Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Thanksgiving House Party



Every Thanksgiving, I have Thanksgiving dinner at my house and all the family comes over and it's usually alot of fun (and work, and money). Every year, my girlfriend starts to act like a psycho because she gets all stressed out and wants everything to be oh so perfect. In honor of the chaos going on in my house right now, I figured I would post this Eric B and Rakim "House Party" single. This is actually a classic track from the "Don't Sweat the Technique" LP. Don't let the involvement with the goofball movie fool you, this is a sweet ass 80's hip hop track. Rakim is arguably one of the best MC's to ever grace the microphone, so pretty much anything he's on is the shit. I was pretty happy to find this slightly damaged single in the 25 cent bin while shopping in San Francisco... Anyways, Have a good Thanksgiving everyone. 





Monday, November 25, 2013

Urban Blight



Here's a group that eluded me for far too long considering that their style is right up my alley. Oi! inspired hardcore very similar to 86 Mentality and Violent Future. This group actually shares members with Violent Future, and this release really rips. i believe this was a second pressing done for a Euro tour, and you can go check out the first press over at Utopia Banished blog. This thing is so awesome it really saddens me that these guys are not playing anymore and that I didn't find out about them sooner. 

Sunday, November 24, 2013

One Voice Fest Press



A few months back me and my best friend made the drive up to Sacramento to go to One Voice Fest. A bunch of great bands played that day, but we especially made the drive because the Cro-Mags played the first day. Pressure Point, one of my all time favorites also played and they did a limited cover for the festival. I have posted about this record before, and over the last year I have put a stupid amount of spins on this thing. It was release in 2007, but over the last year it has really become one of my favorites. Pressure Point is one of those top tier Oi! bands that you just can't fuck with.



I got number #24/40. I love the Gadsen snake on the back. Also as a side note, the dude that did the cover art is a tattoo artist from Washington DC that also played in Set to Explode. 



I also picked up this Written Off and Out Crowd split. I own a regular copy of this record, but I can't seem to find it in my posts? I guess I never blogged about it (yet). At the festival the guy that runs Six Feet Under was there and I said what's up to him. I didn't realize he used to play in the Boils, and I had met him in 2003 when my old band played with the Boils at a house party in the Santa Cruz mountains. Small world indeed.


This was #23/40 and on clear vinyl. I was looking at my regular press of this release which is on white vinyl. I don't know the pressing info as far as the colors go, if you do know please leave a comment. 

Friday, November 22, 2013

War X Games



Yesterday I woke up to see that React! Records had left a nice shout out to my blog on facebook, which inspired me to post a React! record from my back log. Here is the limited white version out of /150 for the WarXGames "9 Trax/No Nightmare" ep. With 9 Songs on a 7" you can imagine that these songs are fast and short. One of the things that attracted me to buying this was that the band shares members with Mindset (I believe their singer is the bassist), and they have one of the coolest names in hardcore right now. This record definitely rips and is a strong record, but it comes and goes very fast. I opted to just buy the one limited press, but go check out Mike's page if you want to see a really impressive complete collection. And thanks again React! for the shout out!

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Kremlin - Will You Feed Me?




Toronto hardcore and Grave Mistake Records. That is a hell of a mix, and that is exactly what you get with this Kremlin - Will You Feed Me? EP. There is a ton of great hardcore coming out of Toronto lately, and it seems that everything Grave Mistake touches turns to punk rock gold. This is an absolute ripper of a release and I am totally hooked on Kremlin now. Really raw grungy punk rock that kind of sounds like it was recorded on a walk man or something. I don't know why it's so brilliant... It just is. This is the only limited version on white vinyl out of /200.

Saturday, November 16, 2013

Legacy of Blood




Recently Babygrande Records repressed arguably one of the best underground hip hop releases of all time, and one of my all time personal favorites "Legacy of Blood" by Jedi Mind Tricks. Just a brilliant, stunning album from front to finish with some of the most brutal raps over monster beats. This album is truly perfection! I've listened to this thing so much over the years I can receipt every lyric to every song pretty much by now. To me, this was Jedi Mind's best release and I don't know if they can ever reach the same level as this one. Above is my original pressing that I got in 2004 on black vinyl. I can't believe it's been almost 10 years since this came out? It just seems like yesterday, and now I'm feeling a bit old just thinking about it. 

You can see the front and back art appears are a slightly different on the new repress, so for anyone looking to buy one on ebay that is the difference between the old and new copies.


Babygrande hit a home run on the new repress with the limited orange vinyl. Goes perfect with the fire on the cover. I don't really know the background behind this picture but that's a pretty wild picture. 



On the repress the front art appears zoomed in while the back art appears zoomed out. Also the logos/bar code etc moved to the bottom of the back.


Check out one of my favorite tracks "Saviorself" feat. Killah Priest. Vinnie dropping some serious history lessons over a Spanish guitar inspired beat.



"This is war rap similar to Jacob's Ladder, walk around like Thor with the sacred hammer... and you don't really want the guns out, we some vampire motherfuckers burn when the suns out."

Monday, November 11, 2013

Criminal Instinct



A few months back I caught Backtrack, Alpha & Omega and a few other bands in San Francisco. Criminal Instinct from Atlanta, GA is a band that I had never heard of before and they were the openers at the show. Unfortunately, I walked in during their last 2 songs so I didn't get to see their whole set. From the couple songs I did see, I was impressed enough to buy their demo. I am glad I did because it is really good. The vocals are right up my alley, really gruff vocals that remind me of 86 Mentality and Cold Stare. You can download all of their stuff for free from their bandcamp, so there is no reason not to check them out.

Thursday, November 7, 2013

It's a Violent Situation



Here is a release from Southern California's straight edge up and comers Violent Situation. Back to Back put this out recently, and this is the clear offering out of /125. This is a very solid demo and can hang with most of the straight edge heavy hitters that are out right now. The music is solid as hell and the vocals are tight, and this band is sure to blow right the fuck up soon. I like that this release has a bit more of a tough guy edge than most the straight edge stuff that has been coming out for the past few years. Fitting for fans of Floorpunch blended with newer styles like Face Reality and No Tolerance. Look out for these dudes. 

On a side note, how many "Violent" bands is this now? Let's see... Violent Future, Violent Reaction, Violent Minds, Violent End, and now Violent Situation. If I am missing any, please let me know in the comments!

Sunday, November 3, 2013

Minus S/T



I was really looking forward to Minus' debut LP on Triple B. Sharing members with Downpresser, one of my favorites right now, I figured this shit would be real nice. I saw Minus live once and I was a bit tipsy, but I do recall liking them alot. This release has been a little disappointing for me. The music on it is really heavy and brutal, but as I've said before releases for me live and die with the vocals. I can usually tell right away if I'm really going to like a release. While Downpresser has unique vocals that stick out, Minus just kind of blends in with any other hardcore band and has a hard time separating itself from the pack. It's a shame because the music is so great on this. I still enjoy this record, but it probably won't be on regular rotation for me. On a side note, this cover has to be going for lamest cover of the year. I believe this was pressed on solid red vinyl out of /300, but I can't confirm.

Saturday, November 2, 2013

Youth Avoiders



What a pleasant surprise France's Youth Avoiders is. Deranged Records has hit another home run with this blistering punk release. The Youth Avoiders are very similar to some of the other "different" type bands on Deranged like Bloody Gears and Neon Piss, and that is a good thing. Let me just start off by saying that this album is really incredible. It is a very unique musical experience and really a breath of fresh air for me. I highly advise everyone to go download this for free and if you like it then buy it. The band has put all of their releases (including this LP) up for FREE DOWNLOAD on their bandcamp, so what excuse do you have to not check it out? If this isn't in all sorts of top 10 lists this year, I will be shocked. Don't sleep on this record!!!


Check out the track "Long Chains" above.