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.

xedenisgonex - pain

these somewhat mysterious band (never saw them touring let alone any pictures on the net) comes around the corner yet with another masterpiece of 'blackened metalcore'. although the production is a bit too lo-fi for my liking, musically this is outstanding. go check them! great vinyl edition by bound by modern age records. 2025.

blotted science - the machinations of dementia

re-issue of this mathy, proggy, jazzy instrumental metal masterpiece from 2007. an, to me, unknown spanish label called alone records is responsible for the deed and they did a splendid job here. 2024

upon a burning body - the world is ours

a release i bought solely out of nostalgia reasons. uabb probably wouldn't appeal to me nowadays but back in 2010 i got the cd because sumerian couldn't do no wrong at the time and i loved the al pacino theme to the lyrics. a fun deathcore album and great for what it is. 350 copies made of this crazy colour-way. sumerian records. 2010/2023.