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.

Knife Fight 2002

As much as I despise the city of San Francisco and going there, they hands down always have the best used punk rock records. I found this sweet Knife Fight demo 7" for 25 cents at Thrillhouse. I remember I first heard Knife Fight around 2002 (probably when this came out) when my buddy Robby burned this for me on a cd. I have a few Knife Fight 7"s and I've always really liked them, but I don't know why I haven't posted more about them or tried to collect any more vinyl. Needless to say, this may be the best purchase I've ever made with a quarter. 

Hand stamped, #48/200. According to discogs; "Copies 1 through 50 are numbered out of 200 and have a slightly different layout, sold only by the band." How cool is that? Check out how long most the songs are (sub 45 seconds), fast and brutal. What ever happened to Knife Fight?

MFP

Towards the end of 2012 and the beginning of 2013, I was not paying a whole lot of attention to record collecting. Most of my attention was focused on other more important stuff, so I had totally slept on MFP. However, when Utopia Banished posted about them I took notice. Not too long after I headed over to Painkiller and picked up a copy of their 7".

As described on the Painkiller page; "hardcore influenced by hardcore", this is essentially stripped down Boston hardcore. Is there anything special about it? I don't really think so. I don't think MFP brings it to that next level the way some of the other Boston hardcore bands are doing with this similar style. Does that mean I don't like this EP? Fuck no, this thing is pretty darn good. Sometimes simple and generic is just what the doctor ordered, and this thing is plain fun all the way around. I just wish I would have gotten a copy on blue when I had a chance! On a side note, this may be remember as the best cover of the year. I mean, a HC kid breaking through a brick wall, with a baby flying out of a crib?Take no prisoners!

Hatred Surge

Here is a 7" from Austin Texas powerviolence band Hatred Surge. I kind of bought this because it was put out by Painkiller and had a sweet cover and band name. I will leave this to some of the other blogger crew that are more knowledgable in this style. There are some parts I like, but it is dual male and female vocals. I happen to find the female vocals annoying as fuck, but once again I don't really know jack shit about this style of music (I'm not sure if this is even "powerviolence"?) so my opinion shouldn't matter much to you. Now I'm off to work, have a nice day!

Straight Edge Hatred

Painkiller is one of the premier labels and I don't really put much thought to their releases when they come out. I just go ahead and order it, but sometimes I end up with something that I'm just not all that into. I should have known when I read that this releases is 10 songs in 4 minutes and some change. That is just a little too fast for my blood. Vaccine plays a brand of super distorted and angry power violence-ey hardcore.

My version is a euro tour pressing on gray vinyl out of /300. It's still available on their big cartel, along with some pretty sweet shirts. This came out in 2010, but I just picked it up recently. 

The design and layout for this is top notch. Folds out into a huge X. Even though this is not my style and I probably won't be jamming it too often, doesn't mean I can't enjoy it (in small doses). Doing a little research on this, some have lauded this as one of the best releases in 2010. For those of you into that style of hardcore, then this is probably right up your alley. 

One thing that this really has going for it is it's super negative and depressing lyrics. I really appreciate how dark and aggressive the mood is on this record. Once I read the lyrics, I had to give it a longer listen to really judge it. Nothing get's this old drunk bastard going like militant straight edge hardcore. Preach, baby! Like how about the lyrics to the opening track "Your life's a joke": 

STRAIGHT EDGE! You make me sick. Stupid junkie. Your life's a joke. Chemically dependent. Mindless bastard. No fucking hope. Junk in your veins. Thinking you're fine. Your life's a joke, NOT MINE!

VIOLENT FUTURE... WHERE HAVE I BEEN?!

You know when you hear that record that hits you like a ton of bricks, and you wonder how did I miss this for so long? After reading the UTOPIA BANISHED and SKULL FUCKED best of 2012 posts, I decided to check out some of the releases on the list that I hadn't heard yet. Utopia Banished and Skull Fucked had EXCELLENT top 2012 list, so how could I doubt anything on these lists? Anyways, I decided to give Violent Future a shot, and I'm super glad I did.

 I was completely blown the fuck away when I heard this. All year, I have had Shipwrecked - Last of the Pagans at my top spot for 2012, and this release may even challenge that. Words can't describe how impressed I am by this band. It is a great mix of super raw hardcore with a touch of Oi!... That's what I'm fucking talking about!!! All of that youth crew and metal influenced hardcore is nice and all, but compared to shit like this you just can't fuck with it. This is definitely one of my favorite releases of the last decade, period. Ever since discovering this I've been in a constant Violent Future listening frenzy. If you don't own this yet, then you're retarded. There's no other way to put it. You can even download it for free from the label, so what excuse do you have?

I don't know the pressing info for this release but I atleast know that Painkiller put out some red vinyl for this and I'll definitely be in the hunt for that. There is really nothing left to say, just go buy this release immediately. GOON LIFE!!!!

Not quite clear on what happened...

I don't know how I didn't hear about this Prisoner Abuse LP coming out or how I missed out on the limited clear vinyl, but I am kicking myself now for it. This is no doubt one of the top releases of 2012. Super grimey old school hardcore. Apparently the music was recorded a few years back and the vocals were added this year. You wouldn't be able to tell by listening to it, the recording is fluid and natural. You could have tricked me and told me this was a live recording. If you're still sleeping on this then I would track this down quick!

The Blackest of Fridays

I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving. I'm wondering how many of you went shopping on black Friday, or took advantage of all the great sales that a bunch of record labels were having. Unfortunately, I couldn't really afford any because Friday morning I went out and bought another new gun and all kinds of ammo because it is the best day of the year to buy ammo and guns. For those of you that don't know, the little money I have left over after I pay my rent, bills, and vinyl is probably getting spent on something involving firearms. So every year when Black friday comes, I am always heading down to the different sporting goods stores to stock up for the rest of the year. Unfortunately, after spending almost $700 dollars in less than an hour on Friday morning, I had to miss out on all the vinyl sales since I had spent all my money. Bummer. 

Looking through my pictures, I wanted to find something that seemed fitting for black Friday. For some reason I picked these latest Hoax releases up. Some dark ass hardcore that is very strange, but quite enjoyable. All of there releases come with huge posters with strange artwork. Above is their "3rd ep", or their latest release. 

I love the cover art on this release, but the insert is just way too bizarre. I'm looking forward to seeing these guys when they come to the Gilman soon. This is their "1st EP", so I'm still missing the 2nd EP. I hope to get it soon, once I have some money again that is!

Waste Management

There's been a ton of hype surrounding this release from Boston hardcore shredders; "Waste Management". To me, this album flirts between "record of the year" and "generic" if that makes any sense. Much like my review of Hounds of Hate, there are times when this 7" shows signs of brilliance, but some of the fast parts just sound very sloppy. What a shame, if this band can just find their strengths and play to that, these guys will be a powerhouse. One thing these guys have going for them is since I wrote my Hounds of Hate review, that 7" has grown on me a little bit. This 7" may also end up growing on me more. Now, if it comes to cover art, this may be some of the best cover art I've seen in years, (next to some of the Spoiler stuff of course!) Looks an awful lot like that World War 4 demo though, wouldn't you agree?

Soul Swallower - Devoured LP

Heres another one that I got not only based on the incredible art work but also off of reviews on blog sites. Some bloggers had this in their top 10 for 2011. Soul Swallower's "Devoured" on Painkiller is more super heavy raw noize stuff. Some of it is very good when they play the slower parts which are brutal, but the fast parts have just too much, well, noise for my taste. All in all, it is a decent listen and maybe I just need to give it a few more time to grow on me, but the thing is I have already been trying really hard to get into it. I even downloaded it and put it on my phone so I could listen to it while running, and it's still just not sinking in. But what can ya do, right? If it's not really my style then it's just not my style. If you like thrash metal then check this out.