The L-Shaped Man

Those first few Ceremony records were some next level shit. They were so angry and abrasive, but you could see the band pushing boundaries and growing with each release. By the time the band dropped Zoo in 2012 I was losing interest and wished they would just stick more to the hardcore sounds that I liked. I didn't want more growth and trying different sounds... I just wanted the aggression. Zoo did grow on me, and I did end up really liking that record, but after that one, I was done. I did not care to see where the band went from there.

When The L-Shaped Man was released in 2015, it barely registered on my radar. I think that maybe my buddy, Doug, liked it, but it didn't seem like it was going to be for me. Nine years later, and a solid year after I started being turned on to different music in 2023, and this kind of music is very much going to fucking be for me.

I was hanging out and listening to Zoo earlier this year, and the time felt right to finally give Ceremony's next album a chance, and right out of the gates, I fucking loved it. I can certainly understand why I wouldn't have appreciated this back when it was released, but it fits into that different style of music that I've been craving lately. Sometimes you need to wait until the time is right.

When I was looking to buy a copy of the record, I found a tour pressing of the record available on Discogs for a decent price. The Discogs listing says that each one is "unique", with the singer hand drawing the shape on the front of each cover... but the shape is damn near identical to the original, so it isn't really as cool as it sounds.

Invincible Priest

Judas Priest keep on kicking. It has been a number of years since KK left the band, and then Glenn Tipton wasn't able to tour in recent years due to Parkinsons, so it was kind of a surprise when we heard that the band was working on a new album. I'm not sure how much longer they will be able to hold things together, but like AC/DC, I'll be there until the very end. The last Priest record, Firepower in 2018, was some solid heavy metal, and I didn't expect any less from Invincible Shield.

You know exactly what you are going to get with a modern Priest record. There are no surprises... the band just comes in and gives what's expected. It might be nice if they mixed it up a bit, and maybe brought in some of those 70's flares because that is my favorite era of the band, but that's fine... I'll take the full on metal attack. Invincible Shield may be very similar to Firepower and Redeemer of Souls but they still deliver the goods, so I'm not complaining. It is just great to still hear Halford and his band doing what they do.

It was difficult to decide which edition of the record that I wanted to pick up. The album coordinates the colored vinyl to the album cover... so the red vinyl has a cover that mostly uses red, while the blue vinyl has a cover that leans more into the blue color... same with the pink and the purple colored vinyl... and then there is the alternate cover art, or the holographic cover. Impressive packaging for sure. While I really wanted the pink vinyl version, the red vinyl was available at my local store, so I just grabbed that one.

California Cursed

I did not like Drain when I first heard them. California Cursed was about to drop and was getting a bunch of hype, so I checked a couple of songs but I was not feeling it at all. Based on what I'd heard, it reminded me of those chaotic metalcore bands from around 2000 like Drowningman, and I quickly put it in a bin marked TRASH. Sometimes my ears are dumb like that, because when I approached the second Drain album, Living Proof, with more of an open mind... I fucking loved that shit, and it was my favorite hardcore record last year.

I knew that I was going to have to go back and check California Cursed again, and give it a fair shake... and no surprise, I really like it. I still prefer Living Proof over it, but I've been spinning this first record a lot this year (finally).

When the time came to pick up this record, I remembered Marcus posting a good looking version a couple of years ago, and I set my sights on that one. I noticed that REV had a newer pressing available on baby blue, but for a few dollars more, I figured that I'd grab the clear and purple swirl vinyl off Discogs. So it was a shock (really? was it really a shock that seller had no idea what they were doing?) when I received the baby blue pressing. I ended up having to message them, and let them know that I could have bought this version from the label directly for a cheaper price. They did end up refunding part of my payment, but it just sucks when clowns can't list records correctly.

Dark Sky Freeway

I've been a big fan of Freeways since I first heard their demo back in 2017. At the time, I was just hoping that the band would continue releasing new material because they held such promise, and it would have been a tragedy to see them break up too soon. When I heard that they had their second album coming out this year, I could not have been more excited for it.

Freeways might be newer band out of Canada, but they nail that late 70's and New Wave Of British Heavy Metal rock vibe. With two 7 inches, and two albums under their belts, I don't know of anyone today that does it better. I just love the smooth hard rock sound of this band so much, and while I don't reach back to my 70's and hard rock collection very much right now, this second album from Freeways is getting plenty of attention.

Overseas shipping to make sure that I got my hands on the limited colored vinyl, but I love this band too much to care about insignificant things like money.

I'm not happy with this kind of gold vinyl, but the extras of the patch, sticker and postcard are a nice touch.

With each release, the band has had a limited patch included with their new record. I'll never do anything with these, but I'm excited to have all four of them.

Omega Wave

There was a time when Record Store Day was a big deal. I'd meet up early in the morning with my friend Jeff, and wait in line for the store to open. I would have a list of records that I was on the hunt for, and we would spend the entire day going from store to store and buying a ton of vinyl. It was an event... but those days are long gone. Record Store Day happened this year and I didn't even realize it until after it had passed. I was hanging out with Jeff shortly after RSD, and he asked if I'd picked up anything, and I had to look to see if I'd missed anything potentially interesting. There were a couple of records that caught my eye from Record Store Day, but there was only one that I needed to have.

Forbidden was a late 80's / early 90's thrash band. There first two records are absolute classics for me. There next two records were from the early 90's, and I had stopped listening to metal at that time, but when the band reunited and released Omega Wave in 2010, I didn't hesitate to check it out. There were a bunch of older thrash bands reigniting that spark around that time, and Forbidden jumped in to ride that revival. They did not disappoint. Omega Wave sounded like it could have been released 20 years earlier. Russ Anderson's voice was still amazing and Craig Locicero could still shred... it was a great comeback record. Somehow, I never bought the CD or the vinyl at that time, so I obviously needed it now.

I was buying a bunch of records in 2010, but for metal albums, CDs were still my primary focus. I clearly remember checking vinyl prices for Omega Wave at the time and thinking it was prices ridiculously high at $40, or whatever it was, and I was not going to spend that kind of money on a metal record. Add it to the pile of record regrets as that original pressing is currently listed on Discogs for over $300. That's okay, this Record Store Day reissue will get the job done.

400 pressed on red and blue splatter vinyl, and includes a special lyric insert with some history on the band and how the reunion came together.

Burning Desire To Draw Last Breath

The Gulch album was one of my favorite records that I discovered last year. It is abrasive and chaotic, and not something that I would have ever thought that I'd be interested in from a "modern" hardcore band... but Impenetrable Cerebral Fortress fucking floored me. I picked up the vinyl for that album earlier this year, and it didn't take too long before I was on the hunt for more from the band.

Burning Desire To Draw Last Breath was the first Gulch 7 inch back in 2018... and it was only released on black vinyl, and limited to 250 copies. I assuming that the band blew up at that point, as any additional pressings of the EP were bundled with the songs from their demo, and was released as a 10 inch, before finally landing on this one-sided 12 inch record.

I never would have expected that this band would have hit me as hard as they have, and this 12 inch delivers the same kind of intensity that I loved from their album. So good.

I wasn't concerned which version I owned for this, and scooped this 2021 pressing of the 12 inch on the sea blue swirl color.

Spiritual React

Back in 2017, Spiritual Cramp released their first 7 inch through React Records, and I straight up did not like it. I probably listened to one of the songs for about 10 seconds before I wrote it off as crap. I'd followed just about every React release for years, buying multiple copies of each one... but leading up to the Spiritual Cramp record, the label had slipped a bit and a few of the releases hadn't been very exciting for me, and I didn't give SC much of a chance.

Here we are, seven years later and suddenly I'm giving Spiritual Cramp the chance they deserve, and of course I'm fucking loving them. What I didn't understand about their sound back in 2017, is very much what I'm looking for in 2024. However, record prices today are not cheap, and checking the string of 7 inches the band has released over the years... well, it feels like they are all priced too high on Discogs. While I did find this red vinyl for the Mass Hysteria 7 inch at a good price, trying to get the more limited clear vinyl isn't happening as quick as I'd like. Man, I hate having to wait for someone to list records at a decent price. I don't have patience for that game.

350 pressed on red.

Clutch Collector's Series #3

I love the Clutch collector's series. The first two, Blast Tyrant and Robot Hive/Exodus, both were well done and looked fantastic... so when number three in the series was announced, of course I jumped in to order one.

After the first two records in the Collector's Series were released, it looked like the band was focusing more on those albums after the band started making the shift in their sound and take a more "rock" approach. I was hoping that we were going to get some of their earlier albums, but it was starting to look like that wasn't the direction the series was going to take... so I was completely stoked when it was announced that the next record in the series was the first Clutch full length album, Transnational Speedway League.

I know that some people tend to prefer the early records from Clutch, but I've never really spent much time with them. Outside of songs like A Shogun Named Marcus and Rats, I really didn't know anything from this album, so I was was excited to buy the vinyl and force myself to finally sit with it. These early records definitely have a more raw sound, and while I've always leaned more into their more recent straight forward rock stuff, I'm really starting to appreciate the 90's sound that Clutch had going on here as well.

As with all of the records in the Collector's Series, I really like the newly reimagined artwork, and the spot varnish in certain spots, and the foil letters on the back, really gives the cover dimension and really pop. The numbered and signed insert is a nice touch as well.

Yeah, I love this series. You can tell that Clutch care about the product that they are releasing and make sure that it is special. I'm hoping it continues.

Chain Of Death

Last year, I was excitd to check out the new album from the band Planet On A Chain. The singer had been in Tear It Up and Dead Nation, and since I love both of those bands, so I had high hopes for POAC... however, even though I liked the record, it didn't end up exciting me as much as I thought it would. Still, when preorders went up at Revelation for the follow up album, Culture Of Death, I still quickly grabbed one.

I'm not sure what it is, but this POAC record is hitting me harder than the last one. I hadn't listened to it until I started to write up this blog post, but it had an immediate impact on me, and I was looking forward to giving it another spin. Maybe it's my mindset, and my ears want to hear something hard and fast like this right now, but Culture Of Death has me hooked from the start and I want more of it.

While the Boxed In record had a straight forward hardcore look, Culture Of Death goes for something a bit different. From the death metal font, to King Kong ripping the roof off the building, and the black, magenta and yellow colorway on the cover... this record has more of a creative look... and while I really liked the front cover for Boxed In, I'm digging the different look for this one as well. 330 pressed on a color vinyl that makes a nice attempt to match the cover.

Good News For People Who Love Modest Mouse

Back in the early to mid 2000's, I was searching for music that was new and interesting to me. I'd fallen out of the hardcore scene a bit and was feeling a bit lost, so I was downloading anything that might catch my attention... and that included a lot of hip hop, 70's and indie rock bands... some of it hit the mark, but a lot of it was disposable and I didn't stick with it much longer than two or three spins of the burned CDR that I'd made for my car stereo. One of the bands that I was checking out at that time was Modest Mouse. There was something about them that I found interesting, but I think that I was just consuming so much new music at the time that it was overwhelming, and I never really gave them much of a chance.

So while I'd never really given Modest Mouse much of chance back in the 2000's, as we were closing out 2023, my friend Sarah shared the song Dramamine with me. I'd never heard that song before, but it was a perfect fit for the musical headspace I was in at the time. I sat with that one song for a few months before I started to really crave more from the band, and then I started to dig out more and more songs from them. Soon Modest Mouse became a full on obsession, and there was not a day throughout April and May that I was not listening to something from the band.

Because sometimes it is all about the timing, but as my Modest Mouse obsession was ramping up, I noticed that there was a 20th anniversary edition of Good News For People Who Love Bad News that was due to be released in the coming weeks... and holy shit, it looked fucking nice.

From the new design on the front cover, to the colored vinyl, and lyric booklet... this was just so pleasing to my eyes that I couldn't pass it up.

Also as luck would have it, Modest Mouse are playing a live show with The Pixies in New Hampshire this month. I don't know anyone else that would have been interested to seeing them, so I would have to go to the show by myself, and that felt a little weird. Like, I have no problem going to small hardcore shows alone, because once the music starts and I've got my place in front of the stage to sing along and get jumped on, being there by myself doesn't matter. But a big concert, with assigned seating... I dunno, it just felt weird to think about going to that by myself. In the end I just said "fuck it", and I'm gonna be weird. I bought my ticket and can't wait to see the band perform some of my favorite songs this year live.

Loyal To 90's Straight Edge

In the early 90's, I picked up an album that was released on Crucial Response for an Italian straight edge band named Think Twice. They actually toured the US and I saw them open a show in Boston for Kingpin. It always seemed kind of cool that was able to catch the band live as it didn't seem that European bands made it over to the States very often at that time. That Think Twice album received plenty of time on the stereo back in the day, but it isn't something that I reach for often these days, but I do have a bit of nostalgia wrapped up in it with those vocals and the Italian accent.

When I was picking up the Man Will Surrender and Deepwater records, I saw this Think Twice 7 inch from the seller as well. I didn't even know that Think Twice had released a 7 inch record... I thought that the LP was all they did... so I added it to the cart as well.

Look, this 7 inch isn't going to blow the minds of anyone checking it out, especially in 2024, but as a slice of early 90's straight edge hardcore, this is fucking fun.

The Same Deepwater As You

When I was picking up the Man Will Surrender record from a Discogs seller last year, I was checking to see what other hardcore records they had available and I came across something listed with a release date of 1993. I'd never heard of Deepwater, but as soon as I opened the Discogs page for the band, I saw that Jason Jordan from Encounter played guitar for them. I quickly downloaded the songs on Soulseek, and after a quick listen, I was adding the record to my cart.

As soon as I started listening to the songs on this record, the vocals immediately sounded familar. I couldn't quite place them, so I started digging in and following links on Discogs, and quickly found out it was the same guy that sang for Policy Of Three. Holy shit. I loved that band too! I dug in a little further and found that the other guitar player had also been in Point Of View.

Goddamn. Encounter. Policy Of Three. Point Of View. I could not get this record into my collection any faster.

I found it strange that I'd never heard of this 90's hardcore "supergroup" until 30 years later, but then I noticed the record was released on Break Even Point. I always found it weird when US hardcore bands released their record through this label out of Italy. I'm not sure if Break Even Point were big in Europe, but they were basically invisible here in the States... hence, probably the main reason why I'd never heard of Deepwater back in the day.

Instrument Of Surrender

Last summer my music taste went off the rails. For the most part, I was just listening to different shit than I usually did, and because of that my record collecting slowed to a crawl. The new music styles that I was obsessing over had me excited to listen, but for the most part it wasn't something that I needed to buy and collect. So I bought a few old hardcore records last July, and then did a pivot on my tastes, and didn't really bother chasing records again until early this year. So basically, this next group of posts are for records that I picked up almost a year ago and have been sitting around collecting dust since they arrived... and right now I'm very happy to be listening and blogging about them.

Dude. This 12 inch from Man Will Surrender is 30 years old, and I'm just hearing it now. How insane is that? For someone that loves 90's hardcore as much as I do, and I'm still be finding cool shit like this... it blows my mind. Sure I only discovered the band with their Five On The Dime EP seven years ago, but still... why has it taken me this long?

I didn't pay much attention to Conversion Records back in the early 90's. If they were doing a release with New Age, I was into it, but Conversion only records generally didn't get my attention, and I'm not sure why. I guess that they weren't getting the hype that New Age was with their bands (and seeing that I bought this record still sealed with shrinkwrap, I guess that I wasn't the only one), so I never bothered. Glad to finally own and obsess over this record today.

A Sinner's Mood

At the end of 2022, I discovered the band Early Moods. It had been a long time since I'd had a new doom band grab my attention like that, and I quickly picked up their first album. When I heard that the band was releasing A Sinner's Past this year, I jumped in for the preorders.

Having not really listened to a lot of metal this year, it took me some time to appreciate the new Early Moods record... but once it clicked, it CLICKED. A Sinner's Past keeps on in a similar vein as the self titled album with the heavy doom influence of Candlemass. This is so good and I'll be reaching for this record a lot when I want this style this year.

I have no information about the colored vinyl, but I like how it looks!

Evident Truth

When I was buying record in the early 90's, I didn't know that collecting colored vinyl and limited editions was a thing. If I bought a record on black vinyl, I just assumed that was the only option. Multiple versions was not a concept that ever entered my head at the time. I picked up the two Voice Of Reasons back then and since they were both on black vinyl, I figured that my job was done. 25 years later, I was in deep with collecting records and discovered that the Voice Of Reason 7 inches actually had colored vinyl pressings and so I started the hunt. I finished off the Gear collection last year, and I was happy to finally get the last piece of the collection recently.

Voice Of Reason were out of Texas and fit that early 90's Ebullition style that I was eating up at the time. Downcast, Struggle, Born Against... that shit ruled my world at the time, and Voice Of Reason were just as good as any of those bands getting recognition and more of the spotlight. Maybe because it played such a large part in shaping who I was to become and how I saw the world, and they were my formative years of discovering hardcore, but I still never tire of this style and I return to it often.

Parody To The Righteous was the first 7 inch from Voice Of Reason, and I'm sure that I picked it up from the Ebullition mailorder in those early days. Buying this colored vinyl version with the limited cover all these years later has me more excited than you can imagine. Holding this 7 inch in my hands, makes me want to only chase 90's hardcore records.

The "Silence = Death" sticker on the inside sleeve for the record is a sign of the times. Tell me you were a political hardcore band in the early 90's without telling me...

Full group photo to signal the complete collection of an obscure hardcore band that very few people will know or care about.

Amusement

After seeing a few people post about Amusement on Instagram recently... and Lins making comparisons to Seaweed... I figured that I'd check them out.

The first thing that caught my eye was the simple cover design. The look is very straightforward and it reminds me of something that would have come out in the late 70's. It is a great aesthetic.

Amusement come right out of the gates with two 7 inch records... one from Extinction Burst, and the other from Council Records. Extinction Burst had a bundle with both records on colored vinyl, so I grabbed mine from there.

While I can kind of pick up on the Seaweed comparison, to me, Amusement's sound falls more in line with something like Pegboy. I really like the four songs here, and I enjoy them more with each listen.

I'm glad that I pulled my head out of all of the weird and different shit that I've been stuck in so far this year, and that I checked out this band. Hopefully there is more to come.

Razzle Dazzle

When I picked up the new Blood Ceremony album last year, I was kind of surprised that Rise Above Records was still going. The label started to release some stuff that I wasn't interested in at the end of 2019, and then they fell off my radar completely. It was nice to get the Blood Ceremony album from them last year, and when Sandwell sent me a message that the label was releasing a new single from a band that I might be interested in, I figured that I'd check it out.

I wasn't sure what to think when I heard the name Bobbie Dazzle and saw that Rise Above described them as 70's inspired glam rock, but the record cover did catch my attention, so I figured that I'd check a song to see if I should pick up the record.

Initially, I thought these two songs were just okay, but the more I listen to them, the more I like them... and it is only a two song single, so it makes it really easy to throw this record on for a quick listen. This record has been a nice surprise and I'm hoping that we see more from this band soon.

100 pressed on purple sparkle colored vinyl.

Second Of June

There is no better feeling than discovering some long lost 90's hardcore punk record that puts your jaw on the ground with how great it is. As strange as my listening habits have been this year, I still keep returning to those 90's Ebullition style emo bands. So through the deluge of Tiny Little Houses and The Cure songs, I'm still giving bands like Moss Icon and Shotmaker plenty of playing time. As I was fucking around in Spotify earlier this year, I was checking a list of recommended similar bands for Current and I saw Plunger in there. I'd basically forgotten about that band, and figured that I'd check to see if they struck a chord with me in 2024. Oh shit. Yes, this is exactly what I want in my ears right now.

Plunger were one of the many bands in the mid-90s doing this style, and while other bands might have caught more of the spotlight at the time, Plunger were still making their own mark. Checking out their discography on Spotify reminded me just how much I loved their 7 inch, and splits with Blank and William Martyr 17. A year or so after the release of those early Plunger records, I was moving on to the youth crew revival stuff, and so I quickly forgot about them and completely missed that the band released an album in 1997.

Listening to this record today is like travelling back in time. I don't think that there are bands doing this style anymore, and if there are, I'd be surprised if they could pull it off as successfully as those bands were doing it back in the 90's. Honestly, this record has some of the best music that I'll discover this year. I love this shit so much.

As it was required for all 90's emo bands to do something extra with their packaging, this Plunger LP comes with a 10 page booklet with lyrics and various writings from the band.

Hell, Fire and Saxon

I really like Saxon, and I've really enjoyed all five of their newer albums that I've picked up over the past 13 years... but to be honest, I'm kind of at a point where I'm asking myself if I really need more. It's all good shit, and when I give those records a spin, I do like them... so maybe it is just where my head is at musically, and I'd just rather listen to something else.

When Hell, Fire And Damnation was intially up for preorder, I was kind of annoyed that I was going to have to buy another Saxon record. I didn't want to, but seeing that I've bought each new album from the band over the years, I felt obligated. However once I started looking online to purchase, it seemed that I was only seeing the black vinyl option in the US, so I quickly moved on.

I listened to the songs a couple of times on Spotify, and even though I wasn't in the mood to listen to it, I recognized it as another really great record for the band. Had I not seen the record on colored vinyl in a local Bull Moose store here, I may have never bought a copy... but holding it in my hands was too much of a temptation and I bought it. I'm not too excited for it right now, but we'll see how I feel about it when my mood eventually shifts and I want something newer from Saxon.