[ aquarius records catalogue

IMPORTANT (Please read to avoid confusion): Some items below may be tagged with a bold, red, all-caps OUT OF PRINT/UNAVAILABLE notice. This does NOT mean that all other items not so tagged are, in fact, in stock — or for that matter, in print and available, though there's a good chance they are. Some folks get confused on this point, and we can see why, so please read this for further clarification and other important before-you-order information. Unlike some mailorder websites, we don't have an electronic inventory system linked to our site, so you can't be sure of what we actually have or don't have in stock at any given moment without asking us — please email our mailorder department for availability status — or better yet, just go ahead and place your order using our shopping cart function and we'll get back to you with the status of each item. If you have general non-mailorder questions, email the store.

Showing results 1401 through 1423 of 1423.

New WU!

Another stab at success for the Wu-Tang's second stringers, and surprisingly it's not a total bust, it's actually pretty cool. It's all about the RZA, it always has been and it always will be. No matter how good the rapper, it's the loop and the beat that make the sound distinctly Wu-Tang. That still holds true here. While some of the rappers do shine, most of them are pretty by the numbers. Not bad, just sort of same-y. But the awesome production manages to pull this out of the pass pile and making this definitely worth checking out. Plus there's a bonus Wu-Tang track that smokes, with all the big hitters, which, while it makes this disc even more worthwhile, it does make the other lower tier Wu-Tangers pale just that much more in comparison. Just check out the sound clips.

RealAudio clip: Killa Beez
RealAudio clip: Take Up Space
RealAudio clip: Woodchuck
RealAudio clip: KB Ridin'

Inspired perhaps by that brief moment in 1968 when Black Sabbath's Tony Iommi was a member of Jethro Tull, German throwback psychedelic blues rockers Wucan specialize in bellbottomed HEAVY FLUTE JAMS MAN!!!!!! Or wo-man. 'Cause Wucan is one of those female fronted retro-proto-metal bands that are so happenin' today. Female-fronted (she sings, in English and German, and is the one playing the flute) but not as "occult" as a lot of the other groups that have jumped on this particular bandwagon (a bandwagon we aren't at all opposed to, by the way). They've got the flute and the tough heavy fuzz riffs, but Wucan's jams come to reveal more of a funky/groovy vibe rather than a witchy one. And they bring in some of their trippy native krautrock heritage, as well (being German they also think it's ok to use the punning song title "Face In The Kraut" on here), wrapping things up with the 15+ minute "Wandersmann" filled with blues licks and lotsa spacey, freaky FX, choogling along, space truckin' all the way far out. So stuff here for Blood Ceremony fans and Acid Mothers Temple types too.

MPEG stream: Father Storm
MPEG stream: Owl Eyes
MPEG stream: Wandersmann

I'm predisposed to dismiss all of the text that Tzadik prints on their obi's as hyperbolic bullshit. Most of the records that John Zorn releases on his label rank at the bottom of the avant garde oeuvre, and the accompanying text rarely comes even close to accurately describing what kind of tripe is found within. So am I supposed to believe that Charles Wuorinen's "Lepton" features "Four absolute masterpieces by one of the world's greatest composers. Spanning over three decades, 'Lepton' presents New York born Wuorinen at his radical best, pushing the limits of instrumental and electronic music." Yup, total bullshit, but at least in this instance, Tzadik has released a decent piece of academic electronic music, planted within the tradition of '60s 'new music' alongside Tod Dockstader and Vladimir Ussachevsky. "One of the world's greatest composers?" Whatever.

RealAudio clip: Time's Encomium

These local indie popsters finally release a full length. Super soft and pretty, the songs range from slowly drifting lullabies with bursts of fuzzy cardigan MBVish feedback that threaten to sweep away the often barely audible, fragile vocals to perky, upbeat, poppy numbers with gentle jangling guitars. The sighing, shy girl vocals really reminded me of Rose Melberg's (or those of her Gaze bandmate, Miko Hoffman), but perhaps a bit more hesitant and not quite as note-perfect. One question though... Did they really need to cover the Beatles' "I Will"? Sure, it's a beautiful song (one of my all-time favorites), but their slowed down, K Records folk pop version doesn't really capture the song's magic. Definitely for the shoegazin' indie pop crowd (The Pastels, Ida, The Softies or artists on Slumberland and early SpinArt Records).

RealAudio clip: Kitchen
RealAudio clip: It Will Be Clear
RealAudio clip: I Will

A Danish prog / power metal band named for Emily Bronte's classic gothic novel? Scoff if you must, but much like their last record The Shadow Cabinet, Salt is another classic chunk of over the top, epic, folk-flecked power metal. As we've mentioned before, the true test of a record is the 'why do you like it' test, where when you hear a song, or a record, without any knowledge of who it is, and thus no preconceived notions, you're forced to decide based simply on the sounds. Which is why at aQ, if we ever ask another employee what's playing, we can expect the response 'Why? Do you like it?' Which has most definitely resulted in someone claiming that yes, they do indeed like something, only to discover, that it was something they hated, or at least thought they hated. Well, one of us was in a record store in another country, and Wuthering Heights was playing, the whole record, and it was incredible, enough that it was quickly purchased, and then obsessed over, which also meant returning home and buying EVERY record these guys ever made. So we were pretty thrilled to discover a brand new Wuthering Heights, and we're happy to report it's just as great, bombastic, epic, majestic, over the top, like power metal should be. But Wuthering Heights definitely do their own thing, sure there's nimble super technical leads, wild rapidfire chugging guitars, soaring super dramatic Iron Maiden style vocals, but WH slip into strange folky breakdowns, breakdowns that often continue right on into the heavy bits, resulting in blasting portions of heaviness, that almost sound like super charged folk music, or death metal jigs or black metal polka... As if that weren't enough, they're also super proggy, with tons of parts, complicated arrangements, and they do all this while crafting super catchy songs. Obviously if you're into groups like Lost Horizon, Blind Guardian, Hammerfall, and other power metal purveyors, then this is right up your alley, but if you're into classic metal, epic and heavy, with killer vox and lots of solos, this might be worth checking out. And again, for power metal, this stuff is pretty weird, and thus we find ourselves digging this big time!

MPEG stream: The Desperate Poet
MPEG stream: The Mad Sailor
MPEG stream: Tears

Some time ago (in the fall of 2006) our Andee took a trip to Japan. When he was there, he happened to visit a few (ok, many) record stores. In one of 'em, there was some amazingly epic power metal music playing. Andee and his travel buddy Josh both were instantly intrigued. It was like, the best thing they'd ever heard. Turned out it was a Danish prog-metal band called, believe it or not, Wuthering Heights. Andee bought a copy immediately. Josh too. When Andee got back to the States, Wuthering Heights was one of the "finds" that he gloated about, though his pleasure in doing so was tempered by the fact that mere weeks later, a (much cheaper) domestic USA version was released, with an entire bonus DVD disc added on! (The dvd featuring a live performance at the ProgPower USA fest in '04.) This is that cd, and dvd. Andee can chalk up the extra expense of the Japanese version he got as going towards the greater good of finding out about this so we can share it with all of you... Stirring, sweeping, truly powerful power metal played with virtuoso precision, blazing away at 100mph, the speed taking nothing away from their grandiose, folky melodies. And best of all, the vocals. Nils Patrik Johansson has a commanding voice, his soaring singing with a rough edge that reminds us a lot of Ronnie James Dio himself! So, technically superb. And Wuthering Heights are also eccentric and individual enough (with their proggy/folky parts), conjuring their own fantastic world, to stand apart from the generic Euro power metal hordes. And plus, they kick ass. Heck they're even unafraid of some harsh guitar skree now and then. Definitely worthy, on the strength of this album at any rate, to join the manly vanguard of the non-cheesy (ok, slightly cheesy) and less-generic Euro power metal hordes alongside the likes of AQ faves Blind Guardian, Falconer, and Lost Horizon (RIP).

MPEG stream: Demon Desire
MPEG stream: Beautifool
MPEG stream: The Raven
MPEG stream: Faith (Apathy Divine Part I)

The latest from Sublime Frequencies is a massive cd/dvd/book set, compiled by photographer/filmmaker Olivia Wyatt on a recent trip to Ethiopia, planned to coincide with a music festival - which the government abruptly cancelled for fear of the musicians being exploited. So instead, Wyatt travelled into the bush, to compile this sonic/visual travelogue of the music and musicians, the people and places of the various tribes of Ethiopia, and it's of course breathtaking. The music, heady and hypnotic, joyous and emotional, the sounds varying dramatically from tribe to tribe, but music being ubiquitous, weddings, ceremonies, rituals, drawing water from the well, on television, in living rooms, very rhythmic, mostly vocal drive, but with lots of hand clapping, wildly bowed stringed instruments, vocals chanted, shouted, call and response, super mesmerizing, many of the tribes utilize whistles and panpipes, and the music they make is incredible, otherworldly and impossibly lush, sounding like some modern 20th century classical composition in many cases, while actual bands to rock out, and get surprisingly soulful and funky. A compilation like this must have been so impossible to compile, how on earth to whittle down what must have ben days of recordings to just an hour, but the tracks chosen are amazing, and make us want to hear so much more. Both the cd and the dvd (more on the dvd in a second) are housed in a cd sized hard cover book, which includes extensive liner notes on Wyatt's trip to Ethiopia, but also 117 Polaroid photos Wyatt took on her trip, of people, places, musicians, villages, an incredible visual feast for the eyes. And then there's the dvd, which features a 60 minute film, which in its won way is structured like the video version of Wyatt's Polaroids, with many still shots, video portraits, as well as some incredible footage, some highlights include so many different lots of singing and dancing, sometimes in traditional tribal dress, often in western t-shirts and shorts, one of the most amazing sequences if of men and women working drawing water from a well, passing buckets from person to person, their worksongs so hypnotic and beautiful, then there's a super wild psychedelic guitar freakout with one woman doing some of the craziest, most ecstatic hair swirling / headbanging we've ever seen, there's footage of men feeding wild hyenas in the middle of the night, often right out of their own mouths, snippets from Ethiopian television with wild MTV style videos, fantastic tribal folks songs with synchronized dances and lots of whistles, dancing girls making music with just the clank and jangle of her jewelry, in fact lots of dances that involve the jangle of jewelry, men smoking in dark rooms watching television, intimate performances in living rooms and so much more. So incredible, sonically, visually, culturally, easily one of our favorite Sublime Frequencies releases for sure. LIMITED TO 1000 COPIES . The dvd is all region NTSC.

MPEG stream: Konso Lyre Song
MPEG stream: Habesha Traditional Song
MPEG stream: Masinko Song
MPEG stream: Dirashe Syncopated Panpipes
MPEG stream: Gedeo Vocals

Latest from the great Mr. Wyatt.

Easily the BEST album whose tracks contain of a lot of seeming nonsense baby babble and backwards tape manipulations (that was originally improvised for Italian radio) we've ever heard. Even if you already think you'd like babbling vocals and tape FX, this is even better than you think. Why? well it helps that it was done by Robert Wyatt, who is a bit of a genius, you know. Of course, if you're a Wyatt fan, you already know you want this 'cause it's basically an UNRELEASED ROBERT WYATT ALBUM FROM 1981. Now, the title is Radio Experiment as it definitely was an experiment, a successful one, fortunately. Wyatt was invited to come to Rome and spend a week at this radio station's studio, recording his spontaneous creative process during that time frame, whatever might transpire. The radio people picked the right artist to participate in this project, as Wyatt fully embraced the concept, working in a "blank frenzy", willing to let the end results remain secondary to documenting the work in progress of music making, though as it turned out, the finished music is pretty cool. And strange. There's seven completed compositions presented on this disc, along with a final 10 minute track that was assembled and edited by the radio program's staff from recordings made surreptitiously during Wyatt's initial "rehearsals" in the studio. He's a one-man band here, playing piano and keys and drums and Jew's harp and other "objects". And singing, overdubbing his voice, which is all over the place, from playfully chopped up burble to weird whisper to high pitched whine to mumbled chatter to, well, actual singing that's quite fragile and pretty. There's plenty of wordless ba ba ba la la la, and other more coherent parts where you can understand the lyrics, in some cases read from political/historical texts. Multitracked and layered, all these pieces have a dreamy, hazy, hallucinatory aspect, somewhat abstract but pleasant, moody and melodic too. Being to a degree improvised, some jazz seeps in from Wyatt's Soft Machine days, and one track in fact is an interpretation, of sorts, of Charlie Parker's "Billie's Bounce". Overall, a week well spent! Wyatt fans of course should enjoy this, and it also sounds to us like something perhaps This Heat related, and there's lots of current underground, cd-r scene activity featuring fractured pop and rhythmic lo-fi psychedelia and the textural use of the human voice that unknowingly harks back to these archival recordings from 28 years ago, long hidden away but thankfully now issued on cd and vinyl. The way this combines both beautiful pop-iness with really weird methods and sounds seems like something fans of, say, Panda Bear would be totally into. Very recommended!

MPEG stream: Opium War
MPEG stream: Heathens Have No Souls
MPEG stream: Born Again Cretin

THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SORRY. The commie genius ex-Soft Machine drummer's first post-paralysis record, circa '74, an all time melancholic prog pop art rock classic and probably our fave Wyatt album ever.

Pretty much everyone at The Wire magazine loves this ex-Soft Machine member's latest solo record.

Whetting our appetites for the brand new Wyatt album Cuckooland (due out next week), comes this fab collection --curated by Robt. himself-- of material mainly drawn from BBC radio archives circa 1972 and 1974, at the beginning of his solo career, post-Soft Machine and Matching Mole. But the British eccentric's charisma and radical worldview is just as compelling today as back in the '70s, as the two cuts recorded in 2002-2003 with former Soft Machine bandmate Hugh Hopper prove. Also there's a wonderful 2003 demo version of a song that may be appearing on Cuckooland, called "The Verb". If it is any indication, Cuckooland will be a great album -- in fact, we'd like to hear demos of the whole thing, 'cause the home-demo production almost seems like a significant compositional element, the tape hiss drone something that would be intentional in a modern experimental/electronica context. The majority of this disc is the older stuff, though, and there's a diverse batch on offer, everything from the mostly instrumental soundtrack to the short experimental film from whence this disc's title is taken (which is also included as a Quicktime video!) to a live version of his unlikely hit Monkees cover "I'm A Believer" to a take on one of Matching Mole's best, "God Song". Then there's novelties like the Monty Python-esque "We've Got An Arts Council Grant" silliness, and Wyatt's affecting version of Danny Kaye's "Little Child". Don't play those for any dour Wyatt-doubters among your friends -- instead make sure they hear the gritty, lofi "Solar Flares..." which could be something from a New Zealand artist on the Celebrate Psi Phenomena or Psuedoarcana labels, when it's actually a 1974 recording by the ex-drummer of a pioneering jazz fusion band! Definitely an essential collection for fans, who will be delighted by the music as well as the copious notes and photos in the booklet. For those new to Wyatt, it's a good sampler, showcasing his trademark untrained vocals and his quirky songwriting craft. Nice!

MPEG stream: Alifib
MPEG stream: Solar Flares Burn For You

This double cd set celebrates the work of UK music legend Robert Wyatt (who started his career in Soft Machine and went on to have quite a cult following with his solo career). He hasn't performed for over twenty years, but with his consent and guidance a group of musicians who have collaborated with him in the past (including musical director/trombonist Annie Whitehead, vocalist Julie Tippetts and guitarist Phil Mazanera) got together to perform his songs live in London and Nottingham in 1999. Features music from his solo albums, up to and including his most recent, "Shleep". Interesting and kinda weird to hear these songs without Wyatt's unique vocals, definitely something for fans to check out.

Second album from former Ozzy guitar demigod Zakk Wylde's solo Southern stoner-metal project Black Label Society. The first one was quite a surprise, revealing that not only is Zakk a man of fleet fingers on the fretboard, but that he possesses a talent for creating extremely heavy and melodic post-grunge stoner rock with whiskey-soaked vocals that blows the likes of late-model Corrosion of Conformity out of the (swamp) water. This new album is another testament to that. Definitely for fans of Acid Bath and Down! Now here's a message from the man himself, culled from an internet '80s-metal mailing list: This is a message from Zakk Wylde. To all you Society Dwelling Mother Fuckers, Wanted to let you know that Black Label Society's new disc, "Stronger Than Death" hits the street today. Go check it out! Its heavy as fuck, I'm doing this film right now with Mark Wahlberg and Jennifer Aniston called "Metal Gods" for Warner Bros. Its a metal movie from 1975-85 and it is going to kick ass. I'm doing all the guitars on the soundtrack. Nick Catanese is in the movie as well. The first single from Stronger Than Death is Counterfeit God and Mark Wahlberg plays bass in the video. Its fucking hesterical! Request the tune at radio and video at MTV. I need your support to make this happen! Trying to get on the road with Motley, Megadeath and Anthrax. Going out with Pantera in the fall when they are done with Ozzfest. Also, Ozzy asked me to write his next disc which I can promise you will make Ozzmosis look like a BackStreet Boys cd. Send this e-mail to everyone on your list and BLEED BLACK LABEL. BLACK LABEL SOCIETY FUCK YEAH! All the best, Zakk Wylde

We've always been huge fans of Finnish black metallers Wyrd (not sure how you pronounce it, wuurd, or weird), their blend of blasting black buzz and Finnish folk was always hard to resist. The vibe was raw and grim, but with a lilting foresty feel to the less buzzy parts. Recently, all of the old discs have been reissued, we figured we'd finally be able to review all of those, but we thought what the heck, let's review the brand new one first and maybe work our way back, and then WOAH, have these guys thrown us for a loop or what, a HUGE stylistic shift has occurred in the Wyrd camp, and while we were sort of not into it at first, the more we listen to it, the more we're digging it. A lot. Gone is the raw and the rough, the grim and the lo-fi, and in it's place a much more polished melodic doom, sounding at times a bit like Opeth if they were Finnish, or like some Spinefarm doom outfit. And while it's not as idiosyncratic as the older Wyrd records, it's pretty damn cool. Huge thick riffs, gorgeously melancholic leads, minor key melodies, gruff growled vocals, all midtempo and super polished. Like early Katatonia or even Khold, there's a definite sort of grungy vibe, each track anchored by a super hooky riff and that soaring minor key melody. Most of the tracks have a bridge where the song breaks down, sometimes into just the lead guitar harmonies, other times, a crackly acoustic version of the main refrain, but always, the band lurches back into action in that way that makes it nearly impossible to not start head banging. This may not have been what we were expecting, but damn if we're not WAY into this. Definitely for Fans of Katatonia, Khold and other melodic modern groove and doom outfits...

MPEG stream: My Ghosts
MPEG stream: Daughter Of The Forest
MPEG stream: They

Wyrd Visions as the name for a psychedelic new weird wherever folk act? Hmm, a bit overt, perhaps, like naming your metal band Brutal Riffage or something. Too much on the telling side of the showing/telling divide taught in all beginning creative writing classes. How 'bout having a wyrd vision, putting it into words, and then using THAT for the name of your band? But, then again, it did pique our interest, and we wanted to know more... Wyrd Visions appear to be Swedish (perhaps now based in Toronto, Canada?) and have some affinity to the Nordic black metal scene despite sounding (almost) nothing like a black metal band. Instead, this is simple, sparse, funeral-paced, ominous doom-folk... the genre inhabited by such singular entities as Wolfmanger, Silvester Anfang, and Greg Weeks. Songs, especially the opening track "Sigill", are loooong, repetitive, hypnotic and haunting. Voices (both male and female) are gentle and hushed, cloaked in droning atmosphere on such cuts as "Bog Lord" and "Ceremony". The instrumentation is for the most part simple, wooden, acoustic. We mentioned black metal, in part due to the presence of "Freezing Moon", originally by seminal Norwegian black metallers Mayhem (another "overt" name we suppose). Wyrd Visions' version is soooo slow and spare and cruel and, actually, lovely. Maybe more affecting than the original which appeared on Mayhem's De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas album back in 1994. The rest of WV's album falls into the same mode for sure. And with the final track "Air-Conditioning" they break out the fuzzed electric guitar, bringing things more and more into an abstracted, molasses-drowned black metal riffing realm for reals.

MPEG stream: Sigill
MPEG stream: Freezing Moon

DR-99. Somehow we missed out on listing this one, but we do have a handful of copies of this Drone Records single from Wyrm. The subterranean scratchiness of Wyrm emanated from the North Carolina hills by way of Allan Zane; and he's collaborated in the past with the likes of Rapoon, Nocturnal Emissions, and shared a split release with irr. app. (ext.) to give you some sort of idea as to where this Wyrm likes to crawl. The two tracks are loop-based constructions of eerie, horror-film drone with revolving textures and tactile gyrations. "Divination Bones" cycles through patterns of acid rain pelting concrete surfaces with a sharp resonant guitar drone rising out of the mist and fog. "Adam Coils" lumbers with deep vocal mantras reverberating through catacombs topped with eerie electronic harmonic squalls that seem like devilishly treated Tibetan horns. Cut at 45 rpm, so of course we played it... and enjoyed it immensely at the slower speed. But these two tracks from Wyrm are pretty great at 45 too! Super limited stock. ONLY SIX COPIES... ----* ----* Selected New Arrivals : ----*

[ aquarius records catalogue — W ]