CDS you bought knowing nothing about....

i do this all of the time, ever since i was a kid. i take chances based on the bands name or cover art or song titles. sometimes it's a hit, other times a miss. it's always an adventure though.

I was quite fortunate in 1999 to have stumbled across this gem while rummaging through the rock (as the management didn't deign to file this under a black/prog/technical metal category) section of a local Christian bookstore's CD aisles. I wasn't yet aware of the Solid State label, was intrigued by the album cover, and was persuaded to give the album a try when I looked at the back cover and thought that the members looked like they might possibly play music that I liked, which is to say that they looked like stereotypical metal musicians. And in this case, the (positive) stereotype proved correct.

Needless to say, I'm glad I took a chance in this instance.

Deadly Ramon wrote:

I was quite fortunate in 1999 to have stumbled across this gem while rummaging through the rock (as the management didn't deign to file this under a black/prog/technical metal category) section of a local Christian bookstore's CD aisles. I wasn't yet aware of the Solid State label, was intrigued by the album cover, and was persuaded to give the album a try when I looked at the back cover and thought that the members looked like they might possibly play music that I liked, which is to say that they looked like stereotypical metal musicians. And in this case, the (positive) stereotype proved correct.

Needless to say, I'm glad I took a chance in this instance.

did you forget to tell us what the artist and album was?

kmorg wrote:

Deadly Ramon wrote:

I was quite fortunate in 1999 to have stumbled across this gem while rummaging through the rock (as the management didn't deign to file this under a black/prog/technical metal category) section of a local Christian bookstore's CD aisles. I wasn't yet aware of the Solid State label, was intrigued by the album cover, and was persuaded to give the album a try when I looked at the back cover and thought that the members looked like they might possibly play music that I liked, which is to say that they looked like stereotypical metal musicians. And in this case, the (positive) stereotype proved correct.

Needless to say, I'm glad I took a chance in this instance.

did you forget to tell us what the artist and album was?

he put it in the subject area of the post... Extol's Burial.

These days, it's so much easier to hear clips on the internet, so I have an idea before I buy. But "back in the day", tons of my purchases were made based solely on band's name, cool album cover or a friend's recommendation. Also, most of my purchases made at used shops, they let you hear it before you buy.

But occasionaly I'll still make a blind purchase, just for sh*ts & giggles.

Mastodon - Blood Mountain

I actually got it through BMG's featured selection and I accidentally opened it. I loved it.

I haven't done a "blind purchase" in a while but for a brief period in the late 90s I did quite a lot of it. I wasn't hooked up to the Internet yet and of course "my" kind of music wasn't getting any radio or video play so I had no way to hear new bands before purchasing CDs. However I did read a LOT of metal magazines (both pro and underground 'zines) and if I read an article/review of a band that I thought sounded promising, I'd pick up the CD. I got into a lot of the late 90s power metal that way, never hearing a note of the band beforehand, i.e. HammerFall, Primal Fear, Iron Savior, etc., etc. Occasionally I'd "hit a land mine" but fortunately my batting average was pretty good in those days.

Now that I think about it, the first Iced Earth album was a "blind purchase" for me. I saw the CD (still sealed, in the old long box no less!) at a swap meet for two bucks -- I vaguely remembered reading about them in a 'zine at some point, so even though I thought the album cover was god awful ugly, I figured even if the album sucked, I was only out two bucks. Boy am I glad I gambled that two dollars, because in the ten or twelve years since then, they've become one of my all time favorite bands (the newest album notwithstanding, haha)

Fat Freddy wrote:

Now that I think about it, the first Iced Earth album was a "blind purchase" for me. I saw the CD (still sealed, in the old long box no less!) at a swap meet for two bucks -- I vaguely remembered reading about them in a 'zine at some point, so even though I thought the album cover was god awful ugly, I figured even if the album sucked, I was only out two bucks. Boy am I glad I gambled that two dollars, because in the ten or twelve years since then, they've become one of my all time favorite bands (the newest album notwithstanding, haha)

My first Iced Earth purchase was a blind one as well. I saw The Dark Saga advertised in Metal Maniacs as a concept album based on the Spawn comic book (this was around late '96). At the time I was really into Spawn due to the HBO cartoon mini-series and to a lesser extent the comic book and the movie so I got it. Today it remains as one of my favortie albums of all time and I've been an Iced Earth fan ever since.

DallasBlack wrote:

My first Iced Earth purchase was a blind one as well. I saw The Dark Saga advertised in Metal Maniacs as a concept album based on the Spawn comic book (this was around late '96). At the time I was really into Spawn due to the HBO cartoon mini-series and to a lesser extent the comic book and the movie so I got it. Today it remains as one of my favortie albums of all time and I've been an Iced Earth fan ever since.

Yep, if memory serves, DARK SAGA was my second I.E. purchase... after buying (and digging) the debut album I went "Wow, I gotta get more of this band!" and ran to the CD store... and lo and behold, DARK SAGA had just been released so I snapped it up... the rest is history, as they say.

I bought all three Becoming The Archetype releases at the same time a
couple months ago with hearing nothing about them but the name and
genre. I WAS BLOWN AWAY! Luckily. Otherwise, I'd feel like one dumb
WANKER! (tell me that doesn't mean anything really bad!?)

T-Roy wrote:

Otherwise, I'd feel like one dumb
WANKER! (tell me that doesn't mean anything really bad!?)

"Wanker" means one of two things -- either a person who enjoys, um, pleasuring themselves, (if you catch my drift), or a guitarist/musician who employs lots of flash and fancy tricks in his/her playing to hide the fact that they can't write a decent song to save their lives (i.e. Yngwie Malmsteen, DragonForce, etc.)

So which one are you??

Sheesh, not exactly the best of choices. UH, the latter?!

T-Roy wrote:

Sheesh, not exactly the best of choices. UH, the latter?!

That would be the smart play.

i'd pick the former. i can do flasher, fancier tricks that way.

Although, my vision isn't what it used to be. MOM WAS RIGHT!

mc666 wrote:

i'd pick the former. i can do flasher, fancier tricks that way.

Quote :

Although, my vision isn't what it used to be. MOM WAS RIGHT!

You guys are killin' me today.