New Morning Again track from upcoming EP

 
A brand new Morning Again track from the upcoming EP, Survival Instinct, has been posted to Revelation Records youtube channel. Stream it below and prepare for its projected November 9th physical release date.

Morning Again Announces Upcoming Shows And Vinyl Represses

Morning Again has announced they will play a few shows this summer, the first in South Florida. More will be announced soon.

The band will also be re-releasing their discography on vinyl to coincide with the upcoming shows. Revelation Records will reissue "As Tradition Dies Slowly" and Demons Run Amok Records will release the rest of the bands recorded output.

Follow the band on Facebook to keep up with their whereabouts.

Coming Soon: Into Another

Into Another announced yesterday that they will be putting out a new album and touring in the near future.... Revelation Records posted this picture today so I'll take that as confirmation that they will be putting out the album. Rev put out their first album in 1991 and their second album in 94 but their last record, Seemless, was on Hollywood Records in 95. Into Another were one of the headlining bands last year at the Revelation Records 25th anniversary shows. Hopefully the new album won't disappoint the die hard fans out there. Fingers crossed.

The Difference In Layouts: Inside Out "No Spiritual Surrender"

Though Inside Out's only release came out in 1990, the record sounded nothing like any of the bands the members had previously been in during the late 1980s. This record (along with Judge's "Bringin' It Down" amongst others) was one of the truly influential records on what the 90s hardcore sound would become: much more in the metal vein. While the layout of Inside Out's record wasn't a huge difference when they switched formats to CD, there were some changes.

Both versions featured the same live photo of Zack on the front but original version on vinyl featured a blue logo as opposed to the CDs red. When the CD was first pressed, it also had a blue logo (with no border) but was eventually changed to red. There was also a blue border and tint to the photo would also be dropped for the CD version.

Vinyl                                                                                                                                                     CD

The back was more or less the same minus a color change or two. The CD version had more songs than the 7 inch so the additional song titles were added as well as the change of address for the label (the label relocated to Huntington Beach from New Haven).

Vinyl                                                                                                                                                      CD

Now here's where the big difference comes in. The vinyl version featured a full size live photo of Vic jumping and four additional photos of each band member. The photo of Vic was also used on the back of a shirt. The CD version features the famous photo of Zack and Vic that was also used on a tshirt by Revelation. There was no text on the vinyl insert while there was on the CD as you can see.

Vinyl                                                                                                                                                      CD

Lastly, the lyric insert was relatively the same minus the fact that the CD version had additional songs so the lyrics were included. Also, the vinyl version included the names of the band members. That was really the only difference.

I really hope you guys enjoyed this feature and if you'd like to see a specific layout given the complete rundown, let us know.

Drowningman's Two Unreleased Songs

I received an anonymous email recently that included 2 unreleased Drowningman songs. Not a lot of info was given in the email but here's what I did receive:

"These songs were recorded around 2002 and I don't really remember if it was going to be for a 7 inch with Rev or if it was going to be an EP. Two of the songs ended up on the Law Of Inertia release "Learn To Let It Go". That track 4 is one of those songs on it and Simon redid the vocals eventually, that one was called Where The Heart Is. This was recorded at the Outpost."

These are supposedly also recorded before their "Best Record Ever" recording that never came out. Not a lot of info to work with but still cool to have. If anyone knows anything else about these, hit us up.

Drowningman - 2 Unreleased Songs

http://www.mediafire.com/?z9b25fw53p21cfm

Battery: The Revelation Era

Please Note: There Is NO Download Link In This Post. Buy the record here

Battery had been around for 8 years or so before they signed with Revelation Records to release what would be their final album, "Whatever It Takes". Somewhat of a departure from their earlier material, "Whatever It Takes" went for more of a youth crew sound as opposed to their earlier fast but not quite old school sound. The band ended up only releasing one album with Rev and, if memory serves, the label printed 3 designs for the band which we'll take a look at.

The first was the simple block logo with the record title below it. The back featured a rehearsal photo from the insert of the record. To be honest, it's kinda boring. The shirt was printed on both athletic gray and on black but I feel like it's just a bland design and doesn't really work.


Moving on, the second design works real well on a tshirt but not a sweater. The front design is so small that it just feels like it gets lost on a hoodie. The photo is so good though...Brian McTernan holding out the mic and two X'ed up hands pointing back at him. The back featured a small Rev star in the middle but for some reason I didn't take a photo of it...not sure why. As far as I can remember, this was printed on both navy and black. The navy had the border in red (as pictured) while the black has the border in a blue.


Finally, we have the third design which is my personal favorite of the Rev era. Small oval logo on the front with "DC Straight Edge" below it and the great live photo of Graham Land airborne. I don't remember which other color this was printed on but I think it was black.

Morning Again - The Cleanest War T-shirt

So here we are, counting down the days to the Morning Again show (5 days). At this point, I've basically bombarded you to no end with details on the show but I'm not quite done yet. If it has gotten to a point where this is starting to bug you, I apologize but Morning Again has been and continues to be my favorite band to come out of Florida and knowing that I've had a hand in this whole process makes me pretty excited so I'm passing on the excitement to the rest of you. Until the day of the show, I plan to post a different shirt with a little history each day.
Anyway, today I was going through my shirts and I came across the bands "Cleanest War" design. This, I believe, is the bands second t-shirt following their "Progress Sets Us Back" design that I posted a few months back (thanks again Ivan) before they signed with Conquer The World Records. This design was printed for the "Cleanest War" record that Conquer The World did release (on a side note, while some people do have their opinions on Conquer The World Records, Mike did release some killer records) though I'm not sure of the quantity in which they were pressed or if the label sold them or just the band. This design features what would become one of the bands 3 logos (the others being the XXX logo from the Goodlife Recordings releases and the later designed Richie Birkenhead logo from the Rev release) and if I'm not mistaken is the first time the tree logo was used. No info on who designed the logo though (John, Damien, Eric...if you have any info, pass it on). The back features a smoke stack with the "Cleanest War" above it. The print is this weird puffy paint...very odd. It's almost as if the print should be glow in the dark. I don't think I've seen this type of paint used on any other shirts I own...definitely a cool design though. Not quite sure if this was printed by the 90s resident South Florida screen printer, Lowell from Bending Tree, but I'll do some snooping and see if I can find out.
The show is this weekend and the band will have merch as well as the silk screened posters so Ill post updates...lots of old friends coming out that I haven't seen in years. The show is supposedly going to be videotaped so you'll be able to see the happenings at a later date.

Revelation Records spring 1994 mail order questionnaire

This is an interesting questionnaire that was included on the back side of a Revelation Records mail order form from 1994. Some of the questions are pretty cheesy, and i wonder if the lure of a free sticker really enticed anybody?
Kinda bummed that I missed out on an embroidered Into Another beanie or a Statue longsleeve.

When Layouts Change: Records That Are Repressed With New Layouts, Part 1

This is an article I've been meaning to write for a long time but just never got around to doing so. A pet peeve of mine is when a label re-presses a record but changes the layout. Sometimes, this is because the band and label didn't have the money or time to put into what they originally envisioned or because a label has bought the rights to the record and re-released it, often with remastered sound. Half of me is alright with this idea at times but the other half of me, the half that is the nostalgic collector wants to have the original. Like I said, sometimes this is fine with me because the original layout may have been...well just not very good. Below are a few examples of records that were originally released by their respected labels and then repressed by either the original or another with a different layout. For now, I've just scanned the covers but Ill try to get the rest of the layouts scanned as well. The original is on the left and the repress is on the right.





















Shelter - Quest For Certainty (Original: Equal Vision, 1992. Repress: Revelation, 1998)
An early release for Equal Vision Records when they still concentrated on releasing only Krishna-core record, this records comes in a close second to Mantra as my favorite Shelter release. The original has a black and white cover with a nice sky blue firewheel while the repress has a new black and white photo but the fonts have been changed to red. This is a case where I'm alright with either release. Both have live photos on the cover and there isnt much of a difference other than the actual photo.




















Culture - Born Of You (Original: Conquer The World, 1994. Repress: Goodlife, 1998)
A record that created an incredible amount of controversy over the past few years, controversy that I am not going to go into here (do a search on here for "Culture" and you'll see). The original release features a picture of the famed "Portrait Of Pope Innocent X" by Sir Francis Bacon. While this cover is very representative of the time, I feel that the repress gives the album more energy with the cover depicting Damien handing out the mic to the crowd. Culture was very much about crowd participation and this cover portrays that to the listener. I only wish that the band would have used the logo that Guav created for that them as opposed to the logo on the repress.





















Doughnuts - Equalize Nature (Original and Repress: Desperate Fight, 1994 and 1996)
A much maligned band, Doughnuts were touted as the first all girl SXE band back in 1995. They released their first record with Desperate Fight out of Umea, Sweden and then signed with Victory Records in America. Equalize Nature, their first release, was originally released in a cardboard sleeve in 1994 and features the legendary "Naked SXE Kid" on the cover. To be honest, I'm not sure where they were going with this image on the cover but the re-release (also on Desperate Fight) shows a blurry live photo of the band. Perhaps Victory asked Desperate Fight to change the cover because they would have trouble getting the naked kid cover picked up in America. That's just my opinion, I have no idea if that's the reason. I have to say that the repress is an upgrade.





















As Friends Rust - The Fists Of Time (Original: Goodlife, 1998. Repress: Doghouse, 2000)
Now here's one where I prefer the original. Goodlife chose to use paintings by vocalist Damien as the cover as well as the insert. If you read the lyrics to the songs on this release, I feel that the cover really does a great job of capturing the mood of the record. When Doghouse released this in America, they included a track from the split with Discount as well as their Circle Jerks cover from the God Hour EP. This time around though, the cover shows a package addressed to the band. Not bad but to me, the cover of the original release conveys the band's message much better.

Check back soon for Part 2.

Classic Records: In My Eyes - 1997 Demo

I feel fortunate to have seen In My Eyes, who in my opinion was in the top 5 best 90s Youth Crew Revival bands. Granted, the show I saw them at they didnt play their best because they had just come from the beach, were suffering from sun poisoning, and looked lobsters from how much they had been sunburned. I was able to knock them off my list of bands I wanted to see back in 1999. The first time I heard them was in 1997 when Neal was filling in on bass for Shutdown. Shutdown was on tour with Fastbreak (who has an equally amazing 7 inch in "Don't Stop Trying") in the beginning of the summer of 97. Fastbreak was setting up so I ventured out to see what merch the bands had brought with them and I managed to strike up a conversation with Neal. I had already bought a Shutdown shirt as well as the CD on Striving For Togetherness Records which depleted my funds. Out of the goodness of his heart, Neal gave me a copy of the In My Eyes demo telling me it was his new band and to check it out if I had a chance. On my way home, I popped in the cassette and it blew my mind. Here was one of the best representations of late 80's youth crew hardcore with a modern twist. The cassette flew by and I promptly rewound it and listened again. Each track stood on its own but to me, the standout track was definitely "This Is Our Time" which begins with a 4 count drum hit followed by that snare/floor tom fast beat that I love so much and the Boston bands made so popular. The lyrics reflect how getting older often people long for the "old days" and how there really isn't anything wrong with that. "You think I'm living in the past, Living out something long gone, But what's so wrong with believing what made me who I am, That's why I won't give up, Your criticism won't get in the Way!" With Stuck In The Past being a big part of my life, these lyrics mean more to me now than ever. While on the full length, the "In (My Eyes) Tro" precedes "This Is Our Time", here it is its own track though I wish they would have put it as it was later. The way it was on the full length just had so much more power because of this.
Out of the 6 songs (7 if you count the intro), 2 were not re-recorded. This is something you don't see too often anymore. Most bands, especially nowadays, basically re-record every song they have to make up their full length (hey, I'm guilty of this too) so its refreshing to see a band actually take the time to write new songs as opposed to taking the easy way out and fall back on previous material. Also, it was great to see a band who came out and said "Hey, we're straight edge, we play in a straight edge band but we're cool with you doing whatever you do". Not really being in your face about it but being blatant and up front saying that they were a straight edge band.
After the band signed to Revelation Records and released "The Difference Between", Big Wheel Recreation issued the demo, which was originally released by Stand Hard Records, on both vinyl and CD (the CD included a bonus live set) after an enormous demand for it. The CD started off with a a voicemail from drummer Luke's mother telling him that there was a special on television about straight edge and the band was mentioned. I believe the CD has since gone out of print so if that's the case, Ill upload the demo at some point. This demo was amazing for its time and even now holds up well against the current crop of bands. I'm glad that recently I've rediscovered the demo and hope that this brings back those feelings for those of you who had a copy of the demo when it came out.

Shelter - Quest For Certainty (1998 Re-Release)

I did a lot of research to make sure this record is no longer available before posting. Originally released by Equal Vision Records, this was re-released in 1998 by Revelation Records and has since gone out of print (again). You can buy a new copy through Amazon for $138 (!!!!)...don't even pretend that you entertained the idea. Maybe Rev is planning on making this available as a digital download through Itunes but as of now, this is unavailable. While Shelter was not the first hardcore band to include members who were Hare Krishna, as far as I know they were first ALL Krishna band. Lots of kids kinda scratched their heads when Youth of Today were broken up by Ray Cappo so he could become a devotee. Ray re-emerged with Shelter which was intended to be his last musical endeavor (it wasn't). Its a tough race between which is the best Shelter record for me...it always comes down to this and Mantra with Mantra just barely winning (hey that's just my opinion). I know labels are going strictly vinyl and digital downloads only but when neither are available, its a pretty big bummer. It also includes 3 tracks of chanting and traditional Indian music as well as a sermon.

EDIT: I was informed this is available through emusic.com so the link has been taken down.

Shai Hulud Interview from the Rev Catalog 98/99

My friend Gabe was nice enough to scan and send this to me. Big ups to him for being an all around great dude. This is from the Rev catalog 1998-99 right after the band released "Hearts Once Nourished With Hope and Compassion". Short but a nice little read.

Classic Records: Burn - Self Titled 7 Inch (Revelation Records)

Along with Inside Out, Burn was one of the first great hardcore bands of the 90s. Displaying a variety of styles, Burn only released one record during their short existence (this would change but lets stick with the first time they were together) but left a lasting impression on thousands of hardcore kids. For those of us not living in NYC or the surrounding areas, the band seemed shrouded in a bit of mystery. No photos in the insert, very minimal information on the band...I don't believe this was intentional but when this sort of thing happens, I feel like the band is letting the music speak for itself and allowing the listener to form their own image. The cover looks like someone watched a video of a live show, paused the VCR and took a picture of it. Nice and bright, it looks like complete mayhem.
I remember reading an interview with guitarist Gavin Van Vlack and he said how he was criticized because his new band (Burn) had an African-American singer just like his previous band, Absolution. He seemed angry about the criticism but I like the fact that he went a different route instead of asking someone who had previously been in a well-known band. Chaka Malik is the quintessential frontman.
The record begins with "...Shall Be Judged", a fast track that speaks on the idea of vegetarianism. Chaka ends the track with the now famous "We have killed and shall be judged" while the music slows down and goes in a more post-hardcore direction. My favorite track is "Godhead" featuring a slow jazz midsection which is then swallowed up by a midpaced singalong. Chaka screams "Hear Me, Im calling out. I stand by the edge". The song deals with religion as a cult (at least that what I get out of it). "Out Of Time" has been covered by so many bands that I've lost count but Death Threat definitely has done the best version.
My only real gripe with the record is I wish the guitars were louder. Everything sounds great but it just feels like the guitars could be louder. I know, I'm nitpicking but I'm just being honest. I really wish Rev would release an official discography with a remix/remaster job. The band has a bunch of unreleased songs from practices and rehearsals that I love to see get an official release. My friend Vin who runs Blogged and Quartered took the time to clean up, correctly name and number, and post the Live At CBGBs bootleg CD that came out some years ago. He also included some rehearsal tracks as well. You can check that out by clicking here. Are you reading this Revelation? Give the people what they want.
All in all, the self titled Burn record is one of the best. The band got back together in the early 2000's and recorded a new EP, "Cleanse", and the release of "Last Great Sea" (a demo that was recorded for Roadrunner if I remember correctly). They played some shows with Vic from 108 on guitar but then called it quits. I'd love to see them get together one more time...I'd fly. Bottom line, if you don't own this, get it.

Farside - Scrap

Farside's "Scrap" is a collection of their first 2 demos, the first of which featured Zach De La Rocha on guitar. The lineup is more or less the same as the later releases but with Zach on guitar. This CD is pretty hard to come by from what I understand so enjoy this. All this material was released before they signed with Crisis/Revelation.


EDIT: After posting this, K. Murphy passed on this info, correcting what I had written. Thanks for the update and the correct info.

"Nope. Zach is on the second demo and the line ups are pretty different. Josh Stanton (411) on bass and Rob Haworth (Hard Stance and State of the Nation on guitar. But certainly hard to find. Only 1000 pressed." - K. Murphy


*NEW LINK*

Farside - Scrap