Random albums I want to talk about #10: CATS IN SPACE - Kickstart the Sun (2022, Harmony Factory)

In this series of posts I'll discuss a random album in my collection I feel like talking about!

The term "underrated" gets thrown around a lot, but if any band is truly underrated, it's Cats in Space. Well, maybe "underrated" isn't the correct term; I feel like most people who do know of this band are well aware of how awesome they are - it's extremely difficult to find any negative reviews online for any of their albums. "Overlooked" is perhaps a better description. Not enough people know of this band in my opinion, despite how refreshing their music is in this day and age. I bought a ticket at the last minute and went by myself to see them live in 2024 at KK's Steel Mill. It was only a modest-sized crowd, and they deserved better. Not to say the show wasn't great of course, because it was. It's kind of blasphemy then, that 2022's Kickstart the Sun is still the only album I actually own a physical copy of from this band (although I have streamed others on Spotify of course)! I've got their latest, the brand new Suit of Armour on my Xmas wishlist, and I said to myself a long time ago I need to pick up more of their records. I just haven't gotten around to it yet. Too much music, too little time and money!!

Of all the albums to have come out this decade, this could potentially be a top 5 for me. I'm not sure yet. But I picked this up a couple years ago not too long before I saw them live, and not at the time it came out in 2022. I had heard of this band during lockdown thanks to the YouTube channel/webzine Sea of Tranquillity, who have rightly praised them several times over the years. But again, Cats in Space sat on my back burner list for a long time before I actually went out of my way to buy anything from them. I'm glad I did, because if any band truly and effortlessly recaptures the magic of 70s radio rock, it's Cats in Space.

Kickstart the Sun - to me anyway - sounds like if you took 70s rock giants such as Queen, Electric Light Orchestra, Boston, Styx, the Sweet, Toto, Supertramp and at times, possibly even classic Elton John, and threw all their styles into a blender. It's a seamless mixture of AOR, pop rock, hard rock and pomp. The hooks are massive, the vocals are tremendous, the songs are dominated by guitars and keyboards... but best of all is the fact the album is uplifting in sound, and makes me feel good. There's a time and place for all kinds of moods in music, sure, but sometimes I just want to listen to something positive-sounding. Another thing of note is the fact Kickstart the Sun is actually a double album. Honestly, double albums can often be a red flag for me. More often than not they're too long and overblown, and full of filler tracks. That's not the case here. Kickstart the Sun lasts little over an hour in total, never overstays it's welcome and only offers songs that are all worthy of your time. This is how double albums should be. Hell, that's how they used to be back in the vinyl age, when anything over 45 minutes or so was considered to be a "long" album!

There's a lot of songs on offer here, and all of them are memorable in their own ways. 'King of Stars' is a killer way to *ahem* "kickstart" this album (sorry)!! It's kind of an epic at 7 minutes long, with a gargantuan chorus, massive guitars and keyboards and even a genuine brass section that manages to not be annoying! I'm always on the fence with brass in my music, but it works here for sure. 'Teenage Millionaires' almost feels like the best song Boston never recorded! A top-notch upbeat hard rocker with radio hooks to die for. 'Smoke & Mirrors' sounds a bit like a Foreigner track with Def Leppard-like layered vocal harmonies. It's great. Some of their songs also have a really quirky, kinda British style to them as well. I'm talkin' songs like 'Poke the Witch' and 'Charlie's Ego', which manage to give me 70s glam rock vibes... like Mott the Hoople's 'All the Young Dudes'-type vibes when it comes to lyrical and vocal quips. It's impressive how they manage to sound so authentically 70s at times without trying too hard. 'Hero' is a soaring piano-driven song that totally reminds me of Queen while 'Last Dance Saloon' is a very fun ELO-esque pop rock ditty. Meanwhile, the 8 minute 'Bootleg Bandoleros' is like a tribute to all these styles - it's jam-packed full of hard rock riffs, melodic keyboards, tons of layered vocals, tuneful guitar solos and hooks galore. 

The actual musicianship is stellar across the board. Vocalist Damien Edwards is a force to reckoned with. He has a distinctive, high range that is totally fitting for the band, and a style of his own. All in the instrumentation throughout the entirety of the album is finely crafted; the guitars and keyboards/pianos both have their times to shine in each and while I don't have a lot to say about the bass/drums, I can at least say they provide a perfectly comfortable rhythm to the music! It's also difficult to really dissect and find any issues regarding the production. It's maybe the most modern aspect of the record, but I don't think it's necessarily too clean or overproduced either. No, the production does not immediately scream "1970s" to me like the music does, but it does not affect the quality and enjoyment of the record anyway. Even the album cover is fantastic - just look at it!

I don't think Cats in Space are "ripping off" the 70s bands and artists they take inspiration from. It's more like they're paying homage to an era of classic rock in a way that feels so organic and natural. It's a British rock album with lots of British classic rock charm, yet you also get American influence here too. I don't quite know how guitarist and principle songwriter/producer Greg Hart pulls it all off so convincingly and without sounding forced, but he does! If you ask me, the man is an unsung hero in British rock music right now. 

I am primarily a metalhead more than anything else, but I will never not love classic rock. It's played a huge part in my own musical journey, and I don't think any band pulls off such an appealing classic rock sound better than Cats in Space do right now. This album is the shit and fully warrants a purchase. Don't just stream it, buy the damn thing on CD or vinyl.
Adam's rating: 9.2/10

Random albums I want to talk about #9: PRIMAL FEAR - Domination (2025, Reigning Phoenix Music)

In this series of posts I'll discuss a random album in my collection I feel like talking about!

Primal Fear are a band I've liked for a few years now, but the only album I actually owned for a lot of that time was their self-titled debut from 1997. Like so many other bands I enjoy, it's hard to find a lot of their albums here in the UK, and I just never got around to picking up more. I decided to buy Domination when it dropped in September last year along with fellow German power metaller's Rage's 2025 album A New World Rising, just because I wanted something else - anything else - from both bands, as well as something brand new to add to the collection. When I wrote my 2025 wrap-up at the end of the last year, I actually ranked A New World Rising above Domination in my list of new albums that year, and how much I enjoyed them. Ask me again now though, and I'll put Primal Fear above Rage (I still enjoy that latest Rage album as much as I did last year, for the record).

See, Primal Fear came to my favourite local(ish) venue - KK's Steel Mill in Wolverhampton - in March this year, with Ronnie Romero supporting. Whenever it was I bought my ticket (maybe January), I gave Domination far more attention and played it a lot more in the space of 2 months than I did the year prior. It grew on me immensely, because in my 2025 wrap-up I effectively said that I enjoyed this album but had gripes with the production values regarding Ralf Scheepers' vocals. I felt like there was some sort of weird distortion, maybe even autotune, tampering going on. I couldn't put my finger on it. So I span it a few times last year, but it was kind of overshadowed by Rage's album. Obviously when you buy tickets to see a band live, you deliberately listen to whatever latest album they've put out as much as you can before the concert (well, I do anyway), and it was at that point any of the gripes I had with Domination before started to perish. This is one classy Germanic heavy/power metal album!

I'm not quite sure where my vocal department criticisms came from when I first heard the album last year. I don't really hear those strange issues with Ralf's voice whenever I listen to the CD anymore. And after seeing them live, I can honestly say that he sounds fantastic live. The guy is 61 now, but he was hitting the highs no problem at all during the concert. The guy is a hell of a presence on stage; he's built like a tank and clearly looks after himself physically - it only adds to the band's energy. Anyhow, it was a great show, one of my favourite live performances I've seen this year, and it's nice to have seen Scheepers on stage finally, because I was listening to those early Gamma Ray albums he sang on years before I got into Primal Fear.

One thing I have to say regarding Domination is that this is a perfect album to listen to in the gym. I mean, perfect. I lift weights 4 times a week and have done for years, and I also run a 5k outdoors on top of this once or twice a week when I can as well. I've lost count how many times I've listened to the album this year whilst exercising. Get yourself to the gym, put on hard-hitting traditional power metal numbers such as 'The Hunter', 'Destroyer', 'Crossfire' or the almost thrashy 'March Boy March' to see what I mean. Your testosterone will boost in seconds!! Songs like these are composed of kick-ass, no-nonsense metallic riffage and balanced perfectly with instantly memorable, catchy and highly vocally-focused choruses. You only have to listen to them once for them to be eternally engrained into your consciousness. The same goes for fist-pumping anthems like 'I Am the Primal Fear' (what a chorus this one has!!) and 'Heroes and Gods'! There are some great ballads scattered too - 'Tears of Fire' and 'Eden' are melodic and majestic, but there's still a hefty amount of muscle behind them, particularly in the stellar lead guitar work that is smattered throughout them. 'Eden' even features guest female vocals from Melissa Bonny from the symphonic band Ad Infinitum, and she and Ralf's vocal styles work very well together.

I don't dislike any track on here, even if some are slightly better than others - although I will say that the album's finale, 'A Tune I Won't Forget', is a bit of a snooze-fest, and completely inferior to 'Tears of Fire' and 'Eden' as far as ballads go. On the upside, mid-tempo 'The Dead Don't Die' sounds like a modern Saxon tune with Ralf on vocals instead of Biff Byford. Not a bad thing at all. The chorus to 'Scream' is almost too simplistic vocally, but it works so well as a workout song! And there is even a terrific, melodic instrumental on here called 'Hallucinations', which features some very pretty, tuneful lead guitars from long-time guitarist and songwriting contributor Magnus Karlsson. They wisely played this live as a sort of interval song, and it helped break-up the pace of the concert very well. Also, Domination's production is very clean and modern, which can be a good or bad thing depending on how you like your metal to sound. I don't have a problem with clean production depending on the band or genre. I think it works really well with a band like Primal Fear. I think it helps bring out Ralf's clean singing style, and I also think it benefits the guitars in terms of both riffs and solos, since the music is a nice mixture of heavy and melodic (as power metal should be). Bands like Judas Priest, Testament, Saxon etc. have all had clean, modern production jobs on their albums for a long time now, and it totally works for them too. Someone should tell Iron Maiden!

If I'd reviewed this album last year, I think I'd have scored it somewhere within mid 7/10 range. My scoring is, as you can see, much higher now. Seeing them live on the Domination tour has likely also boosted my opinion of this album, but as I said earlier, this is a PERFECT gym/running album for me. I honestly think it's tied with Glenn Hughes' Chosen (who I also saw live last year) as my favourite record of 2025 now. Some people will no doubt feel my rating is too high, especially after scoring Blood Incantation's critically acclaimed Absolute Elsewhere the same in my last post, but you have to understand that we all hear things differently!! I spend a lot of my free time training so the fact I've listened to it so many times in that setting now means I can only give it this level of praise. And I think thoroughly enjoying seeing a band live promoting the same album also adds a level of sentimentality, which no doubt affects my rating too. So it's an 8.9/10.

Unsurprisingly, I've added a few more Primal Fear albums to my collection over the course of the year - Unbreakable (2012), Rulebreaker (2016) and Apocalypse (2018). I think they're all really cool too.
Adam's rating: 8.9/10

A post about Adam's CD Gallery!

I don't really know what the point of this post is, it's just something I've wanted to do for a while now. I suppose I just want to discuss why I even do this in the first place, how my mind works and what makes me tick... I guess? I did touch on these points, particularly within the 'About' page, and probably throughout however many other posts too, but sometimes I just want to write for the sake of writing. So here is a post about, erm, why this blog exists?!

First of all, let me just say that if I did this for clicks, then this blog probably wouldn't read the way it does at all. Or even look the way it does. Would I even be favouring a blog format? Honestly, I'd probably just start a YouTube channel - maybe it's just me, but I think on average more people get their info/entertainment etc. from videos these days than written text. Even I've debated starting a YouTube channel for fun, but again not for views/clicks. It's just not me. No, the reason why this blog reads the way it does, presents itself the way it does and just exists as it is in general is because it is the most honest representation of me and my music hobby. I know I ramble a lot here, but it is me spewing all my thoughts in a single space. I don't get paid to do this, and that means I can do whatever I feel like here. There's stuff I've written on this site that I think is total rubbish, and there's also stuff I'm proud of too. But even the stuff that's crap and could do with an update was at least written from an honest, personal point of view with no financial backing, no meticulous editing, no clickbait-type bollocks and whatever else. It's just the thoughts and rambles from an average working man, now in his mid-30s, who happens to be a huge heavy metal/rock nut and physical music collector since his early teens!

There's nothing wrong with professional journalist spaces or well-established music review sites with lots of collaborators. They serve a purpose. You're almost always going to get well-written material that can either be full of detail or just get straight to the point. And I'm certainly not saying a personal blog format like Adam's CD Gallery is superior to a professionally-written source. It's often just a different style of writing, that's all. It's a bit like Rotten Tomatoes, where critic review averages are stacked up alongside user scores. Neither opinion is wrong, but they're often noticeably different from one another.

I must confess, I had a quick look to see how ChatGPT described the blog the other day, out of curiosity. It effectively described it as if I was talking to the reader about mostly metal music over a few beers! And I actually kind of agreed - I think that's a good way of summarising Adam's CD Gallery. I tend to just write stuff as I go along, but I almost always have points I want to make before I start to write too. I don't write to a specific layout, it all just comes out... although I can't deny the fact I do have stylistic habits that no doubt repeat throughout the blog.

Really though, this blog is both a hobby and kind of a safe space for me personally. I don't have a long list of hobbies. Outside of anything music-related, I've enjoyed fitness and going to the gym throughout practically my entire adult life, going to traditional pubs around the UK and drinking real ale, and watching/reading about history. But writing on this blog is one of my absolute favourite solo hobbies. Sure, I'm not always in the mood to write, but when I am, it's something I thoroughly enjoy doing. As I said on the 'About' page, it's almost like therapy for me at this point. I don't think I could be comfortable going about not writing or saying ANYTHING about the thing I am most passionate about. If some people enjoy reading what I have to say about the albums I own, the concerts I go to and anything else I feel like mentioning, then that's great. If some people visit this blog just once and think I'm full of shit, then that's fine too. I'm not going to stop or change the way I do things here, because I think that would defeat the point of an honest personal music hobby space in the first place.

Back to the YouTube thing. I like the idea of doing something there alongside the blog, but I don't really know if I'm comfortable showing my face to the world. It's always put me off doing it. Not that it's something I really want to do - if it was, I'd have given it a go already. Writing on the blog feels far less intrusive to me, and I can still share anything I want without actively showing my face every time I want to post anything. I know there's YouTubers that haven't revealed their face, but I'm already doing that here on the blog anyway.

Well, that's about all I have to say on that subject. How about some updates? Well, I got married to the love of my life last week and spent the last few days in one of my favourite places on Earth, Ireland. At one point in my life I never thought I'd ever achieve this, and it has been the happiest time of my life. I'm back home in England now with a chesty cough I've picked up somewhere, but I couldn't be happier!

As far as upcoming blog stuff goes, I recently finished my Gamma Ray post, or at least reviewing all their main studio albums. I think I've still got one of their live albums in my collection to talk about, but I'll get around to that when I feel like it. I don't have any full discographies I feel like reviewing right now. I'm tempted to update my old Body Count post after seeing them at Bloodstock again in August. That page is a bit shit now, and I think there's only 1 album I'm missing from them in my collection (2020's Carnivore). We'll see. I definitely plan to do more 'Random albums I feel like talking about' and 'Blast from the past albums' posts over the next few weeks, as well as any other misc. articles, and seeing as it's now November, I'll start working on my yearly wrap-up post in the next few weeks no doubt. I have a couple of gigs coming up (Suffocation next Wednesday and Deep Purple later on this month, praying for Ian Gillan's health right now after last night), and I'm ashamed to say I haven't gotten around to buying Tony Iommi's new album yet either, From the Dark. I'll make sure I get it soon and hopefully review it before the end of the year.

That's all for now.

Cheers,
Adam

Random albums I want to talk about #8: BLOOD INCANTATION - Absolute Elsewhere (2024, Century Media)

In this series of posts I'll discuss a random album in my collection I feel like talking about!

At some point fairly recently I mentioned this album. I can't remember what post it was, but I know I was talking about certain things getting lots of hype, and me being deliberately contrarian as a result of it. Basically, Blood Incantation's Absolute Elsewhere has been a talking point in metal circles all over the internet since it's release this time 2 years ago. And until this past week, I'd managed to avoid it entirely. I don't like being told over and over again about how great something supposedly is. If anything, it makes me not want to give it the time of day. And to be honest, I was getting fed up of people on forums and places like Reddit, dick-riding this album to no end. And then of course, I caved in very recently and randomly decided I'd like to hear Absolute Elsewhere for myself. 

Where this sudden decision to buy the album came from I don't know, but I will at least say that this is one of those albums that's been garnering praise from all kinds of metal fans. The annoying elitist in me is immediately sceptical when a record is hyped by lots of casual/newbie metalheads. Not because I think the album will be "bad", but because it means they have less to compare said album to. I know that makes me sound pretentious and snobby, but it's kind of a default reaction when you've spent more than 20 years deep-diving into a specific genre. But Absolute Elsewhere seems to be lauded by all kinds of metalheads - older, younger, veterans, newbies... you name it. Of course, it doesn't take long to find plenty of critical reviews of this thing too, with people deliberately highlighting it's hype and supposed originality as well as calling the band fake hipster metal - but by and large, this is an acclaimed effort from Blood Incantation.

I went into this album expecting to be, well, not necessarily disappointed, but quite possibly confused by all the hype. Also, on paper at least, the album shouldn't really be my cup of tea. I like death metal a lot, sure. But that's only one element of this band. I like prog too, but I can hardly call it one of my favourite genres. I'm not particularly fussed by ambient, Tangerine Dream-type stuff though (not really my thing). Even if I enjoy a lot of the musical elements of Blood Incantation, when mixed together though, I shouldn't really be into it. Anyhow, right off the bat I'll say I don't love this album - it's not one of the greatest things I've ever heard by any stretch of the imagination, and I certainly don't consider it to be some kind of definitive modern metal masterpiece either like so many others seem to. But I do think it's great - seriously. 

I can only praise the band for throwing all these styles into their formula and creating something that genuinely does work, and sound good to the ears. I'm a death metal fan, but only really a casual prog fan. And I almost never listen to purely ambient stuff, unless an ambient track happens to be packaged into a particular album. But with Absolute Elsewhere, I feel like Blood Incantation seamlessly transition across all these styles without it ever feeling forced or jarring. Even though they drift through death metal, prog rock, electronic/ambient compositions and even old-school 1970s psychedelic space rock-style fragments (Hawkwind anyone?) on each of the 2 lengthy tracks here, nothing ever feels out of place or like it shouldn't be there. The entirety of the album flows amazingly well, and this is coming from someone who mostly just wants ballsy riffs from his metal.

Oh yeah, you heard that right - Absolute Elsewhere is made up of 2 songs. You've got 'The Stargate' and 'The Message', with the former being 20 minutes long and the latter 23 minutes. Both songs are divided into 3 tracks however (dubbed 'Tablet I', 'Tablet II' and 'Tablet III'). So it's really 2 songs spread across 6 tracks. Any song that lasts 20 plus minutes, regardless of whether or not it's split into multiple segments, is long. But seeing as the whole album only lasts 43 minutes in total, I don't think the band ever overstay there welcome here. And there's so much going on musically across both tracks that I kind of just press play and don't even think about the way the album is formatted anyway. Let's be honest, proggy, experimental albums like this often go on for far too long. I'm glad Blood Incantation don't do this on their records.

The actual death metal that is present on the album is far from the heaviest you'll ever hear. But that's not really the point. Yes, the vocals during these segments are growled as expected, the guitars detuned and the drums frantic and full of blast beats, but I feel that death metal parts are used as a dynamic to add some intensity, energy to all the proggy/ambient music that is also to be found here. I wouldn't even say that every single heavy element on Absolute Elsewhere is even full-on death metal. There's actually some techy thrash metal on 'The Message [Tablet III]'. Yeah the vocals are death metal, but the riffs sound like thrash to me, a bit like Vektor or possibly modern day Testament? I will admit that on an individual level, the death metal/metal parts in general across 'The Stargate' and 'The Message' are not especially some of the best metal compositions you're ever gonna hear. They're totally competent sure, but if the band didn't have their progressive/experimental aspect, I'm not sure they would be taking the world by storm as a purely death metal act. But it's the way they've managed to implement these heavy transitions within the rest of the music that is extremely admirable and impressive to me. In short, no it's not the best death metal I've ever heard. Not at all. But within these songs, it all works remarkably well. And I will say that drummer Isaac Faulk is spectacularly tight throughout the entirety of the album.

And as for the proggy/ambient/experimental aspect of the songs (whatever you want to call it), well this is all just as important as the heavy stuff, and makes up A LOT of the music within this album. There's floaty, dreamy synths and mellotrons throughout both 'The Stargate' and 'The Message', and if I'm in the right mood, they make me drift away and get lost within the record. And that's exactly what they should be doing. There's also some fine instrumentation on here that isn't necessarily metal or ambient soundscape. 'The Message [Tablet I]' has lots of melodic guitars, as well as shoegaze-like moments and there's even a fair share of clean vocals throughout '[Tablet II]' of the same song. I'm hardly a prog guy even if I do listen to bands like Yes, Genesis, King Crimson, Dream Theater etc. in small doses, but there isn't any portion of Absolute Elsewhere that I find boring or tedious. A tad pretentious maybe (expected though), but I think prog will always carry that stigma to some extent! I don't have any serious qualms with the production either. Maybe the bass could stand out a little more? But that's about all I can really think of. It sounds modern and professional, but not horribly fake and overly clean like so many other bands these days. Again, the drums sound particularly powerful. I like when I can really praise the drums on an album because I don't find myself talking about drums in general much here!

As I said earlier, I don't think this is a "masterpiece". For starters, I think one song is quite a bit stronger than the other. 'The Stargate' is very good, but it didn't blow me away. 'The Message' however, is clearly the standout - at least in my opinion. This track is exceptional. And I do genuinely believe Absolute Elsewhere is destined to become a classic of the genre in the future. It's a prog album that even people who don't normally enjoy death metal should listen to at least once. Death metal is not for everyone, but it's only one of many factors of this album, and laid down in a way that I think lots of people will appreciate. That's probably part of the reason why so many people have been raving about this record, even 2 years on. Absolute Elsewhere is not a "true death metal album", nor is it a full-on ambient project either. It's a lot of things, and incredibly, it all comes together to create something great.

My personal rating is an 8.9/10. I hesitated to round off the score to a 9 because I think one song is clearly better and more memorable than the other (even if 'The Stargate' is still really good), and also because it's not an album I can see myself playing more than a few times a year. I listened to it a handful of times this week in the car on the way home from my late shift at 10pm, and it was great under those circumstances. But I can't see myself listening to it in the gym, or when I go for a run. It just isn't the sort of metal I listen to regularly. A lot of the time I just want no-nonsense riffy, arse-kicking music! I have to be in the right mood for this one, otherwise I find myself turning it off after a couple of minutes.

On a side note, I love this band's artwork. Blood Incantation have 3 albums and an EP if I'm not mistaken. Absolute Elsewhere is the only one I currently own, but I'll likely pick up the rest of their stuff at some point. Anyhow, amazing album cover. Pure cosmic, psychedelic brilliance! I don't like their logo however. Unreadable metal logos have gotten out of hand and are kind of a joke to me now, Blood Incantation's is no exception!
Adam's rating: 8.9/10

Collection showcase #3 - BLACK SABBATH

I've said it on here a billion times already - alongside Deep Purple and Judas Priest, Black Sabbath are my absolute favourite band of all time. Paranoid was not the first album I ever bought (AC/DC's Back in Black was), but it was the first heavy metal album I ever bought, and still ranks among the absolute earliest pickups in my CD collection. So at this point in time, they're a band I've been listening to religiously forever. 

I love all eras of this band, from the original Ozzy Osbourne years, the Ronnie James Dio era, the short-lived Ian Gillan stint and the underrated Tony Martin periods (which has been getting the credit and attention it deserves more recently). Some are better than others of course, but I'm not one of those fake "Ozzy-Sabbath only" fans. There are missteps in this catalogue for sure, but there's albums from every era here amongst my favourites. Speaking of which, my top Sabbath albums are the self-titled debut, Master of Reality, Vol. 4, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, Heaven and Hell and Born Again. Following closely behind are Paranoid, Sabotage, Mob Rules, The Eternal Idol, Headless Cross, Tyr and Cross Purposes... but I like literally every one of their studio albums albums to some degree! Only 13 is mediocre in my books, but even that one has it's moments.

There's a lot of live albums, bootlegs etc. out there too, as you can see. Most of Sabbath's live output is really good, but I have to say I don't think they have any absolute seminal live albums like some other bands do. I adore this band, but they've never topped bands like Deep Purple, Thin Lizzy, UFO, Queen, Judas Priest or Iron Maiden when it comes to live albums. Still, I totally recommend picking up the 2002 live package Past Lives (2 CDs of 70s Ozzy-era live material, including Live at Last), plus the Dio-era Live Evil from 1983 is a classic in it's own right.

As with most of my favourite bands, I have a portion of vinyl. Not a lot, but a few. I don't think I'll ever buy everything again on vinyl due to cost, and the fact I'm simply not a dedicated vinyl junkie. It's nice to have LPs, and I do pick them up occasionally, but I'm far too committed to my CD collection. Either way, it's still nice to play some of these albums on my turntable.

Studio albums:

• Black Sabbath (1970)
• Black Sabbath (1970, Deluxe Expanded Edition)
• Paranoid (1970)
• Paranoid (1970, Deluxe Expanded Edition)
• Master of Reality (1971)
• Master of Reality (1971, Deluxe Expanded Edition)
• Vol. 4 (1972)
• Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (1973)
• Sabotage (1975)
• Technical Ecstasy (1976)
• Never Say Die! (1978)
• Heaven and Hell (1980)
• Heaven and Hell (1980, Deluxe Expanded Edition)
• Mob Rules (1981)
• Mob Rules (1981, Deluxe Expanded Edition)
• Born Again (1983)
• Born Again (1983, Deluxe Expanded Edition)
  
• Seventh Star (1986)
• Seventh Star (1986, Deluxe Expanded Edition)
• The Eternal Idol (1987)
• The Eternal Idol (1987, Deluxe Expanded Edition)
• Headless Cross (1989)
• Tyr (1990)
• Tyr (1990, 1999 reissue)
• Dehumanizer (1992)
• Dehumanizer (1992, Deluxe Expanded Edition)
• Cross Purposes (1994)
• Forbidden (1995)
• The Devil You Know (2009)
• 13 (2013)
  

Live albums/Compilations:

• We Sold Our Soul for Rock 'n' Roll (1976, compilation)
• Live at Last (1980, live album)
• Live Evil (1983, live album)
• Live Evil (1983, Deluxe Expanded Edition, live album)
• Reunion (1998, live album)
• Past Lives (2002, live album)
• The Dio Years (2007, compilation)
• Neon Nights: 30 Years of Heaven & Hell (2010, live album)
• The End: Live in Birmingham (2017, live album)
  

Vinyl:

• Master of Reality (1971)
• Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (1973)
• Sabotage (1975)
• Greatest Hits (1977, compilation)
• Never Say Die! (1978)
• Mob Rules (1981)
• Born Again (1983)
• Headless Cross (1989)
• Cross Purposes (1994)

Bootlegs/Related albums/Misc.:

• The Star of India Demos & Rehearsals (bootleg, demo)
• Live in New Jersey 1975 (bootleg, live album)
• Masters of Reality 1970-1975 (bootleg, live album)
• Tokyo Heaven: Japan Broadcast 1980 (bootleg, live album)
• Deep Black: The Massachusetts Broadcast 1983 (bootleg, live album)
• Headless in Osaka: Japanese Broadcast 1989 (bootleg, live album)
• Live Costa Mesa, USA 1991/11/15: The Priest Comes to the Sabbath (bootleg, live album)
• Tony Iommi: 8th Star (bootleg, demo)
• Geezer Butler: Plastic Planet (1995)
• Tony Iommi: The 1996 DEP Sessions (2004)
• Tony Iommi: Fused (2005)
• Tony Martin: Thorns (2022)
  

Box sets:

• Technical Ecstasy Super Deluxe (2021)
• Anno Domini 1989-1995 (2024)

Collection showcase #2 - ANNIHILATOR

So my Annihilator collection started with my 1999 CD remaster of the 1989 debut, Alice in Hell. I picked this up during my 9th school year around 2006, and the rest is history. The Canadian metal legends ("legends" could be really just mean "legend", since Annihilator is more about Jeff Waters than anyone else - not to discredit any former members of the band) have been one of my favourite bands ever since. Needless to say, I had every Annihilator studio album in my collection around my late teens, with several more being released since then. I also accumulated all of the live albums, plus plenty of EPs and miscellaneous releases a very long time ago too, and I've also gotten hold of several of their studio albums on vinyl. I also have a lot of merch - t-shirts, hoodies etc.. Not sure I can be bothered to show any of my merch here, but maybe I will in the future.

I haven't bought much from this band in the last few years because Jeff Waters hasn't really been active with Annihilator for a while now. They haven't toured since 2019, and I'm beginning to wonder whether or not Jeff will ever revive Annihilator. Their social media/merch etc. is active, and we've had some reissues of older albums, but by and large it's hard to say to say if Annihilator will ever return. It doesn't help that Waters has a non-metal project called Amerikan Kaos on the go right now. The most recent Annihilator release I picked up was the 2025 compilation, More Noise Vol. 1, plus vinyl reissues of King of the Kill, Refresh the Demon and Carnival Diablos. But we haven't had a studio album of entirely new material since 2020's Ballistic, Sadistic. Still, I'm very fond of my Annihilator collection. There's not a lot I don't have, unless you count vinyl of course. Seeing as I'm not primarily an LP collector, I'm not making an effort to actively collect everything in the catalogue on vinyl either. I always prioritise CDs. I have some Annihilator on vinyl. If I add more in future, cool. If Waking the Fury gets a vinyl reissue, I'll buy it in a heartbeat. But if I go the rest of my life without obtaining any more Annihilator on vinyl, then that's fine with me. 

My personal favourites will always be Alice in Hell (1989), Never, Neverland (1990), Waking the Fury (2002), Double Live Annihilation (2002) and For the Demented (2017). King of the Kill (1994), Carnival Diablos (2001), Schizo Deluxe (2005), Annihilator (2010), Ballistic, Sadistic (2020)... hell, these are all runners-up in my books! A special band for me; Jeff Waters is an incredible guitar player, and I certainly don't agree with that one strange corner of the internet that thinks the only albums that matter are their first 2. Check out my Annihilator review post for the nitty gritty (it was largely updated back in 2022).

Studio albums:

• Alice in Hell (1989)
• Never, Neverland (1990)
• Set the World on Fire (1993)
• King of the Kill (1994)
• Refresh the Demon (1996)
• Remains (1997)
• Criteria for a Black Widow (1999)
• Carnival Diablos (2001)
• Waking the Fury (2002)
• All for You (2004)
• Schizo Deluxe (2005)
• Metal (2007)
• Annihilator (2010, limited edition box set)
• Feast (2013, limited edition digibook)
• Suicide Society (2015, limited edition digibook)
• For the Demented (2017)
• Ballistic, Sadistic (2020)
• Metal II (2022)
  

EPs/Live albums/Misc.:

• Stonewall (1990, single)
• Set the World on Fire (1993, single)
• Bag of Tricks (1994, compilation)
• In Command: Live 1989-1990 (1996, live album)
• Double Live Annihilation (2002, live album)
• The One (2004, EP)
• Ten Years in Hell (2006, DVD)
• Live at Masters of Rock (2009, live album)
• Triple Threat (2017, live album)
• More Noise Vol. 1 (2025, compilation)

Vinyl:

• Alice in Hell (1989)
• Never, Neverland (1990)
• King of the Kill (1994)
• Refresh the Demon (1996)
• Carnival Diablos (2001)
• Metal II (2022)

Collection showcase #1 - GRAVE DIGGER

This new series of posts is basically just an excuse for me to show off a specific band/artist collection. There are plenty of bands within my entire collection whereby I own all their major studio albums, but there are some collections I am more proud of than others. This can be down to the fact some discographies are generally harder to obtain than others, or it could simply be because I have that much extra stuff on top of all the studio albums (EPs, live albums, compilations etc.).

Anyhow, the first thing I want to showcase is my Grave Digger collection. I am a HUGE fan of this band, and I'm very fond of all this stuff of theirs I've gotten hold of over the past few years... in case you couldn't tell. I think Grave Digger are massively underrated here in England, and the UK in general. They barely ever play this country, and the only time I have had a chance to see them was at Bloodstock festival way back in 2011 - and I hadn't even heard of them at the time! In fact, of all the bands that will be getting one of these 'showcase posts', my Grave Digger collection is probably the newest and fastest-growing of the lot for me. Practically every other band I plan to post for this on here are collections I've been building since my teens. Well I didn't pick up anything by Grave Digger until 2023, aged 31. I bought Tunes of War, Ballads of a Hangman and The Clans Will Rise Again from the same Ebay seller and have been hooked ever since.

This is a fantastic catalogue. Consistent as hell. Chris Boltendahl's vocals are an acquired taste, I will admit. But 95% of this discography is just true Germanic heavy/power/speed metal goodness. Crunchy guitars, endless riffs, blazing solos, lyrics about history... in fact, Grave Digger have recorded several concept albums over the years - it's something they never struggle with (unlike many other bands). But really, I like all of these records. Check out my Grave Digger reviews post for a complete rundown of this catalogue. My personal favourites are The Reaper (1993), Tunes of War (1996), Excalibur (1999), The Grave Digger (2001) and Rheingold (2003), with Heart of Darkness (1995), Knights of the Cross (1998), Clash of the Gods (2012) and Fields of Blood (2020) not too far behind. Extra special shoutout to the awesome EP Symphony of Death (1993) and the double live album 25 to Live (2005).

Studio albums:

• Heavy Metal Breakdown (1984)
• Witch Hunter (1985)
• War Games (1986)
• The Reaper (1993)
• Heart of Darkness (1995)
• Tunes of War (1996)
• Knights of the Cross (1998)
• Excalibur (1999)
• Excalibur (1999, vinyl LP)
• The Grave Digger (2001, promo CD)
• The Grave Digger (2001, limited edition)
• Rheingold (2003)
• The Last Supper (2005)
• Liberty or Death (2007)
• Ballads of a Hangman (2009)
• The Clans Will Rise Again (2010)
• Clash of the Gods (2012)
• Return of the Reaper (2014)
• Healed by Metal (2017)
• The Living Dead (2018)
• Fields of Blood (2020)
• Symbol of Eternity (2022)
• Bone Collector (2025)
  

EPs/Live albums/Misc.:

• Symphony of Death (1993, EP)
• Yesterday (2006, EP)
• Pray (2008, EP)
• The Ballad of Mary (2011, EP)
• Tunes of Wacken - Live (2002, live album)
• 25 to Live (2005, live album)
• The Clans Are Still Marching - Live at Wacken 2010 (2011, live album)
• Exhumation (The Early Years) (2015, re-recording compilation)