‘Black metal. Noise. Limited releases. Anti-Profit. Kvlt.’
These are a few things that Milam Records stands for as outlined by their BandCamp page, and coincidentally they are statutes that aren’t too far off from our own metal vendettas here at IO. Thus, it is with great pleasure that today we are able to put up for grabs two prize packages of the label’s newest releases.
Greed & Rapacity’s Loki Bound, Mare Cognitum’s The Sea Which Has Become Known, and The Widow’s Dhumavati will all be included in a collection of records that conjures tones of the occult. To enter to win, tell us in the comments below about what small-numbered release is most prized in your music collection. TWO winners will be selected by email, each receiving all three albums listed above. The contest will end at midnight on Thursday, May 17th, and as always you must have a mailing address in the US or Canada to enter.
But consider yourself warned: this prize pack contains dangerous amounts of vile Portland black metal. Exercise caution.
LISTEN TO MILAM RECORDS RELEASES
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BUY MILAM RECORDS RELEASES
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I’m not real big on harsh noise/PE, but I have a limited-to-20 split tape from Haine and White Gimp Mask that came not just with a sticker and mini-poster but an actual human tooth. Yikes.
Wow. Do you know who the tooth came from?
No, I always assumed it was from one of the artists. But maybe not. I had my wisdom teeth taken out last year and asked to keep mine. You know, just in case…
Twilight – Monument to Time End. Southern Lord produced, excessively and extravagantly designed, 2xLP, weighs in at about 5 pounds.. Also it was a gift from a good friend. Also it was one of my “gateway” records.
The Ocean – Grand Inquisitor, First Pressing
My most prized limited editions are definitely Horseback’s Forbidden Planet cassette and the Milh Ihvh 7″ and Split with Voltigeurs.
Fleetwood Mac – Rumours
Nice!
I have a few limited or rare releases but I would say Aghast – Hexerei Im Zwielicht Der Finsternis Pic LP is probably the one that I hold in highest regard. In my opinion, this album nearly absorbs all my senses into a ritualistic aura that very few releases have been able to accomplish.
First press of the Leviathan / Crebain split. Would kill for some more Crebain material, but that doesn’t seem like it will ever happen… RIFFS!!!
The tour-only 7″ of Hammerhead’s Load King/Slumberyard is my top pick. The version of Load King on the single is brutal — like the soundtrack to driving a big American car down the sidewalk.
Load King, if you’re up there and you here me, won’t you please take me home. Fucking love Hammerhead.
Mine is probably a CD-r live recording from the Angels of Light _How I Loved You_ tour. Caught that tour in Cleveland, and it remains near the top of the list of the best shows I’ve ever seen. Plus, Michael Gira signed the CD-r and sent a personalized note with it.
Load King, if you’re up there and you hear me, won’t you please take me home. Fucking love Hammerhead.
Mine is probably a CD-r live recording from the Angels of Light _How I Loved You_ tour. Caught that tour in Cleveland, and it remains near the top of the list of the best shows I’ve ever seen. Plus, Michael Gira signed the CD-r and sent a personalized note with it.
Sorry for the double-post. Please note that I caught the homophone fuckup–”here” instead of “here”–in the second post.
“here” instead of “hear.” Goddammit. No more beers for me tonight.
Weakling – Dead As Dreams … in (blood) red vinyl
Because it’s one of 500 and because it’s from Tumult here in San Francisco and because it’s the greatest USBM release of all time. Period.
True that, I’m so fucking jealous
Killer!
the last copy of the first song I’ve ever recorded on my own. one little file.
(Hey–the link to the Bandcamp goes to a Borknagar search).
Last year’s RSD released of Big Star’s 3rd–the package is a faux reel-to-reel gig. (I didn’t get one of the limited signed testpressings).
The Bandcamp link is in the body text as well, but here it is just in case:
http://milamrecords.bandcamp.com
Cheers!
Mr. Bungles’ tape, “Bowl of Chili”
Damn, that’s supposed to be Mr. Bungle’s tape…
For me, it is definitely my copy of Worship’s “Last Tape Before Doomsday”, limited to 300. I remember the first time I heard Worship’s funeral doom classic (if you can call it that), and my god, I don’t think I was quite as immediately affected by a metal band like that in my entire life. The crawling, impossibly bleak riff to ‘Whispering Gloom’ ate at me for like a full week. Eventually I found the cassette floating around on Ebay and I had to grab it.
Paysage d’Hiver and Lunar Aurora’s split on grey splattered vinyl limited to 100 copies. Lunar Aurora’s track is without a doubt one of the greatest atmospheric black metal songs ever made.
Mike Schank’s “I Was Gonna Drop My Other 3 Hits In The Hospital” b/w “Happy Thanksgiving…Nothing Much” 7 inch.
Psych.
The Bandcamp link points to a search for Borknagar.
Of their offerings, I’m really liking Mare Cognitum musically, although the vocals might be more effective buried a little lower in the mix.
That said, I already lived through the ’80s and have no intention of ever buying another fucking cassette tape, so I guess I’ll have to pass.
Burzum’s s/t, vinyl, deathlike silence – The one with Vikernes address and dsp’s address, so it is the earliest pressing, rumoured to be of about 300 copies.
bought it in a store in florence about three years ago..by far the most expensive record I will ever buy…ever.
I work for a vinyl pressing plant, and I once gave a tour of the place to a seven year old kid who LOVES records. He sent me a CD-R not long after with a crappy little recording he’d made of a song he wrote about records and specifically our plant. It sounded like Daniel Johnston.
So we pressed him a few copies! Made his little dream come true. I don’t recall how many off-hand, but I think we mailed him 5 copies. I have one of the other three or four in existence.
That has to be the most adorable thing I’ve ever heard, you are an awesome person
i second that, this guy is out to make kids happy. I love it.
Antennacle – “Murmur Suite”, in this weirdo self ejecting cd case thing. Got me into noise.
Mamaleek’s self titled debut CD-R. Awesomely bizarre black metal, wholly original and nicely packaged.
my vinyl test press of Coalesce’s Functioning On Impatience from Sean Ingram’s personal collection.
Probably my copy of Menemonazsh’s De Gustibus aut Bene, aut Nihil EP. It’s one of the four they issued with covers silkscreened in goat’s blood and a bonus acetate of Lord Plague getting whipped.
No, I just made that shit up. It’s actually Brutal Compulsion’s Self-Correcting Organism boxed set. One microcassette, one C90 cassette, one Betamax cassette, one VHS cassette, and one reel-to-reel, each containing a different improvisation, and each one with a thin layer of gunpowder inserted somewhere in the recording. Depending on how hot the playback heads are, you run the risk of destroying each recording every time you play it.
No, I just made that up too. It’s my cassette copy of Jawbox’s demo – I’m sure they sent a bunch out, but I asked them to fill the rest of the tape with stuff they liked and didn’t think was getting enough attention, so I’ve got a little snapshot of what their bass player was digging when she sent the tape out, and I suspect not many other people did that at all.
(That one’s real.)
Can’t believe no one’s claimed to own the Merz-car.
+1
Arckanum: Antikosmos is probably the most kvlt CD I own. It’s not supper kvlt status but i’m proud to own it haha.
Octis “Mithring 1″ limited to 50, clear lathe-cut 5″ with silk screened cover. I at first thought each batch of 50 copies was a repress of one record, since they all had the same artwork and name. Then I picked up an extra copy for a friend and noticed one word was different in the notes, played it, and was surprised to hear different songs! The label and artist never specified they were different records and I thought that was kind of strange but rewarding to discover on your own. I kept that one for myself and then hunted down the first one which was sold out but finally found it.
Blut Aus Nord MoRT black vinyl with grey splatter. Didn’t even know what a gem I had until I searched their discography. They only made 100 with grey splatter and 250 total.
I don’t own much limited stuff, but I’d have to say Agalloch’s “Of Stone, Wind, and Pillor” EP, limited to 1000 (?) CDs. I enjoy it, but the prices used copies are fetching these days boggles the mind.
It’s not limited by any means, but I found an original cassette copy of Venom’s Black Metal album in a thrift store one time. It was like a little chunk of evil treasure, and I still love it.
Dillinger Escape Plan – Calculating Infinity LP put out by Hydra Head in partnership with Relapse, mine’s one of the 110 printed on gold vinyl. They made 335 on “phlegm” colored vinyl, which sounds cooler but is obviously less rare, thus FAR INFERIOR.
I am reminded of the punk compilation “Make The Record Collector Nerd Sweat” – the first pressing was something like 900 on colored vinyl and 100 on black vinyl. I loved that.
I am pretty new to collecting vinyl, but my current fav is a copy of In Search Of Space by Hawkwind that I got not too long ago…red vinyl limited to 1000…all these prize records seem pretty incredible too! this is a pretty kick ass contest!
It’s not a metal record, but I have a test pressing of Patti Smith’s Horses. Could never find pressing info on that one, but I’m assuming that it was in small numbers, as test pressings usually are.
Giant Squid’s 2xLP of “The Ichthyologist” with awesome artwork by Sam Kieth, pressed by Vega Vinyl. Proud to support such a hardworking DIY band!
My favorite limited release that I own would probably have to be my gris- “il etait une foret…” double lp. It is not the most limited vinyl out there but it was one of the first ones I bought and it came with a lot of cool extras. It is the bloodwood edition and is hand numbered, #209 / 333
Hey, I like this record a lot—I’ve got it on “Fool’s Gold”, which is kind of a weird green-gold color. The D-side etching is pretty cool, too.
stumbled across a totally out of print record by chilean folksinger victor jara, who was fucking amazing. h=e had his hands chopped off and was publicly machine-gunned just after the pinochet coup. i knew i’d never easily replace that record, and then i let my ex abscond with it. some fates are worse than death.
That sounds awesome, I’m going to have to check that out.
137/700 of the green vinyl version of the Enslaved wooden box set. I have a bunch of stuff in the ltd to 500/1000/2000 range. Guess it’s not all that limited. It’s more about the quality of the work and presentation that goes into it that makes it special.
I once picked up a severely beaten up Wolf Eyes LP. Certainly one of the stranger album’s I own.
Two things come to mind: The first is no very metal-my ultra limited copy of Come Come to the Sunset Tree By the Mountain Goats. This was extremley limited and every album cover was hand painted/collaged by the artist and is totally unique-each one looks different from the last. In the mtal vein, I have the Agalloch “Ashes Against the Grain” wood box set that came with ashes from a campfire! Sweet!