The full list of Record Store Day 2022 releases is out.
Hard rock and metal is well-represented on the list, with the likes of Foo Fighters, Judas Priest, Gojira, Sepultura, Alice In Chains, Metallica’s Kirk Hammett, Black Label Society, Def Leppard, L.A. Guns, Kittie, Opeth, Pearl Jam and ex-Queensryche’s Geoff Tate among those with exclusive and limited edition vinyl releases heading into indie record shops.
Now in its 15th year, Record Store Day is a global celebration of independent record shops and the culture and history surrounding them. Marked by exclusive releases and varying levels of festivities that unite stores, musicians and music lovers, the event has been growing in scale over the last decade-and-a-half. Record Store Day has become so popular that it has become a driving force in the vinyl resurgence, setting sales records for the medium year after year.
After two years of staggered Record Store Day “Drops,” the 2022 event returns to the original single-day format, taking place on April 23. “We feel strongly that stores have learned and adapted in the past few years and are ready to bring back elements of a “traditional” Record Store Day, bands and beer and fun and people and whatever parts of the party they like, in ways that make them, and their customers, comfortable,” says a news article on the event’s website. “We also feel strongly that it’s important to focus on those stores themselves, and celebrate what they do year-round, in their communities.” However, since there have been issues with shipping and manufacturing lately, a back-up “drop” date has been scheduled for June 18 for releases not able to get to stores by RSD.
Last month, pop-country singer Taylor Swift was named 2022’s Global Record Store Day Ambassador, the first time one artist has represented the event around the world. Past US ambassadors have included Queens of the Stone Age’s Josh Homme, Ozzy Osbourne, Iggy Pop, The White Stripes’ Jack White, Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl, Metallica and Pearl Jam, among others.
The full list of 2022 releases can be found on the Record Store Day website.
