Love It To Death

Ebay mistake. Judging from the photo on eBay, this copy of Alice Cooper 'Love it to Death' looked like it was in decent shape. I threw a bid on it for $5.00, and then after the fact I noticed that the write up mentioned water damage. It also stated that it was in Very Good or Very Good+ condition. Sounded like it might still be okay. I received the package in the mail and the guy did the worst packaging job that I have ever seen. I opened up the box and see the condition of the record. Shit. The inside gatefold and back cover have big sections where the cover has ripped away and is falling apart. I should have read the eBay description more closely before bidding. Oh well, it was just $5.00. The vinyl is in great shape, but I need the packaging to be of quality as well. Damn it, I'm going to need a better copy of this record.

This copy has the green Warner Brothers label, and the controversial "thumb" cover. The record was originally released on Frank Zappa's Straight label. The cover photo has Alice sticking his thumb through a hole in his cape. The thumb looks like a penis, and soon after Warner Brothers re-released it, the photo was airbrushed to remove the offensive thumb. Rock out with your cock out.

What We Pre-Order

I was quite relieved to receive my First Step 'What We Know' pre-order from Rivalry Records. I had ordered the package deal to get both colors of vinyl and a CD. I had been hearing from other people that they had ordered as soon as the pre-orders were available, and yet they didn't get both colors and ended up getting two blue. This record sold out fast. Thus, I was very happy to open my package and see both the red/pink vinyl as well as the blue. This record is limited to 235 on pink, and 605 on blue with the regular cover.

I have been listening to this album daily since I've received the CD. This is destined to be a classic. It has some tough competition for Album Of The Year with new records dropping this summer for Have Heart, Triple Threat, Betrayed, and Verse...but this one may take the prize.

Ceremony Ruined Hardcore

I was browsing at Newbury Comics and was surprised to see the Ceremony 'Ruined' 7 inch for sale. The vinyl selection at Newbury's has been less than impressive lately. I saw this one, and even though the price tag of $6.00 was a bit excessive, I bought it. I had previously downloaded a few songs from their demo and I remember liking what I had heard. Ceremony play some ripping hardcore...fast paced shit that does not let up. The lyrics are kind of negative in the same vein as Tear It Up with the "I Hate Everyone" mantra. Not exactly my mindset but still good for those pissed off days. The record is limited to 800 on banana yellow.

Classic Priest

I have been loving Judas Priest recently, especially the real early stuff. Funny because when I was growing up, the early stuff was not my favorite. I picked up the 'Hero, Hero' double album from eBay for $15. The album is pretty much a collection of the first two Priest records with different production. Gull Records released it in 1981 after the band was breaking it big with the release of British Steel. I'm sorry, but the portrait of the band on the inside gatefold sleeve is hysterical. With all the pastels it looks like it came right out of a New Kids On The Block CD. Ian Hill looks like a freakin' BeeGee, and Glenn Tipton looks like Rick Springfield. Hilarious.

This is one of the few bands that I have never seen live. For the Turbo tour, Priest came to Portland while I was away with my family camping and I was too young to drive back home for the show. For the Ram It Down tour, Priest was supposed to play at the Ballpark in Saco. The show got cancelled. For the Painkiller show at the Civic Center I got kicked out for slamdancing to Megadeth. Finally, the Angel Of Retribution tour comes to the State Theater in Portland, but I skip it because I am low on cash and I had plans to go to the Ghostface Killah show later that week. Priest would have been a better show.

Open Hearts Are Blue

The First Step are going to be freakin' huge once their new album drops. I can't believe that it has been four years since their last record was released. I picked up the Open Hearts and Clear Minds CD at the last Back To School fest back in 2002. Sweet Pete told me that I should check them out because they have an old school sound similar to Insted...very positive. I have liked TFS ever since then, but hearing their new album puts them on a whole other level. After recently seeing them play a show in Massachusetts, I was searching eBay and came across the Open Hearts 12 inch on blue. I had the clear vinyl pressing that I had ordered from Livewire records years ago, but I didn't know there was a blue pressing as well. I checked with Livewire board for posting info and someone replied that their were 220 of the clear vinyl for pre-orders and 220 of the blue for a tour pressing. Sounds like there is also a black pressing of 350 and then 50 that were released with a messed up cover. I got this one for $15.50.

Korean Volume

A couple of posts back I mentioned that I had been on a Black Sabbath kick, that is further proven by this purchase. I already own the Earmark Records vinyl re-issue of this album, but I couldn't resist picking up this Korean pressing of the classic Volume 4. I saw the auction on eBay...there was a couple of minutes before it ended and there were no bids. I figured that picking it up for $5.00 from some dude in New Hampshire was a deal that I couldn't pass up. The sleeve for the album is kind of cheap (paper with a plastic overlay), and the seller had indicated that Korean albums are known for their poor sound quality, but who cares?!?! This is such a great addition to my collection, with the Korean symbols on the cover and album, with the alternate back cover...damn, this is pretty cool.

Undisputed Collection

I recently got the purple vinyl for Some Kind of Hate's 'Undisputed' album. This completes the collection. It is a very solid hardcore album, but it doesn't seem to get much recognition. I've seen them play a couple of times, the last time was when I saw them open the 7 Seconds / Champion show in Massachusetts. The crowd never seems to be very into them. While the band pours all their energy into the live set, the kids in the audience just stand and stare.

I picked up the purple vinyl on eBay for $2.75. The purple is limited to 300. The spray painted cover is from their 2003 west coast tour and is limited to 150. The white vinyl is limited to 700.

Best of Sabbath

I've been on a big Black Sabbath kick lately, and this purchase is a result of that. I actually saw this record for sale at Newbury Comics about six months ago. I carried it around the store, but ended up putting it back because I really didn't have the money to spend. Took a trip back to Newbury's last week and told myself that if they still had it, then I would buy it. I love the cover of this record. The image is just so dark, so intense. Sabbath had so many great songs that it is nearly impossible to limit the best to 4 albums worth. Of course the main focus on these records is Ozzy, but Dio and Gillian get a couple of songs thrown in on the fourth record. Nice gatefold packaging with a great write up of Sabbath's history on the inside cover. I have no idea how many of these were made, but this collection is from the year 2000 and my copy is numbered 5502 from a limited pressing.

The Addiction Grows

Here is the European pressing of the Betrayed EP. Dead and Gone Records released it as a 12" for the bands European tour. Limited to 500 on black vinyl. Between the currency conversion and shipping, this record was a little expensive, but I definitely needed it for the collection. Dead and Gone ship stuff so fast, I had this within a week. Pretty cool to see the record on the 12 inch format.

In addition to the Betrayed record, I also ordered the Fifty On Red 7 inch. It is the second pressing, on green vinyl. Limited to 500. Descent Euro straight edge hardcore.

Records, Rain and Red Sox

Took the day off on Tuesday to go to Boston for a Red Sox / Yankees game. Fun road trip with Paul, Rob and Heidi. Whenever we are in the neighborhood of Fenway park, we have to stop in at Nuggets record store. Huge selection of used vinyl and cheap CD's. I typically browse the vinyl selection, but usually don't buy anything because I either can't find anything I want, or there is too much wear and tear for my liking. This trip I managed to make some very good finds...all were in the $5 or $6 range.

• GBH - Midnight Madness and Beyond : Decent punk record. Not my favorite by them, but I only had this on cassette and needed to get it on a better format.
• Judas Priest - Screaming For Vengeance and Defenders of the Faith : By coincidence, as I was hanging out at the house in the morning I was struck by a strong urge to listen to some early Priest, and brought out their first three albums. When I saw these two, and the great condition that they are in, I knew I had to buy them. I had Defenders of the Faith on cassette and needed to replace that with vinyl. Screaming for vengeance I own the CD, but it is such a classic I had to buy it on vinyl for the collection.
• Rainbow - Self titled first record : I had never heard this album. I really liked the other two Rainbow albums with Dio, plus the first record has Man on the Silver Mountain so how could I go wrong. Plus this thing was in great shape, gatefold cover, and a German pressing.
• Dokken - Tooth and Nail : Another coincidence. As Paul and I were driving down he made a joke about Dokken, and I joked that I never really could get into Breaking the Chains until we had seen them live. Then at Nuggets I found they had that album for sale. I like Tooth and Nail better so I bought that one instead.
• UFO - Strangers in the Night : I heard this band for the first time about a month ago. Jeff played me a song and I loved the guitar sound. Great 70's rock. I downloaded this live album and was glad to get the double album on vinyl.
  

The record that I was most excited about was the live Alice Cooper bootleg, One Halloween Night. Recorded in 1978, I was tenative to buy this...I wasn't sure how great the quality was and the price tag was $15. They had both the Killer and Constrictor album for sale as well, and I almost bought one of those instead. Then, for the Hell of it, I slide the live album out of it's sleeve and I saw the colored wax. I was sold. I listened to a few songs when I got home and the quality of the live recording is excellent. I'm glad I picked it up.


After Nuggets and dinner at Bertucci's we headed over the bridge to Fenway for the Red Sox / Yankees game. It had rained all day and we were nervous that the game was going to be called. We got inside the ballpark around 6:00, and the field was covered to keep the water off. It wasn't raining anymore, and we were hopeful that the game would go on as scheduled. The game was delayed and we sat and waited it out. It was cold so I went and bought a new winter hat. Then at 7:45 it started to rain. We got out our ponchos and sat in the rain. Soon it was announced that the game was postponed until August 18th for a 1:00 game. Hmmm, spending a Friday afternoon in August watching the Sox and Yankees go at it sounded perfect and suddenly it didn't really matter that the game was cancelled...plus it wasn't a wasted trip since I had a bunch of new records to keep me happy.

Think Fast!

Received the order that I placed with Think Fast! Records through MerchNow. Didn't really get what I ordered. I had originally wanted to place the order to get the latest color of the Have Heart record. Better to get it before it's gone and I'm left getting it through eBay. While I was ordering that one, I noticed that The Geeks record was available on colored vinyl as well so I figured that I'd pick it up...I've been wanting to hear that band. Lastly, I ordered the Wake Up Call record on colored vinyl. I have been really impressed with this record and listening to it daily. I received my order very quickly. I rip open the box to inspect the records. What the Hell? Have Heart is on black vinyl! Goddamn, so is The Geeks. Thankfully the Wake Up Call was the color that I ordered...especially since I already had that one on black vinyl.

Wake Up Call is green colored vinyl with purple splatter and limited to 220. Have Heart is the 5th pressing on black and limited to 330. The Geeks is the 2nd pressing on black and limited to 330.

Think I Care?

Think I Care pre-order from Bridge 9 Records. Orange with black splatter, limited to 300. World Asylum is the newest from this band. I picked up their self-titled CD a few years ago. Pretty decent hardcore with a definite Infest influence. I liked it, but I've probably listened to that CD about 5 times since I bought it. Didn't really hold my attention, even though I love Infest. Saw them at Posi-Numbers last year. Still failed to move me. The only reason why I bought their newest album was because it was on Bridge 9. I've only listened to World Asylum one time so it probably isn't fair for me to form an opinion yet, but it sounds like more of the same. There were a couple of songs that caught my attention but this may be a case of the record looking better than it sounds.

Infinite Dreams

Iron Maiden 'Infinite Dreams'. This was released back in 1989 to promote the Maiden England VHS video. I've never seen the video, but I just got the single for my Maiden collection. Pretty cool record that comes with a Maiden patch...perfect for sewing on to your denim jacket in the 80's. Crucial for any self-respecting metalhead. The b-side on this record is a live version of Killers with Bruce singing. Worth it for that rarity alone. Working on my Iron Maiden vinyl collection is pretty casual...only buying when I am so moved and the price is right. Picked up this record on eBay for $7.00.

I Want To Be Rewritten

This record looked so good that it deserved two pictures. This was another eBay purchase made to comfort the sting of missing out on a different auction. The initial record that I was waiting to snipe was the Rivalry Showcase pressing of Blue Monday's Rewritten album. I forgot to bid and it ended selling for $11.00. Damn, this is happening more and more lately. Someone else gets a great price because I forget to bid. I had the need to spend and found this version of the same album...the record release cover. I was hoping to pull a low price, similar to the one that I had missed out on. It ended up selling for $31, which I would still consider a very good price since it is limited to 50 copies. When it arrived in the mail, I was amazed at how cool this record looks. Silk screened cover...both front and back. Hand numbered out of 50, and this one is number 2.

When I first heard this record, I thought that is was pretty good, but nothing great. And while I won't love it as much as Champion, this record has recently started to really grow on me. That part of the song The Everything Fest, where he just screams out "I Want To Be Rewritten", it is so powerful...so passionate. Damn, that line alone gets stuck in my head for days.

This Is Your Wake Up Call

"Can you hear the sirens? Can you hear the alarms? This is your WAKE UP CALL."

Hardcore from the state of Maine. With the recent exception of Outbreak, I have never had any love for hardcore bands from my home state. Maine kids in the past have had this love affair with band like Tree and Sam Black Church, plus bands like Madball and Hatebreed, that are rolled into that tough guy image. Not really my cup of tea. I was hesitant to pick up this new record from Wake Up Call, but I saw it at Newbury Comics while I was picking up the new Sick Of It All CD, and took the chance. I was surprised at how good it was. Straight up rippin' hardcore. It kind of reminds me of Outbreak, but that could just be because of the Maine connection. Anyway, this is great stuff.

Black vinyl on Think Fast Records, limited to 270 pressed.

Third Time's A Charm

This is the second time that I've won this record on eBay. The first time I won it for $40 and never received it. It was the first time I got burned through eBay. After I hadn't seen the record in a month, I emailed the seller and got a reply from some girl apologizing and that they would be sending it right out. After a while I still hadn't received it so I emailed again and some guy replied saying that he had let his girlfriend take care of sending the stuff while he was out of town and she had messed it all up. He said that he would get it taken care of. Never saw that record.

Fast forward 8 months, and I saw the record up on eBay again. It was going for pretty cheap and I was planning on placing a last minute bid. My computer froze up and I missed out on the bidding. I was pissed that it sold at only $12 because I would have paid more than that.

Skip ahead a month and I see that this record is up on eBay again, and as the time was running out the bids were still pretty low so I thew in a maximum bid. To my surprise I won it for $14. The record doesn't seem to have the high price tag that it had when I originally bid on it, but I still feel like I got a good deal this time around.

So here it is, Mental 'Get An Oxygen Tank' Posi Numbers pressing. The cover is a little different from the regular pressing and the labels on the vinyl are hand stamped. This one is numbered 181 out of 250 pressed.

New Love Interest

Add another band to list of records that I want to collect. After seeing these guys for the first time a few weeks ago, and then sitting down and reading the lyrics, I knew that I needed to start the Have Heart collection. There are so many pressings of the What Counts 7 inch and the Demo 7 inch, with all the different colors and tour covers, it looks like an exciting challenge. I found some guy getting rid of a ton of Have Heart records on eBay, and with a few hours left there were still a bunch that did even have one bid yet. I knew that there would be a bunch of last second bids, but I figured that I would try to pick up a few for cheap so I threw in a maximum bid on about 7 of them. When all was said and done, I won two of them. Picked up the first pressing on pink, limited to 200 for $8.70, and I also got the Sink With Cali III tour press for $14.50, limited to 125.

Bridge Nine Bonus

Death Threat 'Live at the Showcase Theatre'. The latest in the Bridge Nine bonus 7 inch series, limited to 500 pressed. This one came with the Bridge Nine singles CD's. The 7 inch is pretty good, but not something that I'm real excited about. I saw Death Threat live a few times, once in Portland, might have been with Bane, and the highlight of their set was the cover of a Chain of Strength song. I seem to remember Paul trying to buy a CD off one of the guys in the band out behind the club, but he didn't have the exact change so the guy gave him the CD for free. Pretty good band, just not one that ever really moved me.

The First Step

Rob and I drove to Billerica on Friday night after work to catch the Have Heart / First Step show. Our first stop was at Chicago Dogs in Scarborough. The veggie dogs there are so good. After they took our order they realized that they didn't have any veggie dogs ready so I was going to have to wait a little longer. To make up for it they gave me an extra dog for free. Great start to our road trip. Fun drive down, watching out for 'punch buggies' so that I could hit before I get hit. The show was at a Masonic Temple and it was easy enough to find. The show started off with Maintain. They opened the show with a Strife cover. Pretty good hardcore. I thought about picking up their demo for a buck, but I never made it over to their table. After Maintain I bumped into Pete, and we hung out and talked for a little while. I found out that he is going in for a kidney transplant in a couple of weeks, so I wish him the very best. Fired Up played next and kicked out some great old school hardcore. I'm looking forward to their 7 inch that is coming out on Youngblood Records. Hammer Bros were up next and had their new CD available. I thought they were okay, but by the end of their set I was ready for the next band. Verse played next and impressed the shit out of me. Great stuff. For some reason they reminded me of Bane when they were a fairly new band. I have the Verse LP on vinyl and I if I had the extra money I would have picked up the CD version...I was that impressed. The First Step played next. I've seen this band a few times and it is always a fun time. This time was no different and I loved singing along and stagediving. Rob had burned me a copy of their new album a week ago and I was familiar with some of the new stuff. Have Heart played last and this was my first time seeing them live. I wish I knew their songs better so that I could have jumped in and sang along more. Such an energetic band...such a great crowd. Seriously, this show was awesome. I don't get out to see bands live much anymore, and this one was worth getting out for.

This entry is for the new First Step album that I picked up at the show. Limited to 250 pressed on blue vinyl, with the pre-release tour cover. I'm not sure how many of these records they sold at the show, but shortly after Rob and I bought ours, they were all gone. This may be the best record of 2006.

Get Another Oxygen Tank!

Another band that Sweet Pete turned me on to. He roadied for Mental for a while, and had high praise for this Boston Straight Edge band. They were opening for an Insted reunion show in Rhode Island that I was going to, so I picked up their CD. It took me a while to fully appreciate this band...the singers voice was unique and I wasn't immediately drawn in. The first song to really grab me was Growing Pains, which stands as my favorite song by them. I saw Mental at that Insted reunion show. The singer came out dressed totally in hip hop style, and the band just seemed to really have a good time up there. I was impressed and started getting into them more and more.

This entry is for their Get An Oxygen Tank 7 inch on clear purple vinyl. Limited to 300. Got it off eBay for $16. I was trying to get the Posi-Numbers pressing, but I missed out on trying to bid at the last second. I was pissed because the auction ended at $12, and I would have bid higher than that. I looked at what else the seller had out there and won this pressing on purple.