God I was originally going to post about this over 2 months ago! It's a shame that I've looked over such a seminal Integrity record for so long, but I have finally got myself a copy of ICOS.
In Contrast of Sin was the band's very first 7". This was originally released by the now infamous (for all the wrong reasons) victory records. Over the 22 years since its initial release there have been many versions and represses made, but two years ago Organized Crime records released an official updated repress of the record. Earlier versions seem to fetch quite a high price, so for the sake of just owning a copy of ICOS I decided to opt for a nice new copy of the OCR repress.
Including test presses, I've counted a total of 10 different versions with this repress. There's been everything from clear purple, to glow in the dark, to clear blue with special "In Contrast of Dom" covers. Being very late to the game I've actually got a copy of the second press of the repress. (Is that a re-repress?). This colour is called grey putty and is limited to 400 copies.
As per usual, OCR has done an excellent job on releasing this record, all the little details really do make all the difference. Of course I don't have a copy of the original version to compare to, but luckily Marcus at The Endless Quest has and has done an excellent comparative
post. The above picture is from the inside of the sleeve, and it certainly looks impressive.
Inside the sleeve we have this insert featuring the now classic photo of the band and ICOS artwork. The inside contains all the lyrics, but you know all the words already right? They've really managed to keep the old-style of the inside, it looks exactly like it's been cut and stuck together.
Finally is the back of the cover with this truly great photo. Overall it's a great package, but then when has OCR ever steered me wrong?
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