Metallica Vinyl Albums;

1. Music For Nations England 1984, white label test press with hand written label (MFN 27)
   Notes;
   Three known copies exist;
   One copy located in England, owned by Hector
   One copy located in Holland, has tracklist handwritten on the plain cover by Lars
   One copy last known of in England, exact location unknown
   All three lp`s have plain white labels with "metallica" & a" written on them
   All three lp`s come in a plain white sleeve with "Metallica Ride The lightning MFN 27" written on it
   According to the kerrang journalist Dave Ling, Lars claimed the original test pressings played too slow!, I don`t know if he was talking about this version
2. Mayking/Music For Nations France 1984, white label test press dated 27 Jul 1984 (MFN 27) 
   Notes;
   One known copy exists, located in Spain, owned by Jordi
   "Mayking" is the name of the pressing plant, date & "Mayking" are stamped on the label, this comes in a plain cover
3. Music For Nations France 1984, first label with first cover & inner sleeve (MFN 27)
4. Music For Nations France 1984, first label as above, miss pressed without label on side-b (MFN 27)
   Notes;
   One known copy located in England, owned by Hector
   A side label is correct but side B is completely blank, this was pressed like this and has not been altered
5. Music For Nations France 1984, first label as above, pressed with labels on the wrong sides of the lp (MFN 27)
   Notes;
   One known copy located in England,owned by Hector
   This has the A-side label on side b and the B-side label on side a, very cool
6. Music For Nations England 1984, second label with first cover, inner sleeve & insert (MFN 27)
7. Music For Nations England 1984, third label with second cover, inner sleeve & insert (MFN 27) 
8. Music For Nations France 1987, fourth label with third cover, inner sleeve & insert (MFN 27)
9. Music For Nations England 1987, fourth label with fourth cover, inner sleeve & insert (MFN 27)
   Notes;
   Label details;
   1) First label is biege with no country of origin listed
   2) Second label is biege with "Made In France" on it
   3) Third label is red & yellow with "Made In England" on it
   4) Fourth label is red & yellow with no country of origin listed
   Cover details;
   1) First cover has no barcode and bears the `7-9 Praed St` address on it
   2) Second cover has a barcode & no address on it
   3) Third cover has a barcode, `102 Belsize Lane` address & "Made In France" on it
   4) Fourth cover has a barcode, `102 Belsize Lane` address & "Made In England" on it
   It`s unknown which pairings are correct, as long as you have all 4 labels & all 4 covers thats the complete set!, all copies should have inner sleeves
   Inner sleeves on my first 3 copies have the MFN catalogue number & the logo, my fouth press inner lacks the logo
   Click here to view all label, cover & insert variations, all inner sleeves misspell "Kirk HammeT"
   
   
10. The Music Connection/Megaforce USA 1984, white label test press w/ logo sticker or cover note (MRI 769 A) 
    Notes;
    Five copies known;
    One copy located in England, owned by Chris Harmer w/ cover note, dated 25/7/1984
    One copy located in Germany, owned by Andreas w/ logo sticker
    One copy located in Norway, owned by Henning
    One copy located in Usa, owned by Usa Collector w/ logo sticker
    One copy located in Usa owned by Kevin, originally owned by Billy Milano
    Chris` copy comes in a plain die cut sleeve with a note about the tracklist & title stuck to the front
    Kevin`s copy comes with a note from Billy Milano who was given the lp by Jon Zazula
11. Megaforce USA 1984, with gold promo stamp on back cover, silver labels, insert & inner sleeve (MRI 769)
12. Megaforce USA 1984, with two different merchandise inserts, silver labels & inner sleeve (MRI 769)
13. Megaforce USA 1984, with grey labels & inner sleeve (MRI 769)
    Notes;
    Promo copies are pretty rare, `Silver` labels have the Megaforce address on, `Grey` labels do not
    Inserts are supposed to be in the first 10,000 copies and also advertise the fan club
    Megaforce lp`s are available with matrix # A-1 mri-769 or matrix # A-2 mri-769
    
    
14. Banzai Canada 1984, with black labels & inner sleeve (BRC 1909)
15. Banzai Canada 1984, with white labels, inner sleeve & insert (BRC 1909)
    Notes;
    The black labelled versions appear to be far harder to find
    
    
16. Music For Nations/Unitor Oy Finland 1984, white label test press (MFN 27)
17. Music For Nations/Unitor Oy Finland 1984, with inner sleeve (MFN 27)
    Notes;
    This lp has different white Music For Nations labels
    Label on side two reads; "Ride WITH The Lightning", inner sleeve is black & white
    One copy of the test press exists, located in Norway, owned by Henning
    
    
18. Bernett France 1984, with miss printed green cover & inner sleeve, some stickered, mine is fully signed circa 1991 (SB 18026)
19. Bernett France 1984, with miss printed green cover & inner sleeve, includes `Printed In France` text on back (SB 18026)
    Notes;
    Famous green cover, allegedly limited to 400 copies but is easy to find so i estimate 2000 - 5000 copies is more realistic, there are two minor variations of this lp, some (2nd press?) copies have a small `Printed In France` on the back cover, sticker on some copies is from Enfer, a French metal magazine 
20. New Electric Way/Music For Nations France 1984, with white `n.e.w.` labels & inner sleeve (2337)
21. New Electric Way/Music For Nations France 1984, similar labels with 193371 cat#, with inner sleeve (2337)
    Notes;
    Some copies have slightly different labels bearing the catalogue number; `193371`, this number also appears on a barcode sticker on top of the normal barcode on the back cover
    
    
22. Roadrunner Holland 1984, with inner sleeve (RR 9848)
    
    
23. Nexus Japan 1984, white label promo with obi strip, lyrics insert & red promo sticker on cover (K25P 501)
24. Nexus Japan 1984, with obi strip, lyrics insert & promo sticker on back cover (K25P 501)
25. Nexus Japan 1984, with obi strip & lyrics insert (K25P 501)
    Notes;
    The labels on the normal lp`s differ slightly, some have the catalog number on the left, some on the right, all versions are on `transluscent` brown vinyl
    The promo sticker on the 2nd version is approx 2" x 3", very few `white label promo` copies exist
    This lp is sometimes credited to the "King" label, "King" is the name of the distributer
    
    
26. Elektra Canada 1984, with gold promo stamp on back cover, no inner sleeve (96 03961)
    Notes;
    Promo stamp is in English & French, very few copies known
    Promo copies vinyl is Transluscent Brown when held up to the light, regular press isn`t
27. Elektra Canada 1984, no inner sleeve (96 03961)
    
    
28. Elektra/Speciality USA 1984, white label test press dated October 1984 (60396) 
    Notes;
    One copy located in Usa, owned by Usa Collector, dated 10/10/84
    Two more copies exist, locations unknown, one comes in a plain cover and is dated 25/10/84
29. Elektra USA 1984, white label promo with gold stamp on back cover & inner sleeve (9 60396-1)
    
    Notes;
    Promo copies are available with `SP` matrix or `AR` matrix details, SP labels say; Promotional Copy Not For Sale on the right of the label
    AR labels say; For Promotion Use Only on the right side of the label
    `AR` copies lack the number on the gold promo stamp on the back cover, see my Elektra page for more details
30. Elektra USA 1984, with inner sleeve, red/black labels (9 60396-1)
31. Elektra USA 1984, with inner sleeve, grey labels (9 60396-1)
    Notes;
    The Elektra re-issues from November 1984 are the first to correct the spelling mistake on "For Whom The Bell Tolls"
    All other pre 1987 versions incorrectly list; "For Whom The BellS Toll"
    
    
32. Elektra/WEA Australia 1986, with inner sleeve (60396-1)
    Notes;
    Bit of a mystery this one, has no country of origin listed but all known copies have come from Australia, EXTRA; i found a copy with the bottom seam coming unglued, inside it shows the address of the company in Australia that printed the sleeves so these are Aussie in origin
    
    
33. Music For Nations England 1986, silver vinyl test press of picture disc (MFN 27P) 
    Notes;
    Three known copies exist;
    One copy located in England, owned by Chris Harmer
    One copy located in Switzerland, owned by Sikkie
    One copy located in Norway, owned by Henning
34. Music For Nations England 1986, white vinyl test press of picture disc (MFN 27P)
    Notes;
    Four known copies exist;
    One copy located in England, owned by Chris Harmer
    One copy located in France, owned by Ulrich
    One copy located in Holland, owned by Matthijs
    One copy located in Spain, owned by Llorenc
    These color vinyl test pressings are often listed as dating from 1984 but the matrix# "MFN 27P" dates them to 1986
35. Music For Nations England 1986, picture disc first press (MFN 27P)
36. Music For Nations England 1986, picture disc second press with barcode (MFN 27P)
    Notes;
    Very close bootleg copies of this 2nd press picture disc exist, check the `bootleg copies` section at the bottom of the page for details
37. Music For Nations England 1986, picture disc, part of picture on side 2 missing (MFN 27P) 
    NOTES;
    One known copy exists, 2nd press with barcode;
    Located in Sweden, owned by Snoppen, record is in very poor condition as it was probably thrown out and salvaged by someone at the pressing plant
    
    
38. RGE Brazil 1987, with gold promo stamp on the back cover & lyrics insert (304.7060)
39. RGE Brazil 1987, with lyrics insert (304.7060)
    Notes;
    Gold promo stamp is in Portuguese, these two last lp`s come in single sized covers (i.e. no spine)
    Labels have numerous spelling mistakes, "For WhoN The BeEl Tolls" for example
    Rhys copy has the lyrics insert with the print offset, see scan
    
    
40. Music For Nations France 1987, double lp with first label, gatefold cover & sticker (MFN 27 DM)
41. Music For Nations England/France 1987, double lp with second label, gatefold cover & sticker (MFN 27 DM)
    Notes;
    Both covers are French, first labels have no country of origin, second labels say "Made in England"
    First labels have "For Whom The Bells Tolls", the second labels correct this
    This album was released as a 2x12" set for better sound quality early 1987 after Music For Nations had success with the `Master Of Puppets` gatefold lp
    Sticker; "Limited Edition Direct Metal Mastered Double Lp"
    
    
42. Polygram/Vertigo Australia 1989, with lyrics insert (838 140-1)
    
    
43. Phonogram/Vertigo Europe 1989, with spaceship labels & inner sleeve (838 140-1)
44. Phonogram/Vertigo Europe 1989, with spaceship labels & inner sleeve, side B misspressed (838 140-1/841 242-1)
    Notes;
    Side two of this album contains eight tracks of classical opera, very rare 
45. Phonogram/Vertigo Europe 1989, with yellow labels & inner sleeve (838 140-1)
46. Phonogram/Vertigo Europe 1989, with yellow labels & inner sleeve, misslabelled (838 140-1)
    Notes;
    One known copy located in England, owned by Hector
    The label on side one of this album lists "Master Of Puppets"
    These last four records have identical covers & inner sleeves
    These records are often listed as being English, German or Dutch but have no country of origin listed
47. Phonogram/Vertigo Europe 1989, with red logo, & individual numbering sticker (838 140-1)
    Notes;
    Highly unusual withdrawn version which has the Metallica logo printed in bright red, this album has the spaceship vertigo labels and is numbered out of 500 copies - #111 was on ebay but turned out to be a fake, a genuine copy of #111 does exist
    
    
48. Polygram/Vertigo/Mil India 1989, with unique white vertigo labels, no inner sleeve (838 140-1)
    Notes;
    This lp comes in a single sized cover (i.e. no spine), and has a black border around the edge
    
    
49. Polygram/Vertigo Guatemala 1989, no inner sleeve (838 140-1) 
    
    
50. Phonogram/Vertigo Spain 1989, with "Madrid 28037" address on back, no inner sleeve (838 140-1) 
51. Phonogram/Vertigo Spain 1989, with "Madrid 28037" address on back, miss pressed without label on side-b (838 140-1) 
    Notes;
    One known copy, located in England, owned by Hector
    This was pressed like this and has not been altered
52. Phonogram/Vertigo Spain 1991, with "Madrid 28002" address on back cover & inner sleeve (838 140-1)
    
    
53. Polygram/Vertigo Argentina 1990, with silver promo stamp on back cover & promo labels, no inner sleeve (29225)
54. Polygram/Vertigo Argentina 1990, no inner sleeve (29225)
    Notes;
    Track list is in spanish, promo labels say; "Diffusion - Venta Prohibide" (Promo - Sale Prohibited)
    
    
55. Polygram/Vertigo Brazil 1990, with inner sleeve (838 140-1)
    
    
56. Phillips/Vertigo Colombia 1990, with black & white back cover, no inner sleeve (838 140-1)
    Notes;
    This album comes in a single sized cover (i.e. no spine) and has unique blue & white spiral labels
    
    
57. Vertigo Ecuador 1990, no inner sleeve, w/ black text on labels (LP-31022)
58. Vertigo Ecuador 1990, no inner sleeve, w/ silver text on labels (LP-31022) 
    
    
59. Phonogram/Vertigo Korea 1990, with lyrics insert & blue vertigo labels (SEL-RP 2026)
    
    
60. Polygram/Vertigo Mexico 1990, with tracklist in English & Spanish on the back cover, some w/ inner sleeve (LPR 23068)
    
    
61. Phonogram/Sonographica/Vertigo Venezuela 1991, with space labels, no inner (20 077-L)
    
    
62. Polygram/Vertigo Greece 1992, with light blue cover, no inner sleeve, lists 1992 on label (838 140-1)
    
    
63. Polygram/Rodven/Vertigo Venezuela 1993, with different back cover, no inner (210219)
    
    
64. Polygram/Phonogram "Russia" 1994, with black vertigo labels, no inner sleeve (838 140-1)
    Notes;
    This lp is usually credited as being Russian but has no country of origin listed, possibly bootleg, some copies have b-sides labels pressed on both sides
    
    
65. Universal/Vertigo EU 2001, re-issue lp on 180 gram vinyl with black & white labels & inner (838 140-1)
    Notes;
    Released on 18/06/2001, inner sleeve bears the new Metallica fan club address in San Rafael
    
    
66. Universal EU 2008, 180 gram re-issue (5308533)
67. Universal EU 2008, double lp in gatefold cover, 180 gram re-isse w/ bellyband (5308524)
    Notes;
    UK/European gatefold edition alledgedly limited to 1000 copies
    
    
68. Warner Bros. USA 2008, 180 gram re-issue w/ sticker (093624988274)
69. RTI/Warner Bros. USA 2008, white label test pressing of lp2 w/ RTI labels, dated 06/03/08 (1-424572)
    Notes;
    First (and only) copy to surface has `Record Technology Incorporated` labels and is only sides 3 & 4 of the gatefold version
    One copy located in Canada, owned by Matt
70. Warner Bros. USA 2008, double lp in gatefold cover, 180 gram re-issue w/ sticker & bellyband (424636 1)
    Notes;
    USA copies released on ??/04/08, eight test pressings were given away by the Metclub, presumably two test pressings of each version??
    One copy has surfaced so far, if you have another please let me know the details
    
    Bootleg Copies;
    
    
71. Rat Russia 1994, bootleg lp with red labels, "photocopied" cover, no inner sleeve (RAT 30742)
    Notes;
    The cover on this lp is slightly out of focus and "fuzzy", also says "Ride The LIGHTING" on back cover
    Back cover has tracklist in English & Russian
    
    
72. "Bernett" "France" 1996, bootleg green picture disc with "promotional copy" on the back (SB 18026)
    Notes;
    Bootlegged from the original green album, actually made in Germany
    
    
73. "Music For Nations" "England" unknown year, bootleg copy of 2nd press picture disc (MFN 27P)
    Notes;
    Bootleg copies are copied from the 2nd pressing and are identifiable by the addition of the letters `PA7955` in the matrix detail
    
    
74. (no label) Brazil unknown year, bootleg lp with plain white labels, insert sleeve & grey back sleeve (RM 10001)
75. (no label) Brazil unknown year, bootleg lp with plain orange labels & grey back sleeve (RM 10001)
76. (no label) Brazil unknown year, bootleg lp with blue printed labels & grey back sleeve (RM 10001)
77. (no label) Brazil unknown year, bootleg lp with plain yellow labels & light blue back sleeve (RM 10001)
    Notes;
    Released in Brazil before the official pressing, the first Brazil bootleg lp has photocopied covers glued to a plain sleeve, the others have proper sleeves, the version with blue printed labels is dated `1985`, more variations probably exist
    
    
78. "Elektra" Korea unknown year, bootleg lp with lyrics on back cover, w/ biege "Elektra" labels (HM9/9 60396-1)
79. "Elektra" Korea unknown year, bootleg lp with lyrics on back cover, w/ green "Elektra" labels (HM9/9 60396-1)
80. (no label) Korea unknown year, bootleg lp with monochrome cover, no inner sleeve (584)
    
    Notes;
    This monochrome covered lp was copied from the MFN pressing and have different back covers, the labels have numerous spelling mistakes i.e.; `Jade To Black`
    These last three lp`s are credited as being Korean but do not list a country of origin
    
    
81. "Phonogram/Vertigo" Germany 2002, bootleg picture disc with die cut cover (838 140-3)
    Notes;
    This bootleg is available with the picture disc colored Blue, Orange or Green, all three are pictured
    
    
82. "Bernett" "France" 2005, pirate of French copy, clear vinyl, no inner (SB 18026) 
83. "Bernett" "France" 2006, pirate of French copy, pale blue vinyl, no inner (SB 18026) 
    Notes;
    First appeared in feb 2005, available on clear, clear w/ blue streaks, clear w/ green streaks or pink vinyl
    October 2005 dark blue and dark green vinyl copies appeared
    Early 2006 pale blue vinyl copies appeared
    Mid/late 2006 white vinyl copies appeared
    September 2007 orange vinyl copies appeared
    February 2008 yellow vinyl copies appeared
    Vinyl bears the same matrix as the bootleg mfn picture disc incl.; PA7955  matrix