We are somewhere in the 1970s. Hard rock has you firmly in its grip. Bands like Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, AC/DC and Kiss are your absolute favourites and you can't wait to finally get your hands on the latest record. Right after school, you head to your favourite record shop. You buy your favourite band's record and hurry home.
Do you remember? Do you remember what it was like when you finally pulled the record out of its sleeve and put it on the record player? Your slightly trembling fingers carefully place the needle on the black disc and you hold your breath. Until you finally hear the redeeming first sound and can rock out to your favourite band.
Experience your favourite bands on vinyl in our UK Shop - just like back then!
Records have been experiencing a huge revival in recent years. Many bands are releasing their albums on vinyl (again). Yet the record has more advantages than just the nostalgic feeling of yesteryear. Often, early digitised albums on CD sound rather garish compared to the same album on vinyl. Records have a warmer and more vibrant sound.
And have you looked at album covers? Bands like Iron Maiden, Hatebreed, Led Zeppelin, Bring Me The Horizon and Manowar have particularly ornate covers on their records. Due to the size of the records and their sleeves, the covers are naturally shown off to much better advantage. This enhances any record collection immensely.
Nowadays, some records also impress with the fact that they are no longer just black. Vinyl records come in all kinds of colours and patterns. Bands like Sodom, Rhino Bucket, Five Finger Death Punch, Coldplay, Ghost or the Krawall brothers produce colourful records. And contrary to persistent rumours from the past, the colour has no effect on the sound quality.
Buy brand new band albums online
Browse our huge range of records online
But we don't just have hard rock bands on offer. You can also find records by the Böhsen Onkelz, Guano Apes or Nightwish. You can also buy soundtracks for series like Stranger Things or Sons of Anarchy. Are you more of a film fan? We also have soundtracks to Star Wars or Harry Potter in our online shop. Not to mention video game soundtracks or even albums by Hans Zimmer.
As people, it’s a proven fact that we’re never quite content with what we’ve got. Take music. Back in the day, people would have to queue for hours to get their hands on the latest albums from their favourites – Metallica, Red Hot Chili Peppers, U2, Pink Floyd so on and so forth. Nowadays, music might be more democratic, with everyone with an internet connection able to stream a new song or album the second it drops, but we’re still not happy with that and we’ve gone back to buying records.
Sales of vinyl records are now the highest they have been since the early Nineties, with 4.8 million LPs bought in the UK in 2020. Always one to lead the pack, EMP’s vinyl shop is stocked full of collector’s items, limited edition vinyl collections and special releases of popular albums from rock’s titans.
From special editions of all-time great albums from the likes of Metallica and Pink Floyd’s The Wall to something more current, like Billie Eilish or Royal Blood rocking out from the rich sound of a record player instead of your earphones, our online vinyl shop offers the best of old and new, classic and contemporary.
Why buy vinyl?
Sound Quality
Many argue that you can hear the difference in sound, and that vinyl has a better sound quality than digital audio. This is because audio files get compressed to make them small enough to be stored on your phone or streamed online. Vinyl is as close to the original sound as you’re going to get. It’s like having Motley Crue in your house with you – without the inevitable clean up and damage that the Crue would accrue.
Collectibles
Another reason to buy vinyl is that many vinyl records are collectibles. Vinyl records have more chance of becoming rare, valuable items over time and, today, original vinyl records can bring in hundreds of thousands of pounds at auctions. One of the most expensive vinyl records ever sold was The Beatles’ White Album, which sold for $790,000 (approx. £620,000) in December 2015.
EMP is the home for music lovers. Real music lovers. People who live, breathe and worship their musical heroes. If you want to experience your favourite band or artist in their full glory, check out the vinyl shop today.
Some of them you can even buy exclusively here in the EMP Online Shop! So don't hesitate any longer and take a look around now!