Immortal Weapon

It feels like it has been a long time since I've been really fired up over a new Hardcore release. Sure there have been plenty of records from the past few years that have been good...but I'm hard pressed to recall anything that has really gotten me excited since 2013 with the Rival Mob and Red Hare albums. I just haven't really been interested, and have been more focused on Metal and Punk. I'm not sure if it is a change in my mindset, or if bands are just stepping up lately, but so far my 2017 has been filled with some really cool new Hardcore bands.

At some point over the last month or so, I started seeing the name Ecostrike pop up on social media. Initially, I wasn't paying much attention, and ignored all the praise of this band doing that early 90's Straight Edge sound. However, as I was getting deeper and deeper into some newer Hardcore bands, I figured that maybe I'd look into what all this Ecostrike hype was about.

What really captured my attention, and got me to finally check them out was when I saw a photo of the lyrics for the song Immortal Weapon when Nico posted about the record on his blog at Do Not Consider Yourself Free. Those Straight Edge lyrics ignited a spark in me, and brought me back to those angry Straight Edge days of the early 90's. Right then and there, I knew that I needed to hear this shit.

This entire record is great...and is everything that I want from a Hardcore band in 2017. Uncompromising Straight Edge. Easily one of my favorite new records of this year. This one is going to be hard to top.

I'd Rather Be An Outcast

Damn. It was five years ago that Boston Strangler had everyone scrambling to get their hands on their first record. Five fucking years. Seems like it was just the other day.

That album was a nightmare to get. It sold out within minutes for every disto that it would show up in. It was the hottest Hardcore record of 2012, and kids were in a panic and paying outrageous prices on eBay. The experience scarred me for life, and I have a bit of a panic attack whenever a new piece of Boston Strangler vinyl becomes available.

As I was picking up the second press of the Search record at REVHQ, I happened to notice that they also had a vinyl pressing available of the 2010 Outcast demo. I had no idea this was available, and without thinking twice, I added one to the cart.

Nothing really new here, as this was the first Boston Strangler demo, but it was still nice to get a vinyl pressing.

Search Party

When I posted about the new Search 7 inch last month, I mentioned that it could possibly be one of my favorite records of 2017. So imagine my good fortune when a fellow blogger and amazing dude managed to score me a copy of the record release pressing.

There was no way that I was going to be able to get to this show, so having Chris put forth the effort to grab an extra copy for me, really means a lot. To not have to chase one of these down, and fight over it on eBay with the rest of the nerds...well, there isn't a price tag that you can put on something like that.

It is amazing how much of an impact a simple color change on the cover can be. I love that they didn't use a rip off cover for this. Just a change from blue to red. Looks great!

Hand numbered and limited to 60, so having one of these is kind of a big deal.

Nice touch including the show flier and stamping the date of the show on the inside cover.

When I first posted about the new Search record, I joked about how long it was going to take for REV to do a second pressing for this new release. Here is our answer...just a couple of months, and we get a second press on green. Thanks...I'll take one. 400 pressed.

Killing The Vinyl Dead

Just barely over three months into this year, and I've probably crossed off more high price records from my Want List than the last three years combined. Between some extra money coming in from work, and loading up my Paypal account from selling some records that I no longer wanted, I've been on a fucking tear. After blowing my load on that Gorilla Biscuits album recently, I managed to go a full three days before pulling the trigger on another expensive record. I could get used to living like this.

I'm a huge fanboy for anything Dio, and when I pulled out all of his albums for one of the challenges during the January Record A Day thing over on Instagram, it got me thinking about the holes in the collection. The Night Of The Vinyl Dead pressing of Killing The Dragon has been another record that I figured was out of my price range...but when it comes down to it, I guess it really just depends on how badly you want it.

Night Of The Vinyl Dead always puts a lot of creative thought into their packaging, and with the dragon pop up from the center of the gatefold sleeve, this album is no exception. A really cool touch.

Considering that the NOTVD pressing is the only real vinyl option, it feels great to finally add this to the collection. I mean, sure there is the Record Store Day picture disc pressing from 2011, but compared to the black vinyl, no one is really counting that as a serious option.

It wouldn't be a Night Of The Vinyl Dead pressing unless it was super limited. Only 500 pressed for a Dio record is crazy. No wonder this thing was no joke to chase.

Start Today

A few years ago, my record collecting game elevated to a new level when I started taking a nice piece of my annual bonus from work, and flipping that straight into a record that I might not have been able to afford otherwise. When I started this process, I had my sights set on crossing a Black Sabbath UK Vertigo swirl pressing from my Want List each year. Chasing those Sabbath records really pushed the envelope on what I was willing to spend on a record, and having completed that Vertigo collection last year, it meant that my options were wide open for 2017.

I was really looking forward to adding another big ticket item to the collection, but honestly, there were so many options, I had no idea where to start. As I was sweating my decision, I got an offer to buy Bringin' It Down on green. In all the years that I've been collecting records, I never thought this was a serious possibility...until now. Now I had a very real chance of making it happen...and then I fucked it up. I knew I was coming in low with my offer, and the dude said he'd consider it, but wanted to give it a week. My offer was fair, and I was counting on the recent REV reissues to drive down the price a bit, but I shouldn't have been surprised when someone else came in and took it with a better offer.

After having the Judge record pulled out from under me, I was lost. I had my heart set on getting it, and I was kicking myself for not offering a bit more to seal the deal. With no other copies in sight, I committed to hunting down another REV treasure. When I found Gorilla Biscuits' Start Today on purple on discogs, I jumped on it. With over 1,000 pressed on this color, it still manages to command a "don't fuck with me" price.

Given that the only copy of Start Today that I'd owned was the anniversary pressing on glow-in-the-dark vinyl, it felt great to finally add a legit piece of Hardcore history to the collection with this purple vinyl pressing.

Coat Of Arms

A little over a year ago, I finally moved on Doug's recommendation and checked out Sabaton, and I was really surprised at how hard this band hit me. It was a great internal struggle. I felt like I should hate them, yet at the same time, I couldn't resist them. I'd downloaded their Art Of War album, and surprisingly found myself listening to it damn near daily. Much to my surprise, Sabaton became one of my favorite finds of last year.

I'll be seeing Sabaton live for the first time in a couple of weeks, and in anticipation of the show, I decided to add another piece of vinyl to the collection from them...this time going back to 2010's Coat Of Arms. While The Art Of War is quite possibly the best Sabaton album, Coat Of Arms is a strong number two, with Midway making a great case to be one of my favorite Sabaton songs at the moment.

Just like when I bought The Art Of War, I had my sights set on the Swedish pressing from Black Lodge Records. The other vinyl options from Nuclear Blast were not going to cut it. Sabaton are from Sweden, so something about owning a Swedish pressing just seemed so much more cooler to me...well, as cool as you can get when you are talking about Sabaton.

Crusade For Sickness

I've been a huge fan of Crusades since Sandwell introduced me to their first album back in 2011. Even though their second album didn't nearly capture me like their debut, I still found myself in a panic to get my order in as soon as I discovered that album number three was available.

With This Is A Sickness And Sickness Will End, Crusades continue their theme of black and grey cover designs and ridiculously long album titles.

When I stopped in to check out the Anxious and Angry Records store, all the vinyl was already sold out, and the only options left was to pick up the vinyl and t shirt package deal. I wasn't excited about having to spend the extra money to get the shirt as well, but I didn't want to miss out on the vinyl, so I did what I had to do.

Purple and green splatter on black vinyl. Interesting choice.

The album itself definitely maintains that Crusades sound...great driving punk rock.

Stand Up With Jethro Tull

For a band that I never gave a shit about, this past year has seen me do a complete 180 in my opinion. Where I once would have laughed you out of the room for suggesting Jethro Tull to me, now I can't get enough, and their early albums are getting multiple spins any given week.

Initially, I was simply only obsessing over Aqualung. That album consumed me, and I could not get enough of it. It was getting repeat spins for a good portion of the summer last year. When I started to grow accustomed to the songs, and needed to regain my Tull high, I turned to the other early albums in their catalog.

The first album that I branched out to was Jethro Tull's third album, their 1970 release, Benefit.

Initially, Benefit failed to really grab me. It lacked that intense punch that I'd found with Aqualung, and it took some time for these songs to sink in. After about six months of giving these songs the occasional spin, they really started to capture my attention. Suddenly, I couldn't get enough of Benefit, and as the Tull obsession grew, it was time to find another album to add to the rotation.

I was already three albums deep into Jethro Tull by the time that I picked up their 1969 release, Stand Up. By this time I had grown comfortable with the band's style, and unlike my initial experience with Benefit, with this one, the hooks were immediately set. Man, everything about these songs absolutely captivate me. No other band sounds like this...they are something truly unique.

As with most of these Jethro Tull reissues, the packaging is excellent...even down to replicating the pop-up gatefold from the original release.

Unlike the reissue for Benefit, Stand Up includes an amazing 23 page, 12 x 12 booklet, which is full of pictures and written history of the band at this time. Seriously, this thing is amazing. So much great information, including some detail and a photo of when Tony Iommi was in the band prior to the release of Stand Up!

As fate would have it, just as I was peaking with my Jethro Tull obsession, it was announced that their guitarist, Martin Barre, was going to be coming through town and playing a bunch of Tull songs. Of course I jumped to secure my tickets. Here is a musician that was playing huge shows at Madison Square Garden through the 70's, and now he is touring, playing for a hundred or so people at an intimate show in a small city like Portland, Maine. Much respect for musicians that still play simply for the love of the music, regardless of the size of the crowd. Martin and his band played for over two hours, and while I didn't know many of the songs they played, it was still a great show.

Fight Fire With Fire

I've made some real progress with my Top 10 Wants this year...crossing some nice heavy hitters from the list. It is a nice contrast from last year, when I only picked up one. This year I'm focused, and making big moves. Once I checked off the DYS record, the floodgates opened and all restraint went out the window. Everything was fair game at that point, and I became a man on a mission.

When the end of February rolled around, and some dude bought almost $200 worth of records from my Discogs store, I knew that the time was right to turn around and roll that money back into another big record from my 2017 Want List.

I've lost some focus on my Megaforce silver label collection lately. I've just been pulled in other directions, and knowing that a big ticket item like Ride The Lightning was on there, kind of made it a bit intimidating to stick with. After getting sidetracked for a couple of years, it feels pretty damn good to add another silver label to the collection.

Who knows, maybe this will get moving on some of the other ones that I'm currently missing. If not, I might have to just add them to the Top Wants of 2018 list for motivation.

Because Metallica were picked up by Elektra shortly after the release of Ride The Lightning, only a limited amount were pressed by Megaforce Records. While the silver label Megaforce pressing isn't rare by any stretch, given the popularity of the album, they still command a serious price tag.

While on the hunt for the perfect copy, once I saw one listed on Discogs with the Metal Militia membership form, I knew that I had to grab it, even with the higher than normal price tag.

Free And Clear

I grabbed some great finds on my latest Triple B shopping spree, with both Fury and Glory impressing the hell out of me. As I was preparing to check out, one more record caught my eye. Could Triple B go three for three?

When I published my Year In Review post for 2016, I asked what Hardcore records I'd missed out on. Well, Triple B had all the fucking answers.

This record from Free At Last steals the show. I'm absolutely loving the Count Me Out/Turning Point vibe that this band deliver. We may have a new number one for 2016.

238 pressed on clear vinyl.

Power And The Glory

While I was in the Triple B store picking up the Paramount album from Fury, I figured that I'd check what other cool Hardcore bands I'd missed out on recently. I was in an adventurous mood, so lets roll the dice.

Following Triple B on Facebook, I'd seen the Glory name thrown around here and there...probably from local Boston shows and the last American Hardcore fest last December. Meh...I wasn't too interested in check out what they were about at the time, but while I was here in the Triple B store, I figured that I'd take the opportunity to check out what else the label had to offer.

Holy shit. This record rips. Eight songs on one side, clocking in at nine minutes. Great stuff, reminiscent of Straight Ahead. This thing rules.

300 pressed on coke bottle clear vinyl.

Sound And Fury

I was stubborn last year. I'll admit it. I spent a lot of time stuck in the past, and I resisted some newer Hardcore releases. When Fury released Paramount, I just couldn't be bothered. Even though I enjoyed the Fury 7 inch from a couple of years ago, I just couldn't get myself to pay attention when their new album was released. This record was getting tons of praise all over the place, but I had very little time for new Hardcore bands in 2016.

My mindset changed recently. After spinning the new record from Search, it put me in the mood for some newer Hardcore bands. One of the first records that came to mind was that Fury album that seemed to get a lot of hype last year.

I don't know if it would have cracked my Top 10 list for the year, but this is still a solid Hardcore record. Lyrics with meaning, passionate and intense...pure Hardcore. I'm really liking this.

500 pressed on clear purple vinyl.

Why Play Around?

Buying the vinyl for Killing Is My Business a few weeks ago, kind of put me on an 80's Thrash bender. When these kind of things happen, you've just got to roll with it, and fill some holes in the record collection along the way.

As I was enjoying my Thrash obsession, I came across the first Wargasm album in my playlist for 1988. I've been looking to pick this up on vinyl for years, and everything fell into place to make it happen this time around.

I was a late bloomer when it came to going to see live shows. Yeah, I'd been to big ticket concerts as a teen, but when it came to smaller, underground bands, I didn't start getting out until I was nineteen. Once I graduated from High School, and got brave enough to make the two hour trip to the big city of Boston, a whole new world of live music opened up to me. Making that first trip with some friends to see Testament at The Channel for the Practice What You Preach tour got me hooked, and soon I was travelling to Boston or Providence two or three times a month to see a show. Often times, I would make the three hour drive to Providence by myself...popping No-Doz and chugging Jolt Cola for the drive home...not hitting the pillow until 3:00 in the morning. I was a fiend.

All of this is just a long winded way of saying that one of those early shows I remember driving to Providence for was to see Wargasm and Meliah Rage play at The Living Room. After discovering the live Metal scene, I only stuck around for about a year...basically catching any show that I could during 1900...before getting sucked into Hardcore shows with Agnostic Front, Slapshot and Sick Of It All. Once that happened, Metal was in my rearview mirror. Because it was such a short period of time, man, I look back at those Metal shows as something really special.

So glad to finally add this underrated classic to the collection.

Suicide Machine

It has been 10 years since Career Suicide released their last album, Attempted Suicide. When I first heard that album back in 2008, it pretty much ruled my world. It was kind of an off year with Hardcore, and a number of big names dropped records that were big disappointments for me at the time. Although I was a couple of years late to the party, discovering that Career Suicide record filled a void that year.

I can't say that I follow the movements of every band, but since it had been 10 years since the last Career Suicide album, it was probably not out of line for me to have considered the band dead and gone. When it was announced that pre-orders were up for a new album from the band, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that they were still releasing new music.

Given the number of years that had passed, it is amazing that this band can still produce a punk record with so much attitude. great stuff.

200 pressed on red/yellow vinyl.

Inception Of Sanctuary

When Sanctuary released The Year The Sun Died back in 2014, the album landed at the number ten spot in my Best of 2014 list. I was surprised with how much I loved that album, and looking back now, I should have rated it much higher. In addition to being a killer album, it served as a reminder for how great their two albums from the 80's were.

Since hearing The Year The Sun Died, I've been itching to finally pick up the vinyl for those 80's classics from Sanctuary, particularly their debut from '87, Refuge Denied. I've come close to pulling the trigger a few times, but have always had something else catch my eye and divert my attention, so I'm still here empty handed.

New releases are easier to commit to, so I'm sure that that band just released Inception because they were tired of me dicking around over Refuge Denied.

Inception contains Sanctuary's lost 1986 demo session, so while it technically doesn't contain anything "new", there are a couple of songs on here that I've never heard before. While the majority of the songs ended up being re-recorded for the Refuge Denied album, songs like Dream of the Incubus and I am Insane, make this well worth the money paid.

With the Ed Repka cover art, all the old photos, and the 12 page booklet on the history of the band...the packaging is top notch. Great release.

How Gold Can Punk Get

It took me the longest time to finally check out Bad Brains' Rock For Light album. My introduction to the band was through the Attitude CD that In-Effect released back in '89. There was no internet in those days, so my information on the band and their discography was really limited. When I discovered that the Bad Brains had another album called Rock For Light, I checked the packaging and saw the song list...what the hell...I already knew some of these songs. I was not spending my hard earned money on an album where I already knew some of the songs already. I was an idiot.

Around 20 years later, with the help of the internet and illegal downloads, I finally jumped in to check out that Rock For Light album that I was initially so quick to dismiss...and now, after sitting with these songs for 7 years, I'm finally getting around to grabbing a copy of the vinyl. I might be slow, but I do get there eventually.

When it came time to chase down the vinyl, originally I had the original PVC pressing in my sights. My motto recently seems to have been, "If it ain't an original press, it ain't shit", and that's where I started with Rock For Light, but sometimes shit is hard, yo.

Tracking down the PVC pressing turned out to be rather stressful for me. Copies were either too beat up for my tastes, had an ugly promo cut corner, were missing the insert, or just cost more than I was willing to dive in for. After following eBay and discogs for a while, I finally just couldn't take it anymore. I threw up my hands in defeat and decided to make a run at the pressing that looked the best...the Caroline pressing on gold from '91.

Feels great to finally have this classic in the collection.

Sign Of The Square Hammer

When Ghost released their Popestar EP, I had every intention of ignoring the damn thing. While I love Ghost, I really struggle with their cover songs. I mean, it was fun when the band was new and they were recording the odd cover from The Beatles or ABBA, but their 2013 covers EP felt like they were jumping the shark, and it soured me on the band a little bit.

When I heard that Ghost had another EP that was mostly covers, I wanted nothing to do with a second serving of bullshit. When it was announced that Ghost was going to be opening for Iron Maiden for their US tour this summer, and I got my tickets, I decided to give those Ghost albums a spin again. I was reminded how great those records are, and in my excitement, I decided to check out their Popestar EP as well...not for the cover songs, but for the one original track that was included...Square Hammer.

Too be honest, Square Hammer is pretty much the only song that I listen to from this record. It is a great song, and while the covers aren't terrible, they don't have the same impact as Ghost's original songs.

Twin Peaks

When digging through used record bins, my friend Jeff has a motto of, "For a dollar, I'll try almost anything". I had him in mind when I came across a couple of used Mountain records at the record store the other day.

I was deep into some early 70's playlists last year, and I spent a fair amount of time with the first two Mountain records...and even picked up both of them on vinyl. I'd been under the impression that things kind of unravel shortly after those first couple of releases, so I've never bothered with anything after Nantucket Sleighride. Seeing their live album and 1974's Avalanche in the used bin...each with a one dollar price tag, I threw caution to the wind, and decided to live dangerously by purchasing a couple of records that I wasn't familiar with. Must be part of my mid-life crisis.

While Avalanche was the kind of lackluster affair that I'd heard about, the live album kind of surprised me. Granted it was the 70's, so like most Rock bands from that time, they had to take the 6 minute song of Nantucket Sleighride and drag it out for seventeen and half minutes, filling an entire side of the record. It's all good though, because they pull off the jam very well.

I like how all the covers kind of fit the same theme, and they all look great together.

Nightmare Logic

At this time last year, I may have had only two new 2016 releases in my record collection...the final Mindset record and the Red Hare 7 inch. Here we sit, two and a half months into the new year, and I've already got nine new releases on the blog so far...with a few more queued up and waiting in the wings. 2017 needs to chill the fuck out on new releases so that I can focus on older shit.

One of the biggest surprises so far this year has been the new Power Trip album, Nightmare Logic.

I've wanted to like the band since I first checked 'em out back in 2010 or so, but man, they have just never clicked with me. You would think this Crossover/Metal style would hit all the right buttons for me, but for one reason or another they have just failed to connect.

With a new album coming soon, I shouldn't have cared...but something made me shrug my shoulders, and decide to give it a shot. I saw they had a song up on youtube...the song title sounded kind of badass, so I headed over to check out Executioner's Tax (Swing Of The Axe).

Damn! Has Power Trip always sounded this great, and I've been missing out? I can't believe how much I love this record. All out thrash attack. It kind makes me wonder if I should go back and give that first album another chance.

500 pressed on red vinyl, and only available at indie record stores.

I Am The Hammer

I hate it when the end of the year rolls around and one of my favorite albums still hasn't been released on vinyl. Such was the case with Eternal Champion's new album, The Armor Of Ire. While I was able to sneak a digital download back in September of 2016, it wasn't until early 2017 that we finally saw the vinyl. These kinds of delays just fuck with my end of year record photos. Unacceptable.

Eternal Champion debuted their first two songs back in 2013, then followed it up with one more song on their split with Gatekeeper in 2015. Three songs were not enough, and with great impatience, I couldn't wait for the band to finally get back to studio to give us a proper full length. When the news came that they were back in the studio, and expected to release their album in 2016, it became, easily, one of my most anticipated records for the year.

The band certainly delivers, and The Armor Of Ire became one of my favorite Metal records of the year. When I discovered that the vinyl was finally available for pre-order, I hopped over to No Remorse to place my order. Much to my surprise, the red vinyl that was limited to 100 had already sold out. I was confused. How had I missed the limited red vinyl? It felt like the early React! preorders, when shit would sell out if you weren't there and ready to roll as soon as it became available. Apparently there was a larger desire for this record than I had anticipated. I ended up missing out, and had to settle for the black vinyl. Limited to 400.