It’s the end of April but here’s the February purchases…..late as always!
Newbury Comics
Primal Fear – Delivering The Black (CD/DVD) (2014) – $15
Red Dragon Cartel – s/t (2014) – $13
Def Leppard – Slang (2CD Deluxe Edition) – $14
Starship – Loveless Fascination (2013) – $9
Behemoth – The Satanist (CD/DVD) (2014) – $13
Exodus – Bonded By Blood (1985) – $10
Prong – Cleansing (1994) – $4 used
GWAR – Carnival Of Chaos (1997) – $6 used
The first hunt in February took me to the Newbury Comics in Norwood, MA…..the only trip to the record store the entire month! I had a few new releases that I needed to purchase and a $100 budget to use, that includes sales tax. First three albums on the list were the new Primal Fear, Red Dragon Cartel and Def Leppard. I was able to get the new Primal Fear on sale $3 less than regular price and the Red Dragon Cartell as well for $4 off sale price…..not bad deals but the deal was the deluxe edition of Slang. I expected a 2CD set to be close to $20 and, with all the deluxe editions of albums coming out, I expected it to be as high as $30 like those pricey Thin Lizzy deluxe editions I’ve been eyeballing. Regular price was only $14! That’s a steal for 30 tracks (1 bonus disc). Keeping an eye on my list, I found two copies of Mickey Thomas’ Starship lastest record, Loveless Fascination, for $9 and $15 new and sealed…..guess wich one I bought? I’ve always had a soft spot for Starship because I like Thomas’ vocals so I snagged the album and paired it with the deluxe version of the new Behemoth record, The Satanist. Talk about two opposite sides of the spectrum! I saved $5 off regular price for the Behemoth so I still had some money to play with and I replaced two old cassettes picking up the classics Exodus – Bonded By Blood and Prong – Cleansing, topping it off with GWAR’s Carnival Of Chaos to fill a hole in the GWAR collection.
Amazon
Chastain – Surrender To No One (2013) – $12
Adrenaline Mob – Men Of Honor (2014) – $10
Ian Gillan & Tony Iommi – Who Cares (2012) – $15
Altitudes & Attitudes – s/t E.P. (2014) – $5
While I was shopping at Newbury Comics, I found a couple albums on my wish list but I had to compare prices. Back in the early 90s, I dreamed of having something in my hand that had my want lists, collection and availability…..we call that the smart phone. With my phone out, I had my new release list for 2012, 2013 & 2014 and I saw both Chastain and Adrenaline Mob listed and in stock at the store. Unfortunately, I’m not paying regular price so I opened the Amazon app, scanned each bar code and found both albums much cheaper (saving $5 each) so they went in the cart. When I got out of the store and into the car, I remembered the new project with Dave Ellefson (Megadeth) and Frank Bello (Anthrax) called Altitudes & Attitude. It’s only a 3 song E.P. but it was also only $5 so that got thrown in the cart. I was going to checkout but I went to my Amazon Music wish list and one of the first CDs I added way back when was the Ian Gillan/Tony Iommi Who Cares project that I never bought when it first came out. I bought the single but not the full album and it’s been an expensive $20+ price tag for the CD but here it was with a price reduction of 25% off since I added it…..into the cart! So I spent $42 on top of the $100 in the record store.
Ebay
Kix – Midnight Dynamite (1985) – $10 used
Jack Blades – s/t (2004) – $5 used
7th Heaven – USA-UK (2008) – $5 used
Ted Poley – Greatest Hits Volume 2 (Ltd Ed) (2014) – $23
Axxis – Utopia (Ltd Ed + 2) (2009) – $7
Blackberry Smoke – The Whippoorwill (2012) – $8.60 used
Persian Risk – Rise Up (1986/1997 reissue) – $11 used
Tysondog – Painted Heroes: The Anthology (2002) – $20 used
Bret Michaels – Jammin’ With Friends (2013) – $10
Revamp – Wild Card (Ltd Ed) (2013) – $22.50
Ebay has been a go to destination for me since October 1999 and, close to 15 years later, I still find bargains and rare CDs. Nothing is better than finding a CD you want and searching the seller’s other items only to find MORE CDs you want/need. I recently found one such seller who had been kind enough to list his/her collection on Ebay in portions…..lots of CDs I don’t own too! The Jack Blades solo album, the 7th Heaven, Blackberry Smoke, Persian Risk and Tysondog CDs all came from the one seller and it was all because I was searching for the High Vaultage reissue on CD of Persian Risk’s Rise Up. Once I found that at a decent price, I checked the other items and found the rest. I’m not happy about paying so much for the Tysondog anthology but it is the first two albums the band released and the E.P. they had from 1984 through 1986. I had put a high bid of $20 in and I was the only bidder with 10 seconds to go and someone who was watching it went just under $20. I thought I already owned Kix – Midnight Dynamite but I was wrong and you wouldn’t believe how much this CD goes for on Ebay! Upwards for $20+! I got a bargain for $10, same with the Axxis CD for $9 brand new and that replaced one of the first promotional downloads I ever received doing this site. Another $10 went to the latest Bret Michaels solo CD so I could hear just how bad it is…..I know I shouldn’t have bought it but I’ve been dying to hear it because everyone says it’s a train wreck. The two big purchases was the Ted Poley – Greatest Hits Vol. 2 and the limited edition version of the last ReVamp album, Wild Card. Wild Card is an import so normal channels had the price $30+, I’m a big fan of Floor Jansen so I wanted to hear this project. The Ted Poley CD came straight from Ted himself on Ebay and autographed to me personally.
Johnny Lima – My Revolution (Ltd Ed) (2014) – $23
I’ve been a big Johnny Lima supporter after I heard, and then immeadiately bought, his 2009 release Livin’ Out Loud. That was one of the best albums of 2009 and I still spin it today so I always have an eye on Johnny’s website. Sure enough, I checked the website and there was the announcement for the new album, My Revolution, but only as a limited edition CD release and regular download. I’m a physical media freak so I had to have the actual CD so I sent Johnny my $23 and he sent the CD same day! Hit the link above and check Johnny Lima out.
Totals
Total (Feb) = $271.10
Total (year) = $615.10
Average Price (per item) = $10.79
Total CDs (year) = 54
Total LPs (year) = 3
Heavy Metal Addiction 