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.

Ancient VVisdom / Charles Manson - Split [Withdrawal]

I know a few people that found it hilarious that Charles Manson was still releasing music, I guess to Joe public it could be a little strange but he's getting those recordings out of the joint for our listening pleasure and that's all that matters to me.  Ancient VVisdom is the new band of ex Integrity/Final Plan member N. Jochum, it sounds like a doomy folk Danzig.  The two tracks on this are so good, check this out right away.  The Manson tracks are similar in style to the ones on the Holy Terror 7" Dwid put out earlier this year, half poetry based songs, half jam, pure Charlie.  All of the tracks are on one side of the LP and side B is just smooth.  I assume this was a little too long to fit on both sides of a 7", I'm cool with that.  Artwork is by Charlie's friend Star, I like it, reminds me of some awesome pagan ritual or something.  This came on 4 colours, 3 of which you can get from the Withdrawal records store, the other direct from the bands.

Mixed out of 306.  This is that standard colour you get sometimes, it's like a bit of everything chucked in to randomly get a colour, I think some plants give you a deal on using this because they get to recycle old cut offs or something.  It looks kinda sucky but it works.

Red out of 151.  My favourite of the variants, it's cool how there's some black swirls going on there too, I picked one up for Ben SK at the same time and his one is different in that the black is less prominent but still there.  I'm guessing that a lot of these were splattered with black after the main black press was finished.

Blue out of 57.  This one I had to get direct from a band, in this case one of the ATWA stores Charlie has one of his helpers set up.  

The other variant is black out of 366, we all know what that looks like so I took a closer shot of the label.  Those in the know will get it.

These look pretty tight as a collection, kind of pissed I didn't pick up all of the Charlie 7"s from HT, cannot wait for more AVV music, two songs just doesn't cut it.  They have another track on the myspace page, go have a listen, you know how to use google.

The View

I seemed to have a bit of a problem building up this summer of records being strewn around the house in various rooms.  The kitchen had a few on top of the microwave, there were some around the TV in the living room and my spare even had a couple of 7"s in there, the record player and all round musical mecca is in the bedroom.  I've successfully turned the far end of the room from an empty space into my own man cave.  I got a few more boxes from the mother in law and decided it was time to get them all in the same place within arms reach of the record player so I can listen to them a little easier, they shouldn't really live downstairs where I have to bring a pile up whenever I need them.  No, for a real session I need to cover the floor with so many records that the god awful mustard coloured carpet of my nice little rented maisonette can't even be seen.  So this picture is basically what I can see from the chair next to the stereo, everything is in order. I give it two weeks before the place looks like a shit tip again and I can't find anything.