galactic empire

this thing came straight out of the blue for me. i mean, i remember that i saw the video to the "main theme" somewhere along the way on the tube last year but i thought this was some well done fan project, a one-time occurence. i think, actually i am not far from the truth with that assumption. the "main theme" was put out to the release of star wars VII - the force awakens and was pretty succesful with over four million clicks to date.

backed up with such good resonance the guys set up a crowdfunding campaign and collected over sixty thousand dollars to record a full length album. rise records signed the band and over a year after they first appeared, the self-titled debut is out for the taking. i missed all the buzz around them and just learned about the existence of this record by seeing the album pop up for order at some german distros a week ago. i simply liked the cover art and then was delighted to find that this whole thing was a metal adaption of the music of my favourite movies of all time.

star wars metal is probably the coolest thing on earth, especially when it is so god damn well executed. their technical approach to the classic pieces is breathtaking at times. just listen to "duel of fates" (the first time i partly enjoy a prequel) and "across the stars" and be taken to a galaxy far far away... i ordered this pearl via jpc.de and i can only recommend them. fast and smooth transaction here. the vinyl colour looks awesome and matches the cover art very well. 1138 copies on transparent orange crush with halloween orange splatter. rise records. 2017.

star wars - german radio plays of "a new hope" and "return of the jedi"

two years ago my wife gave me the soundtrack to the first star wars movie on vinyl for christmas and i posted the record the record on this blog, even though it has nothing to do with hardcore or metal. to keep up with this young tradition, i thought i will give these two a go as well. when i unwrapped my presents i felt like jumping all around the room because these two radio plays are that cool on vinyl. i have or had both of them on tape cassette but the vinyl versions are really lovely because of the great covers and all the pictures in the booklets.

i tried to get "a new hope" from 1978 and "return of the jedi" from 1983 myself in the past but there is always the problem of the condition. most copies offered on second hand market places are pretty beaten concerning cover or vinyl and some are missing the booklets. the copies which are in good condition are pretty pricey and so i never made a move towards buying one. i don't know how my wife pulled it off but she found a toy seller on the internet who had both in stock for reasonable prices, she said.

the records are in absolute top condition. especially the "a new hope" record. no bend of the cover, sharp edges, booklet like new and the vinyl in pristine shape. "return of the jedi" has some wear on the cover edges but that's it, the rest is in prime condition as well. real fun to listen to the stories with the original german dubbed dialogues, brings back fond memories. i can almost speak along because i watch the original triology at least once per year. what a great gift of the wife! a shame they never made a "the empire strikes back" radio play record back in the day. anyway, see you in 2017.

in the face of recent events, i bid farewell to carrie fisher. rest in peace.

star wars - o.s.t.

i was thinking to and fro if i should up this here. in fact, this record has nothing to do with hardcore and this record has also nothing to do with metal. but as i really love it and am very happy to call it part of my collection, i thought 'fuck it!'. i'll give it a go. so actually i recieved this as a christmas gift from my girlfriend.

as she knows my obsession with both, star wars and records, she thought it to be apt to give me a combination of the two for christmas. now i am the proud owner of the german version of the star wars original soundtrack by mastermind john williams with the london symphony orchestra.

the overall package is really well done. the front and back cover look really nice and are only topped by the inner sleeve, with its nice selection of pictures taken from the movie. furthermore one gets two inserts with some words to every song. information to the parts of the movie where the respective orchestral piece appears and why it sounds the way it does.

one insert is in english, the other in german. not like i would need them though, of course i do know which piece belongs to which scene of the motion-picture, ha! the vinyl of the original press however is in mint condition. remarkable considering that it's 38 years old by now. great christmas gift by the girl! phonogram. 1977.