Hellhammer - Apocalyptic Raids 1990 A.D. (1983 - reissued Doomy Black Metal - Venom, Celtic Frost)

Looking back it seems pretty silly to me that there was apperently so much beef between Metal kids and Punk kids (read as, hardcore not new-wavey bullshit). What they were doing wasn't so dissimilar. Motorhead was apparently the only band able to sucessfuly cross this divide, and their similarities would become more obvious when Grindcore devoleped in the later 80's.

But even then, I always assumed that what the two genres shared in spired, they differed in technique. Hardcore was about being short-fast-and-loud. Metal was only a slightly different take on a similar formula fast-loud-and-techniquely exreem. Slow-loud could work too, but technique seemed to be the major deciding factor.

Now listed to a band like Hellhammer. Heavily influenced by Venom from a few years before, both bands play a sort of primitive-metal that's a bit like regular only played by kids who have little knowladge of their instraments.

Hellhammer is noteworthy to most people only because it is Tom G. Warrior first band, later of Celtic Frost fame. This matters little to me, because the two bands are hardly the same. Celtic Frost's almost Wagnerian bombast is instead replaced by severly detuned guitar rumbling and Tom Warrior grunting and howling unintelligably (yes, im certing that at times is is just grunting and howling, no words).


So back to the hardcore/metal connection, I realy don't see to much of how this labodamy-metal is dissimilar to what hardcore bands like Discharge or Charged G.B.H. were doing at the same time. Demim, leather, studded belts... same dif.

Hell even the slow and brutal 9:30 "Triumph of Death" is in my opinion, very similar the the second side of Black Flag's My War alubm, in its sub-sub-Black Sabbath dirg. Tom G. Warrior and Henry Rollins' mad-man-cutting-off-his-own-leg routine is fairly interchangable.


This album was orriginaly released as a demo titled Apocalyptic Raids and this is a 1990 reissue. The only difference is that the last two songs on the reissue are not from that demo but are from a Death Metal Sampler that had never before been released in the U.S.






- overview by Denez

tracklist:

1. The Third of the Stoms (Evoked Damnation)
2. Massacra
3. Triumph of Death
4. Horus/Aggressor
5. Revelations of Doom
6. Messiah
   

Buy it here.

http://rapidshare.de/files/18879496/Hellhammer.rar.html

Witchfinder General - Death Penalty (1982 - Black Sabbath NWOBHM)

Ok, first a disclaimer: I've been very leary to post a lot of metal stuff. I have tones of it, and pleannty of it probably doesn't sell to many albums because they're from the 80's and 70's. But i can't realy tell what is our-of-print and what has been reissued. Is there some sort of site that i can check to see if something is in print or not?

Ok, here's where this segues into the next paragraph...

This album was first released in 1982, pre-cds, so that means just on vinyl for you children of the digital age. Witchfinder General also put out a second album in 1983 called Friends of Hell, both on Heavy Metal Reocreds. Some time after this this, the record lable owner became a born again Christian and refused to release these records because they where satanic or something. Or maybe it was because both album covers showing the band decked out in either Inquasition era or Colonial era cloths while sacrificing scantly clad woman.

These albums were reissued on CD in 1996, but not agiain after that. I think above mentioned record label owner needed some quick cash.

Soooooo, there for i think this album is out of print. Stonerrock.com has no copies of it this album, and only two copies of their of their next album, and Amazon.com com has it for $79.99, holy hot damn!





Ok, so now that I feel that this album is comfortably out of print, let me talk about how absolutly fucking killer this band is. If you don't like Black Sabbath, the leave the room now. In fact lets start with Black Sabbath as a templet.

It muight just be that Zeeb Parkes (vocals) sings better than Ozzy, and the rest of the band, Phil Cope (guitars), Woolfy Trope (bass), and Graham Ditchfield (drums), rocks out to a mix of Budgie and Sabbath.

Like Sabbath with a bit more punch in the guitar sound, this album might take a few listens before you start to realy see how much of their own unique sound Witchfinder General realy had.

So just as much as the music is killer, the lyrics are dumb as dog-shit. Now im just as big a fan of rock and roll poetry as the next guy, and Sabbath them self had some nice lines ("Would you like to see the Pope on the end of a rope - Do you think he's a fool?" - After Forever), but Witchfinder General really take the cake. Here's some samples:

Invisible Hate -

I've fought my hate now here comes joy -
How I fought it I don't know oh boy -
Some say God, some say faith -
I say sex, drugs, rock and beer -
My beer-
My My My My -
My beer - beer - beer - beer - My My My My

Free Country -

Rocky's gold, lev is red -
Black goes right to my head
Mushroom tea, a toke of weed
Amphetamine is real good speed
...
Look out for me -
Let's trip on L.S.D.
Look out for me
...
Turn to drugs to free my mind -
Just to see what I would find -
Tabs are great, now ask the drummer
Smack my friend is just a bummer

All right, all right, I could go through almost every song like this ( thouse two examples where just tracks one and two) as the rest of the songs talk about the merrits of the death penalty, about doing girls and then takeing off befor thay want to date you, and then two songs about burning witch women.

Needless to say, it is absolutly essential that you get anything buy Witchfinder General if your into Black Sabbath, doom metal, NWOBHM, or even hard rock. Do you have a pulse? Then get this album!

- overview by Denez

Tracklist:

1. Invisible Hate
2. Free Country
3. Death Penalty
4. No Stayer
5. Witchfinder General
6. Burning a Sinner
7. R.I.P

I guess buy it here.

or here. <-----yes, here...yes still a bit pricy but stonerrock.com are good people

http://rapidshare.de/files/18709497/Witchfinder_General.rar.html

Bee Gees - Odessa (1969 - Baroque Pop, i.e. The Zombies and The Beatles)

Don't laugh. The Brother's Gibb may have been best remembered for their mid 70's falsetto and glitter-pants shananagans defined by their Saturday Night Fever and Sgt. Pepper's atrociates, but i beg you to look beyond that for just a minute.

Let me tell you a story of an amazingly talended group of child prodogies from Austrialia (via England and then back), who got their career started with their own variety show. Yes, at only ages 15 thruogh 16, Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb recored originals and covers (their Beatles songs are DEAD-ON RINGERS for the originals) which were all grade A top notch, especially compaired to a lot of similar fair that was comming out at the time.

As they got older and the British Invasion was taking over, it made perfect sence for them to pack up and move back to England. They put out a few albums which needless to say, were top contendors for the premire harmonizing-vocal clasical-pop and just general lyte-psych expermenting of the day. Bands like The Left Bank or The Zombies easily come to mind, but the Beatles would be the most obvious point of reference in their similare imposible-to-pigonhole aproach.

So by 1969 when they set out to record their next album, as brothers often do, Barry and Robin got into disagreement over what exactly the direction of the album should be. One of the names tossed around for the project was Masterpeace if that gives you some idea of their ambitions. It was eventually titled Odessa.

Oddly, even though this album almost broke the band apart, the end result is one of the few double albums from its era that ACTUALLY stands up as a double album. You could say that it is somewhat inconsistant, half the tracks reflect the "american opera" concept, while the other half are just rock-solid Beatles-esq genera exercises that have a feel all their own. Either one of these two concepts, if left on their own, would make for a solid disk each, the more operatic songs might have come off a bit grandious, but together you get just the right does of different ends of the late 60's Brittish music spectrum. They even get into some Americana country-rock and the LP is covered in red velvet. Cool, non?














- overview by Denez

Tracklist:

1. Odessa (City on the Black Sea)
2. You'll Never See My Face Again
3. Black Diamond
4. Marley Purt Drive
5. Edison
6. Melody Fair
7. Suddenly
8. Whisper Whisper
9. Lamplight
10. Sound of Love
11. Give Your Best
12. Seven Seas Symphony
13. With All Nations (International Anthem)
14. I Laugh In Your Face
15. Never Say Never Again
16. First of May

128 kps, ripped from vinyl.

Buy it at Amazon.com

http://rapidshare.de/files/18465988/bee_gees_-_odessa.rar.html