Fifth Era - 'See You in Hell' (1999)

 Apparently we're retroactively calling this type of music 'doomcore' which I guess is fine. It's slow-to-mid-paced hardcore techno/gabber with a lot of doom and gloom. This, along with the Rat of Doom EP, are two of my favs. Also worth checking out is the 'Selected Classics' comp by The Mover.

(It's just one long track bc it's a tape rip)

Tracklist:

1. See You in Hell

2. Live in the Netherlands

3. Night of Fear

4. Kill, Kill, Kill

5. Are You Ready?

6. Sabotage

7. Blackest Shadow

8. Live in Hackney 1999

9. AC93

10. Broken Souls

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More incredibly strange metal

Here are a few more of these oddball metal releases I've collected over the years...

First, two non-classics from the Metal Enterprises label. See this post and this post for more info on that fiasco...

Kalaschnikov, like the other artists in the ME stable, probably just wanted distribution for their mediocre album ('The Torture Never Stops') but got ripped off like so many others when the label did a fake 'follow up' record with their own in-house musicians/producers. Unlike the other groups (such as Killer Fox, whose original recordings were just unlistenable garbage) Kalaschnikov's sound was at least weird on its own.

The whole album kinda feels like it was written in a day, including the lyrics, which are so over-the-top 'evil' you have to hear them to believe them. It's like somebody told the vocalist to just sing about stuff that was the opposite of the Bible, so you get classics like 'Kill Your Neighbor' and 'Devil's Your Hero.' Despite the crappy production, it's a pretty good time, and you can't really hate songs like 'Rockin' By the Graveyard' and 'Video Monsters.' The lack of musicianship also seems to have resulted in some unusual guitar riffs in a kind of Voivod-ish way.

So, then, enter the ME staff's version of Kalaschnikov, present on their second (and final) album 'Desert Storm.' It sounds like they weren't even trying on this one. Two long tracks of obvious space-filling 'ambient' stuff, a few songs that sound a little too musically competent to be the ME staff...my guess is that they got hold of some Kalaschnikov demos for a second album, and dubbed their own awful vocals over. Then there are a handful that are obviously the same people responsible for the second Killer Fox and Thrash Queen albums. The ridiculous female operatic vocals and the snarly cartoonish male vocals, bad drum machines and totally non-metal guitar tones. Oh yeah, and whistling solos.

Yeah. Fucking whistling solos on what is essentially a thrash metal song ('Czarewitch').

Well...basically, if you're for some reason collecting all the Metal Enterprises releases, these will be of use to you. Otherwise, probably not? Oh well, the first album is enjoyably funny at least.

Kalaschnikov - 'The Torture Never Stops'

Tracklist:

1. Devil's Your Hero
2. The Haunted House
3. Rockin' By the Graveyard
4. Kill Your Neighbor
5. Chosen One
6. Demon's Rebellion (Instrumental)
7. Video Monsters
8. Hell's Runnin' Wild
9. Demon's Rebellion (Vocal)

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Kalaschnikov - 'Desert Storm'

Tracklist:

1. Czarewitch
2. Siberian Werewolf
3. Homage to the Holocaust
4. Headbanger
5. Stinking Shrine
6. Scull Scratcher

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Lastly, here's a release that might not be EXACTLY metal, but it definitely has metal influences (mostly from the doom genre) and it's certainly fucked up. While there are quite a few bands calling themselves Warning, this is the 1982 release by the German synth-doom group. Actually, the vocals here wouldn't sound too out of place on a Metal Enterprises release...they're like...death metal growls? I guess? But put through all sorts of effects to make it sound like aliens. The music is literally a head-on collision between OG doom metal (think Sabbath and Witchfinder General) and euro-disco synth stuff.

It's pretty goofy, but it's also very enjoyable, and occasionally really creepy. One review compares them to Rammstein, and I guess that's not far off, but WAY WAY more 80's than that description lets on. It really does sound like Kraftwerk playing satanic metal before that kind of metal even existed. If you read this blog, you'll like it I'm sure.

Warning - S/T

Tracklist:

1. Why Can the Bodies Fly
2. Magic Castle
3. Wild Roses for the Exit
4. Darkness
5. Out of Tune
6. The Door (Pt. I)
7. The Door (Pt. II)
8. A Message
9. Warning
10. Lost in Time
11. In the Crowd

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2 classics of 'incredibly strange metal'

Here are a couple relics from my days as a metal radio guy. Hopefully I will put some other stuff like this up here in the near future.

First up, an experimental death metal band from Italy called Trifixion. Apparently they only put out this one album, in 1995, although there is at least one other band with the same name.

It's way more varied than pretty much any other death metal release out there...atmospheric keyboard passages lead to psych-rock jams, which lead to trebly black metal guitar and psychotic screaming. I'm not really sure what kind of audience these guys were going for, and maybe that's why they only did one album.

I guess some of the experimentation could be called similar to Voivod (my favorite metal band) but basically if those guys were death/black metal instead of thrash. It isn't particularly well-recorded, but all the musicians are super-talented so you never really notice. The artwork is fairly creepy, too. Probably more out there than most experimental metal fans can tolerate, but outsider/weirdo music appreciators will dig this.

Trifixion - 'Abschurfungepoch'

Tracklist:

1. Fear, Is All That I See
2. Col Heaven
3. Litanie
4. World Called Truth
5. Immortal
6. You Breed
7. Abschurfungepoch

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Next is a release that isn't nearly as challenging or intelligent. Actually, it's not intelligent at ALL. You may remember me posting about Killer Fox and the awful Metal Enterprises label. Click that link, please, so I don't have to recap.

This is another outing from the producers of the second Killer Fox album, and it's just as awful, if not more so. There are some very distinct (and completely out-of-place) reggae influences, and it also has the WORST Beatles cover I've ever heard. The female vocalist who is present on the Thrash Queen album is on this quite a bit. Also, it seems like they included some demos by the original Godzilla band, as if the album wasn't inconsistent enough already. Just terrible, stupid, and entertaining.

Godzilla - 'II'

Tracklist:

1. Ingoz
2. Helter Skelter
3. Ass of the Prophet
4. I Followed the Zombie
5. Cinderella Rockefella
6. Halfbreed
7. Killing Joke
8. Foul
9. Outgoz

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Rare proto-punk megapost

While doing my proto-punk, punk and post-punk radio show, I often came across some fairly rare releases (not PHYSICAL, but y'know). Some of these took weeks of searching to dig up. Now, I'm dropping a bunch of 'em on you. This post is for the proto-punk stuff, obviously, which would be from the early 60's to the mid-70's.

Heavy Goods Vehicle - 'Keeper of the Sands'

Loud, super-stoned and super-slowed blues rock, in the tradition of Black Sabbath and Pentagram. Maybe a little bluesier than either of those bands, but just as noisy. This album totally sounds like garbage, probably demo recordings of some kind, but it's pretty great because it sounds like they're breaking the tape deck with their volume. Includes a completely incomprehensible cover of 'Wild Thing' that somehow manages to be sloppier than the original. Maybe more proto-doom-metal than proto-punk, but it's got the spirit.

NOTE: The only proper tracklist for this I could find was COMPLETELY different from what I have, so I'm just listing the tracks alphabetically.

Tracklist:

1. 1976
2. Capitalist Blues
3. Feed Back (1976)
4. Heavy Goods Vehicle
5. Heavy Music
6. I'm a Man
7. July Morning
8. Keeper of the Sands (Intro)
9. Lucifer
10. Race with the Devil
11. Time to Cry
12. Wild Thing

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Pi Corp - 'Lost in the Cosmic Void'

Early artifact from the same Ohio scene that produced Rocket From The Tombs, Vertical Slit, Pere Ubu and the electric eels. It's fairly dissimilar from those releases, being more like early Pink Floyd I guess. But, the experimentation and gleefully noisy interludes definitely get it an inclusion in the proto-punk 'genre.' Plus, I think a few members went on to be in 'real' punk bands, so yeah. It sounds like a live recording, and honestly it isn't too great, but it's historical. My favorite tracks are 'Together,' which kinda sounds like a simplified Black Sabbath jam with weird echoed-out yelling over it, and 'Shiiit,' which is a psych-rock jam filtered through basement recording.

Tracklist:

1. Introid
2. The Dirge
3. Drumola
4. Together
5. Devil Weed
6. Just Another Song
7. LSD 1
8. Space War
9. Shiiit
10. Telarama Boogie
11. Organ Over Easy

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Doug Snyder and Bob Thompson - 'Daily Dance'

This one's pretty amazing. Supposedly, these guys went home after an early Iggy and the Stooges show and started writing these noisy, semi-structured jams. They were also from Ohio, although a more rural part. The 'songs' contain no vocals, just super blown-out heavy guitar and equally distorted, frenzied drumming. It actually has a feel not unlike the band Sleep, but obviously less structured. The two guys also regrouped in the late 90's to cut another LP, but I've never heard it. This one was independently released in '73, in a 500-copy run.

Tracklist:

1. Daily Dance
2. Living with the Crocodiles
3. Time Overlaps Itself
4. Soul and Universe
5. Hit and Run
6. Truth is a Pathless Land
7. Teenage Emergency

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Gudibrallan - 'II'

Swedish bang that DEFINITELY sounds a little closer to the punk era, and this goes way back to '71. Although usually listed as prog-rock, don't think it's gonna be a bunch of flutes and weird time signatures. It's actually more like the early Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart style of prog-rock, where it's just fucked up sounding. I guess there are elements of Swedish folk music here, but I don't know that stuff well enough to pick it out. There is definitely some wild saxophone and lots of yelling though. Somehow, this is the band's second album, too.

Tracklist:

1. T-Doja
2. Sosse
3. Terjes Klagan
4. Sprutan
5. Sommar Uti Hagen
6. John Boy
7. Berusa Er
8. Hispan
9. Visa Om Jungfrun

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This Heat - 'Live at Krefeld'

More hard-to-find shit for ya. I was pretty surprised to find that this release (from 1980) isn't up anywhere else at the moment. People are finally starting to discover this band, so I figured that an actually good-quality live recording of them would be more popular, but I guess not.

First of all, I'm not the type of person who really gives a shit about live recordings usually. I don't listen to them, unless there's not an alternative (like the Wire 'Document and Eyewitness' recordings.) I'd rather hear studio creations, and if I give a shit enough to hear the songs performed live, I will go to a show (which doesn't happen too often.)

This release isn't really any different for me...I'd probably listen to 'Deceit' over this any day, BUT on the flip side, it's really cool to hear how accurately these guys could recreate those recordings in a live setting. It couldn't have been easy, considering all the crazy shit going on. And, I don't think it was a large band, either...just three or four guys?

If you're big into these dudes, you will probably like this...there's a track called 'Unreleased Title,' and I can't really tell if it's an unreleased track or not, because it's been so long since I've put their studio albums on. But, it probably is? Because, this recording seems to have a pretty good representation of their short career, which tracks from both studio full lengths, and 'Health and Efficiency' from the EP of the same name.

Probably only essential for completists, but y'know...

This Heat - 'Live at Krefeld'

Tracklist:

1. Paper Hats
2. The Fall of Saigon/Testcard
3. S.P.Q.R.
4. Makeshift Swahili
5. Unreleased Title
6. Music Like Escaping Gas
7. A New Kind of Water
8. Twilight Furniture
9. Health and Efficiency

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Rustic Hinge - 'Replicas'

Going back into the vaults today...Tried looking this album up, and only found it on one page (possibly Russian?) and the link seemed to be dead. So, once again, it turns up here so it doesn't get lost in time.

This is a remnant of my proto-punk, punk and post-punk radio program. I probably downloaded it because it's Captain Beefheart-influenced instrumental avant-garde shit, which is a surefire way to piss off radio listeners. Looking back now, the group apparently had members of The Crazy World of Arthur Brown and High Tide, both bands I used to be a pretty big fan of, so I don't know why I never found that out before. But oh well.

Basically, that brief description is all I have to say about the release...if you (like me) enjoy some of Captain Beefheart's music, but are fairly annoyed by his vocals, this is something you might dig. The music is fairly similar, and there aren't any vocals...one review credits Arthur Brown with vocals somewhere, but I couldn't find it. 

So, it's very complex, jazz-based math-rock type stuff (before there was such a thing) played with a basic guitar/drums/bass lineup. Some of it actually reminds me of a less-heavy Gore for some reason, and the later tracks veer into Sun City Girls world-music-on-western-instruments territory (which is pretty cool.)

Despite the image all this may conjure up, it's not an unpleasant listen by any means, and some of it (not the concrete noise stuff) could be good background music. Anyhow. Check it out, if ya want. Also, apparently, the whole first side is parts of a movement? Dunno.

Rustic Hinge - 'Replicas'

Tracklist:

1. T on the Lawn for 3

    a. Excitation Wavelength

    b. Litmus Transformation

    c. Opus Pocus

    d. Crystallized Petard

    e. Kinesis

    f. But That Was Then That Was But

    g. ---

2. Last Time

3. High Tide Play Rustic Hinge

4. Rumanian Folk Dance No. 1

5. Macedonia

6. Radio Kabul

7. Rumanian Folk Dance No. 2

8. Mastadon

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Little Stevie McCabe - 'Sweat it Out'

Been a bit. So, here's some more music from the darkest depths of my collection...

I really don't know too much about this one, other than it's fairly bizarre. The download I snagged was from the long-gone (but awesome) Decrepit Tapes blog, and that link is no longer functioning. It apparently comes from 1986. This guy (Little Stevie) has some connection to the lo-fi scene in New Zealand (groups like The Dead C and The 3Ds) and played/plays(??) in a group called Axemen, which is described as 'Half Japanese attempting to play Chrome.'

I haven't heard them, so I can't comment on that, but this album kinda reminds me of Renaldo and the Loaf maybe mixed with a little Half Japanese. Or Ween? I don't know. It's very weird, but not in a 'let's be weird' way...this guy just seems genuinely strange. Some of the songs are pretty catchy, and have an 'old-timey' vibe to them...like maybe he listened to a lot of old swing, jazz and blues while writing this stuff? It also comes off as maybe the home recordings of a teenager, which might be why he adopted the name 'Little Stevie McCabe' for the release (he just goes by Steve McCabe in Axemen.)

Whatever the case, it's some very strange stuff, and it's clearly ALL him...there are no drums for the most part, just out of tune guitars and shaky vocals. I can see similarities between this and some of the weirder New Zealand stuff, like the Tall Dwarfs, but this goes way way way into outsider music territory.

There are a whole shit-ton of songs, too, and most of them are too short to get sick of. Give it a listen if you want to hear something playfully demented.

Little Stevie McCabe - 'Sweat it Out'

Tracklist:

1. Love Feel
2. A Seeker Peeped Into Space
3. Sweat it Out
4. The Place
5. Sea Spray Gets in Your Eyes
6. More
7. Ulterior Locomotive
8. Sparing Partner
9. Take the E-Train
10. Sounds Like...A Drunken Party
11. Your Little Chevrolet
12. Chip On My Shoulder
13. Spring Song
14. Aunty-Anti
15. Clues to a Dream
16. Dirt in the Blood
17. Crazy
18. Life Doesn't Go On
19. We Love Louis
20. Terminal of Love
21. The Call of the Forbidden Sea
22. Noise Must Go On
23. That's Why You're a Human Being
24. Welcome to the Province of Nausea
25. The Way I Walk

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Pine Hill - 'Isolation Album'

Here's another album from the lost days of the Obscuro! radio program.

It seems to only be up a couple places now, so I'm posting it here. Not one of my favorites, but someone will enjoy it I'm sure.

It's very low-key folk-rock with some psychedelic influences, and a very homemade quality to the whole thing. But, it's more like a Guided By Voices record, where the whole thing is cohesive even though it's clearly home demos. The band does come up with some unique studio tricks along the way, like pitch shifted guitars and weirdo percussion.

Some of the tracks are catchy, but most fit the album title, 'Isolation.' It's a very downer album on the whole. I also have no idea what country it comes from, as it does have a lot of British rock influences, but it also feels like it could've been made in the 60's when the release date is '77. A couple of the songs even veer into definite weirdo territory, like 'Insane,' and 'Old Soldiers Never Die.'

Basically, it's perfect for a pleasant drive in the country, somewhere that you can truly experience isolation. I'd be willing to bet these guys holed up in some weird country house to write and record this album. No idea if they did anything afterwards under a different name, either.

Pine Hill - 'Isolation Album'

Tracklist:

1. Apertif
2. Clockwork Apology
3. Priscilla
4. ...Sometimes
5. Roundabout Rosie
6. A Sense of Union
7. Work
8. Hero
9. Personnel
10. Old Soldiers Never Die
11. Beecher Street
12. Insane
13. The Cook's Story
14. Letter From Fiddler's Green

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Robo Arigo - 'Sexy Thing'

I haven't gotten into a whole lot of Afro-funk yet, but this album is pretty damn good. To be sure, it has some elements I've heard in stuff like Fela Kuti...the hypnotic, repetitive grooves and chant-like vocals, but then there's the influence of what seems to be early Prince and Parliament. The sound is very lean (kind of lo-fi, but not overly so) and stripped down, and the vocal melodies are really catchy, especially in 'Them Crazy' and 'Sexy Thing.' The only track that abandons the funk groove is the last one, which I didn't care for too much.

As to what instrument Arigo is playing here, I have no idea, but everything is completely on point. The interplay between guitar and bass is especially great...the guitar could almost have been pulled from some mid-period Meat Puppets recordings. The basslines are similar to some of Rick James' early stuff, too, especially on 'Sexy Thing' which is as great as anything off James' 'Street Songs' album.

The album is also unfortunately very rare, and I couldn't find it on a single music blog, so here ya go. It's not exceptionally weird, although it is very hypnotic...just really good funk music. Oh yeah, it also has a kinda weird Bob Marley cover...

Robo Arigo - 'Sexy Thing'

Tracklist:

1. Konastone Ponk
2. Girls Reservation
3. Get Up, Stand Up
4. Them Crazy
5. I Want You
6. Sexy Thing
7. I'm Gonna Love You

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Bobby Brown - Discography

No, not THAT Bobby Brown...

This is a bizarro one-man-band from Hawaii who recorded during the mid-seventies. I don't know why this guy's stuff is slowly disappearing from the internet, because it is quite exceptional. It kind of bridges the (albeit large) gap between spaced-out new age drone and psych-folk, with a lot of laid-back Hawaiian influence as well.

The story goes that this loner surfer-type guy built this giant....instrument?? I guess?? out of whatever he had laying around. So he literally plays all the sounds you're hearing at once, at least on most of the tracks. You can kind of see his gadget on the cover of his first LP, 'The Enlightening Beam of Axonda,' and it looks basically fucked. He and his dog would travel around in an old van wherever the surfing was good, giving impromptu performances of these strange, mellow songs. I've read his voice described as similar to Tim Buckley, which I guess is kind of true.

The first album is very odd, sounding kind of like a gamelan orchestra playing 70's folk rock. The second album, 'Bobby Brown Live,' is not quite so strange, but the story behind it is definitely weird. Supposedly, he was picked to open for Fleetwood Mac (which, to me, sounds like a big deal) and recorded the performance for this album. Brown, however, was unsatisfied with the crowd sounds(!), feeling they distracted from the music, and re-recorded the entire thing in his van AFTER the show. Whatever the case, it doesn't really sound like a 'live' record or anything.

A few years later, he did a much more pop-oriented album called 'Prayers of a One Man Band.' Well...it's HIS interpretation of pop music, which is still pretty odd. It's got a lot of vintage synths and drum machines, and a lot of people seem to feel it's his best release. I dunno about that, but it is very good. The songs are also MUCH shorter, which might appeal to some listeners.

Anyhow, here are all three albums for ya to check out:

Bobby Brown - 'The Enlightening Beam of Axonda'

Tracklist:

1. I Must Be Born
2. My Hawaiian Home
3. Oneness with the Forest
4. Tiny Wind of Shandl

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Bobby Brown - 'Bobby Brown Live'

Tracklist:

1. Hawaii
2. In Search of a Dream
3. Let Me on Board
4. My Dog is Every Bit as Good as Me
5. The Waterfall of Love
6. Lonely Boy No More
7. Mother Nature We're Guilty/I Don't Wanna Be No Macho Joe
8. Motherless Child

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Bobby Brown - 'Prayers of a One Man Band'

Tracklist:

1. The Boy a Sailor
2. Steamboat Mama
3. Sail On
4. Lady Tennessee
5. Jungle Cowboy
6. Hawaii Nei I'll Miss You
7. The Peaceful Ko 'Olaus
8. My Dog the Outlaw
9. If the Angels Cry
10. Sweet Clean Air
11. I'm Bolieve
12. The Cry of the Wild

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Konrad - 'Evil'

For some reason, this damn album seems to follow me wherever I go! When I was still doing the Obscuro! radio program, a few people would CONSTANTLY request the track 'My Girl,' and now I've got a request for the full album to be posted, so I must oblige. It is a great record, I won't deny it. Somewhere between the DIY minimal synth stuff of the 80's and sci-fi acid casualty, Konrad is a one-man-band who cranks out some of the catchiest tunes you'll ever hear about binary code, matrices, and music scientists (whatever those are.) There is also a spot-on parody of The Police that's about...police.

Also, the guy behind this project is QUITE a character. He claims to have both created the idea behind 'The Matrix' films, and to have sold speakers to Celine Dion. I'm not sure if either is true, but here's hoping.

Konrad - 'Evil'

Tracklist:

1. It's Only a Matrix
2. Music Scientist
3. Don't Want No Police
4. Alien
5. Working Man
6. Keep On Playing That Jazz
7. My Girl Likes to Buy
8. The Man of Mystery
9. Blue Sunrise
10. One Way Motorcycle Ride
11. Seems Like One of Those Days
12. DMZ Bolero
13. People

***LINK REMOVED BY REQUEST***
Preorder the re-release here.

Rockin' Rollin' Blues Band - 'Wild and Untamed'

Here's another one of those random private press LP's that seems to have disappeared from the web. From what I can tell, I got it off the Cosmic Hearse blog a while back, which unfortunately looks like it's dead. Shame, cuz that guy posted some insane stuff.

This record isn't 'insane' per se, but it's pretty strange. Probably, it's a snapshot of a local band recorded in some friend's studio, but it still puts the listener into an interesting moment in time. For one thing, this band seems very 'out of touch' with what was going on (it was apparently released in '73.) In an era dominated by hard rock, these guys/gals were cranking out 50's rockabilly-influenced bar jams. But, a few of the members (specifically the guitarist) are clearly influenced by the hard rock/heavy metal of, say, Deep Purple. So, it's an unusual mix. I might go so far as to call a couple of these cuts 'proto-punk.'

Then there are the vocals. To say that they 'aren't very good' doesn't really do them justice. Sure, they aren't 'technically' good, but they are interesting at the very least. There is a guy and girl, who sometimes sing together, but often take different sections of songs. The girl's voice almost has an operatic quality sometimes, and the guy is a little gruff but mostly smooth. Neither sounds like they give too much of a shit. Judging by the cut-up pictures that serve as the album cover, I'd say these are probably some drugged-out bikers.

I'm also factoring the lyrics into this judgement, because they have this kinda backwoods vibe to them...not like they intentionally wanted to conjure this up but that they couldn't help but pull it into their music.

So, maybe that makes this album a little more 'authentic' blues than a lot of other 70's stuff? I dunno. But, if you like sloppy, trashy blues rock like Janis when she was with Big Brother, then you will probably dig this. The guitarist is really good at least, and a couple of their songs are pretty catchy.

No track names, sorry, apparently they were lost in time.

Rockin' Rollin' Blues Band - 'Wild and Untamed'

DL

Lewis - 'L'Amour'

This is one of those private press LP's that mostly got re-discovered because of its silly cover. But, that cover, coupled with the strange music within, makes this guy seem almost like a David Lynch character.

The music is fairly subdued...mostly acoustic guitars and odd synthesizers, with Lewis' deep voice overlaid. Someone on RateYourMusic has described it as 'Jandek covering the 'Twin Peaks' theme,' which isn't far off the mark. It's very mellow, but also kind of creepy...slightly amateurish, but also fully realized, which is unique for a vanity release.

I don't really know much else to say about it...it's not entirely 'my thing,' but it's also very unique and interesting to my ears. Maybe you will like it.

Lewis - 'L'Amour'

Tracklist:

1. I Thought the World of You
2. Cool Night in Paris
3. My Whole Life
4. Even Rainbows Turn Blue
5. Like to See You Again
6. Things Just Happen That Way
7. Summer's Moon
8. Let's Fall in Love Tonight
9. Love Showered Me
10. Romance for You

DL

Missing Link - 'Entourage Garage'

Here's a lost classic from the third-wave ska era...if there is such a thing. I first heard Missing Link on one of those JetSet mp3 compilations that came with various magazines in the 90's. A few years later, I finally located a copy of their sole release in a cutout bin. Why these guys never made it to the level of a Mighty Mighty Bosstones is beyond me. As far as I know, this is the only group aside from Sublime that successfully mixed hip hop and ska. I dunno why more groups didn't try a style like this...it seems obvious to me. However, whereas Sublime was a complex musical stew, this release is pretty much just third wave ska with turntables and a bunch of rappers.

The rappers are your average rapid-fire white boys, and the music is kinda generic, but the overall effect is a whole lot of fun. If you have any interest in ska, you'll probably dig this. Holds up a lot better than most other mid-90's ska releases.

Missing Link - 'Entourage Garage'

Tracklist:

1. La La
2. Na Na
3. Pussy Cat in the Kangol Hat
4. That Guy
5. Secret Mission
6. Wall Street
7. Barfly
8. Kama Sutra
9. L.I.N.K.
10. Bong Hit Sound
11. Bong Trip 2
12. Pass the Suds
13. Gong Sound (Dinner is Served)
14. Can't Remember
15. Fly Girl
16. G.P.C.
17. Drunken Man
18. Madd Boxx



***RE-UPLOADED 11/25/14***


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Nu-metal appreciation week 4 - Orange 9mm and Jimmie's Chicken Shack

It's Saturday...the steady stream of nu-metal will dry up soon enough, don't worry.

I posted Orange 9mm's 'Tragic' album a looonnnng time ago as part of my Kutout Bin Klassics series, but the link has long been gone. Not much else I can say about this'un....let's see...

They started as a late-era hardcore band (like Quicksand, Failure, etc) but morphed into a rap-metal act in the late 90's...posers?? No. I read someone describe the production here as similar to AmRep stuff, and I won't deny it. It's very hard edged...lots of vocal distortion and buzzsaw guitar tones. There's also a LOT of catchiness...a lot lot lot lot of great songs. The lyrics are more apathetic than most nu-metal and it's got a lot more of an 'indie rock' influence, which might be why they never broke through to the mainstream. Whatever the case, 'Failure' is the SINGLE best rap-metal song of all time. Plus, 'Kiss it Goodbye' is the ONLY acoustic rap-metal song I've ever heard.

Orange 9mm - 'Tragic'

Tracklist:

1. Fire in the Hole
2. Tragic
3. 7
4. Gun to Your Head
5. Stick Shift
6. Dead in the Water
7. Method
8. Crowd Control
9. Muted
10. Take You Away
11. Failure
12. Feel It
13. Kiss it Goodbye

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The other album I'm posting is another one that, to me, transcends music genres. Jimmie's Chicken Shack might have a stupid name, dreadlock white dudes and a black bassist, but they are NOT your average nu-metal band. Vocalist/guitarist Jimi Haha was a pro-surfer who decided to start a band in the early 90's. He has a VERY unusual guitar style that I would compare to Les Claypool's bass style, but more riff-oriented. It's like he's telling you a joke with his guitar...the riffs are just so goofy. Try listening to 'Spiderweb' and not immediately picking up a guitar and trying to play it. He also has good lyrics. Sometimes they lean a little too much into 311-overwhelmingly-pukingly-positive fodder, but usually he translates his 'stoner dude who hates everything but still has hope that not all people are stupid as fuck' attitude perfectly into lyrics. 'When You Die, You're Dead' might be the best 'message' song of the nu-metal era...unfortunately, none of their other stuff is really all that great. 2nd LP sounded more like Sugar Ray, then they kinda got lost in the major label shuffle. I gave their 'comeback' album a listen and it was okay...the coolest thing being a cover of Fugazi's 'Waiting Room.'

Jimmie's Chicken Shack - 'Pushing the Salmanilla Envelope'

Tracklist:

1. Dropping Anchor
2. Outhouse
3. High
4. Spiderweb
5. Blood
6. This is Not Hell
7. Milk
8. Hole
9. School Bus
10. Another Day
11. Sitting with the Dog
12. When You Die You're Dead

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Nu-metal appreciation week 3 - The Deadlights, downset. and Deftones (again)

...and another...

...week's almost through, so if yer hatin' this, no worries.

What sparked this mega-post was the release of the new Deftones album 'Koi No Yokan' which I covered in the first post. So, it only makes sense to post the very first 'tones release, their demo '(Like) Linus.' I can't really recommend this to a non-Deftones fan...and even somebody who likes them might not get into it. I'm kind of indifferent. There are a few cool songs here that don't appear on any studio album, but MOST of the unreleased tracks just blow. The band wasn't sure if they wanted to take the more hard-rock approach that ended up on 'Adrenaline' or do a more laid-back, 311/Incubus-stye thing. I'm really REALLY glad they chose the former, although I guess they would've still been pioneers either way. Mostly, this is just a cool snapshot of a band in their very early years...plus it's super rare, so there's that.

Deftones - '(Like) Linus' Demo

Tracklist:

1. Like Linus
2. Hump
3. Answers
4. Some People
5. Christmas
6. Plastic
7. Venison
8. Gift (aka Guest)
9. Freaks
10. Engine No. 9
11. Roots
12. 7 Words
13. Teething

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Also being featured in this post is the sophomore album by downset. This band always struck me as a working man's Rage Against the Machine. They didn't have the smarts of Zach or Tom Morello, or the musical chops to write crazy riffs 'n shit, but they made solid rap-metal. Above-average lyrics, and well-written songs. Never heard the debut, but I think it was more rap-oriented, which is strange because they took a much more hardcore-punk direction later on...think they did some stuff on Epitaph after they got dropped by their major in the great rap-metal purge of 2001.

downset. - 'Do We Speak a Dead Language?'

Tracklist:

1. Intro
2. Empower
3. Eyes Shut Tight
4. Keep On Breathing
5. Hurl a Stone
6. Fire
7. Touch
8. Against the Spirits
9. Sickness
10. Pocket Full of Fatcaps
11. Sangre De Mis Manos
12. Horrifying
13. Sickness (Reprise)
14. Permanent Days Unmoving
15. Ashes in Hand

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Lastly, here's a group called The Deadlights who only released this one album. Just another act to completely disappear once people stopped caring about nu-metal, but one I actually felt pretty bad about, even at the time. If shit like this reached a wider audience, maybe nu-metal would've never disappeared (what a scary thought.) These guys tweaked the formula just enough to do their own thing. Kinda like Tool, but not as experimental, and with a vocalist who is less love him/hate him. I always thought this singer did the whispered verse/shouted chorus wayyyyy better than anyone else. Creepy, too. This self-titled disc is one of the strongest of the nu-metal era.

The Deadlights - S/T

Tracklist:

1. Bitter
2. Amplifier
3. Nothing
4. Sweet Oblivion
5. Junk
6. Sado
7. Foolish Pride
8. Whores
9. Pox Eclipse
10. Distant Sun
11. Time
12. Falling Down

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Nu-metal appreciation week 2 - Union Underground, (Hed) PE and Snot

So here's another one of these posts.

I'm sorry if you aren't amused by nu-metal like I am. I 'came of age' in the late 90's, when this shit was all over the place. My goal here isn't exactly to make fun of nu-metal because, obviously, the last post was the Deftones, who I love. Moreso, I'm showin' ya some of the more 'essential' albums from this genre. I mean, you're not going to find any Limp Bizkit or Korn here, because fuck those guys.

First up, we've got the debut (and only) release from the Texas band Union Underground, 'An Education in Rebellion.' I remember hearing 'Turn Me On, Mr. Deadman' at a friend's house and being pretty impressed by it, but I was in 7th grade. Looking back, these guys are kind of a watered-down Marilyn Manson specially packaged for mall dorks, but they really weren't too bad. I'd rather listen to this album than Manson's stuff, honestly. It's kind of like generic industrial metal crossed with generic grunge-rock with a pinch of generic rap-metal riffage. Nothing very original, obviously, but how can you not want to rock out to a song that has the lyric 'trippin' like a fuckhead?'

Other great lyrics:

'Come on, come on, come on, get up, get up, south Texas deathride, you motherfuck.'
'Look at this, a little faggot is a millionaire.'
'I get so high that I trip with Jesus.'
...need I go on? C'mon...you NEED this one.

The Union Underground - '...An Education in Rebellion'

Tracklist:

1. ...An Education in Rebellion
2. Drivel
3. South Texas Deathride
4. Turn Me On, Mr. Deadman
5. Until You Crack
6. Killing the Fly
7. Natural High
8. Revolution Man
9. Trip With Jesus
10. Bitter
11. The Friend Song

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Next is the debut, self-released EP by (Hed) PE, 'Church of Realities.' In my eyes, these guys were always a little more legit than your average 'rap-rock' group. First of all, they started way earlier (1994...that's like the stone age in rap metal years)...they also had a black dude rapping/yelling. Before your PC-alarm goes off, think about where rap music came from, now try and name another black rap-metal vocalist. I can think of two. ANYHOW. They call themselves 'g-punk' nowadays, and all they do is complain about how they 'found' this sound first and they're way better than 'all those other bands.' Whatever. This and their first official disc are pretty cool. Solid rapping, and a singer who sounds legitimately crazy, unlike Jonathan Davis.

(Hed)PE - 'Church of Realities' EP

Tracklist:

1. Intro
2. 1st Song
3. Hangman
4. Darky
5. IFO
6. Ground
7. Spam
8. Hill
9. (Untitled)

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Lastly, one of my alltime favorite albums, the debut (and, sadly, only disc) by Snot. This band's career was tragically cut short by the death of the vocalist Lynn Strait (and his cool-ass dog) when they were hit by a drunk driver. Maybe they would've gotten totally lame on album two like so many other bands, but if you've ever heard Amen (which features basically the whole instrumental lineup of the band and vocalist Casey Chaos) it doesn't seem like it. Way more punk than the other nu-metal bands...they even have a rant against Mr. Brett. Way funkier than anybody else, too. Lots of people say this band is overhyped because of the tragedy surrounding them, but fuck that, this is a true classic...these guys did their own thing, and had fun. So what if there's too many boring instrumentals on this disc?

Snot - 'Get Some'

Tracklist:

1. Snot
2. Stoopid
3. Joy Ride
4. The Box
5. Snooze Button
6. 313
7. Get Some
8. Deadfall
9. I Jus' Lie
10. Get Some O' Deez
11. Unplugged
12. Tecato
13. Mr. Brett
14. Get Some Keez
15. My Balls

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Nu-metal appreciation week 1 - Deftones and Reveille

I don't know if that's a national thing or not...just wanted to post some of this stuff. I'm always surprised by the number of people who don't know that there are legit nu-metal bands. Okay, okay, Deftones aren't REALLY nu-metal, and they transcended genres a long while back anyhow, but I really wanted to post their new album here.

But...it's not out yet! How about that? Let's see how long this shit lasts before I get an e-mail asking me to take it down...Whatever, I love the Deftones...one of my all-time favorite bands, and you'd be a stupid liar if you said I wasn't going to buy this shit the day it comes out.

So, how does it sound? Awesome. My only complaint is that new Deftones stuff suffers from some serious over-producing, but you can't really damage songs this good. This'un's definitely more mellow than any other release....I think it tops 'Diamond Eyes' which was really great, too. Kind of like what 'Saturday Night Wrist' could've been if it was better, I guess.

Deftones - 'Koi No Yokan'

Tracklist:

1. Swerve City
2. Romantic Dreams
3. Leathers
4. Poltergeist
5. Entombed
6. Graphic Nature
7. Tempest
8. Gauze
9. Rosemary
10. Goon Squad
11. What Happened to You?

DLZZ

Also, I'm posting the debut album by Reveille. Remember these fellas? They always reminded me of a really stripped-down version of Rage Against the Machine with Steve Albini (?) rapping. Really minimal production and a harsh noise-rock kinda sound. I wish radio shit still sounded this raw...

Reveille - 'Laced'

Tracklist:

1. Butterfly
2. Perfect World
3. Permanent (Take a Look Around)
4. Phoenix
5. Untied
6. Rise and Blind
7. Judas
8. Flesh and Blood
9. Feel
10. Aftertaste
11. Splitt (Comin' Out Swingin')
12. Dark Horizons

DEE ELL

...I'll continue to post this stuff all week assuming it looks like people are reading it. Even if you're totally against this shit, everyone needs to reminisce sometime...

Svaty Vincent - S/T

More 'outsider' metal for y'all....Don't know much about this guy, other than he's from Russia and he's really angry. Most of the lyrics seem blatantly satanic, and the music is aggressive and primitive. It's unclear if Svaty Vincent is just the vocalist, or if he plays all the stuff himself. To me, it sounds like a live recording, so I'm guessing he's just the vocalist. A track from this 1990 album appeared on the original 'Incredibly Strange Metal' compilation, and rightfully so. I play this disc on my metal show when I want people to call and complain (which is often.)

Tracklist:

1. Zmrtvychvstani
2. Rikaji o mne, ze jsem divnej, zaplat panbuh, ze mam tak vysoke postaveni
3. Patologicka agresivni deviace
4. Nekroman
5. Krucifix
6. Absolutni vedomi
7. Spirocheta Vincenti
8. Lucifere!

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2 albums by Malicious Onslaught

Here are the two studio albums by Malicious Onslaught, a death metal band from New York formed in 1986. 'Brutal Gore' is the more well-known of the two, but not necessarily in a positive way. Supposedly, this is one of the worst metal albums of all time, though I don't think that's really true. The musicians are perfectly capable, and the band has a competent (if generic) death/grind sound. Most people cite the production as the real problem here. It does indeed sound like the band hired some drugged-out hippy to record the album...effects that have no place in death metal constantly pop up...odd clips and synths...all sorts of pitch-shifted delay and whatnot...kind of like the engineer deliberately ruined the record. I do think, however, the production is what SAVES this album, because it keeps it from being another faceless death/grind album, and sends it into the realm of 'totally fucked.'

What's even stranger is that, upon doing some research, I found their first, lesser-known album 'Rebellious Mayhem.' This one is pretty similar to 'Brutal Gore' in terms of production and playing, which makes the production on THAT album all the more baffling. Why work with what sounds like the SAME ENGINEER when he completely fucked up your first album, too? These two albums are very interesting if you've had any sound-engineering experience. Just listen and think about how some of these decisions got made...very confusing.

Malicious Onslaught - 'Rebellious Mayhem' - 1992

Tracklist:

1. Transgressor
2. Beyond Evil
3. Rebellious Mayhem
4. Emotional Death
5. Extinction of God
6. Speculate the Future
7. Thrashed Black
8. Revenge of the Innocent

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Malicious Onslaught - 'Brutal Gore' - 1994

Tracklist:

1. The Morgue
2. Satanic Killing
3. Blademare
4. Submerged in Silence
5. Carcassed
6. Brutal Gore
7. Internal Decay
8. Productive Destruction

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