burnout store: backtrack, down to nothing

backtrack - darker half

it was a nice cold saturday in early december 2012, i believe. i was in hamburg and i just can't be in the city without paying burnout record store a visit. i just know that i walk out of there with some nice finds. it's some kind of law. it's always exciting being in a physical store, flicking through the racks. like other fellow bloggers described, i tend to buy stuff that is right in front of me quicker than i would on the net. at this day i was in a hurry because my girlfriend was waiting in the store and looked kind of bored sitting on a bench and staring into space. so i was willing not letting her wait for too long. the first record i picked was another great reaper record. i saw the backtrack lp previously and was hoping that it was still there.

as luck would have it it was still there waiting for me. as i opened it i was pretty happy that i could pick the rarest colour of the first pressing - olive green. great cover artwork! just like with 7" deal with the devil this seems to be the same artist but coloured this time, which looks much better.

now the second pressing of this record is available with some slight changes of the artwork. beside a different colour of the backtrack logo on the front, the backtrack guys are standing on the back of the sleeve. i think this looks cooler than the sitting variation of the first press. read more about the changes in willem's post and jake's post.

the record comes in a nice heavy cardboard sleeve with insert and download dropcard. olive green vinyl. 300 made. reaper records. 2011.

down to nothing - unbreakable

because i really loved the most lp i was in a need to check out down to nothing's other stuff. this compilation of their first two releases "save it for the birds" of 2003 and "splitting headache" of 2005, both released on thorp records, originally came out in 2008 on revelation records. revelation pressed this on white, clear red and black vinyl at the time. in the flood of classic revelation represses in the recent past this got washed up as well.

i think i like these two releases even more than the stuff on the most. it's crisp, simple structured and real party music. the save it for the birds a-side is my favourite. so damn fresh! this was pressed on clear dark purple. isn't much of a look though.

looks best put against the light. so when i pulled this out of the rack and looked in my girlfriend's face i decided to release her and left with the promise to come back :)

comes with a download dropcard. couldn't find any pressing information on that. revelation is a bit lame when it comes to that. revelation records. 2012.

ebay: make it count

make it count - leeway

one of these demons run amok rec. releases i never really was into but i defintely wanted because of the fact that it's a d.r.a. record. from the moment on this record was up on ebay i hoped for a bargain because i knew that make it count was more of an underground tip when they were active. additionally make it count called it quits in 2009. so a fair amount of time went by and the mix of their little popularity and fall into oblivion made me sure that the price wouldn't go through the roof. that was just the case as i was able to get it for 8 bucks all in all. i love to score stuff for cheap :-)

strange that make it count wasn't known better. this record is really good. i mean of course it's not groundbreaking or innovation in its purest form but it's still a damn good hardcore album. check out the song 'still carry on' and you will know what i mean. 

the overall presentation is top notch, just as i'm used to with d.r.a. printed dust sleeve and clear dark red vinyl with black and white marble. d.r.a. made 100 on marbled clear vinyl for pre-order and 400 on the colour i have. 2009.

ebay: biohazard, black friday '29, death threat

this seller had a whole lot up on ebay. i was able to get my most desired. ok, almost. i missed agnostic front's warriors on blue vinyl. but good things come to those who wait... hopefully...

biohazard - urban discipline

oh boy, this record is some kind of the blue print for proletarian, local patriotic hardcore. the guys are more than dubious but i can't help it, i love this band. 'urban discipline' was my first encounter with hardcore music. i'm not quite sure but i believe it was 1995 as my uncle passed me a self-made tape with that album on side a and 'life of agony - river runs red' on side b and i listened to it every day. of course at the time i didn't understand a single english word but i sang along anyway, imitating words i thought i understood :)

i always wanted an original 1992 copy and not the re-press on double vinyl plus useless bonus tracks, which are all just demos of songs that were on the record anyway. some copies slipped through my hands several times. was it due to higher bids or my own damn fault because i forgot about the auction. but this time the record collecting god was on my side. good price and perfect vinyl condition. of course some dents in the sleeve but come on, this baby is 30 years old.

i can't tell how many were pressed. seems like the internet doesn't provide any information about that. at least i didn't find any. i have the european version that was pressed in germany with printed dust sleeve.

roadrunner records. 1992.

black friday '29 - the escape

the first and, what is widely believed their best record. i can agree with this opinion in terms of a direct comparison to the follow up 'the pursuit of happiness'. i mean 'the pursuit of happiness' is a great album, no doubt about that. but 'the escape' is so full of energy that it reminds me of champion's 'promises kept'. have a sample of it here. again i could obtain this for a very reasonable price.

this lovely 180gr lp is housed in a very nice gatefold sleeve made of some kind of special cardboard. in the first picture you can see that it's a glossy cardboard with a nice surface texture. looks good, feels good. on the center ring, on the dead wax there is an etching which reads 'hast du gepoppt?' ('did you bang?') on the a-side and 'ist mir wurst' ('i don't give a damn') on the b-side. makes me curious what kind of story led to this etching. anybody knows?

just like 'the pursuit of happiness' sheffield's very own dead and gone records handled the vinyl version of this great record. dead format tells me that 1000 copies were pressed in total. 700 on black vinyl (88 of this with a special sleeve for tour) and 300 on opaque yellow vinyl. cd version is out on gsr music.

dead and gone records. 2004.

death threat - lost at sea 7"

i got two reasons to buy this 7". the first was that it was released on reaper records. similar to demons run amok entertainment i tend to buy lots of stuff that reaper puts out, just because of the great quality of their bands. the second reason was that i knew that i would get this record for cheap because in germany nobody gives a damn about death threat, so it was a nice addition to the lot. 

the music of death threat is promising but admittedly there is room for development. a full length is about time i'd say :) another cool side effect is that with the clear purple vinyl version i have a first press colour press.

love the artwork. the 7" comes in a fold around cover. don't know if the first press didn't come with a download drop card or if the pre-owner just used it. 757 copies made.

reaper records. 2009.

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!