MISFITS - COLLECTION II CLEAR RED

My other installment of Misfits Collections appeared to day and its the least rare one. See below for more info!

MISFITS - COLLECTION II CLEAR GREEN

I've never really been that bothered about picking this up before now but came to the swift conclusion that a) it's colour vinyl and b) its the Misfits. Seems like yesterday when this was released but infact it was 95 and god knows why I didn't pick this up at the time. Only 3500 on clear green world wide with 6000 on clear red and only a mere 100 on clear. this variant and the clear red are the easiest to find and pick up without spending mega bucks. The most interesting fact about this record is that six of the tracks are not songs the Misfits recorded as a functioning band. They were recorded in 1986, several years after the Misfits broke up, by Glenn Danzig and Samhain bassist Eerie Von for a sequel to Walk Among Us.

YOUTH OF TODAY - CAN'T CLOSE MY EYES 12"

Youth Of Today's debut ep reissued by those German reissue experts We Bite Records. Got this from Volume Records circa winter 89 and was just stoked to have the songs again on vinyl. If my memory serves me right I got the Caroline Records reissue the summer before. Anyway it was rumoured to be on colour wax and once opened indeed I found a nuclear clear yellow version. Really nice looking vinyl that these pictures don't really do any justice to.

ARTICLES OF FAITH - WHAT WE WANT IS FREE EP

Articles Of Faith from Chicago but prolly wished they'd come from Washington DC as their sound was very much camped in that scene. For me personally the song My Fathers Dreams embodies all that is great about this band. Fast, melodic harmonies and intelligent lyrics. Included with this ep was a crimson ribbon with the band name printed on it which were apparently given out as arm bands at a new years eve show. There are different pressings of this ep the first being on Version Sound and the second on Wasteland. The very first pressing came with a black and white 2 piece sleeve (500), with subsequent red and blue paper sleeves to follow for the second press on wasteland (500 each).

COWS AND BEER

Not the reissue recently done on Barbarian Records but the original version sound copy. This was a weird score because initially I bought the ep minus a cover for $20 with the the intention of somehow getting a xerox of the sleeve (Which I did). Luckily tho I had a contact who informed me that his copy of the record had been damaged and he couldn't be bothered searching for another but e was willing to give me the og sleeve and insert for $10. Obviously I snagged them and put all of these components together. Saved me about $90 - 100!! Great mid western hardcore from a band that redefined their own sound on every subsequent release. This and the first lp are essential listening pieces.

NEGATIVE APPROACH

I can't begin to explain how stoked I was when I secured this bad boy in a deal recently. Ok so it's a second press but its a NEG APPROACH ep and that's pretty much all that matters to me. This fuels memories of seeing NA 4 times over the last couple of years. London at the Tuffnell Park dome, Belgium at Antwerp w/ Discharge, Christ On Parade and Warcry, played infront of 2000 rabid fans going ape. I can honestly say I've never seen as many injuries at a gig than I did at this one it was pure unadulterated bedlum. The next day with Agent Orange at a secret gig (announced to 2000 the day before!!) at the world famous and now sadly defunct Lintfabriek club in front of a cosy 200 punters, where I witnessed Brannons scowl from about 5 foot!! and finally Manchester. I've longed to own a NA ep for a while and I scored a decent deal on this. It's in great nick especially considering its age with a flawless insert and heavy card stock cover complimented by a near mint piece of shiny black vinyl. Definitely one if not my favourite hardcore ep ever. I'm happy!!!

MISFITS - HALLOWEEN

Been after this for a while and hit lucky with a guy on ebay who decided that he would pull the auction when I offered him some loot. Luckily for me I offered him way below what this normally goes for and got myself a great deal. Then I thought shit what happens if this guy renegades on this deal and decides not to send the record! Well I need not worry because it literally arrived a week after payment. Sometimes you've got to spend big to attain that goal and here is the proof. I love the Misfits and I love this song, both versions of it. Yes!

BLACK FLAG - TV PARTY EP, CLEAR RED

Got this in an extremely cheap Ebay visit. I love it when the listing is so badly written no one even knows the record is actually for sale! Anyway $2 for this reissue of the classic Flag ep is worth being rather pleased about! Comes on standard clear red and is hopefully the start of more coloured Flag vinyl!

FINAL CONFLICT - SELF TITLED EP, TEST PRESS

Another pretty impressive score with this ep. This Final Conflict hailed from Minneapolis (home of Husker Du) and should not be confused with the other Californian Final Conflict! Now that my introductions have been made I can tell you that this ep was part of the first wave of US hardcore and was released in 1983 on Reflex Records which was part owned by Bob Mould of Husker Du. If Negative Approach had hailed from Minneapolis they would have sounded like this! Not too sure how many were pressed but It'll be low. I've very rarely seen this on trade lists etc so it's definitely in the hard to find category. I guess if you look at it that say 500 were originally pressed in 83 then by the year 2009 I'm sure less than half of that number will actually still exist. Below is a test of this very record which was created at Rainbo Records, California. A truely underrated classic.


Check Final Conflict out here:
http://www.7inchpunk.com/?p=427

WHITE CROSS - SELF TITLED EP

Been after this gem for a while now and luckily got a decent score on this one. Raw as hell hardcore that would sit well with your Negative Approach records. Also features a fella that went on to be a part of the spectacle that is GWAR! This record typifies the hardcore spirit in music and aesthetics, raw and simple. Infact I'm sure if my memory serves me right that this was actually recorded live. If you haven't heard White Cross do yourself a favour and soulseek them, this is raging!

BAD RELIGION - RECORD STORE DAY

To coincide with the world record store day and to honour the fact that the first Bad Religion ep was sold primarily through small indie records stores Epitaph have reissued this ep in a press of 400 records per colour worldwide. I do know it has been pressed on black, white, clear red (US pressing), pink and red (Euro pressing), but I don't know of the numbers. Anyway a nice addition to my collection and its already selling for 2 times the amount I bought if for on Ebay! score!
Update - Thanks to Marcus I now have the US pressing on white and oddly enough it comes in a fold out poster sleeve and also with a lyric sheet which makes it totally different to the hard card sleeve of the European version.

And another addition is the European press on Hot pink wax. Nice!!!!!!

WOLFSBLOOD, SILVER LABELS

So I was browsing through records at what can only be described as a pretty crap record fair when I came across a very small Misfits section hidden amongst a plethora of hideous rock records being sold by a guy that could only be described as the worlds biggest Beach Boys fan!!! Anyway after checking the vinyl I instantly noticed that this was a German first press version of the Earth Ad, but with the hard to find silver labels! I couldn't believe my luck because not only is this scarce in numbers but the seller had priced it at £15 which considering I've seen it sell on Ebay between $120 - $150 was an absolute bargain. Not being phased I calmly took the record in my hands and approached the seller and said "hey I'll give you £10 for this, its a German bootleg"! He looked at me and I thought haha he may be stupid for selling it at a ridiculously small price to start with but he really isn't that stupid! He said "ok" and I quickly paid up, left the fair and laughed! Its times like this that makes record collecting so much fun. The real info on this record is that has 15,000 copies were pressed. This pressing is available with two different center labels: a common black label with silver writing, and a less common silver label with black writing.

EDGEWISE - SILENT RAGE EP, CLEAR

Phillys Edgewise were one of those bands that emerged late 80s and put on their release in 1990. Not a bad band by any means but nothing groundbreaking or particularly outstanding. Still worthy of a spot in my collection although being honest I think the last time I spun this record was in the 90s also! The poster sleeve is awesome and compliments the clear vinyl. I also scored on of those horrendous paper stickers with this record. What is the purpose of those damn things, absolutely useless! Ordered this direct from the label when it came out and it took about 3 months to arrive. Aaahhhh the good old days!!!

ALONE IN A CROWD - SELF TITLED EP, MINT GREEN

Contrast Records re-released this classic a few years back. Obviously I had to have one even though I already had the og Flux press, I was interested to see how this would compare and another plus was the fact it came on colour. AIAC was basically Jules (Side By Side) progression band that has stood the test of time and whose anthem "is anybody there" covered by a ton of bands. Infact circa 2004 in the UK there must have been at least 4 bands covering this song at the same time! And I remember one gig when two bands covered the song in their sets!!!! Great record with possibly one of the most charismatic front men to grace the hardcore scene. This reissue has been done well and the vinyl looks great. Luckily I was one of the 170 to get the 1st press variant although there is a rarer green, light green, clear green swirl variant of 30.

BURN - THE LAST GREAT SEA

Taken from the Rev Records site. Shortly before the demise of Burn in 1992, the band recorded three songs which were never released. These recordings became highly sought after by fans and tenth generation dubs have been circulating the underground scene for years. Burn were one of those bands that were too talented to be a hardcore band if you get my drift. Complex song structures and a groove that was against the grain in a scene were talent wasn't really a badge of honour! Two words ALAN CAGE!!! Packaging is a bit sparse but I love the insert pic of the band. Great shot of them in a non live environment.

KORO - SPEED KILLS LP, CLEAR BLUE

Ah Koro what a wonderful band and for the most and only for those "in the know" hardcore geeks! Koro release a legendary ep that is as rare as hens teeth and probably about a million times more expensive. Luckily Sorry State records released this ep for all of us that are feeling the credit crunch and it can be seen in previous posts within this blog. This LP contains 11 songs and while some of them are re-recorded versions of songs from the EP, the new ones find the band bringing even more complexity to their songwriting, even breaking the one-minute barrier on a few tracks. This LP is also exquisitely packaged with lyrics to all the tracks and a lengthy interview with Koro guitarist Carl Snow. And it comes in this second press format as a limited out of 200 clear blue. I'm so happy that this gem has been released and urge all of you hardcore purists to track what is essentially an unreleased till now record by a classic band.

DECRY - SYMPTOMS OF HATE EP

Kickass band from Los Angeles that unfortunately degenerated into a shit cock rock band by the time of their last release, the terrible "Japanese ep". This is a pretty decent ep which was the precursor to their excellent "Falling" debut Lp. Decry managed to capture that snarley, spit laden punk rock attitude with relative ease, and also without the use of hyper speed in their songs unlike most of their contemparies. Anyway below is a video (the only one I could find) of Decry in action:

HONOR ROLE - IT BLED LIKE A STUCK PIG EP

From 1984 I present to you Honor Role from Virginia. This is one of those mostly unheard gems from American Hardcores rich historical past. 9 song blast with kinda unique higher pitched vocals. I got this record along side the Public Humiliation ep from Bob Durkee, otherwise know throughout the music world as a producer/engineer (Mountain Goats) and photographer (Corrosion Of Conformity - Animosity Lp). Picked this one up at a steal for under $15 which made me happy and especially knowing it came directly from someone who was linked to the band.

SAMHAIN - UNHOLY PASSION LP, BLUE

Don't really know much about this other than its a really well done bootleg. I read somewhere that only 400 copies exist of this and knowing how rabid Misfits/Danzig collectors are this will no doubt be worth more now than what I initially paid for it. Even the small detail like the labels are done incredibly well enough to make you think its legit! Anyone with any more info on this please leave a comment.

POISON IDEA - PUNISH ME EP, PURPLE

Another kick ass Poison Idea ep that was Licensed from American Leather Records for a Euro release.This differs from the US version in that the front cover art has a border and the back cover is white on black as opposed to black on white. The US sleeve was fold-over and the vinyl pink, also got to love the cover drawing! I remember seeing Poison Idea sometime in the 90s and the local rumour circuit was rife with the fact that the club they played at apparently reinforced their stage for the gig due to the combined weight of the band members!