DESTRUCTO SWARMBOTS Clear Light (Public Guilt) cd 10.98
The return of the Destructo Swarmbots, who from the name, one can only assume is in fact a species of alien android, who appear in clouds of millions and millions of microscopic musical machines, that swarm into your ears and work their micromusicalmagic on your inner ear, and we love it. The last ep from these things (actually, this guy, named Mike) was a huge AQ favorite, a gorgeous soundscape of whirring droning ambience, and it wasn't difficult to imagine it could have been the work of millions of tiny sentient machines.Ê
This new one is a lot more organic, and more musical, conjuring up spaced out seventies krautrock as much as ambient experimental drone music. Trolling similar dark musical paths as Expo 70 or Horseflesh, to name a few recent AQ list luminaries, and thus the curtain is pulled back revealing the heart beating softly within each and every one of these Swarmbots.Ê
The opener is a nearly 40 minute ambient space jam, some musical outer space exploration, ribbons of buzzing guitar, and swirls of shimmery synth unfurl in huge weightless loops, drifting amidst glimmering stars and clouds of sonic space dust, rumbling and reverberating as the hull of the mother ship passes overhead. Eventually a keening wash of resonating high end builds into a swirling ocean of sound, melodies breaking apart and joining together again in different formations, almost like some primordial musical DNA, the guitar continuing to resurface like some massive black SUNNO))).
The three shorter tracks are like satellites orbiting the first: brief cinematic snippets of sound, strange ambience, mysterious murk, the warm warble of what sounds like horns, the groan and drone of low end tones, fluttering flickers of feedback, buzzing space synth psychedelic freakouts, cavernous low end loops, whirring minimal softdoom, haunting reverbed guitar muted and sent spinning into the ether, foghorn like swells, dreamy bleary eyed melancholy drifts, each track a strange little musical microcosm.
MPEG Stream: "Fireberry"
MPEG Stream: "Sipping On The Fog"

DESTRUCTO SWARMBOTS The Mountain EP (Public Guilt) cd ep 7.98
What kind of sounds would you expect from a band called Destructo Swarmbots? Don't bother guessing because you'd probably be way off. No squealing, grinding metallic mayhem here, instead this mysterious duo offer up three extended tracks of warm and creepy, fuzzy rumbling drone. As if you were sneaking through a mazelike series of tunnels, only to discover a whole legion of Destructo Swarmbots, secretly toiling away in an underground cavern, assembling some mysterious organic machine, and the huge space reverberates with the ominous humming and whirring of the 'bots incessant laboring. Definitely for the drone minded among you. Cool 3" cd packaged in a normal sized jewel case.
MPEG Stream: "36 Beautiful Songs"

DESVEAUX, ANGELA Wandering Eyes (Thrill Jockey) cd 14.98
Ahh, the eyes they may be wandering, but Canadian country/folk songstress Angela Desveaux knows where she's goin' with her impressive debut on Thrill Jockey. Indeed, her first full length is a remarkably accomplished, golden affair with quite a luminous array of guests, mostly pals from a little Montreal music scene you just might be familiar with (former Arcade Fire drummer Howard Bilerman, Hanged Up's Genevieve Heistek, Harris Newman, Wooden Stars' Mike Feuerstack, and Mike Moya of Molasses, Set Fire To Flames, Hrsta et al). She alternately brings to mind the sweet youthful earnestness of current girlish singers such as Jenny Lewis or Laura Veirs and the aching world weariness and womanly wisdom of Lucinda Williams and Gillian Welch (in press photos she actually looks like she could be Welch's long lost younger sister), leaning more heavily in the range of the latter two. Recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Heartbeat"
MPEG Stream: "Good Intentions"

DETENTION Warp & Woof (Arrival Records) cd 14.98
Detention are an improv group of students in detention hall after school. No, that's not true. Would have been cool though. Detention is a duo featuring Montreal musicians Sam Shalabi (whom you may know from the lovely psychedelica of the Shalabi Effect, as well as his band Molasses, etc.) and Alex MacSween, playing guitar and drums, respectively. This is an improv session, and sounds like it.

DETONI, DUBRAVKO Dubravko Detoni with Acezantez (Paradigm) cd 17.98
Five compositions for small ensemble, electronics and tape by obscure Croatian composer Dubravko Detoni (b. 1937). Trained as a pianist and having studied composition at Darmstadt, Detoni is well versed in modern composition techniques, electronics, musique concrete and group improvisation, and manages to incorporates all these elements seamlessly in his works. The five compositions on this CD, recorded between 1973 and 1976, have never before been released in the U.S. Utilizing recorders, clarinets, saxophone, piano, harpsichord, celesta, electric organ, glockenspiel, voice, viola, double bass, tuba, electronics and tape, the music of Dubravko Detoni falls somewhere in the 20th century spectrum between AMM, Gruppo Di Improvvisazione, and Igor Wakhevitch.

DETRITIVORE Pakt (Lyderhorn) cd 10.98
Pakt is a harrowing, abject experiment in doom-ed blackness, the debut from this Norwegian duo, who weave a suffocating expanse of dense layered blackness, a dizzying hybrid of blacknoize, dark hypnotic dronemusic, and funereal doom. But even as a strange hybridized bit of sonic experimentalism, Pakt still stands out as one of the coolest, weirdest records we've heard.
The opening track lays it all out, the dark chaotic crunch, the pulsing throbbing blackness, the strange, seemingly out of place melodicism, from the first few minutes, a strange sound like an approaching train, distant reverbed vocals, a slow build to a sort of post industrial black drift, the chug of the 'train', overtaken by another layer of buzz, that sounds more like a helicopter than any sort of instrument, then in comes some achingly mournful minimal minor key melodies, while that helicopter sound, becomes an almost riff-like pulse, and coalesces into thick syrupy SUNN-y sludge, before slipping right back into that pulsing chug, this time accompanied by crooned clean, high vocals, almost like a pop song set amidst all the roiling blackness, a strange mix for sure, but it works, creating a sort of dour black industrial pop.
The rest of the record is equally as striking, spreading out swaths of coruscating feedback, over deep tectonic rumbles, letting the sounds build into undulating sheets of doomgaze, before becoming a proper slabs of glacial doom, tamping down thick buzzing riffage into hushed, blurred downtuned shimmer, laced with field recordings, disembodied processed voices, buried melodies, creaking machinelike percussion, simple strummed acoustic guitars, butted up against massive squalls of blackpsych guitarnoise, 16 rpm riffage gradually slowing down and easing into brooding Godspeed style slow build post rock, or exploding into brief flares of Nadja like doomdronedirge, but seemingly always settling back into something darker and hauntingly tranquil. Awesome stuff. Most definitely for fans of Nadja, SUNNO))), Troum, Skullflower, To Blacken The Pages, Robedoor, Bong, Have A Nice Life, Fear Falls Burning, Marzuraan, Snowblood and other purveyors of avant blackness, brooding post metal, and all things slow, low, heavy and blackened.
Features super striking red and black Justin Bartlett artwork...
MPEG Stream: "Postludium"
MPEG Stream: "Lutring"
MPEG Stream: "Messe"

DETRITIVORE Pakt (Lyderhorn) lp 16.98
Pakt is a harrowing, abject experiment in doom-ed blackness, the debut from this Norwegian duo, who weave a suffocating expanse of dense layered blackness, a dizzying hybrid of blacknoize, dark hypnotic dronemusic, and funereal doom. But even as a strange hybridized bit of sonic experimentalism, Pakt still stands out as one of the coolest, weirdest records we've heard.
The opening track lays it all out, the dark chaotic crunch, the pulsing throbbing blackness, the strange, seemingly out of place melodicism, from the first few minutes, a strange sound like an approaching train, distant reverbed vocals, a slow build to a sort of post industrial black drift, the chug of the 'train', overtaken by another layer of buzz, that sounds more like a helicopter than any sort of instrument, then in comes some achingly mournful minimal minor key melodies, while that helicopter sound, becomes an almost riff-like pulse, and coalesces into thick syrupy SUNN-y sludge, before slipping right back into that pulsing chug, this time accompanied by crooned clean, high vocals, almost like a pop song set amidst all the roiling blackness, a strange mix for sure, but it works, creating a sort of dour black industrial pop.
The rest of the record is equally as striking, spreading out swaths of coruscating feedback, over deep tectonic rumbles, letting the sounds build into undulating sheets of doomgaze, before becoming a proper slabs of glacial doom, tamping down thick buzzing riffage into hushed, blurred downtuned shimmer, laced with field recordings, disembodied processed voices, buried melodies, creaking machinelike percussion, simple strummed acoustic guitars, butted up against massive squalls of blackpsych guitarnoise, 16 rpm riffage gradually slowing down and easing into brooding Godspeed style slow build post rock, or exploding into brief flares of Nadja like doomdronedirge, but seemingly always settling back into something darker and hauntingly tranquil. Awesome stuff. Most definitely for fans of Nadja, SUNNO))), Troum, Skullflower, To Blacken The Pages, Robedoor, Bong, Have A Nice Life, Fear Falls Burning, Marzuraan, Snowblood and other purveyors of avant blackness, brooding post metal, and all things slow, low, heavy and blackened.
Features super striking red and black Justin Bartlett artwork...
MPEG Stream: "Postludium"
MPEG Stream: "Lutring"
MPEG Stream: "Messe"

DETROIT COBRAS Baby. (Bloodshot) cd 14.98
While we're sure the Detroit Cobras remain as volatile and fiery as ever in the live setting, but for their newest album Baby, it sounds like they've toned down the flammables just a bit. At a few points in the very first song, it wouldn't seem at all unlikely for the band to segue right into "Dancing In The Streets" (the original Martha & The Vandellas version, not the Bowie/Jagger one, mind you!), we bet they'd do a pretty rad rendition (that is, if they haven't already, which wouldn't be at all surprising since covers make up the bulk of their repertoire). Perhaps, this might disappoint a few of their old fans who are more accustomed and addicted to the sweat'n'whisky soaked retro blues rawk recklessness, but it just might win them a bunch more on their surprising new label home, the Americana haven Bloodshot Records. When taken in the context of their new usually alt-country-centric label digs, the guitars take on more of a desert twang, the bass a more gunslinger stance, and the drums a galloping pace. But of course it's Rachel Nagy's soulful vocals that define the Cobras' ultra rad sound, and as always her performance keeps you riveted right up front and center. Psst, this is an 'enhanced cd' which means it includes a video for their tune "Cha Cha Twist"!
MPEG Stream: "Slipping Around"
MPEG Stream: "The Real Thing"

DETROIT COBRAS Life, Love And Leaving (Sympathy For The Record Industry) cd 13.98
This is the second full length from this band, not new really but worth bringing to your attention. They really do live in Detroit, they don't tour much, but when they do they put on a kick ass show, see them if you get a chance. As I (Sadie) wrote in my review of Mink Rat or Rabbit, they formed back in 1994, and two albums, 3 singles, and several personnel changes later, they are still kickin' serious garage ass!!! Sure, they -are- a cover band: they cover mostly old Stax / Motown songs, but the ones they pick, and and the fire and fury and sexiness and funkiness that they add is what makes them so special. Lead singer Rachel has the deepest sexiest voice ever. EVER! Fans of old soul and garage, especially the Nuggets and Pebbles comps definitely need to check these cats out!!
RealAudio clip: "Hey Sailor"
RealAudio clip: "Find Me A Home"
RealAudio clip: "Cry On"

DETROIT COBRAS Mink Rat or Rabbit (Sympathy For The Record Industry) cd 13.98
This is yet another cd that is not new but is -so- important to our Sadie that we are listing it now. "Mink Rat or Rabbit" was the first release by this lovely Detroit quintet, a band I just can't shut up about. I've convinced, like, seven of my friends to buy this and when I play it in the store someone always wants to buy it. The Detroit Cobras formed back in 1994, and two albums, 3 singles, and several personnel changes later, they are still kickin'. Yes, they are a cover band. They cover mostly old Stax / Motown songs. But the ones they pick, and how they do it, is what makes them so special. They add just the right amount of snarl and toughness. Lead singer Rachel has the deepest sexiest soul voice ever. God you have to hear it. I would do anything to have a voice like hers. They also do obscure covers of more current stuff, like Greg Oblivian's "Bad Man" (track 5), in which they changed the lyrics from self deprecating to mean and dissing: "I'm a bad girl but I'm too good for you". Anyone who likes old soul and garage has to hear this band. I know they are all covers but some of the covers are *better* than the originals and that is saying a lot when you know the covers are of artists such as Otis Redding, Ike Turner, Irma Thomas and Ronnie Mack! For fans of the tougher songs on the Nuggets and Pebbles compilations for sure.
RealAudio clip: "Putty (In Your Hands)"
RealAudio clip: "Bad Girl"
RealAudio clip: "Slummer (The Slum)"

DETROIT COBRAS Tied & True (Bloodshot) cd 14.98
We weren't expecting a new album yet from the mighty Detroit Cobras, but they went and surprised us with the super satisfying Tied & True. On this their fourth full length they continue on with the more 'reigned in' but no less potent approach heard on their last album Baby -- exuding barrels of '60s girl group charm and sass coverin' old Stax and Motown gems in their own tight yet loose rock'n'roll fashion. All the raw grit, the sultry soul and the lusty blues you've come to love and count on from this band is here in spades. This time around Rachel Nagy's always awesome, lusty voice frequently reminded us of a young Chrissie Hynde. Go figure! Great stuff!
MPEG Stream: "As Long As I Have You"
MPEG Stream: "Puppet On A String"

DETROIT COBRAS Tied & True (Bloodshot) lp 14.98
NOW ON VINYL!!!!!
We weren't expecting a new album yet from the mighty Detroit Cobras, but they went and surprised us with the super satisfying Tied & True. On this their fourth full length they continue on with the more 'reigned in' but no less potent approach heard on their last album Baby -- exuding barrels of '60s girl group charm and sass coverin' old Stax and Motown gems in their own tight yet loose rock'n'roll fashion. All the raw grit, the sultry soul and the lusty blues you've come to love and count on from this band is here in spades. This time around Rachel Nagy's always awesome, lusty voice frequently reminded us of a young Chrissie Hynde. Go figure! Great stuff!

DETSORGSEKALF Troo Grim Warriors Ov The Necrokkult (self-released) cd-r 7.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
BACK IN STOCK, SO BOW TREMBLING BEFORE THESE TROO GRIM WARRIORS, THESE BLACKENED FROST GIANTS FORM THE NORTH, in other words, if you didn't get one of these self released ep's last time we listed 'em, now's your chance...
By now all readers of the aQ list understand our obsession with fucked black metal. Demented, damaged, bizarre and brilliant. We can't get enough. From Benighted Leams to Rehtaf Ruo to Furze to Necrofrost to Striborg. Now, bow before the mighty black metal warriors of Detsorgsekalf.We discovered them quite by accident. Andee saw their video online (check it out here: http://www.eyeblister.com/inframe_main_1.html) and was so immediately smitten that he emailed them and first offered to play drums for them (they were drummerless, see the video), and barring that, offered to release a record for them. So with a forthcoming release on tUMULt in the works, we managed to get a handful of copies of their first self released cd-r, and if anything it more than lives up to the promise of the video.
Once you see the band and the video, you might get the impression that there's some sort of humor going on, maybe it's some sort of joke, but be aware this is as troo and grim as it gets. So serious in fact, that the band has already received numerous death threats from other disgruntled black metalheads, the contents of which will provide the concept and story for the upcoming full length. Lead vocalist Balfobar Nosugref is a massive behemoth of a man (literally, he's a really big guy!), clad in spiked armor and smeared in corpsepaint as he spews all sorts of necro wisdom in a demonic screech WAY up in the mix. Then there's the ultrahot Morksjal The Necrowench, who wields a bloodied black axe like a woman possessed. The whole band is a motley crew of blackened misfits from the bowels of the earth, sprung forth to spread musical disease and pestilence. The sound is a Burzumy buzz, with blasting drum machine beats and no bass! Just buzzing guitar after buzzing guitar, a swirling droney blast of black frost. Balfabar's vocals are absurd and insane, spouting all manner of satanic drivel as well as rants about his girlfriend and other evil thoughts. There are some strange falsetto vocals, some random funk bass, strange samples, all mixed in amidst the evil buzz. Sometimes things get almost a bit too goofy, reminding us a little bit of a necro Steven Schultz (who we obviously love), but the band is at their best when they are in full on black buzz mode, then they can hold their own with any of the above mentioned black metal bands. The demented elite for sure.
They may be true and grim and evil, a black metal fist crushing all false metal, but Detsorgsekalf (their name being "frosted flakes" backwards but with a "g" instead of an "f" we just figured out, maybe) manage, in the process of being evil and true, to take the wind out of the sails of all those black metal blowhards that take themselves too seriously. Not that this isn't serious, because it is. Really.
Just check the bonus tracks "Keyboard Solo" and their holiday chestnut "Black Xmas." Or the video. And enjoy the Troo Grim Warriors Ov The Necrokkult while you anxiously await the new full length: A.B.B.A. -- Apocaalyptic Blasphemed Battle Anthems!!
MPEG Stream: "The Embers Of Your Church Burn So Bright"
MPEG Stream: "Troo Grim Warriors Of The Necrokkult"
MPEG Stream: "Frostburn Upon The Winter Of Mankind's Discontent"

DETTINGER Intershop (Kompakt) cd 17.98

DETTINGER, OLAF Oasis (Kompakt) cd 17.98
Looping dubbed abstraction new on hip Cologne label Kompakt. There's been a lot of underground buzz, but I don't really get it.

DEUPREE, TAYLOR .N (Ritornell / Mille Plateaux) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Taylor Deupree's sound evolved to encompass the microscopic sound heralded by Rastermusic (Noto, Coh, and the 20' to 2000 series). Conceptually based on the development of nanotechnologies, Deupree sets delicate shards of modular synthesis into repetitive post-techno structures.

DEUPREE, TAYLOR 1am (12k) cd ep 11.98

DEUPREE, TAYLOR Northern (12K) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

DEUPREE, TAYLOR Occur (12K) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
As soon as this came on the AQ stereo, Byram chimed in, "Is this on Raster?" Nope. "Oh, it must be on 12K then." That initial reaction is the blessing and curse of Taylor Deupree and his 12K label, both of whom so badly want to have that Raster-Noton sound. "Occur" is an album of "non-repetition and subdued melodic passages composed almost entirely by granular synthesis algorithms," and sounds exactly like a Carsten Nicolai (Noto) production.

DEUPREE, TAYLOR Polr (Raster-Noton) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The packaging of the anti-static shielding bag is certainly appropriate to house the electron modulations of Taylor Deupree's "Polr" album. Released right on the heels of an album for the Mille Plateaux subsidiary Ritornell, this actually marks a big step in the development of Deupree's nano-technist productions. His post-techno rhythmic structures and delicately phased crystalline fluctuatations (dare we call them melodies?) slowly rise out of black box empty spaces much in the same way as Mika Vainio's solo work (especially the ¯ "Metri" album). Very good!

DEUPREE, TAYLOR Stil. (12K) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The Brooklyn glitch-minimalist Taylor Deupree offers another decent album of looping electronic pulses layered with sublime, synthetic melodies, ringing modulations, and textured digital grit. "Stil." ends up sounding nearly identical to Oval's "Diskont 94" which predated this album by nearly 8 years. Not original, but quite good.

DEUPREE, TAYLOR & TETSU INOUE Active / Freeze (12K) cd 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
An inevitable collaboration between digital clicksters Taylor Deupree and Tetsu Inoue. Insect-like.

DEUTER Aum (Kuckuck) cd 15.98
Out of all the classic New Age artists, the one that gets a definite pass around here is Deuter. Though many of his later records (Nada Himalaya excluded) venture into the cheesier areas of the new age genre, his early records are great examples of German kosmiche music and are just as good as Popol Vuh, Cluster and Agitation Free. For instance, Aum, which we just got in to list for the first time (though it's not a new reissue). Aum was recorded in 1972 and released a year after his debut record, D. While D was more about tape effects and studio experiments, Aum is his first obvious venture into a more spiritually based musical practice. Sounds of storms and birds, guitars and flutes open up the disc in what could be a track by South American psych-folk groups Satwa or Congregacion (or even Citay or The Alps!). But the following tracks venture into a quiet but pensive meditation of tablas, and warbling bass, simmering sitar drones and subtle chanting. The track "Sattwa" is a sitar and piano interaction while "Surat Shabda" is a trance-y exploration using ethnic percussion instruments. But the longest and prettiest track is "Susani", an eight minute delayed electric guitar excursion around a few rhythmically repeating chords over low minor key vocal drones and far off ocean swells that burn off into a fading hum. It's definitely one of those limbo records, mining a deeper territory of minimalist composition with psychedelic effects that would eventually be marketed as New Age. But this is long before that genre got ruined, and any fan of the bands mentioned above should check this out for sure!
MPEG Stream: "Phoenix"
MPEG Stream: "Soham"
MPEG Stream: "Morning Glory"

DEUTER Aum (Kuckuck / Cherry Red Phonograph) lp 28.00
Yay, this mellow kraut classic now newly reissued on wax!
Out of all the classic New Age artists, the one that gets a definite pass around here is Deuter. Though many of his later records (Nada Himalaya excluded) venture into the cheesier areas of the New Age genre, his early records are great examples of German kosmiche music and are just as good as Popol Vuh, Cluster and Agitation Free. For instance, Aum, which we just got in to list for the first time (though it's not a new reissue). Aum was recorded in 1972 and released a year after his debut record, D. While D was more about tape effects and studio experiments, Aum is his first obvious venture into a more spiritually based musical practice. Sounds of storms and birds, guitars and flutes open up the disc in what could be a track by South American psych-folk groups Satwa or Congregacion (or even Citay or The Alps!). But the following tracks venture into a quiet but pensive meditation of tablas, and warbling bass, simmering sitar drones and subtle chanting. The track "Sattwa" is a sitar and piano interaction while "Surat Shabda" is a trance-y exploration using ethnic percussion instruments. But the longest and prettiest track is "Susani", an eight minute delayed electric guitar excursion around a few rhythmically repeating chords over low minor key vocal drones and far off ocean swells that burn off into a fading hum. It's definitely one of those limbo records, mining a deeper territory of minimalist composition with psychedelic effects that would eventually be marketed as New Age. But this is long before that genre got ruined, and any fan of the bands mentioned above should check this out for sure!
MPEG Stream: "Phoenix"
MPEG Stream: "Soham"
MPEG Stream: "Morning Glory"

DEUTER D (Kuckuck) cd 15.98
We finally got a hold of this reissue of electronic home-recording Krautrocker Deuter's first album. Subsequent releases devolved into New Age lameness, but this one, from 1971, is quite brilliant, a hallucinatory affair of studio experiments, tape effects, and guitar explorations. For fans of Sand, early Kraftwerk, or most of the Kranky contingent.
MPEG Stream: "Babylon"
MPEG Stream: "Der Turm/Fluchpunkt"
MPEG Stream: "Krishna Eating Fish And Chips"

DEUTER D (Missing Vinyl / Kuckuck) lp 35.00
Years ago when we listed the compact disc reissue of this Krautrock classic, the home-recorded 1971 debut from eccentric electronics specialist (and soon to be New Age pioneer) Georg Deuter, we called it quite brilliant, a hallucinatory affair of studio experiments, tape effects, and guitar explorations, that we recommended for fans of both early Kraftwerk, and most of the Kranky contingent. Still do, now that it's back on (unfortunately expensive) vinyl. Certainly, it's THEE Deuter album to get (though we also like some others he has done). If you dig the back cover photo of a barefoot, mustachioed Deuter (wearing those round John Lennon style shades), crouched in front of some reel-to-reel tape gear, playing the bongos, you'll probably also dig the sounds on this album, from the Eastern drone of "Krishna Eating Fish And Chips" to the underwater ambience of "Atlantis"! This record is not not nearly as blissed-out as Deuter's later output, with many sequences that attack with jarring yet hypnotic intensity, reminding us a lot of another kraut fave, A.R. & Machines.
MPEG Stream: "Babylon"
MPEG Stream: "Der Turm/Fluchpunkt"
MPEG Stream: "Krishna Eating Fish And Chips"

DEUTER Nada Himalaya (New Earth) cd 16.98
This was given to me as a gift, from a friend who shares the same love of the deep dark ominous drone as we do, and before he let me unwrap it, he had all of these provisos: ignore the horrible cover, promise to listen to it before you pass judgment, ignore the fact that it's on New Earth records and that it says "Music For Meditation" on the cover, ignore the rainbow logo and the cheesy landscape, ignore the blurbs on the back cover, basically, try to ignore everything BUT the music. I did, and I'm so glad I did. So now we must do the same for you, faithful AQ customer. Listen to the sound samples, close your eyes and let these gorgeous mystical drones carry you off.
Some of you may know of Deuter before he went all 'new age' -- he was responsible for D, an awesome early '70s Krautrock document of studio experimentation, tape effects, and guitar explorations. While this is a completely different beast, and may have been intended for a whole different audience, it's actually quite stunning. This definitely holds up to any of our favorite dronelords, Chalk, Coleclough, Mirror, in fact this is another one of those releases that if it were some super limited homemade cd-r imported from Finland packaged with twigs and some wire, people would be freaking out BIG TIME! So let's just pretend that this IS some weird obscure drone cd-r, that way we can skip all the bullshit and totally dig in to this divine droney drift.
Made completely from the sounds of Tibetan bells, bowls and chimes, these two tracks (skip the third track, a two minute recording of a burbling stream) are lengthy gorgeous meditational drifts, a deep sea of overlapping tones, shimmering resonance, slowly drifting ovetones, beating gently against each other, creating a dense swirl of microscopic colors and warm subtle shadings. Nearly fifty minutes of divine drone, simultaneously dark and ominous, bright and dreamy, close listening reveals layer after layer of hidden almost-melodies, super subtle mysterious sonic events, a divine dreamworld of deep drifting ambience. So totally and utterly amazing. Pretty awesome that one of our favorite new drone records is not a cd-r from Finland, but a cd from a German ex-hippie new age guru living in New Mexico. Fuck yeah!
MPEG Stream: "Nada Himalaya 1"
MPEG Stream: "Nada Himalaya 2"

DEUTROM, MARK Iraq (self-released) cd-r 12.98
LAST 10 COPIES!!! Already out of print, so this is your last chance...
On first listen, we weren't entirely sure what to think. After all, Deutrom once handled bass for the Melvins, did a solo album a while back that sounded more like Queens Of The Stone Age, and he also recently released a cd-r made entirely out of the sounds of a squeaking gate, a record even Deutrom admitted he couldn't listen to. Thus we have Iraq, that on first listen, does indeed have us thinking about that infamous squeaking gate record. But on closer listening, and knowing the sound source, it becomes much more interesting (and maybe even a slight bit more listenable). Iraq is a single hour long piece, consisting of a crackling skittering slightly percussive squelch, chopped and repeated, looped and stretched, sometimes it sounds like Autechre, albeit WAY stripped down, sometimes it sounds like a bug zapper, sometimes it sounds like someone shaking pop corn in one of those readymade popcorn pans you cook on the stove, sometimes it sounds like super high pitched crickets, sometimes... well, you get the idea. Sonically it could easily have been a piece by Ikeda or Hauswolff or one of those folks. But once you realize where the sounds came from, it's a whole different story. Every sound on this disc was generated from a single loop of 7 different recordings of George W. Bush saying the word Iraq. All taken from important speeches, two from this year's State Of The Union Address, two from a speech during which Bush announced the beginning of "Operation Iraqi Freedom" in 2003 and three from Bush's "Mission Accomplished" speech also in 2003. Hard to understand how 7 "Iraq"s became this crazy stuttery staticky piece, until you realize that there are 14,112,000 repetitions of the word "Iraq" per minute in the piece. Woah!
Hard to explain Deutrom's concept, repetition equals obsolescence, intrinsic veracity through absolute negation, etc.... yeah yeah yeah, okay, but basically, this is just one fucked up piece of sound art. And who can argue with some subtle sonic Bush bashing? Not us!!
SUPER LIMITED! ONLY 500 COPIES MADE!! Each one hand numbered and signed! Packaged in cool hand screened cardstock sleeves with two printed inserts and liner notes.
MPEG Stream: "Iraq (excerpt 1)"
MPEG Stream: "Iraq (excerpt 2)"

DEUTSCH, ANDREW Loops Over Land (Divine Frequency) cd 15.98

DEUTSCHE WERTARBEIT s/t (Medical Records) lp 19.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
We can probably count the major female figures of Krautrock on one hand. Most of them like Rosi Mueller of Ash Ra Tempel, Renate Knaup from Amon Duul II, Djong Yun from Popol Vuh, or Sabine Merbach from Gila were either singers or muses for their male-led bands. And don't even mention Clara Mondshine, which was a pseudonym for Walter Bachauer, a very real actual man. But even among those women, you don't find too many female krautrock composers. Actually, we really couldn't think of any, offhand. Can you? If so, please enlighten!
Thankfully, the brand new reissue label, Medical Records, who has bolted out the gate running with not only one but two amazing (and amazingly limited!) vinyl-only reissues, sets the record straight! The other reissue, Alexander Robotnick, reviewed elsewhere on this list, is a weirdo Italo-disco / French electro classic we've known about for awhile and we're super psyched to see finally reissued. But this one, Deutsche Wertarbeit , the solo project of Dorothea Raukes, is altogether completely new to us and what a fantastic discovery it is!
Released on Sky Records in 1981, Deutsche Wertarbeit was Raukes' first solo effort after years of being the singer for a German Progressive band we're not familiar with called Streetmark, who started in 1968, and released 4 lps between 1976 and 1981. Two of those were also released on Sky Records and one of them was even recorded in collaboration with Wolfgang Riechmann, the same year he was murdered. What? Really? Why didn't we know of this already? Just goes to show, there are still many treasures to be unearthed.
And if you dug Wolfgang Riechmann's Wunderbar reissue, that we raved about awhile back, or Klaus Schultze, Tangerine Dream, Cluster, Peter Baumann, or even some of the later Manuel Gottsching recordings such as New Age of Earth, then add Deutsche Wertarbeit to the essential kosmiche synthscape canon. But while she definitely fits in with those artists, she carves out her own defining sound of warm minimal hypnotic rhythms and vocoder voicings that display a joyous exhuberance you don't see as much in artists like Schultze or Baumann. In fact this would fit in well with the stuff on that Dirty Space Disco comp, as it sounds like a mystical combination of Vangelis and Popol Vuh, expansive and cosmic, upliftingly propulsive while keeping it all beautifully reigned in.
LIMITED TO 500 COPIES, each 180 gram colored vinyl and hand-numbered. We're not sure how long we'll have these, so don't wait too long. Highest Recommendation!!!!!!
MPEG Stream: "Guten Abend Leute"
MPEG Stream: "Auf Engelsflugeln"
MPEG Stream: "Der Grosse Atem"

DEVENDRA BANHART White Reggae Troll (XL) 12" 6.98
Special one sided, vinyl-only single featuring the 10 minute long "White Reggae Troll". This half-reggae / half punk disco jam, often performed live as an encore, shows Banhart stretching the freak-folk genre down a few different rollicking avenues. We believe this is a one time only pressing, so once they're gone we're not sure we can get them in again! Plus it's called WHITE REGGAE TROLL!!!

DEVIANTS Ptooff! (Get Back) lp 19.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Italian vinyl-only reissue of Mick Farren's 1968 pre-Pink Fairies psych-proto-punk band's best-loved album.

DEVIANTS, THE Ptoof! / Disposable (Mason Records) cd 21.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

DEVIL AND DANIEL JOHNSTON, THE (Sony) dvd 30.00
We've all loved Daniel Johnston for years, his heartbreakingly personal tales of lost love and personal demons. His voice straining and cracking over wheezing chord organ or plinking piano or simple strummed guitars. Bizarre super personal lyrics, and his artwork, lots of Caspar the Ghosts and Captain America's and eyeballs everywhere. Even for those not super familiar with Johnston and his music, it was painfully obvious that he was, at least on some level, struggling with metal illness, anxiety, depression. But musicians are always -sort- of crazy, super eccentric, weirder than your average folk, so it was easy to consider Johnston more of a weird idiosyncratic outsider artist than a tragic figure coping with depression and dementia through his art. But watching The Devil And Daniel Johnston, there's no way to see it any other way. A truly heartbreaking portrait of Johnston gradually losing touch with reality and becoming more and more mentally unstable and in some cases downright dangerous. Culminating in the infamous incident, where Johnston and his father, a former fighter pilot were flying a small plane, when Johnston freaked out, pulled the keys out, tossed them out the window, and grabbed the controls, with Johnston's father barely regaining control in time to execute a controlled crash. And watching Johnston's elderly father tell that story, sobbing hysterically, is just one of the many times you'll likely be brought to tears. A gorgeous and fascinating documentary, made all the better by Johnstons compulsive recording over the years, recording almost every conversation, filming home movies, taping while being escorted from the Statue Of Liberty after being arrested for drawing Jesus fish all over the stairwell, taping fights with his parents, taping a confrontation with Lee And Thurston of Sonic Youth after wandering the streets all nigh, keeping a sort of audio diary, and on and on and on.
It's a fascinating story, but so so tragic. The music is of course amazing, the artwork too, and for the first 3/4 of the music, we don't even meet Daniel Johnston as he is now. It's all home movies and photos and anecdotes, going to school, working at McDonalds, playing music, travelling, making movies, spending time in mental institutions, being the subject of a major label bidding war, being on MTV, and so much more, which makes the final 30 minutes or so all the more poignant when we do finally meet Johnston, and observe him interacting with his parents, preparing for art shows, meeting fans and still struggling with his demons. It's not all so maudlin though, there are plenty of amazing performances, funny stories, but there's always an undercurrent of sadness, which is always what made his music and art so emotional and compelling.
Lots of special features, a live WFMU special, deleted scenes, Daniel's home movies, Daniel's audio diaries, and more, but be sure and watch the reunion segment, where Johnston meets his muse Laurie after 26 years. She was a friend of his in college, the love of his life, who married an undertaker and moved away, but continued, unbeknownst to her, to inspire some of the most amazing and emotionally charged music of the twentieth century. Their prolonged hug, after which Johnston suggests they get married, is so moving, even writing about it has me all choked up.
Essential for Johnston fans, but even if you're not a fan, one of the most amazing documentaries of the year for sure!

DEVIL DOLL Dies Irae (Hurdy Gurdy) cd 17.98
Another disc of horrifying progressive creepiness from Italian underground masters of the bizarre and the frightening, Devil Doll. Never was a band more suited to scoring horror films (since Goblin), but Devil Doll don't, they just weave epic and haunting filmless scores, leaving it to your imagination to come up with the ghastly images that must surely accompany music this horrific. Dark and meandering, strings and organs, and this time around a female opera singer accompanies Mr. Doctor's inhuman falsetto howl/growl. This is so good. Imagine a weirder, and occasionally more metal Goblin, with a vocalist who is Diamanda Galas, Dani Filth and Sainko Namtchylak all wrapped up in one hunchbacked pointy-eared hobgoblin. So good.
RealAudio clip: "One"
RealAudio clip: "Two"
RealAudio clip: "Three"

DEVIL DOLL Eliogabalus (Hurdy Gurdy) cd 17.98
Still even more haunting and lush frightscapes from this Italian troupe of musical miscreants. Orchestral and progressive and heavy and occasionally carnivalesque. Super distorted creep-out piano abruptly shifts to a melancholy soundscape underpinning mad Mr. Doctor's maniacal whispers as duelling distorted cellos and halloween violins explode into a haunted carnival complete with shuffling snares, burping tubas and violent squalls spinning from side to side courtesy of some extreme stereo panning. Imagine Godspeed You Black Emperor if they were raised on King Crimson and ELP, were forced to watch Fulci and Argento movies non stop, while listening to Wagner and Eighties Metal, huffing ether and drinking absinthe. Then add the most insane frontman ever, incorporating the best (or worst) parts of Marilyn Manson, Serge Gainsbourg, Rob Halford, the Gyuto monks, Dani Filth (Cradle of Filth), Geddy Lee, Klaus Nomi and Diamanda Galas. Ridiculous, amazing, and so completely recommended.
RealAudio clip: "Mr. Doctor"

DEVIL DOLL Sacrilege Of Fatal Arms (Hurdy Gurdy) cd 17.98
Another Devil Doll record that we finally managed to get our hands on. This is apparently a fan club only re-release and the sleeve warns that "this music can alter your mental health". It sure is strange enough that it might make you wonder what the hell you're listening to. An orchestra tunes up, some polite applause and then a Sousa-style march that is interrupted by what sounds like an Italian politician whipping an angry mob into a frenzy. Then it gets serious. Strings and organ accompany sinister chants in a liturgy of the damned that turns into a Goblin-esque prog workout. It's a crime that some horror film director didn't grab these guys cause they make some of the most tense, evocative faux soundtrack music we've heard (although this is supposedly an actual soundtrack). About 6 minutes into it, the Devil Doll we all know and love starts to materialise, with the unmistakable strains of Mr. Doctor's hissed/whispered/growled vocals taking over and leading the listener through a surreal maze of terror and insanity. Fans of Goblin will love this. One eighty minute track.
RealAudio clip: "The Sacrilege of Fatal Arms"

DEVIL DOLL Sacrilegium (Hurdy Gurdy) cd 17.98
More Devil Doll insanity. It seems unfair to always compare Devil Doll to Goblin, but it's sort of unavoidable as they both traffic in the same creepy proggy nightmarescapes and they are both so good. To be fair though, Devil Doll have more room to play since they aren't composing for actual films, which ends up making them a lot stranger. 'Sacrilegium' begins with a bang, soaring organs and seventies prog slowly overtaken by a demonic choir chanting some sacred rites. Then, Mr. Doctor, the high priest of Devil Doll, begins his serpentine recitation, of mysteries and tales of horror with his warbling raspy falsetto. Truly haunting and fucking far out. Again it's the vocals that keep this band so cult, but if you ask me, it's exactly what makes this band so amazing.

DEVIL DOLL The Girl Who Was... Death (Hurdy Gurdy Records) cd 17.98
Although this is not a new release, we finally found a way to get these and keep them in stock. It's really tough to explain what this band sounds like, and apparently it's really hard for most people to even like them, seeing as they have a ton of records out, and they somehow manage to remain completely unknown. Which is a shame, 'cause man this stuff is incredible. And insane! Imagine Godspeed, You Black Emperor mixed with Cradle Of Filth mixed with Goblin and Art Zoyd or Univers Zero. Then imagine that bizarre hybrid scoring a Dario Argento film. Then you'll begin to get an idea of how bizarre Devil Doll really is. But then top off the whole thing with the vocals of Mr. Doctor, a raspy growling, occasionally falsetto, but more often hissed and howled, purely evil voice. Pretty sure it's the vocals that keep the casual listener at bay. But give it a try. Imagine Dani Filth, Robert Wyatt, Nitro or any 'extreme vocalist'. But the vocals really fit perfectly. 'The Girl Who Was...Death' is one hour long track that begins with plucked violin and far away piano. Atmospheric and truly chilling. The vocals come in gradually, building in intensity and insanity, with the already bizarre vocals effected and electronically twisted until the band kicks in with their black metal/prog rock. The track continues soundtrack-like, seesawing back and forth between dark and tranquil creep-scapes of faraway piano and haunting female vocals and sporadic bursts of metallic mayhem. Metal fans should eat this up, but adventurous music lovers should give it a try as well.
RealAudio clip: "The Girl Who Was...Death"

DEVIL DUB s/t (Black Hole) cd 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Bay area "dub" band (which may actually be called Ben Wa, it's hard to tell) that features the likes of Buckethead, DJ Disk, Brain, and M.I.R.V.

DEVIL'S ANVIL, THE Hard Rock From The Middle East (Rev-Ola) cd 16.98
We LOVE this album, and have for a long time. We first reviewed a reissue of this "exotic" 1967 garage-fuzz gem back in 2001, in fact making it a Record Of The Week. That reissue was a somewhat odd 2-fer-1 deal that included an album by another, pretty much utterly unrelated '60s psych band, The Freak Scene, kinda cool but not Middle Eastern styled like The Devil's Anvil. And it was The Devil's Anvil that was the real treasure on that disc, as far as we were concerned. If you haven't heard it yet, you're in luck, 'cause it's just been reissued again, getting a disc all to itself this time, courtesy of vintage rock specialists Rev-Ola, who do their usual nice job with the packaging and all.
The cover art shows the band hangin' in the desert in front of the pyramids of Egypt - but don't be fooled, they were actually mostly Arab-AMERICANS, based in New York City. Still, their rock n' roll was as authentically "Middle Eastern" as their Turkish contemporaries. They could have held their own with the likes of Erkin Koray and Mogollar.
The Devil's Anvil got together in the happenin' mid sixties Greenwich Village scene, playing their Middle Eastern influenced music at folk cafes and rock clubs. Eventually they hooked up with classical musician-turned-rocker Felix Pappalardi (producer of Cream's Disraeli Gears, later to play alongside Leslie West in Mountain). He began playing bass with the band and eventually scored the group a record deal. The resulting album was truly one-of-a-kind and would certainly made greater impact had it not been released on the very eve of the Arab-Israeli war in 1967. Thus, we're told no New York radio stations would play it and unfortunately the album has remained an expensive collector's find until its cd reissue.
The rock contained herein is absolutely kick ass, with bluesy and impassioned Arabic vocals, electric (or at least amplified) oud, bouzouki, tamboura, durbeki as well as the usual rock suspects of (fuzz!) guitar, bass and drums. The majority of the tracks here are either rock arrangements of traditional Middle Eastern and Greek numbers or original compositions, but a couple are actually straight traditional numbers with no western instruments at all. Plus there's an excellent Middle Eastern-esque rock arangement of surf classic "Misirlou" (of course, a song with its roots originally in Greek rembetika) that's perhaps the best version ever recorded, in our humble opinion. And the record ends with a Devil's Anvil original that kinda reminds us of one of the Beatles' more Eastern-influenced tunes. This is about as good as it gets. Very, very highly recommended! Nay, ESSENTIAL.
The cd booklet of this new reish includes original album graphics along with brand new liner notes from one of the writers at Shindig magazine, and a blurb on the back that just might have been parapharased from -our- Record Of The Week review of this album.
MPEG Stream: "Wala Dai"
MPEG Stream: "Shisheler"
MPEG Stream: "Hala Laya"
MPEG Stream: "Basaha"

DEVIL'S BLOOD, THE Come, Reap (Profound Lore) cd 10.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Profound Lore brings us this cd ep (five songs, nigh on 28 minutes) from The Devil's Blood, a female-fronted Dutch psychedelic hard rock act from Holland, who possess (or are possessed by?) a Satanic/occultic lyrical bent. Claiming inspiration from vintage sixties and seventies proto-metal and psych, The Devil's Blood have quite a lot in common with another "Blood" band with a witchy female vocalist reviewed here just last list, Blood Ceremony. We bet the two would get on famously. They sound different enough though, TDB not being so overtly retro-doom-metal, and more of a rockin' deal, no flutes or nothin'. Some '70s progginess comes in from the keyboards, infusing these tracks with cinematic bombast, but while this doesn't quite sound modern, it's not like they're trying to recreate the music of an earlier era, exactly, either. Although, like Witchcraft, they're big Roky Erickson fans, and cover the Rok's "White Faces" here.
Vocally, Jex Thoth haters might again have issues, but perhaps not. We're reminded a bit of Heart (who kicked ass upon occasion, don't you forget it, or let Sarah Palin ruin "Barracuda" for you). How else to describe this? Maybe imagine if Shocking Blue sang about Satan, and of course were quite a bit heavier too...
Sorta a surprise from Profound Lore, and a pleasant one. I guess not so strange since it kinda fits in with their recent Hammers Of Misfortune opus, the female vocals and keyboards and melodic content and all. Oh, and if you care, which we think you should, they get the thumbs up from Fenriz of Darkthrone, who included 'em on his list of record recommendations in the liner notes to Dark Thrones and Black Flags, reviewed here last list.
MPEG Stream: "The Heavens Cry Out (For The Devil's Blood)"

DEVIL'S BLOOD, THE The Thousandfold Epicentre (Metal Blade) cd 15.98
Ah, scenes, waves, movements, trends, genres, we all know rock critics love 'em. We gotta admit we do too, if only 'cause it makes writing our reviews a bit easier sometimes, when you can stick something in a category. To wit, take this thing happening now with all these "female fronted, occult-oriented, rock/metal" bands, one of the most popular examples of such, being Dutch outfit The Devil's Blood. While some of these bands are super sludgey and doomed-out (Wooden Stake, The Wounded Kings) and others hark back to the '70s proto-metal psych scene (Blood Ceremony, Jex Thoth), and still others are straight up NWOBHM steel (Christian Mistress), this one, The Devil's Blood, while displaying elements of all the styles just mentioned, is by far the most "classic rock", with almost a '60s vibe, reminding us especially of Heart! Huh, well that's cool 'cause we heart Heart.
One of our friends theorizes that as modern metal has gotten more and more extreme, it's reached a point where, with bands like The Devil's Blood and Ghost, it's gotta go full circle back to completely classic, melodic roots. That's the new extreme! That's his theory, anyway.
And scenes and theories aside, we are digging this new Devil's Blood for sure. Eleven new tracks of their swirling, retro rockin', sweetly Satanic sounds, laced with great guitarwork and graced by THAT VOICE, which will be the deciding factor for most listeners, the soaring singing of "F. The Mouth Of Satan" (yep that's what she calls herself!) being an un-ignorable element, the crucial crux of this band, and either you'll fall under her spell or you won't. If you do, the rest of their witchy wall o' sound will fall in line, the dramatic organ, the urgent rhythms, the powerful production, the catchy choruses...
Heck, but chances are you already have found yourself smitten, as we sold plenty of this album's predecessor The Time Of No Time Evermore, and before that, their debut ep Come, Reap. If you liked those, you'll like this, as The Thousandfold Epicentre builds on their strengths, maybe generating more of a mystic mood than the last one. Their talents are especially on display during this album's tour-de-force finale, the 15 minute ritual of "Feverdance". There the band's balance of melody and menace tips to way outside of pop territory by virtue of sheer eerie epicness alone.
Another friend of ours, who runs a local label that puts out a lot of vinyl reissues (mostly '80s era new wave / electronic / coldwave stuff), was in the store the other day when we were playing this new album by The Devil's Blood. He thought it sounded like a band from the sixties, the vocals anyway, reminding him of acts like The United States Of America, Ultimate Spinach, and probably Jefferson Airplane, stuff like that. And he was quite taken with it, funny 'cause he's a guy who would normally not have been checking out a band with the evil/metal look and name The Devil's Blood has! They're not only for metalheads, that's all we're saying. Even though The Devil's Blood is happily (la-la-la!) serving Satan all the while.
MPEG Stream: "devilsblooddiethe.mp3"
MPEG Stream: "devilsbloodshe.mp3"
MPEG Stream: "devilsbloodfireburning.mp3"

DEVIL'S BLOOD, THE The Time Of No Time Evermore (Van) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
All right! Time to rock, AND worship Satan (what else is new?), 'cause the debut full-length from Holland's The Devil's Blood is finally here, released a few months back as an import but now also available through domestic distribution channels, although it's really still the import on Germany's excellent Van label (who also just unleashed in the US the latest Ruins Of Beverast, as well as the massive/morose debut from Swedish doomsters Griftegard, both of which we'll be reviewing next time). Lots of folks (including us, and Darkthrone's Fenriz) were really into the 5-song Come, Reap ep by this female-fronted "occult rock" act, which made a big splash via the Profound Lore label back in 2008, and the alluring promise of that ep is borne out by the eleven tracks of this album. As before, they've got a '70s, doom metal-ly vibe, playing psychedelic heavy rock that draws from the same well of inspiration shared by bands like Witchcraft (e.g. Roky Erickson, Black Sabbath, Pentagram, early Scorpions, to cite some they'd mention, or that we think we hear), with ripping guitars and wailing vocals that push all our buttons for this sort of thing. But, we don't know if we'd really call 'em doom metal, they're almost more in full on classic rock mode, these songs uptempo and rockin', bombastic and downright anthemic, buxom singer "The Mouth" in possession of a powerful voice, one that's loud and proud (of Satan!). Delivering the goods across this album, The Devil's Blood come on like an unholy mix of funky Led Zeppelin, Heart, Thin Lizzy, and a bit of Mercyful Fate (for their love of Lucifer, and also the dual guitar action, like some of those others).
THE killer jam here is "Queen Of My Burning Heart", a super groovy number with an incredibly infectious twin guitar riff, it's like Jex Thoth jamming with Birds Of Avalon! Another band we could mention is, believe it or not, the Dead Weather, this kicks ass on them though by being more metal and '70s and devil worshipful. And by the way, we're pretty sure The Devil's Blood are fairly serious about the Satan stuff, heck one of the songs here was co-written by one of the dudes from bloody black metal masters Watain (though this isn't at all black metal like them, maybe black classic hard rock would fit).
MPEG Stream: "Queen Of My Burning Heart"
MPEG Stream: "I'll Be Your Ghost"
MPEG Stream: "Christ Or Cocaine"

DEVIL'S REJECTS, THE (OST) (Universal) dualdisc cd / DVD 17.98
Plenty of folks hated the movie House Of 1000 Corpses. We weren't among 'em. Sure it was a bit of a mess, a little confused, and borrowed HEAVILY from the classics (Last House On The Left, The Hills Have Eyes, and especially The Texas Chainsaw Massacre). But so what?!?! It was a GREAT looking movie. It was fun and gory and gross and pretty wild. One of the problems was putting it up against all the blockbusters, marketing it like a big movie, instead of letting it build momentum and exist as an art house flick, where it belonged. And part of that had to do with the celebrity status of first time director Rob Zombie, of the band White Zombie. The famous rock band, MTV, and all that, the studio probably smelled big bucks. But let's be honest, part of it had to do with the fact that it was not the greatest movie. But that said, imagine you were a total horror movie obsessive, seventies freak, wrestling fan and metal musician, and you were given $7 million dollars to make a horror movie. Doubt I could come up with anything nearly as cool and creepy and evocative as House Of 1000 Corpses. So yeah, we were predisposed to dig the sort-of-sequel The Devil's Rejects. But we had no idea just how much we'd love it. Fuck! This movie totally kicked our ass. Not only was it way more grim and violent and brutal than HO1000C, but the soundtrack was absolutely killer!! First a bit about the movie. Way darker and SO VIOLENT. So violent in fact it's a bit hard to believe they got away with just an R rating. A bit less over the top and outrageous than HO1000C, but definitely more confident, none of those debut feature mis-steps, and a much tighter story arc, and lots of cool cult movie legends (Pee Wee Herman's girlfriend Dottie as a hooker! The Hills Have Eyes' Michael Berryman as the pimp's sidekick / janitor! Sid Haig again as the creepy Captain Spaulding) as well as an amazing bit when the sheriff calls in a very fey Gene Shalit like movie expert to discuss the Marx Brothers films! So funny! The crazy part is how blurry the line is between good and evil. The titular Devil's Rejects are definitely evil and reprehensible, but they're also sort of cool. And bad ass. Albeit in a morally repugnant way. And when the tables are turned, you actually feel sort of bad for them, and hope they'll be able to turn the tables again. And the Sheriff who hunts them down, well he's maybe just as bad. Only difference is he has a badge. Anyway, the movie is bleak and brutal, dusty and sun baked, unlike most 'horror' movies, most of the action takes place under a hot summer sun, and the film stock, the look and feel is all very seventies. So evocative of our youth, which is part of why the soundtrack is so great. Unlike the first movie, where due to budgetary restraints, Zombie was forced to write and record much of the music himself, these tracks were obviously lovingly and carefully chosen, and in the context of the film they are so so perfect. You don't really expect to hear these songs as the musical accompaniment to such utter brutality. The opening credits, a series of stills set to the Allman Brothers' "Midnight Rider", hits so hard, the lyrical refrain of "Not gonna let 'em catch me, no" and the weird moody vibe of the song, as well as the almost jaunty guitar solo, is so weirdly perfect as we watch the Rejects make their getaway. The rest of the soundtrack is packed full of seventies classics, that while being perfect in the film, also play so well as some fucked up seventies eight-track mix tape. Three Dog Night, Elvin Bishop (whose track gets discussed in the movie!), The James Gang, Joe Walsh, David Essex as well as some classic oldies from Otis Rush, Kitty Wells, Buck Owens and the mysterious (and totally kick ass) Banjo And Sullivan, a lower tier 'fictional' honky Tonk band who meet their untimely demise in the movie. The biggest surprise had to be the tracks from Terry Reid. So haunting and achingly beautiful. We knew that he was once the first choice to sing for Led Zeppelin, but the more country tracks here are fucking fantastic. So gut wrenchingly beautiful. The Reid track "Seed Of Memory" plays over the final credits and had us totally choked up. Wow. And you might wince at the inclusion of "Freebird", and you might skip it when you're listening to this disc, but in the context of the movie, and the time the stuff in the movie suppossedly took place, it's perfect! Anyway, it must mean something that with the hundreds of records we have to listen to every day, we keep throwing this one back on. And we're pretty sure we're gonna to go see The Devil's Rejects AGAIN this weekend!! Various soundbites from the film are interspersed between the tracks as well as a couple Banjo And Sullivan radio spots, and this is one of those dual discs, with a cd on one side and a DVD on the other. The DVD features a 30 minute making of The Devil's Rejects short, a bunch of trailers, and you can listen to a Dolby DVD-audio version of the soundtrack accompanied by a slide show of stills from the movies as well as behind the scenes photos.
MPEG Stream: THE ALLMAN BROTHERS "Midnight Rider"
MPEG Stream: THREE DOG NIGHT "Shambala"
MPEG Stream: TERRY REID "Seed Of Memory"

DEVIL'S REJECTS, THE Unrated Director's Cut (Lions Gate) 2dvd 32.00
This review only really needs to be about one sentence long. Maybe two. Let's see... BEST MOVIE OF THE YEAR!!! Ahem, okay, how about, best horror / gore / exploitation movie in the last TWENTY YEARS! Needless to say, we LOVED this movie. We loved the soundtrack too, and the score! It was pretty much a gore-splatter-horror bullseye any way you sliced it. We were preparing to review this when we realized we sort of already did when we reviewed the soundtrack a while back. So here's what we had to say about the movie:
Plenty of folks hated the movie House Of 1000 Corpses. We weren't among 'em. Sure it was a bit of a mess, a little confused, and borrowed HEAVILY from the classics (Last House On The Left, The Hills Have Eyes, and especially The Texas Chainsaw Massacre). But so what?!?! It was a GREAT looking movie. It was fun and gory and gross and pretty wild. One of the problems was putting it up against all the blockbusters, marketing it like a big movie, instead of letting it build momentum and exist as an art house flick, where it belonged. And part of that had to do with the celebrity status of first time director Rob Zombie, of the band White Zombie. The famous rock band, MTV, and all that, the studio probably smelled big bucks. But let's be honest, part of it had to do with the fact that it was not the greatest movie. But that said, imagine you were a total horror movie obsessive, seventies freak, wrestling fan and metal musician, and you were given $7 million dollars to make a horror movie. Doubt I could come up with anything nearly as cool and creepy and evocative as House Of 1000 Corpses. So yeah, we were predisposed to dig the sort-of-sequel The Devil's Rejects. But we had no idea just how much we'd love it. Fuck! This movie totally kicked our ass. Not only was it way more grim and violent and brutal than HO1000C, but the soundtrack was absolutely killer!! The whole movie is way darker and SO VIOLENT. So violent in fact it's a bit hard to believe they got away with just an R rating. A bit less over the top and outrageous than HO1000C, but definitely more confident, none of those debut feature mis-steps, and a much tighter story arc, and lots of cool cult movie legends (Pee Wee Herman's girlfriend Dottie as a hooker! The Hills Have Eyes' Michael Berryman as the pimp's sidekick / janitor! Sid Haig again as the creepy Captain Spaulding) as well as an amazing bit when the sheriff calls in a very fey Gene Shalit like movie expert to discuss the Marx Brothers films! So funny! The crazy part is how blurry the line is between good and evil. The titular Devil's Rejects are definitely evil and reprehensible, but they're also sort of cool. And bad ass. Albeit in a morally repugnant way. And when the tables are turned, you actually feel sort of bad for them, and hope they'll be able to turn the tables again. And the Sheriff who hunts them down, well he's maybe just as bad. Only difference is he has a badge. Anyway, the movie is bleak and brutal, dusty and sun baked, unlike most 'horror' movies, most of the action takes place under a hot summer sun, and the film stock, the look and feel is all very seventies. So evocative of our youth, which is part of what makes it so scary and creepy and fucking great.
And like we said, the soundtrack is so AMAZING. Check the review elsewhere on the AQ website. And the score too!
This double dvd set is the unrated director's cut so it's even more violent and disturbing, which is obviously a good thing. Includes commentaries from director Rob Zombie, and stars Sid Haig, Bill Moseley, and Sheri Moon Zombie, blooper reel, full versions of all the commercials and television shows seen in the film (The Morris Green Show, Mary The Monkey Girl commercial, Spaulding Christmas Special commerical, etc.), Otis Firefly's "Cheerleader Missing" home video, a Buck Owens video (the one you see in the hotel room), deleted scenes, make-up tests, Matthew McGrory tribute (McGrory played Tiny in both House Of 1000 Corpses and The Devil's Rejects and passed away this year), trailers, TV spots, a 6.1 DTS ES digital audio mix and a 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround mix. Phew. Disc two contains a two hour making of, featuring footage from the set, pre-production, behind the scenes, interviews, and all sorts of other goodies.

DEVILLOCK These Graves (Tone Filth) lp 10.00
**SALE **SALE* *SALE**
We've been trying to track down some Devillock for ages, and while we've yet managed to get any cds, we have finally gotten a batch of this super limited lp. The solo ambient drone project of Tone Filth label head honcho Justin Chris Meyers (who also performs as Panther Skull), Devillock is a lot more dreamy and blissful than the name might lead you to believe.
Deep, dark distant sonic clouds rolling in at a snail's pace, tones are stretched out into long sinewy smears, bits of glitch and electronic skitter, bob along like detritus floating in some black stream. Everything enveloped in warm billowy buzz, eventually all tangled up with stuttering streaks of upper register skree, while in the background, the constant ebb and flow of cavernous churning industrial rumbles.
The flip side is similar, but if anything, even more abstract and minimal, sounding almost like a black ambient Niblock, all looooooooong tones, subtly shifting overtones, some super creepy slowed down monkey like growls and guttural vocalizations, and little chunks of gritty electronic static and muted buzzing interference. Haunting and serene, yet subtly fierce and intense.
Packaged in super subtle, hand painted chipboard sleeves, every one different, the front adorned with a super abstract bit of Pollock-y paint, LIMITED TO 333 COPIES, each copy hand numbered.

DEVILS WHOREHOUSE The Howling (Regain/Blooddawn) cd 15.98
Eight-song effort from this Misfits-inspired Marduk sideproject. In fact, half the tracks are Misfits covers!

DEVIN THE DUDE To Tha X-treme (Rap-A-Lot) cd 15.98

MPEG Stream: "To The X-Treme"
MPEG Stream: "Cooter Brown"

DEVINE, RICHARD Cautella (Sublight) cd 14.98