Heavy Buys: Author & Punisher, Rick and Morty, Pig Destroyer

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Those of us music lovers who purchase and collect physical media understand the thrill of the hunt. Be it digging through crates, scoring a deal on that grail on Discogs, or getting in on the pre-order before the limited edition variant sells out, the rush of broadening the collection is one of the most fulfilling things about consuming music for much of the Heavy Blog staff. Fear of missing out (FOMO) is also a huge driving force due to the limited nature of many releases, and collectively, we tend to spend way too much money for the sake of getting in while the getting’s good. However, funds are not always in supply, and we often spend our free time adding out-of-press releases to our Discogs wantlist or staring longingly at /r/vinyl and /r/heavyvinyl in hopes of catching a contact buzz.

Heavy Buys: Immolation – Here In After [2017 Remastered Reissue // Blood Red]

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For being as venerable and insanely talented as they are, I feel as though Immolation gets the shit-end of the death metal history stick. They have their following and they’re not exactly a band that’s languished in obscurity or would be considered anything near a “forgotten classic,” but they really deserve a lot more attention and respect than they get. Calling their discography gem-studded doesn’t do them justice; their almost 30-year history as a band has been almost entirely gems. Seriously, what other classic early-90’s death metal band is still putting out new albums and, more importantly, evolving their sound with pretty much no breaks? That’s impressive as fuck no matter how you slice it!

Heavy Buys: Nine Inch Nails // Not The Actual Events “Physical Component”

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2016 was a strange year for fans of Nine Inch Nails, though not in a bad way; Trent Reznor promised new music and he delivered, in the form of the EP Not The Actual Events near the end of the year, along with a handful of soundtrack work with Atticus Ross. Possibly more interesting than Not The Actual Events was the announcement that Nine Inch Nails is officially a duo, with Ross finally joining Reznor as a legitimate band member (as opposed to just a long-time collaborator). (For those unaware, the two have been officially working together since NIN’s 2005 album With Teeth, though their relationship predates 2005.) Then, to stir the proverbial kettle again, it was announced that Not The Actual Events would not be released on CD (though it is available on vinyl), but instead a very limited “physical component” would be available for purchase, bundled with a digital download of the EP. As a big fan of Reznor’s work, I was excited to see what this could include, and so I ordered this “physical component” as soon as it became available, back in December. It wasn’t until February that I received my copy, and, frankly, the results are…interesting.

Heavy Buys: ISIS – Wavering Radiant [2017 Repress // Yellow/Clear Splatter]

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Seminal post-metal band Isis have lived on very favorably in their postmortem years despite sharing their name with the most hated organization in the world. Their disbandment left a perfect legacy in a discography free of blemishes, and while their 2009 swan song Wavering Radiant was their most accessible release and fared lighter with its extended use of clean singing and Tool-esque instrumental passages, it’s still highly regarded as a masterpiece and genre classic — a classic that for the last 6 years remained unobtainable to many fans who missed the early stages of the vinyl revival.

Heavy Buys: Jimmy’s Holiday Haul

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In case you haven’t noticed, there are two Jimmys (Jimmies?) that are a part of the Heavy Blog family, and while I’m the dude who started this site back in 2009, I’m not the Jimmy who started the Heavy Buys column. However, this Christmas season was incredibly fruitful, with a myriad of prepaid visa gift cards and sales going on that created a perfect storm for collection expansion. I took the opportunity to upgrade my current setup to something only slightly less casual (but still incredibly entry level) and expand the collection to pick up five records that I had been meaning to purchase from the previous year.

Heavy Buys – November/Black Friday Vinyl

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Welcome back to Heavy Buys! We launched this feature a couple months ago to share some recent physical music purchases we’ve made, whether it’s a small-time purchase to round out one’s collection, or a debt-inducing splurge. Vinyl, CDs, and even cassettes are all possible topics here. As long as its physical media, it’s fair game. While Jimmy’s inaugural installment covered his autographed copy of John Zorn’s Hemophiliac, I’m starting a monthly column covering all of the vinyl I’ve purchased in the past 30 days (give or take). This stack of records comes from several hours spent in four separate stores, including trips during a weekend visit with friends in Maine, my go-to hometown shop in New Hampshire, and a Black Friday binge while down in Connecticut with my girlfriend for Thanksgiving with her family. After you’ve gone through all of my picks, be sure to comment with any of your own finds!

Heavy Buys // John Zorn/Mike Patton/Ikue Mori—Hemophiliac

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Welcome to Heavy Buys, a new feature on the blog where we discuss in detail some recent physical music purchases we’ve made, whether it’s a small-time purchase to round out one’s collection, or a debt-inducing splurge. Vinyl, CDs, and even cassettes are all possible topics here. As long as its physical media, it’s fair game. I’m going to start off this inaugural article by talking about what is probably the most expensive purchase I’ve made yet—Hemophiliac: a collaborative John Zorn project released on Tzadik. I’m not going to give a real number, but believe me, it set me back a little. (But then again, I’m basically a corporate slave, so that price is pretty relative.)