bongripper - miserable

after i was totally blown away by bongripper's 2008 release 'hate ashbury', i wanted more of their stuff. when i scoured the market for bongripper vinyl i was a little bummed to find that prices are pretty high. when i found out that vinyl releases always have been pretty limited - in the two hundred copies range - plus the very good underground reputation of the band, those prices weren't too surprising at all anymore.

the band's big cartel shop was a dead end as all their vinyl copies of different albums were gone, ebay had nothing to offer too and so i checked discogs again with better luck. a german seller had a reasonable priced second press copy of bongripper's latest record 'miserable' available. still being on that 'hate ashbury' high i ordered straight away, without listening to any song before.

when the postman delivered the record safe and sound and i dropped the needle on 'miserable' it wasn't an instant hit like 'hate ashbury'. 'miserable' is a grower and i needed something like five or six whole spins before its greatness manifested in my auditory passages. the album has so much to offer with its slow heaviness and omious melodies. in my humble opinion it won't top '... ashbury' but it's such a good doom record anyway.

as mentioned before my copy is part of the second pressing consisting of 1000 copies in total. 500 on good ol' black vinyl and another 500 on this grey marbled vinyl. 180gr vinyl, black dust sleeves and a nice artworked gatefold sleeve make this sucker a top notch release. the art looks like some sinister lovecraft, cthulhu mysticism brought to cardboard. again bongripper released this album on their own label. all very d.i.y. great barrier records. 2014.

guilty - demo 7"

boy, summer is showing its relentless face in northern germany right now. thirty-five degrees celcius the day and the temperature doesn't drop under twenty degrees the night. tiny movements are exhausting and i really need to go to the beach and throw my tortured body in the sea. while at work these days i sometimes wish i was at the northernmost place of sweden with comfortable fifteen degrees celcius. what a convenient transition to the band of today's topic. guilty from sweden.

in 2011 this band gave us their second release in the form of a self titled 7" via different labels worldwide. six feet under fom the states, carry the weight from the uk and green menace from sweden. it was featured on different vinyl blogs, you all love and regulary visit. i put up a copy of the sfu records pressing and back then i saved their first demo on my mental want list. it took me two years to obtain this record.

a discogs offering came my way and was too good to ignore it. the musical part on this plastic platter is pretty good. i think it's a bit nicer than the self-titled effort. while i was looking for some tunes to link it to this post, i came across the information that the band broke up last year. a shame that is. here is the link to their bandcamp page with the opportunity to download the demo for free. 250 copies on my opague orange vinyl and another 250 on black. green menace records. 2010.

baroness - first & second

in the course of the last half a year or so baroness really has become one of the heavy hitters in my personal play list. 'the red album' and 'blue record' made me love their weird and catchy incarnation of progressive rock music. therefore i am always on the hunt for more baroness vinyl. while i still keep falling short on getting a coloured vinyl copy of 'yellow and green', i was quite successful obtaining a copy of the compilation of their first two e.p.'s.

those two e.p.'s were aptly entitled 'first' and 'second' and have been originally put out as seperate releases by hyperrealist records. i suppose the band has some connection to the label because they are coming from the same city - savannah, georgia - and black tusk, also with releases on hyperrealist, is one of the bands john dyer baizley does almost every artwork for.

anyway, following the 2004 release of 'first' and the 2005 release of 'second', said hyperrealist records reissued them as one release on vinyl in 2008. it was too expensive for me to hunt the single versions and so i was really happy to grab this real nice brown marble record from an ebay seller from germany. the orange marble of the same pressing, the third to be exact, would have been cooler but i am more than ok with it.

if you want to witness a more raw and heavy version of the band's trademark sound this compilation is your way to go. it reminds me of early mastodon stuff and i really like it for what it is - an early stage in the bands career. all in all i like their full length's better but this is still essential stuff and a must-have for any baroness sympathiser. 750 copies on brown marble with foil print on the cover. hyperrealist records. 2008. 

lions - bit by bit

did you ever ask yourself what ex-cataract members are doing nowadays? well, i have no answer to that either, but two years ago a fifth of them released a new e.p. together with his new band called lions. i am speaking of drummer ricky and the output named 'bit by bit'. i checked back and the band is still alive. time for something new, huh? anyway, back to the record.

lions plays some good ol' straight edge hardcore in the vein of some nyhc bands of the bygone century. nothing too exciting, but really solid. you can listen to the whole of 'bit by bit' by simply visiting the lions bandcamp page and clicking the play button. they even posted a link to download it on their facebook.

if you much rather like to invest in a physical copy, you are able to do this in the way i got to even know this band. take it back records is the name and as i was browsing through their big cartel last year in april. doing so i came across the vinyl version of 'bit by bit'. it was actually released on tape in 2013 and one year later both parties decided to give it the vinyl treatment. wise decision! 82 copies on clear blue vinyl as a label exclusive. take it back records. 2013/2014. 

toundra - III

i already posted about toundra's second album, aptly entitled 'II'. but before i ordered that record, i got aware of this spanish instrumental band through this album right here. i stumbled across this copy of 'III' while looking through per koro's discogs offerings. the cover looked really cool and i just wanted to check what was behind it. i do this quite often, listening to bands because i like cover artworks. sometimes it fails and sometimes it works out.

after i listened to 'cielo negro' i knew this would work out. even though i think that 'II' is a bit nicer, because of the geographical concept to the music, 'III' is such a strong record. so fine balanced between the atmospheric parts and the more forceful parts that a missing of lyrics isn't even an issue. that band should really get more attention.

checking the pressing information at discogs i am a little puzzled as to what version i hold in hands. not one colour way seems to fit my opaque blue with white and black marble vinyl platter. per koro sold it with a 'limited to 100' description. well, i am inclined to accept this assumption. anyone knows the real deal? apart from that the whole artwork together with the back cover looks stunning. love the semi-transparent insert. aloud music. 2012.

agnostic front - warriors

when nuclear blast released the latest agnostic front record 'the american dream died', they smelled the chance to sell some more records while the hype was still going. well, good bait catches fine fish, they say. and that 'warriors' re-press bait was too good to not get hooked, at least for me. the first press on clear blue, even though one thousand in existence, is quite hard to come by.

when i saw it on the bay, copies always went for over thirty, sometimes even fourty bucks. when they hit the twenty five euro mark i was out. i wasn't too anxious to get one and i hoped time would be on my side. it was, in a way. when the re-press smiled back at me not long after i purchased 'the american dream...', i didn't hestitate to order.

'warriors' was released three years after 'another voice' from 2004. the latter record was the most metallic tinged that agnostic front came up with to that point. much to my pleasure, i have to admit. when 'warriors' showed up and i listened to the album whole and in one go, it produced the same warm hearted feeling as its predecessor. check out 'addiction' and 'black and blue' and you will get a good inside view on what the album sounds like.

i actually think that the new colour, magenta or purple - whatever you call it - looks even better than clear blue. it helps a bit to oversee the stupid cover art work. i was a little surprised to find that tiny 'limited vinyl edition' beam at the bottom end of the cover. i checked and the first press had that too. funny, never saw nuclear blast doing this with any other release of theirs. 300 copies made and still available. 2007/2015.

earth crisis - the discipline

since i was pretty obsessed with metal lately, i haven't forgot about hardcore of course. so here is the new earth crisis 7" called 'the discipline'. when i read about the title of this record, and i am sure a lot of earth crisis fans did too, i was immediately reminded of the fifth song of the same name from their debut full length 'destroy the machines'. i didn't seek any information about this slab of vinyl beforehand and was therefore pretty curious as to what was pressed on it.

i came to the following conclusions. it's a four song release with two re-recorded songs from 'destroy the machines'. the first one is the eponymous 'the discipline' and the second is 'new ethic'. i actually don't know why they chose those two songs. probably because the one is a straight edge song and the other is about veganism. the two things that characterise this band. but that's just a guess though. anyone knows better?

the other two songs are tracks from the '92 demo , respectively from a compilation cassette from the early nineties. 'behind the mask' and 'time of strife' are pretty good songs with that typical nineties earh crisis chugga chugga riffing. great additions to the canon and a pleasure to any fan of the band. i'm a little puzzled as to why they actually released that 7". is it a teaser for an upcoming album? twentieth anniversary of 'destroy...'? well, i am happy to have a cameo version out of 500 copies anyway. love the different look of both sides. bullet tooth records. 2015.

high on fire - luminiferous (century media version)

a new high on fire record. the seventh full length and the first one i witness right from its release date. thus i didn't have to search second hand markets like discogs or ebay, thus i didn't have to buy some re-press, no. i was right there for the pre-order process. man, this year seems to be a fruitful one for new releases i am interested in. i am up to my ears in pre-orders. but that is a different story.

to the point. when i heard news of a coming hof record european pre-orders weren't up. since 'snakes for the divine', high on fire releases their stuff through e-one entertainment from the states. and since then century media handled release matters over here in europe. no exception with 'luminiferous' and so i waited for cm to come up with a vinyl release. when they finally did, century media offered various pre-order options.

i opted for the 180gr clear orange variant. even though it was not as limited as a dark green edition, i thought it looked better in combination with the cover art. i am satisfied with my decision after checking the pictures now being available at cm distro. century media seems to have sold out on their copies already but nuclear blast has some left to get you covered.

e-one also had an u.s. version to offer. a grey with black 'starburst' pressing. i checked the net for some pictures but couldn't find some. i would really like to see one. sounds like a cool colour variant. anyway, what does the new album hold musically, you may ask? right so. 'luminiferous' is a cracker on all accounts. it comes with the right dosage of furious motörhead punk metal and their very own stoner-doom heaviness.

the whole album is very well balanced and will stand in line with their previous work. not one stinker among them. but before i bore you with more inexpressive talk, you will most likely want to check some tunes for yourself. here you go with the whole output at one dash.

lyrically it's about the wide subject of conspiracy theories. chemtrails and stuff. but i will have to go deeper into the matter before its luminiferous effect will enlighten me wholly. again a high on fire album cover art looks pretty sinister, can't say what it depicts but it looks great. the d-side etching shows the entity from the cover. comes with a cd of the album. 200 copies made. century media. 2015.

mastodon - crack the skye

since i discovered this band for myself last year, i have become what is widely regarded a fan. i have their records up to 'blood mountain' and was listening to these albums in a quite natural way, which means i listened to them in order of appearance. almost, that is. i heard 'leviathan' before 'remission'. whatever, at the beginning of the year mastodon announced re-pressings of their reprise records back catalogue on coloured vinyl. i was thrilled to bits as it would spare me the agony of getting original colour vinyl of 'crack the skye'.

i already have 'blood mountain' on my favourite colour pattern and so i skipped the re-press. 'crack...' was set to be released on june, second and i pre-ordered through their u.k. store. i was really excited to finally hold it in my hands. i was able to maintain the illusion of hearing the records in order of release just like it would be a new output. as i never listened to the record before, i couldn't wait to drop the needle on it. musically it's quite different to their previous stuff. way more prog rock and less metal.

i have got to say i really dig the album. not the fact that it's less metal-ish but this whole thing is so sophistically worked out, it's simply jaw-dropping. i love the weird lyrical story of a paraplegic child leaving its body in a transcendental manner, slipping through a wormhole, landing in russia of the early twentieth century where the russian cult of the khlysts passing its soul into rasputin's body. after the assassination of the assumed khlyst rasputin, his soul is trying to help the child getting back into its own body. completely over the top but because of that so damn cool.

music wise mastodon serves the whole pallet of emotions, from raging to melancholic, over heavy to progressive. the only little downer is that brann dailor's drumming got less complex. it's a wild trip anyway and you should take it right now. the album name and the title song was inspired by brann dailor's sister skye, who committed suicide at the age of fourteen. 'remission' had some references too. 'crack the skye' is the last out of four mastodon albums based on the theory of the four elements, representing 'air' or better 'aether'. don't know how many were made on this 'baby blue' vinyl. reprise records. 2009/2015. 

iron walrus - the plague

the new iron walrus record at hand. it just took this five-piece from osnabrück one year to come up with their second full length, entitled 'the plague'. this was actually the album i heard stuff from first, before i got to know any songs of 'insidious black sea'. on 'insidious...' you can hear that the band had an idea of what they wanted to sound like, on 'the plague' however they seem to have felt way more comfortable and grown together.

the songs have more depth and really stand as one. whereas 'insidious...' had some hits, the sophomore record is an unholy unit where it's hard to pick a favourite. therefore i will give you the link to the redfield records youtube channel, where you have the chance to listen to the album in all its glory.

beside the better song-writing of the walrus, vocalist sven's voice really stands out. it seems he treated his vocal chords with a huge amount of tobacco goods and whiskey in the course of the last year. so grumbling and barking that it reminds me of crowbar's kirk windstein to some extent. the art work goes hand in hand with the band's name and shows some consistency looking at the debut.

i really like that maritime theme. the record even ends with some sounds of the sea. when i ordered the records at the beginning of may the cd-version was already out since a few months and redfield had some problems with the pressing plant. as june came the vinyl was finally there and the outcome looks pretty neat. numbered sleeves, printed dust sleeves and nice marbled dark red vinyl. love when orders come with a little personal note. 525 made. get a copy here. nice job, redfield records. 2015.