What's with the site?

• I began this site to present the kind of information I myself wanted to see online. There wasn't a good overall metal bootleg CD site online, and most of the well-done bootleg galleries were generally part of band fan sites, only focusing on that particular band. Very few people bothered to correct obvious errors in bootleg tracklistings/information, and now it's even worse in the age of soundfiles, since the typical moronic mp3 collector/audio blogger just continues to spread whatever incorrect info they were spoon-fed.

What will I find at this site?

• With a couple exceptions which are noted, everything here is a factory-pressed CD bootleg of live/demo/non-album material. To the best of my ability I have tried to correct tracklisting and date errors.

Where do the bootlegs and information on this site come from?

• I own or have owned everything on the site, and have personally listened to everything.

So these are all regular CDs?

• Yes, unless otherwise noted, everything is a factory-pressed silver CD and has been verified so by myself.

Is the bootleg listing comprehensive?

• In some cases it may be, and one day I hope the site comes pretty close to being comprehensive, but generally, no. Again, this is an archive of bootlegs verified by myself; it's not a comprehensive listing of every metal bootleg ever produced.

Why don't you include sound-gradings, track times, larger pictures, pictures of the back insert and disc, pictures of every variant, matrix codes, etc.?

• This is intended to be an informational site regarding bootleg CONTENT first and foremost. I try to note specific press info in cases where it's relevant for the site, but that kind of collector info is not a big priority for me.

  To me and for the purposes of this site, sound grades are only useful if you're evaluating different versions of the same recording. I take no shame in admitting I firmly stand behind the charm of old-school dirty production values and am of the narrow-minded opinion that all metalheads should be as well. It takes a really awful recording to truly bother me, so I'm no good at grading anyway. I feel the material and energy are so much more important, which is why I only try to give general recording-quality descriptions. Most bands lose some of their magic and energy as time goes on, so I almost always enjoy the worst-quality 80s shows more than recent bootlegs with perfect soundboard quality.

  Individual track times were not included when I started the site because I didn't really find them useful. I have been adding them to most new additions.

Why aren't vinyl/cassette/CD-R/mp3 bootlegs included on the site?

• Occasionally I note bootlegs on other formats in the notes, but since I don't really collect them voraciously I doubt I'll ever cover them in detail. The bootleg pro-CD-Rs listed here are more or less included as warnings (keep in mind I obtained most of them when being ripped off by someone claiming they were regular CDs!)

  I don't consider most CD-Rs/mp3s to be true bootlegs anyway. Anyone with a live show in some format and a CD-burner can make them, and you can make up whatever title or cover you want for them.

Why are you missing bands/bootleg CDs from your site?

• First of all, I just may not have the bootleg yet. Again, this is only my collection, not a full bootleg list.

  If you're looking for stuff like Pantera, Aerosmith, AC/DC, etc., you won't find it here. These bands don't personally interest me and there's no reason to include them on a metal site.

  Also, this site only intends to cover live/demo bootlegs, not pirate albums or unofficial reissues of non-demo/live stuff (this includes most unofficial reissues with bonus live/demo tracks). So you won't find most Reborn Classics, Old Metal, Greek bootlegs, etc. here, since those are mainly bootlegs of officially released albums.

I have info about a bootleg not mentioned anywhere on your site.

• Feel free to let me know about bootlegs I may not know about (please make sure they are normal silver CDs). However, I cannot add information about a bootleg to the listing just because you tell me about it. Again, this is my collection, not a comprehensive bootleg listing, and all information needs to be verified by myself.

Some info on your site is wrong, or I have missing date/etc. info for you.

• Please tell me about it. Feel free to contact me regarding tracklisting/date/info corrections. Especially if you're a band member, were at a particular gig, or have a flyer/article/ticket stub, any info you can provide would be appreciated.

Are any of the originals for trade/sale?

• The trade/sale page lists what I have to offer. Otherwise, nothing is available for trade/sale.

I have a bootleg from your wantlist for sale/trade.

• Let me know what you have. I usually prefer to trade, but I have more non-bootleg CDs for trade than what's listed at the site, so send your wantlist. And again, I'm interested in factory-pressed silver CDs only--no CD-Rs, even if it's pro-done.

Who are Omerta Records?

• Omerta Records (nothing to do with the legit Canadian label) was a US bootleg CD-R label that put out quite a lot of stuff, I'm not sure if they still exist. As I recall they were from NY or NJ, and as the name suggests, the guy running the label had a cheesy fixation with Italian mafia imagery. Their stuff used to be quite common on eBay. They basically made up a lot of bullshit to cover themselves--supposedly all the bootleg CD-Rs were "Italian imports" and they insisted the bootlegs were "silver-backed CDs" even though they were all CD-Rs. The inserts were always cheap looking, shitty Photoshop jobs.

My bootleg comes with Japanese paperwork and an OBI even though it was made in...ITALY????

• Occasionally you'll see older bootlegs of non-Japanese origin that have OBIs or extra Japanese language inserts specially made for the Japanese market. Presumably these are to inform Japanese consumers of what's on the bootleg. In most cases I don't think the original bootlegger has anything to do with these extras, and they may be done by a Japanese distributor. For now I will only mention extra paperwork if all copies of a bootleg are supposed to include it.

Hey, what gives? I bought a bootleg you listed here and it was a CD-R!

• Caveat emptor. Although the bootleg exist as a regular CD, I can't control if someone copies it. It's pretty common (especially online or in local record shops) for someone to make a CD-R copy of a factory-pressed bootleg and include copies/printouts of the inserts. There are actually micro-labels that are dedicated to doing semi-pro CD-R versions of existing bootlegs.

Do you distribute or make any of the bootlegs?

• No.

Can you help me find a bootleg?

• Probably not.

What's your opinion on bootlegs?

• This site isn't here for me to wax philosophically or say bootlegs are right or wrong. Fact is, they exist, and some of them contain stuff that's pleasant to listen to. So that's what I do.