November Coming Fire - Dungeness [Thirty Days Of Night / Anchors Aweigh]

Picked this up at the NCF reunion show at TDON 6 yesterday, it's a split release from TDON and Anchors Aweigh from Italy.   It never got a vinyl release when it was released through Reflections in 2006 and it's a real shame that it didn't get a vinyl release right away so it's good to see these labels stepping up and finally getting this gem cut on record four years later.

Artwork is slightly altered, taking the basic feel of the original CD release and expanding it to fit the gatefold LP format nicely.  The first few copies sold at the show came with a nice little bonus for old times sake in the form of the original 2002 demo which showcases a band in a more visceral and metallic vein of bands like The Haunted or even Arkangel.  Some good gang vocals on this baby.  They only made 138 copies of it originally, although it did take a while for them to make the covers up and sell them at a show, so long in fact that the first Break In show I played in 2003 where we debuted our demo, they finally had the NCF one available.  They quickly outgrew the sound of the demo, it's good to see them still embracing it by adding this little extra in to the LP.

There were 250 records of each colour pressed, each colour exclusive to each label, I saved a bit of cash having an LP shipped from Italy by picking both up from the band, thrifty.  Good choice of colour combinations. 

The dust sleeve is signed by the band, I didn't go all fanboy and get them to do it, the first few came like it.  Kind of cool if you like that sort of thing.

It's good to see these guys getting their shit out on vinyl so long after they first called it quits, if ever there was a record from a UK band that warrants the vinyl treatment it's NCF.  Here's hoping for Canaan next.

Alaska / End Reign - Split [Fist In The Air / Worthless Nights]

This is a little bit of a landmark for all parties involved, the first vinyl release for band Alasks, End Reign plus the label Fist In The Air (Worthless Nights put out the Angst 7" already). This whole thing came together pretty fast, I first heard about it in the summer and Alaska had already started recording their side. I'm not going to review the music as such, all I'll say is both bands play a similar style of pissed off metallic hardcore in the vein of bands like Rise & Fall and Cursed. I know it's a bit of a lazy comparison but you'll agree it's pretty spot on, plus they're good bands to be compared to. Both bands are fairly new on the scene with one or two releases under their belt each and I can tell from the songs on show here that they've hit their respective strides with these batch of songs.


Artwork is crisp as fuck, a simple black and white affair by Mr Rupert who is known for handling the illustration for November Coming Fire's Dungeness LP. It's my favourite piece I've seen by him and it definitely accompanies the music well. The only bad thing isn't asthetic but packaging, the record itself was mailed inside the sleeve and one of the copies teared at the top due to the package being thrown about in transit. Anyone reading this who posts records in the mail, please make sure you remove the record from the cover when packing it for delivery to avoid this whether you run a label or are sending a record to a friend. This has happened to at least 5 of my records over the past 6 months, a pet peeve if you will.

Vinyl colour wise we've got a winner, no gawdy splatter in three separate colours on a bad base colour here, just simple clear and clear blue. The colour choice adds to the crisp look of the set, definitely a good decision.

Clear out of 150: (that isn't a pube, honest, it's record fluff, I'd just picked it up off the turntable and it had new record residue on it)

Blue out of 350:



I managed to secure a couple of pre-order covers too, these are just standard 7x7" sheets of card numbered out of 50, a nice touch and icing on the cake. I know Alaska did two lots of release covers recently, 5 of each design and End Reign have one in the works too.

Rot In Hell - Niu [A389]

This is a one sided live EP which I have on tape from Grot Records, they did a couple of different covers and I was meant to do a post about it along with a bunch of other things over the past couple of months that I just haven't got round to doing, real life eh.  Anyways we've (Santa Karla) been playing this beast in the van since I got it and it really captures the pissed off live sound that Rot have.  You can't hear the dancing but you just know everyone's losing their shit, or maybe they were just standing around not knowing what to do like at CTW, seriously, this band make me want to punch someone in the face or grab a girl inappropriately whilst picking them up when they fall over moshing to Cold Snap.  Wise up guys, this is the band you want to break your nose to.

This is out of 300 I think, all the records are on black too, you can't see too well from my amazing photographic skills but the cover is screen printed with silver ink.  The whole thing is more DIY than a regular A389 release, but coupled with the tape version and the fact it's a live recording it all ties together nicely.

Side B has the same labels as The Blackest Curse, you don't see me complaining.  It would've been cool to have a screen printed b-side but I know these were done as a kind of last minute release so there probably wasn't much time for such a thing.

Withdrawal - Unknown Misery [Wendigo]

Another from the A389 distro, I've only got this one on black so I thought it'd be cool to have a second copy on gold.  This one comes with a lyrics sheet unlike my other copy, but instead of a card cover it's a paper cover, both are colour photocopies.  I think I may copy the lyric sheet for the black record, it's better than nothing, is that the done thing? 

Haven't a clue on the pressing info for this, I guess the guys pressed it on their own label as a demo or something, it used to be that colour vinyl was rarer than black but these days a few labels use black as the rare colour, pretty weird but I can understand that.  People want to buy a record more if it's on a cool colour, if there's less black record to shift then there's less risk of being left with 10 boxes of something and more chance of shifting them on the unsuspecting newbie vinyl buying public.

Go buy a copy of this record, support Canadian.

Disciple - Scarab [S.A. Mob]

I got an order through from Lord Dom over at A389 today, the main reason I did the order was for the new live Rot In Hell LP (but we'll get to that later), so I decided to pad out the delivery with a few more records to make the delivery price from the states seem a little more worth it. Of course the more records you add, the more the postage gets so I ended up spending more anyway, what a tit.

The Scarab 7", an early slice of Disciple and one of my go to records since I first found them all those years back. For ages I only had it on first pressing black and gold but this week I ended up with another 2 copies, the other being one from SiegexPerilous which I'll post about when I can get a decent light source in my house. By decent light source I mean when the clouds go clear just enough for me to be able to shoot the records I picked up at the CTW fest at the weekend.

This is the final press version that SA MOB pressed in around '06, EMS did this and the Shockwave 7" at the same time, I didn't bother getting either of them as at the time I was a pauper and multiple copies of the same record didn't appeal as much to me. I guess the nerd in me hadn't reached full maturity by then.

Artwork is largely the same, slightly different card for the insert but nothing has been touched, even the name has stayed the same, for those not in the know, they added the x's to the name later on as there was, obviouosly, another christian band called Disciple, the A.D. was added just before the Heaven And Hell LP. This pressing is out of 581, there's 17 on smokey mix which is the transition colours between the black (out of 2!) and clear. I think the chances of me finding the balck from this press are pretty remote, but not impossible.

I'm doing this post whilst at work on a nice overnight shift and haven't got the rest of the records to hand, but I know I'm missing the following six records out of the complete set of 10:

First press:
Test /3
Green #ed w/ merry christmas written on the label /101
Blue w/ yellow labels /102

Second press:
Test /5
Black /2
Smokey mix /17

Integrity - The Blackest Curse [Deathwish]

I didn't post about this record straight away because I knew I'd be picking up the second press from the Deathwish store at some point and I didn't want to post three times in as many months about the same record. The record is numbered out of 30 copies from the first press records of the red vinyl (which are out of 300), they have stamped inserts which are wax sealed and Dwid sketched a photo which is included inside the sleeve.  I know Herr Hellion likes to make these special variations of his groups records and whilst it makes it that little bit cooler to own a rare variation it also adds a personal touch to an already great package that this LP is.

A closer look at the sketch:

Close up of the wax seal:

So that's the "special edition" of TBC, four copies of the first press so far, missing a test which I know for a fact I'll never own since there were 2 made and one went on eBay for about $400.  Onto the second press, this is out of 1000 so I didn't rush to order one since I'm pretty confident the real nerds were all over the first press.  They're all on grey, I saw Marcus posted about this one the other week and I agree they missed a trick by not pressing it on black, but word is the third press may be noir so I guess I've got another record to look forward to purchasing.

So that's 5 copies of the record I own now, I guess the red is technically a spare/double since I have the special version of it.  Looks pretty cool, also I have 4 digital downloads spare if anyone wants one, I suppose you could call it a gift, leave a comment if you want one.

Alpha & Omega - Life Swallower [Reality]

A couple of weeks back my band played an all dayer with Bane, Trapped Under Ice and Alpha & Omega.  It was a good turnout and A&O blew me away, which is why I picked up these records (I got a shirt too but I'm not posting about that).  This is the euro press of the record on Reality Records, which adds the 7" to the end of the LP also.  That's coming in the post from Hellfish at the moment.

I've got a couple of records from Reality which came from a trade with a Belgian distro, the covers on these LP's are all the same, reverse printed with gloss insides but the card while being pretty good quality is pretty flimsy.

I nabbed both the red and grey versions the band had with them, they said the grey is out of 300 and is meant to be only sold on the tour, I guess if they have any leftovers they'll go on the online store.  The red is opaque, when I bought it I assumed it'd be clear, never assume, it makes an ass out of you and me.

Man Hands / Toecutter - Split

Bit of a reunion this one, I'd not really paid much attention to any of the bands the other guys in Winter In June or Urotsukidoji did after they both split up, yeah they went on to be in bands like Gallows, The Beak In and November Coming fire but that was as far as my curiosity took me.  Man hands is Ross, James, Scott and Gareth, other than Gareth's antics in the mighty NCF the other lads haven't made big waves within the hardcore community.  So when I hear they'd got together and were practicing some new jams with plans to record a demo that was fast and pissed off I was interested.  I saw them play in Canterbury a few weeks ago not knowing they'd pulled together a split with a band called Toecutter, even better was that they had it available there and then.  Cheers then.  I suck at comparisons but it sounds to me like the Some Girls school of rock with the odd post hardcore nod mixed in there, I'll be picking up the next record for sure.

Didn't listen to the Toecutter side, I will do, but I have a bunch of new Integrity records to keep spinning before I stray out to new territory, I can't give another band my full attention until the holy terror is out of my system.

I think they did 300 copies of this record, black and white artwork, bit of a nerdy cover that is pure DIY, come on, they had Man Hands shirts that were spray stencilled on Primark shirts, you know the deal.

Go see this band, buy a record.  Always good to see a dude I was in a band with years ago still writing decent riffs, hopefully I can get a show or two with them in the future.

Unbroken - Re-issue Re-package Re-evaluate The Songs [Indecision]

I picked up this baby from the Unfbroken reunion show in London this weekend, I honestly never thought I'd get to see them play seeing as they originally split a few years before I even knew what hardcore was and I never had the money to front to get to one of the reunions they did in the states.  I'm not going to say anything more than it was truly mind blowing, an unforgettable set.

The record itself is essentially the two LP's and the comp of rarities packaged together on the same colour wax in an interesting triple LP gatefold.  I've not got any 3xLP's so it's all new to me this double fold out lark.  Pressing is out of 300, pressed for the show, when I picked up my copy it was just before they hit the stage and the dude doing merch said there was only a few left.  I could see from the pile of empty crushed boxes at the side of the table that they'd shifted a fair chunk of them.  The show was a hefty mix of british and euro dudes, so these will have a good spread across the continent from direct sales let alone the amount of people who'll be flipping it on ebay thinking they'll be in for a sure thing.  If I were to get rid of mine it'd be for xDisciplex records, or a Shockwave demo tape, just sayin'.  I was a click or two away from ordering this from the Indecision site a couple of months back on clear vinyl, definitely preferable to a raspberry ripple feel but this was less hassle to get.  I'm all for getting multiple colours but considering I missed the original press and add to that the fact it's a discography I'm happy to leave this as a one off.  My bank balance is grateful for this decision no doubt.

Check out this shot from the inside foldover, if you missed the London reunion then this is representative of what you missed out on.  

Listen to this band if you haven't already, I'd go so far as to say they are life changing.

Midnight Souls - Colder [Reflections]

These guys are from Belgium and play the style of hardcore you'd hear from the early '00 bands on Bridge 9 and Indecision.  Think Modern Life Is War, Count Me Out and American Nightmare.  Reflections picked them up a few months back and this is their debut 7", I've seen them live a few times when my band played with them in Belgique and they've always impressed.  Artwork courtesy of Linas Garsys for that authentic early 00's feel and lyrically you'd be forgiven for thinking they were brought up in Boston.  They were meant to have copies on white/black split too but a minor plant fuck up meant it was just black or white, one less record for me to buy I say, no big deal.  I haven't seen anything from Garsys artwork wise for a good while, minus the Hatewaves 7" on A389 but that was a kind of Unknown Pleasures rip so it doesn't count.  The guy has still got it, oh, these guys got Alan Douches at West West Side to master the record, he did a lot of mastering for hardcore bands in the states, still does actually.  Good choice on that, gives it a more authentic sounds, plus the guy mastered xDisciplex, word.

I think the white is out of 150:

With the black out of 350.  I could be wrong, correct me in the comments if I confused this a little.

The cover image goes round to the back, would probably have been better if it was a folded card cover rather than a glued down cover but it still looks boss when you put them next to each other.

Seriously check this band out, they're tight.  www.myspace.com/midnightsoulsneversleep

What's Eating Gilbert - Thinking 'Bout Her [Epitaph]

Earlier this year Chad Gilbert tweeted that he was putting some songs from his little solo jaunt up on his new site (www.whatseatinggilbert.com) for free download.  This made me happy.  I've been a long time fan of New Found Glory and I can honestly say I took no enjoyment in listening to Shai Hulud after he left, the 3 or 4 dudes they had since him just didn't have the passion, for that reason, I was out.  When he said he was doing some solo stuff I was curious as to how it would sound, would it be acoustic singer/songwriter stuff or would it be like NFG offshoots that didn't make the records of the past?  The answer was somewhere in between, more along the lines of a semi-acoustic New Found Glory writing songs in the 50's.  He put 3 tracks up on the site, 2 of which are on this 7".  I can honestly say I had these on repeat on my ipod for weeks, they're so catchy.  A month or so back Chad announced that he was putting out a 7" which would have a track that wasn't made for download, I instantly ordered one of each colour.  The new track My Old Town is a little slower than the ragers already released which is a good contrast.

The gold is out of 300:

The red is out of 700:

Artwork is reminiscent of the movie That Thing you Do, directed by Tom Hanks (brilliant film).  Pure 50's right down to the record labels and the 360 stereo sound icons.  The songs have a whiff of the aforementioned Hanks movie and seeing as New Found Glory covered the title track from it on their From The Screen To Your Stereo EP back in '00 I felt it fitted with his vibe.  Good work.

There was a deal where you get a shirt too, seeing as the missus is a big fan of the music and the man himself I thought I'd get her one.  Good to see that cheeky smile once in a while.

Really looking forward to the next release, he's always updating his blog with more free songs which will more than likely be released on vinyl/CD in the future, you could do worse than listen to the stuff he puts out.

Burning Love - Songs For Burning Lovers [Deranged]

I started to lose hope of receiving this in the post, this package took 7 weeks to cross the pond from Canada, I had faith however as my birthday card from the old dear was a few weeks late and she said she'd posted it at least 3 weeks before I officially became old this year.  Now I'm not ashamed to admit I stole the mp3 versions of this from the internet, I'd already handed over the money to Deranged Records for the vinyl so it isn't stealing.  I love how I justified my illegal activity, sue me.  I make no secret about my addiction with this band at the moment, the demo rocked my socks, it's pure energy.  The LP has a few tracks from the demo on it which is good for me, I fear change and having a few older tracks eases me into the listening experience.  Musically the new songs aren't much of a departure from the demo material, they come across like a dirtier punk rock version of Queens Of The Stone age, whichh isn't a bad thing eh.

I don't know the exact numbers for each record but I know the red is the most limited, with a bunch of these being sold by the band.  White is the middle amount and standard black is the regular common record.

The red is actually a little transparent, I thought it was just solid red at first, it's not see through like when a black record is so piss thin that it looks clear.  I like that the labels on one of the sides is a kind of generic one that you'd get on records in the 60's, I've not got many records from Deranged so can't find out if they do this for many others, would be cool if this is a kind of standard thing though.