MISSING IN ACTION

MIA (Missing In Action) were a hardcore punk band from Las Vegas forming in 1981 out of the ashes of The Swells and heavily influenced by the fledgling California Hardcore scene. This 37 song double Lp discography was released by Alternative Tentacles in 2001 and captures the 1981 - 85 time frame of this band.



Beautiful clear orange vinyl with orange swirls make this a visually great looking piece of wax, with the first 1000 coming on this colour. Sadly vocalist Mike Conley died in an accident in 2008. MIA are definitely one of those unheralded bands from the initial Hc phase that kids need to discover and check out.

CHANNEL 3 - CH3 LP

The best Channel 3 Lp since Fear of Life in my humble opinion. Dr Strange records released this in 2002 but if you didn't already know you'd probably think it was a collection of lost tracks from the early 80's. Clear red wax, and a numbered silkscreened cover, alas without an insert which is a bit of a let down. I got numero 430 out of 800!!

THIS IS ALSO.....BOSTON!

Boston HARDcore, it doesn't come better than this classic second release by SSD on Xclaim records, featuring the song Glue that has most likely been covered about a billion times since it was first penned by monsieur Al Barile! Little know fact is that the cover featuring a trash-strewn city street and drawn by the legendary Pushead incorporates his girlfriends name that is spelled out in the trash!!! I still haven't been able to work out her name though! Answers on a postcard.....

DANZIG - RAISE THE HORNS

Lp number 9 for the evil Elvis and boy is this a good one. In my humble opinion probably the album that should have followed Danzig 4 and a record that boasts some banging tunes (Hammer of the Gods, Black Candy). I pre ordered this about 3 weeks ago and it came right on time, unfortunately the first batch of pre orders are minus a lyric sheet due to an error at the printers so rather than delay the release the record label decided to send the vinyl out first with lyric sheets to follow sometime soon. Two pre order pressings were available with 1000 on clear red and 1000 on black. I have heard of a small amount that are transitional pressings that are clear red with black streaks, but not sure how evident the streaking is. Seriously if you liked the first 4 Danzig Lps then get on this record, its that good.

MOURNING NOISE - SELF TITLED EP

Released in 1982 and featuring Steve Zing of Samhain fame and Bobby Steele (Misfits) doing some erm.. "special effects" between songs! This was a one time pressing of 1000 all on black and after having been scouring the world for the past 4 years looking for one I finally have the sucker. I guess if you hadn't heard Mourning Noise before you'd probably think that the songs were lost or unused Misfits tunes consigned to the annuls of history! Funnily enough this band hail from Lodi New Jersey exactly the same location as the devilocked ones! So I guess the had ample opportunities to perfect their Misfits sound to the max! Hey they even thank Danzig on the thanks list! Check it! Great record by a great and highly underrated band.

STATIC.....STATIC, THIS IS A STATIC AGE!

The Static Age history:
On August 1977 The Misfits released their debut single "Cough/Cool" on Blank Records, a label operated by singer Glenn Danzig. Several months later Mercury Records issued a Pere Ubu record on their own Blank Records imprint, unaware that Danzig held a trademark on the name. They offered him thirty hours of studio time in exchange for the rights to the Blank Records name, which he accepted. In January and February 1978 the Misfits, then consisting of Danzig, guitarist Franché Coma, bassist Jerry Only, and drummer Mr. Jim, recorded seventeen songs at C.I. Recordings in New York City with engineer and producer Dave Achelis. Because of the time constraints they recorded the songs live in the studio with only a few takes each and very few overdubs. They mixed fourteen of them with Achelis for their proposed first album, to be titled Static Age. Finally released in 97 by good old Caroline Records, and this here variant although none to rare seems to be increase about 20% per year of its original cost price.l Now to get the other two colours!

Here's the pressing info for Static Age
3500 black vinyl copies.
2000 red vinyl copies.
1000 yellow/orange vinyl copies.
500 purple vinyl copies.

AND....THIS IS BOSTON!

Second installment of the In My Eyes - Nothing to Hide Lp series! This time it's a first press of 500 on white. Which leaves me with only a Clear first press to hunt down. I love the aesthetics of this record with the crisp clean layout and gold sleeve. Hotdiggity!

THIS IS BOSTON

Revelation numero 80. In My Eyes - Nothing To Hide Lp was the bands second Lp and showed the maturity expected. Still busting out revival youth crew but doing it better than most this band kicked serious ass. Also check out how fucking good looking the dudes are,it makes me sick that a hardcore band can look like Topman models!! That gripe aside this record is awesome and reminds me of my trip to Boston back in 98 especially the intro to welcome to Boston! So yeah only 300 were pressed on blue and were only available to Euro tour punters. Anyone remember the London show with the Cro-mags and without Sweet Pete???

OUTSPOKEN - SURVIVAL EP REPRESS

So here we have a repress of the Outspoken "Survival" ep that was first issued way back in 90's when wearing new era caps meant bending the peak and also baggy shorts, pants and striped tees/sweats were all the rage! Well fast fwd to 2010 and Mr Hartsfield has reissued this rather classic 90s ep on bubble-gum pink wax. It's limited to only 77 and after having first thought I'd missed out on a copy someone posted a link to extras that were gonna be made available. I eagerly paid for the record and waited...and waited.....and waited.....and emailed....and waited.....and finally today the little fucker arrived approximately 3 months since I placed the order. Now I know New Age in the 90's had a rep for sending stuff out slowly but c'mon man it's 2010! It's not like had to wait for it to come from the pressing plant, they were already in stock!! Right, now onto the record itself...basic photocopied sleeve,nice looking wax and double sided old Walk Proud labels make this an interesting if not somewhat underwhelming reissue. As can be seen in the pics above it does say that there are only 77 copies, however I feel kinda short changed with this one as it feels like it was quickly put together at the last minute, when with a little bit of extra work it could have looked amazing, oh well just my point of view. I love Outspoken and I loved Survival when it first came out, sure it didn't invent the wheel lyrically but it was a heartfelt, sincere, powerful and a record that I will always hold in high esteem.

THE BLACKEST CURSE

This is my first Integrity buy since To Die For which I believe came out in 2003. I think the whole non buying of Integ stuff was mainly due to the amount of absolute idiots that latched on to the band and the amount of Integ rip off bands that were forming on a weekly basis. Luckily I've come to my senses now and bought this here Lp on a whim from a local record store (Beatdown Records, Newcastle). Anyway apparently 1000 were pressed on this kinda clouded clear vinyl, with 700 on white and 300 on clear red, with a total first press of 2000. I wasn't sure what I'd be getting but I admit this record is a grower and sticks to the tried and tested Integ formula. In fact this record makes me wanna bat someone in the face, its so goddamn aggressive! I think my only gripe with this release is the fact that rather than have a lyric sheet/booklet included the band have opted for a huge poster instead, which is kinda weird because the cd version does have a booklet included. Oh well small whine aside this is a top notch record. MICHAAAAA!

HANDS TIED - SELF TITLED EP

Hands Tied have reformed. I for one are happy to see one of the 90's premier youth crew revival bands back in the fold and eagerly anticipate their new ep on Livewire Records. HT are better known as Tim McMahon's first post Mouthpiece band and whereas Mouthpiece had obvious Chain/West Coast straight edge influenced jams HT are more in line with what the NY youth crew was creating. Great great record and this here version is the limited Euro tour press out of 300. I lucked out with numero 78! My one abiding HT memory was moshing it up to them at the Sheffield Corporation whilst they played a cover of Project x's Straight Edge Revenge only for me to break the strap on my highly expensive original x swatch! Luckily I was reacquainted with said watch at the end of the show and spent a bit on repair work!

DOUBLE NEGATIVE -/-

Wow is the word that springs to mind when you see the packaging on this record. DN offer stripped down dirty and nasty hardcore with influences that range from early COC and others that have been gathered by the respective band members over their 25+ years of hardcore involvement. I have to say that this is a record from a bunch of 40 year olds that pisses all over most of the current so called hardcore scene. Flawless from start to finish. Now let me get onto the whole package which includes a free mp3 download, deluxe foil-stamped covers, and obi strip. I mean come on for $12 this is an absolute steal and looks incredible. I love it when a label puts a lot of effort and funds into producing something as cool looking as this slab of vinyl, it's most definitely a labour of love on Sorry States behalf to which they should be applauded wholeheartedly. Hot pink wax which is number 213 out of 286!

MISFITS - WALK AMONG US LP, PURPLE COVER

The best Misfits Lp....I think so! , nothing too special about this 88 pressing and made in large quantities. Reissued by Warner Brothers: WB 7599 25756-1/4; Ruby (July 1988) LP and cassette reissue with purple cover and green logo. Apparently, an extremely small number of LP copies have white Slash center labels and different matrix etchings. This is what the Misfits were all about catchy melodic punk, awesome vocals and lyrics concentrating on the darker side of life!

MISFITS - EARTH AD , TRANSLUCENT VINYL

The full length Lp that catapulted the Misfits from a horror influenced Ramones style band to a horrorcore outfit. There are still hints of the trademark early melodic assault but this Lp takes the bull by the horns and thrashes most of the way through! Out of the 3 presses this is apparently a first press and to quote misfits central "There are also light purple front cover background copies on thin, translucent vinyl with PL-902-A MASTERDISK EDP SM3 in the side A matrix, and PL-902-B MASTERDISK EDP M2 on side B." So there you have it and as highlighted by the sun shining through the second picture this is a first press translucent vinyl with just the plan 9 logo and no barcodes in sight on the flip side of the sleeve.

ALL HALLOWS EVE

Second installment of Samhain's NCF and this one was released in May 1986. This is the UK only release on Revolver records and as you can see in the pics there are a few subtle differences like a different record label and the obvious Revolver logo on the back of the record sleeve.

SAMHAIN - NOVEMBER COMING FIRE LP, CLEAR ORANGE

Possibly my favourite Samhain record and definitely the most polished, released in Feb 1986. I'd been thinking about getting this record for a while when I was given the opportunity to conduct a really good deal for it, which I couldn't turn down! There's something about this record and the end of summer beginning of Autumn that fits just nicely alongside the pumpkin clear orange vinyl! Most rabid fits/hain collectors know that there were only 500 of these bad boys produced and getting one on Ebay will cost you an arm and a leg and quite possibly more. I've been lucky with this one so another want has disappeared off my wants list.

MISFITS THE LEGACY

The Misfits Legacy of Brutality originally released in March of 86 and limited to 500copies on clear red and 500 on white. Transition presses from one colour to the other included 16 pink copies and subsequent copies of red (with black streaks from the first pressing) and white copies (with pink/red streaks from the red version). This was basically because of the pressing plates not being cleaned. Anyway now on to this version that I own. This is mostly white bar one small pink streak in the vinyl so I guess it does count as a streaked version just.I'll hit up a photo once my camera battery has restored its charge. Lukily I also hit up a pretty good trade for this bad boy and to say I'm happy to own it is an understatement. Now someone get me a colour Earth AD on the cheap!!!

CHAIN OF STRENGTH - THE ONE THING THAT STILL HOLDS TRUE

Ok here's the full collection of Chain material on one big fat plastic disc. Bonus is obviously the previously unreleased track "Impact". Anyway as Rev Recs decided to do a bit of a cash grabbing exercise back in 2001 and me being a huge Chain fan I quickly ordered this. I was hoping to get the more ltd clear green but hey Grey is better than black!!! This one is limited to 440 pieces.

A HIT SQUAD FOR GOD

If you're a fan of early 7 Seconds material then this ep is a definite nod in that direction. The other cool thing about this 83 released disc is that Moby (yes that Moby) played guitar on it.
I managed to score this on Ebay after a very long search led me to a seller based in the UK. Luckily the price was incredibly low for such a great and rare record and to make matters even more interesting the vinyl is on closer inspection clear (ish) purple. The copies that appear on Ebay for the past 8 or so years have all been black, so not only did I luck out with the price but also the rarity of the actual variation. I'm not even sure how many were pressed on this purple coloured wax and I'm interested to find out. Actually I'm beginning to think that this might be a second pressing collaboration between the original label (Pregnant Nun Records) and another. Also on all 1st pressings Moby is listed as MH but on this sleeve his name is actually listed as Moby! Anyone with more info please feel free to comment.

*update

Light Blue cover, different back cover design than first press. There's a mention of the second 7" Just A Frisbee on the back and in very tiny letters "Pregnant Nun Records #1 second pressing. -Taken from www.albarkley.com

GOATSNAKE

Goatsnake, yes not a hardcore punk band in the slightest I hear you say but their history is steeped in hardcore punk history. Vocalist Pete Stahl was a mainstay in the DC punk scene in the early 80s and was the voice for Scream and provides the excellent voice for Goatsnake. Alongside him on guitar in the snake is Southern Lord's supremo, and current member of the infamous SUNN0)) Greg Anderson who forged his early musical career in the NW hardcore scene and in particular with the bands False Liberty and straight edge youth crew stalwarts Brotherhood. I still find it amazing that a man who ( I presume still has) has true till death xxx tattooed on his arm would turn into the biggest long haired stoner going but boy does he do it well!!! Goatsnake mix the intricate heaviness of Black Sabbath and the doom of Saint Vitus to absolute perfection.This Lp on show is the European reissue of the snakes 3rd Lp and has been beautifully packaged in a heavy duty card gatefold sleeve and complimented by thick 180g clear purple vinyl. Limited to only 760 pieces worldwide this will be a big hitter in Ebay sometime in the future. I guarantee that Goatsnake will damage your car stereo beyond repair and in fact I can vouch for it!

Here's a funny Greg Anderson story.... so me and a couple of friends went to see SUNN0)), now if you know anything about this band you now that a) its not very kind to your ears and b) they dress like monks in long brown robes. So just before they went on stage we were hanging around the back of the venue and lo and behold the whole band appeared from another door walked past us solemnly to the door that would take them onto the stage dressed in their monk robes, now the thing is onstage because of the dry ice and darkness you don't really get the chance to see their feet, anyway as they walked past us in single file all very serious I clocked the biggest whitest pair of nike trainers at the bottom of GA's outfit, It looked absolutely ridiculous.I mean a monk wearing brand new nikes is not something you'd see on a regular basis, so with that in mind next time you see SUNN0)) be sure to check their footwear out! I then shouted "Gregg judging by your footwear will we be getting any Brotherhood tunes tonight", to which he turned round and glared!!! If looks could kill I wouldn't be writing this!!