PUSHED ASIDE - DEMO EP, LIGHT BLUE/BLACK, CLEAR GREEN/CLEAR

Well I have the demo tape and now I have both demo vinyl! Indecison did a really nice job with the packaging which is thick card stock and insert. The vinyl is really nice looking to. Pushed Aside were a highly underated but excellent sxe band from California, but had a real NYHC feel to them. I'm sure these bad boys are still available from the label.

WALK PROUD - BE YOURSELF EP, CLEAR GREEN

I really like this ep, its raw, fast and uncomplicated hardcore from Los Angeles circa 89. I guess whast you would call generic ha!! Got the black version when it came out and finally tracked down this on clear green a few months back for the pricely sum of $6! Photocopied double sided cover is complimented by nice clear green vinyl.

DYS - WOLFPACK, TEST PRESS

This is a test press of the reissue of DYS Brotherhood Lp that Taang did in 1990. Not sure of the exact numbers, but I picked this up on the cheap from Ebay a couple of years ago. Great classic early 80s Boston straight edge hardcore, and a nice find. "WOLFPACK"!

ABSOLUTION - SELF TITLED EP, CLEAR RED

Absolution are a strange one. Always remembered for two great songs that were on compilations and the rest are pretty much forgotten. Part of the problem was that the production on this record is quite possibly the worst I have ever heard. The songs aren't bad but are totally let down by a weak ass production. The cover and lyric sheet pretty much go hand in hand with the production...bland!

DIE KREUZEN - SELF TITLED LP, MAROON

This record defies description. I guess if I said experimental hardcore that would be pretty close as I don't think they sound like any other band. Not too sure of the pressing info on this one other than the maroon vinyl is in low numbers and normally goes for over a ton on Ebay! Really nice looking vinyl.

FAITH - SUBJECT TO CHANGE LP, THE VARIANTS

Ian MacKaye's brother Alex had to follow in his older siblings Minor Threats footsteps, and with Faith produced a band that although not as good or influential but one that held its own merits. Probably more simpler than Minor Threat but nonetheless a great effort. Dischord did a nice job with the colours on the two records I own, the first being the clear blue and the other the thick pinky vinyl. The insert is actually bigger with the clear blue version which is the true first press.

URBAN WASTE - URBAN WASTE 12"

One of the greatest NYHC bands. This is the reissue of the incredibly rare and expensive Urban Waste ep. Its a great reproduction on 12" which give the songs that slightly better sound than that of the og ep. Raw raging NYHC, which is commonly regarded as a classic in hardcore punk circles, comes in a 12" ep reproduction cover and nice clear red vinyl. The lyric sheet includes previously unseen photos and a good historical write up of the band.

RAW POWER - RAW POWER CASSETTE

Nineteen song cassette released by BCT in 1984. Probably one of the best Raw Power releases in the fact that this is more punk than metal. Primitive cover and lyric sheet but the music more than makes up for those flaws! The best Italian hardcore band in my humble opinion. Got this tape in a trade for believe it or not an Earth Crisis ep! Oh well I'm a winner!

NEW BREED COMPILATION TAPE

Stand out NYC compilation cassette that was released by Freddy Alva on his own small label. This pretty much features most of the good second tier NYC hardcore bands that were around at that time including the likes of Absolution, Our Gang, Outburst, True Colors, Abomination, Beyond, Uppercut Breakdown and Raw Deal, plus others. This cassette came with a fanzine style A4 lyric sheet and as far as the music goes most of it has stood the test of time. A very important piece of NYHC history.

HALF OFF - THE TRUTH LP, CLEAR RED

Half Off were fronted by one Billy Rubin, imitator then antagonizer of Ray Cappo and Youth Of Today! Not quite sure what their beef was about but once I find out I'll post it here! This was a variant of the 1st press and only came on a press of 100 clear reds, so by my estimations really should make it worth more than the $10 I bought it for! The joys of Ebay! The label also belonged to Mr Rubin so this was a DIY release to the max! Good songs let down by a god awful production.

DEMOS - AWARE 87, BEYOND 88, WIDE AWAKE 87, TOUCHDOWN 88, TURNING POINT 88, PUSHED ASIDE 88, BROTHERHOOD 89, PRESSURE RELEASE 87

Aware Demo 1987:

Beyond Demo 1988:

Wide Awake Demo 1987:

Touchdown Demo 1988:

Turning Point Demo 1988: 

Pushed Aside Demo 1989:

Brotherhood Demo 1989:

Pressure Release Demo 1987:

INSTED - WE'LL MAKE THE DIFFERENCE EP, CLEAR YELLOW, CLEAR RED

I read somewhere 0n the net that this record was boring, well whoever wrote that review is entitled to his/her opinion but I think that opinion is wack! Another great release with solid songs throughout and great lyrics to match. I think hearing the song Feel Their Pain along with my mate Jase Fox badgering me made me finally see the light and turn vegetarian. The cover art is awesome, generic hardcore shot but works really well on this release and is printed on thick card. A step away from the paper photocopied covers that adorned records for years that give this ep a real professional look, couple that with the matching covers to vinyl which sometimes can be overdone but in this case the whole package works.

CHAIN OF STRENGTH - WHAT HOLDS US APART COLLECTION

Originally released on Foundation Records in 1990, Alan's skate and record shop based in Wigan had a record label that somehow reissued this for the UK and Europe! Still not quite sure how that happened but I'm grateful nonetheless. I remember ordering this and waiting patiently for the postie to deliver my goods, that wait lasted 8 weeks. On initial examination I was excited that I had both first press colours of white and blue. The label even placed a small typed sheet explaining the pressing info and why the artwork  sucked (see pic above)! I still feel that they could have done without the excuses and produced something with a bit more imagination,and hey at least the live photo on the cover was actually a live gig photo this time around. Anyway another musical ripper from the the Orange County answer to the Backstreet Boys! The 3rd press I got in a trade a while back and the colour scheme must be First Strikes answer to the first ep on Revelation!

TRUE TILL DEATH

Chain are undoubtedly one of those bands you either love or hate. Not for the music which in my eyes is flawless but due to their rumoured flakiness and posturing and the ongoing debate as to the real truth behind the lyrics to True Till Death. Is it about selling out from straight edge or the hardcore scene. I always have and always will love this band, and this although not the rarest variant of this record is an impressive looking item. Apparently Chain staged the photos on this release to make it look like they were playing an awesome gig, but in truth prolly to 10 of their mates in a practice room! Oh well they still look convincingly good.

NEW YORK CREW

JUDGE New York Crew ep is  the best straight edge hardcore ep ever bar Minor Threats two efforts. Fed Up is possibly the only song that makes me want to hurt someone when I'm listening to it! Ok so I'm being overly dramatic but this ep is vicious. Anyway originally released on Schism Records but reissued by Revelation with this 1st press of 1000. I actually like the cover and lyric sheet art, the vinyl colour doesn't exactly match but I do think it works. Just ask the Dutch football team!!!

THE MOB - STEP FORWARD EP

A very underated NYHC band. Speed is the key with this one, not to sure of pressing numbers but once I find out I shall spread the knowledge. Nice looking thin vinyl although the cover is a bit flimsy. Another £3 buy that filled a hole in my collection! Nice!!!

SHALL BE JUDGED!

The debut ep by New Yorks BURN. Compared to Absolution due to the technical nature of the music and add the fact that guitarist Gavin Van Vlack was a member of both bands. This was another record that quite literally blew me away with its uniqueness. At times fast paced at other times with a unique groove going on. Anyway this is the first press variant on opaque pink vinyl. Another nice looking Rev press with that trademark slight white swirl effect going on throughout the pink only 1000 pressed.

TURNING POINT ON YELLOW AND RED

This ep rocks so much and still is a favourite of mine. Not as "Youth Of Today" as the Demo but still a hardcore rager nonetheless. Again I held a black 3rd press of this for years but managed to snag a decent trade for both of these. The story behind the Clear yellow is that it was meant to be only available for those lucky Euros that ordered the ep by mailorder. The Clear red was available as a mailorder special for everyone else I guess! Only 100 of the Clear yellow and 200 of the clear red exist which relates to how it sells on ebay. The vinyl is a bit on the thin side but definately a record to have if you love your "youth crew" core. The difference between first press and second press labels are that the firts were light blue and the second silver. Another side note is that one of the dudes who ran this label now owns Jade Tree records!

JUDGE - BRINGING IT DOWN

Ah the JUDGE Lp....what a landmark in the heavy metallic sound that many have imitated but very few have mastered as well as Judge. I was blown away when I heard the first Judge ep which is still one of my all time favourite hardcore eps. I eagerly anticpated getting hold of this record and reserved a copy which turned out to be on black from Volume Record store in Newcastle. If my memory serves me well then this actually came out a couple of weeks after the Gorilla Biscuits Lp which made it an exciting couple of weeks. After playing it through the first time I was again blown away by the ferocity of the band. This time around the band have taken the ep formula and upped the ante as far as production and song writting goes. In a nutshell they had lost the rawness and even hardcoreness of the debut record and replaced it with a more polished metallic sound that sat equally as well. The initial production of this record is well know for producing the incredibly rare Chung King Can Suck It Lp that has most collectors salivating over (Marcus, Brian and Lecky take a bow because you can be regarded as three of the luckiest collectors in the UK and yes I'm jealous!!!!), and since the band hated the initial effort decided to rerecord the whole Lp. As noted in the pictures the vinyl is of similar quality to the Gorilla Biscuits Lp and is an opaque green with white swirl. A really nice looking piece.

INSTED - A DOUBLE DOSE OF FRIENDSHIP

The debut Lp by the possibly the most positive band ever to have graced this fine planet of ours! Ok heres the deal, anyone that knows me knows that I love Insted and I really like this Lp. Saying that I always thought that it had been recorded on the cheap as the production is so thin and makes the Lp lose that necessary power that would make this a classic. Anyway production gripes aside, this is still an awesome Lp with catchy as hell songs and on the Dubar brothers fabled Wishingwell label. I always had a copy of this on black but since I'm a record horder managed to trade for these two limited versions. As you can see in the picture there is a white and clear red version. The white was only sold on tour by the band and has blank labels which leads me to presume that it was going to be used for promotional purposes. See the picture of the cut top right corner for more proof that this was going to be the case. The clear red was available to those that first ordered the Lp by mail and has the regular Lp labels.

GORILLA BISCUITS - EP, WARZONE B SIDE

Another buy from the excellent but now defunct Volume record shop in Newcastle. At the time I hadn't realised how rare a record this would eventually turn out to be. Anyway if my memory serves me right I paid about £2.50 for this and now I'd be looking at recuperating about $500 which is a 100% profit. Of course I'm not looking to sell but it sure is handy to know that if I became desperate the hardcore scene would help bail me out! My copy has the purple logo cover and the vinyl is the banana yellow opaque vinyl. The big difference herein lies with the B side label. Due to Rev running out of regular labels which featured Lukey Luke the GB drummer they opted to use Todd Youth of Warzone ones. Its estimated that there are only 50 - 90 of these variants in existence of which one is mine. Great record, all the tunes are gold.

GORILLA BISCUITS , LETS START TODAY........

As far as the whole melodic hardcore thing goes I doubt you'll find any record as good as this. Combination of poppy hooks, great lyrics and a little sprinkling of NYHC. I have had the regular black vinyl pressing of this record for aeons but decided to shelve out the moola for a 1st press purple variant. I remember seeing a handwritten sign that the staff of Volume record shop in Newcastle had placed in the coming soon rack. It basically said "new Gorilla Biscuits lp out in two weeks". Honestly I was so excited to get this Lp that two weeks seemed like two years of waiting, but it was worth it! The pictures don't really do this justice, heavy vinyl obviously purple in colour with a nice white swirl effect mixed in there for good measure also the cover is the embossed logo one. One I had to have!

MADE IN ITALY

Not as rare a record as some but still worthy of a mention for a number of reasons. Finding any quality music from Italy is a bonus but especially when its the kind of music you love. So RAW POWER come up trumps on this plastic platter, what I would describe as a good crossover mix of punk, metal and politics all rounded off with a unique English/Italian accent, by far my favourite Italian hardcore band. The cover is awesome, sporting artwork by Jim Blanchard and the production duties are done by Zero Boys, Paul Mahern. Beautiful clear blue vinyl round this package off nicely with a seperate lyric sheet included. Not sure as to how much this is worth but as far as great looking records go this is definately one of them.

SOCIAL UNREST - MAKING ROOM FOR YOUTH EP

Another of my £3 buys! and another gem. Simple Californian hardcore but done really well. The vinyl comes in a nice almost thin card like cover, which mine is of the "bright" orange variety. Not sure on the exact split in numbers between the orange and blue sleeves but I'm guessing its prolly going to be 250 of each. The lyrics are actually printed on the reverse of the cover. I got this ep on the cheap and it always feels good when I do that with records. I've seen this hit the $120 mark recently on ebay so my $6 buy is another that is proving to be a sound investment.

5:25 August fifth, 1962

Well this ep proved to be a major find for myself. I actually stumbled upon a collection that had been sold to a local record store here in Newcastle. My initial reaction was that I probably had everything that had been sold but to my surprise I found a number of gems including this ep amongst it. After ciphering through what I wanted I hesitantly approached the store dude to ask how much he wanted for this. I knew how rare and valuable this press was but wasn't prepared for his answer. "£3" he said, "£3" I replied, "yes" he said.........trying to keep my cool and excitement levels to the minimum I said "ok". Having checked on Ebay I think I've pretty much made a 300% profit on this if I ever wanted to sell. I still can't believe how lucky I was to snag it. Anyway the songs are great, the cover is suprisingly polished and professional for an early 80s release and the vinyl is an awesome clear purple. I even got a sticker with it to! This version had a pressing run of only 500 copies which explains why it goes for more $ than the earlier press on ebay.

MINOR THREAT RULES!

Another pretty decent "have" here. Ok not a first press or even a second or third, but hey its a MINOR THREAT ep so beggars can't be choosers! What I like about hardcore is the whole DIY ethic and this ep pretty much sums that up for me. The cover is thick card stock which has been screen printed, You can feel and see the quality of the product. Plus an added bonus was that my copy came unglued. Well the glue had actually come away probably due to time but as you can see in the bottom picture there is an inked "flex your head". This was handwritten by Ian Mackaye back when the records where initially put together which in itself makes you feel like you have a piece of hardcore punk history staring right back at you, actually 27 years of history to be exact! The importance of this record has been highlighted countless times but for me hearing Straight Edge for the first time was one of those truelly life changing moments.

JANS ROOM

First record to make my blog is this 4 song belter by mid west powerhouse THE FIX. Comparisons to Negative Approach are obvious but in some ways this band is even more brutal. Anyway after much deliberation I got this pretty cheap on Ebay. Infact over a period of 4 months the value of this record went up by 50%. Not a bad investment on my behalf! 1000 pressed in total and all on black, but as with most records over a 20 year life span a lot of these prolly got "lost" or discarded. What sets this version apart from others is the lyric sheet. When I opened the sleeve to check the insert I seriously could not believe what I was looking at! First thoughts were that some kid had gotten marker pens and went to task on destroying the insert. That was until after further investigation I had found to have in my possession one of the rarer variants of this record. Two presses with different lyric sheets, the first press having my lyric sheet (8.5 x 11) with the written log in middle that the band hated so much that they spray painted some over with black and silver paint! The more regular variant has the mace logo lyric sheet (5.5 x 8) which replaced the written logo and the lyrics instead of being handwritten were typed. The second mace insert also has a thanks list whereas the first does not. Ok so what about the colourful artwork included on my copy. Well apparently on one particular drunken night Touch and Go records owner Dave Stimson and Steve (vox) from The Fix decided to colour and spray paint a number of the first press inserts. Not sure on exact numbers but around the 20 - 30 mark is a good estimation.