03/26/12: The Mars Volta - Noctourniquet (2012)

03/26/12: The Mars Volta - Noctourniquet (2012)

1. The Whip Hand
2. Aegis
3. Dyslexicon
4. Empty Vessels Make the Loudest Sound
5. The Malkin Jewel
6. Lapochka
7. In Absentia
8. Imago
9. Molochwalker
10. Trinkets Pale of Moon
11. Vedamalady
12. Noctourniquet
13. Zed and Two Naughts

      I'm not gonna spend much time explaining The Mars Volta. They are modern day Prog Rock gods and they keep crushing what I expect of them from album to album. Their albums have been taking the very long song approach over the last few albums. They've also been heavy on the use of Spanish lyrics and singing as well. They've made albums that are just catchy rock songs, they've made half hour Progressive rock epics, and they have warped their sounds in a ton of different directions. Omar Rodriguez-Lopez has also been a music making machine over the last few years, releasing countless solo releases.
     This album is a definite departure from the approach of the last couple albums. They are stilla rock band at the core, but I believe Omar's experimentation outside of the group has had some affect on The Mars Volta's sound as a whole. "Noctourniquet" delivers classic Mars Volta rockers, some of their prettiest mellow songs to date, as well as creating some of their most experimental songs ever. This is the first album by them in a while to have fairly short and to the point songs but there are a couple longer pog gems hidden in there.
     These songs have some of the weeirdest and catchiest moments of their career so far. I feel like pieces of so many albums are here, but what sets it apart is the more prevalent use of drum machines, sampling, and looping. "The Malkin Jewel" is one of the stranger radio singles they have released. I can only compare it to really old Syd Barrett era Pink Floyd. "In Absentia" is one of their noisiest and most experimental tracks yet. It is noise and strained vocals for 5 minutes that suddenly breaks into one of the most interesting beautiful and proggy moments of the album. Songs like "Molochwalker" are their to fill that classic rocking Mars Volta song void. Really the whole album is awesome unpredictable and shows a bit of everything The Mars Volta can do. (086)

03/25/12: BADBADNOTGOOD - BBNGSINGLE (2011)

03/25/12: BADBADNOTGOOD - BBNGSINGLE (2011)

1. Rotten Decay
2. Hard In Da Paint / Wow Rare

     For the most part, I've avoided doing singles on their own for this project but I absolutely had to talk about this single. BADBADNOTGOOD are a young Jazz Trio from Toronto. I reviewed their first free-for-download album BBNG earlier in the project and their career for the most part has been based on doing Jazz covers of hip-hop songs. Even not knowing a majority of the songs they've covered, I still love their music. A couple of my favorites off of that first album were their original compositions and their medley of songs from The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time. They released this single in December of last year as a preview of their new full length that is coming out April 3rd.
     All of their stuff is available for free on their Bandcamp. This single includes "Rotten Decay" an original composition from the forthcoming album and the B-side that is a hip-hop cover that they tend to play live in the few live shows they've had. "Rotten Decay" blew me away and has made my anticipation for BBNG 2 go through the roof. I tend to like their stuff that uses the piano and double bass the best. The old school analog jazz sound is so impressive coming from these kids. This song is their darkest, most dissonant and most original composition to date. It is very dark overall all of the dissonant key hits really add to the doomy feel of the song. The song suddenly jumps into the doubletime refrain that adds a nice contrast to the slow trudging main riff. The cover on the B-side is just as entertaining as their other covers and makes me wonder why it didn't warrant making the main album. That song closes with a dark fuzzy guitar riff that I hope also serves as a preview of what is to come on BBNG 2. If these songs are any indicator of what is to come, than I absolutely can't wait for Tuesday to come. (085)

03/24/12: The Thermals - Fuckin A (2004)

03/24/12: The Thermals - Fuckin A (2004)

1. Our Trip
2. Every Stitch
3. How We Know
4. When You're Thrown
5. Remember Today
6. A Stare Like Yours
7. Let Your Earth Quake, Baby
8. God and Country
9. End to Begin
10. Forward
11. Keep Time
12. Top of the Earth

     The Thermals are an indie punk band. I became a fan of these guys after hearing their 3rd album "The Body, The Blood, The Machine". Their sound is pretty much punk-pop but is tilted more towards the raw punk sound. I've heard their last 3 albums and was a big fan, but their later stuff made me miss the raw sound of "The Body...". I don't know why I never took the time to listen to their first 2 releases.
     "Fuckin' A" is their 2nd full length and their first professionally recorded album. It is everything I expected from these guys; raucous distorted fast songs with the yell singing of Hutch Harris and some of the catchiest loudest punk songs. Their lyrics are religious and political without being overbearing and without affected how much fun their music is. It's a bit lower quality production wise as compared to their last 3 albums but its not to its detriment. If anything, the lo-fi quality adds to the style they shoot for. Good album, and robably a good intro before you check out their masterpiece "The Body, The Blood, The Machine". (084)

03/23/12: A Silver Mt. Zion - "This Is Our Punk Rock," Thee Rusted Satellites Gather + Sing, (2003)

03/23/12: A Silver Mt. Zion - "This Is Our Punk Rock," Thee Rusted Satellites Gather + Sing, (2003)

1. Sow Some Lonesome Corner So Many Flowers Bloom
2. Babylon Was Built on Fire/Starsnostars
3. American Motor Over Smoldered Field...
4. Goodbye Desolate Railyard

     A Silver Mt. Zion is a Canadian "Post-Rock" band that I covered earlier in the project with their album "13 Blues For Thirteen Moons". On their 3rd full-length, "This Is Our Punk Rock..." they go by the full name "The Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-la-la Band (with Choir)" due to the fact that they assembled an amateur choir of a few dozen of their friends as an additional element to an already interesting lineup and sound. This album is similar to "13 Blues..." in its 4 song structure. The ups and downs of this album are also comparable but in a much more mellow way. The sound is much less heavy than their later albums. There is less of a focus on drums and heavier distorted guitar parts. Using those elements less did make it much more surprising and attention grabbing. The drums would suddenly begin beating, and they'd grab you from the almost atmospheric parts and bring you into the next movement.
     This was really another great album by these guys that I wish I would have given a good listen to sooner. They make some of the most interesting compositions with an off beat ensemble. Their long epic compositions are always a good listen and they run the gamut of super chill to some epic rocking out. Though, more mellow than their later releases, this is a must listen from their catalog. (083)

03/22/12: Don Caballero - What Burns Never Returns (1998)

03/22/12: Don Caballero - What Burns Never Returns (1998)

1. Don Caballero 3
2. In the Absence of Strong Evidence to the Contrary, One May Step Out of the Way of the Charging Bull
3. Delivering the Groceries at 138 Beats Per Minute
4. Slice Where You Live Like Pie
5. Room Temperature Suite
6. The World in Perforated Lines
7. From the Desk of Elsewhere Go
8. June Is Finally Here

     Background for Don Caballero and my reason for choosing this album can be found in my writeup of their album "Punkgasm". This album is their third album and was their first after a 2 year hiatus. It includes the entire original lineup including Ian Williams who would go on to form Battles. I haven't listened to their first 2 albums yet, but this album apparently marked the first time that Ian Williams experimented with pedals and effects a significant amount. that fact alone makes me curious what Don Caballero sounded like before this album.
     The album was very enjoyable on my couple listens. The production is well done. The audio is very clear and well mixed. It is all instrumental and very much math-rock. I say math-rock in a respectable way. This album is almost 15 years old and sounds a lot like many bands I've become fans of in the last few years. There are similarities between the sound on this album as opposed to the later lineup as well as some serious differences. I think Ian Williams was very important to their early sound. They are one of the originals in a style of music I am a big fan of. If you like bands like Battles you owe these guys a listen because Don Caballero is Battles godfather. (082)

Pentagram - Relentless

You're Soon To Meet The Truth Of Death

#91) Pentagram - Relentless (1985)

 1. Death Row
 2. All Your Sins
 3. Sign of the Wolf (Pentagram)
 4. The Ghoul
 5. Relentless
 6. Run My Course
 7. Sinister
 8. The Deist
 9. You're Lost I'm Free
 10. Dying World
 11. 20 Buck Spin

theme time again, for this round i chose "80s Metal"

Pentagram is another band that has a long, crazy history. i gave part of that history, up to about 1976, in my previous post about them, First Daze Here/First Daze Here Too. after this time period the band was pretty much defunct until '78 when Liebling joined a friends band. they changed the name to Pentagram, recorded a 7" and then broke up about a year later. in 1980 Liebling joined the band Death Row. they released a few demos as Death Row, changed the name to Pentagram in '84 and finally in 1985 the first Pentagram full length was released, 14 years after the band originally formed. when it was first released it was a self-titled album but later when it was reissued the name was changed to "Relentless" and the track order was changed, i'm not really sure why.
this is some great early doom. i love the fuzzed out guitar tone and Liebling has a great voice. there are too many great riffs on this album to go over them all but the opening and closing tracks had some particularly memorable parts. i don't really know what to say about this record, it's a classic and Pentagram is fuckin rad. recommended

Body Hammer - Jigoku

When Mental Anguish Exceeds the Physical Capability for Pain

#90) Body Hammer - Jigoku (2009)

 1. Severe Aural Torture
 2. The Bystander Effect
 3. Blue Eyed Assassin
 4. Digital Direct Drive
 5. MPD Psycho
 6. No Fucking Way
 7. The Principles and Practices of Nihilism
 8. Inherent Agoraphobia
 9. Greatknife
 10. It's Not Even Human, Shove It Back In
 11. Red Pyramid
 12. 29 Second Stairway
 13. 2 Minute Stairway
 14. The Square Root of 964 (One Last Voice Before Sleep)
 15. Deeper Into the Abyss
 16. Jigoku
 17. When Mental Anguish Exceeds the Physical Capability for Pain
 18. Untitled

i believe that this is the only album by this 1 man drum machine grind and noise band. i'm guessing the name Body Hammer is after the 2nd Tetsuo movie and that the album is titled after the  60s Japanese horror movie of the same name. if that's the case then this dude has excellent taste in films. as for the music, it's Agoraphobic Nosebleed-ish noisy, drum machine grind surrounded by tracks of weird, ambient noise and a couple noisy drone doom tracks. i really loved this album. the grind tracks were brutal and the ambient/noise tracks were creepy, the whole thing fit together really well. hopefully there'll be more from this dude in the future.

Crestfallen - Streaks of Terror

Tomorrow's At Your Door And It Has You By The Throat

#89) Crestfallen - Streaks of Terror (2002)

 1. Nine to Five RSVP
 2. Beyond Recognition
 3. Never Say Never
 4. Scouring For Any Signs of Life
 5. Seen and Not Heard...
 6. ...Biting Your Tongue Off
 7. Pecking Order
 8. Disappearing Act
 9. Eternal Nightmare



in my previous post about these guys i said that their self-titled album was their only one, that was incorrect. this album was actually released the year before their self-titled. musically it's more of the same harsh, grindy hardcore. there's maybe more of a post-hardcore influence on this record, the songs are overall a bit longer and the production is a little worse but those are the only big differences between the 2 albums.  tracks 1 - 8 are originals and track 9 is a
Vio-lence cover, who were a great old school thrash band.
overall a sick album.

03/21/12: Volcano! - Beautiful Seizure (2006)

03/21/12: Volcano! - Beautiful Seizure (2006)

1. Kalamazoo
2. Easy Does It
3. Fire Fire
4. $40,000 Plus Interest
5. Larchmontt's Arrival
6. La Lluvia
7. Red and White Bells
8. Apple or a Gun
9. Frozen in Escape
10. Before the Suburbs
11. Hello Explosion
12. Pulling My Face In and Out of Distortion, I Blink Too Much

     Volcano! is a band I discovered during this project when oksentaminen made the end of January's theme "Local Bands". Still is probably one of my favorite discoveries of the project. I reviewed their second full-length Paperwork and it blew me away. This is their first and only other full-length so far. This album was also really good, but I need to give it a couple more listens. In comparison to Paperwork, Beautiful Seizure is a bit more avant-garde, art rock, and experimental. Paperwork was all of those things as well but at a different ratio. I really enjoyed this album, there was a lot more noisey parts and erratic electronic and off timed moments, but there's still the crazy catchy rockin out moments as well. I really love this singer. He jumps around so much from crazy and almost growling to parts that are almost opera like. He sings back and forth between English and Spanish. The only thing negative I feel the need to say is that I wish the production quality was a little nicer, but its still pretty good for a first release. (081)

03/20/12: Pig Destroyer - Natasha (2008) [Crossover Review 4]

03/20/12: Pig Destroyer - Natasha (2008) [Crossover Review 4]

1. Natasha

     Oksentaminen's chose "Natasha" by Pig Destroyer for this crossover review. You can check out his original post here. I have not heard most of the bands that Scott Hull is/was a member of so I did a little bit of reading on Pig Destroyer before I listened to this album. I'm not the biggest grindcore fan but oksentaminen's review made it very clear that I wasn't about to listen to a grindcore record. That ended up being completely true. Having not heard ANYTHING else by Pig Destroyer I can safely say that this album is a departure from their other material. If I had to guess they were a grindcore band, I would have never been able to do that based on listening to Natasha.
     The album is one 37-minute track and has a wide range of styles present. It starts with dark ambient and droning mixed with audio samples which eventually breaks into a sludgy metal song. There are heavy doom filled moments, followed by beautiful echoey guitar riffs which fades away to water dripping and a low foreboding drone. This album was all over the place yet completely unified as one cohesive composition. I am super impressed with this album. It was truly an interesting ride. Ambient music and certain types of rock can bore me if I'm not in the right mood. This album moves seamlessly from metal to ambient to just sounds, and back again all the time and at just the right moments. The conclusion of the track can only be described as an ocean of static and even at the albums simplest moments, I was paying attention to everything. Oksentaminen, you know me pretty well, my friend... good show! (080)
 

03/19/12: King Crimson - Red (1974)

03/19/12: King Crimson - Red (1974)

1. Red
2. Fallen Angel
3. One More Red Nightmare
4. Providence
5. Starless

     I have listened to a decent amount of King Crimson in my life. I always knew that their music has been fairly all over the place throughout their career but I had never really done my research on why that is. Robert Fripp has been the one constant throughout this bands MANY incarnations and thats the fact I didn't realize; They have had a lot of different lineups throughout the years, have disbanded on many ocassions and keep coming back again. I have heard stuff from their very early career and stuff from their later incarnations in the 80's and 90's and I enjoyed it all in some way or another, but I can't think of a band that has been as amorphous and drastically changing as King Crimson has proven to be. Now, here's the thing. The one time period of albums I had never heard anything from is their third lineup that exsisted from 1972 until their first official breakup in 1974 and this album "Red" is the last with this lineup before they broke up (for nearly 7 years). It ends up, I have a couple more King Crimson albums to purchase because "Red" is by far the most blown away I've been by any of their albums. Fucking spectacular.
     Of the albums I can say I've actually listened to, this was their most rockin' album up to that point in their career. Its at its core a progressive rock album but it had much heavier moments than i would have expected from the genre at that time. There are the usual additional instruments on the album like brass, woodwinds and violin and it adds a whole improvisational and jazzy layer to the albums sound. The instrumentals like the opener are some of the most interesting and complex moments but the sound calms down and lets the vocals in which were just as enjoyable. This album has so much going on yet sounds so fine tuned. This is all the more impressive that they were about to disband. The production on the album is well done and was apparently a departure from the usual for them. Thay had already lost a member and I believe this was their last album with only one guitarist so there is heavy usage of guitar overdubs. I didn't even realize while listening but apparently, track 4 was recorded live, but it was integrated perfectly into the albums other studio recorded tracks. They basically disbanded immediately after this albums release and is a well regarded album by the bands fans. Definitely my favorite of what I've heard by them. I will be checking out the other 2 albums with this lineup as soon as I can. (079)

03/18/12: The Odd Future Tape Vol. 2 (2012)

03/18/12: The Odd Future Tape Vol. 2 (2012)

1. Hi (Performed by L-Boy)
2. Bitches (Domo Genesis and Hodgy Beats)
3. NY (Ned Flander) (Hodgy Beats and Tyler, The Creator)
4. Ya Know (The Internet)
5. Forest Green (Mike G)
6. Lean (Hodgy Beats and Domo Genesis)
7. Analog 2/Wheels 2 (Tyler, The Creator, Frank Ocean and Syd)
8. 50 (MellowHype)
9. Snow White (Hodgy Beats and Frank Ocean)
10. Rella (Hodgy Beats, Domo Genesis and Tyler, The Creator)
11. Real Bitch (MellowHype and Taco)
12. P (Hodgy Beats and Tyler, The Creator)
13. White (Frank Ocean)
14. Hcapd (Domo Genesis, Hodgy Beats and Tyler, The Creator)
15. Sam (Is Dead) (Tyler, The Creator and Domo Genesis)
16. Doms (Domo Genesis)
17. We Got Bitches (Tyler, The Creator, Taco and Jasper Dolphin)
18. Oldie (Tyler, The Creator, Hodgy Beats, Left Brain, Mike G, Domo Genesis, Frank Ocean, Jasper Dolphin and Earl Sweatshirt)

     I'm not going to spend a lot of time talking about Odd Future seeing that oksentaminen is the main reason I have any idea who these dudes are. Quick summary is that they are a Rap Collective from LA. They are a fairly large group, are all young, and they only get better with age. Their earliest stuff has a lot of really good moments but for the most part was a work in progress. Their first mixtape was self-released for free download but now that they have been in the middle of our view for the last couple years and have an actual record label, they decided to make volume 2 an official CD release.
     This ended up being a really strong compilation from all of the different members of Odd Future. Overall, I still think Tyler, The Creators production and rapping is the true highlight of this crew, but Hodgy Beats is getting better and growing on me. Frank Ocean is also super talented, I am always happy when his singing is included on a track. "White" was the only track Frank was solo on and its really a beautiful song. Some other quick highlights; I don't even remember noticing Mike G before but his track "Forest Green" is awesome. He has some of the best flow in the group in my opinion and I cannot talk down to Left Brains production. he's distinctly different from Tyler but hes also very good. I also need to point out that their new addition to their group, the band "The Internet" are an interesting change of pace from all of the other stuff coming from Odd Future.
     The last thing I need to point out is that this CD closes with an awesomely epic full crew track. Its chill, entertaining, and it has EVERYONE! Despite what they were telling people, this track marks the return of Earl Sweatshirt to the group. I can't wait to hear what Earl does next. These dudes are growing up and are getting better all the time.(078)

Antigama - Intellect Made Us Blind

Sleep Slips Slightly Under My Eyelids, I Grab It With My Claws, Tear It Apart

#88) Antigama - Intellect Made Us Blind (2002)

 1. Pendemorphia
 2. A Tendency to Sleep
 3. Come & Go
 4. Spare Some Change
 5. Synthesis
 6. Everything's Normal
 7. Savoir-vivre Mastas
 8. Filth and Pain
 9. Fala
 10. Improv

Antigama formed in Poland back in 2000 and this is their debut full length. they play noisy, chaotic, experimental grind and it fucking kills. the band's website declares "Antigama is controlled chaos" that pretty much sums up this album perfectly. 

Brutal Truth - Extreme Conditions Demand Extreme Responses

Are You Satisfied With The Way That You Exist?

#87) Brutal Truth - Extreme Conditions Demand Extreme Responses (1992/2010)

 1. P.S.P.I.
 2. Birth of Ignorance
 3. Stench of Prophet
 4. Ill-Neglect
 5. Denial of Existence
 6. Regression-Progression
 7. Collateral Damage
 8. Time
 9. Walking Corpse
 10. Monetary Gain
 11. Wilt
 12. H.O.P.E.
 13. Blockhead
 14. Anti-Homophobe
 15. Unjust Compromise
 16. Perpetual Conversion
 17. Lord of This World
 18. Bed Sheet
 19. Repeat at Length
 20. Let's Go Summer Beach
 21. Not Me
 22. Spare Change
 23. The Shah Sleeps in Lee Harvey's Grave
 24. Hear Nothing For You
 25. Pre-Natal Homeland (Funky Budda Dub)
 26. AC/BT


Brutal Truth was formed in 1990 by ex Anthrax bassist Dan Lilker, this is their first full length. to me this album had more of a death metal influence than other BT albums i've heard. 

this is the 2010 reissue that has the original 15 tracks plus 11 bonus tracks.
tracks 16 - 18 are off the Perpetual Conversion EP, released in 1992. 

tracks 19 - 22 are previously unreleased and are all covers of a band called S.O.B

tracks 23 - 26 are off the Ill Neglect 7" released in 1993. 

this was another great Earache reissue. a definite must listen.

03/17/12: s/s/s - Beak & Claw E.P. (2012)

03/17/12: s/s/s - Beak & Claw E.P. (2012)

1. Museum Day
2. Beyond Any Doubt
3. If This Is Real
4. Octomom

     s/s/s is one of the stranger musical team-ups I have heard in a while. This group includes Anticon producer Son Lux, Anticon hip-hopper Serengeti and Indie Rocker Sufjan Stevens. Really weird collaboration in my opinion. I know Anticon tends to be a highly collaborative label but the addition of Stevens made me wonder what I was in for. This EP is technically a hip-hop EP but is definitely as experimental as many other strange Anticon super groups.
     Stevens has had small experiences getting involved in the hip-hop scene, but this is definitely the most intentional. He first dabbled in the genre with a surprise auto-tune break down in the epic concluding track from his last album "Age of Adz". I don't know who was responsible for what music and production wise but all 3 artists are definitely represented throughout these 4 songs. Sufjan Stevens vocals both auto-tuned and otherwise pop in and out on this album. The glitchy electronic production is really cool and I'm going to have to assume that is to Son Lux's credit and Serengeti raps over all of the songs. There were definitely some other guests included as well.
     After 1 listen I wasn't sure what to think, but after a couple more it definitely grew on me. Its a very unique approach to the genre as Anticon always seems to accomplish. Its cool enough that I'll be looking into Son Lux and Serengeti further. Im just gonna stick with this summary. Its definitely oustside the norm of normal hip-hop, is obviously influenced by different perspectives at one time, and is worth a listen. Anticon put some interesting artists together once again and I hope it does well enough to result in a full length.  (077)

03/16/12: Shlohmo - Camping E.P. (2010)

03/16/12: Shlohmo - Camping E.P. (2010)

1. Naps
2. Birthday Beat
3. Tomato Smash
4. Sippy Cup
5. Post Atmosphere (Baths Remix)
6. Spoons (Shigeto Remix)
7. Teeth (Asura Remix)

     There has been a surprisingly low amount of information on Shlohmo on the interwebs, but the deeper I dig the more music I find by him. I'm basically working through his fairly prolific first 3 or 4 years of releases backwards (oldest releases coming soon) and his music continues to be enjoyable and for the most part distinctly him. The "Camping" E.P. was released roughly in conjunction with a deluxe re-release of his first album. It also was serving as a tide-over while his fans waited for his next full-length "Bad Vibes".
     This E.P. included 4 "new" songs and 3 remixes by other artists. New is in quotes there because "Tomato Smash" is apparently a remix or reworking of the opening track of one of his earlier remixes. I guess I'll know how different it is later. The first 4 songs are all really great. They have a distinctly different sound then his later releases. He sounded more like artists like Flying Lotus. A lot of the elements of his later music are there like the use of outdoor recordings, vocal samples, and ghostly atmospheric synth, but overall the production is a lot more beat heavy and the beats are warped in a Flying Lotus-esque way. Overall I'd describe the songs as heavier but they are still fairly chill. The remixes are all very solid as well. I don't know the originals (yet) but I'll make sure to come back to these remixes after the fact. Really cool E.P. Shlohmo has yet to disappoint me. (076)

03/15/12: Shlohmo - Places E.P. (2011)

03/15/12: Shlohmo - Places E.P. (2011)

1. Places
2. Forgot I Was Here
3. Thing I Lost
4. Empty Pools

     Places is an EP from electronic artist Shlohmo. I wasn't able to find a ton of information about this release. It either came out before or after his 2nd full-length "Bad Vibes". "Places" is from the album and the other 3 track are B-sides from the same recording period. This E.P. and the Vacation E.P. are definitely good accompaniments to "Bad Vibes". Vacation was a step forward from the Bad Vibes sound, but "Places" has songs obviously from the same recording session. The atmospheric feel, fractured drum beats, warped vocal samples, and spacey guitar riffs are all as present on these songs and would have been welcome to me if they were included on the full-length. I'm glad he released these songs. Theres nothing like a satisfying collection of B-Sides to an album you love.  (075)

Carcass - Wake Up and Smell the...Carcass

Rot 'N Roll

#86) Carcass - Wake Up and Smell the...Carcass (1996)

 1.Edge of Darkness
 2. Emotional Flatline
 3. Ever Increasing Circles
 4. Blood Spattered Banner
 5. I Told You So (Corporate Rock Really Does Suck)
 6. Buried Dreams
 7. No Love Lost
 8. Rot 'N Roll
 9. Edge of Darkness
 10. This Is Your LIfe
 11. Rot 'N Roll
 12. Tools of the Trade
 13. Pyosisified (Still Rotten to the Gore)
 14. Hepatic Tissue Fermentation II
 15. Genital Grinder II
 16. Hepatic Tissue Fermentation
 17. Exhume to Consume

this is a collection of rarities and unreleased stuff. here's the breakdown:

when Carcass went into the studio to do Swansong they recorded 17 tracks. of those 17, 12 made it onto the album. tracks 1 -5 are the tracks that were cut. at the time there were rumors of an EP containing these tracks but it never happened. luckily they put them on here because they're really solid tracks and are probably the biggest highlight of the album.

tracks 6 - 9 are taken from a Radio One Rock Show session recorded in 1994. it's pretty much your standard radio recording, no real surprises, good audio quality. the only really notable thing is that the set includes Edge of Darkness, which is a Swansong track, 2 years before Swansong was released.

tracks 10 and 11 are taken off the Heartwork EP, released in 1993. This is Your Life is in the same vein as the other midtempo tracks off Heartwork and is a great track, while Rot 'N Roll is a little faster paced. not quite a shredder like Death Certificate or Carnal Forge but a rad track nonetheless.

tracks 12 - 14 are the Tools of the Trade EP which i talked about here

15 and 16 are off the Pathological comp, released in 1989, and features a reworking of Genital Grinder, off  Reek of Putrefaction,  and the original version of Hepatic Tissue Fermentation. the reworking is a really cool instrumental track. Hepatic Tissue Fermentation is pretty much the same track as what you hear on the Tools of the Trade Ep, the biggest difference to me was that the Tools EP had way better production value.

track 17 is taken off the Grindcrusher comp, released in '89, and also appears on Symphonies of Sickness. the big difference between these 2 tracks is that the Grindcrusher versions starts off with about 30 seconds of guitar noises before getting into the track, other than that it's pretty much the same track.

the version of the cd i have also comes with a bonus dvd. i'm not gonna get too into the dvd but it contains:
music videos for Heartwork, Corporal Jigsore Quandry, Keep On Rotting in the Free World,
Incarnated Solvent Abuse and No Love Lost. the videos range from cool (Heartwork, No Love Lost) to unintentionally funny (Incarnated Solvent Abuse) to lame live footage with the studio track playing over it (the rest.)

a live set from The Gods of Grind Tour recorded at the London Astoria, March 18th 1992 and another set from the Grindcrusher Tour recorded at Nottingham Rock City, Nov 14th 1989. the sound isn't the best on either sets but it's not overwhelmingly bad and it's slightly better on the Gods set. 

the cd was a great collection and definitely worth checking out.
after 6 1/2 hours of audio and over 5 hours of video my Carcass journey is over. what a great fuckin band.

Carcass - Swansong

Consumer Or Consumed Your Life Is Cheap

#85) Carcass - Swansong (1996/2008)

 1. Keep On Rotting In the Free World
 2. Tomorrow Belongs To Nobody
 3. Black Star
 4. Cross My Heart
 5. Childs Play
 6. Room 101
 7. Polarized
 8. Generation Hexed
 9. Firm Hand
 10. R**k the Vote
 11. Don't Believe a Word
 12. Go To Hell
 13. Death Rider Da

Carcass' 5th and final album is basically the Carcass equivalent of Metallica's Black album. there are still a lot of great riffs but the songs are pretty straight ahead verse/chorus/verse affairs. it's not really a "mainstream" album  but it's definitely not as, i don't know, challenging maybe, as some of their other stuff.  even the band has stated that this is more of a straight forward "rock" record.  like i said before, there a some great riffs here, and Keep On Rotting In the Free World still remains one of my favorite songs, but having heard their back catalogue i just feel like the record is missing something. i'm not knocking the album, i actually really like it and it holds a special place for me as it was the first Carcass album i heard (the 2nd was Heartwork, which i listened to like once and i recall not being into it, apparently i was an idiot) back in like '98. i listened to it a ton until it was stolen out of my friend's car a couple years later and i haven't heard the album since. it's still a solid album and it was great to hear it again.

Carcass - Heartwork

Welcome To A World Of Hate, A Life Of Buried Dreams

#84) Carcass - Heartwork (1993/2008)

 1. Buried Dreams
 2. Carnal Forge
 3. No Love Lost
 4. Heartwork
 5. Embodiment
 6. This Mortal Coil
 7. Arbeit Macht Fleisch
 8. Blind Bleeding the Blind
 9. Doctrinal Expletives
 10. Death Certificate

Pre-Heartwork Parr Street Demos February 1993

 1. Blind Bleeding the Blind
 2. Buried Dreams
 3. Carnal Forge
 4. Death Certificate
 5. Deliverance
 6. Doctrinal Expletives
 7. Heartwork
 8. No Love Lost
 9. This Mortal Coil
 10. Arbeit Macht Frei

the band's 4th album sees a big change. the gory artwork is replaced by an HR Giger sculpture, and other than 2 songs (Carnal Forge and Arbeit Macht Fleisch, and even those are barely gory by early Carcass standards) the over the top medical dictionary lyrics are gone. the riffs have become more melodic and while there are still a lot of  rad, intricate riffs, the song structure is a little more streamlined. on Necroticism most of the songs were 5 minutes or over, with a few topping out at 7 minutes, here the songs are in the more average range of 3 to 4 minutes. the tempo has also leveled out a bit. while tracks like Carnal Forge and Death Certificate are total shredders, overall the album is mostly mid-tempo stuff. Death Certificate is up there with some of the fastest non-grind Carcass and also has some super melodic riffing going on, definitely one of my favorite tracks. this album fucking kills.

the bonuses this time comes in the form of an entire 2nd disc worth of demos. it's the entire album demo-ed out. the tracks have a rough edge to them and sound great, i think some of the tracks actually sound a little better in the demo versions. other than the different track order and the fact that here the song Embodiment is called Deliverance, i didn't really notice any huge differences. admittedly i didn't listen to the discs back to back so there are probably some things i missed but overall it's a rougher sounding version of the normal album. once again a really cool extra feature.

Carcass - Necroticism - Descanting the Insalubrious

Orchestral Horrors I Vehemently Conduct

#83) Carcass -  Necroticism - Descanting the Insalubrious (1991/2008)

 1. Inpropagation
 2. Corporal Jigsore Quandry
 3. Symposium of Sickness
 4. Pedigree Butchery
 5. Incarnated Solvent Abuse
 6. Carneous Cacoffiny
 7. Lavaging Expectorate of Lysergide Composition
 8. Forensic Clinicism/The Sanguine Article

Tools of the Trade EP (1992)

 9. Tools of the Trade
 10. Pyosified (Still Rotten to the Gore)
 11. Hepatic Tissue Fermentation II


Carcass' 3rd album once again finds the production and songwriting improving. tracks are longer and even more complex. they've pretty much abandoned grind at this point and have created more of a progressive death metal album. it's also the last of the gore albums. there are so many rad riffs on this album it's ridiculous, just riffs on riffs. this is also probably one of my favorite album titles ever.

the bonus tracks here are the Tools of the Trade EP which consists of Tools of the Trade, a new track for the EP, Pyosified (Still Rotten to the Gore) which is a re-recording of Pyosified (Rotten to the Gore) off of Reek of Putrefaction, and Hepatic Tissue Fermentation II which is a re-recording of Hepatic Tissue Fermentation, a track that originally appeared on a comp called Pathological. Tools of the Trade goes back to the grind roots and the re-recorded tracks are awesome, it's a shame they never did more.


i'd definitely say these Earache reissues are the way to get into these albums

Carcass - Symphonies of Sickness

Your Rectum I Will Flood, With Bleach, Detergents And Suds

#82) Carcass - Symphonies of Sickness (1989/2008)

 1. Reek of Putrefaction
 2. Exhume to Consume
 3. Excoriating Abdominal Emanation
 4. Ruptured in Purulence
 5. Empathological Necroticism
 6. Embryonic Necropsy and Devourment
 7. Swarming Vulgar Mass of Infected Virulency
 8. Cadaveric Incubator of Endoparasites
 9. Slash Dementia
 10. Crepitating Bowel Erosion

Symphonies of Sickness demo (1988)

 11. Reek of Putrefaction
 12. Slash Dementia
 13. Embryonic Necropsy and Devourment
 14. Cadaveric Incubator of Endoparasites
 15. Ruptured in Purulence
 16. Crepitating Bowel Erosion

the 2nd album by Carcass finds them improving both sound quality and the overall quality of their musicianship. in just 1 year they already started distancing themselves from the goregrind of the first album and moving into more death metal territory. the grind is still there but there's also a lot more going on. the songs are more intricate, there are slower parts and the tracks are longer as well. while Reek of Putrefaction had 22 tracks with most under 2 minutes, Symphonies of Sickness has only 10 tracks with the shortest being 3:10. the riffs are awesome and the lyrics are just as disgusting and hilarious as before.

this is part of the 2008 reissue series and includes the Symphonies of Sickness demo as bonus tracks. the recording quality is actually worse than their first demo but it's still cool to have.
also included is a dvd with the next part of the documentary, The Pathologist's Report Part 2 - Propagation. during the tours for Sickness, Carcass picked up second guitarist Michael Amott who would become a permanent member after. most of the dvd focuses on the touring and the acquisition of Amott, although the band members, including Amott himself, all seem to have different stories about how he came into the picture.

another great album and a great reissue from Earache. 

03/14/12: Pink Floyd - Saucerful of Secrets (1968)

03/14/12: Pink Floyd - Saucerful of Secrets (1968)

1. Let There Be More Light
2. Remember a Day
3. Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun
4. Corporal Clegg
5. A Saucerful of Secrets
6. See-Saw
7. Jugband Blues

     I somehow have never taken the time to listen to REALLY old Pink Floyd albums. "Saucerful of Secrets" is the bands second album, the last to include Syd Barret, and the only to include all 5 main band members. Barrett was becoming increasingly unstable during these recording sessions and David Gilmour was brought in to assist on the album. The style of these old Pink Floyd songs are space rock and psychedelic rock in a more traditional sense. I think most of the songs on here sound like a lot of other bands from the 60's. There are even some comparisons to the Beatles here seeing that they had yet to break free of other bands and establish themselves as the Pink Floyd I know and love. They have some very Seargent Pepper era stuff on here like Corporal Clegg.
     There are still some hints as to what was to come with these guys. Some war themes in the lyrics, long instrumental epic pieces, and the ocassional Vocals from Waters and Gilmour. This album just had so many things going to make it not sound like them. Different members are singing more often, Barrett is still contributing, etc. Decent album, but there are at least 7 Pink Floyd albums I'd listen to first. (074)

Carcass - Reek of Putrefaction

Nothing Gives Me Greater Pleasure Than A Bowl Full Of Chyme

#81) Carcass - Reek of Putrefaction (1988/2008)

 1. Genital Grinder
 2. Regurgitation if Giblets
 3. Maggot Colony
 4. Pyosisified (Rotten to the Gore)
 5. Carbonized Eyesockets
 6. Frenzied Detruncation
 7. Vomited Anal Track
 8. Festerday
 9. Fermenting Innards
 10. Excreted Alive
 11. Suppuration
 12. Foeticide
 13. Microwaved Uterogestation
 14. Feast on Dismembered Carnage
 15. Splattered Cavities
 16. Psychopathologist
 17. Burnt To A Crisp
 18. Pungent Excruciation
 19. Manifestation On Verrucose Urethra
 20. Oxidised Razor Masticator
 21. Mucopurulence Excrtor
 22. Malignant Defecation

Flesh Ripping Sonic Torment Demo (1987/2008)

 23. Genital Grinder (Intro)
 24. Regurgitation of Giblets
 25. Festerday
 26. Limb From Limb
 27. Rotten to the Gore
 28. Excreted Alive
 29. Malignant Defecation
 30. Fermenting Innards
 31. Necro-Cannibal Bloodfeast
 32. Psychopathologist
 33. Die In Pain
 34. Pungent Excruciation
 35. Face Meltaaargh

so after doing my last post about Napalm Death i decided to dedicate my next few posts to the Carcass discography. this is their first album, released in '88 and reissued in 2008 as a series of reissues to coincide with their reunion tour. the Flesh Ripping Sonic Torment Demo is their first demo and is included as bonus tracks. also included with each reissue is a dvd, called The Pathologist's Report, containing new  interviews with the band members talking about each album and some archival footage, but more on that later.

with their first few albums they were credited as being pioneers of grind, especially death/gore grind, though each album after this saw them move more and more into death metal territory and find them eventually becoming one of the founding fathers of melodic death metal. these guys are definitely one of the most influential extreme metal bands.

they were originally formed in 1985 in England by guitarist Bill Steer and drummer Ken Owen as a D-Beat band called Disattack. after releasing a demo in '86 their bassist and vocalist quit. they recruited a singer named Sanjiv and Jeff Walker on bass, changed their name to Carcass and recorded the Flesh Ripping Sonic Torment demo in '87. Sanjiv left the band after this and Walker, Owen and Steer recorded Reek as a 3 piece with all members sharing vocal duties.

the album sounds pretty terrible. according to the band the engineer sucked and they didn't have enough time to mix the album properly before they needed to get it to the label so they were stuck with it. despite the bad mix you can still hear the beginnings of the innovation the band would later become known for. even with the bad sound and graphic artwork and lyrical content John Peel named it his favorite album of 1988.


the bonus dvd, The Pathologist's Report Part 1 - Incubation, is great.  they talk to Jeff, Ken and Bill about how they all met, the recording of the album and things like that and it's highlighted with some photos and clips of live footage from around that time.

bad sound aside, this was a great album. i'm kinda glad i waited this long to listen to it though because this reissue was the way to go. it was pretty rad being able to listen to the album and then hear the band talk about it. definitely worth checking out.

This Heat - This Heat

This Heat - This Heat (1978)

1. Testcard
2. Horizontal Hold
3. Not Waving
4. Water
5. Twilight Furniture
6. 24 Track Loop
7. Diet of Worms
8. Music Like Escaping Gas
9. Rainforest
10. The Fall of Saigon
11. Test Card

so it's crossover time again, this time i got to choose. in his post on this album,  adam_biedermann highly recommended this album to me for the the next crossover and i decided to trust him. check his post for history and such.


overall this is a pretty dark sounding album. have you ever seen like a Tom & Jerry cartoon when Tom gets drunk or fucked up or it's supposed to be spooky? or like a 70s movie with some sort of freakout scene? a lot of the weirder parts of this album remind me of stuff like that, which is rad.


all in all this was a dope album and i really dug it. another good call by my colleague, another successful crossover. at least on my side...

Wizard Rifle - Speak Loud Say Nothing

Megatherium

#79) Wizard Rifle - Speak Loud Say Nothing (2012)

 1. Tears Won't Soften Steel
 2. Frazetta
 3. Megatherium
 4. Nobody
 5. Leathery Gentlemen

this is Wizard Rifle's 1st full length and holy shit is it rad. the riffs, vocals and song structures are all over the place. there are a ton of influences present on this album, i heard everything from Matt Pike and his various projects to Mastodon to Queens of the Stone Age and more. i'm not even going to try to describe this album. 

Fat Guy Wears Mystic Wolf Shirt - Counter/Transference

If Truth Is Subjective Then So Must Be The Lie

#78) Fat Guy Wears Mystic Wolf Shirt - Counter/Transference (2011)

 1. Peace/Feeder
 2. A Whole Host of Things
 3. Template
 4. P.T.S.D.
 5. Dialetics
 6. Breath Left of Breathing
 7. Exchange of Ideas
 8. Fixed
 9. Private Sale
 10. Know Hope
 11. Lesson Learnt
 12. Husk
 13. Sick Role
 14. Nil Acknowledgement
 15. Fulfil
 16. Courtney
 17. Note to Self

i honestly have no idea where this record came from. i know i didn't order it.  i'm pretty sure a record label sent it along with an order i placed but i'm not sure which one. if i ever figure out who sent it i will be sure to thank them because this was a pretty cool record.

FGWMWS are a 3 piece (guitar, drums, vocals) outfit from Australia who play spazzy mathy grind and this is their debut. . i really dug this album and i hope to hear more from these guys.

stream the album at their bandcamp

03/13/12: How to Dress Well - Love Remains (2010)

03/13/12: How to Dress Well - Love Remains (2010)

1. You Hold the Water
2. Ready for the World
3. My Body
4. Suicide Dream
5. You Won't Need Me Where I'm Goin
6. Can't See My Own Face
7. Walking This Dumb
8. Date of Birth
9. Escape Before the Rain
10. Endless Rain
11. Lover's Start
12. Mr. By & By
13. Decisions
14. Suicide Dreams

     How To Dress Well is an artist that makes very strange, experimental and ethereal R&B music. Yeah I don't entirely get it either. His name is Tom Krell and he is completely responsible for this strange record. I don't even remember how I stumbled across him but it has taken me a while to get to it. This music takes from so many different influences and there are a lot of really cool songs but also a few missteps. Sometimes the layered high pitch vocals remind me of post OK Computer Radiohead. Sometimes he sounds like TV On the Radio. Other times I don't know how to fully explain whats going on.
     A majority of the songs are really cool and interesting. The layered falsetto vocals are a big part of his sound. It sounds at times like a small choir of people singing. There is a heavy amount of echo and reverb used in the production. It sounds other worldly or ghostly for most of the album. There is a very ambient  and droning feel to the compositions. The vocals at times are really great and blended with the song beautifully. He'll even surprise you with an occasional traditional R&B melody. At other times they get annoying or boring but that was just on a few tracks. There were certain songs that I'd love the singing and be turned off by the production and at other times vice-versa. He definitely trys a lot of strange experimental methods within his production. As mellow as the record feels, he definitely throws in strange sonic surprises and outside the norm choices. I wish I could say that it was a great record, but there were a few tracks that did nothing for me. Despite that fact, theres a really great record hidden between those songs and i still highly recommend you check this out. Maybe those outliers will grow on me after a couple more listens.  (073)

Napalm Death - Scum

One Day Soon I Hope You Die

#77) Napalm Death - Scum (1987/2012)

 1. Multinational Corporations
 2. Instinct of Survival
 3. The Kill
 4. Scum
 5. Caught...In a Dream
 6. Polluted Minds
 7. Sacrificed
 8. Siege of Power
 9. Control
 10. Born On Your Knees
 11. Human Garbage
 12. You Suffer
 13. Life?
 14. Prison Without Walls
 15. Point of No Return
 16. Negative Approach
 17. Success?
 18. Deceiver
 19. C.S.
 20. Parasites
 21. Pseudo Youth
 22. Divine Death
 23. As the Machine Rolls On
 24. Common Enemy
 25. Moral Crusade
 26. Stigmatized
 27. M.A.D.
 28. Dragnet
 29. Multinational Corporations
 30. Instinct of Survival
 31. The Kill
 32. Scum
 33. Caught...In a Dream
 34. Polluted Minds
 35. Sacrificed
 36. Siege of Power
 37. Control
 38. Born On Your Knees
 39. Human Garbage
 40. You Suffer
 41. Life?
 42. Prison Without Walls
 43. Point of No Return
 44. Negative Approach
 45. Success?
 46. Deceiver
 47. C.S.
 48. Parasites
 49. Pseudo Youth
 50. Divine Death
 51. As the Machine Rolls On
 52. Common Enemy
 53. Moral Crusade
 54. Stigmatized
 55. M.A.D.
 56. Dragnet


this is the 2012 "full dynamic range" remaster of Napalm Death's 1st full length. tracks 1 -28 are the remaster while 29 - 56 is a bonus rough mix of the album.
these guys have a long confusing history with members dropping in and out so i'm not gonna get into it too much but to give you an idea the lineup that recorded this album isn't the same as the lineup that formed the band, the lineup changed almost completely 12 tracks into the album and though the band is around today, it features no members who played on this album.
tracks 1 -12 feature Nik Napalm (the only founding member) on vocals and bass, Justin Broadrick (who would go on to form the amazing bands Godflesh and Jesu among others) on guitars and vocals and Mick Harris (who has done a million things) on drums
tracks 13 - 28 feature Lee Dorian (who went on to form Cathedral) on vocals, Jim Whitely on bass, Bill Steer (who was in also in Carcass  at the time) on guitar and Mick Harris on drums and also providing some vocals.

the album is noteworthy for having a song (You Suffer) in the Guinness Book of World Records for world's shortest song at 1 second. and to continue the Carcass connection, the album cover was desinged by Jeff Walker, the bassist and vocalist for Carcass. there's not really a lot to say about this album that hasn't already been said.  it was a game changer.
as for the remastering i can't really say if it's better or worse than previous editions of this album because this is the only version i've heard but i will say that i preferred some of the "rough mixes" to the remastered ones. maybe some day i'll find an older copy of the record and compare it to the remaster but for now this will do. it's a shame i didn't listen to this album sooner but better late than never i guess.

03/12/12: Tig Notaro - Good One (2011)

03/12/12: Tig Notaro - Good One (2011)

1. Introduction
2. Chastity
3. Popular Phrases
4. Names
5. Family Tree
6. Can You Believe It
7. Baby Shower
8. Artificial Insemination
9. No Moleste
10. Little Titties
11. Taylor Dayne
12. Self Defense / Shark Attack
13. Infinity FX
14. The Show's Over

      Tig Notaro is a standup comedian that I first saw when she had a small roll as a Lesbian Police Officer on "The Sarah Silverman Program". After that, I kept hearing her name mentioned due to all of the Comedy Podcasts I listen to. Every time she was mentioned she was mentioned with a lot of admiration and respect, so I became very curious about her standup comedy. She finally released a full-length comedy album last year on A Special Thing Records so I had to check it out. Finally got to it the other day.
     She has a very observational and conversational style. She had a lot of really good one liners and shorter stranger off beat jokes. She also tells a lot of more personal short stories that lead to the best moments on the album including her countless run-ins with 80's pop singer Taylor Dayne. Notaro also shows a knack for involving the audience and talking to the crowd. There were some really great and funny moments on this album, but if I take anything from this album, its just that shes worth seeing live because some of her jokes and crowd interactions didn't translate well to audio recording. I'd still recommend checking her out to decide for yourself if shes someone you could enjoy. (072)

03/11/12: Four Tet - There Is Love in You (2010)

03/11/12: Four Tet - There Is Love in You (2010)

1. Angel Echoes
2. Love Cry
3. Circling
4. Pablo's Heart
5. Sing
6. This Unfolds
7. Reversing
8. Plastic People
9. She Just Likes to Fight

     Four Tet is the electromnic music moniker of Kieran Hebden. He is a musician and producer from London. Four Tet received a lot of exposure from doing remixes for high profile artists like Aphex Twin and Radiohead. I first heard of Four Tet from his really awesome remix of Skatterbrain from Radiohead's "Hail to the Thief". His music is a really interesting mix of digital and analog. He is a multi-instrumentalist in addition to an electronic artist and he weaves these two things together seamlessly. I have listened to a couple of his albums in the past, but this one seemed to have a more chill feel than others. It is his most recent release and is really good.
     Each song on this album brings together live instruments like guitar tracks with warped vocal samples and hip hop like drum beats. Like I said, this album has a quite chilled out feel and is for the most part down tempo. The songs definitely fit the theme of love without being straightforward love songs. Really enjoyable and relaxing album. (071)

Today Is the Day - Live Till You Die

I Am The Enemy

#76) Today Is the Day - Live Till You Die

 1. The Color of Psychic Power
 2. Pinnacle
 3. Feel Like Makin' Love
 4. Temple of the Morning Star
 5. Wicked Game
 6. Crutch
 7. Ripped Off
 8. High As the Sky
 9. In the Eyes of God
 10. Users
 11. TDA
 12. Blindspot
 13. Why Don't We Do It In the Road?
 14. Afterlife
 15. The Man Who Loves to Hurt Himself

this record is a collection of live recordings and unreleased studio stuff.

tracks 1, 2, 8, 9, 14 & 15 were recorded in October '99 throughout Europe. i was worried that the sound quality was going to be terrible like on the Die By the Wolf dvd but it was actually pretty good.

tracks 3, 6 & 13 are covers recorded at Austin Enterprises in Clinton, MA during the Eyes of God sessions. these covers are TITD through and through. i actually prefer the demo of Do It In the Road but this version is good too. Feel Like Makin' Love is awesome and you can never go wrong with a Chris Isaak cover, especially if it's been warped TITD style.

tracks 4 & 12 were recorded live on 10/30/97 at 91.1 WRVU. these tracks consist of Austin screaming and playing an acoustic guitar over some bongos and what sounds like a shitty Casio keyboard. it's pretty rad.

track 6 was recorded live in June of '98 at Middle East in Boston, MA. the quality is pretty terrible yet it's still better than the Wolf dvd.

track 7 is an acoustic demo that was recorded in '96 at Austin Enterprises in Nashville, TN. pretty cool to hear how that song started.

track 10 is an electronic loop created during the Eyes of God sessions. it sounds like he took a clip of some old like 1930s or 40s music and reversed it. one day i'll test this theory out.

track 11 is an instrumental dedicated to Austin's father which was recorded in '98 in an apartment in Nashville on 1/4 inch reel to reel.

besides the covers, which are definitely the best part of the record, there's not much here for the casual listener. i dug it a lot but this is probably a record best recommended to completists.

03/10/12: Deerhunter - Cryptograms (2007)

03/10/12: Deerhunter - Cryptograms (2007)

1. Intro
2. Cryptograms
3. White Ink
4. Lake Somerset
5. Providence
6. Octet
7. Red Ink
8. Spring Hall Convert
9. Strange Lights
10. Hazel St.
11. Tape Hiss Orchid
12. Heatherwood

     I have owned this album for a long time. It was a random purchase due to all of the raving I heard about this band and album at the time but I never gave this album much of a chance. Deerhunter is a indie rock band that also falls into other genres like noise rock, shoegaze, ambient and post-rock just to name a few. "Cryptograms" is a surprisingly inconsistent album because of how it was recorded. They recorded both halves of the album during 2 separate day long sessions that were months apart and because of that fact, the first and second halves of the album are completely different. The first half is mostly instrumental and very ambient and had some of my favorite tracks. The second half had a more poppy vocal feel with more traditional song structures. Its almost as if they had recorded 2 EPs and released them together as one album.
     Overall I didn't love this album. The first half was the highlight for me because I enjoyed their ambient and more experimental stuff much more than the shoegazey second half. I could have enjoyed the more straightforward stuff a bit more if I liked the singers voice a bit more. The ambient tracks were really interesting and used a lot of tape looping and synth etc. Once the second half kicked in I became a little more bored with it. Shoegaze as a genre is very hit or miss to me. There were a couple tracks with singing that i din't mind but I just don't think this band is really my cup of tea. Maybe I'll just check out some of their later albums later on to see if I like what they did later better than this. (070)

Today Is the Day - In the Eyes of God

We'll Walk The Stars Unashamed Of Who We Are

#75) Today Is the Day - In the Eyes of God (1999/2010)

 1. In the Eyes of God
 2. Going to Hell
 3. Spotting a Unicorn
 4. Possession
 5. The Color of Psychic Power
 6. Mayari
 7. Soldier of Fortune
 8. Bionic Cock
 9. Argali
 10. Afterlife
 11. Himself
 12. Daddy
 13. Who is the Black Angel?
 14. Martial Law
 15. False Reality
 16. The Russian Child Porn Ballet
 17. The Cold Harshness of Being Wrong Throughout Your Entire Life
 18. Honor
 19. Worn Out
 20. There Is No End
 21. Afterlife
 22. Argali
 23. In the Eyes of God
 24. Martial Law
 25. Possession
 26. Why Don't We Do It In the Road?

originally released in '99, this is TITD's 5th album and it continues the sample laden experimental craziness found on Temple of the Morning Star. there's not really much to say about the sound that i haven't already said. the biggest thing to note is that Austin completely reorganized the band for this record, recruiting Brann Dailor on drums on Bill Kelliher on bass, who would go on to form Mastodon shortly after leaving TITD.

the version of the album i have is the 2010 Relapse reissue that comes with 6 bonus tracks and a dvd. tracks 21 - 26 are bonus demo tracks that were recorded live in the studio. it's cool to hear the demos but the highlight is definitely the Do It In the Road cover.  apparently they recorded the whole album in one take during that session. the dvd, called Die by the Wolf, is a video diary of the band while they toured with Napalm, Death, Neurosis, Voivod and Soilent Green.

i'd definitely recommend checking it out.

"Never give in & never give up. Die trying." - Steve Austin

Today Is the Day - Today Is the Day

I Am The Serpent

#74) Today Is the Day - Today Is the Day (1996/2008)

 1. Kai Piranha
 2. Marked
 3. Bugs Death March
 4. A Man of Science
 5. Realization
 6. Black Iron Prison
 7. Mountain People
 8. Ripped Off
 9. The Tragedy
 10. She is in Fear of Death
 11. I Love My Woman
 12. Dot Matrix
 13. Hands and Knees
 14. Pipe Dream Zero

TITD's 3rd album was originally released in '96 and then remastered and re-released with 2 bonus tracks in '08. the bonus tracks, Hands and Knees and Pipe Dream Zero, were originally released on the Clusterfuck '94 split with Guzzard and Chokebore.

to me this is where TITD started to really draw away from the more "noise-rock" sound. overall the songs are heavier and more experimental than the previous 2 albums (1993's Supernova and 1994's Willpower.) it's also the first record to feature electronics more heavily. this is due to the fact that while TITD had always been a 3 piece, on this record Austin didn't use a bassist and instead got a keyboardist, Scott Wexton,  to round out his sound. it's unfortunate that he was only on this album because i think he complimented Austin's songwriting/guitar playing very well, especially on tracks like Bugs Death March and the odd but awesome Black Iron Prison.
i really dug this album and i think it was a perfect lead into the experimental metal radness that is Temple of the Morning Star (for my thoughts on that record go here, as this was also our first Crossover deal you can check out adam_biedermann 's thoughts here.) and the bonus tracks are dope as well. Hands and Knees is your usual rad TITD jam while Pipe Dream Zero sounds like Austin's take on weird 60's psychedelic rock.
all in all a great re-issue, definitely worth checking out.

Women in Tragedy - Dead Actress

Poltergeist Drama

#73) Women in Tragedy - Dead Actress (2009)

 1. Poltergeist Drama
 2. Tragic Heat
 3. Castles
 4. $M$o$n$e$y$
 5. Social Ghost



so this is the first in the Cave Sessions series (i've already talked about Vol 2 and Vol 3) and it's definitely my favorite. the tracks seemed noisier and more experimental but still fit in the noise pop/psych found on the other 2 volumes, and the album opener kind of hints at the full band post-hardcore that was to come later on Medusa.
i got in contact with the people over at Plasticrane and the link is fixed. if you're gonna pick up 1 Cave Session, i recommend Vol 1

03/09/12: Don Caballero - Punkgasm (2008)

03/09/12: Don Caballero - Punkgasm (2008)

1. Loudest Shop Vac in the World
2. The Irrespective Dick Area
3. Bulk Eye
4. Shit Kids Galore
5. Celestial Dusty Groove
6. Pour You into the Rug
7. Challenge Jets
8. Lord Krepelka
9. Why Is the Couch Always Wet?
10. Slaughbaugh's Ought Not Own Dog Data
11. Dirty Looks
12. Who's a Puppy Cat
13. Awe Man That's Jive Skip
14. Punkgasm

     Don Caballero is a math rock band. I had always been meaning to listen to more of them due to the fact that their former guitarist Ian Williams went on to be a member of Battles after Don Caballero broke up in 2000. I was doing my research and apparently this album was not a good starting point. The band released five albums from 1993-2000 with the original lineup that included Ian Williams. The Drummer, Damon Che reformed the band in 2003 with himself as the only remaining original member. This version of the band has released 2 albums with "Punkgasm" being the most recent release and from what I can tell, they are still together. I didn't realize there were 2 versions of this band until I had already listened to it a couple times. I meant to listen to the band that included Williams but oh well, I'll visit earlier albums from the original lineup soon.
     All of those details aside, this was still a really cool album. The mathy compositions throughout this album make it very easy to see why Don and Battles are connected. This album sounds like a more organic version of the music Battles plays. Less electronics and more strange drumming. There were a lot of guitar parts that took me by surprise in the grand scheme of the album because they were much more metal sounding than I expected within this genre.  I can see where the title Punkgasm comes from as well. The album does have a lot of punk rock parts littered in to their proggy mathiness. They were enjoyable changes of pace that give the album a unique feel. This album also has a couple songs with vocals throughout which I guess was a first for the band even with the second iteration of the group. A couple of the songs with vocals ended up being highlights of the album while the concluding title track Punkgasm was very meh. I enjoyed my couple listens of the album, but I look forward to seeing what the original lineup was doing because from what I've read Punkgasm is mellow in terms of their full career yet it was still a really rocking album. (069)