Leave Me In Hell

At the start of the year, I was obsessing pretty hard for the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal. I was listening to it non-stop, reading books on the subject, and searching out hidden gems that I'd never heard before. I couldn't get enough and soon I was on the hunt for some big NWOBHM vinyl wins. I came out hot, and grabbed a few heavy hitters with Quartz, Blitzkrieg and the first Venom album. To be honest, I dropped a lot of money real quick, and I wasn't able to fully sustain that momentum, and I backed off the NWOBHM hunt.

As we were moving into summer, I found myself with a little money in my Paypal account, and I wanted to invest in back into another great record. While my NWOBHM obsession had cooled off, I still found that I wanted to knock out another heavy hitter.

Once again I found myself returning to Neat Records and Venom. I was so happy when I grabbed a copy of Welcome To Hell earlier this year, and I decided to chase Venom's second album, Black Metal, as well. It's funny...through the years, I've figured that Neat Records early pressings for Venom were probably outside my price range, but after buying a few other big ticket items these past couple of years, when I finally started checking prices for Venom albums, I kind of just shrugged my shoulders and thought, "Well, that price isn't too bad". They certainly don't come cheap...especially if you want one in good condition, but I guess that the years have dulled my reservation about throwing this much money at records, and here, I didn't hesitate.

Man, with the black cover, I figured it was going to be impossible to find a copy without a ton of ring wear. This copy looks absolutely stunning, and I couldn't be more happy.

I wasn't able to find a copy of Welcome To Hell that included the poster, so when I saw that this copy of Black Metal came with one, I was pretty excited. These things don't seem to show up very often, so I consider myself fortunate to have one.

Possessed At Armageddon

After trading a couple of records in Boston Common, Marcus was looking forward to checking out the Armageddon Shop in Harvard Square. I was happy to oblige, and we grabbed a ride through Uber and were there in no time.

Having visited the Armageddon Shop a few months earlier with Sandwell, I was curious if the store would have anything interesting available this time around. I mean, it is a cool store, but they mostly carried new releases and reissues, and there wasn't a huge selection of used records. Surprisingly, I walked out of there with more records than I expected.

The first record that I pulled from the bins was Venom's Possessed album. This record takes a pretty solid drop in quality from the first three Venom records, but there are still some great song here, and Possessed marks the end of band's classic period.

I already owned the Earmark reissue from 2002...which I'd picked up early in my record collecting career, but it was not really cutting it for me anymore, and I was hoping to replace it with an original UK Neat pressing at some point. While this copy isn't on the Neat label, as soon as I pulled the vinyl from the sleeve and saw the green Combat labels, I knew I was going to have to buy it, and with a $15 price tag, it was an easy purchase.

Welcome To Hell

I've been slowly preparing myself for an oncoming New Wave Of British Heavy Metal obsession. I worked my way through my late 70's playlists on the iPod, and picked up some cheap records for the collection along the way. However, I was ready to make some big moves and quit fucking around. It was time to dive into the deep end of the NWOBHM.

I wanted to make a big impact with this NWOBHM purchase, and cautiously started approaching the idea of chasing some early Venom records. To me, those first few Venom albums are perfect...they are raw, fast and loud...and to cross one off my Want List, would be a big step forward. Venom records on the original UK Neat Records label don't come cheap, so I was kind of worried about what I might be getting myself into...and since I needed one in excellent condition, I thought that I might be getting myself in some trouble here. In the end, all things considered and relatively speaking, the damage to my bank account wasn't too steep, and I grabbed a copy without breaking a sweat.

Apparently, some early copies came with a poster, but those appear to be as rare as hens teeth, so after a while, I gave up trying to find a copy with one. I found a copy in great condition, and it had the original lyric sheet, and that was enough for me.

Record Store Day 2015 - Part 1: Seek And Destroy

Record Store Day is what people make of it. You can choose to focus on the endless stacks of worthless vinyl reissues, or you can celebrate and support your local record store...if you are lucky enough to have one. Look, I love Deep Purple, but what is the point of a 7 inch vinyl pressing of the Black Night single? If you want one that bad, hit up discogs and buy yourself an original pressing for a fraction of the price...unless that foil Record Store Day Exclusive sticker is worth that much to you. Leave that shit to collect dust in the dollar bins, and really celebrate record stores by visiting them and purchasing stuff that really matters.

I ended up hitting three stores on Record Store Day, so let's go through my haul while I try to justify my purchases and not come off as a complete hypocrite after that RSD rant. This is part one, and focuses on my first stop...and includes a bunch of RSD vinyl.

At the top of my RSD Want List for this year was the Clutch vinyl for their From Beale Street To Oblivion LP. This was the album that introduced me to Clutch after catching their video for Electric Worry on Headbangers Ball. It is such a great album, and given that this RSD release was the first time it had ever been pressed on vinyl, I had to have it.

I got to the record store about an hour after the doors opened, so most of the crowds has come and gone by the time I got to the store. As I walked through the door, I saw this Clutch album on display, and breathed a sigh of relief that this was still available. With this in hand, I had all that I needed...but while I'm in the store, let's see what else I can grab.

I was torn on whether to buy the Get Behind Be Satan album from The White Stripes. There was a time a few years ago, that I used to listen to the shit out of this band...I could not get enough at that time...but it has been a while since I've given any thought to listen to them. I'm pretty burned out on their style, and I no longer pay any attention to what Jack White is doing these days. Put Meg on a drum stool, bouncing beside him, and I may start to pay attention again. In any case this is probably my least favorite White Stripes album, but it still has some great stuff on it. Like the Clutch LP, this was the first commercial pressing of Get Behind Me Satan, and with the 3D lenticular cover that alternates between the album cover and the Blue Orchid single cover, it looked too good to resist.

I've seen some good reviews for the new Venom album, From The Very Depths, and as I've never been one to turn away from a new release from Cronos and company, this was a "must buy". While I've seen some nice praise for this new album, I don't know if it is really much better than any of the bands releases from the past 10 years. Solid stuff, but I don't imagine it will much of an impression on my "Best of 2015" list. Time will tell.

Okay. You got me on this one. The Strange Days LP from The Doors may be a throw away release for Record Store Day. I had no intention of buying this, but on the way to the store, my friend, Jeff, spoke so highly of the mono recordings...and how expensive the originals of Strange Days can run...when I saw it in the bin, it was a pure impulse buy. I was a sucker for his hype on this thing...and since this was the only Doors studio album that I didn't own on vinyl, I figured there was no harm in picking up a copy here.

While I was able to justify the purchase of the Strange Days album, I've got nothing for this one. This Curated by Record Store Day pretty much encapsulates all that is shitty about RSD. I'm not sure what the purpose is of this piece of vinyl. Eight tracks that were hand picked by independent record store owners...blah blah...who the fuck cares? This was originally pressed for the Black Friday RSD in 2013, and was on sale for 50% off. I was riding a Doors high at the time of purchase, and the die cut front cover, with the sale price, tricked me into thinking that I wanted this.

Slayer. Sorry...I mean, Fucking Slayer! For Record Store Day, Slayer released a 7 inch single for the song When The Stillness Comes which will be on the new album that is due out later this year. This song isn't that exciting, and takes about three and a half minutes to get going...so I'm really not sure if this was the best song to release as a teaser. Still looking forward to the album though.

I believe that this is the third time that OFF! has had a new piece of vinyl available for Record Store Day, and like 2011, we get another live record. OFF! has already released a live 7 inch and a live LP, so this time around we get the dreaded 10 inch. Damn, how many live records does this band need to release? Who do they think they are, Iron Maiden? It is cool to hear some of the newer songs live, but this still probably won't see too much action on my turntable.

For the REV part of Record Store Day, I only went with the Better Than A Thousand record. I probably would have grabbed the Dag Nasty record if my store had some available, but I was okay that I missed out on it...and while I kinda dig the Gameface record they released, I guess I didn't care enough to add it to the list, so I just left it in the bin. I didn't own a copy of the Better Than A Thousand album on vinyl, so this was a good time to grab one.

Same goes with the first Death By Stereo album...I've never owned the vinyl, and this is a great record, so why not grab one now. My copy was on white vinyl, but apparently there was some clear vinyl pressed for RSD as well.

Another Indecision release for Record Store Day was a reissue of the Unity 7 inch, You Are One. Like Death By Stereo, there were two colored vinyl pressings for this. 550 on clear, and 550 on green vinyl. My store only had the clear vinyl.

Fucking cassettes. I curse their existence, and as much as I hated to buy the commercial release of the No Life Til Leather demo on cassette, I love early Metallica too much to pass it by. Nothing beats this early shit...even if I may never feel the need to remove the cellophane wrapper and play this stupid thing. It is RECORD Store Day, and I wish this was a vinyl release.

The final purchase from the first stop on the RSD train was for the Goatwhore album, Carving Out The Eyes Of God. Because Record Store Day is not only about those exclusive releases, I hit the store's regular vinyl bins. Holy shit. Apocalyptic Havoc is an absolute beast of a song.

Don't worry, we aren't done yet. We still have some other stores to hit, and chances to find buried treasures in the used bins. To be continued...

Venom Double Live

Continuing, the record shopping spree, Jeff and I head up the street towards a small hole in the wall used vinyl store called Strange Maine. On our way, we were met on the sidewalk with a sign advertising "vintage vinyl". The store was called Moody Lords, and there was all kinds of vintage clothing in the windows...I didn't have very high expectations, but as soon as we walked in and I saw that they had a vinyl section just for Metal, things started looking up.

One of the first things that I pulled from the rack was this Venom live double LP. It was still sealed, so I knew that I wasn't going to find one in better condition...my only question was, did I want to spring for this US pressing, or did I want to wait and get the original UK pressing from Neat? This US pressing has a completely different cover than the original pressing, so what the hell? What's wrong with getting both of them?

I originally bought this as a double cassette with the Neat label around '86...then a year or so later, I grabbed the US pressing of the CD. Feels good to finally have this on vinyl. Classic.

Venom's American Assault

A few months ago, the wife and I took a weeks vacation to hang out in South Carolina and celebrate our 20th anniversary. We left the kids behind, and took off for some much needed relaxation in Charleston. Being in a new city, I was itching to find a local record store, and on our last day there I was able to scratch it with Earshot Records. There is nothing like finding a new record store, I was hot to check out what they had to offer.

I've mentioned here, that I've been on a mission to collect original pressings of Metal records, and when I walked into the store, I immediately headed to the used vinyl bin. They had a few things that caught my eye, but as soon as I saw Venom's American Assault, I knew that it was coming home with me.

The album itself offered nothing new when it was released in 1985...three previous released studio tracks on one side, and on the other, three live songs recorded from a gig in Hammersmith. Still, I've been wanting to build up my Venom collection, so I took the opportunity to do so.

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...

Venom Die Hard

I've always been a big fan of music, but things went to the next level when I first bought AC/DC's For Those About To Rock LP in 1981/1982. This was my turning point. I was no longer a casual listener, recording my favorite songs from Casey Kasum's Top 40 radio show on the weekends. Music suddenly became personal...it was mine. My peers blindly devoured the hits that were force fed to them, while I was discovering songs like C.O.D. and Evil Walks...shit that they had no clue about. That was the start of my real love affair with music...over 30 years ago. I've listened to a lot of music over those years, and I still love a vast majority of everything that I've purchased during that time. However, with that overwhelming amount of music, sometimes bands can get overlooked, and as time goes on I can forget about how great they were.

Such was the case with Venom. Now I've been a big Venom fan since 1985 or '86, but I've largely ignored them the past 5 or so years. I've been listening to a lot of Metal this year and while I was going through my 1982 playlist, Venom's Black Metal album started playing. Holy fuck. This shit rules. I immediately headed to eBay to find some vinyl to help quiet the demons in my head, chanting "more records...hail Satan...more records".

Thankfully, the Metal Vinyl Gods could be appeased with a nice, inexpensive 12 inch single. While this purchase temporarily calmed my lust, listening to these three songs this evening, I can feel the hunger once again beginning to grow. I'll need to feed again soon.