Record Conventions Can Suck It

Man, there was a time when a trip to a record convention was cause for excitement. When my friends and I started going, back in the mid-80's, the conventions were huge, and there were all kinds of cool treasures to find. That time was worlds away, and the record convention no longer holds that same thrill level. For the most part, the shows nowadays are the equivalent of thumbing through so much flea market garbage...the majority of it is either beat to shit, over priced, or some 80's one hit wonder. Still, when Jeff and I drove to Massachusetts the other weekend, I somehow managed to walk out of there with around $40 of vinyl, and an overwhelming need to sanitize my hands.

Grim Reaper : Fear No Evil - This is a true classic from 1985 and a great follow up to their debut, See You In Hell. Man, the cover art with the Grim Reaper busting through some stained glass on a motorcycle...fuck yeah! Metal ruled in the 80's.

Dio : Sacred Heart and Hungry For Heaven - For the last 10 years or so, I didn't hesitate to kind of crap on the Sacred Heart LP, and dismiss it as a low point in the Dio catalog due to the prominent use of keyboards. I recently gave it another listen and was surprised at how wrong my memory had become. This record is amazing! I also grabbed the Hungry For Heaven 12 inch single as well.

Black Sabbath : Sabbath Bloody Sabbath - I love the cover art on this album. Very cool. I only owned a clear vinyl pressing of this through the Earmark label (which has a reputation of sounding like shit), and figured that for $7, I'd add an original Warner Brothers pressing to the collection.

Malice : Licence To Kill - An underrated Metal classic from 1987. Strong Judas Priest influence in this band, and this album just...ummm...kills.

Accept : Breaker - I base most of my Metal time line off of Iron Maiden, and to think that Accept released this album when Maiden's Killers LP was hitting the shelves...I'm left feeling a little impressed. Shit, this album is almost 30 years old and it still packs a hell of a metal punch.

Angel : Helluva Band - An odd find for me. I've been digging into 70's hard rock, and came across this band in one of Martin Popoff's books from the Ye Olde Metal series. Their Helluva Band LP is one of their heaviest.

I hate album covers with the promo saw cut. I flat out refuse to buy anything off of eBay that has this cut in the cover. However, since the vinyl for the Malice and the Dio record looked like it had never been played, and the price was so low, I compromised and picked them up anyway.

I know that I've mentioned it on this blog before, but I'll say it again...I love the look of the Vertigo labels with the UFO's.