Protest the Hero: Kezia (Black vinyl)

Finally, I have gotten a copy of Kezia! This was a limited run printing on a Canadian label that is very unlikely to reprint.  I have become a big Protest the Hero fan and found it really hard to pick these up.  If they sold on the cheaper end, they tended to be shipped from Canada and the additional postage put it out of my range.  Finally, after around a year, I scored a nice copy from an eBay seller.

If you've never seen this video, it is worth a minute.  Absolutely hilarious. 

Death: Leprosy (Back on Black repress on Red vinyl)

2007 pressing of this classic by Death. This is a repress on Back on Black that I picked up on eBay.  When I was travelling in Europe, I came across a dozen copies of all different pressings of this record and just never bought one.  Then, when I came home, I couldn't find one for a good price.  Finally, after a lot of waiting I got one from a new seller on eBay. It's in great condition and is really nice looking vinyl. 

Bolt Thrower: Realm of Chaos (Earache repress on "World Eater Red" vinyl)

This is a classic vinyl repress from Earache. This is the 3rd rarest of the 4 colors released; World Eater red is limited to 300 copies.  Original copies of Bolt Thrower sell for tons of money and I am really happy to see this repressed and available for a fair rate. 

Converge: All We Love We Leave Behind (Green marble, 180g black, Solid Red and Transparent yellow)

This is a pre-order that I had been waiting for, for a long time! I made sure to pick up copies of each version that was available to order and then, waited months to receive them. When they finally showed up, I was stoked.  Instead of getting one of each color, they made a mistake and shipped me two copies of the green marble, which is my favorite of all the pressings and prefer to keep.  I will end up parting with some of these copies over time, but will likely keep the green marble and the 180g black copies.  

From Deathwish, I picked up the 180g black, red and two copies of the green marble and from Epitaph, I picked up the transparent yellow. Since I received these, they have already been repressed on different colors.

Another fantastic release from Converge.

Knut: Bastardiser (Black vinyl)

Old school Knut record from back in the late 90's.  Some good Swiss technical(ish) sludge. 

Rabbits: Bites Rites (Black vinyl)

Picked this up for a few bucks with a bunch of other vinyl and was really impressed.  I had not heard Rabbits before I saw the auction for this record.  I just listened to a track on youtube and placed a low bid and got lucky and won it.  Not more than a few weeks later, I saw Big Business in Seattle and sure enough, Rabbits was the supporting act.  

Cancer Bats: Birthing the Giant (Transparent orange vinyl)

The second of the two Cancer Bats records that I picked up; Birthing the Giant.

Cancer Bats: Bears, Mayors, Scraps & Bones (Transparent red vinyl)

One of two new Cancer Bats records that I recently picked up; Bears, Mayors, Scraps and Bones. 

Grails: Redlight and The Burden of Hope (Red with black splatter and Green with black splatter)

Here are two great records; Redlight and The Burden of Hope by Grails. They have very simple sleeves, but they house some excellent looking vinyl. This is printed on semi-transparent color vinyl with black splatter, each of which match the color scheme of the album cover.  

Grinderman: Self Titled (Black vinyl)

This is the 2007 release from Grinderman, which included Nick Cave and Warren Ellis (Dirty Three). I bought it on a whim, knowing that the personnel is fantastic and whatever murmurings I have heard of the band were all positive. All in all, I am very happy with this record. 

This is their rad performance on the Letterman show. 

Simple, heavy, gatefold packaging and black, almost blank insert and spindle label.  

Vital Remains: Icons of Evil (Double heavy black vinyl with 4th side etching)

I came across another seller on eBay who was local and had tons of vinyl for sale; all starting cheap. I was working on my homework on Saturday and Sunday when the majority of his auctions were ending and I ended up bidding on a good handful of stuff and was able to save on shipping by picking it up at his house. 

This Vital Remains record is one from that lot, along with another dozen or so posted after this.  This is on double vinyl, with the last side having the Vital Remains logo etched into it.  It's a great record and excellent presentation overall. 2007 release with Glen Benton on vocals and produced by Erik Rutan.

Cathedral: The Ethereal Mirror on Earache Records (Black Vinyl)

This record has been on my wishlist for probably 18 months.  Somewhere I became stubborn and didn't want to spend what the asking price was for this.  The pressing on blue has been selling for over $100 lately and the black has been holding steady at a good price.  I just got lucky and found a US seller on eBay who posted this at a weird time of day and just didn't get bids.  I never really expected to win it, but got really lucky and did. 

I think their video for Midnight Mountain is hilarious. 

Immolation: Providence Scion A/V Release (Black Vinyl)

The new EP from Immolation was pretty hard to get for a decent price.  It was released by Scion A/V and was given away by them at the Scion fest and was never available for sale. Needless to say, after the fest, these were popping up on eBay as "super rare" and therefore, super expensive! I waited for a while and tracked a lot of copies and finally got one for a bit over my price range, but a fair price overall. 

Here is the full EP on Youtube 

King Diamond: No Presents for Christmas - Black Friday Record Store Day Release (Picture Disc)

As part of the Black Friday Record Store Day sale, this Holiday classic was repressed on picture vinyl! This was originally released on Christmas back in 1985 and was the first piece of music released by King Diamond. This is most definitely going to get heavy rotation next Christmas season! 

H20: Thicker Than Water Bridge 9 Repress (Clear Yellow with Black)

This is an absolute NYHC classic! Stoked to see Bridge 9 reprint this on cool wax.  The pre-order had a blue and red split vinyl, limited to 300 and the yellow with black, limited to 700. Personally, I like the yellow and black layout better, even though it's not as limited. 

Trouble: Psalm 9 (Trouble) (Black Vinyl)

This is a great, old school record from the band Trouble. This is a 1984 release on Metal Blade and is their debut album. If you are into doom, especially old school doom and have not heard these guys, they are definitely worth a listen. This was released the same year as the St Vitus self titled record and is one of the first real examples of the Doom Metal genre.   

27: Songs From the Edge of the Wing (Clear vinyl)

I picked up a pretty nice lot of assorted records from a guy on eBay, who lived in Seattle.  He started the records pretty cheap and I just took a gamble on some that I hadn't heard of before.  This is the first time that I had heard 27 and I was pleasantly surprised.  27 has a lot of crossover with the band Isis and a couple of the members of 27 actually were on the Isis album Oceanic.  I would consider this album a bit slower and more emo than Isis, very unique and well done.  A great find for me, for sure. 

Strife: Witness a Rebirth (Transparent red vinyl)

I was pretty skeptical of new Strife. I figured it had been so long since they'd released anything and I tend to be a bit worried when a band with a legacy like them releases something so far after the fact. But, the lineup on this record was amazing and after they released a single, I picked up a couple of copies on pre-order. There are a ton of guest appearances on the record and they have Igor Cavalera playing drums; one of my favorite drummers of all time.  The record is definitely much better than I would have expected and I am glad to have purchased the pre-order as I got a copy of the limited red pressing. 

Mother of Mercy: IV Symptoms of Existence (Gray/Blue Vinyl)

Mother of Mercy: IV from Bridge 9 Records, limited to 700 copies on blue swirl.  

Converge/Napalm Death: Split 7" (Highlighter yellow vinyl)

A behemoth split; Converge and Napalm Death. This was a self released project that was distributed through Deathwish records.  There were a lot of different pressing of this floating around and I am not sure of the exact numbers.  This copy is on highlighter yellow vinyl and was a later pressing, regardless of it being a latter press, I think the vinyl is a great compliment to the again amazing artwork from Jacob Bannon 

High on Fire/Ruins: Split (Purple marble with comic book)

This is a pretty cool 7" Split with High on Fire and Ruins.  It is housed in a clever, small comic book cover and printed on marbled purple vinyl. The High on Fire track is Brother in the Wind which was originally released on Blessed Black Wings. 

Eagle Twin: The Feather Tipped The Serpent's Scale (Double gray marble vinyl)

The first Eagle Twin record was totally unexpected for me. I expected some grim Southern Lord style music with a lot of Sunn O influence, but what was on that record was so much more than I could have expected.  These guys were able to harness a really unique sound. The combination of the dark, downtuned tones with the throat singing was something that I had never heard before and was a different take on music from the genre. The Feather Tipped the Serpent's Scale is the follow up to that record.  I purchased it without hearing anything on it, assuming it was going to be exceptional.

Now, the packaging and art are interesting, but a little dull compared to the first release.  I vinyl is an interesting gray marble and they are housed in a heavy gatefold, but it's just lacking something.  The first release seemed to have a lot more heart and thought behind it all.  This record is really good overall, but it does not carry the impact that I expected.  Maybe I set my expectations really high and will appreciate this more over time; we'll see. 

Earth: Radio/Live (Black vinyl)

Finally, I found a cheap copy of Earth: Radio Live on eBay.  This is a great live Earth album on 180g black vinyl in a matte black sleeve with silver embossed artwork.  Released by Southern Lord and limited to 3000 copies. 

The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza: Danza IV: The Alpha- The Omega" +7" (Transparent green with black splatter vinyl)

Another pre-order that I picked up when I got the Behold..The Arctopus, The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza: Danza IV: The Alpha- The Omega. I have really enjoyed these guys since they put out their first record.  I always thought they were very talented, but the fact that they were so funny was more of a selling point. I guess I never really took them too seriously, but always made sure to listen through their new stuff and always liked it.  Now, this album is not quite as funny as their older stuff and is musically amazing.  Maybe this came from some maturity within the band or more of a response to people like me who never really thought to take their music seriously. This record is definitely worth a good listen.  The production on it is excellent and the songwriting overall was enough to keep me engaged through the whole album.

What's better?  The vinyl is awesome looking.  It is a super veiny transparent green that came along with a 7" of the same color.  Because the 7" is so small, it is hard to see the detail in the pressing.  I thought it was solid green, but it's way more intricate at close look.

From the current record... 

Old school...

Behold... The Arctopus: Horrorscension (Random colored pre-order vinyl)

This is the new offering from Colin and the guys over at Behold... The Arctopus. This was a pre-order from them and was said to come on "random colored vinyl".  I am assuming they didn't know what they were going to be able to get, so they played it safe with "random".  I got two copies of the record to see if the colors would be random or if it was just one random pressing. Indeed, they were the same, but they are pretty interesting looking.. some baby, powder blue color with black marble qualities to it.  

The music on here is exactly what you would expect from these guys.. completely off the wall and super intelligent   

Ozzy Osbourne: Live (Blizzard of Ozz Tour) (Numbered, double 180g black vinyl)

This is a new release from Ozzy Osbourne.  Ozzy Live; Live from the Blizzard of Ozz tour, this is a double, 180g, virgin vinyl pressing that is hand numbered and limited quantity. It is a really nice package overall.  The inside of the gate fold has a photo of Ozzy where he look so happy to be doing what he's doing.