X Gasmask X - Fear Of A Red Planet 7"

This is a weird little gem. For reasons unknown to me, S.O.A. Records out of Italy decided to repress Napalm Death's classic 'From Enslavement To Obliteration' album minus a couple of tracks (and not 'Scum' as some sources claim), except they sped it up from 33rpm to 45rpm and renamed the record and band! I guess they thought it sounded better at 45rpm and didn't have permission from Napalm Death to do it? They made up this band, X Gasmask X, which was apparently a 'commie s.e. grind' band according to a S.O.A. mailorder catalog from that time. There's even some sort of manifesto that comes with the 7", a 'declaration of war', in both English and Italian, outlining the band's stance on straight edge and politics. The English manifesto is part of the folded-in sleeve together with a picture of a person with one X-ed fist and one fist with the communist/socialist hammer and sickle, the Italian one comes on a separate piece of paper.

Whatever the reason was, this is a record that needs to be heard to be believed. It actually sounds great, even with the occasional chipmunk-like vocals! Since they only pressed 200 copies (mine's hand-numbered 108/200), the 7" is quite rare, even tho the music on it is easy to obtain, just play the regular record on 45rpm, heh...

X Gasmask X - Fear Of A Red Planet 7"