Various – New York City Hardcore - The Way It Is

The Way It Is
compilation : 12"
1988
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Test press : 8 black vinyl
1st press+: black vinyl
Blue/green split labels, large lyric booklet, and trade
list flyer.
Test press : 10 green vinyl
Most of these had real labels put on them and slipped into
mail-order for a few lucky kids.
press+: black vinyl
White labels, condensed lyric sheet. Remastered because
we switched pressing plants and couldn't get the plates.
2001 press : 437 blue vinyl (thought to be the "final" pressing done April 25, 2001)
2013 press : 545 opaque green vinyl
2014+ press : opaque yellow vinyl
2022 press : 1,420 translucent red vinyl

If I had to pick one album that best defined my early adolescent punk/HC days... well, this _might_ not be it, but it would definitely be int the Top Ten. (If I had to pick one NYHC hardcore record that defined the sound the best, it would probably be the Blackout! Records compilation "Where the Wild Things Are"). Nevertheless, this record packs a massive punch: the opening track by Bold is somewhat generic straight-edge hardcore, but it blasts off like a rocket from there, with some brutal gutterpunk hardcore from Nausea, moving into some seminal tracks by Warzone, Gorilla Biscuits, and Youth of Today, then rounding out with some nicer melodic hardcore from Supertouch (who also did an excellent full-length).

I was always disappointed that the Side by Side project (who put out another excellent 7" on that name) never got around to doing a full length album. Overall, this is probably in my top five NYHC releases, along with the Blackout compilation, the Life's Blood 7", the Side by Side 7", and the Sick of it All "fisheye photo" 7".