What's the Last Disc You Bought? - May 2011 Update

Following up on an early April post, my CD collection keeps expanding. I did finally give a listen to the HSAS Through the Fire and the verdict, sadly, is: sucked. Sucked and sold.  I have found myself to be a bigger fan of Mr. Hagar than I thought I was and have also been collecting his solo records and, for the most part, enjoying them a lot (all spurred on, again, by my Chickenfoot infatuation). That said, Through the Fire struck me a soulless, vacuous, overdubbed, prepackaged stadium rock. I have already gotten more than one argument from fellow fans that Chickenfoot is exactly the same but where I differ is this: Chickenfoot's music rocks.

So, where has my credit card taken me since April?  An update:

The music I most recently made a transaction for was an online purchase was not a record at all but instead a blu-ray DVD. Spurred on by the superb Big 4 Recap series on Rockthought.com, I ordered a copy of the Live from Sofia, Bulgaria concert and am anxiously awaiting its arrival.

What, as of this writing, most recently made it into my hands? Amon Amarth's Surtur Rising. It's epic metal, staying with the tried-and-true Amon Amarth approach and it's immensely satisfying. As I lauded the band in my previous post, the extra DVD with over four hours of live footage seals the deal and makes this, easily, the best return on investment for heavy metal fans.

So the most recent time I walked into a store, picked an album from the shelf and took it home? Yesterday. But not for me. For my wife. She's been raving about "Rolling in the Deep," which I have yet to hear, but she'll be getting Adele's 21 from the kids for Mother's Day.

But that's not quite fair, is it?  And, even unheard, I'd rather not claim it as my last purchase. For myself, I picked up some vintage metal in the form of Anthrax's Spreading the Disease. I have managed to collect most of the recorded works of three of the "Big 4," but never did give Anthrax much attention. That said, I've just started digging in and expect more will follow based on first impressions of this nasty little record.

In closing, though, I'm always seeking some out-of-print gem.  And, again, in my current Big 4 mania, have my sights set on the Slayer box set I never managed to snag while it was in print, Soundtrack to the Apocalypse. I know I could get it from a number of sellers on Amazon but think I'll troll the shops for a while to see if I can find a new one tucked away that just hasn't found a loving home yet.

I'm sure that before the week is out a number of new items will have been ordered, grabbed, digested and - in the rare case - traded back in toward even newer items. Uriah Heep's Into the Wild comes out tomorrow and will certainly be the next item in my hands.  That is, of course, unless I run across any more Anthrax first...