What's on the Car Stereo Part 2

WHAT'S BEEN ON THE CAR STEREO PART 2

Here's a run down of what's been drowning out the sound of my car's engine over the last couple of weeks......its a really mixed bag which might not be to everyone's taste but I've been into music for near on 50 years so you must understand my record/tape/cd collection spans a wide range of styles.....well that's my excuse anyway !!.....here goes.....

SENSATIONAL ALEX HARVEY BAND (SAHB) - NEXT

Their 1973 album "NEXT" does qualify for "Burnt Into My Brain" status.....it has been one of my favourites since the late 70's when I first heard the track "Faith Healer" and simply had to have it. The track in question is some 7 minutes long with the most hypnotic pulsing beat you will ever hear from a rock band. All the tracks are seriously good, even those that have a more theatrical/burlesque feel to them...this approach was taken with their live performances for which they became rightly famous. Here is them doing the single version of Faith Healer from The Old Grey Whistle Test in '73.....

Not sure if its actually "live"...which would be unusual for the OGWT but this gives you a good idea of what they are about. A word of warning though....they are what could be described as an acquired taste and apart from the odd track and single here and there I find their other albums rather patchy and no where near as full on as this. The guitar sound and general mix is classic early 70's especially the opening riffs to Vambo Marble Eye which are glorious ! I never got to see them live which I regret as I did have the chance in '74 but declined.....doh !! After Alex Harvey died of a heart attack in 1982 the band carried on as SAHB Without Alex....but this was rather like when The Doors carried on after Jim Morrison died.....uninspiring and short lived. I saw their guitarist Zal Cleminson when he guested with Nazareth on a tour of theirs....it was very very odd to see him without his trademark clown get up. A fine guitarist though.

BLOOD OF HEROES 2012

 Not sure how this will go down with the majority of subscribers to this blog as it would be categorised as Drum and Bass.......but it not quite what you would expect from the genre as it is spacey with a heavy edge.....not that far removed from some of Pendulum's (who I will get to in a minute) less commercial album offerings. If you are curious about this style of music then this would be a reasonable intro. Having listened to this I was prompted to get out......

THE PRODIGY - INVADERS MUST DIE 2009
I'm sure you will be vaguely familiar with their unique brand of music but this album is my favourite by a long stretch. Great mix and footstompingly good !!.....I then couldn't help but listen to....

PENDULUM - LIVE AT BRIXTON ACADEMY 2008

This is marvellous from start to finish.....frantic infectious dance/rock played live with guitar, bass and a drummer.....yup....they use keyboards and whole banks of computers to provide all the rest of the backing sound and percussion/noises etc and are fronted by an MC but it all goes together to create a unique blend with crossover appeal to metal/rock fans. Their cover of Metallica's Master of Puppets has to be heard !

I was fortunate to see them some 3 years ago before they started only doing festivals and arenas and it was a gig that will live long in the memory. I fully intended to stand towards the back and stomp my foot and let the mosh pits, circle pits and mayhem go on well out of my way....this lasted about 20 seconds after they started and I found myself on the periphery of the action and was ,by the end , a horrible sweaty mess. I only saw a few people who I thought looked older than myself and indeed I'd estimate that my denim jacket was older than 90% of the audience !!

BURNING LOVE - ROTTEN THING TO SAY 2012

Full on hardcore...really reminded me of ZEKE......total noise but with good tunes and acceptable vocals (not that horrible gutteral Rottweiler with a sore throat style that I hate !). Great riffs and good speedy guitar work.....and no surprise after this album I had to listen to....

ZEKE - DEATH ALLEY 2001

This has always been a favourite of mine since I first heard it many years ago.....astonishingly good......You are left wondering just how they manage to play the guitar riffs that fast....and its very heavy and every song is superb.....not too good if you are out for a quite drive in the country but great if you want to get somewhere quickly !! You MUST check this album out.

MOUNTAIN - CLIMBING 1970 AND NANTUCKET SLEIGHRIDE 1971

Classic early 70's American rock fronted by legendary axeman Leslie West. A good variety of material over these 2 albums ranging from slower moody tracks to big sounding fuzzed guitar outings. Well worth checking out.

SLADE - SLADEST COMPILATION

All their singles and b-sides up to the end of '73. If ever there was a band whose music will put a smile on your face and a stomp in your foot then this is it. I've always loved Slade..ever since I bought Lok Wot You Dun back in early '72.....incidentally the first single I bought with my own money....50p I think it was. If you haven't seen the documentary This Is Slade then I urge you to do so when its next repeated (as its sure to be) on BBC 3 or 4. I wasn't able to see them in their heyday of the early 70's but was treated to a mad afternoon in their company along with 40,000 others when they filled in for Ozzy's Blizzard of Oz at the Reading Festival in 1980. Everyone was a bit miffed when it was announced that Blizzard weren't to be appearing and that Slade would entertain us instead but we'd all forgotten about Ozzy after a couple of songs and were all happily singing along, clapping and jumping up and down. Whilst NOT a favourite of mine Merry Xmas Everybody was sung with gusto by the whole audience....quite bizarre on a balmy August day !! There was also the biggest can/plastic bottle/polypin fight down the front that I've ever seen at a festival!...at one point the sky above our heads was darkened by the sheer number of objects flying about !!

and finally.....

ASTRO QUEEN - INTO SUBMISSION 2001

Fantastic classic stoner rock....awesome bass sound.....absolutely superb throughout....my only complaint is that the songs aren't long enough !! 11 tracks in 48 fun filled minutes.

Well....I hope that might have inspired you to check out some of my selections....if you do and you liked them or hated them then let us know !!

Until the next time.......

Doug E Dogg

Braille - Four Adult Males

Band request from Philedelphia.

Braille are Dustin and Andrew from those heavy bastards 

Bubonic Bear, Sean from Ape! and John from Pleasure Island.

Influenced by a lot of 90's noise rock stuff and dischord records,

this is all angular rhythms and riffs, the vocalist yelping and shouting

like a David Yow sound-a-like trying to emulate the manic style 

of the guy from Crystal Antlers.

The lyrics sit wonderfully over the top of the harsh melodies 

and feedback that are interwoven in with technical stop starts - 

think the Ladder Devils with Shellac song arrangements.

The powerful guitar barrage has a fantastic thick aggressive sound 

but never descends into your standard hardcore sameness.

Come on you lazy gits, give me an albums worth of material!

This is great stuff - highly recommended.

Name your price at Bandcamp

Motörhead - 1978 live review

An unforgettable early gig going experience !!

Not an album....but 30 or so memorable minutes from an early gig I went to.......

The gig in question was Motorhead's first headlining gig at Hammersmith Odeon on 5th November 1978.....Yup......Fireworks Night !!....somehow appropriate....I'd not been to too many gigs up to this point.....The Runaways twice, AC/DC, Blondie, UFO and a few others......but had been playing Motorhead's debut 12" single "Motorhead" to death since it came out, having first heard it at the local Heavy Rock disco I had been going to every week since '76. The band had played The Odeon before, supporting Blue Oyster Cult.....as you can imagine they didn't go down very well with that audience and apparently not helped by some very unco-operative sound engineers on BOC's crew. A friend who went to see BOC said Motorhead were without doubt the worst band he'd ever seen....this encouraged me to want to go and see them even more !!

My ticket cost the princely sum of £2.50 and was for row G in the stalls. The audience was made up of ordinary looking rock fans like myself....quite a lot of punks (Motorhead have always had cross over appeal to punks) and a lot of very large mean looking leather jacketed gentleman who had obviously arrived by motorbike. I spoke to a group of punks who were sort of hiding in a corridor as apparently some of the bikers were after any punks they could lay their hands on !!...and not just to say "hello" and buy them a drink either !!

The support bands were The Business....a fairly nondescript affair....and Motorhead's Chiswick Records stable mates Johnny Moped....to say they went down badly would be an understatement. They weren't given a chance.... I think they only lasted about 15 minutes and it all ended up as just a slagging match between the band and large parts of the audience.

 

After their early departure anticipation levels began to rise and finally the lights went down and we were then subjected to about 10 minutes of World War 2 noises....tanks, gunfire of all sorts, aircraft diving and bombs exploding etc.....the volume of the PA had been seriously cranked up since the support bands so it seemed that tanks were indeed rumbling down the aisles !! When the band finally took to the stage the aisle down to the front immediately filled up with those keen to get to the front regardless of what or who was in the way...amongst them a considerable number of the large bikers I mentioned earlier. Well... the 4 or 5 blue tracksuit topped security guys attempted to form a barrier about level with the row I was in....this failed miserably as they were literally knocked out of the way in the rush....the weight of people surging down the centre aisle hit around row C at full force and there was a loud cracking noise as the row was lifted out of the floor and collapsed flat on the ground...similar treatment was meted out to the first 2 rows...the area at stage front was now a seething mass jumping up and down on the wrecked seats....the security people had by now retreated and given up trying to restore order....they had met their match and retired to join their colleagues in less dangerous parts of the auditorium.

I was glad my seat was slightly off to the side so I could witness what had occurred without getting flattened myself. The sheer noise of the band was incredible....not the cleanest of mixes !!!...more the sort of gig you feel through your ribcage rather than hear through your ears !! At some point, probably just before the band started although I can't be certain, a large scale model WW2 plane slid down a wire from the balcony towards one of the huge speaker stacks where it was presumably meant to crash....it never made it...getting stuck over the front stalls...but fortunately out of reach from those below......an early precursor to the legendary Bomber lighting rig perhaps ? 

So, all in all a fine evenings entertainment and I went home happy....if not a little hard of hearing...with the poster illustrated here, 

which I got for £1 after the gig, clutched under my arm. This was the first of many Motorhead gigs I would witness over the years....the next one was equally memorable....at The Lyceum Ballroom in The Strand, London in April 1979 on the Overkill tour......notable for the ridiculously large PA system which took up such a great proportion of the stage that the band appeared to be squashed inbetween the stacks as an afterthought !

Written by Doug

Tight To The Nail - Spring Sampler

The excellent blog Tight To The Nail have produced a sampler

full of nasty noises and frantic fury! No Means No, Coilguns,

Japanese Women, Ruined Familes and more are all available

for free download - Here

Blog Blurb - "I am super stoked, proud, joyous, relieved and stressed to announce that the first in an ongoing series of free, seasonal Tight To The Nail digital samplers is now available. 26 tracks of some the biggest mosh, nastiest riffs, worrying screams and weirdest shit that has passed through this website and my ear drums over the last few weeks and the upcoming month. Some tracks are new and exclusive, some you'll have already banged your head to. Some bands you'll know already, some you probably won't. But that's the point.

So spread the word, tell a mate, post it on your Facespace, your Tumblr, tell your nan and discover something new. It's free, so download it now!"

Elementary Revolt rises!

From the ashes of

comes

Manic Compression

Chris had a second blog called "A Landmine Spring". He has started a new blog, continued the Quicksand reference and called it Manic Compression

Check it out at once.

Chris and Eraser are also working on the new Elementary Revolt.

Welcome back.

Elementary Revolt down!

Update
Good news - back to business at New Site



The fantastic blog - Elementary Revolt - is down at the moment
thanks to the google-dmca mafia.

As one of my main sources of finding out about hardcore and noise
rock, I hope that these hard working group of band-width bandits
can get up and going again somewhere, stronger and better than
before.

This is a reminder of what can happen to all of us.

farewell my blog brothers -

For Those About To Rock - We Salute You!

Zolle - S/T

Zolle play a great mix of instrumental sludge type riffs which
at times have a complex almost mathy feel to them. Coming
from Italy, there must be something in the water - not only does
Urlo from Ufomammut add some synth flourishes to some
tracks but the overall sound has the same massive sonic template.

The guitar has a great thick solid sound to it which sounds
uncompressed and very natural, giving it a warm but
distorted tone on which the hypnotic riffs build around.

The tracks do not outstay their welcome which helps to give
each passage a individual identity - the grooves have a head
banging abandon that would please any stoner fan who stumbles
into this genre. A production that gets the best out of this band
really brings the manic drums to life ....... pah! .... who needs
a vocalist anyway when the music is this good!

Band blurb: Enter Zolle self-proclaimed rednecks, are on the loose and ready to run amok with the release of their self-titled debut album, an ode to yokel ways of living. They might not take themselves so seriously but don’t be fooled, their music is no hayseed dixie, brace yourself for a ferocious, rampant record of thunderous riffs and robust drum blasts.

Zolle are – Marcello (Lan of Morkobot) playing meaty riffs and Stefano who beefs things up on drums and xylophone. The duo commenced work on their debut album throughout the summer of 2012, and in just two months they had the music ready to commit to tape.

Their self-titled album was recorded in September of the same year by Michelangelo Roberti at Mizkey Studio (MoRkObOt) and mastered by Giovanni Versari (zu, Morkobot, OvO, One Dimensional Man). It was almost all played live, with overdubs reduced to the bone. The drums are of considerable proportion and made of copper and the amplifier an old digital model of the ’50s which makes for a mammoth sound.

Urlo from Ufomammut and Roberto Rizzo of Quasiviri/Runi add a little synth seasoning to flesh out the album also.

The resulting album is mightily heavy, the short songs are direct and song titles are entrenched in references to redneck living. For example ‘Mayale’ is a play on the Italian word for pig [Maiale] but is written like ‘Maya’ to reflect the sacred image of the Mayan pig face adorning the album’s cover. Similarly, ‘Heavy Letam’ is suggestive of ‘Letame’ which means manure in Italian – resulting in an anagram of ‘heavy metal’.

Zolle may be a no-frills band but there is much more to them than meets the eye. They are far from restrained and their debut album will definitely give you something to chew on.

Available on May 13th from Supernatural Cat

Facebook

Thanks to Lauren for link.

A389 Recordings free compilation

A389 Recordings come up with the goods via this magnificent
beast of a compilation. Feast your eyes on the bands below
and get downloading this free mother!

INTEGRITY: New Track Available Via Free Annual A389 Recordings Label Mixtape

Following recent A389 Recordings announcements on some of the label’s biggest priority titles to date -- including brand new LPs from INTEGRITY, FULL OF HELL and NOISEM -- today the label sets its ninth annual label mixtape/digital compilation loose upon the masses. The owners of Baltimore-based A389 have been offering similar free mixtapes every year since its’ foundation in 2004, utilizing it to unleash music from their most high-profile acts, as well as to shed some light on releases lying in the dark corners of their intense roster.

With a punishing forty tracks culled from an array of artists, the A389 Recordings Digital Mixtape MMXIII includes several brand new and exclusive new tracks, including the world’s first exposure to the highly anticipated upcoming LP from the almighty INTEGRITY, Suicide Black Snake, here releasing the monstrous track “Beasts As Gods.” An arsenal of others including EYEHATEGOD, IRON REAGAN, NOISEM, HOMEWRECKER, FULL OF HELL, WEEKEND NACHOS, SHIN TO SHIN, RINGWORM, SEVEN SISTERS OF SLEEP, LEFT FOR DEAD and more overthrow the nearly two hour-long beating, the entire collection mastered at Audiosiege by Brad Boatright (From Ashes Rise) and bearing original artwork by Joshy Brettell (Ilsa, Exosus). This newest installment boasts the best yet in this ongoing series, showcasing A389 as an extremely hard-working extreme D.I.Y. label which continues to expand its horde and further infiltrate the planet with prime hardcore and metal releases.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE A389 RECORDINGS DIGITAL MIXTAPE MMXIII FOR FREE RIGHT NOW!

A389 Recordings Digital Mixtape MMXIII Track Listing:

1. EYEHATEGOD "New Orleans Is The New Vietnam"

2. IRON REAGAN "Drop The Gun"

3. HOMEWRECKER "Chained Hanging Victim"

4. NO ONE SURVIVES "Fuckin' Pigs"

5. INTEGRITY "Beasts As Gods"

6. ILSA "Foreign Lander"

7. FULL OF HELL "Coven Of The Larynx"

8. NOISEM "Severed"

9. WEEKEND NACHOS "Watch You Suffer"

10. EMPIRE OF RATS "Untitled"

11. PICK YOUR SIDE "Bleeding Out"

12. GOD'S AMERICA "Fill The Cracks"

13. LIKE RATS "Red Dawn"

14. MOLOKEN "Casus"

15. THE GUILT OF... "Election Of The Severed Hand"

16. SEVEN SISTERS OF SLEEP “Ghost Plains”

17. YOUNG AND IN THE WAY "Psychopathy"

18. SICK FIX "Beyond The Map"

19. ANCIENT SHORES "Omen"

20. SHIN TO SHIN "Shin To Shin"

21. VILIPEND "Fool's Gold"

22. LEFT FOR DEAD "Kept In Line"

23. GEHENNA "Baptized In Fallout"

24. BLIND TO FAITH "Blood Like Water"

25. RINGWORM "Necropolis" (1991 Demo)

26. CYNARAE "Harbinger"

27. JARHEAD FERTILIZER "Drowning"

28. THE LOVE BELOW "Let Them Eat Shit"

29. EDDIE BROCK "Boys Of Summer"

30. COUNTDOWN TO OBLVION "Spray P.E.C."

31. UNHOLY MAJESTY "Night Of Lead"

32. CLASSHOLE "Full Of Hate"

33. OLD LINES "Temple"

34. CALM THE FIRE "Chce Mi Siê Wyæ"

35. ENFORCERS 'The End Is Near'

36. PHARAOH "Spared"

37. JUNIOR BRUCE "The Burden"

38. WITHDRAWAL "Guardian Angel"

39. NOTHING "The Rites Of Love And Death"

40. PLEASANT LIVING "Friday Night”

http://www.a389records.com

https://www.facebook.com/a389recordings

https://twitter.com/a389recordings

What's on my stereo

WHAT'S BEEN ON THE CAR STEREO RECENTLY - by guest writer Doug.

I do all my music listening in the car.......my daily journeys to and from work allow for about an album each way to be enjoyed....or sometimes not !...here are my thoughts on some of what's been on the car stereo in the last couple of weeks....

Ramones - Adios Amigo...their last studio album from 1995.....and one of my favourites since the second one way back when....this doesn't of course take into account any live albums which are always simply wonderful. It was with a mixture of sadness and joy that I witnessed their last ever London show at Brixton Academy....you always knew exactly what you were going to get and were never disappointed.....Its hard to believe that Johnny, Joey and DeeDee are no longer with us.

Blood Of The Sun - In Blood We Trust (2007)......they were Ted Nugent's backing band and on the evidence here have done the right thing in leaving him behind, as this is an absolute belter....tremendous full on stoner rock featuring some fantastic Hammond organ and soloing throughout. A must hear.

Jimi Hendrix - At The Albert Hall......sheer genius.....don't really need to add anything here.....if you've never really checked him out, find this and prepare to be amazed.

Boris  - Heavy Rocks (2002).....another mad Japanese band who were described to me as..." imagine Tony Iommi had been born in Japan"......truly fantastic opening track...mega heavy....the rest of the album doesn't quite match up to it but tries hard.

The Cult - Born Into This (2007).......probably their most consistent album since the monstrously foot stomping, mega riffing and unsurpassable "Sonic Temple" (1989). Previous efforts have all had 1 or 2 stand out tracks amongst a lot of mediocrity but this later offering delivers a number songs that do dwell in the memory. The track "Sound of Destruction" being my personal favourite. Listening to this of course led me to play Sonic Temple...several times.....a true classic. Again, this is required listening. I was fortunate to see them on this tour and marvelled at how Billy Duffy managed to be in a classic rock guitarist pose at all times whilst playing !

Iggy and The Stooges - Raw Power (remix).........if you seriously want to test your speaker system then pop this on !!......once you've heard this Iggy remix you will never want to play the original release again. The guitar sound on every track sounds as though it is about to break apart under the sheer distortion and boost it gets in the mix. Lets hope the new album with James Williamson will treat us to similar, and put to rest the awfulness that was "The Weirdness" album....a most unfortunate lacklustre and uninspiring last outing with Ron Ashton...RIP.

Frijid Pink (1970).......debut album by this Detroit based band which, if you like your early 70's rock very heavy and distorted then this is for you. It contains their one off hit single, a cover of The Animals "House of the Rising Sun"....now....if you're going to do a cover version then put your own spin on it.......and in this they excel.....a classic, filled with huge slabs of guitar and marvellously desperate vocals. The album version is slightly longer than the released single. Whilst on the subject of "covers", the furore surrounding Bauhaus's release of Bowies "Ziggy Stardust" in 1982 comes to mind...they took a frightful slagging from the press due to it being a virtually exact reproduction of the original and the merit of it being released at all became a matter for public debate. This culminated in the most bizarre scenes at their gig at The Lyceum in London in October '82......prior to their set the stage was turned into a sort of living room complete with armchair, sofa, rugs and a lampstand......the band came on and took their seats on the sofa and then a music paper journalist (whose name escapes me) who had been particularly critical of the release took his seat opposite them. They then entered into an onstage debate on the subject which, as you can imagine, was a rather one sided affair given the hostility coming from a packed house of fans. The band eventually stood up en masse and left the stage, leaving the journo all alone to face the music !!.......sorry....I digress....

Electric Wizard - "Black Masses" (2010).......this is really good with some marvellous riffs that drawn you in and you don't want to stop.....first class doom from the best band of this genre......after this I naturally had to listen to their 2000 album "Dopethrone" which has to be the best doom album ever and against which I always compare any new Doom that I get to listen to. If you have never heard this album you absolutely have to......it will make your speakers attempt to leap out of their housings !! You have been warned.

I've also been on a bit of an early 70's kick at present , all sparked of by the excellent documentary on Mott The Hoople on BBC4 a few weeks back.....I bought their singles as and when they were released back then and "All The Young Dudes" would be in my top 5 of all time songs....so my "Best of Mott the Hoople" album has been wheeled out together with some Slade (Greatest Hits and "Alive") and Bowie (1971-74 releases only). These might seem rather at odds with a lot of the stuff I now listen to but I grew up loving these bands and their songs hold so many memories.....and that is one of the wonderful things about music....its ability to bring back strong vivid memories of emotions, places, people and situations.

Well, that's all there is to say for now, so until my next review of "What's been on my car stereo".... 

Cheers

Doug