A Riff Report resurrection special – dust off those riffs, they deserve better than bargain bins 🤘🔥
Let’s face it, vinyl’s back in style – again. But while you can grab a shiny 180g pressing of Master of Puppets in Tesco (cheers, Lars), there are some absolute metal monsters that’ve been left to rot in the crypt. NO MORE. 🪦 Here are 10 forgotten metal albums that NEED a proper vinyl resurrection, preferably with gatefold artwork, bonus tracks, and a whiff of sweaty leather jacket.
1. 🧛♂️ Type O Negative – Life Is Killing Me (2003)
Still waiting on this one, and it’s an actual goth metal crime. Pete Steele’s sardonic growl, the dark humour, the funeral dirge riffs – this is vinyl bait if we’ve ever heard it. Why is this not spinning on a forest green double LP yet, mun?
Why it needs a reissue: Because your wax collection deserves a seven-minute song about loving necrophilia and irony.
2. 🛡️ Iced Earth – Burnt Offerings (1995)
Before the drama, before the insurrections, Iced Earth were delivering epic concept albums with thunderous riffage. Burnt Offerings is an underrated doom-power hybrid that slaps way harder than it’s given credit for.
Why it needs a reissue: That 16-minute Dante’s Inferno track belongs on an infernal red vinyl with flames embossed on the sleeve. Come on.
3. 🪦 Sanctuary – Into the Mirror Black (1990)
Warrel Dane before Nevermore. A haunting, emotional power/thrash hybrid that somehow got forgotten in the grunge flood. Criminally out of print, and the few existing LPs cost more than your car insurance.
Why it needs a reissue: Because every single riff screams Seattle Gothic Thrash™, and that’s a genre we just made up but now NEED.
4. 🕯️ Celtic Frost – Into the Pandemonium (1987)
Industrial samples, operatic vocals, proto-death-doom… it’s weird, it’s bold, it’s the definition of ahead of its time. And somehow, this genre-shattering Swiss masterwork is still vinyl-limited.
Why it needs a reissue: For the art alone. That H.R. Giger sleeve deserves better than a dodgy JPEG thumbnail on Spotify.
5. 🩸 Exhorder – Slaughter in the Vatican (1990)
Before Pantera turned groovy, Exhorder were already doing it louder, nastier, and with a bigger middle finger. This album is raw New Orleans bile, and it rips.
Why it needs a reissue: So we can finally have a proper mosh in our living rooms again, needle drop-style.
6. 🪙 Anacrusis – Manic Impressions (1991)
Progressive thrash at its most unhinged. Intelligent, chaotic, melodic – like Voivod had a meltdown in a philosophy lecture. Never pressed to vinyl officially. That’s criminal.
Why it needs a reissue: Imagine this with etched artwork and a fold-out lyric sheet filled with existential dread.
7. 🧟♂️ Demolition Hammer – Epidemic of Violence (1992)
This is what Reign in Blood would sound like after four litres of Monster and a sledgehammer to the face. New York thrash at its gnarliest, but vinyl? Nowhere to be seen.
Why it needs a reissue: Because the title alone belongs on a poster. Also, it might save your gym routine.
8. ⚰️ The Crown – Deathrace King (2000)
Swedish death-thrash with biker jackets, punk fury, and enough riffs to flatten a fjord. If Entombed and Motorhead had a fight in a speedway pit, this album would be the soundtrack.
Why it needs a reissue: It’s literally the soundtrack to a car chase in hell. Needs a vinyl that comes with its own skull-shaped slipmat.
9. 🌒 Moonspell – Irreligious (1996)
Portuguese goth metal excellence. This is what Dracula would blast while vaping in the club. Seductive, dark, operatic – and begging for a midnight-black marbled reissue.
Why it needs a reissue: So goths can spin this and sip absinthe from a goblet in peace.
10. 🧨 Mordred – Fool’s Game (1989)
Funk-metal crossover madness. Think early Faith No More if they grew up skateboarding in Oakland and listened to Slayer. It’s catchy, weird, and impossible to find in decent condition.
Why it needs a reissue: Because it’s a time capsule of Bay Area chaos, and it deserves its own day-glo splatter wax pressing.
💿 Honourable Mentions That Nearly Made the Cut:
- Armored Saint – Symbol of Salvation
- Forbidden – Twisted into Form
- Acid Bath – When the Kite String Pops
- Angel Dust – Enlighten the Darkness
- Control Denied – The Fragile Art of Existence
So, what’s occurring, record labels?
Stop reissuing the same old albums and give these lost legends the wax treatment they deserve, mun! Let us spin them, smell them, stare at the artwork like it’s a religious relic, and raise a pint to the unsung bangers of metal history. 🍻
YESS MUN! Vinyl justice for all! 🖤💿🔥
Want us to do a part two? Drop your forgotten faves and we’ll give them the Riff Report resurrection they deserve.
Michael is the founder, editor, and chief riff wrangler behind The Riff Report, an independent Welsh rock and metal publication built by fans, for fans. With a lifelong passion for loud guitars, unforgettable live shows, and the incredible community that surrounds rock and metal, he created The Riff Report to celebrate everything that makes the scene special—from legendary headline acts and grassroots venues to rising bands that deserve to be heard.
A familiar face at festivals across the UK, Michael spends much of the year covering events including Download Festival, Bloodstock Open Air, Steelhouse Festival, Firevolt, Plumpton Revival, and many more. Whether he’s battling the Welsh weather on a mountainside, surviving a weekend in a muddy campsite, or squeezed against the front barrier with thousands of fellow fans, he’s always searching for the next great story to share.
As editor of The Riff Report, Michael writes festival guides, breaking news, album reviews, gig reviews, interviews, opinion pieces, nostalgia features, and behind-the-scenes stories from across the rock and metal world. His writing combines honest opinions, humour, and a genuine love for live music, bringing readers closer to the bands, festivals, venues, and people that keep the scene alive.
Michael is particularly passionate about supporting independent artists, local venues, charities, and the wider UK rock and metal community. He believes every band deserves a chance to be discovered and every festival has a story worth telling. Through The Riff Report, he aims to shine a spotlight on both the biggest names in rock and the future stars waiting to break through.
When he’s not writing or interviewing artists, you’ll probably find him exploring festival campsites, photographing live shows, chatting with fellow fans over a pint, or planning the next road trip in search of more riffs, bigger crowds, and unforgettable moments.
Above all, Michael believes rock and metal are about more than music—they’re about community, friendship, and creating memories that last a lifetime. That’s exactly what The Riff Report exists to celebrate.
Proudly Welsh. Proudly Loud. Always chasing the next great riff. 🤘
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