Agalloch/Nest Split

I am off for a long weekend in the Catskill Mountains. The unofficial start of summer every year includes good friends, good music, better drink and a certain serenity offered by nature. This year, I am just glad that the nature in my part of the country, that I choose to visit and enjoy, is not covered by oil.

The prolific Agalloch released this split 10 inch with Finland's Nest in 2004. Each band contributing a single song of pensive neo-folk majesty. Agalloch also contributed the vocals and acoustic guitar to the Nest track. You may recognize the Agalloch track, as it is a bit of a reprise of "Hallways of Enchanted Ebony" from their full length Pale Folklore. Aslak Tolonen, of Nest, produced the cover art for both sides of the record.

Fuck BP. Fuck the President.

...enjoy...

Nihil

It's Wednesday of a very long week and we are all in need of some Impaled Nazarene. Black, unholy, punk, fucking grind, did I say black?, sick as all shit Finns. Just look at that album art... Gas masks, goat heads and s&m... why not? Some in the uptight EU have blacklisted Impaled Nazarene and prevented or hindered the sale of their albums. What is so wrong about loving goat heads and hating Communists?

The one time I was fortunate enough to witness the spectacle that is Impaled Nazarene, lead vocalist Mika Lutinen opened the ceremonies with "You wanted the best!?" "Well, you got us...suck cocks!" Well played, sir.

There are numerous associated metal acts with ties to these purveyors of apocalyptic metal. But of special note is the presence of Alexi Laiho, of Children of Bodom fame, establishing a life time's worth of metallic street cred with his 2 year tour of duty in Impaled Nazarene.

Now, go smoke some crack and worship Satan.....

...enjoy...

Eternity

The new Anathema album, We're Here Because We're Here, is in constant rotation on my Ipod. When the double Vinyl arrives at my door, it too will be spun endlessly. It's that good. Scratch that, it's that fucking amazing. Since I must hold true to my policy of not posting new albums, I will instead offer their classic album Eternity.

Formed in 1990, Anathema were members of the English triumvirate of doom along side My Dying Bride and Paradise Lost. But it was in 1996 that everything changed. With the release of their third album, Eternity, Anathema would take a drastic and stunning turn away from doom and metal and into the world of atmospheric alt-rock. Pink Floyd would emerge as a major influence and this passionate album is a fitting tribute to all things ethereally epic. It is a boundless piece of music and you kind of need it.

...enjoy...

PS: make sure you check out
the cover Roy Harper's "Hope."
Brilliant.

Pilgrimage

Om's 2007 album Pilgrimage is an effort of understated beauty. Combining elements of stoner-metal, down-tempo, drone and Buddhist influenced spiritual chants, Om are less of a band and more of an experience. Born from the legendary Sleep, Om have taken the former band's stoner/Sabbath sound and journeyed ever onward into the unexplored realms of mind and soul. No Top 40 hits for you here kids, just unrestrained musical expression. Now dim the lights and turn the volume UP.

...enjoy...

David Gilmour

In 1978 David Gilmour opted to step out of the massive and looming shadow of Pink Floyd with this, his first solo effort. I was five months old. Gilmour used this album to spread his wings and cement the sound and musical vision that is unmistakably his. Can you hear Pink Floyd in these songs? Of course, because Gilmour himself had become an integral song writing contributor to the band. Just take "Comfortably Numb" from the as of yet unreleased epic The Wall, it could easily be slipped from the double album over to Gilmour's solo as a nice companion piece to the second track "There's No Way out of Here." This album also served as a portent of the reborn Pink Floyd from 1985-1994 sans Waters and under Gilmour's direction. Have I ever told you how much I love The Division Bell? Well, I do.

...enjoy...

Storm of the Light's Bane

Storm of the Light's Bane anno 1995.

See that gentleman on the horse? He has traveled long and far and appears to have come for you. Sorry pal, your time is up. Hence the hour glass he is holding. But at least you'll die while listening to some awesome anti-cosmic classic Swede Black Metal. What does anti-cosmic even mean? Fucked if I know, but front man Jon Nödtveidt took it real serious like. So much so that he was a practicing member of the Misanthropic Luciferian Order, what exactly is that you ask? Fucked if I know. But I do know that this was the last Dissection album for some time since Nödtveidt had to repay his debt to Swedish society as an accomplice to murder. The band would return in 2004 as more of a death metal act and release an EP and then a full length before Mr. Nödtveidt decided to tell the cosmos what he thought of it, via a gun shot wound to the head. Sad day indeed. But his music lives on, Dissection's studio albums (as well as EPs) are a living testament to this troubled artist and his uncompromising vision.

...enjoy...

Always the Bridesmaid: A Singles Series

The last three months of 2008 saw Oregon's Indie/Folk heroes The Decemberists release three singles which are collectively known as Always the Bridesmaid: A Singles Series. These are they. The above pics are from the vinyl release, which may be the same as the CD version- if there even is one, I haven't the slightest. Anyway, I'm sure some out there would readily pooh pooh these guys for being kind of...ummm... well, wimpy. And I really wouldn't be able to put up all that much defense against such charges. But what I do like about The Decemberists is the abundance of song writing skill and pure fucking professional talent from the bottom to the top of these traveling troubadours. Colin Meloy and the gang tell a story with equal parts passion, charm and when the moment demands it, humor. And if this escapes you, I'm afraid it is your loss.

On a side note, The Decemberists took some Right Wing shots across their humble little ship's bow during the last presidential election cycle. They played some benefits for then candidate Obama and were quickly verbally assaulted as being lefty Communists. I guess naming themselves after the Russian revolutionaries of the 1800's kind of left them open to such accusations. But anyway, being maligned by Right Wingers must give The Decemberists at least a bit of street cred, no?

So stop being such a tool and get downloading, then hunt down these records and get with the God damned program.

...enjoy...

PS, Included is a very amusing
version of the very amusing
Velvet Underground
song "I'm Sticking With You"

Burn the Maps

If there ever was a true "break up" album, I'd have to say that The Frames' Burn the Maps is it. These long standing members of the Irish rock scene created a stunningly passionate affair with this '04 release. The songs within are rife with anger and longing, hope and despair. It's a moody album but still manages to welcome the listener into a series of intensely personal failures and regrets.
I imagine that there is some snarky girl out there that decimated the heart of lead singer Glen Hansard and she shows off this album as a sort of trophy..."yup, that song is totally about me." She brags to her equally snarky cohorts while sipping house wine. But I also imagine her boastful little smile disappearing rather quickly when Glen became an Academy Award winner (along with co-star Markéta Irglová) for Best Original Song for the film Once in which he also starred. Check mate snarky bitches.

...enjoy...

Ridiculously awesome BONUS VIDEO!

Everything All The Time

You probably already have this album, but I just can't risk it...

2006's Everything all the Time (Sub Pop) is the debut for Seattle's Band of Horses and quite the stunner of a debut it was. Ethereal yet accessibly pop-friendly, this indie-rock/ folk influenced album is as complete a debut as you may ever hear. Comprised of equal parts melancholy and hope, it plays like a college radio friendly Neil Young if he were more interested in having the pretty indie chicks in the crowd dance and sway about instead of worrying about Cortes and the fate of the Mayans. Everything ... is a lush and accessible album with a wide range of emotional experiences and if you play it in the car while driving to work you may just forget about how much of a fraud your life has become. At least for a little while anyway.

...enjoy...

Sad Songs For Dirty Lovers

In honor of The National's latest release, High Violet, I present to you Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers - their second full length.

Released in 2003 it would bring the band to a slightly wider audience and was their first effort with Connecticut's Peter Katis at the production helm. Throughout, one can hear The National's trademark somber rock sound taking shape. Matt Berninger's baritone is clearly evident, but he still seems to be finding his way with his voice and his disarmingly personal narratives to what we have come to know from albums such as Alligator, The Boxer and now High Violet. There are even a few moments which seem decidedly un-National like (see "Available" with its' up tempo structure and screaming). At times Sad Songs... sounds more like a 90's era alt-rock album and less 2000's indie fave. As Sad Songs... unfolds you can almost hear The National growing into their skin and finding their distinct voice as musicians and songwriters. Now, get downloading fool.

...enjoy...

Indie Rock Week

So good friends, we're going to approach this week from a decidedly indie-rock angle. This may anger some of you, this may please some of you... but I will defer to the great President Abraham Lincoln who wisely stated, "You can please some of the people all of the time, you can please all of the people some of the time, but who cares either way, cause most people are douches." Wiser words were never spoken.

First post tomorrow @ 6:01 AM. Be there, or be shot in the head at close range.

Soft & Stronger

Die Apokalyptischen Reiter unleashed their debut album Soft and Stronger in 1997. These guys, and this album in particular, were so fucking awesome that they named the album after the Kleenex tissue slogan and it doesn't even matter. In fact, it actually makes this album even awesomerer. And I don't particularly care if I just made that word up, this album is so sick that it imbues such literary authority upon all who listen.

In their early days, these whacked out Germans were creating albums of explosive and unpredictable heavy metal glory. I unfortunately have to stress the word were. A few albums ago they began to water down their once awe inspiring high energy insanity in favor of more pop-friendly melodies and general limp-wristedness. Their latest album imbues me with the literary authority to insult them in such a manner.

But let us not become distracted from the absolutely ripping heavy metal glory that is Soft and Stronger. Death, thrash, folk and pure heavy... almost all the metal fiefdoms are represented on this bizarre and infectious album. This is the kind of album that will inspire you to fire up the old crack pipe and go for a fun filled drive through a Little League field during the fourth inning. It is DY-NO-MITE.

...enjoy...

PS: this is the re-released edition with some bonus tracks.YAY!

Le Secret

So... once upon a time, not so long ago, one misanthropic Frenchman soul (Neige) recruited two other misanthropic Frenchmen souls (Argoth & Aegnor) to help him with his then one man black metal project called ALCEST. They created some music, of the blackened variety, then opted to part ways (as misanthropic types are apt to due). So, poor Neige was alone again when he decided that perhaps he wasn't so misanthropic after all, in fact perhaps he wasn't so black metal after all either... maybe he would rather create music more in line with the English shogaze movement. I mean, yeah, sure, of course there will still be black metal influence... but shit, maybe he would rather sing about the magical fairy-land he would dream of as a child instead of all that misanthropic nonsense. And so, he did. This 2005 two song EP is the result of his realizations and it is pretty wonderful.

Alcest just completed their first ever US tour a few months ago, and like a DICK, I was unable to attend.

...enjoy...

Unplugged In Lisbon

Something a little different for you on this Monday.

Some time ago I came across this unique bootleg. It's probably from Moonspell's Sin/Pecado era, which saw the band wandering into more experimental directions and straying away from their gothic/metal roots. For a bootleg, this is pretty damn high quality and really showcases the versatility of this all too unappreciated band. This pseudo album has many classic Moonspell tracks, including one of their finest songs "The Hanged Man," all reworked into acoustic offerings. There's even a cover of Depeche Mode's "Sacred" for ya.

I've always felt that Moonspell has existed between two worlds, not "heavy" enough for scene purists (AKA Dicks) and just too much too handle for the more goth/rock friendly audiences (AKA Pussies).

...enjoy...