BAD BRAINS - ROCK FOR LIGHT 1983

I thought I'd start trawling through my vinyl collection to see if 

there was anything that would be suitable to grace this noise filled site 

and got as far a "B" before I pulled this album out which hadn't seen a 

turntable for possibly near on 20 years!

    

It simply exploded through the speakers as the stylus did its stuff and my
speakers wondered what the hell had just happened !! I also pondered as to
why it had taken this long to listen to it again. An absolutely brutal assault
of an album that will please all you hardcore punk fans out there who
may be unfamiliar with this legendary American band. 

The tracks come thick , fast and furious but thoughtfully the band give
us time to gather our collective breath by interspersing the onslaught with 3
excellent chill out dub/reggae tracks....not sure if this is a good thing or not,
as no sooner have you been lulled into a nice mellow groove then without
further delay you are towed along again at 100 mph. Vocals are lightning
fast, but all the words are in there somewhere !! You seriously can't read
the lyrics and keep up with what you are hearing at points. The
instrumentation is full on and very together with very good production
throughout. The album was actually produced by Ric Ocasek who was the
main man in US-style rock band The Cars....if you've ever heard anything by
them ( I seriously DON'T recommend that you do if you haven't !) you may,
like myself, wonder how he came to produce this lot !!

If you are unfamiliar with Bad Brains here's a few bits and pieces to give you a taster...

First up an alarming clip of them from 1982 performing "Banned In DC" 

 ....Would YOU ask the large gentleman in the yellow t-shirt with 

the mohawk to "kindly leave the stage " ??!!

Banned in DC live 82

Next up ...a track from the album

and to further whet your appetite....   

and here's one of the dub/reggae numbers

  

I was lucky enough to see them live at The Astoria in London in 1989
.....they didn't disappoint. 

Right.......off now to continue my search for more long unplayed goodies
festering away in the racks that you might find of interest.

DOUG E DOGG

ARCHIV HATE INTERVIEW MAGAZINE ISSUE #08

Archiv Hate celebrate 3 years of underground sounds with a
astonishing issue of their free web-zine.

This has art, music, interviews, strange and alien images, a readers poll,
in short, a feast for the eyes and mind.

A highly recommended read.

Get here.

This is what Artus and his team have waiting for you:
Welcome to the III year anniversary issue. Archiv Hate interview magazine episode #08 magazine: Finally readers poll results - we have our TOP'13! Cover art by Edvins Eisimonts. Final part of our history lesson of Latvian underground music scene: “TheMedia”, Events -  by Inese Tone. Completely new thing “PERCHTENMASKEN” by Morgan Gleave. Jason Cantu & Danial Gambler never sleeps, they are music absorbing machines, reviews and comments by these gentleman. Interviews withSamothrace, Soundarcade and ADMC07 Artwar. Enjoy!

Towers - II

Jesus on a piss-stick! Towers are back with their new offering

"II" and it is a masterclass in how a band can/ and should progress
from album to album.

I reviewed "The Fields" in 2011 - read Here but this time around
the sonic duo have really delivered some outstanding tracks and
show what can be done with drum/bass/vocals.

The sludge element is still the driving source but this time around
the songs are infused with ideas and atmospherics that bring a
more doomy and psych feel - combined with a hardcore aggression
that keeps the menace swirling around the tracks.

This is an album that demands to be played in one sitting. You are
carried along in this soundscape from start to finish and as a cohesive
whole blends into an almost epic concept album.

Vocals are screamed, muttered, crooned and chanted with effective
and creepy results. The sound is of course low-end but with many
different effects and playing styles, the middle end of the musical
scales are well catered for. The production is just great - everything
sounds full on without losing clarity or aggression.

Drones and sound effects are used along with quieter passages to bring
the pace and feel down - not to a peaceful interlude though - more like
"walking down an unlit street and hearing nothing apart from
something that appears to be following you".

This is highly recommended.

Buy from Eolian Empire

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Thanks to Dave for sending this to me.

Shroud Eater - Dead Ends

At least half a year after the release from Shroud Eater came out,

I finally get to hear it ......... and yes, it was worth the wait.

This is top-notch sludge infused with hardcore attitude and spine

shuddering music to match. 

Strong songwriting brings varied and tempo changing arrangements

to the fore while keeping the riffs heavy and bone breaking. The

production is great, bringing clarity and depth without losing any 

aggression or feeling. The songs are prime cuts of raw power, helped by 

the ruthless, precise playing of the band. 

There are no passages of aimless time wasting despite most the tracks

being over 5 minutes long - just relentless, groove laden riffage with

epic, surging songs that pummel as well as thrill.

The overall sound is massive, low toned and dense. Yes Sir, I like it.

If this is just the EP, bring on the album. This sets a very high benchmark

which will be used in the future by myself to rate other bands of this genre.

Buy from Bandcamp

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Thanks to Clifton for sending this to me.

Henry Blacker - Hungry Dogs Will Eat Dirty Puddings

A rock band, three piece, two from the group ‘Hey Colossus’ 

and a brother on the drums and with only that short into,

Henry Blacker have become my favourite new band.

This is solid rock grime'n'roll - no endless jamming or

meandering, just mean and lean riffs with a sonic denseness

that means business. 

Lots of abrasive vocals, crushing guitars and clean, pounding 

drums and bass really tie things together in the songs with a

great sounding production.

With a post-hardcore vibe and Am-Rep attitude, this album

hurtles down the road of thug rock, stopping only to deliver

world weary messages of suspicion and bitterness. There

are grooves aplenty here to give a melodic catchiness to the

mostly brooding tracks.

The tracks just fly by and have a raw, recorded live feel to them 

which I always like to hear. No song is too long but they still manage 

to fit some angular guitar riffs in to ensure that there is always something 

being played beyond just basic chord patterns.

Let Henry Blacker become your favourite new band.

Get from Riot Season - who keep releasing great stuff!

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Thanks to Andy & Lauren for sending this.

Doom Charts of 2013 - Paranoid Hitsophrenic

Lucas from Paranoid Hitsophrenic blogspot has complied
all the votes and lists sent into him and the result is a huge
review of all the albums that people have been grooving to this year.

Check it out Here and leave a comment before he expires from
bleary eyes and sleepless nights!

Street Sects - The Morning After the Night We Raped Death

Street Sects are from Austin, USA and deal in music

that wants to scrape the humanity from your eyes

so you can see the open, gaping sore that the world has become.

Harsh electronics assault the unwary listener but this is

not the drones or random noise of Merzbow but rather a sonic

attack with drums and samples fed through multiple distortion 

pedals so they can pound the 3 tracks into your head.

Black metal vocals vie for space over the grindcore

type song arrangements - cyber-hardcore with added

venom. This is raw and feral shit.

I will hold my hands up and admit that Street Sects play

music that will not often get a look in on my regular

rotation of albums but I am glad it will be near for those times

when only this sort of unholy racket will do!

Buy from Bandcamp

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BORIS - HEAVY ROCKS (2002)

This is another very fine album that Tony sent to me many 

years before the birth of this Blog...... "What if Tony Iommi had 

been born in Japan ?" were the only words that he had scrawled in 

an accompanying note.

After my last review of a band from the land of the rising sun 

(Guitar Wolf) some of you may be shaking in your boots at what I'm 

presenting you with now, but fear not, this has been more sensibly produced! 

We are treated throughout to a big meaty sound , excellent guitar work and 

great low end goings on. Here is the magnificent attention grabbing opening
track entitled "Heavy Friends" which is so super heavy that it seems intent on
trying to batter its way through the ground back to where it was conceived.

I must point out that this is the only track on the album with this magnitude
of Doom.....the second to last track, "Kane", has Doom overtones but not to
the extent of this opener. .....the rest of the album is an interesting,
varied and highly enjoyable barrage of full on big riffs at a variety of
paces, some in the style of Kyuus/QOTSA and even finding room for one
very spacey Hawkwind type track, "Soft Edge".

Here's the whole album 

and here's a further link for band info and full track listing etc

Wiki

Well worth 47 minutes of your time !!!

DOUG E DOGG    

BongCauldron - S/T

"Tree Wizard" starts off this 32 minute ride into the swamps
of sludge with a mossy side order of doom.

BongCauldron have laid down 5 tracks of sonic power and
filth that will be setting the standard for all things heavy this year.

Monstrous low-end rumbles that rotate around riffs that are never
boring get helped along with feedbacky solos that have the power
to fuck you up from 50 paces.

There is a distorted blues influence that gives a groove and bounce
to song passages and among all the pulverising that is going on,
there is plenty of space for you to nod along to.

The sludge sound picks up a pace and enters some hardcore speed
ramming before descending once more into swamplands.

Vocals sound like tramps fighting over their last can of Special Brew -
which as far as I am concerned is a good thing!

Very, very good indeed your honour.

Buy from Super Hot Records from the 13th.

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Thanks to Chris & Richard for sending this to me.

Barabbas - Libérez Barabbas

Barabbas - sludge/doom monsters who sound like the
unwanted child of High On Fire and Eagle Twin are
going to unleash their new album sometime in June.

In the meantime, as they are good guys - their skull crushing
debut release from 2011 is available as a free download.

Fill yer boots if you ain't heard it - it's good stuff!

Name your price at Bandcamp

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Whitemare - Screamer

Whitemare play punky rock'n'roll with a touch of Minor

Threat meets Discharge but with a Ramones mentality.

This means that the abrasive, scuzzed out songs become

sing-a-long anthems to make you smile and jump up and down

a lot. Which as we all know is as cool as fuck.

Coming in at under 15 mins, the 7 tracks are sharp shocks

of distortion, insane riffing and shouted out vocals.

Dropping in some blues scales give a real rocky feel and use

of a single note piano riff - a'la "I Wanna Be Your Dog" makes

"Scene-agers" really stand out.

Put this on repeat and enjoy - very cool shit.

Band blurb:
Whitemare is a hardcore punk-rock 'n' roll band from Brighton, UK, formed in 2008. The group's line-up features ex-Architects vocalist Matt Johnson, ex-Johnny Truant guitarist Al Kilcullen and ex-Centurion drummer Eugene Economou. In 2009, Whitemare recorded a 5 track EP which was released through Small Town Records, with the band's style being described as a cross between hardcore punk, and southern rock.

In November 201, Whitemare released their debut full-length album Snider. It was recorded over the space of just two days with Gez Walton (ex-Ghost Of A Thousand) mixing and producing. The album followed in the footsteps of their debut release, with an almost unanimously positive reaction from the UK rock and metal media, being hailed as a sign of exciting things to come.

And so this year sees the band releasing the highly anticipated follow up to Snider. Teaming up with U.S label Riot House Records for the new 7 track EP "Screamer!". Recorded and mixed in April 2013 at Black Wookie Studios by Paul "Win" Winstanley and mastered by Alan Douches at West West Side Music, NY. This record is the logical next step from Whitemare's previous works, sounding meaner, leaner, tighter and more intense than ever before.

Buy from Riot House Records

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Mantar - Death By Burning

Mantar are a Turkish/German duo who sound as heavy and loud 

as High on Fire playing live in your sitting room.

With no bass player! 

Just drums and guitar set for destruction. Forget about Rock 'n Roll.

Mantar play with destructive passion and produce solid walls of

unrelenting riffs that hurt.

Very much so! 

Flogging beats and blackened melodies meet feedback orgies 

and doom mayhem. Early Melvins, Motorhead, Darkthrone. You name it. 

Don't call it sludge though. Everything as black as possible. 

A soundtrack for the final battle.

Drums batter out propulsive, explosive beats and the guitar tone 

is brutalised through octave effects and distortion pedals.

Throat shredding vocals make sure that none of your senses

survive a battering. I am not always fond of this sort of aural

attack but this time, something here has grabbed me and I keep

on playing it. 

Great start for 2014 so far!

Svart Records will unleash the black 10 track attack on 

February 7th on CD, LP, tape and digital.

Bandcamp

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MC5 - LIVE AT THE GRANDE BALLROOM 1968

MC5 - LIVE AT THE GRANDE BALLROOM 1968

Released by Get Back (Italy) in 2007

  

Those of you that read my piece a while back on what has to be my favourite and most played album of all time, MC5 - Kick Out The Jams, will be aware of my love for all aspects of the career of these noisy gentlemen. If you missed it, here's a link to go straight to it.  Read me

This Italian release only came to my attention a year or so ago but was rather prohibitively priced...until now, when a very cheap copy was obtained online !

I'm always keen to add anything new (regardless of sound quality) to my MC5 collection so the fact that this contains 3 full fidelity numbers from the legendary recording sessions at the Grande for the "Live " album really made this a must have.

Proceedings kick off with a 2:54 Intro from the band's "spiritual advisor" Brother J.C. Crawford recorded at the Grande on 27th October 1968 during which he invites fans to come along to the upcoming free shows at that venue on 30/31st October so that they can be part of the recording for the band's debut album for Elektra Records. 

Motor City Is Burning from 30th or 31st Oct'68 4:28 - Nice to hear a different high quality version but to be brutally honest this is not as good as the official release....In particular the vocals haven't the same snap and definition, particularly illustrated by the rather lack lustre singing of "sireeeeeens". The playing is not quite as on the money either...Elektra made the right choice of "take" to put on the album in my opinion.

I Believe To My Soul from 30th or 31st Oct'68 3:00 -  Their unique take on a Ray Charles number which, for some reason, fades out just as it seems about to really take off ....perhaps it all went horribly wrong and the faders on the desk were pulled back...we may never know, but its a good example of the sort of covers that they used to sprinkle amongst their originals in the sets at the time. Vocals and playing are all "spot on"...just a shame its so short.

Rocket Reducer No.62 (Rama Lama Fa Fa Fa) from 31st Oct'68 6:11 - Very much closer to the released version than "Motor City etc" and about a minute longer, but the ferocity and performance of the version with which we are all familiar is not surpassed here.

At this point we wave good-bye to the lovely sound quality and say "hello" to the low-fi which we have become all too accustomed to on all the previously released unofficial "live" albums. I don't want to sound ungrateful as we should count ourselves fortunate that some audio records survive of their immense live shows and to be honest, after repeat listenings the shortcomings of the recordings fade somewhat. I've found that listening to these recordings on "walkman" type headphones gives the best results and also gives those around you little cause for complaint !! Anyhow, I digress......onto the last 3 tracks on the cd which have all been available elsewhere for ages but do actually sound fractionally better here. This might actually be due to all my copies of unofficial live stuff being on cassette tape ?

I'm Mad Like Eldridge Cleaver from 27th Oct'68 18:53 - Even I have to admit that this song...after the first 2 or 3 minutes becomes a chore....a very very long 19 minutes chore !! I fully accept that this is the sort of thing that they did, experimentation was part of their way of doing things and I suppose live in the Grande Ballroom with the atmosphere and vibe of the time it was probably amazing. The fact that this is a very very low fidelity recording with poor instrument definition throughout doesn't help matters. Its nice to have but not something I can listen to more than once every couple of years !! 

Ice Pick Slim from 26th Oct'68 18:11 - Similar comments to those above really....slightly better quality and there is the basis of a song running through its sprawling 18 minutes. Infinitely more listenable to than "Cleaver etc"

....and finally to finish things off with a bang, the immense Black To Comm  7:19 - exact recording date at the Grande is unknown, although this is the same version as appeared on an MC5 compilation album entitled " Live, Studio and Rare Monsters" which gives a date of 1969 but no venue. Click here to listen to the version on this release:

According to the liner notes on the "'66 Breakout" cd this was "our room clearing device" !!! Fast furious and full on version which has the best sound quality of the 3 "low-fi" tracks....and leaves you with a big smile on your face...We have a really good quality version to listen to on the aforementioned " '66 Breakout" album  but it would be nice to have a similar quality one from later on in the 60's when they were really going full tilt at it as they do here.

A word of warning...not all versions of Black To Comm are as "rocking" as this....some, especially one they were somehow allowed to perform live on TV in the States in 1967, can only be described as experimental and quite disturbing to the unprepared listener/viewer. Its worth watching this clip of the last minute or so of the broadcast purely for the look on the presenter's face and his comments at the end !! Priceless !!

If all of this has made you want to find out more about this wonderful and iconic band than I must direct you to the best MC5 site out there "MC5 Gateway" to be found at Make My Day blog
Here you will be able to find out almost anything on what they did and when they did it ! You can also find the set lists for the Grande Ballroom "Elektra" gigs and imagine what a tremendous double live album they could have released.

Kick Out The Jams Motherfuckers !!

Doug E Dogg

(Awesome article, cheers ......tony)

Tyranny Is Tyranny - Video for "Down The K-Hole"

Last year, Tyranny Is Tyranny released their album
"Let It Come From Whom It May" which I quite rightly
described as the best noise rock album of 2013.

Read my review - Here

Hey, they have now made a video with guitars, beards and strange
camera-motion tracking. Watch it and know you are helping keep
free thinkers everywhere happy!

News - Centuries UK/Euro Tour 2014

CENTURIES ANNOUNCE UK/EURO TOUR DATES 

THIS FEBRUARY AND MARCH, WITH FJORT, ESOTERIC YOUTH 

AND BLANK ON SPECIFIC DATES

Ferocious Florida hardcore unit Centuries exploded into our consciousness and attacked our senses in August 2013 with their Southern Lord debut full length, Taedium Vitae. At the time of announcing this record, we did say that we hoped they would return to Europe in support of this record, having previously toured in 2012 with Poland's Drop Of Lies, today we are very pleased to announce that Centuries have confirmed a mammoth tour across continental Europe and the UK, with Fjort, Esoteric Youth and Blank on specific dates.

Here are the tour dates so far...

FEBRUARY AND MARCH TOUR 2014

13. Feb GER Potsdam Black Fleck +

14. Feb GER Braunschweig Nexus +

15. Feb PL Gdynia Klub Desdemona ^

16. Feb PL Warsaw Przychodnia Squat ^

18. Feb GER Berlin Tiefgrund ^

19. Feb GER Leipzig Zoro ^

20. Feb CZ Ostrava Plan B Hardcore Cafe ^

21. Feb HU Budapest Trafik ^

22. Feb IT Bologna Freakout Club ^

23. Feb IT Milano TBC ^

24. Feb AT Graz TBA ^

25. Feb AT Wien Ekhaus ^

26. Feb GER Köln Sonic Ballroom ^

27. Feb GER Bielefeld AJZ

28. Feb BEL Liege La Zone

01. Mar BEL Ieper Joc Ieper

02. Mar UK Brighton TBA **

03. Mar UK Hull O’reillys **

04. Mar UK Manchester/Leeds TBA **

05. Mar UK London TBA **

06. Mar FR Paris TBA **

07. Mar FR Clermont Ferrand Sprint Bar **

08. Mar FR Lyon TBA **

09. Mar GER Trier Exhaus **

10. Mar NL Leiden Sub071 **

11. Mar GER Giessen AK44 **

12. Mar GER Essen Emokeller **

13. Mar GER Münster  TBA **

14. Mar GER Nürnberg TBC **

15. Mar GER Darmstadt Oetinger Villa **

16. Mar GER Hamburg  TBA **

+with Blank

^with Fjort

**with Esoteric Youth

Robot(A) - No Kings

Robot(A) have a new single out and it is rather jolly good.

They say "Inspired by video games, loud bass, distorted 

guitar and creatures from other planets, ROBOT (A) have 

taken a refreshing approach to modern day punk rock. Armed with 

audio weaponry, such as guitar, bass, midi keyboard & laptop, the band are 

quickly becoming recognised as being at the forefront of this new 

wave of electronic punk music"

I say .........

CRUSH!

STOMP!

ROAR!!!!!!!!

Mechametal made by mutants, technopunk facemelt space-monkeys

jamming on untested drugs, fuelled by electronics and distortion. 

Get from Bandcamp

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Indian - From All Purity

With hearts of hate and a fistful of distortion pedals, Indian

are back with their 5th album - From All Purity.

Primitive doom and sludge explode from this collection

of twisted tracks and quite simply, stun you into submission.

If last years "Scorn" by Primitive Man gave us ugly music

for ugly people, 2014 kicks of the year with this album of

blackened noise terror.

The atmospherics are dark and brooding, helped by the

relentless riffs that are crashing out, creating a dense and

tension-filled collection of tracks that need to be listened

to in one sitting. You feel drained after playing this - you

don’t so much listen to this but experience it.

When the frantic, frenzied vocals emerge from deep within the 

mix, you realise how much depth and layering you are hearing, how

the dynamics have been thought out and most of all, just how

the searing riffs are in fact much more complex than realised

on your first listen.

Using fuzzed out riffs that register extremely low on the richter scale,

this is a solid slab of sludge with doom elements threaded throughout.

One of the strengths has to be the song writing. Hypnotic riffs

that latch into your head and tunes that have a purpose to them

bring direction and flow to all the tracks.

Bleak heaviness is the tone set but this does not mean unrelenting

misery for the listener. Careful use of electronic drones and 

textures carry across an atmosphere of denseness and

weight that somehow feels cleansing after the music stops.

Get from Relapse Records on 21st January Here

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Thanks to Becky at Pioneer for sending this.

MOTORHEAD - BLITZKRIEG ON BIRMINGHAM '77

This is a great reminder of what the sets were like in the early days of the
classic Motorhead  line up of Lemmy, Fast Eddie Clarke and Philthy Animal
Taylor before the release of their 2nd album "Overkill".

Here's the opening track...."Motorhead" ..... In the 36 years since I
 bought the 12" single on its initial release I've never tired of listening to it.

I won't go into any great lengths about the background to this
tremendous early live offering (lazy bastard......love from Tony) but would
direct you to this excellent overview which
includes a full track listing.

Bob and his mega "Head site

Without them and the influence that they had on the louder side of the
music world, much of what we listen to and love today may not have happened.

DOUG E DOGG

Goat - Live Ballroom Ritual

With only the 2012 release "World Music' under their belt,

why should you bother with this live album?

Because it is the voodoo spawn of the devil. 

This came out in December, too late for my best of the year list
but by the power of Greyskull, Goat should of been on there.

If you are after fuzzed out Psych Afro-beat crossed with Blue Cheer
and Santana, this is the place to come to.

African/Rock drumming drive the songs along with a hypnotic beat,
the rhythm becoming almost another instrument. The tracks are
stretched out and sound almost like a band on the verge of jamming
for the sheer joy of playing........ something I fully endorse!

Non-western musical scales are unleashed through distortion pedals
and wild wah-wah solos take this from blissed out trance music
to proto-Sabbath bursts of amp cranked mayhem.

The female vocals start off pretty identical to their studio recordings
but as the set progresses, they start to sound unhinged, unearthly
and just plain insane.

This is a groovetrip with power chords that make you dance
and head nod at the same time.

Music of excellence!

Get from Rocket Recordings

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Thanks to Rachel at Silver PR for sending this to me.

666 - Number of the Comp

Well, I have had a break and can now start sorting through

the dross this year has to offer and find the best of what is

out there for you. Doug has been trawling through his random

music player and has delved once more to past glories that are

getting his groove on.

The compilation has just had 666 downloads - an important figure

for the people who like to read things from that book about "god"

but of more significance, it means that the music we love is 

getting spread around. Good work people!