US and Canadian Heavy Metal 7"-scene

A note on rarity Most of the releases reviewed herein are to be considered rare, usually released in either 500 or 1000 copies by small independent labels, or by the bands themselves. The rating is therefore an attempt at approximating how often an item shows up for sale.

= Rather common, a copy can most likely be found without too much effort

= Uncommon, still turns up a few times per year

= Rare, you'll most likely have to search a bit before you find one

= Very rare, expect to have to search several years before one turns up

= More or less impossible to find. The number of known copies can be counted with the fingers of one hand

Also, please note that rarity scores might change over time. A good example would be the Hazardous Waste 45, which was once believed to have been released in only 200 copies and was at that point a very expensive and desired item. Many years later another 300 copies were discovered in a warehouse and the item is, at the time this is written, reasonably easy to find at an affordable price.

A note on ratingReviews are subjective. What I think is great, someone else might think is crap. And the other way around. I strongly suggest using the reviews as a general guide and not as a definitive quality indicator.

= Bad. You probably don't need this unless you're a manic completist (like yours truly)

= Ok, but nothing spectacular

= Good, definitely worth checking out

= Great, buy or die!

= You need this more than oxygen...

Finally, I'd like to thank John Haupt, without him this project would never have been possible.