Ebay has gone to war with NSBM (National Socialist Black Metal). I distribute a small number of titles, including Grand Belial’s Key for Weltenfeind Records. By and large, eBay has been allowing sales of various “NSBM” bands, such as Goatmoon, Grand Belial’s Key, and Vothana. While eBay has always targeted certain bands like Burzum (because of Varg’s politics, not lyrical content), Absurd, and Der Sturmer, it has allowed sales of some bands that are less in-your-face or have no overt Nazi imagery.
That has all changed. Grand Belial’s Key is now persona non grata on eBay. Say what you like about the band’s politics, you can’t argue that the riffs aren’t divine! No wonder they are a top seller with so many black metal fans!
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Ebay has either been taken over by Antifa or is running some type of AI that is going crazy flagging listings for anything further right than Creedence Clearwater Revival. An innocuous copy of Death In June was recently triggered by the “offensive music filter” as Nazi, even though it’s 80’s synth pop. I guess the little skull-and-crossbones cartoon on the cover was too much for it.
EBay’s Offensive Music Policy Specifics
Below is the verbiage of eBay’s offensive music policy:
A simple read of this would apply to all black/death metal and extreme metal bands, as religion is a common target for most extreme bands. Although nobody seems to get their feather ruffled when it is Christians who are being targeted.
It’s pretty clear that things will not get better from here. It won’t be long before bands with even tertiary associations with NSBM, like MGLA or Deathspell Omega, are on the out list.
What Are We Going To Do?
We are in the process of pulling all of our more controversial listings from Ebay and moving them to our online store. While this will be a lot of work, there are quite a few upsides:
No more censorship. We decide what we want to sell.
Our prices will be lower. Ebay takes 20% of our money. We will pass those savings on to you.
The same great free, fast shipping, and customer service at a lower price.
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It will take some time for our new store to be completely stocked. By no means do we intend for it just to be a clearinghouse for NSBM, but we have to start somewhere.
Check out our new online store below.
We are taking orders now. We ship every day, Mon-Friday!
A few months ago, a collector in New Jersey hit me up about a small- to medium-sized black metal CD collection he was looking to sell. I asked him a basic question about it. He asked if I bought cassettes or other metal swag, which I do. He added some cassettes and black metal tapestries to what he was selling, and I added some money to the deal.
When it came to shipping, there was a small misunderstanding about how to use USPS Media Mail, so I gave him a quick call to walk him through it. During that phone call, it became obvious to me that the seller was Black. Of course, race doesn’t matter to me, but you’ll see how this plays into the story next.
It had been a bit of time since I fished the quote on this collection. When it arrived, I totally forgot how much NSBM was in it, including such “racist” bands as Goatmoon, Grand Belial’s Key, Clandestine Blaze, and others. I do not censor or “cancel” bands based on ideology and sell everything from the furthest left (Dead Kennedys, Aus Rotten) to the hardest of the right (Dark Fury, Der Sturmer).
Highlights From This Collection
There was a lot of great stuff in this collection, but here are some of the highlights.
Satanic Warmaster / Archgoat – Lux Satanae CD
Satanic Warmaster / Archgoat – Lux Satanae CD 2016 Hells Headbangers – HELLS130 – This split with Satanic Warmaster and Archgoat is easily one of the most sought-after black metal CDs released in the last ten years. I’m not sure why Hell’s Headbangers hasn’t repressed/reissued this release, since they could be selling thousands of these things. The limited quantity works for me because it caused aftermarket prices to skyrocket.
Value = $100
Immortal – Diabolical Fullmoon Mysticism CD
Immortal – Diabolical Fullmoon Mysticism CD 1992 Osmose OPCD 007 [1st Press] *FR – This CD has been reissued many times, and most pressings aren’t worth that much. In light of how big Immortal would eventually become in the black metal world, first pressings are worth a bunch. The disc itself contains “Made in Germany” and “GEMA” markings, which are not present on any other pressings. The 5th track is misspelled on the disc and back cover (“Cold Winds Of Feneral Dust”). In the booklet, the printed title is the correct one (Cold Winds Of Funeral Dust).
Value = $70
Cephalotripsy – Epigenetic Neurogenesis CD
Cephalotripsy – Epigenetic Neurogenesis CD 2024 Self-Released [Rare] – Pictured is the first pressing of this release. The second press in the Japanese issue. According to the band, it is limited to 500 copies. While this is a very recent release, it’s already worth money due to its limited quantity.
Value = $63
Death – Scream Bloody Gore CD
Death – Scream Bloody Gore CD 1987 Combat – 88561-8146-2 [2ND PRESS] – There are two pressings from 1987. The second press (pictured above) has a tracklist laid out with no “Side 1/Side 2”. The actual first pressing has a track listing laid out like the vinyl (pictured below). Both are from 1987.
Value = $63
Goatmoon – Stella Polaris CD
Goatmoon – Stella Polaris CD 2017 Werewolf Records – EVIL-039 [1st Press Etched] – First pressing with etched CD case. Subsequent pressings do not include etching.
Value = $50
Abysmal Lord -Disciples of the Inferno CD
Abysmal Lord -Disciples of the Inferno CD 2015 Hells Headbangers – hells 165 – This is another recent release. Because Hell’s Headbangers never reissues anything, the aftermarket prices are through the roof.
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.
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”.
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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