Chelsea Pigs

Besides the split with Charles Bronson, this is the Spazz split that I wanted the most. In case you didn't know, Floor is one of the best bands in the history of ever. I'm very happy to finally have something of theirs on wax. Spazz/Floor - split 7", black vinyl, 33 RPM.

Maybe the most expensive 7" I've bought, but considering what other people are selling it for, I got it for a bargain, and in excellent condition. 

Excellent track from Floor, very heavy with some screaming vocals, which the band progressively used less and less. The singing works, definitely, but this music is primal enough that the screams work as well. Great, groovy, caveman simple riffs of course. If I had one complaint it's that the track just kinda fizzles out at the end.

 The Spazz side really isn't anything special, for me anyway. Pretty simple, generic songs from them with a pretty lacking recording. It's still good stuff, but I've definitely heard much much better.

You can find this on Discogs, of course. I got my copy from Vinyl Junkie. Floor is God!

~VII

Black Earth

I finally got around to picking up two key records from Weekend Nachos, a band that I've been listening to a lot recently. I've been sleeping on both for a while, and I'm glad I finally got around to getting them. I also picked up "Unforgivable", in addition to this, the "Black Earth" 7", clear with black swirl vinyl, 45 RPM.

They recently re-pressed this, so I figured I should get the 1st pressing while it's still floating around. At the time of it's release, this was somewhat of a promo for their upcoming full-lenght, "Worthless". The A-side features 2 songs that would be featured on the album, and the B-side has a rerecording of "Priorities", which was featured on "This Comp. Kills Fascists Vol. 1", and an exclusive track entitled "No Saints". That being the case, nowadays there is no real reason to pick this up unless you're a hardcore fan of the band. The un-exclusive tracks definitely do have an apparent difference in the recording, and I do dig the boost in the bass guitar on these songs. "No Saints" is also a beast of a track, maybe one of the heaviest the band has written. Overall I'm glad I picked it up, I dig it.

Glued sleeve with rather uninteresting artwork, however gloomy it may be. 

I'm also a fan of the goofy pictures they use on their inserts nowadays. It's a nice contrast to their other dark imagery. 

VERY nice looking vinyl.

Expect a few more Weekend Nachos posts in the next few days. 

~VII

The Money Store

Record Store Day was a while ago, and I made out like a bandit. I did a very brief post showing off my haul, and this record was one of the best pieces in the bunch. Death Grips is a band that have gained stupid levels of praise and popularity, and have deserved every once of it. Their last album/mixtape/whatever, "Exmilitary", was my favorite release of last year, and this one is definitely going to be one of my favorites of this year, for sure. Here's "The Money Store", black vinyl, 33 RPM.

Quite an interesting release, very very interesting for an Epic Records release. Death Grips are as strange as ever on this, maybe a little more focused too. The beats have a much more consistent flow throughout the album. Pretty abrasive, deep, droning bass tones and punishing drums and noises. The lack of samples is the only major difference here with the beats, and MC Ride's vocals are a lot less scream-y. In my opinion, this is definitely more of a hip-hop album than "Exmilitary" was. 

Good sounding pressing. It's decently loud, though they did squeeze a lit of music on the A side. The artwork and packaging is pretty excellent too. Semi-thick cover sleeve with a glossy inner sleeve, lyric sheet, and a couple inserts. Pretty tidy.

Oh yeah, and another new album is coming this fall. Holy crap.

For the people freaking out thinking they missed their chance getting this one RSD, don't sweat it. You can find this for a real good price on Discogs, and it will be released commercially this year. Pick it up!

~VII

...Where My Heart Used To Be

I played a show last Saturday, and I got to see a lot of really excellent bands. The one, odd, hardcore band that was on the bill was this band, Colony. Apparently, they're from Upstate, NY, where I also am. Fancy that. Anyways, their live show was one of the most intense, violent, aggressive live shows I've seen in a while. I had to pick up both of their 7"s. Here is their "s/t" 7", pink vinyl, 33 RPM.

This is a very excellent 7 song EP. Overall, Colony play a very heavy, down-tempo style of hardcore, with a little bit of metallic-ism thrown in. It definitely isn't as violent as their live show, but the recording is excellent, and the pressing if very good. The song "...Where My Heart Used To Be" has to be my favorite on the whole thing. It's a dark, heavy, loathsome piece of hardcore. 

Not very interesting cover art, but it's alright. This is limited to 315 copies, and I'm not exactly sure how many are pressed on pink, but I do know it's the more limited variant. I got #297.

Cool image inside the sleeve. I'm not sure where it's from. Anybody know?

You can pick this up in a few distros. Check out their facebook and their bandcamp. Good stuff.

~VII

White Paranoia

Last week saw the release of the brand new EP from the uber-negative Philidelphia fastcore duo, Backslider. I'm always happy to get more records from these guys, and the fact that this is a TLAL co-release (also released with Psychocontrol Records) is a big plus. "Maladapted", black vinyl, 45 RPM.

All around, "Maladapted" is a really good EP. Backslider are as tight and complicated as ever, and they have never sounded better as well. The recording on this is super tidy and punchy. The guitar tone has gotten a little less bassy, but still has a lot of impact. The drum performance on this is incredible too. Stop and start on a dime riffs, with some very nice occasional stoner rock-influenced breaks thrown in for good measure. 

The one nit-pick I have with this is that I don't think it warrant's being a double sided 7". This thing could easily fit on 1-side and still be 45 RPM. It kills me when bands/labels decide to do that, it kills the momentum and energy for me. Three songs on each side, each side being about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. At least they're good songs.

I ordered mine form Blastcat records, which is run by one of the dudes in the band. There is a blue vinyl variant, which I unfortunately was not given. I'm unsure of the numbers. Definitely pick this one up.

~VII

Two New +HIRS+ Additions

I recently added two new loose ends to my +HIRS+ collection, now making me complete. For now. These were released for their Australian tour, in very limited runs. First, here's their split with Australian natives(and tour mates), Shitweather. 1-sided 7", black vinyl, 33 RPM, limited to 150.

Originally, this was going to be a flexi disc. But thankfully, it was upgraded to a solid vinyl record thanks to some help from One Brick Today records. Shitweather are first, dishing out 3 tracks of grimy, distorted, raw grindviolence. If you liked their demo tape, you should dig these tracks. It's very chaotic sounding stuff, everything is just covered in distortion. The +HIRS+ tracks are pretty sweet; very short songs with good riffs and some nice occasional groove. I'd say that the Shitweater "side" sticks with me more, but probably because it lasts longer. Good split overall though.

Pretty simple packaging, and mine's printed on pink paper. I've seen others on white, and I'm not sure how many were printed on either colors/

Next is a compilation tape called "Gaytheism", also limited to 150 copies. There was no real reason for me to get this other than the fact that I made the choice to get every +HIRS+ release. This compiles their first 69 tracks (oooh, I get it), and has one exclusive track. Nice presentation overall, but atrociously bad dubbing. Piss poor job. I like the artwork though.

Here's my updated collection.

~VII