one day in hamburg: system of a down, aerosmith, police, death before dishonor, xresistx, sepultura

i started my record store trip at slam record store, where i picked up these, for me, unusual records.

aerosmith - permanent vacation
in my childhood my best friend and me used to listen to a lot of aerosmith stuff, because his father was a fan of them and had some cd's. i'm not very familiar with their discography, i just know the obvious songs like "livin' on the edge", "crazy" or "janie's got a gun". so, as i held the record in my hands i checked the track list and spotted "dude looks like a lady". Because of that song plus a very good shape of the record itself and a good price, i decided to get it. i don't know if this is the first press or so, but i don't care anyway.
black vinyl + printed dust sleeve. geffen records

the police - reggatta de blanc
my girlfriend already had a copy of this record and i always liked it. one day as i felt like hearing it, i couldn't find it. asking her, she told me she gave it to a friend. i was a bit disappointed about it and said to myself to get another copy if given the chance to. looking in other stores previously i found a lot of copies but all of them in a real bad shape. this one here is ok. a loved one, you can tell but it works. it's a german re-press on black vinyl and printed dust sleeve. a&m records

system of a down - toxicity
after my uncle introduced to heavy music with bands like biohazard, sick of it all, madball and life of agony i started my own explorations at the most obvious sources for a teenager in germany: music tv-channels like mtv and viva2. i started out with bands like korn, limp bizkit, rammstein and, of course system of a down. i really loved this album and listened to it that often, i still can sing along to every song :) i saw this one and other coloured vinyl versions going out on ebay for 40€ and more. i can say, i got it for a real good price ;)
marbled solid yellow vinyl but no insert with lyrics (i didn't find information if this is the way it's meant to be, or if the pre-owner just lost it). american records.

next stop was, again, burnout record store...

death before dishonor - better ways to die
pretty good old school hardcore with some real fresh influences. reminds me a little bit of new terror stuff. if the record was ending as good as it starts (the last songs are still good though), they would have put out a real killer. looking forward to hear new stuff!
gatefold sleeve + clear red vinyl + download card. bridge9 records.

xresistx - we want our world back
catchy sxe hardcore. i don't know if they are still out there, but if so i hope they visit germany shortly.
loveley clear blue splatter vinyl (719 made). indecision records.

last stop was saturn hamburg:

sepultura - chaos a.d.
a classic but still loses nothing of it's power today. best sepul record to me. re-issue on heavy black vinyl + printed dust sleeve. roadrunner records.

hellion record store: heaven shall burn

in this small but fine metal record store, near the infamous wacken open air area, i found this beauty :)

heaven shall burn - antigone
another mile stone in my personal musical development. just like "cataract - with triumph comes loss" it's one of the first records that really got me into hardcore and opened doors to other bands. it's really an outstanding album to me, songs like "voice for the voiceless" opened my eyes to industrial animal breeding and hsb made me aware of an straight edge life style. so as i saw this record for a nice price it was already mine :)
printed dust sleeve + solid gold vinyl. century media records.

nuclear blast: job for a cowboy

i ordered this one at nuclear blast pre-order.
job for a cowboy - demonocracy
after their first release - doom ep - they were the next big thing and together with suicide silence the inventors of the "deathcore" genre. but just with their first full length album "genisis" they left this genre, now playing pretty fast, pretty techincal and pretty good death metal without breakdown parts and pig squeals. the second album "ruination" however was a quite faceless album to me. not one song, except the last one, that really stuck in my mind.
but with the "make-it-or-break-it-record" (the third) jfac definitely made it! it's challenging to listen to but it's worth it. crazy drumming, awesome guitar work plus pretty dark melodies and every song sounding very mature.
furthermore you get an awesome vinyl presentation. gatefold sleeve + poster + printed dust sleeves + clear light blue vinyl + doom ep and gloom ep on the second lp. metal blade records.

ebay: dark day dungeon

dark day dungeon - by blood undone
i know this swiss band since 2005 as they were releasing this record (they disbanded by now). i didn't give them a shot because at the time i was still in school and had no job :), so i couldn't afford it.
but now things are different and i was spotting this picture disc on ebay for a ridiculous price (5 bucks and no shipping costs). i picked it up and i got to say, it's a pretty good album. lovely metalcore like it was popular at the time, in the vein of bands like heaven shall burn, early xmaroonx or early killswitch engage.
hand-numbered (284/500). artwork by dave quiggle. silentstagnation records.

ds store: cataract, merauder, additional time

cataract - with thriumph comes loss
one of my absolute favourite records! next to heaven shall burn's antigone, xmaroonx's endorsed by hate, destiny's the tracy chapter and scars of tomorrow's rope tied to the trigger, it's one of those records that really got me into hardcore in the first place. this swiss outfit plays a metal/hardcore mix between heavy hatebreed-stuff and fast thrash parts. it was recorded at the infamous antfarm studios, denmark. tue madsen created his best sound ever on this one!
very nice vinyl edition! opaque maroon with black splatter vinyl (which was a welcome surprise, because the description at the shop said "clear" vinyl) + a lovely big fold out poster with all lyrics. dead serious recordings

merauder - master killer
great nyhc! descriptions of new band's records always refer to that album but i have to admit that i never listened to it. as i spotted the ds vinyl version at the shop i listened to a couple of songs on the internet. listening to them i wondered why i didn't do it long time before. but it's like this german saying: better late than never!
the whole presentation like of one piece! clear red vinyl. dead serious recordings

additional time - s/t 7"
it's the band of the guy who runs dead serious. they play heavy tough guy hardcore. they are not very rich in variety but i think it's a good start. i'm looking forward for further releases.
clear blue vinyl + download coupon. dead serious recordings.

per koro: knuckledust, throwdown

actually i ordered "life of agony - river runs red" with these other fine records, but the per koro guy said that he was sorry and the record was a "shop-corpse" and not available. so i just have to keep my eyes open for it. but now to the records i actually got:

knuckledust - time won't heal this

in celebration of the london based band's 15th anniversary, gsr music decided to re-release their debut record in a re-mastered version and on vinyl, too. i remember seeing them live in 2003 on resistance tour with ignite, madball and suicidal tendencies and liking the punk bass player with the iro hair :) i little bit lost track on them since then but it's a very good debut record in the vein of old hatebreed or madball. very lovely vinyl presentation!

clear yellow green-black splatter vinyl + download coupon. gsr music

throwdown - haymaker/vendetta 

foremost i wanted this double lp release because of "haymaker". the only throwdown album i know that i love from first to last tune (but i have to admit i don't know their two previous records). relentless straight edge hardcore that just makes you wanna move! "vendetta" i owned on cd some years ago but i sold it on ebay. having it now on vinyl again i remember why i sold it - just a bit too slow sometimes, but some real good songs on it nevertheless. i like it more now then in the past!

i checked some pics on the net before i purchased it informing myself about the colours. i saw it on yellow and blue vinyl. what i got is a different colour press with which i'm more satisfied :)

gatefold sleeve with all lyrics + "haymaker" on semi-translucent marbled dark red vinyl + "vendetta" on marbled opaque brown vinyl. trustkill records

lockin' out records: terror - always the hard way

terror - always the hard way

i was looking for a copy of terror's third full length for a reasonable price. i knew i was a bit late since the album was released in 2006 :) and the pressings were a bit more limited as the vinyl version came out on smaller labels, where they don't seem to make further pressings than the first. there's a european press out on reflection records (yellow, splattered yellow and black vinyl) and an american press on lockin' out records (red and black vinyl). none of the versions were to be found on ebay (just one from a german seller for too much money, i decided) and so i checked each label's distro. nothing at reflection but lockin' out was a stroke of luck :) so i e-mailed the guy requesting a red copy if they still had it in stock. he said they were sold out for years and so i accepted the black vinyl for a real good price. as the record came around i was very surprised to hold a red one in my hands. couldn't get the grin off my face :)
clear red vinyl + gatefold cover + fold out poster with all lyrics on the flip side.

burnout record store hamburg: reign supreme

again, in my favourite local store i found this nice canned music:

reign supreme - testing the limits of infinite

i was outbid on that on ebay. actually i wanted the light blue vinyl version but as i was spotting it in the store, i thought "fuck it, dark blue looks cool, too." pretty good music! good mix between fast parts and breakdowns + gang shouts en masse, which i really love (probably the best thing in hardcore :). only the art work is a bit lame. just some pictures of time-worn statues on black background. i mean, i think i get the idea behind it but it still looks boring. gatefold sleeve at least + download code. deathwish records.

DRA order: Alcatraz, Strength Approach, Bleed Into One

alcatraz - smile now cry later
first time i heard of them was in a mailing list e-mail of demons run amok entertainment as the label advertised this release + i know the two songs of their split 7" with berlin's final prayer. there was one new song on the label's soundcloud site and i decided to buy it eventually. very energetic hardcore like death before dishonor, terror and the like. very good presentation and as an extra you get the demo from 2005 included on the lp!
white vinyl. 150 made. download code.

strength approach - with or without you
straight up italian hardcore.
i was pretty pissed as i missed them on this year's rebellion tour with madball, H2O and first blood in hamburg. they started playing at 18.30 and my girlfriend and me were stuck in traffic jam :(
anyway, the record is pretty good and i just have to catch them live at another time.
it's pressed on awesome marbled neon orange vinyl (100 made). just like with the alcatraz record, i love the idea of making the lyrics insert and the dust sleeve for the record one thing. + download code

strength approach - stand your ground 7"
i don't really like SA first full length "all the plans we made are going to fail" but this 7" is pretty much in the vein of their newest album. great artwork by dave quiggle.
clear red with black smoke vinyl.

bleed into one - words can't save us now
german oldschool hardcore similar to agnostic front or madball. it was on sale and so i thought i give it a shot. the pic suggests that the sleeve is a gatefold cover but it's just a double printed fold out paper of thick quality. that's cool though :)

all records out on demons run amok entertainment

whispers records leipzig: all out war

all out war - for those who were crucified
one day before my birthday i gave myself a present in the shape of all out war's "to those who were crucified". i bought it at whispers records store in my former home town leipzig. pretty nice store with good punk selection but not-so-good hardcore corner, so it was a pleasant surprise finding it. it's the second press on clear gold vinyl released by victory records in 1998, i take it. listening to it now it sounds like a forerunner and a big influence for today's death core stuff.

ebay picks: cruel hand + cataract

cruel hand - without a pulse
since i'm a big fan of their sophomore release "prying eyes" i was looking out for their other stuff. "without a pulse" crossed my way on ebay while i was looking for a blacklisted lp. blacklisted didn't show up but i was happy to get my hands on this. i know that there is a orange/splatter vinyl press but it seems pretty hard to get, so i'm content with the yellow one. good hardcore-punk with more punk this time.
6131 records. solid yellow vinyl. 700 made.

cataract - martyr's melodies 7"
i think it's their first release on lifeforce records. a warm up release before "great days of vengeance" came out. i really love the three songs on this as i love all cataract stuff up to "kingdom". straight euro hardcore-metal at it's best :)
nice green vinyl!