Category: black metal

Check out the video below to see one of my best finds ever. I picked up a collection of more than 2,300 super-rare black and death metal CDs from a collector in Oregon.

A few months ago, the seller got in touch and sent me photos of over 2,000 CDs he had collected. The pictures gave me a good idea of the music styles and years. About 80% of it was black metal from the late 1990s to around 2012. Some of the labels were JBL America, No Fashion, Head Not Hound, Osmose, and No Colours, among others. There were virtually no major-label releases of stuff like Van Halen, System of a Down, or Iron Maiden. From his description, I could tell he had some great stuff, so I offered $8,000 to buy the collection, and he agreed.

The Trip

He didn’t want to ship the collection, so we decided to travel and meet halfway in Lodi, California, just outside Stockton. It was about a five-hour drive.

I left Los Angeles around 10 PM the night before, drove up to Lodi, and checked into a hotel. Lodi seems like a small, quiet town, but there are quite a few homeless people and drug users around. I was a little worried that my truck might get broken into.

The next morning, we met near the interstate. We chatted for a few minutes, and I took a quick look through the CDs in the bins. I agreed to pay him and sent the money through Venmo, since we weren’t doing the deal by mail. We didn’t have to worry about PayPal’s buyer protection because we were handling everything in person.

I didn’t get a chance to look through the CDs until I got home, and was amazed by how many rare albums I found. There were lots of first pressings from Mayhem, Burzum, Darkthrone, and plenty of other lesser-known bands that are just as valuable. 

You’ll notice there was also a fair amount of NSBM in the collection. I don’t get too worked up about black metal bands with extreme views. I believe in free speech and carry releases from all sides, from the far left to the far right. Honestly, when you listen to a black metal CD, you usually can’t make out the lyrics, and you wouldn’t know if it was NSBM or a Christian band unless you already knew the band.

The collection was so big that I couldn’t fit everything into one video for my YouTube channel, so I split it into two parts. I still haven’t had time to go through everything, and have about half left to sort through.

The Highlights

There was a ton of amazing stuff in this haul. Here are some of the highlights.

Burzum ‎– Aske CD

Burzum ‎– Aske CD 1993, Deathlike Silence Productions ‎– anti-mosh 005 – This CD was in the collection and in perfect condition. It is easily the most valuable CD I’ve ever acquired. Pictured above is a first pressing of Burzum’s “Aske” on DeathLike Silence Records from 1995. The runout matrix on the back of the disc is correct (DURECO [01] ANTIMOSH CD 5.

Value $1000

Enslaved – Vikingligr Veldi CD

Enslaved – VikValue $1000ingligr Veldi CD 1994 Deathlike Silence Anti Mosh 008  – Here is another big one also on Deathlike Silence records. The real first pressings of the CD are virtually identical to the represses. However, the first pressings do not include a barcode (pictured above).

Value $250

Old Man’s Child – Born Of The Flickering CD

Old Man’s Child – Born Of The Flickering CD 1996 Hot Records – SHAGRATH 003 – The debut album by the newly reformed Old Man’s Child on the now-defunct Hot Records is extremely rare. Born of the Flickering has been repressed and reissued many times, but the originals fetch a pretty penny.

Value $200

Dimmu Borgir ‎– For All Tid CD

Dimmu Borgir ‎– For All Tid CD 1995 No Colours Records ‎NC 003 – “For All Tid” is Dimmu Borgir’s debut album and has been repressed 1 million times by a host of different record labels. The original German No Colours release is the one you want, goes for a ton, and doesn’t sit on the shelf for long.

Value $150

Under a Funeral Moon – Darkthrone CD

Under a Funeral Moon – Darkthrone CD 1993 Peaceville – Vile 35CD [1st Press] *UK – another CD that has 1 million different versions, the most valuable of which is the first UK pressing. You can tell by the back cover pictured above.

Value $150

Darkthrone – Transilvanian Hunger CD

Darkthrone – Transilvanian Hunger CD 1994 Fierce Recordings – 9086-11060-2 – first pressing US contained the now infamous phrase “Norsk Arisk Black Metal” which translates from Norwegian into “pure Aryan black metal”. This caused some controversy and was removed on subsequent pressings. The band claimed it had nothing to do with far-right politics and that it was simply “pure black metal”.

Value $150

Obtained Enslavement – Centuries of Sorrow CD

Obtained Enslavement – Centuries of Sorrow CD 1994 Likstøy Music ‎– oe 941 – This band is fairly obscure. This release hasn’t been reissued many times, but what makes it so valuable is that the originals are nearly impossible to find.

Value $125

Gris – Il Était Une Forêt… CD

Gris – Il Était Une Forêt… CD 2007 Sepulchral Productions – SP008 – This depressive black metal gem from Canada will put a nice hole in your bank account.

Value $100

Gorgoroth – Pentagram CD

Gorgoroth – Pentagram CD 1994 Wild Rags Records – WRR 061 [1st Press US]– Wild Rags Records was an iconic Southern California record store and label that released a great number of important underground releases in the 1990s. It has subsequently gone out of business. Many of the bands on Wild Rags roster went on to do huge things.

Mayhem – Deathcrush CD

Mayhem – Deathcrush CD 1994 Deathlike Silence – DSP Anti-Mosh 003 [1st Press] – this debut by Mayhem has over 100 different versions, many of which are hard to distinguish. The first pressing is the one shown above from Deathlike Silence Records. You can recognize it because it does not have a barcode, while many of the early all-DLS repressings, including some from that same year, do.

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