Hey guys,
Thought I'd break up the monotony of sharing videos of great songs to share some pics...as @monoxide23 knows, I'm in the process of moving interstate, and spent a fair chunk of my day packing up my CD collection.
I've got a fair few CDs that are signed and reckoned I'd share some photos of some of them before I pack them up.
Most of these were signed by bands who attended signings at Sydney's only 'real' metal store, Utopia Records. It was huge, I'd spend almost every day after work in there...they had enough room to have bands play there too, which was cool.
I had a few friends (who I fell out of touch with as the years went by) who convinced me these signings would be awesome.
Anyway...
I saw Anthrax in 2005; they had just reunited with original singer Joey Belladonna. I saw them in 2003 as well, but that was with John Bush. All the guys were nice for the most part, except for Scott Ian for some reason. Joey Belladonna insisted on fist-bumps too, no handshakes, which was odd.
Same deal, saw Bleeding Through in 2005. They were supporting Shadows Fall. Before Parkway Drive became the incredible band they are today, they had the opening slot at the gig, which was at Sydney Uni, not too far from Utopia.
This one was cool, but sadly even within metal/hardcore and at this time, the emergence of 'emo', I felt like an outsider even at this signing. I don't know why, I liked Bleeding Through and thought that it shouldn't matter that my hair was longer than some of the girls there or that I was wearing a Morbid Angel T-shirt...but I digress...everyone was fairly quiet and reserved, but the singer, Brendan Schiepatti, was really cool. Hell of a handshake on him!
Ah, Hatebreed. They supported Slipknot on their sideshow at The Big Day Out 2005, at the Hordern Pavilion. Fantastic show, incredible energy and so bloody heavy! The signing at Utopia was perhaps the best I'd attended out of all of them - Jamey Jasta was, to me, the single genuinely nicest dude I'd ever met a signing. The other guys were nice in their own way, but Jasta was an affirmation of meeting a hero and him exceeding expectations.
This one's a bit different, this is Terrorust's debut album, 'Post Mortal Archives'. One of my favourite Australian bands was Damaged, whose album 'Token Remedies Research' in 1997 blew me away. The drummer, Matt Skitz, and singer, Jamie Ludbrook, created a sound that to this day is unlike any band I've ever heard. Damaged was plagued with lineup issues and released three albums within ten years.
Eventually they dissolved and Skitz and Ludbrook formed Terrorust, a heavier/more extreme version of Damaged(if that was possible). In 2006, Terrorust supported Nevermore at Sydney Uni, on a night that included Skinless as main support (which is where I did the 'Zombie Walk Mosh' - very fun).
This was actually Terrorust's first Sydney show, and I bought the CD before even hearing them.
I bumped into Jamie Ludbrook whilst on an intermission, and had five minutes of his time to sheepishly tell him how much Damaged meant to me, especially 'Token Remedies Research'. He was stunned that someone like me had been so frank about their admiration for his band, and gladly signed my CD. Unfortunately Terrorust are no more, and I only saw them once.
...continuing the same vein, but this one would technically be the 'first'...this is the back of the liner notes/inlay booklet, signed by Christiaan Rand of local band Segression. This was all the way back in 1998, and was one of many underage gigs I attended at former Sydney hotspot 'The Iron Duke Hotel.' Segression had their own show at The 'Duke, and I bought their second album 'Fifth Of The Fifth', which they had just launched. Rand saw me coming away from the merch table and personally came over to thank me for buying the CD. Being a 16 year old nervous and shy metalhead, I wondered aloud if he would sign it for me. He asked my name and did so. He was really cool. (I've obscured my name and part of a message where he says 'Thanks heaps sic f...k.' Here's the front of the album:
Segression was another band I liked from my hometown, and made me proud of bands like Damaged, Segression, Cryogenic and Alchemist. Segression had a more successful career than some local bands, but eventually became less heavy before going on hiatus. I believe they reformed recently, but I haven't heard any new stuff.
Arch Enemy, late 2005. They played the UNSW Roundhouse, which is a venue in the University of NSW, a literal dome. I've seen bands such as Machine Head, Trivium, Mudvayne and Green Day there. Hours earlier at Utopia my friends and I waited in line for the signing, which many other fans did, as this was Arch Enemy's first tour in support of 'Doomsday Machine'. I hadn't gotten around to buying it yet, so I brought their first album with Angela on vocals, 'Wages of Sin'. Sadly, Angela Gossow, who was advertised to appear, cancelled late minute, which disappointed literally every single fan. Including me. As someone who knows what women are capable of (my mother was an amazing human being, who defied so many obstacles in her life) I wanted to share my thanks to Gossow for what she had done for women in metal. With her not there, the four remaining members were clearly tired (having played in Japan the night before), slightly disinterested but Michael Amott tried hard to be more jovial. The gig made up for it though, thankfully. One of the newer Sydney metal bands supported them, Infernal Method. Sadly they're not around anymore. It was a huge deal for them to get that slot.
Shadows Fall, 2005. This was during the same show Bleeding Through and Parkway Drive were a part of. The management at Utopia allowed multiple items to be signed, which was great. I have the first three albums - 'Fear Will Drag You Down', 'The Art Of Balance' and 'The War Within'.
The guys in Shadows Fall were very cool, Brian Fair especially. I don't think he's in the band anymore, but Matt Bachand, one of their guitarists, was very much like Ian Scott from Anthrax - not very personable at all.
...and finally, Nile. Perhaps, along with Hatebreed and Shadows Fall, my favourite. I've been a fan of Nile since I first heard the album 'Amongst The Catacombs of The Nephren-Ka'; to me in 1998 - was groundbreaking. Soooo heavy, so technical, and coupled with Egyptian mythology, which I was big into as well. When 'Annihilation Of The Wicked' came out, I bought it on release day; it was a special digipack version.
Unlike Shadows Fall, I could only get the one item signed, and seeing as they were touring in support of 'Annihilation...', I brought that.
The two main guys in Nile (Karl Sanders and Dallas Toler-Wade) were Jasta-level nice and enthusiastic, which was really cool. Sanders in particular offered to do something cool for me, as he complimented my Nile T-shirt.
Instead of signing the cover of the digipack, he got the guys to sign the inside flap of the digipack, which unfortunately was a good idea in theory, but they used black marker, which kind of blurred in with the design. It's still cool though.
Sanders realized this and made it up to me, by signing the actual CD. That meant a great deal to me, and at the gig, I had a blast - they were astounding. They only played a small club, The Gaelic Club, but they were on point, and made me incredibly happy to be a metalhead.
...
Thanks for checking this out; it took me several hours in amongst the hectic stuff I've got going on, but it as extremely rewarding to do so. I didn't do this to brag or anything, (absolutely that is not my style) it was just to share. Thanks.
Cheers.
Reager.
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I'd also like to take this opportunity to publicly apologise to @seandisco ...I'm sorry for how our friendship dissolved; ironically it was due to me mentioning stuff pertaining to this thread.
You've had some really great music choices here, you confided in me via PM and I'm sorry I didn't respect that. I hope this goes some way to show that I am genuinely sorry for my actions. I hope we can be cool again. Again, I'm really sorry mate.
Cheers
Reager.