Sunday, December 31, 2017

Between The Lines Of 2017

This past year saw me as a finely honed record buying machine. I felt like my record collecting focus was on point for 2016, and I carried those lessons over to 2017. I wasn't fucking around with multiple vinyl pressings, and I spent most of the year crossing records off my Want List.

By the end of the year, I'd added 194 records to the collection. I don't expect to hit those highs that I had back in 2012, when I was buying every pressing from React! Records, and I seem to have found my comfort zone the last couple of years. I was actually surprised to have beaten last years numbers, as I was really tried to focus more on quality over quantity, but I guess I got wrapped up in the excitement of record collecting and there were a few months where a still bought a lot of records, regardless of their price tag. My numbers were up a little from last year, but where I saw the biggest increase was in my total dollars spent. After crossing off a couple of big ticket items in January, I kept chasing that high throughout the year.

2017 was an epic year. I bought some things that I didn't even think were within my grasp...but, I wanted to get shit done, and I made some big moves. Believe me when I say that it was fucking hard to narrow this down to my Top 5 from this year.

1. Pentagram 'Pentagram' first pressing - Pentagram takes the top spot this year. Not because it was the most expensive record I picked up in 2017, but because I was surprised how much I loved it. I was feeling underwhelmed when I bought it, but once it arrived and it hit my turntable, I was in love. Crushingly heavy.

2. DYS 'Brotherhood' XClaim! pressing - The DYS record was a huge win for me. One of those records that I honestly never expected to own because of the price tag that it carries. Things fell into place this year, and I took the opportunity to grab one.

3. Dio 'Killing The Dragon' NOTVD pressing - Night Of The Vinyl Dead issued two Dio records on their label...Killing The Dragon and Magica...and both of them sell for ridiculous amounts of money. Another record that I didn't know if I would actually be able to own. Only 500 pressed...that's it...unless you want the shitty picture disk. As a Dio fanboy, I feel lucky to own this.

4. Gorilla Biscuits 'Start Today' on purple vinyl - The original REV colored vinyl is for serious collectors only. Again, this wasn't a record that I thought I'd ever own, but it got to a point where I was like, "Fuck it. I've already gone overboard this year, what's one more big record?" Plus, I'd missed an opportunity at Bringin' It Down on green, and Start Today on purple helped ease that pain.

5. Search 'Behind The Lines' special covers - Record collecting is a brotherhood, and that really showed when two different people stepped up to help me complete my collection for the new Search 7 inch. They didn't want anything extra...just wanted to help out a fellow collector. I was humbled by there generosity, and I doubt that I would have these limited pressings if it wasn't for them.

In a complete reversal from the past few years, I was more excited over new Hardcore records than Metal. Hardcore had a fire, and was exciting. Let's not go crazy, I was still a jaded old man for the year, but some shit was able to crack my resistance, and man, those records were a blast.

Don't get me wrong. There were still some great Metal albums that were released this year, but over all I felt underwhelmed. Some of it was really good, but really all I wanted to do was listen to old 80's Metal and Crossover records.

There it is, my 2017 recap. It's funny. A little while ago, I felt like I needed to apologize for not posting as many Hardcore records as I used to. Gone are the days of multiple pressings and variants, but looking back over the year, I still posted a ton Hardcore stuff, and a number of heavy hitters. So fuck that apology. I've got nothing to be sorry for. If you are one of few that still spends the time reading this nonsense, I thank you. Let's see what 2018 brings.

Friday, December 29, 2017

Strange Houses

At the end of 2014, I was hit with an urge to listen to some Billy Joel. When I was around 8 or 9 years old, he was kind of a big deal. I downloaded 52nd Street, and expected that I'd probably give it a quick spin and be done with it. That didn't happen. The album stuck with me, and I ended up listening to it multiple times, and then as we moved into 2015 I downloaded more of Billy Joel's albums, and surprisingly I was loving them...so much so that I went to see him three consecutive years in a row play at Fenway Park in Boston.

Back in 2015, I ended up picking up a handful of Billy Joel records at a used vinyl shop in downtown Portland. The Stranger is one of my favorites from him, but unfortunately, the store didn't have that one available during my shopping spree.

I'm not a big believer in fate, but when I inherited Steve's record collection after he passed away, and I added his copy of The Stranger to my collection, it just felt "right".

My wife and I had tickets to see Billy Joel at Fenway in 2016 with my mom and Steve. He passed away three months before the show. Scenes From An Italian Restaurant, from The Stranger, was one of his favorite Billy Joel songs, and it brings back memories whenever I hear it.

The other Billy Joel record that Steve had in his collection was the Glass Houses album from 1980. I don't know...this may be my second favorite from Billy Joel. Both You May Be Right and It's Still Rock And Roll To Me were huge to me as a 10 year old, as I started expanding my tastes further and further into heavier music.

Fun fact: I had a huge crush on a girl at 10 years old...I think she was the daughter of one of my mom's friends...and we were over their house one evening, and I noticed that she had this Glass Houses record in her "collection". I didn't own any music at the time, and probably only had blank cassettes that I was recording Men At Work and Police songs from Casey Kasem's Top 40 weekly radio show, so there was nothing hotter than a girl that owned her own records. I tried to play it cool, and asked her if we could listen to the album while we were in her room, but it still didn't even get me a kiss.

Tuesday, December 26, 2017

Dio-cember: Part 8 - Mystery

I hated to break up the Dio-cember posts, but there was one record that arrived a little later than the rest. Now, before the end of the month, we can wrap up this blast of an obsession.

During my Dio vinyl obsession, I discovered the world of the promo 12 inch. They don't really bring anything new to the table, and outside of just being a collectible for the completist, they are rather pointless...but still...with that unique cover design, I was drawn to them. I was chasing a couple more of the 12 inch promos to wrap up this series of posts, but in the end I only walked away with the Mystery promo.

Like the other promos that I picked up, this is the same song on both sides. Oddly, I love the continuity of the plain white back cover.

As I mentioned at the start of my Dio-cember series, it was memories of my Dio collection photo from last years January Record A Day challenge on Instagram that ignited this recent obsession. There were holes that needed to be be filled, and I was on a mission to make some progress. This Dio spending spree did the job, and while I still have a couple of high priced records still missing (namely Strange Highways and Magica), I made some good progress this month. That being said, it was time to update the collection photo.

Sunday, December 24, 2017

Formidable Red Death

One last new release before we reach the end of 2017.

I wasn't aware that there was a new Red Death record on the way, but when I was in the Triple B store picking up the Unified Right album, and I noticed that there were preorders up for Red Death as well.

Red Death is one of those bands that continually flies under the radar for me, and I always forget just how good they are. Last year, the band released their two song 7 inch, Deterrence...and while I enjoyed it, I hadn't bothered to listen to it in about a year. I gave it a spin while preparing this blog post, and I was like, "Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck, this band is so good. Why don't I listen to Red Death more often?"

With Formidable Darkness, Red Death keep on doing their thing. With a dirty and dark Crossover sound, the band always remind me of Iron Age, and are absolutely crushing.

200 pressed on clear red and orange swirl colored vinyl. I know that the pictures make it look like it is just red vinyl, but you'll have to see it in real life to see the different colors in this thing.

Saturday, December 23, 2017

Send Me Straight To Hell

I started seeing photos of the Unified Right album pop up on Instagram a couple months ago, but to be honest, with that cover, I had no idea that it was a record, and I was assuming it was just some promo for a new band that I'd never heard of. It was another case where the Hardcore community was trying to tell me to pay attention, but I preferred to sit back in ignorant bliss and ignore them.

As we were closing in on the end of 2017, and I was revisiting a bunch of newer Hardcore records that I'd picked up over the past year, it got me wondering about what the deal was with this Unified Right band that I had been hearing about. Surprisingly, Hardcore impressed the fuck out of me this year, and I decided to take a chance on one more new release.

Unified Right kind of remind me of the 80's New York Hardcore sound...I don't know...maybe less The Way It Is, and more Where The Wild Things Are. It is pretty good, but it doesn't grab me the way that I'd hoped. Of course, I've only listened to it a couple of times, so maybe I just need to give it a few more spins.

Friday, December 22, 2017

Escape With High Spirits

I seem to find myself in the same place year after year. Suddenly, we are in December...the days are flying by, I'm sitting on a number of records that were released over the past year, and I'm scrambling to get them posted on the blog before I write up my year end summary. I've got some work to do to get things locked down over the next week or so.

A few months ago, I noticed that High Spirits were releasing a new EP, and I let it pass me by. The band had released three great albums over the last five years, but I was still hesitant to throw down the money for another record from the band.

A few months went by, and I was hearing from Sandwell just how great the new songs were, and it got me thinking that maybe I should chase this record down...then, a day later, the band posted on Facebook that they had a few more copies in their webstore, which gave me the opportunity to pick it up without paying overseas shipping, so I jumped on it.

Four songs of early 80's influenced Heavy Metal with hooks and melody for days.

350 pressed on black vinyl.

Tuesday, December 19, 2017

Live Souls

I saw a number of concerts this past summer, and one of the highlights was seeing Iron Maiden live for the sixth time. The past two times they have come through Massachusetts have been for their nostalgia tours of Somewhere Back In Time (2008) and Maiden England in 2012. Both shows were amazing, and I was happy to catch each of them...but Maiden haven't hit Massachusetts on a tour for an album since 2006 with A Matter Of Life And Death. For some reason, we tend to get skipped on those album support tours...which made it even more exciting when it was announced that Maiden were making a stop on their tour for Book Of Souls.

I love those nostalgia tours, but man, I was really looking forward to seeing something new! New stage designs...new Eddie walking onto the stage...but the most important piece were the new songs that they would be playing. Iron Maiden aren't going to rest on their laurels, and for this tour they had the setlist stacked with six new songs. It made for an amazing and memorable show.

I went through a small obsession with Iron Maiden live albums recently. Live At Donington. En Vivo. Death On The Road. I'm not usually a fan of live albums, but Iron Maiden are one of the few that I'll make an exception for, and this Live Chapter of The Book Of Souls does not disappoint.

In typical Maiden fashion, the packaging is top notch...full of new live photos and artwork. Great package through and through.

Monday, December 18, 2017

Back To The Roots Of Accept

When I first started going to concerts back in 1985, the first band that I saw, where I didn't know any of their songs, was Accept. They were opening for Iron Maiden, who were on their World Slavery Tour, and being a fourteen year old kid with no means to buy every album that I wanted, I went to the show completely blind on who Accept were. They tore up the stage with a ton of energy, loud guitars and screaming vocals, and watching them from the back of the arena, I was sold on their live show. Shortly after that concert, I got myself to the record store, and picked up their Metal Heart album on vinyl. It was another giant leap forward down the path of becoming a diehard metalhead.

Accept's original singer, Udo Dirkschneider, recorded his last album with the band in 1996, and has since been focusing on his own band, U.D.O., that he started back in '87.

As one final nod to his Accept days, Udo took his solo band on the road to play a nostalgia setlist full of nothing but those old songs that he recorded with Accept. This of course lead to a live album release.

Sure, I was kind of interested in checking out the live record...but honestly, I struggled to justify parting with the money for the triple LP set. I had higher priorities that I wanted to spend my money on, and live albums do not command that kind of attention from me. However, I had a change of heart when I saw the album in clearance bin at my local store for $15. That was too good a deal to pass up.

Friday, December 15, 2017

Music Is My Life, And This Is My Song

A while ago, my friend Jeff tried to get me interested in Bachman-Turner Overdrive, and played me some of their stuff while we were hanging out at his house one evening. Surprisingly, I kind of enjoyed it, and made a mental note to check them out the next time I got down with a 70's hard rock obsession.

When my mom's boyfriend passed, and I was weeding through his old record collection, I was happy to discover the Not Fragile album.

I was surprised by how much I loved this record. So many thick riffs, and those rough and kick ass vocals are pure 70's rock. I would have never thought that I'd need to hear You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet, but here in the context of this album, the song is great.

This album became my soundtrack to the Spring of 2017, and I would queue it up on the iPod for the few long drives that I would take to pick up my daughter at college. Great driving music.

Thursday, December 14, 2017

Tyranny Of Vinyl Reissues

After Bruce Dickinson left Iron Maiden in 1993, he released a handful of albums as a solo artist. Some of them are just okay, while a few of them are quite good. My favorite though was the 2005 release, Tyranny Of Souls.

Since it was released during those days when the music industry was dead set in their belief that CDs were the best and only format for music, Tyranny Of Souls did not originally see a vinyl release. This seemed like an odd decision, considering that Maiden have always provided a vinyl option...even if it was just a shitty picture disc...and even Dance Of Death (2003) and A Matter Of Life And Death (2006) were pressed on vinyl at the time. I guess Dickinson's solo album didn't carry the same weight as Maiden, and it took until 2017 for us to see the vinyl for Tyranny Of Souls, which was part of a re-issue campaign for all the Dickinson solo stuff.

This album can stand shoulder to shoulder with Maiden's output since Bruce reunited with the band in 2000. So glad to finally have it in my record collection.

Wednesday, December 13, 2017

Don't Stop The Youth

At some point I heard about Fireburn and the new record they were releasing. I checked their bandcamp page, listened to a song, and then walked away. I don't know why I showed so little interest...it was probably just a timing thing, and I was currently obsessing over Thrash records from 1987 or something like that...but either way, I quickly moved on.

Over the next few months, my Instagram feed was flooded with photos of Don't Stop The Youth, with people losing their minds and claiming this was the record of the year. Curious, I decided to check it out again, and give it more of my attention.

Fireburn is kind of supergroup, full of big names from Hardcore's past. I don't really care about that bullshit. There are plenty of old hardcore dudes writing mediocre songs that don't grab my attention...so I care very little about who is in this band. My only interest is, does this record deliver...and it does...well, half of it does anyway. Five songs...three that are killer Bad Brains influenced Hardcore...one throw away Bad Brains influenced reggae tune...and one dub version of said reggae song that I never need to listen to again for the rest of my life.

Man, when the band is rolling, they create something that it truly great...take out those clunkers, and this could have possibly been my favorite record of the year.

500 pressed on red with black smoke vinyl.

Tuesday, December 12, 2017

Ramrod The Destroyer

Make no mistakes, Ram are pure unadulterated 80's Metal worship. The leather, studs, and screaming voice conjure up images of Judas Priest...and putting on a Ram album is like a time warp back to the golden days when Metal ruled.

When I heard that the new Ram album was to be called "Rod"...as in ramrod (ugh...how corny and lame is that?)...I was disappointed, and set my expectations low. Checking the video for the song On Wings Of No Return, set me straight, and I was soon headbanging like a maniac. Man, Ram know how to get the Metal blood boiling.

Before I listened to the record, I'd read some initial reviews that weren't overly positive. Comparisons were made to the band's killer album from 2015, Svbversvm, and most reviews felt that Rod fell short. The album does come ripping out of the gates though, and the first side of this record does not let up with it's unrelenting Metal attack. Side two consists of one epic song, Ramrod The Destroyer, broken out into six parts, and we kind of pump the brakes a few times as some interludes try to set the mood. It's cool I guess, but compared to side one, it does leave me a little underwhelmed by the end of the record. Still, this is a great Metal album, and it will be fun trying to see where it falls into my Top 10 for 2017 list.

Hand numbered and limited to 100 on transparent orange colored vinyl.

Sunday, December 10, 2017

Dio-cember: Part 7 - Die Young

I had to take the past few days off from blogging, but now we can return to our regularly scheduled postings of Dio-cember. The series is winding down, but before I completely wrapped things up, I wanted to finally cross off one of the classic Black Sabbath singles.

Sabbath released four or five singles from 1980 through 1981 while Dio was originally in the band. Despite the fact that I could listen to both Heaven And Hell and Mob Rules everyday, and not get tired of those albums, I didn't own any of the singles from this period. Since I was neck deep in a Dio obsession, I figured that it was time to finally make a move. Finding the Die Young 12 inch from a US seller, and in excellent condition at a decent price, made the choice easier.

Black Sabbath singles don't really offer anything new...no rare exclusive b-side studio tracks or anything cool like that...most often it is just a live recording of a song...so there has been no real push for me to rush and pick them up. I still want them though...because I'm a record collector, and buying things that I don't really need is kind of my purpose in life.

Wednesday, December 06, 2017

Dio-cember: Part 6 - Hungry For Heaven Promo

After picking up that 12 inch promo for The Last In Line, I became really interested in what other promo singles were out there. It is strange. These promos don't offer anything new, and aren't really that special...but since the cover artwork is unique, I started obsessing over them.

When I started digging around on Discogs, I uncovered a copy of the Hungry For Heaven 12 inch promo for a nice price. Easy decision and I made it mine.

I forget that Hungry For Heaven was used on soundtrack for the movie Vision Quest. To this day, I've still never watched it. 80's movie about a High School wrestler...I wasn't interested back in '85, and I'm not interested now. Hungry For Heaven is still cool though.

Like the Last In Line promo, the back cover of the sleeve is plain white. Again, nothing really cool, but I like that the promos seem to have this consistency.

Tuesday, December 05, 2017

Dio-cember: Part 5 - TV Crimes

After picking up a number of records from the Dio band, I wanted to hit some of the other bands that Ronnie James Dio was in...first and foremost, Black Sabbath.

In 1992, Dio reunited with Black Sabbath after a 10 year split, and released the Dehumanizer album. Obviously it ruled. I wasn't following Metal at the time, but I consider myself very fortunate to have seen the third Dio reunion with the Sabbath guys in 2007 when they were going by the name Heaven & Hell. They played a couple songs from the Dehumanizer record on that tour, and it absolutely melted my face.

Vinyl was on a fast track out of town when Dehumanizer was released, so I was surprised to discover that Sabbath released a single on vinyl from the album. The first single, Master Of Insanity, only saw a CD release, but with TV Crimes, we got both 7 inch and 12 inch formats.

Neither Sabbath or Dio would release a vinyl single again...unless you count the ridiculously rare Age Of Reason 7 inch from 2014.

I suppose that I should have gone after the 12 inch format, but with the 7 inch available from a US seller at a cheap price, I took the easy way out.

Nice fold out poster cover.

Monday, December 04, 2017

Dio-cember: Part 4 - The Last In Line Promo

After picking up the last live Dio album on my Want List, and then picking up a couple of studio albums that I was missing, I started to look around to see what other records I could pick up to expand the collection. I was really happy with my progress so far, but I was far from done, and wanted more.

I'm missing a few early Dio singles, so I started checking out what was available on Discogs. I was checking the different variations with the Last In Line single, and I came across this record with a red cover that I'd never seen before. I was fascinated with it, and while I continued my search, my mind kept coming back to this record. This wasn't a regular single, but a promo that would have been available to radio stations to help promote the release of the album. The was nothing new here...just the album version of The Last In Line, plus a radio edit of the same song...but since I'd never seen that cover before, I was infatuated with it, and had to own it.

The problem was, Discogs didn't currently have a copy available...and with a sales history that showed only three copies moving through Discogs, I was worried that they may not come around very often. I did manage to find a copy on eBay, but man, it was listed with a price that was way too high. I struggled with it for a week or so, but in the end, I wanted it bad enough that I paid the ridiculous price for it. I know it was a stupid and impulsive move, but I'm happy to have it in the collection.

Sunday, December 03, 2017

Dio-cember: Part 3 - Angry Machines

After picking up the Lock Up The Wolves vinyl, it got me thinking about the last few studio albums that I needed to add to the Dio collection. I was heading into dangerous waters, as they were all released during those dark days when vinyl was basically a dead format for most record labels. Both Strange Highways (1993) and Magica (2000) saw a very limited run of vinyl, and will take some serious cash when the time comes to chase them down, and while Angry Machines (1996) wasn't cheap, it was still much easier to track down than the other two.

Angry Machines is kind of looked upon as the black sheep in Dio's catalog. It is darker, doomier, and more angry than what you expect from Dio, and I'll admit, it took me some time to really appreciate this, but man, once it clicked, I really fell in love with it.

Now the deal with Angry Machines is that it "officially" has never been released on vinyl. If you want a vinyl copy, you've got to hunt down one of the few bootleg pressings. Since Discogs is being a bitch about bootlegs, and refusing to allow people to sell "unofficial" releases through their marketplace, I was forced to track one down on eBay. Being a boot, I was nervous that it may sound like shit, but this ended up being a quality record. Until there is an official release on vinyl, this bootleg will do.

Saturday, December 02, 2017

Dio-cember: Part 2 - Lock Up The Wolves

Once I picked up that Chasing Rainbows live album, it got me thinking about those few studio albums from Dio that I was still missing on vinyl. I obviously had the classic early albums already covered, but those records released during Metal's turbulent ride through the 90's, were still some big holes in the collection that I needed to address.

When Lock Up The Wolves was released in the Summer of 1990, I was starting to get into Hardcore, and I was becoming kind of a self righteous prick about it by looking down my nose at some of the Metal bands that I'd cherished as a kid. Hardcore was really speaking to me, and I had no time for anything else. I took one look at the Wild One video from Lock Up The Wolves, with the skateboarding and slamdancing, and I passed immediate judgement that it was poser bullshit that was trying too hard to be heavy and relevant...and I turned my back on it. I was a stupid asshole kid.

Ten years later, I was starting to get interested in Metal again, and I downloaded the Lock Up The Wolves album off Napster or something similar, and I kind of enjoyed it and would give it an occasional spin. These days, I absolutely love this album, and when it is playing, I feel that I will fight anyone that has anything bad to say about it. Easily my most listened to Dio album over the past ten years. Why did it take me so long to finally grab a copy on vinyl?

Friday, December 01, 2017

Dio-cember: Part 1 - Chasing Rainbows

Last January I did one of those Record A Day challenges on Instagram, and posted my Ronnie James Dio collection for one of the days. It was far from complete, and every time that I think of that photo, I get an itch to fill some more holes, and expand the Dio collection.

I was participating in another Instagram record challenge this past month, and of course one of the days for a photo had to be "Collection Of An Artist"...and it got me thinking about that Dio photo from last year. The more that I thought about it, the more I wanted to buy more Dio records...and before I knew it, I had a bunch of them purchased and heading my way.

With a string of posts lined up, I'm declaring it Dio-cember, and I'm kicking the month off with a bunch of new additions to my Dio collection.

Shortly after Dio's death in 2010, we saw a handful of live recordings brought out from the vault and released for fans. After picking up the first few live albums, I kind of ran out of steam, and I ignored the Chasing Rainbows album until now. This live set from Spokane was recorded shortly after the release of The Last In Line in '84, and was broadcast across the county on the radio. The live set was previously available as a bootleg, but it is cool to have an official release now available.

Knowing that this was the last posthumous live album that I was missing, made it an easy target, and it felt good to finally cross it off the list.

Thursday, November 30, 2017

Drums And Shotguns

I've been posting a lot of Metal and Rock records lately, and it seems to be a rare occasion when a Hardcore post pops up here on the blog. I'm not complaining, and I'm going to keep chasing what still gets me excited, because the heart wants what the heart wants...but man, seeing Marcus post about old Worn Thin records, and Ralf over at It All Comes Down To This posting about Circle Storm...well, it kind of got me nostalgic for the days when this blog was all about eBay wins for old and new Hardcore bands.

My daily playlists have been centered around the early 90's lately, and I couldn't resist the call to join the game of posting about old Hardcore records again...even if it is just for this one record.

The Summer of 2016 had me obsessing over mid-90's Hardcore, and I picked up a bunch of vinyl to try and reverse past mistakes from when I thought that CDs were the way to go. One of the records that I wanted during that Summer spending spree was the Split Lip LP.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find a single copy of the clear vinyl pressing for Fate's Got A Driver on Discogs at the time, so I threw it on to my Discogs alerts and played the waiting game. Apparently this record doesn't come around too often, and just over a year later, I finally got notification that one was available.

Shortly after the release of the album, the band decided that the name Split Lip didn't fit with the direction they wanted to take the band...they wanted to "mature" and they changed their name to Chamberlain, and reissued the album under the new band name. The CD that own is for the Chamberlain pressing, and it seemed of vital importance that I get the original Split Lip pressing, and finally get rid of that Chamberlain stink.

Quintessential mid-90's Hardcore, and I never get tired of listening to this album.

Tuesday, November 28, 2017

The Crowning Of The Sorcerer King

While I was placing my order with Metal Blade for the newest Cannibal Corpse record, I decided to add the new Sorcerer album to the cart as well. I mean, we are coming to the end of 2017, so I might as well, try to pick up a few more new releases before I have to put together my End Of A Year post.

I was digging Sorcerer's debut album, In The Shadow Of The Inverted Cross, when it was released a couple years ago, so I was down to check out the new album. The band draws some serious influence from the Tony Martin era of Black Sabbath, and since I love those records...and happened to be spinning Sabbath's Headless Cross repeatedly at the time I was in the Metal Blade store, it just made sense to finally grab the latest vinyl offering from Sorcerer.

With the first single from the album, Sirens, Sorcerer definitely keep that Tony Martin Sabbath/melodic doom sound intact. This stuff is really good, but goddamn, the songs are so long that I can get a little bored by the end of it. Outside of Sirens and an instrumental track, the rest of the songs clock in well over 6 minutes each...which can be too much sometimes.

Hand numbered and limited to 200 for the great looking clear/black swirl colored vinyl.