ozzy osbourne - back to ozz

as far as i understand this 12" was sold during ozzy's 'no rest for the wicked' tour cycle in 1988/89. a souvenir e.p. as the hype sticker indicates, although i'm not sure if one could purchase this through regular record stores as well. a cd version was also produced. my copy is missing the family tree poster but as it was quite cheap via ebay, i didn't ask. epic records. 1988.

ozzy osbourne - prince of darkness

another superb japanese compilation of b-sides and singles. the song 'slow down' was of special interest to me. it's part of the u.s.-release of 'bark at the moon' but not so of the european releases in the 80's. there we have the song 'spiders' instead. strange little detail to which i can't find an explanation. anyway, my copy is missing the postcards and the sticker but comes with the insert and, most important of all, the obi-strip. jet records under liscence from cbs. 1984.

iron maiden - killers

i prefer the dickinson 80's era of maiden over the di'anno material but with the passing of paul in 2024, i really wanted to make an effort and add a copy of 'killers' to the collection. it took me a few months but this summer the search ended. bought this great german first press locally. emi records. 1981.

iron maiden - powerslave

had a parlophone re-issue of that album in my collection for quite some years. i upgraded with that german og pressing complete with tour sticker on the cover. the record has a bit wear but you can't beat the original feeling. emi records. 1984.

ozzy osbourne - the other side of ozzy osbourne

ozzy and his band did release a few b-side songs throughout the years, scattered across 7", 12" and picture disc single releases. japanese folk came up with a clever move to avoid outrageous collecting and put out a handy 12" compilation. this really nice package included a lyric sheet, an OBI strip and pin up posters of ozzy and guitarists randy rhoads and jake e. lee. found this complete copy in top condition. jet records and cbs records. 1985.

ozzy osbourne - live e.p.

essentially this is the 'mr. crowley' single that was released in the u.k. in 1980. it has the same track list with the exclusive b-side song 'you said it all'. only my copy was released in canada two years later as part of 'the 598 series'. great copy and 'you said it all' is one hell of a good number. jet records. 1982.

dio - intermission

the last metal related record i got from the flea market was another dio record. 'intermission' is a live e.p. with one exclusive studio song. a short and entertaining listen. u.s. version on warner music. 1986.

dio - dream evil

on the same flea market where i got the ozzy 'the ultimate sin' record, i also found two dio records. this is number one, 'dream evil' from 1987. a powerful album that sports only killers and no fillers. this is a european pressing on vertigo records.

ozzy osbourne - the ultimate sin (mexican pressing)

bought this mexican pressing of 'the ultimate sin' on a flea market in the north of germany, of all places. i really wonder how this came to be. the vinyl is in a real good condition but unfortunately the printed dust sleeve is missing.

thanks to the stellar work of the copy shop around the corner and using the existing dust sleeve of my european pressing, i have now a photo copied insert on heavy stock paper. epic records. 1986.

ozzy osbourne - speak of the devil

the infamous 'speak of the devil' (or 'talk of the devil' in the u.k.) live release from 1982. this album is full of stories. for example ozzy's vocal performance was so bad, that he had to redo them in studio during post-production. there is a myriad of more interesting tales around this, just check wikipedia. although i am not too much a fan of sabbath, i find these recordings quite entertaining for their historical value alone. scored this european first pressing on ebay. jet records. 1982

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ozzy osbourne - randy rhoads tribute

this tribute compilation of live recordings with randy rhoads perfectly showcases the guitarists song-writing skills and live abilities. the presentation does the occasion justice, too. love the photo collages on the dust sleeves. originally released in 1987. judging by the centre labels, my copy must be an early 90's re-issue. epic records.

ozzy osbourne - just say ozzy

a little live e.p. to shorten the wait for the then up-coming full length album 'no more tears'. that was the idea behind this release from 1990. one of my favourite line-ups with zakk, randy and geezer butler of sabbath fame on bass. first european pressing on epic records.

cradle of filth - dusk and her embrace... the original sin

would have loved a re-issue of the re-recorded official release from 1996, but the time for that will come. this is another cool mix of the album with a great back story.

500 copies made on gold vinyl. great presentation all around. only the track list got completely mixed up. made myself a little cheat sheet with the correct list. darkness shall rise productions. 2025.

ozzy osbourne - no more tears

one of his commercially most successful albums and a peak in his career. to me as a millennial, that's the time i know ozzy from. this one is full of bangers. 'mama, i'm coming home', 'i don't want to change the world', 'desire' or the title track 'no more tears' - all were huge hits and still hold up well. though i prefer his 80's records nowadays, i can't deny the brilliancy of this milestone album. the band around randy castillo and zakk wylde was super tight, too.

nice double lp re-issue on 180gr vinyl from 2021. a shame they didn't include a lyric sheet. epic records. 1991.

ozzy osbourne - no rest for the wicked

took me a few spins to warm up with the zakk wylde incarnation of ozzy's solo band, but now i love it. european first pressing in prime condition. epic records. 1988.

cradle of filth - vempire or dark faerytales in phallustein

had this one on the wantlist forever, it seems. now finally an affordable reissue fills the void. and such a great looking one, too. transparent orange w/ black marble vinyl out of 850 copies. darkness shall rise records under exclusive liscence by cacaphonous records. 1996/2025.

ozzy osbourne - the ultimate sin

the fourth records of ozzy's solo career is a triumph, plain and simple. songs like the title track, 'never' or 'fool like you' are pure 80's metal gold. 1986 european pressing on epic records.

ozzy osbourne - bark at the moon

the first ozzy album to feature guitarist jake e. lee. this album is packed with belters like the title track, 'forever (centre of eternity)' or 'waiting for darkness'. love the cover shot with ozz in full werewolf make up in particular.

this is an european pressing, which can be identified by the blue lettering on the cover instead of red. as far as my information goes, this is even a first press. epic records. 1983.

ozzy osbourne - diary of a madman

after ozzy passed away a few weeks ago, i set out to listen to his solo stuff more profoundly. i had 'blizzard of ozz' in the collection since the reissue from 2021, so i started with his 2nd album 'diary of a madman'.

bought this european repress from the early 80's via ebay. musically this surpasses the already fantastic debut. the back-up band around randy rhoads was a menace and ozzy's unique voice shines above it all. epic records. 1981.

death - individual thought patterns

always thought that these back on black pressings looked better than the sparkly foil print relapse copies these days. less is sometimes more.

musically this album is a wild, proggy death metal ride which never seizes to amaze me. in my opinion their 2nd best, right after 'human'. back on black. 2010.

cradle of filth - live at dynamo open air 1997

wacken open air is approaching and i'm in the mood for live recordings, cof stuff in particular it seems. this is a pretty cool document of a time when cradle of filth were still up and coming and the dynamo open air in the netherlands was the hottest festival in europe.

it's a short, intense fourty minutes set in an afternoon slot. already on mainstage, though. of the then line-up only dani filth remains today. crazy to think this was twenty eight years ago. 2023.

cradle of filth - trouble and their double lives

heard 'she is a fire' live last year and liked it, also i thought the set list for this record is quite cool. so finally i pulled the trigger and got this gold double lp out of 500 copies. napalm records. 2023.

integrity - harder they fall 7"

another classic hardcore re-issue. originally self-released on tape in 1989, backbite records from germany put out this 7" version thirty years later. nice pink vinyl out of 400 copies. they all come with this odd, small centre label and all three songs covered by psywarfare on the b-side. could have easily done without those. backbite records. 2019.

madball - droppin' many suckers 7"

this infamous early e.p. saw quite a few re-issues some years ago. i didn't fancy the 12" release because a 7" is the proper way to listen to those classics. released by the band's own label black 'n' blue and marketed through gsr music. 1992/2022.

atræ bilis - aumicide

i held off buying this album upon time of release, because i thought the orange retail version looked quite boring. so i said to myself to wait for a 2nd pressing which is usually just one but a crazier colour variant.

killing time on kleinanzeigen (a german 2nd hand platform), i came across this lovely first press 'koi pond' marble variant for a real good price. musically this is their best work in an already flawless discography. 20 buck spin. 2024.

diecast - tearing down your blue skies

another '20+ years ago' record. back then i didn't pay much attention to diecast, because i thought they were a lame killswitch engage rip-off. a few days ago i saw the recent re-issue by m-theory audio and so i gave it another listen. well it aged pretty good and i really enjoyed it.

this re-issue wasn't the first time this album got the vinyl treatment. in 2004 small german d.i.y. label beniihana records beat them to it. the local factor seemed to favour availability and i was able to snag this sealed copy for twelve bucks on ebay. beniihana records. century media. 2004.

still remains - of love and lunacy

twenty years ago i was blasting this banger on cd via my trusty discman. yes, you heard that right. the ancient technology of a laser operated machine which plays back music from a reflective plastic disc. but this a vinyl blog, so because you're probably as old as i am, you most likely know about that.

back then i was always surprised at how much i liked this album because of the clean choruses, which i usually was quite picky about. not so with 'of love and lunacy' and still enjoy this one a lot. 750 copies pressed on jungle swirl vinyl. first released via roadrunner in 2005. real gone music. 2025.

conan - violence dimension

the new conan crushes as usual. i have yet to decide where i rank this one in the now quite vast discography of the band, but it's a banger for sure. 150 copies made of this tri-colour merge vinyl. heavy psych sounds. 2025.

cradle of filth - the screaming of the valkyries

rock solid offering by uk's finest. not every song here is pure gold but epics like 'malignant perfection' or 'to live deliciously' really stand out. enjoy this one a lot. lovely presentation, too. 500 copies pressed. napalm records. 2025.

obscura - a sonication

it's may and this new obscura is just the 2nd 2025 album i bought so far. but quantity doesn't necessarily refer to quality and in that case, there is loads of quality. on 'a sonication' band leader steffen kummerer has yet again changed the complete personnel, surely not to the album's disadvantage. fantastic piece that easily stands in line with the rest of obscura's discography. gold vinyl out of 1.000 copies. nuclear blast. 2025.

kataklysm - in the arms of devastation

how i love re-issues of long out-of-press records i am still missing in the collection. strong mid-phase kataklysm stuff on display here. nuclear blast. 2006/2024.