XASTHUR Nocturnal Poisoning (Blood Fire Death) cd 11.98
Xasthur is a one-man, home-recorded black metal outfit delving into the distortion-washed realm of Burzumic bliss, and is a favorite of both tUMULt's black metal master Leviathan *and* the Jewelled Antler/Thuja crew, so you know it's beautifully primitive and droney stuff, with majesty undying. The music is all shades of grey, like the packaging, with strains of melody obscured in mists of mostly mid-tempo metallic mayhem a la ancients like Darkthrone and Burzum, achieving, even at speed, a trance-inducing dirge quality. It's truly "A Walk Beyond Utter Blackness" in the "Forgotten Depths Of Nowhere", as per two of the song titles. If you like cultish black metal that verges on experimental drone (or vice versa), Xasthur should please you greatly, and offers more proof (along with Weakling and the aforementioned Leviathan) that even "sunny" California can produce black metal to rival that from Nordic climes. From the same label that just brought us that Lugubrum "De Totem" reissue we recommended recently, this has been a sleeper hit here at the store, and we're happy now to have enough in stock to give it a listing.
The guy behind Xasthur goes by the name Malefic, which leads to a little Andy Rooney question I've got: why do folks need to make up two names when one would do? why not call your band (ahem) Malefic? Although, his contact address is c/o "Scott" so we can see the need for at least one pseudonym in order to maintain the aura of grim darkness that his music deserves.
MPEG Stream: "Soul Abduction Ceremony"
MPEG Stream: "A Walk Beyond Utter Blackness"

ASANO, KOJI January Rainbow (Solstice) cd 14.98
Koji Asano, the AQ-beloved Barcelona-based Japanese sound artist, is back at last with a new cd (the twenty-seventh release on his own label Solstice). This new one, "January Rainbow", consists of a 64 minute long track that successfully combines two of our favorite Koji Asano compositional styles: his abstract but lovely piano improv, and electro-acoustic noise-drone! Asano's flowing piano explorations of almost romantic, fractured melodies are heard through a more-than-ambient fluctuating field of thick static, hum, and crackle. If you play this at a low volume, it's like listening to a mellow and pretty avantgarde piano recital over a messed-up shortwave radio signal. But turn it up, and the physical presence of the rumbling electronic noise really takes over! Your choice, both are nice. Those familar with Koji's back catalog need only imagine a DJ mix of his solo piano discs "You Can't Open The Door Because It's Already Open" or "Monsoon" (which already had their a background-ambient-noise element to 'em) with one of his noise-drone oriented discs like "Momentum" or "The Last Shade of Evening Falls". A truly mesmerizing, beautiful balance of melody and drone is the result. So, not only are we glad to hear from Koji again, but we think this is one of our favorite entries in his vast catalog so far!
RealAudio clip: "January Rainbow (excerpt)"

UGLY THINGS Issue #20 magazine 6.95
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
"Wild Sounds From Past Dimensions", indeed -- this thick tome (192 pages) of a magazine covers in great depth all sorts of psych, garage, proto-punk, etc. rock n' roll from decades past. Definitely one of our favorite magazines! Whether you're familiar with the subjects or not, their features, full of information and anecdotes, are always fascinating. This time, attention is paid to The Yardbirds, Love, Eater, Public Nuisance, The Treniers, The Misunderstood, and many more. Plus, "Food and Wine" editor Johan Kugelberg offers part 2 of his DIY 7" overview and, in the print reviews section, is sure to rile some tempers with his delightfully brutal rip on Sonic Youth and Steve Albini (in his review of Michael Azerrad's Our Band Could Be Your Life). Oh yeah, record reviews, there's lots of those too. A solid week's worth of reading there, I'd think. Mike Fornatale's reviews deserve special mention: #1 he's hilarious, #2 he makes you want to jump up and slap on whatever record he's writing about, his enthusiasm is so infectious. Kudos to editor/publisher Mike Stax and co. for once again demonstrating how good a music 'zine can be.

SPRING HEEL JACK Amassed (Thirsty Ear) cd 16.98
A follow up to last year's successful "Masses" cd, on which UK electronica duo Spring Heel Jack edited and manipulated the raw improvisations of a host of Downtown NYC (and beyond) jazz musicians, in what was one of the the best and most original entries yet in Thirsty Ear's pretty great "Blue Series" of happenin' now jazz. Like that disc, this one also fortunately eschews the obvious "let's add some techno beats to this trumpet solo" kind of thing you might expect from an electronica remix project, and really approaches the music from within, SHJ using their computers carefully to meld disparate performances together into something that definitely remains jazz -- but with an undercurrent of glitchy crackle and drone. It's kind of like a free jazz version of Radian or Pluramon (to cite two computer-aided post-rock/electronica projects, both faves around here). The SHJ fellows are really listening and reacting, like improvisors do, and there are some great musicians on here for them (and us) to listen to. There's two returnees from the "Masses" line-up: legendary British saxophonist Evan Parker and Blue Series curator Matthew Shipp (on Fender Rhodes). And then there's also the likes of trombonist Paul Rutherford, drummer Han Bennink, violinist Ed Coxon, bassist George Trebar, trumpter Kenny Wheeler, bassist John Edwards, and, the oddball in the bunch, guitarist Jason Pierce of Spiritualized fame (who must be responsible for the distorted guitar noise found on "Maroc" and elsewhere).
With that kind of talent on hand, SHJ had a lot to work with, and they did a great job, creating layered compositions that retain the players' voices even as they are juxataposed into unimagined new situations. The results are moody, melodic but abstract, rarely (but sometimes) abrasive, nicely noir-ish...android jazz for some Blade Runner coctail bar. Dark, dense, lovely.
Jazz purists might scoff, but actually we'd rather listen to this than a lot of straight improv stuff done by the above musicians -- the combination of the instrumentalists' unfettered expression and SHJ's editing and structuring (and sonic additions) really works well here. Recommended.
RealAudio clip: "Amassed"
RealAudio clip: "Maroc"
RealAudio clip: "Obscured"

BURNING BRIDES Fall Of The Plastic Empire (V2) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Can we interest you in a heavy, garagey pop rock record, with a dark side? Kinda like Nirvana circa "Bleach"? Hmm? Well, if you're an avid reader of our lists/website, you might recall that we already gave a pretty rave review to a cd by Philadelphia garage rock band the Burning Brides back on list #112. Well, this new V2 release is actually that same album, just repackaged (with new art) and reissued by their new (way bigger) label, V2. (Weirdly, no mention of its original release on File 13 is made in any of the press material we've seen, though they do get thanked in the cd liner notes.) Anyway, we're glad it's come out again, 'cause although we said it was great last time, we didn't quite realize just HOW great. It ended up making several of our year end top ten lists, and now we're really happy to have get to gush about it again, making it a "Record of the Week" this time around, no less! Hopefully ours won't be the only hype this band will generate -- obviously V2 is banking on that, 'cause with the big MTV-approved Hives/White Stripes/Strokes/Vines garage rock bust-out phenomenon of 2001-2002, they must be figuring that Burning Brides could get a slice of that pie. And, darn it, they deserve it! This record *kicks ass* all over the Hives and the Vines (and, we like those bands!), seriously. And it didn't need the $100,000 production job the Vines got, either. No, this is real garage rock, originally released on a true indie label, as we said. Our previous review of this called it "gritty and unkempt garage/sludge" and made a lot out of its sonic similarities to the Stooges. Drunken swagger and snotty attitude, all that good stuff. We did mention Nirvana, Sabbath, and the Beatles, but maybe overdid the Stooges angle. Now we'd say: if you like any of that new-school garage stuff, you've gotta check this out. It's noisy and raw and rockin', but also melodic and atmospheric. Catchy as hell, groovy yet pyschedelically droney, complete with handclaps, wah wah guitar solos, instrumental break downs, some metallic riffing, and, most importantly, a whole bunch of great stick-in-your-head choruses. There's not a weak song in the bunch -- they all rock. So if you missed out the first time, you've now been given another chance to get with the Burning Brides program! Such a good record. (And we only hope that for those of us who already got this last year, that the Brides might have a NEW new record in the pipeline too...)
RealAudio clip: "Plank Of Fire"
RealAudio clip: "If I'm A Man"
RealAudio clip: "Arctic Snow"
RealAudio clip: "Stabbed In The Back Of The Heart"

GONE Gone II, But Never Too Gone (SST) cd 15.98

GONE s/t (SST) cd 15.98

ASANO, KOJI Gravity (Solstice) cd 14.98
One of Koji's first releases, with his group Gravity: an instrumental, guitar-keys-drums avant-rock band! Hard to describe, improv-meets-surf-meets-metal-meets-prog music, quite different from much of his vast catalog, but nonetheless one of Allan's faves.

ASANO, KOJI Solstice (Solstice) cd 16.98
Album number 1 in Koji's catalog. One of our all-time favorites of his. It's eclectic and noisy, with one part that sounds like a sampled ping-pong game.

ASANO, KOJI You Cannot Open The Door Because It Is Already Open (Solstice) cd 14.98
So lovely. Another AQ-fave by this AQ-fave Japanese composer. "You Cannot Open The Door Because It Is Already Open" is moody, abstract piano improv, recorded in an abandoned Russian castle, which provides the mysterious background ambiance.

TREES On The Shore (Columbia) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
1970, England. Imagine a rock band that's equally into the sort of psychedelic electric guitar excursions you'd have heard back then wafting from London's hippy ballrooms, as well as ballads and jigs derived from British folk song tradition. With lovely, pure, delicately bird-like female vocals a la Anne Briggs and Sandy Denny... Yes, Trees were quite a bit like Fairport Convention, but rather more obscure. And now, at long last, we've managed to get a hold of these UK import-only cd reissues of their two albums. Gorgeous stuff indeed, utterly magical, definitely for fans of early Fairport, Shirley Collins, Pentangle, and the whole Brit-folk-rock thing.
Both of Trees' records ("The Garden of Jane Delawney" and "On The Shore") are from 1970 and come equally recommended (they may as well be two volumes of the same album). Both of 'em feature the vocals of Celia Humphris, along with both traditional acoustic instruments (dulcimer, mandolin) and electric guitars, and blend original songs and adaptations of traditional folk material.
"The Garden..." boasts a rather strange cover painting, and Windy's favorite Trees track, "Nothing Special", whose sublimely pretty guitar strumming prefigured a whole movement of jangle pop bands (e.g. REM). Of their two albums perhaps *slightly* the more rock-based and produced, "On The Shore" features the song "Sally Free And Easy" which in recent years, you may recall, was covered by Flying Saucer Attack on a Drag City ep of that title, and also comes with lengthy liner notes telling the story of the band.
RealAudio clip: "Murdoch"
RealAudio clip: "Streets Of Derry"

WOVEN HAND s/t (Soundsfamilyre) cd 14.98
Now available domestically, at a slightly lower price and on a slightly more 'God-fearing' label, the Danielson Familie's Soundsfamilyre label.
Here's what we said about the import:
I hate to gush, but gush I must. This is my (Andee's) RECORD OF THE YEAR. Done deal. It doesn't matter what happens for the rest of the year. Kurt Kobain could come back from the grave and record a new Nirvana record. Laddio Bollocko could get back together. Earth reunion. It doesn't matter. This is it. THE ONE. It's magical, dark, mysterious, sinister, gorgeous and moves me like very few records do. But I digress.
Woven Hand is David Eugene Edwards from Sixteen Horsepower's solo project. If you're anything like me, you're always wondering why people have solo projects that sound just like their 'actual' band, and often not nearly as good. But fear not. While Edwards' Woven Hand is similar in many ways to 16HP, it takes things in a direction even darker, dreamier, creepier, and more religious (more on that later) ending up sounding EVEN BETTER than 16HP. Hard to believe, especially if you loved 16HP's 'Folklore' that we made record of the week a few weeks back as much as we did! Woven Hand is like a Cormac McCarthy novel put to music. "Blood Meridian" arranged for rock band. "All The Pretty Horses" sung by wandering minstrels. Desolate and dreary, violent and cathartic, but not obviously so, more like a creeping seeping sickness, death and destruction and human sin as it swallows souls and destroys lives. The instrumentation is similar to 16HP, a dark and dreamy gypsy swamp-folk, but more lush, with thicker, richer atmospheres, and murky, almost impenetrable instrumental backdrops, underpinning Edwards' tales of redemption and forgiveness, sorrow and apocalypse. The lyrics are way more blatantly religious, biblically themed, and aimed at touching our souls. Which for some reason doesn't bother me as much as you think it would. The words are poetic and symbolic, simple and timeless, just beautiful stories and poems, like much of the Bible. Removed from the Christian tradition (thousands of years of hypocrisy and murder and keeping people from thinking for themselves), Edwards' biblical testifying almost has me bowing prostrate hoping to appease a stern but ultimately forgiving God. It helps that Edwards delivers these parables in a rich, throaty rasp, a gorgeous gruff tenor, like a mix of Mark Lanegan, Chris Grigoroff (Souled American) and Nick Cave, that sounds like it has the power to make men sob and women swoon. It all comes together, sound and fury, voice and instrument, in a rich tapestry of fear and hope and death and the cycle of life and desperate dreams of an afterlife. It's rare to really hear music so powerful and so evocative that it manages to become more than just 'rock music' or 'that pretty cool band.' This record brings me to the verge of tears, makes me shiver...I feel it in my brain and in my heart and in my soul. Seriously. This is what music should be to me. Intense and emotional and heartfelt and brutally powerful. There's a creepy crawly version of Bill Withers' 'Ain't No Sunshine' that manages to be even better than the original, due in no small part to the dark, funereal treatment it gets from Woven Hand, that under the right circumstances (or wrong circumstances) could crush me into a weeping, sobbing heap, with my heart broken into a thousand pieces. I wish all music could do that...
RealAudio clip: "The Good Hand"
RealAudio clip: "My Russia"
RealAudio clip: "Blue Pail Fever"
RealAudio clip: "Ain't No Sunshine"

AUFGEHOBEN NO PROCESS VS. GARY SMITH Magnetic Mountain (Junior Meat Recordings) cd 14.98
Whoa... This, the second album from mysterious Brighton UK outfit Aufgehoben No Process, is some serious, distorted, noise-rock mayhem. And LOUD.
Led by Wire scribe Stephen Robinson, and consisting of one, maybe two drummers plus sampler and other indisclosed instrumentation, the Aufgehoben boys (apologies if there's girls in the band, but I'd be surprised, this has a very definite male energy!) are teamed here with (against?) improvising "stereo guitarist" Gary Smith (whom you might know from his heavy "fusion" bands Mass and Powerfield, and most recently the Glass Cage match-up with Hugh Hopper and Shoji Hano, along with other solo and collaborative efforts) for thirteen tracks of high-density heaviness. They indeed scale "magnetic mountains" of riff and noise, venturing also into a few moody valleys of equally-distorted, but quieter, improv fuckery. Mostly, though, this is fully in-the-red sonic assault of utter devastation, full of martial drum pummel, Smith's swooping stereo guitar skree, and beyond-metal instrumental intensity, the likes of which the UK hasn't heard since the glory days of early Skullflower or Kevin Martin's God (and without God's dumb vocals) -- and even then this is taking it up a notch. Heck, even the scariest grindcore metal bands from the early Earache label roster would be sent crying home to Satan upon hearing this. Along with the old Pathological bands like God and 16/17, you could compare this to the best of the current Japanese scene -- imagine the noisiest Japanese psychrockers (Mainliner, Musica Transonic, High Rise, Boris) with a healthy dose of Merzbow added in! So it makes a lot of sense that Aufgehoben No Process enlisted Gary Smith, 'cause he's previously played with High Rise's Nanjo Ashahito, and the rhythm section of his band Mass are former members of God, as well. But this Aufgehoben disc is even louder and noisier than any of that, they're kinda of the Anaal Nathrakh of improv noise rock! We were very impressed, and glad we managed to track some of these down for the store (we'll get their first cd in eventually too).
RealAudio clip: "Gourdportalplaning"
RealAudio clip: "Grosse Module"
RealAudio clip: "Magnetic Mountain "

SKEPTICISM Stormcrowfleet (Red Stream) cd 12.98
Here's one of those crucial, seminal recordings that somehow (probably 'cause we were much less thorough about these things at the time of its release) never made it into our on-line catalog. Yet we often make reference to it, and have recommended other, subsequent albums by the band, including the recently-released "The Process Of Farmakon" cdep reviewed on list #142.
Happily, Red Stream has just reissued this album, the debut from Finnish doom-lords Skepticism, after some time out of print, and we now have a chance to list it for the first time! Originally issued in 1995, this 2002 version has been (slightly) redesigned graphics-wise but contains the same immense sonic slabs of funereal doom-trudge metal that so awed us seven years back. We hail this album as the ultimate "black-metal-meets-Labradford" (or Low) listening experience. Totally morose, depressive, atmospheric ambience in heavy dirge death metal mode, with melodies to crush your soul. Medieval organ-like keyboards give this a grim, churchly air, and of course it sounds like it was recorded with the microphones quite distant from the instruments/amps, possibly in a nearby forest.
If like other Skepticism albums and/or are a fan of the likes of Esoteric, Thergothon, Shape Of Despair, Corrupted, Evoken, Burzum's "Filosofem", and other sad and gloomy things, you MUST OWN THIS. 'Nuff said.
RealAudio clip: "Sign Of A Storm"
RealAudio clip: "By Silent Wings"

GRAVELAND Memory And Destiny (No Colours) cd 16.98
Not sure what to say about this other than BUY IT NOW... it's one of those black metal records that we'd recommend even to normally-non-black-metal music purchasers, if you're into checking out something weird, a metal record with layers of droning guitar texture and shifting tempos, speeding up then slowing down, creating an almost avant-garde metal psychedelia. For the metal fans, we'll provide some further elucidation... There's a definite black metal elite that everyone is familiar with: Burzum, Satyricon, Burzum, Emperor, Mayhem, Darkthrone, Ulver and all those folks. But there is also a more underground elite, even more grim and frosty and brutal and buzzing. Think Judas Iscariot, Nargaroth, Veles, Moonblood, Carpathian Forest and of course the mighty Graveland. This is not really all that new, but since we were finally able to get enough to list (and because there is a new Graveland on the horizon) we figured we should get this one listed cause it's so completely amazing. So, now that most of the underground is dead, and Burzum has become a Nazi Peter And The Wolf, and Darkthone is getting thrashier and sillier, and Satyricon is pretty much techno, it's basically left to the dynamic duo of Poland's Graveland and Germany's Nargaroth to keep the real blackened flame burning. While Nargaroth blaze and buzz, and spit blurry buzzsaw black metal in furious spurts, Graveland sort of stumble and careen chaotically, never really moving much faster than a midtempo gallop, with drumming that struggles and flails under sheets of corrosive fuzz. That's exactly where Graveland shines, they're not fast but rather thick and layered, they're not technical, rather droning and simple, very reminiscent of prime Burzum. Soaring majestic melodies drone beneath ambling blackened waltzes, buried beneath layers and layers of blackened grimness, or grim blackness, or whatever it is that gives Memory And Destiny such a suffocatingly dense sound. Anyone who digs the divine darkness of all the above mentioned bands should bow down before Graveland and let the droning dirge of Memory And Destiny envelop your soul and crush your body into dust.
RealAudio clip: "Fate Of Warrior"
RealAudio clip: "Jewel Of Atlanteans"

TRANS AM Extremixxx (Thrill Jockey) cd ep 10.98
Remixes by Dan The Automator, Prefuse 73, John Herndon (Tortoise), Dabrye, and Jonathan K (Trans Am's sound guy). Three songs off of Trans Am's last studio album, TA, get the treatment ("Cold War", "Infinite Wavelength", and "Different Kind of Love") from these five remixers. That means, in the case of Herdon and Jonathan K's "Cold War" and Dan the Automator and Prefuse 73's "Different Kind of Love", you can compare and contrast the different styles of remix, from dark electro to party-hardy hiphop.

TODAY IS THE DAY Sadness Will Prevail (Relapse) 2cd 16.98
Praise be! Steve Austin and co. are back, delivering another dose of their unique brand of Satanic math-metallic noise. Sprawling over two discs (labelled X and Y), these tracks are less like songs proper than sonic symptoms of Today Is The Day's aesthetic and philosophical ideas -- and, especially, their darkest emotions.
With wretched rasping vokills, crushing doom riffs, maniac outbursts, and scary, atmospheric sample-littered soundscapes (normally we frown on samples we can recognize, but it *was* neat to hear the bit from Coven, y'know, from American Movie), Today Is The Day convey some dark feelings indeed. The metal parts are quite devastating, but it's perhaps the moodier elements that make this album so striking and creepy. Bass rumble and glitchy electronic synth noise are paired with sad piano tinklings, acoustic guitars are strummed in a backwoods night-time ritual, and there's even some honest-to-god melodic singing (as on the deathly-piano-ballad "Death Requiem" or the great Alice Cooper/Devil Doll styled track "Invincible", reprised from TITD's split cd with 16).
Several of us here at AQ have been TITD fans for a long time, all the way back to their sadly out-of-print "Supernova" debut on the Amphetamine Reptile label. Their rebirth on Relapse (three albums ago) moved them in a decidedly heavier, brutal direction, but, as made plain on "Sadness Will Prevail", their experimental, artistic impulses remain strong.
In some ways, the closest thing we can compare this to is the mighty Oxbow, colliding with the likes of Coalesce and Old Man Gloom perhaps. Easily a contender for "metal" (but not at all entirely metal) record of the year. There's certainly a lot here to like. Some of the production is more lo-fi than we'd expect from Mr. Austin (a well-known producer outside of this TITD career) but still manages to dangle us dangerously at the gaping mouth of hell! And wait for the hidden track at the end of disc two, wherein Austin fucks with some brutal black metal, which just happens to be from the upcoming Leviathan album on Andee's tUMULt label!
RealAudio clip: "Crooked"
RealAudio clip: "Distortion Of Nature"
RealAudio clip: "The Descent"
RealAudio clip: "Death Requiem"
RealAudio clip: "Spaceship"
RealAudio clip: "Flowers Made of Flesh"
RealAudio clip: "Sadness Will Prevail Theme"

OSANNA L'Uomo (Warner Fonit) cd 23.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Ok, here they are, the first and best three albums (reissued on cd) by "possibly Allan and Andee's all time favorite prog band" Osanna, as we boldly declared in our review of another Italian prog rock fave, Il Balleto Di Bronzo. Yep, we've got the Osanna discs now, so you can judge for yourself. Even limiting our discussion to the realm of Italian prog, it would be difficult to claim that Osanna are objectively better than the also amazing likes of Il Balleto, Le Orme, Area, New Trolls, Franco Battiato, Goblin, I Teoremi, RDM, Museo Rosenbach, etc. But, Osanna do somehow combine the key elements of what we like about those bands and prog in general into these three crazy, colorful records, and thus deserve our hype. Ripping flute and sax solos, heavy psych guitar, powerful vocal choruses, hard rockin' prog drumming, weird musical changes and juxtapositions, electronic synth experimentation... Catchy, fun, fucked up prog from five nutty Italians, who want to rock out as much as be arty and display their adept musicanship.
The wonders of Italian prog have been revealed to us in a gradual process of discovery -- finding a used cd with a cool cover, or reading somwhere about another strange band, or getting a recommendation from a friend or customer. Neither of us grew up in Italy, or had a geeky older brother to hand down his PFM and Goblin LPs. In the case of Osanna, Andee's the one who came across 'em first, while travelling in Japan, actually. Rather randomly, the guy from the Boredoms-meets-St. Vitus doom/trance band Solar Anus (soon to have a mindblowing tUMULt label release) gave Andee a tape of Osanna to take home, promising him he'd like it. Well, Solar Anus dude knew whereof he spoke! Soon we were on-line, trying to track down the LPs, or cd reissues. Not long thereafter, Andee and Allan both possessed the complete works of Osanna on cd. But it took more than a few months for us to find a wholesale supplier so we could stock 'em at Aquarius and share our Osanna-excitement with you, our prog-lovin' customers... Actually we hope that self-proclaimed "prog" dedication is not necessary for enjoyment of Osanna, as we think that these discs are good and weird and silly enough for AQ-customers into whatever sort of musical extremity (experimental, krautrock, psych, metal, classic rock) to dig.
Osanna's 1971 debut "L'Uomo" may be the most song-oriented of these three albums, their Crimson and Tull influences easy to spot. They sound a bit like a proggier, Italian version of Mexican contemporaries Dug Dugs, if that's of any help -- equally into weird psychedelic effects, hard rock, and pop. A couple of the poppier songs are sung in English, and those might result in a few uncomfortable moments of "what am I listening to here?" panic. But the sheer exuberance and fuzzed out riffing of "L'Uomo" as a whole can't be argued with!
RealAudio clip: "Mirror Train"
RealAudio clip: "Non Sei Vissuto Mai"

OSANNA Milano Calibro 9 (Warner Fonit) cd 23.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Ok, here they are, the first and best three albums (reissued on cd) by "possibly Allan and Andee's all time favorite prog band" Osanna, as we boldly declared in our review of another Italian prog rock fave, Il Balleto Di Bronzo. Yep, we've got the Osanna discs now, so you can judge for yourself. Even limiting our discussion to the realm of Italian prog, it would be difficult to claim that Osanna are objectively better than the also amazing likes of Il Balleto, Le Orme, Area, New Trolls, Franco Battiato, Goblin, I Teoremi, RDM, Museo Rosenbach, etc. But, Osanna do somehow combine the key elements of what we like about those bands and prog in general into these three crazy, colorful records, and thus deserve our hype. Ripping flute and sax solos, heavy psych guitar, powerful vocal choruses, hard rockin' prog drumming, weird musical changes and juxtapositions, electronic synth experimentation... Catchy, fun, fucked up prog from five nutty Italians, who want to rock out as much as be arty and display their adept musicanship.
The wonders of Italian prog have been revealed to us in a gradual process of discovery -- finding a used cd with a cool cover, or reading somwhere about another strange band, or getting a recommendation from a friend or customer. Neither of us grew up in Italy, or had a geeky older brother to hand down his PFM and Goblin LPs. In the case of Osanna, Andee's the one who came across 'em first, while travelling in Japan, actually. Rather randomly, the guy from the Boredoms-meets-St. Vitus doom/trance band Solar Anus (soon to have a mindblowing tUMULt label release) gave Andee a tape of Osanna to take home, promising him he'd like it. Well, Solar Anus dude knew whereof he spoke! Soon we were on-line, trying to track down the LPs, or cd reissues. Not long thereafter, Andee and Allan both possessed the complete works of Osanna on cd. But it took more than a few months for us to find a wholesale supplier so we could stock 'em at Aquarius and share our Osanna-excitement with you, our prog-lovin' customers... Actually we hope that self-proclaimed "prog" dedication is not necessary for enjoyment of Osanna, as we think that these discs are good and weird and silly enough for AQ-customers into whatever sort of musical extremity (experimental, krautrock, psych, metal, classic rock) to dig.
1972's Osanna album, their second, was a soundtrack to a film called "Milano Calibro 9". Working in collaboration with arranger Luis Bacalov, who is also known for his work with the New Trolls' symphonic efforts, this album incorporates strings, piano, and classical motifs. And, as befits a film soundtrack, many moods are touched upon... We don't know what the movie was all about, but it must have featured a fair amount of action, and trippy scenes. Osanna come up with super bombastic themes, high-energy instrumental freak-outs, suspenseful bits of jazziness, pretty vocal interludes, bleepy-bloopy synth fx, heavy electronic organ riff-drone, and the most heavy metal flute soloing you've ever heard. Totally kick ass. Osanna, you rock. Goblin was never this heavy.
RealAudio clip: "Preludio"
RealAudio clip: "Tema"

OSANNA Palepoli (Warner Fonit) cd 22.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Ok, here they are, the first and best three albums (reissued on cd) by "possibly Allan and Andee's all time favorite prog band" Osanna, as we boldly declared in our review of another Italian prog rock fave, Il Balleto Di Bronzo. Yep, we've got the Osanna discs now, so you can judge for yourself. Even limiting our discussion to the realm of Italian prog, it would be difficult to claim that Osanna are objectively better than the also amazing likes of Il Balleto, Le Orme, Area, New Trolls, Franco Battiato, Goblin, I Teoremi, RDM, Museo Rosenbach, etc. But, Osanna do somehow combine the key elements of what we like about those bands and prog in general into these three crazy, colorful records, and thus deserve our hype. Ripping flute and sax solos, heavy psych guitar, powerful vocal choruses, hard rockin' prog drumming, weird musical changes and juxtapositions, electronic synth experimentation... Catchy, fun, fucked up prog from five nutty Italians, who want to rock out as much as be arty and display their adept musicanship.
The wonders of Italian prog have been revealed to us in a gradual process of discovery -- finding a used cd with a cool cover, or reading somwhere about another strange band, or getting a recommendation from a friend or customer. Neither of us grew up in Italy, or had a geeky older brother to hand down his PFM and Goblin LPs. In the case of Osanna, Andee's the one who came across 'em first, while travelling in Japan, actually. Rather randomly, the guy from the Boredoms-meets-St. Vitus doom/trance band Solar Anus (soon to have a mindblowing tUMULt label release) gave Andee a tape of Osanna to take home, promising him he'd like it. Well, Solar Anus dude knew whereof he spoke! Soon we were on-line, trying to track down the LPs, or cd reissues. Not long thereafter, Andee and Allan both possessed the complete works of Osanna on cd. But it took more than a few months for us to find a wholesale supplier so we could stock 'em at Aquarius and share our Osanna-excitement with you, our prog-lovin' customers... Actually we hope that self-proclaimed "prog" dedication is not necessary for enjoyment of Osanna, as we think that these discs are good and weird and silly enough for AQ-customers into whatever sort of musical extremity (experimental, krautrock, psych, metal, classic rock) to dig.
"Palepoli" was Osanna's third album, originally released in 1973. Getting even proggier perhaps, the record consists of but three tracks: two long (18 and 21 minute) tracks divided by a brief, under 2 minute interlude. These extended suites blenderize all previous elements of Osanna's music, both light and heavy. Grandiose pop collides with mathy instrumental interplay, gentle, ethnic flavored passages of voice and flute suddenly give way to bombastic guitar and sax attacks, drums n' bass gallops are interrupted by electronic squiggles. Some field recordings of street sounds even make it into the mix. We, the goofy, cheesy, '70s prog fiends we are, like each part individually, the crazy combination of musical moods is but a bonus, as with their other albums as well...
RealAudio clip: "Oro Caldo"
RealAudio clip: "Animale Senza Respiro"

IL BALLETTO DI BRONZO Ys (Polydor, Italy) cd 15.98
Every now and then we like to spring some crazy '70s Italian prog on y'all just to see who can take it. We're not just talking Goblin (though we love Goblin), or any of the more "mainstream" Italian prog acts of the period (PFM, Le Orme, Banco), who were cool but didn't go far beyond the Yes/Genesis/King Crimson template. We're talking weirder stuff like Museo Rosenbach, New Trolls, Osage Tribe, I Teoremi, and Area. We hope to soon have some copies of the cds by an amazing band called Osanna (possibly Allan and Andee's all time favorite prog band!!) but while we wait for those, we did manage to bring in a few of this, the 2nd album by another fave Italian group of ours called Il Balletto Di Bronzo. Sure, their nutzoid sci-fi keyboard attack will bring to mind ELP, but you'll also think of Magma (and their descendants Shub-Niggurath and Koenjihyakkei as well). Complex, powerful, heavy, precise yet darkly psychedelic, Ys (from 1972) is one of those timeless pieces of rock n' roll art that's definitely very '70s yet not entirely dated: you could imagine a Laddio Bollocko or Tarantula Hawk kicking out these jams, that is, except for the occasional operatic vocal chorus. This album's five long songs (plus a bonus track), with their acid guitar action, haunting female vocals, droning keyboards, martial drumming, baroque/classical motifs, and weird changes, are just about as good as over-the-top Italian prog can get, and that's pretty damn good. That is, if you are willing to get into it like we are. A top ten prog album (if Aquarius had a prog top ten, and please don't ask us for one, we'll be arguing for weeks).
RealAudio clip: "Introduzione (excerpt 1)"
RealAudio clip: "Introduzione (excerpt 2)"
RealAudio clip: "Primo Incontro"
RealAudio clip: "Epilogo"

BLACK SABBATH Past Lives (Sanctuary / Divine Recordings) 2cd 21.00
Forget about the Ozzfest reunion tours, this is live Black Sabbath (the BEST BAND EVER, sez Allan) from their '70s heyday, with the original, Ozzy-fronted line-up. Two discs worth of the heaviest of metal from the originators of the form. Super-exciting but for one thing: many Sabbath fans probably already have disc one, formerly known as the "Live At Last" album (recorded in 1973, released in 1980 against the band's wishes at the time -- 'cause they'd fired Ozzy and Ronnie James Dio was now their singer. Now, of course, they've got no problem with it). Still, one whole disc of previously (officially) unreleased live Sabbath is worth more than the 24 bucks this is going to cost you. And it comes with (while supplies of this handsome limited edition digipack version last) a poster and guitar pick, plus three bonus tracks too that aren't on the regular jewelcase edition.
Here's the track listing:
(Disc One) Tomorrow's Dream, Sweet Leaf, Killing Yourself To Live, Cornucopia, Snowblind, Children of the Grave, War Pigs, Wicked World, Paranoid, (Disc Two) Hand of Doom, Hole in the Sky*, Symptom of the Universe, Megalomania*, Iron Man*, Black Sabbath, N.I.B., Behind the Wall, Fairies Wear Boots. (Asterisks indicate bonus tracks only on this digipak verison.)
As a live band, Black Sabbath kill -- absolutely charismatic, energetic, and creative. And of course, HEAVY. Plus, you get to enjoy Ozzy's stage banter ("Are you high? Are you high? So am I!"), and variant, improvised lyrics/solos. In the middle of "Wicked World" on disc one, Tony Iommi gets a melodic, medieval solo, then they go into a jazz break, then jam on a whole 'nother riff, with Ozzy making up lyrics, that could have been a great song but never made it into the studio in this form, and then charge into "Supernaut", followed by a Bill Ward drum showcase, then back to "Wicked World"...
So, "Past Lives" is pretty incredible, from a musical standpoint. Of course, they could have included a lot more -- there's lots of pics from Sabbath's appearance at 1974's California Jam but as far as I can tell, no tracks from it. And where's "Blue Suede Shoes"??
Further complaints: although there's plenty of cool old pics of the Ozzy and the boys, and it's a nicely designed package, they should have gotten a Sabbath fan to proofread the liner notes (their third album is Master of Reality, not Masters of Reality, for instance -- and I think it's the Birmingham Town Hall they played at in 1972, not Burmingham Town Hall) but that's a quibble. What really does suck is that the tracks on disc two are given no specific dates and venues of recording -- it just says "recorded live at various locations & dates during the seventies". Lame! It seems from the track selection and Ozzy's between-songs comments that the majority of the second disc dates from around 1975, right before the release of their Sabotage album (they do "Megalomania"!!). Is this from the Philadelphia show recently bootlegged as a triple LP box set? Other songs are from their December 20th, 1970 show at the Olympia in Paris. I've got a bootleg of that and the tracks here certainly sound better than they do on the boot. Now, why the people who put this together didn't think we'd want to know where and when the tracks were from I can't imagine... But anyway, especially if you don't already have Live At Last and probably even if you do, this is an essential purchase for Sabbath fans.
RealAudio clip: "Snowblind"
RealAudio clip: "Hand Of Doom"
RealAudio clip: "Hole In The Sky"

WINTERHAWK Revival (Monster Records) cd 12.98

RADIAN Rec.Extern (Thrill Jockey) cd 15.98
Buzz whir click crackle throb. Skittery drums, lovely drone. It's Glitch, but it's Rock. Post rock, anyway. It's the new disc from Radian, the computer-aided instrumental post rock trio from Vienna. Radian have previously released two cds -- a full-length and an ep -- on the Mego and/or Rhiz labels over the past few years. Now they show up with a new full-length on Chicago label Thrill Jockey, enlisting Tortoise's John McEntire on recording/mixing duties. Drummer Martin Brandlmayr lays down the fractured beats, bassist John Norman fills out the pulse, and synthesizer coloration is provided by Stefan Nemeth. And together they use computers to process their real-time playing. Hard disc edits, electronic effects, layered textures, done with a great sense of timing and placement. At times "Rec.Extern" is propulsive and rhythm-driven like a sci-fi This Heat or sliced-up Circle, at others it's atmospheric, the background radiation of a haunted laboratory, with the sounds of burbling beakers and hissing Bunsen burners quietly rising and fading. Sudden silences, sudden sounds. We like it when today's electronic artistes step out from behind their laptops to play real instruments, and Radian falls in line with the likes of Markus Schmickler's Pluramon project and Dean Roberts' "Plays The Grand Cinema" disc on Ritornell as electro-acoustic computers-meet-rock successes. We're also put in mind of the abstract sounds n' silences of Supersilent or Starfuckers (the latter who can be much more 'out' and abrasive than Radian), and recent Dead C. We certainly liked Radian's other releases, but "Rec.Extern" seems to be even better, there's just more to it. Recommended.
RealAudio clip: "Jet"
RealAudio clip: "Bioadapter"
RealAudio clip: "Etage 3 / Flur"
RealAudio clip: "Ulan"

RUPTURE, DJ/ Gold Teeth Thief (Violent Turd) cd 6.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
At last, reissued -- as a 'real' cd (not a cd-r) and cheaper too! This debut DJ/Rupture mix disc was a big hit here at Aquarius (and elsewhere too, apparently). We'd been getting the cd-r version on /Rupture's own Soot label direct from the man himself, but those are no longer available. Kid606 stepped in and signed DJ /Rupture to his Tigerbeat6 label, with a new /Rupture set called "Minesweeper Suite" due for release on August 27th. But, in advance of that, the Kid's other label, Violent Turd, has made the "Gold Teeth Thief" set available once again. Packaged in one of those plastic clamshell cases, with nought but a sticker for artwork, this remains a budget release, but a welcome one. It's also apparently a limited edition reissue, so if you missed it before, don't sleep on it now!! Here's our original glowing review, backed up by being named one of the top 50 best albums of the year by The Wire:
This is one of the best mix cds we've ever heard. And it's not about insane turntable skills, or about that 'isn't-it-weird-and-crazy-how-I've-juxtaposed-hip-hop-and-classic-rock' gimmicky stuff or about how famous or cool the DJ is (in fact, I bet you've never even heard of DJ /Rupture, an American living in Spain). It's about his choice of songs, and how smoothly and creatively they're mixed (live on 3 turntables). This cd is just an amazing and deft mix of dance hall (traditional -and- HARD ala DJ Scud etc.), hip hop, dub and electronica. Nothing fancy just 70 minutes and 43 tracks of some of our favorite shit: Missy Elliott, Nas, DJ Scud, Barrington Levy (a different track than his contribution to the amazing 400% Dynamite compilation, but you'll recognise his oh-so-familiar 'Woah Wooah.'), Nettle, Dead Prez, Bounty Killer, Kid 606, Venetian Snares, Luciano Berio, Shabba Ranks, Non Phixion, Wu-Tang Clan, Cannibal Ox, Djivan Gasparyan, Sub Dub, John Wall, Oval, Project Pat, Muslimgauze and even Paul Simon/Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Miriam Makeba (ending all smooth and pretty with no beats at all). Wow.
MPEG Stream: "track 2"
MPEG Stream: "track 5"
MPEG Stream: "track 1"
MPEG Stream: "track 3"
MPEG Stream: "track 6"

GARADAMA 1 (Alchemy) cd 21.00
Garadama is a hitherto unknown to us, super heavy metallic rock trio from Japan, making their debut on Osaka's Alchemy label (home to albums by Hijo Kaidan, Merzbow, Masonna, Angel 'In Heavy Syrup among others). They're not unlike a more modern-sounding version of prior Alchemy recording artists and retro '70s psych heavies Subvert Blaze (which makes sense, since we just figured out that this is the new band of the guitarist/singer of Subvert Blaze). Less obscurely, Garadama specialize in Sabbathy riff-doom, with every song managing to remind us of King Crimson's "21st Century Schizoid Man", no bad thing. A FIEND IS LIVING IN MY BRAIN!!! (That's one of their song titles, and I believe it...) For fans of Boris, EyeHateGod, Zeni Geva, and the abovementioned!
Note we said: for fans of Boris.
RealAudio clip: "A Fiend Is Living In My Brain"
RealAudio clip: "The Sun Rises"

DISSECTION Storm of the Light's Bane (Nuclear Blast) cd 16.98
Reissue of a long-time Aquarius favorite. Not just of AQ metalheads Andee and Allan, or our metal-lovin' customers, but others on the staff here too -- for instance, Byram, not normally a big metal consumer, ranks this as one of his favorites amongst the Nordic hordes. In fact, it's one of the few metal cds in his collection -- it's that good (he was a music student y'know). It came out originally in '94, and now sees a digipacified re-release with bonus tracks from their out of print Where Dead Angels Lie cdep. With Storm of the Light's Bane, Dissection perfected their melodic, blackened Swedish death metal approach -- that means TRUE, original metal, with elements of everything from Morbid Angel to Mayhem to Iron Maiden, suped-up and super-grim, with raspy vocals, wicked drumming (the guy is AMAZING), truly memorable, majestic melodies, and tons of cold winter atmosphere. They take long breaks to let their acoustic guitars gently weep, then tear back into the brutal, razor-edged rifferama. Serious stuff, seriously great. This was to be their last album, and Dissection is no more -- front man John Nodtveidt ended up in jail as accessory to murder -- but their tangential role in any of that over-sensationalized Scandinavian black metal true crime stuff has nothing to do with why you should be interested in this band. No, regardless of their unfortunate history, Dissection was a brilliant band, and Storm of the Light's Bane is a classic that belongs in every metal collection. If you haven't already gotten this album, here's your chance.
RealAudio clip: "Night's Blood"
RealAudio clip: "Where Dead Angels Lie"
RealAudio clip: "Soulreaper"

FISCHERSPOONER #1 (Ministry Of Sound) cd 23.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT -- GET THE DOMESTIC VERSION NOW OUT.
We had this album before, but it has been sadly temporarily out of print for some time. In the time between the album's initial release and this expensive import reissue some of us have grown quite fond of Fischerspooner, maybe even against our better judgement. If there's one thing that Fischerspooner excels in the most, it's self-promotion -- their disc's artwork consists primarily of fawning praise from the press (even adorning the inside tray, as if you might need some positive reinforcement after you've purchased it). I suppose they feel the need to stand out in the ever increasing throngs of retro-electro rock bands. Which is too bad, because as a band they're heads above the pack. Think Depeche Mode with gargantuan cojones and you're beginning to get the picture. On top of having mastered the aesthetics of the neo-electro genre, Fischerspooner are also consummate writers of pop gems. The third track "Emerge" has all the workings of a teeth gnashing dancefloor hit with its ever increasing tension and intensity topped by a delicious hook that appeals to the most base pop sensibility. If that's not enough, they've managed to pull off a cover of Wire's "The 15th" that's so fucking great some here would argue that it betters the original. Once you get over the fashionable performance / conceptual art pretensions of Fischerspooner, you'll find their music hard to resist. As a bonus consolation to this expensive reissue you get three new bonus tracks and some exclusive video footage.
RealAudio clip: "Emerge"
RealAudio clip: "The 15th"
RealAudio clip: "Natural Disaster"

CIRCLE Sunrise (Ektro) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
BACK IN PRINT!!! Here's our review from when we first freaked out about this back on list 143:
Brilliant, shockingly brilliant! Herewith we present to you what we can only say is the headbangingest record yet from our Finnish friends Circle (containing also, paradoxically, a couple of their most gentle numbers). The Circle concept is one of repetition, and while ALL their records are in fact great, one can find some of them to be a lot like another. So it's nice that this new Circle really goes out on a limb, with so much success, while totally managing to remain Circle to the core. How do they do it?
The album opens with "Nopeuskuningas", seemingly Circle's answer to Judas Priest's "Breaking The Law"! Down and dirty hard rock riffing (cyclic and repetitive in the trademark Circle way, of course) with keyboardist/vocalist Mika Ratto -- a relatively recent, and significant, addition to Circle's lineup on their past three or four discs -- simultaneously channeling screechy metal gods Rob Halford (Judas Priest), Klaus Meine (Scorpions), and Brian Johnson (AC/DC), but in an indecipherable, or Finnish at least, babble. It stretches to nearly eight minutes after the space-rock effects and swirly keys kick in. But then, when you think this is going to be The Heavy Metal Circle album, track two gets all mellow and pretty and folked-out, even MORE unlike any previous Circle we've ever heard. Acoustic guitar, and lots of la la la's from Mika. Unbelievable -- and lovely. But then the next song triggers the dormant motorik Circle drum pulse, overlaid with heavy guitars and vocal histrionics akin to the opening track. Plus new wavey/Axel F keyboards. Hit material here! Following that, track four, "Vaanen Valtiatar", heads back to the forest glade where Circle do that hippy jamming again a la track two, but more plugged-in, turning into a spacey jam session. And then, as you might now expect, it's back to the mosh pit for the monstrous rifferama of the next song, "Kylan Suurin Miekka". Evil stuff. This is True Circular Metal indeed. From then on the album maintains the heaviness, getting spacier and spacier though, culminating in the droning fifteen-minute "Lokki".
Wow. An amazing album, making effective use of Mika's unusual/unique vocals -- he's developed some sort of exotic (Middle Eastern? American Indian?) meets metal style, delivered in a manner as over-the-top as the most insane Italian prog of the '70s. Throw in some violin and moog and of course all the heavy metal moves, and you've got a bizarre blend of, uh, Yoko Ono, Hawkwind, Judas Priest, and of course Circle's krautrock forerunners Neu! and Can.
While Sunrise is in many ways a departure for Circle, it can also be seen as an album harking back to their hard-rockin' roots (they've nodded that way on the guitar-heavy Prospekt and Jussi's Kyuss-ish Pharaoh Overlord side project, but you've got to also remember that the very first Circle album, Meronia, drew quite a few comparisons to Helmet at the time). Recommended.
MPEG Stream: "Nopeuskuningas"
MPEG Stream: "Vaanen Valtiatar"
MPEG Stream: "Kylan Suurin Miekka"

FOREST Forest / Full Circle (BGO) 2cd 19.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
A release we've had before, but not for a while, 'cause it's been hard to get -- but recently Allan & several of his friends really really got into Forest, so he managed to track down and order a bunch (though, probably not enough...).
This double cd contains Forest's entire output -- two albums, one from 1969 and one from 1970 -- and should definitely be of interest to anyone into that whole '60s British folk-psych vibe. Y'know, if you liked the Tony, Caro & John or Fairport Convention reissues we've recently listed, or dig that excellent current interpreter of the genre, P.G. Six (or that other modern psych-folkster guy, Greg Weeks, who is heavily into Forest).
Forest were a trio of hippie musicians (Martin, Dez, and Adrian) from the town of Walesby in Lincolnshire. All three of 'em are responsible for the quite excellent male vocals that help make these albums the amazing lost treasures they are, along with their strong songwriting, and their adept and varied instrumental backing (mostly acoustic, with guitars, harmonium, mandolin, pipes, cello, electric harpsichord, organ, percussion, etc.). Their vocal harmonies recall the folkish stuff on those great early Wishbone Ash albums. Their songs and lyrics are rural, pastoral, lovely -- with titles like "A Glade Somewhere", "Rain Is On My Balcony", "Bluebell Dance", "Lovemaker's Ways" -- and darker too ("The Midnight Hanging Of A Runaway Serf", "Famine Song", "Graveyard"). But, while 'folky,' this is by no means trad folk; they are down with prog rock moves that remind us as much of Pink Floyd as the Incredible String Band. They can be sunshiney and twee a la Tyrannosaurus Rex, but also have a pagan, dark aspect as we said, coming pretty close to Comus territory at times (with the song "Fading Light", for one). Yep, 'folky' but not folk -- the ruined castles and fairy folk that inhabit the forests and fields of Forest's world exist, shadow-like, in the present day (well, Forest's England of thirty years ago), so it's not surprising when a song like "Hawk The Hawker" has kind of a Lou Reed/VU vibe, for instance. Their music is informed by the ancient British ballads, but you can tell that Martin, Dez, and Adrian were three young long hairs sleeping in a van, no matter how idyllic their songs sometimes sound.
This double cd reissue includes John Peel's original liner notes from the first album -- they're quite silly, but accurate at least in his closing comment "It would be nice for the Forest if you purchased these results of their lives and labours -- but nicer still for you." Definitely one of those "this is SO good why didn't these guys get famous??!" listens.
RealAudio clip: "A Glade Somewhere"
RealAudio clip: "Fading Light"
RealAudio clip: "Gypsy Girl & Rambleaway"
RealAudio clip: "Graveyard "

VACUUM BOYS, THE Songs From the Sea of Love (Fire Inc.) cd 16.98
"Join the team as they uncover the secret of the three-hundred year old Spanish mummy, solve the riddles of the scary old woman, help Gert-Jan face his fear of water, and try to save the city's pets in an adventure of endless twists and turns, laughs and rock n' roll!"
When I (Allan) was younger (no seriously, much younger) I liked to read books about kids who started their own detective agencies, Encyclopedia Brown, The Three Investigators, that sort of thing. Indeed I tried to set myself up as a detective too (I had a fingerprint kit and a magnifying glass and even a deerstalker hat) but sadly if unsurprisingly had trouble finding clients with crimes to solve, unlike my fictional counterparts. So I was immediately taken with this new Fire Inc. release, the booklet of which contains Episode Four of "The Secret Of The Haunted Spanish Galleon", a mystery story featuring those precocious kids turned detectives turned rock n' rollers, The Vacuum Boys. Very cleverly presented, with appropriate artwork and graphics. In reality, The Vacuum Boys aren't kids, mystery-solvers, or a rock band. They're Heimir Bjorgulfsson (of Stilluppsteypa), Girt-Jan Prins (MIMEO, solo electronics), Guy Amitai, and Dan Armstrong (Central 87), and deal in electronic clicks and cuts, not clues, and certainly not rock n' roll. Sure there's guitars on here, and drums (Girt IS a real drummer we know, and Dan does guitar and electronics improv), but there's a lot of computer processing involved as well -- and maybe a Hoover. Recorded live at Prins' studio in Rotterdam February 2002, it's a noisy (but pleasantly so), chopped-up glitch-fest of crackle, distortion, whoosh, and bleep, sounding more akin to Merzbow than the Monkees.
Of the current spate of experimental electronic releases, this one is not only pretty great but definitely gets points for being packaged in such an imaginative and thankfully not over-intellectualized way. Go Vacuum Boys! We look forward to their next adventure!
RealAudio clip: "Do The Hoove Move"
RealAudio clip: "Whole Lotta Hoovin'"
RealAudio clip: "To All The Trees"
RealAudio clip: "Orange Coloured Sky"

YOSHIDA, TATSUYA Magaibutsu (Review Records) cd 14.98
Cool! A reissue of the long-out-of-print 1991 solo cd debut from Ruins drummer Tatsuya Yoshida, "Magaibutsu" (also the name of his own record label). Yoshida remixed it in 2001, and now there's six bonus tracks appended as well. And when Yoshida makes a solo album, it sure is: he's a one-man-band (literally, he can do most of this stuff live -- with headset microphone, drum kit, keyboard, and a guitar in his lap!) doing crazed compositions that are similar to Ruins fare but even more maniacal. Really. I (Allan) remember buying the original cd when it came out -- at the time I only had one Ruins cd, the magnificent "Stonehenge", and was eager to hear more from that (then) mysterious Japanese avant-rock bass and drums duo. I found "Magaibutsu" somewhere and bought it on the chance that it had something to do with the Ruins (nobody at the place where I bought it knew what it was, but the cover photo collage of, well, ruins, plus the cryptic song titles and Yoshida's at-the-time-unfamiliar-but-definitely-Japanese name made me think it might). When I got it home and put it on, the drums/keys/vocal onslaught of opening track "Joneoik" happily confirmed that it indeed had to be the work of the same crazed musical mastermind behind the Ruins. I was very pleased. And it remains probably one of the most weird and wonderful discs in my collection. Absolutely essential to all Ruins fans, if you don't have this already (or maybe even if you do, 'cause of the bonus tracks, which fit in well but maybe aren't essential in and of themselves), get this! Quirky and hectic songwriting a la Ruins, with of course Yoshida's incredible drumming and nonsensical vocal stylings. Despite the solo format, Yoshida uses a wider variety of instrumental textures than usually appear in Ruins songs -- there's quite a lot of his hockey-rink-sounding organ plinking out maddeningly repetitive and catchy riffs, plus astonishing multitracked vocals, scratchy guitar, and piano ivory tickling. So at points it's sparse and minimal, but at others super-dense and heavy. Magma was still a major influence (and Charles Hayward as well), along with what sounds like some faux-ethnic explorations in the vein of the Sun City Girls (especially notable on "Kasinuc"). Compared to Ruins, this is also more percussive and carnival-esque.
RealAudio clip: "Joneoik"
RealAudio clip: "Vonisch"
RealAudio clip: "Nessang"
RealAudio clip: "Ogatta"
RealAudio clip: "Ijocuff"

OPETH Blackwater Park (Koch) 2cd 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Reissued yet again! This time with an extra disc, featuring 2 previously unreleased tracks and a video! Not sure if it's worth buying again (although it probably is for Allan and Andee) but if you haven't got this yet (WHY NOT?!?!?) then now's the time. And you can also get yourself all psyched up for the fall release of not one, but TWO brand new Opeth albums (Use Your Illusion style!). The bonus tracks are cool, but we're not sure they're essential, both are gorgeous and simple, finger picked acoustic guitar workouts with plaintive vocals. Really nice but definitely NOT HEAVY. The video is cool though, lots of Opeth-in-the-studio footage. But here's what we had to say about the disc last time:
Opeth are GODS. The Swedish gods of progressive death/black metal, that is. And by progessive, yes, we mean full on '70s style prog-rock, mixed with the heaviest, most crushing metal attack you can imagine. The many many local SF fans of Weakling should be aware: this band was one of the big influences on Weakling's trance-inducing compositions. Opeth's songs can be equally epic and hypnotic, but of course incorporate a wider, dare we say lovlier array of musical elements. In Opeth's arsenal, there's vocals both growled and clean, acoustic guitar, an incredible sense of dynamics, and inspired melodicism. Blackwater Park (inexplicably named after an obscure krautrock boogie band? we can't figure it out) follows their awesome Still Life album, making for the fifth entry in the Opeth pantheon. While it would be hard to be much better than that album (and that's what we thought about Still Life's predecessor, My Arms Your Hearse too), Opeth continue to perfect perfection, I guess. While the nine-minute plus song lengths found here don't push past earlier excesses, Blackwater Park does see Opeth progressing into even more, uh, progressive areas. Being Pink Floyd fans, they even got Steve Wilson of UK young Floyd proggers Porcupine Tree to produce! So, the mellow parts are mellower, the metal parts cleaner and more precise. If you've never heard them before, we might suggest starting with their more psychedelically murky masterpiece My Arms Your Hearse, but Blackwater Park should also be on your list. Pure art from the masters. All that drool was justified.
RealAudio clip: "The Leper Affinity"
RealAudio clip: "Harvest"
RealAudio clip: "The Funeral Portrait"

V/A Can't Stop It!: Australian Post-Punk 1978-82 (Chapter) cd 14.98
This is a compilation of Australian post punk and new wave from 1978-82. While not nearly as rocking as the Do The Pop! compilation from a few lists back, this is still a pretty awesome collection. The stuff on this comp leans more towards the no wave, art rock side of the spectrum. Quirky, angular but still punk. There are a few dance-y numbers with badass female vocals that are at times reminiscent of the Slits or Kleenex/Lilliput and some more gritty lofi stuf that reminds us of the Adverts or the Undertones. All in all, a solid document of a time and place that seems like it was most likely totally amazing and inspiring. The perfect companion to the Do The Pop compilation. And if you like the current crop of no wave wonders like SF's Numbers or Erase Errata, you should definitely check this out. Oh yeah, and did we mention there's a band called the Slugfuckers... oh my god.
RealAudio clip: VOIGT 465 "Voices a Drama"
RealAudio clip: THE APARTMENTS "Help"
RealAudio clip: PRIMITIVE CALCULATORS "Pumping Ugly Muscle"
RealAudio clip: THE SLUGFUCKERS "Cacophony"
RealAudio clip: PEOPLE WITH CHAIRS UP THEIR NOSES "Song of the Sea"

BUMBLE, B. & THE STINGERS s/t (Collectables) cd 8.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
An old favorite, that we just got a few (drilled, but cheap!) copies of in stock. B. Bumble & The Stingers were an early '60s combo composed of a bunch of talented studio veterans, who notched a few chart hits with their boogie woogie rock n' roll piano-led instrumentals, often versions of familiar classical and jazz themes. You know ELP's "Nutrocker"? Well The Stingers did it first, taking that Tchaikovsky chesnut to number 23 in '62. That's here, plus their "Bumble Boogie" (Rimsky-Korsakov's "Flight Of The Bumble Bee"), Clarence "Pinetop" Smith's "Boogie Woogie", Duke Ellington's "Caravan", Beethoven's "Symphony No. 5" and others, often with a gimmick like the underwater-sounding "Nautilus" (with vocals, even) or the vaguely-Asiatic "Chicken Chow Mein". Sometimes frantic, sometimes slinky, certainly quaint but totally fun novelty stuff. Like we said, an old favorite.
RealAudio clip: "Bumble Boogie"
RealAudio clip: "Nut Rocker"

VINES Highly Evolved (Capitol) cd 16.98
We can't tell you if these Aussies are the next big thing or not, but they're definitely the next potentially big thing. And before overexposure and hype and all that end up making you hate 'em, you should at least give 'em a chance. Sure, they're being positioned as The Strokes Part II (and while they do have a song or two that remind us The Strokes, as well as the 'look', they're just as much on the Hives or White Stripes tip), and we know everyone's got an opinion about The Strokes. But whether you approve of those NYC'ers or not is irrelevant here, 'cause what The Vines really sound like (to these ears) is a cross between Nirvana or Mudhoney and Redd Kross. And, hey, that's not a bad thing. No complaints here. And besides, if the commerical plastic pop music you've got to endure on the radio, at the 7-11, the barber shop, the juice bar, at the mall, wherever, is totally fun, catchy, garagey rock with actual songs and guitar jangle and fuzz, that's a lot better than boy bands or Britney Spears or nu-metal ain't it?! More power to 'em. And hey -- the singer's accent is for once authentic. (Note: it's at a "nice price" for now, but we'll bet you anything that the list price will get jacked up to $18.98 in a few months when and if they do become a bonafide big thing -- in fact, it already went up from $10.98 to $16.98 and it's only been out a week, good grief...).
RealAudio clip: "Get Free"
RealAudio clip: "Country Yard"
RealAudio clip: "Outtathaway"

TRAD GRAS OCH STENAR Ajn Schvajn Draj (Silence) cd 17.98
Trad Gras Och Stenar -- aka Trees, Grass and Stones -- are from Sweden and have a long, long history to go along with their wonderful band name. Presently, the members (all providing vocals) are: Bo Anders Persson (guitar), Jakob Sjoholm (also guitar), Torbjorn Abelli (bass), and Thomas Mera Gartz (drums). These "four old men" (as they describe themselves in the liner notes) have been playing together for many, many years: three of 'em were founder members of the totally amazing psychedelic drone band Parson Sound in 1967, which morphed into the equally amazing, also-heavy-but-folkier outfits International Harvester, then Harvester, and then Trad Gras Och Stenar, who released their first album in 1969. Now, 33 years later, here's another great Trad Gras Och Stenar disc! They certainly demonstrate here that they've still "got it" -- a la Faust, another, rather similarily experimental band of baby boomers who are still making great music today. They also demonstrate that yesterday's prog or psych rock is now today's post-rock, but better!
"Ajn Schvajn Draj" was recorded from 1998-2001 under various circumstances -- in an atmospheric detail, they thank the "patient horses" in the pasture outside the building on the island of Faringso where they recorded much of this. Fittingly, this 74 minute album conjures up a mostly somber mood that you can imagine horses enjoying, one that's dark, pretty, nicely repetitive, and gentle but also fully capable of unleashing some dense, "free rock" heaviness. Somber, but with humor, indeed, with some rather unusual singing -- we mentioned Faust, and we're also reminded of Can (some of the vocals seemingly channel Damo Suzuki).
Actually, at first listen, a couple of the vocal tracks were tough going (why sing in French if you don't have to?) but the rest is mighty fine, in particular the several extended, improvised instrumentals that really recall the heavy psych-rock power of Parson Sound and International Harvester. Overall, you'd never be fooled into thinking this was the old Trad Gras Och Stenar (it has a much more "modern" sound), but if you're familar with those records, you'll be able to tell it's the same band on these tracks for sure.
Track four, "The Dove", starts off with vocals that sound like a French version of U2's Bono, but by the end of the song the band has gotten into a repetitive groove that reminds us much more of French post-rockers Ulan Bator. Two later tracks are Swedish language versions of "Nothing", by '60s freak rockers The Fugs, which here sound like Viking drinking songs, backed by laughter and merriment. These Nothings bookend the twelve minute long instrumental "Ringring", perhaps the album's most Parson Sound-ing track -- a heavy, majestic piece that's indeed ringing with energy. Then, after the reprise of "Nothing", a lovely backwards guitar excursion ("Albatross Meets Lonely Sailor") segues into an ECM-ish drifting ambient piece ("Exit") to nicely end the album.
Certainly, you should get their original albums first (see elsewhere on our website for raves about Parson Sound, Int'l Harvester, et.al.) but out of 2002's post/prog/psych/whatever rock releases, this album is well worth checking out.
RealAudio clip: "Treacherously Icy"
RealAudio clip: "The Dove"
RealAudio clip: "Lament Of A Simple Man"
RealAudio clip: "Ringring"

SLOUGH FEG, THE LORD WEIRD s/t (The Miskatonic Foundation) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
When people talk about the 'happening' San Francisco music scene, they're not usually talking about The Lord Weird Slough Feg -- unless it's a denim-clad German metalhead who's doing the talking! Then, perhaps you'll hear them rave about these guys. Utterly trend-free true heavy metal rock n' roll, equal parts Thin Lizzy, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Queen, Judas Priest, Manowar, Manilla Road...and some Black Flag too, but you'd have to really pay attention to hear that. Slough Feg's music is epic, rockin', riff-laden stuff with heroic vocals and tons of lead guitar. Their lyrics deal with fantasy, insanity, and Celtic myth. They released their first cd, a self-titled half-hour-long mini-album, on their own Beef Rock label back in 1996, and it has long since gone out of print. Since then, they've managed to develop a bit of a cult following in Europe (with two albums so far out on Italian metal label Dragonheart) as well as among a select group of enlightened American metal fans, including quite a few Aquarius customers. They also spawned the popular metal opera project Hammers of Misfortune (on Andee's tUMULt label). Now Miskatonic, the label run by Rich Walker of the godly British doom metal band Solstice, has done us the favor of reissuing Slough Feg's debut effort, with new packaging and, better yet, seven bonus tracks taken from Slough Feg's pitifully-circulated early '90s demo tapes. All remastered of course -- the demo tracks definitely sound better than before. It's nice to have this be available again, as the original cd featured several of Slough Feg's best songs: the Sabbathy "Shadows of the Unborn", the Irish jig "The Red Branch" (always a live favorite), parts III and IV of their prog-rock epic "High Season", the ripping yet melodic "20th Century Wretch", and others. The bonus tracks are equally great, including such otherwise unavailable Slough Feg classics as "The Mask" and the fuzzy, doomy "Headhunter", along with demo versions of "The Red Branch", parts I and II of "High Season", and "The Room" (a different version of which appeared on an obscure comp called "Metal Injection" a couple years ago).
They're definitely one of those love 'em or hate 'em bands, and lots of folks just aren't gonna "get" 'em. They're often seen to be too weird for a lot of metal fans, but also way too metal for everyone else. And the "extreme" metal crowd might find them too melodic as well. But for some -- not just me -- they're one of the best bands around. People who like The Fucking Champs for not-entirely-ironic reasons (or, actually, for those too, why not?) should check Slough Feg out. Slough Feg are *not* ironic, and *are* somewhat ridiculous, but they know it and have the nerve to do what they do anyway 'cause they love it. Besides, all that serious, dark, black, death metal can be pretty darn ridiculous too when you think about it or read the lyrics.
Amazingly (note: sarcasm), Miskatonic (and the band, who had a hand in it) has managed to totally capture the amateur, self-released design aesthetic of the original in repackaging this. From the black and white cover drawing of the Drune Lord Slough Feg in his cave (by Martin Hanford, who is better known for his Bal-Sagoth album covers) to the crappy caligraphic font used throughout to the poorly reproduced band photos, bad layout, and typos in the lyrics, this might actually look *worse* than the 1996 version the band put out themselves...oh well...at least the "underground" vibe is intact! And it's in print, with bonus tracks, so we really can't complain. Note, though, that the songs "Why Not" and "Highway Corsair" are accidentally run together as a single track (#5), instead of being tracks 5 and 6 the way they are listed on the back of the cd. Whoops. Perhaps the vinyl version, slated to appear at the end of the year on German label Metal Supremacy, will correct these superficial problems. But if you're not a vinyl diehard, this cd is certainly recommended now.
RealAudio clip: "Shadows of the Unborn"
RealAudio clip: "The Red Branch"
RealAudio clip: "High Season IV"
RealAudio clip: "Headhunter (demo)"

YEAH YEAH YEAHS s/t (Touch & Go) cd ep 10.98
The self released five-track ep by up and coming Brooklyn trio is now available on Touch and Go in both vinyl and cd formats. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs are going to give the comparatively more famous White Stripes a run for their money. When she's not absolutely screaming, Karen O, the girl lead singer, wails with a strong gravelly voice and that trembly warble the Riot Grrl vocalists / Kim Gordon also make use of. The drums are admirably stripped down and freshly unpredictable, often leaving out downbeats to interesting effect, and the guitar is angular and sharp. Very similar appeal as White Stripes, so give it a listen. Yum.
RealAudio clip: "Bang"
RealAudio clip: "Our Time"

HAMPTON GREASE BAND Music To Eat (Legacy) 2cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
It's going to be hard to do this one justice... We just got a few copies in of this actually out-of-print double cd. Cheap, too! The Hampton Grease Band released this, their debut and only album, in 1971, to almost universal disinterest and, even, active dislike. It was, famously, the second worst selling album in Columbia history. It might not have helped that Columbia's marketers, doubtless confused by the dadaistic hippy rock weirdness of the Hampton Grease Band, pitched it to stores as a comedy album. It certainly is funny -- funny ha ha and otherwise -- but it's as an avant-garde rock record that we recommend it. Imagine Zappa, Beefheart and a southern rock band all rolled into one absurd, palpitating, guitar-totin' ball. The end result: gorgeous, dissonant, textural guitar-based instrumentals that wouldn't sound out of place on the best Polvo record you've heard, plus the raving loony vocal 'stylings' of one Bruce Hampton (who has kept up his antics as the leader of Col. Hampton's Aquarium Rescue Unit, which we definitely aren't recommending). He's untrained and maniacal and his screechy voice makes this sound at times like Sam Kinison fronting the Allman Brothers. An acquired taste, perhaps, we'll warn you -- it even took a few listens for Allan (the biggest, and maybe only, Hampton Grease Band fan here) to get into this originally. And he doesn't like Zappa, either. But annoyance soon gave way to enjoyment. There's definitely some stoopid stuff on here, but then there's the several extended (around 20 minutes long, three of 'em are) compositions/improvs in complex, interlocking time signatures and whatnot. Not normal rock, not jazz, certainly not jazzrock. Instrumentally, amazing. Lyrically, certainly odd -- Hampton often sang "found lyrics" from whatever text was at hand, like an encyclopedia entry about Halifax or the back of a can of spray paint. As it says in the cd booklet liner notes, the HGB were "an intensely musical group with an intensely non-musical singer".
Speaking of the liner notes, they're hilarious, full of great stories, like about the time the HGB was playing live, and their drummer suddenly stood up and froze in place, holding that pose for over an hour as the band finished their set without drums and most people left the venue! Somehow these gonzo guys got to open for the likes of Beefheart & the Magic Band, the Allmans, Country Joe & the Fish, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Alice Cooper -- and then somehow got signed to a brief, illfated stint on Columbia Records that produced this album.
Humor in music is a difficult thing. When these guys tried to be funny, it wasn't, but they didn't have to try to be weird, and it was. Surely some of you out there will want or need this! Lots more won't and that's fine too. We only have three, presently.
RealAudio clip: "Halifax"

PROSCRIPTOR The Serpentine Has Risen (Dragon Flight) cd 12.98
We've had this disc before, in a home-brewed version released by Sir Proscriptor McGovern himself (he's the drummer for the amazing Texas occult metal band Absu). That version was cheap (packaged in a paper sleeve, no jewel case), and is now gone. But now "The Serpentine Has Risen" rises again, getting a 'proper' release via the Dragon Flight label. So if you didn't pick up the original, now you can get this one for only a few bucks more -- likewise, you could get it again if you have the old version but would prefer a jewel case and more 'pro' packaging (but, the tracks are the same).
Here's some more info for those who aren't 100 percent Proscriptor-savvy: this is the follow-up to Proscriptor's first bizarre solo record "The Venus Bellona". As we said when listing the earlier version, those who have heard "The Venus Bellona" know that Proscriptor's solo stuff is hardly black metal, it's more like an experimental soundtrack to his personal magickal / historickal mythology. This disc follows suit. As the liner notes put it, in such a way as to give a sense of his aesthetick that our own description never could: "Not only has Proscriptor composed euphonic concoctions of oscillation experimentations, pre-to-post wave art musicology, and folklore prestige, but also has expressed his ancestral customs from Glenorchy District to the Prioma Materia of Thoth once again." And we challenge any music critics to dispute that! As with his main band, Proscriptor never steps out of character, everything is always mysterious and arcane (even his emails to us appeared to be translated from Latin!). Just a glance at this album's credits will confirm his dedication to such weirdness: guitars and basses are always referred to as "six-fold bows" and "four-fold bows", and we find Proscriptor and his conspirators credited with the likes of "blaze illuminations" and "infrequent voices that are unseen" as well as "unicursal hexagrams" and "symmetrical tartan designs". Of course, none of this would matter if the music wasn't equally odd and evocative, and it is. Apart from the very rock n' roll "Devil Woman" cover, that is (which is the one brief moment, as with the Flock of Seagulls cover on his previous disc, that tells you that perhaps this guy isn't ENTIRELY serious...but then again, maybe he IS and that's even scarier!!)...
RealAudio clip: "Tin Formulae"

CARCASS Necroticism - Descanting The Insalubrious (Earache) cd 13.98
Allan's favorite 'Death Metal' album (well, along with Morbid Angel's Blessed Are The Sick)! It combines the horrific rawness and insane medical lyrics of Carcass' first two albums (this was their third) with a newfound technicality and NWOBHM-derived catchiness. And they manage to make use of 'samples' in a way that doesn't suck. Definitely their masterpiece (though Andee might argue for Heartwork). Rules.

DEEP PURPLE In Rock (Anniversary Edition) (EMI) cd 15.98
Ok, first off, this isn't a new release -- not even a new reissue -- heck it's the remastered 25th anniversary edition of "In Rock", which means it came out in 1995. But we just got some in (to help bolster our embarrassingly small "Classic Rock" section), and while our Classic Rock section remains tiny, at least now it has this extremely excellent Deep Purple album in it! Quite possibly you're already aware of what a monumental slab of early '70s hard rock this disc is, and are happy for this reminder of the opportunity to add it to your cd collection if it's not there already. Or, perhaps you're not familiar with it, but happened to have woken up this morning wondering, hey, that Deep Purple band I keep hearing so much about, what album should I go buy of theirs today? then this is one for you (the other would be "Machine Head", but this one came first so we'll deal with it today). This was the debut of the classic Deep Purple "Mark II" line-up: new vocalist Ian Gillan, guitarist Richie Blackmore, organist John Lord, drummer Ian Paice, and new bassist Roger Glover (as illustrated in the front cover's Mt. Rushmore take-off). Together they made Deep Purple's fourth album (this one) one of the heaviest, most energetic, kick ass rock records ever. Maybe not quite metal, but close. Classic cuts include "Speed King" (with its Blackmore freakout intro), "Bloodsucker", "Living Wreck", and the epic "Child In Time". That song alone, and Gillan's astonishing performance in it, makes this disc essential. And, we wouldn't have one of the best Merzbow discs of recent memory without this album's "Hard Lovin' Man"!
This cd version includes a bunch of alternate takes/mixes, the non-album "Black Night" hit single, and even some studio chat, along with super detailed liner notes and jewel case cover printed with the band members' autographs (which Byram complains about in one of our Neighborhood films). Ok, enough, just wanted to give props to some truly classic rock.
RealAudio clip: "Bloodsucker"
RealAudio clip: "Child In Time"

BORIS Heavy Rocks (Fangs Anal Satan / Quattro / UK Discs) cd 29.00
BACK IN STOCK! Boris' 2002 super-rock extravaganza. Heavy Rocks is -- to state the obvious if you've heard it -- a more than apt title for this newest (and long-awaited) collection of tuneage from everyone's favorite Japanese heavy rockers, Boris. Yes, the thunderous Tokyo trio of Takeshi, Wata, and Atsuo are back! We promised last year in our write-up of their amazing (but uncharacteristically mostly mellow) album Flood that Boris' next disc would be a return to the ROCK. And it is. No acoustic stuff here, nor even the lengthy droning dirges in which they have also indulged in the past. Nope, this one simply rocks hard and heavy, start to finish. Fans know that every Boris album is different, and this one can perhaps be characterized as Boris' "stoner rock" effort. Total Kyuss action! Still, with some grizzled nods to their all-time heroes, the Melvins. The first track, "Heavy Friends", is VERY Melvins (metallic, thudding, glacial) -- and even has a walk-on spoken contribution from Melvins drummer Dale Crover's ex-wife Lori (of Acid King). Speaking of heavy friends, guests pop up all over this release, actually -- there's some lead guitar by Eddie Legend of Japanese garage/rockabilly band The Mad 3, a track with analog synth twiddle courtesy Maso Yamazaki (Masonna/Christine 23 Onna), and another with some laptop computer fuckery from Masami "Merzbow" Akita (who also just completed a full-on collaborative album with Boris, see nearby for a review of that opus, the drone yin to this album's rock yang).
With or without the help of noiseniks Merzbow and Masonna, noisy, fuzzed-out psychedelic atmospheres abound here, but generally in the context of high energy, superheavy rockin'. Really, the album relaxes only for the spaced-out guitar bliss of "Soft Edge" halfway through. Tracks like "Korosu", "Dyna-Soar", "Death Valley", "Rattlesnake", and "1970" are all catchy, riff-laden showcases for Boris' brand of kick-ass rock n' roll. Even if you aren't into stoner rock, you should check this out because it easily surpasses most of the other bands operating within the genre. Irresistable. Honestly.
MPEG Stream: "Heavy Friends"
MPEG Stream: "Korosu"
MPEG Stream: "Rattlesnake"
MPEG Stream: "Death Valley"
MPEG Stream: "The Bell Tower Of A Sign"

HAINO, KEIJI Percussion (PSF) video 44.00
In honor of Haino's 50th birthday, in addition to his long overdue recognition on the cover of highbrow experimental music rag The Wire, PSF has issued a video document of a rare performance for voice and percussion instruments. Enigmatic and mysterious when merely only listened to, this video gives an anticipated insight to the physicality and trancendence of space experienced when witnessing Keiji Haino in full force, for seeing Haino perform in the flesh is an experience like no other. Unlike the previous video offered by PSF, an excerpt of a Fushitsusha performance (only 45 minutes of a supposed three hour set!), this offers a complete peek into the mystical genius of Keiji Haino. See Haino reduce a poor tambourine to its raw elements, tearing away at its flesh, drawing away its spirit, and exposing its corpse.

YOSHIDA, TATSUYA & KEIJI HAINO Until Water Grasps Flame (Noise Asia / Sonic Factory) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
We mentioned this exciting collaborative release in last