in my recent obsession with technical death metal i stumbled upon a band called archspire when surfing through youtube suggestions. i listened to a few bits and thought they were worth the effort of getting some recorded material. at first i seeked the assistance of discogs. the data base told me the band had two full lengths under their belt. the first one, "all shall align", never saw a vinyl release and the second one, their latest, was put to vinyl by season of mist records.
it came in handy that i listened to some songs of "the lucid collective" and therefore knew that this second album was definitely up my alley. so i gleefully checked the copies for sale only to find that the coolest variant, which is transparent red, wasn't for sale. the second colour-way, transparent blue, was available but only u.s.-seller offered them. a quick search through domestic distros and the mother label season of mist concluded with the insight that the red lp wasn't available via the usual channels.
i wrote the record off with the idea to get it if an ebay option popped up. when i searched for a copy of the dillinger escape plan's "ire works" last weekend, i came across a german record store from berlin which also has an e-shop. the talk is of dodo beach records. i never heard of them before but they seem to have a decent selection of hardcore and metal titles. i didn't find my desired "ire works" variant but "the lucid collective" instead and was surprised to see that it was marked as red vinyl. i checked this sucker out immediately and two days later it was mine.
musically "the lucid collective" is an outburst of creativity and technical skills. fast, melodic, groovy at times and all arranged so sophistically evil that there is no denying these canadians know their craft. check them out. you can tell by the cover that my copy was a store copy that has been sitting in the dodo beach racks for almost three years. a bit shopworn here and there. the vinyl however is in top condition. 250 copies made. season of mist. 2014.
