Monday, April 27, 2009

Some More Reviews






















This drawing was done by the amazing artist, Milovan Novakovic, who has done logos and album art for bands such as Miasmal, Witchcurse, Iguman and a lot of others. He's also done a lot of logos for labels and zines. He's pretty god damn good. Check more of his stuff out here.

Anyway, I have some more reviews here for those interested.
Abhorer - Rumpus of the Undead
Bestial Raids - Order of Doom
Melvins - Eggnog
Necros Christos - Grave Damnation
Nocturnal Blood - True Spirit of Old...
Root - Zjevení

Enjoy.

Blasphemy - 1990 - Fallen Angel of Doom

I have gotten a couple requests recently asking for a rip of Blasphemy's 1990 masterpiece, Fallen Angel of Doom, at a higher bitrate then what has supposedly been circulating around the net, so here is a 320 kbps rip of it.

Fallen Angel of Doom is one of the most bestial assaults ever recorded, and has influenced a countless amount of other bands and musicians. It was also one of the pathways to what would become the entire bestial black/death genre. It is often hailed as a classic, and rightfully so, as it truly was a groundbreaking album, and the material contained on it really exceeds its praise. Some complain about the band's lack of musicianship and monotony, which is understandable, but not liking Blasphemy for those reasons is essentially the same as not liking bananas because they don't taste enough like apples. Blasphemy's goal was not to make music that was accessible and easy to take in, it was to take the feelings of total annihiliation, evil, and warfare and put it in the form of music, which is precisely what they did, and they did it perfectly. All the extremities that were present in metal at the time were pushed much further then they ever had been, and thus, new terrain had been explored but has never since successfully touched.











Saturday, April 18, 2009

Debustrol - 1988 - Vyznání Smrti Demo LP

All hail Czechoslovakia! What we have here is yet another gem from the ancient Czech underground, this time from the once-really-good band, Debustrol. This demo is their best recording, and it is an excellent permutation of thrash and 80's black metal. But like country mates Törr and Tudor, this simple, basic formula is given its own unique features that really sets it apart from a lot of other bands who were doing the black/thrash thing at the time. Some of the riffs on here also share that wild, schizophrenic feeling portrayed by the mighy Assesor's twisted guitar work, but with more of a blackened feel and not as atonal. The production is surprisingly excellent considering the fact that it was recorded in the basement of a car factory, using what sounds like was fairly decent equipment and a tape recorder. On top of that, as if the situation wasn't already difficult enough, the band had a 4 P.M. deadline, so everything that was used was from a first or second take. The music itself is intense, ripping black/thrash with vocals delivered in Czech, which is always awesome (I don't know of any other languages that are able to use and pronounce 3 consonents in a row).

I also have to mention the outro, it's great! 50 seconds of the band screaming, blowing harmonicas and whistles, grunting and just freaking out. Much better then any of those synth intros/outros that you always hear.

I can't recommend this enough. It is a great piece of Czech metal history, and I promise that you will dig it, especially my fellow worshipers of that country's excellent contributions to the world of metal. Here's another quality vinyl rip, converted from lossless to 320 kbps.

Enjoy.



















Also, I updated the link to the Exorcist (Pol) demo. Everyone who missed it needs to download it RIGHT NOW. Seriously.

Monday, April 13, 2009

Tormentor (Hun) - 1987 - The 7th Day of Doom

What we have here is a fully remastered and partially restored version of Tormentor's legendary 7Th Day of Doom demo, all thanks to a kind gentlemen who likes to go by "A.O.R.". What this A.O.R. fellow did is truly incredible, you would never have guessed that this was from a tape source.

This demo is, in my eyes, one of the greatest black metal recordings of all time. Like the LP that followed, it was an incredibly original take on the late 80's black metal sound, drawing influences from a number of different sub-genres and combining them all to create the most evil sounding music ever committed to tape. All of the elements that made the 1988 masterpiece, Anno Domini, so great are here, and are just as strong. The masterful song writing with tons of mind melting leads, Attila's morbid screams, tight musicianship, and an overall sense of perfection that is never lost.

This is a brilliant recording with a brilliant remastering job, and you simply need this.
And I thought this was funny:
File size: 106.66 MB
Yet another awesome thing about this recording.

Thank You All

I would like to thank everyone who has helped me out with my want list, you all have been very helpful. I actually got high quality rips of everything I put on there (aside from the Goatvomit demo, which I finally came across on my own).

And the above picture is Ween's 1991 masterpiece, The Pod. I just thought I'd post a picture because I'm proud to own a copy.

And if anyone ever has a request for an album, please feel free to email me. And most of the requests I've gotten so far will be filled, just give me some time.

Saturday, April 4, 2009

Sorcery (Swe) - Ancient Creation (1988) + Unholy Crusade (1989)

Sorcery are indubitably one of the most overlooked and underrated bands from Sweden's 80's/early 90's death metal scene. Their recording career spanned over the course of 5 years ('87 to '91) in which they recorded 3 demos, a 7" and an LP.

By the time Sorcery had gotten around to recording their second demo, 1988's Ancient Creation, they still had a sound that was somewhat planted in a Repulsion-like death/grind sound. Although it is definitely different from Swedish death metal sound that would develop shortly later, this demo is still a great recording. It shows the band at the more pummeling and bestial stage in their development. The riffing and song structures were more simplistic and it is just overall much more raw. Anyone into the Repulsion/early Fatal (US) death/grind sound will definitely dig it. The production is absolutely wretched and caked in filth. Each instrument is heard separately, but each one is just so soaked in sludge that it turns it all into one large bombardment of chaotic and primal fury.

Unholy Crusade, released 1 year later, shows the band at a more developed stage in their sound. The musicianship had gotten tighter, the songwriting had gotten a bit more intricate, and their style had progressed more towards what the classic Swedish sound would. It is hard to believe a band could change their sound this drastically within a year of the previous recording. One of the significant changes on Unholy Domain is the tuning of the guitar and bass. Both are at a much lower register then they were on Ancient Creation, which makes the demo sound as if it has been saturated in thick, bubbling sludge. The drums just contribute to the overall oozy feel by giving this recording an overall much slower and mid-paced sound. The dismal and obscure atmosphere of the demo comes from the production job and the occasional use of synths, both are significant factors in bringing it closer to what would become the glorious Swedish sound.

I will be uploading the 7" and LP within the next week or so, so keep checking back.