The MOST important record in my collection...

Although I had been borrowing music from my uncle Jimmy for years(mostly classic heavy metal)the year between turning 14 and 15 was really when I fell in love with music. Had there been a positive football or academic happening in that time frame, perhaps I wouldn't even be bothering with this blog, perhaps I'd be a different person, but I can only speculate. The fact of the matter is that when I was 14, not only did my uncle Dave take me to see Metallica, but he also took me to Cavages at the Summit Park Mall and let me pick out one album for purchase. This was a test of my coolness, I'm sure. A rite of passage to see if I had what it took to be a screaming heavy metal maniac. I was in middle school, and it would still be a year and a half before I discovered hardcore and straight edge and all the stuff that most people know I'm about. This was a young mulleted man-child who 21 years ago had to make a choice. A choice between 2 albums that interested him: Danzig: Danzig and Iron Maiden: Live After Death. Mainly these "choices" came from the fact that their cover art was intense and illustrated in a way that was appealing to my young mind.

I held both records in my hands, noticing they were "gate fold" layouts, like my Father's copy of Kiss: Alive. The 13.5" squares were heavier than the Sex Pistols, Ramones, Judas Priest, Devo, Motley Crue and earlier Maiden records I had borrowed prior to this meeting of two greats in my fists. I had to choose, I had to make a decision. I knew I liked both bands; but what to do?

Ultimately, Live After Death won the battle. Why, you ask? Well, my teenage mind chose the record with more songs. A simple decision, made from a craving for more music, more content. Although I did purchase Danzig eventually in my 15th year on cassette, Live After Death left an impression that has forever stayed with me in a way Danzig (arguably #5 in my favorite bands of all time) couldn't have. So today while I was making my breakfast there was no question what I was going to listen to. Iron Maiden's Live After Death, the 21 year old copy, the record I never parted with, the record that is the most important in my collection, the record that still fucking skips on side two.