Vinyl has always been one of those mystical objects to me. You know, those large black disc thingy’s that your Dad always goes on about. Despite discovering most of my music through purchasing CD’s (and later, digital downloading) I’ve always admired from a distance the qualities of vinyl. The supposed superior sound quality, the MASSIVE artwork and the retro coolness of having them. Yet, I’ve never actually ever had the balls to buy any.

Until now.

So, what was the tipping point? Iron Maiden. The instance they announced on their website that they were re-releasing their classic first 8 albums on limited picture disc I was on it. It just seemed completely right that my first Vinyl would be Iron Maiden, a band who were a massive factor into me getting into music, as well as been my all time favourite band. I’ve always loved Maiden’s artwork as well, so having it in a larger version only added to the appeal. With staggered release dates, I preordered them all and agreed that the first two would be Xmas pressies.

So, the first two that arrived (that I could actually see) were The Number of The Beast and Piece Of Mind. It’s fair to say that after I had finished rapidly ripping into the packaging and saw the vinyl’s ‘in the flesh’ I smiled like an excited child. Here were two essential albums from my younger days, brought to life again in a format that seemed really substantial and with some real effort gone into them. As much as I love CD’s, they feel so disposable after you’ve held vinyl. So, here’s a few pictures to paint why I got so excited (edit: now including the two others I got for Xmas).

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Now, as much I can spend time fawning over the look and feel of the vinyl, I guess I need to play them to appreciate them even further. I’ve heard all about their superior sound quality, but unfortunately don’t have a vinyl player to sample how good it really sounds. I think it’s only a matter of time before I get one though, just so I can rediscover classic albums I love by hearing it how it was supposed to originally sound. I’m still keen to continue building my digital music collection though, so I’m not sure how I stand on new releases. I have heard some releases come with a download link, which would certainly be a massive incentive for me to buy new releases on vinyl. For now, I’ll stick to the classics and may do some research on any special new releases that take my fancy.

So, for all of those who have reservations about checking out vinyl, I’d highly recommend it (even if I haven’t actually played any yet!).