Yeah, Von has a shitload of cool vinyl indeed!

And yes I am. But I more or less halted with the Nightwish related activities after 2005, after Tarja left and the already overly crappy music Tuomas was writing met its match with that ABBA singer they hired. Seriously, it pissed me off real bad. Plus, 2005 was kind of a turning point for me as it was more or less my "year zero" for OSDM. I went to my first underground metal festival that year, saw Incantation among many others and spent a whole weekend listening to Severed Survival in-between the bands playing. That was so because a friend I went with bought the CD there and handed it to the guy doing the sound, so the guy would pop it up between bands. You could say that that weekend really changed my life. Afterwards I started being bombarded with death, thrash, black and grind from that friend of mine and I never stopped again. I still have a very soft spot for Nightwish though. I guess I will always have it.

This is my meager collection, around 550 or so cds:



All that jumbled shit on the bottom middle is my wife's, I also have about 80 cds in a binder somewhere from way back when before I cared about collecting so there's no booklets or inserts or anything, just discs.

Here's some of my more prized items, either hard to find, pretty limited, or expensive (or all three for that matter):



Darkness Over Depth - S/T
Bound By Entrails - For Valhall's Sorrow
Antestor - The Forsaken/Det tapte liv
Appalling Spawn - Freedom, Hope & Fury



Arvinger - Helgards Fall
Dark Tranquillity - Projector it's hard to make out but the booklet is signed
Dark Tranquillity - A Memory Construct limited tour single

Some nice colections there, love these threads. I will see if I can get time to picture mine, I have over 3000 cds/tapes/lps though I have not played or listened too the lps or tapes in years! Some nice rarities to boot.

I guess we're through with the girlie talk then, let me post some rarities I own.

There you go.

And for manning up nothing better than a slice of rotten Finnish bread, with some foreign flavour that still feels pretty much at home there. And I can't believe I forgot to put Abhorrence in the picture... dumbass!

"Finnish" stuff.

And the bonus.

Pretty nice stuff. That Dan Swano "Moontower" is rare now? *checks ebay* Wow, only one copy for $30.

I think I'll post some of my favorite NA/Euro bands/CDs in a bit. I don't have many rarities, but there's a few that are worth something. It'll probably be fun to revisit some of the stuff I listened to from 1995-2004.

Do you guys ever scour your collections and purge bad music? I'm looking through some of my stuff and I don't know if I should just keep it, or get rid of it.

I purge mine like a bulimic.

Just be aware CDs don't sell like they used to.

Oh i know...Why do you purge? Do you have changing tastes so something sounds terrible to you later? I only have a few that I'm considering, so it's not a big deal and it's not like it's complete trash haha

I used to be of the opinion that once I bought something, I would keep it. This is mainly because resale value on most CDs is awful, and if an album ends up being a grower, I don't want to have to buy it back. Nowadays, if I find something I haven't listened to in over a year, I give it another listen, and if I still don't really like it, it goes on the trade/sale list.

Actually selling those CDs on the other hand is a bit more difficult

@ TheDarkHarvest:

Purges are brought on when I'm running low on space or if there's a ton of stuff I want to buy. My musical tastes are dependent on my moods (which are pretty erratic and volatile). For whatever reason, my tastes have changed over time - and will probably continue to do so. I also think its normal for a lot of stuff to fall to the wayside after awhile, esp. if you're constantly checking out new bands/genres. I may have been barking up the wrong tree a bit between 2005-2011.

I don't think I've bought too many CDs which were flat-out terrible (that stuff gets filtered out with mp3s), the stuff that's problematic for me is the middling 40-60% range. And for whatever reason, most things I don't enjoy initially (it usually takes 3-5 plays for me to digest an album). To complicate things more, most of my favorite albums these days rubbed me the wrong way initially.

I also think some styles like Euro power metal I'm terminally burnt out on. My tastes have mellowed horribly over the last couple years too.

I used to, but then I got to the point where I only buy stuff I actually like. That helps a lot in making better judgement when it comes to spending money. Which in turn makes the stuff that piles up in my shelves deserve its place. Back then I bought some stuff that I stopped caring/listening to, but that was always a very tiny percentage and not a big chunk. Nowadays I use the broader "if it were today I wouldn't buy it, but since it's here and I've heard it dozens of times I'll just keep it" judgement when it comes to things I barely ever listen to. Like the other guy said, I spin it again and I if still take something out of it it stays there. I guess the filtering comes primarily from buying only what I really like.

Moontower isn't the rarest thing ever, but I did already pay like 20€ some four years back. But I worship that album, so I just wanted to post its darn picture, ha ha.

PS: Bear in mind that taste changes over time, as do moods, so many times you'll just find something in your collection to sound really obnoxious in a "why did I buy this crap" kind of way. The curious thing about it is that when your mood swings back you'll end up going back there and liking it. Like myself and Nightwish. I barely ever listen to the band nowadays, but I'll be damned if I don't get soaky eyes when I put one of their albums playing! It's normal, so don't throw everything away!

I know what you mean about barking up the wrong tree. At first I was getting stuff like Aerosmith, Ac/Dc, Korn, etc. Things that I loved as a young "metal"head (Still enjoy here and there), but now that I mainly listen to black and death metal, I rarely find myself touching these. I feel like keeping these is a good thing though.

Also, thanks Androdion that actually helped a lot. I'm very obsessive about things that I collect so I tend to get worked up for no reason. That calmed me down a lot!

This is a great point. I got a Cemetery Urn CD when I was relatively new to death metal and only listened to it a couple of times. I didn't listen to it at all in the last 2 or 3 years, and then just last weekend I put it on and really enjoyed it. Granted, it doesn't rank up there with my favourite death metal bands, nor is it even really the style of death metal I'm into, but it's fun to spin once in a while.

My full collection is only about 450 items altogether, so not really worth posting here, I'd think... but maybe somebody will get a kick out of my Lykathea Aflame collection:



Not pictured: two other shirts, and a non-signed poster somewhere around my house. Still need: vinyl test pressings, at least one other shirt from 2002, a slightly different 1CD version of the 2011 reissue.

Regularly, as I replace represses and reissues with originals, so not necessarily bad but yeah I do.

Some wicked stuff in here guys, post your small collections or unruly piles of disorganised chaos too

Did they ever re-print that Lykathea Aflame t-shirt with the correct spelling or is that an old one?

Have you heard Corpse Molestation? actually all the Bestial Warlust related bands I like a lot.

No, that shirt you see is the one that shipped with the 2011 repress. They never made a version with the correct spelling, as far as I know (and I like to think I'd know if they did).

I got mine via trade, believe it or not. Gonna post my Swano items later - I was a fanboy of his back in the day.


Yeah, stuff I've played a lot and/or enjoyed the crap out of is with me for life. The middling stuff tends to fall to the wayside. I do find some of those albums may have one good song and the rest is mediocre. I'm really starting to appreciate singles these days.

As funny as it sounds, I own 6 Esoteric CDs and a shitload of ultra-flowery power metal.

The mother of all threads! Thanks, Todd!

I'll be contributing here a lot, I guess.

Sepultura

Some collections of favorite bands of mine:

Edge of Sanity/Nightingale/Pan-Thy-Monium:

Edge of Sanity's "The Spectral Sorrows", "Until Eternity Ends" and "The Unorthodox" are the oldest CDs I own (bought them back in 1995). I did have "Purgatory Afterglow" at the time too, but I replaced it with a new copy (my old one was in poor condition).

Manilla Road:

Nothing here is particularly valuable (I think all these pressings are pretty easy to find), but they're one of my favorite bands and owning all their stuff is a nice feeling.

Rage:

1st 8 CDs are the remasters (3 are missing stickers due to having to replace broken jewel cases - screw you Century Media! ). I would've bought the Japanese pressing for "Black in Mind" too, but it got deleted (it was on backorder forever at HMV Japan). I bought the Japanese pressing of "21" because it doesn't have the annoying glitches the Nuclear Blast pressing has.

Skyclad:

I'd love to replace "Prince of the Poverty Line" with the Japanese pressing (the bonus tracks on mine don't fit and are on the "Tracks from the Wilderness" EP anyway. I wouldn't mind replacing the Century Media pressing of "Irrational Anthems" with the Massacre one, but that's not a priority. Yes, "The Answer Machine?" has a blue tray.

Septic Flesh:

"Mystic Places..." and "Esoptron" are first presses. "A Fallen Temple" and "Ophidian Wheel" are jewel case reissues on Holy Records. Not sure what pressing "Revolution DNA" is (there's several), but I got it cheap ages ago. I'm glad I own the originals - I want nothing to do with the brickwalled reissues.

Supuration/S.U.P.

I'm probably one of the rare people around here who likes all material by this band. I probably should've went after the limited edition of "Hegemony" and I wouldn't mind an original of "The Cube" and "Anomaly", but I'm not going to ulcerate myself over it.

And here's some favorite CDs of mine (which probably have value) that I listened to a lot in the late 90s/early 00s:

Most are 1st presses, except Theory in Practice "The Armageddon Theories" (2nd pressing with alt. cover). That "Gardens of Grief" is the Black Sun pressing and I think that was the first CD pressing.

I love threads like this! Drool inducing indeed!

So, I do not have any recent photos, and for now, some old ones will serve.

MANILLA ROAD



All vinyl are first presses, and Crystal Logic both on Roadster and Black Dragon.

CATHEDRAL





Perhaps the only band that has hit my "must own at least one copy of each release" nerve. Still working on it though.

PAUL CHAIN



All first presses and everything purchased before the recent wave of reissues.

Sweet Cathedral collection! I do own all their studio albums on CD but my collection is nothing grand compared to some of the guys here!

The amount of funeral doom CDs I own is as massive as the amount of symphonic power metal I have, go figure!

And you clearly win with that last post of yours. Damn that Swano collection is mighty fine!

You're not alone, my friend!

Holy crap, that's amazing!

SO MUCH SUP. Only ever heard them as Supuration, perhaps I need to investigate the SUP years...

Cool thread, btw. Enjoying snooping collections!

x2


Why don't you update your "collection browsing" Youtube video then?! Come on, give us all a heart attack!

Oh man, I'd love to. However, my 2 year old sees that I have no time for that sorta stuff at the moment! I barely have time to scan shit & update my blog, let alone full afternoons covered in dust snapping pics haha.

I just did some rearranging, because I was not satisfied with the way things were. Here are some crummy photos.



All my Heavy Metal CDs, regardless of genre, are stored here. Next to my monitor, below the smiling trashcan, is my current playlist. Next to it, new purchases.



And here is the vinyl. On the right, all the shelves have only Metal. On the left, everything else, mostly 70's Hard and Progressive Rock. Further on the right, my stereo equipment, and all my tapes. Below it, a mess of CDs, classical, punk, gothic, whatnot. Also comic books, plus some cute stuff, since all these are in the living room, and I happen to be married.



And these little guy holds all my 70's Hard and Progressive Rock, plsu some Neo-Prog and Stoner.

Ha ha, I trust you on that.

@normalized_freak - Two things. Those shelves on the first photo seem so much like a castle of cards being held up by straws it's hilarious! And that An Evil Shade Of Grey vinyl...

That latest Christian metal help thread over in rec central got me thinking, I have a lot of Christian cds, so here we are:





This doesn't include my As I Lay Dying cds because well who knows when they stopped being all about Jesus really.

First pic, on the last two rows, with the horned heads. What band is that?

Demon Hunter, they're metalcore. I really enjoy the hell out of them but I don't know if you would, though you have shocked me a bit in this thread . They're also not on this site.

I can shock people real hard when I can, ha ha. Like, I'm a big Rammstein nut, at least until Mutter. I listen to lots of different shit, even though by the end of the day I do prefer good old death metal.

So I put The Triptych playing on YT and I can see why they aren't a resident band here. Mate, let me tell you that I've heard much worse! In fact I expected the cheese factor to be overwhelmingly bad when I first smelled it, but I can see the catchiness in these guys. Not my ballpark but I can tell you, I've heard much worse!

Oh god do I love Rammstein. People are VERY surprised when I state that, I even love the past Mutter stuff.

If you plan on doing any further investigating I would say the first two releases would be the closest thing to metal by this site's standards. Every time they put out a new album I keep hoping they'll cross over into full blown... something, but they never do , oh well doesn't stop my enjoyment of them.

I have a whole lot that I want to share, but for now I'll just do these two . Sorry for crappy pictures, I only have my cell phone and bad lighting.

Sogna Metal (Vreid, Windir, Cor Scorpii, Mistur)


Not sure what happend to my Welcome Farewell booklet... I think my lady has it

Dio! (complete Solo, Sabbath, Rainbow (studio), Heaven & Hell discographies)


I also own the "finding the sacred heart" DVD, but it is at my ladies

These are my two CD shelves:





The box on the first one is my trade/sale list, and the shelf also has all sorts of concert stubs. At the top I have sealed copies of Space Police by Edguy and Sails of Destiny by Crimson Shadows because I have doubles of those. There are some other albums I have doubles of that are unsealed (Welcome 2 My Nightmare and Individual Thought Patterns) because they are different editions, but in general, I'm not big on buying the same album twice.

Sometime this weekend I'll get my Alice Cooper collection up. I just got another album of his on vinyl!

Cool! Bolt Thrower t-shirt collection

http://www.invisibleoranges.com/2012/06/worship-the-merch-bolt-thrower/