Backstage Auctions, inc. (www.backstageauctions.com) is offering more than 200 sealed records from illustrious record labels such as Neat Records and Heavy Metal Records in its Rock Gods and Metal Monsters Auction, which ends Nov. 7, 2010.

“At the 11th hour, we received an incredible collection of sealed — early 1980s — heavy metal albums that is so impressive, it is sure to spin some heads,” said Backstage Auctions founder and president Jacques van Gool. “We’ve got sealed albums from some of the most notable metal lables of the past few decades, including Neat Records, Roadrunner, Metal Blade, Shrapnel, Heavy Metal Records and Enigma, among others — which are a goldmine for the true metal music collector.”

Good- condition vinyl is selling for record prices, and the growing demand easily outranks the supply. As such, Backstage Auctions was elated when it received this truly “last-minute” consignment from a now-defunct import record distributor in Asia, which consigned more than 200 of these elusive gems, highlighted by the fact that each and every copy is still sealed. Once metal icons such as Motorhead, Iron Maiden, Saxon, Judas Priest and Def Leppard had kicked the doors wide open to the glorious days of New Wave Of British Heavy Metal, small and independent record companies mushroomed across Europe and America, giving birth to legendary labels such as Neat Records, Heavy Metal Records, Killerwatt, Roadrunner, Metal Blade, Megaforce and Shrapnel. The legions of metal fans around the globe were so vast and hungry that — weekly — literally dozens of new releases were pressed and distributed to thousands of records stores.

A still-sealed copy of Motley Crue's "Too Fast For Love" is one of more than 200 albums hitting the auction block at Backstage Auctions' upcoming sale.

Few things back in the early 1980s were as exciting as rushing home with the newest Neat Records release, just to hear what the next New Wave Of British Heavy Metal band had to offer.

“Even for the most seasoned metal collector, this treasure chest of records contains an unmatched depth of obscure titles,” van Gool said. “Truth to be told, I would have the hardest time to decide what to do with any of these records — keep them sealed or set ‘em free and soak up the sounds that defined the ’80s. And yes, those sounds royally ticked off our suffering neighbors downstairs. I vividly remember how much my parents resented my Friday afternoon return from my local record shop, armed with a bag full of fresh metal, ready for another weekend of headbanging and air-guitar. I suppose I learned early on that the more your parents hated it, the better the album probably was.”

In addition to precious discs by Iron Maiden, Motley Crue, Def Leppard, Ozzy Osbourne, KISS, Judas Priest and Saxon, the collection is loaded with exceptionally rare releases from historic labels such as Neat Records (18 titles), Roadrunner (28 titles), Heavy Metal Records (12 titles) and Metal Blade (15 titles), featuring illustrious names such as Venom, Jaguar, Tygers of Pan Tang, Angel Witch, Cirith Ungol, Bitch, The Rods, Raven, Pandemonium, Armored Saint, Tysondog, Anvil, Trouble, Blitzkrieg, Battleaxe, Tokyo Blade, Chastain, Mad Max, Fates Warning, Avenger and War Machine.

The complete auction catalog showcases amazing pieces direct from the private collections of Al Jourgensen (Ministry); Rudy Sarzo (Quiet Riot, Ozzy, Whitesnake, Dio); Graham Bonnet (Rainbow, Michael Schenker Group, Alcatrazz, Impellitteri); Scott Rockenfeld (Queensryche); Kip Winger (Winger); Bobby Rondinelli (Black Sabbath, Aerosmith); Andy Laroque (King Diamond); John 5 (Rob Zombie, Marilyn Manson); and Walter O’Brien (Concrete Management).

Whether you’re in the market for a smashed John 5 guitar, vintage concert photos of KISS, Black Sabbath or AC/DC, original art by Marilyn Manson, RIAA record awards or Ministry master recording reels, this auction has just about everything to get a metal fan or collector excited. Lots include rare artist-signed collectibles, recordings, concert photos and negatives, original artwork, promotional and concert posters, record awards, backstage passes, promotional merchandise, stage gear, artist-worn apparel, drumsticks, exclusive ephemera, tour books and some really cool road cases.

For more information, or to get details on the more than 500 lots featured in this auction, visit www.backstageauctions.com

Graham Bonnet’s jacket from Michael Schenker Group. A Microphone stand from Ministry’s Al Jourgensen. Photo courtesy of Backstage Auctions

By Susan Sliwicki

Whether you like your metal speedy, hairy, thrashy, doomy, or just plain heavy, Backstage Auctions is betting on the universal appeal of metal music and memorabilia among fans worldwide for its next auction.

The Rock Gods and Metal Monsters Auction preview runs Oct. 24-30; the auction runs Oct. 31 to Nov. 7. Featured eras span from the early heavy metal/hard rock bands of the 1970s to a healthy helping of memorabilia from the 1980s and 1990s, right up through items from acts within the last decade, van Gool said. Visit www.backstageauctions.com to check out lots.

“Whether you’re in Argentina or in New Zealand or in Poland or Canada or Boise, Idaho, a metal fan is a metal fan is a metal fan,” said Jacques van Gool of Backstage Auctions. “There’s no way to ‘like’ heavy metal. You either love it or you hate it. There’s no middle ground.”

And it’s not just a musical genre, he added.

“Heavy metal is a lifestyle, and it shows in everything; it shows in the clothes you wear, the car you drive, the haircut you have, the concerts you go to, the music you listen to, the friends that you have,” he said.

This is the auction house’s first-ever event to focus solely on metal and hard rock memorabilia.

“When you do an Elvis auction or a Beatles auction or Led Zeppelin or Stones auction, it kind of sells itself,” van Gool said. “The word gets around. The media loves to pick up on it, because those are recognizable names and recognizable artists.”

But a heavy metal-themed auction is a completely different animal, as general media exposure is unlikely. Instead, van Gool is reaching out to the heavy metal community, who he is confident will embrace the event.

“Yes, there’s definitely been artists who may have sold a little thing here or there, but to have an auction house say, ‘Let’s do a really cool hard rock, heavy-metal auction… We’re quite proud of that,” van Gool said.

When it comes to business, make no mistake. Van Gool has done his homework. Just because metal music has never really seen the light of day in the mainstream media doesn’t mean it lacks a following. Van Gool cited the massive number of Web sites and magazines dedicated to heavy metal worldwide, as well as a plethora of heavy-metal festivals and legions of incredibly loyal fans who follow their favorite acts on social media platforms such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter.

A Microphone stand from Ministry’s Al Jourgensen. Photo courtesy of Backstage Auctions

“You have to go a little bit underground for this. I don’t see Fox News or CNN wasting their time saying Al Jourgensen of Ministry is going to put 100 items in a heavy metal auction, because they wouldn’t know what to do with that kind of news. But at the same time, the official Ministry database has 250,000 registered users, so, I’m going to forget about the Foxes and CNNs of the world. All that matters is that 250,000 Ministry fans know about it.”

The market for heavy metal memorabilia is probably healthier than that of any other musical genre, he added.

“Metal just doesn’t go away. It doesn’t die. Fans won’t allow it,” van Gool said. “

The market for memorabilia from bands that are considered part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, such as Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Def Leppard and Motorhead, remains strong worldwide, van Gool said.

In the past five years, van Gool has noticed younger metal fans expressing interest in the second- and third-tier bands of the NWOBHM that may sound obscure to non-metal fans.

“From a collectible point of view, the original vinyl of these bands demands incredible, incredible amounts of dollars,” van Gool said.

He cited original 7-inch records from Neat Records as being particularly hot with collectors. Records issued on Shrapnel or the original Metal Blade label also are popular in the U.S.

“The very first Shrapnel album was called Metal Massacre, and Metallica is on that album, which was their first vinyl appearance before they got a record deal,” van Gool said. “In the early yeas, the Metal Massacre albums featured bands that were on their way to the next big thing, and everybody wants to have that.”

The uniquely American hair metal phenomenon, which included acts like Cinderella, Poison, Motley Crue, Winger and Ratt, dominated mainstream music in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and those acts still have a strong fanbase here. However, overseas, hair metal isn’t as big of a draw as speed or thrash metal, which boasts bands like Metallica, Slayer, Testament, Exodus and Megadeth, van Gool said.

THIS SIGNED MOTLEY CRUE guitar was among the offerings in a Rock Star Auctions event. Photo couretsy Rock Star Auctions

By Susan Sliwicki

Every collector dreams of owning a top-shelf, holy grail item. But how do you ensure you’ll have spot at the head of the collecting class someday? Well, it’s kind of like a 401(K) plan. There’s a lot of saving and planning, some discipline, and quite a wait for payoff.

“If you buy to collect, then the golden rule still is to keep whatever you have sealed, whether you buy an album or a CD or toy or anything,” said Jacques van Gool of Backstage Auctions. “Don’t be tempted to open it or listen to it. The moment you do, the item will lose value.”

Oh, sure, the item may still be in pristine condition. But breaking that protective seal is a lot like driving a brand-new car off the dealer’s lot: The depreciation starts the minute you do.

If you have any open or unsealed items, be sure to invest in good storage materials and bag them up now, because at the end of the day, the value of the collectible is driven by its condition. If you have vinyl, be sure to store it with a backing board, so the corners won’t bend.

For those of us who have limited impulse control, consider buying today’s “limited-edition” collectibles in duplicates — one to enjoy, and one to save for the future as a true collectible.

Just don’t expect to see a massive return on your investment overnight, van Gool warns. You need to be patient enough to keep the piece long enough so it can grow in value.

“Everything in music collectibles are like wine. There’s an incubation period, and they need to ripen and they need to season,” van Gool said. “If you buy something now and try to sell it or trade it in the first 10 years, the chances are the piece you bought is at the same value, or it might have lost a little bit of value,” he said. “That’s not different than the bundles of money we pay today for items from the 1960s and the 1970s. Back in the ’60s and ’70s, they were worth nothing.”

So, what are the items you should be saving today for your collecting investment tomorrow? Keep in mind that there is no such thing as a “foolproof” investment. That said, for the most part, everything that was collectible — records, posters, signed memorabilia —is still collectible, van Gool says. But a few specific areas have enjoyed a bit of a growth spurt in recent years.

“One type of item that has become increasingly popular over the past five years are vintage T-shirts, and that entirely has to do with the fact that five, six years ago, vintage concert T-shirts became fashionable, so they were, all of a sudden, in style, and it was cool to be seen in style with a 1976 Peter Frampton T-shirt or a 1974 Blue Oyster Cult T-shirt,” van Gool said.

Vinyl is also enjoying a bit of a rebirth. “There’s more new vinyl that’s being sold,” van Gool said. “When you see large retailers such as Best Buy jump on the bandwagon to start selling vinyl again, that’s a good sign.”

And it’s not just Baby Boomers buying back their old albums.“It’s people in their 20s and 30s, who did not grow up with a record player who are now discovering the wonderful world of vinyl,” he said.

When it comes to a certain “genres” that are on the rise, new wave, post punk and metal all land on van Gool’s list.

“If there’s a category lately that is really jumping and more and more demanding high prices, it is the ’80s hard-rock, heavy metal, whether it’s Iron Maiden or Judas Priest or Metallica or Def Leppard or Saxon,” van Gool said.

When Backstage Auctions conducted a Motley Crue auction a few years ago, it was kind of a gamble for the auction house, van Gool said. “It ended up being our first completely, 100-percent-sold-out auction. It was an over-the-top auction.” The event was such a success that Backstage is planning another auction around hard-rock/heavy-metal items.

“I think this current decade, meaning 2010 through 2020, is probably the decade where you might start to see the popularity decline of a lot of 1970s bands,” van Gool said. “I think that is going to be replaced by the Madonnas and the U2s and the Princes of the world. They are already collectible. But I think they will become serious collectibles to the tune of where you see auction houses really honing in on what I call the late ’70s and 1980s pop and rock artists,” van Gool said.

Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet, Boy George … they’re all heading for their day in the collectible sun, he predicted,

“Whatever you fell in love with as a teenager and as a high school student and college student … once you’re in a job and made a career and bought a house and have a couple of cars, you’re at a point where you start looking back and becoming sentimental, and you start to associate a lot of happy moments of those years with the music you listened to,” van Gool said. “You want to reconnect with that time in your life; you want to own something, whether it’s as simple as a poster or T-shirt or album, or something really big.”

A severe storm that struck the Sonisphere festival grounds in Finland put one stage out of commission and damaged another. Photo courtesy Alice Cooper's road crew.

Despite a severe thunderstorm that hit the Sonisphere heavy metal music festival in Pori, Finland on Sunday, the show went on for Alice Cooper.

The storm, which struck in mid-afternoon on Aug. 8, 2010, injured dozens and damaged equipment for some bands, including that of Motley Crue, according to reports. An estimated 30,000 people attended the two-day festival.

A severe thunderstorm at the Sonisphere music festival in Pori, Finland, damaged stages and equipment, but artists did their best to ensure the show went on for fans. Photo courtesy Alice Cooper's road team.

Here’s a first-hand account of the storm and its aftermath from Toby Mamis, Alice Cooper’s tour manager:

We all survived Sonisphere Finland. An amazing experience for all of us who were there — bands, crews, and fans alike.

At around 3:45 p.m., during the set change on the main stage after Slayer and before Alice, with Alice’s crew setting up the gear, and Maiden’s crew beginning to set up  their gear behind Alice, a tornado-like “weather event” hit the festival site, with the two stages right in the bull’s eye.

At the second stage, Iggy & The Stooges were about to go on, and Motley’s crew were setting up their gear to follow the Stooges.

Both stages got hit hard, with the second stage rendered useless when part of the ground support (which holds up the lighting, sound and roof) collapsed. On the main stage, the huge Sonisphere backdrop was ripped off the back of the stage, and crashed down onto Alice’s equipment truck.

Thankfully, nobody on either stage was seriously injured, though there were a lot of cuts, scrapes, abrasions, headaches and frayed nerves.

What had been a warm, sunny but muggy day turned ugly within minutes, as the storm rolled in with high winds, dark clouds and violently intense rain, and, suddenly, hail, as the wind swirled, the trees swayed, and it became dark as night.

Everyone was yelling to get off the stages NOW, forget trying to save the gear, run for safety.

Within minutes, the skies cleared and everyone raced back onto the stages to make sure everyone was OK, and to begin checking gear. Luckily, no band members or crew were seriously hurt, some crew suffering scrapes, cuts, bruises, abrasions and a lot of frayed nerves.

Unfortunately as many as 40 of the fans at the festival were injured during the storm, a few of them seriously, and everyone is hoping that they recover.

The second stage was declared closed and unsafe, which meant that the Stooges and Motley’s performances had to be canceled. Alice’s and Maiden’s crews were working feverishly to see what, if anything, still worked, and what they could possibly do, because the Main Stage seemed mostly OK, though soaking wet and without a backdrop.

While they, and the local stage crew, were working to dry everything out and try to put their shows back together, Slayer offered their gear, which had been loaded safely into their truck just before the storm hit, and Alice ended up using some of their band gear and their monitor rig.

Gear belonging to Alice, Maiden, Motley and the Stooges was seriously damaged, some ruined beyond repair.

Meanwhile, Iggy came over to the Main Stage and performed a short and very special “acoustic” set with just guitarist James Williamson and sax player Steve Mackay, which the crowd loved. The rain-soaked crowd waited calmly after being informed that Alice and his band and the Maiden guys, and especially their crews, were doing everything possible, and were determined to perform.

The long wait paid off after three more hours, when Bruce Dickinson walked onto the front of the Main Stage and thanked the fans for their patience and then introduced Alice, to a huge roar, as the band launched into “School’s Out” and Alice took command.

Afterwards, Alice’s crew took well-deserved and hard-earned showers and had some dinner, and off we went to Helsinki to move on to the next show, with the sound and fury of Iron Maiden’s show fading into the distance of the night.

The fans who waited got the show of a lifetime, one that nobody who was there will ever forget.