No Tolerance - No Remorse, No Tolerance 7"

This post is seven months in the making as I finally received my huge Youngblood order I made back in December. The Youngblood Records preorder contained new records from Police and Thieves, Give, Face Reality and No Tolerance. At the same time, a few leftover 2011 Showcase packages were made available for order as well. I immediately jumped on both just to get all the versions of this one record, the No Tolerance - No Remorse, No Tolerance 7".

We all know how crazy fast the Boston Straight Edge 7" sold out a couple years ago. I scrambled to get just a black vinyl copy of that one and I am still looking for the gold vinyl. So when the opportunity arose to score all of these in one shot, I took it.

Well, with the inevitable manufacturing delays of some of the other records in the package, we were left waiting... and waiting. Months past and I even started emailing Marcus and Mike to see if they had heard anything about when these might be coming. Finally, Mike had received his order and I immediately jumped all over Sean Youngblood asking him where mine was. I asked nicely, but I am sure I was still a pain in the ass. A couple months later and here we are, up to my neck in records and posters. It's all good.

No Tolerance is one of those Boston buzz bands like The Rival Mob, Boston Strangler or Step Forward that through word of mouth and message board hype end up "THE" band of the moment. T-shirts and vinyl sell out immediately and everyone is left scrambling. Luckily, with this Youngblood order, everyone was able to get their No Tolerance fix. Well, for about an hour until it sold out.

First up is the Youngblood Showcase 2011 version. This comes on black vinyl with blank red labels. There were only 85 of these available. The cover is a fold over screened print with a large lyric sheet on red paper. Obviously the covers and vinyl weren't ready yet at the time of the show. How it didn't sell out at the show is a mystery.

Next up are the versions that came as part of the preorder. First up is gold vinyl out of 128.

Next is red vinyl out of 330.

Finally there is good old black vinyl. I assume this is the most available color. No idea how many were pressed, but there couldn't have been that many as it is sold out too.

These regular versions all come with a glossy insert.

Musically this is exactly what you would expect if you have the first seven inch. Fast, agressive, pissed off hardcore with plenty of old school Boston straight edge influence. The usual cast of characters are involved so you know this isn't just hype. These dudes can play. This is easily my mid-year contender for record of the year. Hopefully everyone who wanted one got one. Ebay can be a bitch.

Mindset - EP Collection : Deluxe Edition

It seemed kind of silly to want to buy the super special fancy deluxe version of a band's discography when I already own five copies of each 7" and three copies of the live lp, but I did it anyways.

Despite my age and leaning towards "older" hardcore, I still dig Mindset a lot. With the break up of most of the posi straight edge bands I love in the last couple years, Mindset have taken over the top spot.

The EP Collection of course contains both the REALPOWER and Time & Pressure 7"s. The big hook is that they have been remixed and remastered. The results are impressive.

The deluxe edition also throws in a second press of the LiveSET album that was originally released on Upside Down Records. I think all the versions are gatefold, but this one actually uses it.

The deluxe was released on red vinyl with only 200 pressed. The red has a lot of black mixed in. I'm not sure if all of them are like this, but I suspect they are. Not surprisingly, they sold out pretty quick.

The LiveSET lp is also on red vinyl, but came out pure solid red with just a little white in there.

As you can see, compared to each other the reds are very different.

There is also a two sided full color 12"x12" insert which nicely distinguishes the two separate eras of the band with the member changes.

Also included is this really cool booklet. It has a lot of pictures and whatnot on the history of the band, different members and friends/crew, etc.

The last time I checked, there are regular EP Collection versions on white and black vinyl still available through the React!/Hellfish store if you were interested. I am glad I got the red vinyl deluxe version though. There was also a record release version on gold vinyl, but I didn't even know it existed until I saw it sell for huge bucks on ebay. Oh well.

Manliftingbanner - The Revolution Continues

Now this is how you do a discography!
I was really on the fence about picking this up when I first heard that there would be a Manliftingbanner discography. I mean I love and support the band, but honestly, I already own the Myth of Freedom 7", the near impossible to find 10 Inches That Shook The World, plus all the Crucial Response comps that they were on. I figured I was set. Then I heard there would be "new" material on the discography as well. Say what?

I had a couple friends point me in the direction of some of the new 2011 songs online. I checked them out and I was sold. I knew I would pick the album up, but I wasn't going to go as far as pre-order it alone. I figured I would wait until it showed up locally or see if it would pop up on one of the regular distros I check out. A little while later, I saw the album was available from RevHQ and I ordered it along with some of the new Rev color represses.

What I got in the mail a few weeks later was quite the surprise. Judging from the vinyl, packaging and artwork from the band's previous material, I figured this discography would be done along the same lines. You know, political, plenty of reading, but kind of done on the cheap. I wasn't expecting this.

I never checked about any limited color vinyl available because of how long I waited to order. I got good old black vinyl. I have no idea how many are pressed either. What I do know is that with this layout, yellow and orange splatter on clear green would have been a bad idea. I think aesthetically, solid black works best.

What really seals the deal for how awesome this record is, besides the new material, is the full color booklet insert. They went above and beyond.

 

 

 

If that isn't enough writing and artwork for you concerning the struggles of the poor, disenfranchised or oppressed masses, then there is also a large poster thrown in as well. Here's some Occupy Wall Street vibe for your wall. Eat the rich.

 

No matter what your personal political leanings, or whether you agree with the communist message Manliftingbanner throw out there, it's still cool to see that someone cares about something so passionately. I think that is something that is missing in hardcore today and applaud them for it.