Amputee

Another classic for y'all here. I'm an avid collector of ANb, and have amassed almost their entire discography, except for the split 7" with Halo (so close.so many times). I'd definitely consider them to be my favorite grindcore band, their discography is a masterwork. I definitely think that their early 7"s were some of the bands best material, and out of all of those, the second self-titled EP is by far my favorite. Here's the limited blue vinyl pressing, 33 RPM.

This record was just Scott and Jay according to the notes. It's definitely some of the heaviest early ANb material, Scotts tone is so beefy and thick, and the drums have a nice full tone to them. Every song on here is a winner, even the several micro songs that take over the A-side. It's just full on burning metal sludgy grind, and in my opinion, has one of the top 5 best ANb songs closing the A-side, "Amputee". This track is just one of the best slow, simple, chugging, monolith of heaviness. I love how they would just write these total crushing slow jams and throw them in the middle of their records. Something I consider influential.

I love all the artwork on this. Dig those awesome center labels!! As mentioned, this is the limited blue pressing that Clean Plate did to compliment the regular black press. The blue was limited to 200. I bought this copy last month, I've owned a black copy for a while.

Here is my black and blue copies together.

~VII

Drugged Conscience

Holy grail #2, and the 2nd ANb record I acquired is the Enemy Soil/ANb split 7", black vinyl, 33 RPM.

You could say that this 7" is responsible for later day ANb and Pig Destroyer; JR and Brain of PD were in Enemy Soil during the time this was released, and Richard Johnson, who would collaborate with ANb and Pig Destroyer numerous times over the years.

The Enemy Soil side rips, it really makes me realize that I need to listen to them more. I can definitely hear some Pig Destroyer-isms with these songs. Good groove, manic vocals and some occasional weird chords. Brian's drumming is top notch as always. The ANb side is better than their "s/t", in my opinion. You can hear some familiar Scott Hull nuances starting to form; off-time grooves and interesting slower passages. Excellent split.

~VII

The Alcoholic Pain

I've acquired a couple holy grail records that I'm still losing my fucking mind about. Two of those are really early Agoraphobic Nosebleed 7"s, including this one. The very first ANb 7", some call it the "30 Song 7"", black vinyl, 33 RPM.

Pretty much a repress of their original demo cassette. Obviously, not their best stuff. They hadn't really developed and become full realized as a group yet. I don't even think J. Randall was in the band at this point. Typical fast songs, not a whole lot of groove, not very great lyrics, but still a monumental record to have. Very happy to have this in my collection.

Great album cover, everything is in pretty good condition too. The vinyl has a bit of surface noise though.

Discogs this, I did. I got mine for 10 bucks, I've never seen it for cheaper. 

~VII

The Poacher Diaries

Gah, no posts for a few days, my bad. In internet time it feels like I've been away for a few weeks. Pretty weird how that happens, but I digress. Two of my favorite bands sharing a split is always a good thing, and this right here is one of the greatest of the greats(that I own). One of my prized records and only my 2nd Discogs purchase so far; Agoraphobic Nosebleed/Converge - "The Poacher Diaries" split 12" on yellow w/ red splatter vinyl, 33 RPM.

This is a Relapse Records pressing, Hydra Head Records did all of the first presses. It looks really good and it arrives to me in excellent condition, although the inner sleeve has a lot of split edges. Not a real big issue, though I am really careful putting the record band in the sleeve. 

Excellent material from both bands, of course. The Agoraphobic Nosebleed side shows them being a bit more reserved and less 1000-BPM-y. J.R. Hayes also lends his vocals to many tracks, which is an awesome bonus. The Converge could have been released as it's own EP, it's so solid. Of course their side features the song "Locust Reign", which always makes me want to punch the nearest small animal every time I hear it. Excellent stuff, so happy to finally own this!! Great artwork too!

Printed inner sleeve^

Pretty rare record, and everyone's selling it for buttloads of cash. I lucked out and managed to get mine at a great price. Yay me.

~VII

PCP Torpedo

Here's the latest addition to my growing Agoraphobic Nosebleed collection, the "PCP Torpedo" 6". I think this is a 2nd pressing, on red/black mix vinyl, 45 RPM. Fun fact of the day; up until YESTERDAY I always thought this thing was called "PCP Tornado". Smart.

Very happy to finally get this record. It's one that's been evading me for a while and I finally found it for a good price on Vinyl Junkie. Definitely not there best stuff, but it's still some kick ass grindcore. 10  songs in all, I think only 2 pass the 1 minute mark. Really not a whole lot more I can say, it's typical early ANb, what more should I say?

~VII