Test Trial

A couple years back, I finally added an original copy of Verbal Assault's Trial album to my collection...so when Atomic Action reissued the album earlier this year, I found no reason to bother with picking up another one. The original pressing was all that I needed...although, once the label started selling test pressings, it was too much to resist, and I grabbed one.

This is such a great album. I know there are a lot of great hardcore records, but Trial has got to be among the best of the best.

The test press comes with a special cover, which is basically a large piece of paper that is folded over a DJ sleeve cover for the record. This might not be as cool as owning a test of the original Giant Records pressing, but this one certainly looks better!

Hand numbered on the back of the cover, the record label, and on the red DJ sleeve. Pretty cool that I scored number one.

The Day That I Stood Trial

At the beginning of the year, I put together a list of my Top 10 Wants of 2016. Just something to try and keep me on track of chasing some bigger targets that I've wanted for a while. Well, I've done a shitty job of focusing on it. A month of so after creating the list, my musical tastes did a 180, and I lost some interest is chasing some Metal records. For 2016, the more important job was to fill some crucial holes in my Punk and Hardcore collection.

I first heard Verbal Assault when I ordered the Trial CD from the Toxic Shock/Westworld distro back around 1990 or so. I didn't really pay much attention to the Verbal Assault disc at the time because I also got a cassette of Youth Of Today's Can't Close My Eyes in the same order. Yeah, CDs and cassettes. I was making all kinds of great decisions back then. Either way, while Youth Of Today were immediate and in your face, Verbal Assault was more of a slow burn, and it took a number of years for me to fully appreciate just how great that Trial album is.

These days if you were putting up Break Down The Walls and Trial, I'd probably go Verbal Assault more often than not. This album is so damn good, and even though it is really no big quest to obtain one, it still feels good to finally add the vinyl to the collection.

On A Verbal Assault

I love Verbal Assault. Every time I hear them, I think to myself, "why don't I listen to this band more often?". When I look at my record collection, I think to myself, "Why don't I own more Verbal Assault vinyl?".

The band's final record, Exit, is a little anti-climactic, but really, Verbal Assault were simply amazing from start to finish. While I was record shopping on my recent vacation in South Carolina, I took the opportunity to rescue the On 12 inch from the used vinyl bin.

Now, I just need to get my hands on a copy of Trial on vinyl to feel respectable.