Friday, December 29, 2006

Playlist 12.29.06

KNUT - Bastardiser
IMMORTAL - At the Heart of Winter
VOIVOD - Angel Rat
ABSU - Barathrum V.I.T.R.I.O.L.
HARVEY MILK - Anthem
SUNN 0))) & BORIS - Altar
VOIVOD - Nothingface
PARADISE LOST - Gothic
IMMORTAL - Pure Holocaust
VOIVOD - The Outer Limits
ROK - This is Satanik
OLD MAN GLOOM - Meditations in B
OLD MAN GLOOM - Seminar II: The Holy Rites of Primitivism Regressionism
OLD MAN GLOOM - Seminar III: Zozobra
OLD MAN GLOOM - Christmas Eve I and II + 6
OLD MAN GLOOM - Christmas

(((03))) V.2

Thursday, December 28, 2006

1515

I own The Red Sea by ISIS on 8" orange swirl vinyl but it has recently been re-issued on 180g 12" vinyl in limited colors. The CD version contains their demo cassette from 1998 finally available in digital format and the 12" contains the bonus demo material for the first time on wax. The first track "Charmicarmicarmicat Shines to Earth" is dedicated to the Melvins, Bastard Noise and Earth and sees ISIS delving into the world of noise. The other two songs proper, "The Minus Times" and "Red Sea" show a slight hint of what the band would morph into on their next album, Celestial. The demo material, "Smiles and Handshakes," "Catalyst," "Ochre" and "Lines Across Eyes" are very primitive in terms of the overall sound the band has achieved in recent years owing more to Godflesh than to the shoegazing genre they relate to now. The Red Sea comes highly recommended.

(((03)))

Tuesday, December 26, 2006

Rest in Peace and thank you for 73 yrs.

(((03)))

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Texas Digital Retro Magic(k)

MORBID SCREAM: 'Anthology' Collection to Be Released by TAROT PRODUCTIONS.

Tarot Productions, the label headed up by ABSU drummer Proscriptor McGovern (Russ R. Givens), will release an anthology CD from the '80s Plano, Texas death/thrash metal cult band MORBID SCREAM. Entitled "The Signal to Attack: 1986-1990", the album is a collection of tracks from all of the band's '80s demos and unreleased live songs over the group's entire career.

A release date for the effort is set for January 9, 2007.

For more information, visit www.tarotproductions.com.

(((03)))

PS I worked on the layout design for this release.

Thursday, December 14, 2006

Protest vs. The Stink

My friends Burris, French,
Ronnie and Chance have a
damn good band called
PROTEST. Slaytanic Metal
from Dallas, TX.

Also, THE STINK features
buddies of mine Scott, Sal,
Chris and Danny.

Go check out both bands on
01.20.07 and support local music.
Especially when it's this good.

(((03))) V.2

Edited by Laura Pratt (LPA)

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

1K
























1,000 hits on TorqueZine

(((03)))

Monday, December 11, 2006

Boris - Korosu アーカイブ

"Korosu" is one of my favorite songs from one of my favorite albums by Boris, Heavy Rocks. The video quality isn't as good as I would like but you get the idea. If I haven't said it enough already... Boris is completely fucking awesome! For more information, visit any of the links for Boris here at TorqueZine.

(((03)))

Friday, December 08, 2006

Black One

SUNN 0))) very quickly became one of my favorite bands and I, to this day continue to enjoy their back catalogue. Their latest album (not including the Boris collaboration "Altar") is a blackened voyage into the surreal and dark waste that is Black One. With guests from the world of USBM, this epic takes a slow look at the creepy indulgent death of music as we know it.

Disc one (Black One)

"Sin Nanna" – 2:19
"It Took the Night to Believe" – 5:56
Cursed Realm (of the Winterdemons)" (Immortal) – 10:10
"Orthodox Caveman" – 10:02
"CandleGoat" – 8:04
"Cry for the Weeper" – 14:38
"Báthory Erzsébet" – 16:00

Disc two (Solstitium Fulminate)

"Wine & Fog" – 21:29
"Vlad Tepes" – 16:43

(((03)))

Thursday, December 07, 2006

Gallhammer 結成


(((03)))

Wednesday, December 06, 2006

::: The Grasshopper Lies Heavy :::

Click on the pic. Add them, buy their merch, don't make me tell you twice.

(((03)))

Early Morning Warning

One of the best, most well produced albums released in 1986 (hell, damn near any year as far as the genre goes) was Awaken the Guardian by Fates Warning. Their 3rd release, Awaken saw Fates delve into a more moody/mythical prog metal. It also saw the departure of original guitarist Victor Arduini and the arrival of Frank 'X' Aresti. Awaken the Guardian was to be the last album to feature John Arch on vocals.

Highlights include: Every Single Fucking Track!!!

(((03)))

Tuesday, December 05, 2006

A Nod to Heart Ache and Ruin (ed)

In 2004, Justin K. Broadrick having recently disbanded Godflesh, released an albums worth of material in the form of a two song EP called Heart Ache. The title is often misspelled as Heartache which would make the notion of the title seem romantic and silly rather than expressing the gut-wrenching pain of the subject matter.

Broadrick played all of the instruments on Heart Ache which, with only two songs, clocks in at just under 40 minutes. The title track "Heart Ache" shows Justin returning to form with the pummel of early Godflesh as well as the awe-inspiring yet subtle emotions we've come to expect from this Birmingham born renaissance man. Track two however shows us just how far Jesu really is from any of Broadrick's previous endevours.

"Ruined" is 20 Minutes and 14 seconds long and takes you from a hauntingly beautiful piano intro to a teeth-nashing crush-fest middle before laying the foundation for one of the most amazing and mezmerising wrist-slashing conclusions in the history of shoegazing. One can't help but feel someone has completely and uterly destroyed Justin's sense of hope and compasion as he exclaims, "Just like me, you've lost your sight. Just like me, you see no reason to fight", a testament to the all too familar expressions prominate in modern day relationships in this "throw up your arms and give up" world of losers and lonely hearts.

All in all, Ruined can provide the listener with two options. Learn from the mistakes of the past and the advice of those who have been where you about to venture, or jump in blindly with hands tied and your eyes closed and risk never returning from the dark abyss that is a heart broken forever.

(((03)))

Monday, December 04, 2006

A Nod to Mono

Early on in 2006, I went to Denton to see Pelican and this band I knew nothing about from Japan called Mono.

Not knowing much about a band, I tend to drink up and pay little attention to their setting up and may not be overly curious about what they sound like. I nestled with some friends into a booth and proceeded to drink as The Life and Times played a great opening set.

In between them and Pelican was Mono. I don't think any of us at the table were ready for what we heard. Rich layers of guitar, bass and drums swirling from one ethereal soundscape to another begging every listener there to enter into this vivid snow-covered landscape they were creating with their unique sound. Subtle, almost silent intros lead into massive walls of symphony-like crescendos towering over the audience like moving mountains of human emotions only to drop us back into the secret oceans from which they snatched us and let us float away into the next warm watery residence for the next 15 to 20 minutes.

To this day, every perfect moment (painful or joyous) in life can be reflected in the rays of light and the haunting shadows of the music of Mono.

(((03))) V.2

Saturday, December 02, 2006

Playlist 12.02.06

MY BLOODY VALENTINE - Isn't Anything
MONO - Under the Pipal Tree
MONO/WORLD'S END GIRLFRIEND - Palmless Prayer/Mass Murder Refrain
EARTH - Living in the Gleam of an Unsheathed Sword
MELVINS - Neither Here Nor There (Companion CD)
ANGELO BADALAMENTI [and The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra] - La Cité des Enfants Perdus
ISIS - Panopticon
DOOM - Peel Sessions
AGORAPHOBIC NOSEBLEED - PCP Torpedo/ANbRX
PELICAN - The Fire in Our Throats Will Beckon the Thaw
SAMHAIN - Initium

(((03)))

Friday, December 01, 2006

A Nod to John

Very few things in this life kick as much ass as John Joseph Lydon.

Period!

"You've got to stop interfering with individual space," Says John. "You've got to stop telling people what is good or bad for them. If you wanna be a raging drug addict, go forth young man, I'm not stopping you, but I'm not paying for it. Right! Get the poncing off the system attitude removed, and then realise what freedom is. Freedom isn't to do what you want at somebody else's expense."

(((03)))