***The latest in the Mind Cure reissue series is from Pittsburgh’s own pioneers of Post-Punk, THE BATS. This is not The Bats from New Zealand, this is not The Bats from Hamburg, this is not The Bats from wherever else, this is The Bats from Pittsburgh. This recording catches The Bats in their earliest incarnation that lasted long enough to record this demo and play one show (which comes as a bonus on the download card provided with this record). With the lineup of LEE SKIRBOL on bass, MARK “MAGEE” MILLER on drums, MICHAEL CHABON (the author!) on vocals, RUTH ANN SCHMIDT and SAM MATTHEWS on guitars, this version of The Bats kicks out four tracks with a perfect balance of jigsaw guitar, death-dirge bass and snotty vocals. These recordings were carefully transferred, restored and remastered by DAN RANDALL at Mammoth Sound and have never sounded better!
12" $15.50
11/18/2014
***THE BATTERED CITIZENS’ 1988 demo cassette Police Brutality is on vinyl for the first time. 12 tracks of super tight and very tough street-level hardcore by the second generation of Pittsburgh’s hardcore youth. Raised on bands like Half Life and Doomwatch locally and inspired by the sounds of Warzone and Gorilla Biscuits coming from New York, BC brought a more urban attitude to Pittsburgh’s collapsing post industrial landscape. Featuring future members of SUBMACHINE, CAUSTIC CHRIST and KILLER OF SHEEP, Battered Citizens brought the tougher sounds of bigger city Hardcore to Pittsburgh. Newly restored and remastered for vinyl this deluxe LP includes a massive fold out insert packed with liner notes, photos, flyers and a poster drawn exclusively for this release by best selling comic artist ED PISKOR and a download card which includes the complete LP as well as two full live sets by the band from ‘87 and ‘88.
LP $15.50
11/18/2014
***Hailing from Pittsburgh, PA REAL ENEMY staked their claim as the pioneers of Hardcore in the Three Rivers. After seeing The Necros, Faith and The Meatmen in Washington DC on March 6th 1983, and realizing that Hardcore had to come to their hometown Real Enemy formed and played their first show just 53 days later. Sharing stages with a veritable who’s who of ‘80s American Punk bands—J.F.A., Husker Du, Youth Brigade, Toxic Reasons, Channel 3, among others—Real Enemy burned strong and fast, breaking up after barely 6 months as a band. Before half of the band reformed as Pittsburgh’s best known export of ‘80s Hardcore—HALF LIFE—they left behind a legacy of one cassette, released on a newly minted label: Mind Cure Records. 30 years later Mind Cure (the label) is back with this restored and remastered version of Life With The Enemy expanded to include live material recorded at CBGBs. Featuring original cover art and a poster sized fold-out insert packed with photos, flyers and extensive liner notes from Real Enemy and Half Life founding member and Gearhead Magazine and Records head honcho MIKE LAVELLA. Limited to 1,000 copies, Includes digital download card, Deluxe poster sized insert and lyric sheet.
LP $15.50
11/18/2014
***THE SAVAGED AMUSED are a hard band to nail down. In their brief 8 month existence in 1985 they crafted a sound that is unlike anything else that I have ever heard. The 22 song demo reissued on this LP would seem to meld equal parts of the expected ‘80s Midwestern American Hardcore but sets it against the non-stop guitar frenzy of contemporary Japanese bands, or are they Robert Fripp solos played at breakneck speed? It’s hard to tell and is far stranger than that. With vocals in the vein of Naked Raygun’s earlier records and the non-stop solos of Randy Uchida, this is a sound that stands apart from other recordings of the era. You really need to hear it to start to understand it. Comprised of two brothers JOHN and JOE BENDIK, who would switch between guitar and drums, front man BILL MORRIS, who cut an intimidating figure on stage and bassist ALAN PETERS who went on to be in AGNOSTIC FRONT and helped found ABSOLUTION, this is a band that came and went fast, but left an amazing recording behind. Limited to 1,000 copies this remastered LP includes a fanzine style insert with lots of photos and flyers and folds out into a 35x22 inch poster. Includes a download card which gives a full version of the album as well as their complete set from their show opening for Agnostic Front in 1985.
LP $15.50
11/18/2014