The Jesus Lizard / Nirvana - Split Cassette

This is one of the only tapes that survived from my old tape collection and I'm glad I managed to hold onto this one. Most of my tapes either got chewed up by shitty stereos or melted in my car years ago. I've got fond memories of the cassette single or cassingle as it used to be called. I used to buy one Cassingle a week at my local shopping centre record store when I was a kid as that's all my allowance could afford. I remember buying every Guns N Roses tape I could get my hands as well as Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, Ugly Kid Joe and Green Jelly. Yup I was a bogan kid with a mullet and loved anything with a parental advisory sticker on it. Dennis Leary's "Asshole" tape got played over and over until it wore out. This came out in 1993 on Touch and Go Records. The Nirvana track was at the time exclusive to this split but has since been released on the box set and The Jesus Lizard track is a single from their album "Liar".

Mammoth Grinder - Obsessed With Death

New 7" from Mammoth Grinder on Hell Massacre Records. Two brutal tracks and one's a Venom cover. Always happy to hear more from this band but this one's over before you even know what hit you. I think this must have been a pretty limited run as it's already sold out from Painkiller but you might be able to find one in another distro if you're quick.

Killing Joke - What's THIS For...!

Here's another LP I found at the record fair recently. An original 1981 pressing of Killing Joke's second album. I love the collage art sleeve, it's just so weird and creepy and the music is much the same. The whole album is just a pounding assault of dark post punk / industrial that pre dates so many of the bands that adopted this style. If you're into early industrial like Ministry and Godflesh you can definitely tell this band had an influence on them. Also to a lesser extent bands like Big Black and Amebix as well. This is a classic record that deserves a listen, at least out of respect for what came first. All of Killing Joke's records have been repressed on 180 gram double LP by Let Them Eat Vinyl if you're interested.

Bathory - The Return Of The Darkness And Evil

I scored this record at a 2nd hand record fair I went to recently. Found it hiding amongst a bunch of classical records in a $10 bin that an elderly couple had for sale. I have no idea how they ended up with it and they had no idea what it was. It's an original Swedish first pressing from 1985 on Black Market Productions. This is Bathory's second album and one of their best in my opinion. These guys pretty much started the whole black metal genre. If you haven't listened to them before I urge you to check out their first 3 records, dirty black metal with a Motorhead influence.

Skin Like Iron - Descent Into Light

Here's the latest from Skin Like Iron that I pre-ordered a while back. The black vinyl version is actually the rarest colour which is a bit disappointing as this would look sweet on blue to match the cover art. I like how they've kept a similar layout to the All Human Failings 12". Continuity makes me happy, don't know whether that's because I'm OCD or because I'm a designer that has had brand style guides rammed down my throat. Skin Like Iron are a really interesting band with a diverse range of influences including From Ashes Rise, Black Flag, Joy Division, Infest and Earth. Definitely leaning more towards D-beat / Melodic Hardcore than anything else but with other sounds creeping in there and mixing it up. It's a short record with 10 songs over before you know it but it's one that I continue flipping over for repeat listens and it grows on me with each spin. I highly recommend everyone pick this one up. You can get it from Six Feet Under Records.

Pig Heart Transplant - They Eat What We Eat 7"

Here's the latest release from Pig Heart Transplant. This one's been put out by Rescued From Life Records limited to 300 all on black vinyl. It came in a variety of different coloured sleeves with the white one being the rarest and limited to only 36. I feel kinda disgusted in myself sometimes for getting sucked into the collector side of records. It's just a different piece of paper for fucks sake but a part of my brain likes the fact that only 36 people in the world have this limited piece of paper.

Thou / Human Intruder - A Faire Quarrell 7"

I've had this one for a few weeks now but life has just been too shit to even think about blogging lately. There's a stack of new records piled up next to my turntable and some of them haven't even been listened to yet. Hopefully I can start getting my shit together and reignite my passion for the vinyl again.

Here's is a good one to start with. Yet another new release from prolific sludge masters Thou, this time a split with Human Intruder out of Germany. One song from each band and I must say I'm really impressed with the Human Intruder side of this record. They describe themselves as Hate Yourself Depressive Doom and that's exactly what they sound like,  I must hear more from this band. This was put out by Dead Earth Records in a quantity of 1000 so there should still be some left for you all.