The Babymetal Collection

In the last few weeks (since I got my hobby room in order) I have showcased the current work that I am involved in on the ever growing Babymetal collection (soon to be followed by other collections that needs to be updated). Three binders have been completed as of today, 300+ pages and counting and at the moment I need to buy more essential material so that I can proceed. I basically completed one Babymetal binder about a year ago and then I took some time off and just added incoming stuff in a pile. It kept growing and I often browsed through the first one. It really is a lot of fun and you do get easy access to the material. Visually, it is the coolest collection that I have, in competion with mid 1970s Deep Purple. My friend Kalle has helped me out with auctions, which has helped tremendously (many thanks!).

(Image of one of these binders by me – 2015 article from Japan showcased)

Gone in a flash

You have to be on the ball these days to catch the Limited Editions that are put out there by bands that seek to hype certain products. Case in point. I heard about the four track Leaves´Eyes CD Single “Black Butterfly” and tried to keep an eye open for a copy through my usual online store (Ginza in Sweden). Never saw it listed in advance and one day I suddenly saw an announcement by the band on Facebook that it had sold out (1,000 copies) from the record company in one day. Then I went to Ginza and it was listed, meaning they probably had a few copies, and I managed to get one. Not so lucky with the Deep Purple “Live In Rome” Vinyl that was gone from stock in a flash. In the case of the Purple Series, I will now stop hunting the Vinyls since they are not that great looking and I would rather spend my hard earned money on Babymetal stuff and other bands of interest anyway. I am a collector, but I need it to look good (and make sense) at this point. The Purple Series looks like a cash in more than anything and I resent that. The CDs will do and that is a stretch too.

(My shot of the Leaves´Eyes CD)

…

Babymetal rocks

It has been confirmed that Babymetal will perform at the Rock Am Ring and Rock Im Park Festivals in Germany in early June 2020. Second time they are invited to rock these classic grounds. And UK rockers Bring Me The Horizon released a live video on YouTube today for a song called “Ludens”. It was filmed when they were opening for Babymetal in Tokyo a few weeks ago. And they got to use the entire stage and loads of effects. Says something about Babymetal. There is a Babymetal/Bring Me The Horizon spread from this tour in Kerrang! #1801 right now.

…

Christmas came early this year

Got a bunch of Babymetal articles for the (not so) old collection today, and I think I will frame this one. Too big to fit the binder A4 format, too nice not to have on display somehow. What we have here is a Japanese newspaper in English called The Japan News (April 16 2016), and we have a huge story by Yomiuri Shimbun about the success in the UK (sold out Wembley show etc).

Classic stuff.

(Thank you for your support Kalle)

…

Spark Purple & Babymetal Posters

Seen here is a couple of posters from Czech publication Spark, official images of Deep Purple (2017) and Bybymetal (2013). I could not help noticing that they look rather good together like this with the logotypes and everything so I will frame both of them as one, and give the combined presentation a place in my music room. It will obviously become a rather unique work of art and also a bit of a conversation starter. But for me, these images represents postcards of my personal journey through this big musical galaxy of ours. And music can still excite me after all these years, which is something to be grateful for. It will cost me a couple of hundred bucks to do it, but it will look rather good and why not have a bit of fun every now and then?

To be continued…

(My image of said posters)

…

Tales Of Fire And Ice

With “Tales Of Fire And Ice” Crystal Viper ends the decade with a loud bang. I have been listening to this all day long and it is just perfect. The full on Metal assault has been toned down and they are now easing into Nightwish territory. Still with influences from Iron Maiden etc. Crystal Viper will certainly be right at home in the soon to come roaring twenties. The production is top notch.

(My image of LP/CD)

…

Boom!

Well I have worked on the Babymetal collection and it is growing fast (going from magazines into the binders). In two days this collection has grown with 200% and I still have a bunch of magazines to pick material from. The hardest decision is wether to save some magazines intact or put it all in there…

(My image of work in progress)

…