Vinyl Collection #8: Heart to Heart - (Self Titled)

Have you ever randomly found a band on the internet, liked them, and decided to support their music by picking up their album on vinyl? Oh cool, me too!

Heart to Heart - (Self Titled)

1. In Case You Haven't Noticed
2. Your Name Here
3. Life Preserver
4. Forty Forty Twenty
5. See: Sick
6. The Turn
7. Thanks For Nothing
8. Thanks For Everything
9. Stuck
10. Sleepless
11. GV
12. 300 to Life


Well, as I implied in the intro sentence to this blog, I found this band by chance. I was browsing some bands a friend of mine recommended to me, and I saw this bands song "Your Name Here" was in the "recommended" column. I'm not entirely sure what had me click on that one in particular over the other selections on the column, but I did, and I really came to like the song. So I checked out another song: "In Case You Haven't Noticed", and liked that one as well. I decided I wanted to sample the full album, and thanks to an iTunes gift card, that I so happened to remember was lying beneath the clutter of my desk, I picked up the album.
Shortly after I found the album on vinyl at MerchNow.com. I gave the album some more speculation for a week or so, and eventually made the purchase.

The album comes on a really cool Green/Black Split colored vinyl. It's simple, but it's one of my favorite colored vinyl. Some of my favorite tracks include the 2 I originally checked out online, and new favorites such as "Forty Forty Twenty", and "Thanks For Nothing".

Check this band out (video just below!), they're pretty good, and rather unknown still (at least in my area).

[[pictures from google images and my instagram (@draggingtheneedle), video from youtube]]

Coheed and Cambria-Good Apollo, Vol. 1: Willing Well I

One of my favorite (of many) Coheed and Cambria Songs.

The Gay Blades - Robots Can **** Your **** Up

I'm slowly liking this band more and more.

Vinyl Collection #7: Parkway Drive - Killing With A Smile

I was very excited when I discovered this album was getting a vinyl pressing. It's one of my favorite metalcore bands, and my favorite album from them as well.

Parkway Drive - Killing With A Smile (2005)

1. Gimme A D
2. Anasasis (Xenophontis)
3. Pandora
4. Romance Is Dead
5. Guns For Show, Knives For A    Pro
6. Blackout
7. Picture Perfect, Pathetic
8. It's Hard To Speak Without A    Tongue
9. Mutiny
10. Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em
11. A Cold Day In Hell


Man, this is one of my favorite albums, and has been for a long time. Parkway Drive has to be one of the most br00tal bands out there (yes, I just spelled it that way), and no album better demonstrates that than Killing With A Smile. I love the whole album, but if I had to pick favorites, I'd go with "Anasasis" (video below!), "Romance Is Dead", and "Guns For Show, Knives For A Pro". Insane breakdowns, amazing vocals, this album is gold and I couldn't be any happier that it got released on vinyl.

Speaking of, the vinyl come on a translucent yellow, which gives off the appearance that it's gold while not being held directly to the light. It looks pretty awesome, especially on the turntable. With this being my first translucent vinyl, I will say this: I'm not a big fan of the fact that the grooves that are most visible are actually the grooves on the reverse side; meaning it's a lot more difficult to pick out the spot to drop the needle on a specific track, but not to big of a deal. I also think translucent vinyl looks of a lot cheaper material, even though it's not.

All and all, I'm extremely satisfied with this album, and it's definitely one with which I take pride in it being a part of my collection.

[[images from google images and my instagram (@draggingtheneedle), videos from youtube]]

Vinyl Collection #6: The Black Keys - Brothers

This is the one record I purchased that wasn't bought online, even to this point (#19). It did cost a bit more than the online prices, but eh, it was definitely worth it.

The Black Keys - Brothers (2010)

1. Everlasting Light
2. Next Girl
3. Tighten Up
4. Howlin' For You
5. She's Long Gone
6. Black Mud
7. The Only One
8. Too Afraid To Love You
9. Ten Cent Pistol
10. Sinister Kid
11. The Go Getter
12. I'm Not The One
13. Unknown Brother
14. Never Gonna Give You Up
15. These Days


As I already mentioned, this was the product of my first visit to a local record store (which wasn't exactly "local"). I began listening to The Black Keys towards the beginning of my vinyl experience. I've heard of them several times before, and I've always liked the sound, but I never looked up to see who it was until not that long ago. Picking up this album was kind of an obvious choice, and I haven't regretted it. It's probably my favorite album among the 6 I've covered so far.
It's a 2LP (no gatefold) on black, and comes with a large (it's actually quite big) paper poster, with the lyrics on the other end. You also get the CD in a nice matching sleeve.

This album is amazing. It's an enjoyable listen all the way through. I like every song on here, but my favorites are "Everlasting Light" (video below), "Next Girl", "Howlin' For You", and "The Only One". I have to admit this record has probably seen more attention than any of my other records at this point. It's just a relaxing album to kick back and listen to.
I have heard people argue that the sound is too consistent, and that the songs blend together, but I never seemed to feel that way personally.

[[images from google images and my instagram (@draggingtheneedle), videos from youtube]]

Vinyl Collection #5: Motionless In White - Creatures

I have to say my favorite thing about this album has to be the awesome art work. The vinyl looks sick as well.

Motionless In White - Creatures (2010)

1.Immaculate Misconception

2. We Only Come Out at Night

3. London in Terror

4. Abigail

5. Creatures

6. Cobwebs

7. .Com Pt. II

8. Count Choculitis

9. City Lights

10. Puppers (The First Snow)

11. Undead Ahead

12. Scissorhands (The Last Snow)

I saw this album while browsing through MerchNow.com and saw that it was pressed on purple vinyl, which looked pretty sweet. Not to mention it was rather cheap. So seeing as I've heard the album before, but never purchased it, I went for it.

I'm not incredibly fond of this band. They're good, but nothing's really stuck with me. It's still a good record though. I really like "Count Choculitis" (video bellow), especially for the chant's at the beginning of it. Abagail is another favorite of mine from this record. It's a pretty solid record, but it doesn't break any sort of mold for me. I can put it on and enjoy the music, but I likely wont be singing it later.

I originally saw the purple vinyl, but then I saw that for just a few bucks more you can get the "Black Blood Splatter" which is limited to 1031 pressings. I went with that one. Having a more limited pressing makes the record just that more valuable. I'm glad I got the blood splatter regardless; it's still purple, and it looks really cool spinning on the turnntable. It doesn't really look splattered, as you'll see on other albums, more like smeared outward from the center, but still cool.

[[images from google images and my instagram (@draggingtheneedle), videos from youtube]]

Portugal. The Man - Purple Yellow Red & Blue [Official Music Video]

First time hearing this artist, but I actually enjoyed the song. Thanks to my lovely lady for showing this one to me!
Weird as hell music video...