Oooooh, yes! Remastered and reissued on cd!
Blinded by the pearly white teeth, blown away by the skin-tight polyester disco boogie... that's what many of us were after seeing Saturday Night Fever way back in 1977. Seems like a whole 'nother lifetime. These days John Travolta's moving in a different kind of polyester crowd, and the seventies fashions we thought were gone for good have more than made a comeback. Oh, the more things change....
Such is also the case with the central musical force on this soundtrack. When you think of the Bee Gees, isn't this what springs to mind? Such a different musical beast from the band who just a few years earlier made the immensely Beatles influence drenched albums 1st, Idea and Horizontal (fyi: all three were recently reissued as deluxe 2cd editions, one of which was our Record Of The Week back in January!). Overflowing with delectable falsetto harmonies as only the Brothers Gibb could dish out, we love this album! Yes, there are ample top 40 moments and many dripping with cheese ("A Fifth Of Beethoven" anyone?), but don't be mistaken! This isn't just a "so bad it's good" trip. Nostalgia, yes. Irony, no.
And lest we forget film score dynamo David Shire's presence. His disco-fication of the classical composition "Night On Bald Mountain" (retitled "Night On Disco Mountain") is mighty wonder unto itself! Yeah, you know how to do it!
Featuring members of Velocity Girl, The Ropers, Tree Fort Angst and The Castaway Stones. For fans of said groups as well as Biff Bang Pow, Orange Juice, The Grass Roots and The Weather Prophets. Soft, straightforward pop with a blend of '60s soft-rock and
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
We'll keep this one super short since we only got 4 copies, and odds are the Tapeworm nerds/collectors/completists out there will snatch these up anyway. But if act fast, and you might be able to nab one of these. Saturn And The Sun is the duo of Joachim Nordwall and Henrik Rylander, who readers of the aQ list probably know better as members of hypno-rockers The Skull Defekts. In Saturn though, the two delve into the more harsh electronic side of their sound, crafting dense deep drones and blasts of face melting electronic noise.
LIMITED TO 100 COPIES, with cover art by Savage Pencil. We tried to order a bunch, and only got FOUR copies, so if you want one, be quick or be bummed...
We first heard these occultic stoner psychedelic black doom Swedes on the 4 way split On The Powers Of The Sphinx, where they were teamed up with Aluk Todolo, Nightbringer and Nihil Nocturne. We were pleasantly surprised, as we were expecting some sort of black metal, but what we got was way more stonery and psychedelic, and as we described in that review sounding "like Kyuss at 16 rpm", which still pretty much holds true. This is tripped out, downtuned lysergic heaviness, thick stoner riffs, wild wah wah guitars, swirling occultic atmospheres, woozy low slung basslines, some serious grooves, and some totally tripped out, heavily effected vox, Electric Wizard fanatics might have just found their new band, that is if they were dreaming of a band that sounded sort of like Electrix Wizard, but WAY weirder and WAY more druggy and seriously fucked up. Which is pretty much what these guys are.
Laying down massive thick, super distorted riffs, the band slow motion swinging, slipping from stoner groove, to doomy churn and back again, the bass doing that weird walking thing that was all over Sabbath songs, the guitars occasionally erupting into little druggy effects drenched licks, and then the vocals, drawled and woozy and hazy and laid back, also wreathed in effects, a sort of true doom croon, but run through a wall of blown out fractured effects, and it's not just the sounds, the songs are pretty fucking bizarre too. "Aion Of Drakon" builds the whole track on a weird effected stuttery guitar loop thing, making it sound super hypnotic, a pulsing and pulsating groove, still super saturated, and in-the-red, but warped and subtly rhythmic, wound around big pounding drums, and all blurred into heaving black swells, the sound building to almost raga like tranced out stoner doom rituals, super psychedelic and seriously freaky.
Some of the other tracks slip into a more straight forward lumbering lurch, but even then, things continue to twist and transform, while other tracks, weave all manner of sounds, high end streaks, flute like flutters, warped effects, processed vox, into impossibly damaged, bit irresistibly mesmerizing slo-mo grooves, some tracks with dubbed out drums careening all over the place, sounds weird, and it is, but it works. Imagine a Sabbath 45, dipped in peyote, melted a bit over an open flame, and then spun manually on an old victrola, broadcast through a wall of Orange amps, heavy heady, far out and fucking absolutely incredible. Just might be our new favorite metal record. And was we mentioned above, all of you folks freaking out over Electric Wizard, Saturnalia Temple is what ET would sound like if you were dosed with PCP and horse tranquilizers, which is, at least in this case, a very good thing...
Here comes another slab of tripped out, and fuzzed/fucked up weirdness from The Anja Offensive! This one in the form of the second full-length by Swedish drug-doomsters Saturnalia Temple, which we're of course totally stoked about.
To The Other's foundation is the huge, wall of doom riffs that lumber and lurch a la Sleep records, just on a MUCH worse acid trip. While the bones of this record might be the massive doom riffs, layered around it are all sorts of screeching, barely guitar-like leads, delayed and distorted vocals, and a Hawkwind-esque repetivive psychedelia that you can't help being totally sucked into. Like labelmates Aluk Todolo, these guys have a penchant for holding a groove for as long as they possibly can, making you honestly wonder if the cd might be skipping, or if that windowpane is finally kicking in. Like Candlemass meets Oranssi Pazuzu. Or Electric Wizard meets Aluk Todolo, really. The weird leads and occaisonal synth (maybe? or just weirder sounding guitar) sound pretty damn unique and twisted, sometimes making you wonder if this dude actually plays guitar or he's just making it up. It all somehow works though, all twisting and bubbling into a thick black doomy murk that won't let go. The cover art on here is actually really telling - a huge vortex-like hole absorbing the weird, maze like landscape around it. If that intrigues you, or (Satan help us) makes total sense, then this record is for you.
Probably the best description of the music on this first-time-reissued Brazilian '70s acoustic acid-folk rarity comes in the form of a picture, that's right there on the sleeve -- a drawing on the back cover depicting two naked hippies sitting crosslegged with guitar and sitar. And, they have wings. Winged hippies. One's set of wings is butterfly-like, while the other is sorta batwinged, demonic. And both make sense, as the music is light and pretty enough for the butterfly one but also serious and sad enough for a guy cursed with batwings to play. On this, their eponymous and only album (a private press LP originally released in 1973), the Satwa duo unfurl delicate psychedelic rainforest folk ragas, super pretty, mellow and meandering maaaaaan. These tracks are largely instrumental, but there's are occassionally some wispy vocals wandering high (indeed) over the sparkling string play. And a lil' fuzz guitar makes the mix too. Utterly beautiful stuff. It's kind of a South American, decades-past version of Jewelled Antler faves Ivytree or Skygreen Leopards... If we didn't know any better, we'd suspect Glenn Donaldson had a hand in it. But Glenn's too young, doesn't speak Portuguese, and also doesn't have wings.
This cd version comes in a mini-LP style sleeve... lovingly packaged, lovely music.
Now reissued and available again, this is the very very first black metal record (!) that I (Andee) ever bought, along with Cradle Of Filth's The Principle Of Evil Made Flesh, and upon my very first listen was immediately converted to the dark side. The circumstances of my introduction certainly helped. There are plenty of ways to be introduced to new music, getting a mix tape, having a friend play it for you, hearing it on the radio, whatever, but my introduction to black metal was a little different. And a whole lot better if you ask me. There was a cool punk rock collective record store here in SF years ago (Epicenter, now long gone). I used to work at the thrift store downstairs, so like any self respecting record nerd, I spent all my free time upstairs listening, browsing, shopping, hanging out. There was a woman who worked there who was a punk rock / metalhead dream come true. Super tall, lots of spikes and leather and denim, waist length dyed dreadlocks, earrings, noserings, huge black boots, tattoos, and on top of all that she was totally drop dead gorgeous. Almost like a super model dressed up as a metalhead. And as you might imagine she seemed absolutely and totally unapproachable. Well, one day, she started talking to me, handed me this disc and the Cradle Of Filth and insisted that I'd dig 'em. Not sure why she thought I would or how she may have known, but it hardly mattered, she was talking to me, and there was no way I was not going to walk up to the counter with her and leave proudly clutching those discs. Thankfully, I did in fact love both of them, and like I mentioned, I immediately became obsessed with black metal. My mysterious black metal angel drifted off and disappeared, but my love of black metal stuck.
Hard to imagine not being blown away by this record, Satyricon's debut, a gloriously dense, snarling black buzz, with plenty of loping Viking flecked riffage, haunting folky acoustic breaks, blasting double kick, howled guttural vocals. Coming long before the super polished black tech of Satyricon's later records, this is raw and furious, the production is lo-fi but still super thick and heavy, lots of reverb, lots and lots of buzz and fuzz, perfectly situated between the ultra complex blasts of Emperor and Mayhem and the plodding hypnotic buzz of Burzum. It's plenty weird too, huge too-loud keyboard swells, haunting angelic vocals, buzzing sing songy riffs, but already even way back then, you could hear the hints of Satyricon's future as black metal masters, so heavy and strangely catchy, weird and warped, but totally grim and utterly black.
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
A four-song teaser to Rebel Extravaganza full-length. Much in the tradition of their Meggido ep, Norwegian black metal masters Satyricon veer off into left field a bit with a new song, a remix of an old song, a cover (a weirdly futuristic version of old school Brazilian thrashers Sarcafago's "INRI"), and an electronic-ambient experimental track.
Satyricon are one of the more advanced Norwegian black metal bands around, and this four song ep is a worthy addition to their catalog...you get a live recording, a re-recording, and a Motorhead (!) cover, but the highlight is the techno (!!) remix of "The Dawn Of A New Age" from their last masterpiece, the Nemesis Divina album. And it's not at all lame, in fact, it might be the way to introduce your friends in the baggy pants to the joy of corpsepaint.
Available on vinyl again! Here's our review of this Norwegian BM masterpiece from when we reviewed the cd version year and years ago:
One of the best, most influential, most perfectly grim and black, most brutal, and most importantly one of our -favorite- black metal records EVER! Easily the band's finest moment. When anyone asks us to recommend the most essential black metal releases EVER, this record vies for the top spot along with Burzum's Filosefem, Emperor's In The Nightside Eclipse, Mayhem's De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas, Darkthrone's Transylvanian Hunger and Immortal's Blizzard Beasts. Pretty seriously daunting company for sure, but depending on our mood, a lot of the time Nemesis Divina easily bumps the others out of the top spot. From the all time classic "Mother North", quite possibly THE catchiest black metal songs ever, to the barely audible sscccching! of a sword being unsheathed about 3 minutes into the first song, to the fucking awesome band photos, this record is tough to beat. Any of the above mentioned records would be perfect introductions into the grim world of black metal, but somehow, Nemesis Divina seems like the perfect secret weapon, the record that even a non-metalhead would hear and be forced to bow down to the dark lord. So fucking great!
That title sounds like an advertising line. New, improved... now, diabolical! The weird thing is, Norwegian black metal originators Satyricon (thee big shots, along with Darkthrone, Emperor, Mayhem, Immortal and a handful of others) have ALWAYS been plenty diabolical. If they'd called the album Now, Rockin' that would maybe make more sense, as this disc takes the midtempo blackened rock sound of tracks like "Fuel For Hatred" from their previous effort Volcano even further into "I just burned down a church, but I want my MTV" territory. Maybe the title IS an advertising line, trying to reassure old school fans that they haven't lost their way on the left-hand path.
Well, it's true that the relatively melodic, headbanging catchiness of many of these tracks isn't perhaps what people expect from grim Nordic black metal warriors like Satyricon -- but we're not complaining. Further curveballs include a horn section on one track, clean (guest) vocals on another. But rest assured, the Grover growl and Slayerizing guitar riffs of Satyr, as well as Frost's muscular drum battery, are also all in full effect, and Snorre Ruch of Thorns appears besides, so it's no drastic break from their past, though it's certainly Volcano to which this sounds the most akin. You can go listen to Frost's other (excellent) band 1349 if true, pure blazing blackened grimnity is all you desire, but we're enjoying Now, Diabolical's dire, gloomy rock n' roll apocalypse just fine at the moment!!
Includes bonus track and (unfortunately, cheesy MTV style) video clip.
One of Norway's premier black metal bands shows even the likes of Emperor who's boss with this amazing new disc. Eschewing their previous sword-wielding medieval fixation for a focus on the grit and horror of modern urban nightmare, these guys have crafted a dizzyingly intense, heavy, and always surprising masterpiece. They hint at the industrial/electronica weirdness of label-mates Dodheimsgard (or contempories Ulver & Arcturus) without totally going that route - they keep it metal, they keep it black, they keep it Satyricon. But it's somehow more twisted and filthy than before (yes, filthy, as in the songs "Filthgrinder" and "Rhapsody In Filth"). Genius.
It's a tough call, but I think I can safely say that Satyricon is definitely our #1 favorite black metal band. Burzum's Filosefem or Emperor's In The Nightside Eclipse or Dissection's Storm Of The Light's Bane are certainly contenders for best black metal records ever, and there are hundreds of other mindblowing bands/records, but as far as consistancy and brutality and originality and forward thinkingness and sheer kick ass-ness, Satyricon leads the pack. After ten years and nary a false step, Satyricon continue to reign supreme. This commemorative box celebrates Satyricon's first decade in grand fashion compiling a greatest hits, with a song from their upcoming full length album Volcano to whet our appetites. Greatest hits are always a risk, and aren't always the way to go in terms of an introduction to a band, and Ten Horns is no different. If you were to buy only one Satyricon record, we would have to insist on the unsurpassed Nemesis Divina, a record that even non-metalheads here at AQ are proud to have in their collections. An frosty epic of grandiose, ultra complex and ultra brutal black metal. Melodies are pummelled with furious blast beats and walls of furious guitars. Two of that album's best tracks are included here including the classic "Mother North"! As are two tracks from their last record, the brilliantly titled Rebel Extravaganza, which is good enough to almost be Nemesis Divina pt. 2. Also included are some older tracks from their debut Dark Medieval Times and their less well known second record The Shadowthrone, more primitive and buzzing, but definitely hinting at the greatness to come. The big selling points though are the two exclusive tracks, "Serpent's Rise" exclusively for this compilation, and "Repined Bastard Nation" from their forthcoming Volcano record. The new direction is exciting, hinting at a slower doomier direction. We can't wait. Packaged in a fancy box, with an equally fancy digipak inside and a booklet of lyrics and exclusive photos past and present. As well as super cheesy centerfold of a dirty girl in a bikini, laying amidst all the Satyricon collectibles. Dumb! So if you're only ever gonna buy one Satyricon record, make it Nemesis Divina, but if you want a great overview of their recorded output, or you are a completist and need the exclusive track, or you can't wait and need a sneak peak of the new record, then you can't go wrong with this collection. SUPER LIMITED. So if you want one, ACT FAST!
All hail! Here's the 2009 release from the band who, along with Emperor, Immortal, Darkthrone, Mayhem and very few others, basically established the template/threw down the gauntlet for a vast majority of all the black metal we've raved about over the years. This Norwegian duo - frontman Satyr and drumgod Faust - have earned their rep as black metal legends. Yet they still keep pushing to get bigger and better... bigger at any rate. Their last couple of albums (Volcano and Now, Diabolical) saw them developing in a more commercial, or at least more mainstream metal, ROCK direction. While they didn't pull a Metallica, they definitely moved out of the underground. More power to 'em, even though they don't boast the best corpsepainted band photos in the biz anymore...
Now, with The Age Of Nero, we hear a Satyricon comfortable with their new, MTV-ready "black n' roll" status, but who also stand ready to remind their old fans just how grim and blasting and blackened they can be. With extra help from their old pal Snorre Ruch of the very cult Thorns, they've crafted a bombastic attack that's truly grim yet grooving, mostly midtempo and exceedingly tight. And quite catchy, a quality certainly not limited only to this disc's designated "hit single" / video clip "Black Crow On A Tombstone". (By the way, we dig that song, but sorry, the video is too funny, the slicked-back Satyr especially ridiculous, check it out on YouTube sometime...!) But if you only -hear- the song, it'll knock you on your ass. A massive, pounding "hit" indeed.
While some bemoan the overall "slowdown" of their sound, some of our favorite moments here are those more atmospheric ones, like the moody breaks in the midst of "The Wolfpack" for instance. And they can still grind you to dust beneath the lashing brutality of their distorted guitars, seasick riffage, and (when it kicks in) blazing battery. One of the album's other highlights is the epic closer, "Den Siste", which sees the return of the horn section that appeared on Now, Diabolical but also is sung/rasped entirely in Satyr's native Norwegian, old school style. Horns in black metal have always been all right with us, actually, from Potentiam to Sear Bliss to Den Saakaldte.
While we wonder if this band will every really surprise us again, that's ok. They can bring this brand of heaviness on album after album and we'll be happy!
Not sure why but Satyricon's second allbum, The Shadowthrone, originally released in 1994, is the one Satyricon record that always seems to be overlooked, which is a shame as it is most definitely one of the defining moments in Norwegian black metal. It could very well be that it was the transitional record, the sophmore slump, following hot on the heels of Dark Medieval Times, Satyricon's amazing debut, and right before Nemesis Divina, arguably one of the best black metal records ever. Thus positioned it's easy to overlook, but at the same time, it's the record where Satyricon were shifting from raw grim blackness, to a whole 'nother level. So in some ways it's the most interesting, a confusional mix of the ultra raw brutality of their debut and the dense complexity that was to come. The Shadowthrone is classic Norwegian black metal, buzzing and thrashing, mostly a seasick midtempo lurch, but occasionaly bursting into a buzzing lightning fast blur. The production is still thick and fuzzy, the riffs hover in a thick morass of reverb, with vocals that are totally grim and demonic as well as insane drumming courtesy of Frost who was already a fucking monster behind the kit. Like the records released on either side of it, The Shadowthrone is full of killer riffs, strangely catchy hooks, droney folky interludes, and some of the best black metal songs ever. Satyricon at this point were still drifting sonically betwixt the buzz and drone of Burzum and the technical blackness of Emperor (definitely not a bad place to be), but the Shadowthrone took them one step closer to their epochal release, 1996's Nemesis Divina. And even though Nemesis Divina is most definitely the bands defining moment, it would be a shame to let that record's reputation overshadow what is, on its own merits, a totally amazing and absolute classic black metal record.
The Shadowthrone also boasts some killer cover art as well as the best barcode ever (you'll just have to buy it to see!).
Yes! The new Satyricon! Black metal fans rejoice! Satyr and Frost are back with another slab of cold twisted grimness to rock you. Actually, we've had copies of this import disc for several weeks now, but held off on listing it 'cause we were hoping that a domestic release was imminent. But, alas, that does not seem to be the case. Now that these Norwegian gods are on a big major label over in Europe, there's some corporate bullshit preventing an indie from putting out "Volcano" over here. So, it's only available as an expensive import for the foreseeable future. However, we assure you that it's well worth the extra $$$ you'll pay! Satyricon have long been one of our favorite Nordic metal bands, maybe our number one fave, and "Volcano" only builds upon the artistry of their previous masterpiece "Rebel Extravaganza". This doomy, dark and violent disc is full of the usual Satyricon surprises. Voivod-dense, industrial prog-metal soundscapes built upon Frost's brutal drum battery and Satyr's throat-torn vox, precise and massive guitar riffing, and sci-fi synths. The totally rockin', almost Killing Joke-ish punk headbanger "Fuel For Hatred". Guest vocals on several tracks from Bjork-esque Norwegian electronica diva Anja Garbarek. A disc-closing, fourteen-minute epic of heaviness called "Black Lava" which boasts the amazing line: "Autumn in the air, the smell of black metal 1990-95"! Aside from the somewhat un-thrilling cover art (a snake's head), and that they allowed the label to change the album's title from the eccentric spelling "Vulcano" to the mundane "Volcano", these guys can do no wrong.
NB. we've only got five of these, and it might be a while before we can get more, so please don't cry if we tell you they're all gone already...
One of the few remaining members of the Norwegian black metal old guard to still be swinging their rusted broadswords on the battlefield unscathed, Satyricon have returned after five years of silence with their eighth full length, and it's somewhat of a departure from their recent forays into more radio-ready mainstream metal, and it's also a record that a couple of us here at aQ HQ have found ourselves legitimately kind of obsessed with and enamored of. This new self titled record finds them settling into a much more regal and dignified sound. The record heaves and staggers like a world weary barbarian king, slumped upon his throne with nothing left to prove. It's fascinatingly minimal and dreamily hypnotic - shifting like tectonic plates between downtrodden black 'n' roll and desolate, almost jazzy clean guitar passages. It conjures up that same kind of timelost sadness as early Mortiis or Summoning but without any of the symphonic bombast, instead accentuating the simplicity of primitive yet melodic riffing and the occasional minimal keyboard accompaniment, recalling the lonely sparseness of Monotheist-era Celtic Frost or early Burzum. It's much more organic than Satyricon has sounded in a very long time and shows a patience and subtlety of songwriting not often seen in metal. Frost's drums sound like some steam powered machine, cold and martial, showing perfect restraint - his inhuman double bass fluttering like an overhead helicopter. At their most powerful the guitars call out like distant war trumpets, but elsewhere they seem to slump exhausted in the dirt like a doomed wanderer. Satyr's vocals vary from their usual authoritative emotionless growl to hushed deadpan spoken word, with the only major exception being "Phoenix" which features guest vocals cleanly sung by Sivert Hoyem of Norwegian rock band Madrugada, but even his vocals are tainted with a certain steely sadness - the sound of someone in their twilight years, who has done all there is to do in life, and now there is only the inevitable waiting. That feeling of dreadful inevitability is everywhere on this record in fact. A certain confidence intermingled with bittersweet nostalgia and a hint of regret. The production compliments this mood perfectly. The guitars are dry and surprisingly clean. The drums have virtually no reverb. Everything is stripped down and bare. It's a sound that's almost sterile but also possesses a strange warmth - like a shot of strong anesthetic into the gums. It's an album that rewards patience and attention, and while it may not be Satyricon's most immediate record, with every listen unveiling more and more subtle details, we wouldn't be surprised if history determines it to be one of their best.
We've just received two terrific self-released cd-rs by this solo artist from across the pond -- History+3 and this one! First impressions of Danny Saul's music stir a traditional folk singer/songwriter stance, but delving deeper you become aware that there's more layers to his songs. Each one moves through subtle mood shifts and occasionally some startling dissonance. Alternately intimate and expansive, he captures a nice counterbalance between bristling electric guitars and slow smooth minimal piano strokes. Definitely check out the title track and the final one "Tracks". Great stuff! Fans of Badly Drawn Boy and Arab Strap, don't miss!
We've just received two terrific self-released cd-rs by this solo artist from across the pond -- Balance and this one which includes a fine cover of Jandek's "I'm Ready"! First impressions of Danny Saul's music stir a traditional folk singer/songwriter stance, but delving deeper you become aware that there's more layers to his songs. Each one moves through subtle mood shifts and occasionally some startling dissonance. Alternately intimate and expansive, he captures a nice counterbalance between tremolo'd electric guitars and warm picked acoustic guitars. Great stuff! Fans of Badly Drawn Boy and Arab Strap, don't miss!
This is the stuff we like! Slow moving vinyl crackle and click, achingly pretty. Droning melodiously, hum and repetition beautifully employed, this conjures a mood of reverie and melancholic bliss. Saule is the name used by Belgian composer Xavier Garcia Bardon for his turntable-based works, and this Sub Rosa cd is his debut release. The first thing we were reminded of when we heard this was Philip Jeck. You know how much we love that British looper of scratchy old vinyl, right? Like Jeck, Saule also finds music in the grooves of old records -- that is, in the sound of the needle on wax, as well as what's more commonly considered a record's musical 'content'. And like Jeck he's a careful listener, rather than a hyperkinetic whipwhipwhap dj. Futhermore, both Saule and Jeck use multiple turntables to elaborate an aesthetic enamored of dusty, glacially-paced drones. But although they have much in common, Saule isn't merely just another Jeck. No, Saule is more like Jeck crossed with a post-rock band! But there's no 'band', just Saule's prepared records, three turntables, a microphone, mixer, and "headphones (for feedback)". With Philip Jeck, the mesmerizing, crackling loops can be their own reward, but Saule will provide some rock-like resolution as well, as with the sudden burst of distortion that heralds the addition of a sampled, broken drum break toward the end of track one, "Hola". Especially when you get to "Lido", the third of three long tracks that comprise Sentimental Journey, you'll hear this post-rock thing we're talking about. Codeine mixed with Radian comes to mind. "Lido" was apparently originally conceived as a soundtrack to an independent film, stills from which enliven the cd packaging. And it, like the other tracks here, has a cinematic quality, though it might well overwhelm any visuals. This disc is a stellar exampleof 'turntablism' in a non-hip-hop context -- as we said, it's more like instrumental post rock instead, although we're sure DJ Shadow fans will like this! We suggest playing it loud, which will be especially effective when track three swells into something grand that Godspeed could never match.
The 1988 collaboration between the two noise-saxophone titans of the legendary improv outfit Borbetomagus and well-known Sonic Youth guitarist Thurston Moore. Classic squall, now on a domestic cd.
Ready for some galloping rifftasy?? We could be reviewing the new Early Man ep (and we will) but for your metallic delectation this week, we'd rather present you with a reissue of an old fave, a relatively obscure NWOBHM classic. If you don't know what NWOBHM means (and we mention it often enough, like in our Rogue Male reviews recently), this will clue you in with an ace to the face - even though Savage never quite made it up there with more famous New Wave Of British Heavy Metal brethren like Iron Maiden and Def Leppard*, ferinstance. And if you do know what the NWOBHM is, and love it, then this is for you. No need to hesitate. Savage's 1983 debut (they had some other, later releases, but basically blew their wad here, and how) is utterly a classic, even just on the strength of the lead-off track alone, "Let It Loose" (misidentified on the back cover tracklist here as "Letting Loose", d'oh). And the rest of the album is full of quality, crunching metallurgy too, oh yeah. Noted metal scribe Martin Popoff rates it a 10 out of 10, comparing it to the best of Saxon, Witchfinder General, Grim Reaper, & Diamond Head (we'd say it comes closest to the latter). He's quite right, this IS one of those 10/10 NWOBHM stormers that can do no wrong, unquestionably when it comes to "Let It Loose", crackling with electric energy, which sets the tone for a whole disc of white hot, speaker trashing, youthful shred, Savage sounding quite savage indeed, while maintaining the NWOBMH's reputation for pint-draining, party-hardy catchiness.
Need more recommendation? How 'bout that Metallica in their early days used to cover two of this album's songs live?! Lars knew his NWOBHM neckwreckers after all!
Aside from the aforementioned typo, this is an ok reissue, though there's no liner notes included in the cd booklet. Lyrics yes, but no liner notes, what's their excuse? We expect thorough liner notes in our reissues, people! The previous reissue of this on Neat had liners from the guy that did the awesome Mad Maxish cover art! At least this does include the same 3 bonus tracks, taken from Savage's 1979 and '80 demos.
*no, Def Leppard don't suck. Their first few albums are pretty great.
Wow. This new 'zine is not only full of awesome readin', looks great, and comes with a button, but also is dirt cheap! Just $4. Real goddamn fanzines are few and far between these days, kudos to editor Cory Linstrum and friends for putting this one out, and making it so killer too. It shows those blogs a thing or two. Savage Damage Digest is all about music that you don't really read about all that often, and all in one place, thought the artists covered all make total sense together here, you'll see: Link Wray, Teenage Head, Jean-Pierre Massiera, Dave Kilgour & The Clean, Hanoi Rocks, Tank's Algy Ward, Nick Lowe & Brinsley Schwarz! And this debut ish features the only article we've ever come across about the uniquely Australian youth sub-culture of "Sharpies", outside of the liner notes to those Coloured Balls cd reissues, fascinating stuff. 70 pages, lots of vintage photos and magazine ads, nice use of spot color inside, and rounded corners, it's a handsome 'zine all right. Totally recommended to anyone interested in semi-obscure music from the '60s 'til now that ROCKS. Or is weird. Or both.
The cover story on Link is all about his "lost years" in the early-to-mid '70s, albums that tend to get ignored but, having read about 'em here, we want to hear! It's super in-depth, enthused and informative, like all the other articles here. This is sort of 'zine that will definitely turn you on to stuff you need to know about, and we can only hope that issue #2 isn't that far off. This has a lot of potential to be a favorite new regular read... For those who miss the likes of Black To Comm, or Motorbooty, or Fuzz (not to mention Bomp! or Creem)... check this out!!
Whoo-hoo! SDD #2!! Well, in "zine time" getting 2 issues done in as many years isn't that bad. At least, at last, it's here: the 2nd issue of Savage Damage Digest, a 'zine that with but one issue became one of our faves in the realm of enthusiastic dead-tree rock n' roll writin'. As good as the first issue was, this one's maybe even better, it's got great stuff about a wide variety of long-lost legends... '60s UK popsyke geniuses July, '60 NZ garage gods Chants R&B, '70s pub rockers Ducks Deluxe, and more... The cover story, especially interesting for those of us located in the Bay Area, is about '70s San Francisco proto-punks La Rue. No, never heard 'em, but boy do we want to now.
What we love about SDD is that it's the sort of thing that really puts the FAN in fanzine. We mean, they even devote two pages to some non-musical fandom - about the special San Francisco ice cream sandwich known as an It's It! And, most amazingly, there's pages and pages about guitarist Ross The Boss and his various bands over the years: The Dictators, Shakin' Street, Manitoba's Wild Kingdom, and... Manowar!! The Manowar stuff, especially, makes this issue required reading. We just tend to think that a lot of "typical" SDD readers and AQ customers might not already be Manowar fans, but this is the sort of thing that just might covert 'em (you?).
And, this issue comes with a free button, bearing the Vertigo records label swirl design! With accompanying label appreciation essay for anyone not already aware of just how cool UK '70s prog imprint Vertigo was.
Hopefully it won't be another 2 years before issue 3 of Savage Damage Digest comes out, though we won't be holding our breath. But we will be looking forward to it. And, let's say, the highest form of praise we can give a 'zine like SDD is that it makes us want to get to work on our own 'zines, like some of us used to do back in the day.
This is a good week for those, like us, who love old school print fanzines! Up above, you'll see we've got the new Chips & Beer, and then there's this, issue #3 of rock n' roll 'zine Savage Damage Digest, from East Bay based editor Cory Lindstrum, who, along with a helpful contingent of likeminded contributors, brings us the dope on a whole bunch of obscure and/or cult music-makers and drug-takers from way cooler times than now. As Cory is the first to admit, it's been far too long since the last issue but at last it's here, and plus he pledges that "as long as I'm still listening to, reading up on, watching, living, breathing, and eating Rock 'n' Roll - I will share with you my opinions and observations of this subject on a printed page" so we the likelihood is that we will have an issue #4 to look forward to, eventually! In any event, #3 is here, let's dig in and dig it.
Interview subjects include, among others, seminal '70s San Francisco punkers The Avengers, teenage '70s New York power poppers The Speedies, frontman Peter Daltrey of '60s psychedelic favorites Kaleidoscope (UK), and veteran power pop punk icons Redd Kross. And boy do the interviewers know their stuff.
Speaking of knowing stuff, not an interview, but an extremely in-depth eleven-page write-up, is devoted to guitarist Larry Wallis of Shagrat, Pink Fairies and Motorhead fame (the latest in Savage Damage's trademark "Triple Threat" series).
Then, there's the "skimpy" reviews section (not so skimpy, really) which among other things, reveals Cory's love for old school death/doom metallers Hellhammer.
You will be cooler than you are now after you're done reading this, trust us.
80 digest (duh) sized pages, some in full color. Plus, this issue comes with a free Stiff Records button!
More of that sonic Savage Damage you dig, in digestible print format! Issue #4 of this great rock'n'roll zine features a cover story on The Subtractions, unheard heroes of Fresno punk circa '79-'80 (amazing what hearing one mp3 can do to obsessive zine editors). There's also reminiscences about Cleveland in the '70s from Electric Eels guitarist Brian McMahon, Italian punkers Giuda, late '70s UK DIY act Beyond The Implode, an essay about the awesome Earthless "live experience", and more, including reviews, of course. Oh, and this issue's "Triple Threat" feature honors drummer Chuck Biscuits, of D.O.A., Black Flag, Circle Jerks, and best of all Danzig, among others.
As always, a good read, well researched, super enthused, full of vintage pics and fliers, we're stoked that SDD has made it to #4 and look forward to many more. 76 pages, digest-sized (duh).
We didn't even know this reissue was happening, but both Andee and Allan were so psyched when this came out recently. The first we heard of LA speed metal outfit Savage Grace was back in the day, they had a track on the Metal Blade Metal Massacre II compilation released in 1982, with other rad bands of the time like Aloha, Overkill, Obsession and all time aQ faves Warlord, among others. Even with all that tough competition, their song "Scepters Of Deceit" ruled, and weirdly enough, it featured Ozzy guitarist Randy Rhoads' brother on vocals. The next year, the band put out The Dominatress ep, which besides being their first proper release, featured a saucy lingerie clad dominatrix, er, dominatress on the cover, which was quite titillating for young metalheads like us at the time. A couple years later, the band released their killer debut full-length Master Of Disguise, featuring another infamous cover, this one with a naked woman handcuffed to a motorcycle, with a creepy red eyed cop leering at her, all wreathed in red fog, and the music inside was even better than the ep, not as raw, but still fast and heavy and melodic. This slipcased cd reissue contains both Master Of Disguise and The Dominatress, and tacks on 4 early eighties demo tracks, including their Metal Massacre contribution.
Most metalheads maybe remember these guys, but they might not realize how well this stuff has stood the test of time. It sounds better than ever, especially with the onslaught of retro metal and old school style thrash bands, this stuff just rules. Still. The riffs are killer, the songs are super hooky and stick in your head like crazy, the leads are super technical and catchy in their own way too, the kind of leads that you end up humming along to, the vocals soaring and high and perfectly suited to the music, the drumming intense and also super technical, and while these guys are generally considered to be speed metal, the band they most sound like in many ways is Iron Maiden, the same sort of epic song structures, harmonized guitar leads, there's definitely a serious NWOBHM influence, which makes this stuff so much more than run of the mill speed metal. Just check out the sound samples, if you can resist "Lion's Roar" or "Bound To Be Free", you really have no right to call yourself a metalhead... Oh, and if you liked the new one from Sweden's Enforcer we highlighted a few weeks back, THIS is definitely the kind of '80s speed metal that they're today's torch carriers of.
Includes a massive booklet with lyrics, liner notes, tons of photos, including alternate even saucier shots from the photo session for the Master Of Disguise cover! Recommended, metallers!!
That's right, we've got a handful of these cool posters we commissioned to promote/commemorate this year's aQuarius recOrds and WFMU sponsored South By Southwest showcase. They were for sale at the show, and the remaining copies we've got we're now making available to our local and mailorder customers (who, if you weren't lucky enough to be in Austin, hopefully listened to the show via WFMU's live feed).
EXTREMELY LIMITED EDITION! Only 90 copies printed. Of which we only got half, a few of those went to the bands, which means not many of these left. Handscreened. Two color (one is dark green on light green, the other is blood red on grey). Featuring original art by one of our favorite underground artists, Savage Pencil! It's a crazy tangled squiggly mass of angry bird heads and strange intricate tendrils, it's super striking, and of course also features all the bands who played the show, as well as all the other show info. They're super sharp, and as they say, suitable for framing, so get one while you can. If you order one with other stuff, it will have to ship separately in its own tube, and so will require an extra separate shipping charge, just so you know.
For bigger better pictures, go here:
http://twitpic.com/1b719b
and here:
http://twitpic.com/1b71df
That's right, we've got a handful of these cool posters we commissioned to promote/commemorate this year's aQuarius recOrds and WFMU sponsored South By Southwest showcase. They were for sale at the show, and the remaining copies we've got we're now making available to our local and mailorder customers (who, if you weren't lucky enough to be in Austin, hopefully listened to the show via WFMU's live feed).
EXTREMELY LIMITED EDITION! Only 90 copies printed. Of which we only got half, a few of those went to the bands, which means not many of these left. Handscreened. Two color (one is dark green on light green, the other is blood red on grey). Featuring original art by one of our favorite underground artists, Savage Pencil! It's a crazy tangled squiggly mass of angry bird heads and strange intricate tendrils, it's super striking, and of course also features all the bands who played the show, as well as all the other show info. They're super sharp, and as they say, suitable for framing, so get one while you can. If you order one with other stuff, it will have to ship separately in its own tube, and so will require an extra separate shipping charge, just so you know.
For bigger better pictures, go here:
http://twitpic.com/1b719b
and here:
http://twitpic.com/1b71df ----* ----* Selected New Arrivals : ----*
The Savage Republic song "Birds of Pork" has been the preamble to each and every Neurosis show for many, many years now; so if anybody should be subsidizing a Savage Republic reunion recording, it should definitely be Neurot Recordings! And yes, the influence that Savage Republic had on Neurosis can still be heard in these recordings, as the heavy tribal percussion is still the underbelly to these expansive post-punk crescendos. The current incarnation of Savage Republic revolves around Thom Fuhrmann, Ethan Port, and Greg Grunke (all of whom were members back in the day) alongside Val Haller (who had played with Fuhrmann in the grossly underappreciated Autumn Fair in the late '80s) and Alan Waddington. 1938 is pretty true to the sounds that Savage Republic had produced on Ceremonial or Customs, with that tribal percussion grounding slashes of drone guitar which slide into post-Morricone / proto-Godspeed crescendos for guitar and violin. Vocals have always been the problematic area for Savage Republic; and fortunately, they keep this album almost entirely instrumental.
The beautifully packaged boxset of all of the recent Savage Republic reissues ("Tragic Figures," "Ceremonial," "Jamahiriya," and "Customs") has of course been designed by former-Savage Republic member Bruce Licher and his reknowned Independent Project Press and is a bargain if you plan on buying all four.
Upon the release of the "Ceremonial" album and the "Trudge" ep in the mid-'80s, Savage Republic underwent a number of personnel changes which altered the group's sound from the primitive, percussion heavy art-punk found on "Tragic Figures" toward a far more
Again, beautifully packaged by Bruce Licher and Independent Project Press.
"Customs" was the final studio album from Savage Republic, recorded under considerable duress in Greece during an ill-fated 1988 tour in which all of their gear was confiscated by Greek customs! Thus, "Customs" was recorded entirely on borrowed equipment. The
Since Savage Republic dissolved in the late '80s, most of its members went onto other projects, with Bruce Licher and Robert Loveless forming Scenic, Ethan Port working with Scot Jenerik in F-Space, and Thom Furhmann founding the amazing but shortlived
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
Right on the heels of a reunion tour (reunited after 13 years), Savage Republic offers us this collection of live recordings, dating back to their first live performance as Africa Corps in May, 1981. The legends that surround the band all state that they were much better live than they were in the studio; for on stage, a punk energy came to the forefront in the massive bass ploddings, slashing guitars, and junk-yard percussion. This collection, while clearly lacking in fidelity, proves the point that Savage Republic was certainly a kick-ass live band. Most of the material present also appeared on their debut "Tragic Figures" album, with a couple of previously unreleased / undocumented tracks. As I've never thought that Savage Republic's lyrics and vocals were particularly strong, they are fortunately few and far between in these live performances. The majority of the words are spoken as between song banter highlighted by the announcement that "Every band's gotta have a surf song!" Their's being the incendiary instrumental "Ivory Coast."
Savage Republic was one of Los Angeles' leading art-punk bands, fusing gritty post-Joy Division basslines, slashing guitars with occasional Arabic cadences, and a massive clatter of dense percussion at times worthy of comparisons to Test Dept. or Einsturzende
The band's Bruce Licher has since gone on to form the acclaimed Independent Projects Press, developing a unique, celebrated style of beautifully letterpressed packaging, of course utilized for these new Savage Republic reissues on Scot Jenerik's Mobilization label. This disc features all of the tracks from previous CD editions, including the proper recordings from "Tragic Figures," the "Film Noir" 7" and a couple of alternate versions.
Album number two from London quartet Savages is an blighted and bleak construct of death-rock tropes to equal what was found on their debut, 2013's Silence Yourself. The band's intensity is still driven by front-woman Jehnny Beth, who showcases many commonalities with PJ Harvey's most feral invocations of power, sexuality, and the social constructs around the female body. Beth's subject matter for Adore Life revolves around the nuances of love and the psychological complications of relationships in the modern age. The pacing of the songs often accelerate as if Beth is careening towards a catastrophic end to the narratives she's drawing through the propulsive rhythm section and buzzsaw guitar work; but they can slow to a rhythmless torpor as on album's finale "Mechanics", in which Beth delves deep into emotional well on par with the most cinematic, ice queen torch songs of Siouxsie. Adore Life isn't as immediately anthemic as their fisrt album, but there's a slow-burning intensity to it, and a greater complexity and range to their potent rewrite of the post-punk songbook.
The hype surrounding Savages has almost eclipsed the album itself. Here was a London quartet that erupted on the scene in 2012, hybridizing your favorite post-punk reference into a violent buzzsaw of Teutonic falsetto and martial rhythms, delivered with a sneering abhorrence of anything melodic. While it's easy to hear a riff from Wire, a plod from Joy Division, or a scream from Siouxsie in Savages, all of those bands had the potential to deliver an unforgettable pop hook; and that is something that these four lasses have no interest in delivering. Instead, these songs are built through jagged layers of propulsion, aggressive thrusts into guitar noise, and unconventional mathy structures that start-stop-start-stutter-then-stop-start-stop. In listening to Savages, we're really getting that sense of deja vu; but not for those bands we had already mentioned. Instead, Savages really come across as a re-incarnation of Bestial Mouths, the LA goth-punk outfit which matched an unhinged drumming with a caterwauling vocalist in the most inhospitable of atmospheres, and again nary a melody to be heard. While that LA band seems to be undergoing an re-invention themselves with their fantastic drummer leaving Bestial Mouths, Savages pick right up from where Bestial Mouths left off a couple years back on their LP for Dais. That record made a lot of sense coming out of the bowels of the underground, but Savages' campaign through the mainstream music press is all the more unlikely. If you were expecting Matador to deliver the next Interpol through Savages, that's not the case... but if you were hoping for a feral squallor of post-punk volatility, Savages will happily oblige.
Savant is an apt name for a band that is not actually a band, but a project with many blind contributors and collaborators playing unfamiliar instruments with minimally open instruction, recorded remotely without prior knowledge of how their parts would be used, and passing tapes amongst each other, years before the practice of electronic musicians sending each other Logic files over the internet became common. What binded the project together was the alchemic vision and studio wizardry of reclusive Seattle ambient auteur, Kerry (K.) Leimer, who released Savant's lone record, T h e N e o R e a l i s t ( A t R i s k ) in 1 9 8 3. RVNG's Artificial Dance reissue ccollects that record with their d e b u t 1 2" a n d a g r i p o f c o m p i l a t i o n a n d u n r e l e a s e d t r a c k s.
You may remember our earlier review of the RVNG's anthology of Leimer's lesser known ambient works, A Period of Review (1975-1983), which displayed an outsider affinity with the generative and open compositional tape works of Cage, Stockhausen and Eno. Leimer's Savant project at first glance may seem like a devout following into the Fourth World tape experimentation and global intrigue of Possible Musics and My Life In The Bush of Ghosts, or David Byrne's soundtrack for Twyla Tharp's dance piece, The Catherine Wheel, but its construction is much stranger and obtuse. Employing a move towards rhythm and texture in transportive and evolving phases, the way these cobbled bits of varying studio perfomance are pieced together so seamlessly to create their own visionary world is its own extraordinary accomplishment. One that connects to the methodical ethnographical productions of Wally Badarou, Finis Africae and Haruomi Hosono and clears a path to later developments of digidub and trip hop a decade later. We can't emphasize enough how good this sounds right now. Recommended!
Scott Herren's (better known as Prefuse 73) latest incarnation as Savath & Savalas has manifested one of his finest works to date which for some reason we weren't expecting at all. His last couple of records on Warp featured Eva Puyuelo Muns on vocals which made them highly compelling to listen to on the one hand but also made them safe enough to feature in car commercials and as background music in trendy restaurants. On Golden Pollen, well after a highly publicized falling out between Herren and Muns, Herren takes up all the vocal duties himself, making for a subdued but never unpredictable recording. After listening to O Terco and Caetano Veloso all week, Golden Pollen almost sounds like a lost Brazilian pastoral psych record from the early seventies, if it wasn't for the experimental electronic passages in tracks like "Te Amo...Por Que Me Odias". Although it's his best record, that doesn't mean it's without certain flaws. Its concentration on subtlety creates a lack of dynamics making the record seem overly long and a bit same-y at times. But that is sometimes what happens when a record is based more on atmosphere than composition and is probably best enjoyed in a peripheral setting rather than a deeply concentrated listening environment. Produced by John McEntire, with Jose Gonzales and Mia Doi Todd making guest appearances.
Mr. Scott Herren sure likes to keep busy. We just listed his newest project Diamond Watch Wrists, an indie rock minded collaboration with Zach Hill from Hella, he also has a brand new Prefuse 73 album in the works, but somehow even with all that going on, he's also managed to crank out another Savath & Savalas album. S+S is the project that allows Herren to explore a more delicate, breezy and tropical sound. Teamed up with a great ensemble of musicians, which includes dreamy vocalist Eva Puyuelo Muna, La Llama might be the most fully realized and satisfying Savath & Savalas recording yet, channeling the sounds and sentiments of '70s Brazilian/South American soft-psych greats like Joyce, Milton Nascimento, and Congregacion, yet infusing that sound with a modern element that keeps the music from sounding purely nostalgic. Understated and richly flowing with an ease and breeze that is totally hitting the spot!
Sometimes it takes incredibly stressful interpersonal band relationships to make really wonderful music. Perhaps this is an example. Acclaimed hip-hop producer Scott Herren, aka Prefuse 73, claims that he and singer Eva Puyuelo Muns will no longer work together beyond this release. That's really too bad, cause it's truly a cool and beautiful ep. Manana exposes their shared passion for early '70s Brazilian psych, simple production techniques, sad melodies as found in Spanish folk music and edginess and attitude in Afro/Cuban/Puerto Rican/NYC fusions. Bright and juicy Catalan sounds fill-out the abstract electronic recontextualization, creating a successful sonic collaboration, at least musicly so. Let's hope they can make amends and create some more hazy explorations of Catalan singing in this electronic manifestation. Meanwhile, Manana is a glistening beauty for us to treasure!
