Taurus Slain

It has been five goddamn years since the release of the debut Age Of Taurus LP. As the years ticked by, I was starting to become certain that it was going to be the only testament to this killer Doom band out of the UK.

That first Age Of Taurus album was so damn good, and it grew on me like crazy. The only reason that it didn't make my Top 10 for 2013 was because there was so much great Metal being released that year...so it was with high expectations that I jumped in to check out the new song that was released back in April.

I don't know if it was because I was listening to lots of newer Hardcore at the time, but the new Age Of Taurus just didn't really excite me. Still, when Rise Above posted the album for preorder, I went for the most expensive and most limited option. The gamble paid off, because this album has really grown on me with each listen. Definitely one of my favorites of the year thus far.

100 pressed on clear vinyl for the Die Hard edition.

The Die Hard pressing comes with a bonus one sided 7 inch that contains an exclusive song.

Seven Inch High

Five years ago, Painkiller released the Get High demos to vinyl. That shit hooked me as soon as I'd heard the first song, and I listened to that record repeatedly that year.

Shortly after that Painkiller release, I discovered that the band had also released a 7 inch back in 2000 that I'd never heard before. I repeatedly searched soulseek, in an attempt to find and listen to those songs. Soulseek very rarely lets me down, but in this case, it failed to deliver. It seemed that the only way I was going to be able to check out these songs was to just take the chance and buy the record. I hit up Discogs, only to find that there weren't any available, and one hadn't been sold through the marketplace in the last three years. Fuck. I threw it on my Discogs Want List, and had to wait.

About a year later, I finally got the notification that someone had a copy of the 7 inch for sale, and I jumped on it...notching the highest price the record had seen on the site...at a staggering $5.

Even though I was damn excited to get my hands on this, I will say that it does not live up to the expectations set by that demo LP from Painkiller. These songs are still pretty cool, and have the full spirit of a Hardcore band not interested in sounding like anyone else, and just doing their own thing. Still good, even though it was released in 2000, the sound sits firmly in the mid-90's.

Vantage Point

There has been some great new Hardcore released this year, and it was cool to see Boston's Vantage Point get in the game as well.

Over the past couple of years, Vantage Point have issued a demo and a promo cassette...and this 7 inch collects those five songs. Nothing new here from the band, but it is great to finally have these songs on vinyl.

100 pressed on blue vinyl with the preorder cover.

Musically, Vantage Point check all the right boxes for me. Youthful straight edge that is exactly what I'm looking for. The hype compares them to all kinds of classic bands, but I'm just going to say that they would have been a perfect fit with what REACT! was doing a few years ago.

120 on blue vinyl with the regular cover.

UK Stranglehold

A couple of years ago, I was first introduced to the UK Subs, and immediately fell in love with their first album, Another Kind Of Blues. The blue vinyl looked amazing, and soon I was interested in their colored vinyl singles. I grabbed the single for Tomorrows Girls, and threw a couple on to my Discogs want list. Two years later, I'm finally pulling the trigger.

All of the songs on the Stranglehold single ended up on the band's first album, so there wasn't really anything new here, but I believe that these songs are from a different recording session. The song Stranglehold is such a great and catchy tune.

Looking good on red vinyl.

Another UK Subs single that I picked up was for She's Not There. A cover song from the The Zombies out of the 60's, the UK Subs inject it with a shot of punk attitude. The song Kicks is from the UK Subs second album, Brand New Age, but everything else here is exclusive to this 7 inch. Definitely worth grabbing.

Green vinyl. These colors look so good that I've got an itch to chase some more of them. Maybe I'll get around to that in two more years.

Army Life

I've got a lot of new 2018 releases waiting in the wings, and ready to blog about here, but before we get to all that, let's hit up a few older 7 inches that I've grabbed recently...and by "recently" I mean a couple months ago, because I've been slow as fuck in keeping this blog updated.

A few years ago, I picked up a few punk singles, and it ignited a spark to start chasing down some of those classics. I picked up a few of them over the following years, but it had been a while since I'd made any moves on my collection for The Exploited. I've been watching my Discogs want list for the Army Life 7 inch for a while now, and it got to the point where I just wanted to cross it off my list.

As those early punk bands have a reputation of not being able to play their instruments, these songs are catchy as fuck, and hook me every time I hear them. So good.

This single was another winner for me, as I'd never heard Fuck The Mods. I mean, it isn't that great of an Exploited song, but it was cool to finally discover it all these years later.

Delayed Aggression

Back in 2015 I took a chance on a band called Aggression Pact. I'd never heard of them before, but since they were on Painkiller Records, I figured that I'd roll the dice. The gamble paid off, and that 7 inch became one of the best surprises that year.

When I was in the Painkiller store picking up the Deadlock record, I noticed that they also had an Aggression Pact 7 inch that I wasn't familiar with. When was this released, and how did I not hear anything about it? Without hesitation, I grabbed a copy.

Apparently, back in early 2017, Aggression Pact released this second Hardcore attack, and it took me a year to notice. Shame that more people aren't losing their minds over this record.

200 pressed on coke bottle clear vinyl, and somehow still available at Painkiller.

Locked In

Life moves fast. Work is busy...the kids are stressing me out...I'm trying to find time to squeeze in a run to keep up my training and don't crash and burn during some of the big races that I have coming up...plus I want to set aside some time to chill with a book and listen to records. There is so much going on every day, it can be difficult to keep up. At some point during a hectic day, I was tipped off to the new Deadlock record that Painkiller was releasing. I can't even fucking remember who brought them to my attention, and I had no idea who Deadlock was, but with 30 seconds to spare I checked out the bandcamp page to give it a preview.

Once I realized that Tom from Violent Reaction was involved, and I heard that familiar ripping Hardcore sound, I was adding a copy to my cart. This shit is the real deal.

500 pressed on black vinyl, with half of them getting red covers, and the other half getting yellow.

Live At Little Elephant

Little Elephant is a studio that a couple of dudes set up in their living room. Bands come in, play a few songs live, and the Little Elephant guys record them, and release the videos to youtube and do a short run on vinyl using their lathe cut machine.

Checking out the Little Elephant had me a little underwhelmed, with really nothing catching my attention...until Iron Chic recorded a session there.

While I don't generally have much interest in Hardcore/Punk bands live records, the premise of Little Elephant seemed unique and cool enough...and since I'm a huge fan of Iron Chic, I figured that I'd jump in for this one.

Each record is hand cut on their machine in real time, and the process seems to really be a labor of love. A total DIY project from guys that just enjoy what they are doing.

Each record is hand numbered, in sequential order, so it looks like I was the 14th person to order the Iron Chic record.

Glorious Dead Lay Under Blue Vinyl Waves

I'm starting to think that you have to belong to some kind of secret society to have access to preorders for Battle Ruins first pressings. Whenever this band releases a new record, I feel like I'm a few months late to the party, and the record label is already working on the second pressing. That's cool though, because I'm of the opinion that the colored vinyl second pressings look amazing, and I'd prefer them to the black vinyl first press.

The first LP for Battle Ruins knocked my socks off. I certainly wasn't expecting it, but that album became one of my favorites from 2014, so I was quite excited for their follow up this year. Glorious Dead does not disappoint. Anthemic and heavy...this album gets my head banding and fist pounding right out of the gates. Another winner.

Limited to 500 on blue vinyl for the second pressing, and just a few months after it's release, it is already averaging a price tag over $50 on Discogs. So glad that I was able to grab one from the label before they were gone!

Clone Of The Universe

Earlier this year, I was pretty focused on Hardcore, and didn't really focus on much else. I was pretty excited with Fu Manchu a few years ago, but being stuck in a recent Hardcore obsession, I found it difficult to show much interest when it was announced that the band would have a new album out this year. I took a half-assed listen to the new song they posted from Clone Of The Universe, and I quickly moved on. Meh. It wasn't doing much for me.

Fast forward a few months, and grabbed a download of the album...just because I'd hoped things would click when I was finally in that mood. Sure enough, as I was catching up on the new shit from 2018, Fu Manchu hit the spot with those fuzzed out summertime vibes.

The first side on this record is amazing. Great songs, and exactly what I'm looking for from Fu Manchu...the second side though has me struggling a bit. The 18 minute song isn't bad, it just seems like a bit of a jam, and that's not really my thing and I lose some interest. Worth it for those six songs on the A side though.

Another Step

The plan was to stay on task, and knock out a bunch of posts for this month. I've got a good 30 records waiting in the wings, and I'm so far behind on the blog, it ain't funny...but I still managed to drag my feet, and had to scramble at the end of the month to barely get my post count to ten.

Okay...I'm going to get serious for July. I've got a ton of shit to post here, and I've got to try and get things under control.

My collection for The First Step is goddamn solid when it comes to the What We Know album and Connection EP...but for everything else, it is fucking pitiful. I made a move to correct this back in 2011 when I grabbed the blue vinyl pressing for the demo, and now seven years later, I'm finally taking another step.

As I was picking up another piece for the One Up collection, I noticed that the Discogs seller had a red vinyl copy of The First Step demo available as well. I'd been buying a string of cheap records lately, and made the impulse decision to step things up and finally cross this one off the Want List.

Second pressing on red vinyl. Limited to 200.

The Finest Line A Man Can Walk

Earlier this year, I picked up a One Up record, and I had such a good time with it, that I picked up another, and then another. Things escalated quickly, and I wanted more.

The peak for One Up was their The More Things Change 7 inch. This record ruled back in 2004, and it is just as vital today. Man, these songs still give me a charge.

Chasing these One Up records has been cheap and easy, with each one readily available on Discogs for under $10. Once I started picking them up, it just made sense to get them all, with this gold vinyl pressing of The More Things Change being the last piece of the puzzle.

Now if the band would only get their full length, It's Time To Believe, finally pressed to vinyl instead of just being a CD only release.

Seemed like a good time to get them all out for a family photo.

I Dig A Pony

It took me until I was around 35 years old before I started getting interested in The Beatles. It was just a casual thing for a few years, basically just occasionally listening to the hits. To be honest, this listening style really annoys me...save the Greatest Hits bullshit for your parents...I've got to either be into the full albums, or I'm not really going to stick around. I figured that I'd draw a line in the sand, and I downloaded a copy of Let It Be. If this album didn't work for me, I was walking away from The Beatles.

The album certainly hit the spot for me, and it didn't take long before I was diving into the entire catalog...definitely leaning more heavily on those later albums. Still, while I was really liking The Beatles, it wasn't until these past couple years, that things have kicked up a notch, and now I'm fucking loving them. Honestly, I don't know how it happened, but those records from Rubber Soul to Let It Be give me charge, and I don't get tired of spinning them.

As I was making my way to the counter at the record store in Hanover, New Hampshire, I stopped to flip through one more bin of records. These were new additions to the store, and judging from the store's selections, I was expecting to strike out...then I saw this copy of Let It Be. I've added some of my favorite Beatles records to the collection this year, so I took the opportunity to add one more.

Double Down

It was slim pickings while flipping through the vinyl stacks at the store that I'd stumbled upon in Hanover, New Hampshire. I did alright with the Whitesnake album I'd grabbed, but this place was obviously not catering to the Metal crowd.

While I looking through the records, the copy of Van Halen's Diver Down caught my eye. I mean, I already had a vinyl copy in my collection, but I remembered it as being kind of beat up. With this copy still in the original shrinkwrap, and the promo sticker for (Oh) Pretty Woman, I figured that it was time for an upgrade.

It isn't too exciting, but now I've got two copies of the worst Van Halen record...since obviously only the original David Lee Roth line up matters.

Ready An' Willing

To give you an idea of how far behind I am with the blog, when I picked up this record, there was snow on the ground. Okay, that might not be saying much, since we had a longer than normal winter here in New England, but with this record sitting in the "to be blogged" pile since April, it shows how much trouble I've been having in keeping this thing current.

Back in April, my wife and I took a weekend vacation on the New Hampshire/Vermont border. It was a great trip, and the unexpected ice and snow storm certainly made it memorable. While we were walking through the college town of Hanover, I spied a some hole in the wall store with a sign advertising "used vinyl". I made puppy dog eyes and my wife, and asked if we could duck in there and look around for a little bit. I wasn't expecting very much, but I still managed to add some classics to the collection.

Over the last few years, I've done a fair job of making the point of how much I hated Whitesnake when I was a teen in the 80's. These are definitely different times, and I've been slowly building that Whitesnake collection.

When I first started to sink into a 70's rock obsession, and finally understood the attraction to that sound, I took my first tentative steps towards Whitesnake by downloading their 1980 album, Ready An' Willing. I mean, I was already a huge fan of Deep Purple's Burn album by this time, and with half of the roster for Ready An' Willing having spent time in Purple...well, it just seemed like the safest place to start. I obviously took right to it, and it remains one of my favorite Whitesnake albums (although Lovehunter gives it a run for it's money).

I've entertained the thought of chasing a UK pressing for this one, but holding this US pressing in my hands, with a reasonable price tag, and I took the more convenient option.

Dirty Rotten LP

I've recently been on a bit of a kick, buying different pressings of Hardcore records...something that I haven't been interested in for years now. After going on a bit of a shopping spree, and picking up a bunch of cheap 7 inches, I had the urge to chase something a bit more substantial, and I wanted to cross a heavy hitter off my list.

After spinning the songs from D.R.I.'s first record, I knew that I had a target in my sights.

Originally, the Dirty Rotten record was released as a 7 inch EP in 1983, but when I was tracking down a copy, I was more interested in the 12 inch LP reissue from later that same year. I suppose that I could have tried to track down a legit, non-bootleg copy of the 7 inch, but reading Doug's experience hurt my head, and I figured that I didn't want to get caught up in that mess, and stuck with the LP instead.

What really surprised me was how easy this was to pick up. $20 off Discogs, and the job was done. I expected a higher price tag for this classic.

This album is a straight up ripper. I remember when I first heard this around 1988, and my brain struggled to keep up with the speed of some of these songs. To this day, I basically just mumble my way through, trying to keep up while singing along.

Wake Up!

I've been having a blast lately, throwing money at some cheap Hardcore records from the early 00's. It is funny how easy it is to forget about some great bands from a certain period, especially when your attention is continually pulled in other directions. Going back and revisiting some of these records has been a great reminder and has rekindled a desire to chase multiple pressings from a time when I was only buying CDs.

Wake Up Call were a local band from Maine, and as this state doesn't really have a strong history of Hardcore bands, Wake Up Call were definitely a diamond in the rough. The band didn't get the attention they deserved, but their One Eye Open 7 inch from 2006 can go toe to toe with some of the other heavy hitters from that year.

When I was picking up a couple of One Up 7 inches from a Discogs seller, I noticed that they had a copy of the Wake Up Call demo 7 inch, and I scooped it up. The preorder version comes with a special cover, and is limited to 30...and for $5, this was deal too good to pass up.

Rally The Troops

As I mentioned in my Count Me Out post last week, the 2000's had some great bands that I've been overlooking in recent years. I'm not sure why, but for the longest time, I've kind of written off those years, and have forgotten that there was some great stuff being released. One of the bands that I've been obsessing over lately has been One Up.

I've already hit Discogs a couple times this year for One Up records, and with that fire still burning, I headed back to the well once again. This time I was looking to cross off a couple copies of their demo from the list.

There was a seller that had a copy listed for the clear vinyl pressing...but instead of being numbered out of 100 on the inside cover, this one just has the word "swirl". Bottled Up is known for some crazy transition pressings...especially with the Have Heart records...so I'm assuming that this is a similar deal. "Hey, there are a couple of faint black streaks, lets set this aside, and list it as a transition".

The Discogs seller also had a white vinyl pressing available, so I grabbed that as well.

Hypocrite!

2018 has delivered when it comes to new Hardcore bands, and I've had a solid string of EPs and demos building up in my playlist for the year. While I was riding the high of some newer shit, I figured that I'd take a chance on another up and coming band I'd never heard of before with Hypocrite.

The band is out of Copenhagen and features some dudes that used to be in bands like Stop And Think, Coke Bust, and Government Warning. That is a pretty solid resume, but still, when I first heard about the band, I kind of shrugged and moved on. I don't know why...I'm just stubborn like that sometimes.

When Never Back Down Records announced that they only had a few copies left of the preorder version, that was when I figured that I'd better move on it.

I'm glad that I jumped on this when I did, because this demo 7 inch fits right in with the great new Hardcore bands that I've been spinning lately. These songs are raw and recorded rough, and goddamn, they rip!

30 of these come with the preorder stamp on the dust sleeve.

Second Chances

I love Count Me Out, but they are one of those bands that I seem to always forget about. The early 00's was a weird time for me for Hardcore, and I don't spend a lot of time revisiting bands from that time period. No doubt, there were some great records released, but sometimes I forget about them when I start looking at the wave of bands at that time that just don't do much for me.

Count Me Out have always been one of the better bands for me from that era, but strangely, I've never bothered to chase and collect their vinyl. When I saw a flurry of activity on Instagram recently, of people posting some Count Me Out record cover that I'd never seen before, I sat up and started to pay attention.

Apparently, Count Me Out were playing a reunion show at the United Blood fest this year, and as a special release for the show, Indecision Records pressed up a few demo songs from their 110 album sessions.

I tracked one down on Discogs, and quickly grabbed it.

The packaging is pretty minimal, but that tri-fold cover is pretty bad ass. 250 pressed for this one-sided 7 inch.

It might be time to look into starting that Count Me Out collection.