Burning Love - Demo 7 inch on Gold.

Another quickie tonight. I'm still feeling pretty average, so I'll get back into story mode real soon.



I've been a Colofan for some time now, and when I heard that he had a new band that he was signing for, I got uber stoked. As with all Colohan bands, I was thinking maybe he was going to get into the same shit he was doing with Cursed.

Now I wasn't completely wrong, but I wasn't right either.

Some of the Burning Love stuff reminds me of Cursed, but the vocals are not as heavy and have a rockier vibe, as does the music.



This is the Demo, which was available for free download just after it was recorded, but it was also pressed as a tape, in 2 different pressings. I missed out on both of those, and then Thirty Days of Night records released it as a 7 inch for the Burning Love Euro Tour.



That was a fucking debarcle for me. I ordered 2 lots of the pre order package (All 3 colours) and only 1 turned up, I emailed the dude about it and he said he sent the second lot. They never came. Then I ordered a bunch of them (along with other records they had released) for my distro, and they didn't turn up either. I also ordered the Integrity split Book/7 Inch from the label, I wonder if I'll get that one?

I digress.

Gordon over at Deranged Records released this on 4 colours with 4 covers, and I have all 4 sitting in my box of 7 inches.

But this is my favourite of the 4. Traditional Gold vinyl with a yellow cover.

A good little demo 7 inch. Hit up Deranged and pick this up. Ot if you want a copy on Black, Red or Gold, drop me a line, I have 1 of each at $13 ppd.

Extortion - Terminal Cancer EP

A quick one today.



I finally have this back in my grubby little mitts.

I like a lot of things about this release. First up, it's Extortion. You really can't go wrong there.



The artwork is great. Rohan does some awesome stuff, but I often find the best work is stuff he does for his own band. The art on this is simple, straight up but still pretty brutal.



The label that pressed this is one that I have loved for fucking years and years. Shortfuse has done so many good releases.

And finally, the recording was done on a Yamaha MT3X 4 track. It sounds rough as fuck (and as the insert says "RAW AS PISS"), but for this band, it really fucking works.



Picked this up from a mate on eBay for $6 plus $2 postage. Really can't complain. It's the first pressing too, with the proper enclosed cover, not the wrap around one with the red backing.

This one will get a bit of airtime with me.

Nirvana - Hormoaning EP

Another one to tick off my top ten wants list.

And before anyone pipes up, I know it's a bootleg, but I don't have the US$600+ to buy an OG copy lying around.



I have no idea on numbers on this one, and given that it is a bootleg, you can be pretty certain that the official numbers don't exist anywhere. To be honest, I really don't give a fuck. I am siked to have this record in my collection for me to play, enjoy and not worry about some fucker dropping a needle on it too hard, or walking away with it.

This EP holds a rich history for me, and when it hit my PO Box this morning and I opened the Mailer (I didn't know it was actually this record) there was a huge rush of nostalgia. Not because I ever owned this on LP, or on CD for that matter, but because of where I was when I first heard the song D7.



I was walking to work (it would have been maybe 95 or 96) and I worked in a milk bar (local store for those US/Euro people reading) where I stacked the fridges and cleaned up after the days trade. I was allowed to listen to my walkman, and I loved to do so which cutting up/crushing boxes and cardboard, and putting new drinks and shit in the fridge. I was mates with the owners eldest son, and he was a HUGE Nirvana fan, and he made me a mixed tape of random Nirvana Rarities he had gotten from another mate of his (we traded tapes of shit we taped off the radio, got from kids at school etc...).

I had heard a lot of the stuff on the tape from live shows and bootlegged tapes from the market, but when D7 came on my walkman, I was mesmerised. I had heard most of the Hormoaning EP from Incesticide but I had not heard this song.

I was about to walking into the front door of the shop, and I just stopped dead. I sat down on the metal benches outside and listened to the song from start to finish. Then I rewound it and listened to it again while I walked into work. I reckon I listened to it at least 5 more times during that shift. It was rare to hear such good quality songs that you hadn't heard from Nirvana before.

Fast forward a couple years and Cameron (the aforementioned eldest son) actually got hold of a copy of the Hormoaning CD. I had gotten to a point where I was moving on to much heavier music (Punk, Metal, Hardcore, etc) so I wasn't so overly stoked any more.

But here I am, and totally in love with this EP all over again.

So, it shows all the usual signs of the bootlegs: The shower head is missing from the top right of the frame, the taps aren't underneath the banner on the bottom right, etc.



The vinyl is a sick Maroon/Red that is slightly transparent. The cover is in awesome condition and I could not be happier (Well, maybe if I had an OG copy, but that might happen one day...).

Norma Jean - Redeemer Test Pressing.

A bit of a weird one today...

I was lurking away on eBay, as I do, and I saw this pic disc test pressing with a really low start price.



Now, I was dubious on this one, but this is my fav Norma Jean record, sonic I could snag it for a good price, it'd tide me over until I could get my shit together and buy the box set again.

When I toured with NJ the first time they came to Australia, I was super bummed that none of their records were reased on Vinyl, so when the box set came out, I was so stoked and pre ordered it straight off the bat, but I thought the inner sleeves were thin and flimsy, and the pressing of Redeemer on Pic Disc really bummed me out, because while it looks fancy, the bottom end of this record is really lost on a Pic Disc. Hopefully one day it'll see a repress on 180 gram Black, because this record is fucking heavy! I kinda doubt it though.

Back to the story...

I was sat around with my homeboy Shane, listening to some records on a Saturday night, and this one was about to end and I was only at the first bid. So I chucked $20 Australian on it thinking I wasn't gonna get it that cheap.



Low and behold, $16 + $10 postage, a 2 week wait and this little fucker hit my PO Box.

As I said, I was dubious on the test pressness of this record, as normally a pic disc test pressing will be all white. So I chucked up a question about it on the Vinyl Collective message board, and a message from Virgil (the guy who put the box set out) confirms that it is indeed a test press of the Norma Jean - Redeemer Picture Disc.



Virgil did mention that it was super weird that the dude seperated these from the rest of the box set, but like I said, this is my favourite NJ record, so a happy little record sitting on the shelves in my study. Not as cool as my Darkest Hour - Undoing Ruin LP Test Press, but a sick record nonetheless.

Narrows / Heiress - Split 7 inch

A quick one for tonight.



I've been super busy with work and band stuff, and working on some releases, but I always use that excuse.



Here is a split 7 inch, put out by the lovely folk at Deathwishinc. I was really siked to hear the new Narrows stuff after the Deathwish sampler came out, and one of these songs are on it.



I gotta say, I reckon that this is their heaviest stuff, and I am super pumped on the first song, Recurring. The riff at the end is soooooo fucking good.

Jun Jun, Jun jun jun, Jun jun jun...



The Heiress stuff is good too. Reminds me a lot of Narrows, and to more of an extent, Botch. This split gets better with each spin for me.

The art is sick, the coloured vinyl I got is sick, and the Heiress sides label is awesomely sick! Seriously, can't really whinge about this one.



This is a short post, because it doesn't have the usual story that goes with a lot of the record I own.

But tomorrows will. And my wife is buying me a camera for blogging.

She's a fucking good sort.

Refused - Songs to fan the flames of discontent

I tell ya, dropping the needle on this bad boy made me fe fucking Alive. I have always love this record, and when I sold off everything, this was one of the last pieces to go. (and as soon as this was over I put on the everlasting EP and then The Shape of Punk to come. It was awesome!)



It's kinda funny, everyone raves so hard about The Shape of Punk to come (which is a piece of pure genius, please don't think for a second that I don't think so), but for a hard core record, this is where my money lays.



I put this on last night and as soon as Rather Be Dead started, I had to stop myself from chucking a study mosh. So fucking simple yet so fucking awesome!

I got this copy on eBay, at around the $30 mark. I have seen it go for a lot more, but the description on this one made it sound pretty beat up. It was listed as having rind wear, which is does, and listed as having damage to one of the corners, which it does not. To be honest I just wanted a copy to listen to as it had been that long since I had it on LP that I didn't really care that much.

The covers are pretty flimsy anyway. Mid 90's Victory records, what do you expect really?



I always liked how simple the layout of this record was. The band photo on the back is classic. Dennis with blonde hair still trips me out, and then the silver shirt he wore in the Rather be Dead video. Mondo bizarro.



The only thing that is a bit weird about the format of the songs is that "it's not ok" is on one side and "Crusader of hopelessness" is on thestary of side b. I always thought one was an intro to the other. Having said that, it might have been in Victorys infinite wisdom that this occured...

All round, one of my fav records, back on my collection. This'll do until I find a better copy, or it gets a well deserved and long overdue re-issue. I'm sure there's money to be made...

Maybe.

Bodyjar - 17 Years

I've been slack the last couple of days, there's no excuse other than that really.

I was out with my homeboy Shane buying bread in the city (Yes, I put up with an hour + trip time to buy my bread at one bakery, but they make fucking kickass coffee too) and decided I'd pop into Missing Link and suss out what was going down.

I walked in, and I reckon it looks like they are on the verge of closing down. They must be changing up the format a little atleast, as they don't have any shirts in there anymore, and their CD selection looked to be a bit slimmer. This might have been down to the re-arranged layout, but it did really look emptier, and it really really bummed me the fuck out.

I have bought records from missing link for close to 12 years I reckon. I used to go into the store when it was on Flinders Lane, and cram into the tiny space that was the shop, get stared down by the staff there (I always felt uncomfortable about asking about anything in there, because it all seemed so imposing) and occasionally buy the odd piece of gold, either something they had had in for ages and no one had noticed or one of the amazing records from the second hand boxes (I really wish I had of bought that copy of Through Being Cool that sat in the second hand box for close to 3 fucking years!) . In the end I made friends with some of the staff, Pete, Corey, Kat and others, and I came to love the store like it was somewhere I felt like I fit in.

And even though a lot of the friendships have changed (or gone), I really hope they can keep it all above water and that people keep buying records from them as I still have 1 mate who works there now. I struggle to get in there as much as I should, and sometimes I know I can get records cheaper online, I still try to buy at least 1 thing everytime I go in.

This is one of those records.



Granted, it was only a $5 purchase (although once I play these In Name and Blood shows, I will have a couple extra pennies to spend, as my wife has allowed me to keep the cash to do with as I wish, and they have a couple Alkaline Trio LP's I need to get back into my collection, and they will be the same if I get them on eBay or though the store, so I'll get them to support my local record dealer),but it was a good little purchase at that.

So, I took the copy from the racks up, and Dan pulled a fresh copy for me, and I was pretty stoked that I didn't get the one that was all bent out of shape from handling and being passed over for fuck knows how long.

It wasn't until I got home that I realised that the copy I got was not on Red vinyl as the one I had seen in the racks (and I have said before I am a fucking sucker for Red vinyl), it was a marbled Purple.



Also, this one wasn't hand numbered like to the one in the racks either. It isn't all bad, as I'll probably head back into the Link and buy the Red numbered one, but I was still a little bummed, being the nerdholio that I am.



The last time I really enjoyed Bodyjar was when they put out No Touch Red. As far as I am concerned, the band ended there for me. And it only got worse. No Ben, then Ross bailed, and it became the Cam and Grant show. The rest of the dudes they got in could play, but the band slowed down so much compared to the earlier records, that it kinda lost it for me.

I think that this record is pretty close to the No Touch Red stuff, and I really dig the Single, 17 Years. The B side is OK. It doesn't really grab me like the Single, but it isn't bad either.

The artwork on the other hand is fucking KICK ASS! It's printed on lovely thick stock and it is assembled well.

All over a nice little trip down memory lane, and not a bad score for a fiver.

Black Breath - Heavy Breathing

I've just had a wonderful dinner with the wife, (I took her out for a nice meal because she's helped my with my job applications over the last couple of days, and I'd be lost without her) and I thought I'd post about the other record I got from Southern Lord.



I have always like a couple of the Southern Lord bands, but their crossover into some more hardcore related releases has definately sparked my interested a little more.



In a move that is a little bit weird for me (I have been referred to as rainman in the past), I know very little about this band, except that I really really want a copy of their EP and that the front cover of that EP is a syphilis advert from the 50's (or maybe earlier).



Other than that I have really let the music do the talking for this band, and if this record is any indication of the future of Black Breath, then I am stoked as fuck.

Heavy and fast Motorhead worship, with a definate black metal vibe too. Especially in some of the riffing. Add all that with Kurt Ballou production, and I'm fucking sold!



Again, Southern Lord has pressed a nice heavy record. This one is transparent blue 180 gram vinyl, and it sounds as heavy as it feels.

The covers are again that lovely thick cardboard, nicely printed and housing double sided printed innersleeves.

These ones are a bit sturdier than the Trap Them ones as they are a glossy stock, although they are a tight fit as the records are thicker too.



The back photo is a fucking pisser too!

Another stellar release from the dark folks at Southern Lord. When you go to buy the Trap Them record, drop this little fucker in your basket too!

Trap Them - Filth Rations 12" EP.

Most of my posts cover the packaging of a release, the actual vinyl, the music, or what the particular record means to me (a story), but this one is a fucking inspiration.

I like Trap Them. I liked them a lot until this arrived in the mail. Now I fucking love them.

This release has also pointed out how much effort Southern Lord put into their releases.

The music itself is crushing. Fast or slow, it;s just crushingly heavy. I am banging my head as I try to type this up. It's angry, seething and just plain fucking awesome. This should be enough to make everyone want to buy this slab of wax, But...





The packaging on this thing is A+. Heavy vinyl is the first thing I want to point out. This thing sounds fucking good. It's been cut well (at 33 1/3rpm), pressed well and handled with love and care. I couldn't stop shaking my head at how happy I was with just the Vinyl on it's own.



1 Sided 12" with laser etching on the B side. This is done really well. It captures the vibe of the artwork, and ties in really well.



The artwork is awesome. Again, ties in with the vibe of the record, and it is on nice thick Cardboard stock. Not just a heavy paper stock, or thing card, but thick fucking cardboard. Granted it still came damaged on the corner, like most of the records that pass through the US and Australian postal services. I won't bitch and moan too much, I promise.



I guess the only thing that bums me out a little is the printed inner sleeves.

While they look sick and add to the professionalism of the release, like all printed inner sleeves, they have split already (when opened, not even because they have been taken in and out of the sleeves). But shit, I can't have everything can I?



Seriously, this is the kind of records I hope to be releasing eventually. I just need to press records that have gigh enough numbers to warrant spending all that extra cash on.



For now, I'll keep trying my best to do what I do and then go from there...

So go to Southern Lord and buy this record.

NOW!

Ride the Propane...

The PO Box drought continues, so I will post again from my meager collection. As I mentioned Botch in my last post, I thought I would bust out my Anthology of Dead Ends 10 inch on black.



Not the rarest of records, but I really slept on this when it first came out, so it did take a little while to actually find it's way to me.



Like all the Hydrahead releases, this is done so fucking well. It was pressed on a whole bunch of colours, in varying quantities, and again, like all Hydrahead releases it was anlimited pressing. This made it pretty difficult to get my hands on for a time, because every one that hit eBay went for a ridiculous price. But I kept at it, and a couple years later this one ended up costing me close to $50 all paid up, and I was happy with that.



I see it pop up every now and again, and I get tempted to bid, but I am happy with this on black.



This record takes up where We Are the Romans left off, but changes it up a bit too. I'll go out there and say that this is my favourite Botch stuff. It is as heavy as fuck, it is varied and just so full of awesome ideas. It would be pretty safe to sylay though that this EP and We Are The Romans spawned a whole new generation of copy cat bands, one of the more obvious notables being Norma Jeans change in style after Josh Scogin left the fold (You could also "blame" Matt Bayles for that though).



The transition between Afghamistam and Micaragua still fucking blows my mind. I do miss Botch and I am super bummed that I will never get to see them play, but hopefully Narrows might make it over this was one day...?

Yeah right.

Narrows - New Distances

Not many records hit my Mailbox or front door this week, so I thought I would post this one as I am here on a Saturday lunch time listening to it, and it is a fucking great record.



Now, I was always a big Botch fan (and I will post some Botch records at some stage I am sure, maybe even tomorrow...) and I didn't dislike Unbroken, so when I first heard that Dave Verellen was at the helm of this new band, I was fucking all over that shit!



The 7 inch came out and I was blown away. It felt that it had filled the void that Botch left (and that Norma Jean were unable to fill, and don't get me wrong, I love Norma Jean, but they ain't Botch) and my ears were happy again.



Then this came out, and at first I wasn't as stoked on it as I was the EP, but after a couple of listens, I think it is actually a better record. The vocals are really similar to the last 2 Botch records: distorted, doubled up with a slight delay on them to make them thick as molasses. Nice.

The artwork on this is fucking stellar! The concept is interesting, but the actual physical art is just beautiful. You can't see it so well in my Pics (iPhone pics at that), but it is a lovely silky stock with a spot varnish over the whole thing. I just love it, and I really hope to have the kind of dollars to put out something like this for a band in the future, as it is everything I love about LP artwork.



You can still get this record from Deathwish, and I suggest if you are a Botch or Unbroken fan, that you pick this up as well as the first 7 inch and then get onto the split that they have coming out soon too.

Word.

I'm counting on you...

Not too much to look at with this record, but fuck me I've been hanging for this to hit my door step.



Any one who knows me well knows how much I love Matt Skiba, and when he announced he was doing a side project called Heavens, I lost my shit. To hear that it was a more stripped back sound that the Alk3 stuff, mixed with some electro stuff, I was definitely interested to hear how it was going to turn out.



When I got the CD, it really reminded me of Joy Division, and to an extent, Placebo. I was into it. I kept my eye on the Epitaph site for an LP release, and one never showed, so I had no fucking that this LP even came out until it was loooong sold out and I saw one on eBay.

I can find nothing about the LP release anywhere really, and there is no info on the label, and as far as I can see, this is the only release that Number Nine Sounds released.

I managed to snag this on eBay for just over $20, probably what I would have paid for it at the time of the release, so I am super stoked on that.

There is no art for this record, only a Disco Sleeve with a sticker on the front, and numbered out of 1000.



To be honest, I really don't give a fuck. This record is now in my collection, and there I plan for it to stay!

It's sad that the band didn't get to do a second record, as I am sure it would have ruled. The Matt Skiba solo record has been put on the back burner, so who knows if that'll ever see the light of day. There is a Joy Division cover around somewhere, only available digitally and a 7 inch pic disc that Epitaph put out, that has the Patent Pending single and a remix, which is actually awesome.

Maybe I should man up and listen to some decent music instead...?

Nah, fuck that.

Burning Love - "Don't ever change" Single

While my lovely wife cooks me a lovely pasta dinner, thought I'd chuck up a quickie.



I've been sick in bed for the last few days, so there have been no posts, and I'm still not quite right now, but I went back to work so it can't be that bad...

So back to work meant back to my PO Box and my pre order for the Burning Love "don't ever change" single.



Being the Colofan that I am, I was fucking stoked to get this one (and to be honest I forgot about it until I opened the fucker) and when i opened the package, part of me wanted to head home and drop the needle on this one.

I really love the artwork on this, and remember when I read on Colohans blog that this was going to be the artwork. Really simple but still really different and clever.



The single is tops! A step up from the demo, and reminds me a bit of the rockier Cursed stuff. Vocals are nice and rough, but cleaner that a lot of Cursed stuff.



On the B side is a Nick Cave cover, which is pretty good. I will say the end of the track is fucking killer. Noisy and heavy.

All up, a great little single and I can't wait for their LP now.

Sick.