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