Sold Date: April 12, 2022
Start Date: February 23, 2022
Final Price: $125.00 (USD)
Seller Feedback: 169
Buyer Feedback: 0

You are buying a new/never played vinyl LP of the Morbid and Mayhem split A Tribute To The Black Emperors. If you have even a passing interest in black metal then you've probably heard about this LEGENDARY release. Originally released by Warmaster Records (Columbia) in 1994 whom the next year would release the equally LEGENDARY Dawn of the Black Hearts. Those two releases along with Mayhem's Live In Leipzig constitute the "must have" legacy of former lead singer Dead. While De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas was a landmark release metalheads often wonder what if the unquestionable kings of black metal (at the time) didn't self destruct. Both Live in Leipzig and Dawn of the Black Hearts (with a censored cover and renamed "Live In Sarpsborg") now got label repressings. This particular record will almost certainly never.

This record consists of 4 parts: 1. Morbid's 1987 December Moon demo (one of the greatest metal demos of all time!) 2. Necrolust taken from the Deathcrush EP 3. Funeral Fog is lifted off Live in Leipzig 4. the only 2 studio songs Dead ever recorded (The Freezing Moon, Carnage) while singing for Mayhem. This 1991 studio version of The Freezing Moon would make Elizabeth Bathory shed tears!

The first and last Mayhem songs are from the compilation Projections of a Stained Mind and that label (CBR Records) went under in 1993. Here they paid the band studio time to record these two classic songs and are the closest we get to hearing what DMDS would have sounded like in 1991. Also, if you happen to have a bag of cash and want to buy this compilation on vinyl, you can but The Freezing Moon is a CD only bonus track. Also, the Morbid side doesn't have Death Execution like the original split, however that random song isn't included in the original December Moon demo. Who knows why it was ever added on some releases?

As complicated as all that was, things get even messier. Warmaster Records is long defunct and who knows if Land of the Rising Sun Records is really from Japan or what? That white sticker you see is actually scanned unto the sleeve and you can't peal. No issues with the sleeve or vinyl which is pressed on black/red marble. It looks almost black in low light but like blood under strong light, kind of creepy since plain red vinyl looks more like a Crayola color than actual blood.

So yeah my hands ache after writing all that but I wanted to be certain you are aware of what you are getting. IMO, this is a much more iconic release than Dawn of the Black Hearts, which only beats it in the artwork category. Item will be shipped in a record mailer with a plastic sleeve to help prevent seam splits and "fragile" stickers. Considering the high price this goes for I will make extra sure it is packaged securely and you may have to sign for delivery (this prevents porch theft and dropped/stepped on packages). Thanks for looking.