Raw Life

To the delight of merch flippers everywhere, recently Lockin' Out repressed The Rival Mob's "Raw Life". I got the black version out of /800 and there was also a yellow vinyl version out of /200. I'm not sure how long it took for the yellow to sell out, because I find out about this weeks after it came out. I'm sure it didn't take long for it to be gone though. This is the first copy I've ever owned of this release, and I'm glad to get a copy without having to pay through my ass on the bay. Maybe this will drive down the price of the first pressing so I can finally score one. Great stuff though, what else would you expect from the Mob???

No Rest, No Peace

Here is Alpha & Omega's latest release on Bridge 9, "No Rest, No Peace". I caught them live with Backtrack earlier this year and was really impressed by how awesome they are live. This release is way more metal than it is hardcore, and as you know I'm not much of a metal guy. This is a good solid release, but I probably won't be putting it on repeat too often. Not to say that it's not a good release, but metal just isn't my thing. However, whenever A&O come around my area I'll try to make it, they are one of the better current live bands out there. This release came on really hideous half clear red, half pink with black splatter out of /300, and some very demonic cover art.

Bishops Green

Here is Vancouver, Canada's Oi! heavy hitters Bishops Green. This is some really good quality Oi! music that is better than 90% of all the other Oi! out there. I wouldn't put it in that elite "Top Tier Oi!" category but these guys are damn good. One thing I really like about this release is that it is darker and gloomier than most Oi! I've heard. Don't expect just boring sing alongs about drinking and fighting on this, because Bishops Green definitely takes a more serious approach and it just works. I'll be on the lookout for more from these guys. Check out "Tumbling Down" below:

I Want The Moon

Leatherface, where have I been all these years? It wasn't until earlier this year that I finally gave Leatherface a chance and I have been seriously hooked ever since. The similarities in the vocals from this to one of my all time favorite bands, the Beltones, is remarkable. For that reason alone I fell in love with this on first listen. Isn't it amazing how you can miss out on classics for years (in this case, decades)? As I get older and my musical tastes expand, I start to appreciate new stuff. If I had heard this a few years back, I may have said this wasn't hard enough for me or some ig'nant ass bullshit. Now I can appreciate this in it's fully glory.

The lyrics on this record are outstanding and really poetic. I haven't fully been able to grasp the brilliance of some of them and it may take me a long time to really get what he's trying to say, but it's apparent that the words have much deeper meanings than your average punk rock record ("Springtime" anyone?). This is not an original press on Roughneck Records, but a recent "fan club" release on black vinyl. If you haven't checked this album out yet give it a try, you won't be disappointed.

Coke Bust - Confined

For those of you that know Coke Bust, you know what to expect with this release. They have stayed true to form with their usual style of only the most brutal of fast straight edge hardcore. The big difference with this release is the recordings sound more refined than their last releases. This doesn't take away any of the rawness for me, and I think this may be my favorite Coke Bust release yet. Usually I don't get too far into this ultra fast stuff, but these guys are damn good.

This copy is the red vinyl from Grave Mistake out of /200. After viewing Utopia Banished I saw that they also pressed a record release out of /200. That seems an awfully big number for a record release copy. Grave Mistake also has copies on red still available so if you're thinking about it, don't sleep! Grave Mistake has quietly had one of the most solid years of any label, and with vinyl treatments from 86 Mentality and Striking Distance coming in 2014, it looks like there's no stopping them anytime soon.

The release comes with a huge poster (record placed for reference). Home run on the packaging and design. 

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. 

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. 

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.