Salamander - Birds of Appetite (2003)

Salamander is a band I know next to nothing about (you can find a more complete bio at Camera Obscura); based out of Minneapolis, this troupe of psychedelic marauders has apparently been turning out their own smoldering brand of space rock since the early 90's, although the label bio linked to above would seem to suggest the band's currently status as one of semi-permanent hiatus. While the basic instrumentation here is somewhat standard psych-rock fare (guitar/bass/drums), the band prides itself on both its non-traditional use of said rock instrumentation and its use of non-traditional rock instrumentation, including "hammered dulcimer, shenai (an oboe-like instrument), and something they call the 'space whistle'." This particular album, 2003's Birds of Appetite, was my first introduction to these masters of ambiance (though I have no idea how or where I discovered it), and it remains my favorite of their works.

While the Om-like album opener 'Vessel is Vacant' suggests strict Summer of Love worship with its tablas and half-chanted vocals, it's eventual descent into gentle drone foreshadows the album's subsequent minimalist turn. On Birds, Salamander is most successful at creating long, smoldering songs that utilize crescendo much as a post-rock band might without falling into the conventions of that most amorphous of genres; for all of it's bombastic song lengths (it does feature four songs over the eight-minute mark), this album has a distinct late-night psych feel matched by a earthy, folkish tone. With little or no vocals on most of the sparsely layered tracks, the music is left here to speak for itself, evoking a mystical, haze-ridden atmosphere with a drummer and lead guitar player who make no attempt to mask the influence of Indian classical music on their playing styles. The band's name - which comes to us from a semi-mystical animal thought in ancient times to be born of fire - is a perfect fit for the mood achieved here, at once brooding, lysergic and somehow vaguely alchemical.

Those of you with a Paypal account can still get the 'Birds of Appetite' CD here, or download it from us.

Gong - Pre-Modernist Wireless: Peel Sessions 1971-74

First off, thanks to postcooksey for shame-kicking my lazy ass into restarting this once-stagnant blog. I have a slew of to-be-posted albums on my desktop, and it is time for me to get to work on them. Here's goes.

This album, which is actually not an album at all, compiles the appearances of trans-continental prog champions Gong on the legendary John Peel show on BBC Radio. Gong, a band of tripped-out fuckheads that is almost as famous for its bizarre mythology as for the idiosyncratic music it produced, show themselves here as a capable live act, with the songs losing none of their charm whatsoever without the playground of a studio (a common trait of late-60's sike, where production techniques often masked boring, by-the-book pop numbers as bold and experimental). In fact, what this set accomplishes is to demonstrate that for all the conceptual wonder-pinnings of their long-form concept albums, Gong wrote fucking great self-contained songs that hold up even without spoken-word interludes about 'pot-head pixies' and the like (not that there's anything wrong with that!). From acid-folk ('Magick Brother') to irreverent ska ('Clarence in Wonderland') and of course the cosmic anthem "You Can't Kill Me," Gong provides one of those rare listening experiences that feel like one has been temporarily transported into the mind of a lunatic, only to discover that it's actually a lot more fun than the so-called 'real world' (a dull waste of time, this author can assure you).

For those of you unfamiliar with Gong's studio output, you can find their essential first five albums over at Black Acid; as a hint, the band generally followed the era's transition from psychedelic to progressive rock, with their early works resembling an especially spaced-out take on late-60s psych, exploding into full-blown prog with the infamous "Radio Gnome Trilogy."

It seems to be out of print but you can find "Pre-Modernist Wireless" as a $45 import on Amazon, or opt for sheer musical piracy here.

Warning (UK) - Watching from a Distance

Here's a fairly recent release from Warning, a depressive UK-based doom band I should have heard of sooner. I have no idea if Swill (creator of this blog and friend of mine) is going to like this, but this is my idea of astoundingly good doom. I've recommended some doom and stoner rock gems to Swill in the past, for example Valkyrie from Virginia (go listen to them), and he's shot them down. He also thinks Asunder sucks and I would call that a stretch. (not true. just said that their albums are boring, which I stand by - swill)

I hope he will enjoy this band if he hasn't heard it cause this is without question the best doom record I've listened to this year. Yes, it came out in 06. Chronic weed smoke means I'm slow on the uptake, why are you judging me? Please forgive me for being slightly behind schedule in faithfully delivering you free music you ungrateful jerk.

The riff proficiency here is clearly top shelf and no internerd out there will convince me otherwise. But what's truly brilliant about this album is the vocals, and I think that's what might hang people up with this band. I won't ruin it for you by describing them too much, but they're unique. If you don't like the vocal performance then I just don't understand you. Personally I am blown away. Few doom bands are this successful at creating an atmosphere so bleak and depressing. Someone on the collective zine board described it as being like "listening to Loss and Red House Painters at the same time."

I'm cursing myself for sleeping on this because every copy seems to be sold out now, including the reissue on Metal Supremacy earlier this year. Fuck... I'm stuck with these mp3s:
http://sharebee.com/2842c251

Gris - Il était une forêt (2007)

Here's some black metal from Canada. You can tell by the excess of color and presence of a toy boat on the cover that you're getting into delicate post-rock influenced territory. Usually when I hear bands like this I'm like dude, wheres the metal, but this is actually amazing. Most "depressive/suicidal" black metal bands should feel embarrassed by the level of musicianship and songwriting on this album. The atmospheric passages are all excellent and don't sound like some nerd with a keyboard lifted the melody from a Nintendo game. How many black metal bands can you think of who can play competent chamber music?

At first I felt kinda bad for letting you internet cheapos download this fine slab of blackened art for free, since its pretty recent, but then I was like fuck it. You can decide whether or not to buy this from Sepulchral Productions; their website makes it seem like you'd be supporting Québécois nationalism and possible Nazi connections. Buy it (and potentially support separatist bombings) or download it from the link below. Or don't, see if I fucking care. Does my opinion mean nothing to you?

http://sharebee.com/32f8d763

Contropotere - Nessuna Speranza Nessuna Paura LP

One-of-a-kind experimental punk made by like 9 Italian squatters. Contropotere is really fucking bizarre and you will probably not enjoy it. Dual female vocals (not to be tokenizing) and strangely structured songs with atypical instrumentation. This would completely alienate most crust kids I know - a rare virtue. Their name translates as "counterpower", and apparently they were heavily involved in the Napoli autonomist movement during the 90s.

This is is their first LP, which came out in 1989 on Attack Punk. They released a demo tape, an EP, and an additional LP, all of which are available on other blogs. Oh yeah, and a CD of fucked up techno. After this their shows seem to have become mostly high concept performance art, which I'm sure pissed off alot of fans, which rules. Check youtube.

"Contropotere is every one of us.The power to transform us, to come into contact with our part more True, more intimate, more powerful person.To transform us to be able to transform.To pass from what risks becoming a simple game, a possibility without potentiality, in something serious, less spectacular perhaps, less recognizable and catalogabile as the spirit that continues and it animates…the power that every one of us has as potential of transformation.Every form to be able imposes.Easy to be authoritarian to the outside of us.Difficulty to be with ourselves.Difficult because the correct street.The power on if same is the first footstep toward the change.The transformation through our transformation.The self-discipline that becomes management of own power.That natural power as a lightning that doesn’t recognize external authority to itself, but it recognizes that every to be able is balanced to the other, that every living being is connected to the other…in a delicate equilibrium.The reality, further to be a fascinating mystery is very hard and Raw / the life that we live is a stage on which all recite a part looking for the more possible than to be comfortable..."

Some dude on the Profane Existence message board hosted this, I can't take credit. I don't own it cause this album is out of print as fuck.

http://www.mediafire.com/?mg2jxtmmtqd

Zeroid - 2004

Here's some classic dark hardcore from Germany - oppressive, dissonant, rapidly changing downtuned riffs coupled with throat-tearing screams of absolute desperation and hatred for daily life. I think Zeroid fucking rules, but the reviewer for Violent With Anger Zine #57 has a different opinion. Here's the dude's take on an earlier Zeroid album:

"A few hardcore wanna - be's tryin' to play some nihilistic death - metal influenced whatever-core. To make it short: If you've ever been listening to the real gruesome shit, than you definitely don't have to waste your time on this crap. Weak and powerless drums and uninspired and straight-to-no-point guitarriffing makes this one a pain in the ass of true death-metal maniac's. I'm not sure if there's even a bass line 'cause of the low - level production, which was made in several no-name studio's which i've never heard of and hopefully never ever have to. The vocals suck. If this is the future of the "hard-and-heavy" genre than you better start headbangin' to the new eminem cd. However, reading the 16-paged booklet doesn't make it more comfortable to bore through the full-length (nearly 70 minutes) digital desaster: The lay-out is done only semi-professional and seems to be stolen from arty-farty photocatalogues no one ever wants to see. But the really pathetic and offensively senseless lyrics are more interesting: These guys have the guts to heavily flirt with suicide, death and destruction. Real sickos will love it. It's been released on formerly totally unknown bremen based hardcore label "Unsociable" whose mastermind gives proof of excellent bad humour by turning the unholy but still sacrificed "Earache" logo into a "Hellache" synonym. Really funny, guy. This record is so shitty that i've to honor it with 9 out of ten points on my very own "crap-of-the-month" scale."

Hahaha... anyway here is the last (and best?) Zeroid disc. I can't find any other blogs hosting their music and they're one of my favorite bands so I might put some more of it up later. You should pick this up, by the way, from Pray for Death, a sweet distro out of Savannah : http://prayfordeathrecords.com/

Or download it here you cheap fucker.
http://sharebee.com/c0f6a3f1

Tracklist:
01. rien ne va plus
02. kurzschlußüberlegungen
03. frage / antwort
04. wir gewinnt
05. warteschleife
06. vorletzter akt
07. auf zielkurs halten
08. rohrkrepierer

Naked City - Torture Garden

Here's another old school Earache release. Fans of total mindfucking music are hopefully familiar with avant-garde multi-instrumentalist John Zorn, but if not here's an album of some of the most fucked up jazz(?) you will ever come across.

This pretty much defies classification. If I had to pin it down I'd call it jazz grind, but there's surf, country, and punk in here too. Also featuring horrific screams from Boredoms member Yamatsuka Eye, this is the perfect album to put on at a party after you've taken too many drugs and you want all the squares to leave.

1. Blood Is Thin - 1:00
2. Demon Sanctuary - 0:38
3. Thrash Jazz Assassin - 0:45
4. Dead Spot - 0:31
5. Bonehead - 0:51
6. Speedball - 0:37
7. Blood Duster - 0:13
8. Pile Driver - 0:33
9. Shangkuan Ling-Feng - 1:14
10. Numbskull - 0:29
11. Perfume of a Critic's Burning Flesh - 0:24
12. Jazz Snot Eat Shit - 0:24
13. The Prestigitator - 0:43
14. No Reason to Believe - 0:26
15. Hellraiser - 0:39
16. Torture Garden - 0:35
17. Slan - 0:23
18. Hammerhead - 0:08
19. The Ways of Pain - 0:31
20. The Noose - 0:10
21. Sack of Shit - 0:43
22. Blunt Instrument - 0:53
23. Osaka Bondage - 1:14
24. Igneous Ejaculation - 0:20
25. Shallow Grave - 0:40
26. Ujaku - 0:27
27. Kaoru - 0:50
28. Dead Dread - 0:45
29. Billy Liar - 0:10
30. Victims of Torture - 0:22
31. Speedfreaks - 0:29
32. New Jersey Scum Swamp - 0:41
33. S & M Sniper - 0:14
34. Pigfucker - 0:23
35. Cairo Chop Shop - 0:22
36. Fuck the Facts - 0:11
37. Obeah Man - 0:17
38. Facelifter - 0:34
39. N.Y. Flat Top Box - 0:43
40. Whiplash - 0:19
41. The Blade - 0:36
42. Gob of Spit - 0:18

This came out in like 1989 or 1991 or something... who gives a shit, I'm drunk.

EDIT: LINK FIXED
http://www.mediafire.com/?mfnd6s2yxps