Folder 92
Russia
Opened, and it is the counterfeit. The seal came off on 2026-09-07 to read the matrix; it reads bare TOCP 66608, the exact string Discogs records for 3747988, filed as an unofficial Russian counterfeit of this Japanese mini-LP replica.
What the record says
Every line below was read off a native-resolution crop of the photograph named beside it.
Read directly against the object under raking light on 2026-09-07, after breaking the seal - not from a photograph. The inner mirror ring reads bare TOCP 66608, with no plant code, no additional digits, and no SID code of any kind. Discogs records 3747988's one matrix as exactly TOCP 66608. There is no genuine Toshiba EMI / Aurex row in this master to compare it against; the reading matches the only row this catalogue number resolves to at all.
TOCP 66608 — this copy's ring IS a recorded matrix entry — the only one Discogs records.
Barcode and Other Identifiers: Matrix / Runout
As Discogs records them for release 3747988. Green: in my collection (1 of 1). Red: missing.
| ✓ | Matrix / Runout | TOCP 66608 — this copy |
Every line of small print, and the photograph it came from — 6 of them
Front, sealed: a miniature card sleeve reproducing the album's LP artwork, with a purple obi strip carrying TOCP-66608, ¥2,800, アイアン・メイデン / 第七の予言, 666 プレゼント!!, an EMI logo and STEREO
IMG_1704.jpeg
Back of the card sleeve: the eight titles in katakana, the TOSHIBA EMI block and the striped Aurex device
IMG_1705.jpeg
Rear insert sheet under the wrap: the katakana tracklist, the barcode 4988006 858077, and 東芝EMI株式会社 〒107-8510 東京都港区赤坂2-2-17
IMG_1706.jpeg
Barcode block at native resolution: 4 988006 858077, 07•9•01 (07•9•01), STEREO MADE IN JAPAN, the 東芝EMIのインターネット「To Make It!」 http://www.toshiba-emi.co.jp line and the Aurex device
IMG_1707.jpeg
Obi, front panel: アイアン・メイデン / 第七の予言 in yellow over purple, with TOCP-66608 and ¥2,800 in the catalogue box and the 666 プレゼント!! offer
IMG_1709.jpeg
Obi, rear panel: the red-boxed Japanese sales copy listing the eight titles
IMG_1710.jpeg
The photographs
IMG_1704.jpg1 of 15READ FROM
The object, and what marks it out
Sleeve, labels and inserts
- Mini-LP card sleeve - a miniature reproduction of the LP jacket in card, with a separate paper obi, in the Japanese
紙ジャケstyle. - No longer sealed - the wrap was broken on 2026-09-07 to read the matrix and settle this entry. No photograph in this folder's evidence list shows the open disc; the reading below is direct against the object, not from a picture.
- Condition, as photographed sealed - wrap creased along one edge; the card and obi beneath were bright and sharply printed as far as the wrap allowed a judgement at the time.
- Matrix now read; the gatefold interior still is not. Breaking the seal answered the identification question by itself, so the print register and gatefold interior were not separately photographed.
What distinguishes this pressing
- The bare matrix
TOCP 66608, read directly off the disc - the actual discriminator. It is the exact string, character for character, that 3747988 records as its one matrix. Nothing else in this master carries that catalogue number's matrix at all, genuine or otherwise. TOCP-66608and barcode4 988006 858077- the match axis on the packaging, and on its own insufficient: they return one row, and that row is recorded as a counterfeit carrying the genuine issue's numbers.STEREO MADE IN JAPANand the Akasaka address - printed on the object, and equally printed on the counterfeit, which reproduces the insert.- The genuine Japanese release is absent from this master. There was never a second row for the disc to match against; the matrix reading settles this against the one row the master does carry.
- Not evidence: how good it looks. A counterfeit described as replicating the original
exactlyis not distinguished by looking right - the matrix is.
Eight tracks, and the recording credits
Tracks 1-4
- 1Moonchild
- 2Infinite Dreams
- 3Can I Play With Madness
- 4The Evil That Men Do
Tracks 5-8
- 5Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son
- 6The Prophecy
- 7The Clairvoyant
- 8Only The Good Die Young
Bruce Dickinson - vocals · Dave Murray - lead and rhythm guitar · Adrian Smith - lead and rhythm guitar, synth · Steve Harris - bass, string synth · Nicko McBrain - drums.
Produced, engineered and mixed by Martin Birch. Mastered by George Marino at Sterling Sound, New York. Recorded at Musicland Studios, Munich. Sleeve illustration, concept and design by Derek Riggs (with Rod Smallwood). Inner-sleeve photograph by Ross Halfin. Published by Zomba Music Publishers Ltd.
Personnel and studio credits are sourced from Discogs release 576952, the UK original, and apply to the recording rather than to this pressing. Where this copy's own packaging carries the producer, publisher or copyright lines, they are quoted in the evidence above.
Condition, from the photographs
A photograph cannot grade a record - this is a description of what is visible, not a grade.
- Case/inlay: general handling wear with some edge and corner softening; no cracks or splits visible in these shots.
- Disc: light surface marks and handling sheen catch the light. No visible deep scratches or disc-face damage in these photographs.
Nothing on this page comes from playing the record. No Goldmine grade is claimed for it, or any other. I have no record of where this copy came from.
What is settled, and what is not
Confirmed, and it is the counterfeit. This is the Japanese mini-LP replica of the album - card jacket, obi, katakana inserts, TOCP-66608, ¥2,800, an 07•9•01 date code that reads as September 2007 - and this entry was Narrowed (1) for as long as it was sealed, because the catalogue number and barcode alone could not choose between a genuine Toshiba pressing absent from this master and a counterfeit made to carry the same numbers.
The seal was broken on 2026-09-07 to read the matrix, which is the one thing packaging alone could never settle. The inner mirror ring reads bare TOCP 66608 - no plant code, no further digits. Discogs records 3747988, filed under Russia as an Album, Unofficial Release and noted Counterfeit of a Japanese mini lp replica CD in cardboard gatefold sleeve with Obi strip, as carrying exactly that string as its one matrix. No genuine Toshiba EMI / Aurex row exists in master 19182 to check the reading against instead, so the match is against the only row this catalogue number resolves to at all.
Standing caveat: the genuine issue's absence from the master means an uncatalogued genuine pressing sharing this exact bare matrix cannot be excluded by construction - but among the rows this master actually documents, the reading matches the one that is recorded as a forgery.