CDs / Albums purchased due to Artwork

When I was just getting into it all, I used always buy albums based on cover art, or not buy them based on the artwork. I'd also look at the song titles to, and sometimes the record label....but it was always the artwork that was the deciding factor most of the time if I had never heard the band before.

I've basically quit doing that (blind buying based on artwork) but I still avoid an album like the plague if I don't like the artwork or if it gives me the vibe that the band just didn't care what went on the front of their album because that tells me that if they don't care about the package, then the music can't be far behind.

GrandNational wrote:

Eyesore wrote:

Death rap, yo!





Haha. I have nothing against good rap, but Necro is one of the most overrated underground rappers ever. His his lyrical flows are terrible. He does write a lot of really cool beats, but that doesn't mean anything when the dude rapping over it sucks. And he sucks. It amazes me that so many metal guys support him because he's got this little "metal" image thing going on. He's just not very good.

The raps arent really what I was interested in. I mainly bought it for the song with John Tardy, Obituary is one of my favorite bands of all time. The comp tracks are all pretty good, and even the plain Necro songs I heard were pretty good (I never actually have listened to this CD all the way through, rap isnt my thing really).

ultmetal wrote:

Wargod48 wrote:

Used to buy albums just by the covers alone all the time back in the 70's early 80's.

Wargod48

Same here. Those days are long gone.

Me too but in the late 80s early 90s.

i sure wasted a lot of money on some rubbish (IMO) a few years ago. i am safe in the knowledge that i will never get the time back i wasted listening to slipknot's Iowa album

I've bought a few different albums based on artwork before usually they were good albums though, but I did get a few stinkers which is why I sample albums now. Hell i used to buy a ton of albums just because they were metal or more specifically thrash

Iced Earth and Hammerfall were probably the best discoveries for me by far.

i also used to look for bands on those labels as well..

Stopped buying off the cover art long ago - though I will admit to buying on a impulse Nightmare 's The Dominion Gate for that reason.

But cover art is still something that calls me to a CD. To me it is part of the whole package. Of course now I just go home and read the reviews or listen to samples before buying like everyone else. And do I ever miss the mom/pop used places where you could get it played in store.

I actually never got anything I hated going by the artwork. Probably very lucky on that front.

MetalRob331 wrote:

Iced Earth and Hammerfall were probably the best discoveries for me by far.

i also used to look for bands on those labels as well..

Indeed Rob. I must've had every had every album on Combat just because of the label name.

I guess it was way easier finding album's based on their cover. These days I might be looking at a real cool metal cover, and it will turn out to be a punk band or even a black metal band. Oh well

EvyMetal wrote:

I guess it was way easier finding album's based on their cover. These days I might be looking at a real cool metal cover, and it will turn out to be a punk band or even a black metal band. Oh well

so? nothing wrong with punk or black metal.

Well, when I'm looking for a good metal cd and I find something other than what I had in mind, I get a little pissed off. I personally don't care for black metal.

In this thread I just got done saying I haven't done it in years.....but I need to clarify...

Some cds I've waffled on in the past were pushed over the "buy" edge by the artwork.

Now, I've just been presented with an opportunity and a dilemna. Deliverance - River Disturbance - although not junk by a long shot - was my least favorite to that point. NOW, it's been re-issued with FANTASTIC artwork and some extra songs. I never upgraded to CD but I'm tempted to based on the extras and the art!

On a side note...if the artwork in Winter Carols by Blackmore's Night is a painting of a real place I'd give my right nut and more to live right there - flea free, of course! I love the art on that CD.