"set it off" was and probably will always be my favourite madball album. once given to me on a dubbed cassette, next to another few nyhc classics, by my uncle; this album never bores me. from the start with that recorded street sounds from new york before the title song kicks in to the re-recorded "friend or foe" as hidden track, this album is absolutely flawless. what really stands out to me is the harshness of freddy's voice on "set it off". i think he never reached that quality of pure venom in his throat again. an absolute classic and i am always on fire when they play some songs of that record live.
given the popularity of "set it off" it was always a pain to get a hold on a physical copy on vinyl. original pressings from 1994 on roadrunner records always go for considerable money on ebay and discogs alike and so i missed out on several chances in the past. when music on vinyl re-issued "demonstrating my style" a few months ago, i was really hoping they would re-press "set it off" as well. little did i know in that moment that backbite records had already announced the re-issue of madball's debut on a few coloured vinyl options.
by the time i learned of what was happening, a very limited version with a screen-printed special cover out of only thirty copies was already gone but i snagged a copy on clear blue vinyl limited to 100 copies. actually i think that the grey marble colour-way out of 470 copies, of which willem has one, looks way better but i don't think i invest money in another re-press. i am very fine with my copy and finally being able to listen to this cracker on vinyl. when price is good, i'll probably make a run on an original copy like jake got one. we will see. backbite records. 2016.
