Where Metal Dwells

My obsession for 2015 was to buy all the best new releases before the year was up. Time kept moving forward, and in the flood of new shit that I purchased, there were some albums that I just couldn't get to before the new year. When I was picking up the new Magic Circle album at 20 Buck Spin, I was looking for one more record to add to my cart and I saw the Ranger LP sitting there. Seemed like the time was right to finally cross it off the list.

Ranger thrash, and they thrash hard! Songs about killer great white sharks, nuclear war, and Satanic ceremonies...this album feels like it jumped right out of 1985.

While this album probably didn't crack my Top 20 for 2015, dropping the needle on this album tonight, it still gave me a huge charge. There is something about the album that feels special...like it's a hidden treasure that a lot of people might just pass by, or it will end up buried by time an dust. Do people still care about those thrash revival bands from a few years ago...bands like Violator and Avenger Of Blood? No one seems to make much noise about those bands anymore. But like them, Ranger fits in with that same youthful metal defiance that burned bright in me as a kid growing up through the 80's...and honestly, I hope to never lose that fire...still throwing up devil horns and singing goofy Ranger lyrics into my 60's and 70's.

Blind Leading The Blind

I seem to recall that a couple of years ago, there was a bit of a mad scramble to find a copy of the first Magic Circle LP. I didn't want to get caught up in that mess, so as soon as I saw that Deathwish had the new album, Journey Blind, available for pre-order, I jumped on it and ordered a copy. I was a little premature, as a month or so later, the label pressing the album, 20 Buck Spin, posted pre-orders for the limited colored vinyl. Ugh. What was the Deathwish preorder, some general black vinyl pressed in the thousands? Oh yeah, better get that up for pre-order. *rolls eyes* Christ, why not just put them in your store when they arrive?

It was no big deal in the end, as Deathwish allowed me to cancel my order, and refunded my money when I grabbed the limited colored vinyl direct from 20 Buck Spin.

Hot shit, that album cover looks amazing. That is some epic looking metal artwork right there. So good.

Journey Blind has a bit more polish to it, compared to the first album, but it is just as infectious. These riffs are so damn powerful, I want to listen to this daily. Glad to have one of my favorites from 2015 finally in my hands.

160 pressed on blue vinyl.

Two In The Bush

I get excited over the dumbest shit.

I get a bit of a charge over listening to stuff that I know the majority of the people love to hate. It's not that I'm doing it out of some kind of misguided rebellion, I genuinely like albums like St. Anger, the self titled Warzone LP, Token Entry's The Weight Of The World, Tony Martin-era Black Sabbath, and Blaze Bayley-era Iron Maiden. But still, hearing people bitch about any one of these albums gives me a devious little twist, and I'll rush to give it a spin and vocalize my appreciation. Hey, don't look down on me like you don't know what I'm talking about, as you try to explain that "no, Staring Into The Sun is actually a really good Uniform Choice album". We all make bad choices, and I'll proudly stand by mine.

So while people get themselves all wound up tight, going along with the crowd and hating all the right albums, I'm sitting here and thinking about making a serious run at collecting them on vinyl for 2016. And here you were thinking that this blog couldn't get any more lame. Surprise! I can sink even lower.

When it comes to Anthrax, most Metal purists tend to only fall in line with the Belladonna years. At some point, the verdict seems to have come down that we are to not speak of those albums that had John Bush at the mic...and while I'll contend that Spreading The Disease and Among The Living are the high point in Anthrax's career, I'm not going to back away from Bush's 10+ year run through the 90's.

Hey, I'll admit, for the longest time, I was in the camp of Belladonna or nothing. How could I not be? I grew up through the 80's...I bought Among The Living, State Of Euphoria and Persistence Of Time all on release day...and there was a time that I would have defended their position in the Big 4. But just because I didn't bother with the Bush-era Anthrax at the time, doesn't mean that I don't appreciate it now.

Fueled by my obsession with Armored Saint last year, I tentatively reached for an old burned CD of Stomp 442 that I had sitting on my shelf. I'd heard it as the butt of jokes for years, and couldn't remember the last time that I'd even bothered to give it a spin. In my Armored Saint mood, I figured that I'd give it a shot, and if I didn't dig it, I could dump that old CDR and make some room on the shelf.

I didn't just like it...it fucking consumed me. I couldn't get enough of this album, and it became a permanent fixture in my daily playlists for December.

I needed to own this on vinyl, but since the world had written off vinyl when Stomp 442 was released back in '95, that meant that only Germany bothered to press the album on wax. Because of this, it meant that it was going to be priced like Martin Shkreli selling AIDS medication. It was not going to come cheap. That's cool though...I found a seller in the Discogs Marketplace that was willing to unload his copy at a reasonable price, and I was a happy man.

Of course the catch in making Stomp 442 a good deal, was that I had to add the John Bush debut with Anthrax to my order to help sweeten the sale for the seller. What, am I going to complain about having to buy two Anthrax albums? Ummm...no.

While Sound Of White Noise wasn't pressed on vinyl in the States back in '93, there were a few countries that kept the vinyl tradition alive at the time. Sure, it saw a recent vinyl repress in '09, but get that shit outta here. It could possibly sound better on the double vinyl repress, but I'm going with the original single LP German pressing. Love the look of that alternate cover art!

Dedicated To The Dedicated

Champion were a huge influence on me when it came to record collecting. To this day, Promises Kept remains one of my favorite Straight Edge records, and when I picked up a copy on vinyl back in 2005, it sent me down the rabbit hole of excess and avarice that I've yet to return from. When I heard that two cornerstones of Champion, Jim Hesketh and Aram Arslanian, had a new band, I was eager to check it out.

I didn't bother with the cassette release for the True Identity demo, so I was very happy to see that React! was doing a proper release on vinyl. These songs do not disappoint! It's exactly what I would want from these two guys. Now I just hope it lasts longer than a quick demo recording, and they give us some more.

250 pressed on both gold and black vinyl, for a total of 500 pressed through React!. Refuse Records also did a pressing on blue, that I'm hoping React! distributes at some point so that I don't have to dick around with overseas shipping.

Fight Like Underdogs

Admittedly, I didn't spend much time with Hardcore records last year, but one of the few that found regular rotations in my playlist was the new album from Suspect. I don't know what it was about this record, but it's charm and energy had it quickly climbing up my Best of 2015 list...leaving crowd favorites like Chain Rank, No Tolerance and Sweet Jesus in their wake.

When I saw that Chris over at Unwavering Spirit posted a copy of the record release pressing of the Suspect record, I was interested. When he mentioned that the singer was selling them over at discogs, I was on the move to grab a copy for myself.

There weren't many records from last year that I bothered chasing multiple copies of, but when given the opportunity to add this one to the collection, I didn't hesitate.

Great looking silk screened cover.

Number 64 of 100.

NWOBHM 2015

Honest, I was going to take a break from buying records for the start of 2016. I've got some serious bills piling up with the Christmas holiday, and some costly car repairs...and I needed to slow things down. When I had an email from a friend, telling me about Seven Sisters, I justified it as "it's only one 7 inch".

I honestly wasn't expecting much on the recommendation, but I figured I'd check them out just the same. Holy shit, what an awesome surprise! Seven Sisters are out of London, and are influenced by the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal that was happening in their country 35 years earlier. They carve their sounds from the influence of Angel Witch, Jaguar, and Satan...and had they been around in the early 80's, I'm sure they would have crashed and burned just like all the legendary from that time period.

This band impressed me so much that I paid for, and downloaded, the digital files from their 2014 demo, The Warden. As someone that absolutely despises paying for digital music files, it says something about how impressed I was by this band.

Accept Some Metal On Vinyl

A few years ago, I was still occasionally taking the cheap and convenient way out when it came to new Metal albums, and buying the CD. There were times where the vinyl was only pressed in Europe, and I just couldn't be bothered with dealing with overseas shipping. It seemed like too much work when I could just grab the CD from my local record store. It seems like the story of my record collecting is based on going back to fix these kinds of stupid choices.

After a 14 year hiatus, Accept was back in 2010 with a new album and a new singer, replacing the irreplaceable Udo. Much to my surprise, I absolutely loved that first album with ex-TT Quick singer, Mark Tornillo, on the mic. Blood Of The Nations was a statement that Accept was back, and with each release after that debut, the band makes a strong case that they aren't fucking around. Accept is here to stay.

When I was recently on a shopping spree over at the Nuclear Blast Germany webstore, I saw that they had Accept's second "reunion" album, Stalingrad, in stock on vinyl. I'd been on a Blood Of The Nations binge lately, so I did not hesitate to add the red vinyl for Stalingrad to the cart. After owning the CD of this for the past 3 or 4 years, it felt good to finally add the vinyl to the collection.

Delirious For Some Saint

I listened to a lot of Armored Saint in 2015. Having seen them live twice during the year, and eventually coming to love their new album, the Saint stayed on my radar and logged a ton of time in my listening playlists. I picked up three pieces of vinyl over the year, and I suddenly realized that I was only a few pieces away from completing my Armored Saint discography. While the band was still fresh in my mind, and before the year closed, I moved one step closer with another record.

While I had March Of The Saint and Raising Fear as a kid, I somehow skipped out on the album released between the two...Delirious Nomad. I don't think that I bothered checking out that album until the early 2000's, when I'd gotten back into Metal and was downloading albums like there was no tomorrow. Even when I first heard the album, it didn't leave much of an impression on me, and I left it to collect dust.

Over the past couple of years, though, my appreciation for Delirious Nomad has grown and grown, and I now recognize it as stone cold Saint classic.

With my Armored Saint obsession in full bloom, I figured that I'd hit up eBay, and see what kind of trouble I could get into.

When I found a listing that included a special promo folder and press release, I knew that I had to have it.

A cool little piece of history for the collection.

You Said It Ozz

Most of the records that I bought at the end of 2015 were to cover the new releases of the year. Moving into January, things can get back to normal, so lets roll with something that is a bit more of a classic.

As I start to explore the uncharted islands of Metal singles, I'm rich with new found treasures. After discovering that there was a b-side exclusive on Ozzy's Mr. Crowley single I started hanging out on eBay, determined to bring this bad boy home.

How is it that Ozzy and company have let the song You Said It All fade into obscurity, is beyond me. You'd think that it would have been included as a bonus track on one of the reissues of Blizzard Of Ozz. Nope. If you want to own a copy of You Said It All in any form, you've got to hunt down the original vinyl pressings...and yet, this 12 inch single still only cost me $8. Solid deal.

I love the packaging on this record. The design on the front cover, and the live shot on the back are badass. Man, this looks so good.

Gruesome End To A Year

It's the end of the year, and that can only mean that everyone and their grandmother are shoving Top 10 lists in your face, showing off the shit that got them off in 2015. Like it or not, here is my Year In Review.

Let's start with the numbers. Over the course of the year, I bought 192 records...I also had a couple episodes of picking up some original CD pressings, which boosted my 2015 total to 223. It may sound like a lot, but when you look at where this blog has been the past few years, 223 new records ain't shit.

This past year, I made attempts to try and restrict my record shopping...or at least make better choices when I'm buying. I vowed to not chase every single pressing for each record I bought. No more. I'm only playing that game with a select few. In addition to my more restrictive buying habits, I was also very much in a Metal state of mind, and couldn't be bothered to chase every Hardcore release. I don't have the money to spend on everything that I want right now, so I had to make some not-so-tough decisions, and I only paid close attention to shit that gave me a charge. Focusing on Metal caused my 7 inch count to drop from 129 last year, to a pathetic 48 this year.

While I may have cut back on the number of records that I bought, that didn't mean that I was going cheap. I still bought some cool shit. I imagine that this list will bum some people out, but these are my Top 5 favorite vinyl purchases from 2015.

1. Black Sabbath 'Master Of Reality' Vertigo pressing - As long as I'm buying Black Sabbath UK Vertigo swirl pressings, you can expect to see them in my Top 5 for the year. Finding this record, with the original poster, and in great shape is no small task. New watermark high was set for how much I'd be willing to spend on a single record.

2. Savatage 'Sirens' original Par Records pressing - I've had wet dreams about this pressing for a long time. While it doesn't match the insanity of the colored vinyl pressing for this, picking up the black vinyl ain't no joke. Quite possibly one of my favorite Heavy Metal records.

3. Iron Maiden 'X Factor' original pressing - Yeah, it is a Blaze Bailey Iron Maiden album. You got a problem with that? As Summer was winding down, I found myself obsessed with the two Blaze Bailey albums from Maiden. If you think that the original vinyl pressing for X Factor carries a ridiculous price tag, don't even think about trying to mess with Virtual XI.

4. GBH 7 inch singles - GBH were one of the few non-Metal bands that I obsessed over this year. These original 7 inches from Clay Records didn't break the bank, but they were fun as hell to chase and finally add to the collection.

5. Manowar 'Into Glory Ride' Megaforce silver label pressing - No joke. This record was my white whale. I was pretty sure that it existed, but I'd never seen one with the original silver labels from Megaforce. Listing after listing on eBay is for the black label with red Manowar logo, and I was starting to doubt if Megaforce pressed this with their trademark silver labels. Finding one of these elusive records puts Manowar on this list for 2015.

I still love Hardcore, but man, I had a tough time staying interested in it in 2015. No doubt there are still some cool bands doing their shit, and doing it well...I've just had my attention focused elsewhere. If you've still been following this blog as I dribble out Hardcore posts in a flood of Metal, my hats off to you. Thanks for sticking with me.

Now you are fucking talking! 2015 was all about the Metal. Classic stuff from the 80's, those sticking it out through the 90's, the resurgence in the 00's, and those new bands slugging it out today. I listened to it all, and I listened to it a lot. You know that the year was good for Metal when Iron Maiden drop a new album, and it can't even work it's way into the Top 10.

So, that was my year collecting records and generally just loving music. I still enjoy writing this blog, and believe it or not, I was able to keep up with it this past year, and not fall too far behind with the vinyl backlog. At times this thing can be a chore, but generally I still get a kick out of blogging about how great my musical tastes are...even when I'm talking to nothing but a computer screen. If you felt the desire to keep up with this diary of a vinyl madman, I thank you...there is more to do in 2016.

Enforcer Live

In a couple of weeks, I should be making a roadtrip to see Enforcer play live. They are one of my favorite newer Metal bands, so I'm pretty excited to see them play. As a little taste of what's to come, I figured that I'd grab the new live album.

Let's not go cheap though, might as well dive in head first with the limited box set edition.

If this album is an accurate representation of what Enforcer can deliver live, that show in January is going to be a blast. So many fist-in-the-air anthems.

Blue colored vinyl is limited to the box set.

One of the big reasons that I was drawn to the box set edition of Live By Fire, was the exclusive 10 inch. What was I supposed to do, just get the regular vinyl pressing, and miss out on these three new songs? Get the fuck out of here with that nonsense.

Enforcer deliver once again. Heavy Metal...loud and proud.

In addition to the vinyl, this box set also includes a huge poster, a booklet with tons of photos spanning Enforcer's career, a hand numbered certificate, CD that includes a few extra songs that couldn't fit onto the vinyl pressing, plus a DVD of a show from Japan. Solid.

Exodus Official Live Bootleg

Night of the Vinyl Dead is a record label out of Italy that specializes in pressing records that originally never saw an official vinyl release. I was obsessed with this label back in 2008, spending good money for vinyl releases for King Diamond, Mercyful Fate, Sodom and Saxon. Vinyl pressings were never more than 500, so they were pretty limited, and trying to grab them through eBay got to be damn expensive. After my initial shopping spree throughout that year, I got overwhelmed with the pricing and moved on.

I got the itch for more Night of the Vinyl Dead pressings with the copy of the Laaz Rockit live LP that I picked up earlier this year. Then when I saw the latest NOTVD pressing available in the Nuclear Blast Germany webstore during a last ditch attempt to get a few more 2015 releases before the year came to a close, I jumped at the opportunity.

Exodus - Live at the DNA 2004 | Official Bootleg.

Nuclear Blast originally released this on CD, back in 2005, so it is nice to finally have a vinyl pressing of it ten years later. This show was recorded for the band's record release party for Tempo Of The Damned back in 2004. At one point Exodus was selling DVDs of the live show, but it is apparently out of print and rather difficult to find these days. While I downloaded an unofficial bootleg of the show years ago with the full set list of 24 songs, this official release contains only nine of the songs...all from Tempo Of The Damned.

Pretty cool "bootleg" packaging, on red vinyl with hand stamped labels. Number 393 out of 500.

While this isn't something that I'll probably return to very often, it is still cool to own this record, and it makes a nice addition to my Night Of The Vinyl Dead collection.

No Cross Left Unturned

I've never been a big fan of Death Metal...in fact the DM surge around 89/90 with bands like Obituary and Deicide, is what turned me off of Metal at the time, and helped push me towards Hardcore. Recently, however, I've started to feel an attraction to the genre. I'm not compelled to listen to it in large doses, but man, sometimes I want something ugly. Death Metal provides that fix.

On a whim, I checked out the Raging Death album from Entrails late last year. I enjoyed it, but I didn't really spend my time with it, as other records were commanding my attention. When I discovered that Entrails were releasing a new album this year, I dove in head first with Obliteration.

While it isn't going to come close to my Top 10 for the year, this album was a blast to rip through...at times reminding me of those Black Breath albums I loved a few years ago. This is an absolute rager, and has me growling along to the lyrics and banging my head like a nut.

Murder, my only urge is to murder.
I feel empty without murder.
It makes my life complete.
I am the epitome of death.

Goddamn right. That's my jam.

This second picture doesn't really capture the true color of the vinyl, like the first one posted here. 200 pressed on "translucent red" colored vinyl, that was exclusive to Nuclear Blast Germany.

Black Trippin'

Joseph Tholl likes to get around. While he plays guitar in Enforcer, the band seems to be more of Olof's baby. However, with CC Company and Black Trip, Joseph takes center stage behind the mic. While CC Company has more of a Motorhead flavor, Black Trip goes with more of a Thin Lizzy inspired sound, and Joseph manages them both flawlessly.

The guy is in three bands, and all of them dropped an amazing new release in 2015.

While I enjoyed the first Black Trip LP, Goin' Under, for one reason or another, I just never picked up the vinyl for it. Given my obsession with ordering all 2015 releases before the year's end, as soon as I saw that the band had a new album out, I quickly added Shadowline to my cart over at Nuclear Blast Germany.

None But The Metal

I've been trying to curb my record spending recently. Christmas gifts, car repairs and bills have me taking hits left and right, but I've got to keep my eye on more important things...you know, like buying all the 2015 releases before the year comes to a close. The past few weeks have been a mad scramble to pick up a few more pieces to the 2015 puzzle, and even though I'm not going to be able to get them all, I'll still make a solid dent.

As I've been reviewing and reworking my Best of 2015 list...comparing one album in the list to another and deciding if they needed to be moved up or down in my ranking, it dawned on me that I get a real charge out of listening to the newest Ironsword album...more so than the new Iron Maiden. Once I'd gotten that sorted out, I knew I needed to grab the Ironsword vinyl.

I had the option of colored vinyl when I was ordering from Shadow Kingdom, but honestly, I didn't like the way it looked. I went the safe route and just ordered the black vinyl.

I'm not sure who came up with this hype sticker, but I don't think they listened to this album. Comparisons to Manilla Road, Manowar and Omen would have been more on target than Exciter, Venom and Metallica. Seriously, the similarities were so strong that there were times when I thought the singer for Manilla Road was doing guest vocals on this album. Great traditional Heavy Metal!

Error Generator

Mos Generator don't ever stop. After releasing one of my favorite records last year with Electric Mountain Majesty, Mos Generator have released three split 12 inches (one of which I still need to pick up), a split 7 inch, and a limited 7 inch...giving us a total of eleven new songs for 2015. While I wish the band would stop dicking around with the split record format, and just release everything on an LP, you've got to be impressed with their work ethic.

When I first receive this newest split with the band Stubb, I was quite confused. I dropped the needle to the record, and everything sounded like some kind of fucked up chaotic mess. It starts off with some spoken word intro, then drops into an old Mos Generator riff, and from there it goes off the rails with some atmospheric noise shit for the next 15 minutes. I figured that this must be the Stubb side, as it didn't sound like the Mos Generator I knew. I flip the record over...nope...while these songs don't sound bad, they sure aren't Mos Generator. Must be Stubb. So what the hell was going on with my Mos Generator side?!? I fired off a message to Tony Reed from the band, and he wasn't aware of any issue, so I finally reached out to the record label. Yup...seems like there was an error at the pressing plant, and while the majority of the pressing turned out fine, a few of them must have been pressed with the wrong or faulty plates. Mine was all fucked up, and they offered to send me a replacement copy. Here we are three months later, and I'm still waiting.

Tony Reed is a solid dude, and when we coordinated a three way deal between me, him and HeviSike out of the UK, Tony emailed me mp3s of the songs so that I could listen to them while I waited for the record to arrive. I'm glad to have them because these songs are damn good.

Silent Night, Bloody Night

Christmas Eve. Some people see it as a time to wish for peace on earth, to be thankful to surround themselves with family and loved ones...but for me, it is a signal that the year is coming to a close, and if I want to get my records from 2015 posted before the year ends, I better get off my ass and start writing. I've got six more new releases lined up, and six days to wrap things up before my Year End recap on December 31st. Pressure.

I've got a hard on for Metal 7 inches lately. I started off the year with a handful of Raven singles, and while I didn't make much progress after that, I find that I've come full circle, and my mind is wandering into this 7 inch territory again. I don't know...there is just something cool and unique about 7 inches from Metal bands.

While shopping online, I recently stumbled upon a 7 inch for Amulet. I love everything that this band has done, and while the Bloody Night song is featured on the band's first LP, the b-side is a Hawkwind cover, and exclusive to this 7 inch. I've never paid much attention to Hawkwind, but I'm on board for Amulet's version.

250 pressed on clear vinyl.

Sucker For The Clutch

Clutch released one of my favorite records for 2013 with Earth Rocker. I played the shit out of that record, so there was no doubt that the band's new album was going to be one of my most anticipated releases this year.

Earth Rocker was such a great album from start to finish, in the back of my mind, I wondered if Clutch would be able to come close to matching it with Psychic Warfare. It was a pretty tall order, but as soon as I checked the first single for X-Ray Visions, I knew that Clutch would deliver. This band is consistently great, and many of these songs send the album screaming up my Best of 2015 list.

While the album was officially released in October, it took until December for the vinyl to finally show up. Week after week, pressing plant delays kept the vinyl from hitting the shelves. I'm pretty sure that it is Record Store Day's fault.

Limited to 1,500 on white vinyl for independent record stores.