Monday, March 30, 2009

Songs That Get My Juices Flowing #53


(mp3) Anatomi -71 - Pappa var från Nykroppa
Available on Lobotomerad Vid Födseln (2000)

(mp3) The Hives - Gene pool convulsions (live)
Studio version available on Walk Idiot Walk (single, 2004)

(mp3) Kylesa - Hollow severer
Available on Time Will Fuse Its Worth (2006)

(mp3) Amaran - Faith healer
Available on A World Depraved (2002)

(mp3) Black Cobra - Sugar water
Available on Bestial (2006)



Sunday, March 29, 2009

Earth Hour? Bwahahahaha!!!

I have already been yelled at by six seperate parties of mindless douchebags for not turning off all electrical appliances in my home for an hour yesterday. And the weekend isn't even over! Maybe if we work hard enough and pull together we can make it to ten separate parties of mindless douchebags before Monday.

Four more parties! Four more parties!

They were absolutely right, I didn't turn off all electrical appliances. On the other hand, I didn't turn a bunch of shit on either as an act of pure defiance against this douchebagitude, but now I kinda wish that I had.

You see, turning everything off for an hour does nothing. I'll type that one more time just to make sure everyone gets it: Nothing.

A third time? Okay.

NOTHING!

Especially in this ol' country of Sweden where we are still somehow in the middle of winter. It was -2 degrees centigrade yesterday at 8:30, starting everything up again would waste even more power than if I left the heat on. When the six separate parties of mindless douchebags were told this, they insisted I could have at least turned the lights off. I had the TV and one small light in one window on, just like every night. That was all.

Apparently three polar ice caps melted last night because I wanted to watch the rest of A Clockwork Orange without an intermission. Sorry 'bout that.

There are too many mindless douchebags in the world who think that sitting in the dark for an hour does something for the environment. It makes them feel good about themselves, they've actually done something for once. This is serious business, we're saving the world here!

It makes my heart leap with elitist joy to picture these nimcompoops sitting the dark with a candle counting down the minutes 'til they can return to their normal lives.

"3... 2... 1... Mission accomplished! Now turn the jacuzzi back on, honey, I'm in a bubbly sorta mood."

These are the same people who rave against plastic bags in grocery stores because switching to paper bags will fix everything that's wrong with the planet. These are the same people who boil with rage because a supermarket sells products that have things in them beginning with "E". These are the same people who think transfats are like the Communist Party, only sneakier.

The point of Earth Hour is not to conserve energy, it's meant to make people take a step back and ponder about the energy they spend and then perhaps do something about their wasteful lifestyles, but the act itself is pointless. It does no good if everyone doesn't make significant changes.

I already waste nearly no electricity at all, I don't drive a car, I eat as little meat as possible, I don't waste any resources that aren't renewable or buy items that aren't recycable or will last a lifetime - in fact, the only way I could live in more harmony with nature would be if I moved into a treehouse and married an otter.

Earth Hour is a good initiative. Unfortunately it overestimated the intelligence of mankind.

Holier than thou? You bet your fucking transfat hating ass I am.


(mp3) Crowpath - Lights out, left for dead
Available on Son Of Sulphur (2005)

(mp3) Entombed - Lights out (live)
Album version available on To Ride, Shoot Straight, And Speak The Truth (1997)

(mp3) Angry Samoans - Lights out
Available on Back From Samoa (1982)


Friday, March 27, 2009

Tadgarden - "Spoonman"



On Tuesday Tom Morello got together with Ben Shepherd, Kim Thayil and Matt Cameron of Soundgarden and the mighty Tad Doyle of TAD at the legendary Crocodile Café in Seattle for a performance of Spoonman.

Are you paying attention, Chris Cornell? This is the kind of awesomeness your (former) peers get into nowadays while you're busy in La La Land being a midlife crisis version of Justin Timberlake and trying to get your kids to appear on My Super Sweet Sixteen.

You don't even deserve to suck Tad Doyle's man-boobs, you walking spectacle of douchebaggery.

(mp3) TAD - Wood goblins
Available on Salt Lick/God's Balls (1990)

(mp3) Soundgarden - Spoonman
Available on Superunknown (1994)

The Friday MP3 Shuffle #6


Every Friday I let my mp3 player decide my playlist for the weekend.

Because I'm such a nice guy I upload this mix for ya'll to enjoy. Each mix will only be online for a week, with each new one the last one gets deleted, so grab 'em while you can.
(zip) MP3 Shuffle #6 (54 mb)

1. Dio - Don't talk to strangers (1983)
2. Saxon - Still fit to boogie (1979)
3. Spiritual Beggars - Left brain ambassador (2000)
4. Lords Of The Altamont - She cried (2005)
5. Comets On Fire - Holy teeth (2006)
6. Four Hour Fogger - Triracial isolates (1998?)
7. Breach - Murder kings and killer queens (2001)
8. Puffball - Taillights disappear (2003)
9. Dellamorte - The deathking (1999)
10. The Bronx - Shitty future (2006)
11. Tool - Maynard's dick (2000)
12. Clutch - Texan book of the dead (1995)
13. Mastodon - Welcoming war (2006)
14. Sleep - The druid (1992)
15. Zebulon - Funeral trip (2001)
16. Unida - You wish (1999)


Lika whatcha hear? Buy em all @ Amazon.com.

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Mastodon - "The Last Baron" (2009)

When the long-awaited Crack The Skye leaked over a month before its official release, there was one track that remained elusive: The Last Baron.

It somehow remained unleaked until the band themselves put the whole album up for streaming on their MySpace page. The verdict? It melts your brain.

Having been compared to Hearts Alive off of Leviathan (2004) for its length, over 13 minutes, I dare say this song is even better. A total epic, constantly changing and never gets boring. I particularly like the little math metal segment at 5:58, clearly showing Bill and Brann's past in Lethargy.
(mp3) Mastodon - The last baron
Available on Crack The Skye (2009)



Saturday, March 21, 2009

Friday, March 20, 2009

Arthur C. Clarke 1917-2008


In honor of the late great sci-fi author Arthur C. Clarke I was planning on posting these tracks yesterday on the anniversary of his death, but I forgot.

Or did I just... space out? Tee hee.
(mp3) Hawkwind - Space is deep
Available on Doremi Fasol Latido (1972)

(mp3) Isis - All out of time, all into space
Available on In The Absence Of Truth (2006)

(mp3) God Bullies - Space kid zoom
Available on Kill The King (1994)

The Friday MP3 Shuffle #5


Every Friday I let my mp3 player decide my playlist for the weekend.

Because I'm such a nice guy I upload this mix for ya'll to enjoy. Each mix will only be online for a week, with each new one the last one gets deleted, so grab 'em while you can.
(zip) MP3 Shuffle #5 (57 mb)

1. Motörhead - Overkill (1979)
2. The Open Mind - Magic potion (1969)
3. Napalm Death - Feeling redundant (2009)
4. Bolt Thrower - ...For victory (1994)
5. Suffocation - Depths of depravity (1995)
6. Entombed - Blessed be (1991)
7. Cannibal Corpse - Scalding hell (2009)
8. Slayer - Evil has no boundaries (1983)
9. Sepultura - Slave new world (live, 1995)
10. Metallica - Trapped under ice (1984)
11. Bullet - Rock us tonight (2008)
12. Queen - Modern times rock 'n' roll (1973)
13. Luv Machine - Witches hand (1970)
14. Leaf Hound - Freelance fiend (1971)
15. Killing Joke - The wait (1980)
16. Cerebus - Talk is cheap (1986)


Lika whatcha hear? Buy em all @ Amazon.com.

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Metal Bastard gives Mastodon a long overdue rimjob

Allow me to rant for a minute on just why Mastodon belongs to the cream of the crop of today's metal world.

In the brilliant video interview below Brent and Troy and mention that they tried to achieve something timeless with the new album Crack The Skye (only five days left, fuckers!), and boy did they achieve it.

There's a dozen or so bands around today that have that timeless quality, as well as being grounded, organic and having a lot of heart and honesty.

Apart from Mastodon there's High On Fire, Boris, Cult Of Luna, Mono, Isis, Big Business, The Mars Volta, Opeth, Mogwai, Capricorns, Pelican, Kylesa and a handful of others that people will still listen to in 2039. In fact, their fanbase will probably be much larger then than today.

Long after they're split up new kids will discover them and get their heads blown off, just like kids today backtrack and discover Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Judas Priest etc.

A lot of these bands today, Every Time I Die, God Forbid, Throwdown, Trivium, Avenged Sevenfold, Unearth, Killswitch Engage, All That Remains, Chimaira, Lamb Of God, Shadows Fall and so on are too cold, too distant, too removed emotionally to have any sort of staying power. Some of them may be fine for the moment, but their music won't last.

I can't imagine 30 or 40 years from now some pimple faced 14 year-old will stumble upon a dusty old Killswitch Engage record, put it on for the first time and go "Woah! What the hell is this?! This rules!" but I can easily imagine that happening with a Mastodon record or an Isis record.

Alright, that's my $0.02, now watch this great interview:


(mp3) Mastodon - Hail to fire
Available on 9 Song Demo (2000)

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Cult of Luna - "Fire Was Born" (dvd teaser)

Sweden's favorite yarn-spinners Cult of Luna (I still don't believe a word of that "we found a diary in old mental asylum and made an album about it" bullshit) will release their first dvd, Fire Was Born, on April 27th, not on March 23rd like the video says.

It was taped last year in London and looks pretty damn sweet. They also happen to have a guitarist who looks like Klaus Kinski, which is über-sweet.

(mp3) Cult of Luna - The great migration
Available on Eternal Kingdom (2008)

Monday, March 16, 2009

Green Jellÿ - "333" (1994)

Låt oss ta hand om nyttan innan vi förlustar oss i nöjet. Jag har slängt upp en massa auktionerTradera. Skitbilliga grejer, KLICKA HÄR och lägg bud. Din lymmel.

Anywho, time for Green Jellÿ.

The first time I bothered to pay attention to the band was in 1994 when they did the music for the SNES game Maximum Carnage. I had seen the Three Little Pigs video from their previous album Cereal Killer, but didn't really care at the time.

Green Jellÿ tried to recreate the success of that track with The Bear Song, the lead single off 333. Liking it I went and bought the album (in MegaStore in Täby - very hardcore), loved it, ripped it to a cassette and walked around school all day listening to it instead of paying attention to classes.

I subsequently bought Cereal Killer too, which wasn't as good as 333, but somehow more fun. Green Jellÿ started as a joke band, and on 333 they had for some reason abandoned much of their humor, opting instead for more serious songs, which made up least half the album.

But whatever, the songs are still good, especially the heavier cuts which you can download below. In 1996 the members went their separate ways, but reunited last year.

I'm not exactly sure what attracted me to Green Jellÿ in the first place, perhaps it was the AMAZING album cover (it's so badass it hurts), or maybe I just enjoyed listening to a band no one else in my school had heard of. Everyone else was blasting Smash by the Offspring, or Green Day's Dookie, or random Nirvana stuff. It's in times like that you need a band in ridiculous Easter Island headmasks who sing about cow gods.

There was also the mystery aspect, as in those days you still had things like mystery. In this day and age nothing is obscure or exotic, everything is a click away. Which is why I have purposely never visited Green Jellÿ's Wikipedia page - I didn't know who the hell these people were and I still don't want to know.

As far as I know these guys and gals really are from outer space, causing chaos and wreaking havoc wherever they go.

Good god, what a bunch of dribble, I'm just rambling. Not feeling inspired today, I have no idea what I'm talking about. Just download.
(mp3) Green Jellÿ - Carnage rules
(mp3) Green Jellÿ - Orange Krunch
(mp3) Green Jellÿ - Fight (highly recommended!)


Buy 333 @ Amazon.com.

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Songs That Get My Juices Flowing #51



(mp3) Dismember - Casket garden
Available on Massive Killing Capacity (1995)

(mp3) The Stooges - I wanna be your dog
Available on S/t (1969)

(mp3) Rollins Band - Liar
Available on Weight (1994)

(mp3) Sober - Shudder
Available on V/A - Definitivt 50 Spänn III (1994)

(mp3) Whitesnake - Is this love?
Available on S/t (a.k.a 1987) (1987)



Mastodon - Oblivion (live and instrumental)



Brann sounds killer, why the hell didn't he start singing lead until now?

Being the Phil Collins geek that he is, I'm sure he's loving the shit out of singing and playing drums at the same time. Now all we need is for Bill to start singing too, he's got a fucking monster of a voice.

(mp3) Mastodon - Oblivion (instrumental)
Full version available on Crack The Skye (2009)

Friday, March 13, 2009

The Friday MP3 Shuffle #4


Every Friday I let my mp3 player decide my playlist for the weekend.

Because I'm such a nice guy I upload this mix for ya'll to enjoy. Each mix will only be online for a week, with each new one the last one gets deleted, so grab 'em while you can.
(zip) MP3 Shuffle #4 (58 mb)

1. Whitesnake - Walking in the shadow of the blues (1979)
2. Led Zeppelin - Living loving maid (she's just a woman) (1969)
3. Alice Cooper - Elected (1973)
4. The Stooges - Gimme danger (1973)
5. The Ramones - 53rd & 3rd (1976)
6. Diamond Head - Helpless (1980)
7. Trouble - Assassin (1984)
8. Sonic's Rendezvous Band - Heart of stone (live, 1978)
9. Thin Lizzy - Massacre (live, 1977)
10. Mastodon & Billy Gibbons - Just got paid (2009)
11. The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster - Chicken (2002)
12. Faith No More - Spanish eyes (1995)
13. The Tea Party - Temptation (1997)
14. Soundgarden - Mailman (1994)
15. Guns 'N Roses - You could be mine (1991)
16. Mudhoney - Overblown (1992)


Lika whatcha hear? Buy em all @ Amazon.com.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Excrement - "Scorched" (ep, 1994)

Some good old Finnish death metal!

Excrement originally formed in 1990 as Apoplexy and released one demo under that name two years later. They changed their name in 1993 and released another demo, Flesh & Blood, the same year.

Scorched, their only proper release, came out on Invasion Records in 1994 and the band split up shortly after. Frontman and songwriter Antti Oinonen would later play with Torsofuck, Deep Red, Slugathor and Cadaveric Incubator. Heard of 'em? Yeah me neither.
(mp3) Excrement - Intro/Corpse fucking art
(mp3) Excrement - Covered with feces (highly recommended!)

Buy Scorched @ ???.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Tiamat - "A Deeper Kind Of Slumber" (1997)

(Originally posted on February 15th 2008.)

This dude pree much summed up everything there is to say about this masterpiece:


(mp3) Tiamat - Cold seed (highly recommended!)
(mp3) Tiamat - Four leary biscuits
(mp3) Tiamat - The whores of Babylon

Buy A Deeper Kind Of Skumber @ Amazon.com.


The video for Cold Seed:





Monday, March 9, 2009

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Refused - "Pump The Brakes" (ep, 1994)

After blogging about the more well-known side of Refused the other day in my The Shape Of Punk To Come post I thought it was only fair to give ya'll uninitiated a little look into the earlier days of the band.

This was their second EP (the first one, This Is The New Deal, came out a year before) and there is nothing special about. The Shape Of Punk To Come was only about three years away, but there is nothing here that indicates what would soon follow.

By 1994 Refused was still your typical early 90s Umeå hardcore band. A really good one, but still. To imply this holds a candle to anything they later recorded is folly.

If anything it makes me hugely nostalgic for the days when every kid in Sweden (or least so it seemed) wore enormous pants, baggy Stüssy t-shirts over baggy Earth Crisis long sleeves, rode skateboards to band practice to rehearse with their own vegan hardcore band, and talked about how Millencolin's first album was so much better than the new one, Life On A Plate. Fucking sellouts!

And of course carried Bad Tuna wallets hooked onto ridiculously long chains and picked on that one kid in school who listen to some band called "Kyuss". Doesn't he know hardcore is the future? Loser!

1. Pump the brakes
2. Strength
3. Preception
4. Who died?

(zip) Refused - Pump The Brakes EP (10 mb)

The video for Pump The Brakes:

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Deja vu!


Occasionally you stumble upon a song that somehow sounds so eerily familiar you could swear you've heard it somewhere before.

Whether the person who wrote this song was directly influences by that other song it reminds you of or if it's a complete coincidence is another issue altogether. Today I provide you with three examples of intros that either sound very similar or I am completely insane and/or deaf. It could very well be the latter.


The first example is the most clear-cut one but at the same time the one most I'm the most uncertain of. There's no question Opeth's Mikael Åkerfeldt is well aware of Australia's The Masters Apprentices, he even named a song after them, and I am 100% sure he's heard War Or The Hands Of Time, the b-side to their 1966 debut single Undecided.

When I first heard this song over at the almighty Rising Storm I couldn't help but find the first few seconds very familiar. When I finally figured out it reminded me of To Rid The Disease, I was so proud of myself. Åkerfeldt uses so many elements from other bands that "Spot That Influence!" has almost become a sport among Opeth fans.

Then when I listened back to the song it didn't sound that similar. But a little. Right? Just a little?

(mp3) The Masters Apprentices - War or the hands of time
Available on Hands Of Time (compilation, 1981)

(mp3) Opeth - To rid the disease
Available on Damnation (2003)


The first time I heard Norway's El Caco and the opener on their 2005 album The Search the whole thing just screamed Queens Of The Stone Age and in particular Quick And To The Pointless. The riff isn't identical but close enough. And there's handclaps! I rest my case, your honor, no further questions.
(mp3) Queens Of The Stone - Quick and to the pointless
Availble on Rated R (2000)

(mp3) El Caco - Someone new
Available on The Search (2005)


This last one is interesting. Unlike the first example this one is damn close, apart from the Unsane track having two kickdrums hits at the very beginning and the Misery Loves Co one only having one, it's identical. Even down to the first bass note.

I've asked their singer if the intro was a deliberate reference to Unsane, but he doesn't remember. By the way, did you know Hootie & The Blowfish also has an album called Scattered, Smothered And Covered? What's up with that? I can't wait to hear the Jonas Brothers' Butchered At Birth.
(mp3) Unsane - Get off my back
Available on Scattered, Smothered And Covered (1995)

(mp3) Misery Loves Co. - Not the only one
Available on Not Like Them (1997)

Friday, March 6, 2009

Mastodon - Divinations video

While I wish Mastodon would make videos that are actually based around the theme of their album (Seabeast and Colony Of Birchmen are the only ones so far), this is one is pretty damn sweet.

Cavemen? Lightning bolt guitars? Count me in.

Troy rules the land as always.

(mp3) Mastodon - Divinations (instrumental version)

In The Sign Of The Octomom


"Vivid Entertainment has made a $1 million offer to Nadya Suleman to make a pornographic video.

In an offer letter obtained by TMZ.com, the president of the pornography studio and distributor Steven Hirsch says the company would release the film under their 'Vivid-Celeb imprint, which has released titles starring such personalities as Pamela Anderson, Kim Kardashian, and most recently, former Miss USA Kelli MCarty.'

The site also reports that the company is offering her family dental and health care if she agrees to star in a series of films.

Suleman, 33, known as 'Octomom' after giving birth to octuplets earlier this year, has reportedly not replied to the request."


Source

(mp3) The Robots - In the sign of the octopus
(mp3) The Hellacopters - In the sign of the octopus (Robots cover)

Buy em @ Amazon.com.

The Friday MP3 Shuffle #3


Every Friday I let my mp3 player decide my playlist for the weekend.

Because I'm such a nice guy I upload this mix for ya'll to enjoy. Each mix will only be online for a week, with each new one the last one gets deleted, so grab 'em while you can.
(zip) MP3 Shuffle #3 (54 mb)

1. Metallica - Blitzkrieg (1984)
2. Regurgitate - Escort service for the dead (2000)
3. Brutal Truth - Fisting (1997)
4. Repugnant - Spawn of pure malevolence (2006)
5. Death - Regurgitated guts (1987)
6. Haystack - Inside (1996)
7. Final Exit - Spänningen släpper (1997?)
8. Tragedy - Force of law (2006)
9. Pentagram - Forever my queen (1972)
10. Cauldron - Into the cauldron (2007)
11. L.A. Guns - Killing machine (1995)
12. Dio - We rock (1984)
13. Diamond Head - Streets of gold (1980)
14. Discharge - Never again (1981)
15. Killing Joke - Money is not our god (1990)
16. The Tight Bros From Way Back When - Nose in the corner (2001)
17. The Melvins - Hag me (1993)


Lika whatcha hear? Buy em all @ Amazon.com.

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Refused - "The Shape Of Punk To Come" (1998)

Refused - a strictly vegan straight edge band. And I'm writing this while eating a ham sandwich, hungover as a warthog. Oh the irony.

But anyway. This was Refused's third and last album, and although it was the first of theirs I bought I was well aware of them and had seen them live at the Oslagen I Roslagen festival in Norrtälje in 1997. This was an annual event against violence, racism ect where a bunch of local bands would play, and one or two bigger artists would headline. Refused shared the top billing with Jumper. A bit anticlimactic to say the least.

I actually bought this on the same day I bought Radiohead's OK Computer, another extraordinary, progressive landmark third record. I don't know what that means, but I like it.

Not sure what I can say about this album that hasn't already been said. The band was becoming increasingly detached from their audience, the concept of what punk rock should sound like, and the scene as a whole. A scene they themselves created.

Although the band maintained most of their trademark hardcore fury, many new elements were added to the mix. Charles Mingus and electronic outfits I've never heard of before or since were cited as references, strange samples, jazz beats and soundscapes litter large parts of the album, acoustic instruments were used, as well as violins and cellos, giving the stunning Tannhäuser/Derivè a strong folk music feel.

Despite the increasing detachment the band still seemed worried about the response this new direction would get, so they had a friend explain the whole thing in the liner notes. Liner notes which mention Celtic Frost's glam rock cash-in attempt Cold Lake (1988) as an example of a band going in a direction their fans were unhappy with. If Refused had made an album that sounded like Green Day, then perhaps this would have been a valid parallell. If anything, Into The Pandemonium (1987) would have been a better example of what Refused were doing here.

In terms of ideology this was by far Refused's most focused album, and it can almost be seen as a concept album, a well-structured anarchist manifesto in musical form. Fashion and image wise the band had moved away from their early days of beanies and enormous pants, and adopted a look closer to that of one of their biggest inspirations, Nation Of Ulysses. Luckily the band didn't many musical ques from N.O.U., possibly the worst band I have ever heard.

New Noise became the closest Refused ever came to a hit song and got their name out to a biggest audience, no doubt aided by the great video by Joakim Åhlund (who normally plays with Teddybears and Caesars). But things could have been very different. According an interview with the band on ZTV in 1998 they originally wanted Liberation Frequency to be to video track from the album but Åhlund wouldn't have it. He thought the song was ridiculous and refused (!) to make a video for it, and instead suggested New Noise.

The band split up on the American tour following the release of the album, and frontman Dennis Lyxzén quickly resurfaced with his new band, garage rock outfit The (International) Noise Conspiracy. Drummer David Sandström became a solo artist with five albums under his belt. Guitarist Kristofer Steen became a film maker and made the documentary Refused Are Fucking Dead in 2006.

Guitarist Jon Brännström recently produced Vital Signs, the second album by TEXT. TEXT's selftitled debut album was released in 2000 and featured all members of Refused apart from Lyxzén. If I understand the story correctly, parts of the material on this album was meant for Refused fourth album. After the band split up, the drummer and the guitarists finished it with some other collaborators and released under a different name.

But enough about TEXT, I'll blog about them some other time. Until then, enjoy:

(mp3) Refused - The deadly rhythm
(mp3) Refused - Tannhäuser/Derivè (highly recommended!)
(mp3) Refused - The apollo programme was a hoax

Buy @ Amazon.com.

Tannhäuser/Derivè live (David Sandström has anger management problems):

Tuesday, March 3, 2009