AL CISNEROS & OM DUBPLATES UPDATED

If you have been to this post before then go to *UPDATE* at bottom of post if not then i encourage you to read on....

If you came to this post and got the First update above please scroll down to UPDATE II to find the Additional material if not then read on....

Al Cisneros is best known for providing the supreme 4 string bottom end for some of the heaviest bands on the planet, as a founding member of stoner titans Sleep, since 2005 with his own band OM. and more recently with doom supergroup Shrinebuilder. If you are unaware of OM they are a 2 piece band originally comprised of Cisneros and Sleep Drummer Chris Haikus (replaced in 2008 by Emil Amos) so effectively Om were Sleep minus Matt Pike who went on to start High On Fire, OM deal in a sound formed from Bass, Drums and vocals playing heavy rhythmical trance like mantras of epic length (Their first 2 albums contained a mere 5 songs in total!). It should be no surprise then that with his love of bass heavy jams that Cisernos has a love of that other, though at completely the opposite end of the scale, bass driven music that is Dub.

I happened across Al Cisneros solo material purely by chance when doing some research online and was quite surprised to find he had released 2 x 7" singles and a 10" under his own name, if you have followed OM over the years then you may have came across the limited Sub Pop "Singles Club" 7" that OM released called "Gebel Barkal" this 7" was backed by a heavily effected variant on the A-side simply entitled "(Version)" Now you may or may not be familiar with the world of Dub Reggae so I will quickly explain that the Jamaican originators of Dub often released 7" singles where the A side was a backing track made by the producer with a vocal over it however many if not the majority of Dub Reggae singles come backed with a B-side "Version" it's here where the producer is allowed to shine by using the most ground shaking Bass, primitive echo and various reverb type effects for the "Dub" version it was through these B-side "Versions" that many producers such as Lee "Scratch" Perry and King Tubby came to the attention of the world. So although many would argue that there is already a dub influence to the music of OM it's on the "Gebel Barkal" 7" backed with it's "Version" that it is really brought to your attention and more recently OM have released 2 "Dubplate" 12"'s each featuring a remix and a dub of 1 track from their recent "Adviatic Songs" so as you can see Cisneros interest in Dub has obviously been bubbling under his work for a while.

So backing up to Al Cisneros solo releases then on the 1st 7" "Dismas" you get the A Side backed again with a dubbed out "Version" on the flip, on the 10" you have the A side "Ark Procession" Backed with "Jericho" though whilst having been given a title this time "Jericho" is a "Version" of the A side and lastly we have most recent 7" "Teresa Of Avila" which is backed by "Levitation Dub" again a "Version" of the A side. Now whilst all these tracks are dub influenced it has to be said they are not a million miles away from what Cisneros has done with OM just more spaced out and a lot less "Heavy" in the "rock" sense of the word these are slow motion head nodding instrumental dub bass jams!

So onto the files I've put together both Al Ciscernos 7"'s and the 10" into one file below now there are absolutely NO free downloads of these online anywhere i know i tried my hardest to find them so all 6 tracks are ripped from Youtube videos which are themselves taken from vinyl rips however the quality of the finished files was surprisingly good and the bitrates fairly decent as well. I've listened to them a few times myself and I am more than happy and anyone who knows this blog knows I'm a stickler for decent quality and if they were terrible I would not bother to share them with you the records are separated into their own folders with cover art correct tags etc. So bringing Al Cisneros solo material to a wider audience was the main point of this post but I decided in the spirit of the dub influence on these records that I'd add a few more bits for you so I also present for you both OM Dubplate 12"'s "Gesthemane Dubplate" and "Adviatiac Dubplate" as i mentioned before these were released last year on vinyl and feature a remix and a dub remix of songs from their recent "Advaitic Songs" album "Advaitic Dubplate" has 2 mixes of "Addis" and "Gesthemane Dubplate" has 2 mixes of the track "Gesthemane" (Obviously!!) All the mixes are done by long standing British dub duo Alpha and Omega I cannot tell you anything about these but i looked them up on discogs and it would appear that they have been around since 1989 and have released a stunningly prolific 24 albums and almost as many singles!!! But what i can tell you is that these OM Dubplates are exactly what they say they are Dubplates whereas Al's solo material bears some slight resemblance to what he does in OM these 2 x 12" singles are definitely pure DUB, bass heavy modern dub in the finest tradition of the style if you like OM and Dub music (as I do) you will love these records, if you are a "Stoner" fan more into what OM and the bands they are aligned with do, then i suggest you approach with caution as whilst OM and Alpha and Omega both deal in Bass driven music they come at from completely opposite ends of the Bass heavy music scale OK? Fair warning! The "Om Dubplates" file has both 12"'s in one file again taken from youtube rips (NOTE : New better quality direct from vinyl rips have been uploaded see UPDATE at bottom of post) but again also GREAT quality and in separate folders with artwork. And lastly just as a bonus because 1: I use it as a reference point and 2: because it's probably one of the rarest and collectable OM records I also give you the OM Sub Pop 7" "Gebel Barkel" so if you have not heard it and wonder what I'm referring to earlier in  this blurb well it's hear for you to d/l and listen to.

In closing I would like to think that as well as heavy music fans who have come to OM through the original 2 members connection to Sleep I would also think that OM being quite unusual for the "rock" world would also appeal to people with a wider range of tastes outside heavier music, the fact that free downloads of the Al Cicernos records and the OM Dubplates did not exist (at least from what my extensive searching tells me) until now and  that I like to post obscure and unusual music on here,as well as the usual brutality plus the fact they are only available on vinyl so if you don't have a record player then outside of youtube you won't get to hear them and that it's all involving a musician i have a lot of respect for and who's work I'm a big fan of makes it all the better so here's your links go enjoy something different!

*UPDATE* So instead of re-writing the whole post here I shall just quickly explain why this has been updated.  If you read my blurb you will know that i stated that these files were all ripped from youtube videos but a very kind reader of this blog got in touch and said he owned the Dubplates on vinyl and would i like a direct rip of them? Of course i said yes but what this very kind soul also did was send me a copy of Al Cisneros brand new 12" EP "Toward Nazareth" With 5 Brand New Dubs/Versions it's as brilliant as the other Al solo stuff I have uploaded it and it's a great quality 320kbps vinyl rip too so below there is a link to the new better quality 320kbps direct vinyl rip OM dubplates and also a link to the "Toward Nazareth" EP so there you go folks some New Al stuff and a WAY better quality version of the Dubplates I'd like to thank Vid Eckhardt for getting in touch and doing these rips for me and so i could share them with you especially as I had no idea that "Toward Nazareth" even existed!!! Vid you are now officially an Under The Surface Blog Hero! Anything I can do for you here requests etc wise you need only ask it's people like you that inspire me to keep doing this blog!

UPDATE II JUNE 2015 : So I had a few requests on the original post about the 2 further releases by Al Cisneros the EXTREMELY limited "Empty Tomb/Sepulcher Dub" 7" (Which, despite being less than a year old already sells for £25!!!) and "Lantern Of The Soul" 7" but try as I might even with all my resources all i could find was a youtube video of "Lantern Of The Soul" so I resigned myself to the fact that I was unlikely to get them anytime soon so in one last desperate attempt I put a post on Facebook asking if anyone had them or could provide MP3's.....

...Enter my good pal Agz (of 77 not 666 blog) he messaged me within 5 mins and said he had them for me I went to my FB messages and lo and behold there was MP3's of all 4 tracks! Cheers Agz!!! I exhausted all of my resources looking so I must ask him where he got them however in the meantime please find below links to Both 7 Inches!

"Empty Tomb" was at a low bitrate I have tried to jazz it up but it is a little quiet but NOT terrible quality just turn it up, however "Lantern.." sounds digital a good clean 320kbps rip so i am more than happy and glad to share them with you
Neither record is a radical departure from his previous releases with the exception of some stunning live drums on "Lantern..." which i suspect may have been provided by Emil of OM but i can't confirm that. Anyway go enjoy a further 4 tracks of Al's amazing dubs making this post his discography so far. ENJOY

Al Cisneros - Mediafire

Al Cisneros - Toward Nazareth EP - Mediafire

Om Dubplates - Mediafire

Om Sub Pop 7" - Mediafire

Al Cisneros - Empty Tomb 7" - Mediafire

Al Cisneros - "Lantern of The Soul" 7" - Mediafire

BURNING FLAG EXCLUSIVE ALBUM PREVIEW

(L-R Jonesy, Matt, MD & Mark)

Burning Flag are a band I have been following since pretty much the beginning some of you more astute readers may remember the glowing review I gave their 3 track EP last year (If not See my posts HERE ) Well Burning Flag have been recording their debut album over the last few months with Chris Fielding at Skyhammer Studios when they just received the final mastering done by Brad Boatright of oft mentioned Audiosiege studio (both of whom have done a great job because this album sounds HUGE!) and they decided that they would like me to have the exclusive first "media" review and preview so before i even start i want to give a heartfelt thanks to them for being good enough to give my shady little blog the exclusive on this and you readers should be thanking them as well because you get to hear 3 tracks, my personal picks from the album exclusive right here on UTS!!!!

(CD Cover)

I will begin by saying this has been one of the most anticipated albums of the year for me and DAMN it was worth the wait.... Burning Flag have shown a lot of progression here even considering they are a relatively "new" band and this being their debut it's definitely proof that if you want your album to sound good you have to work at it and these guys have definitely done that! Always practicing and gigging (with the likes of Agnostic Front, Extinction Of Mankind ,GBH and Subhumans to name but a few) and once you get a listen to the 3 tracks I have picked out of the 9 from the album you will see that this hard work has definitely paid off....

...Opening with the sounds of riot and a really realistic sound of crackling fire (what I can only assume to be a torched flag at least that's the picture i see in my mind) MD screams "BURNING FLAGS ON BATTLEGROUNDS" And the adrenalin immediately begins to pump!  "Burning Flag" is a great opener, a mid - fast paced number that immediately pulls you into the album and what is instantly impressive is the guitar tone it is thick and supremely heavy without falling into that "so-downtuned-it's-killing-the- riffs" territory which along with the bass gives the album the serious bottom end required and the trade off male/female vocals throughout give this song a really intense feel, like these guys just grabbed you by the scruff of the neck and dragged you in for the whole ride!

Next up is the testament to feelings of rage that is "Crash And Burn"  (Which you can get an exclusive listen to below) opening with a dramatic driving riff and some great drum work from Matt this song continues to spiral upward until breaking down to just gentle tom drum and Md chanting "I Know I'm Real At least I've That" over and over like a mantra and makes you feel like you are listening to someone looking in a mirror and desperately trying to convince themselves of their own existence and sanity before the riff thunders back driving you upward and just coming to a full halt leaving you feeling battered and bruised in the way only music as great as this can.

It's moments like these that showcase the fact that whilst intense and heavy Burning Flag are bringing something entirely fresh to Punk/Hardcore/Noise/Metal/Whatever. The blend of different influences on display here is refreshing whilst there are flourishes of the familiar throughout, like for example the way the riff changes subtly about halfway through third track "Nightmares" taking it from a barreling heavy hardcore riff to something that reminds me of GBH in their early 80's (though way heavier) but if you weren't paying attention it's gone and back to the barreling main riff and bridge before breaking down into a neck snapping heavy ending that reminds me of the best of sludgy grooves whilst MD just roars over it!

It can't be stated enough that this album is a really compelling listen there's high speed intensity from the likes of "Broken" which over its just shy of 2 minutes throws you in the pit and just slams you to the floor whilst this, I'm sure, is a route Burning Flag could have easily taken churning out a dozen variations on a theme, it is their reluctance to do this that separates them from the pack. Take "Parasites" (One of my personal favorites and again you can get an exclusive first listen below) with it's tribal pounding drums which (seriously) remind me of Adam and the Ants (on Steroids) that is of course until the understated yet menacing riff kicks in and MD's almost spoken rhythmic style here gives this song a real sassy groove that is until you hear what she is saying...

"Some People Make You Feel Heavy, Few, Make You Fly, Some People Try To Pull You Under, They Need To Die"

then it takes on a whole different vibe! It's a song that while builds brilliantly into a supremely heavy peak it makes me wanna get up and bounce more than it does wreck shit! Then there's the "stop start verse riff in "A Code To Live By" that takes the template set by the great early stuff of bands like Helmet and Godflesh and just dirties it up making for a real nasty sound! Or the bridge riff of "Early Graves" that tempers it's heavy verse riff with a "melodic" run that actually puts a smile on my face! No bad thing for an album chock full of punishing riffs!

However it's last song the dramatic and longest on the album "Wretched" clocking in at over 5 minutes that really showcases the maturity of the songwriting on this album opening with a strum of chiming guitars that put me in mind of early PiL or early Wire the song opens out into a supremely heavy and slow riff which repeats throughout the main part of the song it just pins you to your seat it's such a serious sound, this builds to a fast part that breaks out with some real dischordant industrial Voivod type riffage before moving into one of those great barreling riffs that to me, are becoming a BF trademark, before crashing to a shuddering halt and closing the album out with some eerie noise and what sounds to me like a cell door slamming shut! I hope they plan to play this live because i for one can't wait to here this crushing tune at ear hurting volume! I'm reading between the lines here but opening the album with the sounds of rioting and closing with the sound of a cell door slamming well I think it's pretty clever.

It can't be said enough how well everyone plays their parts on this album from the absolutely amazing vocals from MD who has really used her voice to encompass more than just mere "shouting" here, going from almost talking to screaming to, in fact, damn near "singing" to the stellar riffage and back up vocals from Jonesy on Guitar underpinned by the engine room of Mark & Matt on Bass And Drums respectively, providing a solid and intense backbone to this great sound. Whilst normally with "heavy" music it's either the speed, the vocals or the guitar that commands attention here, everything has been given a voice and as much as the production has played a part in that I also think it's the fact that these guys are a solid unit and play well together.

This is an absolutely amazing 5 star, 2 thumbs up 10/10 album here the variety in pace and style keeps the album from becoming A.N. Other "Heavy" release and also keeps your attention focused because it's such a powerful sound it's really hard to drag yourself away from it once you hit play you're in till the end!  I personally have not found myself becoming overly familiar or wanting to reach for the skip button even once throughout my MANY repeated listens of this album, I have also found that I keep hearing things that I hadn't noticed before as well it was only after repeated listening that i had noticed some of the touches I have mentioned in this write up making this an album that will stay with you rather than something you will listen to a couple of times and forget about and again this is because BF have made each song memorable it's not just something that washes over you I have found myself even humming the riff from "Parasites" a couple of times!!!! Also it has to be said that these guys deserve respect for their commitment to the underground scene otherwise you wouldn't be reading about this album first here on this blog!

In closing I want to say that I predict that when this album comes out that Burning Flag are gonna be a name on any if not every fan of "heavy" music with even the slightest of good taste and it came as no surprise but was definitely good news to me that these guys have a spot on the Boardie Takeover event at Download festival this year (see HERE ) Because a band as good as these need to break out a little (or a lot) and be heard by more people other than just say a small gathering of Punks and Hardcore fans because i can say for definite whilst not Pigeonholing them in any way that the modern metal crowd are gonna eat this album up!

Below is the three tracks I picked for you on my first listens to this album as my favorites however on reflection and repeated listening I could not pick a favorite now as there is no filler on this album every song is great but these are as good as any to give you an idea of what to expect and one listen to these 3 and i can guarantee you'll be straight to google using the keywords "burning" "flag" "album" and "pre-order" yeah it really is THAT good!

Here's your tracks.....

Crash & Burn - Soundcloud

Parasites - Soundcloud

Wretched - Soundcloud

Burning Flag's Self Titled debut album will be self released by the band on their own Broken Records imprint this summer it is coming out on CD and limited vinyl.

(cover for the limited vinyl release)

Below are links to their homepage and facebook page go check these out and like their facebook page for more up to the minute news on gigs and the release of the album.

Homepage - HERE

Facebook - HERE

Also you can still get a digital (and Possibly) physical copy of their AMAZING 3 track debut EP at bandcamp....

Burning Flag EP - Bandcamp

THIS IS BOSTON NOT L.A. EXPANDED!!!!

Anyone like me who is a fan of classic era American hardcore will know that the importance of this compilation as a document of the early Boston hardcore scene and USHC in general cannot be understated! Though having watched "All Ages : The Boston Hardcore Film" recently some people on that film have said that the fact that SSD are not on there means it's invalid I however STRONGLY disagree because as great as SSD were i think they are overrated (Yeah I said it so sue me) and this to me was, along with Jerry's Kids "Is This My World" album, my introduction to the Boston hardcore "sound" a sound I have loved ever since!

Originally organised through Newbury Comics a Boston store that the scene kinda revolved around as a place to meet and hang out and released on their Modern Method records in 1982 I was only 10 at the time but what i have read would tell me that with it's divisive tile and it's blistering bands this comp certainly put Boston on the hardcore map.

I am not gonna delve into the history and importance of this album here because it has been written about by many more talented writers than me, All i can say is that I was blown away when i got this album about 3 or 4 years after it came out and it was one of my most prized possessions at the time! Go do a google or a wiki search and read for yourself D.I.Y.!!!! Chances are you did NOT come across this post by chance!!!!

Ok so you may notice that this post is entitled "This Is Boston not L.A. Expanded" there is a good reason for this because at the same time as this album was released there was also a 7" compilation called "Unsafe At Any Speed" also released by Modern Method which featured another track each by 6 of the artists included on the album (Gang Green, Groinoids, The Proletariat,The Freeze, Jerry's Kids and F.U.'s) all the tracks were from the same sessions that the album tracks were recorded at. Both "This Is Boston..." and "Unsafe..." were compiled on an semi official CD issue bolstering the albums original 30 tracks to a healthy 36 tracks with the"Unsafe At Any Speed" tracks tacked on. 

This is where i step in.....SO... as many of you may or may not be aware many hardcore albums of the original era were fairly damn short with the invention of the CD and the thirst for re-issues many classic albums have been re-issued subsequently almost all the bands on the compilation have released the full sessions recorded for the "This Is Boston..." comp as bonus tracks on various CD re-issues (Or in the case of Groinoids as a 7" EP as the session for the comp was the only recording they ever did and only 2 tracks were ever released) and i began to think why has no one ever just properly re-issued/Remastered and expanded  "This Is Boston..."? So here i have taken the task upon myself to do so....

SO of the extras i have compiled here The F.U.'s, The Freeze, Gang Green & The Proletariat tracks are all taken from their own official re-issued CD's and are easily available should you want to find them The Groinoids were taken from their "Radiobeat Sessions" 7" Decadence had no further material available other than "Slam" the one song they contributed in the first place however the jewel in the crown here is Jerry's Kids They have never re-issued their full session however I was lucky enough to come across a blog called Blogged And Quartered a few years ago and he had posted the whole session (check his blog HERE He compiles some great hard to find stuff everything on his blog is pretty much exclusive to him and unavailable elsewhere it's a GREAT blog) so from the original session of which 7 tracks were released over the comp LP & 7" there are a further 4 tracks never heard before anywhere else officially!

So here you have my expanded version of This Is Boston Not L.A. it has been expanded from the 30 original tracks on the LP plus the 6 Tracks from the "Unsafe.." 7" plus the other stuff I have managed to find so here's what you get...

Jerry's Kids : 6 tracks from TIBNLA 1 Track From UAAS  + 4 Bonus Tracks

(Please note there was one further track from the Jerry's Kids session called "Circus" it was on the original download I had of the session file however it cuts off abruptly so i omitted it here, you can find the session with "Circus" at the Blogged and Quartered link in this post)

The Proletariat : 3 Tracks from TIBNLA. 1 Track from UAAS no bonuses

Groinoids : 1 track from TIBNLA 1 Track From UAAS + 3 Bonus Tracks

F.U.'s : 4 Tracks from TIBNLA 1 From UAAS + 1 Bonus Track

Gang Green : 7 Tracks from TIBNLA + 1 From UAAS No Bonuses

Decadence : 1 track from TIBNLA No Bonus

The Freeze : 8 Tracks from TIBNLA 1 From UAAS + 2 Bonus Tracks

So that's the breakdown expanded from 36 tracks on the re-issue CD comp to a meaty 46 tracks I personally just listened to my expanded version and it was just AWESOME So there you go folks Dave's "ultimate" "This Is Boston Not L.A." here's your link i even made a custom cover (see below) I know many HC purists may well slate me for messing round with an untouchable classic or be outraged to them i say... FUCK OFF out of my blog dicks go peddle your purist record collecting somewhere else! To everyone else I say enjoy this piece of hardcore history and the bonuses!

^(My D.I.Y. custom cover enclosed in the file)^

*NOTE* if my descriptions,breakdowns and abbreviations here confuse you just go ahead and download the file it'll take you 3 minutes max even with a slow connection like mine and all shall become clear!!! Cheers.

THIS IS BOSTON NOT L.A. (Expanded) : Mediafire

THE JON SPENCER BLUES EXPLOSION

So where to begin with a band and a guy who has had a LONG career in underground music. Jon Spencer has been involved in many musical projects but most famously has played in guitar noise legends Pussy Galore however I'm not here to give you a history lesson I'm sure most of you readers are astute enough to know your history on this guy and his many projects let's deal with the longest running and most succesful the mighty BLUES EXPLOSION!

Formed in 1991 in New York JSBX (as they will be reffered to for the rest of this post) have been around for nearly 25 years Jon Spencer backed by the IMMENSE talents of Drummer Russell Simins and guitarist Judah Bauer (there is and never has been a Bass Player in JSBX) have been peddling their slightly hip hop flavored RAW garage/blues for nearly 25 years I first heard them in about 2000 when a good friend of mine played me their 1996 album "Now i Got Worry" at that time i had no idea there was music like this the extent of my "garage" rock knowledge at the time began with The Stooges and ended with MC5! However i just remember hearing the track "Identify" (a fast paced almost hardcore sounding number) and being completely floored however being slightly out of character for these guys after hearing the rest of the album I was completely addicted!

Investigating further I discovered that they had had quite the career and managed to just catch up with their back catalogue around the time of their "Plastic Fang" album in 2004 which was a stunning and rocking album chock full of great tunes! I have been pretty much keeping up with them since though not the most prolific of outfits of late having only released 3 albums in the following 13 years to date!

So I am gonna take the easy way out here (still trying to stick to shorter write ups more music and also I am not as familiar with all the history of this band as i normally am with posts on here this time it's really just about the GREAT music) so if you haven't heard JSBX I suggest you get cracking on these downloads if you want more info try wikipedia there's a page on them here...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Spencer_Blues_Explosion

Ok so my main reason for doing this post apart from the fact that JSBX are one fucking howling raging force of nature in the garage blues world is because back in 2010 their 2nd, 3rd, 4th & 5th albums were all reissued and massively expanded however aside from the initial flurry of available downloads these seem to have quickly disappeared from the internet and after my external drive died I had a damn shitty time trying to find them and replace my copies so i decided that at least if i did this post they would be available online again as the actual releases though worth the money are a bit expensive especially when you already own most of them and have shelled out the cash once already for them! So onto your links

Year One - This is a compilation of ALL the first recordings done by JSBX these were originally released back in 1992 as the albums "Crypt Style" and "Jon Spencer Blues Explosion" however this "Year One" CD compiles all those sessions onto one handy disc and includes sessions produced by both Kramer (Of Bongwater fame) and Steve Albini.

Extra Width/Mo' Width - This is NOT taken from the expanded version unfortunately as i cannot lay my hands on a copy of the 2 CD re-issue however this contains both albums in full ripped from my own CD though they were released separately they were recorded all at the same time in 1993

Orange/Experimental Remixes - This is the 2CD reissued version "Orange" comes with 7 Bonus Tracks culled from various B-sides and a VPRO session "Experimental.." comes with a further 5 remixes from the "Acme" era

Now I Got Worry - Due to the fast short and furious nature of this album this has been massively expanded but even with all the bonus material this has managed to all fit on one CD! this issue comes bolstered with a further 12 tracks of b-sides/unreleased studio tracks and 4 radio ad's for the album.

Acme/Xtra Acme - so the original releases of these albums were confusing as hell they were released with different colored covers and titles in every country round the world each with different track lists but however the entire "Acme" sessions have been pulled together on this massive 42 (!) track reissue this is definitely one of the high points of their career and contains most of their best known songs and in my opinion some of their best as well!

Plastic Fang (Expanded) - Now this release is actually unique to this post as I put it together! I discovered that there were no less than 15 versions of this album over as many countries and each county had a slightly different tracklist also there was a Japan only CDEP called "Fang Plastique" which had some exclusive tracks for Japan from the session couple this with the multiple singles/B-sides etc as per usual JSBX style it was confusing but thanks to my trainspotting I managed to source pretty much all the "Plastic Fang" era material so if you live in Europe the original album had 12 tracks my version here has a tasty 18 tracks all the B-sides and the exclusives from the Japanese EP

Damage : I felt this to be another High point in JSBX career i really liked this album when it came out in 2004 however it was the best produced thing they had done so far and quite slick for their usual raw sound! I'm afraid there's no bonus material here as there was little to be had mostly remixes.

Meat And Bone : after an 8 year hiatus JSBX were back with a new album and was it any good? well to be honest i didn't think this album was all that great kinda lackluster and a bit disappointing nothing truly terrible just didn't move me.

Jukebox Explosion : between 2002 and to date 2012 JSBX have done 7 x 7" singles with exclusive A and B sides for Italy's IN The Red Records in 2007 enter the compilation "Jukebox Explosion" this contains all 12 A & B sides from these 7"'s plus a further 6 tracks of whose origin i have no idea but be assured this is one GREAT compilation! as i said there have been 7 of these 7" singles and only 6 are compiled on this CD in 2012 they did a further 7" "Gadzooks/Tell Me That You Love Me" I have given you a separate link for that below next to Meat And Bone as the tracks were recorded at that session and appear as bonus tracks on the Australian issue of the Meat And Bone CD

In 1999 JSBX did a collaboration with The Dub Narcotic Sound System I know nothing about that band but the album is called "Sideways Soul: Dub Narcotic Sound System Meets The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion In A Dancehall Style!"
That's pretty much all you need to know! it's a pretty decent listen but not one of my most played JSBX projects!

So Onto your last 2 links Firstly in 2014 JSBX sneaked a 12" out for that fuckin godawful yearly "Record Store Day" with a very good take on the Def Jam records 12" sleeves of the 80's the 12" contained a medley of the Beastie Boys : She's On It and Jack The Ripper (don't know who did the original) backed with "Audio Vacation" a very fucked up take on 80's hip hop JSBX style!

And lastly in the interim while this post has been sitting in the vaults waiting to go BANG these boys only released a new album so hot off the press your last link is to "Freedom Tower No Wave Dance Party 2015" the latest offering from these guys and is it any good? HELL YES! this is a serious return to form for these guys I have been listening to this album a lot since i got it and I have to say it's the best thing they have done since "Plastic Fang" go check it out if you might have lost faith in these boys as a few folk did with 2012's "Meat & Bone" then this will restore you t a fully functioning JSBX fan!

I'm not gonna claim this to be a complete Discography as JSBX have been going far too long and been far too prolific and confusing with their music to claim every scrap is here but at a mighty 255 songs and some 14 hours i really think if this ain't enough you're a bigger geek than I am!

This band are abundantly talented and unique although sometimes under the sheer volume that may be hard to see but without a doubt NO ONE plays the blues like these guys and i find their take on it pretty consistent and always a pleasure hope you enjoy this almost complete discography of one of the best blues based bands on the planet!

Year One - Mediafire

Extra Width/Mo Width - Mediafire

Orange/Experimental Remixes (Remastered & Expanded) - Mediafire

Now I Got Worry (Remastered & Expanded) - Mediafire

Acme/Xtra Acme (Remastered & Expanded) - Mediafire

Plastic Fang (Expanded) - Mediafire

Damage - Mediafire

Meat & Bone - Mediafire

In The Red Records Jukebox Series #7 7" - Mediafire

Jukebox Explosion - Mediafire

With The Dub Narcotic Sound System - Mediafire

She's On It/Jack The Ripper (Def Jam) 12" - Mediafire

Freedom Tower No Wave Dance Party 2015 - Mediafire

THE KABINBOY UPDATED

The Kabinboy from Ireland were an instrumental band who existed from 1998 -2001 and were oft compared to the likes of Neurosis but i don't see that comparison at all and I'm a huge fan of Neurosis and anything like them, though i wouldn't be surprised to see them playing on the same bill, I can't really describe them as, being damn heavy and instrumental there's not much to compare them to and they have a fairly unique sound, I do feel they have a slightly Stoner/Sludge type vibe to them but that again is not 100% accurate and selling them short. 

They released 2 x 7"'s, 2 x split 7"s,a split CD and a 10" and that was them done & gone and due to the fact that most of their records or songs did not have any titles and were instrumental and the fact they were quite short lived and obscure it's almost impossible to find any info on the net about them..... unless you happen to be a trainspotter like me! I discovered these looooong after they were split up tho I was aware of them at the time they were around in the late 90's but back then there was no internet access like there is now so if you couldn't find it on a distro list or get to a gig then you were screwed plus they were quite popular on the underground at the time so it was impossible to get your hand on the records! 

Anyway with much searching and a bit of buying i managed to round up of their tracks from downloads, vinyl rips and a rip of their awesome split CD with John Holmes (Another GREAT UK hardcore band that split up) This kinda thing is what this blog is all about putting things up that are obscure and rare and took me days and hours of surfing to find and/or buy so that you can have them with the click of a mouse! You could call Kabinboy hardcore or metal or whatever you like but they are one of those rare bands that really can't be pigeonholed. All i know is they created a big buzz when they were going and i can assure you it's well deserved.

About this file it contains everything they released, Here's your tracklist...


1 & 2 - Untitled 1st 7" 1998

3,4 & 5 - Untitled 10" EP 1999

6 - Split 7" W/ The Large Mound 2000

7 - Split 7" W - Redneck Manifesto 2001

8 & 9 - "The Hated & Debated" 7" 2000

10,11,12 & 13 - Split LP/CD W/ John Holmes 2001

14 - 2 Live tracks recorded 27/2/98 From "Alive In Ireland" Compilation CD 1998

 They are taken from my own vinyl rips a couple of downloads i found online a 320kbps rip of the split with John Holmes a youtube video that i ripped mp3 from and 1 track I managed to buy a download of from amazon of all places! anyway I put it all together ran them through an equalizer to clean up the sound as best i could then made a CD and ripped it back onto the computer so this file is all at 320 kbps. All the tracks are tagged "Untitled" (cos they are) but I've put in brackets after each track what release it comes from etc some of the tracks aren't sparkling quality but that's the joy of vinyl i guess? But this collection is a million miles from unlistenable i assure you! Not being too conceited here but from my what my research tells me this is the the only place  you'll get a full and decent quality discography of this great band anywhere on the net trust me I tried before putting all the work in to make one myself and I want to keep great music like this around for other people to discover with ease as it seems a real shame to me that a band with great songs and an original style that lasted such a short time but left such a brilliant set of music should be consigned to the dusty basement of music history. If someone from the Kabinboy reads this post if you have the masters of all this stuff you should put together a discography of decent quality and put it on bandcamp or something I am sure I can't be the only person who would want to see this great music released in decent quality! But in the meantime here's my version ENJOY....

The Kabinboy Discography - Mediafire

BACK FROM THE GRAVE VOL 1- 10

So where to begin, I know very little about this series I basically stumbled across the recently released Vol 9 & 10 of this series whilst looking for other stuff on a new albums download website on the cover of the album it had the tagline "RAW BLASTING  MID 60's PUNK" on the cover and my curiosity was piqued and i thought why the hell not. I am a fan of 60's Garage and Rock 'N' Roll type stuff when it's done well. So whilst i waited on my download i discovered that "Back From The Grave" is a project of Crypt Records home of the greatest Garage Rock that exists and responsible for unleashing such titans as Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and Oblivians on the world so my hopes were high! (look for BIG posts on both these bands soon as I had completely forgotten how great JSBX & Oblivians are)  I also discovered that Vol 9 & 10 were a sort of re-launch of the series the last release had been Vol 8 having been released back in 1992. So download completed let's see what it was all about I hit play and was i disappointed? HELL NO! Whilst the tag line of "RAW BLASTING  MID 60's PUNK" may have been a bit overblown it has to be said there are some utterly great tunes of 60's Garage Rock 'N' Roll on there.

So before I say anymore let me tell you a bit about what I've posted here.... So Obviously when I discovered i really liked these Vol 9 & 10 comps I decided to do a bit of research into Vol's 1 - 8 so from what i can gather it was a vinyl series started by Crypt in 1984 however in 1994 they decided to reissue Vol's 1 -8 on CD but due to their being more space on CD than a 12" vinyl they mixed the comps together some tracks were omitted etc and to me it sounded like an unholy mess!!! But after i looked them up and went looking for downloads I found that the absolutely brilliant Surfadelic blog (Check them out HERE this guy knows his stuff and definitely lives for this music! he has presented a veritable library of lost & rare 60's surf and garage music tell them Dave at Under The Surface sent you) and he had posted Vol's 1 - 8 ripped from original vinyls! JOYYYYY!!!! So i downloaded those and I then had the whole set however much as i am/was grateful for that post after extracting them i discovered that 1 : they were at 128 kbps 2: they were completely untagged other than the file itself having the name of the band and track that was it!!!! So i had 8 albums 2 of which were doubles 164 tracks with no tags, titles,numbers nothing!! so i spent the best part of 6 HOURS(!!!!) ordering, Tagging , finding covers etc etc and now I present them to you here....

So I can't claim to know anything about any of the bands on here I have no idea who they are where the music was sourced from or anything all i know is there are some great band names and some great music on here I was going to try and describe it to you but I'm at a loss for descriptive terms or reference points here but I described it to a friend thus...

"y'know how there's some great 60's bands that have those 1 or 2 rocking gems in their back catalogue? well imagine if there was a whole series of albums where EVERY song is one of those gems"

 there's some great fuzzed out guitars snotty vocals crazy subject matter and some bands are as fuzzily heavy as some of the "Rock" that would come along at the tail end of the 60's/Early 70's however without the macho posturing and histrionics. Best reference i can give you is if you have heard the awesome "Nuggets" compilation well take that as a reference point and dig deeper for the rawer, sloppier garage end of things and there you have it the "Back From The Grave" series here's an excerpt from wikipedia...

"Unlike many garage rock compilations, the Back From The Grave series focuses exclusively on the rawer and more aggressive side of the genre. Psychedelic rock is categorically excluded. The series also includes very few pop or folk oriented songs. As a result, the albums are primarily populated by louder songs that are characterized by fuzztone guitars, rough vocals, and are clearly influenced by groups such as Rolling Stones, Yardbirds, the early Kinks, and the Pretty Things. The lyrics and performances tended to focus on anger, lust, and cheating girlfriends, matching the often chaotic music. According to the liner notes, the songs were recorded by American groups, between 1964 and 1967"

However do not expect all of these bands to tear out of the gate like The Stooges on steroids, whilst some of them do a lot of this is fairly melodic 60's rock and a product of the more known bands of the time influencing them. I heard multiple "rip offs" of more famous 60's standards in among the more original pieces So there you go if you are a sucker for that 60's recording and instrument sound that many bands try to emulate and fail to and you just can't get enough of it then shit here is just shy of 200 tracks of primo garage rock that is just completely addictive as it is completely great!

So as I said Vol's 1 - 8 are taken from vinyl whilst the crackle and pop of the vinyl is not really audible whilst listening on a stereo i did notice it just slightly more when listening to it on my mp3 player however considering these are literally unheard of 60's bands and i have no idea how they were found/sourced i personally think it adds to the charm of these great songs also do NOT be put off that Vol 1 - 8 are from vinyl and are only 128 kbps because believe me they are terrific quality as if they had been trashy in any way i would not have posted them. Vol 1 - 6 are single albums Vol 7 & 8 are double albums. Vol 9 & 10 are single albums and are taken from CD at a tasty 320kbps.

Before I go i cannot stress enough how great it is that Crypt Records managed to unearth such a vast library of unheard gems as there are very few repeats of bands through the series so where they found this stuff or even that they knew it existed is a testament to the conviction of music fans who just really wanted to share music they love with the world,that being the primary reason I do this blog. So that being said and in that spirit here I am sharing it with you just utterly BRILLIANT stuff, thoroughly enjoyable and just great FUN! Enjoy....

Vol 1 - Mediafire

Vol 2 - Mediafire

Vol 3 - Mediafire

Vol 4 - Mediafire

Vol 5 - Mediafire

Vol 6 - Mediafire

Vol 7 - Mediafire

Vol 8 - Mediafire

Vol 9 - Mediafire

Vol 10 - Mediafire

THE KIDS

So... I happened upon The Kids by pure chance a friend of mine on facebook posted a youtube video of one of their songs and i was curious about this Belgian punk band and i looked them up and lo and behold they were utterly brilliant!!!

As I've literally just got onto this band a few weeks ago I can't claim to have much knowledge about them at least no more than anyone else could find with a quick google search! What I can tell you is they were formed in Belgium in 1976 by Ludo Mariman and 2 brothers named De Haes the younger of which Danny on bass was only 12 when the band formed and was not even allowed into some venues to play their gigs because of this!! They released 2 albums in 1978 their debut "The Kids" and a second "Naughty Kids" They had a career beyond that had quite a few albums and singles but I have yet to investigate those and thought I'd stick to what was released during the original period of the punk explosion.

What i can tell you is these guys play some of the best frenetic fast paced garage punk I have ever heard this is every bit as good as anything released by their British peers there's no denying this is definitely punk but there are far more nods to stuff like the Stooges or The Ramones or the Buzzcocks than the more yobbish stuff however "Facist Cop" does smack of ripping it's chorus off from "E.M.I." by the Sex Pistols!!! anyway don't let the use of the word "Punk" put you off this is some great catchy and memorable stuff these guys should have been huge this is more like a high speed MC5 or something there's definitely a huge blues/rock 'n' roll influence on their music except obviously played a helluva lot faster!!!

So it took me a while to source decent downloads of their albums but i managed to snag debut "The Kids" at 320kbps but 2nd album "Naughty Kids" is only at 160kbps but is really good quality and WAY better than the vinyl rip I had before. "Naughty Kids" has a bonus track from their "No Monarchy" 7" and as a further bonus you get the "Never Mind the Pistols Here's The Kids" EP with 5 live tracks from 1978 and a bonus previously unreleased studio cut "No Work"  and that pretty much rounds up their 70's work as I say i have yet to venture beyond that however i am considering buying the 6 CD Kids "Anthology" so you can sure bet if I do I will update and expand this post! Yeah they ARE that good!

All I can say is if you like the sound of this just give em a try I normally avoid anything tagged "punk" however these guys are just utterly great and have been getting heavy rotation round here plus I feel the "garage" tag suits them much better they have more in common with bands like Radio Birdman than the Pistols or something!! It's free so if you check em out what have you lost? 2 mins to download an album 1 min to listen and decide if you like it or not? 3 mins ?? not a lot to ask when they could be your new favorite band and if you're here reading this you sure as shit know they wouldn't be here if they weren't good!!

So here you go some high energy rock'n'roll/garage/punk, think what you will but it shocks me that something this great was happening in Belgium in the 70's and I'm only hearing about it now!! GO GO GO!!!!


The Kids - Mediafire

Naughty Kids - Mediafire

Never Mind The Pistols... EP - Mediafire

GOOD FOR YOU

So does anyone remembers the SST posts that started this blog (All killed by those 4shared bastards) well if not Then recap.... I've no love for Greg Ginn as a person his alleged mismanagement of the SST bands, Back Catalog and recordings themselves etc effectively killed what started as a very bright, new and innovative hardcore/guitar/punk label! By the end of the 80's you were lucky to get 1 gem in 5 from SST when there was a time when EVERYTHING SST released was essential, then there's the abortive rebirth of Black Flag in  2013 and the awful album and it's cover! Anyhow I could go on forever but I won't it has to be said tho having been the only consistent and original member of Black Flag that and some of his other work like his 3 solo albums and the first 2 Gone albums to name but a few well for the most part... I utterly love the sounds this guy gets out of a GUITAR! He has done his fair share of utter crap as well I mean there's little beyond the late 80's and the early 90's in his catalog up to the standards of the stuff i mention even the Gone albums he did were bad! So it's 2013 and Greg Ginn is back with a collaboration with Mike Vallelly called Good For You, Now it's been no secret that Vallely has wanted to work with Ginn after replacing Rollins for Black Flag's 2003 Reunion shows as a benefit for cat rescue operations! Back in 2002 Vallely also put together the short lived Mike V & The Rats they did release 2 EP's both scorching retro early 80's hardcore style with MORE than a nod to Black Flag to say the least as Mike V lays down his best Rollins-isms studiously learned over this ragged hardcore! Well worth checking out if you like that kinda thing? (See My Post On Mike V & The Rats HERE ) So I digress......

So Mike Vallely & Greg Ginn here as Good For You in 2013 with album "Life's Too Short Not To Hold A Grudge" LP so is it any good or is it another one of Greg Ginn's prolific turds? well the answers to those questions are YES! and NO! respectively! I first heard this album on Spotify being unable to hear it any other way as it's so far only seen vinyl release and i didn't think much of it it seemed to be a bit droney and skronky and no real groove to it however I misjudged this completely i think i wanted to hate it cos of the people involved and also because i had to listen on Spotify and I hate streaming! So I dismissed it as crap and forgot about it.... However i decided whilst locating the latest Black Flag album recently i decided to have another go at the damn Good For You album while I'm here and as i managed to get a download of it I decided to give it another chance! FUCK I am so glad I did! This is Ginn's finest album since the early 90's! Firstly Mike Vallely is in great voice here and uses it very well to pretty much distill every Black Flag singer's style and use each's style where appropriate as the music shifts tempo and style. (aggressive Ron Reyes/Keith Morris early Black Flag style for the loud parts, Rollins style for the rocking parts you get what I mean) And Ginn's riffing FUCK well firstly while it has got that classic Ginn Dissonance all over it, it's also got the same unashamedly "Rock" feel to the riffs as the "In My Head" / "Loose Nut" Era of Black Flag albeit "Rock" filtered through the brain of Ginn! I personally think if you like the Instrumental and more "chance taking" stuff Black Flag did towards the end and during the Rollins - era then there's a pretty good chance you will like this! Yeah it's really that good even when it shifts uptempo to an almost early hardcore pace whilst it's not as good as the more rocking stuff and sounds just a little trite is still way good enough to not have you reaching for "Skip Track" Whilst it doesn't display the same danger, grime and insanity as Black Flag it still has that familiarity to it and there's quite a few uptempo moments on there that hark back to Ginn's earliest punk guitar thrashing allbeit with a more confident and controlled feel of someone with near 35 years playing under his belt! And another thing how the fuck does he keep coming up with this stuff seeing as how he is 60 in June! And one final note with riffs as good as the ones all over this album WHAT the actual fuck happened with the new Black Flag album?

SO I have waffled long enough I think I need to wrap this up here, All I can say is there's a download here check it out it'll cost you nowt but a bit of your time, If your one of the people who came here for the classic SST stuff then here's 1 new SST release you won't want to miss! 1 Solid fucking album DAMN YOU GINN!!!!!!

UPDATE

So Don't even ask my how I found out about "Full Serving" (pictured above) I think i was looking for something on Ginn or Vallely or Good For you and found out that Good For You had done a 2nd album "Too!" which was a double album!!!  and as i had loved "Lifes Too Short..." I immediately went looking for "Too!" online as a further double LP of GFY jams was just too good to miss! I had no luck finding a download to "Too!" and resigned myself to the fact that it was one of those SST vinyl releases I'd never het to hear however just as i was about to give up i discovered that SST hand very nicely compiled a Good For you TRIPLE CD entitled "Full Serving"  containing everything they had recorded in 2013,As I am a sucker for bands compiling all their shit into one handy package i of course immediately hit BUY IT NOW and within 2 days I had the set in my grubby little paws!!!

So what you get are the "Lifes Too Short..." Album and "Too!" plus the b-side to their "Fucked Up" Single all re sequenced and mastered for CD over the first 2 discs (Meaning the 34 tracks don't run in the same order as the albums they have been put together in a different running order specifically for this set but as it would appear all the music was recorded in the same place at the same time so there's no jarring differences in sound quality) but it doesn't end there as there is a further 3rd disc containing 6 bonus tracks exclusive to this set making this 40 tracks and some 2 & 1/2 hours of sheer Greg Ginn guitar insanity! If you have read the blurb above I have nothing more to add to my musical descriptions all i can say is that this collection is a close as you are ever gonna get to Black Flag (Rollins - Era) without a time machine! And i for one am more than happy to have 40 tracks of it.

So Here's your updated link i have ripped it at 320kbps as usual and as far as I am aware this is NOT available anywhere else on the internet to download otherwise i wouldn't have had to buy it!!!! Go get yourself some serious CLASSIC SST style goodness I swear if this had been released anytime around 1983 - 1985 it would be held in as high esteem as any other SST release of the time just cos it was recorded some 30 years later doesn't make it any less classic in my mind if only the rest of that era of SST bands could come up with something this good now!ENJOY....

SST390 - FULL SERVING - Mediafire

THE BLOOD OF HEROES & SUBMERGED

(I couldn't find a picture of the band but I did like this piece of art from the inner of their latest album)

Ok so this post is a bit out of left field here and another one of those ones that I am putting up here more for the internet than just my specific audience! We have two artists that are linked so one justifies the other read on.....!

The Blood Of Heroes came to my attention because it was a project featuring Justin Broadrick (See posts On his remix work HERE & as Jesu HERE) who readers will know i am a big fan of however upon investigation I also found among others I hadn't heard of at the time Bill Laswell was also involved and as he is a MASTER of the bottom end i was sold! However when their first self titled album was released it was a real shock to me blending elements of Drum 'N' Bass, Dub, Industrial, Justin's Trademark Guitar and occasional vocals plus a serious bottom end provided by Bill Laswell's organic along with Kurt Gluck (aka Submerged) & Lynn Standafaer (aka Enduser) Electronic bass making for some serious speaker quaking!!! Most of the vocals throughout the album are provided by Dr. Israel who I know nothing about but who appears to come from the New York Illbient/Drum 'N' Bass scene and his rough mc/dub style vocals work well with the other elements.

I'm going to say right now that this is not the kind of stuff I would normally post on here and without Laswell & Broadrick's involvement this would be more of a  standard Drum 'N' Bass type album however the mix of the Organic and Electronic elements works in this bands favor and of course Justin's guitar work is stellar and heavy and he has never made a secret of his love of breakbeats (see some of Godflesh's later work and his side project for evidence) but if like me you are open minded and willing to give something new a try then these are definitely for you. Plus all the members of this band whether primarily or occasionally have been involved in making electronic music as well as playing in bands.

I have given you both of The Blood Of Heroes albums (their self titled album from 2010 and the more recent "The Waking Nightmare" from 2012) to date plus the Remix album "Remain" which accompanied their self titled debut which features remixes by Justin Broadrick, Bill Laswell, Enduser & Submerged (all 4 are members of The Blood Of Heroes) plus further remixes by the likes of Dälek (awesome producers/artists in their own right) and due to the involvement of 4 of the members is more of a de-constructing/re-interpretation of the album than a standard remix affair and works really well.

I am trying to broaden the scope of the blog and not just post heavier guitar based stuff all the time as i have said many times to say my tastes in music are wide ranging is an understatement and i do go through phases of listening to different music and if i like it enough it merits inclusion in this blog and i felt it was long overdue that some electronic based music was represented and the involvement of Justin Broadrick and Bill Laswell in this project made this an ideal starting point!

So I will can the chat and let you check this stuff out for yourself here's your links......

The Blood Of Heroes - Mediafire

Remain - Mediafire

The Waking Nightmare - Mediafire

So this leads me nicely to the 2nd part of this post which is what i was referring to at the start about this post about it being for the internet rather than readers of this blog so i shall explain further.... basically The Blood Of Heroes part of this post was put here because I actually wanted to a post on Submerged (aka Kurt Gluck pictured above) however i felt without The Blood Of Heroes part it would make less sense as to why I am doing this post!

As The Blood Of Heroes is made up of people who all have careers in their respective fields of music and i was already aware of the work of Justin Broadrick and Bill Laswell i decided i would check out the work of the other members as I liked the music behind Blood Of Heroes a lot so this led me to discover Submerged, now let me be clear Submerged are a straight up Drum 'N' Bass project and is the main moniker for the majority of Kurt Gluck's musical output now whilst i like most people who have had a lifelong passion for music, since it's major breakthrough in the late 80's/early 90's it would be impossible to have avoided dance/electronic music it seeped into almost every part of musical culture and still does even to this day and I was heavily involved in that scene through the mid - late 90's and still have an interest in it today however i am extremely choosy about what i like and rarely if ever check out anything new (most of the dance/electronic music I like is stuff i was into at the time and not really anything recent) however I did decide to check out Submerged as i liked the name and figured if Justin and Bill would work with him he must be doing something pretty good! and i was right although he does make Drum 'N' Bass/Breakbeat type music he does it with a wholly different and unusual approach and has a dark and nasty edge to it which appealed to me immensely.

When i started looking for some Submerged music I could only find "Pay" downloads (at the cost of $10/£6.50 an album) so i used this nifty little site I have as a last resort for finding individual mp3's if i can't find a rar of an album and i had to download almost all of the music in these links track by track from there then i had to pay for "Ghost Dope" (though at nearly 2 & 1/2 hrs long i think the $10 was justified) so as i said this is a "give it up for the internet" here's all the (digitally) available Submerged stuff free of charge so you don't have to spend the best part of 2 days like i did finding the mp3's compiling them etc....

So what you get below are his two "stand alone" albums "Before Fire...." and "Stars Lights..." plus "Ghost Dope" which is a 2 & 1/2 hour compilation of tracks culled from his vast back catalog of 24 12" vinyl releases (the 12" being the primary format for Drum 'n' Bass and dance music) then a further compilation from the vaults "Violence As First Nature" which has a further 15 cuts from his back catalog and also comes with a bonus DJ mix featuring all these tracks plus another 13 tracks seamlessly mixed by the man himself. However it does not end there purchasers of "Before Fire..." were given a free download from the label (Ohm Resistance) entitled "Before Fire...Supplemental Material" which has a further 2 tracks plus a 31 min track by someone called Robert Mariani entitled "Astral - Cassette Tape #01 (1985)" I cannot find any information about what relevance this artist or track bears to Submerged or the album but it's in there should you wish to check it out. And "Stars Lights..." contains a bonus remix of one of the album tracks.

So just quickly i want to say that there is a lot of regular if above average drum and bass type stuff here mainly on "Ghost Dope" which is not surprising as it is culled from 12"'s mainly targeted at a club environment however both his albums plus the "Violence As First Nature" comp contain some insanely nasty,grimy and intense stuff which puts me in mind of some of Aphex Twin's more crazy stuff and his cutting up of beats is just nuts as well as some of the intense bass,noise and just general electronic brutality that borders on the industrial. I have listened to it on my mp3 player this week and it was just great so that's why I decided it was worth blogging I really feel you don't have to be out of your head on drugs on the dancefloor to enjoy this stuff it is varied and interesting enough to stand listening to at home.

So here you go my first posting of purely electronic music I have spent more of this post justifying and explaining why i posted it rather than describing the music I guess that's just my personal guilt that i have posted so much heavy stuff here that I feel like I had to explain also i don't really know how to describe the depth of a bass tone or how good the TB303 waves and 808 beats are I only know i liked it a lot, it provoked a positive response and that's why it's here, In closing i will refer you to a qoute from the very 1st post on this blog .....

"The main thing is to have no expectations of this blog because even I don't know what I'm gonna put on here yet you can expect to find anything from acoustic and experimental music to jazz and grindcore whatever I'm enjoying that i think is worth sharing I'll put it on here I place no labels on myself or my music tastes."

So there you go more justification ha ha here's hoping i don't lose the majority of my readers and some people will enjoy this crazy music....

Ghost Dope - Mediafire

Violence As First Nature - Mediafire

Before Fire I Was Against Other People - Mediafire

Starts Lights The End - Mediafire

THE KOOLAID ELECTRIC COMPANY

SO this band were a bit of a surprise discovery for me I downloaded a compilation called "Reverb Conspiracy Vol 1" it was billed as "A European Psych collection co released by Fuzz Club Records and the Reverb Appreciation Society" I was mainly after the download for the exclusive Dead Skeletons track on it (See my post on Dead Skeletons HERE) however after downloading I had it on in the background whilst doing something and one song really grabbed me so I checked the track list and the song was "Dreams" by The Koolaid Electric Company so a quick net search and i discovered they had an album out called "Random Noises And Organised Sounds" and a further net search netted me a download of it but it was so good i managed to get in touch with them through their facebook page and i manged to purchase one of the very few remaining copies of it from them and as it's completely out of print and very hard to come by for a reasonable price I asked for their permission to upload the album for you guys and they were kind enough to let me do so.

It would appear that at least one member of this band is from the long standing indie/shoegaze band The Telescopes but I have to be honest I didn't pursue information on this further but i suspect the fella i've been in touch with on Facebook Dave "Rusty" Gryphon would be the one.

So why all the fuss? well as you all should know i am a huge fan of the current wave of modern psychedelic music or "Psych" as it's referred to and most of it is borne of a similar template krautrock-ish passages and loud guitar freakouts however these guys were approaching the "Psych" sound from a completely different and altogether British angle whilst still having plenty of the hallmarks of psychedelic music these fellas are leaning more towards the sounds of Loop (See post HERE) Ride, (early) Jesus and Mary Chain etc and a bit of the style known as "Dream Pop" think Mazzy Star (See Post HERE ) etc and also there's hints of 60's garage/pebbles type stuff as well this is all wrapped up in loud effected guitars, and makes each song standout as different from the next and keeps things interesting whilst most psychedelic bands tend to slam you to the wall with intense builds and extended guitar freak out these guys happily drift along lazily and dreamily and whilst they still have great builds and are more than capable of some good loud guitar in the right places it's more of a shimmering guitar ride that whilst still plenty loud is a far more relaxing affair than their contemporaries and is just so lush it will melt your spine! I defy anyone to not be bowled over by the sheer beauty of this album. I know there is quite a bit of "Shoegaze" revival going on these days but the way these guys blend it with their psychedelic influences is just genius and this album has been one of the best things I've heard this year (although it has been out since 2011!!!)

So below I have a given you a fully authorised link to their album uploaded by me at 320kbps from my CD I cannot stress enough that you should check this album out I am listening to it right now as i type this article and the acoustic strumming and effected guitars of the intro to the track "home" just made me stop, go limp and go ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh it's a truly beautiful listen track after track of just great songs that are also completely memorable every time I hear a song I go"Ahhhh I remember this one it's great"  then the next one comes on and I go "Ahhhh I remember this one it's great" A truly terrific album 9 songs of utter aural delight and worth 50 minutes of anyone's time at least anyone with a heart and a brain and a love of great music... Enjoy!

The Koolaid Electric Company - Mediafire

LECHEROUS GAZE

This is a completely redone version of the old post I decided that it needed re-doing rather than updating because firstly they have had a GREAT new album out since it was originally done and secondly because I just them live!

So...Anyone who reads this blog regularly should know that i am a huge fan of Annihilation Time so when they broke up and 3/4 of the final version of A.T. formed Lecherous Gaze my expectations were high but at that time (2010) firstly I didn't like the name and secondly I just couldn't get into them to start with I had hoped they'd keep their Black Flag/BL'AST! edge and i just didn't hear it and found their new more rockin' style just a little too "rock" for what I had wanted/expected!

So though I kept up to date on what they were doing and thought they were kinda "OK" they were never really a favorite especially when they had a change of vocalists. However last year I dunno how it happened but after I heard they had a new album in the works and were touring I decided to have a re-visit and lo and behold the clouds parted the sun shone upon me and i finally "got it"! I have since purchased the EP and both albums on CD and decided it was time for a proper post! So the high praise this band receive in this post is a product of my re-visit!

Lecherous Gaze were formed by ex - Annihilation Time (See My Post on them HERE ) members Graham Clise (Guitar), Chris Grande (Bass) along with Noel Sullivan (drums) who played drums on the last Annihilation Time album "III - Tales Of The Ancient Age" Their original vocalist Lakis Panagiotopulos (Who bore an uncanny vocal resemblance to Glenn  Danzig) only appeared on their debut Demo/EP and was replaced shortly thereafter by Zaryan Zandi I mention this straight away because originally i couldn't understand how their vocalist had gone from smooth toned Danzig style to sounding a lot like a manic Captain Beefheart!! And thought it best to save you from the same confusion.

They released their "Audio Testament" demo (pictured below) with original vocalist Lakis Panagiotopulos in 2010 this would later get tweaked and re-issued as the "Lecherous Gaze" 12"/CD the only recording to feature their original singer. It's a cracking debut taking off where the last Annihilation Time album left off but a bit less on the punk side and adding a bit more garage and 70's rock which is pretty much sets the standard for everything to follow.

At this point I think there's little to be had from going through each LG release individually as whilst they have had a few EP's between the debut and 1st album and a couple between  the first and second albums they have been a fairly consistent unit there's been no groundbreaking changes in their sound since they started they have just continued to release consistently good records and just got better and better at what they do so in the spirit of shorter write ups more music here's a quick breakdown of your links.....

"EP's" this is the original link from the original post and it contains the debut "Lecherous Gaze" EP but also contains their "Bagagazo" EP "Born On A River" 12" "Animal Brain" 7" and their tracks from the 3 way split 12" with Danava and Earthless now originally I had thought that these were worth having but it turns out that apart from their debut EP ALL of the others contain mostly tracks that would later turn up on their albums and they are exactly the same versions as the album versions however there are 2 tracks in there that don't appear on the albums "Feathered Fish" from the "Bagagazo" EP and "Get You Some" from the 3 way split so if you, like me, want to be completist then these tracks are definitely worth having plus you most definitely NEED their Debut EP so don't skip it!.

So that being said I have given you their 2012 debut album "On The Skids" which is a great debut and is a non stop rock 'n' roll wild ride I have to be honest as i said near the start that it took me a while to get into the new vocalists "croaky" Beefheart style but the music is just unbelievably great there are not enough bands blending the best of 70's rock with a healthy dose of Stooges/MC5 craziness and a dash of grimy early USHC and these guys by far are the best at it I said in my original post on these guys that i figure even if Annihilation Time had kept going this is what their next album would have sounded like anyway. This is tight and well played, the musicianship is impeccable and it shows that the core of this band have been playing together for quite a while and it can't be said enough how great a guitarist Graham Clise is he is a non stop hot rock lick machine! Whilst this is an excellent debut their latest album from this year "Zeta Reticuli Blues" takes the template and just makes it even better the songs are even more rocking and memorable and they even do a cover of old blues rock standard "Baby Please Don't Go" and their version is just scorching all i can say is if you thought "On The Skids" was good then this will blow you away! As far as I can tell this is the only place this is available for free on the net because I tried for months after hearing it was being released and after it was released and in the end had to give in and buy it ha ha!

So there you go the complete story so far and having seen them live recently it's obvious these guys LOVE what they do as they certainly looked like they were enjoying playing as much as we were enjoying watching them so i doubt this is the last we will hear from them and personally I can't wait for more! Enjoy!

EP's - Mediafire

On The Skids - Mediafire

Zeta Reticuli Blues - Mediafire

And just for fun here's some pics me and my Girlfriend took with our phones of Lecherous Gaze live at the Blade factory Liverpool....