all out war - celestial rot

pick any album out of all out war's discography and you get quality heavy music. 'celestial rot' is no different, relentless and no frills metallic hardcore.

all out war - for those who were crucified

always wanted a re-press copy with the last track "apocalyptic terror" on it. i had a first press copy on clear gold for years and for whatever reasons it's missing on this pressing. found one at grindpromotion records from italy on this lovely starburst colour-way. victory records. 1998/2019.

all out war - give us extinction

the new all out war! well, it is not really new after all. the album was released in 2017 already. at the time i wasn't really interested because i knew that it would not pose a problem to get a colour copy at any time after the release. other stuff with higher sell out risk was more important. time went by and i forgot about "give us extinction". when i searched for a record to add to the ecostrike vinyl it was a no brainer to go for all out war.

these guys are around since 1991. despite all out war not being active troughout all these years in cause of a few break-ups and re-unions, something like a quarter century of existence is an impressing life span for a hardcore band. they managed not to alter their sound too much in all this time but to stay relevant with every new record spat forth. no difference with "give us extinction". hate for stupidity of mankind, for the few in power and for social injustice is felt in every screamed word of vocalist mike score.

this accompanied by fast thrash parts and bulldozing hardcore groove, et voilà another great all out war record at your service. the only little downer is the guest appearance of emily muscara. never heard of her but her voice kills the songs she is involved with for me. still, a rager this new album is. i got the retail version on clear vinyl. not the best choice in my book but i didn't want to pay for oversea shipping. the artwork is top notch, though. organized crime records. 2017.

all out war - condemned to suffer

of all the all out war full lengths, 'condemned to suffer' proved to be the most difficult to come by. when the album was released thirteen years ago, victory did a vinyl pressing and they did one quite different to the cd version. a screen printed fold-over cover with the album art in black and grey, a photo copied insert and the vinyl labels were showing the big victory records lettering they used for some records at the time (see my 'for those who were crucified' record). all looked like a real home job.

the first pressing came with only 507 copies in total but i once had the chance to buy a clear red one for fifteen bucks on the bay. i didn't bought it back then because i didn't think. so this pretty good priced opportunity vanished. it never showed up again and discogs sellers call up hefty prizes for a first press. thus i was very pleased when i saw that victory records did a re-press for 'condemned to suffer'.

i ordered it along with two other records, which i will write about in the coming days, directly from the label. i opted for the most limited colour of the second press which is 'blood in the water', or clear with red/pink smoke. this time victory did proper covers with the dave quiggle artwork in all its glory. a fold-out insert with all lyrics and a download code round out this release. musically it might become my favourite all out war album. the a-side is just that good! check it out. 163 copies made. victory records. 2003/2016.

all out war - dying gods

five years of waiting. finally after five years all out war comes up with a new release. somewhere along the way i wasn't sure anymore if the band still exists, but here we are with 'dying gods'. it's not a real full length unfortunately, rather an e.p. but i am not really complaining here. i am fine with a handful of songs as long as they can answer the expectations. and damn, they can!

my uncle already listened to the songs and was really enthusiastic about them, therefore i was even more excited to get it. unfortunately i wasn't involved in the pre-order process, because organized crime records is an u.s. label and i didn't want to pay the outrageous shipping costs. and so i waited for a european distributor to have it in stock.

i set high hopes in the record dealer of my trust, per koro records, and markus did not disappoint. as usual. as i didn't order from organized crime directly it was inevitable to get a copy of the least limited colour way. the solid tan would have looked nicer, but i am really okay with this clear blood red version. it matches the cover art with the red all out war lettering quite good.

all out war delivers hard on this one. you liked their previous albums? you will love 'dying gods'. nothing innovative here but hell, who wanted that anyway? check out the whole e.p. here. really love the presentation on this one. matte card sleeve with awesome art work, folded insert with all lyrics and some more great art and this nice shade of clear red for the vinyl. let the full length come! unknown quantity. organized crime records. 2015.

all out war - into the killing fields

all out war released a new record recently and i ordered through a german distro and am still waiting for it to show up. in the mean time i thought it would be very proper to post up my latest all out war find. it's their full length from 2010, 'into the killing fields' namely. it was one of those records i have on my mental want list and which i would pick up when the circumstances were right. when i was ordering the red sparowes 'every red heart shines...' from green hell's discogs shop, i clicked on the 'has other items i want' button and was directed to a new copy of 'into the killing fields'.

the price was very reasinable and so i added it to the order. here we are with this beast of an album. i always liked all out war's crossover sound out of old school death metal, thrash metal and hardcore and i do like their previous work, but 'into the killing fields' tops it all off. furious riffing, groove all over the place and sheer aggression molten into thirty-five minutes on plastic. sure, they don't look over the rim of their musical tea cup, but hey, i don't want all out war to do anything else but deliver the meanest kick in the nuts possible.

'into the killing fields' was the fourth and for the time being the last release on chicago's victory records. victory pressed two colour-ways back then. clear with smoke vinyl out of 100 copies and my clear red with smoke out of 400 copies. the artwork for this album is pretty nice too. love this dark comic style and the vinyl colour is the perfect match for the colouring of the cover. of the victory releases i am only missing the 'condemned to suffer' record. i am hoping for a re-press fro record store day or something similar. victory records. 2010.

ebay usa: all out war

all out war - assassins in the house of god record store day re-release
this record i actually obtained three weeks ago or something. that shows how much i'm behind currency. but who cares anyway!
it's a victory records rsd-release that wasn't available in germany, somehow. or i just missed it by being too late... fact is that i recognized the post of lenny/theemergingaddiction about it and that i wanted it! so i consulted ebay usa and found various offerings. some sellers wanted ridiculously high prices and others had been pretty reasonable (don't really understand sellers inflating their prices while others have accessible costs. can't imagine they have prospering business). the seller i got this from had a "make an offering"-option and so in the end i made a bargain, i think. the record took four weeks to arrive so it's been a long way from ordering it to posting it :)
love the music! reminds me of heaven shall burn even though all out war have been around earlier, it's just my personal hierachy :) they play pretty straight forward death metal. nothing much left of hardcore music but the attitude.

nice white marbled opaque pink vinyl + download card. limited to 400. victory records.

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.