This Means War

When I first got into record collecting, around 2005, vinyl was just starting to be resurrected from the dead. I was new to the game, and I was mesmerized by the shiny, new vinyl reissues...and I bought a bunch of them. Instead of tracking down original Bronze pressings of the early Motorhead records, I was sucked into buying colored vinyl reissues. Same was true of the first Megadeth and Exodus records...plus countless of others as well. I felt as though, somehow, my purchases were casting a vote that vinyl was still a legit format...that vinyl still mattered. Vinyl has made a pretty strong comeback, and nowadays, it is rare to find a new release that doesn't get the vinyl treatment. So why am I still buying reissues?

Over the past few years, the countless REV reissues and Record Store Day releases have started to leave a sour taste in my mouth. What started out as fun, started to occasionally seem more about labels looking to make a quick sale, and I've started to question my attachment to those vinyl reissues.

I've always thought of record collecting as a kind of historical mission...capturing and preserving music history. After some recent conversations with other collectors, I started to question what the point was in buying all of these reissues and I've started to refocus my priorities. I don't have any issues with vinyl reissues, but I now see them as something for either those that don't care about the history, and just want a copy on their shelf, or those that obsess and need every single pressing from a certain band. There is nothing wrong with either of those, but for most of my Metal collection, I don't find that reissues really fit in with the definition of what I want my collection to be. Now if we are talking about Dio, all bets are off, and I'll buy anything.

Recent talks with a few friends has put me in a Metal state of mind. With the additional talk about original pressings, it wasn't long before I was surfing around eBay looking for something to satiate my hunger.

I've picked up quite a few original Metal pressings lately, but one of the first things that got moved up on my endless Want List were the original pressings for the first four Venom albums.

Fuck Earmark. Fuck Back On Black. Fuck the multitude of pressings for different countries. I needed the original UK pressings from Neat Records. After losing out on a copy of Black Metal, I managed to score myself a copy of At War With Satan.

Through the Banzai Axe compilation, Rip Ride was the first Venom song that I'd heard...and based on that, At War With Satan was probably the first Venom record that I bought (on cassette of course). I love this album...especially the 20 minute epic of the title track.

Great packaging with the gatefold sleeve made to look like a cover to a bible. Inside reveals a burning cross...Satan laughs...