Red Sox and Records, Part 2

Right now I have a large stack of albums sitting here next to the computer. I was away on vacation last week and unable to listen to any music, let alone keep the blog updated. Now that I'm back I'm working through the stack and trying to get things caught up.

The day before I left for vacation, I went to Boston for a Red Sox game with Paul, Rob and Heidi. I was looking forward to hanging out in Fenway Park on a beautiful August afternoon, but I was more excited about stopping at Nuggets Records before the game. The last time I went shopping there I got all kinds of great rock albums, and I was looking forward to thumbing my way through the stacks of vinyl in search of more great finds.

• Agnostic Front - Cause For Alarm : My brother used to have this on cassette tape, but I had never owned a copy. This is a great hardcore album from AF. This copy has a gold promo stamp on the back of the album cover, which I thought was pretty cool. Picked it up for $9.
• Exciter - Unveiling The Wicked : I loved Exciter in High School, owning their classic Long Live The Loud album, but I never had Unveiling the Wicked...I don't think that I ever saw it for sale, or I'm sure I would have bought it. I even had a t-shirt with that album cover on the front of it, and I'm wearing it in one of the pictures of me in my High School yearbook. Damn, I thought that album cover was so cool! This album is a European import on Music For Nations Records, and was $11.
• Blood Feast - Kill For Pleasure : Another album that I loved when I was in High School. Great speed metal band from New Jersey, but obviously influence by early Slayer. This one was a little more expensive than I would have expected to pay for it, $15, but this is such a great record, I didn't think twice about buying it.
• Metal Massacre 4 and 7: After just picking up number 6 in the Metal Massacre series, I was happy to find these two albums. I hadn't heard a lot of the bands on these two records...the only bands that I knew was Lizzy Borden on number 4, and Flotsam and Jetsam and Cryptic Slaughter on number 7. Still I'm looking forward to checking out the other metal bands included. These were in great condition and were $9 a piece.

After lunch and record shopping, the four of us headed into Fenway park to watch the Red Sox take on the Yankees. We got inside too late to see Joey McIntyre sing the National Anthem, but we were excited for this great rivalry. Johnny Damon had gone to the dark side, signing with the Yankees, and the crowd rained boos upon him to show their disapproval. Unfortunately, Damon set the tone for the game hitting a triple to start the game. Boston showed off how bad of shape the pitching staff is in losing the game 12 to 4. It felt like the longest game in history, as the Red Sox pitcher was walking players while the bases were loaded. Even though there were some bright spots for Boston, with Hinske hitting three Doubles, it was still a rough game to sit through, getting to the point of hysterical that Boston could not throw a strike.

Great day and I'm looking forward to heading to Toronto with Rob and Paul at the end of September to watch the Sox play the Blue Jays. Of course the trip will include some record shopping!

Metal Massacre Series

As a metalhead growing up in the 80's, if you weren't into Metal Blade Records, you weren't shit. This label introduced the world to Metallica and Slayer. Anything they put out could not lose. Metal Blade had a compilation series called Metal Massacre, which showcased a ton of great thrash and speed metal. I always wanted to own the Metal Massacre records growing up, but never got around to picking any of them up. I found Metal Massacre 6 on eBay for $3.25 and since I seem to be on a Heavy Metal kick, I couldn't let it pass me by. I didn't realize it when I bid on it, but it has a hole punched in the upper corner of the record sleeve. I hate cutouts, and would have passed on it had I known, but for $3.25, it's no big deal. The album art work is classic 80's speed metal...bloody heads and skulls. This record has great tracks by Possessed, Hallow's Eve, Hirax, Nasty Savage, Dark Angel and quite a few others. Death to posers.

From Another Breath and Verse

Here are the latest Rivalry Records pre-orders. First is the new Verse record, 'From Anger and Rage'. The new record is great, at times I feel like a cover of Inside Out's 'No Spiritual Surrender' would fit in nicely with their live set...they have that kind of sound. I got both colors of this record...the red and yellow swirl is limited to 270, while the white pressing is limited to 670. The other pre-order I got was the new Another Breath record, 'Mill City'. I had never heard this band before, but Rivalry posted a couple of new mp3's so I checked 'em out. I was really impressed. They play a hardcore style similar to Go It Alone. The blue and grey swirl colored vinyl is limited to 240.

Straight From The Bronx

This entry is for the new Bronx LP on white vinyl. A couple of years ago I went to a show at The Palladium in Worcester. It was a huge punk/hardcore show with Circle Jerks and G.B.H. headlining. The Bronx was one of the opening bands. I had never heard of them, but I headed down to the stage to check them out. I was blown away by this band. Nobody in the club seemed to be into them, but they had this early L.A. punk sound and I was loving it. The singer was a total spaz on the stage, trying to get the crowd to do this "cobra dance" which everyone was too cool for. The band didn't seem to give a shit if the audience was into them or not, and they just gave off this total punk vibe. I bought their Bats EP at the show, and soon after saw their first CD at a local record store. That first CD completely captured the sound and attitude from their live show, and was one of my favorites from 2004. I downloaded the new album a month ago, and was really disappointed. The new songs were missing that snotty, kick ass sound. I loaded them into my MP3 player and would listen to their songs while I was at the gym. Slowly they started to grow on me, and soon I was loving it. Sure it isn't nearly as good as the first CD, but this new stuff is still some quality punk rock.

More Have Heart From B9

The current trend right now for hardcore records, seems to be gatefold sleeves. The two records that I got from the Bridge Nine mailorder both had that style of packaging. I love the gatefold sleeve. Something about it seems so special. The two records that I got were Have Heart and Dead Stop. I needed the brown/orange pressing of Have Heart's 'The Things We Carry'. It is limited to 700, and since they sent me two of the yellow/blue pressing the first time around, I still needed this color. The colored vinyl looks amazing, and coordinates with the album cover nicely. I also picked up the Dead Stop 'Live For Nothing' album. This is the US pressing on Havoc Records. I had heard all kinds of good things about this band, but had never checked them out. Saw Live For Nothing available in the B9 store, with the gatefold cover, and I figured to give it a shot. Dead Stop play a great style of hardcore thrash, and I would definitely recommend checking them out.

Happy Birthday To Me

Today I turned 36 years old. Birthday's don't mean much to me. I enjoy life, and have a great time on this ride, so I don't really concentrate the number of years that have passed. As a friend of mine has been known to say..."You can't change what is.".

My family had a birthday party for me the other weekend. The only thing I ever really ask for is more music, and that was what I got this year. I did pretty good this year, getting a couple of DVD's, one of Dio and one of Judas Priest, plus I got some CD's which included Triple Threat and Mental. Of course this blog entry is about the vinyl that I got.

• Doomriders "Black Thunder" - Holy shit, the riff from the title track is amazing. Worth it for that song alone.
• The Raconteurs "Broken Boy Soldier" - First off, I love The White Stripes. Jack White has got that classic guitar sound down. Rob surprised me months ago, dropping off a burned copy of the Raconteurs CD. "Jack White plays in this band", he tells me. I had never heard anything about this, and I'm excited to check it out. The band is more polished than The White Stripes, and it took me a few listens to really appreciate it. Good stuff, but pales in comparison to The White Stripes.
• Queensryche "Operation Mindcrime II" - I loved the first Mindcrime CD from Queensryche and saw them on tour with Metallica, who were on the Justice For All tour. Queensryche was the first band that I slamdanced to. I lost all interest in the band by the time they released their next album, and I had low expectations when they released Mindcrime II this year. I was really surprised at how much I enjoyed this record.
• Black Flag "Loose Nut" - I don't know why it took me so long to buy this record. Other than Damaged, this is probably one of my favorite Black Flag records. Great songs like Modern Man, Annihilate This Week, and Best One Yet.
• Black Sabbath "Never Say Die" - This is a re-issue on Earmark Records, pressed on 180 gram vinyl. While this record is often overlooked by casual Sabbath fans, there is still some great songs on this album.
  

Bridge Nine Strikes Again

Bridge Nine comes on strong for this one releasing new albums by Have Heart and Triple Threat, plus a split 7 inch for Death Before Dishonor / Black Friday '29. Purchasing the vinyl package deal for $45 was rough on the bank account, but it was so worth it. Two pressings each of all three records was too tempting of a deal. Bridge Nine mailorder messed up and sent me two copies of the limited pressing of Have Heart. I was thinking of holding on to it and selling it on eBay in a year or so, but Rob was interested in it so I sold it to him for $10 to put towards the color pressing that I didn't receive.

• Have Heart "The Things We Carry" - Amazing. I had high expectations for this record, and I was still surprised at how great this record is. The new songs are played with that level of passion and sincerity that I have come to expect from the band. The record cover and gatefold sleeve are incredible as well. Pressed on blue/yellow and brown/orange vinyl.
• Triple Threat "Into the Darkness" - This record surprised me. I new that it was going to be good, but I wasn't expecting it to be this good. Great Black Flag meets Mouthpiece vibe on this record. There is a picture from Posi-Numbers included in the layout. I believe the back of my head is in the picture, but I can't be sure. Pressed on clear and red with black splatter vinyl.
• Death Before Dishonor / Black Friday '29 split 7 inch - DBD is okay, I guess. Their style doesn't really excite me. The singer reminds me of Some Kind Of Hate, but musically they have more in common with Terror. You know, very tough sounding. I just picture guys in wife-beaters covered with tattoos. Good, but not really interesting for me. Black Friday '29 is much better. Good solid hardcore. I can't think of who they remind me of, but I'm diggin' it, and you should too.

A Record Of Substance

Got my Betrayed pre-order for the new album, Substance, from Rivalry Records. It is limited to 328 on blue and 622 on white vinyl. There is also a pressing on pink for the record release show at the Sound & Fury fest in California. I'll need to get my hands on that one, and a friend has already promised to send me one.

I'll have to admit that I'm not a big fan of the record cover. The black and white picture of the band doesn't really do much for me...neither does the new font for the band's name. And while the songs are a little too polished, this is still a great album. Aram knows how to really write great, positive lyrics, and the band continues to create great songs. Amazing new songs like Think Twice, Substance, The City Lights, and Nothing Breaks Us Apart, plus some classics re-recorded. A total of 13 tracks of incredible hardcore.

No Life 'Til Leather

Yeah baby, here is Motorhead's No Remorse double album compilation with the faux leather cover. As far as I know this is the only record made that is packaged within a leather cover. The entire packaging is amazing. The trademark Motorhead logo is stamped on the front cover with a metallic silver, while the back cover has the song titles stamped in the same fashion. The record sleeves are a nice thick paperboard displaying the song lyrics, including a quote from Lemmy on how each song came to be, plus lots of photos of the band, and then a great historical overview. Very well done. I saw it on eBay and took a chance, winning it for only $10. Turns out it was the Earmark Records 2004 vinyl re-issue, which sells for $35 retail. As much as I was hoping that it was the original 1984 Bronze Records pressing, I'm quite happy to pick up this copy for the price that I did. I have seen in some places online that this was limited to 1,000.

Seventh Son With Promo Stamp

Here is the Iron Maiden 'Seventh Son of a Seventh Son' LP. I picked it up for $8.00 on eBay. The cool thing about this particular record is that it has a gold promo stamp in the upper corner. The downside is that the vinyl is a mess. It has so much static and dust on it that it is pretty much unplayable. It will probably be fine if it gets a good cleaning, and at some point I'll need to invest in some solution to get it done right.

I love this album. I saw Iron Maiden on this tour, and it was really their last great record for me. Granted I like the Maiden albums that came out after this, but they haven't topped Seventh Son since it came out. This album was released in 1988 and shortly after, I started listening to more thrash and death metal before finding punk and hardcore. This led me to shelving the band for a good 15 years, before falling in love with them all over again and starting to collect their vinyl releases.

eBay Bonus

Since the guy that sent me the Blue Monday Rivalry Showcase pressing was a month late in sending it, he sent along the My Revenge / F.P.O. split 7 inch on pink vinyl as a bonus. I'm not sure if it was an auction of his that didn't sell or what, but finding an extra record in the mail is always cool. I have the first My Revenge record and I really dig it, so I was excited to check out some more stuff from the band. First spin through for both bands didn't leave much of an impression on me. My Revenge seemed to be missing that hook that I liked from the first record. Like the album, this record is very raw, but it may take a few spins to really appreciate it. The other side of the 7 inch is F.P.O. (Forever Positively Obsessed). They are a Straight Edge band from Europe, and play really fast old school hardcore. Pretty good and raw, like My Revenge, but I'll need to listen to it a few times to form an opinion.

Blue Monday at Rivalry Showcase 2006

I received another copy of Blue Monday's Rewritten album last week. This one has the cover made for the Rivalry Showcase 2006. I can only assume that the Showcase was an amazing show with Champion, Betrayed, Verse, The First Step, plus many others on the bill. The record itself is the picture disk that the band had pressed for their 2005 European tour. I'm not sure how well they sold, since Bridge Nine still has them available in their webstore. It's funny, because when I mentioned to Rob that they used the picture disk for the Rivalry Showcase, he laughed and said, "Well they had to get people to buy those records somehow.". The record with the Rivalry Showcase cover is limited to only 50, and mine is hand numbered 42. Since it is so limited, I'm happy to have picked it up on eBay for $20.50. The guy that I won it from has sold me a number of In My Eyes records in the past, so I was comfortable that it would arrive, even though it took him a month to send it out. With this copy, I now have five flavors of Rewritten, with only the Sink With Cali cover missing from my collection.

3 Colors of Motorhead

Here is the Motorhead 'England' box set released on Earmark records. I have had my eye on this box set at various times over the past year. Saw it at Bull Moose Music a year ago and I wanted it, but I continually passed on it to buy something else. After a few months, I finally entered the store committed to buying it only to find that it had been sold. When I went to Bull Moose last week to pick up the new Betrayed and Outbreak CD's, I glanced through the vinyl section and there it was. Since I had kind of started collecting Motorhead vinyl, I didn't hesitate to buy it. Three classic Motorhead records, each one a different color. Overkill is on green, Bomber is on blue, and Ace of Spades is on red. It is strange because the back of the box states that Ace of Spades is on gold vinyl. I'm not sure if that is an error or if the record was really pressed on gold for an earlier pressing.

More Maiden

More Iron Maiden records for the collection. This time around we have 7 inches for Stranger in a Strange Land and Run to the Hills. The labels on these two records are different...one has a silver label and the other one has the rings and picture of Eddie standing under a street light. I'm not sure what difference between the two are, but I have two versions of the Flight of Icarus 7 inch...one of them has the silver label. I believe that is for US pressings, but I'm not sure. Picked these two records up on eBay when I won the Motorhead 7 inch on pink. They had zero bids when the auction was ending so I threw a bid on to win them at $9.99 each.

Think Fast Pre-orders

I got my Think Fast Records pre-orders the other day. First to arrive was the new Sick of it All record, Death to Tyrants. I already had the CD release, but I kind of have a half-ass collection of their albums on colored vinyl, so I picked it up. The yellow colored vinyl with the red splatter seems a little out of place for a Sick of it All record, but the new songs are still great. People love to hate on this band. Sure their stuff isn't as good as that first album, but they still put out quality hardcore music with sincerity and passion. They were one of the bands that got me into hardcore music with Blood, Sweat, and No Tears, and I have seen these guys live countless times, starting back when Paul and I would travel to Boston to see them at The Channel in the early 90's. I remember it was around the time that they released their single for We Stand Alone, and at some point the stage was just flooded with people...I looked up and Paul was standing their with the mic in his hand as the band broke into World Full of Hate. Saw them again in Boston a couple of years ago...it may have been Good Riddance opening up for them...anyway, there was a barrier between the crowd and the stage and it completely killed the energy in the room as most people just stood there for S.O.I.A.'s set. I was right up front screaming along...every word to every song. I remember Pete coming down on to the floor after the set, shaking my hand and thanking me for coming. I don't tend to 'hero worship', but it was a very cool moment for me.

The other Think Fast record that came in the mail was Outbreak's new album, 'Failure'. For this one the colored vinyl fits the band...green wax with clear spots. I was surprised that Bridge Nine wasn't putting out the vinyl for this one, since they are releasing the CD, but I guess that the singer for the band has some role in Think Fast, so he wanted to do the vinyl on his label. The album has really surprised me. I liked the older Outbreak stuff, but this thing is just amazing. Incredibly tight songs. I'm really impressed. I think my favorite song right now is Losing Streak. The tempo and the gang vocals on that are amazing.

Each of these was limited to 300 on colored vinyl.

The New Bright Shiny Object

I really try to focus on completing the collections that I am currently working on, but sometimes I get distracted by a band that is currently commanding a lot of my attention. The current flavor of the month is Motorhead. They are such a classic. I'm not sure what brought on this current obsession, but I have been working my way through their CD's that I have in my collection. Admittedly, most of them are burned CD's from stuff that I have downloaded over the years. I was thinking that I would like to buy the original vinyl copies to truly own their releases, and did a search on eBay to see what was out there. I stumbled across their Motorhead/City Kids 7 inch on white vinyl. The record was released in 1977 and was in mint condition. The record was released before the band had even dropped their first album. I was thinking about how much history was wrapped up in this record, and since it was in such great condition, I figured that I'd throw a bid on it and see if I could pick it up at a reasonable price. I was surprised that I won it at only $15.00. I looked for some more information on this record online and found out that it is also available in pink, black, blue, and orange vinyl. My goal had been set...I needed a copy of each of these. Another search of eBay uncovered an auction for the pink pressing. Bids were made and I picked it up for $22.50. It was more than I wanted to spend, but I was committed to winning this record and getting my Motorhead collection underway.

This So-Called "Shit" Is What I Live For

Can you tell that I love Have Heart? Here is another entry with more records added to my collection. I've always liked the band, but something about seeing them live for the first time...seeing the emotion, energy, and honesty that they bring to their music, it just elevated them so much. After seeing them that time, I knew that I needed to start collecting their records. The new album is going to be released on August 8th (Happy Birthday to me), with the record release show in Massachusetts on August 27th. The day before, I'll be getting home from a weeks vacation on Sebago Lake with the family, but you couldn't keep me away from this show since it looks like The First Step and Betrayed will be playing as well.

I got this group of records from a couple of different sellers on eBay. The 'What Counts' on yellow is limited to 400, and the Demo 7 inch on pink is limited to 100. Got both of them for $18.50. The Demo 7 inch with the Summer Tour 2005 cover is limited to 150, and I got it for $4.99. This one was one of those rare eBay steals that you hope for.

Have Heart

'Lionheart'

This so-called "shit" is what I live for

It's why I'm alive

I'll never smother the fire, forever burning inside

I'm at the point where I'm sucked in by the message, I get this passion

This fury is mine, it keeps me alive

I can't breathe till I release what's inside

Fourth of July in Paris

I was originally going to travel to Massachusetts on the Fifth for Have Heart, but since the show in Maine was closer and I didn't have anything planned for the Fourth, I decided to hit the show in South Paris instead. It was a last minute decision, so I didn't bother checking to see if Rob or Paul wanted to go, plus I assumed that they probably already had plans. The flier said the show started at 5:00, but the first band didn't start until around 6:30 or 7:00, so I took a walk around town to kill some time. The first band never said their name, so I don't know who they were, but I wasn't into them at all. Then The Doldrums went on, and I wasn't feeling them either. Great, the show starts late and the first two bands suck...I guess I didn't have to rush out of the house for this one. The Doldrums break a guitar string in the first song...Christ, we have to wait while they get a new guitar. Second song, they break another string...now we have to wait while they string the guitar. I'm hoping they just call it a night and pack it up, but that didn't happen. Wake Up Call goes on next, and I was really excited to see them play. I love their One Eye Open 7 inch, and this was the first time I'd seen them play. Too bad the sound sucked so bad that I could hardly hear the vocals. Oh well, I'd love to see them again. News is out that Sinking Ships had their van breakdown in New York and weren't going to make it. Too bad, I was looking forward to checking them out. Down to Nothing played next, and came out X'd up...played a great set. I had no idea that they were a straight edge band. I had been listening to their 'Save It For The Birds' CD all week, and I was impressed with their set. Have Heart played last, and had to cut their set short. Not nearly as intense as when Rob and I saw them play in Massachusetts with The First Step, but I had a good time singing along.

After buying some merch after the Wake Up Call set, I was surprised to see Sweet Pete was at the show. I spent the rest of the night talking to him between bands. I had a great time talking to him and meeting another kid, Klint, that I had seen at shows for years. Pete and I talked music and basketball. Great time hanging out with him, and it really made the show worth the trip.

Other than the Down to Nothing and Wake Up Call CD's, I also picked up 7 inches from Wake Up Call and Have Heart. I had seen the Wake Up Call demo 7 inch for sale at Newbury's for $6 and was glad to pick it up on blue for $2 at the show. I was also happy to see the orange with blue splatter pressing of the Have Heart 'What Counts' 7 inch. I had tried to order this from MerchNow but they sent me the black vinyl instead, and I had seen this color go for around $10 on eBay. Glad I waited on both of those records and picked them up at a better price and could help the bands on tour.

Panic over the new Bridge Nine sampler

Two new records from Bridge Nine...the Bridge Nine 2006 sampler and Panic 'Strength in Solitude', which is thier two B9 7 inches pressed onto one LP. I'm not sure what the point is in pressing the four song sampler on vinyl. One song each from the upcoming albums of Have Heart, Triple Threat, Outbreak, and Think I Care. With the exception of Think I Care, all the songs were amazing and I'm really looking forward to each bands summer release. This 7 inch was limited to 500 on purple and 1,000 on orange. The Panic albums were limited to 300 splatter and 700 swirl pressings.

Learn to Have Heart

Received the Learn pre-order from Bottled Up Records. Picked up the Have Heart demo 7 inch on teal vinyl when I ordered it. Two great bands from this label. I picked up Posi Numbers pressings of this Have Heart record and the first Learn 7 inch when Rob and I were at the show last summer. That trip was so much fun, although we missed Bandit. On the ride home we came up with the idea that we should have taken pictures of a can of wasabi peas in various places along the way. Picture of the peas in a roadside bathroom...picture of the peas on the corner of the Posi Numbers stage...picture of the peas with all of our new records on the hotel bed. The wasabi peas are Bandit's signature snack and the pictures would have been a funny tribute to him. Too bad we came up with the idea too late. We had made the trip to Pennsylvania with Paul the year before for the Knife or Death Fest with Youth of Today, but last year he missed it since he had used all his vacation time when the new baby was born. This year the three of us are planning a trip to Toronto in September. The "Boys Club" road trip is becoming an annual event for us, and this year we will be traveling for a Red Sox game. While we are in Toronto, I will definitely need to hit some record stores for a vinyl fix.

Guns Up!

Guns Up! have been around for a while now, but I had never heard them. 1917 Records put up pre-orders for their new LP 'Outlive', so I figured that it was a good time to check them out. Outlive captures some pretty good hardcore. Guns Up! have a familiar sound, but I can't put my finger on who it is...maybe early Terror, I'm not sure. In any case, I like it. Pre-orders received the white with blue splatter colored vinyl, limited to 304 pressed. The colored vinyl coordinates with the album cover and looks very nice. My record arrived a little warped, but it didn't affect the sound when I listened to it.

Boston vs Connecticut

I hang my head in shame over the state of my Ten Yard Fight collection. Ten Yard Fight were one of my favorite bands from the mid-90's. They were from Boston and I would drive to see them play in New England numerous times. I knew LaCroix from his days singing for Circus Puppies. Why have I been so uncommitted to completing this collection? I don't really know why, but I have continuously passed by TYF records on eBay since starting my record collection over a year ago.

Here is the clear vinyl pressing of the Ten Yard Fight vs. Fastbreak seven inch. I'm not sure how many of this color were pressed. Picked it up on eBay for $6.05. The price was so good that I couldn't pass it up.

The Alice Cooper Drama Show

Why is it that each time I win Alice Cooper records on eBay, I run into some kind of problem. As I noted a few posts ago, the Love It To Death album that I got had some nasty water damage that I wasn't expecting. This time around, my eBay experience ends with drama. So I saw an Alice Cooper record lot up for auction, and won with a low bid of $9.99...Billion Dollar Babies, Killer, and The Alice Cooper Show. The albums looked like they were in fantastic shape, which can be difficult to find for albums from the early 70's, and they included all the original inserts. Early Alice records had the best packaging...Billion Dollar Babies had the billion dollar bill insert, and Killer had the 1972 fold-out calendar.

A few weeks went by, and I haven't received my records. I'm getting nervous, so I send a message to the seller to check on the shipment. A few days go by with no response, so I shot off another message to the seller. Again, no response. A week goes by and my package finally arrives. The records are in great shape, and the Killer album has a white promo label, which is a bonus, but I notice that the guy didn't send the records out until three days after my last message. Two messages that went with no reply, and about a month before delivery. Unnecessary, so I leave neutral feedback stating that the records were in great shape but the service sucked. That was enough to finally get the guy to respond.

Enjoy the records, thanks for the neutral. This is not Walmart, I work out of state and am gone at least 3 weeks out of a month. Thanks for your "understanding"

I will have to really think of appropriate feedback (I seriously doubt I will be leaving a positive or neutral) for you since you decided to make me look like a poor seller in spite of our overall good reputation without contacting me first...

eBay states that you are to contact your seller prior to leaving feedback if there is a problem, if you had bothered, you would have known we have a newborn also and my girlfriend is disabled so you try watching a baby and running to the post office in a wheelchair while the head of the house is busting his ass in another state to make it all work

Good day Sir

oldetoycollector (the slow shipper)

Give me a friggin break. I didn't give negative feedback, it was neutral. The feedback that I left was to let other buyers know that the guy sells quality items, just sends stuff slower than shit. Don't come at me with stories about newborns and disabled girlfriend that you send to the post office while you are out of town. Take some responsibility for not being a great seller sometimes, and don't be a douche about it.

Japanese Pressing

My first Japanese pressing. I've wanted one since I started collecting Iron Maiden vinyl. Something about Japanese pressings with that OBI strip that seems so collectible. I had actually been holding out for a Japanese pressing of Killers, but I saw this copy of 'Live!!! + One' on eBay and placed a winning bid of $19.32. The seller was from the States, which made it more enticing since that meant I wasn't paying for shipping from Japan. I received the record and the quality of this thing is amazing. It was released 26 years ago in 1980, and yet it is still in mint condition.

First Step, Second Press

Here we have the second pressing of The First Step on blue/black swirl vinyl, limited to 215. The color mix on this record looks exactly like the Go It Alone/Blue Monday split 7 inch that Rivalry Records put out. One of the best record labels around right now.

The picture below is from the First Step set in Providence when they played at the Insted reunion show. Yeah, that's me on top of the crowd. Paul and I drove down to see the show at the Living Room. The club had moved and we had some problems trying to find it...turned out it was just down the street from their old location. The two of us used to always drive to the Living Room when they were in the old building. One of my first punk/hardcore shows was at the Living Room to see DRI. We saw a lot of great hardcore and metal bands there. I remember driving down to see Overkill, and rains had flooded the club so the show was cancelled, but Bobby "Blitz" was hanging out in the parking lot and we got his autograph. That was a big deal at the time! Great memories from seeing Murphy's Law play there with Low Meato, and catching the Circle Jerks "final" tour, getting thrown out for stage diving during Gang Green...damn, those were fun times...three hour drives home popping No-Doz and drinking Jolt Cola to stay awake. Anyway, Paul and I found the new location and hung out for a while in the parking lot. Sweet Pete showed up and we hung out for a while talking to him and Karl from Earth Crisis. Good time just chillin'. The show was amazing, seeing Mental, Desperate Measures, The First Step, and finally Insted. Great time.

Wish You Were Here

Champion were amazing. They were my favorite straight edge band from the past few years...possibly my favorite band since In My Eyes broke up. Something about them was special to me. In a way they kind of got me hooked on collecting vinyl. I remember seeing Champion in Worcester for their East Coast tour when Promises Kept was released on vinyl. I bought the record at the show...blue vinyl with hand stamped labels. It had been a long time since I had bought vinyl at a show, and the feeling of getting that record was that I had something special...a piece of hardcore history. Soon after that show, Bridge Nine sent out the pre-orders and my Champion collection had begun.

Champion had their last show on May 27th, 2006. As much as I wished that I could be there, flying out to Seattle for it was not going to happen. For the show they had 400 copies of Promises Kept pressed on yellow vinyl. Thankfully, Bridge Nine held a few copies of the record and put them up for sale the week after the show. I ordered a copy for myself and one for Rob. Because of the flurry of activity that the webstore experienced as people rushed to get their order in, I got an error when I tried to check out. I tried to submit the order again and it said it was a duplicate order. I got the confirmation email from B9 so I thought that everything was okay, but as the days passed I got more nervous that my order didn't go through. I sent the mailorder guys an email, and sure enough, they hadn't received my order. A huge thanks to Matt and Jena at Bridge Nine for finding the last couple of copies and getting the order filled.

Alone in a crowd, but we're still standing strong

With X'd up fists and sing alongs

Times like these are what we live for

These days are more than we'd ever hoped for

We're still here, and we'll never forget the words we fuckin' said

Time flies by, and the promises made will stay with us through our lives

We're not finished yet, that's right

They tried to break the best of us

But still our hearts are true to promises kept

6/6/6

Okay, we are going to break a few rules with this post. This post is about an old record that I have in the collection, and this blog is supposed to be strictly about new additions to my collection. However, seeing that today is 6/6/06, I'm feeling compelled to do a Slayer entry, and break a few rules. I was also going to include the new single that Slayer released today for Cult, but for some reason I can't seem to upload anymore images, so fuck it.

Here we have the very first Slayer album that I bought, Hell Awaits. I remember buying this off of Jason Violette in High School. He had a few albums that he no longer wanted, if I remember correctly he didn't want to own it because of the satanic imagery. He was looking to unload this Slayer album, Impaler 'Rise of the Mutants', and I think Pile Driver 'Metal Inquisition'. I had never listened to these bands before, but I was starting to get interested in Speed Metal so I took the chance...plus I think he sold them to me for a few bucks a piece. I got home and Paul and I put on Hell Awaits. We get through the creepy intro to the song Hell Awaits and then the song kicks into high gear. Wow...that is the fastest shit we have ever heard. We can't help but laugh at how ridiculous it sounds. We finish off the album, joking about how over the top it is, and I head out to take care of my paper route. While I'm delivering newspapers, I can't get the song 'Kill Again' out of my head. So incredibly fast, yet the melody on that chorus was so catchy it was going over and over in my head. I get back to the house and have to listen to it again and again, falling in love with the speed and aggression (not to mention the shock value of the lyrics and satanic imagery). This is the turning point of having Metallica and Slayer take over as my favorite bands, pushing aside Iron Maiden and Judas Priest.

Love It To Death

Ebay mistake. Judging from the photo on eBay, this copy of Alice Cooper 'Love it to Death' looked like it was in decent shape. I threw a bid on it for $5.00, and then after the fact I noticed that the write up mentioned water damage. It also stated that it was in Very Good or Very Good+ condition. Sounded like it might still be okay. I received the package in the mail and the guy did the worst packaging job that I have ever seen. I opened up the box and see the condition of the record. Shit. The inside gatefold and back cover have big sections where the cover has ripped away and is falling apart. I should have read the eBay description more closely before bidding. Oh well, it was just $5.00. The vinyl is in great shape, but I need the packaging to be of quality as well. Damn it, I'm going to need a better copy of this record.

This copy has the green Warner Brothers label, and the controversial "thumb" cover. The record was originally released on Frank Zappa's Straight label. The cover photo has Alice sticking his thumb through a hole in his cape. The thumb looks like a penis, and soon after Warner Brothers re-released it, the photo was airbrushed to remove the offensive thumb. Rock out with your cock out.

What We Pre-Order

I was quite relieved to receive my First Step 'What We Know' pre-order from Rivalry Records. I had ordered the package deal to get both colors of vinyl and a CD. I had been hearing from other people that they had ordered as soon as the pre-orders were available, and yet they didn't get both colors and ended up getting two blue. This record sold out fast. Thus, I was very happy to open my package and see both the red/pink vinyl as well as the blue. This record is limited to 235 on pink, and 605 on blue with the regular cover.

I have been listening to this album daily since I've received the CD. This is destined to be a classic. It has some tough competition for Album Of The Year with new records dropping this summer for Have Heart, Triple Threat, Betrayed, and Verse...but this one may take the prize.

Ceremony Ruined Hardcore

I was browsing at Newbury Comics and was surprised to see the Ceremony 'Ruined' 7 inch for sale. The vinyl selection at Newbury's has been less than impressive lately. I saw this one, and even though the price tag of $6.00 was a bit excessive, I bought it. I had previously downloaded a few songs from their demo and I remember liking what I had heard. Ceremony play some ripping hardcore...fast paced shit that does not let up. The lyrics are kind of negative in the same vein as Tear It Up with the "I Hate Everyone" mantra. Not exactly my mindset but still good for those pissed off days. The record is limited to 800 on banana yellow.

Classic Priest

I have been loving Judas Priest recently, especially the real early stuff. Funny because when I was growing up, the early stuff was not my favorite. I picked up the 'Hero, Hero' double album from eBay for $15. The album is pretty much a collection of the first two Priest records with different production. Gull Records released it in 1981 after the band was breaking it big with the release of British Steel. I'm sorry, but the portrait of the band on the inside gatefold sleeve is hysterical. With all the pastels it looks like it came right out of a New Kids On The Block CD. Ian Hill looks like a freakin' BeeGee, and Glenn Tipton looks like Rick Springfield. Hilarious.

This is one of the few bands that I have never seen live. For the Turbo tour, Priest came to Portland while I was away with my family camping and I was too young to drive back home for the show. For the Ram It Down tour, Priest was supposed to play at the Ballpark in Saco. The show got cancelled. For the Painkiller show at the Civic Center I got kicked out for slamdancing to Megadeth. Finally, the Angel Of Retribution tour comes to the State Theater in Portland, but I skip it because I am low on cash and I had plans to go to the Ghostface Killah show later that week. Priest would have been a better show.

Open Hearts Are Blue

The First Step are going to be freakin' huge once their new album drops. I can't believe that it has been four years since their last record was released. I picked up the Open Hearts and Clear Minds CD at the last Back To School fest back in 2002. Sweet Pete told me that I should check them out because they have an old school sound similar to Insted...very positive. I have liked TFS ever since then, but hearing their new album puts them on a whole other level. After recently seeing them play a show in Massachusetts, I was searching eBay and came across the Open Hearts 12 inch on blue. I had the clear vinyl pressing that I had ordered from Livewire records years ago, but I didn't know there was a blue pressing as well. I checked with Livewire board for posting info and someone replied that their were 220 of the clear vinyl for pre-orders and 220 of the blue for a tour pressing. Sounds like there is also a black pressing of 350 and then 50 that were released with a messed up cover. I got this one for $15.50.

Korean Volume

A couple of posts back I mentioned that I had been on a Black Sabbath kick, that is further proven by this purchase. I already own the Earmark Records vinyl re-issue of this album, but I couldn't resist picking up this Korean pressing of the classic Volume 4. I saw the auction on eBay...there was a couple of minutes before it ended and there were no bids. I figured that picking it up for $5.00 from some dude in New Hampshire was a deal that I couldn't pass up. The sleeve for the album is kind of cheap (paper with a plastic overlay), and the seller had indicated that Korean albums are known for their poor sound quality, but who cares?!?! This is such a great addition to my collection, with the Korean symbols on the cover and album, with the alternate back cover...damn, this is pretty cool.

Undisputed Collection

I recently got the purple vinyl for Some Kind of Hate's 'Undisputed' album. This completes the collection. It is a very solid hardcore album, but it doesn't seem to get much recognition. I've seen them play a couple of times, the last time was when I saw them open the 7 Seconds / Champion show in Massachusetts. The crowd never seems to be very into them. While the band pours all their energy into the live set, the kids in the audience just stand and stare.

I picked up the purple vinyl on eBay for $2.75. The purple is limited to 300. The spray painted cover is from their 2003 west coast tour and is limited to 150. The white vinyl is limited to 700.

Best of Sabbath

I've been on a big Black Sabbath kick lately, and this purchase is a result of that. I actually saw this record for sale at Newbury Comics about six months ago. I carried it around the store, but ended up putting it back because I really didn't have the money to spend. Took a trip back to Newbury's last week and told myself that if they still had it, then I would buy it. I love the cover of this record. The image is just so dark, so intense. Sabbath had so many great songs that it is nearly impossible to limit the best to 4 albums worth. Of course the main focus on these records is Ozzy, but Dio and Gillian get a couple of songs thrown in on the fourth record. Nice gatefold packaging with a great write up of Sabbath's history on the inside cover. I have no idea how many of these were made, but this collection is from the year 2000 and my copy is numbered 5502 from a limited pressing.

The Addiction Grows

Here is the European pressing of the Betrayed EP. Dead and Gone Records released it as a 12" for the bands European tour. Limited to 500 on black vinyl. Between the currency conversion and shipping, this record was a little expensive, but I definitely needed it for the collection. Dead and Gone ship stuff so fast, I had this within a week. Pretty cool to see the record on the 12 inch format.

In addition to the Betrayed record, I also ordered the Fifty On Red 7 inch. It is the second pressing, on green vinyl. Limited to 500. Descent Euro straight edge hardcore.

Records, Rain and Red Sox

Took the day off on Tuesday to go to Boston for a Red Sox / Yankees game. Fun road trip with Paul, Rob and Heidi. Whenever we are in the neighborhood of Fenway park, we have to stop in at Nuggets record store. Huge selection of used vinyl and cheap CD's. I typically browse the vinyl selection, but usually don't buy anything because I either can't find anything I want, or there is too much wear and tear for my liking. This trip I managed to make some very good finds...all were in the $5 or $6 range.

• GBH - Midnight Madness and Beyond : Decent punk record. Not my favorite by them, but I only had this on cassette and needed to get it on a better format.
• Judas Priest - Screaming For Vengeance and Defenders of the Faith : By coincidence, as I was hanging out at the house in the morning I was struck by a strong urge to listen to some early Priest, and brought out their first three albums. When I saw these two, and the great condition that they are in, I knew I had to buy them. I had Defenders of the Faith on cassette and needed to replace that with vinyl. Screaming for vengeance I own the CD, but it is such a classic I had to buy it on vinyl for the collection.
• Rainbow - Self titled first record : I had never heard this album. I really liked the other two Rainbow albums with Dio, plus the first record has Man on the Silver Mountain so how could I go wrong. Plus this thing was in great shape, gatefold cover, and a German pressing.
• Dokken - Tooth and Nail : Another coincidence. As Paul and I were driving down he made a joke about Dokken, and I joked that I never really could get into Breaking the Chains until we had seen them live. Then at Nuggets I found they had that album for sale. I like Tooth and Nail better so I bought that one instead.
• UFO - Strangers in the Night : I heard this band for the first time about a month ago. Jeff played me a song and I loved the guitar sound. Great 70's rock. I downloaded this live album and was glad to get the double album on vinyl.
  

The record that I was most excited about was the live Alice Cooper bootleg, One Halloween Night. Recorded in 1978, I was tenative to buy this...I wasn't sure how great the quality was and the price tag was $15. They had both the Killer and Constrictor album for sale as well, and I almost bought one of those instead. Then, for the Hell of it, I slide the live album out of it's sleeve and I saw the colored wax. I was sold. I listened to a few songs when I got home and the quality of the live recording is excellent. I'm glad I picked it up.


After Nuggets and dinner at Bertucci's we headed over the bridge to Fenway for the Red Sox / Yankees game. It had rained all day and we were nervous that the game was going to be called. We got inside the ballpark around 6:00, and the field was covered to keep the water off. It wasn't raining anymore, and we were hopeful that the game would go on as scheduled. The game was delayed and we sat and waited it out. It was cold so I went and bought a new winter hat. Then at 7:45 it started to rain. We got out our ponchos and sat in the rain. Soon it was announced that the game was postponed until August 18th for a 1:00 game. Hmmm, spending a Friday afternoon in August watching the Sox and Yankees go at it sounded perfect and suddenly it didn't really matter that the game was cancelled...plus it wasn't a wasted trip since I had a bunch of new records to keep me happy.

Think Fast!

Received the order that I placed with Think Fast! Records through MerchNow. Didn't really get what I ordered. I had originally wanted to place the order to get the latest color of the Have Heart record. Better to get it before it's gone and I'm left getting it through eBay. While I was ordering that one, I noticed that The Geeks record was available on colored vinyl as well so I figured that I'd pick it up...I've been wanting to hear that band. Lastly, I ordered the Wake Up Call record on colored vinyl. I have been really impressed with this record and listening to it daily. I received my order very quickly. I rip open the box to inspect the records. What the Hell? Have Heart is on black vinyl! Goddamn, so is The Geeks. Thankfully the Wake Up Call was the color that I ordered...especially since I already had that one on black vinyl.

Wake Up Call is green colored vinyl with purple splatter and limited to 220. Have Heart is the 5th pressing on black and limited to 330. The Geeks is the 2nd pressing on black and limited to 330.