MIXTAPE 2 - 70's Prog Rock

A few weeks ago Richard Nossar, guitarist for peruvian doom band Don Juan Matus, made this mixtape for a Latin american blog. The mixtape contains tracks by 70's prog bands that did not record more than three albums. 

Enjoy here...

Free INDIAN METAL Compilation

Not sure if this is good at all, but give it a shot...click here for download.

MIXTAPE 1 - South American 70's Rock

Christian Van Lacke, guitarist and vocalist for South American band Tlön was kind enough to put together this compilation of South American bands from the 70's. For the most part, all these fall under the prog rock category, but there are also a few hard rock gems as well as a few who mix up their rock with folk from the region.

Here is the playlist:

1) Azafata del Tren Fantasma (Invisible / Argentina) 1974

2) El Inca (Wara / Bolivia) 1973

3) Ah! Te Vi Entre las Luces (La Maquina de Hacer Pajaros / Argentina) 1976

4) Mi Cueva (El Polen / Peru) 1973

5) Lo Mas Grande que Existe en el Amor (We All Together / Peru) 1973

6) A Traves de los Inviernos (Color Humano / Argentina) 1973

7) Octavo Sendero (Miguel Abuelo Et Nada / Argentina) 1973

8) Mira Niñita (Los Jaivas / Chile) 1973

9)  Martha Ya Esta (Tarkus / Peru - Argentina) 1972

10) Para Hacer Musica (Montevideo Blues / Uruguay) 1972

11) A Pagina do Relampago Eletrico (Beto Guedes / Brasil) 1977

12) Yo Sere Animal, Tu Seras mi Dueño (Aquelarre / Argentina) 1972

(((((((((DOWNLOAD IT HERE))))))))))

LOS SAICOS, ¡Demolición! The Complete Recordings

Was home about fifteen years ago and read an article in some glossy mag about this band, which apparently no one had bothered listening to in at least twenty years. It had taken a small Spanish boutique label to unearth all their recordings. They had pressed 500 10 inch vinyls, which sufficed to include the totality of their work.

A few of these copies had made it down south, so I rushed to Galerias Brasil to score my own. I paid $20. Once I heard it, I was blown away.

Years and years have passed. The Black Lips helped spread the word and now their work is being reissued left and right, remastered and cleaned. My 10 inch copy sounds like shit; jumps, skips, not so virginal sounds taken straight out of the 45's. Just how it should be.

Demolition

THE POWER OF THE RIFF Mixtape

Southern Lord Presents Free 20-Song THE POWER OF THE RIFF Mix Tape

In preparation for THE POWER OF THE RIFF 2011, with five West Coast shows announced to take place later this month, Southern Lord is giving away a brutal 20-track mix tape featuring artists set to appear during the upcoming melee! The free download includes tracks from ALL PIGS MUST DIE, BAPTISTS, EYEHATEGOD, PENTAGRAM, BLACK COBRA, PELICAN, NOOTHGRUSH, WINTER, TRAP THEM and more, as well as a collection of flyers from all of the upcoming TPOTR shows.

GET IT HERE (http://www.mediafire.com/?lo12l6b50yob0ub) !

THE POWER OF THE RIFF 2011 Mix Tape:
01 ALL PIGS MUST DIE "Pulverization"
02 BAPTISTS "Good Parenting"
03 EYEHATEGOD "Jack Ass in the Will of God"
04 MASAKARI "Trapped In The Mold"
05 ALPINIST "Hak Nam"
06 SKIN LIKE IRON "Consequences"
07 EARLY GRAVES "Wraiths"
08 SEVEN SISTERS OF SLEEP "Sundown"
09 PENTAGRAM "Call The Man"
10 BLACK BREATH "Children Of The Horn"
11 PLAGUES "Breathing"
12 HARASSOR "Glory Raped"
13 ACEPHALIX "Interminable Night"
14 BLACK COBRA "Negative Reversal"
15 ÆGES "Roaches"
16 SLAVE "Rise Of Shame"
17 TRAP THEM "Carnage Incarnate"
18 NOOTHGRUSH "Oil Removed"
19 PELICAN "Strung Up From The Sky"
20 WINTER "Eternal Frost"
Southern Lord Presents: THE POWER OF THE RIFF 2011:
8/13/2011 Echo/Echoplex – Los Angeles, CA
Pentagram, Eyehategod, Winter, Pelican, Trap Them, All Pigs Must Die, Acephalix, Black Cobra, Skin Like Iron, Baptists, Masakari, Alpinist, Seven Sisters of Sleep, Aeges, Early Graves, Slave Doors @ Noon
8/15/2011 Elbo Room San Francisco, CA
Winter, Noothgrush, Trap Them, Black Breath, All Pigs Must Die, Acephalix Doors @ 7:00pm
8/16/2011 The Mezzanine San Francisco, CA
Pentagram, Pelican, Alpinist, Masakari, Early Graves, Baptists, Aeges
Doors @ 6:30pm
8/18/2011 Neumo Seattle, WA
Winter, Pelican, Noothgrush, All Pigs Must Die, Alpinist, Masakari, Aeges
Doors @ 6:00pm
8/20/2011 The Highline Seattle, WA
From Ashes Rise, Black Breath, Trap Them, Baptists + more TBA Doors @ 9:30

DEMON FUZZ, Afreaka!

If You Aren't a Big Dog You Better Get out of the Dock...or Some Shit. 

Despite the Homoerotic cover, this is a great fucking record, listen to it here!!!!!!!

HOT GRAVES Covers Release - Free Download

HOT GRAVES Release Necros Mixos Sacraficio Covers EP for Free Download Gainesville, FL's d-beat death-thrash destroyers ov the faith, HOT GRAVES, have just released a brand-new covers EP, Necros Mixos Sacraficio, and thrown it up for free download on their Bandcamp page. The hell-raisin' trio take us on a blackened d-beat odyssey through both cult and classic territories. A cut from The Accused cozies up next to a Discharge anthem, Roky Erickson's ghost turns its wild eyes to the Floor, a moment of Midnight crashes into  GWAR's unholy racket, and the carnage left by Cannibal Corpse bleeds into Pentagram's last days. Download Necros Mixos Sacraficio for FREE here: http://hotgraves.bandcamp.com/album/necros-mixos-sacrificio*

HOT GRAVES frontman Myk commented: "Cover songs: most people start out playing them to get acquainted with the in's and out's ov songcraft and performance, we all certainly did. But after awhile, they take on more significance, music becomes more sacred, or more worthy ov blaspheme. This recording signifies for HOT GRAVES a tribute to influences, and a credit to our own sense ov taking liberties within arrangements and lyrics and adaptations. For one thing, we tend to play everything D-Beat, and that is no exception here. Some ov these covers may seem strange to you, hopefully not, but each one represents a key to what makes HOT GRAVES, including the song we took our name from." NECROS MIXOS SACRAFICIO - Cover Songs Worship

TRACKLISTING:
1. War = Death 2011 - The Accused
2. What Do I Get? - Discharge
3. White Faces - Roky Erickson
4. Scimitar - Floor
5. Hot Graves - Midnight
6. Maggot Medley - GWAR / Cannibal Corpse
7. Madman - Pentagram

ABUM CREDITS:Released 08 April 2011
Myk - Guitar / Vocals
Hutch - Bass
Matt - Drums

Guest backing vocals on "Maggot Medley" and "War = Death" by Mike & Micah from Bartholin. Guest vocals on "Maggot Medley" (2nd half) by Damian from Impurity. No songs written by Hot Graves, all songs by respective artists named, all arrangements by Hot Graves. Drums recorded 04/01/11 at Thee Goatshed. All other everything recorded 04/02/11-04/05/11 at Baphomet's Lair Studio. Recorded / Mixed / Mastered by Myk Colby.

All respect due to the bands we cover here.
LINKS:Facebook<https://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#!/HOTGRAVES666?sk=info>
http://www.youtube.com/user/hotgraves
http://www.myspace.com/hotgraves
http://www.hotgraves.bandcamp.com
http://satanikrecordings.bigcartel.com/
http://www.satanikrecordings.wordpress.com

PARIS IS BURNING - Free FRENCH Metal Compilation!!

HELLO

Attached is the link to listen or download the first compilation of French scene (from the collective karoshi Entertainment) PARIS IS BURNING where you can find the best metal band / hardcore band from PARIS and its suburbs like the Arrs / Memories Of A Dead Man / The Prestige / Post offense / Lokurah .....

Download this motherfucker...

thank you to you if you can to relay the info and the link to your pages / media (flyer is in attachments with full list and details) This compilation is free and whose sole purpose is to develop and advance the European metal scene.

for information / chronic / interview contact me ben: boneshxc@gmail.com

Now don't be an asshole and support this scene...

ROMERO Tour Dates - GRINDCORE KARAOKE Free!!!

I still owe stoner / doom band Romero a review of their debut Solitaire. I suck for taking so long. The thing is, with 7 inches I have to get the necessary time in. To go through at least eight 7 inches at once takes longer than expected. So my apologies for sucking and for taking my sweet time.

Anyway, the band is hitting the road, so make time if they are coming anywhere near you:

Mar 11, 2011 - Winona, MN (US) @ CANSWER HAUS
Mar 12, 2011 - Fargo, ND (US) @ Red Raven Espresso Bar
Mar 13, 2011 - Rapid City, SD (US) @ Skullets
Mar 14, 2011 - Great Falls, MT (US) @ 406 Club
Mar 16, 2011 - Seattle, WA (US) @ The Funhouse
Mar 17, 2011 - Portland, OR (US) @ Plan B
Mar 18, 2011 - Portland, OR (US) @ The Know
Mar 19, 2011 - Boise, ID (US) @ The Shredder
Mar 20, 2011 - Salt Lake City, UT (US) @ Bar Deluxe
Mar 21, 2011 - Denver, CO (US) @ Rockaway Tavern
Mar 23, 2011 - Kansas City, MO (US) @ Harling's Upstairs Bar & Grill
Mar 25, 2011 - Milwaukee, WI (US) @ Ground Zero
Mar 26, 2011 - Green Bay, WI (US) @ The Crunchy Frog

Romero has issued their seven inch through the new label Grindcore Karaoke, which as far as I can tell is the baby of Jay Randall, vocalist for Massachusetts freakazoids Agoraphobic Nosebleed and who is also kind enough to offer all his releases as free downloads. These can all be found on their website right FUCKING here....

WARFARE NOISE I - Compilation (Cogumelo, 1986)

When I was a kid I knew this dude who was a total fucking dick. A real asshole. A total douche. I was best friends with his younger brother and he used to beat him up. I kind of hated him for that. But I also hated him because he was an asshole, a smart ass who used to pick on everyone who was smaller and younger than him.

When I was about eighteen years old I sold him a broken walkman. It was yellow and pretty small and he thought it looked pretty modern. That's why he wanted it. I thought it looked kind of girly. That was the second reason why I wanted to get rid of it. The first one being that it did not work very well. The following day he came to my house. He was pissed off because I had sold him a walkman that didn't work. He threatened to beat me up. He could have. Easily. He was about twice my size and used to lift weights in his backyard. He had filled a couple of buckets of paint with cement and had connected them with a metal rod. He would lay on his back and do bench presses with that.

I told him that I was not going to give him his money back and that he had probably broken it and was now trying to return it. The conversation cooled off quickly and concluded when this asshole walked back to his house with the walkman in hand. He was clenching it. I was a bit shaken. Never been much of a fighter but that day I realized that it takes an asshole to confront an asshole.

Anyway, I had to put up with this dick because he was the one who introduced me to Mayhem, Minotaur, Sarcofago and the whole Brasilian movement. He had connections who were into underground metal and on one occasion even showed up with a copy of Slayer fanzine. He talked about Mayhem with reverence. I loved their logo but had never heard their music. And we are talking late 80's, way before the whole Norwegian scene blew up. He used to dub tapes of his friends of pretty obscure bands. Imperator was his favorite. Minotaur was a close second. He was pretty good at drawing logos, which he would work on for hours in the spines of tapes. He learned silk screening and started putting logos in white T shirts. 

One day he showed up with a tenth generation copy of Warfare Noise. He had taped over one of his mother's bolero tapes in his shitty boombox. The quality of the sound was beyond disastrous. You could barely distinguish between songs, but to him, it all sounded fantastic. I kind of admired his blind resilience in the face of bad sound. 

Dickboy does not listen to metal anymore. He is one of those people who outgrew metal and considers it childish. Back then, I could not listen to this compilation and take it seriously. Nowadays, I love it. I now possess this blind resilience in the face of bad sound.

((WARFARE NOISE HERE))

GALE - Solo Quiero Fornicar (which means...)

House cleaning!

Going through a bunch of old e-mails, most of which I checked, took a mental note to post and then totally got distracted with life. But that's life these days. Obligations taking time away from the stuff that is really worth in life. Like weird shit like this.

I do not know much about Gale. I know that they are a band from Ecuador. And I know that some of their crust grind sounds downright bizarre. Drums dominating. Strings (probably just a bass or a guitar with no distortion) way in the back, barely making an appearance, and somewhat blackened vocals.

I also know that they are obsessed with sex. Or if they haven't had any, they are obsessed with porn. I know that because the name of this demo is Solo Quiero Fornicar, which translates to I Just Want to Fuck. Also, the songs here all open with the sounds of girls moaning and men pushing.

Download

PLAKKAGIO HC - Italian Hardcore for FREE

Motherfuckers still making heavy use of their MySpace pages have to be careful. When I visited the page for Italian hardcore band Plakkaggio HC, some cheesy ass R&B started playing automatically. A smooth sexy voice went like, '1,2,3,4,5,6,7....' and then it got more explicit about sucking toes and shit.  For a few good seconds I thought these bambinos were being funny and that shit was just the ironic intro to their rage. I hit refresh and again.

At a third refresh a reggae song started. And not like the good kind of reggae, you know like Studio 1 production with its rustic sounds, odd kinda psyche effects and smoked out vocals, but that crap ass style with auto tune voices, keyboards imitating guitars and tiny little baby drums. Some pretty silly shit, let me tell you. Look for the player in the page and it is impossible to find. Not sure what is really going on with MySpace, but they really fucked it up this time around. 

Anyway, this morning I got an e-mail from Chris who is part of the Italian hardcore band Plakkaggio HC. He was looking for come coverage and was wondering if he could send me a link. It's funny when bands offer a link and then as an incentive mention that the link includes cover, lyrics, liner notes and shit. Like that makes a difference. He also mentioned that he could not send me a physical copy (which is a requirement to receive a review in Deaf Sparrow) because their latest album Fronte del Sacco, released in 2009, is already sold out. I asked him if we could post it for free and he agreed. He even sent me a link to their previous record Il Nemico, which dates from 2007, and is also sold out.

So here they are. Let me know if you like them. Italian hardcore. For free. No guilt. 

 Download this record here...

Download this other one here...

The Lost Art of Record Shopping - NETWORK OF FRIENDS VOL.2

My buddy wasn’t up for food this noon so instead of heading over to the Chinese buffet I frequent when in lonely lunches I decided to hit the record store. It’s a little ways away but today is Friday and us 9-2-5’ers know that lunch breaks on that day can be twice as long without fear of any repercussions.

Waiting for me at the counter was the man with no soul. This time, as he saw me walking in he said really fast, ‘hey, how is it going?’. He seemed to be hiding behind three piles of CD’s and was scribbling in a notebook.  NOFX was playing in the speakers. I went directly to the book section which is huge but found nothing worth my money so I headed to the vinyl section.

My budget was $12 and while I was driving to the store I still had the Skid Row vinyl in mind. A few months ago I had seen an old Anvil record there so I started alphabetically but the Anvil record was nowhere to be seen.    Whoever manages this store has to stop buying crap because its shelves are so packed with vinyl your fingers can barely shuffle thru them. This makes buying difficult and missing hidden gems easy. As I got to the letter C a black and white cover struck me. The girl on the cover reminded me of Jean Seberg. It was by a band called Contaminators, the label was called Going Underground and its price was affordable. $5.99. I asked the man with no soul if he knew what it was. He said he didn’t and asked me if I wanted him to play it. ‘How nice!’. I thought to myself and handed the record to him.

The music started playing but he never bothered to push Stop on the NOFX CD, which was playing on a small boombox. Still, the volume of Contaminators overcame. It was punk rock. Decent punk rock. No pop pretensions. No budget either. Just kind of how I like it. So I kept on searching for records but my stream of consciousness processing was then interrupted by the annoying shifting between 33 and 45 RPM’s.  Back and forth. Back and forth. What the fuck was he doing?. Maybe he didn’t know how the music was supposed to sound like but he did this for about a minute and then lifted the needle.

‘Do you want hear more of this?’, he asked. He looked annoyed by the noise. 

‘No,’ I said. ‘Not if you are going to be such a dick,‘ I thought.

Maybe it was not intentional. Maybe he truly did not know how to tell whether this record had to be played at 33 or 45 RPM’s so he just played it at both. For like a minute.

I really wanted to get out of the store by then. I was the only one there and wanted to leave the man with no soul alone. Maybe he needed to think. He needed to clear his mind. As I got to the letter E, I found a double vinyl titled Network of Friends Vol 2. The price was $8.99. It looked good. It looked obscure. Bands such as Raw Power, Kafka Prosess, Neuroot, Negazione and about twenty-seven more were included. I couldn’t go wrong, right? The record shopaholic in me wanted more though so I headed to the S section where after a couple of minutes of shuffling I found the Skid Row record. Shrinkwrapped. Virginal. Tight. Price? $9.99. I really did not want to spend more than $12 but I was tempted. Then, I looked at the counter. The man with no soul was looking down. Maybe drawing dicks on his notebook or something. The thought of spending more money there made me put the Skid Row record back on the shelf.

As I was paying I pulled out my punch card and handed it to him.

‘No,’ he said. ‘Spend ten dollars and I punch one hole. Get ten holes you get ten dollars of discount on any item in the store.’  

The total price including taxes was about $9.80.  

‘Fucking prick,’ I thought. ‘Can’t you cut me some slack and just punch the fucking thing? I only have five more holes to go’, I thought.   

‘You don’t want the Contaminators record?’, he asked.

‘No,’ I said. Now I was annoyed.

‘Need a receipt?’, he asked.

‘No, thanks.’ I responded. 

Then, I walked out. Quietly.

((Download This Bitch))

I WAS DORA SUAREZ Scared the Shit Out of Me

Death metal bands obsessed with all sorts of graphic brutality and yummy yummy coprophagia, shall start reading some of the books written by English author Derek Raymond. Maybe then, some eloquent germ will infest them and cause them to stop writing lyrics that come off like third rate Cannibal Corpse shit.

I recently started reading I Was Dora Suarez, Raymond’s fourth book in his Factory series, and was instantly taken aback by its explicit nature.  Raymond (whose real name was Robin Cook) slashes our gag reflex within the first few pages. The author goes to incredibly gruesome lengths by detailing the act of killing (and then shitting and masturbating with a bloody dick on top of the corpse) to such a detailed extent, even I –whom I consider to be an individual with a strong stomach-had to stop every few sentences just to catch my breath. And I am only about ten pages into the book. It is that fucking sick! Seriously, this guy makes Dennis Cooper look like Danielle Steel.

As a matter of fact, I Was Dora Suarez is such a morbid book I kind of feel bad just having it in my house. As I read it last night I thought of my three year old daughter and the idea that one day she will find it in my library and think that I am a fucking pervert really disturbed me. The only other book that has made me think this way was the anthology of the Answer Me! fanzine, which was so rampacked with hilarious shit that is wrong at so many levels I started feeling like a pervert.

Musically speaking there are only a couple of records that have made me feel this way. The first one being  Matando Gueros by Brujeria.  The cover is a real image and hence more gruesome than any graphic drawing, but that was not it, it was the lyrics which were in Spanish and hence, screamed in my ear in my native language, caused in me pure repulsion. Also, the vocals of Juan Brujo were not that distorted, they were rough and gruff, but you could easily understand all that’s being screamed. Which is not the same in English, a language that back then I could not understand in its musical context at all and hence, lyrically speaking, could not affect me.

I was already a metal fan, by then. And I never had a problem with the Carcass sleeves but Brujeria had gone too far. That night I told my brother to keep the record out of the room. Its vibes could infect me, I reasoned.

I have outgrowned those judgements by now. Mostly because as a metal fan I have been exposed to such atrocities it is really hard to be shocked anymore. That said, some stuff still does not appeal to me. Like most gore metal is pretty shitty (no pun intended), not only musically but also visually. I can always appreciate a good monster, blasphemy or an atrocious drawing but I think it’s reality that shocks me the most. Which brings me to the second record that made me feel sick. The name of the band escapes me and I am not about go on the hunt just so that you can witness this shit, but it is from a Finnish metal band and in its cover we can find two Japanese school girls, both of whom seem to have been forcefed shit. It looks real, maybe it is not. But who knows? And who digs that stuff anyway?

Needless to say, you do not have to be sick to enjoy having a quick peek into those perversions. As long as it is just a phase you are ok. Or at least that’s what I like to think. As a bored university student I indulged many afternoons visiting the once free pages of Consumption Junction. The mammoth size website for all things fucked up contained thousands of short videos that range from homemade porn to Taliban executions (Daniel Peart video included), self-mutilation and all kinds of deviant shit. It was there that I once saw a video of two naked Japanese girls puking on each other’s mouths. That proved to be too much. I could simply not take it and had to hit pause almost right away. Immediately after that my youthful fascination with fucked up shit started to fade.

Anyway, I got to I Was Dora Suarez just a couple of weeks ago. I was at work listening to music in my Ipod when a song by Gallon Drunk started playing. It sounded good. It sounded really good. I had never heard of this band and I do not recall downloading their music. I am pretty sure it came onto my hard drive one of those nights in which I mechanically download music I know nothing of. Sometimes I compare this process of downloading illegal music to the process of sleepwalking. I am not entirely aware that I am doing it but I sure as fuck am doing it. Anyway, I recommend Gallon Drunk to anyone who misses The Birthday Party. There is not only a sonic connection but leader James Johnston has been part of The Bad Seeds. After I listened to them at work I Googled them, landed on Wikipedia and found out that their music is inspired by this book.

Check it out here.... (((YO SOY DORA SUAREZ))) 

METALEPSIA, Self-Titled (Self-Released, 2010)

A couple of weeks ago I received an e-mail from this Argentinian band. They are called Metalepsia. Maybe that's why I actually stopped, read thru the message and proceeded to download their record. Then, I made a post.

Unlike most bands that write me, they weren't asking for a review, they just wanted me to post their album in my spanish blog Discos Inauditos.  Which I did after I checked out their MySpace page and listened to the whole recording once.

The black and white cover artwork says it all. Metalepsia mix and match punk and metal. Which is pretty similar to saying that they play some kind of crossover. They kind of sound like Inepsy and Abigail. Check the dudes on the cover. They are both in shape. They are both obviously into alcohol. One is long-haired and bearded while the other sports a large mohawk. Both share the same symbol in their attire. If you have time, check out the MySpace page for Metalepsia. There we will learn that the scene they dwell in contains equal parts of punkers and metalheads and this is a move this band is backing. There, you will also learn that vocalist  Facundo seems to only own one t-shirt. Venom.

((Metalepsia))

The Lost Art of Record Shopping - MALICE / POST MORTEM / DECEASED

Got off work an hour early on Thursday and headed off the opposite direction of home and to the record store where the man with no smile works. It has been about a month since I saw that shrinkwrapped copy of the Skid Row vinyl but I was quite sure that with the ignorance of all, it would still be there. I was greeted by a sickly blond kid with a Gospel t-shirt. He looked like a Belle and Sebastian fan (so am I but I do not) and he was rocking the skinny jeans to the point of bursting. As I entered I nodded my head. He blinked. I am not sure if that was a salute. I went up straight to the S section and there it was, Skid Row, price? $9.99. Took it in my arms and kept on inspecting.  

I have seen more than a few semi quality hardcore vinyls in this place. A bunch of stuff from Feral Ward. A bunch of stuff I have not heard of and that look-wise does not look half as good as most metal releases. There were a few Profane Existence releases there too. But I did not care. I crave metal. No matter how cheesy, I crave it. If it is old and in spinnable condition, chances are I like it. More chances are that I want it. I like hardcore too, but if I have to pick between the two, there is no contest.

My first find was Malice’s In The Beginning…. (Atlantic, 1985) Me and this band go way back. I was about 12 when I grabbed a hold of this shitty Mexican hard rock magazine that for some accidental reason had landed in South American soil. There was a lot of coverage of Mexican bands I have never heard of. Cristal y Acero. Ramses. Those are the two I remember. I have not heard either but about six months ago I went into YouTube looking for old heavy metal videos and I stumbled upon a Ramses video. It sucked. The music and the video. Both equally.  So I left a comment saying something along the lines of, ‘hahahahahahah, that’s one shitty song.’ A day later, I got a blast of Spanish e-mails mentioning my mother in terms that I did not appreciate.  

I can’t recall the name of the magazine. It was printed in black and white, newspaper quality, and small size. I remember seeing the cover of In The Beginning… in one of those pages. The author spoke highly of this Cali band and even went as far as to compare them to Judas Priest. There is little artwork in the cover so I forgot about them as soon as I turned the page. But I do not forget names, nor logos. Let alone heavy metal names. And when I saw this record last week I knew I had to buy it. Mint condition. Price? $12.99. Ouch! Fuck it.

((In the Beginning...there was shit))

I kept on searching and I didn’t have to look far for my next find.  By the time I got to the letter P I found my next purchase. The Missing Link (New Renaissance, 1987) by Post Mortem. Price? $14.99. Mega ouch! Especially considering that it was a tad beat and that this is a four-song EP. But I did not know that until I got home. Plus, how could I resist a record with a cover like this? I think the boys in Post Mortem used to hate Charlie Benante, that’s why they placed him in the cover, in between a T-Rex and cavemen, as if his ilk, his breed, his kind, the metalhead, was just that, the missing link between zero-neuron beings and the modern times. That has got to be Benante. Big belly. Wiry puffy hair. Slayer t-shirt. Hands in pocket. Looks like a dumbass.

((The Missing Link is Charlie Benante))

By then, it was about time to get home and I knew I wasn’t going to have enough time to go through every single letter in the alphabet. I took a look around me, a quick peek to all the vinyl racks and to the records positioned up front and there it was, a Deceased record. As the Weird Travel On (Thrash Corner, 2005) to be more precise. How could anyone miss it? The covers that  embellish this band’s releases are a work of art. Tasty delicatessen stuff for metalheads. Price? $15.99. Who said that shopping vinyl was a cheap pleasure? No one that’s right. And at four, that was three more than what I was planning on buying so I had no option but to return the Skid Row record to the rack. I can always come back next month. I am pretty sure it will still be there. 

It may be a policy of this store to be a dick or to be as articulate as a mannequin, but the sickly Gospel-loving blond kid did not utter a word when I bought these records. He didn’t say 'hi', or 'bye', or ‘the total is $45’. I had to look at the register to know the final price and handed my card. Then, I walked out quietly...

HYPNOTIC DIRGE RECORDS - Free Compilation 2010

To celebrate two-years of activity for Hypnotic Dirge Records we are releasing an extensive compilation album on November 7th, 2010 which will include audio, video, text, and visual components. The entire album has been created with a strong attention to detail and a working theme throughout. Within the compilation comes audio tracks exclusive to the compilation by some high-profile guests, some previously released HDR material, some upcoming stuff from future releases, as well as three music video premieres, some essays and short stories, and complete album artwork with a full theme, and notes from the artists and contributors. An extensive piece of work comprising many hours of work from many dedicated artists in multi-disciplinary fields. Make sure you are here to download to album for FREE on November 7th, 2010.

I - The Foetal Mind - Big Crunch

II - Funereal - Of That Which Lies Beneath...

III - Funeral Fornication - Stargates Eternal Beheld My Nightmares

IV - Exiled From Light - We Writhe As Worms

V - netra - Outside...Alone

VI - Ancient Tundra - The Shimmering Radiance of a Thousands Stars

VII - Njiqahdda - Nji taaevaasti vortaa est flaami

VIII - Neige et Noirceur - Croix de Feu, Croix de Fer

IX - Funeral in Heaven - Bhandhana

X - Autaric - Cremation Divine

XI - Old Forgotten Lands - Hour of the Wolf

XII - netra - La Page (Music Video)

XIII - Njiqahdda - Nji taaevaasti vortaa est flaami (Music Video)

XIV - Old Forgotten Lands - Hour of the Wolf (Music Video)

XV - The Foetal Mind - La Corde Rouge (Music Video)

XVI - Exiled From light - There is no beauty left here...(Promo Video)
XVII - The Foetal Mind - The Grand Contraction (Promo Video)
Text

XVIII -'The Origin of Values' Essay by: N. Skog

XIX -'The Bleak House' Short story by: Vultyrous

XX -'Nji taaevaasti vortaa est flaami' by: Njiqahdda

A note about the album:The 2010 edition of the annual Hypnotic Dirge Records compilation series is being released to commemorate two years of activity as a record label. Once again we are offering this album as a free download to showcase a unique and diverse group of black metal artists from a variety of different sub-genres. This year's edition has been named "Melancholic Epiphony (The Trance Formation is Shattered) Within the album, you will find a total of 11 tracks - 8 of which are from Hypnotic Dirge Records roster artists, offering a glimpse into past HDR releases, as well as a look towards some future HDR material. Asides from that, we are also featuring three diverse and respected guest artists on this compilation album - Funeral in Heaven, Njiqahdda, and Autaric. Also as a bonus on this year's compilation, we are also including some music videos as well, including the premiere of netra's first-ever music video for the track 'La Page' , the premiere of Old Forgotten Lands' 'Hour of the Wolf' video, and an exclusive video premiere from the mighty Njiqahdda.

As an addendum to the audio and video portions of this release, there is also three essays/short stories to accompany the album focusing on a variety of different topics both fiction, and non-fiction, as well as a complete 8 page booklet focusing on the larger theme of this compilation. Our desire was to release a compilation album that truly covered 4 different aspects of art: Audio, Video, Text, and Visual and we are pleased to showcase the works of a variety of different artists!

Over the past year, Hypnotic Dirge Records has evolved to become a more metal-based record label with less ambient artists on its roster, and more metal-based releases on the way. (see: netra, The Foetal Mind, Funeral Fornication, Neige et Noirceur, etc.) and this compilation is also an indication on the evolution of HDR. Of course, we will still be releasing ambient music as well, and most of our artists have an ambient edge to their music, but this compilation is a good example of the balance we strive to meet musically.

I would like to thank all of the contributors to this year's compilation for their dedication to this project, Marc Hoyland for his many hours of work on this compilation's artwork, and being able to transform my ideas for the theme of this record into perfectly constructed artwork. Asides from that, I'd also like to thank labels, promoters, reviewers, and fans for obvious reasons.

Eleven tracks from a diverse group of black metal artists - some of which are exclusive to the compilation, and some of which provide a preview towards future releases. Three brand new video premieres among a collection of videos, three unique and distinct text pieces/essays and a complete 8 page digital booklet featuring notes and insight into the songs from most of the artists themselves. And it's free!

Download this compilation, tell your friends, post the link on your myspace, facebook or twitter, upload the songs onto youtube. Post the download link on forums, post the album on your blogspot, burn a copy of it and give it to friends, review the album for your webzine/magazine, and play it on your radio show!

~Skog
HDR

Say thanks you Bastards!!!!!

BUBONIC BEAR - Philadelphia Uber Sludge Up For Grabs

I wrote a review of Bubonic Bear's split cassette with Holy Dirt - which you can read here - a few weeks back and then I contacted the band asking them if I could post a link to a download for this recording. Unsurprisingly, they said yesssssss!!!!

Actually, this great Philadelphia band has every recording they've made up for free download directly from their MySpace page. I urge you, I fucking implore you to go there, copy and paste the Mediafire address into your browser and to let their sound bring you to your knees.

The case of Bubonic Bear is one of those not so strange occurrences, where either the talent has gone unnoticed by the deaf media or these boys just want to stay independent. I do not know, but I have heard a lot worse shit getting issued through some serious labels. The download link below only includes the Bubonic Bear half. I am not even sure if there are any tapes left, but if interested, you might want to check out with the charming folks over at Sloth Tapes here....

((Let This Beast Bite You))

BASTARDOS - Argentine Thrash Metal for Free

God damn Argentina I love your sausage. And your skirt steak. And whatever that fuck it is that well-sliced cows are made of. I do not know what is it that you feed those mammals but everytime I try some of that delish meat at the Argentinean grill by my house I feel like moving to Buenos Aires and exchanging my thrash metal jeans for some elastic-waist shorts. This way, as I get fat from eating so much steak I would not feel the guilt bulging up my stomach.

And I love the way your players move their feet. They are magicians of the soccer ball, wicked humans of the greatest, grandest, most popular sport in the motherfucking world. And in Latin America, your pop rock rules. At least it did in the 80's. Mexicans have great tacos but no one eats tacos in South America. No, because in South America people eat meat. Lots of meat and far less cheese and beans. And in South America people eat real ceviche and shit. But if you feel like meat, you might hit either a Brazilian grill for some obscene amounts of food via rodizio or an Argentinean steak house. But yeah, as I was saying, Mexican pop sucks chupacabra balls but Argentinean pop was kinda cool. It ruled for a little bit.

And metal-speaking, well there were a couple of chilean bands in the 90's that did OK, which some Americans may feel are interchangeable for Argentinean bands because in American schools they lost their maps of way the fuck down south of the border. There was Pentagram in the 80's, who just played some shows in England and then there was Atomic Aggressor and Sadism, and to the right, which is Argentina, there was Vibrion and in the 80's there was Hermetica and V8 and a few others. Rata Blanca was a bit too on the cheesy side and I tend to not fuck with that.

Anyway, Bastardos come from Buenos Aires, which some people say is the Paris of South America and which my girlfriend confirmed as she was visiting a few weeks back. By the way, she scored a couple of Pappo's Blues vinyl records. I nearly cried when I saw them. Beautiful music. So yeah, there was metal and there was good Argentinean extreme metal and then in the 70's there was Pappo's Blues, the hardest working most badass guitarist to ever come out of the region.  Back to Bastardos - oh yeah, they play thrash. Plain and simple, and I say that because they play it plain and also simple. Also, they are looking for a drummer so if anyone feels like moving to Buenos Aires to hang out among beuatiful women, awesome steaks, good pasta and a-ok thrash metal, you might want to give these boys a try.

After downloading their three-song recording pay them a visit below  http://www.myspace.com/bastardosthrash

((Download This Steak))

SKID ROW, 34 Hours (Epic, 1971) - Not of the Cock Rock Kind

There is this record store close to work that I usually frequent at lunch time. I won’t divulge its name just in case the dude that works there finds out. Not like, anyone would run into this blog anyway, but I figure I might as well exercise my right to be extra cautious. Anyway, the dude that works there looks like a mannequin. His face has no expression. Apparently his facial muscles are incapable to smile, or to frown, or to express any human feeling. Every time I walk in he barely raises an eyebrow as if that was enough to greet a customer who is about spend at least $10 on a stupid record. Yeah, I said a stupid record. In case anyone dislikes my choice of words, well just look as your music consuming patterns. If you are not buying music, or records, like physical copies, then it may just be because all tangible formats are stupid. I do not believe that by the way. I like collecting. I like touching, looking and staring. Which is the reason why I go to that record store with the dude with the stiff face.  

Last Friday I paid the store a visit. My boss felt extra kind and let me go about 45 minutes before official time. Anyway, I did not expect a warm greeting and I did not get it. This time around the mannequin did not even look at me. He didn't raise his face, he didn't raise his eyebrow. Actually, I do not think he noticed me walking in about thirty inches from his nose. I did not care but I thought about it. Is that rude? Or is indifference just dandy? I think it is just dandy. I am a bit of an anti social so I do not mind passing unnoticed. I went straight to the vinyl section. I was searching for nothing specific. As long as it was hard, and battering, and fast, and heavy, and silly and was wrapped in evil or uber goofy looking artwork, then it may have been my target.

The first album that caught my attention was from the Australian black metal band Ignivomous. I had never heard of them but the Nuclear War Now logo and the super black cover tipped me off. I have been listening to too much hard shit lately so I did not buy it.  Then I found a Megadeth record. Peace Sells But Who’s Buying? Just thinking about the voice of Dave Mustaine gives me the shits. Around that time I started eavesdropping on a conversation the mannequin was having with his heavy set, full-sleeved tatooes, middle age balding man. This guy was bitching about the city and about how it is not prepared for his art so he was making a move to Portland where people are way more hip to his cool shit. Fair enough. To each his own. But I couldn’t help but think, ‘bald bitch!’.  Then the artiste asked the mannequin about how his music criticism and how he was dealing with the free weekly paper he writes for. The paper in question is this city’s equivalent for the Village Voice. It is actually a nice free paper with plenty of liberal views, lots of escort ads and totally shitty indie rock criticism. Needless to say, if it is released by Matador then these bitches give it a stellar review.  

Around that time I found a copy of a Skid Row record. I could tell this was not the New Jersey glam cock rocking boys who enchanted me in the early 90’s when I was just a naïve kid looking for the next L. A. Guns. I could tell there was no Sebastian Bach inside. I could tell the tasty licks of Dave The Snake Sabo were nowhere to be found and that Rachel Bolan’s nose to ear chain had not been manufactured when this was released. Also, the cover artwork screamed of washed up psychedelia and Skid Row were washed up, but not in that sense.  I then raised the record showing the cover to the mannequin and asked, ‘do you know what this is?’. By then, the bald artiste had gone off probably to an art gallery where they eat daily rations of the cock of Banksy or something. The mannequin was quick to answer, ‘I don’t know but it is not what you are thinking’.  This plastic man pissed me off. True, I was thinking of Skid Row and that song “18 and Life”, but who was this soulless shell of a man to tell me what I was thinking. Several questions inundated me then, 'Did he have the powers of John Edward? Could he read minds? And if so, was my mind legible? Was the mannequin not only human, but in fact, super human? And more importantly, did I look like a cock rocker?  Did I fit the Enuff Z Nuff loving stereotype? Could I have been a Poison groupie?'

As research revealed that night, Skid Row was an Irish hard rock band that existed in the 60's. Their tenure extended through the 70's and despite the quality of their music, they became pretty well known in most recent times for having been the band where Gary Moore first shown off his axe skills. I know Gary Moore very well. Not only because I have loved the music of Thin Lizzy since I was 17 and heard one of their worst songs in the radio ("Dedication"), but because around that time, an already puffy-cheeked Moore had released a blues album titled Still Got the Blues. God damn, did I rock my penis to that record! Shit me, if my pelvis got enough exercise for half a lifetime on repeated listens of the title track. Slooowww and sexy crappy blues that did not stand the test of time rules!

Now Skid Row is a different matter. This record is great. It is bluesy but is mostly very psychedelic and progressive. The playing is so fluid and complex that it fiddles its notes and tips its proverbial hat like a young and naive aspiring jazz combo. Highly recommended.

((Not of the Cock Rock Kind))