SpiritWorld / Black Coffee Split Pre-Orders

Just the other week Head2wall Records put up pre-orders for the much anticipated split between SpiritWorld from Las Vegas, Nevada and Black Coffee from Houston, Texas. This release was announced back in August of last year with an incredible interview on my favorite hardcore news website NoEchodotNet. The interview was between Ian from Head2wall Record's Acid Rain and now Running In Place Record's World Tension and Stu the vocalist and SpiritWorld who had previously been in the legendary LVHC band Folsom. For anyone who missed it I highly recommend going back and checking it out.

SpiritWorld's music is akin to bands like Lucero, Two Cow Garage and Uncle Tupelo but still with some hardcore elements that any fan of the genre can pick out. On the flipside Black Coffee hearken back to a time when hardcore was still wild. Their sound could be described as a mix of those early hardcore scenes in Michigan and California, with comparisons to the Necros, Negative Approach, TSOL and Adolescents being equal between each.

It would be impossible to talk about this record in any detail without mentioning the art by my favorite living artist Give Up. The connection between the artist and the members goes back just as far as their own friendships, over a decade. With Give Up doing art for both bands on more then one occasion. It is only fitting that his art would grace the cover of their collaboration. The art is stark, with details the artist pulled from an old family photo and with the bull seemingly leaving the boarders of the page as it passes the rope brings life to a moment long past.

But What Do I Get, What Do I Expect To Find

Gut Instinct - Disturbing The Peace (Cornerstone Productions)

No Escape / Turning Point split (Gold) (Out of 200) (Temperance Records)

Ringworm - Demo (Purple Shell) (Out of 25) (Eat The Worm Productions)

These three releases have been on my wantlist for years and in the past few weeks I've been able to score each for great prices. I hadn't noticed until it was pointed out to me last night that the Gut Instinct cover has their name spelled wrong on it. I wonder how many people that own it have noticed this themselves. I love the style of older "tougher" hardcore The Icemen, Breakdown, Outburst, Raw Deal/Killing Time and they play. It sounds urgent, but like in a "you better listen to what the fuck I have to say" kinda way. I wish more bands would take note of that and pace themselves better. Not to say I haven't heard bands that have had that affect on me over the years but though I'm sure it comes natural to a lot of people trying to get sincere messages across I am sure some people tone it down when recording and shouldn't. How would In My Eyes sound if Ian MacKaye dialed back his "At least I'm fuckin' trying. What the fuck have you done?" 

Now as far as the No Escape / Turning Point split 7" its been a record I have wanted for well over a decade. The first time I found out about its existence was when I found a copy of the 12" version of the Rebuilding compilation at Magnolia Thunderpussy back in 2002 or 2003. I know that record was the first place I ever found out about No Escape but might also have been the first place I heard Burn. The original compilation was on a 7" and featured Turning Point, Burn, Gorilla Biscuits and No Escape. The 12" version had three times the number of songs as the 7" version. On its A side it includes the original 4 songs from the compilation with two additional songs by Turning Point and Burn. On its B side it includes The No Escape / Turning Point split with two more additional songs each being covers, with those songs being Turning Point covering Ignition's song Anxiety Asking and No Escape covering the Big Boys song No.

Lastly of  these pick ups, the Ringworm - Demo. Five masterpieces of Cleveland Hardcore, as they would say "All killer, no filler." This is a version of the cassette that is more recent (pressed for a show they played in 2016 with 3/4 of the original members who played on the demo) but is limited to only 25 copies. Its not a version I thought I would ever get. And though I would LOVE to have an original copy, purple is one of my favorite colors so I had to scoop it up. Strangely enough after I received it in the mail I realized a friend of mine from back in Columbus (who now lives in Chicago) had been the seller. Small world. 

KDC / Bleak split (Human Beard)

Throat Culture - The Nervous Episode (Sore Ear Collective)

Moutheater - No Ballet (Grey Shell) (Out of 20) (Swim Harder Cassettes)

These three cassettes feature a band who would either eventually or had previously been a band Head2wall Records had worked with. Both KDC and Moutheater will hold special places in my heart because they were the first two LPs we did and are both bands I had not just the opportunity to see but the privilege to book, with Moutheater being the first band I ever booked and KDC being the first band I booked when I moved to Las Vegas. Sadly I never had a chance to see Throat Culture but I am sure they were incredible live as the cassette and 7" we did for them are both fantastic.

Prayer for a Fallen Angel

Prayer for a Fallen Angel was a hardcore super group that came after (and featured members of) perhaps the most known hardcore super group Path of Resistance. These guys were in a lot of bands prior and after Prayer for a Fallen Angel such as Brother's Keeper, Abnegation, No Innocent Victim, xDisciplex, Chokehold and Head2wall Records own Human Animal. The list of bands these guys were not in might be shorter if I continued on any longer.. This post is just to spread the word about a band that I think a lot of people don't know about really should. If you want more info on the band, some history and even to check out an interview with a few of the members check out these posts on Stuck In The Past and Coregasm. To be honest anyone reading my blog should be already aware of both of these blogs but the posts are from some time ago so it will save you some digging time. In the past month or so this band kept coming back up and then just the other day I was able to find a copy of the CD for a dollar, saying I was siked about it would be an understatement.

Head2wall Records Welcomes Summerhead to Head2wall Records Featuring Grey Gordon of Head2wall Records Wickerwolves

The Head2wall Records Nation is thrilled to officially introduce SUMMERHEAD! This semi-psychedelic slowcore-meets-trip-hop trio is comprised of three experienced minds from across the country, and with storied musical histories from across the sonic spectrum. The result of this long-distance cross-genre push and pull is an incredible collection of songs that perfectly meld the electronic melancholy of late-era Massive Attack with the subtle emotional intensity of Spiritualized, and a near-Codeine level of droning, endlessly relatable banality. Keep an eye out for music in the coming weeks, and the debut 7” single, The Crypt b/w Snoozer, out this spring!

Reunited Wickerwolves To Release First Physical

We are very excited to be working with recently-reunited Fort Wayne, Indiana post-hardcore powerhouse Wickerwolves on the first-ever physical release of their posthumous swan song full-length, Tokyo Bones. This masterpiece is 30 minutes of ripping, emotionally charged riffing, in the vein of Jawbox, Shift, Hum, etc., and will be available on a limited cassette Friday, March 8th, and at their first show back the following night, at The Bug House in Fort Wayne. If you haven’t heard this monster yet, stream it now, wherever you do such things.

Gadget - Moon Palace Books - Minneapolis, Mn - 02/03/19

Gadget - Moon Palace Books - Minneapolis, Mn - 02/03/19

Texas's GOODGIRL Joins the Head2wall Fold

We at Head2wall Records are so excited to welcome Houston, Texas’s GOODGIRL to the H2W roster, and announce the release of their debut EP, Poor Habits, out February 14th! As much a collective as a band, this incredibly talented group of individuals artfully blends the lo-fi pop of ‘90s alternative rock staples like The Breeders and Pixies, with the noisy dissonance of bands like Sonic Youth and Melvins to create something simultaneously beautiful and off-putting. Stay tuned for details and music in the coming weeks!

Gadget - Minneapolis Straight Edge

Gadget is a brand new Straight Edge hardcore band from Minneapolis, Mn. Back in mid December (of 2018) they released their demo online. It was the only demo that made my Best of 2018 (digital) List. Their music is riffy and hard but without incorporating any obvious elements of thrash and beatdown as many modern bands seem to be doing right now. And there is really something about the drumming that I connected with on a "I need to see this band ASAP" kinda thing. Their style is different, as is their production, but when I first listened to this demo it brought me back almost 20 years ago to my first hardcore shows. I needed that reminder, that bands will still be out there doing it, screaming out into the void of a world gone mad, long after I'm gone.

Their first show is tonight with Cross Me, Dare, Low End, Life's Question (who I am also pretty siked on right now).

 

Conflict - Mortimer's - Minneapolis, Mn - 01/26/18

Conflict - Mortimer's - Minneapolis, Mn - 01/26/18

Stalemate Joins The Head2wall Records Family

Photo: Shelby Fickel

For the uninitiated, Cleveland, Ohio's Stalemate have been a band for almost two decades beginning as Tooth Fuzz in 2001 and adopting their current moniker back in 2010. To say these guys have been putting in work is an understatement, they have taken great time in refining their sound with each album coming out three to four years after the last. In 2015 they self released Permanent Things that to me harks back just as much to a band like The Get Up Kids as it would to Weezer, alternative rock but still with a punk edge. I love this band because I feel like even on a recording you can hear the energy in both their vocals and their music and even on slower songs you can hear them drawing things out in just the right way (I think this is harder to pull off and it sound earnest). Grab a copy of their last LP/CD in the Head2wall Webstore now, to get caught up, and stay tuned for more details on the new record in the coming weeks!

Sheer Terror - James Ballentine Uptown VFW Post 246 - Minneapolis, Mn - 01/11/19

Sheer Terror - James Ballentine Uptown VFW Post 246 - Minneapolis, Mn - 01/11/19

Victory - James Ballentine Uptown VFW Post 246 - Minneapolis, Mn - 01/11/19

Victory - James Ballentine Uptown VFW Post 246 - Minneapolis, Mn - 01/11/19