Happy New Clear!

Here we are, New Years Eve. As the sun sets on 2012 and we look forward to 2013, I hope everyone has a safe and happy New Years tonight! Will 2012 be remembered as the year of the Rev Repress? How many times is Rev going to repress this thing before I lose interest? Does it matter? Should I just shut my mouth and be a happy consumer? Why am I asking so many questions? Is this an interrogation? Do you understand these rights as they have been read to you? Would you like to talk about what happened?

Okay, moving on. I got side tracked a bit there. The whole point of my stupid story is as long as they pump these out I will keep putting up the coin. However; every time they repress one of these, it feels a little less special. Since I have pretty much zero original Revelation colored vinyl of any actual importance, it's cool that I can add these to my collection. I already did a much more detailed post on their latest white pressing, comparing it to the older pressing so go check that out for more detail on subtle difference.

With that I am out. Thank you everyone that read my blog this year or gave a shit, I appreciate it. Coming soon will be the top ten of 2011 (Yes, a year behind), and then the top ten of 2012 will probably come out after I get my Mindset pre order. Thanks everyone and Happy New Year!

Surprise Top Pick

I'm really quite surprised at how much I have loved this Expire release. I previously had their "Suffer the Cycle" ep which didn't seem to grab me or impress me that much. I've never been a big fan of alot of the Bridge Nine bands either so I wasn't expecting to much from this. I figured I'd give it a shot at a free download and I was instantly impressed. This band has really grown into their own and released one of the best albums of the year. This thing fucking rips and I love how it has that sort of gangster feel to it, like Madball and Cold World. I have the release on gold which I think was the most generic color, but I don't know the pressing info on this so I can't confirm that. I think the limited color was coke bottle clear.

With a nice fold out poster of the band looking kinda dorky. Not very fond of the layout or cover art of this album, but like the saying goes "Never judge a book by its cover." This thing shreds.

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!

Under the Influence, Against the Grain

Shit dude, what a month. This is one of my lowest production months yet, but I've been preoccupied with other things. In wake of the CT Shooting and our Government's plan to ban all kinds of guns, I've been decimating what's little savings I had on guns and ammunition. So I haven't had much time to concentrate on records or this blog unfortunately. I did get all 3 colors of the Rival Mob LP before the green was sold out though :)

Now down to bizz... I really love this 7", but I can't stand the title track "Suffering". The song "Above the Influence, Against the Grain" is really incredible straight edge anthem. I mean, React! Records kind of uses it as their slogan on all their stickers, so that says alot.

I hope everyone has a good Christmas and stays safe out there. My birthday is in a couple days also so I'm definitely going to be Under the Influence and Against the Grain.

Social Fail

Digging back into the archives, here is one I got back in early April from a record shop that was definitely a fail. I was thinking I found some new release from Social Circkle, and didn't really look close enough at the art work to release this was a different band with a different spelling. Circle without the "k". Oops. I haven't even listened to this yet. Who knows, maybe this thing is really good. I'll have to throw it on sometime. 

Violent Minds & Violent Times

Here is my black copy of "Eyes of Death" by Violent Minds. This band is so under rated its silly. This thing is an absolute shredder. Angry and pissed as all hell and has a bit of an Oi! influence to it if you ask me. As far as I know this band has been inactive for the past few years which is a shame. Their facebook page says they are from San Francisco which shocked me. I cannot remember really seeing their name on any fliers or anything. Does anyone know the real deal about this band?

Where I think they messed up is by not having this Spoiler art from the insert as their cover art? To me, this is far superior. Listen to "Eyes of Death" below and try and tell me this doesn't shred.

ON - Double Vision

Possibly the most boring band name ever ("On"?), here is a 2009 split release from Reaper and React on white vinyl out of /250. This thing has pretty interesting pressing info, and I have the first press that was available only through React! This is about what you would expect from two top tier labels, very good straight ahead hardcore. Excellent artwork and layout, excluding the Justin Bieber haircut on the front... C'MON MAN!!!

Peep out the track "Generations" below:

What an odd mix...

I don't have much time so I'll keep this short and sweet. Here is my plain jane copy of Billingsgate's "Reach Out" on black vinyl. I don't know the pressing info on this or care all that much for that matter. I got this on the cheap in a multi auction pull months ago, so why not? I guess what is most striking about this release is the band members on the cover. As other bloggers have mentioned before, it seems that all four members could be in different bands. Very odd. This is some decent hardcore, but nothing all that special. What do you guys think??? I already know how Mike feels about it.

This post is a Scream!

Not on the same level as some of the other Dischord bands, still SCREAM was influential in their own right. I was happy to pick this up recently in a multi auction win for the whopping price of 99 cents. This is a 2009 repress of the bands debut album which originally came out in 1982. This thing was definitely ahead of its time, it just so happens that they were label mates with some of the most influential acts in the history of punk music. This band may be most well known for having Dave Grohl  of Nirvana and Foo Fights fame as one of the later members... Whatever.

I've always thought this album had great cover art and great photography.

Goes well with the white vinyl, too. Definitely a good buy for 99 cents!

Iron Cross Test Press and Rare Shit

I did not hesitate to jump on the reissue of "Skinhead Glory" by Iron Cross that TKO recently re released. An all time American Oi! Classic, how could I not jump at it? I've never owned a copy on Skin Flint as they are a bit hard to come by and well beyond my means, so I was happy enough to get these limited copies.

TKO originally put up their red and white limited version out of /200 and I'm glad I didn't buy it the first week. I waited a week and noticed on Facebook that they had put up a handful of test presses for $25, so I quickly headed over and grabbed a test press out of /20. About a month later, Pirates Press records revealed that they had a limited version on green /50 that they were selling. I did not hesitate to get the Pirates Press version because the last Templars reissue on TKO also had /50 come out on Pirates Press and by the time I found out they were long gone.

Here's the insert for the regular versions. Not a whole lot going on.

And my test pressing, #20/25. I was pretty stoked to get a test pressing of this, even if it is a reissue! I prefer the test pressing cover over the regular cover. On another note, I apologize that I've been lacking on the blog posts but I've been incredibly busy. I'm also running out of photos and need to take more. Listen to one of my favorite Oi! songs ever below, "Crucified for your Sins": 

My 2012 Top 10 list just got BENT (Life)

So this is a record that I've had for months and I'm upset with myself that it wasn't until recently that I pulled it out and gave it a few spins. Holy shit, what an incredible fucking record! Definitely going in the top 10 for the year.... well, shit. My top 10 list is starting to get pretty long. This is one of those records I knew I would love right away after the first track. Great vocals and music, bringing a kind of metal style hardcore like Terror but with a much fresher sound. Angry as fuck and totally awesome. 6131 Records really has it going on right now between this release and Ill Intent's "No Masters".

I pre ordered this from 6131 after taking one look at the incredible Spoiler art on the cover. If you didn't know by now, I'm kind of a fan of anything that Spoiler does for hardcore bands record covers. Here it is on a very nice purple but I'm not sure how many were pressed. I would assume this is the most limited version since it was a pre order. Apparently these guys are from Nebraska, sweet. I love seeing bands killing that aren't from big cities. 

This won't take my "#1" spot for 2012, because that is going to go to Sydney Ducks or Shipwrecked most likely, but this does take my #1 spot for cover art for 2012. I can not think of a record that has a better cover than this released this year, Spoiler strikes again! Check out "The Hard Way" from this release below and get ready to throw some shit around your house:

Slow REACTshun

I have to be the last person to post these. I think my Mom already blogged about this shit before me. What can you do? React! Released these two records a while back, and I think I ordered them with that Mindset Collections pre order. First is Growing Stronger's "Toxic Fumes" on gold out of /200. This is a high quality release right here, real angry straight edge hardcore that is super similar to No Tolerance. If you like No Tolerance then check these guys out. The last track is easily my favorite, and the longest on the record coming in at a minute and a half. It's called "My Last Regret" and reminds me of Floorpunch with a fast first half and a nice sing along breakdown at the end, BRUTAL.

I picked up the Tranzmitors latest release on a whim, not really knowing shit about them. But damn I'm really glad I checked this out because now I love the Tranzmitors. That kind of poppy, catchy '77 garage punk and roll similar to the Real Kids. I guess they're from Vancouver, but they totally sing with  (fake?) British accents. Whatever, it adds to the flavor I say. They also remind me of one of my favorite all time bands, The Last Chordz (also with a "z"). This release is on clear blue out of /200, and worth checking out. If you plan on checking them out though, give them a listen first below because I think this is the kind of band you are either going to love or hate, and there is not much wiggle room in between. I love this shit, though.

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!

Backtracking to the '08 Demo

Here are my copies of Backtrack's "The 08 Demo". This is an EXCELLENT demo, BUT it is probably the weakest stuff that Backtrack has put out yet. I have read before that some people think this is their best stuff. I definitely listen to this regularly because I love Backtrack, but I feel like they've grown with every release. From this to "Deal with the Devil", to finally "Darker Half" which is one of the best hardcore albums to come out in the last decade. This band keeps getting better and better and I hope they stick to their winning formula and keep growing. The clear orange is a first press out of /350 (with /50 being on pre order covers) and the black copy is a 2nd press out of /400. 

Whoa Oh! Just Another (out) Crowd!

Here is another recent pick up from Reaper. The record and layout on this looks fantastic, as with most Reaper releases. This is another one of those releases that I really like at times and at times it's "Meh". It is a solid release, but at times the vocals annoy me (like on "Clockwork"). However, the music itself is so good that I power through it and still rock out. It's definitely not a "regular listen" for me, I have to use it sparingly. However, I'll be looking forward to their next release to see how this band grows. There is definitely a great deal of potential on these 8 tracks. This comes on red vinyl /400 or Green vinyl /1600.

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.

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?

Turnstile Green Cover

Jake gave me a heads up a while back about this Turnstile with the alternative green cover that reaper put up out of /132. Apparently they had extra vinyls so they had to make more covers. I also have it with the regular blue cover on black vinyl that I thought I had taken pictures of, but I can't seem to find. Oh well maybe I'll update it later. I really love this 7", it's grown on me in a huge way. It has a similar feel to Madball and Cold World, with that kind of thug HC, hip hop influenced feel which is right up my alley. I'm glad I jumped on this when I did, because this alternative cover is already OOP.

For your listening pleasure, check out this Vinnie Paz video with him wearing a Turnstile hoodie. Sick!

Labels behaving badly! (Pt. 2)

My last "Labels behaving badly" post turned out to be a huge success. When I compared shady labels to local Bay Area news segment "People Behaving Badly" with Stanley Roberts, I was shocked to see Mr. Stanley Roberts himself stop by and leave a comment on my page! Well Stanley, I'm going to pay homage to you yet again by exposing another shady record label that's been fucking people over.

All the way back in April, yes over 6 months ago, I pre ordered the Extermination comp and a few other releases from Flatspot Records. Knowing it was a pre order, I knew I would have to wait a while for my order to come, no big deal. Time passes, and I see all over facebook that the comp is out and orders are shipping. Ok, cool, it should be coming any week now? A month or so goes by and nothing comes, so I decide to send them an email to see what's going on. I got a response in June "Yeah, I'll send it tomorrow" or something like that. A week or two goes by and nothing ever shows up, so I ask again what's up with it. No response. After over 10 emails over the course of 5 months, I finally begged the guy to just send me my records. This was after I even tried to deal with a refund through paypal, but surprise surprise; too much time had passed for a refund. What's a shame is this is an excellent compilation, and this record label has put out some great stuff, but this guy is shady as all hell.

The Flatspot guy did say he would throw in some free records to make up for the long ass wait. I was thinking well, maybe if he threw in a test press or something I could forget about writing this post. No such luck, it turns out he just threw in a couple of filler distro records he had lying around. I did also buy the Deal with It and New Morality Splits, as well as a black copy of the Backtrack 08 Demo. It's a shame that a label that is putting out such solid stuff is fucking it up for themselves by being so shady and on top of that straight lying to people in emails. My poor friend Jake at Screaming for Records is still dealing with them trying to get his order too, and he's been getting the same treatment. Apparently Flatspot gets more shipments "lost" in the mail then any other shipper in the history of the US Postal Service! Interesting! I will never order anything from Flatspot again, and I suggest that you don't either!

To make matters worse, just look at how this was shipped. Surprisingly none of my records were too damaged, but this has to be some of the worst packing I have ever seen, EVER. All of the records were  in the jackets of course (ringwear city) and it was just two flimsy pieces of card board wrapped with tape. I'm amazed that all the records weren't destroyed. I'm sorry Jake, but if he ever does send your records, there won't be much left of them if they are sent all the way to the UK in this manner.

And now for your viewing pleasure, another fine episode of people behaving badly. LOL @ the guy running around on the freeway selling knock off jerseys.

These are a sign of the times!

I'm sorry for all of you that clicked on this expecting a Cro-Mags "Age of Quarrel" post, but that will be coming soon. Wait, why am I lying? I'm not sorry at all, I did this intentionally to trick you into clicking on my rap post! Mwa ha ha... well now that you're here you might as well read about it, right?

Here is a single for "The World is Yours" off of Nas' debut "Illmatic". It can be argued that Illmatic is THE BEST hip hop album ever made. Yes, THE BEST hip hop album EVER made. The quality of production is just incredible as well as Nasty Nas' ruthless rhymes. With the production being split pretty much 50% between DJ Premier and Pete Rock, the two most prolific hip hop producers of all time, every single song is an absolute classic on this. "The World Is Yours" just happens to be one of my favorite tracks from this incredible album. What's funny is I had this as my ring tone on my phones all throughout high school. I used to have a little Nokia phone and they charged some silly price for ring tones, I think I bought this song for $5 and then it basically transferred onto all my other phones I bought after that. But the song was a little weird ring tone version with no lyrics, so it sounded like some weird computerized elevator music.

The reason I am talking about the sign of the times, is I'm referring to the price tag on this recent purchase. Even as little as a three or four years ago, a majority of the hip hop community was completely unconcerned with vinyl. For years I was able to find absolute classics at my local records stores in the dollar bin, and alot of classic singles (such as this) for 25 cents! Those days are long gone, and now I felt lucky enough to find this for $8.99. But yes, times have changed and my wallet is taking the brunt of it. Check out the music video below for amazing track, produced by Pete Rock:

"I'm the young city bandit, hold myself down single-handed
For murder raps, I kick my thoughts alone, get remanded
Born alone, die alone, no crew to keep my crown or throne
I'm deep by sound alone, caved inside a thousand miles from home
I need a new nigga, for this black cloud to follow
Cause while it's over me it's too dark to see tomorrow"

(Check out this link to the lyrics, if you click on every line of the lyrics the author breaks down all the meanings to every line. Pretty incredible. This stuff is straight poetry, there could be college courses studying this stuff!)