LIFE.LOVE.REGRET.

This post is nothing more than appreciation for what has to be, one of the most important bands to come out of the SoCal scene, UNBROKEN.

Anyone who knows me will vouch for how much I love this band. It even drove me to fly over and see them as well as a number of other bands for the Burning Fight shows last year (my posts regarding my time in the US and this show are on this blog). Instead of my previous entries/ramblings as to why everyone NEEDS to hear this band, i'm just going to post the clips from their '98 Benefit Show for their former guitarist, Eric Allen, who committed suicide 3 years after the band broke up.

These clips were my first taste of unbroken 3 years ago and even to this day, whenever i watch these clips I still get chills down my spine. I've never seen a band that has put so much energy and emotion into a set as what I experienced at both Burning Fight shows.

Part 1


Part 2


Part 3


Part 4



Now to get in to the records. This post is mainly contributed to the fact that I recieved my copy of the Re-pressed version of the Unbroken discography from Indecision Records in the mail. The Discography is comprised of both their Lp's "Ritual" and "Life.Love.Regret.", as well as the collection of 7"s which were later released as the "It's Getting Tougher To Say The Right Things" LP. This is a must have for any Unbroken fan.


UNBROKEN - 3x DISCOGRAPHY LP REPRESS *CLEAR* (INDECISION RECORDS)

FRONT COVER



One of the highlights of this record is the fact that it includes the full lyrics compared to the original pressing from the Burning Fight shows which had no inserts or lyrics.


the band


the record


the complete package



UNBROKEN - 3X DISCOGRAPHY LP *GREY/WHITE* /528?
Here's the original pressing of the Discography that I was lucky enough to get my hands on after waiting in line for almost 40 minutes at the Burning Fight show. The line up was Undertow, Swing Kids, Threadbare and Portraits of Past @ the Glasshouse in Pamona. These were only to be sold at this show, so as soon as people got inside, they (as well as yours truly) ran straight for the merch area to get their hands on this record. I'm not definite on the actually number of records pressed, but from memory it was around the 530 mark, but i may be wrong.

The Cover


Lyrics from the song "Absentee Debate" which were printed on the inside of the cover.


The Records


The Complete Package


The Grey/White record is the Ritual LP, The White record is Life.Love.Regret and the Grey record is the It's Getting Tougher To Say The Right Things LP

tests ahoy!

With every passing day i find that i keep asking myself the same question over and over again, "why do i spend a ridiculous amount of money and time on records?". The only answer i can come up with is love and borderline obsession. From the view of the general public or non-collector, records just seem like a total waste of money, especially buying numerous "presses" of the same record. But I guess what they say is true, One mans junk, is another mans treasure. Collecting for me isn't about buying every single record you can get your hands on, but more or less collecting the records of my favourite bands and releases. To be honest i have quite a small collection compared to a lot of people i know, "quality over quantity" can be the best way to describe my collection.

Anyway, back into the swing of things. Over the past month i have been lucky enough to get my hands on some quite rare and some of my favourite records. First up has to be one of, if not the best vegan straight edge bands of the late 90's. I'm talking of none other than BIRTHRIGHT.

Birthright was a Vegan Straight Edge band from Indianapolis, Indiana. They were fronted by none other than Kurt Austin (commonly known as Kurt Catalyst) who was, and still is, the brains behind the famous xCatalystx Records. The band played the more popular style of the 90's, the chug sound that I have grown to love, but from what set them apart from the other bands of the time was their originality. You may be sitting there thinking that there's nothing original about this style, and i agree somewhat, but Birthright just had one other thing that set them apart from the pack, the message. Incorporating Veganism, Straight Edge and Politics into their lyrics, they were a band with a mission. One fun fact about this band was that it also featured Pete Wentz (of Fall Out Boy fame), when he was still a xvx mosh warrior. Funny how times change.

This 7", which was the first for the band, is in my top 10 releases of the 90's and one of my personal favourites. The song "Purge" has to be one of the best, and heaviest intro's from the 90's. From start to finish, this 7" defines why Birthright were such an influential and well respected band.

BIRTHRIGHT - SELF-TITLED (XXX) ON GOLD /100



the complete package including stickers as well as this little gem, a tour laminate from their 1997 US tour. Was not expecting this when i first had a peek inside the cover.



close up view of the lyrics booklet




BIRTHRIGHT - SELF-TITLED (XXX) TEST PRESS /10






Now onto another one of my favourite bands to come out of the 90's. CULTURE. I couldn't be bothered writing another blurb as to why more people need to hear this band, but i have to say, This record, Culture/Kindred Split LP, is hands down, Culture at their greatest moment. Opening with the vegan, straight edge anthem "Pillars", this record justifies why Culture were untouchable. Pure, metallic, hardcore that just makes you beg for more. This is probably the best split to come out of the 90's, hell even to this day, no other split has left me feeling all giddy than whenever i listen to this record. If you consider yourself a Culture or 90's hardcore fan, yet haven't heard this, then you are definitely missing out.

CULTURE/KINDRED SPLIT LP ON CLEAR /500?? (GOODLIFE RECORDS)



Not to live in the shadows of Culture, The B-Side of this record features one of Belgium's finest bands KINDRED. Now kindred were one of the better bands playing the ever popular 90's sound, when everything in Europe revolved around the H8000 bands defining the "Euro-Metal" style, these guys decided to go back to basics which definitely paid off. You can still hear a lot of metal influence in the music, but with the slow or "mid tempo structure made famous during the 90's. A great band none the less. Before this split they recorded a full length titled "File: 01" which i have to say is one that stands out higher then any other band playing that style throughout Europe. Imagine Unbroken, with Slayer riffs and there you have Kindred in a nutshell. Here's a link to the myspace page HERE if anyone wants to check them out. I highly recommend it.



Now onto the current apple of my eye. I never thought I would see this, let alone own a copy of it.

CULTURE/KINDRED LP TEST PRESS /10 (TOYBOX RECORDS)





You may be sitting there thinking "Toybox Records?", when in the above post the legitimate pressing is on Goodlife Records, well here's the story behind this.

EDIT: Sean Bonner (owner of Toybox Records) was great enough to clear up the story. Here's what he had to say:

"No real story here, we were going to do the record and I was going to release it in the US and Goodlife was going to do it in Europe, it took a long time from when we started the project and I ended up shutting down the label before it ever happened but Goodlife was still able to do what they could with it since we'd put some work into it already."

Thanks for the clarification Sean. So i guess this means that this test pressing is for the US press that never saw the light of day. Cool uh?

over a year and no posts

Over the past year and a half I've been neglecting the blog due a few reasons:
1. Pretty much having no motivation to actual update it with useless crap
2. The fact that i packed up and moved from Sydney to Melbourne for work
3. I haven't really picked up any decent records for a VERY long time. Not due to there being a lack of quality records, but due to money issues as well as pure laziness.

Well enough about my life story, no-one really wants to know that. So im going to get down to business. With the blog i guess what im going to go down the road of blogs like Skullfuckery (sean) in regards to my posts. I'm mainly going to be posting about my obsession with everything 90's hardcore (with the exception of everything CRIMETHINC. based. hahaha), vegan cooking and i guess anything i need to "vent" i guess in regards to what's happening around this crazy, crazy world at the moment.

I'm going to be starting off with a few records that I have acquired over the past few months that I believe people NEED to hear.

First off the block is one of my favourite records that i was lucky enough to pick up the test press of a couple of weeks ago on ebay for a pretty cheap price. The record im talking about is the LP from the socal vegan straight edge legends SEVEN GENERATIONS.

TO SEE THE END TEST PRESS /10



You have probably realised this, but the cover in the picture is actually the limited cover they had for their Final Show Last year.

If you haven't heard this band, do yourself a favour and check them out. Easily one of the best records and bands of the last 6 years. Essential for anyone who a fan of the 90's XVX hardcore sound.

http://www.myspace.com/7generations



Here's one of my favourite records to have come out in the last 20 years. Culture - Born of You.

CULTURE - BORN OF YOU (GOODLIFE RECORDS) on blue /200


Culture to me sum up everything that was great about 90's hardcore, energetic, sincere, the message as well as Damian Moyal and Rich Thurston being lyrical geniuses. The tracks "Born of You", "Twenty-Four" and "Not as Mine" are my favourites on this LP. The layout is a HUGE step up from the original Conquer The World press. Probably due to the fact that the band actually had a say in the design and were happy with the outcome. If you don't know the story i'll try and explain it in as neutral tone as i possibly can.

Conquer The World Records (CTW) was run by a guy by the name of Mike Warden and was based in the US. Now this label put out some of the best releases of the 90's for Culture, Morning Again, Chokehold and a few others i can't remember at the moment. Now with all the research i have done into this matter, ive never heard anything good about the label. He was accused of a range of things from repressing records and printing shirts without the bands knowledge or consent, withholding money as well as records from the bands plus a whole lot more. With the release of this record, the lyric sheet describes the bands struggle with this label as well as calling for a boycott of everything CTWR related. This also explains the reasons why they chose to repress the record with GOODLIFE RECORDS and why the art was slightly changed (considering the original is an eye-sore with a blurred picture the size of the LP!).

Over all, i don't know the full story, so dont exactly take my word for it. Plus it was nearly 15 years ago, and with the demise of CTWR records i guess it doesn't really need to be brought up again except for collecting scum like yours truly.



Next up is another one of my favourites. This is probably my favourite NYHC release (yeah i said it). I'm talking of course about Indecision - Unorthodox LP.

Indecision started out in Brooklyn NYC and took the US by storm with their bone crushing music, tom's amazing lyrics and the sheer tenacity of their shows. I can still remember the first time i heard this record and the chills i got from songs "Blindfold", "Purgatory" and "Hallowed Be Thy Name". Seeing these guys last year was hands down one of the best experiences of my life to date. Members of Indecision went on to form Most Precious Blood (well to be honest it was 90% Indecision members when it first started haha). They've started playing shows again which is awesome to see because they are one band that people really need to hear.





Following on from Indecision was MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD

MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD - NOTHING IN VAIN "BAD RELIGION RIP OFF" COVER, WHITE VINYL #66/200

For those who don't know, Most Precious Blood as stated above, was born from the demise of Indecision. With Tom on vocals, most people were expecting this to be Indecision v2.0, but they were wrong! Compared to Indecision, Most Precious Blood took influences from Metal, Thrash and Hardcore and made it their own. I was extremely late on hearing the record and im constantly kicking myself over it. One of the very few records i have that I can play from start to finish and never get sick of. After this record Tom left to further his studies so the band got Rob Fusco (One King Down) to do vocals. The band has released "Our Lady of Annihilation", "Merciless" (which has been FINALLY released on vinyl!) and a 3rd LP which has been in the works for the past few years but due to the demise of Trustkill, has been put off around 3 years! I can't wait until it has finally released. Oh and a huge thank you to morgan for allowing me to take this off your hands. hahaha <3

One last thing, if you haven't heard this record, then you have been missing out.




that's it for this update but i have a shitload more to come in the next few days. mainly more gloating about records ive added to my ever expanding collection. Also, if I've got any of my facts wrong in regards to these records, feel free to correct me.