As Friends Muck

Earlier this year, No Echo posted an article about As Friends Rust and previewed their first new song in nearly 20 years. I loved this band during their run in the early 2000's, but I didn't have high expectations for their new songs in 2020. I was skeptical that they would still have that same spark that attracted me to the band back in the day, but after checking out Up From The Muck, I was eager to preorder the new record.

Two songs here on this 7 inch, and As Friends Rust haven't missed a step. This record is great and it has me dusting off the older records from the band, and I've been listening to this shit on repeat lately.

Because this is 2020, there are a ridiculous number of pressings for this 7 inch. Everyone seems to have their own limited pressing...Cortex, Revelation, Cargo (?), and one exclusive to the band. The record was released a month ago and it is already in it's third pressing. Glad I don't try to keep up with this bullshit anymore, and I stuck with the yellow vinyl from REV. Limited to 100.

Rhino Gray 9mm

I'd never listened to Orange 9mm when Rev announced that they were reissuing their 1994 EP this year, but for some reason it put the thought in my head that maybe it was time to finally check the band out.

How I never managed to hear this band back when I had a steady diet of Fugazi and Quicksand, is beyond me. When I finally took the time to listen to the songs on this EP, I immediately fell in love and quickly placed an order for the reissue. I love the groove on this EP and I can't help but bounce along to these songs. Got to love 90's hardcore.

500 pressed on "rhino gray" colored vinyl.

Honestly, I'm not too impressed with the colored vinyl as it could easily be mistaken for black vinyl at a quick glance. At this point I wish that I'd just invested in an orange or green first pressing. Oh well, I'm still fucking stoked to have finally discovered this band in 2020.

Night Demons Are Out There

Night Demon had already released two 7 inch singles this year, and when I heard that another one was coming down the pike, I was primed and ready to jump on it. Seriously, the singles for Empire Falls and Kill The Pain have ruled, and I was looking forward to more from the band. I'm not sure if the circumstances of COVID-19 pushed the band to release a series of singles instead of an album, but whatever the reason, it has been a blast to chase them down when they drop.

The single for Are You Out There is a bit more of a rocker compared to the previous blasts of heavy metal, but seeing as it is a tribute to, and inspired by Thin Lizzy, that rock sound fits the song perfectly. After picking up a couple of Thin Lizzy records recently, this single comes at a perfect time.

As with the other two singles from Night Demon, the b-side is a cover, and this time around they obviously crank out a Lizzy song. The cover art for this 7 inch is a nice nod to Lizzy's Black Rose album, but for a cover song they do The Sun Goes Down from Thunder And Lightning. Man, the band do a great version of this song and really make it their own. Well done.

Just like the other singles, the band recorded a behind the scenes video for the recording of these two songs. I really get a kick out of these things, and brings my appreciation for the band to another level.

Japanese Virgin

To start 2020, I put the Japanese pressing of Taken By Force from Scorpions on my Top 10 Want List for the year. I had become obsessed with the original cover that ended up being censored, and I wanted that shit in my collection. The OBI strip was a very cool bonus. Once I had that record in my hands, suddenly I wanted all of my Scorpions records to be Japanese pressings.

I don't own all the Scorpions albums that I'd like to have in my collection, and most of the ones that I have are US or German pressings, but there is just something cool about the prospect of lining up all those OBI strips. At some point, I'm going to have to upgrade those albums that I own that aren't Japanese pressings.

One of the bigger holes in my Scorpions collection was their Virgin Killer record. I love that album, but I've been on the fence if I wanted to grab a pressing with that original cover featuring the prepubescent girl. Sure it tends to offend people, but come on guys, what are you going to do, settle for that a censored cover? Whatever. Give me that original cover. I'm not going to lie...I did have to secretly open the box when it arrived and quickly get that shit into my music room, away from the eyes of my family. I have no problem owning this, but they don't need to know that I have no problem owning this.

Okay, I got confused when I was buying this on eBay, and thought this was a first pressing. I wasn't paying close attention to the OBI differences, and it turns out that this was the '82 reissue and not the '77 pressing. Oh well, the price for each is comparable, so I'm not going to sweat it.

Included with the Virgin Killer album, the seller also had a Japanese pressing of the Best Of Scorpions. I don't typically care about Best Of records, but with a cover that features some kind of spotlight scorpion shooting a laser from a tanned and glistening woman's ass, I guess I'll get down with that.

Originally released in '79, this compilation basically covers the three album stretch of In Trance, Virgin Killer and Taken By Force...plus the best song from Fly To The Rainbow. It is a solid collection.

Magica

I'm a huge fan of everything that Ronnie James Dio has done, and I like to think that my collection for his records is respectable.  I still have a ways to go with the Dio singles, but the biggest hole that I've had was for the Magica album.  Released in 2000, this was the only studio album of Dio's that I was missing.  Technically, I guess I did own it, as I had the 2013 Record Store Day picture disk, but I wasn't counting it.  I needed a real piece of vinyl and for it to be packaged with a proper album sleeve.

For years I've had my eye on the Night Of The Vinyl Dead pressing that was done back in 2008, but as it was limited to only 500, the average selling price was around $350, with discogs douchbags regularly listing the record for over $500.  Damn, yo.  I wasn't prepared to throw that kind of money around, but fuck me, I was getting close to that point.  Thankfully, 2020 brought a reissue campaign from Dio, and we saw those out of print albums hitting the record stores at a decent price.  I still kind of want that NOTVD pressing, but for now, I'm happy to just have a copy in the collection.

Magica is probably my least favorite Dio solo record, but like pizza, even when it isn't great it is still pretty good.

Dio recorded the song Elektra back in 2009 and it was supposed to be included with the new album that was being planned.  Unfortunately that project didn't get very far before Dio's passing in 2010.  Since then, the song has been included on some compilations and as the b-side on the Holy Diver live picture disc single a few years ago, but it is nice to see it included here as well as a bonus 7 inch.

Killer On The Loose

Record collecting is a constant conflict. I usually just let my moods dictate what I want to purchase in the heat of the moment. No planning. I just buy what whatever excites me at the time. However, sometimes I stop and look at the big picture and I get disgusted that I still have some very large holes in the collection. At these times, I tell myself that I need to stop dicking around with goofy picture sleeve singles and multiple pressings, and focus on completing the album collections for some of my favorite bands.

This year I've discovered the earlier Thin Lizzy records...those first three records with Eric Bell on guitar, before they settled into their classic line up with Brian Robertson and Scott Gorham. As I was checking out the going price for the early Lizzy records, I decided to take stock of where my record collection stood for the band's other albums. Of the nine studio albums from the classic Thin Lizzy line up, I owned three. I was so upset at how far I still had to go with my Thin Lizzy collection that I immediately checked in to discogs to cross some of them off the want list.

When it comes to Thin Lizzy, I feel compelled to buy the original UK Vertigo pressings. A number of years ago, my friend Jeff gave me his copy of Johnny The Fox, but it was a US Mercury pressing. I was okay with it when he first gave it to me, but as the years went by, it was no longer cutting it. I needed those Vertigo UFO labels.

When I was picking up the Johnny The Fox album, the seller also had a copy of Chinatown available...so it obviously made sense to grab that one as well. Man, this album is so killer. Outside of the stone cold classics of Fighting and Jailbreak, Chinatown may give them a run as one of my favorite Lizzy albums. Sugar Blues, Killer On The Loose, Genocide, plus the title track...all are fucking killer top shelf Thin Lizzy songs. Very happy to add this to the collection.

Around 1980, Vertigo dumped the UFO label design, and went with more boring looking orange label. They aren't nearly as cool, but I've still got to have them for my Thin Lizzy UK first pressing collection.

While we are talking about Thin Lizzy, I'm going to add one more record to this post. This 7 inch single for The Boys Are Back In Town b/w Jailbreak came from my mom's boyfriends collection that was passed on to me when he died about four years ago. I ended up dumping a large majority of his records to Goodwill as it wasn't anything that I was interested in, but I did set aside a few cool records, and I "officially" add them to my collection and put them up on the blog when the mood hits me. This Thin Lizzy single isn't that impressive as it is just a regular US pressing with the simple record label dust sleeve, but seeing that it came from Steve's collection, I figured that I'd hold on to it for sentimental reasons. It's funny. I assume that both of these songs top the list of overplayed songs that most people probably never need to hear again...but for me, these songs still sound fresh and kick a lot of ass.

Havok V

I really enjoyed the last Havok record, Conformicide from 2017, but honestly, I only listened to it a handful of times and haven't really felt any great pull to go back and revisit it. I like the modern thrash bands, and dig it when their records are spinning, but when I'm in the mood to listen to newer thrash, I'll just pull the latest Overkill or Testament albums from the shelf. So when I saw that Havok were releasing a new album this year, I didn't feel any rush to check it out.

The album had been out for a little while when I saw a video review for the album on youtube. The reviewer talked highly of the latest Havok album, and it kind of of piqued my curiosity. I gave it a quick spin on Spotify and immediately knew that I needed a copy. Sadly, by the time I tried to track down the album, it seemed that the colored vinyl options had sold out. Record stores were still closed at the time, but I did find that my local Bull Moose store had the option to buy the Indie Retail Store exclusive pressing through their online store. Score! Sea glass colored vinyl limited to 300 copies.

This record is a thrashing good time. Havok really are one of the best newer thrash bands, and this album had me banging my head like a maniac. Relentless energy. I'll easily be listening to this new album more than the last one.

Japan Double Dealer

I've been on a Deep Purple kick lately. The band have a new album coming out next month, and while I haven't generally been that interested in newer Deep Purple albums, for some reason this one has me curious. On top of that, I've really been digging in with the first few albums with the Mark I line up featuring Rod Evans on vocals. Then, I've also been heavily obsessing over the Mark III Coverdale albums. Needless to say, I've been listening to a lot of Purple this year. Combine that with my interest in singles and Japanese pressing and it was inevitable that they were all going to converge.

Man, I've been loving anything Coverdale lately, including Whitesnake and his albums with Deep Purple. When I was obsessing over singles earlier this year, I stumbled upon a few eBay auctions from a Japanese seller and there were a few Deep Purple 7 inches that caught my eye. Damn, these things looked cool, and since I was feeling pretty loose with my money, I threw a winning bid on this single for Lady Double Dealer. There is just something about those 7 inch picture sleeve covers that capture my attention, and this one from 1974 looks great.

I actually ordered this Deep Purple single from Japan back in March, and like the AC/DC record that I'd ordered from Australia around that time, the COVID-19 pandemic put international shipments on hold so this 7 inch sat in Japanese customs for two months before it even started to make its way over to the US. This record didn't come close the price tag on that AC/DC album, but it was still a relief when it finally arrived.

Picking up this Highway Star single was much easier from a US seller on Discogs. The price was very reasonable and it was delivered within a week.

Highway Star was originally released as a single back in '72. For some reason, Japan reissued the single in '76 with a different cover and changed out the b-side track to Strange Kind Of Woman. Love the clean pink layout for this one, but I'm going to need the original single cover as well at some point.

Gillan Nightmare

I've been so obsessed with collecting singles lately, and I decided to share that love affair with my friend, Jeff. His birthday was coming up, and being a huge Alice Cooper fan, I wanted to track down a cool picture sleeve single for him. I found a good looking French pressing of the Billion Dollar Babies single, and while I was picking that record up for him I grabbed a cheap Gillan single for myself.

A few years ago I bought a few Gillan singles as my introduction to the band. I had obviously loved his stuff with Deep Purple and Black Sabbath, so I figured it was time to finally check out what he had done with the Gillan band in the late 70's and early 80's. I had a great time with those few singles and I told myself that I was going to have to track down the albums from the band as well. Almost three years later and I've made zero progress on that front...but hey, here I am buying another single.

The a-side song, Nightmare, comes from the 1981 album Double Trouble, and it is another cool track. Man, I need to dig into the Gillan stuff more often, because I seem to enjoy everything I hear. Good stuff!

Fear The Blood Star

I'm usually reluctant when people make recommendations for me to check out new bands. There are a small handful of people that I trust completely, and if they think that I'll like it, chances are they will be right...but for the most part I tend to be a bit skeptical when someone suggests that I check something out.

When my friend, Jeff, sent me a link to listen to a band called Blood Star, I didn't have high expectations. Now Jeff has great taste when it comes to 70's and early 80's metal, but he doesn't really bother with new bands, so I didn't expect much with this EP.

Holy shit. Blood Star are straight up traditional heavy metal, and I can't get enough of these two songs. Featuring one of the guitarists from Visigoth and a female singer, this EP is catchy as hell, and Tortured Earth may be my favorite song of this year.

The packaging for this 7 inch looks great. The cover artwork, colored vinyl and the OBI strip are all fantastic. "Tortured Galaxy" colored vinyl is limited to 500.

Hang Your West Coast Head

I'm pretty random when it comes to collecting Foundation records. I mean, I'm not really actively working on attempting to buy every pressing from the band, yet I somehow have still managed to amass 15 records from them. I've got a couple of their cool special pressings on my Discogs want list, but whenever one shows up, I usually just ignore it as prices are typically much higher than I'd care to pay...seriously, the Final Show pressing of Turncoat would be sweet to collect, but that price seems to hold steady and there are other records that I'd rather drop $100 on.

I've had the West Coast tour pressing of Hang Your Head on my Discogs want list for four years, and when I recently saw one become available recently at a decent price, I figured that I'd finally make my move. Damn, I love the look of this special tour cover.

I've been listening to a lot of 90's hardcore lately, and while Foundation was from the late 2000's, they definitely fall in line with that 90's sound, so it seemed to be the right time to finally cross this one off the want list.

Number 41 out of 200 pressed.

Japan Shook Me

I've had a few things circling around in my head lately. AC/DC. Singles. Japanese pressings. I've been obsessing over each of these things lately, and they all happened to converge for this post.

Since picking up AC/DC's Touch Too Much single last month, and knowing that I had the first pressing of High Voltage on the way from Australia, I was itching for more from the band. I started randomly checking to see what was available from US sellers, and when I happened to catch someone with a Japanese 7 inch for You Shook Me All Night Long, I jumped on it...and while the $25 price tab seemed a little high at first glance, the sales history shows that the record typically goes for twice that, so I was fucking stoked to grab this.

I don't know man. There is just something cool about Japanese pressings and singles. I first got the bug when Doug went to Japan last year, and he started texting me photos of Dokken singles that he was picking up. Shit looked so great, and I wanted some of that action myself. Doug was a selfish motherfucker and filled his suitcase with records for himself instead of saving some room for me, but the fuse was lit, and since then I've been toying with the idea of hunting down some of those Japanese singles for myself. It feels good to take this first step.

Moment Of Truth

There had been a challenge going around on Facebook recently where people would post ten albums that had an impact on them. I usually avoid those kind of things, as I know that the majority of my Facebook friends do not share the same musical tastes as me, so what would be the point...but after being tagged to join the challenge by a handful of people, I decided to participate even if no one was going to care...hey, at the very least it would be interesting to see the posts pop up in my FB memories years down the road.

While most people were just posting album cover images they pulled from the internet, I wanted to use actual photos of records from my collection. I made the challenge a kind of musical timeline as we moved from the first album I remember buying for myself, and then as I progressed into Heavy Metal and then got into Hardcore. When I got to the point in the timeline when I first connected with Straight Edge, I ended up using a Minor Threat record, but really, that was only because I didn't own a single piece of Slapshot vinyl.

While I loved Minor Threat when I started to get into Hardcore around 1990, Slapshot were probably a much bigger influence. I was travelling to The Channel in Boston for a lot of Metal shows at the time, and somewhere along the way I started crossing over from Death Angel and Testament shows to Slapshot and Sick Of It All. Slapshot were angry and apologetically Straight Edge, and I gravitated to them. They had just released Sudden Death Overtime, and it feels like I must have seen them once a month for about a year...playing with Meliah Rage, Sam Black Church or Maelstrom. It was an amazing time.

Doing that Facebook challenge pushed me to finally hunt down some Slapshot vinyl. I didn't care if it was Back On The Map or Step On It...I just needed something. In the end, Back On The Map turned out to be the easier target, and I managed to pull a copy from eBay at a decent price. It had been a while since I'd listened to this record, but man, this thing is a classic. It is just absolutely fierce. Glad to finally add this important record to my collection.

Blue Roo Voltage

One of my priorities for the past few years has been to collect Australian first pressings for the Bon Scott era of AC/DC. These things don't come cheap, so each year I dedicate a portion of my annual bonus from work to the hunt, and I check another one from the list. This year, the band's first album, High Voltage, from 1975 was my target.

When it comes to the first few AC/DC albums, things can get confusing when comparing the original Australian releases to what the rest of the world saw from the band. Different cover art. Different track listings. Shit gets messy. In the case of High Voltage, things get extra sticky.

High Voltage, released in 1975, was AC/DC's first album and only available in Australia and New Zealand. When the international release of High Voltage was released to the rest of the world in 1976, the majority of that album contained songs from AC/DC's second Australia record, T.N.T., and only two songs from the original High Voltage album. So basically, AC/DC has two different albums named High Voltage.

I was expecting to go deep for an Australian first press of High Voltage. To find one in great condition, you can expect to go over $300, and I was ready to step up. As it turned out, I jumped on an eBay auction from an Australian seller just as the Covid pandemic was fucking exploding across the globe, and as a result, bidding was practically non-existent as I walked away winning the auction for half of what I expected to pay. Good deal. Of course, the downside was that Covid also ground international deliveries to a halt, and my record sat in the Australian customs office for about two months before it finally caught a plane for the States. Worth the wait!

This copy of High Voltage completes my collection of Blue Roo Australian first pressings for AC/DC. I still have a few more records to pick up for those Bon Scott years, and they still have high price tags, but at least I no longer have to look for that kangaroo on the label.

Snapcase Starburst

I really loved Snapcase back in the 90's, but at some point I shoved them aside and forgot all about them. I've been in a mood to listen to a bunch of 90's hardcore bands lately, and there have been a number of records that I've dusted off and have been surprised with how much I still love them in 2020. One of those bands has been Snapcase.

Not only was I surprised with how much I was digging Snapcase, I was amazed at how much I was enjoying the band's third album, Designs For Automotion. I mean, Lookinglasself and Progression Through Unlearning are obviously gold standard for 90's hardcore, but I'd completely forgotten that Designs For Automotion easily measures up to those first two records. It has been a blast rediscovering this album over recent months.

I only owned this album on CD, and was desperate to add a vinyl copy to my collection...however, I was torn on which copy I should chase down. I was tempted to go for an original colored vinyl pressing on either blue, orange or white vinyl...and they seem relatively easy to pick up at a decent price...but I was seriously tempted by the "starburst" colored vinyl that was an exclusive pressing for Newbury Comics last year.

The colored vinyl for that pressing looks insane, and I wanted to see one in real life, so that was the one that I grabbed off eBay. Stupidly, it actually cost more than an original pressing, but damnit, I wanted this starburst color...and don't get me started on how badly I'm tempted to rush out and buy other pressings for all the Snapcase stuff.

Must. Resist. Temptation.

Freeways Bearings

That demo that Freeways released back in 2017 blew me away with how great it was, so when I saw that the band was finally releasing their first album this year, I was stoked.

Out of the Great White North of Canada, Freeways play an excellent style of 70's rock, and that first demo sounded heavily influenced by Thin Lizzy. That inspiration isn't as obvious on the new album, True Bearings, but this record still hooks me hard.

True Bearings was one of my more anticipated releases this year, and it does not disappoint in the least. The riffs are heavy and the melodies smooth...I've been giving this album repeat spins since it has arrived.

When I preordered the record back in February, I went for the Die Hard pressing that included a patch and keychain because I love little collectibles like this.

150 pressed for the Die Hard edition on beige colored vinyl.

Kill The Pain

Earlier this year, Night Demon released the Empires Fall single. I loved that 7 inch, I hoped that it was a preview of what was to come. When the band announced they had a second 7 inch single on the way, I jumped on it.

Once again, the Night Demon 7 inch single gives us one new song and a b-side cover.

The track for this single, Kill The Pain, is another great one from the band. They got to record in the same studio where Metallica did Master Of Puppets, and work with the same producer, Flemming Rasmussen, so all the ingredients are here for a spectacular song, and Night Demon just nail it. I hope the band keeps delivering new songs, because they are on fire with these singles.

The b-side cover is just killer as Night Demon tackle Cirith Ungol's 100 MPH. They enlist Tim Baker from Cirith Ungol to help with some guest vocals, and they make this one of the rare instances where I'll be revisiting this cover song repeatedly.

One of the cool things that Night Demon has done with these singles is they have been capturing the recording experience on video and posting them up to YouTube. It is a great behind the scenes view into the songs, and it makes me appreciate the band all the more because of it. Like the video Night Demon did for Empire Falls, the one posted for Kill The Pain is a good time.

Back Against City Walls

War Records love their limited pressings. I'm not really in the game to collect everything I see these days, but some of the things this label releases is tempting as fuck...seriously, I'm so bummed that I missed out on those Strife gold editions.

While I was extremely hesitant to check out Berthold City when I started to see their name pop up a couple years ago, I've since grown to put my preconceived notions aside and after checking out the band, I found that I really enjoy them. War Records have released a number of different limited pressings for the Berthold City 7 inches, and that shit seems to sell out quick. When it was announced that they were releasing a lathe cut 7 inch of a cover of Circle Jerks Back Against The Wall, I knew that I had to make sure that I jumped when they went on sale. There were only 50 pressed, so if you took your eye off the prize, you missed out.

Overall, this record seems kind of pointless. I mean, I'm sure the band had a blast recording this song, and it sounds okay, but really, I'm not going to need to listen to this very often. Still, since it is so limited, and I really like this band, this record is kind of cool to own.

Harder Faster

I don't generally get too excited about live albums, and to be honest I'd kind of forgotten all about W.A.S.P.'s Live...In The Raw album. However, when I came across the record from a Discogs seller that I was recently shopping from, and I started looking at the songs on it, I suddenly needed to have it.

Back in the 80's, W.A.S.P. were known for their wild and entertaining live shows. I saw them open for Black Sabbath on Easter Sunday in 1987, but I remember being disappointed since W.A.S.P. didn't play the song Fuck Like A Beast. Besides that one live experience, I did remember that Live...In The Raw delivered the goods as a live album. I originally owned it as a cassette, and listening to it again 30+ years later, this thing still holds up. Not only does it give us classic W.A.S.P. songs from the Electric Circus tour, but there are two live songs, Harder Faster and The Manimal, that I don't think the band recorded studio versions for, plus there is the song Scream Until You Like It from the Ghoulies II soundtrack.

I'd forgotten all about about this record, but revisiting it now, I'd say that this is a crucial 80's metal record.