Organized Crime - Halloween Surprise MMXIII

This release marks my third entry in the Organized Crime Records Halloween series. For those not in the know, this is a great concept the label does every year. A package becomes available for order on the website sometime around Halloween, and you are only supplied with the bare minimum of information about what you are going to receive. It is a bit of a gamble, but so far I have not been disappointed with any of the packages OCR have put out. 

This time around the only information was the record would be "Integrity related", but this didn't even cross my mind.

This is of course a re-release of the classic In Cold Blood 7", first released back in 1997. My past surprise packages have been much more HT related, so it was definitely quite a surprise to see this record when I opened my package, but overall it was still a great one to receive.

The original four tracks have been pressed on translucent pink vinyl, that has a hint of red streaks running through it. It looks quite stunning, and is certainly not a colour you would associate with the heavy hardcore of In Cold Blood. One of the original centre labels (above) has been kept on the B-side. The vinyl comes inside a standard white dust jacket with an OCR stamp on the top right hand corner.

One of the things you do know about these packages, is that you are going to receive at least some kind of shirt as well as a record. That is only because you have to specify the size upon order, but other than that it is a total mystery. This time around OCR have given us a great long-sleeve with the 7" artwork on the front. The back has the track listing, and the arms both say "In Cold Blood". 

Once again a great surprise package. I hope OCR continue this tradition in the coming years, it is certainly something I look forward to as we reach the end of October.

Organized Crime Records - Halloween MMXII Surprise

Around the end of October has become an exciting for me in terms of records. It has become somewhat tradition for Organized Crime Records to put out a surprise Halloween package. I talked about last year's one here, but for those who don't know this is a complete surprise package. All you know is it's Integrity or HT related and comes with a T-shirt, but the rest is completely unknown at the time of purchasing. It's quite a thrill not knowing what you get, but at least you know if it's from OCR it's gonna be worth it.

It took a while for it all to come together, but it has seriously been worth the wait. A few rumours had spread around the darker corners on the internet about what this might be, so when it arrived I was not completely surprised with what was inside. But I was surprised at just how excellent the whole thing was! It's definitely their best Hallovveen package to date.

Now those in the know will know that OCR has recently re-released Systems Overload as part of their Integrity re-release series. What makes this record so special then you might ask? Well that is a rather interesting story. Back in '95 it seems the mixing of this iconic hardcore record hit some snags and was somewhat rushed when it was put out. This is what sets this record apart from the classic version. This is a remix cut mixed by A2 and +Orr! They've managed to get a hold of the original masters and have discovered new intros, solos etc that had been cut from the original version. They've also tweaked the sound  to make it sound extra explosive and brutal. From the very first note of Incarnate 365 the speakers shake with the shear intensity of this new mixed version.

The packaging is really top notch as well. Everything comes housed in a screen printed sleeve which you can see above. The vinyl is straight red, although I think some black version might see the light of day before too long....

Along side the record is the included poster, which is seriously huge. One side has some gas masked individuals. The other has a large picture of a face that I was only able to make out by looking at the photo, up close it is hard to tell what it is as the poster is so big.

AAAND there is more. This is a short booklet with comments from +Orr and A2. They talk about the idea behind the record and what sort of changes they've made to the classic album. Although it's only about two pages, it's an interesting read.

On the back of this is the track listings. The last track on here is Search For Divinity but it does also include Unveiled Tomorrows. Although this is something completely different to the Unveiled Tomorrows that I've come to know. 

The back of the book is numbered, with mine being number 140/165.

If that wasn't enough there is also a limited T-shirt that goes along with the record. This has the the Systems Overload logo on the front and the Gas-Mask artwork on the front. The words "Halloween MMXII" are also written on the left sleeve. It's probably one of my favourite Integrity shirts I've seen.

It may taken about five months from purchase to sitting on my doorstep, but it's definitely worth the wait. It's a great package and I can't wait to see what OCR has planned for the next Halloween surprise. No doubt it'll come around ridiculously fast once again.

Organised Crime Records Halloween Surprise Package '11

This is another new pick-up of mine, but it really deserves to be posted about.

For those who don't know, Organized Crime Records put out a surprise Halloween package each year. The deal is these things go up for pre-order around Halloween with only minimal details given. You really have no idea what the package is going to be. In 2010, they put out a glow in the dark package, with a couple of Integrity records on glow in the dark vinyl.

So, onto this year. I didn't have the smallest inkling as to what this could be. Lets go through it together shall we?

One thing I did know about this package was that it was going to be Holy Terror related. Upon opening my envelope, I was greeted by this sleek cardboard sleeve with the infamous logo printed on the front.

 On the rear the HT theme continued with a nice Holy Terror wax seal holding the sleeve down. Thankfully Clint had the foresight that people wouldn't want to break this seal, and so stuck it down on top of a sticker which can easily be peeled off.

After carefully opening the sleeve, some further card came sliding out. On the front of the card was the VVegas logo in all its glory. 

 On the reverse was the Rot In Hell logo. At this point I realised this must be a split record between  VVe.GⒶS and Rot In Hell! I would have never suspected this, and was so excited to see what tracks each band brought to the table.

 Inside the double sided card was the record itself. It's a pretty unusual size for a record, a 6". 

 Also included was a nice wee insert. On the VVegas side we have some words from T himself explaining the concept of the song from the split "Time". It's really quite thought provoking.

 On the back Rot In Hell give us the lyrics to "Armoured Gideon". I'm pretty sure this was originally meant to be on "As Pears Before Swine", but was cut from the final release. I'm glad to see this fantastic song finally get a proper release.

As of all this wasn't quite enough, the package also comes with a printed card containing a wolf/tree artwork design and a super shiny VVegas/RIH logo sticker. The card is hand numbered and mine is 123(or 128)/165.

 I did also know that the package would contain a shirt of somekind, I had to place my size in the order. Little did I know that the shirt would be this awesome. It features the wolf/tree from the insert with the two band logos on the sleeves. Oh and the initial picture is of the back.

OCR have really outdone themselves on this one. This is nothing short of amazing.

You jelly bro? haha