Acting Like a Maniac

There are some records that change everything. Metal was introduced to the world with Black Sabbath's debut in 1970. Iron Maiden led the charge into the '80's with the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. In the early 80's, Metallica was one of those bands that decided to kick things into a higher gear, determined to play louder, faster and heavier than anyone else. Their debut, Kill 'Em All, and the follow up, Ride the Lightning are metal perfection. They made music for themselves. Total fucking attitude.

They recently re-released those first two albums, each one released as a double LP on 180 gram vinyl. They come packaged with a gatefold sleeve, and both of them are just ridiculously sweet looking. Since my local record store failed to carry the new vinyl on the day it was released, I ordered mine directly from metallica.com. Worth every penny spent.

"If you came here to see spandex, and fuckin' eye make-up and all that shit...and the words 'rock n roll baby' in every fuckin' song...this ain't the fuckin' band. We came here to bash some fuckin' heads for 50 minutes. Are you fuckin' with us?"

- James Hetfield at Castle Donnington in 1985-

Connections

I didn't think it was possible for The First Step to come close to matching the perfection of their last album, What We Know. With the Connection EP, they come pretty damn close. Four songs, clocking in around a total playing time of six and a half minutes. This 7 inch is pure hardcore...intense from start to finish. The First Step are one of my top 5 hardcore bands right now, and it is a shame that it has been so long since I've last seen them live. Damn, I think the last time I saw them was at the End of Summer Jam that Rob and I went to. When was that? A year and a half ago?!? Wow...that is too long.

I was really surprised to see Rivalry Records putting up pre-orders for the new EP. I had no idea the band was recording. The pre-orders went up at the same time as the new Paint It Black album, and while I was okay ordering just one copy of Paint It Black, I knew that I was going to need to collect all the pressings of The First Step so I ordered two copies. The two that arrived were on white (limited to 270) and red (limited to 1030). Apparently these sold out pretty quick, because shortly after the first pressings had shipped, Rivalry was doing another pressing.

Shortly after I received my order from Rivalry, I got an email from Aram. He was looking to sell off some of his records to get money for a new guitar, and since I'd helped him out in the past he wanted me to have a chance to go over the list before he posted it on some messageboards. He had a lot of stuff I would have liked to buy, but with money in short supply, I told him that I would take a couple copies of the new TFS record. He had the friends press on black vinyl, limited to 110 copies, and the pressing from the Rivalry Showcase on orange vinyl, limited to 170. I didn't hesitant and sent him an offer. Thanks again Aram, for helping me complete another collection.

Blackalicious

I got the new Paint It Black album, New Lexicon, a few weeks ago. The album is really good, but like their last album, I figure that it will take some time to really grow on me. I swear, Dan Yemin has one of the most intense voices in hardcore today. The words he screams just drip with passion and sincerity. The band is no different live. I've seen them twice, the first time was shortly after their first album was released and Paul and I saw them open up for Strike Anywhere in Boston. Dan opened up their set with the line, "In two seconds, the teacher will begin to speak.", which was a line lifted from the great hip hop artist KRS-One. One of the coolest intros that I've heard. The second time I saw them was when Rob and I drove to Posi Numbers in 2005. During the set, Dan got knocked in the nose and the guy was covered in blood. Apparently, the medication that he was on, thinned his blood and it just flowed from his nose. The guy didn't miss a beat as he ripped through their set. Like I said, intense. Unlike Tyler, who got lucky enough to get the limited friends press from Rivalry, mine was on black vinyl, which was limited to 270 for pre-orders.

Resisting A Career

Man, things have been pretty busy around here lately, and I haven't had time to get this blog updated. Between late nights watching movies and Celtics games with the wife, helping the kids with homework, to spending some time with Jeff as he works his way through a rough time in his life, to just kicking it with our friends Rob and Heidi as we managed some time away for a great dinner and a bad movie. Just loving life. Basketball has started up at work, and I'm playing as much as I can...and that means that I'm usually exhausted at night and falling asleep on the couch by 9:00. I've got so many records sitting here by my computer, that I need to start getting them cleaned up.

A while back I got some vinyl from REVHQ. I was excited to see the Resist record, We Want Our World Back, was finally released. It is always great to see Wrench from Ten Yard Fight and Stand & Fight taking the microphone for a straight edge band. You can't help but hear the similarities between Resist and Wrench's previous bands. Great straight edge hardcore. This vinyl was pressed on blue with black splatter colored vinyl.

The thing I love about Last.fm is all the great new bands that people have recommended to me. Tyler pulled through once again and sent me some mp3's from Career Suicide. The band friggin' rips, and I immediately fell in love with their Attempted Suicide album so I decided to pick it up from REVHQ as well. Sometimes I get stuck in a mood of only wanting to listen to Heavy Metal or 70's hard rock. Bands like Career Suicide bring me back to listening to only hardcore real quick. This copy is on black vinyl.

Back From The Dead

Mercyful Fate released Time in 1994. At the time of it's release, I had pretty much distanced myself from anything Metal. I was getting pretty immersed into the Ebulliton Records scene of politics and political correctness. Music was serious business for me at the time, and the theatrics of a band like Mercyful Fate were ridiculous. While I would still catch the occasional show by Strife or Mouthpiece, for the most part I was going to see shows by scruffy hardcore punk bands in an empty room behind a health food store in Alston, Massachusetts. It was a great way to distance myself from the tough-guy bullshit that was going on in the hardcore scene at the time. These shows were pretty small, roughly only 50 people at the most, and there was no dancing what so ever. Slamdancing was seriously frowned upon in the scene, and therefore we all stood there with our arms crossed, bobbing our heads to the music and watching the band. I saw a lot of really cool bands during this time...like Shotmaker, Bleed, Weston, Rye and Cable, but to be honest, the whole thing was pretty pretentious and way too serious (except for those early Weston shows which were always great fun). Over the next couple of years, the Youth Crew revival kicked in and reminded me how much fun hardcore could be with stagedives and sing alongs. What is the point of music if it can't be fun...and damn it, Metal is fun. Time was re-issued through Night of the Vinyl Dead early in 2008 on white splatter vinyl. Mine is number 309 of 500 pressed.

When I started checking out the back catalog of Night of the Vinyl Dead, I saw that they had released a couple of Sodom albums on vinyl. I hadn't heard this band since I bought Agent Orange in 1989. Code Red was released 10 years after that, and in looking into their discography I was surprised to see that they were still around and releasing albums. I downloaded the albums that the Vinyl Dead had to offer and holy shit, I had forgotten how much fun Metal could be. Sodom are great, and here they are still true to their roots and blasting out some totally ripping German thrash. Code Red just blew me away, and I started searching eBay for the vinyl. Released on red vinyl, and mine is numbered 310 of 500 pressed.

The Most Unbreakable Record Release

Over the past year, Down To Nothing has become one of my favorite bands from today's scene of straight edge hardcore, and The Most was easily one of my favorite albums from 2007. I had two different pressings of the album and I was happy to pick up my third copy when Revelation Records released it again, this time on purple and orange colored vinyl (limited to 525 pressed). Shortly after the second pressing of The Most, Revelation also released Unbreakable. This new record is just a compilation of the albums that Thorp Records had released, Save It For The Birds and Splitting Headache (which itself was a compilation of 7 inch recordings). My copy is on white vinyl and limited to 330 copies.

The other Down To Nothing vinyl that I picked up recently was a copy of The Most, from the bands record release show. I had resigned myself to not buying any new records for a while, when Rob sent me an email with a link to an ebay auction on a Have Heart record. It was a copy of the Have Heart 7 inch that the two of us had bought at the Posi Numbers show in 2005, and he was wondering how much it would go for. I had noticed some records going for ridiculous amounts of money recently and I started looking around ebay to check prices on stuff. I have absolutely no interest in selling anything from my collection...ever, but sometimes I surf around checking to gauge where prices are. To my surprise I came across this Down To Nothing album from their record release show and the tempation was just too strong. The record was limited to only 50 made (this one was number 13), and suddenly I needed to own it. If I didn't, I was afraid that I may never see one available again and would regret not buying one when I had the chance...just part of my collector paranoia. So I was very happy to win it, and at a pretty decent price for such a rare item.

Save The Whales

When I bought the Generations comp that Revelation Records put out a couple of years ago, I was most impressed with a band called Robot Whales. I had never heard of them before and they were unlike any other band on the compilation. The song was just straight forward, driving hardcore....I don't know, maybe similar to the first Quicksand 7 inch, or maybe some of those early 90's emo hardcore bands like Navio Forge or Admiral. I was instantly hooked on that song. I was afraid that the band might just have the one trick, and the style may fall flat when played out over a full length album, so when Vehicle was released, I downloaded it. Man, this entire album is rock solid....just great songs that overflow with incredible passion and emotion. I bought the LP though Revelation but I can't find anything other than a sparse myspace page on the record label the released it. Therefore, I have no idea how many were pressed or if there is anything other than the yellow vinyl that I got.

My Heart Still Beats

Have Heart are one of my favorite hardcore bands of all time, so I was excited to see that some new colored vinyl was being pressed again. Seriously, they could press The Things We Carry every six months and I'd probably buy it. The band will be releasing their new album this summer, and I'm expecting for it to match the intensity of their last record. Can't wait until it drops.

This time around we have new colored vinyl for The Things We Carry from Bridge Nine Records. This is the first pressing that does not come with the cool looking gatefold cover. The white, green and yellow colored vinyl is pretty ugly looking. It is limited to 1,000. I have no idea what the pressing info is for the 2003 Demo 7 inches. Bottled Up Records doesn't really have the pressing info anywhere on line, so I'm at a loss on the numbers pressed for each color. It's too bad, because I really like to keep track of that information. Anyway, the newest colors were clear blue and an opaque yellow. My Have Heart collection is now up to 23 pieces of vinyl.

*Update* I sent a message through myspace to Jeff from Bottled Up Records, asking for the pressing info and he directed me to his trade page on howsyouredge.com. The clear blue vinyl is limited to 121, and the yellow with black labels is limited to 300.

I Love The Dead

I've recently become very interested in a record label out of Italy called Night of the Vinyl Dead. The mission of the record label is to re-issue Metal records that never got a proper vinyl release. Each record is released in limited quantities, and is hand numbered. I remember when they released their first record, the War is My Shepard 12 inch single from Exodus, back in 2006. A friend of mine had told me about the label, but at the time wasn't really into collecting Metal records, and since the price was around $35 for the single I quickly passed on buying it. A year and a half later, and here I am looking to expand my Heavy Metal collection. I checked out the Night of the Vinyl Dead site, and was surprised at how many awesome pieces of vinyl the label had released while I wasn't paying attention. All of a sudden I had a desperate need to own something from this label. I hit ebay and started to search. I was able to pick up two of their newer releases, both of them from overseas ebay sellers. Shipping cost was a bitch, but I did not want to miss out on getting these two records.

Both of these records were new to me, as they were both originally released when I was totally immersed in hardcore and had no interest in the Metal scene. Mercyful Fate, Into the Unknown, is a really cool record. Sure it is a step or two removed from the classics of Melissa and Don't Break the Oath, but it is still some great Fate. The vinyl is pressed on "sunset" vinyl, and just looks sick...matching the album cover nicely. My copy was numbered 367 out of 500. The King Diamond record is a "Collectors Edition" EP. Originally released on CD in 1999, it features songs off of a couple of King's latter day records. I'm really having a good time discovering these albums that I missed the first time around. Fun stuff. The King Diamond record is pressed on white vinyl and comes in a cool PVC cover. Mine is numbered 271 out of 500 made. I can't wait to get more from the Night of the Vinyl Dead catalog.

Thinking Straight

I recently sold one of my records, and made a very nice chunk of change in the process. I really hate parting with anything from my collection, and it's why I make a terrible record trader. I really can't part with anything, because I fear that I'll regret it at some point down the road. Therefore, I hold on to everything. This one record however, the price was very high, and it was one that I really never cared about, so I made the jump and sold it on eBay. Once I had the $350 in my paypal account, I was ready to go on a shopping spree. My initial reaction was to use the money for a nice rare Hardcore record. I made an attempt to get a first pressing of Youth of Today's Can't Close My Eyes. I lost the auction as the record ended up selling well past my maximum bid of $65. I really wanted an original pressing of a Youth of Today record, but at the end of the day I figured that the smartest move was to really put the money towards the new addition we are doing on the house, and buy some shelving for my music room.

However, I was not going to just walk away without buying something! I was watching another auction for Youth of Today's Break Down the Walls. It had the original cover, and looked like it was in mint condition, so I was surprised when I won it for only $5. When I recieved the record, and slid the vinyl out of the sleeve, I noticed the label on the record had Ray decked out in some Krishna gear. I thought it was odd for the Break Down the Walls album, since I didn't think that Ray got into the Krishna thing that early. Upon further investigation it appeared that the vinyl was from the 1992 reissue the Revelation Records did, and not the original pressing. I had heard that Rev had thrown some new vinyl in with the old covers that they had lying around, and it appears that was what I got. I was kind of disappointed, but hey, at $5.00, I'm not going to cry too loudly. So here I sit, still without an original Youth of Today pressing.

As a side note, the one and only time that I saw Youth of Today was at one of their reunion shows. Paul, Rob and I took a drive down to Pennsylvania for the Knife or Death fest in 2004. A ton of great bands played, but I was really looking forward to seeing Mouthpiece and Youth of Today play. The place were the show was held decided that they didn't want the bands swearing on stage and there was NO STAGEDIVING. I was really disappointed, but still had a lot of fun getting up front and screaming along. Unintentionally, this trip kind of kicked off our annual tradition for the Guys Roadtrip.

Bring It On

My recent obsession with metal continues to grow more and more. I find that I keep going back to listen to the classic thrash from my youth, digging out CD's from bands like Kreator, Destruction, and Sodom. I had heard a lot of good things about a new thrash band called Warbringer, and when someone tipped me off that their new album, War Without End, was available for pre-order, I took a chance on it. This album is really good. At times I'm reminded of the first Testament album, and on occasion I expect the band to start doing a cover of Over the Wall. This band recently played at Mark's Showplace in New Hampshire with Exodus, and now I'm kind of regretting that I didn't go. The new Exodus is really starting to grow on me, and now I feel like I should have seen them and Warbringer when I had the opportunity. Anyway, this album is pressed on red vinyl, and I believe it was limited to 1,000 pressed. When the record arrived in the mail, there was also a poster enclosed. Sam thought that the album cover was so cool, that he stole the poster from me to put up on his bedroom door. That boy knows how to make his father proud...I get a little choked up just thinking about it.

Looking For Gold

Man, I was really hoping for the gold pressing of the new Get The Most record. This is the bands demo, finally pressed to vinyl and it was released on React Records, which is Aram's new label. In true collector-geek fashion, it was pressed in very limited numbers for the three different colors. By the time that I saw that the vinyl was available for pre-order, the gold pressing was sold out. I had spoken to Aram at the Edge Day show and he had let me know that he would hook me up when the record was released, so even though the gold vinyl was sold out when I placed my order, I still had a little hope that I may find it when I received the package in the mail. Oh well, it didn't happen, so my next mission is to continually search eBay, waiting or one to show up for bid. Still, I feel good about the two that I did get, limited to 150 on red and 250 on black.

Die By The Sword

Okay, so I may have a problem. I was going to be headed to Jeff's over the weekend, and I wanted to show up with the 12 inch split of The Sword and Witchcraft. I had seen it at Newbury Comics a month ago, and since then they have been selling for around $25 on eBay. All online stores were listing it as sold out, and sure enough, it was gone at Newbury's as well. I took a trip over to Bull Moose Music and found that they had a copy of Age of Winters by The Sword. I already owned this on CD, but I picked it up anyway. First reason was that I really had my heart set on buying some vinyl, and my addiction was not going to let me walk out of the store without buying something. Second, slight paranoia crept in that I was going to regret not buying this for $11 when I saw it....just like I got burned with the split 12 inch. Yeah, I may need a serious detox program.

Two Years Too Late

Lights Out released their Overload album in 2005, yet it took me until the middle of 2007 to finally appreciate how great this record is. I don't know what took me so long. Maybe with all the music I had coming in, I never really took the time to give it the attention that it deserved. Just listening to it here and there, until one day it just clicked and I was blown away. I saw this band twice. Once in Maine with Stand & Fight, Blue Monday and Desperate Measures, and then again at the Planet Metal record release show. Both times I didn't know one song that they played. Man, I missed out.

Tyler dropped me a line that Youngblood apparently found 10 copies of the Overload album in the YBHQ basement, and had them up in the store. I immediately checked online and ordered myself a copy. Black vinyl, 525 pressed. While I was shopping I also picked up the third pressing of the Far From Breaking 7 inch, which is limited to 350 copies on gold colored vinyl. For the 10 year anniversary, Youngblood made 200 hockey pucks. As this record label continues to impress me, I picked one of those up as well.

Flying Solo At Nuggets

Things were a little different for our annual trip to Boston for the Celtics / Magic game. The game was on December 23rd, and due to Rob's Christmas travelling plans he would be driving back from Rhode Island on that day, so we would be meeting in Boston just before the game. That meant no NBA 2K8 on the Xbox 360 before driving down, no stop at Chicago Dogs for their awesome veggie dogs, and that I would be stopping at Nuggets by myself. This trip I was actually a litte disappointed with what Nuggets had to offer. I wasn't left holding a stack of vinyl after browsing, and having to make a decision on what I needed to put back to stay within my budget. Instead, I only found three records that were worth buying, and then one of those I bought just because it was in great shape, and had a $3.00 price tag. I also bought a Mercyful Fate CD at Nuggets. When I got out to the car, I noticed that it had a saw cut in the spine of the jewel case. Fuck, I hate cut-outs.

• Raven - Rock Until You Drop : Raven's first and classic record. I was really excited to find it. It was an Italian pressing and in really great shape. Later I realized that it didn't come with a lyric sheet, and I was left wondering if one was missing, or if the Italian press didn't come with one. Now I'll need to find and original pressing and make sure I get the insert.


• New Model Army - Thunder and Consolation : I love this record. New Model Army play a great style of Rock with a slight punk twist and a political slant. This album is the high point of their career. These songs are full of anger and passion...such emotion is put in to them that at times it gives me chills.


• Ratt - Out of the Cellar : This was the one that I bought because it was cheap. I remember buying the original copy when it was released. I had spent the night at my Aunt's house, who lived intown Portland at the time. We took a walk around the city, had lunch and she gave me the opportunity to stop at one of the music stores, and she would buy me something. This was a big deal for me! At that age, all my record shopping was limited to the Mall, and never made it into Portland to shop at the "good" record stores. I was still kind of young and too new to buying music to really grasp the opportunity that was presented to me. I often wonder what other records were available at this store while I was there...back when vinyl was the dominant medium for music. In any event, I walked away with a cassette of this Ratt album. I loved it. We went back to her apartment and I popped the tape into my Walkman, put my headphones on, and just tuned everything out. Great memories.

After my disappointing trip to Nuggets, I took off for the Garden to meet up with Rob. He caught me as I was pulling into the parking lot, and we took off for our traditional trip to Hooters for supper. We were both shocked to find that it had closed up. First Krispy Kreme's and now Hooters? Is nothing sacred?!? We walked up to Fanuel Hall and ate at Bertucci's instead. Damn, I love broccoli calzones. For the game, the Celtics did not disappoint and keeping with tradition beat Orlando in Boston, thus avenging their first loss of the season. I really love our annual trip down to Boston to watch them take on the Magic, but with Rob as a big Orlando fan, I'm forever grateful that Boston wins each year. I have a feeling that if Orlando wins, he'd be reminding me of that sting for the entire ride home.

2007 Recap

I love statistics for my music. Last.fm tracks what I'm listening to online, and the OrangeCD database helps keep my music collection cataloged with all kinds of data at my fingertips. With OrangeCD, I can sort my albums by year, compare the number of CD's I've bought to the number that I've downloaded...all kinds of geeky shit. I was thinking of putting together a "Best of 2007" list like Tyler does, but it just seemed to overwhelming to go into such detail, so I scrapped the idea. However, 2007 was such a big year for me musically, that I felt the need to put some kind of recap together, and I decided it would be more numbers based.

In looking through OrangeCD, and sorting some data, I found that I had added around 362 new records/CDs to my collection! That's almost a new album each day of the year. The problem with liking so much music, is that I really never get the time to sit and really spend a lot of time with new albums. I worked to remedy that at the end of the year, and my resolution for 2008 is to really get familiar with new music before filing it away deep into the collection. So, anyway, here is the breakdown of what was added to my collection for 2007.

35 - 7 inches
6 - 12 inch singles

90 - LPs

1 - LP box set
109 - new CDs
119 - burned CDs
2 - CD box sets

While 2006 saw the release of some of the best hardcore records with Have Heart, Verse, The First Step, Betrayed, and Outbreak, 2007 managed to drop a few gems on us as well.

Best Hardcore of 2007

1. Get the Most : Moment in Time E.P.
2. Nothing Done : Everybody Knows
3. Down to Nothing : The Most
4. I Rise : Down
5. True Colors : Focus On The Light

• Notable mention : Said and Done - Everyday, Go It Alone - Histories, Red Handed - Wounds Remain, Soul Control - Involution

2007 was also a great year for Metal, as I went from revisiting my youth and falling in love with the classics again to really digging into what the Metal world had to offer today. There has been a huge revival of Thrash, and David (Genocide_Junkie) was really a big help in keeping me in touch with the new music.

Best Metal of 2007

1. Fueled By Fire : Spread the Fire
2. Municipal Waste : The Art of Partying
3. Onslaught : Killing Peace
4. Evile : Enter the Grave
5. Overkill : Imortallis

• Notable mention : 3 Inches of Blood - Fire Up the Blades, Exodus - The Atrocity Exhibition, Dublin Death Patrol - DDP 4 Life

Of course I would be remiss in not mentioning the incredible album that the White Stripes released this past year. Icky Thump was one of their best, and I have yet to get tired of listening to it. And finally, there was only one Hip Hop album in all of 2007 that really interested me, and that was Brother Ali's amazing The Undisputed Truth. Hardcore and Metal really pushed Hip Hop out of the picture for me this year, but this one album was too good to ignore.

Live at CBGB

One of my biggest regrets is never making it to CBGB's for a hardcore show. The place was a New York Hardcore icon steeped in the tradition of matinee shows. Some may say it was one of the cornerstones of Hardcore's "golden era", with Youth of Today, Judge, Side by Side, Cro-Mags, Sick of it All, and Agnostic Front thrashing out live sets during their prime in that club. In all my years of going to shows, it never really crossed my mind to drive all the way to NYC and go to a show there. Then Rob, Paul and I went on our roadtrip to New York last year, after CB's had closed down, and I was wishing that we had made the trip a year or two earlier and had caught a show there...any show...just to say I had been there. I feel kind of privileged to have caught the tail end of the club scene in Boston, before shows were killed and driven to church basements and VFW halls (which are still cool in their own right). Yeah, there were Slapshot shows at The Channel, or Sick of it All at Bunratty's, or seeing Strife and the beginning of the 90's Youth Crew revival at The Rat, but man, CBGB's, that's the one that I wish that I had made it to.

So anyway, this entry is for the Triple Threat Live at CBGB's seven inch. I'm not really a fan of live records, and this one doesn't really do anything to excite me, other then the cover of Glue by SSD. However, it is on blue vinyl and limited to 200 pressed. Plus, it keeps my Triple Threat collection complete.

Getting The Led Out

Another afternoon at Jeff's, another afternoon of free records. Once again, Jeff was looking to clean out his vinyl collection, getting rid of the doubles, and I ended up walking away with some classic Rock records. This time around the main focus was on Led Zeppelin, as I was able to grab a copy of Led Zeppelin II, Led Zeppelin III, Houses of the Holy, and In Through the Out Door. Since I've recently discovered how great Rush were in their early years, I was also able to pick up a copy of their live album, Exit...Stage Left. Those early Rush records are amazing...when 2112 kicks into the start of The Temples of Syrinx, it is so heavy and powerful that it gives me goosebumps. One of the best songs to clock in around 20 minutes. The last album that Jeff gave me was a copy of Who's Next by The Who. I'm still on the fence with this band, some of their stuff is pretty cool, and some of it is just okay. It may take me a while longer to fully get into this band, but I can still appreciate them in small doses.

In Rememberance of Old New York...

The Christmas spirit just keeps on rollin' with this entry courtesy of Paul. These three records, he bought for me while we were on our trip to New York with Rob. That weekend was such a blast, and I am still in awe over how amazing Generation Records is. There are still records that I think about from that store, where I am left wishing that I had picked them up when I had the chance.

• Break It Up - No Sides : I took a chance on this one, as I had never heard the band before...but they were on Dead and Gone Records, so I felt it was a safe bet. The band has a couple of guitarists from Voorhees, and play a pretty straight forward style of hardcore. Good stuff. I was surprised to find that the orange vinyl that I got was limited to 200 pressed.
• Youth of Today - Can't Close My Eyes : Pure fucking hardcore fury. Youth of Today are one of my favorite hardcore bands, and I'm ashamed to say that my vinyl collection includes only the Disengage 7 inch, and the live album. When I saw this in New York, I knew it was time to step it up, and finally get it going. The thought of trying to really do something with a Youth of Today collection is pretty intimidating. There are so many different pressings, and it would cost way more than I can really put into it, but I feel like I owe it to myself to at least get some of their vinyl into my collection. This is a start.
• Misfits - Earth A.D. : Speaking of hardcore classics, here is another one that I feel should be the part of every one's collection. This album just totally rips, and is one of the more hardcore Misfits albums. I remember when Paul bought this tape when we were kids. It was a total wall of noise upon first listen, and it was really hard for our ears to hear what was going on underneath the chaos...but over time, wow, this was some intense, pounding shit.

Anyway, it was nice to get this great reminder of our trip from last Fall. Thanks Paul...already thinking ahead to where we might go for Roadtrip 2008.

Picture Perfect Ending

As 2007 drew to a close, I had one more $20 gift card at Newbury Comics to spend and I wasn't about to let it see the beginning of the new year. The last time I was in the store blowing a major part of my gift card load, I stumbled upon this picture disc of Overkill's newest album, Immortalis. I had set it back on the rack in between all the other vinyl, and after I left the store I knew that I needed to make a trip back in a couple of days to pick it up. I had originally put it back because I tend to really hate the picture disc format...they typically sound like crap, and the plain plastic sleeve kills it for me when it comes to packaging. Three things changed my mind on this one. First, the cover art for this album absolutely destroys. Overkill has released a lot of albums, and Immortalis sports the sickest artwork of them all. Secondly, in reading Martin Popoff's book on the Price Guide for Heavy Metal Records, I came to realize that picture discs tend to increase in more value over the regularly pressed vinyl. I finally understood that they are a collector's item. Lastly, and more importantly, this is hand numbered limited edition...mine is number 568 of 1,200. Fuck it, I was sold.

Funny thing about buying this record. I was reminded of being a kid and heading into the record stores at the mall, and feeling the need to buy albums when I saw them, because when I came back the next week, there was a good chance they would be gone forever. Living in Maine, which is not know for being progressive on the musical front, the record stores would typically get only one copy, if any, of the more underground metal albums. If someone bought it before you did, you lost. After I left Newbury Comics last week, that feeling hit me again. I thought that I'd made a mistake and next trip back, the Overkill album would be gone. When I went back, I started flipping through the 'O' section of vinyl, and wouldn't you know it, it wasn't there. My heart sank. Fuck. I knew it! I missed out. Then I realized, that in my rush to find the record I was flipping through the Hip Hop section in error. Phew! I stepped over two rows to the Rock section and there it was, just as I'd left it, like it was waiting for my return.

Music, Sweet Music

This Christmas holiday came and went, I pulled in a pretty good amount of gift cards for Newbury Comics. I lose all track of time when I go into this store, browsing through all the CD's, agonizing over which ones I will buy. I'm not sure if it is a case of Newbury's not carrying a lot of hardcore and punk CD's that I'm interested in, or maybe it is just that I have been interested more and more in metal, and I've really been looking to replace those old burned CD's with the real deal. Either way, when I walk through the doors, I head straight to the Metal section.

The first thing that I knew I wanted was a Witchfinder General double live album. It was a bit expensive for $27, but the packaging on this was worth it....nice thick packaging including a big book that covers the history of the band and has some nice big photos of their early days. The band was around when the New Wave of British Heavy Metal started to take off at the start of the 80's, and really captured a great Black Sabbath sound. Sure the band is a little immature lyrically, and don't forget those album covers that showcased plenty of bare chested women. But you know what, that is all just a part of their charm.

For the next half hour, I wandered the store...pulling out CD's and then putting them back...trying to make decision on what two CD's I was going to buy. I had the new Soul Control in my hands, but ended up putting that back since I already have it on vinyl (maybe I'll pick it up some time when I see them live), and debated in my head over about 5 other CD's and ended up buying new CD's from Evile and Fueled by Fire...both newer thrash bands that really draw their influence from the mid-80's thrash sound. Cool stuff and now I can toss out those CDR's that I had for each of them.

Still have one more gift card, that I'm already planning on spending on Monday. So much music, so little money.

Possessed and Bonded By Metal

I was really surprised when Reflections Records started an offshoot of their hardcore record label to release some metal vinyl. I wasn't interested in their first record, but I was excited for releases two and three. Back in June, they sent out a newsletter saying that they were re-releasing two classic thrash albums with Bonded By Blood from Exodus and Seven Churches from Possessed, each one limited to 500 each. It took the label forever to finally get this vinyl out. By August, I was getting so impatient that I emailed them, and got a note back saying that they were hoping to have the pre-orders up in October, and then they still didn't get them up until the end of November. Wow, the wait was worth it for both of these classics. Nice thick vinyl, and awesome looking gatefold packaging. Exodus were the real deal...one of the original leaders of the Bay Area thrash movement...unfortunately they never really pulled it all together and were left in the dust as Metallica and Slayer moved on to conquer the world. But, man, that first album still overflows with such thrash intensity, and raw power, it is easily recognized as a classic. This was a movement set out to push Metal music to extreme limits for extreme speed and shocking lyrical content, with Exodus covering all the bases with songs like A Lesson in Violence, Bonded By Blood, and Strike of the Beast, with original singer Paul Baloff snarls and spits out such vocals as "If you got something to say, then come my way, I'm guarded by Satan.". Totally over the top for the 1984 release date. Possessed push the envelope even further come 1985 with their first release, as they portray a more Satanic image. Definitely not for the faint of heart with their extreme sound of thrashing guitars and growling vocals. Larry Lalonde plays guitar on this record, well before moving on to the more quirky stylings of Primus.

The Purple and the Puke

I got some more records in the mail today, so I figured that I had better get these four albums cleaned off my desk...especially since bought them about 4 months ago. I either have no time, or I'm a huge procrastinator.

Municipal Waste released their new album, The Art of Partying, on 10 different colors of vinyl...a collectors wet dream. I really like the band, but spending over $100 to get the entire collection was a bit much for me at the time, and while I really like the band, I'm not really out to collect everything they release. Since Earache sucked ass, and wasn't carrying the colored vinyl for the new Municipal Waste and SSS records, I found that Very Distro had them for sale. Very had a few colors up for sale, and I decided to go with the purple one. Like I said, Very had the new SSS vinyl available as well, and I was really impressed with their throwback style of thrash, so I grabbed one of those as well.

The new Down to Nothing is incredible, and will top my list of the best for 2007. Along for the Ride is a classic hardcore song, as well as most of the songs on this album. I already had this album on CD and blue vinyl, but Revelation released a second pressing on purple, and for me, the band is collectible. Allegiance is a band, like Go It Alone, that takes a while to warm up to. They aren't instant gratification bands, they are bands that take repeated listens to fully appreciate. I didn't jump to buy the new Allegiance album, as money was a big factor, so I didn't rush to get the limited pressing. Instead, I got the one that Rivalry Records calls "metallic gold", but it really looks like some disgusting color of puke or diarrhea.

I didn't notice when I had placed the order, but when I received the records I realized that three of them were the same color (even though they don't look it in the pictures, they are purple). Funny little coincidence.

Jeff's Bargain Basement

A while back, Jeff and I spent another afternoon in his basement, flipping through old records and just generally kicking back, listening and talking nothing but music. It was really the first time that I had gone through his Heavy Metal section, and numerous times I needed to wipe the drool from my chin. So many amazing records. Raven, Savatage, early Megadeth and Manowar, Demon, Witchfinder General....damn, I could go on and on. I was literally jealous of his collection. Jeff is a few years older than me, so he grew up buying vinyl in the early 80's, totally catching Metal as it started to take off. I was a few years late to the scene. Plus, when I started buying music, CDs were starting to take off so there was a very small period where I was buying music on vinyl. I look back now, and remember seeing all those great Metal records in the stores, but instead of vinyl, I bought it on cassette or CD. If I had a time machine...

Jeff sold me some of the records that he no longer wanted, or they were ones that he had originally bought, but never got into them. He still owed me some money for the Black Sabbath tickets from the concert back in the Spring, so we made a trade to pay off that debt.

• Virus : Force Recon - I'm pretty sure that Paul owned this on cassette when we were younger. I couldn't remember what it sounded like, so I put it on Jeff's turntable. Pretty decent mid-80's thrash, so I grabbed it. Still trying to find the mp3's on Soulseek so that I can burn it to CD.
• Vicious Rumors : Soldiers of the Night - I had never heard of this 80's Metal band, but I had read a lot of reviews in The Collectors Guide to Heavy Metal - Volume 2, and recognized the record label, Shrapnel, that this album was on. I put this one on the turntable as well. Pretty standard Metal fare, but I did want it simply because of the historical significance of the record label.
• Overkill : Taking Over - Now this is what I had come for. I remember Jeff talking about owning this record from a past conversation, and I knew that he had no interest in it, so I was hoping to walk away with it. This album is pure Thrash classic. One of my favorite records from this genre.
• Helloween : Judas - Just an E.P. from Helloween, but it was from their early days...around the same time as the Walls of Jericho album, which was another one that Paul owned. This was back when the band was doing a good job of ripping off the Judas Priest sound. Good stuff.
• Fates Warning : The Spectre Within - Funny, I never owned anything by this band, but again, Paul had an album by them. I didn't remember much about the band except that I thought that the album that Paul owned was pretty dull, progressive Metal in the same vein as Queensryche (although not nearly as good). The Spectre Within was an early album and it rocks a little harder, plus it was an early release on Metal Blade Records, so again, I took it for historical significance.


In cleaning out the duplicates in his collection, Jeff handed me a few records from The Doors for free. No need to go into each one, but I believe that Strange Days is the only vinyl from the band that I don't own. As a collector I also have the box set from them, where each CD is packaged in a replica sleeve to look like the original vinyl release, complete with gatefoldsleeves and inserts.



And then there was the stack of duplicates and various 12 inch singles that he bundled together and sold to me for $10.
• The Who : Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy - A compilation of hits, and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this album. Seriously, I never thought that I could listen to Pinball Wizard one more time, yet here on the album, I found myself singing right along.
• The Who : Live at Leeds - When Jeff played this for me the last time I was over, I was floored at how heavy the guitars sounded on this live album. The guitar sound for Young Man Blues is just killer. I had tried to get into this band previously and they did nothing for me. This album though, this one kept my attention.
• Black Sabbath : Never Say Die - Certainly not their best, but that title track still kicks ass. The only pressing that I had of this, other than the CD copies from the box set and the Castle remaster that I have, was the Earmark Re-issue out of Italy. This one is the original U.S. pressing. Nice addition to my slow growing Sabbath collection.
• Elf : Trying to Burn the Sun - Before Ronnie James Dio became a Heavy Metal icon though bands like Rainbow, Black Sabbath and Dio, he fronted Elf, which was more of a bluesy/roots rock band from the early 70's. Not nearly as good as the bands he would sing for down the road, but it is still cool to hear his voice from those early days.
• Vile : Solution - I still haven't listened to this entire record yet. I was surprised to find it in Jeff's collection, as it is straight up raw punk. Loud, fast and dangerous, with a strong "I don't give a fuck" attitude. Jeff said that he doesn't think that he had ever listened to the entire thing. He bought it during a time in his musical life where he was searching for something new and interesting when Heavy Metal started to bore him.
• Nuclear Assault : Good Times Bad Times - Yes, they covered the Led Zeppelin song, and there was a time where I actually thought this was much better than the original. The b-side is a song that never made it to one of their albums, so I grabbed this 12 inch single.
• Thin Lizzy : Cold Sweat - Holy shit, this song is so good. Great heavy guitar, and a hook that won't quit. This 12 inch single is from the end of the bands career...good rockin' stuff.
• Hear n Aid : Stars - Yeah, the project pulled together by Vivian Campbell and Jimmy Bain from the original Dio band, as a Heavy Metal kind of We Are The World song to raise money for the hungry. Metal singers came from all over to participate in this worthwhile cause, and the song just kicks ass.

The Bridge Nine Let Down

A year ago I was all over anything that Bridge Nine Records released. Nowadays, not so much. I was keeping a list of all the different pressings that B9 had put out, and was on a mission to collect them all. In 2006 they put out amazing new records by Have Heart, Triple Threat, and Outbreak, they were the home of Champion, Mental, and the first Betrayed 7 inch...and then I just stopped caring. The messageboard turned into the biggest waste of internet space, full of retarded posts about "how often do you masturbate", and tough guy posing on anyone that dared step out of line...a place where the bigger dick you were to people, the cooler you were. The label released Palehorse and Death Before Dishonor, and pushed a tough-guy "hardcore" sound that I really wasn't that into. The honeymoon was over, and I no longer felt the need to buy every pressing of every release.

On a whim, I picked up the new Ruiner and Ceremony vinyl. I wasn't excited about it, but I guess a small part of me still felt like I needed to buy it because it was on Bridge Nine. Besides the fact that the Ruiner album has some of the sickest cover art I've seen in a long time, the music is actually pretty good as well. Very dark and angry, while still coming across as very real. The vocals are killer and every time I spin this album, I wonder why I don't listen to it more often. Even though I waited a while before placing my order, I still managed to get the red and orange split colored vinyl...limited to 300.

The Ceremony 7 inch is good too. It took me a while to get into this band. I had their first 7 inch for a while, but never really listened to it, and really caught on to them when I bought their album Violence Violence. The new record rips the same kind of fast and angry hardcore sound, maybe slowing things down a little on this release. They do a cover of Negative FX's Feel Like A Man which is very impressive...worth it for that song alone. The black vinyl was limited to 400 pressed.

So yeah, maybe Bridge Nine actually is releasing some good stuff these days. At some point I may even check out the new Crime in Stereo and Ambitions. Yeah, someday.

Out of Control

My computer area is getting out of control, with stacks of vinyl building up all around me. The past few months have lent very little free time for me to just sit and enjoy new records. It has gotten to the point where my desk is cluttered with piles of records that need to be added to the database I use that catalogs all of my records and CD's. I'm going to have to get this stuff added to my blog so that I get get his mess cleaned up. So much music, so little time.

Man, Rivalry Records puts out some of the sweetest looking vinyl, and the new Soul Control and Red Handed records are no exception. Soul Control's album, Involution, was pressed on red (limited to 600) and red/yellow swirl (limited to 200). They also had limited pressings on orange/yellow swirl, plus the black vinyl record release pressing. I saw that the band had a few of those left over from their tour and were selling them through their myspace page, but I was too broke to spend more money on additional pressings. About half of the tracks on this album are from the 7 inch and the split with I Rise, but damn, this is a fine record...full of hardcore groove in the vein of Burn. Great stuff.

The new Red Handed record, Wounds Remain, was also pressed on some pretty tasty looking vinyl. The purple and yellow swirl was limited to 800, and looks good enough to eat. The pre-order color was limited to 200 and the color was called "Grape Citrus Explosion". Very creative. Much like the Soul Control album, Wounds Remain is about half full of previously released songs from their 7 inch. It took a little while for these songs to really grab me, but after a few listens I was suddenly hooked on their snotty, hardcore punk style. Love it.

New Pressings

Bottled Up Records released a new pressing of the Have Heart 2003 Demo, so of course I had to have them. New covers this time around, and I got both the blue and grey colored vinyl. Since Bottled Up doesn't seem to have pressing info posted anywhere online, I have no idea how many of each were pressed. The front cover photo was taken at the posi-numbers show that Rob and I had gone to...however Have Heart played on the last day, and by that time we were already on the road back home.

Edge Day With Overkill

A month or so ago, Rob and I decided to go and see Overkill in New Hampshire. A few days after we made plans I found out that there was going to be an Edge Day show on the very same day. I was torn. I had really been looking forward to seeing Overkill with Rob, but come on, EDGE DAY...how could I miss that show?!?! The problem was that I had no idea who the bands were for the Edge Day line up. Remembering the disappointment of the last show I went to, and all the bad bands that I sat through, I decided to stick with our original plan and go see Overkill. Well shortly after Rob buys us tickets, I find out the Edge Day line up consists of Have Heart, Verse, The First Step, but most importantly, a kind of Ten Yard Fight reunion. Holy shit, I couldn't believe it...Wrench and Clevo were going to play Ten Yard Fight songs with a couple of other guys. I saw this band from their beginnings, straight through to their last show. I couldn't believe that I was going to have to miss seeing them. Big disappointment. Rob was awesome about it and offered to skip Overkill, so I could make the Edge Day show. No, I had committed to Overkill, and I couldn't back out of that just because something better came along. Well, after checking the map and show times, Rob figured that we could catch the beginning of Edge Day, skip out and then take the half hour drive over to Overkill. Yes, we were going to pull off a double header and go to both shows.

The Edge Day show was at Welfare Records in Haverhill, Mass. Before the show we checked out the store, and I could have very easily dropped $100 on vinyl. They had a huge Punk section, and a nice looking Metal section as well. I resisted the urge to spend money so I could see what the Edge Day merch tables had to offer first. We head down to show and find out that a National Geographic film crew is at the show shooting for some Inside Straight Edge show they are doing. Apparently they are there in connection with Ross Haenfler, the author of Straight Edge: Clean-Living Youth, Hardcore Punk, And Social Change. Rob and I joked that the film crew was wishing they were back in Africa running from lions instead of following around 16 year old kids, taping their conversations. We get inside and bump into Aram, he recognizes me right off and says that he knew that I would be at this show. We talk about how I'm going to have to leave early and miss The First Step, but he understands and says "You can see The First Step anytime, when will you get another chance to see Overkill.". He also mentions that he will be releasing the Get The Most demo on vinyl in a few weeks and he will make sure that I get a copy. Great to see him again, and I am immediately happy that we stopped in at the show. Get The Most play first and since this is probably the only band I will see for the day that I am familiar with, I head right down front. The band opened with Flame Still Burns by Youth of Today and I immediately take off across the stage for a nice dive. Their set was so much fun, ending with a cover of Chain of Strength's Never Understand and then Clock Me Out from their Common Goals E.P.. After their set, I headed up to pick up their new 7 inch, which they had on black and the limited yellow vinyl. Next up were Maintain and then Outrage. Both of which failed to impress me...wasn't feeling it at all. I was worried that we would only see crap bands until we left but thankfully Let Down and Foundation were both solid bands that I enjoyed checking out. Minutes before The Effort took the stage I bumped into Sweet Pete, and he was telling me that the band wanted him to sing an In My Eyes song with them. I wasn't sure if it was going to happen or not, but I made sure I was down front when the band started. I had seen The Effort at the last show I was at. At that time they had said that they were celebrating their six month anniversary and had record release pressings of their new 7 inch for sale. I was so put off that they had only been around for six months and already were releasing a record, that I didn't buy it out of principle. Well they surprised me this time around as their set was full of energy and did not disappoint. Half way through their set, they asked for a moment of silence for Ten Yard Fight and In My Eyes. After a few seconds of complete silence, Pete steps on the stage and they rip into Take The Risk. I push my way to the front of the stage, so overcome with adrenaline that when someone dives and lands on my neck, dropping me to my knees, I do not hesitate and I'm back up, scrambling onto the stage screaming along to the song. In My Eyes were one of my favorite bands, and I fucking lost it during this song, screaming my throat raw. Amazing. After The Effort finish their set, I head up to their table and pick up their 7 inch, which has a special Summer tour cover. The cover was a page ripped out of a bible, and hand written for their Summer tour...mine was numbered 20 and had a nice upside down cross on it. The record itself is really good, with Sean from Verse and Pat from Have Heart each doing guest vocals on a couple of songs.

It's time for Rob and I to hit the road for the half hour drive to Overkill. Turns out we got there way too early and had to sit through too many bad metal bands. The only one that was semi-interesting was Candy Stripper Death Orgy. The funny thing was that Paul and had seen that band 15 years ago in Boston. I guess they are still going at it. The good thing about the show was that they had TV's playing the baseball game, and Rob and I watched the Sox take another step closer to the World Series, beating the Indians. Overkill finally went on around 11:00, and played an impressive set. They didn't play as many of the classics as I would have hoped, but it was still a good time. The show got out around 1:00 and I didn't make it to bed until 3:30 in the morning. One of the best days out at a show that I've had in a long time, even though I missed out on seeing my favorite bands. Good times.

Jack White Meets Steve Hoffman

I am in love with the new White Stripes album, Icky Thump. The title track had it's hooks in me from the first time that I heard it, and after a few spins I appreciated the entire album more and more. The vinyl pressing of the album has the legendary Steve Hoffman doing the mastering. As opposed to most remastered CD that are released nowadays, where the engineer has a mindset of "louder is better", Hoffman seeks to breath new life into the music and give it the best possible sound. The remastered CD's that he did for Metallica's Ride the Lightning and Master of Puppets can go for over $100 on ebay. The only other piece of work of Hoffman's that I own is a remastered CD of Deep Purple's Who Do We Think We Are. But back to The White Stripes...I was eager to hear the new album with Hoffman's touch (he did not master the CD version of the album). I was planning a trip to Jeff's house one weekend, and decided that listening to the vinyl on his system would be the best case scenario, so I picked it up before heading over. This thing sounds so crisp...when Meg clicks her drums sticks together in one of the songs, it sounds like she is right in the room. Great sound. A cool thing about the vinyl is that there are different recordings of some of the songs, most notably Rag and Bone, which is completely missing Meg's vocal part. A great album, pressed on some nice thick vinyl with heavy gatefold packaging. A vinyl collector's wet dream.

I Rise

This has been the most anticipated record of 2007 for me so far. I loved the I Rise songs on the split 7 inch with Soul Control, and was really looking forward hearing more from this band. This 7 inch does not disappoint. Full of intense and driving hardcore, comparisons have been made to Burn, but I am really hearing an influence of Strife on some of these songs, especially Rebellion. I'm pretty sure that I ordered this record as soon as the pre-order info was posted on 1917 Records website, but somehow I didn't end up with the more limited pressing. Strange because I saw kids posting pictures of this record months ago on the Bridge Nine messageboard, and yet I just got mine. Either the people that do the 1917 mailorder are complete fuck-ups, or maybe they really did sell out of the burgundy (limited to 100) vinyl before I placed my order. I'll never know. The yellow vinyl was limited to 200, and the red/grey vinyl is limited to 715. I also ordered the Snake Eyes demo CD and the first Guns Up! CD as well. Both of them are really good.