The classic straight edge hardcore record label. There’s something about Rev collecting that has transcended multiple generations of hardcore kids and all the different fads and trends. It seems that even when the oldest collectors move on and sell large portions of their collections, the Rev stuff remains. Or at the least, it’s the last to go. There’s just something almost mythical about the quest to complete the early Rev catalog. From the Chung King, to a numbered Warzone b-side label, to Batman/Superman stamps, to a Chain silver sleeve… There’s just something “holy grail-ish” about the early Rev stuff. Rather than clutter this page with a bunch of pressing information, please refer to the definitive Revelation pressing info page maintained by Kevin Finn if you have any questions about the rarity. Enjoy the photos!
REV-000 Youth Of Today – Can’t Close My Eyes 7″ on Orange vinyl
Though not an official Revelation release, I’m starting with this because Ray and Jordan at Revelation released this Orange vinyl copy of the Youth Of Today 7″ right around the time of the early REV #1-3 singles. The “Can’t Close My Eyes” 7″ was originally released in 1985 on Kevin Seconds’ (7 Seconds) label, Positive Force Records. Ray and Jordan used the original plates to press 100 “Revelation copies” on orange vinyl to trade for toys, like GI Joe action figures, among other things. Later in this photo documentary, you’ll see several early Revelation advertisements, offering records for toys – for example, Warzone on orange, Together on orange, and this YOT 7″ on orange vinyl. Most of these orange vinyl copies have batman or superman stamps, to represent the trade for toys. Mine has Batman stamps and the labels are hand-written. See the close-up below.
“BATMAN in color. What grows up while growing down? A duck.” Haha, weirdos. I don’t think I get it. I kinda do, but, not really. Also note batman stamp on the labels, and the sweet dinosaur stamps, haha! I swear to god I had a complete set of dinosaur stamps just like these when I was a kid. I was crazy into dinosaurs! I would have been 7 years old when they were stamping these things, so it’s very possible I had the same sort of stamp sets around that time, ha!
This photo just shows the Batman stamps on each of the three components – cover, dust sleeve, and record labels.
While we’re at it, let’s cover the rest of the versions of “Can’t Close My Eyes”. The first copy shown is a first pressing – black labels, red lettering. 2nd copy is 2nd pressing – blue labels, white lettering. See below for close-ups and descriptions of the other two copies with white labels.
This is a close-up of the “Some Records” pressing. These 100 copies had blank labels and were hand stamped with “Some Records” stamps and sold exclusively at NYC’s local record store, Some Records. The record store was run by this dude Duane. That ties in nicely with another white label copy, described below.
Close-up of the Some Records stamp detail.
This is a strange variant which has a 2nd pressing blue label on the a-side, but a blank white b-side label with a hand-written message. Supposedly the band found a few of these while on tour, wrote random things on the labels, and sold them at shows. Mine has a hand-written b-side label: “Duane is the hardest dude in N.Y.C.” – obviously referring to Duane from Some Records! This copy also has a cool old YOT sticker, printed old-school style: really shitty b&w printing on a peel away backing. I’ve also seen variants of this 7″ with have blank white labels on BOTH sides with hand-written messages. These could be “Some Records” pressings that never got stamped, or they could be random plant mistakes like mine above, who knows.
Here’s a nice close-up of the hand-written b-side label, repping Duane hard!
The same insert was used with all pressings of the Can’t Close My Eyes 7″.
REV-001 Warzone – “Lower East Side Crew” 7″
Check out that 1st pressing white label copy. This is the very first piece of vinyl Revelation ever pressed (excluding a Warzone test pressing, of course). These were somewhat of a pressing mistake – the labels were supposed to be blue labels. It’s called the “aborted press” because they stopped production and switched the white labels to the blue labels. There are only 41 of these things and it is one of the most impossible Rev rarities to find. It may be hard to see in the picture but the 1st pressing blue label copy has a small “038” number on the b-side of the label. No one’s totally sure how many were numbered. Speculation has been maybe the first 100? The two copies in the upper right hand corner are 2nd pressing – 500 on orange, 500 on black. The 3rd pressing green vinyl is one of the more rare Revelation colored vinyl pressings – only 200 made. The 3rd pressing had blue lettering on the front cover, with the label art changing to feature the Rev star. You will find some 3rd pressing covers have 2nd pressing vinyl and vice versa. The first of my blue lettering copies has 2nd press vinyl with the star background labels. The second blue lettering copy has the 3rd press vinyl. The copy in the bottom right hand corner that looks like it has Red lettering is actually just colored in with a marker. I got this copy as-is, so I couldn’t tell you if it was just an owner over the years being weird and coloring it in, or if one of the band guys did it originally. Who knows. But it is not the red lettering cover that accompanies the clear vinyl copies (clear vinyl not pictured because I was never able to hunt down a clear vinyl copy). This copy features a 2nd pressing cover with 3rd pressing vinyl.
1st pressing label compare: “aborted press” white labels out of 41 vs. blue labels with numbered b-side label
#038 stamped on label. Possibly the first 100 were stamped, but no one is sure?
Note how the label art has changed over the years… From the the 1st press blue hand drawn labels, to an early version of a “star background” design, then finally later pressings representing the first appearance of the Revelation “star” logo that we all know and love!
All of my copies have the white double-sided 11×17″ insert, except for my orange and green vinyl copies. Both of those have orange paper inserts, printed on two separate 8.5×11″ sheets. I’m not sure if there was a rhyme or reason to when they used the orange paper inserts, because I’ve also seen eBay auctions for black vinyl 2nd or 3rd press copies that have an orange insert.
REV-002 V/A – “Together” Compilation 7″
Yup, that’s a test pressing of the Together comp on the left! One of the single most sought after pieces of Revelation history. I think I’ve only seen one other Together test ever floating around out there, so this thing is very difficult to get. It has some penciled in writing on the blank labels that lists the bands – GB, SOIA, YOT, SBS, Warzone, Supertouch, etc. I included a close up so you can see the penciled in band names. All versions of this 7″ had an insert that was printed double-sided on two big 11×17″ sheets of paper. So it folds up pretty thick. I’ve always loved that hand drawn basketball player (anyone who knows me… duh.) on the Supertouch section, so I displayed that section of the insert. The photo also shows the color difference between 1st pressing orange vinyl out of 400 (sometimes referred to as “gold” vinyl) vs. 3rd pressing yellow vinyl out of 100. My yellow vinyl copy is #006/100 on the inside of the cover. Super early number, kinda cool. The 2nd pressing black vinyl copies can be denoted with that weird yellow-ish paper insert (no, it’s not just white paper that has weathered over the years). 4th pressing covers can be denoted by an obvious photo copied cover with the photo’s detail appearing washed out. My 4th pressing copy’s insert isn’t printed on 11×17″ paper. It’s printed on 4 separate double-sided 8.5×11″ pages. I don’t know if all of them were like this, or if this is some weird bootleg insert because the original got ruined or what.
Close up of the original Together 7″ test pressing. Labels feature the band names written in pencil.
3rd pressing yellow vinyl with 006 stamp to denote #6/100. Super early number – pretty cool! This is the rarest version of the Together comp.
I never even knew this, but the b-side of the Together 7″ also has a stamp on it! I recently sold this record and the guy who bought it was nice enough to email me these photos. Even after all these years of owning it, I had never noticed it before, becuase it has faded so badly. But look closely – you’ll see a faint “070” stamp on the top leg of the big silver star. It’s definitely the same stamp used on the Warzone b-side label (mine was “038”), as well as the “006” on the inside of this 7″ cover. I don’t know why the numbers 006 and 070 don’t match – I’m sure it’s just a case of them numbering the vinyl and covers separately.
Close-up of each 11×17″ insert. Both are two-sided and have more bands on the other side (YOT, Bold, Supertouch).
REV-003 Sick Of It All – “s/t” 7″
The 1st pressing on black vinyl and 2nd pressing on red vinyl are both stamped/numbered, with black vinyl copies being #1-1000 and red vinyl copies #1001-2000. All of the SOIA 7″ covers have the band name in red lettering, except for the “Gilman sleeve” which has black lettering. These were printed for a Gilman record swap way back in 1988! There are actually 3 Gilman sleeves pictured here. The 3rd copy is a Gilman sleeve, but the inside cover only has the stamped number – it does not have the special “Gilman limited ed.” stamp. The 4th copy is identical, but the inside cover has the full number and Gilman stamp. I also took a close-up photo which shows the two copies comparing with and without Gilman stamp. The 9th copy also has a “Gilman sleeve”. This one came out with clear vinyl on Record Store Day in April 2010. Rev had 83 Gilman sleeves left over from 1987, and threw these on 83 of the 500+ clear vinyl copies. 23 years later! Pretty cool. Another cool thing to note – you’ll notice the copy in the upper right hand corner has the cover photo cropped so it appears closer. This was only done on these 4th pressing copies. All other pressings have the same original depth to the photo. The grey and white vinyl were pressed in the late 90’s/early 2000’s, with different inserts and label art. You may also notice that the most recent 2011 pressings (bottom right hand corner) have returned to the original label art, and actually also returned to the original mix/master of this recording.
This trade list came with my 1st pressing copy. It lists specific toys that Jordan/Ray would trade Rev releases for. There’s also a cool little note apologizing for the SOIA 7″ being late. It also mentions that they won’t ever advertise a release until they have the records, haha. It references the NYHC: The Way It Is LP currently running late as well – not out till Feb 1st, despite the back of this flier saying Jan 1st. See below for photo of the back side.
What’s funny about this ad is not only did the little note above say the NYHC LP comp was running late – but it must have run really late, because it’s listed as Revelation #4 on the flier above, but it came out as Revelation #7!
The 1st pressing on black vinyl and 2nd pressing on red vinyl are both stamped/numbered, with black vinyl copies being #1-1000 and red vinyl copies #1001-2000. The cover of my 2nd pressing red vinyl has come un-glued over the years, so that is the only way I was able to take a photo of the stamped number, since it’s on the inside of the glued pocket sleeve (they obviously stamped them before glueing them). Mine is #1615.
Compare: two different 3rd pressing “Gilman Street” copies. Both are numbered out of 300. But only one copy has the actual stamp to denote the record swap on 06/26/88 held at 924 Gilman St. in Berkeley, CA.
Comparing how the labels have changed over the years. 1st pressing had a “star background” like we saw on early pressings of Warzone and Together. 2nd press featured the Rev star logo, which remained on subsequent pressings until the late 90’s when they switched to the label shown on the grey vinyl. In 2011, they went back to the original label art, but with white labels instead of red.
The insert on the left has the band name in red ink on the upper left corner, as well as the names of the individual band members in the bottom right. These were used on the 1st and 2nd pressings. The 3rd and 4th pressings had the same insert, but no more red ink, just black and white. They probably just felt like it wasn’t worth paying for multi-color printing if it’s only the band name in color anyway. The later pressings have the altered insert on the right. The trade list in the bottom right hand corner was included in the pic just for fun. These came with early pressings. When I originally posted the Schism Records blog entry, Chris Daily emailed me with this great information about the brown-ish paper on the Project X 7″ being the same for the 1st pressing SOIA insert (thanks Chris!): “Maybe useless info and maybe cool tidbit….I just happened to notice the write up on the PX cover paper, you will also notice that the 2 color SOIA lyric sheet (2 colors was just something I did in school, rest of the pressing it was not cost effective to do 2 colors), the Side By Side Lyric sheet and the NFAA lyric sheet are all the same paper…..I printed them for Rev (and Schism) while in High School so all the paper should be the same.” Now that he mentions it, it’s obvious that the SOIA, NFAA, and SBS 1st pressing inserts all have the exact same paper that was used on the Project X 7″ – cool!
REV-004 Gorilla Biscuits – “s/t” 7″
Ah, the GB 7″. So many pressing differences! But it’s mostly just the lettering color, lettering font, and/or the inserts changing. 1st pressing has blue lettering, 2nd pressing has purple lettering, and all later pressings have red lettering. The very first pressing with blank stamped labels is the first copy displayed in the photo. These are a real bitch to find. A-side stamp includes release date 10/29/88, B-side has the individual number stamp. Only 102 were pressed, and mine happens to be #88/102. Crucial number 88, matching the release date and that “88 era” of hardcore – pretty cool. The next copy was the “regular” 1st pressing, with blue lettering and classic Rev Star logo labels. The 2nd pressing was the famous 2,000 copies on yellow vinyl. The 3rd copy in the photo above shows a pressing error – this copy of the yellow GB 7″ has the b-side label from the Warzone 7″, instead of the usual picture of Luke GB passed out! Actual number is unknown, but probably only 50-100 of these were pressed this way. The only other colored vinyl for the GB 7″ is green vinyl. I always marvel at the cool unique color of the green. I’ve actually never seen another release with this particular color of green marble. It’s not the same as your usual green/white marbled green. It’s weird how unique this has remained over the years. Beginning with the green vinyl, the font changed from block lettering to a more slender font, and the cover changed to a glossy pocket sleeve instead of thin paper fold over sleeve. The insert also changed, and there were several insert variations because they kept making mistakes when updating the photo/layout (see photos below). Very recently, they have released a new version that has returned to block lettering, though slightly different block lettering than the originals. They also changed the insert back to the original insert, but printed it a little smaller (see below). My copy, shown as the 3rd copy on the bottom row, actually comes with two inserts – the “new smaller original” insert, as well as the “usual later pressing” insert. Just for fun, I included their “reunion” 7″ that they released on a tour in the late 2000’s. The songs aren’t all that good, but what can we really expect 20+ years later.
The original first pressing of the GB 7″ with blank stamped labels, out of 102! A-side stamp includes release date 10/29/88.
B-side stamp has the individual number stamp. Only 102 were pressed, and mine happens to be #88/102. Crucial number 88, matching the release date and that “88 era” of hardcore – pretty cool.
The copy in the middle above shows a pressing error – this copy of the yellow GB 7″ has the b-side label from the Warzone 7″, instead of the usual picture of Luke GB passed out! Actual number is unknown, but probably only 50-100 of these were pressed this way. I figured I’d show the Warzone 7″ where this label really appears!
I always marvel at the cool unique color of the green vinyl. I’ve actually never seen another release with this particular color of green marble. It’s not the same as your usual green/white marbled green. It’s got green, black, and white, I think. It’s weird how unique this has remained over the years.
Comparing the changing font used for the lettering: block letters on folder-over paper inserts was used on the 1st through 3rd pressings, shown in upper left. From the green vinyl pressing up through 2010, they switched to glossy pocket covers with more slender font, shown in upper right hand corner. The bottom sleeve is the most recent pressing where they’ve returned to block lettering, albeit slightly different than the original block lettering, but it’s still a glossy pocket cover.
Comparing the changes in label art. Only the first pressing copies with blue lettering had the basic labels with classic Rev star logo. From 2nd pressing onwards to today, gorilla drawing appears on the labels.
Comparing the three basic inserts they’ve used over the years (excluding the error/mistake subtleties mentioned below). The insert at the top was used with the 1st through 3rd pressings, where the cover was still a fold-over paper insert. The middle insert was used with the glossy pocket covers. The bottom insert popped up recently in 2010 with the new glossy covers that have returned to block lettering. It’s basically the same as the original first pressing insert at the top, but it’s not cropped as tightly.
This same basic insert design appeared with all of the glossy pocket covers from the green vinyl pressing up through 2010. But they kept messing with the layout, and making mistakes! The insert on the left was the first version, but for some reason after a couple pressings, they decided to transpose the photo across a vertical axis, i.e. a mirror image type thing. So the flipped the entire insert around, with the band members photo now on the right hand side of the insert. The problem? You can’t transpose photos if there is text appearing in the photo, otherwise it will appear backwards!! Look closely at Civ’s HARVEY sweatshirt in the upper right hand photo. The text is backwards. So the next time they re-printed inserts, they fixed it by simply “sliding” the photo from left to right, instead of transposing it like a mirror image. The fixed insert is shown as the bottom copy in the photo.
Just for fun, I included a photo of my GB wallet. My friend Ryan got this for me when his band, Ceremony, played with Gorilla Biscuits in Europe during one of GB’s reunion tours. I think he said there were only 30 available, but I could be remembering that wrong.
REV-005 Side By Side – “You’re Only Young Once” 7″
Side By Side 7″… Short and simple. 3 pressings – white labels, silver labels, then grey labels. The test pressing is an original 1st pressing test. I also displayed Ray and Jordan’s trade list, which was thrown into a lot of the early 1st pressing Rev 7″s. They were offering rare Rev vinyl for GI Joe action figures! It’s no wonder Rev stuff ended up so collectable – it was made by collectors, for collectors!
The 1st press test pressing has stamped labels.
The reverse side of the test pressing labels has a hand-written “REV #5”. I’m not sure what’s up with the old faded text that you can see on the labels. Maybe the pressing plant had a bunch of old messed up labels that didn’t get properly printed, so they used them for test pressing labels?
The original insert design stayed the same for all 3 pressings. However, notice that the 1st pressing insert was printed on the same brownish paper as the original Project X 7″ cover! The 1st pressing inserts for the Sick Of It All and No For An Answer 7″ also use this same paper. I got this info from Chris Daily, who printed them for Rev when he was in high school.
I also posted the 12″ version that Rev made in the late 90’s. There are only 100 on blue vinyl and these are surprisingly hard to get! The black vinyl has been repressed many times, but the very first pressing on black vinyl was out of 1109 copies. You can tell because it has a glossy sleeve and the vinyl has the same matrix as the blue vinyl copies – MATRIX A=’TRT-A “SIDE BY SIDE”‘ B=’TRT-B “SIDE BY SIDE”‘. Later represses have non-glossy sleeves and different matrixes, like: MATRIX A=’REV05-1 (A) RE-1′ B=’REV05-1 (B) RE-1’.
REV-006 No For An Answer – “You Laugh” 7″
Another 1st pressing test pressing, this time with a little photo copy cover. No For An Answer 7″ follows the same template as the Side By Side – white labels, silver labels, then grey labels. Some later pressings have been made recently with black labels. The 5th copy shown actually has the labels reversed (A label on B side music, and vice versa), though it’s obviously impossible to show that in a photo. They corrected it with the current pressings. Unfortunately, I was never able to score a copy with the elusive “I Spy” sleeve or the “Live sleeve”, so those are not pictured. I do have a little “I Spy” sticker, which is pretty cool.
Here’s my first pressing copy, complete with a bunch of different inserts and an original “I Spy” sticker! Unfortunately I never owned an I Spy cover, so this sticker will have to do!
Pictured here are the inserts that came with my 1st pressing copy. The 1st pressing insert was printed on the same brownish paper as the original Project X 7″ cover! The 1st pressing inserts of the Sick Of It All 7″ and the Side By Side 7″ were printed on this same paper, too. My 2nd pressing copy only has the insert design on the left – no extra trade list or Poison Free insert.
This photo shows the 3rd pressing actually has the “extra” inserts printed on the inside of the fold-over sleeve. The inside cover of the 1st and 2nd pressings was blank.
The later pressings have switched to this small 7×7″ insert.
REV-007 VA – “New York City Hardcore: The Way It Is” Compilation LP
“The Way It Is” is basically the “Together” 7″ comp in LP format, with a bunch more bands added! The first pressing has this really great 12″x12″ stapled booklet. Each band has their own page. This copy is in perfect condition, and I love that! It’s so hard to find the big insert in good condition because it’s so easy to damage when putting in and out of the record over the years. After the first pressing it was just too expensive to keep printing that huge booklet, so all later pressings had a regular 2-sided 1 page insert. After the 2nd pressing, they even got rid of the color labels and went with white labels.
Comparing the label changes over the years. Bummer! The two-tone color labels look so cool!
Close up of those sweet two-tone color labels. The blue and green looks so slick together!
REV-008 Youth Of Today – “Break Down The Walls” LP
So, this record has been pressed a billion times over the years, and I had to show them all together. This photo actually shows the rarest record I own, as well as my favorite record I own – I’ll point those out later. I purposely put the best stuff at the bottom of this picture so it would show up better. Down there you’ll find what may be the mini collection I’m most proud of – the original YOT BDTW pressings on Wishingwell Records.
Break Down The Walls was originally pressed in 1987 on Wishingwell Records. Wishingwell was run by Pat Dubar, singer of Uniform Choice. They had just released one of the best hardcore LP’s of all time – U.C. “Screaming For Change”, and followed it up with YOT BDTW. Not bad. In the top row, you’ll find an original Wishingwell test pressing, which is probably the rarest record that I own. I believe there were only 8 of these, and I’ve only heard of one other ever becoming available. I remember some online posts in the early 2000’s regarding one mailed out by Tim McMahon of Mouthpiece in a record trade… It got broken in the mail, with pictures to prove it. Talk about heart breaking on both sides. So now, I guess there’s probably only 7 of these.
Another view from a different angle…
Accompanying the test are the elusive red and blue pressings of this LP.
I absolutely love the ice blue color on the blue vinyl copies – yet another weird shade that’s never really been duplicated very often. Wishingwell pressed 150 of each color, but while the band was in NYC for a show at CBGB’s, their van was broken into and everything was stolen. A few copies had made it out of the van for sale already, and the label had sold some in SoCal and hung onto some others, but it’s estimated that there couldn’t be more than 50 on each color really available. Of course, those copies that were stolen could have made it into circulation, but with the rarity of these things seemingly impossible to get, we all really doubt it. They probably just ended up in a dumpster somewhere…
You’ll also notice a copy of the weird “2nd pressing” on Wishingwell with the black and yellow cover. If you can believe it, I found this copy 100% still sealed for $8 at Cheap Thrills in San Luis Obispo in 1999 when I was in my 2nd year of college. It had been sitting there since 1988, for 11 years, untouched. Even at the time, that record was worth $60-$90, so it’s not like it had just been “passed on” by a bunch of people. For some reason, it had just never been stumbled upon by a collector before! That same day I picked up a Bad Brains – Black Dots LP on white vinyl, still sealed. You can honestly say that could never happen today.
The yellow/black label colors were also changed along with the jacket and insert.
Anyway – on to the actual Revelation pressing of the record! In 1988, Revelation repressed the LP using the new blue and yellow cover, which is what you see in the top row of records in the original picture. Unfortunately, I missed out on a first press testing pressing on eBay back in 2008 – it had the “Electrosound labels“, the pressing plant used on the early Rev LP’s (example: my 1st pressing Bold – Speak Out LP test).
The 1st pressing has the classic two-tone colored labels that Revelation used around this time period on all of their LP’s.
I actually own two copies of the 1st pressing with blue/yellow labels, as seen on the first row of the main photo. The difference is simply this “Loaned For Promotion Only” stamp on the back of one copy.
After a few years, Rev was switching pressing plants and had to re-make the test pressings if they wanted to re-press the Break Down The Walls LP. That is how we arrive at my favorite record I own – the 2nd press rejected Youth Of Today test pressing on GREEN vinyl. Only 10 copies exist, and I have this framed and hangs on a wall in my home. Rev was actually re-pressing a bunch of stuff at the new plant, and the plant must have just had an abundance of extra green wax laying around, so they ran the tests off on green vinyl. There are also green tests of the Bold – Speak Out LP repress as well as The Way It Is LP repress (unfortunately I’ve never owned either, though would be so cool to have the set of 3!). I’m not sure what exactly is wrong with this YOT test, but they rejected it and re-made the tests.
Close-up of the labels on the 2nd press rejected green vinyl test pressing.
After rejecting the green vinyl tests, they re-made the test pressings, this time on regular black vinyl. The BLACK test pressing with the old Erika labels is 1 of the 8 accepted 2nd press test pressings.
Close-up of the accepted 2nd press test pressing with Erika labels.
Rejected vs. Accepted 2nd press test pressings, side by side.
Once they got an accepted test approval, they made the 2nd pressing of the Revelation version of the BDTW LP. They kept the blue/yellow jacket, but they did away with the blue/yellow labels and went with new black and white labels with a band photo.
Close-up of the 2nd press labels.
The insert on the 2nd pressing also changed from blue ink (1st press, left) to black and white (2nd press, right).
Just for fun, I took a photo of all 4 different inserts – 1st and 2nd pressing on Revelation vs. 1st and 2nd pressing on Wishingwell.
The second row in the main photo is the European pressing on We Bite Records. The first copy on that second row is the We Bite test pressing, followed by a yellow vinyl copy. Oddly enough I only have the We Bite release on the yellow vinyl – I need to get a regular black copy of this.
Close-up of the European test pressing on We Bite Records, with label text in German.
Back to Revelation pressings… After several pressings of the BDTW LP with the black and white labels and blue/yellow cover, they repressed the album in 1997 with a different cover. The new cover pressings are shown on the 3rd row in the main photo. These pressings also had new label art, shown in the photo above. They started with orange vinyl out of 217 copies, and tons of black vinyl.
Close-up of the 1997+ label art.
This is just a photo that compares the various different labels they used over the years. Top row is 1st and 2nd press, which both came with the blue/yellow cover. Bottom row is 1997+ press and European We Bite press.
In April 2001, they repressed BDTW on colored vinyl again, keeping the same cover and labels, this time on white vinyl out of 500. 60 of the covers were damaged in shipment, so only 440 come on white vinyl with the regular cover. The remaining 60 white vinyl copies had a limited cover for Posi Numbers Festival 2002, printed on this strange black felt type material. So that’s the weird black and white limited cover you see in the 4th row (and in the photo above).
Close-up of the back-cover of the Posi Numbers Fest cover, #50/60.
They also did 550 more black vinyl copies with the 1997+ cover, but they used the 2nd press “band guys in hoodies hanging out” labels from the 2nd press instead of the modern label art from the 1997+ press. They must have had some extra labels left over from the 2nd press. This version can be seen on the 3rd row, 4th copy of the main photo, as well as a close-up in the photo above. The second LP in the 4th row is actually a current pressing I got in 2010. They’ve gone back to the blue/yellow cover, but are using the 1997 label art.
REV-009 Bold – “Speak Out” LP
The Bold test pressing is a 1st pressing test, you can tell by the “Electrosound” labels, as mentioned in my Youth of Today post before. Only a few of the early Rev releases were pressed here, later they moved to Erika and Rainbo. The 3 black vinyl copies in the middle row all come in a gatefold cover, but the vinyl is differentiated by slightly different matrix etchings. The later pressings had a regular LP jacket + insert instead of the gatefold covers. You can see the black vinyl changed over the years to solid colored labels instead of the classic Rev two-tone labels. The solid labels changed from white to blue labels. This BOLD LP never had a colored vinyl pressing until 2001 when Rev did a bunch of color pressings.
The first pressing Bold test pressing with Electro Sound Group labels.
Here’s a close-up of the ElectroSound Group labels. The only Revelation test pressings that have these labels are the very 1st pressings of the Bold “Speak Out” LP, Youth Of Today “Break Down The Walls” LP, and “The Way It Is” comp LP. I was so pissed when I missed out on that Youth Of Today LP test pressing with ElectroSound labels, which was mentioned above in the “Break Down The Walls” write-up. Another thing to note – it’s no coincidence that all 3 of these LP’s later shared the special green vinyl rejected test pressings when they switched pressing plants.
The first 3 pressings had a gatefold jacket and black vinyl. The only slight difference is the matrix etching.
Close-up of the classic two-tone labels that were used on the first 3 pressings. Later they switched to solid white and then blue labels.
For the 4th pressing, they did away with the gatefold jacket and colored labels. They switched to a regular jacket, white labels, and a really basic black and white insert. Also included is an early Rev advertisement for current Rev releases.
The later pressings still had a regular jacket, but they switched to blue labels, and updated the insert to a standard glossy 12×12″ insert with photos.
I also threw in a photo of a Bold cassette tape, just because.
REV-010 Chain Of Strength – “True Til Death” 7″
Before we start discussing the actual Rev release, I had to show a photo of all my Chain 7″‘s together!
The Chain 7″ on Rev… I have a weird attachment to this record. Part of it is the fact that Chain Of Strength seemed like the first to put a little bit more “emotional” type stuff into youth crew inspired hardcore? Granted, that paved the way for all sorts of horrible mess later on, but I definitely was drawn to Chain and Turning Point because of their ability to combine some real emotion and melody into the straight forward energetic hardcore sound. The other part is just the actual collectibility of the 7″ itself. From the first day I saw a green vinyl copy, I really wanted to own one. It just looks so slick with the layout. Not to mention, the layout is this sweet tri-fold deluxe layout, which also drew me in. I think I also really liked collecting this 7″ because it seemed so clean and simple, without a billion limited covers, matrix etchings, inserts, stamps, or other variations. Less than 5,000 7″s ever pressed in total, and only 3 colors – 2,000 green, 2,000 black, 500 clear. The infamous 4th variation would be the “silver sleeve” with clear vinyl. Only 200 of the 500 clear copies have the silver sleeve, but Revelation still has most of these in their vault, so these things are a bitch to find. The silver sleeve is a nice slick looking variation of the original cover, and it just adds to the lore of this 7″. I’ve only owned mine for about 3 or 4 years. Props to my old buddy Seb for helping me make that a reality. The crown jewel in the photo is obviously the Chain TTD 7″ test pressing! There are only 8 of these, and there was only 1 set of test pressings ever made, so there are literally only 8 copies of the TTD 7″ that someone could claim to be a test pressing. I got this 7″ in the largest, most epic record trade I’ve ever executed. It was a trade with Geoff TDT. I never disclose all of the details of trades because I don’t want to upset the other party or make it seem like I got the better end of the deal or something. But I felt this trade was super equal for both of us and we both got records we were super psyched on. To give the magnitude of the trade, I scored this Chain 7″ test, Necros IQ32 Skate Park sleeve, a Warzone numbered b-side label, and an original test pressing of the Alone In A Crowd 7″ on Flux. I think it was awesome we were able to work out such a huge and complex trade in this day and age of eBay, etc (2009 or 2010, I believe).
Close-up of the test pressing label, with date it was pressed – 12.16.88. For some reason someone blacked out the Rainbo Records logo on the labels. Not sure why!
One of the most sought after rarities in all of straight edge hardcore collecting – the “Chain Silver Sleeve”! Only 200 exist, but most are still with Revelation Records.
Just showing that sweet tri-fold layout, and comparing the classic green layout with the silver sleeve.
The inside of the classic layout vs. the silver sleeve.
In the mid 90’s, Rev released a 12″ version which includes both Chain 7″‘s, along with an “unreleased” song – “Impact”. That song rules… In fact my band, The Damage Done, covered it a couple times. There was a bunch of controversy about this 12″, because all of the songs sounded dramatically different from the 7″s. The band claimed it was just a re-mix and re-master, but a lot of people swore they had gone in and re-recorded all the songs, and had recently written this song “Impact” just for this release. There’s been some clarification from band members over the years, most recently in a “fun fact” in the RevHQ newsletter. But a lot of folks out there still think it’s BS and they really did re-record the songs. I’m not much of a conspiracy theorist, so I doubt any of that happened. But hell, who knows, I don’t really care. Anyway, Rev first released 312 copies on green vinyl, and the rest were black. Later they did a repressing in 2001 with 440 on grey vinyl. You’ll notice the 2 different black vinyl copies. They are almost identical, but the cover is printed on a different type of stock, and the green colored bars on the insert are 2 different color greens. See the photo and description below.
The original 1st pressing had the bright kelly green printed on the insert, but the later pressings have more of an ugly lime green color. This was just something I noticed on my own, and isn’t mentioned in Revelation pressing info or anything. The reason I know for sure is the green vinyl copy (definitely first press) has the kelly green on the insert. This should be a valid way to determine if your black vinyl copy is an original first pressing out of 3,023 or a later re-pressing.
Hey look, a cassette tape! Remember those?
Even though the “What Holds Us Apart” 7″ did not come out on Revelation, I’m including it here since it was included on the 12″ version of this release shown above. The very first pressing of this 7″ was 45rpm and out of 500 copies. All 500 copies were rejected, and presumably destroyed, but 100 were purchased by Tim McMahon (Mouthpiece vocalist) and given the “Chain Crew” cover that you see as the 2nd copy in the top row. The test pressing in the top row with orange labels is the first presing on 45rpm – you could call it a “Chain Crew test pressing”. The 3rd and 4th copies in the top row are 45rpm “rejected Chain Crew” copies with random covers like a photo copy white cover, and a blown-out fake “Confusion” cover. These are being floated around out there… Presumably made by the owners of the “other” 400 rejected copies. Who knows if a large portion of the other 400 were destroyed, or if all 400 are still sitting around out there, gradually getting floated out there with some of these random covers. They’ve only just started popping up more often in the last couple of years, so it seems to be a fairly recent development. Someone needed some cash, eh? haha. The 5th copy on the top row is the “real” 1st pressing of the Chain 7″ that was widely available. It was 2,000 copies on Foundation Records, with a huge fold out poster. Later, Foundation sold the 2nd press to Mindpower Records, which you see on the 2nd row with different label art. There were 200 with blue covers, 800 with yellow covers. There must have been a slight over-run on the 2nd pressing of the vinyl, because it appears that some vinyl didn’t have covers. These got the “Confusion” cover that you see in the 2nd row. There was a European pressing by First Strike Records in the UK, which are all found on the 3rd row. First pressing was 221 on white, 1264 on blue, with blue lettering on the front cover, and hand-numbered on the back cover. 2nd pressing was 500 on black vinyl, now with red lettering on the cover. Notice I have a weird copy that has 2nd pressing red lettering cover with a 1st pressing blue vinyl copy. I haven’t seen many of these around. Must have been a couple extra blue copies and a couple extra 2nd press covers. The 3rd pressing was on clear vinyl out of 500, with green lettering on the cover.
Close-up of the orange-labeled 45 rpm “Chain Crew” test pressing.
I actually own 2 copies of the rejected 45 rpm with true “Chain Crew” cover. Mine are #91 and #93, as shown on the numbered inserts on the right. More detailed pics below of back-cover and insert.
Close-up of my #91 and #93 Chain Crew inserts.
Back-cover of the Chain Crew.
Each Chain Crew cover comes with a numbered insert, with an explanation from Tim McMahon (Mouthpiece vocalist) explaining what happened with the rejected 1st pressing. Notice the typo in the last sentence “This record in number 93 of 100.” Whoops! haha.
At one point when I was running Rivalry, I was mailing Tim McMahon some Rivalry promo CD’s that he wanted to check out, and he was nice enough to send me some cool old Chain “stationary” that they used for writing messages when sending out mail order, as well as this cool Mouthpiece postcard. Cool shit, that was super nice of him!
Close-up of the Chain stationary, showing their mailing address in Upland, CA. What’s funny is that I used to spend every summer with my aunt in Upland / Rancho Cucamonga, CA. She ran a factory operation right off Highland Rd. in Upland. I was born in 1980, so if only I had been into hardcore when I was about 8-11 years old (1988-1991), I probably could have seen some pretty neat Chain shows during those summers in the Inland Empire and Orange County, haha.
This advertisement was printed on the back of the stationary. Yo – it’s fucked up that hoodies were $25 in 1990, and most bands are still stuck selling them at $25 in 2011, or $30 if they’re lucky. I guarantee blank garment prices have more than quadrupled since then. Hardcore sometimes just screws itself over.
Here’s one of those 45rpm pressings that have leaked out that were not part of the original 100 Chain Crew copies. Someone made a photo copy of the cover and insert from the “real” Foundation 7″ release.
This was ultimately the first “real” pressing available to the public, out of 2,000 copies on Foundation Records. Comes with this huge fold out poster insert. Cool!
I’ve always really liked the printed inside of this 7″ sleeve. It’s very rare you see this much of a layout devoted to some kind of record label logo. The huge oversized poster and huge record label logo on the inside are neat and unique compared to the usual confines of a small 7″ layout.
Here’s a photo comparing the real Confusion cover (left) that was used with some of the “Mindpower” vinyl, as opposed to this fake color photo copy (right) that has been thrown on yet another one of these 400 reject copies that were not part of the Chain Crew covers.
Showing the back-cover and insert that came with the real Confusion cover. The “Mindpower” release of this 7″ has the same insert and record labels.
This photo compares the back-cover of all three pressings of the European release on First Strike Records in the UK. 1st pressing are hand-numberd out of 1500, 2nd pressing just has text denoting it, 3rd pressing doesn’t have anything.
Interesting thing to note about the “inserts” of the First Strike release. 1st and 3rd pressings have lyrics actually printed on the inside of the fold-out sleeve. Only the 2nd pressing has a blank inner fold-out sleeve, and an additional printed insert.
Here’s a note that came with the first pressing of the First Strike release, explaining the delays, and also lists the pressing info. Looks like the band never got their shit together to send them artwork. So I wonder if the label just made photo copies of a regular Foundation release or what?
REV-011 Bold – “Looking Back” LP
I love how the colored pressings of the Bold – “Looking Back” LP look when layed out together. Purple and grey always look so sweet together. The two black vinyl copies are almost identical, the jackets are just printed on slightly different stocks and the red ink color on the back is slightly different. I included a close-up photo below to illustrate. You’ll also see the 7″ single with 2 different orange/pix mix copies. There were 1,000 orange, but due to a long story with the pressing plant not quite able to get a maroon vinyl color right to match the cover, there ended up being 60 pink copies along with a few orange/pink mixes. I’ve never owned a true “pink” copy. These arguments of shade variations are always annoying and a complete waste of time, but I’ve seen photos from several people who own a very obvious pink copy. I know mine aren’t as pink as I’d like them to be, so I say they’re mixes. But my orange/pink copies are both pretty nice “mix” copies, compared to others I’ve seen. The first photo doesn’t show it very well because of the lighting in the room when I took the photo after dark. See the photo below for a more accurate representation.
This photo is a much more accurate representation of what my orange/pink mix copies look like when compared to the regular orange vinyl copy.
The b-side label on my black vinyl copy of the 7″ is mis-printed so the text runs off the label. Just a random little variation I figured I’d note here. I’ve seen photos of some Chain – “True Til Death” 7″s that have a similar printing problem.
The two black vinyl copies of the Bold – “Looking Back” LP are almost identical, the jackets are just printed on slightly different stocks and the red ink color on the back is slightly different. I know that the copy on the left is definitely first press black vinyl out of 1,010 because the jacket stock and red ink color exactly matches the jacket on my 1st press purple vinyl copy.
REV-012 Gorilla Biscuits “Start Today” LP
The GB LP on purple is probably a record I’ll always own, no matter what. When I was a kid, it felt like an unattainable record. It was worth over like $100, even in the mid to late 90’s, and that was a LOT for a record. I remember feeling like the GB record must be a classic if a pressing on purple vinyl out of 1,015 copies (not all that rare) was worth over $100! There was just always something “big” about the GB on purple. I think I’ll always think it’s cool to own GB on purple and Judge on green. 🙂 The 1st pressing of the GB LP has really cool “embossed lettering”, which basically means the letters raise up off the cover a little bit. Both the purple and black copies you see in the top row have embossed lettering. Later pressings don’t have embossed lettering. I have noticed only one difference in the thousands of black vinyl represses over the years – the background color behind the song lyrics on the insert changed from a black background on the early pressing(s) to a white background for later pressings. I showed the inserts underneath the black vinyl copies on the 2nd row. The 310 copies on red vinyl were pressed in 2001/2002 when Revelation was doing a “final color pressing” of a bunch of different releases. In the bottom row, you’ll see a test pressing of the We Bite Records release in Europe, as well as the pretty elusive Blue vinyl pressing. These blue vinyl copies seem surprisingly hard to find sometimes… Not sure how many were pressed. I also randomly included the s/t LP on We Bite in the photo… Just because. It’s nothing special.
Close-up of the classic GB 1st pressing on purple out of 1,015 vinyl. All pressings still have this large 12×24″ poster insert, even to this day!
Close-up of the embossed lettering, but the photo didn’t work out too well. I was trying to show how the lettering is raised up off the cover a little bit. Only the first pressing copies had the raised embossed lettering (1,015 on purple, 4977 on black). It’s wild that they pressed 6,000 for the first pressing of an LP! It just shows how popular GB and the Rev roster had gotten at that point.
I have noticed only one difference in the thousands of black vinyl represses over the years – the background color behind the song lyrics on the insert changed from a black background on the early pressing(s) to a white background for later pressings.
European version on We Bite Records – test pressing and rare blue vinyl. No one seems to know how many blue vinyl were pressed.
Close-up of the We Bite test pressing labels, with text written in German.
I took this picture with all the color pressings together because I think the bright colored vinyl with the multi-colored lettering in the layout looks kinda cool.
REV-013 Slipknot – “s/t” 7″
Weird 7″. No, we all know it’s not the masked-face-idiot-Slipknot-nu-metal-band. It’s some random kids from CT or NY. I saw an interview with Jordan talking about this 7″ a little bit one time. Sounds like he thought it was cool stuff! More power to him! When I was running Rivalry, I loved every single damned record I put out – and still do! 🙂 That’s what a record label should be!! My red vinyl copy has a bunch of black streaks in it, but it didn’t show up well in the photo. Nothing special or anything, just noting it here.
REV-014 Judge – “New York Crew” 7″
This Judge 7″ was first released on Porcell’s own Schism Records as SKIZ-2 (the Project X 7″ was #1). Schism did 3 pressings of 1,000 copies each. Later it was released on Rev, starting out with an Orange cover and Orange insert. They used the same plates, so the early pressings of the Rev copies still have Schism matrix etchings. Over time some of the Rev copies got scratched out Schism matrixes, and eventually new plates were made and several variations and combinations exist with different matrix etchings and even 33rpm vs. 45rpm. I have one copy that is somewhat of a reject press or something – it plays at 33rpm on the A-side side and 45 rpm on the B-side! Weird. The insert color has also changed over time, from purple to yellow to white. Bottom line is that this thing has been pressed a gazillion times. I included the Schism and Rev versions together in the same photo. The bootleg “Live” Judge 7″ is pictured too, because it fit nicely into the photo.
Here is a photo showing only the Revelation pressings. I also hid the inserts so the full front cover would be displayed.
This isn’t a Rev release, but I thought I’d include it here anyway. Here’s the “Vivo En WNYU” live recording, which was essentially an unofficial bootleg. Only 50 were supposedly pressed on red vinyl, so that is a 7″ that is really tough to find. Mine is a dark red/black swirl looking vinyl, but I’ve seen some that are bright red as well. It’s a stupid live bootleg thingy, so who really cares. But it is something that people have a hard time running down.
The back cover of the “Vivo En WNYU” 7″. I don’t know why the Judge hammers are printed far off to the right on the red copy whereas they are centered on the black copy.
REV-015 Judge – “Bringin’ It Down” LP
So this is the album that has made collectors go wild for years. Originally recorded at Chung King studios, ultimately rejected by the band, and re-recorded later with Don Fury. Jordan needed to re-coup some cash from the original recording, so he pressed 100 (actually 110) on white vinyl, screened the “Chung King Can Suck It” covers – and voila, a legend is born. Mine is #39. This is one of the most sought after pieces of straight edge hardcore collecting. Maybe THE single most sought after piece. Even the green vinyl copy out of 712 copies is somewhat of collector lore. As mentioned above, the Judge on green and the GB on purple always felt like unattainable records when I was a kid. I remember one of my buddies, Nate Corbin from Redding (Some Still Believe, what up!), going record shopping in essentially a hippy record store in Chico, CA near where I grew up. He found a sealed Judge LP in like 1998. He took it home, opened it, and to his surprise – GREEN vinyl! I was floored when Skones or Duane or Rusty told me the story a couple weeks later at a summer show in Chico. I thought my story above of YOT Wishingwell yellow/black cover was awesome… But Nate’s tops it completely. No telling how long that LP had been sitting there in that record store in Chico, CA, or if the owner bought a large lot of records from another record store that went out of business, or what the hell was up with that. Also shown below is the black vinyl copies changing label and insert colors over the years. Labels have gone purple to red and back to purple. Insert has gone from yellow lettering, to purple, to white. Black and white printing is just cheaper. In 2001, they repressed Judge BID on Orange vinyl, out of only 333 copies. I scored a test pressing of this 2001 repress for $130 when Rev sold a test immediately after pressing them. You’ll see it below with yellow Erika labels. That was a lot of money back then, but I felt like it would look too good next to my green and orange copies, so I had to get it!
The classic Judge on green out of 712 copies, with a few little stickers too!
In 2001, they repressed Judge BID on Orange vinyl, out of only 333 copies. I scored a test pressing of this 2001 repress for $130 when Rev sold a test immediately after pressing them. You’ll see it below with yellow Erika labels. That was a lot of money back then, but I felt like it would look too good next to my green and orange copies, so I had to get it! Test pressing has yellow Erika Records labels, and did come with an LP jacket and insert. The stickers didn’t, I just took them out of the green copy and added them to the pic.
Comparing the changing ink colors on the insert over the years. 1st pressing was yellow lettering, then there were a few purple inserts somewhere along the line (these seem to be the fewest), and recent pressings have been white. What was it with Judge and the color purple? They did purple inserts on the NY Crew 7″ too! Not knockin’ it, looks kinda cool! Just seems kinda surprising, honestly.
Comparing the lyrics side of the inserts.
The famous Chung King!! My copy is #39 out of 110 and is in basically perfect condition!
The back of the Chung King album explains the whole story… And of course, this is where the stamped number appears.
I am #39.
Here’s the labels of the Chung King.
Just a photo to capture the two juggernauts together.
There was a bootleg made by some folks that were pissed about the elitist attitude and money being made by selling these Chung Kings to collectors. They made photo copies of the entire layout of the Chung King, changed the cover to “Revelation Can Suck It”, and pressed 10″ records on white vinyl. Who knows how many hundreds (or thousands?) they pressed.
The back cover explains why they made the bootlegs. Notice the Rev star logo was changed to “Revoltation Records”, and the dollar sign in the “U$A” of the fake address.
REV-016 Shelter – “Perfection Of Desire” LP
The 1st pressing copy in the upper right corner is actually Maroon vinyl, it’s just hard to see in the picture. There were 1,020 on maroon vinyl, and everything after that was black. The 1st pressing inserts had a recycled-paper-bag-style printed insert, which became pretty much the standard issue later in the mid-nineties with all the environmentally conscious stuff, etc. You can see a 1st pressing black vinyl copy in the lower left hand corner with the same insert as the maroon one. Later pressings had the insert switched to a regular glossy white printed front/back. There may have been other insert variants over the years. These happen to be the only ones I’ve run across for cheap in record stores. Kev Finn’s discography doesn’t mention the inserts changing at all in the first place, this was just something I noticed on my own.
The first pressing copies had the large 12×24″ insert printed on kraft paper stock. Later pressings switched to a regular 12×12″ glossy white insert.
The first pressing maroon vinyl out of 1,020 looks like black vinyl unless you hold it up to the light…
REV-017 Youth Of Today – “s/t” 7″
First up, a photo of all my YOT 7″s in one pic!
Often called the “Disengage” 7″, this record is dope. The last recording from YOT, and like almost any band’s later material, the most melodic. Some folks don’t like that about it, but I love these songs.
Shown first is a 1st pressing test pressing from Rainbo Records. I got this copy from Sammy, the drummer of YOT. He’d kept it till 2009 when I bought it from him. “Youth Of Today” is hand written on the A-side. See below for an interesting B-side.
The B-side has this Revelation Records address stamp. Why is this interesting? Well, I’ve never seen this stamp or address before! All of the Rev releases had a New Haven, CT address on the back. I’d never seen a Hamden, CT address on anything else other than this test pressing. Weird? It could have been a short lived location right before they moved to CA, or it could have been a situation where they had an office location address (Hamden) and a warehouse/business/other address (New Haven). I’m sure someone will chime in and set me straight on this one. But I thought this was cool… I only noticed this as I was taking the photos for this blog – I’d never really noticed or thought about it before!
Included with the test pressing was the original layout specifics/instructions/order form that Jordan or Ray sent in to the printing plant for the 7″ covers. It’s cool to see this sort of stuff and how they used to have to lay everything out manually and include instructions, instead of the modern day method where you just submit digital art files. I worked on the yearbook when I was a kid in high school, so I’m a little bit familiar with laying out pages manually, etc. Seeing this 7″ layout instructions brought back some fun memories of yearbook class. Remember “pica’s”? haha.
The first pressing of this 7″ had a full color tri-fold insert – you can see it displayed with the 1st pressing copies on clear (out of 1,000) and black (5,000). The next pressing still had the tri-fold insert, but now printed in black and white. You can see it as the 4th record in the top row. These particular copies are kind of hard to find and I’ve only seen a few of them around. So this b&w tri-fold was probably only done on the 2nd pressing, but never again after that. I didn’t know this variant existed till I came across it in 2008. Anyway, Rev switched to a smaller single sheet for later pressings, and there are a billion pressed with this smaller insert.
The only colored vinyl originally available was the 1,000 on clear vinyl from the first pressing. Then in 2001 they pressed 327 on clear vinyl with white mixed in. I figured I’d show a photo here depicting the clear vs. the clear/white mix. Then recently they pressed 1350 on red vinyl for Record Store Day on 04/11/2011. Oh – something interesting you may have noticed in the photo above… Look at the cover of my first pressing copy. It looks like it has some weird square sticker in the upper right hand corner? That is not a sticker! It is actually part of the actual printing. I have no idea what is up with it! It looks like a small photo of a bunch of wood planks, like someone’s wooden deck in their backyard or something, haha! I know that all of the first pressing covers weren’t like this! It’s like there was some error with the actual films used to print the covers, as if some photograph of a wooden deck got dropped in the layout! haha. I’ve never seen anything quite like this.
REV-018 Quicksand – “s/t” 7″
The Quicksand 7″ has been re-pressed quite a few times over the years. The 1st pressing was 1,000 white, 5,000 black. The 1st pressing copies have a more flimsy paper sleeve. Most of the later pressing black vinyl copies are printed on heavier glossy cardstock, and all seem to be about the same. But I have found this weird pressing that has a turquoise insert. There’s no mention of it on the Rev site, so I don’t know how many were pressed. Later they pressed 300 on gold vinyl in 2002, then recently 1103 on blue vinyl for Record Store Day on 04/11/2011.
Most pressings, including the original first pressing, have a black and white insert. But I have found a pressing that has this weird turquoise insert. It’s not mentioned in the Revelation pressing info, so I’m not sure what is up with it. I imagine they had an idea that maybe there were going to try to match the color on the cover art? I don’t know, seems like a really strange color to make your entire layout. Ah, the 90’s. haha.
REV-019 Inside Out – “s/t” 7″
There were 1,000 blue and 4,000 black for the first pressing of the Inside Out 7″. It had a full color insert with blue tinted photos, and the 7″ cover does NOT have a “bar” printed across the top (the front of the cover is actually just shorter than the back cover). The 2nd pressing still has the full color insert, but you’ll notice the 7″ cover is distinctly a darker blue/grey – check out the 3rd copy on the top row. It has a white bar actually printed at the top of the 7″ cover, so the front and back cover are the same size. This is a pressing that is not mentioned on the Rev site, nor do most Rev collectors seem to notice that it exists. I happened to notice a difference in sleeve color on an eBay listing one time and picked it up for a couple bucks. Later black vinyl copies have a blue bar printed at the top (bottom row, 1st copy), and different insert art that is printed only in black and white. In 2002, Rev pressed 350 on white vinyl – these have the white bar at the top again.
Both of these covers have the early insert with blue photos, but it’s clear that they are a different pressing due to the fact that the copy on the right is so much more “grey” than the first pressing. The copy on the right also has a white stripe printed at the top of the cover, wheras the first pressings do not have a stripe – the front of the cover is just shorter than the back, so what appears to be a white stripe on the left copy is actually just the non-printed backside of the back cover. Originally I thought only the first pressing copies had the full color “blue” insert, but since this copy on the right also has that same insert, it looks like the full color insert was used for more than just the very first pressing.
Comparing the different inserts over the years. The top insert is full color with band photos in blue. This was used on the first pressing, as well as at least a second press (see blurb above about the covers), if not more pressings. Then they switched to the black and white insert shown on the bottom – this has been the standard insert on many pressings of the Inside Out 7″ for years and years.
REV-020 Judge – “There Will Be Quiet…” 7″
The first pressing was 1,000 on gold vinyl, 4,000 on black vinyl. I imagine it was repressed at some point, but then again – maybe not. For some reason there are 2 slightly different inserts within the first pressing itself. One has lyrics in the upper left hand corner. The other only has the Judge logo with no lyrics. I placed the inserts behind the vinyl in the photo below so you can see the difference. The insert difference is noted on Kev Finn’s pressing info page, but it doesn’t explain why it happened.
Here’s a better look at the two different versions of the insert. Since the two different versions appear with my gold vinyl copies, that confirms that both of these inserts were most definitely printed around the same time, if they were able to be included in the first 1,000 gold vinyl copies. I have no idea why they would have pressed two different inserts right away. Unfortunately the Rev discography doesn’t seem to remember why either!
REV-021 Supertouch – “The World Is Flat” LP
Apparently this was only pressed once – 3,015 on black vinyl. So there’s not much to show.
REV-022 Burn – “s/t” 7″
I actually owned a test pressing of the Burn 7″ at one point, but I traded it away. I’ve asked the guy to whom I traded it to send me a photo of it, so once he does I’ll post the picture here. It had Rainbo labels. I remember it had a pricetag of $16 on the sleeve. I think the owner who I originally bought it from told me that he bought it from a record store in NYC for that price back in the mid-90’s. Anyway, the first pressing had 1,000 on pink vinyl and 4,000 black vinyl. Like most Rev pressings, it had a full color printed insert. Notice the yellow outlined inserts on the first two copies. But later pressings switched to black and white. The first copy on the bottom row has the black and white insert, with New Haven, Connecticut address on the back. The middle copy is exactly the same, but has the HB, CA address on the back. Lastly, 1090 copies were pressed on yellow vinyl for Record Store Day on 04/11/2011.
Here is the photo of the Burn 7″ test pressing. I believe the guy I originally bought it from said he’d bought it at a record store in NYC for $16 in the mid 90’s, thus the price tag type thing.
Full color inserts came with the first pressing only. All subsequent pressings got black and white inserts.
REV-023 Ray and Porcell – “s/t” 7″
Eh, weird deal. Ray and Porcell plus a drum machine. First pressing was 1,000 copies on purple vinyl, 4,000 copies on black vinyl. Like most Rev releases, the first pressing came with a full color insert, but later pressings had a condensed black and white insert. In the early 2000’s, Revelation hand numbered the final 100 copies of vinyl that did not have covers, and made this purple photo-copied sleeve – mine is #64/100.
This is the perfect 7″ to welcome in Revelation’s adult life, full of Iceburn, Engine Kid, and Into Another records. This also denotes the end of my “official” Revelation collecting, at REV-23. At some point I’ll go ahead and add photos of the In My Eyes LP’s (Nothing To Hide is one of my favorite hardcore LP’s of all time), and some other things like Nerve Agents and Fastbreak. But as far as “complete Rev collection”, I stopped at REV-23.
REV-53 Good Riddance / Ignite – “Split” 7″
Good Riddance split with Ignite, on Revelation Records. This split was destined to happen, with both bands having this vibe of “surfer-bro-hardcore-on-the-fringe-of-mainstream-music”. I’m not taking a shot at anyone – I always liked both bands and I’m feelin it! haha. 1st press = 2000 black vinyl, 2nd press = 2000 green vinyl, then there was a later press in ~2001 on red vinyl out of 330 (I never had that one).
Ignite side. Zoli is rocking a wife beater. Case in point, re: the surfer bro comment above, haha.
1st pressing, black vinyl
REV-54 Ignite – “Past Our Means” LP
Cali bro culture meets opera-core! Haha, all jokes aside, I love Ignite. Blue vinyl out of 323. In 2002 it was repressed on orange vinyl out of 300, but I never owned a copy.
Reverse side. Shirtless is a must.
REV-56 Rage Against The Machine – “People Of The Sun” 10″
510 on red vinyl. It’s still kind of crazy seeing a Rage Against The Machine release on Revelation. Granted, it was only a limited “single” type of thing on 10″ format. It’s cool to see that the relationship between Revelation and Zach De La Rocha from the Inside Out 7″ days stayed strong even after he started Rage.
Back cover
REV-59 Youth Of Today – “We’re Not In This Alone” LP
The second Youth Of Today LP is their best LP. A lot of people would definitely argue with me, but I think “We’re Not In This Alone” kills the “Break Down The Walls” LP. The recording is way better, the song writing is tighter, and they seemed to step up their guitar work by adding in some extra second guitar stuff. The first row is the original release on Caroline Records. Both black vinyl copies are identical, except for the 2nd one has “Mix #2” etched in the matrix to denote a re-mix that they did for the 2nd pressing. The second row is the usual European pressing on We Bite Records. The first copy is a test pressing on We Bite, with the regular black vinyl next to it. Notice that they used the same cover as the Caroline release, but with a different color scheme. Also, I don’t think there was a colored vinyl pressing on We Bite, which is sort of strange since the first YOT LP on We Bite was done on yellow, and the GB Start Today LP on We Bite was on blue vinyl. The 3rd row is another European release on Funhouse Records. I’m not totally sure why they did different Euro releases, but based on the Flex discography, it says Funhouse came out originally in 1988 and then We Bite later in 1992 – I don’t know the details of why they switched from Funhouse to We Bite. The first copy is a test pressing on Funhouse Records, followed by a copy on yellow vinyl. There was also black vinyl for the Funhouse release, but I actually never picked one up – I need to do that. The last row is the 1997 Revelation re-pressing of the WNITA LP, with new cover art. There are 100 on deep red, 112 on deep purple, and tons of black vinyl. I figured the picture wouldn’t pick up the difference, but surprisingly the picture accurately shows the difference of red vs. purple vs. black.
When you put the red and purple vinyl up to the light you can easily see the difference!
Even though the Caroline and We Bite releases have the same cover art (albeit different colors), the back covers are different. Caroline on left, We Bite on right.
While we’re looking at the back covers, check out the back of the Funhouse release. Kinda wack how they highlighted the X’s on everyone’s hand in yellow, haha. The layout for this Funhouse release is generally god awful, and this is just more of the same.
This compares the original inserts of the Caroline release (top) and the later Revelation release (bottom).
This compares the inserts of the Euro releases – Funhouse on the left, We Bite On the right.
Original label detail on the Caroline release.
Close-up of labels on We Bite test pressing with text in German.
Comparing the labels used over the years. Top left is Caroline, top right is Revelation, bottom left is Funhouse, bottom right is We Bite.
REV-60 Better Than A Thousand – “Just One” LP
517 on clear vinyl. Ray Cappo from Youth Of Today meets Ken Olden from Damnation A.D., Battery, etc. This is good stuff!
Back cover
Here’s a test pressing of the BT1K “Just One” LP. Sorry the photo is so blurry…
Close-up of the Rainbo labels.
REV-62 Youth Of Today – “Can’t Close My Eyes” LP
“Can’t Close My Eyes” was originally re-pressed on 12″ format on Porcell’s own label, Schism Records. These are shown in the first row in the photo above. 1st pressing on Schism had white labels, 2nd had red labels. The second row is a 12″ release on We Bite Records in Europe. The first copy is a test pressing on We Bite, followed by yellow vinyl and black vinyl. Finally in 1997, Revelation released “Can’t Close My Eyes” on 12″ format with a different cover. This is shown on the 3rd row. The first copy is an original test pressing, out of only 4 copies. The first pressing was on green vinyl out of 217, and a bunch on black. The yellow vinyl was done sometime in the 2000’s. Recently Revelation returned to the original 7″ cover artwork and pressed red and purple vinyl to coincide with the YOT reunion shows in 2011. I didn’t pick up either of those.
Close-up of the 1st and 2nd pressing on Schism.
Close-up of the 1st pressing Schism labels. The b-side label is a live photo. The 2nd press labels are totally different. Not only are they red, but the A-side label lists only the A-side songs, and the B side has an identical label that lists only the B-side songs. There is no live photo on the b-side like on the 1st pressing.
Comparing the inserts over the years. The top row is the original insert found with the Schism release (both 1st and 2nd press). Bottom left is the We Bite Records release in Europe. Bottom right is the Revelation Records release.
Close-up of the European test pressing on We Bite Records, with all text in German.
Close-up of the test pressing on Revelation Records, out of only 4 copies!
REV-64 Speak 714 – “Knee Deep In Guilt” LP
Dan O’Mahoney from No For An Answer on vocals. Only 110 on yellow/tan vinyl, so this can be kinda tough to find sometimes. Notice that these covers were printed with the band name “Speak” before they changed their name to Speak 714.
Back cover
REV-65 Battery – “Whatever It Takes” LP
This band is fucking awesome, and super under-rated. Ken Olden’s guitar work is so distinct and it’s influenced quite a few bands already (Go It Alone!). Everyone always talks shit about how the “Until The End” album was so much better and this follow-up was a let down… But I think that’s pretty bogus. I do like “Until The End” better, but I think this is a good hardcore record. 218 copies pressed on this unique pink color.
Reverse side
REV-67 In My Eyes – “The Difference Between” LP
This was one of the first modern hardcore albums that I really started living and breathing. The first hardcore song I ever heard was “New Direction” by Gorilla Biscuits, so I got “Start Today”. I loved that record and then got into the Minor Threat “Discography” CD. I grew up in Oroville, CA, a small town in Northern California of only 10,000 people, so it was kind of amazing that my best friend Zach Harlan and I ever found punk or hardcore in the first place. Then I mostly heard a bunch of metallic hardcore released in the mid and late 90’s, but just couldn’t get into any of it – it just didn’t sound like my GB or Minor Threat CD’s. Zach had started a band called Conscientious Objector and he was really into some of the metallic stuff Rev was doing on Crisis Records like Shai Hulud and Morning Again. I tried to get into that stuff, but it really just never connected with me. It was actually a couple of months before I gradually realized that the sound I loved on the GB and Minor Threat records actually did exist today. Somehow I found out that some cool records had just come out, so I got those… The first “modern” (at the time) hardcore records I got were Ensign – “Direction Of Things To Come”, and In My Eyes – “The Difference Between”. To this day, I still absolutely love both of these records. Like I said above, it’s hard to believe that a band went straight from a cassette tape demo to a 13 song LP that would revive one of the most classic straightedge hardcore record labels of all time, Revelation Records. Released in 1998, it was also the only release of any “revival band” that had an “arty” cover like this. With original artwork by Pushead, this definitely set this release apart. Everyone else had the usual live photos or hand-drawn “hoodie dudes” (one other exception that popped into mind was Fastbreak’s “Fast Cars, Fast Women” LP with the photos of classic cars). “The Difference Between” also has these 1980’s looking multi-colored labels. It’s a weird fit with the cover art itself, but it kinda fits the whole “original” vibe of the record, so I think they’re kinda cool. There were only 104 on red vinyl, 213 on yellow vinyl, and then a bunch on black. I don’t know how many pressings they did over the years, but then in ~2001 they did another press of 330 on orange vinyl.
Here’s the dark red vinyl held up to the light. You can also get a look at those 1980’s looking multi-colored labels. In the late 90’s and early 2000’s, this record was kind of like the Gorilla Biscuits on purple or the Judge on green for us late 90’s revival kids. Other than Floorpunch on gold, which eventually kind of became the “Chung King” of our era, this was basically the next most collectible record. There were only 104 copies of this record on red vinyl, and these were an absolute bitch to get – no one wanted to let their’s go. Even in 1999, these were selling for $60-$90, and that was a lot for a record back then. GB on purple and Judge on green sold for about $100-$125 back then, so the fact that this record was pushing up against those classics really said something about how pumped people were on getting this on red vinyl. I recently saw a copy of this record sell on eBay for under $50, which really made me sad. To me, this band and this album have absolutely stood up to the test of time, so I’m not sure why its value hasn’t held. I mean, I don’t really care about the record’s worth one way or the other, but it does bum me out because this tends to be indicative of an album not being as influential on new kids anymore. That is a real shame. Kids need to hear this band!
I got my copy on red vinyl in 1999-2000 from Felix of Life’s Halt. Here’s the note he wrote me when he sent me the LP. He was selling a bunch of records via an auction on the Rev Board (not eBay). Back then we used to do auctions on messageboards by taking in offers via email, and then making one update per day with the highest bid amount and the bidder’s initials. There would be a specified end-date, so on the last day, you just checked the messageboard for the current status of the bid, emailed in the best bid you could do to top it, and crossed your fingers that no one else emailed in anything higher. I think I paid $50 or so for my IME LP on red, and I was very happy to own it!!
Promo poster for the release on Revelation Records. I had this hanging on my wall the entire time I was at college in San Luis Obispo, CA from 1998 to 2002.
REV-73 The Nerve Agents – “s/t” LP
The first Nerve Agents EP is fucking awesome and was one of the records that really brought Rev “back” to the hardcore world, along with the In My Eyes, Battery, and Better Than A Thousand LP’s. The original green vinyl looks slick, out of 222. I also included an original sticker in the photo. This record is so sick – “The war’s not over!” This is definitely my favorite stuff by The Nerve Agents. I know there is a cult following of “spooky kids” that love Nerve Agents, AFI, and all that stuff. But this early NA stuff was more influenced by straight up hardcore and I love this stuff. I also owned a test pressing, shown further below.
Back cover
Here’s an original 1st pressing test pressing of the first Nerve Agents record.
Rev did a repress in 2002 on grey vinyl out of 409.
REV-74 Where Fear And Weapons Meet – “s/t” 7″
Clear vinyl out of 220. Where Fear And Weapons Meet was actually really good, but never really caught on. I feel like I remember them being kind of a “side project-ish” type band for members of bigger Florida metalcore bands, so they never really did much? That’s probably why their records got largely overlooked.
Reverse side
REV-80 In My Eyes – “Nothing To Hide” LP
Like I said above, I think “Nothing To Hide” is one of the best hardcore albums of all time. I love everything about it, from the lyrics, to the song-writing, to the layout. When “Nothing To Hide” came out in January of 2000, it was definitely a record that I looked forward to – but I had no idea what was in store for me. I really liked “The Difference Between”, it was one of the top five records that I would play most often – but “Nothing To Hide” was a whole other level for me. From that day forward, I feel like I listened to that record every single day for like two years straight. To this day, I probably listen to it once every two weeks or so! Shortly after it came out, they did a record release show on February 5th, 2000, and sold the infamous “Rev Can Suck It” version, numbered out of 120. I remember wanting this thing sooo badly. Looking back, I wouldn’t even care if something like that came out today, because it’s just a piece of paper laying on top of the regular LP jacket. (Not to mention it’s probably been bootlegged a hundred times over at this point!) But back then man, I wanted this thing so badly. I finally found someone who had bought 2 of them, and I probably had to trade practically an arm and a leg for it. I honestly don’t remember what I traded for it, but I’m sure it was a bunch of related ’97 era hardcore rarities, most likely. I wasn’t buddies with anyone related to this band, so I don’t know how serious or un-serious the “Rev Can Suck It” thing was… Either it was totally tongue in cheek, or they were pissed at Rev for something. My gut tells me it was probably the latter, just because shortly thereafter there were a couple volatile situations with other Rev bands from the Boston area being pissed off at Revelation (Fastbreak and Right Brigade). The rest of the 1st pressing was 220 on clear, 500 total on white (120 used for “Rev Can Suck It” covers, so 380 with regular covers), and a bunch on black. The Rev discography says “????” for the number on black vinyl for the 1st pressing. I got my clear and white copies directly via pre-order from Revelation. I remember this being a huge hardcore release at the time, so much so that there were tons of kids complaining on messageboards that they didn’t get a clear copy. Since those are out of 220 copies, that actually goes to show that this really was a big release, because most Revelation colored vinyl was 200-300, and it almost never sold through immediately with pre-orders. Also, as a comparison, my No Warning post talked about how when the No Warning pre-orders went out in 2002, only 173 of the free Terror 7″s that came with that pre-order got the stamped label because that’s how many pre-order packages there had been. No Warning “Ill Blood” was most definitely a hugely hyped and anticipated release in 2002, and it had the luxury of coming out after 2001 when hardcore had a huge popularity explosion due to American Nightmare, etc. But still, there were only 173 pre-orders for it. So the 220 clear vinyl copies of In My Eyes selling out via pre-order is definitely notable. I never did own a 1st pressing on black vinyl. The 2nd press was on blue vinyl out of 330, and was sold on the European Tour later in 2000. I was lucky enough to get a European kid to buy me an extra copy in exchange for buying him some similar tour pressing here in California for another band. I used to do that a lot with East Coast and European kids, so I had a little network of them that would help me out. Unfortunately, that European Tour basically meant the end for In My Eyes, because their vocalist Pete quit on tour and flew home, with their roadies having to finish the vocal duty for the rest of the tour. I think both Azy Relph and Ray Lemoine sang some of the shows. Of course, In My Eyes did get it together and played some more shows in the U.S. after that, but it was obviously an affirming indication that the band was going to be finishing up pretty soon. The 3rd pressing of “Nothing To Hide” didn’t come until somewhat recently, maybe 2007-2009? It was a “final pressing” on black vinyl out of 150 copies. I don’t think there is a way to tell the difference between the 1st pressing black or 3rd pressing black. I checked my 1st pressing clear copy vs. 3rd pressing black copy to see if there’s anything with the LP jacket, labels, or vinyl matrix etching that could denote a difference, but I didn’t really notice anything different.
Here’s the back of my “Rev Can Suck It”, #62/120.
I, along with about a million hardcore kids, loved the layout for this release. It looked cool and clean, with lots of classic black and white photography. Every traditional hardcore band started wanting their layout to look “like a mix of ‘Nothing To Hide’ and <insert whatever else here>”. Don’t believe me? Just ask Scott Magrath, who did a ton of hardcore layouts for all sorts of bands during the 2000’s era, and had to hear this all the time from kids like me, haha. This layout definitely influenced tons of hardcore layouts, including Champion’s “Count Our Numbers” EP, Far From Breaking’s “The Identity” EP, and even my own band, The Damage Done’s “Never Wash Away” EP.
Promo poster for “Nothing To Hide”. Just like “The Difference Between” poster, this hung on my wall throughout my college years from 2000-2002.
REV-85 Fastbreak – “Whenever You’re Ready” LP
The second row is the second Fastbreak LP, “Whenever You’re Ready” on Revelation Records. There were 226 on yellow vinyl, and a bunch on black. Everyone talked a ton of shit about this LP when it came out. It has this song “Music Is My Girlfriend”, it’s got a bubble-gum-boy-band type layout, and the dudes in the band started wearing tight black v-neck t-shirts, designer jeans, and touring with Saves The Day. Everyone gave them a hard time. Fuck it, I went and saw them on that Saves The Day tour and I had a good time. Despite this LP being poppy and a bit of a change in direction from their earlier stuff, I like it and I’m fine with it. haha. The other bit of controversy about this record is that they broke up shortly after releasing it, but they had signed a two record deal with Revelation. This issue reared its ugly head a couple years later when Pat (vocalist of Fastbreak) was playing guitar in Right Brigade, and Revelation claimed that Right Brigade owed them a record since the Fastbreak contract stipulated that members’ future bands would owe towards the contract if Fastbreak did not fulfill both record deals. Right Brigade was already having band member problems internally, and there were all sorts of crazy rumors about the Right Brigade LP having all those crazy samples on it, and how the samples were added in late night recording sessions without Jesse Standard (vocalist) knowing about it until it was released. Then the rumor was that Right Brigade was purposely making the record “crappy” to “screw over Revelation”. Then the rumor was that the band had broken up, but they were “forced into” recording an LP they didn’t even want to record… haha. All sorts of rumors like that. Bottom line is the band was on its last legs, and if an LP was going to come out, it was going to come out on Revelation due to Fastbreak contract issues. Who knows how it all actually played out. Despite all the controversy, I think the record is pretty cool, and I’ll throw it on every once in a while.
REV-86 Where Fear And Weapons Meet – “The Weapon” LP
Another solid release from Where Fear And Weapons Meet, but didn’t get a lot of press. This was a pretty good record – check it out if you’ve never heard it. Orange vinyl out of 222.
Back cover
REV-91 Ignite – “Call On My Brothers” LP
This album is actually kind of a classic at this point. It’s fun to joke and make fun of the whole opera-core vibe, but it goes so far beyond a guilty pleasure… Don’t we all love this shit? “I love you maaaaaan!” This LP actually wasn’t released on Revelation. It was released by Conversion Records, but since Rev re-released the CD-only version as REV-91, I figured I’d include it here. I think that I remember hearing that there were 500 pressed on clear vinyl, but it’s not documented on the Rev site or anything.
Back cover
Revelation didn’t release this one, but I didn’t have another area for Ignite records. “A Place Called Home” was released by a bigger label.
Reverse side
REV-94 the Nerve Agents – “Days Of The White Owl” LP
The pink vinyl (out of 338) along with the layout for this release looks so fucking sweet. I also owned a test pressing of this album, but I sold it to Dave Sausage a while back. He told me that this test pressing was his “White Whale” (pun, yes), so I knew that he needed to have it!
Back cover
The third Nerve Agents LP was released by Hellcat Records, not Revelation, but I figured I’d include it here anyway. I don’t think they pressed it on colored vinyl at all? I never liked the cover artwork at all, I just didn’t think it was very well done.
Reverse side of the insert. I meant to flip the jacket over to show the back cover as well, whoops!
REV-97 the Movielife – “This Time Next Year” LP
This was a pretty good LP in the Saves The Day vein. It seems like a lot of these dudes have stuck around and done a bunch of other bands too (Crime In Stereo, yeah?). 750 on blue vinyl. I thought the layout was pretty cheesy and predictable with the little stars…
Back cover
Revelation didn’t release The Movielife “Has A Gambling Problem” 12″, but I figured I’d include it here with the other Movielife record. I’m not usually a fan of picture disc type things, but this one looks pretty cool with the dice pressed in between the clear vinyl. Mine is #818/1000.
Reverse side
REV-98 the Explosion – “Steal This” 7″
This was another record that was rumored to suffer from the whole “multi-record deal” fiasco (see the Right Brigade LP further below). Damian was the bassist of In My Eyes and The Explosion. Supposedly Revelation was still owed another record from In My Eyes, so The Explosion were “forced” to release this 7″ on Revelation to fulfill contractual obligations. I don’t know if any of this is true, but it was a pretty commonly held rumor. On top of it, the title of the record “Steal This” is supposedly meant to be literal: “steal this, don’t buy it from Revelation”. Oh, hardcore…. sigh. haha.
Reverse side
REV-100 V/A – “Revelation 100” 2xLP Compilation
For years there was a gap in the Rev catalog because they wanted to release something special for Revelation #100. Finally this double-LP compilation of “rarities” came out, and it was pretty under-whelming. There were 300 on orange vinyl, 801 on black. I do remember thinking the Shai Hulud song was pretty cool. It had guest vocals from Aaron Bedard of Bane, and the song was much faster and shorter than the usual Shai Hulud stuff. Hopefully I’m remembering that right.
REV-101 Right Brigade – “s/t” LP
Ah, the Right Brigade LP. The pressing info on this one is simple – only one pressing, 317 on red vinyl, 775 on black vinyl. There were all sorts of funny rumors swirling about this record before it came out on Revelation Records. It all started with the Fastbreak “Whenever You’re Ready” LP that came out on Revelation. Fastbreak broke up shortly after releasing it, but they had signed a two record deal with Revelation. This issue reared its ugly head a couple years later when Pat (vocalist of Fastbreak) was playing guitar in Right Brigade, and Revelation claimed Right Brigade owed them a record since the Fastbreak contract stipulated that members’ future bands would owe towards the contract if Fastbreak did not fulfill both record deals. I think Right Brigade was already having band member problems internally, and there were all sorts of crazy rumors about the Right Brigade LP having all those crazy samples on it, and how the samples were added in late night recording sessions without Jesse Standard (vocalist) knowing about it until it was released. Then the rumor was that Right Brigade was purposely making the record “crappy” to “screw over Revelation”. Then the rumor was that the band had broken up before they even recorded, but they were “forced into” recording an LP they didn’t even want to record… haha. All sorts of rumors like that – who knows how it all actually played out. Bottom line is the band was on its last legs, and if an LP was going to come out, it was going to come out on Revelation due to Fastbreak contract issues. In the end, I think it’s still a cool record to listen to. I think that kids love to just jump on the bandwagon and hate on things without really developing their own opinion based on the actual music on the record. Granted, it doesn’t hit you as hard as the demo or 7″s, but it’s still a cool LP to jam and/or mosh to. “Fuck the kids”.
REV-108 Burn – “Last Great Sea” 7″
300 on blue vinyl. Released in 2002, I think I remember Rev saying that these were recorded before the band originally broke up. Either way, I wasn’t super into it. I know Burn released new material on the “Cleanse” 12″ on Equal Vision that was pretty crappy, but I think the “Last Great Sea” release was actually un-released older stuff.
Reverse side
REV-122 Judge – “What It Meant – The Complete Discography” 2xLP
In 2005, Revelation released the Judge “What It Meant” discography on a 2xLP format. The entire first pressing was 2300 on this crazy multi colored splatter/split/etc vinyl. I think it looks really awful, and I wish they would have just stuck with more basic colors. I think they got caught up in the year 2000’s craze of wild vinyl being pressed in Europe at GZ Media in the Czech Republic. I can’t say much, because I definitely pressed some of the splatter or split vinyl when I was running Rivalry Records. Some of that stuff can be kinda neat for a limited run, but only when it makes a bit more sense with the layouts or something. This one was just way too much going on – two different LP’s, with two different “half/half split” vinyl colors, with splatter on top of that was just way overboard. All subsequent pressings are on black vinyl. I also owned a test pressing, shown further below.
Gatefold outside
Gatefold inside
Poster and insert
Reverse side of insert
I actually owned a test pressing of this record as well. Sorry the picture is so blurry, but here’s the story… Jordan/Revelation had just sold one on eBay, but I lost the auction. I got in touch with the seller for a “second chance offer” type deal. When Jordan found out it was me, he offered to just send it to me for free since Rivalry had been a member of the Revelation “exclusively distributed” family for a long time, and we had a great working relationship. He sent the record up to me with a bunch of cool Judge stickers and some other stuff. I thought that was really nice of him to do that for me – thanks Jordan! 🙂
Close-up of the A-side label.
Close-up of the C-side label (the A-side of the 2nd LP).
REV-130 V/A – “Generations” LP Compilation
“Generations” features songs representing some of the best bands from this era of hardcore. My buddy, Bob Shedd, put together this compilation when he was handling most of the label duties at Revelation Records. He did such a sweet job, all the way down to patterning the layout after the original “NYHC: The Way It Is” LP comp. Like any classic compilation should, it accurately documents a snapshot in time of a particular generation of hardcore kids. What you see here is a test pressing plus a blue vinyl copy. There was also red vinyl pressed. The red and blue vinyl are out of 550 each, the test pressing is out of 42. They had to make a bunch so each band member could have one.
Cover and insert.
The back of the cover and insert.
REV-134 Shook Ones – “Slaughter Of The Insole” 7″
700 on purple vinyl. Shook Ones was a cool band from Bellingham/Seattle, WA with a Lifetime vibe. These are cool dudes of the Legitimate Brotherhood (Go It Alone, etc).
Back cover
REV-136 Sinking Ships – “Disconnecting” LP
Another band from Seattle featuring several of my homies. 317 on solid green vinyl.
Back cover
REV-140 Down To Nothing – “Higher Learning” 7″
This was a single type thing. 614 on yellow vinyl.
Reverse side
REV-141 Down To Nothing – “The Most” LP
This record is a total rager. DTN manages to channel a more youthful sounding Terror, meanwhile channeling their best Judge vibe for the layout. Normally I’m not a fan of the crazy splatter vinyl thing, but the white splatter on top of the green and blue does resemble a lightning storm really well, so I dig it a lot. There were 179 of these pressed.
Back cover
268 on blue vinyl with green splatter.
REV-143 Sinking Ships – “Ten” 7″
A pretty shoddy “record release” cover made by just writing on the covers with metallic gold ink for Sound And Fury Festival. Mine is #72. I don’t know how many they numbered (probably around 100?), but there are 434 total on pink vinyl.
#72 on the back cover.
REV-147 Mouthpiece – “Can’t Kill What’s Inside” Discography LP
Even though it was released by New Age Records, shown here is a test pressing of Mouthpiece’s only true full length LP – “What Was Said”. Oddly enough, What We Said was never pressed on colored vinyl, so I just own the one and only black vinyl copy of this release. In 2010, Revelation released a Mouthpiece discography LP entitled “Can’t Kill What’s Inside”. There are 343 on white vinyl and 780 on black vinyl. It just seems appropriate that Mouthpiece finally had something released on Revelation! Mouthpiece’s Revelation release seemed to be that missing link from Rev’s GB, YOT, and Chain releases in the late 80’s to the In My Eyes LP’s in the late 90’s.
Close-up of the “What Was Said” test pressing.
I’m glad that the Mouthpiece discography on Revelation got the proper treatment and looks right in line with a Rev #1-23 release, complete with “star background” on the labels and a big 12×24″ poster insert! This really does look like the long lost Mouthpiece release that always seemed like it should of been on Revelation.
Close-up of the “star background” Revelation, just like any of the early Rev releases like Bold “Speak Out, “NYHC: The Way It Is”, or later pressings of the Warzone 7″ and Sick Of It All 7″.
REV-150 V/A – “Past Present” LP Compilation
For Rev #150, they released this compilation of Revelation affiliated bands covering other Revelation bands. Limited run on yellow vinyl.
Reverse side
CRISIS-18 Shai Hulud – “Hearts Once Nourished…” LP
I was never really into much metallic hardcore, but man I loved this album! I’m still not sure what set it apart from the rest, but I still like it. How wild is it that the dude singing on this album is a 17 year old Chad, later guitarist of New Found Glory? Quite a difference! haha. I got to see them play one time when they’d brought Chad back on vocals for a short tour, and it was definitely cool/weird seeing him up there playing heavy stuff. There are only 106 of these on blood red vinyl, so this record is actually super hard to find. Finding it on vinyl at all is tough because it was released on “Crisis Records” instead of Revelation, back when Rev was doing the Crisis offshoot/subsidiary label. Call it a mid-life crisis, eh? I always thought it was weird how they chose records to be on Crisis vs. Revelation. Morning Again records were released on Revelation, while Shai Hulud records were released on Crisis, despite being very similar metalcore bands from Florida. I’m not sure what the criteria was.
Back cover
CRISIS-13 Shai Hulud – “A Profound Hatred Of Man” 7″
Another release on Crisis. This was released before the Shai Hulud LP as their debut 7″. There are 300 on grey vinyl. I also had the Shai Hulud split 10″ with Indecision called “The Fall Of Every Man” on green vinyl (Crisis #20). I was just looking around for it in order to take a photo, but it looks like I must have sold it already?
Back cover
Shai Hulud – “Demo” cassette tape
This was their original demo tape with Damien (Culture, As Friends Rust) singing. This was even before they got Chad (later guitarist of New Found Glory), who was later replaced with the dude from Europe.
My Revelation collection, at its peak. “MISSING:” means I didn’t have it:
- REVELATION RECORDS
- —————————————–
- REV -1 Judge – Chung King Can Suck It (WHITE, #39/110. The real deal.)
- REV Youth Of Today – Can’t Close My Eyes EP (4th press, ORANGE vinyl w/batman stamp, out of 100. B-side batman stamped and hand written: “BATMAN in color. What grows up while growing down? A duck.”)
- REV-001 Warzone – Lower East Side Crew EP (BLACK, 1st press, WHITE labels ABORTED PRESS, ORANGE marker colored cover, b&w foldout insert, out of 41)
- REV-001 Warzone – Lower East Side Crew EP (BLACK, 1st press, BLUE NUMBERED labels, #038/???, b&w foldout insert, out of 100 or less)
- REV-001 Warzone – Lower East Side Crew EP (ORANGE, 2nd press, orange paper insert, out of 500)
- REV-001 Warzone – Lower East Side Crew EP (BLACK, 2nd press, b&w foldout insert, out of 500)
- REV-001 Warzone – Lower East Side Crew EP (BLACK, 2nd press, b&w foldout insert, out of 500, BLUE lettering 3rd press cover)
- REV-001 Warzone – Lower East Side Crew EP (BLACK, 3rd press, b&w foldout insert, out of 1000, BLUE lettering 3rd press cover)
- REV-001 Warzone – Lower East Side Crew EP (BLACK, 3rd press, b&w foldout insert, out of 1000, has a 2nd press cover with lettering colored in RED marker)
- REV-001 Warzone – Lower East Side Crew EP (GREEN, 3rd press, yellow paper insert, out of 200)
- MISISNG: CLEAR vinyl 4th press /300 with red lettering on sleeve
- REV-002 V/A – Together, New York City Hardcore 1987 (TEST PRESS, Revelation Records #2)
- REV-002 V/A – Together, New York City Hardcore 1987 (ORANGE, 1st press, out of 400, with both poster inserts. Revelation Records #2)
- REV-002 V/A – Together, New York City Hardcore 1987 (BLACK, 1st press, out of 600, with both poster inserts. Revelation Records #2)
- REV-002 V/A – Together, New York City Hardcore 1987 (BLACK, 2nd press, out of 300, YELLOW insert, folds at TOP. Revelation Records #2)
- REV-002 V/A – Together, New York City Hardcore 1987 (YELLOW, 3rd press #006/100, with both poster inserts. Revelation Records #2)
- REV-002 V/A – Together, New York City Hardcore 1987 (BLACK, 4th press, out of 100, obvious photo copy cover, but this cover folds at TOP like 2nd press. Also, has 4 inserts on regular paper, instead of the 2 oversized inserts. Revelation Records #2)
- REV-003 Sick Of It All – s/t (BLACK, 45rpm, 1st press, #837/1000, original label design, insert and trade list plus a “Sorry took so long to get this record out” note from Rev)
- REV-003 Sick Of It All – s/t (RED, 45rpm, 2nd press, #1615 they are numbered 1000-2000, original insert and trade list)
- REV-003 Sick Of It All – s/t (BLACK, 45rpm, 3rd press, black lettering, stamp on inside cover “GILMAN 6/26/88 LTD. ED. OF 300”, #76/300)
- REV-003 Sick Of It All – s/t (BLACK, 45rpm, 3rd press, black lettering, stamped numbers on inside cover but NO gilman stamp, #165/300)
- REV-003 Sick Of It All – s/t (BLACK, 33rpm, 4th press, 33rpm and photo closer up, nothing printed on inside of fold-out cover, original insert, out of 2000)
- REV-003 Sick Of It All – s/t (GREY, 33rpm, 1997 Rev repress with note from Lou Koller printed on glossy insert, out of 102)
- REV-003 Sick Of It All – s/t (BLACK, 33rpm, 1997 Rev repress with note from Lou Koller printed on glossy insert, out of 1100)
- REV-003 Sick Of It All – s/t (WHITE, 33rpm, Rev repress December 2001, out of 300)
- REV-003 Sick Of It All – s/t (CLEAR, 45rpm, black lettering “Gilman cover”, stamped inside cover “Record Store Day 2010”, out of 83)
- REV-003 Sick Of It All – s/t (BLACK, 45rpm, labels with Rev Star #3 at top and new star background pattern – similar to 2nd-4th press labels but smaller stars and WHITE a-side label, RED b-side label, has 1997 insert but it’s regular paper NOT glossy, matrix is exact same as 1st-3rd 45rpm pressings must be same plates)
- MISSING: 4th pressing closer photo WITH CATALOG PRINTED on inside of folder cover
- REV-004 Gorilla Biscuits – s/t (BLACK, BLUE letters, 1st press #88/102, blank white & yellow labels, matrix A=”WANNA WALK” B=”GOT A DOLLA”)
- REV-004 Gorilla Biscuits – s/t (BLACK, BLUE letters, 1st press, matrix A=”WANNA WALK” B=”GOT A DOLLA”)
- REV-004 Gorilla Biscuits – s/t (YELLOW, WARZONE b-side label, 50-90 exist, Purple letters, 2nd press, matrix A=”NO TIME FOR OPTIMISM” B=”STARRING, FAY WRAY, BRUCE CABBOT, AND ROBERT ARMSTRONG”)
- REV-004 Gorilla Biscuits – s/t (YELLOW, PURPLE letters, 2nd press, matrix A=”NO TIME FOR OPTIMISM” B=”STARRING, FAY WRAY, BRUCE CABBOT, AND ROBERT ARMSTRONG”)
- REV-004 Gorilla Biscuits – s/t (YELLOW, RED letters, 2nd press, matrix A=”NO TIME FOR OPTIMISM” B=”STARRING, FAY WRAY, BRUCE CABBOT, AND ROBERT ARMSTRONG”)
- REV-004 Gorilla Biscuits – s/t (BLACK, RED block letters, 3rd press, matrix A=”NO TIME FOR OPTIMISM” B=”STARRING, FAY WRAY, BRUCE CABBOT, AND ROBERT ARMSTRONG”)
- REV-004 Gorilla Biscuits – s/t (BLACK, PURPLE block letters, 3rd press, matrix A=”NO TIME FOR OPTIMISM” B=”STARRING, FAY WRAY, BRUCE CABBOT, AND ROBERT ARMSTRONG”)
- REV-004 Gorilla Biscuits – s/t (GREEN, RED thin letters, glossy sleeve, band still photo on LEFT side of insert, 4th press, matrix A=”NO TIME FOR OPTIMISM” B=”STARRING, FAY WRAY, BRUCE CABBOT, AND ROBERT ARMSTRONG”)
- REV-004 Gorilla Biscuits – s/t (BLACK, RED thin letters, glossy sleeve, band still photo on LEFT side of insert, 5th press+, matrix A=”NO TIME FOR OPTIMISM” B=”STARRING, FAY WRAY, BRUCE CABBOT, AND ROBERT ARMSTRONG”)
- REV-004 Gorilla Biscuits – s/t (BLACK, RED thin letters, glossy sleeve, band still photo on RIGHT side of insert but REVERSED PHOTO so Civ’s sweatshirt lettering is backwards, 5th press+, matrix A=”NO TIME FOR OPTIMISM” B=”STARRING, FAY WRAY, BRUCE CABBOT, AND ROBERT ARMSTRONG”)
- REV-004 Gorilla Biscuits – s/t (BLACK, RED thin letters, glossy sleeve, band still photo on RIGHT side of insert, 6th press+, matrix A=”HE THREW MY REST IN PIECES TAPE IN THE OCEAN” B=”MULLBERRYS / RICHIES / VILLAGE FUCKIN’ SLICE”)
- REV-004 Gorilla Biscuits – s/t (BLACK, RED thin letters, glossy sleeve, insert is back to original insert design but now undersized, 7th press, matrix A=”HE THREW MY REST IN PIECES TAPE IN THE OCEAN” B=”MULLBERRYS / RICHIES / VILLAGE FUCKIN’ SLICE”)
- REV-004 Gorilla Biscuits – s/t (BLACK, RED back to block letters, glossy sleeve, back cover is lighter blue and new design placement, mine has 2 inserts – 1. undersized original insert from above, plus 2. band still photo on RIGHT with correct photo, matrix A=”HE THREW MY REST IN PIECES TAPE IN THE OCEAN” B=”MULLBERRYS / RICHIES / VILLAGE FUCKIN’ SLICE”)
- MISSING: YELLOW vinyl with Luke drawing b-side numbered out of 15
- MISSING: WHITE or CREAM vinyl
- REV-005 Side By Side – You’re Only Young Once (TEST PRESS, 1st pressing on Revelation. Blank labels, not the Rainbo Records labels)
- REV-005 Side By Side – You’re Only Young Once (BLACK, 1st press, WHITE labels, cover opens at top, out of 2017)
- REV-005 Side By Side – You’re Only Young Once (BLACK, 2nd press, SILVER labels, cover opens at bottom, out of 2000)
- REV-005 Side By Side – You’re Only Young Once (BLACK, 3rd press, GREY labels, cover opens at top, out of 2000)
- REV-005 Side By Side – You’re Only Young Once… (BLUE, 1st press, out of 100, glossy sleeve, matrix: A=’TRT-A “SIDE BY SIDE”‘ B=’TRT-B “SIDE BY SIDE”‘)
- REV-005 Side By Side – You’re Only Young Once… (BLACK, 1st press, out of 1109, glossy sleeve, matrix: A=’TRT-A “SIDE BY SIDE”‘ B=’TRT-B “SIDE BY SIDE”‘)
- REV-005 Side By Side – You’re Only Young Once… (BLACK, later press, non-glossy sleeve, matrix: A=’REV05-1 (A) RE-1′ B=’REV05-1 (B) RE-1′)
- REV-006 No For An Answer – You Laugh EP (TEST PRESS, 1st pressing on Revelation, different pressing plant than repress tests. Has special photo-copied inserts and original NFAA “You Laugh” sticker)
- REV-006 No For An Answer – You Laugh EP (BLACK, 1st press, WHITE labels w/both inserts, cover opens at top, out of 2003)
- REV-006 No For An Answer – You Laugh EP (BLACK, 2nd press, SILVER labels, cover opens at bottom, out of 2000)
- REV-006 No For An Answer – You Laugh EP (BLACK, 3rd press GREY labels, cover opens at top, out of 2000)
- REV-006 No For An Answer – You Laugh EP (BLACK, 4th press, REVERSED BLACK labels mis-press, out of 1000, glossy pocket cover)
- REV-006 No For An Answer – You Laugh EP (BLACK, 5th press, CORRECT BLACK labels, glossy pocket cover)
- MISSING: I Spy Sleeve
- MISSING: Live numbered Sleeve
- REV-007 V/A – The Way It Is (BLACK, BLUE/GREEN labels, 1st press, big booklet lyric sheet, trade list flier, matrix A=”OPEN YOUR EYES LOOK AND SEE BIB MABBEY’S DELIGHT” B=”G.I. JOE COMMANDER APPEARS COURTESY OF THE ADVENTURE GROUP”)
- REV-007 V/A – The Way It Is (BLACK, BLUE/GREEN labels, 2nd press, condensed lyric sheet, no custom matrix etching – same as BLUE vinyl repress)
- REV-007 V/A – The Way It Is (BLACK, b&w labels, 3rd press, condensed lyric sheet, no custom matrix etching – same as BLUE vinyl repress)
- REV-007 V/A – The Way It Is (BLUE, Rev repress 04/25/2001, Gorilla Biscuits, YOT, SOIA, Side By Side, etc)
- REV-008 Youth Of Today – Break Down The Walls (TEST PRESS REJECTED, GREEN vinyl, Revelation Records, out of 10. There are 10 of these, does NOT have the “Nancy Loves Walter and Mike” matrix. This is the 2nd pressing of the 1988 press, NOT a test of the 1997 or later pressings.)
- REV-008 Youth Of Today – Break Down The Walls (TEST PRESS ACCEPTED, BLACK vinyl, Revelation Records, out of 8. This is the accepted version of the GREEN rejected test. There are 8 of these, does NOT have the “Nancy Loves Walter and Mike” matrix. This is the 2nd pressing of the 1988 press, NOT a test of the 1997 or later pressings.)
- REV-008 Youth Of Today – Break Down The Walls (BLACK, Revelation, 1st press, BLUE and YELLOW labels, matrix – “Nancy loves Walter & Mike”)
- REV-008 Youth Of Today – Break Down The Walls (BLACK, Revelation, 1st press, PROMO STAMP on back, BLUE and YELLOW labels, matrix – “Nancy loves Walter & Mike”)
- REV-008 Youth Of Today – Break Down The Walls (BLACK, Revelation, 2nd press, WHITE band hangout labels)
- REV-008 Youth Of Today – Break Down The Walls (ORANGE, Rev repress 1997, out of 217)
- REV-008 Youth Of Today – Break Down The Walls (WHITE, Posi Fest 2002 cover #50/60, Rev repress 04/27/2001)
- REV-008 Youth Of Today – Break Down The Walls (WHITE, Rev repress 04/27/2001, out of 440)
- REV-008 Youth Of Today – Break Down The Walls (BLACK, Rev repress 04/27/2001, band hangout labels from 1988, out of 550)
- REV-008 Youth Of Today – Break Down The Walls (BLACK, Rev repress 04/27/2001, new 1997 label art)
- REV-008 Youth Of Today – Break Down The Walls (BLACK, BLUE and YELLOW glossy cover, labels from 1997 pressing)
- REV-009 Bold – Speak Out (TEST PRESS, 1st pressing Revelation Records w/ElectroSound Group labels)
- REV-009 Bold – Speak Out (BLACK, 1st pressing, Gatefold w/nothing numbers in matrix)
- REV-009 Bold – Speak Out (BLACK, 2nd pressing, Gatefold w/only numbers on A-side matrix & B-side “Carrot Juice” matrix)
- REV-009 Bold – Speak Out (BLACK, 3rd pressing, Gatefold w/”HA HA HA” A-side matrix & “Carrot Juice” B-side matrix)
- REV-009 Bold – Speak Out (BLACK, 4th pressing, no gatefold, WHITE labels, small photo copy insert on white paper with mail order ad up through REV:24, had to have come before the BLUE label pressing)
- REV-009 Bold – Speak Out (BLACK, 5th pressing, no gatefold, BLUE labels, standard glossy LP insert)
- REV-009 Bold – Speak Out (YELLOW, Rev repress 04/27/2001, out of 330)
- REV-010 Chain Of Strength – True Till Death (TEST PRESS, out of 8, Revelation Records #10)
- REV-010 Chain Of Strength – True Till Death (GREEN, 1st press, out of 2000)
- REV-010 Chain Of Strength – True Till Death (BLACK, 2nd press, out of 2000)
- REV-010 Chain Of Strength – True Till Death (CLEAR, 3rd press, WITH SILVER SLEEVE, out of 200)
- REV-010 Chain Of Strength – True Till Death (CLEAR, 3rd press, GREEN SLEEVE, out of 300)
- REV-010 Chain Of Strength – The One Thing That Still Holds True (GREEN, 1st press, out of 312)
- REV-010 Chain Of Strength – The One Thing That Still Holds True (BLACK, 1st press, green bars on insert are printed a nice dark green, out of 3023)
- REV-010 Chain Of Strength – The One Thing That Still Holds True (BLACK, later press, green bars on insert are printed more of a lime green)
- REV-010 Chain Of Strength – The One Thing That Still Holds True (GREY, Rev repress 04/27/2001, out of 440)
- REV-011 Bold – s/t (PINK / ORANGE MIX, RED cover, out of only a few)
- REV-011 Bold – s/t (PINK / ORANGE MIX, RED cover, out of only a few) — yes I have 2 and they are very similar
- REV-011 Bold – s/t (ORANGE, RED cover, out of 1000)
- REV-011 Bold – s/t (BLACK, RED cover, misprinted b-side label, text not centered and running off labels)
- REV-011 Bold – s/t (BLACK, BLUE cover)
- MISSING: PINK vinyl /60
- REV-011 Bold – Looking Back (PURPLE, 1st press, out of 206)
- REV-011 Bold – Looking Back (BLACK, 1st press, out of 1010)
- REV-011 Bold – Looking Back (BLACK, heavier glossy jacket, darker red lettering on back)
- REV-011 Bold – Looking Back (GREY, Final press 01/04/2002, out of 197)
- REV-012 Gorilla Biscuits – Start Today (PURPLE, 1st press, embossed letters on cover, out of 1015)
- REV-012 Gorilla Biscuits – Start Today (BLACK, 1st press, embossed letters on cover, out of 4977)
- REV-012 Gorilla Biscuits – Start Today (BLACK, 2nd press, non-embossed letters on cover, BLACK background on text-side of lyric sheet, out of 2184)
- REV-012 Gorilla Biscuits – Start Today (BLACK, 3rd press, non-embossed letters on cover, WHITE background on text-side of lyric sheet)
- REV-012 Gorilla Biscuits – Start Today (RED, Rev repress 01/04/2002, out of 310)
- REV-013 Slipknot – s/t (RED with a few black streaks, out of 1500, Revelation #13)
- REV-013 Slipknot – s/t (BLACK, out of 3500, Revelation #13)
- REV-014 Judge – New York Crew (BLUE, ORANGE cover, 45rpm, matrix A=”SCHISM-2 A THE SAP HOTLINE F/W cg” B=”SCHISM-2 B WE MISS KELLOGG’S”, Revelation Records, out of 1000)
- REV-014 Judge – New York Crew (BLACK, ORANGE cover, 45rpm, matrix A=”REV-14 A THE SAP HOTLINE F/W cg” + scratched out “SCHISM-2 A” B=has “REV-14-B” and “REV-14-B-R” and “WE MISS KELLOGG’s” + scratched out “SCHISM-2 B”)
- REV-014 Judge – New York Crew (BLACK, YELLOW paper sleeve, PURPLE insert, 45rpm, matrix A=”SCHISM-2 A THE SAP HOTLINE F/W cg” B=”SCHISM-2 B WE MISS KELLOGG’S”, Revelation Records)
- REV-014 Judge – New York Crew (BLACK, YELLOW glossy sleeve, YELLOW insert, A=33rpm B=45rpm REJECT PRESS?, matrix A=”REV-14-A RE” B=”REV-14-B WE MISS KELLOGG’s” + scratched out “SCHISM-2 B”, Revelation Records)
- REV-014 Judge – New York Crew (BLACK, YELLOW glossy sleeve, WHITE insert, 33rpm, matrix A=”REV-14-A RE” B=”REV 14-B RE OLD SMOKE 3-1-93″, Revelation Records)
- REV-015 Judge – Bringin’ It Down (TEST PRESS, out of 8)
- REV-015 Judge – Bringin’ It Down (GREEN, PURPLE labels, 1st press, YELLOW lettering insert, out of 712)
- REV-015 Judge – Bringin’ It Down (BLACK, PURPLE labels, 1st press, YELLOW lettering insert, out of 5458)
- REV-015 Judge – Bringin’ It Down (BLACK, RED labels, 2nd press, PURPLE lettering insert)
- REV-015 Judge – Bringin’ It Down (BLACK, RED labels, 3rd press, WHITE lettering insert)
- REV-015 Judge – Bringin’ It Down (ORANGE, Final press 04/27/2001, out of 333)
- REV-016 Shelter – Perfection Of Desire (MAROON, 1st press, fold out cardboard insert, out of 1020)
- REV-016 Shelter – Perfection Of Desire (BLACK, 1st press, fold out cardboard insert, out of 4817)
- REV-016 Shelter – Perfection Of Desire (BLACK, 2nd press, white condensed insert)
- REV-017 Youth Of Today – Disengage (TEST PRESS, Revelation Records #17)
- REV-017 Youth Of Today – Disengage (CLEAR, 1st press, tri-fold full color insert, out of 1000)
- REV-017 Youth Of Today – Disengage (BLACK, 1st press, tri-fold full color insert, out of 5000)
- REV-017 Youth Of Today – Disengage (BLACK, 2nd press, tri-fold b&w insert, out of ??)
- REV-017 Youth Of Today – Disengage (BLACK, later press, condensed single sheet b&w insert)
- REV-017 Youth Of Today – Disengage (CLEAR/WHITE SWIRL, Final press 04/27/2001, out of 327)
- REV-017 Youth Of Today – Disengage (RED, Record Store Day 4.16.11, out of 1300)
- REV-018 Quicksand – s/t (WHITE, 1st press, non-glossy cardstock sleeve, b&w insert, out of 1000)
- REV-018 Quicksand – s/t (BLACK, 1st press, non-glossy cardstock sleeve, b&w insert, out of 5000)
- REV-018 Quicksand – s/t (BLACK, 1st press, thinner paper sleeve, turquoise insert, out of ???)
- REV-018 Quicksand – s/t (GOLD, Rev repress 01/04/2002, glossy cardstock sleeve, b&w insert, out of 1000)
- REV-018 Quicksand – s/t (BLUE, Record Store Day 4.16.11, out of 1000)
- REV-019 Inside Out – No Spiritual Surrender (BLUE, 1st press, no bar printed across top, printed in Canada on back, blue insert, out of 1000)
- REV-019 Inside Out – No Spiritual Surrender (BLACK, 1st press, no bar printed across top, printed in Canada on back, blue insert, out of 4000)
- REV-019 Inside Out – No Spiritual Surrender (BLACK, 2nd press?, darker blue cover almost charcoal grey, white bar printed across top, printed in Canada on back, blue insert)
- REV-019 Inside Out – No Spiritual Surrender (BLACK, blue bar printed across top, b&w insert with different photo)
- REV-019 Inside Out – No Spiritual Surrender (WHITE, Rev repress 02/15/2002, white bar printed across top, out of 350)
- REV-020 Judge – There Will Be Quiet… (GOLD, 1st press, out of 1000, logo in upper left hand corner of insert)
- REV-020 Judge – There Will Be Quiet… (GOLD, 1st press, out of 1000, lyrics in upper left hand corner of insert)
- REV-020 Judge – There Will Be Quiet… (BLACK, 1st press, out of 4000, logo in upper left hand corner of insert)
- REV-021 Supertouch – The Earth Is Flat (BLACK, out of 3015)
- REV-022 Burn – s/t (TEST PRESS, Revelation Records #22)
- REV-022 Burn – s/t (PINK, 1st press, full color insert, CT address, out of 1000)
- REV-022 Burn – s/t (BLACK, 1st press, full color insert, CT address, out of 4000)
- REV-022 Burn – s/t (BLACK, glossy cover, black and white insert, CT address)
- REV-022 Burn – s/t (BLACK, glossy cover, black and white insert, CA address)
- REV-022 Burn – s/t (YELLOW, Record Store Day 4.16.11, out of 1000)
- REV-023 Ray and Porcell – 7″ (PURPLE, 1st press, fold out full color insert, out of 1000)
- REV-023 Ray and Porcell – 7″ (BLACK, 1st press, fold out full color insert, out of 4000)
- REV-023 Ray and Porcell – 7″ (BLACK, later press, condensed b&w insert, out of 4000)
- REV-023 Ray and Porcell – 7″ (BLACK, purple xeroxed sleeve, final pressing, #64/100)
- ———————END COMPLETE COLLECTION——————-
- REV-028 Underdog – Demos (BLACK)
- REV-053 Good Riddance / Ignite – Split (BLACK, 1st press, out of 2000)
- REV-053 Good Riddance / Ignite – Split (GREEN, 2nd press, out of 2000)
- REV-054 Ignite – Past Our Means (BLUE, out of 323)
- REV-056 Rage Against The Machine – People Of The Sun EP (RED, out of 510)
- REV-059 Youth Of Today – We’re Not In This Alone (RED, Rev repress, out of 100)
- REV-060 Better Than A Thousand – Just One (TEST PRESS)
- REV-060 Better Than A Thousand – Just One (CLEAR, out of 517)
- REV-059 Youth Of Today – We’re Not In This Alone (RED, Rev repress, out of 100)
- REV-059 Youth Of Today – We’re Not In This Alone (PURPLE, Rev repress, out of 112)
- REV-059 Youth Of Today – We’re Not In This Alone (BLACK)
- REV-062 Youth Of Today – Can’t Close My Eyes (TEST PRESS, out of 4, Revelation Records #62)
- REV-062 Youth Of Today – Can’t Close My Eyes (GREEN, Rev repress, out of 217)
- REV-062 Youth Of Today – Can’t Close My Eyes (YELLOW MARBLE, Rev final press)
- REV-062 Youth Of Today – Can’t Close My Eyes (BLACK, Revelation)
- REV-064 Speak 714 – Knee Deep In Guilt (YELLOW/TAN)
- REV-065 Battery – Whatever It Takes (PINK, out of 218)
- REV-067 In My Eyes – The Difference Between (RED, out of 104)
- REV-067 In My Eyes – The Difference Between (YELLOW, out of 213)
- REV-067 In My Eyes – The Difference Between (BLACK)
- REV-067 In My Eyes – The Difference Between (ORANGE, Final Press)
- REV-072 Speak 714 – The Scum Also Rises (TEST PRESS)
- REV-072 Speak 714 – The Scum Also Rises (YELLOW, out of 180)
- REV-073 the Nerve Agents – s/t (TEST PRESS, out of 8)
- REV-073 the Nerve Agents – s/t (GREEN, out of 222)
- REV-073 the Nerve Agents – s/t (GREY, Rev repress)
- REV-074 Where Fear And Weapons Meet – s/t (CLEAR, out of 220)
- REV-080 In My Eyes – Nothing To Hide (WHITE, Rev Can Suck It cover #62/120)
- REV-080 In My Eyes – Nothing To Hide (CLEAR, out of 220)
- REV-080 In My Eyes – Nothing To Hide (WHITE, out of 500)
- REV-080 In My Eyes – Nothing To Hide (BLUE MARBLE, Euro Tour, out of 330)
- REV-080 In My Eyes – Nothing To Hide (BLACK, Final pressing, out of 150)
- REV-085 Fastbreak – Whenever You’re Ready (YELLOW, out of 226)
- REV-085 Fastbreak – Whenever You’re Ready (BLACK)
- REV-086 Where Fear And Weapons Meet – The Weapon (ORANGE, out of 222)
- REV-091 Ignite – Call On My Brothers (CLEAR)
- REV-094 the Nerve Agents – Days Of The White Owl (TEST PRESS, out of 8)
- REV-094 the Nerve Agents – Days Of The White Owl (PINK, out of 338)
- REV-097 the Movielife – This Time Next Year (BLUE, out of 750)
- REV-098 the Explosion – Steal This (RED, out of 300)
- REV-100 V/A – Rev 100 2xLP (ORANGE)
- REV-101 Right Brigade – s/t (RED, out of 317)
- REV-101 Right Brigade – s/t (BLACK, out of 775)
- REV-108 Burn – Last Great Sea (BLUE)
- REV-111 Dag Nasty – Minority Of One (PINK, out of 36)
- REV-122 Judge – What It Meant 2xLP (TEST PRESS, out of 12)
- REV-122 Judge – What It Meant 2xLP (1 red/orange w/black splatter, 1 yellow/clear with red splatter)
- REV-122 Judge – What It Meant 2xLP (BLACK)
- REV-130 V/A – Generations (TEST PRESS, Revelation #130)
- REV-134 Shook Ones – Slaughter Of The Insole (PURPLE, out of 700)
- REV-136 Sinking Ships – Disconnecting (GREEN)
- REV-140 Down To Nothing – Higher Learning (YELLOW)
- REV-141 Down To Nothing – The Most (GREEN/BLUE w/WHITE splatter)
- REV-141 Down To Nothing – The Most (BLUE w/GREEN splatter)
- REV-143 Sinking Ships – Ten (PINK, Sound & Fury 2007 cover #72/??)
- REV-147 Mouthpiece – Can’t Kill What’s Inside (WHITE, out of 343)
- REV-147 Mouthpiece – Can’t Kill What’s Inside (BLACK, out of 780)
- REV-150 V/A – Rev 150 Past Present, Breaking Out The Classics (YELLOW)
- CRISIS-13 Shai Hulud – A Profound Hatred Of Man (GREY, out of 300)
- CRISIS-18 Shai Hulud – Hearts Once Nourished With Hope And Compassion (RED, out of 106)
- CRISIS-20 Shai Hulud / Indecision – The Fall Of Every Man (GREEN)
seekingthesimple.wordpress.com 
I currently have 8 different versions of the Inside Out 7″.
hey there …
in case you are still looking for a regular pressing of the YOT “break down the walls” on WE BITE, black vinyl. drop me a line. i have two of `em and would trade one.
“… Oddly enough I only have the We Bite release on the yellow vinyl – I need to get a regular black copy of this.”
awesome pictures and writing by the way!
Martin
Thanks man. I’ll probably just wait around and pick one up for like $12-15 on eBay or somethin.
hi man.
ultra nice collection!!!
wow! wish i could keep up with you!
thats an inspiration to search harder for records.
thanx man! you’re awesome!!
chris
Keep your Chung King Kyle I just want your Side by Side – Your Only Young Once 12″ – 1st press! 🙂 … no Joke!
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Cool to see the Rainbo Records test pressings again. I worked there while I was in college. Some of those notes are prolly my handwriting! LOL
UPDATE: After I posted the Schism blog entry, Chris Daily emailed me with some cool info about the paper on the Project X 7″ being the same as the 1st pressing inserts on the SOIA, SBS, and NFAA 7″s (thanks Chris!): “Maybe useless info and maybe cool tidbit….I just happened to notice the write up on the PX cover paper, you will also notice that the 2 color SOIA lyric sheet (2 colors was just something I did in school, rest of the pressing it was not cost effective to do 2 colors), the Side By Side Lyric sheet and the NFAA lyric sheet are all the same paper…..I printed them for Rev (and Schism) while in High School so all the paper should be the same.” Now that he mentions it, it’s obvious that the SOIA, NFAA, and SBS 1st pressing inserts all have the exact same paper that was used on the Project X 7″ – cool!
Hello Kyle,
Hope you’re well. Chanced upon this site while searching for additional Revelation information. Cheers to you! This is excellent companion to Finn’s page. Love the photos and text. immensely envious too 🙂 I’ll be visiting your page frequently as I add/build my Revelation collection.
Peace,
Scott
Hey Kyle,
I do have a Burn 7″ that I tought would be a first press because of the spelling mistake on the back-cover “jugded” but it has a b/w insert which according to your info only appeared from the 2nd press on. So I’m a little confused here. Oh and it does have the New Haven address instead of the Huntington Beach one. Would be great if you could let me know for what pressing they changed the spelling mistake on the back.
Thanks for doing this page.
Cheers
Guido
Who knows. Having run a record label myself, here’s my best guess: they printed like a billion covers – say 15,000 to start. But they only did 5,000 pieces of vinyl and 5,000 color inserts. You get huge volume discounts on printing, so that’s why you sometimes press more covers and/or inserts than you do vinyl. So… They probably had way more 7″ covers than they did inserts and/or vinyl, which is why you see that 1st pressing spelling mistake on later pressings that do not have a colored insert. But, I mean, I wasn’t there physically pressing the records, nor receiving them into the Rev warehouse, so these sorts of things are always subject to guessing and interpretation. I really do think that anything with a black and white insert is a later pressing though. Or how about this – maybe yours is a 1st pressing, but someone LOST the full color insert, and along the way someone threw a black and white insert into their first pressing cover so that it would at least have some sort of lyric sheet. That kind of shit happens ALL the time. All in all, record collecting is just for fun, and these sort of pressing abnormalities are just that – fun abnormalities that are cool to document… Who knows what really happened.
Hi Kyle i just saw that alot of the photos i have send you are blurry sorry about that i just took them quickly with my iphone, if you want i can make them again, but with a photocamera this time?
Let me know which ones you want, and how you want me to take the photos etc.
Hope to hear from you soon, and if you have more good news 😉 let me know please
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No Statue 12″? Come on, buddy!
Hello Kyle,
I ran into this site while searching for Revelation pressing information and I must say that your Revelation Records vinyl collection is, hands down, the best collection I have ever seen in my life and I probably will never see any better than this!!! I mean, I literally cannot even believe all the test pressings you have!!! I am actually dumbfounded, because everyone I knew didn’t even try to collect the early Rev test pressings because they are soooooo hard to get. And that aborted white label Warzone 1st press rec you have… My gosh??? Good for you man!!! You make us all proud and you give us all tremendous goals to shoot for…
Okay, I have been collecting Rev recs since about 1992 or so. I took a long break until they did the California, Chicago and New York City Revelation 25 Reunion Shows a couple years ago, and for some strange reason, I decided to start collecting again. Probably because, when I went to that Rev25 Reunion Show in New York, it made me feel like a kid all over again, ha ha. Well anyways, I have hit a serious wall here and it is the same wall I hit which made me stop collecting at the end of the 90s… I can’t seem to get me a Warzone – LESC – 1st press black, 2nd press orange, or just a 2nd press plain black vinyl version of that 7″.. And I can’t seem to get me a New York City Hardcore – Together Comp – 1st press black or orange vinyl 7″… Heck, to tell you the truth, after all this time of not being able to hunt those 2 records down, I would buy any version / pressing I can get of either one of those 7 inches. So, would you happen to know anybody selling either one of those records so I can finally complete my first 50 Revelation Records collection??? I would really appreciate it if you can help me with getting those 2 records somehow? Or, even if you can’t, can you please point me in a different direction, other than eBay and Discogs.com, where I have been looking for these 2 records at the right price for years now???
Thank you very much for your time… And again: Your Rev vinyl collection in incredibly insane amazing!!!
Sincerely with kind regards,
Dominick
Hello Kyle,
I ran into this site while searching for Revelation pressing information and I must say that your Revelation Records vinyl collection is, hands down, the best collection I have ever seen in my life and I probably will never see any better than this!!! I mean, I literally cannot even believe all the test pressings you have!!! I am actually dumbfounded, because everyone I knew didn’t even try to collect the early Rev test pressings because they are soooooo hard to get. And that aborted white label Warzone 1st press rec you have… My gosh??? Good for you man!!! You make us all proud and you give us all tremendous goals to shoot for…
Okay, I have been collecting Rev recs since about 1992 or so. I took a long break until they did the California, Chicago and New York City Revelation 25 Reunion Shows a couple years ago, and for some strange reason, I decided to start collecting again. Probably because, when I went to that Rev25 Reunion Show in New York, it made me feel like a kid all over again, ha ha. Well anyways, I have hit a serious wall here and it is the same wall I hit which made me stop collecting at the end of the 90s… I can’t seem to get me a Warzone – LESC – 1st press black, 2nd press orange, or just a 2nd press plain black vinyl version of that 7″.. And I can’t seem to get me a New York City Hardcore – Together Comp – 1st press black or orange vinyl 7″… Heck, to tell you the truth, after all this time of not being able to hunt those 2 records down, I would buy any version / pressing I can get of either one of those 7 inches. So, would you happen to know anybody selling either one of those records so I can finally complete my first 50 Revelation Records collection??? I would really appreciate it if you can help me with getting those 2 records somehow? Or, even if you can’t, can you please point me in a different direction, other than eBay and Discogs.com, where I have been looking for these 2 records at the right price for years now???
Thank you very much for your time… And again: Your Rev vinyl collection is incredibly insane amazing!!!
Sincerely with kind regards,
Dominick
Sorry about the double posy man. I wanted to fix a typo and it made me post the whole damn thing again. Please delete the first one and this one, if you could…
Thanx,
Dom
It feels so weird that the BDTW We Bite euro pressing was made in a small town 40km away from my hometown… (Diepholz). I should maybe call them and ask if they still have one of the BDTW test pressings haha.
Thank you for showing the Chain of Strength, “What Holds Us Apart”, 2nd pressing on First Strike with the 1st pressing blue record inside. Of course I should have realized they just put a 1st press record in a 2nd pressing sleeve! Now I know that’s what I have. Very impressive database you’ve put together here, it’s been fun looking through it.