VINYL TITLES
ASSAILANT: “First Offence” LP
An underestimated and overlooked, perhaps even unknown, Power Metal gem, this is the New York band?s Demo 1986 completely remastered with lyrics and archive photos. Clocking in at 28 minutes, brace yourself for pure Power Metal mayhem, adventurous, rousing and uncompromising, in the vein of early Liege Lord! Limited to 300 copies only, I cannot recommend this enough?
BROCAS HELM: ?Defender of the Crown? Gatefold LP (Limited Splatter Green Wax)
The third full-length album was originally released in 2004, some 16 years after the Black Death LP! Compiling a handful of the cracking songs from the intervening singles and demos, such as ?Ghost Story?, Time of the Dark?, ?Cry of the Banshee? and my personal favourite ?Skullfucker? as well as other new ones this record in an absolute monster. Influential and essential. This is the second press on vinyl by our Greek friends at Eat Metal?
CONVIXION: ?Black Magic Night? 7?
Sharp on the heels of their debut album, this single boasts another two exclusive songs of killer Heavy Speed Power Thrash Metal! Having witnessed them tearing apart a small Greek basement bar last year it is a pleasure to have more rocket fuel for straining my neck! This limited edition contains an insert with lyrics.
DAWN RIDER / APOSTLE OF SOLITUDE: Etched MLP
US masters of misery team up with Portuguese emperors of heaviness, delivering two exclusive Doom Metal compositions. Presented on 180 gram vinyl, one side showcases both band logos engraved on vinyl with 15 minutes of music on the reverse. It includes card insert with front cover photographed at the mystical Quinta da Regaleira in Sintra/Portugal, with the lyrics and credits on the back. Limited to 500 copies?
EARTH / FLYING HAT BAND: “Coming of the Heavy Lords” LP
Two big demos on one slab of wax by none other than Earth, the previous incarnation of Black Sabbath in ?69, and The Flying Hat Band, Glenn Tipton before joining Judas Priest in ?74! The Earth demo sessions are comprised of three heavy bluesy numbers and one cover of ‘’ Blue Suede Shoes’’ while The Flying Hat Band presented four equally heavy bluesy songs as a demo with good quality sound in ?73 featuring the wailing guitar of this Metal master in the making! Yet again, this has been unearthed and beautifully presented by Acid Nightmare whom has already dug up Crystal Haze and Alpha Centauri.
HARMS WAY: ?Harms Way? 10? EP
Taking their name from the second full-length album by Terra Firma, guitarist, Freddie Lindgren, formed Harm?s Way after his departure from the band. True to form, this is more high-energy?70s groove, driving and forceful with lots of screaming guitar work and atmosphere.
IRON HEARSE: ?Lunar Funeral? MLP w/MCD
Hot on the heels of their debut album, this four song EP boasts some of Iron Hearse?s best songs thus far. Very much still heads down no nonsense riffs with Grant?s distinctively gruff vocals. Lemmy fan, no doubt! The same songs have been pressed on CD including their contribution to the tour 7? as bonus should you be part of the digital movement and require them on your iPod. iWhat?
IRON HEARSE / LEATHER NUN: 7?
This special single was pressed to celebrate and sell at the bands? first European tour in spring 2010! They are a well suited pair as they both have their roots in the Wino & Maryland Doom traditions. Earthy and riff-laden!
MIRROR OF DECEPTION / TEFRA: ?Katharsis / Natural Healer of Sin? Split 7? EP
German veterans and English underdogs go head to head! Mirror of Deception?s exclusive track carries on the heavy doom vibe from their excellent ?Shards? release whilst Tefra delivers two offerings in the shape of ?Natural Healer Of Sin? and ?Relic Of Time?, orthodox Doom with epic touches and individual sounding vocals. This vinyl is limited to 515 hand numbered copies on black wax…
PHOENIX RISING: “The Live Session” LP
This album was originally recorded live at Radio Hallam in ?83 and captures the band at their most rocking! Their ?Phoenix Rising? 12? EP should ring a bell with NWOBHM collectors and their song ?Understanding? from that EP charted No 1. at Kerrang back in the day. Not exactly a coincidence that it also opens this piece of history. Limited to a mere 200 copies: http://www.hrrecords.de/high_roller/audio/PR.mp3
TERRORAMA: “The Horrid Edifice” LP
Led by the throat of I Hate Records, with lyrics based on thoughts of inner cleansing, religious hypocrites and despise for the imbecile human race, it was never going to be polite. Moreover, the band conjures up relentless and violent Thrash Metal rooted in the South American tradition, which is all about quality song writing, ferocious atmospherics and nailed with a sterling production! Kills posers at 100 paces?
THE DEEP BLUE: ?The Sun Worshipper? 10? EP
This is the English duo?s second EP, their first on vinyl, which expands their Holy Mountain Doom in the trancelike vein of Om and Sleep. If it is on a par with ?Antarctic Abyss? EP it should enjoy regular spins here. More details to follow after I have spun the vinyl…
THE RIVER: ?Broken Window? 10? EP
Welcome to The River with a twist! This EP houses a re-recorded slower-than-the-album version of the title track, a re-recorded-with-completely-different-ending version of ?Inside The Flood Diary? as well as the brand new ?To Bring Closure?. This is a much more fitting representation of the band in a beautifully designed sleeve, which should slake thirsts until their second album is belatedly released
WHILE HEAVEN WEPT: ?Triumph, Tragedy Transcendence? Gatefold DLP w/Poster
Culled from their moving performance at Hammer of Doom III, this crystal clear production tackles 20 minutes of material from each of their three studio albums. However, in the spirit of ?70s Rainbow, there are numerous subtle improvisations on the core song structures keeping the experience fresh and unique. Whether in attendance or not, this merits repeated spins and may just be enough to lure pilgrims to their European tour dates in spring 2011.Again, presented on a heavy gatefold sleeve with poster and insert limited to 1,000 copies: http://www.hrrecords.de/high_roller/audio/whw_ttt_thus.mp3
CD TITLES
ALTAR OF OBLIVION: ?Salvation? MCD
This new EP picks up right where the debut left off only with a much thicker and heavier sound. It also includes another re-recorded song from their demo “Threshold To Oblivion (My Wrecked Mind)”. The label has marked “Believers In The Mist” as the highlight here with the strongest riffs and most memorable lines.
GREAT COVEN: ?Viaticum?
I Hate Records has proudly re-packaged and re-released the one and only classic full-length recording by the Spanish quartet for a wider audience. As reviewed in Pariah Child #1, it was reckoned to be the most convincing demo of the year. Whilst it is, in fact, their second recording, ?Viaticum? is the first to receive a concerted push by the band. It boasts eleven weighty compositions, clocking in at nearly sixty minutes, which essentially makes it a full-length album of consistently powerful material. The formidable guitar tone and chunky riffing thunder forth like a devastating earthquake. The rhythm section booms at ever-steady intervals and the vocals ascend high above the lamenting dirge to provide an almost epic seal. The pace is often slow and thick, although at times, it is pierced by some seaing lead breaks as ?Satan?s Whores? and ?Sabbath?s Witching Hour? bears testimony. But ?Great Coven? and ?Funeral of Souls? temper that ambience by spiralling into all-out Thrash cacophony. And of course there is no respite even when the speed slows again because ?Veil of Tears? and the title track are pulverising anthems saved for the hefty and climatic close. (Pariah Child #1)
LAS CRUCES: “Dusk” CD
The new studio album by the Texas Doom legends was long overdue and they had a hell of lot to live up to. Thankfully and almost immediately, I knew they had delivered again. With crushing riffs, driving rhythms and the trademark soulful singing of Mark Zamarron old fans will be well chuffed. If you don?t already know them, make amends pronto. This is a top notch album by one of the leading lights of heavy music?
LUCIFER WAS: ?Crown of Creation? CD
The Scandinavian purveyors of progressive heavy rock have returned with their fifth studio album. Perhaps more ambitious than ?The Divine Tree?, they have opted to explore the symphonic whilst retaining the familiar bluesy use of twin guitars, flute and mellotron.
PAGAN ALTAR: ?Mythical & Magical? CD
This third timeless instalment flirts with all manner of folk laden atmospherics throughout its Heavy Metal bombast even more so than The Lord of Hypocrisy! That said, the album is still very much defined by the stunning lead guitar by Al Jones and voice of his father Terry Jones. There is no other band like them. Last copies of the private press by the band…
PSYCH / KRAUT / SPACE ROCK
BAD ACID Tab 5
64 A4 page magazine containing 39 extensive interviews with the likes of Aqua Nebula Oscillator, Danava,
Acid King, Earthling Society, Moss, White Hills, Litmus, Orne, Northwinds, Ufomammut / Malleus / Supernatural Cat, James Plotkin, Titan, Leather Nun America, Morkobot Hey Coloossus, Antonius Rex / Jacula so read and weep!
BAD ACID Tab 6
70 minute DVD with promo videos and live footage including Wicked Minds, Antonius Rex, Northwinds, Ogre, Malleus Art Gallery with Morkobot soundtrack; Bone Structure label profile and sampler; 56 band audio compilation and 60 page printed magazine with Merca, Leather Nun America, Acid King, Queen Elephantine, White Hills, Aqua Nebula Oscillator, Earthling Society, Litmus, Danava and Orange Sunshine?
BAD ACID TAB 7
Disc1 is a 1¾ hour DVD containing promo videos from Phantomsmasher , Vibravoid, Space Shuttle Pilots, Motley Motion, and the legendary Jacula, live footage from Isis, Morkobot, Ramesses and Oresund Space Collective as well as video interviews with The Melvins & Celtic Frost! Disc2 is a 17 hour 117 band audio sampler, 2 hour Alampo Records label sampler and 90 screen full colour .pdf magazine. Some of the audio highlights include Seven That Spells, Gnod, Numinous Eye, Astra, Primordial Undermind, Wicked Minds, Zone Six, Saturnalia Temple, The Deep Blue, End of Level Boss and The River?
BAD ACID TAB 8
90 minute DVD with live and promo videos, twisted animation and disturbed short films including Acid King, Beehoover, White Hills / Dan McGuire, Dragged Into Sunlight and Spancer? 65 band audio compilation, many artist showcasing several tracks or whole albums, Roil Noise label profile with 22 track audio sampler and 44 page printed magazine containing in-depth reviews of all featured audio and DVD bands such as Oresund Space Collective, Gnod, Harvey Milk, Queen Elephantine, Serpentina Satellite, UFO Gestapo and Witchfield…
CIRCLE: ?Telescope? DCD
Amazing double live album that I reviewed for Bad Acid!
Almost six years to the day, this concert took place on German soil and the sound is deceivingly crisp for a live recording. ?Matka? begins gently. Testing. Teasing. Taking form. Each and every element is distinguishable. Effects subside in the wake of traditional instrumentation. The trance is set in motion. Steady and direct. The shamanic vocals startle. Only at first. We are no longer alone. We have a guide. We come to know the peculiar voices and let go. Rising lightly. Falling smoothly. We follow the contours of sound. A swelling confidence, an intensity, is gradually perceptible. Our chests tighten. Exhilarating. We soar. ?Metsan Henget?? comes in waves. Lapping quickly. The current is stronger. Up and down. In and out. Surging. Abating. Again and again. Then, an eerie reprieve. Cymbals splash against the rocks. Our medium sings a lullaby. The trance resumes. Momentum. Such force. Beyond time. He howls. Ecstatic. Possessed. Out of breath, we step into ?Huurre? by way of a bridge. The path is clear. Not visibly so. But to touch. We follow our feet. Our shaman calls calmly. His tone commands. He raises his song up high. Urged on, hypnotised, we dance. On and on and on through the night?
Jolted, we awake in another dream. ?Ajannopeus? throbs. The flow rapid. All encompassing. We may have been here before. Possibly. Or is our consciousness playing tricks? Except it morphs. Subtly. Rolling rhythms. Wavering strings. Mysterious melodies. Abruptly, ?Teraskylpy? tastes quite different. We have changed direction. The wind is in our faces. Instinctively, compelled, we run. Now on a horse, we gallop. The wind spins behind us, we harness its driving force. Onward. To oblivion.
Revived by distant stars and alien tongues, we have been spared once again. We blink sporadically. Unaccustomed to these surroundings, we lie motionless. Lights sear and sounds envelop. The vortex consumes, releases and consumes again with greater violence. A cone of power shrouds the altar. The trance is strong. Living. Breathing. Master of all. Contemplating the end, we embrace the ritual. Our hearts beat wildly. Faster. Harder. Pounding in our ears. Almost in our throats. Frenzy. Fury. Flurry. Finale. Up. Round. Round and up. Farewell.
GNOD: ?Live Birth? Cassette
The first ever improvised live set by the cosmic collective. Limited edition of 150 copies and already long sold out at the source…
ORESUND SPACE COLLECTIVE: ?Inside Your Head? CD
Taken from ?The Black Tomato? sessions that also gave birth to their third studio album, Dave Schmidt has pieced together another 70 minutes of brainfood equating to their fourth studio album of trancy, trippy Space Rock with great guitars, synths, drivin’ beats and bass lines, wholly improvised and instrumental. Some of their heaviest jams to date?
OVER-GAIN OPTIMAL DEATH: ‘Beheaded Aural Execution’ Cassette
A whopping 40 minutes of heavy, fuzzed-out mind melt from L.A.'s speed-freaks over two sides of analogue bliss! Limited edition of 150 copies by fledgling cassette / vinyl label Who Can You Trust?
SKL ?Orosvisor? LP
Sveriges Kommuner & Landsting, is an elusive folk rock collective from southern Sweden, comprising of classically trained musicians and wild amateurs. This second outing was captured in two days. Mesmerizing and hypnotic, it oozes authentic hard rock and folk apparently in the vein of Furekåben and Handgjort. I know neither band yet can vouch for the quality contained within. Already on high rotation here, the vinyl is limited to a mere 200 copies only in an unusually painted sleeve? http://www.myspace.com/sverigeskommunerlandsting