Enact

War Records has released some solid records lately, so I've started to pay more attention to what that label is releasing. I didn't know anything about Enact, when the label announced that they were releasing a record by the band, but I've been loving a bunch of newer hardcore bands lately so I decided to see what they were about. Rather quickly, I discovered two things that really piqued my interest... one, they were a straight edge band... and two, Kyle Deville from Get The Most and Cutting Through was playing guitar. I checked out a couple of songs on Spotify, but I didn't pay too close attention to them, and quickly found myself preordering the album.

When the record arrived, I gave it a couple of spins, but it really wasn't catching my attention and it quickly became background noise to whatever else I was doing. I kind of gave it a shrug of my shoulders and put it in the pile of records that I have stacked up as my backlog to write about for the blog. I just didn't find it too exciting. As I was getting closer to pulling the record out to write about here, I gave it a couple more spins, and suddenly things clicked. Wow. It grew on me with each listen, and I found myself listening to it daily. I even get a kick out of watching their video for the song The True Balance, even though they do that goofy "walking down the street while singing the song" camera shot. This is a really good record, and even with the seven and a half minute final song, Still In Silence, that features an angry spoken word piece set to music, I love this record all the way through. I've heard some people say that they will probably only listen to this Still In Silence song a couple of times and then skip it, but Rikki's voice is so passionate and powerful, I don't see how you could ignore it. It is surprising just how much I've come to like this record.

170 pressed on "grape" colored vinyl... which seems like an odd choice... I mean why not go with yellow or red vinyl to match the cover?

Clutch Collector's Series #2

Last year, Clutch introduced their Collector's Series with a special pressing of their Blast Tyrant album. The plan with the Collector's Series is to reissue a number of Clutch albums, repackaging them with some reimagined art work. The one for Blast Tyrant was fantastic, and I was eager for the next one.

It has taken a year for the second release in the Collector's Series to drop, and this time they went with Robot Hive/Exodus. This album was originally released in 2005 on CD and didn't see a vinyl pressing until 2014. I grabbed that 2014 pressing when it was released, and I'm very happy with it, but it is cool to get a colored vinyl version here.

Once again, the packaging for this series is amazing. The new cover artwork looks great, and the colored vinyl is a nice match. You can tell that a lot of thought and hard work went into this pressing to make it special.

There is a bonus 7 inch included with the album, and features two songs from the Robot Hive session that were cut from the original release due to time constraints. Those songs ended up on the Pitchfork And Lost Needles comp from the band, but it is cool to have them packaged here.

Custom art print is included as well, and signed by the band. Pretty cool that I got a low number with 22 out of 7,500.

I was really hoping that Clutch was going to take the opportunity to reissue some of thier older records in this Collector's Series format... it would be nice to get some of those albums that I'm not very familiar with like Elephant Riders and the self-titled Clutch record with this special packaging... but I read recently that there are only four records in this series, so I can only assume that the next two will follow the chronological order set with Blast Tyrant and Robot Hive/Exodus, and the next two will be From Beale Street To Oblivion and Strange Cousins From The West. I already own the vinyl for those two, but it looks like I'll be buying them to complete the series.

Almighty Watching

Almighty Watching had a track on Volume 5 of the America's Hardcore comp that Triple B released last year. That comp was ridiculous with 39 songs by 38 different bands. Almost an hour and a half of music. It was too much for my brain, and it should be no surprise that some bands flew by me and didn't get any attention. One of the bands that I missed was Almighty Watching. It may have been the religious implication of the band name, but I paid them very little attention on that AHC comp.

Sometimes the Spotify algorithm knows what it is doing, and when it dropped an Almighty Watching song into my mix, I immediately dropped what I was doing and had to find out who this band was. I'm not sure who they remind me of... online hype mentions bands like Stillsuit and Mind Over Matter... and Almighty Watching definitely has a 90's hardcore vibe, so those bands seem like a good enough reference point. Whatever the comparisons are, this is surprisingly great, and it wasn't long before I needed to get my hands on this 7 inch.

There were 100 pressed on clear vinyl, and surprisingly this is still available in the Scheme Records store.

12 Inches Of Heavy Metal Love

It seems that most people don't care about singles, so of course that just makes me want to collect them. One man's indifference is bound to be my obsession. Sure, it feels kind of pointless adding them to the collection, but there is no doubt that I still get a big kick out of buying them now an then. When I was flipping through the used bins during a quick shopping trip at Moody Lords in Portland, I came across this UK 12 inch single for Heavy Metal Love from Helix.

Dude, I was all over this style of music a few years ago, and I was a man on a mission, filling holes in my collection for stuff like this. I've been more focused on hardcore lately, and it has been a while since I've give Helix a spin, but this single is a nice reminder on what a good time they can be.

Two songs here from the 1983 album, No Rest For The Wicked, a song from their 1981 album, White Lace & Black Leather, plus one exclusive track with Everybody Pays The Price. This is a cool collection of songs, and at five dollars, the price was right.

Combat Amnesty

I don't really expect to find anything cool when I step into one of Portland's few used record shops. I mean, if you are looking for that Huey Lewis And The News album, they will probably have you covered, but chances are slim for them to have some obscure 80's metal record that will have me scooping it up and heading to the check-out counter. So it was with great surprise that I found a copy of the first Zoetrope album, Amnesty, in the racks when I ducked into Moody Lords one weekend.

While Zoetrope were an 80's speed metal band, I never bothered to check them out at the time. I don't expect that their cassette showed up too often at the Mall where I was shopping back in 1985, but even if it was, the odd band name may have made me a bit hesitant to buy it. Years later, I heard their song on the Metal Massacre 4 comp, but I still didn't bother to check out anything else from the band until 2020. Crazy that it took me 35 years to finally give this band a serious listen, and man, I was missing out. Amnesty is a damn solid record of 80's metal.

The craziest part of this story is that this album was still sealed. Insane that I was the first one to break the cellophane wrap and drop the needle on this record. Man, it gave me chills to see that green Combat label when I pulled it out of the record sleeve. Classic.

Peace Test

At the start of the year, the band Peace Test popped up on my radar. I'd never heard of them before, but I'm usually down to check out new hardcore bands, so when I saw that they had a new record coming out, I jumped over to Spotify to see what they were all about.

Oh man, this record is straight up vicious. 14 songs in 15 minutes and it just pummels you with some intense Infest worship. The guitars are a blur and the vocals are filled with a hate filled rage. Fuck, this is so angry. I knew that I was going to need a copy, but I wasn't prepared for the limited color vinyl to sellout in eight minutes... and I didn't want to end up empty handed in case the black vinyl option sold out too, so I grabbed the only option that was left. 400 pressed on black.

2022 continues to deliver some great hardcore records.

Can't Relate

Earlier this year, I was heavily into my 2008 playlist on iTunes. There were a bunch of records from that year that I hadn't bothered to listen to in a long time, and diving into them again had me hooked quick. So many great bands that I imagine no one really thinks about in 2022... records from Alert, Broken Distance, Balance, Coptic Times, and Thought Crusade... and I was having a blast revisiting them. As I was digging into stuff from that year, I discovered that I had the songs from the Can't Relate demo in there. I didn't remember a thing about that demo and was kind of expecting that could just delete it from my computer. I expected very little from it, but before I trashed it, I figured that I'd give it a spin.

I've been surprised with how much I've enjoyed some of those long lost hardcore 7 inches from 2008, but I don't think that any of them have surprised me more than the Can't Relate demo. I probably didn't listen to this more than a handful of times back when I downloaded these songs, and it has easily been ten years since I've bothered to listen to this demo, but holy shit, this thing is a blast. Straight forward hardcore that would have probably fit right in on Youngblood or the early days of React Records... so you know this shit is my jam.

The demo was originally released on cassette in 2008, but apparently Positive and Focused thought this needed a vinyl release and pressed it to a 7 inch in 2013. After repeat listens, I knew that I needed to find a vinyl copy of this. I was so desperate to get a copy of this 7 inch, I didn't even mind paying for overseas shipping when I found a German seller that had it available on Discogs. Black vinyl with a special stamped cover and dust sleeve... number 34 of 42.

The seller also had a test press for the Can't Relate demo. At only 10 euros, I couldn't resist picking it up as well. I've been out of the game of collecting multiple pressings for so long, and it feels a bit weird to be picking up my third test press this year.

"Hey dude, if you hold this record you're one lucky bastard!" Number 6 of 21 for the test press.

Double The Damage

People expect you to mellow as you get older. Those hard and fast rules that you lived by when you were an idealistic kid are supposed to crumble a bit as you age, right? Yet, here I am, turning 52 years old today and I'm probably more passionate about straight edge than I was at 20. Even at this age, I still don't understand the attraction in drinking, and now that weed is legal, it all just seems to obnoxious and in your face. Hey, I have friends that do all that stuff, and that's fine for what they do, but I have no interest in being around it. No thanks. So yeah, as an old angry edge dude, when I recenly discovered this limited cover for Damage Control's What It Takes album, I needed to fucking own it.

Seriously. A band of straight edge warriors, x'd up and ready to fight with their broadsword and battle axe...fuck yes, I don't care how cheesy it might be, give it to me.

I'm not sure what this cover was made for. Preorders? Tour sleeve? Whatever, it is cool as hell. Red vinyl and number 67 of 100.

Here is the deal. I was just starting to get back into buying records when What It Takes was released in 2005, but I still went with the CD at the time. When I picked up the special cover a few weeks ago, I felt like I needed to own a proper Livewire Records pressing for this thing too. As I was buying the Police & Thieves record release from Gene Melkisethian, I noticed that he had a copy of the Damage Control album available as well, and I figured that I might as well add that to the cart too.

I honestly don't think that this record made much of an impression on me in 2005. It was decent, but I don't think that I really spent much time with it. Listening to in 2022, however, is a blast. Another record from that post-2000 period that I didn't spend enough time with back in the day. It is safe to say that I've listened to this record more this year than when it was released.

Someone was happy that Gene was getting a copy of this. Sorry dude, it's mine now.

Staring At Patterns

I remember that by the end of 2019 I was finding myself very excited over a bunch of new hardcore bands. Bands like Berthold City, Restraining Order, Magnitude and Rule Them All had just popped up on my radar, and it seemed like I was losing my mind over every new band that I would check out. One of the more underrated gems that I discovered was Method Of Doubt. Their Accepting What We Know 7 inch didn't seem to make much of an impact on most, but for me, I was fucking loving it.

After Covid stood everything on its head for a couple of years, I was excited to hear that Method Of Doubt were going to be releasing a new LP, and when preorders went up at the end of 2021 I was mashing that Add To Cart button. I usually like to wait until the physical record is actually in my hands before I listen to it, but with this Staring At Patterns album, there was no way that I was going to be able show any kind of restraint and as soon as it was available on Spotify, I was all over it. While I was hoping that this record lived up to my expectations, I really didn't think that I would love this as much as I do. Holy shit. From the opening bass line of the first song, I knew that this was going to be a special record. Every single song here hits me hard, and I fully expect that this is going to be my Record Of The Year for 2022. Eight months in and this record still gives me chills with how great it is.

Clear vinyl was available exclusively through Disorder Vinyl and was limited to 200.

Glow Police

A few years back I was finally able to pick up a copy of the first Police & Thieves 7 inch with the record release cover. I've got a solid P&T collection, so it made me very happy to get my hands on that special cover, and at only $4 it was a steal. The record release cover was made with glow in the dark ink, and when I recieved my copy, I was a bit disappointed to discover that it had lost its glow. At the time, Marcus joked that since it didn't glow, it was a good excuse to buy another one. Seemed like good advice, and here we are three years later with my second copy.

The first copy of the record release cover that I bought was printed with yellow ink, and when a Discogs seller recently listed a copy with a "nice greenish fade on the screen print", I was intrigued.

I sent a message to the seller to ask for photos so that I could verify that the ink color was different from my current copy. It was a slight pain in the ass when he then asked for me to send him a dollar for the trouble of sending the photo, and if I did end up buying the record, he would refund me the amount. Weird. I'd never encountered that before. The seller ended up being the drummer for Give, and previously Desperate Measures, and apparently was tired of sending photos to potential buyers that never followed through. Once I saw the photos, I obviously had to buy it and add another copy of this to the collection.

This one definitely glows in the dark.

I had to pull out my other record release cover for this 7 inch. There are obviously different colors of ink used here. There is a photo of one on Discogs that appears to have black ink for the text on the cover. Am I going to need that one too?

Number 25 and 16, and it is interesting to see the different shades of yellow for the colored vinyl. The one with the yellow cover is a more pale shade of yellow, which is a nice touch and I wonder if it was intentional.

No One Cares

I really loved those early Outbreak records when they were released, but over the last ten years, I kind of forgot about them. Not surprising since that ten year period through the 2000's fell into my blindspot over recent years. I've been digging into that overlooked decade this year, and it has been a blast rediscovering some of this stuff.

When the first Outbreak 7 inch was released in 2002, I was still focused on CDs. In a couple of years, I would completely change my position on preferring CDs, and by 2004 I was buying multiple copies of colored vinyl for the You Make Us Sick EP. However, for Eaten Alive, here we were twenty years later, and I still didn't own a single vinyl copy. I've been listening to the songs from that 7 inch a lot this year, and figured that it was finally time to grab the record.

This record is vicious. Five songs, with three of them not even breaking 40 seconds... man, this record is just on attack mode from start to finish. Pure anger from these young kids from Maine.

Demo 08 Test Press

As I continue to sink into dementia and short term memory loss, thinking that I'm still in 2010 and having fun buying multiple copies of records, I figured that I might as well pick up my fifth copy of the Alert demo 7 inch.

Alert were a straight edge band from Massachusetts that released this demo plus a 7 inch on Six Feet Under Records. I saw the band play live a number of times while they were around, and to give you an idea of how different those days were, when I introduced myself to the singer, he was like "Oh hey, you are that guy that does the record collecting blog!" Ahhh...the glory days of blogger celebrity. Ha! Here I am all those years later still writing this nonsense and buying the same records.

I love the front cover design for the test pressing of the Alert demo 7 inch. I have an old Alert shirt with this design, so it is cool to see it used here as well. Number 2 of 18.

Positive Change Tour 2009

I was a collector nut back in 2009, and I was buying multiple copies of any new record that I was even the slightest bit interested in. My motto was "The more the better" and I was excited to buy three or four copies of a record. I really got away from this collector mindset the last five years or so, and have been content with buying just a single copy of a new record, but lately I've felt that old itch coming back. Recently I've been listening to a lot of hardcore records that are 10 to 15 years old, and it has put me back in that old collector mindset. I don't imagine that many people care about collecting this shit in 2022, so it gives me a charge to dig in and pick up more copies of those old forgotten records.

Face Reality was a straight edge band out of Michigan, and after their Positive Change 7 inch, the band went on to release records with Youngblood and Back To Back Records. For me though, the band was never as good as that first record. Positive Change just has that youthful energy and charm, that their other records couldn't match.

When I found a Discogs seller with the Positive Change tour press for sale, I didn't hesitate to snatch it up. Numbered and limited to 27, with a cheap photo copied paper cover, it put a smile on my face to get this. This one was a great reminder of how much fun record collecting can be.

I know that there was a red vinyl pressing, and there was also a blue vinyl option for the first Face Reality 7 inch. This tour press appears to be the perfect blend of the two. Damn. Remember when colored vinyl looked great?

Lost In A Crowd

In March of 2012, I placed an order with Camp Records for the You've Lost 7 inch from Caught In A Crowd. The label was kind of a mess and it took them 15 months to finally get my records out in the mail. After that clusterfuck, it was no surprise that we never heard from Camp Records again. Still, it looks like the label was able to get some records to the band in time for the 4/28/12 record release show. Ten years later I was able to pick up a copy.

The record release version of You've Lost comes with a nice looking cover. It is a bit more of a straight forward design compared to the pink and pastels of the original cover, and makes for a good variant. I dig it. I'm even more stoked on this because having number 1 of 50 is pretty cool.

Ten years old and this record is still great. I was lucky to see Caught In A Crowd play at the Vantage Point record release show in 2019, and the band still delivered their songs with fire and passion. CIAC had been broken up for years at that point, releasing their last 7 inch through React Records in 2013, but it was wild to see them still play with that energy all those years later and it makes me wonder what they would have done next if they'd stuck around for another year or so.

Start The Fucking Fire

I bought the Three Seven Inches On One CD comp from Down In Flames back in the day, but honestly, the whole thrashy hardcore thing came and went so quickly in the early 2000's that I don't think that I paid much attention to that CD. I remember liking it at the time, but I rarely revisited those songs and couldn't have told you much about them. When I was recently scrolling through a list of records that a Discogs seller had available, I saw a Down In Flames 7 inch available for cheap, and made an impulse decision to grab it.

I hadn't really given any thought to buying any Down In Flames vinyl, but when I saw this record cover, it really caught my eye. I don't know, that simple yellow and white design sparked my interest. It looked pretty rad to me, and it made me want to revisit Down In Flames. Buying this 7 inch seemed like a good start.

I'm glad that I grabbed this record on a whim because it has been proven to be a fantastic long lost gem. Fast and angry hardcore.

Number 64 out of 100 for this Coalition Records pressing.

A few weeks after picking up the special cover for the Start The Fucking Fire 7 inch, I found myself wanting a version with the original cover. When I saw this red vinyl copy for sale with a price tag under $2, I would have been a fucking idiot to not buy it. Got to love deals like this for bands that have been buried in time and dust... and it makes me feel like collecting more Down In Flames records because I get no greater satisfaction than buying records for bands that no one else cares about.

Another reason why I wanted another copy of Start The Fucking Fire was because the Coalition pressing wasn't released with any insert. They slapped a special cover on the record and called it good. The Gloom Records pressing has a nice foldout cover with lyrics, pictures and details inside. It only made sense to have a copy of this one in the collection too.

While I was picking up those Down In Flames records, I decided to grab their split with Tear It Up as well. Ten song 7 inch that lasts about ten minutes. Apparently some versions of this cover have the guys face and arms blacked out...this one does not. How difficult would it be to get one of those as well?

That clear vinyl with the yellow 45 adapter looks sharp.

The Color Vinyl Conviction

Outside of the A18 albums finally getting a vinyl pressing in 2016, I really hadn't given the band much thought over that past 10 years or so. Discovering the Dear Furious 7 inch last year kind of put them back on the radar. When I was picking up a record from a seller recently on Discogs and saw that they also had an A18 7 inch available for only $4, I grabbed it.

I've never paid any attention to the A18 7 inches, so I wasn't sure what I was getting with this one. Initially, I was a bit disappointed to see that the Defining The Color Conviction record contained a couple of songs that ended up on the Forever After Nothing album. Everything was cool once I heard these versions though. The songs here were recorded a couple of years earlier than the Forever album, and the versions on this 7 inch are raw as fuck. These are great songs anyway, but man, here they are so vicious. Throw in an exclusive song and an Antidote cover, and this record is definitely worth owning.

620 pressed on red vinyl.

The sticker that was included on the poly bag for this 7 inch made me chuckle. "Southern California's Most Hated"? Did people have beef with this band at one time or is there a joke that I missed here? Ha ha...I have no idea what is happening.