Nothing But A Nightmare

Here is the RevHQ mail order only light grey vinyl copy of "Nothing But A Nightmare" by Soul Search. The light grey is out of /550 and exclusive to RevHQ, while the dark grey is out of /1110. This EP was originally pressed last year on Back to Back with a different cover. I remember when it came out on Back to Back, the most limited color copies sold out quick so I lost interest and never bought a copy. I figured with Rev repressing it I wouldn't make the same mistake again. This is a good solid release, but it's not necessarily anything that blows me away. If you like hardcore that's heavily influenced by metal then check it out. Keep an eye out for their LP coming out on Rev soon.

Pay the Price for FREEDOM

Without a doubt, this will be one of my favorite records of the year. Detroit's FREEDOM is hard hitting knuckle dragger hardcore mixed with Oi! style vocals. They sound almost exactly like 86 Mentality, one of my favorite bands ever. I love this seven inch and can't stop listening to it! I love the lay out, at first I thought the cover art was just done with photoshop but then I realized it's all really spray painted. This is on red out of /100 (the most limited color). 

So awesome, the band walking around Detroit that looks as if a bomb went off there. I like how they put the lyrics around the band. Everything on this is top notch. I can't recommend this release enough, and they still have some on white out of /150 left. Excellent job again Back to Back.

Blind Justice

Like Mike said in his post, I blindly ordered this and some other stuff from Back to Back without giving much thought to it. Of course, I missed out on the rarest pressing of blue on /75, but I managed to score an orange copy out of /125. This record is pretty good, definitely reminds me of Mental, or maybe even a more frantic Righteous Jams. You know if it has that Back to Back logo, that it's going to be decent enough for your collection. Once again they don't disappoint.

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!

BEWARE, It's another top record of the year.

As the year goes on my list of top releases for the year just keeps getting murkier and murkier. I'm probably the last person to actually get on this record, late the to the party again. For me it's usually very simple, I base alot of my opinion on the vocals alone. If I like the vocals in the first 10 seconds, then I usually can tell I'm going to like the record, or atleast at that point the actual music has to be pretty shitty to ruin it for me. I had been hearing about this record for a while, and totally slept at the wheel as the first press came and went. When the 2nd press came around, I was all over the pre orders at Back to Back to get one of the limited copies. This band brings it all together to be one of the best hardcore releases of 2012. I don't know if this tops Peace's 7" or Ill Intent's "No Masters", some of my other hardcore heavy weights so far this year, but it is definitely right up there with both of them. If you haven't score a copy of this yet then quit playing and go get it. The Sea Foam Green /100 looks fantastic, I really love this type of green because it always reminds me of this.

Face Reality, This Record RULES!

I was all over it recently when Back to Back announced pre orders for Face Reality's newest EP, "Strong Survive". I wasn't going to go out like a sucker (like I did with the last Face Reality release!), and pay big bucks! I'm really glad I did, because the "orange" copies (which are CLEARLY red) of /150 sold out in less than an hour. I am assuming that the label must have given atleast 100 to the band or something, because there is just no way they sold 150 that fast. What's strange is the color version was sold out for months, but I just looked at the Back to Back page and saw that some are available now? If you haven't picked one up yet, I would say now is a good time. The black version is out of /350.

This is without a doubt one of the best releases of the year. The band has stepped it up since their last release (which is no easy task), and you can see these guys are getting better with every release they put out. This is some brutal straight edge hardcore. The vocals are so gruff and awesome, you just cannot beat this release. 

I got to pick this guy up on blue with my last Youngblood order too. Hell yes. Now I have it on blue, red and black (see my last post of this release for more info). I was stoked to get this on blue for only $5, and not have to pay a silly price like I did for my red copy. Anyone know the pressing info on this blue copy?

Check out the "Strong Survive" EP below in its totality:

STICK TOGETHER like glue

Here are my copies of "No More Games" by Stick Together. One is the West Coast Tour 2012 vinyl #3/125. I got both of these when I saw them in Santa Cruz in January with Rotting Out and Downpresser. It's a knock off the Walk Proud "One More Time" 7 (pictured above).  

The clear vinyl is a second pressing and I'm not sure how many were pressed. I wish I didn't sleep on this from the beginning. I remember seeing it but I never really took the time to listen to them, and before I knew it all the color vinyls were gone and I didn't feel interested enough to buy a first pressing on black. Needless to say, this is definitely one of the top releases of 2011. If I can get my hands on the winter tour press, and maybe one other 1st pressing color of white (/100) or orange (/300) I would be satisfied. I'll have to keep my eyes peeled.