Thanks, It Came As A Set

Twitching Tongues - Sleep Therapy (2011)

2012-02-06T10:24:00.000-08:00

1. I Fell From Grace Feet First
2. Insane & Inhumane
3. Astigmatism (Of The Phallic Muscle)
4. Distance Clause
5. Sleep Therapy
6. Voluntary Confinement
7. Arm In Armageddon Part I: Freezing
8. Arm In Armageddon Part II: The Peril Of Our Seasons

As usual, I've fallen behind on posting new releases. So much so that I'm posting albums that I've been listening to for months. Releases from last year in fact.

Ever since I heard Twitching Tongues demo back in 2010 I knew that these guys would be massive and when it came to them re-releasing those demo tracks alongside a couple of new recordings and a jaw-dropping Pentagram cover, my predictions were quickly coming true. Then, at the end of last year the band finally released their highly anticipated debut album.
"Sleep Therapy" expands the band's doomy hardcore style that they delivered on their previous releases into something all together spectacular. Their dark, brooding riffs and melodic vocals make them stand out amongst the ever-crowded US hardcore scene. It's obvious that Twitching Tongues don't seem to be ashamed of their influences. "Sleep Therapy" is made up of elements of Type O Negative's tongue-in-cheek gothic humour, Only Living Witness hard rock stylings and some good old Sabbath worshipping riffs. This album is a perfect a fitting tribute to these often underappreciated bands.

Meth Drinker - Meth Drinker (2011)

2012-02-03T12:23:00.000-08:00

1. Deprivation
2. Incurable Illness
3. Ganja Mutt
4. Combat Shock
5. Skull Smashing Concrete
6. The Shining (Main Title)
7. Serrated Corridor
8. Narco Sub
9. Broken Down and Used Up

New Zealand isn't the first place I think of when I hear the words sludge or doom. The bands bands most associated with those tags are usual found in the swamps of New Orleans or doing the pub-circuit around the UK, living out their Black Sabbath dreams but not Meth Drinker. I discovered this band's self titled record towards the end of last year and I still can;t get my head around how heavy they actually are. have you ever listened to Eyehategod and thought to yourself; "you know what this band needs? More distortion." Well, Meth Drinker deliver that by the horrible sludgy gallon. Mixed in with their excessively doomy riffs are the odd eerie samples that make this a challenging yet utterly brilliant listen.

Intense Degree - War In My Head (1988)

2012-02-03T08:34:00.000-08:00

1. Intense Degree
2. Victim Of Pain
3. There's A Time In Your Life
4. In My Room
5. Vagrants
6. Daydreams
7. Your Doing
8. All The Guys
9. Take No Chances
10. Allegiance
11. This Is Me
12. Bursting
13. What I Miss
14. Skate-Bored
15. Future Shock
16. Envy
17. Three Jays
18. Politician
19. Hangin' On
20. Warp Spasm
21. Never Conform
22. Friends Never Stay
23. Null Zone
24. Today
25. Intense Degree

In 1988, a lot was happening in the British music scene. Punk bands had begun to experiment with their sound and take things to the extreme. Up and coming bands like Napalm Death and Sore Throat who were influenced by the underground US hardcore scene at the time increased their tempos to a frantic and, at times, almost unlistenable pace. From then on, what we have come to know as 'grindcore' was born.
Sounding less metallic than a lot of their fellow British grind bands, Intense Degree had the speed, thanks to Frank Pendelbury's rapid drumming, but stayed true to their hardcore roots. Released on Earache in 1988, "War In My Head" delivers 25 short, thrashy songs similar to that of legendary American crossover pioneers D.R.I. and Cryptic Slaughter.

Skinfather - Atheos (2012)

2012-01-27T12:06:00.000-08:00

1. Christ Disease
2. Unburial Rites
3. Slave To Faith
4. Dead Deity
5. Atheos

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Anyone who is still sobbing into their 12 inch copy of Dismember's "Indecent & Obscene" over their recent decision to call it a day will be glad to hear that the legendary Stockholm sound lives on.
This brilliant new EP by Californian band Skinfather delivers five incredibly heavy songs reminiscent of the classic 90s Swedish death metal scene. Packed full of distortion-laden, Entombed worshipping riffs with an added metallic hardcore twist.
It seems that there's currently a new wave of metallic hardcore bands drawing influence from the death metal sound. Bands like Black Breath and Trap Them have already made quite a name for themselves with their take on the Stockholm style and hopefully Skinfather go on to receive the credit they deserve for this impressive record.

Go download this EP for free over on the band's BANDCAMP site.

Atheos by Skinfather

Inherit - Inherit (2011)

2012-01-24T08:33:00.000-08:00

1. Ritual Of Disappearance
2. Desire To Grow
3. Moment Of Awareness
4. A Minute To Pray (Zero Tolerance Cover)

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I thought I'd start with a record that I picked up over Christmas for the blog's first post of 2012. Released back in November, this brilliant 7 inch has rarely left my turntable this month. London-based straight-edgers Inherit have produced one of the best British hardcore records. Period. Their combination of fast-paced, old school New York hardcore and heavy thrash riffs, topped off with their positive lyrics bring to mind the likes of NY crossover legends Cro-Mags and personal favourites Leeway. The thrash influence is most notable on "Moment Of Awareness". The instrumental intro even reminds me a lot of early Annihilator. The added bonus on this record is the amazing Zero Tolerance cover featuring a guest appearance from Scott Vogel (Buried Alive, Terror, S.O.S.)
This is the kind of music that is quite obviously made by die-hard hardcore fans with so much attention to detail and enthusiasm put into not only the songwriting but the artwork and packaging that comes with it.
Inherit are definite ones to watch this year.

Listen to this over at the band's BANDCAMP site.
You can still buy this from The Essence Records or via the band here: Inherit Cartel

T,ICAAS in 2012

2012-01-24T08:12:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year!
Bit late but y'know.

I'd love to be able to say that it's been a busy month here at the T,ICAAS H.Q. but in all honesty, I've just not logged in all month to update anything.
Simple. As. That.

There's already been a load of new releases this year and it's not even the end of January plus there's plenty of records that I still need to post up on here from last year (need to catch up.)
I'm hoping to post a lot more new demos in the coming months so any bands that want a short review and a bit of promotion please send demos over to the usuall address on the right >>

Here's a picture of Shaq and a panda.

That is all.

...

Don't Believe The Hype.

Obliteration - Perpetual Decay (2007)

2011-12-24T09:29:00.000-08:00

1. Sadistic Nekroaboration
2. The Abominator
3. Breeding the Sick
4. Repent
5. Instrumental
6. Perpetual Decay
7. Guts and Glory
8. Consumed by Flames
9. Sepulchral Entity
10. Sinstorm

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After a recent rediscovery of some classic death metal albums I've been looking through my CDs for some newer releases that I haven't listened to for a while. I'd totally forgotten that I owned this album and better still, thanks to the people of Peaceville records, it's a signed copy. Bonus.
Anyways.

When you think of Norway's connection to metal music you'd no doubt think of it's infamous 90s black metal scene and find yourself struggling to think of much in the way of death metal bands. That's where Obliteration come in. Taking influence from the late 80s/early 90s Florida 'Morrisound' scene and combining it with aspects of classic European bands such as Pestilence and Asphyx, Obliteration created a brilliant modern death metal record without sounding too polished. Although the band have a definite American influence they haven't lost track of their native county's trademark style. The band have been mentored by Fenriz from Darkthrone, a band from their home town of Kolbotn, who quickly signed them up to his Tyrant Syndicate label.

Antichrist - Forbidden World (2011)

2011-12-19T10:43:00.000-08:00

1. Dark Sorcery
2. Militia of Death
3. Torment in Hell
4. Forbidden World
5. Necropolis
6. Victims of the Blade
7. Death Rays
8. Sign of the Beast
9. Minotaur
10. Terror Dimension

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Chances are, if you stumbled upon this LP in your local record store you'd be forgiven for thinking that this is some thrash obscurity, lost amongst the numerous releases by bands back in the mid to late 80s riding the success of thrash metal. But no. This album was written and recorded in 2011 by thrash-loving Swedes Antichrist.

Antichrist have somehow managed to create an 80s thrash album in the Pro-Tool age. This, I'm still amazed by. Although there's plenty of bands that have produced some amazing thrash albums in recent years that all have been influenced by first wave thrash legends, Antichrist unashamedly taken the best parts of all their influences and created an album that resembles classic releases by the likes of Slayer, Kreator and Possessed. Just listening to this brilliantly written record you can tell that the band are die-hard thrash fans. This album could have only been recorded by a group thrash geeks. It's got everything that you want from a thrash album. Ridiculously fast riffs, pummeling drum rhythms, evil screamed vocals and high pitched, chaotic Slayer-esque guitar solos.

Sea Of Shit - Sea Of Shit (2011)

2011-12-18T13:42:00.000-08:00

1. Worn Out
2. Swallowed Whole
3. Priorities
4. Full Disclosure
5. Episodes
6. Worried Sick
7. Worst Enemy
8. Resignation

FACEBOOK

I first heard this band on their brilliant split with the now-defunct fellow Chicago band Socially Retarded last year and was blown away by their incredibly heavy sound. When it comes to powerviolence sometimes the recording is usually hit or miss. With more and more underground bands thrashing out noisy basement recordings all the time, and good on them for doing so, it was good to hear such a recording like Sea Of Shit's split have such a clear sound. All without losing the nihilistic attitude or heaviness. Fast forward a year and the band have released a self titled EP. This record is made of eight songs and comes in just over the nine minute mark. There's enough on here to give you a full blast of Sea Of Shit's intense style to keep any grindcore or powerviolence fan happy yet it leaves you eager to hear more.
If the latest release from Weekend Nachos was your kind of thing then this EP will no doubt be right up your street. This is easily one of my highlights of 2011.

Listen to the record on the band's Bandcamp Page...
HERE

And buy the 7" over at PRGNT Records' store...
PRGNT

Robby kindly left a download link in the comments section so feel free to download this EP here...
DOWNLOAD

Repulsion - Horrified (1989)

2011-12-06T10:17:00.000-08:00

1. The Stench of Burning Death
2. Eaten Alive
3. Acid Bath
4. Slaughter of the Innocent
5. Decomposed
6. Radiation Sickness
7. Splattered Cadavers
8. Festering Boils
9. Pestilent Decay
10. Crematorium
11. Driven to Insanity
12. Six Feet Under
13. Bodily Dismemberment
14. Repulsion
15. The Lurking Fear
16. Black Breath
17. Maggots in Your Coffin
18. Horrified

Sticking with the heavy stuff, here's Repulsion's one and only full length release "Horrified".
Repulsion were formed from the ashes of various short-lived Michigan based bands in 1984. After choosing not to join up with Mantas' Chuck Schuldiner for what would ultimately become Death, Scott Carlson and Matt Olivo decide to push their music to a new level. Taking influence from the likes of Venom, Slayer UK hardcore legends Discharge, they created some of the most extreme underground music of the 80s.
Repulsion's early demos set the bar for the death metal and grindcore scenes that followed. Their thrashy, hardcore riffs, apocalyptic and horror lyrical themes and their devastating, non-stop blast beats drove the band to play faster and faster and helped influence bands such as British grindcore pioneers Napalm Death and Carcass as well as the then emerging Scandinavian death metal scenes. It's fair to say that without Repulsion, there may not have been the grindcore sound that we know today.

Carnage - Dark Recollections (1990)

2011-12-05T12:14:00.000-08:00

1. Dark Recollections
2. Torn Apart
3. Blasphemies of the Flesh
4. Infestation of Evil
5. Gentle Exhuming
6. Deranged From Blood
7. Malignant Epitaph
8. Self Dissection
9. Death Evocation
10. Outro

I've not been listening to a lot of death metal lately but rediscovering this brilliant album has driven me to dig out some classics.

Carnage were a short-lived band from Stockholm's first wave of death metal bands. Alongside side the likes of Nihilist/Entombed, Dismember (who both shared members), Unleashed and Grave, Carnage helped define what would simply be known as the Stockholm sound, all known for their excessive use of distortion.
Though Carnage may have been overshadowed by their peers, the bands first and only album still stands as one of the heaviest Swedish albums to date. After releasing just one album, the band drifted off into obscurity whilst guitarist Michael Amott British band Carcass whilst vocalist Matti Kärki, guitarist David Blomqvist and drummer Fred Estby went on to reform Dismember after a short hiatus. Later, Michael Amott would again join up with one-time bassist Johna Liiva and form Arch Enemy.

London Posse - Gangster Chronicle (1990)

2011-12-02T11:08:00.000-08:00

1. Money Mad
2. Livin' Pancoot
3. Original London Style
4. Remedy For The Black Ash Blues
5. Jump Around
6. Sexy Gal (feat. Culture Mark)
7. Gangster Chronical
8. Live Like The Other Half Do
9. Oversized Idiot
10. Tell Me Something
11. Jump Around (Censored Mix)
12. How's Life In London
13. Funky Rhyme, Funky Style
14. Pass Me The Rizla

By 1990 hip-hop as a genre and in some cases, a lifestyle, was on the rise in the graffiti covered streets of New York and the gang ruled streets of L.A. but it was a bunch of kids from the grimey estates of London that made the most here impact in the U.K. At the time, a lot of people were trying to immitate their American heroes but The London Posse embraced their British sound and added humour and Cockney slang into the mix. Aswell as this, the group also took from the sounds of their Jamaican roots which gives this album a strong reggae and dub influence throughout.
The London Posse's one and only album made them one of the the best loved UK hip-hop groups of all time. Their style has had direct inlfluence on the ever popular London grime and garage scenes of today.

Thrones Of Deceit - The Crayola Demo (2011)

2011-11-21T08:43:00.000-08:00

1. Liberty Is A Front
2. Lost And Blind
3. Premeditated Collapse
4. Catharsis
5. Hand That Feeds

FACEBOOK

I'm always surprised to find out that people actually take the time to check out my blog. But the best part of doing this blog is when I find a demo in my inbox for my listening pleasure. In this case, I was sent this awesome demo by a new band Thrones Of Deceit from Harrisonburg, Virginia.

Musically, Thrones Of Deceit are not ashamed of their obvious His Hero Is Gone influenced sound. "The Crayola Demo" is packed full of sludgy hardcore riffs and some of the best crust punk I've heard since the last Tragedy album. It's not all fast hardcore though. The band manage to seamlessly go from the classic crusty riffs to almost Neurosis-like slower passages. This brilliantly produced demo only lasts 12 minutes and will no doubt be over before you know it but it's diverse sound should have most people hooked and wanting more. I'm certainly looking forward to future releases. Hopefully Thrones Of Deceit get the attention they deserve.

As well as being able to stream the full demo on the band's Facebook page, you can download this demo here...
Download

Iron Curtain - Demo (2011)

2011-11-18T11:09:00.000-08:00

1. Intro
2. Time's Up
3. Square One
4. IronxCurtain
5. Use & Abuse

FACEBOOK

This is one of my most recent purchases. After missing out on the first load of cassettes from this London Straight Edge crew I was happy to discover that the band were planning on releasing it on 7 inch. This is one the best records to come out of the UK hardcore scene in recent years.

Musically Iron Curtain play straight up, 'no frills' hardcore that most people will have come to love. Not ashamed of taking influence from the usual bands like Youth of Today, Bold and Minor Threat, Iron Curtain have taken the old school youth crew sound and made it as relevant and essential now as it what in it's heyday.

Download the demo here...
GET A CLUE

Be sure to purchase the record over at I Drink Milk Records
You won't regret it!

Emperor - Prometheus: The Discipline Of Fire & Demise (2001)

2011-11-18T09:32:00.000-08:00

1. The Eruption
2. Depraved
3. Empty
4. The Prophet
5. The Tongue of Fire
6. In the Wordless Chamber
7. Grey
8. He Who Sought the Fire
9. Thorns On My Grave

Right, so I've not really been posting much on here lately and I've noticed that October appears to have barely any posts and as far as November is concerned it's already the 18th and I've not posted anything. No excuse really. Just been taking a break from this and doing my best to check out loads of new records.
So there. We're up to date.
Now back to the blogging...

When it comes to black metal, I do call myself a fan. Though I doubt I'd earn many 'kvlt' scene points due to my lack of knowledge on the current 'underground' black metal scene that are no doubt still trying to emulate their first wave heroes. There's no shortage of black metal bands out there but I'm going to go out on a limb and say that around 90% of these bands are bad. Not the kind of Michael Jackson 'Bad' but just really mediocre and/or just flat out rubbish. Having said all of that, there are some brilliant bands at the moment producing some of the best metal music today and helping to push the boundaries of this 'sacred' genre and not just slapping on the corpse paint and playing secondhand Mayhem riffs.

Emperor are ultimately the most talented black metal band. I'm sure not many people will argue with that fact. Even from a young age vocalist/guitarist Ihsahn excelled in musicality. The band helped black metal progress from it's primitive Venom and Bathory influenced thrash roots into something quite spectacular. This, the band's fourth and final album is the perfect example of what the band managed to produce. Primarily led by Ihsahn's writing skills, "Prometheus: The Discipline Of Fire & Demise" is grandiose and all together jaw-dropping.

Ironclad - Ironclad (2009)

2011-10-27T09:20:00.000-07:00

1. Same Old Way
2. Seasons End
3. Crushed
4. In The Shallows
5. Cruel Face

I can't believe that I haven't posted this until now. I've been loving this EP for a while now even though sadly I missed out on the original batch of records so I only managed to track down a copy of the record a month or two ago. Totally thought it was already up on here. Nevermind. It's up now.
It was a sad day when Ironclad split up. But the band fortunately split leaving this brilliant EP (Kudos on the KRS-One cover rip) aswell as their amazing demo and their split with Never Again. Musically Ironclad play honest, straight up hardcore packed full of fast, heavy riffs and awesome vocals. Playing hardcore because they wanted to for the fun of it and not just because it was the 'in' thing.
The Welsh scene has produced some of the best best bands in hardcore in recent years and with material as strong as the songs on this record, Ironclad will be sadly missed.

Iron Clad - Birmingham 2010 from Alex Henery on Vimeo.

Monty Python - Monty Python's Previous Record (1972)

2011-10-27T08:39:00.000-07:00

1. Embarrassment/Book At Bedtime
2. Dennis Moore
3. Money Programme
4. Dennis Moore Continues
5. Australian Table Wines
6. Argument Clinic
7. Putting Budgies Down
8. Eric the Half-a-Bee
9. Travel Agency
10. Radio Quiz Game
11. A Massage/City Noises Quiz
12. Miss Anne Elk
13. We Love the Yangtze
14. How-To-Do-It Lessons
15. A Minute Passed
16. Eclipse of the Sun
17. Alistair Cooke
18. Wonderful World of Sounds
19. The Tale of Happy Valley

This one's a bit different from the rest of my posts due to the fact that this is a comedy record. I've never really gave many comedy albums much attention in the past as they near to always include musical numbers and most of the time these songs are usually not funny of just straight up annoying. This is never the case with Monty Python. If you aren't familiar with the work of these British comedy legends then you've clearly been living a sheltered life in some sort of Bret Hart-like training dungeon. (Let's see who gets that reference). The Monty Python crew helped shape the then newly emerging surrealist style of comedy with their incredibly funny sketch show "Flying Circus" and went on to produce some of the greatest and most intelligent comedy movies of all time. Just about sums up their career but do yourself a favour and do you homework.

Anyways...

I knew that The Pythons had recorded several records in the past alongside their TV programme but I hadn't had the chance to check them out until I was given this album by my brother the other day. This record follows their usual sketch format, sharing several sketches with the "Flying Circus" episodes. Personal highlight include John Cleese attempting to get a license for his pet halibut followed by him breaking into the song "Eric the Half-a-Bee", the famous "Argument Clinic" and Eric Idle's long-winded, mind-boggling rant about his hatred of package holidays.
I challenge anyone to listen to this and keep a straight face.

Giant - Demo (2011)

2011-10-22T11:14:00.000-07:00

1. Intro/Douche Chills
2. Do The Right Thing
3. Choose The Wrench/Gym Ratz
4. Me And My Friends

FACEBOOK

Straight outta Oslo, this new Norwegian hardcore crew Giant take influence from the late 80s and early 90s hardcore sounds coming out of Boston and New York and created one of the most exciting underground demos this year. Taking over from where the likes of Warzone and Straight Ahead left off, Giant have managed to recreate the old school sound out of the love of the classic hardcore era without just simply copying it. Also, bonus credit for the Jordan Air artwork.
If you want some fast, fun and overall awesome hardcore then there's no better place to look than Giant. Even though this demo has just dropped I'd pretty excited to hear what's next in store.

You can listen to and download this demo over at Giant's Bandcamp page.
Or you can download it here: Mediafire

Here's a video from the band's first gig featuring a cover of Project X's "Straight Edge Revenge" featuring Porcell himself.

Giant - Don't Stop / Straight Edge Revenge (Feat. Porcell) from Ola Waagen on Vimeo.

Ocean Of Mercy - Ocean Of Mercy (1992)

2011-10-14T10:32:00.000-07:00

1. Every Second
2. That Which Is Not
3. You Left Me

I came across this EP today over at the brilliant xOne Truthx blog and was pleasantly surprised. If you've read any of my previous posts, you'll know that I love searching the depths of the Internet for obscure New York hardcore releases and this has been my best find of late.
I don't know too much about Oceans Of Mercy other than they formed evolved from the band Discipline and featured Franklin Rhi who later went to be a member of Crown Of Thornz, 108 and Shelter amongst others as well as Harry Minas who would later become the drummer of 25 Ta Life. This self titled 7 inch EP appears to be the band's only release.
Musically, Ocean Of Mercy deliver a typical 90s metallic hardcore sound, similar to Cro-Mags but with slightly more melodic vocals. Most fans of early 90s New York hardcore will no doubt love this. If you haven't had a chance to check out this record I recommend trying to track down a copy.

Since this has most likely been out of print for a while, here's a download link courtesy of xOne Truthx.
DOWNLOAD

Waste Human - Humanity Waste (2011)

2011-10-06T09:59:00.000-07:00

1. Intro
2. Monotonous
3. MDP
4. Break The Chain
5. Humanity Waste

WEBSITE

After releasing one of the most exciting demos and a brilliant debut EP, Welsh hardcore crew Wardogs sadly called it a day earlier this year. Don't worry though, some of the members have started up a new band called Waste Human.
The band's first release "Humanity Waste" has quickly become one of my favourite new releases. Of course it does share a few similarities with the Wardogs sound but has less of a NY 'youth crew' sound about it and more of a straight up old school hardcore punk sound.
It seems like Wales never fails to deliver awesome hardcore bands.

The band have put this demo up for download here...
Humanity Waste Download

Thornz - Demo (2011)

2011-10-04T09:19:00.000-07:00

1. Pushed To Death
2. Misery
3. Love Lust

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So I haven't been posting much on here recently but that doesn't mean that I've not been on the look out for new demos. One of my most recent discoveries that I can't stop listening to at the moment is this three song demo by new band from San Antonio, Texas featuring members of both Bitter End and Hardside.
Thornz sound like a 90s band. Plain and simple. They're not like most hardcore bands at the moment. They've taken influence from the hard rock and metal style of Life of Agony, Type O Negative, Stone Temple Pilots and the criminally underrated Only Living Witness and created one of the best demos I've heard this year.

The band have this demo up for download here...
Thornz Download
You can also buy the demo tape over at Born Ill Records...
Born Ill Store

Horrors That You've Seen - Breaking Hearts (2011)

2011-09-25T11:36:00.001-07:00

1. Graves
2. Drop Dead
3. Forget your Past. Bury Your Future
4. Reality (Is All I Have)
5. Sinking Ships...
6. ...Breaking Hearts
7. Expectations
8. Fleshmarket
9. Worthless Idols
10. Doomed
11. Item 9

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Take equal parts of "My War" era Black Flag and Black Sabbath's "Vol. 4" and mix it all up and you'll probably end up with something that resembles this.

Around this time last year I posted Horrors That You've Seen's demo and got a bit excited about discovering a decent hardcore band in Edinburgh for the first time in ages. Fast forward 12 months and the band are finally releasing their debut album.
In such a short time time, Horrors That You've Seen's sound has progressed from the straight up hardcore on their demo to something far more heavier. The band have taken their old school hardcore style of their demo tracks and mixed in elements of doom and stoner metal making "Breaking Hearts" a pretty interesting listen. The newer sludgy sound makes them stand out amongst the countless hardcore bands at the moment. One of the big differences in sound is the brilliant "Expectations" which has a definite post-metal (or whatever you want to call it) vibe to it. Sounding more like Isis that Minor Threat. Then there's aptly named "Doomed" which has one of the heaviest riffs I've heard for a long while. The faster songs are still well and truly present though, notably "Worthless Idols" which features a guest spot from the vocalist of Glasgow band Hush.
Having had the chance to play with such bands as Trash Talk, Brutality Will Prevail, Dead Swans and The Ghost Of A Thousand, (who's vocalist Tom Lacey provides the album's artwork) the band have quicky made quite a name for themselves in and around Edinburgh, helped by their habit of playing some rather energetic sets, "Breaking Hearts" will no doubt prove that they have what it takes to go up against the rest of the UK hardcore scene.

With permission from the band, you can download this album here...
DOWNLOAD

Or you can buy this album via Dead Dead Dead Music here...
Dead Dead Dead

Falloch - Where Distant Spirits Remain (2011)

2011-09-23T11:08:00.000-07:00

1. We Are Gathering Dust
2. Beyond Embers & The Earth
3. Horizons
4. Where We Believe
5. The Carrying Light
6. To Walk Amongst

FACEBOOK

For a band to mix elements of folk and metal and not make it sound cheesy is a challenge. Many bands seem to be obvious to the fact that 'folk metal' isn't cool. Bands like Korpiklanni and Turisas are entertaining for about 10 seconds before you realise that vikings didn't have electric guitars and like Iron Maiden and that they are in fact just a bunch of grown men wearing fur and running about in forests.
One band that has caught my attention lately is the new Glasgow based group Falloch. The Scottish pair, Andy Marshall and Scott McLean, have managed to create one big mix of post-rock, shoegaze, black metal and folk without making it sound forced or at any time... cheesy. Don't let the black metal influence put you of though. This is no way near the likes of Mayhem or Darkthrone's 'kvlt' sound. The band's debut album "Where Distant Spirits Remain" floats by with a certain ethereal quality. There's a very Scottish atmosphere created on this record. Both members cite the Scottish landscape and nature as a major influence which helps them stand out amongst the mass of post-black metal bands that seem to have cropped up in recent years. Fans of bands like french shoegazers Alcest and US metallers Wolves In The Throne room will appreciate the climatic distortion on some of the songs though these moments are well placed and never sound like they're there for just metal credentials. Prog rock fans will no doubt drawn to the overall sound to this album. The general mix of genres works in their favour and shows the group's obvious talent for writing emotional, atmospheric music.

Anthrax - Worship Music (2011)

2011-09-20T07:55:00.000-07:00

1. Worship
2. Earth on Hell
3. The Devil You Know
4. Fight'em 'Til You Can't
5. I'm Alive
6. Hymn 1
7. In the End
8. The Giant
9. Hymn 2
10. Judas Priest
11. Crawl
12. The Constant
13. Revolution Screams

Reason #7 to hate John Bush.

I'm going to go on quite a rant here so brace yourselves...

This album arrived in the post this morning and I've been listening to it non-stop since. Not since 1990's brilliant yet criminally underrated "Persistence of Time" have Anthrax recorded any new material with thrash vocalist extraordinaire Joey Belladonna. Like many Anthrax fans, I've been eagerly awaiting this album and hoping that it would put all the recent releases be 'classic' thrash bands to shame. All whilst trying not to get my hopes up too much as I expected an inevitable let down. I've even purposely avoided any and all reviews so that I could judge it for myself. The only review I have heard was from my mate, and die-hard Belladonna era Anthrax fan, simply telling me... "You'll hate it. It's not fast enough". This, in some part, I've found to be true.

I'm not going to say this is a terrible album. That's not the purpose of this blog. Never has been. But this album does have it's ups and downs. Mainly downs. The main selling point was always going to be the fact that Belladonna was back. The man is back on form. His vocals, although not as high pitched at times, are still perfect. Sure, he's aged but he's still got it. And after years of horrendous albums with John Bush it's a bonus to hear the band doing their best to capture the old sound. Having said that though, there's just something not right. Whether it's the fact that Anthrax have gone too far down the 'modern metal' sounding road, with Rob Caggiano doing his usual production job of making everything sound far too pristine. Or the fact that they seem to have lost the fun side of things musically. They may well be laughing and joking behind the scenes as always but music-wise this album is just a 'metal' album. Though that may just be due to the overall theme of old school metal band worshipping. Then there's the lack of speed. Over the years the band have strayed too far into the ballad territory in the Bush-era. They should really leave the whole ballad thing up to Night Ranger. I know there may not be a ballad on this album per se but there's too many slow songs on this record. And any fan knows that slow songs are never going to show Belladonna's full potential.
There are quite a few high points though, I'm not forgetting that. The intro track in to the awesome "Earth On Hell" is reminiscent of the "Persistence of Time" sound (note the ticking clock) and it's one of the faster moments on the record. Then there's the first single "Fight 'em 'til You Can't" with it's zombie theme and old school riffs. Both tracks also showing that Charlie Benante is still one of the best metal drummers ever.

Overall, this album isn't a total let down as I imagined. Though it's far from being great. There may be a severe lack of Dan Spitz but I can't deny enjoying some of the tracks. I'm happy I didn't purchase the special edition though as Anthrax covering Refused seminal "New Noise" may in fact be the worst thing to happen since Anthrax covered Radiohead's "The Bends". Hopefully this is just the first stepping stone back into the thrash sound and hopefully they stay together long enough to make more music together in future. I would urge you all to buy this album and make up you own mind though. And remember one thing...

Anything is better than John Bush.

End Reign - End Reign (2011)

2011-09-19T11:16:00.000-07:00

1. Horror
2. Abyss
3. To Pray For
4. Dream Eater

FACEBOOK

After puting out a promising demo early last year and then a brilliant split with fellow Brit hardcore mob Alsaka later that year, Durham's finest, End Reign have released their first 7 inch EP. Musically the band have come a long way in the short time between releases. With the sound progressing into an even more dark and menacing Holy Terror-worshipping style of hardcore. Fans of modern crusty grind bands like U.S. bands Nails and Trap Them will no doubt love this EP. End Reign's sound borrows from the heaviness of Cursed and Converge's discordance to make a jaw-dropping mix of heavy riffs and fast paced drumming. Clocking in around the 14 minute mark, these 4 tracks are a fine example of the current hardcore scene in the UK at the moment.

You can listen to this EP in full over at the band's Bandcamp page...
End Reign Bandcamp

Farside - Rochambeau (1994)

2011-09-19T10:58:00.000-07:00

1. Worlds
2. Search For Ourselves
3. Ro-Sham-Bo
4. Free Your Mind
5. Smarter Than Ever
6. Safe Or Sorry
7. Constant Reminder
8. Lost In Space
9. Nowhere Fast
10. Future Days

Released back in the mid 90s in the hay-day of Revelation Records, Farside's brilliant debut album is a fine example of 90s emo and post hardcore. Starting off as a more straight forward New York hardcore band, featuring one-time member Zack De La Rocha of Rage Against The Machine and Inside Out fame, Farside began to move towards a more melodic sound. "Rochambeau" captures their signature sound perfectly. You just need to listen to the opening track "Worlds" to know that this album will be amazing. This album is pretty radio-friendly yet still sticks to the bands hardcore and punk rock roots.

Surf MC's - Surf Or Die (1987)

2011-09-15T08:08:00.000-07:00

1. Surf Or Die
2. Gotta Get Air
3. Big Wednesday
4. Rock That Beach
5. That's Cali For Ya
6. This Surf Is Live
7. Boomin' It
8. Can't Get A Tan
9. You Will Be Served

Surf MC's were a bunch of surf punks from California in the late 80s who formed a short-lived surf punk/rap group. Only releasing one album, "Surf or Die", the group faded away into obscurity. Consisting of MC’s Philly-Phil, IVE, Sidewalk and Cool G mixed surf guitar and a typical 80s day-glo punk rock mentality with simple beats and rhymes about 'getting air', 'surfing pipes' and getting tans. At times Surf MC's come across as a bit of a poor man's Beastie Boys. This may be a light-hearted attempt emulate the Beastie's genre defining "Licensed to Ill" album but you can easily overlook this and just enjoy the album for what it is.

This is long out of print so here's a download link that I found over at Rap-4-Skillz
Surf Or Die!

Public Enemy - Fear Of A Black Planet (1990)

2011-09-11T10:37:00.000-07:00

1. Contract on the World Love Jam
2. Brothers Gonna Work It Out
3. 911 Is a Joke
4. Incident at 66.6 FM
5. Welcome to the Terrordome
6. Meet the G That Killed Me
7. Pollywanacraka
8. Anti-Nigger Machine
9. Burn Hollywood Burn (feat. Ice Cube & Big Daddy Kane)
10. Power to the People
11. Who Stole the Soul?
12. Fear of a Black Planet
13. Revolutionary Generation
14. Can't Do Nuttin' for Ya Man
15. Reggie Jax
16. Leave This Off Your Fuckin' Charts
17. B Side Wins Again
18. War at 33⅓
19. Final Count of the Collision Between Us and the Damned
20. Fight the Power

By 1990, Public Enemy had already released to of the finest hip-hop albums ever and where about to follow it up with another instant classic. "Fear of a Black Planet" is a perfect example of the group politically driven lyrics and their signature 'wall of sound' approach to hip-hop. This album spawned several classic tracks and is still regarded as a defining moment in music.

Earlier this week I got the chance to finally see Public Enemy live. The group had said that the tour would be the entire "Fear of a Black Planet" album but they managed to mix in countless hits and some rarely performed tracks. In the end they played for nearly 2 and a half hours. I was amazed at how much energy and enthusiasm that the group still had. Chuck D (aged 51) and alarm clock wearing Flavor Flav (aged 52) didn't look at all like they were just going through the motions they performed like they were still on an early 90s tour. I was far from disappointed.

Fight the Power.
Bring the Noise.

Kid Flash - He's In Effect (1988)

2011-09-02T10:22:00.000-07:00

1. Hot Like Fire
2. Protection
3. Having Fun
4. Children Of The World
5. Go Jackson
6. It's Legs
7. Ice Cream
8. Love Thing
9. Mind Your Business
10. I Hate The Bus
11. Apartheid

I can't find out much information about Kid Flash or his apparent one and only album "He's In Effect" online. He seems to have faded away in to obscurity. So much so that the only sites I can find info on are vinyl dealers. I discovered this album whilst browsing through Michael Ochs' brilliant "1000 Record Covers" book. This being the only hip-hop album featured in said book I was intrigued as to who Kid Flash was. All I know is that he was a rapper in the late 80s and released this album on Tabu Records in 1988.

Musically this sounds like alot of the big up-and-coming artists of it's time. Artists such as LL Cool J, Eric B. & Rakim and is even reminiscent of some of DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince's earliest records. Especially on the Safe-Sex awareness track "Protection". Something I'm sure The Fresh Prince would happily endorse. This isn't gansta rap this is just light-hearted, intelligent hip-hop. I think this album is awesome and I find it a shame that it seems to have been overlooked. Kid Flash appeared to be a pretty talent rapper. I will be making it my mission to try and track down a copy of this record in future.

Since this album is extremely rare I thought that I'd post the download link that I discovered online.
In Effect

Here's the video for Kid's first single "Hot Like Fire". Introduced by none other than radio 'legend' Tim Westwood.

Rainbow - Rising (1976)

2011-08-31T09:38:00.000-07:00

1. Tarot Woman
2. Run with the Wolf
3. Starstruck
4. Do You Close Your Eyes
5. Stargazer
6. A Light in the Black

If you haven't already heard this album then all I can say is go down to your local record shop (yes, music comes on vinyl too) and buy this record. If the shop doesn't have it then force the shop owner to track down a copy right there and then. I'll wait...

........

OK, now that you have the album, I'll point out the key moments. First of all there's the brilliant synth intro on "Tarot Woman" that sets the epic, bluesy tone for the whole album. Ex-Deep Purple guitarist/(rumoured)occultist Ritchie Blackmore's guitar riffs are non-stop through out. It's undeniable that some of his finest work appears on this album. Then there's the fact that sadly missed Ronnie James Dio, formerly of Elf fame, provides all the vocals. And if you know what's good for you... that's always a sign that the record will be glorious. Then "Stargazer" hits you with a superb example of the late Cozy Powell's exceptional drumming. Overall, this album is by far one of the best heavy metal albums ever written.

G.I.S.M. - Detestation (1983)

2011-08-29T09:01:00.000-07:00

1. Endless Blockades for the Pussyfooter
2. Death Agonies and Screams
3. A.B.C. Weapons
4. Nih Nightmare
5. Document One
6. (Tear Their) Syphillitic Vaginas to Pieces
7. Nuclear Armed Hogs
8. Anthem

First things first, this is an violent album made by nihilistic people. Japanese hardcore punks G.I.S.M. were notorious for their unpredictable and violent live performances. These shows included the likes of the balaclava clad vocalist Sakevi Yokoyama waving lit flares in the faces audience members and attacking concert goers as they screened Vietnam War footage behind the band. Sakevi has even attacked photographers for taking pictures of him and has chased audiences with a flamethrower. Yes, a flamethrower. On top of all that, he's also been said to have fired off live ammunition at shows. Crazy.
That aside, this album has some of the most in-your-face hardcore you'll ever hear. Renowned for incorporating heavy metal riffs into their sound and creating an ugly wall of noise. The band have gone on to influence countless bands and most famously influenced Integrity to create both the black metal and Cleveland 'Holy Terror' sound.

Discharge - Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing (1982)

2011-08-28T10:45:00.000-07:00

1. Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing
2. The Nightmare Continues
3. The Final Blood Bath
4. Protest and Survive
5. I Won't Subscribe
6. Drunk With Power
7. Meanwhile
8. A Hell on Earth
9. Cries of Help
10. The Possibility of Life's Destruction
11. Q: And Children? A: And Children
12. The Blood Runs Red
13. Free Speech for the Dumb
14. The End

Discharge are hailed as one of the finest UK hardcore punk bands and pioneers of the whole 'D-Beat' genre. And this, the band's second album, "Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing" is a perfect example of this great band doing what they do best. Although Discharge have always had their punk roots they also took on board Motörhead's heavier sound to create their signature, relentless riffing. Thrash fans will no doubt be familiar with the song "Protest And Survive" as Anthrax covered it for their "Attack of the Killer B's" album. Not only did the band have a major influence on the following hardcore scene, they also played a big part in the then developing thrash scene.
I was lucky enough to have caught part of their set at Damnation Fest last year and I can tell you that they were still on form. Even with current vocalist Anthony "Rat" Martin taking over "Cal" Morris, Discharge are still proving to new and old fans alike that they are still a vital British band.

Basement - I Wish I Could Stay Here (2011)

2011-08-23T09:44:00.000-07:00

1. Fading
2. Plan To Be Surprised
3. Canada Square
4. Crickets Throw Their Voices
5. Earl Grey
6. Ellipses
7. Every Single Word
8. Yoke
9. Grayscale
10. March

FACEBOOK

After coming out of nowhere and releasing a demo back in 2009 followed by their brilliant "Songs About The Weather" EP, Basement have slowly made quite a name of themselves in and around the UK. Now the band have released their debut album and managed to outdo their previous work and made one of the best albums to come out of Britain in a long while. Basement's sound harks back to a time when 'emo' wasn't a dirty word and wasn't used to label teenagers wearing terrible make up and liking My Chemical Romance. Taking influence from the whole 90's post hardcore sound, Basement have made a record to rival the likes of classics by Sunny Day Real Estate, Jawbreaker and Mineral.
As alot of today's UK hardcore scene has become weighed down by countless bands trying to write the next big 'breakdown' so it's always a bonus to hear a band do something completely different with so much enthusiasm.

Blood Ceremony - Living With The Ancients (2011)

2011-08-23T09:10:00.000-07:00

1. The Great God Pan
2. Coven Tree
3. The Hermit
4. My Demon Brother
5. Morning of the Magicians
6. Oliver Haddo
7. Night of Augury
8. The Witch's Dance
9. Daughter of the Sun

This album is awesome. It's as simple as that. I gave the band's self titled record a listen a while ago and was hooked. Now, the band have released their second album and have somehow managed to excel themselves.
Taking influences from the psychedelic 70s era of heavy metal and prog, Blood Ceremony have created their own brand of doom metal and made a record that sounds like it should be covered in dust somewhere in your dad's attic. The obvious comparisons would be Black Sabbath, Jethro Tull due to their use of haunting flute melodies and of course Coven. I would also compare them to 70s obscurities Black Widow. Both of whom share a strange fascination with psychedelia and the occult.

If you're wanting some heavy riffs... look no further.

N.M.E. - Unholy Death (1986)

2011-08-15T09:48:00.000-07:00

1. Of Hell/Thunder Breaks Peace
2. Louder Than Hell
3. Black Knight
4. Evil Dead
5. Speed Kilz
6. Stormwarning/Blood & Souls
7. Decadent Mayhem/Unspeakable
8. Brick Wall
9. Warrior
10. Lethal Dose
11. Acid Reign

The extremely underrated N.M.E. were pretty much Venom's American cousins. Taking influence from Venom and underground Swiss band Hellhammer, N.M.E. created one of the best extreme metal albums of the 80s but never gained the same amount of attention as countless other US bands of the time. Bands like Possessed were taking the Venom sound and unknowingly starting up a whole new genre. That being death metal. Whereas N.M.E. had more of a raw, hardcore sound that was more of an influence on the then developing black metal scene. Their most famous fan being the late Euronymous of Mayhem.
N.M.E. faded away into obscurity and sadly founding member Kurt Struebing died in 2005 in a car accident. All that after spending time in jail for killing his adoptive mother with a hatchet and scissors whilst high on drugs because "He claimed that he thought he was a robot. He wanted to open up his mother to see if she was a robot also."

Just watch this video for "Louder Than Hell"

Skitsystem - Stigmata (2006)

2011-08-15T08:47:00.000-07:00

1. Apokalypsens Svarta Änglar
2. Våld
3. Stigmata
4. Hat, Klass Och Rang
5. Min Borg Av Hud
6. Blodskam
7. Det Samvetslösa Hatets Plågor
8. Den Mörka Floden I Vårt Hjärta
9. Öppen Grav
10. Slutstation Babylon
11. Solidaritetens Sista Utpost
12. Lepra

Skitsystem (you translate it) have well and truly taken Discharges sound to heart and produced some of the best crusty, d-beat hardcore in recent years. None more so than their 2006 album "Stigmata". From the sounds of industrial clatter on "Apokalypsens Svarta Änglar" this album becomes a wall of noise as riff after riff hits you straight in the face. Even if you can't speak a word of Swedish, as the lyrics are all in their native language, you can still hear that its an aggressive record and appreciate what they've written. Like fellow Swedish crust-punks Disfear, who both have had At The Gates frontman Thomas Lindberg in their line ups, Skitsystem deliver exactly what you want from a Swedish hardcore band.

Blind Guardian - Battalions of Fear (1988)

2011-08-06T12:09:00.000-07:00

1. Majesty
2. Guardian of the Blind
3. Trial by the Archon
4. Wizard's Crown
5. Run for the Night
6. The Martyr
7. Battalions of Fear
8. By the Gates of Moria

Early Blind Guardian (in my opinion) is the best. Though most people enjoy their overly epic power metal output I prefer their early speed metal sound. Having said that, their 95 album "Imaginations from the Other Side" is brilliant. And that's pretty power metal.

Anyways. What better place to start with Blind Guardian than their fantastic first album. Much like fellow German band Helloween, Blind Guardian took influence from the NWOBHM scene and the then developing US speed metal sound to create some of the most influential metal albums to come out of Europe. Anyone that is familiar with the band's demos under the previous name of Lucifer's Heritage (If not then check them out now.) will notice that many of these tracks were re-recordings. If you want some awesome speed metal riffs and epic lyrics about wizards and kings etc. etc. then look not further.

Raging Speedhorn - Raging Speedhorn (2001)

2011-08-05T12:51:00.000-07:00

1. Super Scud
2. Redweed
3. Knives and Faces
4. Mandan
5. Random Acts of Violence
6. Thumper
7. Necrophiliac Glue Sniffer
8. Dungeon Whippet
9. Death Row Dogs
10. High Whore
11. The Gush

Raging Speedhorn were a band that seemed to pass me by. I was always aware of them whilst they were around but I never really gave them much time. Though I do remember the odd single/video and their infamous trashing of their table at the Kerrang! awards. I picked up a copy of their first album today for a couple of quid and realised what I had been missing out on.

Taking influence from fellow British band Iron Monkey, Raging Speedhorn's sound was an interesting mix of narcotic fuelled sludgy riffs and metallic hardcore all topped off by an overall destructive attitude. Back in the late 90s and early 00's there was a brilliant mix of British bands, all producing interesting an unique albums. None more so that Speedhorn's debut.
If, like me, you missed out on such a great band then there's no better place to start than this album.

Hexx - Morbid Reality (1991)

2011-08-04T09:55:00.000-07:00

1. Morbid Reality
2. The Last Step
3. Birds Of Prey
4. Blood Hunter
5. Fire Mushrooms
6. Persecution Experience
7. Watery Graves
8. Spider Jam

Is that a bio-mechcanical Kuato on the cover??

Open Your Mind.

What started off as an 80s power metal/speed metal band, releasing to fantastic Judas Priest-worshipping albums, began to head in a different, heavier direction towards the start of the 90s. After releasing two EP that focused more on their new thrash metal sound, Hexx went onto producing their brilliant "Morbid Reality" album. This album takes their (then) new sound to a new level. The thrash was still most definitely there was more of an overall death metal vibe to this record. This album is quite a rare find but stands up against the classic albums of Dark Angel and Sadus.

Just listen to that piano intro. Straight into some classic Bay Area thrash.
Bet you didn't see that coming.
What did Kuato tell you??

The Firm - The Album (1997)

2011-08-04T09:35:00.000-07:00

1. Intro
2. Firm Fiasco
3. Phone Tap (Intro)
4. Phone Tap
5. Executive Decision
6. Firm Family (feat. Dr. Dre)
7. Firm All Stars (feat. Pretty Boy)
8. Fuck Somebody Else (Intro)
9. Fuck Somebody Else
10. Hardcore
11. Untouchable (feat. Wizard)
12. Five Minutes to Flush (Intro)
13. Five Minutes to Flush
14. Desperados (Intro)
15. Desparados(feat. Canibus)
16. Firm Biz (feat. Dawn Robinson)
17. I'm Leaving (feat. Noreaga)
18. Throw Your Guns (feat. Half-A-Mil)

After the success of Nas's debut album "Illmatic", The Firm was set up by Nas, his manager, Dr. Dre and the production team the Trackmasters. The Firm featured Nas alongside fellow rapper AZ (who he had helped out with his debut after lending vocals to "Illmatic") aswell as Cormega, who was later replaced by Nature, and female rapper Foxy Brown.
The Firm's first and only album was a perfect combination of early 90s East Coast rap and Dr. Dre's signature G-Funk production.

Ugly But Proud - Knuckles From Nowhere (1987)

2011-08-01T09:18:00.000-07:00

1. Death Clowns
2. Split Personality
3. No Hope For Redemption
4. King Zeus

I've just been scouting round for some new blogs to check out to see if there was anything that appealed to me. After stumbling upon a small blog called Michigan Graveyard who mainly deal with rare 90s releases by forgotten bands of various genres from the Michigan, I discovered this brilliant little demo EP from the thrash band Ugly But Proud.
With this band being new to me I don't know very much about them other than their location (Detroit) and the fact that they released a few demos in the late 80s and one full length in 1994 entitled "Bein' Ugly Is Alright".

As far as the music goes, this is actually some pretty enjoyable thrash. There's hints of "Kill 'em All" era Metallica aswell as some pretty technical riffing and tempos that Vio-Lence would be proud of.

Unreckoned - Summer Demo (2011)

2011-07-26T13:22:00.000-07:00

1. Wasted Effort
2. Agony

FACEBOOK

Back in February I posted an EP by a new Chicago based hardcore band Unreckoned. I instantly loved the bands old school sound. Fast forward only just a few months later and they're at it again. This time the band have put out two brand new songs as a "Summer Demo".

Continuing with the Madball-esque NYHC influenced style that they had on the previous record, with their sound having more of a straight forward hardcore vibe and not as sludgy this time round. After releasing a brilliant EP and now these two tracks as a teaser of what's to come, this demo will no doubt have you wanting more.

You can download this demo aaswell as their "Violent Society" EP on the band's Bandcamp page.
Unreckoned BANDCAMP

AZ - Doe Or Die (1995)

2011-07-26T12:36:00.000-07:00

1. Intro (feat. Nas)
2. Uncut Raw
3. Gimme Yours (feat. Nas)
4. Ho-Happy Jackie
5. Rather Unique"
6. I Feel for You
7. Sugar Hill
8. Mo Money, Mo Murder, Mo Homicide (feat. Nas)
9. Doe or Die
10. We Can't Win
11. Your World Don't Stop
12. Sugar Hill (Remix)

AZ first came to peoples attention on Nas's "Illmatic" album after rapping on the track "Life's A Bitch". A year later, AZ went on to release his own debut album "Doe Or Die" with Nas returning the favour and lending his signature rapping to a few songs.
This is definitely yet another prime example of 90s East Coast hip hop.

108 - Holyname (1992)

2011-07-26T12:35:00.000-07:00

1-Holyname
2-Grow
3-Hopeless?
4-Gopinatha
5-10.8
6-Thirst
7-Slave
8-Liar
9-Idefy

I've only just got round to giving 108 a proper listen recently. After watching the NYHC documentary the other week, I found myself wanting to give them another try.

Formed by former Inside Out guitarist Vic DiCara (Vraja Kishor das), 108 played a major part in the rise of Hare Krishna influenced hardcore scene that sprung up in the late 80s and the 90s.

Their debut album, although only being around 16 minutes, is a great example of the more progressive side of 90s New York hardcore.

Nas - Illmatic (1994)

2011-07-26T12:19:00.000-07:00

1. The Genesis
2. N.Y. State of Mind
3. Life's a Bitch
4. The World Is Yours
5. Halftime
6. Memory Lane (Sittin' in da Park)
7. One Love
8. One Time 4 Your Mind
9. Represent
10. It Ain't Hard to Tell

There's some albums that just define a band or artist and in the case of Nas, his debut album "Illmatic" is THAT album.

Personally I don't really enjoy the majority of Nas's albums as they don't seem to have the same feel to them as "Illmatic". After producing such a groundbreaking album, known for it's outstanding rhymes and gritty production, Nas went down more of a commercial route and with loads of other rappers churning out albums left, right and centre, things start to sound a bit 'samey'. But that's just my view I guess.
That aside. This album is by far one of the greatest hip hop albums ever made. There's no doubt about that.

Sepultura - Morbid Visions (1986)

2011-07-14T09:41:00.000-07:00

1. Morbid Visions
2. Mayhem
3. Troops of Doom
4. War
5. Crucifixion
6. Show Me the Wrath
7. Funeral Rites
8. Empire of the Damned

Just look at the cover artwork. I'm going to have a hard time trying to sell this to anyone that hasn't heard this album before if that cover alone doesn't make you want to listen.

Sepultura's debut album, with it's original line up of the Cavalera brothers, guitarist Jairo Guedes and bassist Paulo Jr., is a perfect example of primitive 80s death metal. Taking influence from the growing number of speed and thrash metal bands the Brazilian band gained quite a following with their own brand of fast, heavy music. Like their main influences Celtic Frost and Venom, Sepultura too had Satanic lyrical themes and imagery way before they decided to bring in the cultural sounds of tribal drums and other Brazilian musical styles.

Morbid Angel - Altars Of Madness (1989)

2011-07-14T08:48:00.000-07:00

1. Immortal Rites
2. Suffocation
3. Visions from the Dark Side
4. Maze of Torment
5. Lord of All Fevers & Plague
6. Chapel of Ghouls
7. Bleed for the Devil
8. Damnation
9. Blasphemy
10. Evil Spells

Bit of a cheeky updated post but since I'm never going to post Morbid Angel's new album up on here (sorry Trey but you know that can do better) I decided to post their classic 1989 debut album "Altars of Madness" instead. This isn't some sort of elitist post about how the band were better on their first album or anything like that. I love all of Morbid Angel's albums... bar THAT one. Seriously... what were they thinking.
This is easily one of the best death metal albums ever written. Helping pave the way for countless other bands to follow.
Seeing Morbid Angel live is still a highlight of my life.

Set Apart - Demo (2011)

2011-07-01T07:00:00.000-07:00

1. Intro
2. Idle
3. Breaking Free
4. Signs
5. Hopeless
6. Sink In

FACEBOOK

I've just had this brand new demo by upcoming UK hardcore band Set Apart sent over to me and I have to say, I'm impressed.
I posted their first demo up on here about a year ago and I was pretty excited to hear their melodic hardcore. Fast forward 12 months and it near enough sounds like a totally new band. Set Apart have certainly progressed over the last year. Notably, there's a more of old school New York hardcore influence on these tracks compared to the previous demo. The riffs are heavier and the vocals are sounding more vicious than ever. Musically, they bring to mind recent releases from fellow UK hardcore bands Bays and Broken Teeth.
This progression has definitely been for the better. With the help of some superb production by Jason Frye (Santa Karla) Set Apart have upped their game and delivered yet another impressive demo.

The band are currently doing the rounds on the gigging circuit and have a possible euro tour scheduled for early next year. I recommend checking them out if they are playing near you and check out this demo tape when it drops.

Witchgrave - The Devils Night (2010)

2011-06-30T08:29:00.000-07:00

1. The Devil's Night
2. Eyes of the Undead
3. Satanic Slut
4. Beg for Mercy

MYSPACE

This is not some obscure re-release from the early 80s this is actually a 2010 recording. I didn't think that people could still produce this kind of music these days. With modern technology making it a lot easier for musicians to record I reckoned that records like this were almost obsolete.
But no... Swedish band Witchgrave have created somewhat a musical anomaly. I mean, just look at the cover. This kind of Satan worshipping music was the product of the coked-up, acid-soaked bands of the late 70s and early 80s and rarely found these days. There has been quite an old school metal revival of late but Witchgrave have produced something that this is just awesome. This sounds like "Morbid Tales" era Celtic Frost jamming Venom and Witchfinder General covers.

Experiment Fear - Assuming the Godform (1995)

2011-06-29T11:37:00.000-07:00

1. Thy Will Is Strong
2. Assuming The Godform
3. Shallow Disbelief
4. Comatose
5. Existence Denied
6. Jester of The Anxious
7. ...Thy Flesh Is Weak
8. Give Us This Day
9. Compelled
10. Cryopsy Incomplete
11. In Extremis
12. Judgement of The Dead
13. The Passing

Death metal in the late 80s and early 90s wasn't all from Florida. Wisconsin's very own Experiment Fear were helping define what we know as death metal today. Sadly though, like countless bands from this period of time, Experiment Fear (who once featured a pre-Sanctuary/Nevermore Jeff Loomis) were overlooked and faded into obscurity leaving "Assuming the Godform" as the bands only full length release.
Musically, this album shares a lot of similarities with the Floridian death metal sound. This album brings to mind the thrashier side of Cannibal Corpse's first record and Malevolent Creations earlier albums aswell as the more technical style of Dutch legends Pestilence.

Soothsayer - Have A Good Time (1989)

2011-06-29T10:21:00.000-07:00

1. Free Violence
2. Dig
3. Buzz Fly
4. The Game I
5. 101
6. Go Team Go
7. E.T.
8. The Game II
9. Pimple Sprayer
10. Together To Make A World
11. Changes
12. Rock'N'Roll Forever

When it comes to Canadian thrash you're more than likely going to hear about Annihilator or Voivod. What about Razor? Maybe even Sacrifice. But I doubt that most people will know of Soothsayer.

Soothsayer's style was similar to late 80s New York crossover bands Ludichrist and Nuclear Assault with their fast, punk-ish songs, humorous lyrics and what appears to be the odd in-joke. It's not all just crossover though. There's great slabs of thrash in the mix with awesome riffs and Stephan Whitton's pretty impressive vocals. This record will no doubt be new to many thrash fans and I urge you to try and track down a copy as it is such an underrated album.

Alaska / End Reign - Baphomet (2010)

2011-06-29T08:03:00.000-07:00

Alaska tracks
1. Mark of Life
2. Gold Blood

End Reign tracks
3. Release the Wolves
4. Paradise

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Bit late posting this one up but nevertheless it's still an awesome record.

If there's one thing that the UK is doing right at the moment it's producing new talented bands that play dark, metallic hardcore. Two great examples of this are Alaska and End Reign who have teamed up together and released this impressive split 7 inch.
Fans of bands like Cursed and Rise and Fall will no doubt instantly love both these bands. There's even the odd hint at classic Holy Terror style bands with both bands delivering dark, heavy riffs.

SSS - The Dividing Line (2008)

2011-06-29T07:41:00.000-07:00

1. The Dividing Line
2. Oil And Water
3. The Bastard Stench
4. Waiting Game
5. Toxic Bee
6. Thrash With A Small Moustache
7. Can't Burst The Bubble
8. Bored
9. Invertebrate
10. Purple Reign
11. Hammerhead
12. Sk8+Destroy
13. Ride The Best - Fuck The Rest
14. Flick The Switch
15. Time's Up
16. Street Leech
17. Cherry Island
18. 3.06
19. Last Defence
20. Unrest In The Northwest

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Before I post anything new up on here there's plenty of stuff that I need to post that I haven't gotten round to.

Namely, everyone's favourite Liverpudlian crossover merchants SSS second album "The Dividing Line". Carrying on from the brilliant self titled debut, SSS deliver more of their 80s revival thrash influenced hardcore featuring songs about the likes of small moustaches, toxic bees and of course... skateboarding.
Having finally gotten round to seeing them at Damnation Fest last year, I was blown away by their live energy despite some techincal hiccups.

Cyvoid - Cyvoid (2011)

2011-06-25T09:41:00.000-07:00

1. Revok
2. Phenotype
3. Hardware
4. Facehugger
5. Time To Die
6. Idoru
7. Landfill Gulag

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Firstly, in their own words, here's Cyvoid's 'mission statement'...

"Cyvoid is a hive mind, synchronising bio-inputs through future mech, amplifying ambient signals to channel psychic violence. Meat rhythms trigger sonic kill-blasts, abstract impulse-systems machined for neural war. Cyvoid is hardwired to the global image net, autonomy decentred in polarized dataflows throughout the simulacral polyverse. Broadcasting human mindscapes from the terminal megaopolis, Cyvoid cannibalizes alien salvage to induce bioelectrical interference in civilian subjects. Cyvoid is viral, prosphetic, hallucinating a future ruled by non-carbon-based species. Hybrid warp metal."

Got that? Good.

Cyvoid are somewhat a supergroup made up of members of The Plight, End To Empires, Antares and the sadly missed Send More Paramedics. The band's style is a concoction of classic thrash metal, hardcore riffs and space-influenced Voivod-esque proggy weirdness to create an awesome and unique brand of crossover. Of course with having the brilliant vocals of Professor Oblivion (formerly B'Hellmouth) they share certain similarities with Send More Paramedics but with the other members bringing in aspects of their own bands to the mix, Cyvoid have created something altogether new and interesting whilst being strangely familiar. Plus, with songs about such things as Universal Soldier ("Hardware") and Alien ("Facehugger") they should appeal any fan of classic sci-fi movies.

I've been pretty excited about this band since they first announced their creation and I've been waiting eagerly for this record to be released. Thankfully I got the chance to see them the other day as part of a local thrash-fest and I got my hands on one of these mini CDs. Awesome on record... even more mind-blowing live. Cyvoid are definitely ones to watch out for.

Cyvoid - Facehugger from cyvoid on Vimeo.

Cyvoid - Time To Die from cyvoid on Vimeo.

Judas Priest - Painkiller (1990)

2011-06-25T09:17:00.000-07:00

1. Painkiller
2. Hell Patrol
3. All Guns Blazing
4. Leather Rebel
5. Metal Meltdown
6. Night Crawler
7. Between the Hammer & the Anvil
8. A Touch of Evil
9. Battle Hymn
10. One Shot at Glory

You haven't heard "Painkiller"??? Where have you been for the past 21 years????

I don't really have much to say about this album other than it possibly the greatest metal album ever written. FACT.
If you haven't heard this album then I recommend, no, I demand that you go out right now and buy it. Oh and whilst your at it... treat yourself to a pair of red leather trousers. It's what Glenn Tipton would want you to do.

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Judgment Night - Music From The Motion Picture (1993)

2011-06-21T08:51:00.000-07:00

1. Helmet and House of Pain - Just Another Victim
2. Teenage Fanclub and De La Soul - Fallin'
3. Living Colour and Run DMC - Me, Myself, & My Microphone
4. Biohazard and Onyx - Judgment Night
5. Slayer and Ice-T - Disorder
6. Faith No More and Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E. - Another Body Murdered
7. Sonic Youth and Cypress Hill - I Love You Mary Jane
8. Mudhoney and Sir Mix-A-Lot - Freak Momma
9. Dinosaur Jr. and Del tha Funkee Homosapien - Missing Link
10. Therapy? and Fatal - Come and Die
11. Pearl Jam and Cypress Hill - Real Thing

Possibly the greatest movie soundtrack ever. Well... of the 90s at least.

Although "Judgment Night" may not be the greatest movie ever made it still has it's moments and is all together a rather enjoyable 90s movie. What's even better though is the now legendary soundtrack that has become more popular than the movie itself. The soundtrack featured eleven collaborations between 90 rock, metal and hardcore bands with some of the biggest names in hip-hop to create some of the finest crossover moments in music.
The main main highlights on this compilation are the brilliant Biohazard and Onyx track and the awesome pairing of my favourite band Faith No More with The Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E.
There's the surprisingly good "Fallin'" by hip-hop legends De La Soul and 90s Glasgow band Teenage Fanclub (I kind of hate myself for having that band on this blog) with the ace Tom Petty "Free Falling" sample. Slayer and Body Count frontman Ice-T deliver a medley of three songs by Edinburgh punks The Exploited. Del tha Funkee Homosapien's signature style works perfectly of Dinosaur Jr's noisy guitar work and Sonic Youth manage to make an impressive ode to marijuana with infamous weed-lovers Cypress Hill. Plus many more unexpected treats thrown in.

Bays - Immovable (2011)

2011-06-18T09:27:00.000-07:00

1. The Jackal
2. Immovable
3. Reality of Death
4. Foundations Hollow

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The UK hardcore scene seems to be producing countless young, talented bands at the moment with amazing new bands popping up all of the country. None more so than Manchester's own Bays. Having released a brilliant demo in 2009 the band have been more and more gathering followers and finally released their first 7" record this year. "Immovable" is an excellent mix fast, aggressive hardcore punk with an obvious old school New York hardcore influence all together creating an impressive modern hardcore sound.

There's still some copies of this 7" available to buy over at Pinky Swear Records

The Haunted - The Haunted (1998)

2011-06-18T09:15:00.000-07:00

1. Hate Song
2. Chasm
3. In Vein
4. Undead
5. Choke Hold
6. Three Times
7. Bullet Hole
8. Now You Know
9. Shattered
10. Soul Fracture
11. Blood Rust
12. Forensick

I've been a fan of The Haunted for years but I have to admit that their last few records just weren't to my liking. They claim to be experimenting more and trying to progress their sound but I, like a lot of fans, liked them just he way they were and would've been happy with another full of thrash album. But, it's the band's choice I guess and I'm not one to argue.

Anyways, the band's debut album is my personal favourite record. I prefer Peter Dolving's more hardcore influenced vocals to Marco Aro's death metal style but that's just my opinion. There's so many great songs on this record yet I feel that it gets slightly overlooked compared to "One Kill Wonder" and "Made Me Do It". The band's obvious 80s Bay Area thrash influence shines through with riffs that Exodus would be proud to have written (and probably wish they could these days) yet it still retains the 'At The Gates' sense of melody that the Björler brothers made their own.

A.N.S. / Ramming Speed - Split (2011)

2011-06-15T08:17:00.000-07:00

A.N.S. tracks:
1. Pine's Perdition
2. The Quest Lives On
3. Can't Let This Go
4. Roehrs' War

Ramming Speed tracks:
5. Betrayed
6. Last Drop/Dogmatic Horde
7. Perdition

A.N.S. FACEBOOK
Ramming Speed FACEBOOK

I've been pretty excited about this split for a while now and it's finally here. After A.N.S. put out their incredible "Pressure Cracks" album I've been in love with their own unique brand of skate-obsessed crossover style and couldn't wait to hear more. The bonus here, of course, is the fact that they've released a split with upcoming thrashers Ramming Speed. Who, if you have checked out their previous release, hold the title for one of the best song titles ever; "Shane Embury is the Brad Pitt of Grindcore".
Indeed.

Musically, this split delivers what the two bands do best. Thrash. But with each band having such different approaches to the genre this record is a rather enjoyable mixture of influences. A.N.S. deliver the goods by giving you three amazing fast, thrashy doses of crossover hardcore all topped off by an awesome 8 minute epic that brings to mind the likes of Black Flag's more experimental era and skateboard fanatics Bl'ast!. A sound that most people will recognise from the bands "Pressure Cracks" album where they started to incorporate this style into their sound. Ramming Speed on the other hand have gone for the full on thrash sound. Just like their "Brainwreck" album, the band's impressive three new songs show of their well honed style of fast, heavy grind influenced style of thrash with a few Slayer-worshipping guitar solos thrown in for good measure. What else do you want??

You can listen to this split over on the Tankcrimes Bandcamp page.

Wardogs - Outcast Behaviour (2011)

2011-06-14T09:30:00.000-07:00

1. Our Way
2. Worn Thin
3. Self Righteous
4. Something Has Got To Give
5. Over The Edge
6. Sick And Tired

*this is the track order on record. The tracklist written on the cover is slightly different. So ya' know.

WDC BLOGSPOT

Since Cardiff's own hardcore crew Wardogs put out their jaw-dropping demo and a split with Dublin band Bang Bros last year the band have slowly gathered quite a following amongst the UK hardcore scene.
Now, fast forward a few months and the band put out what is probably one of the best hardcore records to come out of the UK in years. The band have encapsulated the classic sound of late 80s/early 90s 'youth crew' bands so well that this really doesn't sound like it's a product of 2011.

The band are currently doing the rounds on the gig circuit and I, much like countless hardcore fans, can't wait to hear what they do next.

You can still buy this 7" over at Carry The Weight Records site.
I recommend that you do.

The band have also put this EP up for download here:
DOWNLOAD

Unreckoned - Violent Society (2011)

2011-06-12T13:07:00.000-07:00

1. State of Being
2. Harsh Reality
3. Violent Society
4. Already Dead

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Just catching up on some more emails and found this band's EP kicking about my inbox. Unreckoned are a new Chicago hardcore band who combine the old school New York style of Madball and Agnostic Front with a hint of fast, aggressive powerviolence and an overall sludge influence.
Kicking things off with a brilliant "Eazy-Duz-It" sample, this EP delivers a great example of modern hardcore and shows that there's definitely plenty of talent in this band. Hopefully this record gets them the attention that they deserve.

You can download this EP for free on the band's BANDCAMP page.
Well worth a listen!

Autopsy - Macabre Eternal (2011)

2011-06-10T07:40:00.000-07:00

1. Hand of Darkness
2. Dirty Gore Whore
3. Always About to Die
4. Macabre Eternal
5. Deliver Me From Sanity
6. Seeds of the Doomed
7. Bridge of Bones
8. Born Undead
9. Sewn Into One
10. Bludgeoned and Brained
11. Sadistic Gratification
12. Spill My Blood

"Macabre Eternal", the band's first full length in 16 years is exactly what I and most likely every Autopsy fan wants from an Autopsy album. Gore, sludge, doom and old school death metal.
Sold.

Don't believe me... just have a listen. If you don;t feel like your in Florida circa 1989 then you're clearly not 'getting' it. Just listen to those doom riffs.
This album is definitely a strong contender for my album of the year. And it's only June!

Grazes - Myths (2011)

2011-06-09T07:48:00.000-07:00

1. Intro/Black Death
2. Drown In The River Styx
3. Never Get Back
4. My Last Day
5. Rex Anglorum
6. Observers Parado
7. Myth

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Back in April last year, I posted Grazes demo up on here and was eagerly awaiting the band's first proper release. Fast forward 12 or so months and I'm posting the band's brilliant new EP.

At the moment there's quite a lot of Sabbath-worshipping doom kicking about in the British hardcore scene with the likes of Hang The Bastard, No Reality and Black Mass all succumbing to the 'riff'. It would be easy to just compare Grazes to these bands and leave it at that but there's noticeably more to this band than that.
Starting things of with the eerie sample and bass driven intro and a massive old school doom riff "Black Death" that Pentagram would be happy to have written, the band go onto creating one big mix of fast, thrashy powerviolence and classic hardcore punk.
With this massive improvement on what was a pretty impressive demo, Grazes are definitely ones to watch this year.

Born - The Aging Process (1997)

2011-06-08T11:35:00.000-07:00

1. The Collective
2. Broken
3. Shine
4. Another Day
5. Cruel Joke
6. As I Age

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Why is it near to impossible when it comes to finding information about this band and their releases?? And why, when people talk about classic New York hardcore do people fail to mention the name Born?? Seriously. This band are brilliant.
I didn't even know that they had a second record until their drummer, Todd Lung, uploaded it onto Youtube. Having stumbled upon their first album, "Raging", via Lung's Youtube account I discovered a criminally underrated band that appeared to be lost in time. Much like the previous record, "The Aging Process" is packed full of more 90s New York hardcore. Just the way i like it.

Thankfully, having been informed by the band, there is a reunion tour scheduled. So hopefully they manage to pick up from where they left off and get the attention that they deserve.

I have a decent rip of this record if anyone is interested. This can be found HERE.
If the band would like me to remove this link please let me know. I just want as many people to hear these records as possible.

Also... any LastFM users listening to Born please vote up the photos of the NY band and not the Japanese band.

Host - Demo (2011)

2011-06-08T08:58:00.000-07:00

1. Amara
2. Haine
3. Dissidence

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Looking back over my recent e-mails I discovered that this demo had somehow made it's way into my 'Junk Mail' folder and not my inbox. Thankfully I found it before it was deleted as this demo is awesome. Seriously... for only being three songs it's got me hooked on this band.

Host are a brand new band from the depths of Leeds, creating some damn fine heavy sludge influenced hardcore. When I first listened to this demo their guitar sound instantly made me think of Trap Them's distortion heavy Entombed worshipping and personal favourite underrated UK band Sioux. But there's certainly more than that going on on here. "Dissidence" is a massive sludge ridden doom-fest (can you tell that I'm liking the sludge?) that brings to mind the likes of Noothgrush and Eyehategod that helps show the bands full potential.
I'm definitely looking forward to hearing more from this band. By the sound of this demo alone I reckon they've got what it takes to produce something very heavy indeed.

The band have put this demo up for free download HERE

Blackstone - Hereditas (2010)

2011-06-08T08:12:00.000-07:00

1. Empty Streets
2. Cells
3. History
4. Circles
5. Figurehead
6. Time And Tide Wait For No Man
7. Destiny
8. Stand Upright
9. Enraged

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Just been checking over some e-mails and catching up on some posts. I was sent a link to this band's site a while ago and totally forgot to post them up on here.

Hailing from Regensburg, Germany, Blackstone have produced a brilliant debut album of heavy, old school hardcore with the odd melodic part here and there and an overall European sound. I've noticed that there's certainly not a shortage of hardcore bands coming out of Germany at the moment but Blackstone appear to be pretty young and talented with plenty of new stuff coming out in the near future to look forward to. The band even went to the great length of putting it up for free download. What's not to like about? Definitely ones to look out for!

You can download this album aswell as their demo on their Bandcamp page and Myspace.

Macabre - Grim Reality (1987)

2011-06-03T08:08:00.000-07:00

1. Serial Killer
2. Mr. Albert Fish (Was Children Your Favorite Dish?)
3. Disease
4. Mass Murder
5. Son of Sam
6. Hot Rods to Hell
7. Ed Gein
8. Natural Disaster

I'm not quite sure why it has taken me this long to give Macabre a proper listen. It may have been the fact that one of the first things I actually heard of them was their "Morbid Campfire Songs" EP that a friend bought and I didn't have a clue what the hell was going on. But... I decided to go back to the start and check out their earlier work and to my surprise I discovered that Macabre are indeed an awesome band.

The "Grim Reality" EP is the band first release and shows their earliest sound and developing style. Taking influence from thrash metal bands and hardcore/crossover pioneers such as Cryptic Slaughter and the gore-obsessed The Accüsed, Macabre became one of the first bands to play a primitive form of 'death metal' without even realising it. This crossover sound alongside their fascination with serial killers and tongue-in-cheek lyrics have made them a cult metal band.

Epidemic - Decameron (1992)

2011-05-31T09:28:00.000-07:00

1. Circle of Fools
2. Insanity Plea
3. Vision Divine
4. Hate
5. Unknown
6. Live your Death
7. Factor Red
8. Blown Doors
9. Territories
10. Tornado
11. Three Witches
12. Lord War

Epidemic are the most overlooked and underrated Bay Area thrash bands of the late 80s/early 90s period. With the Big Four's becoming more famous by the day, this left several bands in their shadow with only their dedicated fans following them. This, the band's second album should have been a classic thrash album if it wasn't for the fact that they were overshadow by this fact.
The overall sound of "Decameron" mixes both the recognisable Bay Area thrash style with a definite early death metal influence.
I recommend checking out this severely underrated album.

Destruction - Infernal Overkill (1985)

2011-05-31T08:59:00.000-07:00

1. Invincible Force
2. Death Trap
3. The Ritual
4. Tormentor
5. Bestial Invasion
6. Thrash Attack
7. Antichrist
8. Black Death

I've not posted enough Destruction, or German thrash for that matter, on here in the past so I'm going to try and right this wrong.

What's not to like about Destruction? The band's debut album, "Infernal Overkill", isn;t my personal favourite Destrucion album but I'm not saying that it's their worst. Far from it. Most thrash bands would love to write an album as solid as this. Released in 1985 and it's still as awesome today.

Holy Moses - The New Machine of Liechtenstein (1989)

2011-05-30T09:33:00.000-07:00

1. Near Dark
2. Defcon II
3. Panic
4. Strange Deception
5. Locky Popster
6. SSP (Secret Service Project)
7. State: Catatonic
8. The Brood
9. Lost in the Maze

Holy Moses often are overlooked when it comes to German thrash. When it comes to listing your top thrash albums, most people tend to side with the classic trio of Sodom, Kreator and Destruction and forget about Holy Moses' first few albums. Now, I'm not saying that Holy Moses wrote anything groundbreaking but they did write some damn fine thrash songs.

This, the band's third album demonstrates the band's sound that they had achieved towards the end of the 80s. With two straight forward thrash albums already under their belts they upped their game guitar-wise and released this awesome album.

Ghost - Opus Eponymous (2010)

2011-05-26T08:28:00.000-07:00

1. Deus Culpa
2. Con Clavi Con Dio
3. Ritual
4. Elizabeth
5. Stand by Him
6. Satan Prayer
7. Death Knell
8. Prime Mover
9. Genesis

Right, first things first... before you even listen to this, try to imagine King Diamond jamming with some old doom band like Witchfinder General as part as some sort of Satanic ritual whilst some guy tinkers about with a Moog synth in the corner.
Got that?
Well... this should be exactly as you imagined it.

Cypress Hill - Black Sunday (1993)

2011-05-26T06:58:00.000-07:00

1. I Wanna Get High
2. I Ain't Goin' Out Like That
3. Insane in the Brain
4. When the Shit Goes Down
5. Lick a Shot
6. Cock the Hammer
7. Lock Down (Interlude)
8. 3 Lil' Putos
9. Legalize It
10. Hits from the Bong
11. What Go Around Come Around, Kid
12. A to the K
13. Hand on the Glock
14. Break 'Em Off Some

Everyones favourite marijuana-loving Latino hip-hop group Cypress Hill and their amazing second album. "Black Sunday" is one of my all time favourite hip-hop albums. Though a lot of people would choose their first album or maybe something from their later rock/rap crossover period as their favourite but I think this album sums up everything about the group and the production is mind blowing. How is the bass so loud on this album??
There's so many classic tracks on this album. For a start there's the huge single "Insane In The Brain", the stoner favourite "Hits From The Bong" and the Black Sabbath-sampling "I Ain't Going Out Like That"

If this album doesn't make you want to *indulge in the 'herb' then you clearly weren't listening right.
*Not that I condone that behavior.

Toxic Holocaust - Evil Never Dies (2003)

2011-05-17T05:06:00.000-07:00

1. Evil Never Dies
2. War Is Hell
3. Enemy of Jesus
4. Damned to Fire
5. Exxxecutioner
6. 666
7. Summon the Beast
8. Demise
9. Warfare
10. Dead to the World
11. Fallout
12. Atomik Destruktor

It took me a while to fully get into Toxic Holocaust but once I had, I couldn't get enough of them. If your new to the band then there's no better place to start than their debut. Mixing the likes of crust punk, old school hardcore, nuclear warfare and Venom, the band led by bleach-blonde thrash-genius Joel Grind created one of the most exciting thrash metal debuts in recent years.

Don't believe me then listen to this...

X-Ecutioners - It's Goin' Down (2002)

2011-05-11T09:41:00.000-07:00

1. It's Goin' Down
2. X-Ecution of a Bum Rush
3. Play That Beat (Lo Fidelity Allstars remix)

Firstly, this single is far greater than people think. Yeah it's got members of Linkin Park on it but I don't care. Both Mike Shinoda and Mr. Hahn are talent musicians when it comes to hip hop and I won't lie about being a fan of Linkin Park. Don't pretend you didn't like them too.
The combination of Linkin Park's rap infused nu metal and the X-Ecutioners outstanding production skills make this single unforgettable. I certainly haven't forgotten how good it is. Much like the time when Anthrax paired up with Public Enemy leaving metal and hip hop fans speechless this too has a similar impact.
Hold up... I'm not saying this is as groundbreaking as the genius that is "Bring The Noise" it's just that it demonstrates the same approach too the two genres.
The B-sides on this single aren't anything special. "X-Ecution of a Bum Rush" is taken from the same brilliant album as the A-side and the second B-side is some sort of remix that kinda brings to mind J-Lo. Not great.

Anyways... this is still one of my all time favourite songs.

Fire & Ice - Grim (2010)

2011-05-05T08:45:00.000-07:00

1. Breathe
2. Peacin' Death
3. Intermission
4. Grim

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Finally getting round to posting this brilliant EP by New York hardcore loving Richmond band Fire & Ice. The only complaint I have about this is that it's only four songs and I REALLY want to hear more. Having said that, these four songs manage to show off the band's sound perfectly. The band's list of influences on their Facebook are outstanding. It is as follows: Leeway, Cold Front, Crown Of Thornz, White Devil, The Icemen and Breakdown. I mean, Leeway is a given but I've never seen anyone mention White Devil or Cold Front before and that makes me love this band even more
Anyways... if you like any of the bands listed above or early 90s NYHC in general then you'll no doubt love this. Can't wait for their next release!

Twitching Tongues - Insane & Inhumane (2011)

2011-05-04T08:18:00.000-07:00

1. Insane and Inhumane
2. Voluntary Confinement
3. Razor's Edge
4. No Gold
5. Loveless Nightmare
6. Forever My Queen (Pentagram Cover)

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I posted this band's 2010 demo back in January after sleeping on it for a while, not realising how good they actually were. Now, a few months later, here I am posting their newest EP "Insane & Inhumane" and I have to say... this is already up there as one of my favourite released of 2011. And it's only May.

Featuring all three songs from the band's demo, now remasted and sounding better than ever, aswell as two brand new tracks and an awesome Pentagram cover as a bonus. The title track blew me away on first listen. They've thrown the best parts of Life Of Agony, Only Living Witness and Type O Negative into the mix and come out with sound that stands out amongst the countless hardcore bands at the moment.

Sworn Enemy - Negative Outlook (2000)

2011-04-27T08:06:00.000-07:00

1. New Breed
2. Never
3. I.D.S.
4. Pain
5. Disbelief
6. Last Rites

I love most things New York Hardcore but I've never really been that big a fan of Sworn Enemy. Having said that, I do love their earlier records. I don't know what it is about their newer albums that I just don't 'get'.
"Negative Outlook" is the band's first EP (after their name change from Mindset to Sworn Enemy) and what a fine record this is. Mixing up old school NY hardcore with heavy thrash riffs, creating their own brand of crossover.

If, like me, you aren't sure where to start with Sworn Enemy then I recommend just going back to where it all started and checking out this EP first. You won't be disappointed.

Organized Konfusion - Stress: The Extinction Agenda (1994)

2011-04-25T08:24:00.000-07:00

1. Intro
2. Stress
3. The Extinction Agenda
4. Thirteen
5. Black Sunday
6. Drop Bombs
7. Bring it On
8. Why
9. Let's Organize (Feat. O.C. & Q Tip)
10. 3-2-1
11. Keep it Koming
12. Stray Bullet
13. Maintain

The good weather seems to have arrived at last and all I feel like doing is skating and hanging out with mates and chillin' to some 90s rap. Am I sounding too 'white'?
Nothing beats the classic 90s hip-hop sound. East Coast or West, it doesn't really matter to be honest but when it comes to East Coast there's so much to choose from. Organized Konfusion for example. Featuring the awesome Pharoahe Monch and Prince Po, this, the duo's second album, sums up the typical sound coming out of the New York area in the 90s. Full of laid back beats, well placed samples, intelligent rhymes and even a guest spot from A Tribe Called Quest's Q-Tip aswell as O.C.

Shaquille O'Neal - Shaq Diesel (1993)

2011-04-24T12:01:00.000-07:00

1. Intro
2. (I Know I Got) Skillz (feat. Def Jef)
3. I'm Outstanding
4. Where Ya At? (feat. Phife Dawg)
5. I Hate 2 Brag
6. Let Me In, Let Me In
7. Shoot Pass Slam
8. Boom!
9. Are You a Roughneck?
10. Giggin' on 'Em (feat. Phife Dawg)
11. What's Up Doc? (Can We Rock) (feat. Fu-Schnickens)
12. Game Over

Yes, that is indeed basketball legend Shaquille O'Neal and for those that didn't know... he had a pretty successful rap career with four albums to his name.
When I first discovered this fact I, like most people, thought it would be pretty laughable but the weird thing is that this, Shaq's first album, is actually a pretty awesome record. This is classic 90s East Coast hip-hop just the way I like it. There's even guest appearances from the Fu-Schnickens and Phife Dawg from critically acclaimed hip-hop group A Tribe Called Quest.

Get ready for the Shaq Attack.

Lapse - Demo (2011)

2011-04-24T10:31:00.000-07:00

1. Posthumous
2. Dirty Needles//Rusty Nails
3. Mouf
4. No Patience
5. I Love Hardcore Boys (Limp Wrist)

FACEBOOK

Last October I discovered Lapse's 2010 demo doing the rounds on various blogs and found myself thoroughly enjoying it. Fast forward a few months and the band have put out yet another awesome demo, this time with a brilliant Limp Wrist cover as an added bonus.
If your a fan of classic powerviolence like Infest or Spazz, grind or all things sludge then you'll no doubt love this.

You can download this demo on the band's blog...
Lapse BLOGSPOT

Born - Raging (1998)

2011-04-21T10:41:00.000-07:00

1. Intro/Seven
2. Born To Die
3. Cut Throat
4. Out Of Sight
5. Don't Burn our Flag
6. Dreams Of Freedom
7. Brick Wall
8. Life Sweet Life
9. New Found Hope
10. Alone
11. Passers By
12. False Path

FACEBOOK

Right... this one is a complete mystery. I stumbled upon this New York hardcore band's album on Youtube. Someone had taken it upon themselves to upload the full album on their and I'm extremely thankful that they did as this album is brilliant.

After a while of Googling and searching online for information on this band and/or album I don't know much about them at all.
If anyone has any info on this band and album let me know. I can't stop listening to this at the moment and would like to know more about them.

*Edit: Thanks to xemonerdx from One Path For Me Through Destiny I now know slightly more about this band. Some info can be found here and here.

Also, courtesy of the most awesome xemonerdx here's a link to high quality rip of the album with full cover scans.
Born - Raging Download
(If any members of Born or their record label do not this link shared I will happilly refrain from sharing)

Megadeth - Peace Sells... But Who's Buying? (1986)

2011-04-21T09:45:00.000-07:00

1. Wake Up Dead
2. The Conjuring
3. Peace Sells
4. Devil's Island
5. Good Mourning/Black Friday
6. Bad Omen
7. I Ain't Superstitious
8. My Last Words

And the classic thrash album of the day award goes to...

If you haven't already heard Megadeth's awesome second album then you might aswell just leave this blog now. There's not much I can say about this album/band that hasn't been said already. All I know is that this classic album is a must have for any thrash fan.

Anacrusis - Reason (1990)

2011-04-21T08:11:00.000-07:00

1. Stop Me
2. Terrified
3. Not Forgotten
4. Wrong
5. Silent Crime
6. Misshapen Intent
7. Afraid To Feel
8. Child Inside
9. Vital
10. Quick To Doubt
11. Killing My Mind
12. Injustice

OFFICIAL SITE

When it comes to thrash metal... Anacrusis are criminally underrated. Overshadowed by the classic, bigger bands of thrash's earlier days, Anacrusis and their own brand of technical, progressive thrash went almost unnoticed apart from their loyal fan base.
After releasing their debut in 1988 which was more in keeping with the straight forward thrash sound of the 80s, the band went on to release "Reason". Featuring the band's newer experimental style that clearly was way ahead of it's time, this album is often overlooked. Musically, Anacrusis share quite a similarities to Canadian prog-thrashers Voivod. Especially on this album.

You can download this album and everything else that the band recorded on their official website.
Anacrusis Album Downloads

Epileptic Brain Surgeons - Epileptic Brain Surgeons (1990)

2011-04-19T10:37:00.000-07:00

1. Da Nanel Lanel Laa
2. Toothpaste Dilemma
3. Puberty
4. Dog Beating Faggot
5. Trees & Flowers
6. Cows
7. Hugga Hugga
8. Yeahmans (Heavy Metal Party)
9. Voracious Frogs
10. Seizure In The Mall
11. Porno Movie
12. Soap
13. Enviromental Ditty
14. U.G.F.D. (Using Grandma For Dip)
15. Pati Mahn

This really is a new one to me. I thought I was pretty clued up on late 80s crossover but somehow this band managed to slip through. Canadians Epileptic Brain Surgeons released two demos and followed it up with this full length in 1990. They played a similar style of comedic crossover thrash as the likes of Wehrmacht, Spazztic Blurr and Ludichrist, combining hardcore and thrash with countless 'in jokes' and an overall 'wacky' approach to music.

Fans of the bands listed above aswell as various other classic crossover bands will no doubt love this. Fortunately, the band have put this and their two earlier demos up for free download here on there Bandcamp page...
Epileptic Brain Surgeons BANDCAMP

The Great Kat - Worship Me Or Die! (1987)

2011-04-19T10:24:00.000-07:00

1. Metal Messiah
2. Kat Possessed
3. Death to You
4. Satan Goes to Church
5. Worship Me or Die
6. Demons
7. Speed Death
8. Kill the Mothers
9. Ashes to Dust
10. Satan Says
11. Metal Massacre

This album is ridiculous in every way. The Great Kat was a joke that people either got and loved or just couldn't quite understand and failed to see the funny side.

English born, New York raised classically-trained violinist Katherine Thomas decided to delve into the world of heavy metal in the late 80s, moving from violin to guitar with ease. Adopting the name 'The Great Kat', she went on to release this ridiculous thrash album that is strangely enjoyable. Not the most 'polished' of guitar styles, Kat wails through the entire album with solos flying about everywhere aswell her banshee like shriek adding to the chaos. This is raw thrash. Kat later went on to recording her own versions of classical songs in her own unique style leaving this album being her only album of songs written by her.

Hobb's Angel Of Death - Hobbs' Angel Of Death (1988)

2011-04-19T09:22:00.000-07:00

1. Jack the Ripper
2. Crucifixion
3. Brotherhood
4. The Journey
5. House of Death
6. Satan's Crusade
7. Lucifer's Domain
8. Marie Antoinette
9. Bubonic Plague
10. Cold Steel

One of Australia's finest thrash bands, Hobb's Angel Of Death, fronted by one time Tyrus guitarist Peter Hobbs, released one hell of an album in 1988. Hobb's band come off as a kind of Australian Slayer and at times sound more like the classic German thrash bands of the 80s but this album proves that they were more than just copying their US and European peers.

Turnstile - Pressure To Succeed (2011)

2011-04-19T08:48:00.000-07:00

1. Deathgrip
2. The Dream
3. New Rules
4. Pressure To Succeed
5. The Things You Do
6. Heavy Hand

MYSPACE
FACEBOOK

I can't even begin to tell you how awesome this EP actually is. I'm going to do my best though. I may overuse the word awesome... jus' sayin'.

Formed by Trapped Under Ice drummer Brendan Yates, who has taken up the role as frontman, Baltimore band Turnstile play 90s NYHC as it should be. Heavy, groovy and full of catchy, memorable riffs. Plus... lots of gang vocals.
Having already been a massive fan of their 2010 demo (those three tracks now feature on this EP) I was eagerly awaiting their first proper release. And I have to say... I was far from dissapointed. Even know TUI are awesome, this really is a case of 'quit your dayjob' as Yates does a fine job of fronting this band.
Fans of classic NY bands like Leeway (especially), Cro-Mags and Madball should track this down ASAP as I assure you that you won't be let down.

And this live video because it's ace...

Cryptic Slaughter - Speak Your Peace (1990)

2011-04-19T08:31:00.000-07:00

1. Born Too Soon
2. Still Born, Again
3. Insanity by the Numbers
4. Co-Exist
5. Deathstyles of the Poor and Lowly
6. One Thing or Another
7. Divided Minds
8. Speak Your Peace
9. Killing Time

So... I've not been very active recently. I seem to be lacking in posts. No worries, I'll be posting a whole load of stuff over the next couple of days.
To start things of here's Cryptic Slaughter's final album.

After a brief split after the band's "Stream Of Consciousness" album, guitarist Les Evans got up and moved away from their California home to Oregon where he found three new members, including drummer Brian Lehfeldt from the cult crossover band Wehrmacht, and started anew.
There is a slight change in sound on this album compared to their previous albums. Focusing more on the thrash side of things and straying away from their hardcore punk roots to create their own brand of crossover.
This album may not be their best release but it's still an awesome crossover thrash record.

Living Death - World Neuroses (1988)

2011-04-18T05:16:00.000-07:00

1. Last Birthday
2. Die Young
3. Schizophrenia
4. On the 17th Floor
5. Down
6. Worlds Neuroses
7. Bastard (at the Bus Stop)
8. The Testament of Mr. George
9. Sacred Chao
10. Tuesday

It's my birthday!

Was struggling to find something 'birthday' related in keeping with this blog until I stumbled upon this little thrash obscurity featuring the song, "Last Birthday" which sounds pretty similar to the opening riff of Anthrax's "Be All, End All"
Yeah... nailed it.

Living Death started off playing the usual German speed metal that most people loved in the mid 80s. Relentless drumming, high pitched vocals and enough guitar solos to keep any Yngwie fan entertained. Towards the end of the 80s, Living Death refined their sound and played straight forward thrash. Later adding a slightly more technical element on this 1988 release.
You get what you expect from any 80s German metal bands... bad haircuts, lots of leather and dubious song titles that were clearly some sort of 'in-joke' that was lost in translation.

Awesome.

Crimson Glory - Transcendence (1988)

2011-04-17T09:06:00.000-07:00

1. Lady of Winter
2. Red Sharks
3. Painted Skies
4. Masque of the Red Death
5. In Dark Places
6. Where Dragons Rule
7. Lonely
8. Burning Bridges
9. Eternal World
10. Transcendence

It's been a while since Roadrunner Records actually signed a decent band. Seriously, at the moment Lenny Kravitz is currently part of their roster. But there was a time, way back before they milked Machine Head for everything they could get, Roadrunner had some of the finest metal bands going signed up. One of these bands being the criminally underrated progressive band Crimson Glory. Yeah, they wore shiny metallic masks and wore leather trousers tighter than most 80s bands... but they were awesome nevertheless.

After releasing their brilliant self titled album in 1986, Crimson Glory went on to release the outstanding "Transcendence" in 1988. The same year as the legendary Queensrÿche album "Operation: Mindcrime". Sure, the two bands share some similarities. Both specialising in progressive metal and having amazing vocalists.
If your working your way through Queensrÿche's early albums and still feel the need for more after "Empire"... then Crimson Glory is the answer.

X-Japan - Blue Blood (1989)

2011-04-16T08:44:00.000-07:00

1. Prologue (World Anthem)
2. Blue Blood
3. Week End
4. Easy Fight Rambling
5. X
6. Endless Rain
7. Kurenai
8. Xclamation
9. Orgasm
10. Celebration
11. Rose of Pain
12. Unfinished

Just found out that these guys are playing a one-off gig down in London in a couple of months. I may have to sell a few vital organs on eBay to get there... but I really don't want to miss out on the chance to see X-Japan.
Anyone that knows of the band will probably know that their guitarist, Hide, sadly passed away in 1998 yet they managed to bring him back to life on stage for their reunion gigs in Tokyo via a hologram.
Yes... a hologram.
Hologram.

This, the band's second album, is a perfectly written combination of 80s speed metal, early power metal and moving ballads composed by the genius that is Yoshiki.

God Harvest - Demo (2011)

2011-04-09T06:35:00.001-07:00

1. Infidel
2. Feed Us
3. Crucifacial
4. Untitled
5. Human Holocaust
6. Genetic Death

MYSPACE

It's always great to be sent in demos from new bands. I've had quite a few so far his year but this is definitely one of my favourites.

From what I know, Floridian band God Harvest formed back in 2008 and have recently reformed after a long hiatus. The band have created an interesting mix of fast, early grindcore, D-Beat hardcore and powerviolence and have produced a damn fine demo indeed. Their sound reminds me of grind pioneers Extreme Noise Terror and Napalm Death and even, at times, the much underrated Nasum.
I was surprised by the production on this demo. For a grind demo, the sound is pretty clear without losing any of the heaviness.
Definitely ones to watch over this year. With a demo like this I hope they get the attention they deserve.

You can purchase and/or download this demo for free from the band's Blogspot
God Harvest Blogspot

Piece Dogs - Exes For Eyes (1992)

2011-03-29T12:46:00.000-07:00

1. Devxl Dog
2. Sxck of Xt
3. Mornxn Sun Burnxn
4. Outcast
5. Death Chant
6. Who's Got Xt
7. Mentally Sound
8. Hxgh Anxxety
9. Rxdxn Hxgh
10. Broken Wxng
11. Hatrxsm

This is my favourite recent discovery. Anyone who has read this blog knows that I enjoy finding underrated thrash bands that somehow faded into obscurity and this lives up to thatdescription.

Piece Dogs were a short-lived thrash band from California that featured members that went on to such bands as Bloodsimple and Nu-metallers Sevendust. But don't let that put you off. Released in 1992, "Exes For Eyes" (all the letter I's are replaced by the letter X in the song titles. See what they did there) is a great demonstation of the funky early 90s thrash sound. The first band that comes to mind when listening to this is the much underrated Mordred or even, at times, Faith No More's thrashier moments. Sadly the band broke up several months after releasing the album.

Morgoth - Cursed (1991)

2011-03-29T10:26:00.000-07:00

1. Cursed
2. Body Count
3. Exit to Temptation
4. Unreal Imagination
5. Isolated
6. Sold Baptism
7. Suffer Life
8. Opportunity Is Gone
9. Darkness (Warning cover)

When it comes to death metal, I realised that I don't listen to a lot of it these days and when I do I only really listen to a handful of older bands. The late 80s/early 90s death metal scene interests me a lot more than most of the current death metal bands. Having said that though... there are some ridiculous bands around at the moment. Most of which are coming out of Canada.

Anyways... I've only recently discovered Morgoth and now I'm pretty happy to have stumbled upon this album. Having heard their name in the past I just passed them off as just another death metal band... but I was wrong. Sounding like a doomy German version of Obituary, (just listen to Marc Grewe's vocals) Morgoth's debut album shows that they had the talent to rival the classic bands in Florida at the time.

Godspeed - Swimmer's Ear (1993)

2011-03-29T08:44:00.000-07:00

1. April
2. Written Word
3. Flume
4. Daylight Savings Time
5. Swimmer's Ear
6. Nothing Things

Godspeed were a short-lived melodic hardcore band from New Jersey that featured members of the awesome Turning Point. This EP has pretty much faded into obscurity over the years but is great find if you manage to track it down.
Sounding like no band could sound these days. Godspeed have a very typical 90s post hardcore sound, sounding quite similar to Shelter at times.

Cirith Ungol - One Foot In Hell (1986)

2011-03-28T09:26:00.001-07:00

1. Blood & Iron
2. Chaos Descends
3. The Fire
4. Nadsokor
5. 100 MPH
6. War Eternal
7. Doomed Planet
8. One Foot in Hell

I don't a lot of requests on here but I recently got a request for some Cirith Ungol and I can't refuse posting anything by them. So... I decided to start things of with my favourite album "One Foot In Hell".

Cirith Ungol formed in the late 70s and took influence from the likes of Black Sabbath's doomy riffs and Thin Lizzy's melodic harmonies. This is the band's third album in which they carried on the heavier sound of their previous release. Although most people would say that "King of the Dead" is the bands best album there's just something about this record that I seem to enjoy more.

Pearl Jam - Ten (1991)

2011-03-26T10:32:00.000-07:00

1. Once
2. Even Flow
3. Alive
4. Why Go
5. Black
6. Jeremy
7. Oceans
8. Porch
9. Garden
10. Deep
11. Release

For some reason I seem to forget all about this album from time to time and then feel so happy when I rediscover it as it is infact one of the best album's to come out of the 90s.
I can't honestly think of anything that's wrong with this album. This is a definite must-have for any 90s grunge fan. There's so many songs that stand out.

Megadeth - Hidden Treasures (1995)

2011-03-23T09:55:00.000-07:00

1. No More Mr. Nice Guy (Alice Cooper cover)
2. Breakpoint
3. Go to Hell
4. Angry Again
5. 99 Ways to Die
6. Paranoid
7. Diadems
8. Problems (Sex Pistols cover)

Even though this is just an EP made up of Megadeth tracks that featured on various movie soundtracks and compilations I would have to say this is still an essential Megadeth release. After their "Youthanasia" album in 1994 Megadeth didn't exactly put out amazing albums so this 'stopgap' EP actually has quite a few decent songs compared to some of the songs on their later albums (even though I openly love their "Risk" album... it is pretty dire)

Here's a breakdown of the tracks on this record; opener "No More Mr. Nice Guy" is an Alice Cooper cover from the movie "Shocker", "Breakpoint" is from the awful "Super Mario Brothers" movie, Grammy-nominated "Go To Hell" is from "Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey", "Angry Again" is from the awesome "Last Action Hero", "99 Ways to Die" is from the 'Beavis and Butt-head Experience' compilation, "Paranoid" featured on the "Nativity in Black" Black Sabbath tribute compilation, "Diadems" was on the "Tales From The Crypt: Demon Knight" movie soundtrack and "Problems" is just a Sex Pistols cover but I'll forgive them for that.

Warren G - Regulate...G Funk Era (1994)

2011-03-16T09:20:00.000-07:00

1. Regulate (feat. Nate Dogg)
2. Do You See (feat. Nate Dogg)
3. Gangsta Sermon (feat. B-Tip & Ricky Harris)
4. Recognize (feat. The Twinz)
5. Super Soul Sis (feat. Jah Skills)
6. '94 Ho Draft (feat. B-Tip & Ricky Harris)
7. So Many Ways (feat. Wayniac & Lady Levi)
8. This D.J. (feat. O.G.L.B.)
9. This Is The Shack (feat. The Dove Shack)
10. What's Next (feat. Mr. Malik)
11. And Ya Don't Stop
12. Runnin' Wit No Breaks (featuring Jah Skills, Bo Roc, G Child & The Twinz)

Sadly the RNB/Hip-Hop legend Nate Dogg passed away today. In the 90s, Nate Dogg found his way onto such albums as Dr. Dre's "The Chronic", Snoop Doggy Dogg's "Doggystyle", 2Pac's "Thug Life Vol. 1" and of course he made his most famous appearance on Warren G's debut album.

Nate Dogg's death aside, this album helped change the sound of rap and hip-hop. Bringing in a laid back 'G-Funk' sound that was popularised by Dr. Dre. This is truly one of the best 90s hip-hop albums ever released.

Just listen to this timeless classic...

Gravediggaz - 6 Feet Deep (1994)

2011-03-15T10:09:00.000-07:00

1. Just When You Thought It Was Over (Intro)
2. Constant Elevation
3. Nowhere to Run, Nowhere to Hide (feat. Kurious)
4. Defective Trip (Trippin') (feat. MC Serch & Biz Markie)
5. 2 Cups of Blood
6. Blood Brothers
7. 360 Questions
8. 1-800 Suicide (feat. The Moleman)
9. Pass the Shovel
10. Diary of a Madman (feat. Scientific Shabazz & Killah Priest)
11. Mommy, What's a Gravedigga?
12. Bang Your Head
13. Here Comes the Gravediggaz
14. Graveyard Chamber
15. Death Trap (feat. Masta Ace)
16. 6 Feet Deep
17. Rest in Peace (Outro)

Featuring Prince Paul as 'The Undertaker', Frukwan as 'The Gatekeeper', Too Poetic as 'The Grym Reaper' and Wu-Tang member RZA as 'The Rzarector', Gravediggaz were seen as some as a 'supergroup'. The group's first album "6 Feet Deep" helped pioneer what was later described as 'horrorcore' a subgenre of hip-hop with lyrics focussing on dark subjects such as murder and other horror-theme imagery.