Head Of David - LP

Label: Blast First

Year: 1986

This one is sort of a follow-up to the Godflesh post from yesterday, although not exactly. You see, while Justin Broadrick would eventually show up in Head Of David, at the time of this release he was still grinding away in Napalm Death and Fall Of Because, but if you can't hear the connection between Head Of David and Godflesh...well, then I cannot help you.

I think a quick summation of this record would be Big Black + Black Sabbath + Swans. It's pounding, repetitive, hateful music drenched in omnipresent feedback. Sometimes the songs crawl across the floor, and others bang away for a mid-tempo beating, but they all employ a particularly disturbing wall of sound approach. The guitar, for example,  rips off some cycling neanderthal solos, but they never jump out from the mix, rather they maintain a low squall, that one review I read described as "claustrophobic", which is an especially astute observation.

If you are a fan of the proto-industrial hammerings of Big Black, Cop Shoot Cop, Swans, or a fan of droning metal then this record is right up your alley. Maybe you just want to hear what spawned Godflesh? 

Pulverising.

DL

Godflesh - Live - Schorndorf - 03-31-90the

Label: Bootleg

Year: 1990

Here is a Godflesh bootleg that seems to be one of the very few floating around the interwebs, that I've ever noticed anyway. The sound quality is pretty good, not pristine mind you, there are some overblown moments, but you can easily make out all the vocals, instrumentation, etc. I'd rate it an A-

I don't really feel the need to "explain" Godflesh, because we're all pretty much in agreement that they are one of the cornerstones of contemporary heavy music right? We can all agree that they were an ominous steamroller that devastated the listener through unrelenting precision, volume, and intensity right? And it seems that we can also agree that the band was the "total package" in that they had that presence most bands aren't committed to, the one that cloaks the group in a real and metaphorical dark haze, few photos exist, few interviews were conducted, and the band didn't really tour that much. Plus they predated the internet (at least the internet we now know) so if you wanted to know about them you had to dig real deep...you couldn't Google "Godflesh" and get their discography to pop up. I guess what I mean is that the band existing within an aura of mystery, and that simply heightened the excitement of any Godflesh news.

Listen to this recording very loud and with the lights out. Also, punch yourself in the face every three minutes or so for full effect.

DL

Beasts Of Bourbon - The Low Road

Label: Red Eye

Year: 1991

For some reason I feel like this record was just posted somewhere else...maybe on this website? Did I post it already? What day is it?

Regardless, here's a mid-career album by the Australian "swamp rock" band who went through more members than should be allowed. Through out the years they have been graced by personnel from Lubricated Goat, Hoodoo Gurus, The Church, The Scientists...shit...even the fucking Divinyls! G'day mate! (I may or may not be drunk right now)

So musically, let's see, how shall we put this? Bluesy, dirty, classic rock inspired, swamp scum. I don't really know. They cover the Rolling Stones' "Cocksuckers Blues", so does that do anything for you? Maybe you're a Creedance Clearwater Revival fan, and wanted to to hear the Birthday Party shamble through some covers? Maybe? No matter what, the opening track slays.

I need to go lay down.

Did Inter Milan beat AC Milan today? It was 2-0 early in the second half, and I decided to go for a bike ride and missed the end. 

DL 

Thrall - Lifer

Label: Alternative Tentacles

Year: 2003

To follow-up on the God Bullies post from earlier today, here's a record alluded to there that features Mike Hard, the vocalist of God Bullies, along with a cohort from his post-God Bullies band, Hand Over Head. Plus, it's called "Lifer", and I totally called the dudes in God Bullies 

"lifers"...see how I did that? Will the ciiiiiircle, be unbrooooken, by and by Loooord, by aaaand byyyyyy....

So for Thrall this was their third lp (and I think the last one they've put out), and their heaviest as well. The things that were mean, weird, disturbing, and dark about God Bullies have been amplified ten fold here. I mean, what the fuck is going on with bands like this, why are they so damaged? Midwest rage I suppose. But my point is, the music is way meaner than any "metal" band's release, and way more disturbed than the "punks", yet they toil away in the barren wastelands of...Kalamazoo...are there wastelands here?

Anycrap, just give this one a try if you never heard the band, I think you will find it to your liking. If I'm lying, I'm cryin, and there ain't a tear in my eye.

DL

God Bullies - Mama Womb Womb

Label: Amphetamine Reptile

Year: 1989

An oft overlooked band from Michigan that was straddling the fine line between sludgy noise rock and twangy cow punk, resulting in an unclassifiable din of indiscriminate origins. If you consider yourself an adventurous listener with a penchant for warped noise (I'm looking at you Cows fans) then God Bullies will be right up your alley.

The members of this band went on to be in Hand Over Head, Thrall, Cows (hey, look at that!), LikeHell, and Debauched among others. Nothing that would ever require them to comb their hair or wear a shirt with sleeves. Lifers basically.

I apologize for the brief missive here...but truth be told I'm running late for a lunch date, so I shall have to bid you a fond farewell for now. Ta-Ta!

DL

Zeni Geva - Maximum Money Monster

Label: Pathological

Year: 1990

So, I'm back at the Zeni Geva well, but what can I say, I've been listening to them a ton these last couple of weeks, so I'm under the influence. 

This album gets off on a decidedly Godflesh foot with a 16 minute industrial dirge, and then settles into the repetitious beating that is to be expected from the band. They seldom surface for air once a song has been set to "bludgeon" focusing on driving the song's riff and beat out the back of your skull. There aren't a lot of bands that deliver this type of punishment over the course of a record, so you have to respect their work ethic.

I wonder why more metal "dudes" didn't get into this band. Could it be that their records were never released on a "metal" label, so the heshers missed the boat? Are Zeni Geva the original "hipster metal" band (predating countrymen Boris, and current "hipster metal" poster children by a good 3 years)? You never saw a pair of Zeni Geva sweatpants did you?

DL - part 1

DL - part 2

Blonde Redhead - Blonde Redhead

Label: Smells Like

Year: 1995

One of the most uncomfortable moments I can ever remember witnessing during a concert was at a Blonde Redhead show at the 40 Watt in Athens, Georgia. The band is made up of twin Italian (cum French Canadian) brothers on drums and guitar, with (at the time) two diminutive Asian women on bass and guitar. So, you have a unique stage presence to begin with, but then throw in the added dynamic that twin brother on guitar and Asian woman on guitar had until recently been romantically involved. Again, not outrageous, just slightly peculiar. So, during an intense, feedback laden freak out jam in the middle of one of the songs, guitar twin brother moves toward Asian woman on guitar while they both are playing, then proceeds to pin her against the wall while they still are both playing. He then commences to start grinding his hips into her, and pretty violently I may add. Her response was a real pained look on her face, and maybe it was an act, but it seemed pretty humiliating at the time. It was weird...uncomfortable weird. Weird enough that you could hear above the din, "what the fuck?", "should someone get him off of her?". It made an impression, that's for sure.

Date rape aside, the band was fucking great, and their first couple of albums (this one being their debut) were blissful pop coated in sharp guitar bleats with male/female vocals of the disembodied/haunted school, they are blurted, cooed, and yelped as the music dictates. There are certainly Sonic Youth comparisons to be made, and just to galvanize those, note the record was released on Steve Shelley's Smells Like imprint (he also produced it). There's a lot of tension and mood on this record, and the songs are incredibly well crafted, they move subtly and aggressively from moment to moment.

Anyway, great record, you should certainly have it in your collection.

DL 

V/A - A Day In The Park

Label: The Now Sound

Year: 1994

For the love of indie rock! Let's all take a deep breath, and step back from the caustic noise of the last few posts to cleanse our palettes with the good-time innocence that was seeping out of every college town in America at the beginning of the last decade. Sloppy, naive, poppy, quirky, catchy, punky, fun music, that somehow reeked with the "earnestness" that indie rockers lived and died by. Good times.

The bands are:

The Dam Builders (Boston)

Archers Of Loaf (Chapel Hill)

Versus (New York City)

Spatula (Chapel Hill)

Unwound (Olympia)

Grifters (Memphis)

Butterglory (Lawrence)

Crayon (Bellingham)

Nothing Painted Blue (Los Angeles)

Small 23 (Chapel Hill)

Diskothi-Q (Inland Empire)

Blaise Pascal (Vancouver)

SPeNT (Jersey City)

Portastatic (Chapel Hill)

Further (Los Angeles)

Refrigerator (Inland Empire)

If you recognize any of these names (and let's be honest...you should...if not, go Google "indie rock") then you know what to expect. It's a good record, and not just a nostalgia trip. Go for it.

DL

Shithaus - Live Crush 84-85

Label: Self released

Year: 1985

Here's an oddity to follow up the Cop Shoot Cop post from a couple days ago. This band features the talents of, Jon Spencer, Tod Ashley, Tom Fry, and Jaime Jacquin when they were students in Providence, Rhode Island, before going on to form Pussy Galore (Spencer) and Cop Shoot Cop (Ashley) among their myriad other projects. 

While not the greatest sound quality, this cassette was recorded live, and during a radio broadcast on Rhode Island station 90.1 WRIU during a show called Noise With Neville where the band had to alter their moniker to Knocked Up Teens in order to spare the wrath of the FCC. Still, you get the early industrial vibe of Cop Shoot Cop with what seems to be homemade metallic percussion instrumentation, plodding bass lines, and some nasty guitar screeches. Kinda lo-fi Foetus? Maybe? I'm not exactly sure how to categorize it, so you'll have to listen to it yourself and figure out if this is a historical footnote, or a diamond in the rough.

Also, while trying to find an image of the cover, I noticed that COD-Music beat me to posting this already. Bastards. They always win. So maybe you missed it there, now you can grab it here.

DL

Chrome + Helios Creed - Rarities

Label: Amphetamine Reptile, Cleopatra, Purple Pyramid. Cherry Red, Dossier, No. 6, Sub Pop

Year: 1989 - 1997 

Quick preface, by "Chrome", I mean the Helios Creed era Chrome, and even that is later era Helios Creed. Let's just get that out of the way.

So, if you care to have your post punk rock warped almost beyond recognition, then Helios Creed might just be your man. He joined the band Chrome in the mid 70's either ruining or elevating their stature depending on who you ask, adding some spaced out and sometimes harsh guitar work to their cadre of whacked pre-industrial, post glam, pre punk, art rock. The latter versions of the band consisted solely of Helios with hired hands, so most folks don't consider that "true" Chrome, but rather Helios Creed proper. Do you care?

The bottom line is that Helios Creed is a dude named  who has spent his life trying to replicate the sounds of his youth most notably, "listening to Black Sabbath on LSD on headphones as a teenager" via highly effected guitar warps. Imagine Butthole Surfers versus Alien Sex Fiend versus Brian Eno and you're pretty close. It's strange music from an equally strange dude, but it remains somehow soothing even during the more raucous squalls of noise. 

I think this little collection is a nice primer to the gigantic catalog the guy has belched out. What you're getting is this:

Chrome - Man's Ruin 10"

Chrome - Gearhead Magazine split 7"

Chrome - Extended comp.

Chrome - Brian Eno tribute comp.

Chrome - King Crimson tribute comp.

Chrome - Pink Floyd tribute comp.

Helios Creed - Guitarrorists comp.

Helios Creed - Smells Like Smoked Sausage comp.

Helios Creed - Dope, Guns, and Fucking In The Streets comp.

Helios Creed - Space Daze comp.

Helios Creed - Dossiers 2 comp.

Helios Creed - Warming Your Spaceman 7"

DL