Saké 10"

as promised here is the excellent 10" done by Saké. 5 more tracks of top notch dark "crusty" hardcore for those of you into Ojorojo, Zero Hour, early Neurosis, later Anti Product, Dystopiayou get the idea. if you loved the 7" you'll love this.

http://www.mediafire.com/?zkhdwwnyzdu

Bleakwood - blood and faith 7"

Another one man band post

Bleakwood from Sydney, Australia is the brainchild of Dan Nahum (drummer for Ironwood and Infinitum. ) But this project is a departure from both bands Ironwood is Progressive/Folk Metal and Infinitum is Death Metal...Bleakwood is 100% black metal and this release has easily become one of my favorite of this year. And as the label puts it...

"Blood & Faith is a record of extreme juxtapositions:
chaos and discipline, aggression and melancholia,
agitation and calm. A surging expulsion of pure emotion"

This ep is limited to 150 copies so don't sleep on it!! pick it up here
Check out more Bleakwood cuts here

Cheers to Foul is Fair Records for the advance tracks!(and the ep)


http://www.mediafire.com/?o2jtwzy0gq0

Cogs and Sprockets - in the kingdom of the blind

Cogs and Sprockets is another local "band" which I really can't say its a band since it is the work of one person. Mr. Andres Wade. And if you live in Vegas you know Andres is typically a drummer having drummed for Grimbus, Rippin' Shit, Bodies Burn, Sutured Esophagus, The Naturals etc. With Cogs and Sprockets he unleashes a relentless barrage of noisy Grind Core. The drums are the driving force to the music (which is to be expected). The guitars bears some resemblance to Napalm Death's "scum" only noisier and the overall experience will leave your head spinning cos in the short span of 1 minute and 44 seconds 11 songs (one of them a 324 cover)drop like a bomb and leave you wondering what the fuck just happened. This tape is limited to 35 copies and I believe is already sold out. There are other releases in the works and will be out shortly keep tabs on it here.


http://www.mediafire.com/?dnuqm4dddn5

Immortal - all shall fall

After 6 years of silence Norway's Immortal return with their 8th album and it sounds like they haven't lost a step whatsoever. What more can I say about this? You SHOULD already be familiar with this band if not then shame on you. And if by some chance you haven't heard them then this is good place to start. Album drops the 25th of September in Europe and October 6th in the US. Buy it here or here.

http://www.mediafire.com/?umzomynry3m

Instinct of Survival - north of nowhere, south of somewhen

I am finally back from the dead!

Instinct of Survival hail from Hamburg, Germany and as the name would suggest they play a noisy raw grind core ala early Napalm Death....a few years ago you would be right to make that assumption. But, that is no longer the case they have refined their sound and now play something more in line with bands such as Axegrinder, Deviated Instinct, Hellshock, Stormcrow. Enough Crust to keep the stinky crusties happy and enough Metal to keep the hair farmers' hair swingin round and round.One of the better crust records released this year. Get the CD here. Vinyl here. Shirts here.



http://www.mediafire.com/?0nyhdw4xn2r

Saké ep

Saké was from Eureka, CA and also released a 10" and a split LP with Vancouver's Submission Hold (I think thats all they released?). Both of which I will most likely post up soon. I don't really know much about the band's history and there really isn't any info I could find on them. Musically they were a bit similar to Dystopia and first album Neurosis at times but with the addition of a violin and female vocals. This 7" came out in '96 or so and was released by the now defunct Hopscotch Records although there is a label with the same name that is currently active. Out of all of Saké's releases I think this is the only one still available through Ebullition so if you dig it order it! (to order from Ebullition you have to spend at least 100$ cos their prices on everything are wholesale prices so you can get a ton of stuff for mad cheap!) So for the mean time enjoy this slab of greatness and look out for their other releases posted up on here soon.

http://www.mediafire.com/?dnym1r43mmm

Guts Pie Earshot - wait LP

Guts Pie Earshot are an experimental punk band from Germany and have existed since about 1993 This LP was released back in 1999 (and is their 2nd full length) by Skuld Releases which is more known for releasing punk on the hardcore and crust side of things and this albums stands out quite a bit. Immediately what stood out to me when I got this record was the use of a cello instead of a guitar although I think there is some use of guitar on this unless its distorted cello? I'm not quite sure their website doesn't mention them ever having a guitar player at all though. Their sound is a bit troublesome to pin down because there is a variety of influences from classical, middle eastern, jazz, drum n bass, punk. All topped off with some beautiful female vocals. The lyrics aren't really political at all they are on the poetic/personal side of things and I guess you can say "emo" before the term got ruined by what "emo" is now a days .The last track on here is an instrumental live track that is purely drum and bass. I believe its a preview to the album they released after this wich was purely instrumental drum bass and cello (I have yet to hear it though). Guts Pie Earshot still exist today as a cello and drum two piece. You can find their website here.
This was ripped from the LP and you can hear the crackles from it I'm not that tech savvy so I don't really know how to clean this up but its not bothersome at all to me since Im hearing those noises when I listen to the LP.

http://www.mediafire.com/?hdzyjzmhzhn

you can find another one of their albums here

Klabautamann - merkur

Klaubautamann come to us from Germany and play a progressive/jazz infused form of black metal not too unlike Enslaved.(Well at least on this album) I damn near had to do a double take to make sure I wasn't listening to Enslaved cos at times he sounds a lot like Grutle and some of the riffing reminds me of the vibe i got from the "monumension"/"below the lights" albums. I need to go back and check out their previous works because if they are anything like this one then I'm going to be a happy camper. This album happens to be in pre order right now through The End Records and is available as a t shirt/Cd package combo for 20$....can't wait to get mine.
So yea I'm reccomending you check this out.


http://www.mediafire.com/?jqmo1hdlfkq

Lack of Knowledge - The Grey CD

I must have been living under a rock to let this band pass under my radar for so many years. I had heard the name kicked around for a long ass time since my early teens and knew they were part of the Crass records camp which produced some of my favorite bands ever (aside from Crass) ...Rudimentary Peni, Omega Tribe, Flux of Pink Indians, Zounds, The Mob, Alternative, Anthrax(uk) etc. But surprisingly enough I never got around to checking them out. So when I came across this CD at my local shop used and in the metal section, I didn't give it a second though I picked it up immediately. So as I'm driving home I popped this bad boy in the CD player and what emanated from the speakers was something absolutely wonderful. There's hints of all the greats in this Joy Division, The Mob, Bauhaus, The Cure.
So naturally I did a little research on Lack of Knowledge and come to find out Phil Barker and Tony Barber were both in this band and we all know (or do we?) that they both went on to play for The Buzzcocks (Tony Barber is still currently in the band) that just made The Buzzcocks even cooler in my book haha. So yea, This CD compiles their 1984 "grey" 7" on Crass Records and 1985 "Sirens are back" LP on Corpus Christi Records (an offshoot of the Crass label) The track listing differs from the original vinyl releases but who really cares about that all that matters is that this is some really great music.

Part 1

Part 2

Oranssi Pazuzu - promo vid

This is pretty much the most straight forward black metal sounding song on the album and its a rager. Even my dogs go buck wild when it comes on.

Lugubrum - de vette cuecken

Here we have Lugubrum from Belgium and this is my favorite release by them, that's not saying all of their releases aren't good this is just the one come back to most often. It's nice and raw like their previous albums in a Darkthrone kind of fashion but on this album they seemed to step it up a notch and took what they were doing before and added a sludgy quality to the riffing. Kind of like if Black Sabbath decided to put out a raw black metal album but still that comparison doesn't do this justice. Another little extra they throw on this album is their use of a saxophone on several songs and in addition to that a banjo and a mandolin. Alot of typical black metal fans find this band a bit too bizzare for their liking but that's truly their loss if they aren't willing to open their mind to something a little different.

http://www.mediafire.com/?zdlz0jgyc1t

Third World War - lost in a police state + comp tracks

Where to start about this really I don't know should I just give you the band history in a nutshell? Yeah, let's do that...

Shortly after the break up of The End when (bass player Geoff left to play for Curl Up And Die) (*edit* The End lasted a little bit longer after that when Squash took over on bass duties for a bit. I just now remembered, damn old age)
guitarist/vocalist Pit and drummer Keil recruited 2 new members Brian on bass and Matty on 2nd guitar/vocals. They began to immediately work on new songs and began to play a few shows. The first couple times they played was in the summer of 1999 they played on a Saturday and Sunday if im not mistaken. But anyway, It's needless to say they instantly became my favorite local band and It's during that weekend that I became friends with them. During that summer they recorded 2 tracks for the "Abcess Operandi" LP which was the first release for Seattle based label Aborted Society. The Comp also featured Axiom, Planet Trash, Scathed, Riot/Clone, Whorehouse of Representatives Toxic Narcotic etc . Shortly after that Brian decided to leave the band and Matty switched over to bass. The following spring they recorded this demo (which after the initial run of cd-r's were sold out the word demo was taken off the disc) The first four songs on this are in the UK82 hardcore punk vein and were the earliest songs written by them. Tracks 5-8 are the direction the band started going into a thrashy crust punk sound and one of the tracks was a re done version of the former band (The End). I had the honor of doing vocals for a few shows and working on new songs with them but by this time the band began to dissolve with some of the members branching out to different ventures. These days Pit is in Philly and is still making music with his band Moon Women, Matty is rapping now and goes under the moniker of Slug One, Keil lives in Portand and is also making music with his band Starfucker.(he now lives in LA, not sure if he is still a member of said band) Enjoy this little piece of Las Vegas history.

http://www.mediafire.com/?n3m0nu3khmw

Oranssi Pazuzu - muukalainen puhuu

This release seemed to have come from left field. I came across this in another blog a while back and it came highly recommended so I decided to give it a whirl. And I'm glad I did this album is FANTASTIC. (I ordered my disc Immediately after hearing it!) I have always been a fan of the Black Metal bands that took outside influences and created something different from the hordes like Enslaved, Arcturus, Fleurety, Ved Buens Ende etc and quite frankly this band has earned a place among those names. They took elements from Black Metal, Jazz, Psychedelic Kraut Rock and created something pretty unique. I'm sure the legions of "tr00" black metal heads will hate this but really who cares about a bunch of lame asses hiding behind their computers talking shit on anything not "kvlt". This band is beyond that shit anyways and also if you're not really into metal at all seriously GIVE THIS A CHANCE! who knows you might end up loving it. I know I do. For those of you in the US I know its pretty expensive getting this from Finland so this should hold you over until The End distro gets their copies in stock.

http://www.mediafire.com/?n4qtiyjkmnt

Ikuinen Kaamos - Closure ep

Ikuinen Kaamos are from Joensuu, Finland. And in their early years were more on the Black Metal end of the spectrum but as the band matured so did their sound incorporating elements of Death Doom and Progressive metal. They released a full length called "The Forlorn" back in 2006 and these 3 songs come from what was supposed to be their second album but the label that was putting it out backed out due to financial reasons so the band put this up on their website / Myspace . But if you knew that you would have done it by now thats why I'm sharing it with you.
But anyways, this ep has an Opeth vibe to it from around the "my arms, your hearse" & "still life" days but its not what I'd call a clone or worship band. At first listen I was put off by the clean vocals cos they came off as nasally and whiny but the music already had me sucked in so I was looking past them, then his guttural lows come in and my opinion went out the window suddenly everything made sense. The last track on here clocks in at 12+ minutes and is completely epic! This has been on heavy rotation for me for a couple months now and I like it more with each listen. So what are you waiting for? Click that link down there NOW!

http://www.mediafire.com/?t32jldwnvgi

Epajarjestys

Epajarjestys hailed from Vaasa, Finland and played what Finland is known for, raging HC in the tradition of Kaaos, Riistetyt, Bastards etc This bad boy was released in 1997 and the band is long since broken up, Vocalist Markuu went on to do vocals for Havaistys wich featured members from Forca Macabra, Wind of Pain, Rytmihairio and Conclude(Japan).


http://www.mediafire.com/?qazzmahlmgz

Valpourgia Nyxta

This is my first official post so bear with me if I stink at this...

I'm not going to pretend I know much about this band. Well I don't know anything really other than they are from Athens, Greece and they kick some ass. This is their first CD that was released in 2004 and it is some straight forward pissed off hc/punk. Their second disc (which I'm still trying to get a hold of) added some violin and synth action. You can hear some tracks from that one on their Myspace page located here.


http://www.mediafire.com/?ymkgaxoiozi