The Amenta - Occasus [Deluxe Edition] (2004, Australia) Industrial Death Metal

Now I don't like many Australian bands I'll be honest and I almost universally loathe Australian metal (bit of a copout coming from an Australian musician I know). However The Amenta are one of those few exceptional Australian metal bands that instead of worshipping and rehashing the works of others, are making international quality music with their own unique vision. Occasus is a brutal and punishing album with a distinct emphasis on atmosphere (at which these guys excel). And much like Nile the attention and effort that The Amenta put into their thematic, visual and atmospheric elements of their package makes them truly stick out from the crowd in the extreme metal field. This is a handsome achievement in itself and they are well aware of the do's and don'ts in that regard - enigmatic one word song titles are great! Why announce how angry, scary and manly you are if your music can effectively do it for you?

As I mentioned before this album is brutal, the opening track 'Erebus' is the perfect example of that - assaulting the listener with light speed double kick, blasting, black metal guitar and discordant synths from the word go. I'm a real big fan of the atmospheric synth interludes that occur in a lot of their songs and that occupy entire songs themselves. One thing I think can be essential to making it through and ultimately enjoying an entire album of this nature is having some dynamic variance and changing it up a bit with some contrasting sounds. Mictlan is my favourite song on the album because it is so well written and I really enjoy the stark starcraftian vibe elicited by one of said interludes. Geilt is another top track which sounds like a mix of Emperor and something off Pestilences Spheres album with an extra dose of heaviness.

Some of the synth work can be a little on the cheesy side (bearing in mind I'm oversensitive to cheese) and the vocals aren't the greatest I'll admit. However the sheer ferocity, use of dynamics and atmosphere and intelligent songwriting make this the best Australian metal album I've ever heard and one of the best metal albums post 2000.

Tracklisting:

1		Erebus (4:09)
2		Mictlan (4:51)
3		Zero (4:16)
4		Senium (2:03)
5		Nihil (5:18)
6		Geilt (4:15)
7		Sekem (4:45)
8		Occasus (3:10)
9		Ennea (4:09)
10		Sangre (4:58)

Bonus Tracks:

11. Inritus
12. Mictlan
13. Ennea
14. Nekuia

Download Here: - Occasus [Deluxe Edition] (2007).rar [106.23MiB]

Coroner - Grin (1993, Switzerland) Progressive/Industrial Metal

The unfortunate outcome of the boundary pushing and forward thinking metal artists like Coroner, Pestilence and Cynic (until recently) is that they release an album that completely shatters all expectation and is without comparison then they break up. Grin was Coroner's swansong and with that their journey from hyperactive tech-thrashers to crushing atmospheric industrialists was complete.

Grin is a complete extension and extrapolation of the grim and depressing atmosphere contained on Mental Vortex. Songs like the untouchable 'Paralysed Mesmerized' get their point across with extended atmospheric dirges juxtaposed with jarring industrial soundscapes with prog timing and chord changes. When you think about it the amount of different approaches on this album is quite remarkable. There are the long extended songs like the aformentioned as well as 'Serpent Moves'. Then there are songs like 'Grin (Nails Hurt)' and 'Internal Conflicts' with their repetitive rhythmic oppression. Then there are schizophrenic numbers like the stellar 'Status: Still Thinking' which don't know whether they're major or minor, groovy or stuttering, atmospheric or tech.

I wouldn't hesitate to call this a masterpiece, it's quite clearly the full realisation of the Coroner sound and I would be surprised if the trio left any musical ambitions unfulfilled with this release.

Tracklisting:

1		Dream Path (1:10)
		Didgeridoo - Tim Chatfield
2		The Lethargic Age (4:16)
		Drums [Intro], Composed By, Programmed By - Roger Dupont
3		Internal Conflicts (6:19)
4		Caveat (To The Coming) (6:38)
		Written-By - Royce* , Baron*
5		Serpent Moves (7:37)
6		Status: Still Thinking (6:14)
		Didgeridoo - Tim Chatfield Written-By - Royce* , Baron*
7		Theme For Silence (0:58)
8		Paralized, Mesmerized (7:54)
9		Grin (Nails Hurt) (7:18)
		Vocals [Additional] - Paul Degalyer
10		Host (8:22)
		Voice [Female] - Bettina Klöti Voice [Spoken] - M. Marky*

Download Here: (Coroner - Grin, 256kbps)

Coroner - Mental Vortex (1991, Swizterland) Progressive Thrash Metal/Industrial Metal

This is where the revolution came, gone are the fiddly tech approach of the past, this version of Coroner is regimented, syncopated and pummelling (and still fast). It's also a much darker more mature sound with more tasteful solos and lead guitar work. Every track on this album is very very solid, although opener 'Divine Step (Conspectu Mortis)' is easily one of the best, it would be competing only with masked jackal as my favourite Coroner track.

One of the best things Coroner do is covers, their cover of Purple Haze is truly unique and awesome but they totally outdid themselves with their cover of The Beatles' song 'I Want You (She's So Heavy)' to close the album. It's pretty much the perfect cover when you think about it, it shows the song in a whole new light whilst remaning faithful to the original and manages to recreate and sustain much of the dark mood generated on the album in such a way that it's almost as if Coroner themselves wrote the song. On top of that emotion of the original is still there and further adds to the complexity of the song. It's one of those ones you really need to listen to quite a few times in order to fully digest just what the hell is going on and what the hell you think of it (although to be fair many closed minded beatles purists would not approve). And frankly for a band like Coroner to do a beatles cover and to take it seriously takes a whole lot of balls.

Mental Vortex is a pretty intense listen, but it's also a very personal and rewarding one and amongst all the metal albums I listen to it and the final Coroner album stand out in that regard. This is an absolute must in the Coroner catalogue.

Tracklisting:

1		Divine Step (Conspectu Mortis) (6:22)
2		Son Of Lilith (6:53)
3		Semtex Revolution (5:30)
4		Sirens (5:35)
5		Metamorphosis (5:32)
6		Pale Sister (4:55)
7		About Life (5:18)
8		I Want You (She's So Heavy) (7:14)
		Written-By - Lennon-McCartney

Download Here: (Coroner - Mental Vortex, 256kbps)

Coroner - No More Colour (1989, Switzerland) Technical Thrash Metal

This is the transition album and if you listen through their catalogue this is where things start to get a bit stranger. This is still very much a tech thrash album but the riffs are a bit different here, you can see a lot more of that industrial dissonance and syncopation creeping in there. There is a bit more use of dynamics too as well as a bit less all out thrash. It's hard to really pin down exactly but if you listen to the albums either side it's very clear what I'm talking about in terms of the transition (when in doubt listen for yourself!).

Given the transition this album faces a few teething problems, the riffs aren't quite as addictive as previous albums and the songs aren't quite as memorable or interesting. However it's still a fantastic album in it's own right but probably a tier 2 by Coroner standards, that said read my scars and tunnel of pain are A grade Coroner material.

Tracklisting:

1		Die By My Hand (3:46)
2		No Need To Be Human (4:30)
3		Read My Scars (4:31)
4		D.O.A. (4:19)
5		Mistress Of Deception (4:57)
6		Tunnel Of Pain (4:29)
7		Why It Hurts (3:47)
8		Last Entertainment (3:59)

Download Here: (Coroner - No More Colour, 256kbps)

Coroner - Masked Jackal, Live in East Berlin

After R.I.P. Coroner refined their tech thrash formula and released the masterpiece punishment for decadence, in my view I don't think anyone has recorded better tech thrash than that. Many consider this their best (those more metal inclined) and many more argue that they blossomed much later, there is no debating it's one of their best though.

I've already uploaded punishment for decadence so instead of reposting (go here or just scroll down) I'll give you this super sweet video of Masked Jackal live:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m55dcBIk_1k

Those men really know how to thrash, flawless! It's as if they're racing each other sometimes.

P.S. I would upload a proper embedded video on here but I don't have a copy of the video on my hard-drive and downloading stuff off youtube is laborious.

Coroner - R.I.P. (1987, Switzerland) Technical Thrash Metal

I've decided to upload the entire Coroner studio discography because they're such a sick band, one of my all time favourites, they didn't release a bad album.

The story goes something like this. 3 dudes were roadies for Celtic Frost, one day those 3 dudes decided "Fuck it we can shred" and started a technical thrash metal band, the result is one of the more interesting musical trajectories for a metal band. Whilst it's very easy to identify a Coroner song their style and musical approach changed dramatically over the years from tech shredding thrash to industrial progressive metal. There is so much to like about this band for me, Ron Broder's haggard vocals, thick swiss accent included, Tommy Veterilli's amazing riffage and bitchin' soloing, Marky Edelman's intelligent clockwork drumming, it's perfect!

To start with here is the debut R.I.P. A very raw and unrefined Coroner yet even then they still stood tall over the vast majority of thrash bands with their addictive tech riffs, unique melodic style and sheer musicianship - Many regard them as the Rush of thrash metal - not unjustifiably - given they are a power trio with prog inclinations and ridiculous skills. Opener 'Reborn through hate' is a Coroner classic, airtight tech thrash riffs as far as the eye can see. The album highlight though is the instrumental track 'Nosferatu' featuring super-super cheesy tongue in cheek (you'd hope, it's funny regardless) 'orchestra hits'. Coroner's instrumentals are probably what Yngwie Malmsteem would sound like if he was cool and played good music and wasn't a fat swedish toad in leather pants. The title track is another smash hit single on this album, some of their best material really and they had a lot more to come.

This isn't their best but it's far and away one of the best tech thrash albums every released, which says more about other bands than Coroner really.

Tracklisting:

1		Intro (1:23)
2		Reborn Through Hate (4:52)
3		When Angels Die (4:41)
4		Intro (Nosferatu) (1:11)
5		Nosferatu (3:34)
6		Suicide Command (4:19)
7		Spiral Dream (4:05)
		Written-By, Composed By - Tom G. Warrior
8		R.I.P. (5:36)
9		Coma (4:14)
10		Fried Alive (4:40)
11		Intro (Totentanz) (0:51)
12		Totentanz (4:12)
		Written-By, Arranged By - A.M. Siegrist
13		Outro (1:15)

Download Here: RIP.rar [61.25MiB]

Pond - Psychedelic Mango (2008, Australia) Space Funk

I was reluctant to post this for a while, ever wary of shameless self-promotion. Then I realised it's a fucking blog, post the damn thing - so here we are.

Pond are a collective of hairy, sexy men and women that are all riding the bigger groove. They started out when the 3 core members, Paisley Adams, Shoshef Orion McJam and Wesley Goldtouch (aka Wiry B. Buddha) took mushrooms and wrote a whole bunch of songs for a gig they had to play. From there the pond ecosystem bloomed with lucious flora and exotic faunae and this recording was made.

I have something of a cameo role on this album (the voice of god) and most of it was written and recorded before I even joined the band. So with that in mind I can say without blowing my own horn that this album is tits, my two favourites are the super funky 'mick manmoose' and the token prog epic album closer 'Bees'. Although every song on here is sweet, in fact I'm considering right now changing my two favourites to the psych/folk/chutney funcastle 'pyschedelic mango vision' and the towering psychedelic inferno of triumph 'don't look at the sun'. Hopefully you dig as much as I do anyway.

And if you do dig you can buy a copy here from local Perth label Badminton Bandit for only 10 bucks Australian! But first you should listen:

Download here: Pond - Psychedelic Mango v0.rar [62.69MiB]

Technical Jibber-Jabber

Megaupload is being a weiner and I can no longer upload files there due to technical problems, will work to get them resolved, I have heaps of stuff to upload.

Silver Apples - Silver Apples (1968, U.S.A.) Psychedelic/Electronic

This is one of those strange albums that even some 40 years after its release still sounds futuristic and original. This was very much a pioneering electronic music release and it's easy to see why it was ahead of its time - samples, repetitive drum beats, heavy synth bass (not a synth but a DIY collection of oscillators as it were) are all stylistic traits shared by many forms of modern electronic music. Yet as much as this is a forward thinking album it is still identifiable as belonging to the late 1960s. The syncopated repetitive drums still share many stylistic traits with the jazzier brand of drumming prevelant at the time and the harmonised vocals are also fairly typical of psych and folk bands of the time but above all the sound of the recording is the biggest indicator. This is a fairly essential recording for history's sake even if I weren't to mention the killer tracks 'osciallations' and 'program'.

1. Oscillations 2:48
2. Seagreen Serenades 2:55
3. Lovefingers 4:11
4. Program 4:07
5. Velvet Cave 3:30
6. Whirly-Bird 2:41
7. Dust 3:40
8. Dancing Gods 5:57
9. Misty Mountain 3:26

Download here: (Silver Apples - Silver Apples, 320kbps)

Zorch - Ouroboros (1975, U.K.) Psychedelic/Electronic

This album is one with a great many reference points. In some ways it is stylistically similar to electronic kraut bands such as Ashra, Tangerine Dream and Kraftwerk (on Electro Flow in particular). On top of that there is a real British prog rock sophistication to the music as well, the first two songs are what I would imagine Gong or Hawkwind would sound like with just synthesizers and no live instruments or vocals. It should be noted too that there are some deep cosmic ambiences here which sound uncanilly like some modern ambient electronic music so these guys were well and truly stepping out of the shadows of the German giants. Then we have the minimal synth sounds that are quite similar to groups such as Irsol although perhaps a little less busy. Anyway whatever you want to call it or whoever you want to compare it to, it's still fantastic, relaxing electronic music that is well worth a listen.

Track Listing:

1. Mother Earth
2. Electro Flow
3. Elohim 1
4. Elohim 2
5. Elohim 3
6. Elohim 4

Download here: (Zorch - Ouroboros, 192kbps)

Anamanaguchi - Dawn Metropolis (2009, U.S.A) Chiptune

Anamanaguchi are quite a phenomenal band and nothing I've heard really comes close to their sound. NES music is one of my favourite things, to me the image I have in my head is a bunch of crazy Japanese musical geniuses sporting composition majors, very limited resources, a very narrow frame to work within and a head full of caffeine. The result was some of the most inventive and inspiring music ever composed. Cut to about 20 years later and Anamanaguchi are using the NES hardware not to emulate or bastardise the NES music they love, rather to add something unique to the same body of work. The music is overblown, fast exceptionally well composed NES music supported and enhanced by live guitars and drums. The result is pretty much a perfect combination. The inbuilt NES syntheszers play parts that would be far too cheesy and complicated for guitars while the shoegazing guitars fill in the gaps and lay the bed for the music to flow on. Finally the drums add the final element of realism transcending this music to something completely unique and inspired. Not quite sure who I'd recommend this too, some people that I thought would like it didn't and some I thought wouldn't ended up loving it dearly, at any rate I strongly recommend this release to the adventurous listener.

Footnote: These guys are the real deal and have created a website with psychedelic NES-like video clips for each song, this is definitely worthwhile: http://www.dawnmetropolis.com/

Also given this release is very new and these guys are a legitimate independent band I would feel like a bit of a dick if I didn't add a link to their website where you can buy the album:
http://anamanaguchi.com/

Given they already have the songs on the internet I'm sure they don't mind me uploading the album for your enjoyment though.

Tracklisting:

1		Blackout City
2		Jetpack Blues, Sunset Hues
3		Dawn Metropolis
4		Danger Mountain
5		Overarrow
6		Temoest, Teamwork, Triumph (At Sea)
7		Mermaid

Download here: Anamanaguchi - 2009 - Dawn Metropolis (V0).rar [47.57MiB]

Colour Haze - Colour Haze (2005, Germany) Stoner Rock

One of the finest purveyors of stoner rock I've heard. These German lads display obvious kyuss worship (a good thing) with the added intricacy of prog rock that one would expect from an adeventurous teutonic rock band - even indulging in a glorious 22 minute epic! There is a striking similarity between the overall tone of this record and that of kyuss' blues for the red sun record. I think it's largely due to the major scale jamming and hopeful yet huge feel. And yet despite this acoustic guitars and fragile clean guitar lines are also quite at home here too and there is no apparent or obvious distinction between one or the other. There is really quite a fantastic use of dynamics. It's clear these guys have taken a bunch of great influences from 70's psychedelic music and and 90's stoner rock and made something completely original yet strangely familiar. Strongly recommended to any fan of psych or stoner grooves.

Track Listing:

1 Mountain 6:37
2 Tao Nr. 43 5:26
3 Did Êl It 2:18
4 Love 9:20
5 Solitude 3:45
6 Peace, Brothers & Sisters! 22:11
7 Flowers 7:18

Download here: Colour Haze - 2004 - self titled - (Elektrohasch EH003).rar [98.23MiB]

Heldon - Interface (1978, France) Psychedelic/Electronic

This is France's answer to krautrock, melding the rhythmic aesthetic of French Zeuhl with the electronic experimentation and guitar jams of German Kraut. There are two flavours on this album. The first features juicy fat sequenced bass synthesizer parts repeated over and over with steady drums and furious guitar wailing, the execution of this is perfect and amounts to far more than the sum of its parts. The second part is more focussed on dual synthesizer battles with jamming in the background. The way these two approaches compliment each other really makes this album something special.

1 Les Soucoupes Volantes Vertes (2:26)
Jet Girl (9:49)
2.1 Part I: In New-York Or Paris, Equivalent
2.2 Part II: In South Bronx
3 Le Retour Des Soucoupes Volantes (2:21)
4 Bal-A-Fou (7:22)
5 Le Fils Des Soucoupes Volantes (Vertes) (1:47)
6 Interface—Live [Part 1] (6:19)
7 Interface—Live [Part 2] (2:04)
8 Interface (19:02)

Download Here: Heldon - VI Interface 1978 - V0.rar [106.33MiB]

Kreator - Terrible Certainty (1988, Germany) Thrash Metal

The Teutonic thrash scene in Germany produced a distinctly brutal and crusty variation of the genre as opposed to their American cousins' more melodic approach. Kreator were the spearhead of this German movement and after releasing the pummelling 'pleasure to kill' in '86 to great acclaim and heavily influencing the start of the death metal movement they released this gem of an album. Terrible Certainty was an odd follow up album to their breakthrough hit with the production moving more along the black metal spectrum of music production resulting in a much harsher and grittier atmosphere. This is probably the main reason that this album is so under-appreciated, but while the production may have to some opinions regressed the riffage is spectacular and quite incomparable.

The sonic environment and emotional response elicited from Terrible Certainty are rather unique as at times the sense of melody is rather weird. Vitriolic, messy, unhinged and ruthless it's a like a serial killer after a few too many steins of lager. On songs like 'Toxic Trace' they tap into something new, the melody in the breakdown is by no means defined but it is particularly strong - if these tonal relationships even qualify as a melody in the traditional sense. To quote from an anonymous spectator after my crusty punk band debuted a new song at a house party recently "This is some next level shit man!". I love pretty much everything about this album, the ferocity, the haggard loose feel, the unbridled speed, the memorability and catchiness of every riff, it's all I could ask for in thrash album!

Tracklisting:

1		Blind Faith (4:04)
2		Storming With Menace (4:23)
3		Terrible Certainty (4:26)
4		As The World Burns (3:48)
5		Toxic Trace (5:30)
6		No Escape (4:58)
7		One Of Us (3:59)
8		Behind The Mirror (4:31)

Download here: (Kreator - Terrible Certainty, V0)

Mutant Sounds Blog

The music from the last two posts I discovered thanks to the magnificent mutant sounds blog - easily the best music blog on the internet. These guys are hardcore prog/DIY punk/New-wave/No-wave/avant/experimental/minimal synth nuts and they have posted thousands of super rare and under-appreciated recordings for download. I found reading it was also a good entertaining way to waste time whenever I was in a boring situation near a computer.

http://mutant-sounds.blogspot.com/

Transparent Illusion - Still Human (1981, U.K.) Minimal Synth

I think of this album as being what Syd Barrett would have recorded had he been born 2 decades later. Transparent Illusion is a one man project by a guy named Roy Young, one man, one synth, one drum machine and a whole lot of amazing music. The melodies here are everything, perfect little ditties, there are no weak songs here just 12 solid songs full of uplifting yet depressing synth music. The music itself is a super simple distant sounding drum beat, a fat Korg MS-20 sound playing harmonies and melodies and distant out of tune drunken englishman vocals. With albums like these though it is the characteristic simplicity that makes it have such a great impact, there is no missing the point, no overlooking anything and you can develop a full appreciation of the sound very quickly and easily. As a result virtually overnight it became one of my favourites, this one is easy to recommend because it is so easy to get into and so good at the same time.

Tracklisting:

1 Sections
2 Incubus
3 Nuclear Release
4 Killing Time
5 The Age Of Ridicule
6 Malice Way
7 Demented
8 The Human Cage (Still Human)
9 We
10 I Dream I'm You
11 Is There Hope
12 Vortex

Download Here: (Transparent Illusion - Still Human, 128kbps - sorry!)

Irsol - First Contact (1983, U.K.) Minimal Synth

True synthesizer music. Relaxed, spatial, lo-fi, waves of psychedelic synth with drum machine backing beats. For what it is this extremely catchy music, the songs are basic in structure with usually a few layers of synth under a drum machine underneath but these guys make their equipment go a long way. The Korg MS-20 is a mainstay of experimental synth recordings and gets a solid workout here with fat bass, the 'whoosh' and a whole bunch of other cool stuff. The beats here are some of my favourites from a drum machine, '11:45' in particular, interestingly a lot of the beats are made using a TR-808 drum machine, and on 'Main Sequence' it almost sounds like a spaced out backing track for 90's rap!

I'm really not sure how to describe the vibe this album gives off it's slightly confusing in a good way because there is quite a bit of territory covered in terms of emotion and melody, from the upbeat to the regimented to the sparse. Loneliness and isolation seem to be a recurring theme through some of the songs musically (there are no vocals) particularly in my favourite track '3rd day'. The 18 minute title track would also make a good soundtrack to being abandonned in space (whereas '3rd day' is more invocative of a desert, and 'before breakfast' an ocean).

This is definitely an album I'd recommend to people who know nothing about minimal synth music - because I know nothing about it and it along with 2 or 3 other albums have really got me interested.

Track Listing:

Tracklisting:
1 Reesoning
2 11:45
3 Before Breakfast
4 Concentration
5 Pleasure Thro' Pain
6 After Tea
7 Main Sequence
8 Anthem
9 3rd Day
10 First Contact
a Emergence
b Gas Giants
c Lifescan
d First Contact

Download Here: (Irsol - First Contact, 128kbps - sorry!)

Nile - In Their Darkened Shrines (2002, U.S.A.) Technical Death Metal

One of the things that stops me from getting into a lot of death metal is that there is an awful lot of it that is relatively unremarkable and uninspired, one can only take the whole 'tune down a few steps, play fast with blast beats and double kick, growl lyrics about dismemberment etc' paradigm so far before it becomes a bit of a chore. This is one of the reasons I love Nile, they (or more specifically guitarist/vocalist/frontman Karl Sanders) are thematically inspired unreservedly by ancient Egypt and Egyptian mythology and they write amazing songs with dynamics and atmosphere. Not to mention the fact that they tune lower, play faster and have better riffs than pretty well any other extreme metal band around today.

In Their Darkened Shrines is a pinnacle of modern death metal, pretty well every song on there is great within it's own right if not memorable. From the remarkable opening frenzy of "The Blessed Dead" complete with choir wailing underneath the chorus the listener is bombarded with lightspeed tech riffage, blast beats and oft cascading growls from up to 3 band members. The furious pace of the first two songs is offset by the sludgy pummeling of "Sarcophagus" where we get a sample of the of the atmospherics and dynamics mentioned earlier. The epic near 12 minute "Unas Slayer of the Gods" is the real jewel in this crown though enticing the listener with a brief acoustic guitar introduction before giving the perfect display of Nile in all it's glory, gut wrenching speed with elaborate harmonised guitar, sludgy riffs, atmospheric sections with horns, and some juicy drum parts, pretty much the perfect Nile song. While touching on the drums I should mention Tony Laureno is the real star of this album, while there are (believe it or not) faster and more technical drummers out there (including his successor in Nile) the drum parts he comes up with are so original and unforgottable given the context they are in. The album finishes with the 4 part In Their Darkened Shrines suite offering up more of the same flavour that Unas offered and finishing the album off perfectly.

At first this album was a difficult listen for me given the speed and heaviness of everything going on here but after some time it seriously grew on me and is now my number one driving album. Essential for any death metal fan.

Track List:

1. The Blessed Dead (04:53)
2. Execration Text (02:47)
3. Sarcophagus (05:10)
4. Kheftiu Asar Butchiu (03:52)
5. Unas Slayer of the Gods (11:43)
6. Churning the Maelstrom (03:07)
7. I Whisper in the Ear of the Dead (05:10)
8. Wind of Horus (03:47)
9. In Their Darkened Shrines, Part I: Hall of Saurian Entombment (05:09)
10. In Their Darkened Shrines, Part II: Invocation to Seditious Heresy (03:51)
11. In Their Darkened Shrines, Part III: Destruction of the Temple of the Enemies of Ra (03:12)
12. In Their Darkened Shrines, Part IV: Ruins (06:02)

Total playing time: 58:43

Download Here: (Nile - In Their Darkened Shrines, 192kbps)

Name Change

I decided to change the name of the blog to something slightly less shite.

I've finished working full time and start uni next week so updating may well happen with surprising frequency, probably not to start with though.

Asia Minor - Between Flesh and Divine (1981, France) Symphonic Prog

A melancholy contemplative prog album from the fertile French scene. Between flesh and divine plods on like a rainy day, occasionally bursting into a tense angry fuzz guitar section reminiscent of luminous bands from the Italian prog scene with equally as much venom and vigor. This album certainly does have a genuine air of sadness to it being a culmination of the passionate contemplative flute playing with sparse synth textures, melodious guitar playing and the dead pan vocal delivery (the vocalist sounds like he has just been broken up with).

This one is a definite keeper, recommended for fans of staring gloomily out a rain splattered window or any of the great French or Italian prog bands .

Track Listing:

1. Nightwind (6:23)
2. Northern Lights (7:45)
3. Boundless (3:00)
4. Dedicace (6:11)
5. Lost In A Dream Yell (7:42)
6. Dreadful Memories (3:00)

Total Time: 34:01

Download here: (Asia Minor - Between Flesh and Divine, 192kbps)

Not dead

In case anyone should care, I'm not going to let this blog die. I have entered an extremely busy phase of my life with full-time work and about 5 gigging bands and lots of drinking and merry-making. I'll get right back into this guy once things calm down a bit, probably get really into it over the summer (Australian that is).

Thanks for reading.

Cynic - Focus (1993, U.S.A) Technical death metal/fusion

I lied in the last post about Atheist completeing the holy trinity of jazz death metal, I forgot I hadn't posted this guy. Here we have another completely different approach to melding jazz and extreme metal, out of the three albums posted here this would definitely be the most jazzy. Probably the first thing you will notice when you start listening are the weird robot vocoder vocals, it took me a while to get used to but now I appreciate their place in the music.

Composition is the name of the game here, very deep and complex song structures with great melodic balance and use of dynamics. Veil of maya tipifies this with a syncopated guitar/bass/drums assault leading into a new agey breakdown and coming out the other side with sick riffage before sinking into a yazz chord laden guitar solo. Instrumental textures is pretty much a pure jazz fusion song and displays a fantastic array of musical textures from pretty flourishes to jazzical technophobic bass solos. The interplay of guitar wizard Paul Masvidal and drum wizard Sean Reinert is pretty special, an interesting factoid is that Paul and Sean actually played on Death's Human album, but you wouldn't know it from this.

One of the things that I like about this album is the thematic content of spirituality and philosophy, a bit hippie wank is a refreshing change from the "you are dead, you got sodomised, I fucking killed you" of most death metal (not that I dislike that kinda stuff - obviously). Although all that said they did end up going just a bit too far down the spirituality path after recording focus and recruited a female singer, turned totally new age and recorded a demo under the name 'Portal'. A few of the best portal songs are included on this remaster and I actually really like them, the portal demo as a whole is pretty unlistenable though.

This guy is one of the most original metal albums around, definitely worth investigation. I should note that I have a pretty bad fever at the moment so a lot of what I just typed is probably a bit loopy, that's not a disclaimer though - just a fun fact.

Track Listings

1. Veil of Maya (5:23)
2. Celestial Voyage (3:40)
3. The Eagle Nature (3:30)
4. Sentiment (4:23)
5. I'm But a Wave to... (5:30)
6. Uroboric Forms (3:32)
7. Textures (4:42)
8. How Could I (5:29)

Total Time: 36:15

Download here: (Cynic - Focus, variable bit rate ~220kbps)

Atheist - Unquestionable Presence (1991, U.S.A.) Technical Death Metal

Completing the holy (unholy?) trinity of jazz influenced death metal is this gem of an album which is probably my favourite metal album to date. The band strikes a perfect balance between balls out technical prowess, thoughtful melody and death metal aggression. All the tracks here are winners and I've gone through phases where I could have said any individual track on the album is my favourite. That should give you some indication of the depth and quality of the writing of late bassist Roger Patterson. And certainly the writing and composition is everything here, it's clear the band took the time to painstakingly write proper tech songs as opposed to slapping some riffs together, plopping a solo near the end and calling it a day. Instrumentally these guys are wizards too, Steve Flynn's furious jazz fusion drumming is of particular highlight with Tony Choy's slap bass is not far behind and the solos of Rand Burkey and Frontman Kelly Shaefer are the icing on the tasty cake.

The technicality here reaches the perfect balance where it will satisfy you if you have a short attention span but you can still follow and enjoy the song fully which is quite a feat and most of the sections are quite addictive to boot. And in my opinion the level of technicality plotted against the level of addictiveness usually gives an appropriately mathematical description for the quality. This one is an essential Tech-Death album.

Track Listings

1. Mother Man (4:34)
2. Unquestionable Presence (4:07)
3. Your Life's Retribution (3:17)
4. Enthralled In Essence (3:38)
5. An Incarnation's Dream (4:53)
6. The Formative Years (3:30)
7. Brains (3:41)
8. And The Psychic Saw (4:45)

Total Time: 32:25

Download Here: (Atheist - Unquestionable Presence, V0)

Ashra - New Age of Earth (1977, Germany) Electronic Kraut/Ambient

Manuel Gottsching's first solo outing continuing the legacy of Ash Ra Tempel albeit in a much more spaced out and electronic domain more akin to Tangerine Dream. This album is awash with rich electronic tapestries, waves of undulating sound with gentle melodies bobbing up to the surface of the minimal but deep compositions. Sunrain sets the tone early with a fairly upbeat and genuinely content feel with masterfully composed incremental build-ups utilising a chord progression that strikes a great balance between tension and resolution. Ocean of tenderness slows things down and is a vast and uncharted sea and Deep Distance gives way to the darker, sadder nightdust capping the album off nicely. This is one of my favourite albums to go to sleep to, gently nurturing, safe, warm and beautiful I don't think I've ever made it to the end of the album without out peacefully drifiing off. Perfect chillout album.


Track Listings

1. Sunrain (7:26)
2. Ocean of Tenderness (12:36)
3. Deep Distance (5:46)
4. Nightdust (21:52)

Total Time: 47:40

Download Here: (Ashra - New Age of Earth, V0)

The Mars Volta - Tremulant EP (2002, U.S.A.) Pysch Rock

There goes my obscure music nerd cred! - A band that is on the charts these days? surely not? This is one of my favourite recordings, it caught me at a time when I was just starting to delve into prog and I loved it then and I still love it today.

The sound is remarkably different from modern day TMV. Here instead of 'angular' well produced hard rock we have a refreshingly gritty recording with a dark and genuine atmosphere. This is the distillation of a bunch of minds that had indulged liberally in all manner of psychedelic substances and had a pent up musical urge that needed to get out. 'Eunuch Provocateur' is easily the best song the band has ever recorded, the way it goes from subdued melancholy guitar to a trance inducing almost electronic drum beat is inspiring and the feverish chorus and complex melodies really set it apart as something quite special. Likewise the intensity of Opening track 'Cut That City' is both confronting and delightful and on the whole the three songs are undeniably cohesive in their construction perfectly tempering furious bursts of jagged riffing with mellow passages.

I only wish the band had have stuck with this style of music and recording for a while longer, oh well I should really be grateful they even recorded this guy in the first place. I guess that's the trade off with quitting drugs if you're a musician - on one hand you get your health back, on the other hand you'll never write music the same again.

Track Listings

1. Cut that City (5:44)
2. Concertina (4:54)
3. Eunuch Provocateur (8:48)

Total Time: 18:26

Download Here: (The Mars Volta - Tremulant EP, 192kbps)

Dark Angel - Darkness Descends (1986, U.S.A.) Thrash Metal

Coming from the golden year of thrash 1986 this is some brutal and surprisingly well produced thrash. When describing this album you only really need to say "Gene Hoglan" to grasp how punishing and ferocious Dark Angel's brand of thrash is. 'Hoggers' gives a drum clinic here, he hits harder, faster and plays more creative beats than just about any thrash drummer that was around at the time. Backed up by a great band Hoggers and co manage to deliver one of the most aggressive, adrenalin pumping thrash catharses there is.

Track Listing:

1.	Darkness Descends	05:53
2.	The Burning of Sodom	03:18
3.	Hunger of the Undead	04:19
4.	Merciless Death	04:08
5.	Death Is Certain (Life Is Not)	04:18
6.	Black Prophecies	08:34
7.	Perish in Flames	04:52
Total playing time		35:22

Download Here: (Dark Angel - Darkness Descends V0)

UPDATE: having some problems with this link, unfortunately it keeps on being removed from megaupload. I haven't received any requests to take it down so I'll look at uploading it again and using alternate hosting services when I have the time.

UPDATE: Got it working

Eskaton - 4 Visions (1979, France) Zeuhl

This is without a doubt my favourite Zeuhl album and probably universally the most accesible and enjoyable. It pretty much distills all of the small sub-genre's little quirks into solid tangible components of music thanks largely to some pretty pristine production for the late 70's. After a steady build it becomes clear about 2 minutes into the album why this one is a winner, the upbeat jaunt gives way to a thunderous bass riff, a commanding drum beat, heavy augmented organ chords and a synth lead that floats off into space - it's a formidable combo. This approach is repeated in the second song 'Attente' where the funky, dancable and jazzy drums and brutal throbbing bass forcably command the attention of the listener.

It's interesting to see that while a lot of the tracks start in a similar fashion they differ immeasurably as they progress. Once the music is up and going it travels through a dozen or more different parts without you even noticing - a great example of progressive songwriting done right.

The vocals are female, high pitched, operatic and French so it's a bit hit and miss in that department. I tend not to notice them these days and aside from not being a great fan of them stylistically there isn't anything particularly wrong with them - it's not like they sing out of tune and they're probably the only thing that is less than exceptional about this album.

Track Listings

1. Eskaton (10:24)
2. Attente (10:12)
3. Ecoute (13:00)
4. Pitié (8:44)
5. Le Cri (9:05)

Total Time: 51:25

Download Here: (Eskaton - 4 Visions, 320kbps)

Anaal Nathrakh - When Fire Rains Down From The Sky ...Mankind Will Reap What It Has Sewn EP (2003, U.K.) Grindcore/Black Metal

Armageddon. Heaviness is hard to describe. There are many things that contribute to it such as technicality, how downtuned and distorted the guitars are, how compressed the drums are, the nature of the vocals, how fast the music is to slightly more intangible things such as lyrical content, atmosphere and overall intensity. One thing is for sure there will always be an element of the extreme metal community that pushes these boundaries for better or for worse regardless of the consequences, resulting in music that doesn't serve any purpose but to push the envelope.

Anyway I could go on about heaviness forever, the point is this album is ridiculously heavy yet is still incredibly musically relevant and enjoyable to listen to, it's one of the heaviest things I've heard and certainly the heaviest thing I enjoy. The music is composed of a drum machine, heavily distorted bass, screamed distorted vocals and a gut ripping guitar that pretty much makes the album. The two masterminds behind the project VITRIOL and Irrumator have put deep thought into song writing and riffs here, the impact of this is that the music will depart from the all out blast-beat attack into a long breakdown with deep incantations (as seen in the outstanding opener 'Cataclysmic Nihilism') which gives rise to a sparse old-testament style plague ridden atmosphere and it is for reasons like this that I think this album is particularly heavy - more than the sum of its parts.

All that said this EP can be nauseating, on first listen I knew I loved it but I couldn't stomach more than 2 and a half tracks for quite some weeks. These days it can be a somewhat contemplative experience due to the overwhelming sense of despair conveyed by the uncompromising melodies and tortured screams set to the unrelenting blast-beat of a drum machine (tempered of course by some killer breakdowns).

This is a dangerous album, if you have the gall to withstand the onslaught you will probably end up loving this EP, if you don't it may grow ever so slowly on you or you may detest it completely. Approach with caution.

Track Listing:

1.	Cataclysmic Nihilism	04:48
2.	How the Angels Fly In (We Can Never Be Forgiven)	02:49
3.	Never Fucking Again	04:12
4.	Genesis of the Antichrist	04:29
5.	Atavism	06:06
6.	When Fire Rains Down from the Sky, Mankind Will Reap as It Has Sown	04:24
Total playing time		26:48

Download here: (Anaal Nathrakh - When Fire Rains Down From The Sky ...Mankind Will Reap What It Has Sewn EP, 320kbps)

Dün - Eros (1981, France) Zeuhl

Another great release from the French Zeuhl scene. Dün (taking their name from Frank Herbert's sci-fi novel 'Dune') give off a strong Zappa-esque rock orchestra vibe, due the rich instrumentation and the precision and class with which all these instruments are played, for some reason. This well considered instrumentation is coupled with the Zeuhl norms of pounding bass rhythms, virtousic jazz drumming and forboding melody creating a rich and diverse instrumental tapestry with vibes, flute and piano seeming to fit nicely against brutal throbbing bass.

Individual tracks are hard to single out as highlights given the fairly orchestral nature of the song writing, they all subscribe to a musical theme and are best viewed as a whole. The bonus tracks in the re-release version are great additions though and shed a whole new light on the compositions as they are significantly different from their album counterparts but of the same quality. This is one of the great Zeuhl albums, strongly recommended.

Track Listings

1. L'Epice (9:25)
2. Arrakis (9:36)
3. Bitonio (7:09)
4. Eros (10:17)
5. Bitonio (alternate) (10:20)
6. Arrakis (alternate) (5:07)
7. Eros (alternate) (7:11)
8. Acoustic Fremen (unreleased) (6:17)

Total Time: 65:22

Download here: (Dün - Eros, 192kbps)

Voivod - Killing Technology (1987, Canada) Technical Trash Metal

An amazing and unique thrash release. Probably the heaviest and most abrasive Voivod album, does a perfect job of conveying a post-apocalyptic robot infested landscape. I'm a big supporter of albums with a cohesive atmosphere that consistently elicits a similar kind of imagery from a listener.

I found this one to be quite a grower (as is the case with all Voivod for me) and once you get on the same wavelength as the technical and catchy riffs then you fully appreciate the greatness of this album. My favourites are the two opening tracks, the title track and 'Overreaction'. It's hard to describe the odd sense of melody present as it melds atonal, augmented and blues ideas and due to this odd amalgam it's definitely a love or hate kind of taste and for many it's certainly love. Highly recommended to fans of Tech-thrash (even though most tech thrash fans would already know about this classic).

Tracklisting:

1		Killing Technology (7:33)
2		Overreaction (4:45)
3		Tornado (6:02)
4		Too Scared To Scream (4:14)
5		Forgotten In Space (6:10)
6		Ravenous Medicine (4:23)
7		Order Of The Blackguards (4:28)
8		This Is Not An Exercise (6:10)
9		Cockroaches (3:40)

Download Here: (Voivod - Killing Technology, 192kbps)

Kaipa - Inget Nytt Under Solen (1975, Sweden) Symphonic Prog

Symphonic prog in the style of Yes, Genesis with a genuine scandanavian twist to it. Formed by Flower kKings frontman (or the Flower King himself) Roine Stolt before the aforementioned group formed. The music is very synth heavy and whilst some may find it slightly cheesy at times the brilliant song writing and musicianship outshine such shortcomings. 'Skenet Bedrar' is easily the best song, a beautifully crafterd 21 minute epic with some great upbeat jazzy passages in the middle. The title track (which translates to 'Blow hard all tradewinds' and is sung in English in the bonus live tracks) is my personal favourite evoking a very rare and genuine melancholy. Highly recomended to 70's/scandi prog fans.


Track Listing:

1. Skenet bedrar (21:41)
a) Uppvaknandet (2:43)
b) Bitterheten (3:10)
c) Hoppfullheten (4:44)
d) Överheten (8:12)
e) Vilseledd (2:52)
2. Ömson sken (3:17)
3. Korståg (5:19)
4. Stengrodornas parad (0:53)
5. Dagens port (2:53)
6. Inget nytt under solen (6:10)
Bonus tracks on cd release:
7. Awakening / Bitterness (6:08)
8. How might I say out clearly (4:02)
9. The gate of day (2:25)
10. Blow hard all tradewinds (6:17)
11. Skenet bedrar (Live) (14:08)
12. Från det ena till det andra (2:47)

Total Time: 76:00

Download Here: (Kaipa Inget Nytt Under Solen, 256kpbs)

Nuclear Assualt - Handle With Care (1989, U.S.A.) Thrash Metal

Ferocious thrash metal gem. Nuclear Assault are characterised by their rather high pitched (for thrash) lead singer John Conelly (also featuring thrash legend Danny Lilker on bass) and their absolutely killer breakdowns. The This is probably one of my most listened to thrash albums and every song solid as a rock - 'New song', 'Emergency' and 'Search and Seizure' are standouts as well as the quite different closing song 'Trail of Tears'. A very cathartic listen, great for driving too.

Track Listing:

1		New Song (2:58)
2		Critical Mass (3:19)
3		Inherited Hell (3:30)
4		Surgery (2:44)
5		Emergency (3:20)
6		Funky Noise (0:50)
7		F# (Wake Up) (2:58)
8		When Freedom Dies (2:34)
9		Search & Seizure (4:11)
10		Torture Tactics (2:22)
11		Mothers' Day (0:32)
12		Trail Of Tears (5:44)

Total playing time: 35:05

Download here: Nuclear Assault - Handle with care (1989).rar [52.83MiB]

Mekong Delta - Visions Fugitives (1994, Germany) Progressive Thrash/Classical

Thrash/Classical? Thats right, this album is probably the most unique thrash album I've ever heard. The first 2 songs are great slow paced proggy thrash songs but things really start to get interesting with songs 3-8. Mekong Delta have managed to almost seamlessly meld thrash instrumentation with classical song structure and and instrumentation resulting in a completely unique experience. This is the polar opposite of some Yngwie character shredding his fingertips off in a baroque chord patttern, it's more like Wagner with double kick and riffing guitars. The last 2 songs are upbeat thrash songs with great dreamy melodies that perfectly cap off this weird album, a very interesting listen.

Track Listings

1. Them (5:05)
2. Imagination (4:47)
Suite for Group and Orchestra: (tracks 3-8)
3. Introduction (The Danger in Dreams) (2:11)
4. Preludium (Lord Kevin's Lament) (5:01)
5. Allegro (Mhorams Victory) (4:23)
6. Dance (The Corrupt) (2:33)
7. Fugue (Knowledge) (4:23)
8. Postludium (Lena's Daughter) (2:35)
9. The Healer (7:34)
10. Days of Sorrow (5:03)

Total Time: 43:48

Download here: (Mekong Delta - Visions Fugitives, 192kbps)

Gentle Giant - Octopus (1972, U.K.) Progressive Rock

Gentle Giant are a somewhat polarising band in that they are fairly hard for a lot of people to get into and are a bit of an acquired taste (certainly the case for me) and as such they are fairly under-rated or neglected. However like any fine wine, acquiring the taste is well worth the effort as we a rewarded richly with some very technical, very catchy and intriguing progressive rock. It's hard to describe these guys accurately in word form, best to have a gamble and listen to them, if anything to appreciate the unfathomably complicated and utterly incomparable vocal harmonies in songs like 'knots'.

Track Listings

1. The Advent Of Panurge (4:45)
2. Raconteur Troubadour (4:03)
3. A Cry For Everyone (4:06)
4. Knots (4:11)
5. The Boys In The Band (4:34)
6. Dog's Life (3:13)
7. Think Of Me With Kindness (3:31)
8. River (5:52)

Total Time: 34:15

Download here: (Gentle Giant - Octopus, 192kbps)

Nektar - A Tab In the Ocean (1972, U.K.) Space Rock

How's that for a crazy cover? Another space rock classic in the same vein as Hawkwind. Hard-rock influenced but with incredibly strong songwriting with the epic title track being the perfect example of this - every chord change and cadence is well considered and musically robust. A must for space rock and psychedelia fans.

Track Listings

1. A Tab In The Ocean (15:31)
2. Desolation Valley (5:45)
3. Waves (2:53)
4. Cryin' In The Dark (5:27)
5. King Of Twilight (4:07)

Total Time: 33:43

Download here: (Nektar - A Tab In the Ocean, ~210kbps variable bit-rate)

Watchtower - Energetic Disassembly (1985, U.S.A.) Technical Thrash Metal

The saying 'ahead of its time' gets thrown around like juggling balls at a circus these days and being one to stray from such cliches it is only with careful consideration that I would lump something into such a category. Energetic Disassembly was FAR ahead of it's time, Watchtower took thrash to it's extreme before some of the biggest names in the genre had even lifted a guitar Thrash metal didn't exist to most people before a slew of big releases in 1986 launched it onto the musical radar.

The music here is obscenely technical but in such a way as to express aggression and paranoia as opposed to being a crutch or a gimmick, it's an integral part of the music as opposed to an obstacle preventing the music from happening that we see so often happen these days. What exactly is it that justifies the technicality? - well the songs are catchy and fun as hell. The guitar and vocal harmonised interplay in Asylum has to be heard to be comprehended. The title track has one of the most killer breakdowns in a thrash song. And Meltdown is a tech-thrash anthem that has major hooks, especially the chorus with hilariously awesome lyrics - that you can actually hear! Good luck singing along with them though, you'd need give your gems a mighty squeeze before you sing that high.

Every part of this musical tapestry is utterly chaotic (not to mention virtuosic) from the shredding solos and lightning scale runs of Billy White to the equally light fingered bass work of Doug Keyser to the falsetto banshee wail of Jason McMaster to the jazz syncopated electronic drum lunacy of Rick Colaluca. I must admit it took me a long time to get used to and to like the wailing 80's vocal style but I actually quite like it these days, it certainly fits in with the music.

On another note some people consider this the first ever progressive metal release, so there you go, Tech-thrashers should enjoy.


Track Listing:

1.	Violent Change	03:22
2.	Asylum	03:48
3.	Tyrants In Distress	05:59
4.	Social Fears	04:41
5.	Energetic Disassembly	04:39
6.	Argonne Forest	04:38
7.	Cimmerian Shadows	06:35
8.	Meltdown	03:59

Total playing time37:41


Download here: (Watchtower - Energetic Disassembly, V0)

Coroner - Punishment for Decadence (1988, Switzerland) Technical Thrash Metal

The Swiss are well known for their precision and the tech-thrash power trio that is Coroner keep this reputation strong with this tech-thrash triumph. While it's one thing to play technical music it's an entirely different art form to make catchy and relevant technical music that uses the technicality as a tool rather than a crutch. It is Coroner's ability to make catchy yet technical riffs that makes them one of my favourite metal acts, likewise it is how they display this skill on this particular album that makes it one of my favourite metal albums.

Thrash power trio's are fairly rare but with the amazing skill of these guys you couldn't really justify adding a second guitarist. Tommy Vetterli the guitarist possesses great skill which doesn't particularly impress me compared to his skill at writing some amazing riffs. Ron Royce has a unique euro-trash growl and is more than able to carry on the riffage while Vetterli is soloing. And Marky Edelmann is the glue that holds it all together with his technical, modest and super-tight drumming.

The album starts off very strongly (after a brief intro) with 'Aborbed' and it really gives you a great taste of what the album is about, it's interesting in that to me it seems like it possesses some of that rare and triumphant 'hard-rockin' spirit - the kind that is raw and devoid of cliche cheese, and it is contrasted perfectly alongside technical, atonal and bitchin' generally riffs. To perfectly grasp this intangible concept I speak of the cover of 'purple haze' sums it up perfectly. The third song 'Masked Jackal' is a thrash metal classic, amazingly catchy with near perfect riffing and construction and some great solos thanks to guitar wizard Tommy Vetterli. I'm a big fan of well considered solos in thrash as opposed to the all too common million notes a second atonal spam.

The instrumental Arc-lite is a lesson in what neo-classical metal should be (or could be), don't let that phrase deter you (it certainly would deter me). The song is a well considered yet highly aggressive thrash metal take on classical music that actually has emotional gravity to it, really it just needs to be listened to as it's hard convey with words and it exemplifies the song content on the album - well written with a perfect balance between melody and aggression.

This is one of the all time great thrash albums and deserves to mentioned in the same breath as classics like Kreator's Terrible Certainty, Dark Angel's Darkness Descends and Nuclear Assault's Handle with Care.

Track List:

1.	Intro	00:13
2.	Absorbed	03:42
3.	Masked Jackal	04:48
4.	Arc-Lite	03:20
5.	Skeleton On Your Shoulder	05:34
6.	Sudden Fall	04:50
7.	Shadow Of A Lost Dream	04:32
8.	The New Breed	04:53
9.	Voyage To Eternity	03:42
10.	Purple Haze (Jimi Hendrix cover)	03:21
Total playing time		38:55

Download Here: (Coroner - Punishment for Decadence 192kbps)

Hawkind - Warrior On the Edge of Time (1975, U.K.) Space Rock

Another classic space rock album from one of the best known names in the genre. This is pretty much the quintessential space rock album, from the upbeat melodies of 'Assault & Battery' to the chilled out, driving, instrumental grooves of 'Opa-Loka' to the tense middle eastern soundscapes of 'Magnu' this album is solid spacey gold. The spoken word sections are forgettable and ignorable and Lemmy of motorhead fame's closing song on the album doesn't really fit (but is interesting none the less from a thrash enthusiast's point of view) but the catchiness and the greatness of each (proper) individual song is formidable and forces this one up into the ranks of classics.

Track Listings

1. & 2. Assault & battery part I / The golden void part II (10:20)
3. The wizard blew his horn (2:00)
4. Opa-loka (5:40)
5. The demented man (4:20)
6. Magnu (8:40)
7. Standing at the edge (3:45)
8. Spiral galaxy 28948 (3:55)
9. Warriors (2:05)
10. Dying seas (3:05)
11. Kings of speed (3:25)

Total Time: 47:15
Bonus track on all cds
12. Motorhead

Download here (Hawkwind - Warrior on the edge of time, ~230kbps variable bit-rate)

Eloy - Ocean (1977, Germany) Space Rock

An all time classic Space rock album, very much on the prog side (as opposed to the psychedelic side) of the space rock spectrum. Very well produced with a very rich oceanic (as the name would suggest) washy sound. There is some great guitar and synth interplay here, when one is creating soundscapes the other is playing lead type melodies and visa versa. I'm also a big fan of the cheesy epic lyrics sung with a thick German accent, I think they add a lot to the character of the album and the theme of oceanic gods and Atlantis is rich and compelling to begin with. This album is essential for any space rock enthusiast.

Track Listings

1. Poseidon's Creation (11:38)
2. Incarnation Of The Logos (8:25)
3. Decay Of The Logos (8:15)
4. Atlantis' Agony At June 5th - 8498, 13 p.m. Gregorian Earthtime (15:35)

Total Time: 43:53

Download Here: (Eloy - Ocean, 224kbps)

Subterranean Masquerade - Suspended Animation Dreams (2005, U.S.A) Progressive Metal

This album is similar to conventional progressive metal in name only as it defies pretty much every convention in what many would consider a stale and cliche genre. The mastermind of the band is Tomer Pink and he displays an amazing array of songwriting prowess given that the album touches on probably more than a dozen genres although most often with good results. The songs 'no place like home' and 'wolf among sheep' are very memorable classics with a very defined and complex sense of melody and direction.

Track Listings

1. Suspended Animation Dreams (2:26)
2. Wolf Among Sheep (6:26)
3. No Place Like Home (7:59)
4. Kind of a Blur (3:12) The Rock
5. The Rock'N'Roll Preacher (9:06)
6. Six Strings to Cover Fear (6:48)
7. Awake (14:23)
8. X (4:28)

Total Time: 54:50

Download here: (Subterranean Masquerade - Suspended Animation Dreams V0)

Brainticket - Cottonwoodhill (1971, Switzerland) Psych, Krautrock

One of the few Swiss bands to garner the krautrock label (and truly deserving) Brainticket's debut album is a great psychedelic record. It sees repetitive organ riffing placed in amongst random samples and an infamous spoken word section by a woman sounding like she's either possessed or about to climax. Solid kraut release.

Track Listings

1. Black Sand (4:05)
2. Places Of Light (4:06)
3. Brainticket Part I (8:21)
4. Brainticket Part I [Conclusion] (4:36)
5. Brainticket Part II (13:14)

Total Time: 34:22

Download here: (Brainticket - Cottonwoodhill, 256kbps)

Repulsion - Horrified (1989, U.S.A.) Grindcore

One of the earliest grindcore albums, recorded in 1986. This album is extremely crusty and primitive (in the best possible way) with great riffing , furious blasting and one ferocious, noisy solo every song. It's a formula that takes surprisingly long to get old as well with enough compelling material to keep any keen grind fiend happy. The second CD contains some of the most poorly recorded inaudible demos every commited to tape but it's a fun one off listen just for that reason. This one is essential for fans of early extreme metal.

Tracklisting:

		Disc One: Horrified
1-1		The Stench Of Burning Death (1:33)
1-2		Eaten Alive (1:37)
1-3		Acid Bath (1:30)
1-4		Slaughter Of The Innocent (1:32)
1-5		Decomposed (1:21)
1-6		Radiation Sickness (2:03)
1-7		Splattered Cadavers (1:24)
1-8		Festering Boils (1:51)
1-9		Pestilent Decay (1:03)
1-10		Crematorium (1:29)
1-11		Driven To Insanity (1:39)
1-12		Six Feet Under (1:10)
1-13		Bodily Dismemberment (1:45)
1-14		Repulsion (1:44)
1-15		The Lurking Fear (1:08)
1-16		Black Breath (2:16)
1-17		Maggots In Your Coffin (1:45)
1-18		Horrified (2:04)
		Disc Two: Rarities
		Genocide 11/84 Rehearsal Demo
2-1		Armies Of The Dead (2:23)
2-2		Satan's Whores (2:35)
2-3		Crack Of Doom (2:30)
		Genocide Violent Death Demo Autumn '85
2-4		Armies Of The Dead (1:42)
2-5		Six Feet Under (1:33)
2-6		Violent Death (1:05)
2-7		The Lurking Fear (1:34)
2-8		Crack Of Doom (1:59)
2-9		Horrified (2:32)
		Genocide WFBE Demo 1/26/86
2-10		The Stench Of Burning Death (1:29)
2-11		Decomposed (1:34)
2-12		Slaughter Of The Innocent (1:50)
2-13		Eaten Alive (1:50)
2-14		Six Feet Under (1:18)
2-15		Crypt Of Terror (1:49)
2-16		The Lurking Fear (1:19)
2-17		Festering Boils (1:56)
2-18		Pestilent Decay (1:13)
2-19		Black Nightmare (2:03)
2-20		Bodily Dismemberment (1:54)
2-21		Horrified (2:13)
		Genocide Live 5/14/86
2-22		Radiation Sickness (2:05)
2-23		Black Breath (2:17)
		Repulsion Excruciation EP/Demo
2-24		Excruciation (3:31)
2-25		Helga (Lost Her Head) (3:25)
2-26		Rebirth (3:05)
2-27		House Of Freaks (2:42)
		Repulsion 1991 Final Demos
2-28		Depraved (2:59)
2-29		Face Of Decay (3:14)
2-30		Something Dead (3:30)

Download here: (Repulsion - Horrified, 256kbps)