Anthrax - Spreading The Disease [test press]

Granted, I got into punk and hardcore at a fairly early age, but before that, I was definitely a metalhead. One of my Uncles is only 11 years older than I am, so I would hang out with him a lot, and we would then meet up with his cousin who was around the same age. That cousin played in a couple of local metal bands, and because of those two, I got pretty heavy into "the big 4" - Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax. I can still remember listening to Ride The Lightning with them and loving every second of it as an energetic young boy. Fast forward 25 years, and I still love those old records from the big 4. The record of subject today though, is Anthrax - Spreading The Disease. Most of my friends disagree with me, but I still think Spreading The Disease is the best Anthrax record. While I do love a good majority of their discography, this record still sits at the top as my favorite. One day in late 1998, while perusing the Megaforce Records website, I saw that they were selling off some pretty rare items. I might have stumbled across the sale somewhat late, because there weren't a ton of gems left. As much as I kind of like Gravedigger, I wasn't really too interested in picking up any of their stuff. Then I stumbled upon a test press of Anthrax - Spreading The Disease, and for a mere 20 bucks! Suffice to say, I snatched it up in a hurry. I'm not sure how many of these exist, but if it falls in line with other records from the same era, it's probably 8 or less.

Warzone - s/t

I've always been pretty into Warzone. Even most of their Victory Records era stuff could hold my interest, but their self titled record on Caroline is most puzzling. Sometime in the late 90s, I was actually able to find a still sealed copy of Warzone's self titled record at a record store called For What It's Worth. The store was located in a suburb of Portland by the name of Beaverton. Even my Dad mentioned that he would make the trek out there occasionally when he was a teenager, but by the time I got my driver's license, they were mostly known for having a decent selection of imported CDs. Before getting really deep into hardcore, I would have my Mom drive me out there, so I could buy the Australian only versions of AC/DC's classic records with Bon Scott on vocals. However, one day in the late 90s, I decided to drive out to For What It's Worth, and as I was looking through their vinyl selection, I came across two very interesting finds: still sealed copies of B'last - The Power Of Expression, and Warzone - s/t. I had never heard the self titled Warzone record before, so I was equally as stoked on it as I was the B'last record, but that all soon got shot to shit when I got them home and gave them a first spin. This was unlike any Warzone I had ever heard before. There weren't really and fast parts to speak of, the solos were cheesy and seemed out of place, and Ray's vocals even seemed to be lacking. I quickly filed the record away, and haven't listened to it again until today, which is fitting since this is the 13th anniversary of Ray's death. After giving it another try today, I find that time has still not been kind to this record, and I would kind of like to strike it from my memory, or render it nothing more than an oddity in an otherwise great discography.
It was mentioned in a post today on TeeTillDeath that there is a demo out there of these same songs, but played in a much more standard Warzone fashion. If anyone has those, and would be willing to hook it up, please get in touch with me: sitner.justin[at]gmail.com

Warzone - s/t
[1989 - Caroline Records]

On a sidenote, I also never got to see Warzone live. They played here when I was 17 or 18, but it was at a bar, so myself and most of my friends couldn't go, but we figured they would for sure be back soon since a new record was out on Victory, but sure enough, Raybeez died just a few months later.

Disembodied - If God Only Knew The Rest Were Dead

Quite possibly the heaviest record ever, If God Only Knew The Rest Were Dead by Disembodied hit me like a ton of bricks when it first came out. I was already a fan of their Diablerie record, but the songs on this EP were far heavier, and felt far more developed. Tara's bass tone on this recording is nothing short of crushing, and when I would have it blasted, the ring outs just felt so deep that it would send chills down my spine. I got to catch them in support of this record here in Portland, and the tracks they played from this record came through just as heavy.

For those unaware, Disembodied are actually back together, and are currently writing a new record. Usually, I'm skeptical about bands reuniting and releasing new records, but I have a feeling this will be great. My band recently got asked to play a handful of East Coast shows with Disembodied in October. It was heart wrenching having to turn it down as we had just drained bank accounts to fly down to San Diego to play with Unbroken. Perfect example of great people in a great band.

Disembodied - If God Only Knew The Rest Were Dead

Ferret Records

black / ?

purple / 100

Minor Threat - live boot

What better way to start off this blog than with the band that propelled me deep into the worlds of hardcore and straight edge? There isn't a whole lot of info out there about this bootleg, but it appears to have been first pressed by Toast Records in 1991, with a possible repress (or maybe even boot of a boot?) in 2001. It contains two live sets. One from the 9:30 Club in DC on 4/29/82, and the other from Rollerworks in LA on 4/2/83. My copy comes from the first pressing, and is on grey vinyl with light marbling. This is put together in true, old school bootleg LP fashion with blank center labels, and the cover artwork glued on top of a cardboard sleeve.

Minor Threat - s/t bootleg
Toast Records

First post.

This blog is going to serve one purpose: to allow me to document my record collection, and anything else I so choose, like shirts, demo tapes, etc. I've been meaning to create a blog like this for some time now, and here it finally is. Also, the "collective" involved with the blog will just be myself. Lone wolf.