Devo - Hardcore Devo Volume 1

1. Mechanical Man
2. Auto Modown
3. Space Girl Blues
4. Social Fools
5. Soo Bawls
6. Satisfaction
7. Jocko Homo
8. Golden Energy
9. Buttered Beauties
10. Midget
11. I'm A Potato
12. Uglatto
13. Stop Look and Listen
14. Ono
15. Mongoloid

Essential early recordings by the essential DEVO. Pre-Q: Are We Not Men?... recordings showcase the absolute brilliance of one of the finest bands to grace our ugly planet. Several of these (the cover of the Stones' "Satisfaction", "Jocko Homo" and "Mongoloid") went on to become certified Devo classics, the others left to languish in obscurity. The wicked sharp sense of humor and outright weirdness is all intact here, shining from the elastic tools of the new traditionalists. "Social Fools" could have become another cult hit, had it been rerecorded for one of the later records... mindboggling that this isn't in print.

Norway:
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Make A Change... Kill Yourself - II

1. Life Revisited (23:06)
2. Fooling the Weak (17:53)

Epic Danish Black Metal that falls squarely into the dark and depressive category (I'm sure you hadn't guessed that from the name, right?). Fans of Xasthur, Leviathan, and Judas Iscariot should be diggin' on this misanthropic slab of despair. The production straddles that fine line between being recorded on a My First Sony at the bottom of a diaper pail in the next room and the glossy professional recordings shunned by tr00-kvlt black metallers. There's just the right amount of lo-fi fuzz to this... it's not drowning in tape hiss, and that's a good thing. Extra props for the band name.

Check:
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Morbid Angel - God of Emptiness

Gallhammer - The Dawn of Gallhammer

1. Speed of Blood
2. Crucifixion
3. May Our Father Die
4. Aloof and Proud Silence
5. Hallucination
6. Selfish Selfless
7. Insane Beautiful Sunnyday Slaughter
8. Beyond the Hate Red
9. Friction
10. At the Onset of the Age of Despair
11. Crucifixion (demo)
12. May Our Father Die

YES! Japanese all-female black metal trio Gallhammer absolutely destroy in the vein of the first wave of BM such as Hellhammer and Bathory. Best "Yeah, I gargle broken glass, so what?" female vocals this side of crust. I've been rocking the fuck out of this for months. Gallhammer rages and slows it down and gets all Burzum-y, then throws more coals on the hellfire... gimmick or no, this shit kills.

Where:
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RZA - NYC Everything promo

1. NYC Everything w/Method Man
2. Do You Hear the Bells?

This promo CD came with a copy of Stress magazine (is that still being published?) right before RZA's Bobby Digital album came out. The reason for posting this is not for the album side "NYC Everything", but for the 11-minute "Do You Hear the Bells?" freestyle, in which B.O.B.B.Y. states "fucking up microphones be my hobby". RZA has always been my favorite of the Wu-Tangers, and I think this track might be a large part of that. Shame this wasn't part of the record... this blows away half those tracks.

Having:

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Transmission0 - 0

1. Journey
2. San Miguel
3. Dust Like Sand
4. Ether
5. The Return
6. Serenity
7. U-Boot
8. Vs. Vampire
9. Xxxx
10. Xxxxxx

Transmission0 (I don't really get the 0 at the end of the name, but whatever) are Dutch. They make a very modern hybrid of doom, black metal, noise/art metal and manage to make it a cohesive sound. Spots on o recall Khanate, Tribes of Neurot, Emperor, Isis and many more. In fact, Isis may be the closest comparison, yet still quite a ways from the mark. The vocals at times can impart a hardcore influence, making this, i guess, in some part, metalcore? Not really... I haven't heard the latest, Memory of a Dream, but I'll mos def be checking it out after letting this spin.

Down:
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Aldebaran - Dwellers In Twilight

1. Beasts At the Throne
2. Pillars of Geph
3. Sightless and Silent Into Blackened Gulphs

DOOM! From the tar-black depths of Portland, Oregon comes Aldebaran, a Sleep-y doom unit on the blackened end of the spectrum. Serious riff-mania for those who like their doom dark and and dirty. Don't worry, the songs approach the twenty minute mark.

DOPE.

Money:
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Boris & Merzbow - Megatone

1. It Continues Waiting For A Headronefish (23:26)
2. Encounter With The Inside Of The Wavemotion Of Great Water Fuzz (20:04)
3. ...And Texas Spaceship (17:56)

Three extended pieces from Japanese doomanoids Boris and noiselord Merzbow. Mr. Akita takes a backseat for the later two-thirds of the record, allowing Wata's otherworldly guitarring to channel spirits in the forefront, especially on "Encounter...". This is easily my favorite of the Boris/Akita colabs, trumping the Walrus/Groon EP released earlier this year and Sun Baked Snow Cave, both on Hydra Head. Boris fans take note that Boris is not on full-on doom mode here, opting to give air to the space-Boris hidden within.

Dynamics:

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Drowning the Light - A World Long Dead

1. Tears of a Dead God
2. The Haunted Ruins of a Vampyric Soul
3. Dark Whispers of Torment
4. Fate Forged in the Name of Satan
5. Mysteriius Anguis
6. Nostalgic Grief
7. A World Long Dead (Time Heals Nothing)

Best Black Metal cassette release from Australia so far this year. For real. I'm really digging this. "Haunted Ruins..." has one of the most emotionally wracked vocal performances I've heard on a BM record maybe ever, and takes My Bloody Valentine guitar melody and transfuses it's blood with Leviathan's. The band's Myspace page reveals that the lone member is Azgorh, and also hurts to look at. Please change the font color or remove that fucking picture. Anyway, this record kicks ass and beats out the rest of your poseur Black Metal collection.

Shiner:
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Stalaggh - Projekt Terror

Sonic Youth visit Gibby Haynes

Presented for your discriminating consideration are two files containing one and a half hours of Butthole Surfers vet Gibby Haynes' radio show circa 1994 on an Austin, TX "new rock alternative" station. His honored guests for the evening are Thurston, Lee and Steve of Sonic Youth doing promo for Lollapalooza. The broadcast here includes the Gibby picked tunes and Mr. Haynes talking over frustrated callers, acid-drenched insults flying right over their heads until he hangs up on them. SY plays along, antics ensue.

Novelty:
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Reverend Kriss Hades - The Wind Of Orion

1. Pyramids of War and the Destruction of Enemies
2. Black Mass Murder (Satanic Version)
3. Final Execution (Ouija Version)
4. Luciferion
5. Meditation of the Midnight Candle Practice
6. The Burial

If Michael Angelo Batio put his mind to Black Metal, way better drugs and Satanism, then decided to play Merzbow records on his guitar, it might sound something like this... Rev. Hades is/was the guitarist of Australian Black Metal demons Sadistik Exekution. "Meditation..." is absolutely near the top of my list of coolest things I've ever heard. If Black Metal had a Eddie Van Halen, RKH is it... yet this isn't a flashy wankfest of masturbatory soloing. There's plenty of atmosphere provided to flesh out the Reverend's nightmarish soundscapes.

Draconis:

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Psycho Realm - s/t

1. Psycho City Blocks
2. Showdown
3. The Big Payback
4. Premonitions
5. Interlude/Stone Garden/Interlude
6. Temporary Insanity
7. Doors Intro/Confessions of a Drug Addict
8. The Psycho Ward/Who Are You Interlude
9. Love Letters Intro/Love From the Sick Side
10. R.U. Experience/Outro
11. Psyclones
12. Lost Cities
13. La Conecta Pt. 1
14. La Conecta Pt. 2

Oh shit... how did I not pick up on this record sooner? This project completely flew under my radar. Psycho Realm isn't an offshoot of Cypress, contrary to semi-popular opinion... B-Real found the two brothers, Sick Jacken and Duke, so completely rad he joined up and put out this record. The beats aren't a far cry from Muggs' shit from the same era... these tracks are all produced by Jacken, some co-produced by B-Real. It's a wonder this didn't get more attention, because this disc is easily the best hip hop record of 1997.

Gotta thank Egypto for hipping me to this.

Battle:

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G.I. Joe PSA

Dictator - The Pain Sessions

1. Chorodia ton Daimonon
2. The Procession of the Black Fog
3. Emptiness
4. Apo Tis Eikones ton Arxaion Necron

Super awesome and dark one-man black metal from the island of Cyprus. I didn't know they had black metal there, but it looks like what they do have is totes wicked. Some of this borders on dark ambient type shit, and "The Procession of the Black Fog" is the big winner here. Way rockin' in that despair-filled suicidal basement black metal way. Think a doomier Xasthur and you're getting close.

If anybody has the 2005 EP Fog of Death, please let me know.

Best black metal record I've heard in a while.

Association:

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Pagan Heritage... maybe not so bad after all?

I have to say that "Orgy of the Satyrs" has been growing on me. There's a strangely hypnotic quality to the proceedings that makes me want to get prosthetic man-goat horns implanted and run around in the woods with nymphs and squirrels and shit.

I don't know if Pagan Heritage is NSBM (judging from the name, it could go either way), but I don't think this pirate-metal is going to convert any newcomers to the cause.

BTW, the rest of the album is Judas Iscariot/Burzum-style bedroom blackmetal, just like 90% of all BM. Extra points for the low fidelity.

Pagan Heritage - WHAT THE FUCK?

1. Orgy of the Satyrs

Wow.

Wow.

I just don't know what to say. This might be the worst possible example of Black Metal I've heard, and possibly ever made.

Imagine Immortal jamming with Zamfir and dancing around in your copy of the Dungeon Masters Guide.

On a boat.

And not in a good way.

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Onepersun's review: "It is like dropkick murphys on sizzurrp."

Oren Ambarchi - Grapes From the Estate

1. Corkscrew
2. Girl With the Silver Eyes
3. Remedios the Beauty
4. Stars Aligned, Web Spun

If only Mr. Ambarchi would release more works without outside collaborators. His work with Sunn O))), Johan Berthling and Keith Rowe have all been fascinating at worst, but his solo output is what truly shines. The minimal nature of his method often drown under or take a backseat to his collaborators. "Corkscrew" is a gorgeous drone of textures... working with an electric guitar, pedals and other electronics, Ambarchi creates luscious soundscapes to die for, and Grapes From the Estate is absolutely no exception.

Top notch.

Storage:
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Burzum - Aske

1. Feeble Screams From Forests Unknown
2. Ea, Lord of the Depths
3. Spell of Destruction
4. Channeling the Power of Souls Into a New God
5. War
6. The Crying Orc
7. Dominus Sathanas

Time for some black metal. Why not start with Burzum? The cover depicts a burned out Norweigan church (courtesy of Varg Vikernes), so you know this shit means business. Varg's got one of the most distinct and oft imitated voices in black metal, and it's in raw condition on Aske. It's hard to believe this came out in 1993, before the deluge of imitators had flooded cut-out bins and mailorders. This shit is raw-ass black metal... there's an overall sense of malaise and despair that comes through the entire EP, and especially in the vocals. Arguably the best Burzum release.

Party:
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The Breeders - Divine Hammer

1. Divine Hammer
2. Hoverin'
3. I Can't Help It (If I'm Still In Love With You)
4. Do You Love Me Now Jr.?

My favorite of the Last Splash singles, since it's a treasure trove of neat non-album sides. "Divine Hammer" is a different, more crude version than found on Last Splash. The guitar solo evokes Shadowy Men On a Shadowy Planet for some reason, and "Hoverin'" later appeared in a different form on Pacer, the first and only record by Kim Deal's next band, the Amps. The version of "Do You Love Me Now" features Dinosaur Jr.'s cheif weirdo J. Mascis on vocal croaks.

Gloomtown:
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