Stranger Danger Death

CC Company impressed me so much last year that their 3 song Red Baron EP worked its way into my Top 10 for the year. Just as 2015 is winding down, CC Company come in and deliver their third 7 inch in three years.

CC Company are out of Sweden, and feature a couple of guys from Enforcer, but it was cool to see them release the Stranger Danger Death EP on some label out of California that I've never heard of. Cool because it meant that I didn't have to pay for shipping from overseas. I can live with $5 shipping costs.

Goddamn. The record kicks off with the song First To Fight and immediately the riffs take you back to Motorhead's Ace Of Spades or Bomber albums. Man, this band excels at churning out three song blasts...hit hard, hit fast, and leave 'em wanting more. So good.

300 total pressed on vinyl. 100 on red, 100 on yellow, and 100 on black.

Purplesnake

I'm generally not a fan of bands re-recording their classic albums. I just don't get the point. I'm not interested in you recording it with better production, or giving it a more modern sound. Those excuses don't mean shit to me, and when I heard that David Coverdale was going to record a bunch of his Deep Purple songs with his current Whitesnake band, I threw up in my mouth a little.

I'm a big Deep Purple fan. Coverdale's first album with the band, Burn, is flawless as it practically boils over with passion and power...and Made In Europe is one of the all-time greatest live albums (move aside Made In Japan, Coverdale's got you beat here). I considered this new re-recording an offensive abomination, and I wanted nothing to do with it. I'll stick with the originals, thank you very much.

Then I had an old friend from High School reach out to me about this new Whitesnake album of Deep Purple songs. He sent me a link to the new Stormbringer video, and wouldn't stop praising how great he thought it sounded. I resisted, yet he wouldn't shut up about it. It was just like it was '86/'87 all over again, with him trying to sell me on Deep Purple and Whitesnake, and me wanting no part of it.

I finally broke down, and stole a free download of the album. I gave it a listen, and prepared to set my friend straight by tearing it apart. Well, I was wrong.

Now while I love Deep Purple, the one thing that has always rubbed me the wrong way was Glenn Hughes. I fucking hate his R&B/funk influence on Stormbringer and Come Taste The Band. So while this Whitesnake album is too thick and heavy to really let those Purple songs properly breathe, they do have one thing going for them, and that is that there is no Glenn Fucking Hughes. Having him removed from the equation, lets me appreciate these songs on another level, and I was surprised how much I enjoyed this fresh take on the old classics. Goddamn it, I hate being wrong, but I'll give credit where it is due, and this Whitesnake album is a blast to listen to.

I'd procrastinated on picking up the double vinyl for this album all year. Since it was 2015 release, I really wanted to buy a copy before the year came to a close, but time after time I kept finding records that I wanted to own more than this. Plus, as an import, it wasn't easy to justify spending the extra money on it. When I got a notification from eBay last week, stating that The Purple Album was available at a reduced price, I figured that I'd check it out. Considering that this was typically a $30 album, I jumped at the Buy It Now option of $14. Sold.

Curiosity Kills

When Pentagram announced they were releasing a new album over the summer, I was feeling a bit overwhelmed with all the new Metal releases. The month prior, I'd already downloaded about 20 albums to check out, and as dumb as it sounds now, I was hoping the new Pentagram would suck so that I could write if off and not have to bother with it. When the new video single for the song Misunderstood was posted, I half-heartedly checked it out. It wasn't the standard Pentagram doomy sound, and leaned more towards early punk. It was just what I needed to turn my back on it, and say "This sucks".

When Sandwell recently mentioned that he was going to see Pentagram play live, we started talking about the new album, Curious Volume. Apparently, he really liked it, and since I trust his judgment, I decided to finally check it out myself.

Much to my surprise, I really liked the record. Hell, even the song Misunderstood sounded great in the context of the full album. I added it to my list of "2015 releases that I need to purchase before the year is done" list...yes, such a list exists. Since I had a $200 credit at the local record store after I sold a bunch of old punk CDs, it was an easy move to burn part of that credit for the new Pentagram LP.

Contract On A Purson

A while back, full-time good dude/part-time vinyl blogger over at Couch Slouch, Sandwell reached out to ask for a favor. Seemed that he was over from the UK, visiting New York City, and needed some help with some records that he'd ordered while he was in the States. I was happy to help out a fellow record nerd, so I told him to do what he needed to do.

I fall for this shit every time, and when a box from Revelation landed at my door a week or so later, I'd forgotten all about that conversation between Mark and I. I was scratching my head as I opened the package, wondering what I'd ordered from REV. As I started flipping through all the records in the box, I was pretty stoked, as I thought that REV sent me a bunch of cool records for free in error. Then it hit me...fuck...these aren't mine, they are for Mark.

Since I was helping him out, Sandwell offered to send me something in a way of a thank you...and promised me that it would not be a Madball record. That was a relief, as I couldn't think of a thank you gift that was much worse than a Madball record.

Turns out that he had a spare of the The Contract 7 inch from Purson, and decided to send it along to me. Considering that only 300 of these were pressed (100 on clear vinyl, and 200 on black), and were only to be available at Rise Above's 25th anniversary show. 50 of them did make their way to Rise Above's webstore, and sold out pretty quickly. I remember seeing them go up for sale at the time, but couldn't be bothered to spend Rise Above's shipping prices for this one, so I let it pass me by. Very cool to eventually receive one anyway.

While The Contract is also available on Purson's 2013 full length release, the b-side Blueprints Of The Dream is exclusive to this single. Good stuff. The band have a new full length coming out early 2016, but I wasn't a big fan of their 2014 EP, so we'll see if I dig it or if they are getting too spacey and weird for my tastes. Should be interesting to say the least.

There's No Justice

A couple of years back, Blind Justice surprised the hell out of me with their Mischief 7 inch. I loved the record so much that, in a strong year of Hardcore releases, it managed to grab a spot in my Top 10 for 2013.

I've obviously been more focused on Metal this year, yet when I saw pre-orders go up for the new Blind Justice LP over at Mass Movement, I felt that old Hardcore excitement stir a little bit deep inside of me.

Of course this was back in August. By the time the record arrived in my mailbox three and a half months later, I was just happy to have received it. I guess I'm out of the routine of waiting that long for pre-orders to ship, and I was starting to feel like the label had lost my order. I'm glad it arrived though, because this is a solid album...you know, for a Hardcore band.

I do love the packaging on this record. That cover art, and the record label named Mass Movement, sure gives it a strong Underdog look...even if Blind Justice don't try to copy the band on musical style.

200 pressed on teal colored vinyl.

Battering Ram

I've mentioned that I've had a bit of a Saxon obsession going this year, so when it came time to pre-order their new album, Battering Ram, I couldn't resist the temptation to go big.

I probably didn't really "need" the box set, but what can I say...my love knows no price.

Included with the vinyl, is a t-shirt, CD, and an exclusive live CD from a Saxon show in 2011. At this point, Saxon may rival Iron Maiden with the number of recorded live sets they have released. Like Maiden, Saxon love their live albums.

With the exception of a few clunkers in the mid-80's, you can't go wrong with any Saxon albums. Battering Ram is Saxon's 21st studio album, and the band show no signs of slowing down or losing any of that fire. While some older bands can only manage to release an album once every five years, Saxon keeps pouring out quality material.

While Saxon no longer has their full original line up, it is impressive to think that the Battering Ram line up have been together and pumping out albums for about 20 years.

Included is also a numbered sheet with liner notes on the recording of the album that is exclusive to the box set.

I'm a visual kind of guy, and I like a nice thick spine for the records on my shelf, and nothing tops how a box set looks.

I Hope You're Unhappy

I'm a big fan of the original Record Store Day in April, and while I'll acknowledge it's corporate greed wasteful ugliness, I'll still embrace it for it's celebration of vinyl and record shopping. The Black Friday RSD on the Friday after Thanksgiving, on the other hand...yeah, fuck that. Fool me once a year, but I ain't buying into the scam twice.

So three days after Black Friday, I wandered into my local store for some record shopping. The purpose of my trip was to pick up the new Clutch record, but it seems as though the curse of RSD delayed it's production, and the release date had been pushed out...again. Flipping through the garbage of Black Friday leftovers, I found two albums that I didn't own on vinyl, and figured that this was as good a time as any to right that wrong.

I've always had a soft spot for Farside, but the big hole on my record shelf has been The Monroe Doctrine. This is my favorite Farside release, so when REV announced they were repressing it on colored vinyl for Black Friday RSD, I was looking forward to finally adding a copy to my record collection.

1,000 pressed on red vinyl.

Man, some of these songs hit home on some personal experiences...specifically Seven-Day Constant, as I remember driving around town with my daughter, who was terrible at going to bed, and would sometimes just cry inconsolable for hours. I'd pop her into her carseat, and drive until she'd calmed down and had fallen asleep. I specifically remember driving around at midnight, just waiting for her to fall asleep, and Seven-Day Constant playing on the stereo with the opening lines of "Sleep is overrated". Yeah, kids are awesome like that.

When Death By Stereo released their second album, Day Of The Death, back in 2001, I was all over it. They were probably one of my favorite bands at the time, and I listened to that album a lot. However, over the course of about 15 years (and with the help of a couple of sub par follow up albums), I've largely left Death By Stereo to be buried by time and dust. Over the past 10 years, I've probably only listened to this a handful of times, and seeing it in the vinyl bin I figured that maybe it was time to finally pick it up and give it another spin.

This was a nice reminder of how great they were. One of my fondest memories of going to shows in the early 2000's was seeing Death By Stereo open up for Good Riddance in Boston. The crowd was kind of lame, and the singer Efrem climbed down off the stage, jumped the barricade, and spent the entire set on the floor getting in kid's faces with the microphone. The crowd loved the interaction, and were soon climbing over each other to sing along into the mic.

Strictly limited to a billion on gold colored vinyl.

Return Of The Iron Tyrant

RAM have been one of those bands that I've enjoyed over the past few years, but one that I've never really spent much time with. I remember getting excited about them when I first saw their video for Flame Of The Tyrants, from their Death LP, back in 2011/2012. When I first heard that song, I was sure that the album was going to rocket to the top of Best of 2012 list, but in the end, I guess I wasn't feeling it as much as I initially thought...or I was too focused on Fire & Ice and Boston Strangler records to really spend much time with it, and RAM never got much attention.

When I heard they were releasing a new album this year, and dudes over at the Bravewords board started complementing it by stating that it was Judas Priest worship, I knew that I had to check it out the first single, Eyes Of The Night. Yeah, I can hear the Priest influence, but at times it also reminds me of the first Sanctuary album.

Of course, Metal Blade distribution for vinyl releases sucks balls in the States, and I had to find an overseas distributor. Surprisingly, there was a European distro that offered free shipping to the US, so I considered myself lucky, and I grabbed a copy.

It feels good to finally have a piece of RAM vinyl in my collection, and this is a solid Metal album. Traditional Metal is killing it in 2015.

I love seeing the old school Metal Blade logo on this release. I was never a fan of that newer skull logo, so it was good to see the old one make a comeback.

Win Hands Down

When Armored Saint released Win Hands Down earlier this year, there wasn't a whole lot of new Metal albums coming out at the time. I didn't rush out to buy the vinyl because I figured that I had all the time in the world...plus Metal Blade has a terrible habit of releasing the vinyl only in Europe, and it is a pain in the ass to chase down a copy in the States.

As we started to close in on the end of 2015, suddenly I was dealing with a flood of new releases, and struggling to keep up with buying them all. I was kicking myself for not picking up that new Armored Saint record earlier, when things were quite so hectic. Now that I was a bit pressed for money, I was going to have to find a way to fit the Wind Hands Down LP into the mad scramble to buy all the 2015 albums before the end of the year.

When the band posted on Facebook that vinyl was available in the Metal Blade store, and at a discounted price, I knew it was time to make my move.

Sure the title track for Win Hands Down grabbed be right from the start, but initially I was a bit underwhelmed with this new Armored Saint record. Time has certainly changed my opinion, as the record has steadily climbed up my Best of 2015 list these last few months. I don't think it is going to crack my Top 10 for the year, but don't let that fool you, this album ain't no slouch.

When I was adding the new Armored Saint album to my cart, I noticed that the vinyl for their Revelation LP was available as well...and at a very low price. Even though I shouldn't spend the money, I couldn't just walk away from a deal this good.

I remember finally checking out Revelation when my interest in Metal was rekindled around 2006/2007. I fell in love with it from the start with the heavyweight album opener of Pay Dirt, and I've toyed with the idea of picking up the vinyl ever since I first heard it. Feels to finally cross it off the list.

Now that I have the vinyl for Revelation, it reminds me just how close I am to completing my Armored Saint collection. Maybe I'll be able to keep focused and complete this shit in 2016.

Steppin' On A Landmine

I picked up this Tank 7 inch back in January this year. I was hot on those early 80's 7 inches from Metal bands at the time, and grabbed this Tank record when I was grabbing a few Raven singles. At the time, my plan was to buy a copy of Tank's Filth Hounds Of Hades LP, and combine it with this single for one post here on the blog. Here we are, ten months later, and I still haven't made a move on that LP...and since only have a couple records sitting here to write about right now, we might as well get this one out of the way and officially add it to the collection.

When I received this record, I was initially a bit put off by the condition of the sleeve. I like my stuff in the best condition, and seeing this sleeve all beat up was a big disappointment. However, the more that I thought about it, I figured that the wear and tear gave this record some character. This single saw some action. In the middle of the legendary days of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal, this piece of vinyl was right in the middle of things, mixing it up and throwing punches. Fuck that pretentious record collector shit, this single was bouncing from turntable to turntable, passed between mates in their London flats, as they practiced with their scrappy little NWOBHM cover band, with dreams of sharing a stage with Motorhead one day.

Well, that's how this record's history played out in my head.

Stallions Of The Highway

Look, I've been to see Saxon play live twice this year, and both times they have knocked me on my ass. To see them play twice in a small and intimate setting, and regardless of the size of the crowd, they gave everything they had to their set. Even with only around 75 people at the show in Portland Maine, Saxon looked like they were genuinely having a fun time on that stage.

On top of that, the band just released a new album recently. With all this going on, it has been a fucking breeding ground for a Saxon obsession in my head, and I've been listening to them like crazy this year.

I thought that by picking up the Saxon Chronicles and the Warriors Of The Road DVDs, it would have helped scratch that Saxon itch, but all it did was stoke the flames even higher. I'd already spent more than I should have these past couple of months on new vinyl releases, and I'd talked myself into finishing out the year by taking it easy on record shopping. However, after watching those Saxon movies, the desire to own some original Carrere UK pressings for them was simply too much to ignore.

Typically when I set out to start a collection for a band, I usually just jump in somewhere in the middle. With Saxon, I wanted to start at the beginning with their first album.

The 1979 self titled is a bit of a tentative start for Saxon, before they became one of the bigger names within the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal, but there are still some great songs on here with Stallions Of The Highway and Backs To The Wall building upon Saxon's classic sound that they would use as their formula for their next few albums.

Saxon's second album, Wheels Of Steel from 1980, really sees them hanging with the best of the NWOBHM scene, next to debuts from Iron Maiden, Angel Witch, Diamond Head, and Def Leppard.

The good news in Saxon shopping is that you can pick up this shit relatively cheap. For about $14.00, I was able to grab the first two Saxon LPs from a UK seller through the discogs marketplace. Solid deal for these classics.

Bloodletting From The Underground

Overkill are one of my favorite Thrash bands of all time, so it was with shock and embarrassment when I recently discovered that not only did I not own a copy of their Bloodletting album, but I'd actually never even heard it. Of course, when it was released back in 2000, I wasn't really listening to very much metal, and a new Overkill album didn't even cause a blip on my music radar.

I'd stopped paying attention to Overkill after 1989's amazing The Years Of Decay album, and only started to make up for lost time with the release of Immortalis in 2007. At that time, I was surprised to find that Overkill had kept chugging along through those dark days for Metal, and I started picking up the ten albums that I'd missed while I'd had my head buried in Hardcore. For one reason or another, Bloodletting got missed in this process.

The late 90's and early 00's were not only a dark time for Metal, but also for vinyl. When I started looking for a copy of Bloodletting, I soon discovered that it had only been released on CD...and even CD pressings for this album were commanding a rather high dollar amount on eBay and discogs. Dropping $30 for a used CD just wasn't an option, so I sat back and played the waiting game.

It's all about the timing, and this time it was in my favor. While I was patiently waiting for a cheap CD to appear, I noticed that Nuclear Blast was pressing some of the late 90's Overkill on vinyl for the first time. This was the best news I could hear at the time, and I quickly jumped at the opportunity to grab each one that was being released.

Thankfully Bloodletting was one of the three albums that were finally getting pressed to vinyl. Man, what a solid Metal album. I'm so glad to finally have a copy in my collection.

Another Overkill album to finally see a release on vinyl is their all covers album, Coverkill.

While not a mandatory album, this is still a cool release of Overkill paying homage to their influences. It is a fun spin every once in a while, but why would Nuclear Blast reissue this one and not Necroshine instead?

To complete this trilogy, Nuclear Blast also gives From The Underground And Below it's first vinyl pressing. Man, this record is one of my favorite Overkill records from the 90's. What an underrated album. I'd love to see Overkill bring some of these songs back into their live set list.

All three are limited to 300 pressed on green colored vinyl.

Great job with this reissue campaign, Nuclear Blast. How about you also do W.F.O., Necroshine and a proper vinyl release of Immortalis, and we can call it good. Thanks.

Give Me Fire

In addition to picking up the vinyl for all the new 2015 releases before the year's end, I also was hell bent on completing one other goal. I needed to finish my collection of the early G.B.H. singles on Clay Records.

Earlier this year, I became interested in early 80's Metal and Punk 7 inches, and suddenly I had G.B.H. on my radar. I picked up a couple here, and a couple there, but then I hit a couple stumbling blocks trying to get my hands on the final piece to the puzzle...the Give Me Fire/Man-Trap single.

Over the summer, I tried to pick this single up from a couple different sellers through the discogs marketplace. Each time, I ended up empty handed, and I eventually gave up on it, moving on to other things. Last month, a conversation with Doug pushed G.B.H. back to the front of my mind. We were talking about early 80's punk bands like Zero Boys, Angry Samoans and The Exploited, and before I knew it, I was back on discogs, determined to pick up that last G.B.H. single that I needed.

Of all the G.B.H. singles, I was most excited to get the one for Give Me Fire, as I'd never heard the b-side, Man-Trap. I love finding hidden treasures like this.

My complete collection of the GBH Clay punk singles...well, until I decide to grab the 12 inch pressing for Do What You Do and the black and red cover of the Sick Boy 7 inch.

Gentleman's Hustle

Yet another post, in a long string of new releases for 2015. Man, I've been scrambling to try and keep up with all the great new music this year. With the new Gentleman's Pistols LP, you can add another one to the list.

I clearly remember the first time I heard Gentleman's Pistols back in 2009. On a tip from Marcus, I decided to check out a couple of songs online late one night. At the time, there was a website called myspace, which was a cool site if you wanted to either scam on trashy girls or check out a band's page to preview some songs to see if you wanted to purchase their records. Things are slightly different these days, and bands are back to doing videos and promoting them on youtube...while if you want to hook up, you can check the action over at Ashley Madison (or so I'm told...I really have no knowledge on these kind of things).

Since I'm less awkward with new music than I am with talking to girls, I immediately checked out the new Gentleman's Pistols video as soon as they posted it. I wasn't too impressed when I first heard the song Devil's Advocate On Call, but by the time the song was finished, the 70's hard rock melodies started to capture my attention, and I had to immediately play the song again. Soon after, I was hooked, and knew that I was going to have to rush out and buy their new album, Hustler's Row.

Gentleman's Pistols have made the move from Rise Above Records over to Nuclear Blast. I assume that since Bill Steer from Carcass is in the band, and Carcass released a huge record on Nuclear Blast a couple years ago, that his presence helped gain Gentleman's Pistols more attention and give them a bit of a push to a bigger label.

300 pressed on white vinyl.

Dark Tower Of The Sorcerer

I've listened to a lot of Tony Martin-era Black Sabbath this year. Over the summer, Cross Purposes was easily my most played Sabbath album. I know a lot of people write off the Tony Martin albums, but while they don't measure up to the original Ozzy and Dio stuff, those records that have him at the mic, are no slouch.

After reading some high praise for the new Sorcerer album, I decided to check out the video for The Dark Tower Of The Sorcerer. Oh man, those vocals reminded me so much of Tony Martin! I downloaded the album, and it immediately worked it's way into my daily playlists alongside Headless Cross and Cross Purposes. Epic doom at it's finest.

I don't know why Metal Blade only has such a limited offering of new vinyl releases in their US store. Nuclear Blast have stepped up their game recently for the US, and you would think that Metal Blade could follow suit. Apparently they think that the States is still fixated on CDs.

I was tempted to get colored vinyl from overseas for this great record, but with money being a bit tight as we come into the end of the year, I decided to save a dollar or twenty and just order the black vinyl from a US distributor. Good deal.

The vinyl version of In The Shadow Of The Inverted Cross contains an exclusive track, The Legion Of The Serpent, so yeah, vinyl is the way to go for this.

Decadence In The Graveyard

Each Graveyard album takes a while to grow on me, but after sitting with them for some time, they tend to blow my mind. That was certainly the case with Hisingen Blues, and after my intial tepid response with Lights Out in 2012, that album ended being a favorite of mine for a while.

After three albums under their belt, I thought that I had Graveyard figured out. I knew their sound inside and out, and they weren't going to catch me off guard with Innocence and Decadence. I was prepared to be sucked in from the first spin.

First off, let me say that this dude has a killer voice....and there are times it borders on a Jim Morrison level of sexy. If you could make his voice a physical thing, and slap a set of tits on it...I'd sleep with it. That voice sounds so good on songs like The Apple & The Tree, that it gets me a little wet. The Graveyard US tour has a stop in Portland this January...look for me...I'll be the one down front, throwing my panties at the singer.

Overall, I still think that this new album falls short of their last couple of records. A couple of the songs just fall flat for me. Too much R&B soul influence in Too Much Is Not Enough, and Stay For A Song is too close to a ballad, and I just don't dig them and they drag the album down a couple of notches. Who knows, maybe they will grow on me in time.

500 pressed on the green/orange split colored vinyl.