Mercy Killings - Snuffed Out

Wow, no posts in a few months. I've really fallen off.... Sorry! I'll try to start posting more. I have a huge back log of stuff, I've just been real lazy and super busy with work and life in general

Anyhow, Here is my purple copy of Mercy Killing's latest EP "Snuffed Out" on Beach Impediment records. Last year, Mercy Killing released their S/T EP and it turned out to be one of my favorite records of the year. I still listen to it all the time. This EP offers more of the same, the only difference is the recording doesn't sound quite as polished. There is definitely a warmer sound on this recording with a higher level of distortion. My untrained ear tells me that this may be an analog recording, compared to the first EP being digital? The caveat to that is this does give a "harder" feel to the songs, making this an instant classic for any fan of brutal USHC.

Purple vinyl out of /150, with the black vinyl version out of /600.

Missionary - American Strike

Yes, I'm still alive and I'm sorry I haven't posted anything in forever. I've had alot going on that has made this blog low on my list of priorities. Anyways, here is probably my favorite release of 2014... "American Strike" by Brooklyn NY's MISSIONARY. This is pure 86 Mentality Oi/USHC worship, and they just are doing it better than anyone else right now. I feel really happy a snagged a clear copy out of /100 while I still could! And props to Utopia Banished for giving me the heads up, unless I would have slept on this.

Poder Absoluto

Here is Valencia, Spain's PODER ABSOLUTO ("Absolute Power"). This is some awesome raging hardcore. I have always been a sucker for any punk or hardcore that is sung in Spanish. This record rules though, and it is quickly becoming one of my favorite records of the year. It was put out by Fight Em All Records and this is the clear copy out of /100, with /200 also on black. Don't sleep on this record and cry later. Not sure if they are still available on clear, but it's worth a shot!

Boston Strangler - Fire

I saw this get posted on Facebook a while back as being up for sale. Apparently I've been living under a rock because I thought it was a repress of their first LP with new album artwork. I ordered a copy from my phone and went on with my day. I later realized it was in fact a brand new LP from the Stranglah. Doh! Glad I got my hands on a copy because as expected these sold at real quick. As far as I know, they followed the same recipe as their debut LP and released these all on black vinyl.

After ordering it, I scoured the internet for a free download and started listening right away. For some reason I was not as impressed by this release as their debut LP. Something about it sounded flatter than their older stuff. When I got the LP, I listened to the actual record several times and realized the digital copy I have is just not that good of quality compared to the real recordings. It gave me a sour first impression, but on further listening I have fallen in love with this record. It is without a doubt more "Oi!" than the last record, which is fine by me. I don't know if this record will live up to the same hype as their debut LP or which will stand the test of time better, but to me it's apples and oranges with both of them being fantastic.

Protester

I saw this thing posted on a few other blogs so I figured I would check out. Glad I did this band tears it up! I don't know much about them, their label says they are from Virginia and DC? Their label also says they are a "one man band", but I've also read they share members with Coke Bust and other bands. I know one thing, this is good stompy USHC that is done right. They are still available at Thrash King on the limited /300 gold vinyl, also with /600 on black. Definitely worth checking out!

Violent Reaction - Camo (?) Dead End

When this release first came out, I missed out on the limited white version on Quality Control. Bummer. But, I knew it was coming out on Painkiller so I did not want to miss out on the limited "camo" vinyl out of /200. The day they put up pre orders, they did not give an option to select camo vinyl. I ordered it the same day it came out, so I just crossed my fingers and hoped I'd get the limited version. Weeks go by, and I see a posts on Skull Fucked and Utopia Banished with the limited version, and pictures of a beautiful green marble vinyl. A few weeks later mine finally shows up, I peek inside and sure as shit I got a black copy. Disgruntled and feeling rejected, I put it back away and put it in my "needs pictures" pile. 

Time goes by and I see Mike posts his copy, which reveals a really dark looking version of the camo green. I instantly ran up stairs to check mine, and was thrilled to see that I did get the limited version. It just looks like shit. About the release... This is a excellent record. I would dare to say this is Violent Reaction's best stuff yet, because they went more Oi! on this record than any of their previous releases. I can't wait for these guys' LP on Revelation.

What it Meant

So I've never been really big on Discography type releases, therefore I never have owned "What it Meant" on vinyl. I've seen some color options come and go, including a hideously ugly splatter one a few years back. When I saw it was pressed again on color, I decided to take a stab at it in my last Rev order. This copy is on a much more appealing blue pressing, with both records being blue. It's not BID on mint green, but it will have to due.

As far as the release, what can you say? One of the best hardcore bands to ever exist's complete discography. You can't beat that!

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.

Living Eyes

Here is a band that is simply way too under rated. Oakland, CA's LIVING EYES. These dudes are raw and grimy just like the city they came from. Here is their one sided LP on Deathwish, "Who Will Remain?". I never knew who these dudes were until last year when they opened up at One Voice Fest and I was totally blown away. They absolutely killed it with a ton of energy and they were angry as fuck. I think if they were from New York or Boston, they would be blown the fuck up. This release has a silk screened cover, dust sleeve and B-Side. I love the design on the dust sleeve, but my favorite part is the nuclear reactor on the B-Side. Red vinyl out of /330.

Here is their demo from 2011, "Starve for Agony" on clear out of /926. The limited version was clear with red splatter. More of the same punishing hardcore, a must have.

 

A house party in Stockton.

Altered Boys

Here is a two song ep from New Jersey's Altered Boys, and let me tell you that it is fantastic. Everything that Altered Boys has ever put out is fantastic, and I think they really are one of the more under rated bands right now. They play that USHC sound that everyone seems to be doing right now, but they do it very well. This is on yellow vinyl and out of /150, and it's still available. Head to their bandcamp for a free download as well.

Perm Cru

Here is a group from my hometown (San Jose, CA) that has been making alot of noise lately (literally), Permenant Ruin. Featuring members of In Disgust, Hostile Takeover, Busted Outlook and Condenada. This is some super fast, raw noisey, thrashy, d-beaty, angry stuff. If that sounds like your cup of tea, then get into at Warthog Speak because there are still copies of the red second pressing out of /150 here.

Caught in a Crowd - The Fight

I've had really strange luck with any thing to do with Caught in a Crowd. Last time I ordered a CIAC record, it was pretty much a fiasco but I finally got what I wanted. This time around when I knew React! was releasing their ep, I figured I would have no problems...

So I order it the day it comes out, and it takes months and a bunch of unanswered emails to finally get here. Apparently my first package was lost in the mail. It's funny because I've never had an issue with React! until ordering this... so it made perfect sense that Caught in a Crowd would be involved. Luckily for me, they took the lost package on the chin and sent all my records over to me. 

Regarding the record itself, it is a beautiful lay out and an excellent recording. Brilliant straight edge hardcore played the way it should be... Fast and angry.

It was /130 on clear with black smoke, /220 on purple, /300 on white, /400 on black.

Right now I'm too lazy to look through my old pay pal logs, but I don't remember if the black smoke copy as on my original package order or if React! threw it in to make up for all the lost time. Either way, I'm happy to have it! Can someone confirm if this was in the original package deal?

Cross Me - Paid in Full

Here is one of Flatspot's latest releases, "Paid in Full" by Milwaukee's CROSS ME. This is some very good metal influenced hardcore that draws some influence from New York acts like Madball. At first, I thought I was listening to the new Criminal Instinct record, because the Cross Me singer's voice has an uncanny resemblance to the Criminal Instinct singer's voice. They also remind me of Alpha & Omega. Don't expect anything new or mindblowing with this release, but this is definitely some good solid hardcore, and it's an easily enjoyable listen at that. I got the pre order package with "Yellow"/Black mix on /100, Clear on /250 and Black on /650.

Here is the backside of the "yellow" and black, which is clearly light green... looking sharp!

Came with a sweet poster. I wish I had won one of the Cross Me test presses with the Eric B and Rakim cover. If I see one pop up on the bay I'll probably be in the mix. For your enjoyment, check out the real Paid in Full below:

The Combat Zone

When I saw Utopia Banished state that this may be the LP of the year, I immediately ran over and placed my order at Side Two Records to get a clear vinyl copy out of /100 (which is surprisingly still available!) Right in line with most of the other Boston revival stuff, these guys don't vary too much from there Boston brethren Peacebreakers and Boston Strangler. I would absolutely agree with Utopia Banished that this will go down as one of the best releases of the year. It has just the right amount of knuckle dragging sing along Oi! influence. Although this style is becoming common place in hardcore, The Combat Zone just seem to play it a little better than everyone else right now. 

Awesome fold out with the lyrics. On a side note, one thing drove me crazy about this release was the cover art. As a firearms enthusiast I am all about safety, and to see them pointing AR-15's at each other with their fingers on the trigger shows that 1) they are irresponsible and probably have little to no experience with firearms and 2) whoever let them borrow these weapons is an idiot for not having them at least index their fingers when pointing them around at each other. I know it's only an album cover, and a punk rock album cover to boot, but I can't help it that it bugs the shit out of me and makes me not even want to look at the cover. 

Here is a funny ass video. This is why you always assume the weapon is loaded and you keep your finger off the trigger kiddies!

How the Gods Chill

Here is Cold World's latest LP, "How the Gods Chill". As you can see, it has a nearly identical layout to their last LP. Cold World has always been one of my favorite bands. Needless to say, I was really excited about this release but somehow I missed out on the most limited color. What a fail.

Now down to the record. I have been listening to this pretty much non stop, and it took me a few listens to truly appreciate it. It definitely has a lot more of the Metallica style singing parts then their previous releases, but it is truly an excellent album. This may be Cold World's best stuff yet. The tracks with Kool G Rap and Meyhem Lauren are epic, but I think they should have brought in someone else besides Meyhem Lauren who they've already worked with. I've been dying to see a Cold World/M.O.P. collaboration for a while now. There are a ton of great tracks on this, but "The Real Deal" may replace "Refuse to Lose" as everyones favorite song during live sets. 

Back cover. It is so awesome they brought Kool G Rap, one of the best gangster rappers of all time in on this release. Now they've worked with some of the hardest rappers in the game when you include Sean Price and Kool G Rap. 

Insert front. Apparently all Cold World release art must have little kids and dogs in them. 

Lyrics if you want em, and they are good.

I settled for the clear vinyl over the white vinyl. I'm not sure how many were pressed, but I believe it was pressed on blue as the most limited, then clear and then white. If anyone knows the pressing info please enlighten us in the comments!