10 essential rock and metal purchases this Record Store Day

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So you sold your kidney. You’ll be sore for a few weeks, but you’ve got just enough money for those gorgeous Metallica reissues now. But why stop there? You could always hack the other kidney out so you can afford all 10 of these mighty, meaty releases out this Saturday. Hurrah for Record Store Day!

Architects – Lost Forever // Lost Together (Clear LP + Download)

As we wait for Architects’ seventh full-length, All Our Gods Have Abandoned Us, we’re biting our lips and being told to calm down by our mums. That’s out next month, so the post-rock sprinkled metalcore within the Lost Forever // Lost Together reissue (including bonus tracks) will tide us over.

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Chelsea – The Alternative (Red LP)

Gene October’s OG punk troupe are still punching old-school, world-class bangers into the ears of anyone who wants to listen. Or anyone who doesn’t want to listen, really. A few Chelsea albums receive the reissue treatment this Saturday, but their 1993 opus, The Alternative, is the burliest of the bunch.

Cult Of Luna – Vertikal I & II (Triple Clear LP)

Cult Of Luna never half-arse anything; exclusive releases receive the same treatment as anything else (their Eviga Riket package, in particular, was stunning). Vertikal got a seeing to on RSD 2013; along with its successor, Vertikal II, it’s now presented as a near two hour feast of harsh, uncompromising post-metal.

Death – Vivus: Dividium (Double Black LP + Download)

Previously unreleased on vinyl, Death’s live assault on Holland’s 1998 Dynamo Festival will have you screaming bloody gore. With only 2000 pressings worldwide and packed with liner notes, Vivus: Dividium is a testament to the late Chuck Schuldiner’s vocal and instrumental precision onstage. What a man. What a band.

Kampfar – Djevelmakt (Yellow LP)

Black metal is a notoriously serious genre, so props to Kampfar for reissuing Djevelmakt on bright yellow vinyl. It’s folk-tinged extreme metal, but not folky like Korpiklaani; ethereal, chin-scratching trapping of bands like Taake are present, with a Peter Tägtgren mixing job giving it a smooth yet savage sheen.

Killing Joke – Pylon (Double Blue LP + Download)

Pylon struck last year, sending arm hair, heads and nipples skywards. Now, on beautiful blue wax, Martin Glover’s bass can demolish your record player. Aside from an hour’s worth of apocalyptic, thunderous post-punk anthems, the Pylon box includes signed prints by regular Killing Joke album artist Mike Coles.

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Marilyn Manson – Antichrist Superstar (Cassette)

While we patiently wait for our Brian to once again reissue Antichrist Superstar on vinyl (it’s currently available online from wankers charging way, way too much money), we’ll have to make do with this cassette version. A nifty little collectable to honour one of the most important rock albums ever.

Motörhead – Bad Magic (Gold, Red or Green LP + Download)

Motörhead’s swansong proves that, even in the year of his death, Lemmy still sounded like he could snap Godzilla’s neck. Bad Magic arrives reissued on coloured vinyl (RSD’s website lists it as gold, but several outlets have multiple colours available) limited to just 2000 worldwide. Play it fucking loud.

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Parkway Drive – Horizons (Yellow & Blue Splatter LP)

If you listen to Ire and then this, Parkway Drive sound like a completely different band. The Aussie heavyweights’ second full-length, Horizons, is a savage, bone-crunching metalcore assault WHICH YOU CAN NOW OWN ON VINYL FOR THE FIRST TIME. Mosh like a mad thing.

Wednesday 13 – Monsters Of The Universe: Come Out & Plague (Gold LP + Green 7”)

Lock, shlock and two choking barons: Wednesday 13 returns to haunt RSD. With just 500 pressings worldwide, this is the horror maestro’s heaviest record to date, boasting blastbeats and more spooky noises; a saucy 7” of Serpent Society is thrown in too, with non-album track Suffer splattered on the B-side.

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Record Store Day takes place worldwide on April 16 2016. Find out more information on the official website.

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Alec is a longtime contributor with first-class BA Honours in English with Creative Writing, and has worked for Metal Hammer since 2014. Over the years, he's written for Noisey, Stereoboard, uDiscoverMusic, and the good ship Hammer, interviewing major bands like Slipknot, Rammstein, and Tenacious D (plus some black metal bands your cool uncle might know). He's read Ulysses thrice, and it got worse each time.