Bands that didn't have legs

[Raven X Army]

I used to have a decent IRON BOOTS collection when they were still shit hot but I traded it all for something or other hoping to rebuild it later on and... then I never did.
Today, which is some 15 years later, I thought I'd like to pop some Iron Boots on the spinner but sure enough didn't have any.
Popped over to discogs and realised you can pick up just about any 7" they ever did for $2 to $10.
I remember their record release or whatever numbered thing they did was selling for anything between $30 to $100 in the mid 2000s

Makes you wonder how some bands from that era still have legs (ie American Nightmare) but some, which at the time were pretty popular, do not. At least as far as the demand for their music goes, which I think is a pretty good indicator of popularity.

I wonder what makes bands fall out of favour. MENTAL were huuuuuuge when they were around. It really seemed like this was going to last forever but almost as soon as they broke up people stopped giving any shit about them. The same goes for the entire Lockin Out scene. I wonder why...

[paolo]

I may be wrong, but the prices of almost all the records issued from 1997 on, have dropped.... you can buy rare records from bands like The First Step, Modern life is war , Righteous Jams, Go it alone, Champion etc. for rather cheap.....they used to sell for too $$...... maybe only some early releases from AN , Have Heart and few more are still going for quite a penny, but it seems to me that only the rare stuff up to 1992 circa is keeping an high collectors’ price

[nico]

Mental second 7" record release is still a very expensive record, but that is pretty much the exception that proves the general rule of thumb.
So weird the Hardcore Pride 7" on white and Floorpunch 7" on gold, used to be the same value late 1999, Hardcore Pride dropped in value but Floorpunch has only risen.

[reasontorevelate]

The Ten Yard Fight 7" went up in price according to discogs. Those are more recent transactions than the popsike ones.

I never got into the Lockin Out bands, and avoided Have Heart to be honest.

[chungking48]

For a second I thought this was going to be a thread about bands where members were missing limbs.

I think this is an interesting topic, and one that I have considered several times in the past. And I don't think that there is one simple answer. I mean, the reasons that bands become popular or are forgotten about are many. But what is interesting is that it can come and go in waves. Over the years I have seen bands do well, then fade away, then come back just as strong... and sometimes this happens when they are together, and sometimes after they have broken up.

I think that the main reason bands endure over time is when they are the fore runners of a particular style, trend, or scene. If they were either the first, or the best they will probably always be admired and their records will always be sought after.

But you are right. There seem to be very few bands from the 00s that anyone cares about. And my view is that this is largely because a lot of the bands from that era weren't really doing anything new. I mean, there were some great bands and records, but most of them were just an updated version of something that had come before. And quite a lot of the records were on labels that closed shop many years ago, which also doesn't help.

On a related note, I am still very much collecting records from the 00s. Now and again I pick up more versions of things that I already have several copies of. It's kinda more fun now that the prices are lower. And there are still a couple of Iron Boots 7"s I'd like to get.

[Raven X Army]

This thread somehow reminded me of several record labels from the early to mid 00s.
I think from the collector's point of view, where you have a perfect blend of interesting versions of releases of GOOD bands, dead by 23 really stands out for me.

I used to spend long time studying their pressing info which was a lot better put together than any other record label had at the time.

Funny I don't think I have any db23 records left at this point.
I need them back.

[chungking48]

I'm still casually picking up DB23 records when they appear. Just picked up another one last week actually. As well as the packaging they're all really good hardcore records. I'm curious as to who else may still be collecting DB23 releases in 2021.

[Raven X Army]

DB23 was definitely one of the better labels of that time. I saw them on the same level as B9 or Deathwish. It's a shame they folded as quickly as they did.

[minoratheart]

May 10, 2021 5:21:46 GMT paolo said:

I may be wrong, but the prices of almost all the records issued from 1997 on, have dropped.... you can buy rare records from bands like The First Step, Modern life is war , Righteous Jams, Go it alone, Champion etc. for rather cheap.....they used to sell for too $$...... maybe only some early releases from AN , Have Heart and few more are still going for quite a penny, but it seems to me that only the rare stuff up to 1992 circa is keeping an high collectors’ price

As someone who collects Modern Life Is War and Go It Alone, I agree that prices for the more common variants have gone down. On the other hand, the rare stuff rarely pops up, so I‘m not sure if those bands qualify as “bands that didn‘t have legs“ because people hang on to their rare records. I don‘t think that e.g. the MLIW last show box would fetch a four figure price as it did shortly after the band broke up, but I’m sure it will still go for a pretty penny today. Champion is a different case I think. They would probably still have legs if it hadn‘t been for what was revealed about the singer.

Rivalry Records was another great label in the 2000s. So many great releases that I still listen to today on a regular basis and the label usually did a great job with packaging. Maybe not that surprising considering Kyle Whitlow was a big time collector himself.