Converge and Trap Them

While at the Converge show I scored a couple things other than the 7″s. Here are the other records. I’m not going to talk too much about them because they’ve been covered here in the past. As far as pressing is concerned, I’d be interest in knowing about the No Heroes and Darker Handcraft. Both of these bands were brilliant live and were also fantastic people cept for Nate Newton who appeared to be stoned on some kind of aerosol…..okay, not really but he really looked like there was something wrong with him. He was cracking me up all night.

Trap Them – Seance Prime: The Complete Recordings (1st print on white)

Trap Them – Darker Handcraft (Tour edition limited to 250 – 180 gram silver)

Converge – No Heroes (clear red)

Converge – Jane Doe (Black 2nd pressing)

Trap Them

We covered the news that Deathwish had put up this record last Friday. Today, the copy I ordered showed up. And it looks awesome.

One thing I really like about this release is the way they went with a basic black and white color scheme for the artwork. I know the original release artwork was mostly b&w but it did have some color. It didn’t look bad at all, but for me this black and white scheme just works better for some reason.

Inside that sleeve we find the record itself (on a pretty sturdy clear vinyl) and a simple black and white inner page for liner notes, etc. I continue to be a big fan of these kind of simple and to the point packages.

Sorry the images of the vinyl itself are a little grainy. I shot them in an area with absolutely NO natural light so they didn’t turn out as well as I hoped. But you get the idea I think. Anyway, this is an awesome package from an excellent band and tremendous label. If you like heavy music and vinyl you need to make this a part of your collection ASAP.

Best of 2010 Part 1

Yes, I know it’s actually already 2011. But having spent the last week of the year on vacation and pretty much unplugged I didn’t take the time to post this before the New Year rolled around.

There’s a thousand and 1 different “best of lists” every year but, all the same, we around here still make our lists. In the past these lists would be just another discussion point among friends or something to be shared on Facebook or both. But this year, after a ridiculously good first year for this blog, we’re going to do things different and post these here for your reading pleasure.

Like the title says, this is part one. There are still lists to be posted by both Juan and Nick and those will be coming down the pike shortly.

So, without further delay, here is the my Best of 2010 list. First up, we’ll look at my take on what the best albums of the year were.

1 – Tim Barry “28th & Stonewall”

2 – Ryan Adams & The Cardinals “III/IV”

3 – I Can Lick any Sonofabitch in The House “The Sounds of Dying”

4 – Torche “Songs for Singles”

5 – Two Cow Garage “Sweet Saint Me”

6 – Black Tusk “Taste The Sin”

7 – Gaslight Anthem “American Slang”

8 – Coliseum “House with a Curse”

9 – Trap Them “Filth Rations”

10 – Drag The River “2010 Demons”

 

Honorable Mentions:
The National – High Violet, The Roots – How I Got Over, Big Boi – Sir Lucious Left Foot; Ballad of Chico Dusty, Daughters – Daughters, Minus The Bear – Omni, Fang Island – Fang Island

 
And, finally, just for the hell of it, here’s a quick list of 10, non-music,  things from 2010 that were awesome in their own right.

Inception
Life by Keith Richards
Modern Family
Call of Duty Black Ops
The Walking Dead
True Grit remake
Louis
In 50 Years we’ll all be Chicks by Adam Carolla
NBA 2K11
The Social Network

Trap Them

Album – Filth Rations

Artist – Trap Them

Purchased From – Trade

I remember when Southern Lord announced they’d be releasing the next in the line of Trap Them releases that I was really stoked. Then the album went up on their store and I was less than stoked at the price. I don’t remember exactly what that price was, but I remember thinking it was ridiculously absurd for a 4 song EP. Don’t get me wrong, I love Trap Them but every man has his limits when it comes to these kinds of things. Yes, I realize the irony of that statement considering that I bought the new Torche album, which was essentially an EP, at an even more ridiculous price…but I digress.

This was one of two records I scored in a trade I worked out recently through the Vinyl Collective board, so, it really didn’t cost me anything but the cost of Media Mail shipping to send the record I traded to the guy I traded with.

Overall the packaging here is pretty standard fare, but the artwork is pretty wicked. Don’t kn0w what the pressing info is on this one but I can tell you this; the record itself is pressed on some really heavy duty black vinyl (might be 180gram, I’m n0t sure) and has the artwork etched to the otherwise blank B-side. Overall I’m really happy to have this record and especially happy I was able to get it via a trade.

Trap Them

Album – Seizures In Barren Paradise

Artist – Trap Them

Purchased From – n/a

The first of two records given to me as a gift by TSPV contributor Nick (I’ll be writing about the other one later today), this is a record I’d been meaning/wanting to pick up for a while now. Trap Them is one of those bands that I was kind of late to the party on (not getting into them until I heard a couple tracks off their ‘Seance Prime’ ep) but I’m really glad I got there. Just heavy, over the top and excellent.

Featuring some serious fold out packaging and Jacob Bannon artwork, this is one of the best looking records I’ve added to my collection recently. This is the first press of the record, on a cream and black mix vinyl. There were 1000 of these pressed on this color.

Friday Afternoon Link and Info Dump

Bands to check out, info to know, albums to remember to order…if it’s worth talking about we’ll dump it right here.

Band recommendation – WHORES My friend Bob did some studio work with these guys recently and he recommended them to me.  The drummer from Artimus Pyledriver is in this band so that should give you an idea of what they’re doing here. Think of a slightly less heavy, self titled record era Torche mixed with some Artimus Pyledriver and you’re on the right path.

No Idea Newsletter – Just in case you don’t subscribe to their email newsletter here’s the latest from the Gainsville crew;

We are now proudly giving our good friends at Razorcake Records a hand with distribution… we’re super excited to be involved! A complete list of releases (so far!) is included below.

More new stuff this time around: SAMIAM “Orphan Works” 2xLP/CD from No Idea (**CD is shipping now! 2xLP coming within 2 weeks!), WHISKEY & Co. “Rust Colors” LP/CD (**Pre-order now!) a MEAN JEANS / WHITE WIRES split 7″ from Dirtnap, SCREAMING FEMALES “Castle Talk” LP/CD & a long-lost HAMILTONS 7″ from Don Giovanni, BE MY DOPPELGANGER “No Composure” LP/CD from It’s Alive, the PINE HILL HAINTS “Black Casket” 7″ from Razorcake Records, VRGNS “Manimals” LP, VRGNS limited 7″, and a FELLOW PROJECT / GO SELL DRUGS split 7″ from Kiss Of Death, STEPHEN EGERTON “7 Degrees” LP from Paper + Plastick, and a whole bunch of back-in-stock records like LIFETIME, HOT WATER MUSIC, A WILHELM SCREAM, & CHEAP GIRLS!

Tons of bands are on tour right now, or about to embark, including YOUNG LIVERS & AGAINST ME!, BRIDGE AND TUNNEL, LEATHERFACE, THE HOLY MOUNTAIN, SAMIAM, DEFIANCE, OHIO, NO FRIENDS, OFF WITH THEIR HEADS, & THE MEASURE (sa)… you can check out the dates here!

http://www.noidearecords.com/tours.php

If you’d like to place an order, just head on over to www.noidearecords.com.

Two Cow Garage announce new album, digital single – I’m big fan of the twang this Columbus, Ohio outfit is putting out. So, news of a new album has me a might bit excited. You can read all about it over at Vinyl Collective. If you’re not familiar with the sounds of TCG you can hit up their Myspace.

Trap Them enter God City – If you’re a fan of heavy/extreme music and you’re not hip to Trap Them, well, fix that problem. They are one of the absolute best in the world at what they do. They’ve entered Kurt Ballous’ mythic God City Studio to start work on their debut release for Prosthetic Records and they’re documenting the process via ‘We Craft Darkness’, a blog they’ve started. So if you want to keep tabs on the progress of the record I highly recommend you bookmark it, add it to your Google Reader, whatever.