006 - xCurraheex - Back-On-Track 7"

I've not posted on here for a few days properly, so it's time to remedy that.

This was the first release I picked up by Manchester straight edge hardcore band xCurraheex.

Back-On-Track was released 2011 via Commitment records. It features 5 songs of raging, positive straight edge hardcore.

Tracklist:-

Side A:-
1. Insight
2. Thinkin' Straight

Side B:-
3. Take It Back
4. We're The Crew
5. The Effort

The inside of the sleeve includes some cool live shots on the one side and song lyrics/credits on the other side.

The record itself is clear green vinyl, with a nice big centre sticker on both the A and B side.

I'm not sure how many were pressed, but I think it was fairly limited.

The record also came with some flyers and this big sticker.

This is still one of my favourite hardcore records, so much so that since I picked this up, I've bought all of the other 7" records that xCurraheex have released and I'll be posting them up soon.

You can still pick up copies of this from Commitment records at http://commitmentrecordsuk.bigcartel.com/products.

xCurraheex - http://www.facebook.com/xxcurraheexx.

There is more to come.....

Sorry I haven't posted much for a little while, I've been busy and my other blog takes precedent.

I'll hopefully post something again tomorrow.

What's coming - Part 1

So I thought as well as listing what I have, I'd list what I'm still waiting for. I seem to go through splurges of ordering vinyl, so here goes.

1)
Hexis - Seputus/Fatum 7" (Transparent Green w/ Black Splatter)
The Prestige - Black Mouths 12" (Transparent Red w/ White Splatter)
This Gift Is A Curse - I, Gvilt Bearer 12" (Black/Red "colour on colour)

These are all from Enjoyment Records. You can view pics ad order them from http://enjoymentrecords.bigcartel.com/products

2)
Reflections Of Internal Rain - Answers 12" (Transparent Clear)
Foxxes - Forget The Rain 7" (Black)
Rise After Defeat - Maieutica 7" (Not sure which colour I'm getting - There's two Black and Green/w Black splatter)
Curse This Ocean - Cursed 7" (Black)

The reason I don't know which colour of the Rise After Defeat 7" I'm getting, is because this is part of a promo package that Strikedown Records has for sale. These packages are limited to 10 only and also feature 3 CD's, a Strikedown T-shirt and stickers/promo bits.

You can pick this up from Strikedown Records at http://strikedownrecords.bigcartel.com/category/packages.

3)
Grace - Self titled 7" (Sky Blue and Black)

This is part of s pre-order set limited to 45 from Hemlock 13. It features both colour-ways, a special T-shirt, a 9 song download card and stickers etc, all housed in a special box.

You can order it or single copies of the 7" from Hemlock 13 at http://www.hemlockthirteen.bigcartel.com/.

4)
Brotherhood Of The Lake - 12" (Black)
Architects/Dead Swans - Split 7" (Black)
No Omega - Metropolis 12" (Black)

These are the next releases from TDON, which I'll get as I'm a member of their Vinyl club, where members get a copy of each vinyl record that's released this year. You can buy vinyl or join the vinyl club still at http://thirtydaysofnightrecords.bigcartel.com/category/music.

5) There is also an EBAY auction I'm bidding on, which is for a long out of print double split 7" featuring Brutality Will Prevail and Hang The Bastard. I'll reveal more if I win the auction.

So there we have it, in the next few weeks I should be getting 5 12"s and 7" 7"s, plus an extra double 7" depending on my luck with EBAY. Can't wait!

005 - Pale Creation/Abraxis - Split 7"

This was the third addition to my collection that came from the TDON Singles club last year. This release marked a tiny milestone for  em as it was the fifth vinyl record I owned and meant that my collection was really starting to take shape.

The record itself, unlike other previous records I'd bought, came with different artwork on both sides to signify both bands.

Pale Creation's side -

This side featured Pale Creation written on the cover, but it only shows up in certain light, which I think is pretty cool.

Abraxis side -

The Abraxis side features more visual artwork, and shortly after getting this record, I found out the artwork was done by Dwid from Integrity! I think there was a version that had an Abraxis logo embossed on the artwork as well, but I believe that one is pretty rare.

Inside the sleeve, there was a two sided insert that featured the lyrics to Pale Creation's side of the split on one side and Abraxis' song lyrics on the other side.

Tracklist:-
Side A - Pale Creation:-

1. The Radiant Abyss
2. Dreams Behold

Side B - Abraxis

1. My Disease

The record itself, was the black version, which I believe was pressed specially for the singles club and was limited to 60 copies. There was also two other colours pressed - Clear Yellow/Red that was limited to 120 and White/Grey that was also limited to 120.

The coloured copies also come with a download code, but the copy I got didn't due to it being part of the singles club and TDON wanting to encourage people to listen to it on their turntables, which I do, regularly

The centre stickers are also different on the A and B sides, to signify the different bands.

Side A -

Side B -

Pale Creation pulled out two tracks of slow, brooding hardcore on their side of the split and Abraxis contributed with a track of Holy Terror inspired noise.

Good news is, you can still get copies of the Clear Yellow/Red and White/Grey presses directly from Thirty Days Of Night at http://thirtydaysofnightrecords.bigcartel.com/category/music. Plus, you may be able to pick copies up from various distros.

004 - November Coming Fire - Evocation 7"

This was the second release I got through the Thirty Days of Night Singles club and spelled the first record from November Coming Fire that I owned, having heard great things about them and having only heard a couple of their previous tracks.

The album sleeve is suitably moody, being all black apart from the semi-human/wold torso on the right side.

The back of the sleeve is also black, featuring the song titles and a haunting picture of a lady at the top.

Tracklist:-

Side A - Evocation

Side B - Beast In Me

Inside the sleeve there's a pull out lyric sheet and when turned over, a black and white band shot.

The vinyl itself is also black, and I believe it's the limited singles club pressing. In the centre of both the A and B side is a black sticker, which signifies the sides.

As far as pressing goes, there was three different colour-ways of this. There was this one (Black), which I believe was limited to 100, there was a Black/Blue version which was limited to 200 and there was a Black/Green version also limited to 200, but please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

Also, I believe 80 of both the Black/Blue and Black/Green ones went to NCF themselves, but again feel free to correct me.

The record itself is a short, sharp blast of UK hardcore, with a sludgy, epic feel. You can pick copies of this up still from Thirty Days of Night at http://thirtydaysofnightrecords.bigcartel.com/product/november-coming-fire-evocation-7 and directly from November Coming Fire at http://novembercomingfire.bigcartel.com/product/evocation-beast-in-me. You'll probably also be able to pick up copies from various distros as well.

003 - Lavotchkin/End To Empires - Split 7"

This split 7" marked the first release I got from Thirty Days Of Night records, thanks to being part of their brilliant singles club. The singles club was a one-off subscription offer for twelve months, where you'd receive every vinyl single released by TDON throughout the year. This was also when things started to get serious for me.

This also has some extra poignancy now, as Lavotchkin have called it a day, so this marks their last recorded output on vinyl. End To Empires are still going though, so there's all the more reason to check this record out.

This 7" is a four track record, featuring two tracks from Lavotchkin and two by End To Empires.

Tracklist:-
Side A - Lavotchkin
1. Ben Gardners Head
2. Arkady

Side B - End To Empires
1. Kill This Epidemic
2. Heaven's Vultures.

Both sides feature blistering British hardcore from both bands and the artwork was done by none other than Tom Lacey, formerly of The Ghost Of A Thousand.

The pressing was also limited, with 500 being released in total. There was 100 on Black (the version I got through the singles club), 200 on Red/Yellow (got this one later on, with some other records and now strangely have two copies of it!) and 200 on Purple/Grey.

I may be a completest one day and get a copy of the Purple/Grey pressing, but for now, these two are good enough for me. 

There are still copies of the Red/Yellow and Purple/Grey runs available through TDON at http://thirtydaysofnightrecords.bigcartel.com/category/music and there may some dotted around in certain distros, so if you don't already own this, you can still pick it up.

002 - End Reign - S/T 7"

The next record I picked up was this, the self-titled 7" by Durham based hardcore band End Reign. The first thing that struck me about the 7" was the awesome artwork. It was released as a cooperative effort by four UK based labels - Fist In The Air Records, Witch Hunter Records, Hemlock 13 and Holy Roar Records.

The record contains four tracks.

Tracklist:- 1. Horror
                2. Abyss
                3. To Pray For
                4. Dream Eater

I bought my copy from Fist In The Air and the record was pressed in a batch of 500 on two colour-ways. 200 on Blue/Black (the one I've got) and 300 on Green/Black. Hemlock 13, Holy Roar and Witch Hunter all have the same colours and you can still pick copies of this up from each label.

Side A

The A side of the 7" has a great centre label, with the initials of the band featured really prominently.

Side B

The B side features a centre label with the teeth of the wolf on from the record sleeve.

As well as the quality of the release as a whole, Fist In The Air threw in a free sticker and a free End Reign sticker featuring the record sleeve artwork and a free patch.

You can still pick copies of this up from the labels below:-

Fist In The Air - http://www.fitarecords.bigcartel.com/product/end-reign
Hemlock Thirteen - http://hemlockthirteen.bigcartel.com/product/end-reign
Holy Roar - http://holyroarrecords.com/shop.php#
Witch Hunter Records - http://witchhunterrecords.bigcartel.com/product/end-reign

If you're a fan of homegrown, Northern hardcore, you could do a lot worse than pick this up. The package is really top quality and it sounds ferocious.

001 - Abolition/Hang The Bastard - Split 7"

This was the first vinyl record I ordered and what prompted me to start collecting in the first place. I bought it from the Hang The Bastard online store, as at the time I was a big HTB fan boy (please note, I still am) and I'd just joined the TDON records singles club.

The record has 4 tracks, two from Abolition on the A side and two by Hang The Bastard on the B side.

Tracklist:-
Side A - Abolition - 1. No Remorse
                             2. Worn Thin

Side B - Hang The Bastard - 1. Most Will Swim On A Lake Of Fire
                                           2. Cavern


The first press of this release was a cooperative effort by Disposable Culture Records, Breakthrough Records and Hit Time Records. It was pressed on black vinyl and was a run of 500. 30 of these were special "friends presses" which had special, spray painted sleeves.

The second press was released by Disposable Culture Records only and was made up of 150 on purple vinyl and 350 on black vinyl. There was also a limited run of 50 Euro tour copies done, with a different sleeve, which Abolition took on the road with them in 2010.

A Side (Including my reflection!)

B Side (Also including my reflection!)

There was also an insert included, which contained the song lyrics, band member details and thanks list.

So, poor quality camera phone taken pictures aside, this was the first vinyl record that I bought and is to blame for current addiction to records.

You can pick up a copy of the 2nd press done by Disposable Culture Records at http://disposablecultureuk.bigcartel.com/, for the princely sum of £4. It's limited to 350 copies on black vinyl. I'd strongly recommend this, as it's a great example of two of the UK's best hardcore bands, duelling it out together for your aural pleasure.

Intro

Okay, so I thought I'd start a side blog, to document my record collecting exploits.

I have about 80 records that I'm gonna document, with more on the way. I'm gonna try and post them up in chronological order, so from thew earliest to the latest. It'll be fun!

Feel free to drop by and comment on my collection or talk to me about other records you've got or I should get. Cheers.