenience Or Give Me Death CD. At the time I just thought the title was Jello's dig at society, and I had no idea that it was because it was a compilation of their 7 inch and b-side songs. I've always been content with owning just that CD...until now. Seeing this 7 inch lit a fire under me, and in addition to my obsession with the three different covers that are available for the Holiday In Cambodia release, it has got me thinking of putting in some serious work into building up my DK record collection.