ebay: earth crisis

earth crisis - gomorrah's season ends

half-time at my ebay shopping spree. it was the time immediately before christmas, i had the holiday gratification in my wallet and the time to spend it on the bay. i was watching earth crisis' 2nd full length record in my account among a lot more stuff. it was a buy it now option of 10 coins. because i wanted to bid on so much other stuff i didn't pull the trigger on this right away. but after four days without anybody getting it i couldn't resist anymore. the offer was too good to be let down.

another classic deleted from my list. this record is for me the next logical step to 'destroy the machines' and of course, the forerunner to their best output in the shape of 'breed the killers'. songs such as the title song 'gomorrah's season ends' or 'morality dictates', which is so out of line and because of this so good, makes it a must have! lyrically earth crisis are, to say the least, worthy of discussion. but whether you agree with buechner or not, earth crisis didn't play it safe to conform with all the hipsters and stylers out in the hardcore scene. not then, not now. this deserves my deepest respect.

dead format says this is 'puke vinyl'. 1014 copies made. victory records. 1996.

ebay: turnstile

turnstile - pressure to succeed pre-order

you may remember that some time ago i posted about my first copy of this superb 7". my first attempt to get a coloured copy failed dismally. so i began to check ebay constantly for it. a few times i came across the green cover version of the 2nd press but this is still black. i'm not really patient with records. i hate to just sit there and wait for a big want to show up on ebay because there's nothing you can do. but in this case the sought after object of desire didn't let me wait for too long. even more pleasant that i had the chance to get not just a coloured copy of the first press, no it was the chance to get the most limited - the pre-order version.

again this went for pretty low. a little more than 5€. ohh, come on. what's wrong with my fellow german vinyl supporters. it's almost painful to get it for that cheap. the other side of the coin is that i was pretty lucky, i should shut the fuck up and stop complaining! the 7" itself looks pretty nice. my early excitement for clear vinyl is a bit subdued as i find it boring by now because i have tons of clear vinyl records (an exaggeration i admit). but the black streaks really does it for me.

the packaging is a bit of a low budget production. a one-side printed insert on bog-standard paper and a one-side printed fold around cover on paper of thicker quality than the insert but still cheap. it doesn't bother me at all. the reverse is the case. it adds a real d.i.y. touch to it. no need to talk about the music. i already did that.

217 made for pre-order. reaper records. 2011.

ebay: liar

liar - invictus

this one is a classic of european edge metal. it saw the light of day in 1997 and still sounds so fresh! man, at the time i was listening to korn and the like :-) a copy on vinyl comes around the bay not quite often and if so, be prepared to have some money in your wallet. i spotted this baby pretty early when it appeared. so i watched it in my account to make a last-second-bid which tend to have a favourable prognosis. after one day it was at 16€. obvious that other collectors would smell the rat.

so i was pretty sure that the price would go up the moment the clock ticked down. as the time had come, a sunday afternoon, i sat down at the computer. i remember that i got outbid on a record just minutes before the liar auction ended and i was pretty disappointed. just can't tell you anymore what record that was - but that's not necessary anyway. because of my mood i didn't really expect to win the invictus lp. i put a fair amount of money in maybe 15 sec. before the end. the price jumped from 16 bucks to 17,50. i watched the seconds go by and waited for the raise. 5 sec. - nothing. 4 sec. - still nothing. 3 sec. - what the heck...? 2 sec. - can it be? 1 sec. - this can't be! 0 sec. - congratulations, you won the item for 17,50€...

good day after all! did i overrate this record? just like the fear my thoughts lp in the previous post? i don't know. but what i know is that i'm the proud owner of great record in mint condition. sweet!

the lp version comes with a different artwork than the cd version and looks great on orange. the pre-owner kept the genet records newsletter (yes, a real newsletter on actual paper) and i was very grateful that he put it in as a bonus, especially as it wasn't listed at the auction.

solid orange vinyl. 150 made. genet records. 1997.  

ebay: fear my thoughts

fear my thoughts – the great collapse

this one is a long-time-want and marks the beginning of a bunch of records i could obtain on ebay, one after another. after i more or less bought everything that i wanted from the internet distros i know (i emphasize the 'less' as there is still stuff to get), i concentrate a lot more on ebay. of course i get outbid more than i place the winning bid but there is just a real small number of records i don't get that i'm highly interested in. just like with this case. i have the cd version since it's initial release and if memory serves i believe i had a hard time getting into this. pretty long songs (all around 5-6 minutes) and complex structures where too much for my simple hardcore mind. but after repeated listens my perseverance paid off and i began to fell in love with this record. this is for me 'real' metalcore. complexicity and power of metal together with hardcore ethics. a prolific combination when put together with talent. and with this album fear my thoughts created their masterpiece. in my eyes they never came close to 'the great collapse' again.

the vinyl version was handled by per koro records and as i frequently buy records at the shop i asked marcus if he had some left on coloured vinyl. he replied telling me that even he didn't have one and that they are long sold out. so the bay was option numero uno. finally it was there and i had to wait nine never ending days to get my greedy hands on it. the price was pretty good, too. under 20€ - am i the only one who was seriously interested? maybe no one really gives a damn about this record but me... good for me though...
it came without an insert. i wanted to ask marcus if this is the way it is supposed to be but didn't came around to it. maybe here someone knows? 100 made on a lovely clear orange with black streaks. perfect condition! cd version appeared on lifeforce records. per koro records. 2004.

discogs: the setup

the setup – nine kinds of pain
a little time back i was on the hunt for the setup vinyl. they have three full length in their back catalogue and two of them – 2003 the pretense of normality and 2006 minister of death – got the vinyl treatment by reality records from belgium. way back when i ordered some stuff at reality rec. i wanted to have them but the coloured copies where all gone. one time on ebay for 'the pretense of normality' i got outbid by an amount of money i never had expected someone would pay for it. so i haven't been quite successful with the setup vinyl. but here is my 1^st catch. the comparable easy achieveable 'nine kinds of pain' 7“ of 2004.

this is one of their first releases and they play pretty dark and angry hardcore. somehow odd but i really love the three songs plus intro. i somehow thought they had broke up but this was a false information obviously, as i'm looking forward to see them play live at this years rebellion tour in march with madball and terror.

just like with the carpathian lp this 7“ came for cheap and is a great addition to the order and the collection as well.

dark red (looks more like pink) vinyl. comes with a real sleeve and an insert. just like a lp only in 7“ format. more 7“es should be presented like that. anger management records. 2004.

district 763: to kill, bleed into one

to kill – when blood turns into stone

this one here wasn't foremost a big want because of the musical content of this record but because of the availability. i mean i knew this was a pearl of the newer european straight edge hardcore so i wanted it anyway but the fact that this was pressed on 100 coloured copies only and that i couldn't find it at any distro in europe awoke the hound in me. it was hard to come by on ebay. to be exact it didn't show up for the half year i was looking for it. that may be not a long time compared to a search for a 'real' rare record – test pressings, special record release versions and stuff like that. but in my own perception it was an eternity. and then, one lucky day i came across the internet shop of district 763 records. it caught my attention because my uncle's band is part of their roaster. their shop wasn't much of a look when it comes to the vinyl. all in all maybe 10 records in total but the right ones!

musically you get fast hardcore with some metal parts, reign supreme came to my mind as a comparison. sound wise it was polished by tue madsen in his antfarm studios, so it's a great listen. lyrics about the straight edge and animal rights for the deliberate consumer. good stuff of this, by now disbanded, italians. great cover art, too plus a matching vinyl colour scheme.

clear red with white and black splatter. printed dust sleeve. 100 made as pre-order version. demons run amok entertainment. 2008.

bleed into one – the scars remain

i actually ordered this at discogs last year. problem at the time was that the seller gave it away in a trade or as a gift and forgot about it. so he gave me a refund. i could have have it on white vinyl but i definitely wanted the rarer yellow version. again i decided to wait for it at the bay. so this was a nice 'side effect' and perfect to make the order worthwhile. because, like every collector knows, ordering just one record is a waste of shipping costs.

boy, compared to their first record 'words can't save us now' they made a huge step forward in every sense. the music is more gripping, the sound more to the point and straight forward – a real scorcher! if i had to find anything to be criticized, it'd be the hefty madball consumption of the band. but rather a damn good copy than a bad own idea.

this is a co-release of respond with passion records, vinyl junkies and break your frame records liscensed by demons run amok entertainment, which put out the cd version. man, i really love d.r.a. entertainment releases. d.r.a. got new stuff on pre-order and i'm all over it!
couldn't find any pressing info on this. comes with a different artwork than the cd version and a big poster insert. clear yellow vinyl. 2009.

g.l. records: 50 lions, congress, angel crew

finally, my first post of 2013. in the last weeks i was occupied with moving to a new appartment. therefore i wasn't able to spend much time listening to music, especially as my turntable got fucked up during the moving process. shit! next thing being in the way of posting is the fact i still have no access to the net at my new home. so i'm writing this at home on my comp, transfer the data to a usb stick, using a free minute at work and sneak this into blogger.com.

50 lions – s/t 7“

in the past i placed an order at goodlife recordings for a do or die lp. from that time i knew that they had some other interesting stuff to offer, so i said to myself i'll check back when the time is right.

when i have the opportunity to place my order at any time i tend to lose sight because there is no pressure getting my record-buying-instincts rolling. same thing here. proof for that is the long time i let go by between the do or die purchase and this one. as 50 lions is one of my favourite bands of the more recent hardcore movement, there was no way for me letting this 7“ pass by. it's from 2009 and more in the vein of their first lp 'time is the enemy', which is fine with me. 50 lions just cannot disappoint me it seems. do yourself a favour and check them out!

as i'm on a down to nothing kick recently i need to get my hands on a copy of their split with the lions. This baby here comes on a nice green with yellow swirl. looks rad!

400 copies made. resist records. 2009

angel crew – another day living in hatred

angel crew is a more or less unknown band from belgium. correct me if i'm wrong but i don't think they have a big reputation to call their own. i just know them because they played once in the town i grew up, quedlinburg. my uncle had some stuff of them and i liked it. solid old school hardcore with some melodic refrains and sig-a-longs. can't do wrong with that.

i like the packaging of it. plain and simple cover artwork – grey ink on black background. white vinyl plus a light coloured insert to round up the black/white colour scheme. my girlfriend did a funny quote on the band picture. first i have to explain that my girlfriend is from lithuania, a small european country and a direct neighbour of russia. She grew up with many russians and i call some russian buddies my friends as well. anyway, responding to the dress code of the angel crew guys and the general look she immediately asked me what kind of new russian hardcore band this would be. made me chuckle :) greetings to vitali!

i don't know if i'm right but i think you can see the marble effect of the vinyl in the previous pictures quite good. if not i took a pic held against the light.

there are still copies left in the goodlife store for a nice price. ??? copies made. goodlife recordings. 2001.

congress – angry with the sun

i was really surprised to find that there are still some copies left. i believe this record to be a real classic in european edge metal and only paying twelve bucks made me almost feel vulgar. but ok, maybe this one isn't really that sought after. i'm really happy to have it anyway.

what i like about congress is that they mix some black metal into their hardcore metal hybrid. they reformed recently. hopefully they can pick up where they left. i need their other stuff which will be harder to come by, i'm afraid. there is a picture disc of this too. glad to have the coloured version and not the shitty pic disc. the cover art looks real apocalyptic. what's the name of this movie with eddie murphy where he's in tibet. something like 'golden child'. they fight the end boss turning into a dragon there. reminds me of the one on the cover ;-)

pink vinyl. again i don't know how many were made. goodlife recordings. 1998.

additionally i got some extras. love stuff like this. a poster, some stickers and a note from rene.

thumbs up! 

ebay japan: throwdown

aahh... holiday time. the calm before the storm which will begin when i start my trip to the family meeting at my parent's house tomorrow. but for now i can lean back and reduce my about-to-be-blogged-pile.

throwdown - beyond repair
yepp, this baby came right over from japan. no big deal you might say. but i think this is incredible. jake has quite some other vinyl related blogs linked to his page. among the obvious is also crucialxtimes, dobek ohashi from tokiyo. at the end of october he was selling a part of his collection on ebay. beside another throwdown lp and a length of time lp (got outbid on both) i really wanted throwdown's first record 'beyond repair'. i won it for a very reasonable price and i think it only took two weeks to arrive.

so through the blog of jake, who is living in the u.k., over dobek from japan this piece of vinyl gets here to the north of germany. and all with the slightest effort. a few clicks to win it, payment through the net as well, just like it would be around the corner. the world is truly a friggin' village.

the music on this is awesome. angry hardcore metal of the late nineties. this really reminds me of that early H8000 scene and bands like congress or xliarx. throwdown changed their style a bit to more hardcore influences on later records, so i was a little surprised at how they sound on their early stuff. but i definitely like it. i was really happy to get it on green vinyl as this is the most limited colour.
solid green vinyl. 215 made. indecision records. 1999.

nb pre-order: cradle of filth

way back when i wrote about cradle of filth's 'darkly, darkly venus aversa' i promised more and here we are.

cradle of filth - the manticore and other horrors
i think this is cradle's 10th full length album and they still deliver! after their return to form with 2008th 'godspeed on the devil's thunder' all cof stuff doesn't disappoint. this time around the production is much better than on 'darkly'. clearer, the drum sound to the point and the vocals don't go down in the entirety. this one comes with pressure and it's a pleasure for the ear. for a cof album this is pretty crisp time wise. "only" about fifty minutes but no weakness at all. the only thing which is a bit of a pity are the lyrics. no real concept this time. which means that there is of course a common thread contentwise but no building up story line. after all i think i'll survive this :-) because musically this is really good material opposed to 'nymphetamine' where a lyrical concept story was missing too.

songs like 'manticore' (with a lovely ooohhhh-ooohhhh-sing-a-long) or 'frost on her pillow' are sending shivers down my spine every time i listen to them. and i don't really know what it is but there is always something special about holding a cradle record in hands. i think it has something to do with my perception of metal music. unlike hardcore, where i demand some standards towards lyrical content and attitude, metal is entertainment to me. and cradle of filth is pure entertainment. so there are some real crackers and every cof fan of the post 'cruelty of the beast' era should like this record.

according to the picture of the inner gatefold the band itself has stripped down to three core members. mascot of the band dani filth of course (who is the only one being a constant member right from the start), paul allender (who went into a four year hiatus from '96 to 2000) and the newest member, martin skaroupka on drums (who is part of the band since 'godspeed'). good line up!

the packaging is very nice. everything feels pretty solid. thick cardboard gatefold sleeve, 180gr vinyl, black dust sleeves (nice touch for the overall impression) and what is most noteworthy - a lp sized booklet. more releases should have one. the cover art compared to the booklet art is pretty lame, though. sadly no coloured vinyl but as said before, the overall impression makes it a quality release by peaceville records. 2012.


cradle of filth - damnation & a day
this record is special to me. together with killswitch engage's 'alive or just breathing' it marks the end of my new metal days. goodbye to korn, coal chamber and all the others that began to bore me. i saw the music video for the song 'babalon a.d.' on a metal show at viva² on tv. watch it here. i found it kind of creepy but there was a certain attraction. i went to the next shop for electronic hardware in my little town which had a small cd section. of course they didn't have the album in stock, i had to have it ordered and waited for it some days to arrive. as i picked it up and payed too much money for it i held a treasure in hands, i was sure about that. now that i have the vinyl re-issue i feel the same excitement. priceless.

as i'm seeing to fill my vinyl collection with releases that i already own on cd, cradle's 'damnation & a day' was high on the list. and of course on coloured vinyl. epic records, or better sony music released a clear red vinyl version of 2000 copies in 2003. this seems not to be a high constraint because it don't comes along ebay very often and if so it goes for a lot of money. at least more than i was willed to pay the two times i got outbid. so the vinyl re-issue god must have heard my prayers as i read that music on vinyl would do the job.

and m.o.v. did an awesome job on this. they pretty much went with the original pressing on epic, excluding the vinyl colour. i'm glad that they didn't release it with a gatefold sleeve. gatefold sleeves are just nothing special anymore when it comes to metal nowadays. everything gets released with gatéfold covers, for good or for bad. this record comes with a thick sleeve so it can house two 180gr lp's with printed dust sleeves. read the pressing information on the sticker.

m.o.v. chose a good date to re-release this record of course. one month before 'manticore' came out. very industrious indeed ;-)
the music however, is in my eyes their best stuff they ever put out. i love the big orchestration (for which they signed to sony), the amount of musical master pieces (the promise of fever - my favourite cof song, better to reign in hell, doberman pharao, the smoke of her burning... i could go on) and the lyrical concept. although i understand quite nothing here. rudimentarily i know that it's about arkangel michael and his fall from grace and his struggeling until the end of the world. but that's it. everything in between is too much mysticism and theological knowledge. maybe someone can explain?

dra: suffer survive, turnstile

suffer survive - project mayhem: declaration of war MMXII

at the moment i just buy everything that demons run amok entertainment releases. quality through and through. same thing with this band from magdeburg called suffer survive. they formed in 2010 and have a split release with mark my words on arrest rec. australia in their back catalogue which i don't know. now this is their full length release. well, admittedly this one is no bomb that will define the perception of hardcore music in the future. it's a solid piece of more of the same. but every sympathizer of bands like madball, biohazard or newer stuff like naysayer will enjoy this.

the production comes with a bit of a poor sound quality but that gives you a nice old school feel ;-) the song 'live to fight' features some guest vocals by scott vogel of terror. the cover art was used by another band on demons run amok in the past. bleed into one's 'words can't save us now' has the same picture, slightly different coloured and with a different layout but still the same pic. check my post for this record with the picture here. strange they didn't seem to realized it. but maybe they didn't care. who knows...

there is a black and a white pressing of this record. i seem to have one of the transitional copies. sweet! love these black streaks throughout the vinyl. the sleeve and the lyric sheet have some nice gold ink, eye catcher!

300 copies on black and another 200 on white vinyl. demons run amok entertainment. 2012.

turnstile - pressure to succeed 7"

man, i love this 7". lovely old school hardcore and i can't help but this reminds me of the beastie boys as soon as i drop the needle :-) this one makes me going nuts when i listen to it at home and makes me sing along loud in the car (only when i drive alone indeed :). i listened to some songs on the net before and knew that i needed this. as i am a bit late to the party i  knew it would be difficult to get a coloured copy. especially as the first press has sold out and the scond press is only on black. finding this 7" at d.r.a. and after reading the 'coloured vinyl' add-on in the description i ordered it right away. when i opened my package i held this in my hands.

looks like black vinyl. i e-mailed marcel asking him to send me a coloured copy while i would send back the black one, even though i suspected that this was all about a mistake in the description and that marcel actually didn't have a coloured copy. it turned out to be just as i anticipated. marcel offered me a refund but i refused because i really like 'pressure to succeed'. luckily a few weeks later i was able to score the pre-order version on ebay. but this will be another story.

321 on black vinyl with the standard cover. 2nd press. reaper records. 2011.