Dream Theater: Illumination Theory 12" Picture Disc Single

A guilty pleasure of mine: Dream Theater.  I have liked these guys since I was a kid and still listen to their new releases.  This is a 12" single of sorts.  One of their epic 20+ minute songs, split onto 2 sides of a 12" picture disc. While I am not a fan of picture discs or massive singles on 12" vinyl, pickings were kinda slim at the record store on RSD and it is Dream Theater after all!

Clutch/Lionize Split from Record Store Day 2014

The last 7" I picked up from RSD is a Clutch/Lionize split. I love Clutch and was stoked to see they were releasing something new.  The song seems almost to be a tribute and continuation of the of the album John Barleycorn Must Die from the supergroup Traffic, back in 1970.

Record Store Day 2014 - 3 Side by Side 7" - Love/Rush, Devo/Flaming Lips, Poison Idea/Pantera

Record Store Day has been less and less appealing to me each year.  The last couple of years that I have gone, I have seen 2 or 3 couples that go store to store and buy up 1 of anything (each) that may be worth a profit.  There seem to be so many of these people at the stores that getting excited for one of the rarities that I am interested in is not really worth it.  So, I tend to go in the early afternoon and just see what's there.  It's still fun and way less frustrating.

I've been getting side by side records each year and I think they are really unique.  A famous song that has an original version on one side of a 7" and a cover on the other side. This year, I picked up 3 different ones, including a Mystery Side by Side, which is in a black sleeve and you do not know the song or artist.

The mystery record is super interesting. The song is "7 and 7 is" written by Love in 1966 and the flip side is a cover by Rush, from 2004.  An excellent combination of performances.  The vinyl is really interesting as well, it is sort of a opaque yellow with vague pink inside of it.  One side, you can see only a little pink and the other, it is way more pronounced.

Next, is Gates of Steel by Devo from 1980 and covered by The Flaming Lips in 2013.  Again, another great choice for bands to share a split. This is printed on silver/gray vinyl and it almost looks like it has some sort of wrinkle in the dead wax, I've never seen anything like that before.

A Pantera singe from 1994? Very odd to see. The Badge by Poison Idea 1990 and covered by Pantera in 1994. Printed on transparent purple vinyl.

Protest the Hero: Volition - Indiegogo Donation Preorder on Transparent Orange Vinyl - Autographed

This was my first time ever contributing to a bands donation request.  They wanted to step away from the record label and release and record this record on their own and apparently, they received almost triple the amount of money that they were asking for in a very short amount of time.  I put in my donation and it was before the album was even in the studio.  So, from donation to being finished was a good 6 months + and during that time I had moved and it took another 2 months to get the package to my new address. But, in the end, it did arrive safe and sound.  

The artwork and layout for the Indiegogo version of the album is different than what was pressed for the general public. Both versions have great art and the regular cover is super interesting as well, but I am happy to have a copy of this version as it is very rarely seen (500pcs). 

Double transparent orange vinyl in a nice gatefold sleeve and autographed by the entire band... what more could you ask for?!