Note: Since there was an inactivity for almost a year now I decided to quit running this website. I won't take it down but there won't be any new stuff uploaded. Most likely at some point I will restart the website thing, but this site probably will stay inactive. (12/2013)
TREASURES
In this rubric I want to show you a few of the rarest and most expensive items of the thrash and death metal genre, most are out of print for decades and never got re-issued, that's why they are extremely sought after and often head prices over 200$ on eBay or Amazon. And now forage for treasures!
And we're at Crypta Records again, surely one of the most collectable labels ever in the thrash and death metal genre. This item is really a crazy one without a doubt, first because of its incredible assault of Swedish death metal offered (if Gorement doesn't say anything to you, go and check it out NOW!) and secondly for its insane prices obviously. It's not one of the items that show up once or twice in a year but about once every two months and everytime it goes away for 400$+. Proof? Here and here! Apart from that it was pressed it very limited quantities like every item on Crypta Records, only 1000 copies exist. To make this whole thing even more hilarious there's one 'Buy It Now'-auction on eBay for... 700$! (ebay.com) (January '13)
RAZOR - Shotgun Justice (Fringe Product, '90)
This one has to be the most hunted item in the thrash genre ever. Okay, items on Fringe are known to be rare but you can see multiple original copies of Shotgun Justice popping up on eBay. And every single one of them (if proofed that they're originals) crack the 200$, sometimes even the 300$ mark. Most of the items I showed here are extremely hard to get aswell while this one isn't that difficult to find out there. Even the bootlegs reach the 50$ mark and it doesn't seem that the prices for Shotgun Justice will sink in the future. As almost every collector wants to have this one in his collection it's possible that this item could even reach higher prices in the near future. (December '12)
INCURSION DEMENTA - All This Is... (private press, '93)
Just another one from the Netherlands, Incursion Dementa formed in 1987 surely weren't the most common name when talking about thrash from the Netherlands either, but the music offered here is actually very enjoyable. And it seems in the crazy collectors world of today even this limited release (as far as I know 500 copies were made) has reached unbelievable prices. Last year in April '11 in went away for about 190$ if I'm right, now look for what a ridiculous price the auction from February '12 went away. (ebay.com) Prices have been increasing from auction to auction for several collectable items such as Arbitrater's Darkened Reality have reached the 600$ mark lately and Sororicide - The Entity got away for about the highest sum I have ever seen for a thrash/death metal record. (ebay.com) Maybe at some point in the next few years the prices will decrease again, I hardly think though with sellers getting more and more greedy and cheap auctions dissappear after one day and then pop up again for a multiple of the former price, we'll see. (December '12)
DEAFEN - Deafen (private/Dewi Records, '91)
There were more known thrash act coming from the Netherlands for sure but due to the fact that only 500 copies of this EP were made it is famous for ending up very high on eBay and consorts. It is a fairly average Bay Area-style thrash EP with four songs running about 20 minutes. The same guy that had sold the Silence - Vision listen below also sold this MCD in August of that year, starting at 299$ it ended up on 429$! (ebay.com) There is in fact one copy on eBay at the moment, 'Buy It Now' for 599$, offered by chebanana, familiar name with lots of funny stories to tell. In the description it says: 'Serious trades offer for top rarities are welcome. I need Silence ''vision'' original cd.' Most likely to put it on eBay afterwards for 1000 $. (November '12) Note: Item was sold in December for 605 $! (ebay.com)
SILENCE - Vision (private press, '90)
Hailing from Washington, D.C. Silence has to be one of the most obscure thrash metal acts but they're infamous for bringing out one of the rarest and most sought after gems of the genre called Vision. The fact that they were unsigned and as the CD was pressed in very limited quantities makes it even more rare. I have never seen this record anywhere on eBay or amazon until now. It appeared by a seller who is also offering the impossible to find ADX 'Suprematie/ La terreur' or Excruciate's 'Passage of Life'. This auction started at $300 and is now at an unbelievable sum of $670, still six hours left until the auction ends. In the description it is said that this CD is as rare as Impact's 'Take the Pain', let's see if it will pass it's selling record of $847. (February '12) Note:Auction ended at $787! (ebay.com)
USURPER - Divine Spiritual And Intellectual Development (Overdrive, '90)
Usurper was a rather unknown dutch band who played classical thrash metal. They were signed to Overdrive Records, also an unknown dutch label which brought out only five records by four bands, Usurper, Hammerhawk, Vulture and a band called Doppleganger, it is impossible to find out something about them though. From these four Usurper is surely not the best record Overdrive put out but every record appeared on Overdrive is an extremely sought after gem. Especially the two records from Vulture and this record from Usurper did not shown up on eBay in the last years. But last night an auction ended for this CD with an astonishing amount of $494! (ebay.com) So you see this has to be one of the most expensive items of the genre and I'm sure this won't appear for the next few years on eBay or anywhere else again. (January '12)
CHEMICAL BREATH - Values (Crypta/ Inline, '94)
Belgium was quite good at bringing out few examples of quality thrash metal acts, not the most known though. Chemical Breath is a perfect example of how brilliant the obscure acts from the past were. They were signed to Crypta Records, all records this label brought out are long out of print and all extremely rare, but this has to be one of the rarest CDs on Crypta by far. The first record from Chemical Breath 'Fatal Exposure' is already rare enough that it never showed up on eBay or anywhere else in the past 3 years, lucky you if you ever can get a hand on 'Fatal Exposure', but it seems even more impossible to find 'Values' anywhere and if then the prices would range around $400-500 I guess. For most of the collectors 'Values' will last a dream. If you should ever get the chance to get this forgotten gem anyway, don't miss it! (December '11)