I have the following very rare punk and metal unofficial (or semi-official) available for purchase. These titles cause problems when listed on eBay or are not allowed on Discogs.
Samhain – November-Coming-Fire LP 2014 Plan 9 – PL9-07 Sealed Color Unknown $60
Slayer – The Songbook Of The Antichrist Part 2 LP 2008 – HTWDD-IC-0801-2 VG+/EX – $60 **SOLD**
Misfits – Descent Into Evil LP 2017 Plan 9 – PL9-12 SEALED $40
The Subhumans – Incorrect Thoughts LP 1985 CD Presents, Ltd. – CD036 VG+/EX – $85
Eye Of The Thrashguerilla LP 1999 – 大隊 Records – 002 GERMANY EX/EX – $50
Misfits – Walk Among You (Live @ Michigan Union Ballroom, Detroit, 1983 WCBN FM Radio Broadcast) LP 2015 Bad Joker – BOSS 5-1987 SEALED NETHERLANDS $50
Slayer – Show No Mercy LP 2013 Roadrunner Records – RR 9868 EX/EX $100
The original owner was a younger guy, but the entire collection consisted of 20% from the Golden Age Of Thrash Metal and 80% from the 90s peak of death metal. 95% of these albums are reissues, but a few first are pressings that include “Slowly We Rot” and “Cause Of Death” from Obituary.
Even some of the reissues can be shockingly expensive due to the 7-12 month delays in vinyl production that is now plaguing the music industry.
I have cataloged the inventory from this purchase below. If you are looking to buy any of the entries listed can do so at ThrashMetalIQ on eBay.
I searched my inventory and pulled everything in my collection with a value above 200 dollars — hence, the strange number of 14 items in this list. In the video in this post, you can see the walk-thru of my top picks. In addition, I included a list below with pictures and comments on each record and approximate value.
Most of the 14 vinyl that made this list are either metal or punk; however, there were a few oddballs from different genres.
The Truth About Discogs Median Value
I did not look at the Discog’s median valueand accept it as gospel. It’s true, Discogs is one of the seven wonders of the internet; however, just going on median value is very deceptive, and here’s why:
Discogs calculates value based on the album’s limited sales on Discogs. If an album is ordinarily worth $100 and somebody sells a fair copy with no cover for $5, this sale is factored in and drags the price down. Conversely, if someone sells an album sealed or autographed copy for far more, it will skew the median up. However, copies are more often sold in poor condition, so that the value will typically skew lower.
Much of the Discogs data is old. Discogs is a big market for vinyl, but it is nowhere near the size of eBay. Therefore, a lot of the information it uses to calculate the value of an album can be as much as 21 years old and based on only a limited number of sales. As we all know, albums appreciate, inflation is real, and the vinyl market changes. None of this is factored into the Discogs median value.
Most sellers on Discogs are not in the United States. Since the site’s algorithm is not very sophisticated, it is easy to game the rankings by inflating shipping costs. If you are in the US, try to buy an album for even close to the listed median value listed – 99% of the time you can’t!
List of Our 14 Most Expensive Punk and Metal Vinyl LPS
Here is the list of the 14 punk/metal vinyl albums from the video at the top of this post. I included the price and a couple of random notes about each.
1. She Wants Revenge – She Wants Revenge LP 2006 Flawless Records B000614801
I’m not exactly sure why this one is worth so much. Even copies in crappy condition seem to be going for $600. Copies of this album in excellent condition go for $1000 and sometimes higher. If anyone knows why this one is so pricey, please leave some info in the comments because I can’t figure it out.
Value: $1000 USD
2. Descendents – Cool To Be You LP 2004 Fat Wreck Chords FAT672-1 Blue Vinyl
This usually isn’t a super expensive album, but the limited first pressing on blue vinyl is worth a pretty penny.
This album usually sells for around $300. This copy was owned personally by Glenn Danzig and is factory sealed.
VALUE $600 USD
4. Rich Kids On LSD – Rock N Roll Nightmare LP 1987 Alchemy VM104
I usually don’t include autographed albums because it is such a subjective value. Even unsigned, this album is $300-$400 if the comic book is included and in good condition. However, I included this one with the autographs because everyone in this band is pretty much dead.
VALUE $500 USD
5. Pantera – Power Metal LP 1988 Metal Magic Records – MMR-1988
According to the band, this album is completely out of print and will never be repressed or reissued, making original copies worth a ton. Despite the corny hair metal image, “Power Metal” is a solid album that rivals some of the band’s later output.
VALUE $400 USD
6. Verbal Abuse – Just An American Band LP 1984 Fowl Records – #5
Punk/hardcore done to perfection. You know you are doing something right if Slayer does a cover album (Undisputed Attitude) featuring six songs from this alum. There are many bootlegs and represses of this album. First pressing like this are extremely rare.
VALUE $400
7. Queens Of The Stone Age – Queens Of The Stone Age LP 2010 Rekords Rekords
This is another one that caught me off guard because this pressing is a 2010 reissue of 1998 debut with a different cover. Original presses go for over a thousand dollars, and the represses are not cheap either.
VALUE $300 USD
8. Samhain – November-Coming-Fire LP 1986 Plan 9 – PL9-07
Probably my favorite album Danzig ever recorded and one of the many featuring his vocals to make this list.
Unlike the Samhain album listed at #8, this is from my least favorite techno/electronic period ofGlenn Danzig’scareer. Even so, these limited edition picture discs are worth a pretty penny, and people seem to buy them.
Probably one of my favorite metal albums of all time – Carnivore’s “Retaliation” still stands up to this day, yet could have never come out in today’s politically correct “woke” climate. But, like virtually everything after the death of Peter Steele in 2010 – the value has gone up dramatically.
A 2016 reissue of Sodom’s first LP from their wave black metal period, Obsessed By Cruelty, is surprisingly pricey and simultaneously loved and hated by metal fans.
VALUE $250 USD
12. Misfits – Earth A.D. / Wolfsblood LP 1984 Aggressive Rockproduktionen – AG 0024
Original German press with inner sleeve and order form.
VALUE $240 USD
13. Exhorder – Slaughter In The Vatican LP 1990 Roadracer RO 9363-1
This absolutely brutal thrash metal album came out a bit late in 1990 but still holds up to this day. After taking 30 years off, Exhorder returned in 2019 and still tours to this day.
VALUE $230 USD
14. Death – Scream Bloody Gore LP 1987 Under One Flag – FLAG 12
“Scream Bloody Gore” along with “Leprosy” and “Spiritual Healing” are my three favorite albums from the Death’s caveman-style death metal period before they went in a more technical direction.
VALUE $200 USD
Do You Have Albums Like This You Want to Sell?
I am always looking to buy new heavy metal and punk rock records, vinyl, and CD collections and I pay top. dollar for great collections like this. If you have metal or punk vinyl like this to sell, contact me at the info listed below.
The self-titled Bathory LP (Bathory – Bathory LP 1984 Black Mark Production – BMLP 666-1) with the “yellow goat” album cover is considered one of the “holy grail” scores for heavy and black metal record collectors the globe over. But, unfortunately, it is also one of the most counterfeited records out there because of its value. So let’s find out how not to get fooled into buying a fake, or if you don’t have thousands to spend — what a replica is worth.
Why Is This Album So Valuable?
The first album from Bathory is a landmark album from the metal genre. While it sounds recorded in a garage, it became the template for countless black metal bands afterward. The first thousand copies were pressed independently on Quarthon’s Black Mark Productions with a gold-colored goat on the front cover before being picked up by Combat and Under One Flag for broader distribution. The first press with a yellow goat can fetch $5,000 or some for an authentic copy.
FUN FACT: The original goat was supposed to be gold, but due do budget issues, the fledgling Black Mark Productionslabel had to settle for yellow.
How To Spot A Fake Bathory Album
The iconic artwork for this album is very simple. Therefore there are some very convincing knockoffs available in various markets. Listed below are the main things to be looking for:
Examine the dead wax or the “runout matrix” on the album. It is the engraving in the vinyl after the playing surface. The engraving in a real copy should read as follows on Side A (“Darkness”): 840905GP with BMLP 666 1 A PD-CR Pentagram image] [666 image in pyramid shape] and then on Side B will have this etching 840905GP BMLP 666 1 B PD-CR [Cross image]
The most prolific bootlegs came out in Europe in the mid-1990s. The most common runouts are 666-1, or you may see some copies with nothing in the dead wax at all.
Most of the original pressings came with a printed inner sleeve. However, these can also be faked. Also, some authentic copies may be short an inner sleeve if the original owner lost it.
If the album looks “too new” you should look more carefully. Remember that this album came out in 1984 and is 37 years old at this point. You should expect to see some wear.
If the color looks “wrong”, it is likely a fake. This is a common problem among cheap bootlegs.
Marketplace Safety
Despite how rare this album is and eBay’s policy to not allow the sale of counterfeit albums, there always seem to be 2-3 copies available for $2200-$2500 at any given time. Most likely, they are not authentic, but here is how you stay safe if you want to spend big money.
Contact the seller and inquire about the runoutmatrix. If they don’t respond or refuse to provide it, you should hard pass. You can also request they provide pictures, though they can be difficult to see.
Whether on Discogs or eBay, look for a reputable seller that has many reviews and a lot of items for sale — not someone who could pack up and disappear overnight.
If the seller does not accept returns, you should not buy from them.
Album Artwork
As I said, this iconic album artwork is quite basic. Here are some pictures from one of the common European bootleg pressings. Notice how tough it is to tell if it is fake or authentic.
How Much Is A Yellow Goat Bootleg Worth?
If you want to have a yellow goat Bathory, but don’t feel like forking out two grand, it is totally understandable. If you can get past the moral dilemma of not paying the Quarthon estate, you can get replica copies for 50 bucks, sometimes less.
The video below is just a portion of a rare metal and punk vinyl collection I valued at approximately $120,000. I recently bought it from a private collector here in Los Angeles.
This epic record collection consisted of around 3500 12″ LPs and 1000 7″ singles. Since the start of COVID, most of the records I have been buying have all been internationally, but this collection I found locally in Los Angeles. After some negotiation with the seller, this purchase was by far my largest, which I picked up for $67,000.
The Anatomy Of A Deal
In the weeks leading up to the purchase, the seller allowed me to appraise the albums one by one (which took me over a week to do). I entered them all in notebooks. You can see an example of my appraisal below.
Albums are hot right now. Unfortunately, some collectors have an unrealistic idea of what they are worth, but as a buyer, you need to spend a lot of money to buy good collections of rare metal and punk albums. Therefore, I tailor my offers to be at least 50% of the total value as a rule of thumb. I am negotiable up to roughly 60%, but it can be higher under rare circumstances. Above 70% of the total value, the seller would make the same amount of money selling them on eBay individually.
Also, remember that even if the seller were selling it to another party that wasn’t a reseller, the buyer wouldn’t pay the total price for every album; there would be some discount.
Here are some photos from the gem vinyl in the video above. The first video is less than 20% of the collection. I will update this post or create a new one to showcase some of the records. Unfortueny, I can’t make a complete list as I did here of all of them, but feel free to contact me if you are looking for something specific.
Collection Highlights
Some of the my favorite pieces in this collection are as follows. I have timestamped some of the links to take you to exactly the spot in the video where these metal and punk LP appear.
This is a collection of some super rare thrash metal CDs and albums from the golden age of thrash metal. I bought them from a collector in Greece. There are albums that are “hard to find”, but many in this collection are out-and-out RARE. Some examples being Slaughter “Strappado” (the original thrash metal band “Slaughter” and not the hair band and Voïvod’s “The Outer Limits” (which was the most expensive album in the collection).
There are also many albums from the 1990’s in this collection. An interesting thing about albums by even big bands like Testament that came out in the 90s is vinyl was so out of fashion by this point, many times there is only one pressing for all countries.
In this particular deal this seller go in touch with me through my Facebook page. This entire deal was made via Facebook Messanger. If you have collection like this you would like to sell, contact me, I do business in California, the United States and around the world.
Have A Thrash Metal Collection Like This You’d Like To Sell?
The collector has a large collection, but only wants to part with it a little at a time, which is fine by me other than having to pay all of the additional shipping. I buy a heavy metal CD and vinyl collections all over the world. If you have a collection like this to sell get hold of me here…
The standout in the collection was three copies of Death’s “Scream Bloody Gore” (all original 1987 pressings). In addition, the was one original U.S. Combat Records pressing, one Under One Flag European pressing, and one French pressing on N.E.W. Musicdisc. The complete list of records is in the list below.
The bulk was an impressive selection of death metal CDs, including many very rare and expensive ones, also in the list below.
12” Death Metal LPs
Vice Human – Metal Attack 1985 Media VG+ Sleeve G+/VG
Cannabis Corpse – Blunted at Birth 2006 Forcefield records Bloodshot Red
Death – Scream Bloody Gore 1987 Combat VG+/VG+
Death – Scream Bloody Gore 1987 Under One Flag VG+/VG+
Death – Scream Bloody Gore 1987 N.E.W Musidisc VG/VG+
Death – Leprosy 2014 Relapse Black Vinyl
Desultor – Masters Of Hate 2012 Abyss Records 1st press limited to 100 numbered Clear Red Vinyl. (number 28/100)
Desultor – Masters Of Hate 2012 Abyss Records 1st press limited to 100 numbered Clear Red Vinyl. (number 29/100)
Devoid – Blackened Empire 1991 Skysaw Records Media (VG), Sleeve (G)
Dissect – Swallow Swouming Mass 2013 Xtreem Music limited to 100 on Black Wax Splattered In Orange
Morbus Chron – Sleepers in the Rift 2012 Me Saco Un Ojo limited 200 White vinyl
If you have a collection of death metal, thrash metal, hard rock or heavy metal CDs, LPs, records, tapes of memorabilia, I am always looking to buy collections, contact me.
In the video and listed below on this post is athrash metal vinyl collection I just bought from a guy in the United Kingdom. All of these are LPs first pressing from the 1980s and 1990s. Since the start of COVID-19, I have more frequently been buying collections without ever meeting the actual owner, at times never even talking to them. Instead, the deals are all worked out over email. So far, so good. All of the transactions have gone off without a hitch.
Here is a video of all of the awesome LPs I picked up on this awesome deal.
Photos
Here are some photos of some of my favorite LPs from this haul. One of my favorites is the cult classic “History Of A Time To Come” by Sabbat. The 2 Bolt Thrower“Warmaster” and “Realms Of Chaos” are both excellent and very hard to find as well. The rarest and expensive album is the first press Sadus “Illusions” album that is self-released. I’m sure how many copies of that were pressed, but it wasn’t very many. It was later reissued as “Chemical Exposure” by Roadracer Records (also included in this collection). Also great was the Metallica “Ride The Lightning” 1987 reissue limited edition DMM master – super rare…I’ve never even had one of these before.
The video above is a collection I bought locally in Los Angeles from a girl whose boyfriend had gone back to Canada and didn’t return for many months. I paid a fair price for this collection, but got a way better deal that I would normally get buying from a collector that was trying to cash in (and there’s nothing wrong with that).
The average condition was a long way from near mint and was an average of “very good”. It was a mix of classic rock, hard rock, thrash metal, and punk.
Some of the standouts in the collection included:
Samhain – November-Coming-Fire LP – 1986 Plan 9 – PL9-07 VG/VG – this was an actual first press, it was difficult to tell with reading the runout matrix which is.
Matrix / Runout (A-side etchings): PL-9-07-A -Pa.1-86 Matrix / Runout (B-side etchings): PL-9-07-B -Pa.1-86 Matrix / Runout (Stamped on both sides, EDP is circled): MASTERED BY TRUTONE EDP Matrix / Runout (A-side label): PL9-07-A Matrix / Runout (B-side label): PL9-07-B
Autopsy – Severed Survival LP 1989 Peaceville – VILE 12 United Kingdom VG/VG – very rare – one of the first albums to come out on Peacevillle Records (1989) – which didn’t get on the map as a big underground label until the 1990s/
Black Flag – Damaged LP 1981 SST Records – 9502 w/ Anti-Parent Sticker