Dead Stare For Life

Another powerviolence classic I've recently added to my collection, here is No Comment's "Downsided" EP.  Released on the classic Slap A Ham Records, this is a first press on clear vinyl.  The only other variant for the first press is blue, to which there are only 20ish in existence.  I didn't think I'd ever score one of those, so I secured this copy for relatively cheap a few weeks back.  Definitely the band's defining record, and a staple of the powerviolence genre.  I'd even say this is one of the greatest hardcore punk 7"s of all time.

Assembly Line

Continuing on from my last post, here is the previously mentioned Abuse. LP, released on To Live A Lie Records.  While I enjoyed the band's previous EP, this long player completely blows that away.  The song writing is tighter, the recording quality is better (although still suitably raw) and the overall energy is just better.  This is one of the best straight up powerviolence LP's (from a new band) I've heard in years.  As I said, definite top 10 of the year material.

Green vinyl is limited to 100 copies.  Looks like they included a leftover record release cover too.  Sweet.

Bible Belt

As an extension of yesterday's post, here is another of Connor's bands - Abuse.  A bit different in sound than Protester, Abuse. play a ripping style of blast-heavy powerviolence, a la the early 90's greats like No Comment, Crossed Out, etc.  This is the band's first EP titled 'A New Low,' released by Hygiene Records.  I just received their debut LP a few days ago and it's top 10 of the year material.  I'll post about that shortly.

Pink vinyl is limited to 40 copies and has since sold out.

What Comes Next?

What is it with one man straight edge powerhouse bands?  First there was No Tolerance, then Violent Reaction, and now Protester.  This is the Protester demo tape released on Bleeding Edges, and contains the drummer of several North Carolina hardcore/punk bands: Last Words, Abuse., etc. (as well as new death metal band Genocide Pact - hope to nab a demo soon).  Fairly similar to the aforementioned one man bands, Protester is straight up 80's Boston hardcore (there's even a Last Rights cover).  Some seriously pounding stuff here, definitely in my top demos of the year.

Old Ways

Arizona isn't what I'd call a hotbed for hardcore.  Other than Sex Prisoner and Magnum Force (RIP) I can't think of many other recent bands off the top of my head that have been of note.  That is until receiving the debut Closet Case 7" in the mail.  No frills pissed off hardcore punk.  I can't think of anything to compare them too off-hand, but if you're into other recent bands like Oblivionation, Hassler, Culo, etc. I think you'll definitely be into this.

Released on Going Underground records, this is the clear vinyl version of 100 copies.

People Like You

I don't know why this is the first time that I'm posting about Boston's Out Cold on this blog.  I have even bought a few of their LP's since starting the blog, but somehow have skipped over posting them.  That was a foolish thing to do because anyone that knows these guys knows how great they were.  Straight forward Boston hardcore punk.  There are very few instances where you can say a band has a flawless discography, but I think Out Cold is deserving of that statement.  Not a single bad record put out by this band.

This is one of their later releases called 'Planned Accidents' released on ACME Records, and again, is a show of a band that has perfected its craft.  "New" LP due out on Painkiller Records soon.  I say "new" because it's unreleased recordings of the band, since they've been broken up since 2009.

Iron Spiral

Coke Bust is one of my favorite active bands.  I've expressed my admiration for this band in prior posts, so I'll save that for now.  This is the band's second LP, "Confined," put out by Grave Mistake Records here in the U.S. and Refuse Records in Europe.  This LP contains another 9 songs in about as many minutes of ultra fast, blast-heavy DC hardcore.  Another fine output from the band.

The band was scheduled to play three shows for their record release weekend, but for some reason had to cancel two of them.  Since they did 200 copies of this record release version of the LP, they obviously had leftovers they put online for sale, which is where I snagged one.  My only "issue" with this record is that it's so short and I want more.  I guess that's more of a testament to the quality of their music.