Keeping Up With The Parade

Two years ago, I started working on my Rain On The Parade collection. Twelve years after it's initial release, I picked up my second copy of the Full Speed Ahead 7 inch from Marcus, and the chase had begun.

Now I've never been able to really focus on collecting one band. There are so many records that I want, that I can't help but get distracted. Marcus has worked to keep me locked in on Rain On The Parade. I'm pretty sure that for every ROTP record that I've bought since I started collecting the band, I've been tipped off by Marcus to the ebay auction. This latest record is no exception.

This is the third press of Full Speed Ahead from My War Records. Blue cover and yellow vinyl, which I'm pretty sure is limited to 400. Thanks for keeping me focused, Marcus!

Paranoid Government Warning

Early on, Government Warning were such a great band. No Way Out, No Moderation, and Arrested were all great records. 2009 came around and they released the Executed 7 inch...meh...it was just okay. The sound was a little different...the guitars and vocals a little too distorted.

A couple months ago, I picked up the last Government Warning LP, Paranoid Mess from REACT! with one of my orders. Released back in 2009, it was the only GW record that I was missing, so I figured that I'd pick it up.

Paranoid Mess continues down the path started with Executed. It isn't bad, but it really doesn't move me like those first couple of records.

American Nightmare Demo

American Nightmare. I don't dig them nearly as much as a lot of people. They are pretty good, I guess, but I never really lost my mind over them. Fact: I've never even heard the We're Down Til We're Underground LP. The high point for me, with American Nightmare, was their first few recordings...the demo and first two EPs. I rarely listen to those records nowadays, but at the time of their release, I really liked them.

When I was in the Bridge Nine webstore a couple months ago, I saw that they had the vinyl pressing of the demo for sale. I only owned the cassette copy, so I figured that I'd pick up the record for the hell of it.

In fact, the major selling point for me was that it was pressed on "random" colored vinyl. The description on Bridge Nine stated that "no two records look the same". It sounded like a cool concept, so I ordered two copies just to see how they looked.

While they might not look exactly the same, the differences are pretty small. I wasn't impressed by the "random" colors. Big deal. I guess I'll put one copy into my pile of shit to throw up on eBay someday.

Test Press Alert

Back at the end of October, Six Feet Under put up a bunch of eBay auctions. One of the records was the test pressing for the new Alert 7 inch. Within two days, the auction was up to $63.00. What the fuck? There were still five days left. Kids need to calm the fuck down. I was really struggling with some money issues, and when the record sold for $72.00, it was too rich for my blood and I was out.

Mike Puffer sings for Alert. Mike is a pretty nice dude, and we've spent some time at shows hanging out and talking. A couple weeks after the SFU auctions, Mike sent me a message, asking if I was interested in buying an Alert test press directly from him. I was still broke, but the price was lower that the one that SFU sold...plus it was coming from Puffer. I don't like turning down these offers, so I accepted.

The test press comes with a special cover and is limited to just 13.

I thanked Puffer for the offer, told him that the payment had been sent, and let him know that the only pressing I was missing for the Find Your Way 7 inch was the one that Six Feet Under did for the Sound & Fury fest. Much to my surprise, Mike threw a copy in with the test pressing he sent me.

Limited to 54 and packaged with a special cover for the fest. Awesome record, great dudes, straight edge.

Damage Scars

I was really into the "Ebullition sound" of the early to mid 90's. I bought a lot of my records from Kent McLard's distro, and I ate up just about anything he carried or put out with Ebullition. Some of those bands didn't really stand the test of time, and a lot of them have fallen off my playlists. Still, when I pull out something from likes of Shotmaker, Downcast, Current, or Iconoclast, I'm reminded that there were some real classics from those days.

While I no longer actively search out newer bands that play this style these days, Damages seem to have made their way to my turntable. Introduced to me through their REACT! 7 inch last year, I was kind of impressed that bands like this are still around, and how well Damages can pull off this sound.

In addition to the REACT! release, the label was also carrying the band's Scars 7 inch in their webstore. I don't really know a whole lot about this band, but I believe this is the first 7 inch from this Canadian band. Listening to it now, and damn, it makes me want to pull out my copy of the Navio Forge LP. Cool shit.

H2O Go!

I don't know of any band that is more hit or miss than H2O. I like the band, but every other album seems to be a clunker. No doubt about it though, they came out strong with their first album.

With the 15 year anniversary of the debut LP, Bridge Nine took the opportunity to repress it again on vinyl. Typically, the label has been re-issuing those classics that were released before I got into Hardcore. Antidote, Agnostic Front, Project X and Underdog. Back when I was buying Armored Saint and Dio cassette tapes, those bands were completely unknown to me, and would not even register on my radar for another 3 or 4 years. The latest Bridge Nine re-issue is different because I was around for the original release.

I remember first picking up the H2O single from Equal Vision in 1995, and thinking that they were a pretty good melodic pop punk band. The label was releasing records from bands like Shift and Serpico, and I thought that H2O fit in with the poppy sound that the EVR was putting out there at the time. Then the album dropped and I was surprised. Holy shit, H2O suddenly sounded like a Hardcore band?!!? Of course the band would walk this fine line of melodic Hardcore for their entire career. Sometimes it worked...sometimes it didn't.

Yes, I got caught up in the H2O excitement with the release of thier covers album, and I felt the need to buy not one, but two copies of the Bridge Nine repress of the first album. A true classic.

Boogadaboogadaboogada

There was a period in my life when I took music very seriously. It needed to deliver a heavy message at all times, and I had no time for any band that would have been considered silly. 24 year old me would have probably had no tolerance for Screeching Weasel. I listened to a lot of shitty music in the mid-90's, but as long as they were saying something, I could pretend that I liked it. Thankfully, I'm not so uptight anymore, and while I think the message is still important, I can enjoy a band that really just wants to have fun.

Screeching Weasel don't care about Nicaragua. They hate Led Zeppelin, believe in UFOs and wanna be naked...and because of this, their second album, Boogadaboogadaboogada, absolutely rules. Fast and senseless punk rock.

It wasn't until this past year that I'd even heard Boogadaboogadaboogada. Sure, I had their split with Born Against, but I was never too interested in really checking them out. I'm a part of a group on last.fm called the Album of the Month Club. Just handful of people that are interested in discussing punk and hardcore. Each month someone will suggest an album for the group to listen to, and we'll all discuss. One month, Boogadaboogadaboogada was the album of choice. My expectations were set pretty low, but I downloaded the album anyway. 10 minutes into it I knew it was a keeper. The energy on this is incredibly infectious. While it's playing I can't sit still, and feel the urge to bounce around the room like an idiot. I knew that I needed to hunt down a copy.

The album was repressed a few different times, and I was content to grab a copy that Recess Records back in 2008. 500 pressed on grey colored vinyl.

Give 'Em Enough Rope

Back in August, REACT! posted the pre-orders for second pressings of the Give and Noose 7 inches. I received the package a while ago, but I'm only now just getting them posted. Perfect timing as I currently can't get enough of Give.

To differentiate between the first and second pressings, REACT! went with white labels this time around.

200 pressed on white, and 300 pressed on black vinyl.

Up until this point, I've been pretty laid back about collecting Give vinyl. My collection for Heaven Is Waiting is complete, but that is only because it was on REACT! and I needed everything the label was releasing. I've only got one copy of both the 12 inch, and the I Am Love 7 inch. Hell, I don't even own a copy of Boots Of Faith. I need to begin the hunt to fill in some of these holes.

When REACT! originally pressed the Noose demo to vinyl, they had originally said that it was a one time only press. Apparently the demand was enough, so they did a limited second pressing.

200 pressed on grey vinyl.

My copy has an odd looking black "fingerprint" on it. It's not listed as a transition press, or anything, so I assume that most of the pressing had a similar mark. Still, I wouldn't mind seeing other pressings to confirm.

I took a group picture for Give, and I didn't want Noose to feel left out, so I snapped one of them as well.

Tour 7 Inch Split

Back in September, Remission and Police & Thieves got together and did tours on the East and West coast to promote their new split 7 inch on Amendment Records. What a perfect pairing for these two amazing Hardcore bands.

Remission travelling up from South America to tour the States was a special occasion, and one that was worthy of a limited tour cover for their new split 7 inch.

Limited to 100. Upon first glance, it looks like they were supposed to be hand numbered, but closer inspection show there was probably an error with the printer and all the cover were created with "1/100" on the back. To fix the error, the band just put a sticker over the number 1. Still, I wish they were numbered.

The 7 inch includes the tour flyer on the back of the lyric sheet. Nice touch. As you can see, the closest they came to me was New York, and I was not going to be able to make that trip. It was too bad that I missed them, but thankfully Amendment Records put up the leftovers in their webstore, and I was able to grab one.

While I was shopping with Amendment Records, I also picked up the oddball pressing of Remission's LP. What we have here is the second pressing of the album on clear vinyl from Amendment, combined with the Euro press cover from Assault Records. This is what happens with a record label has leftover vinyl with no covers for them. They pull together whatever they can.

To differentiate this special pressing, Amendment stamped the Remission logo on the inside of the album cover.

Trial Separation

A few months back, New Age started taking orders for the repress of Trial's Foundation 7 inch. Some people have received their order, but I'm still waiting for mine. In the meantime, I picked up two copies of the reissue that Panic Records did over the summer.

The Panic Records reissue combines both the Through The Darkest Days and Foundation EPs, and presses them onto one LP. I grabbed the purple and blue pressings, which are limited to 200 each.

I really enjoyed Trial back in the mid to late 90's, but as time went on, I forgot all about them. Prompted by their reunion and these reissues, I've started giving them a spin again, and I'm impressed with how well they have held up over time.

As a side note, the download for this LP contains a few songs that were not on the vinyl. Three covers...Crucified (Iron Cross), Potential Friends (Youth of Today) and Red Hot (Motley Crue). Now I don't really need to hear the Motley Crue cover again, but it would have been nice to include the other two songs on the Foundation side of this LP. They had plenty of room.

2011 Recap

2011 is now behind us. It's a time for reflection. A time for resolutions. A time for Top 10 lists and my annual recap on how much music I bought over the past 12 months.

354 new records and CDs for 2011. The number of LPs was down a little compared to last year, and the number of 7 inches was up, but overall, my numbers are pretty comparable to last years total of 344.

I also download a lot of music as well. When you add in 130 downloads of records where I haven't had the opportunity to pick up a physical copy yet, that brings the yearly total to a staggering 484. Fuck. I listen to a lot of music.

Once again the monthly graph is more a reflection of my blog posts, as opposed to when I actually received my records. Since the blog tends to be a month or two behind, the numbers don't truly reflect the number of records landing in my mailbox. Still, an average of almost 30 records a month, is an impressive number.

I know that I said this last year, but I really want to get my blog posts caught up, so that it more representative of what's coming in.

Compared to years past, the last three years have remained pretty steady on how much new music I buy each year. At least I'm consistent.

I thought that 2010 was a strong year for Hardcore and Metal, but 2011 puts the previous year to shame. I can't believe how many great records were released this year.

Without a doubt, Remission grabs the top spot in the Hardcore Top 10 this year. While I haven't received my Disengage LP yet, I've heard the album and it is so impressive that I had to make a last minute adjustment to the list and add them in at number 3. This years list also sees a few surprises. Crusades, Night Birds and Deep Sleep were all new to me this year, and each one impressed the Hell out of me. Punk Rock...don't stop.

Holy shit, there were a lot of great Metal releases this year. Orchid have not released their album on vinyl yet, and remains a CD only release. They are working on the vinyl release for early 2012, and once it is available, you can expect Capricorn to find a post here on this blog. Who cares about the Black Sabbath reunion...we have Orchid.

One additional point, while I did buy around the same amount of CDs this year, compared to last, I did tend to lean more towards vinyl for new Metal releases. Last year, I think that I bought six new Metal releases on vinyl. This year, I doubled that number.

Finally, we get to what I actually spent most of my time listening to last year. Let me say that the anniversary of Dio's passing, had a big impact on what I listened to in 2011. Black Sabbath and Dio top this list because of that fact.

Thanks again to anyone that took the time to read this blog, and commented on the posts. Music my obsession and I enjoy sharing it and discussing it with anyone.

Step Aside 2011...Bring On 2012

I started off December with a goal to post all of the 2011 releases that had been piling up in my blog backlog. Sure, I'm still about 25 posts behind, but at least I've reached my goal this month and cleaned up all the new releases...plus 16 posts for November and December ain't too bad either.

Over the summer, Double Cross posted about four new bands that you should check out. One of those bands was Step Aside. I'd never heard of them before, but they certainly looked like a band that I'd be into. When Life To Live Records put up the pre-orders, I jumped in to order all three pressings.

In case you couldn't tell from varsity jackets and X'd up hands on the record cover, Step Aside are a Straight Edge Hardcore band...and they play the style very well. It is probably no surprise that I love this record.

125 pressed on blue vinyl with an alternate cover.

125 pressed on green vinyl.

225 pressed on black.

Written Off / Out Crowd

I don't get out for shows very often anymore. Finding the time and energy to get out doesn't come easy these days. However, when I heard that there was going to be a small show in Boston recently, surprisingly I found myself excited to go. The bill was full of newer Straight Edge bands. I wasn't too familiar with any of them, but the thought of checking out some new bands seemed like a great way to spend a Saturday night. I'd heard Better Times and Enough, and was looking forward to checking out Caught In A Crowd and Written Off.

My brother decided that he'd tag along with me, so the two of us headed out for a two hour drive to Boston. Trying to find a place to park in Boston sucks, and after driving around for an hour looking for a spot, we got to the show late. They numbered our hands as we paid at the door...number 27 and 28...yeah, this was a SMALL show. I was glad that we made it out to show some support for the touring bands. We missed the first few bands, including Better Times. Enough were great live, but the crowd were pretty reserved. The sound for Written Off was terrible...either too much bass, or not enough vocals. I don't know, but I had a hard time hearing what the band was doing as it was pretty much a distorted mess. After Written Off had played, the church next door complained about the noise, and the show was put on hold for an hour so they could finish up their service. I wasn't looking forward to hanging around for an hour to check out one more 15 minute set, so we took off for the drive home. On the way out, I picked up a couple copies of the 7 inch that Written Off were selling.

Iron Mind Crew Records released the split 7 inch with Written Off and Out Crowd. This is a great record from a couple of up-and-coming bands. The Written Off side dominates this for me. I need to get my hands on the vinyl pressing of their demo.

Written Off were selling the red and white vinyl pressings for this split.

Turnstile

It has been almost 30 years since I started getting wrapped up in music, and even now, I still get a charge out of finding new bands. I don't want to sit back and rely on the great music of the past. I want to feel the rush when something new moves me. Yes, I still find bands that can give me a sudden surge of adrenaline when a song starts...when that riff sinks it's hook into me...when that chorus has me screaming along from the driver seat of my car on the ride home from work. Music still matters. New music is still relevant.

I didn't really pay much attention to Turnstile when Reaper Records released their 7 inch, Pressure To Succeed, earlier this year. In fact, I didn't bother to check it out until a few weeks ago when I started thinking about putting together my 2011 recap. I downloaded it for the fuck of it, and soon found myself listening to the songs on this 7 inch daily. If Leeway was recording Born To Expire in the same studio when Mental was laying down their first couple of 7 inches, it would sound an awful lot like this record.

I could not get enough of this record, and knew that I needed to get a copy as soon as possible. The only problem was that Reaper was sold out of it, and I couldn't find a copy from my usual distros. I checked ebay, and still came up empty handed. Somehow, I stumbled upon some distro that I'd never heard of before, In Vinyl We Trust, and they had the record in stock. Psyched to finally find one, I didn't hesitate to order a copy.

830 pressed on blue vinyl.

Give It Time

When I first heard Give, I really wanted them to jump out and knock me on my ass. I dug some of their stuff, but overall, they didn't immediately blow me away. Here we are, a year after I received my first piece of Give vinyl, and about two and a half years since I first saw them live, and I can finally say that I'm starting to "get it". The more I listen to this band, and the more two song 7 inches they release, the more I get into them.

Sure, I picked up the Heaven Is Waiting 7 inch last year...it was released on REACT!, and my obsession with that label insisted that I buy all available pressings. Then when the Boots Of Faith 7 inch was released by Deranged, it hardly made a blip on my radar. I'm not sure where my head was at, but I ignored the Deranged release, and couldn't be bothered to grab a copy before the colored vinyl was sold out. Triple B recently released the I Am Love 7 inch, and it was perfect timing as I was really just starting to get into the band. Something finally clicked, and I was really starting to dig what this band was doing. Now, with new records due from Youngblood and Painkiller, I couldn't be more stoked on this band.

I Am Love was limited to 200 on clear vinyl.