Pale Creation / Abraxis split 7" - Finishing the Set

A while ago I posted about this split, which I mentioned that I somehow ended up with two colour variants. Well while browsing Ebay, I came across the last of the colour variations really (and I mean really) cheap. I wouldn't normally bother, but seeing as I was so close to finishing the set on this split, I thought I may as well try and win it. The auction didn't drum up much interest at all, so it was mine with little effort. Funnily enough, the Ebayer I was buying from was Nate from Hemlock 13 again. In addition to what I had one, he sent a copy of Grace. This is such a great record, I'll post about it soon.

Surprisingly, it turns out that the plain black version is actually the most limited of the three. Only 60 were produced, compared to 120 of the other two versions. And here they all are, they make quite a nice looking set I think.

VVegas / Abraxis Split 7"

I pre-ordered this a wee while ago now, and I'm so glad it finally finally came! It truly was a great day when I came home to this on the bench. Although for some reason I didn't notice the distinct print on the top-right corner, seeing this was from Oz I could tell exactly what was lurking inside.

Upon opening the box I was greeted by this FANtastic piece of artwork. Pictures of this had been floating around the internet, but I stopped myself from giving into the temptation of spoiling the surprise. Usually I wouldn't bother, but VVegas stuff has such a reputation for going the extra mile with packaging and the likes that I decided to wait until it arrived. I'm glad I made the decision, I was blown away when I finally saw what the design was. On the VVegas side we have a who's who of pop culture in the style of a certain Beatles album cover. So many faces are present here, so there isn't time to go over them all. Some of the more prominent ones are Sigmund Freud, Anton Lavey, Steve Jobs and even Nick Fiction. I have Picasa on my computer, and as you can imagine this picture was an absolute nightmare for it. It did a good job of picking up all the faces in the end though.

It seems Dwid from Integrity has been getting on board with designing cover artwork as of late, and once again has dabbled in both the sides you see here. The use of different purples and blues looks really great on this side, especially contrasted to the grey-scale character.

Overall this is a 3 track split 7", 1 track from VVegas and two from Abraxis. I've always said VVegas really shines when they bring out there more experimental and acoustic tracks, but that is not to say their own brand of metallic hardcore isn't welcome, in fact it is quite the opposite. The song they play on this record is a prime example of just how fantastic VVegas are at this style of music as well. Starting off with incredibly abrasive guitars and howling vocals, the song takes a while to build up. But it is certainly a good thing, you almost need that time to get prepared for the blistering speed that ensues.

To be honest I don't know an awful lot about Abraxis, I've only heard a few songs other than the song contributed to the split with Pale Creation. Regardless, I was blown away by the tracks played on this split. "Among Deep Waters" is metallic hardcore like it should be, with drums that blast like bullets into your brain. "My Friend" continues in the same direction, but has a slightly more punk feel than the previous track. And that solo towards the end, perfect.

If you head over to Midnight Funeral's webstore, you'll see many versions of this one are up for sale. What you won't see however is this version. As part of a secret pre-pre-order version, Craigos created a special "GOTU" version of this record. This was limited to as many as were ordered, which was subsequently only 59. The only main difference is the red inner sleeve that is hand stamped and numbered (I've also just noticed the box was stamped with the version details also). I'm pretty sure the colour variant was limited to this version too.

We can see just in the bottom corner that mine is lucky 30/59.

I just had a look on the website myself, and this is an exclusive colour to this version. In fact all of the colour variants look really great this time around, especially the regular pre-order on pink wax. This green really does a great job too though, especially against the red inner sleeve.
The centre labels pretty much continue the themes from their respective artwork sides.

A couple of extras were included along with the record. The first is this great patch featuring both band logos and the all too familiar Process logo.

The next is this insert detailing T's theory about a Pale conspiracy regarding Nifi, Neefee and Lucy. This is definitely worth a few reads.

As I had expected, this is one great record. Thanks to Craigos for making it all happen. Head over to Midnight Funeral and get your own copy while they still last. Gavin has also written a surprisingly similar write up on his blog (and a more in-depth review of the tracks here as well). And what do you know, so has Ezekiel now too. 

Pale Creation / Abraxis Split 7"

About five or six weeks ago I placed an order from TDON for this split. About a week ago I was starting to think it may have been misplaced in the mail. That is probably quite unlikely, but it has happened with something once before so was not outside the realm of possibility. Anyway, when my mail came today I finally received a familiar looking 7" package coming all the way from the UK. It may have taken a while, but i'd say this was worth the wait. Plus a little something extra came with it, but I'll get onto that a bit later. 

From what I could see on the TDON store, two versions of this record were available; a yellow and red, and a white and grey (although a black version is lurking somewhere out there as well). I'd seen various photos of the red and yellow version before and really liked how it looked. Both were limited to a mere 120, so it was really just down to personal colour preference. Obviously, I went with the yellow and red version. 

Pictured in above photo is the Abraxis side of the record. You can see for yourself what sort of picture the centre label has so I don't need to explain it. This side of the cover features the artwork for the Abraxis side. 

 Invisible ink has been used, and this is about the best photo I could get. You can see the Abraxis logo down the bottom as well as a picture of Abraxas peeking out in the top right hand corner. 
You really have to appreciate the work of Abraxis. I'm pretty sure this isn't the case at the moment, but at the time of this record the band only consisted of one person. Andy Wounds must have some serious talent to be able to produce a record of this calibre all by himself.

 On the flip side is what Pale Creation brings to the record. The artwork is rather basic compared to the other side, but I actually prefer it. The water drop effect is outstanding and appears almost real. There seems to be a thing with the Creation of Pale birds, but I'm not really sure what it is. Just over the bird is some more invisible writing. I thought it would have turned out better in the photo, but you can just about make out the band name.

 Inside the cover was a wee insert with the lyrics to all three songs, as well as the usual thanks' from the bands.

 Now, onto the extra bonus I received with this. When I opened the packaging, I found they had sent me two copies of the record, even though I only ordered one! I'm not sure if that was a mistake or not, but I aint complaining. Luckily the second copy was was one of a different colour, the white and grey version. 

Musically the split is just great. This is the first Abraxis material I've owned to date, and I am definitely impressed. They (he) play classic Holy Terror hardcore a la Integrity. Pale Creation continue with their more alternative metal approach in the style of their self-titled 7". The whole thing is streaming on the TDON bandcamp if you fancy a listen.