Freya

A mate of mine recently gave me this 7", the "Freya" single by The Sword. Now this isn't a record that I would ever make an active pursuit of, but the lead track is a ripper and I was happy to take this off of Dan's hands. Thanks pal. He told me that he hated the band anyway.
Totally what you would expect from these guys; a thrash/stoner crossover masterpiece, this is the lead track taken from their LP "Age Of Winters". Definitely one of their best songs at any rate. Black vinyl, Kemado Records.
I really don't understand the point in hand numbering 1000 copies, but it's done, so there you go. Number 393 of 1000.
The B side is a live version of the track "Iron Swan" also taken from "Age Of Winters", recorded in 2006.

Happy Moments

People freaked the fuck out when news of this LP broke. I'm talking about this new full length from Californian rippers/superband Low Threat Profile. This is "Product #2". Deep Six Records. White wax of 100. Now if you aren't familiar with this band I suggest you do a little research via the Google machine and then make your way back here.
Now, most of us know the story with this bands prior release, the "Product #1" 7" that came out at the end of 2009. The material for that 7" was recorded in something like the year 2000 (possibly even earlier) but was never released for whatever reason until 14 months ago. Everyone had heard of it though, heard the rumours, sampled a couple of the tracks online etc. I don't think anyone knew about this material though. I got a newsletter from Deep Six stating that this LP was about to drop and like most other people I talked to, I was somewhat dumbfounded, and very curious.
Well, as you can see, the music here was recorded in 2000, and Andy laid down the vocal tracks last year. As a result he sounds suitably older and a little more haggard. Granted he must be nearing his late 40's now (he looks even fucking older), he's doing pretty well. Certainly not as urgent sounding, but his great tone and rasp are both still there.
I have to say though, that his lyrics in some places are getting cheesy as fuck. It must be an old age thing. I don't want lollipops and rainbows, I want acid spitting and brick throwing.

"You've just been Deep Sixed".

Kill For Peace

Two new grabs for me, both of the EP's by Sweden's U.X. Vileheads. These guys play a great take on 80's USHC, doing it better than alot of current American acts. Strong influences from certain DC stalwarts, as well as the snottier Boston crew. First is their debut s/t 7" from 2009 (I think). Black vinyl, Deranged Records.
And second, their latest offering, the "Catch 22" EP. A better recording, hookier anthems, and just a generally fantastic record. This made my best of list from last year. Again, black vinyl, but pressed by Sorry State Records.
Thinking about what makes certain Euro bands so great, I think that alot of it has to do with the singers accent. The twangs and the slurs that alot of them use ring true to so many 80's USHC bands. I think two other recent Euro bands that utilised this to their advantage so well are Justice and Dead Stop. Tell me I'm wrong.

Mammoth Falls

This is the new split 7" between southerners I Exist from Canberra and Phantoms from Sydney. Resist Records has just pressed this and it's 'water and piss' (blue and yellow) of a more limited but unknown (to me) edition. A larger press of black exists too I think. The story behind this record is that the idea for it was basically conceived early last year when the two bands were on tour here in QLD. They went to our local water park and decided to make a water park themed record. Hence the artwork, names for the tracks, record colour etc etc.
I liked I Exists last LP, but I haven't been able to enjoy anything else of their's. Their songs on this split though are pretty good. One is re-recorded (and slightly altered) from their demo. Both have a nice thick sound and do well to purvey the sound that they're known for. I don't like Phantoms, but I guess they do their thing well. They sound like they're ripping pretty hard on modern NYHC like Bitter End and the like. I've also heard them compared to Merauder, but I have a little trouble hearing that.

Vintage Addiction

Dishammer, from Spain play an amazing blend of metal and crust akin to something like Motorhead and Venom mixed with Discharge. I don't listen to a huge amount of crust driven stuff like this, but this band fucking rules. A friend of mine turned me onto them last year. This is their discography cassette with tracks from their LP "Vintage Addiction", their MLP, "Under The Sign Of D-Beat Mark" and their split EP with Warwolves. I've been after the bands LP for a good five or six months now, they pressed it in 2006, and these days it sells for excess of $50-$60. I've been yet to land one for myself, so until then this tape will have to do.

Released by Kandor Mosh Distro, hand numbered 119 of 200.

I can't rave on enough about this band. legit thrash/crusty metal. Raspy vocals, predominately d-beat structures, scummy guitar tone. My new favourite Spanish band haha.

Pro dubbed tape.

Someone sell me their "Vintage Addiction" LP.

How High (Can A Punk Get)

This is the remaining three records that Lewis and No Patience Records had up as part of the package deal with the Shock Value 7" that I posted about last week. First up is the debut Bloodclot Faggots 7". These guys have been around for a little while but I've never really paid any attention at all, and to be honest the only reason I originally ordered this record was because it was part of the package deal and I mostly wanted the Shock Value ep (the same goes for the other records in this post). I'm glad I ordered this though, it's pretty good. Noisy, rocky punk that's fast at times and just generally pissed off sounding. I wouldn't really know how else to describe it, generally I don't listen to much else like this. Lewis called this 'idiot pop' on a forum recently. Black vinyl, 45 hole, not sure of the numbers.
The Warchildren 7". I like this for the most part, it reminds me of Dry Rot and similar bands. Somewhat noisy kind of outsider hardcore ala United Mutation, Void and the like. Interesting lyrics from Sean too. Black wax and a 45 hole again, limited to 300 copies.
And the Logjammers single. Not my thing at all. Weird, obnoxious surf punk sounding stuff with heaps of noisy guitar bits and what sounds like improvised pieces here and there. I like the idea of an Australian label releasing bare bones singles like this though.

Learning To Scream

What I really know about Poison Idea is miniscule at best, but I do know that anything post Pig Champion era is regarded as 'not real Poison Idea', and I suppose I can understand what fans mean. To my knowledge 1998's "Learning To Scream" 7" was the bands first effort without him. To my further knowledge this is a reissue of said release, I picked this up from Rev recently. Taang! Black wax.
The three songs here aren't anything terrible. A reasonably clean sound compared to "Pick Your King" and the like, but for the better part it's a solid punk sounding effort. The two B side tracks experiment in some metal kind of leads, but for the most part this reminds me of their earliest efforts and to an extent mid era Black Flag and the like.
Simplistic packaging. Just this glossy, glued sleeve and simple label insert that Taang! seem to be doing with most of their current releases. Hints of some amazing stuff from the label coming up this year too.

Voices In The Wilderness

Third Thou post, and their third LP proper, "Summit" on black vinyl thanks to Southern Lord Records. More of what you'd expect from this brilliant band; slow, heavy, sludgy doom. Six tracks spread over 50 minutes.
Super clean and tidy packaging as always. This white sleeve, with a clear embossing that my photos do no justice to at all. To get an idea of what it's supposed to look like check out this pic.