The latest from Holy Terror Records is "The Seven Fat Years are Over", the long-awaited debut 12" EP from Blind to Faith, which tears through eight excellent tracks in less than 17 minutes. Expect absolutely ripping hardcore/punk that's actually a little faster and more furiously intense (in a straightforward, blasting hardcore manner) than many listeners might expect, while an almost Celtic Frost-like vibe provides a counter to the speed by injecting a forceful midpaced churn to several of the compositions. The recording is completely awesome as well, boasting an insanely crisp/clear mix and a badass guitar tone that surprisingly has some of that Sunlight Studio sound to it, thus lending a classic Swedish death metal edge to the material without the songs sounding at all like Swedish death metal. It's basically over in a flash, but certainly calls for repeated listening thanks to the explosive fury of the delivery, and I can't recommend this enough. The vinyl comes handsomely packaged in a sleeve that utilizes lots of subtle gloss printing, and while I haven't played the actual vinyl yet due to lack of time, I'm told the 12" is curiously "reverse mastered" so that the grooves run from the center to the outside. Nice little touches to keep you on your toes!
(from Aversionline.com)
Inspired as much by the space-tinged acid rock ofKyuss and Monster Magnet as by progressive rock icons like Pink Floyd, Blue Cheer and early Black Sabbath, Tortona, Italy’s UFOmammut was formed in 1999 by Urlo (bass/vocals), Poia (guitar/keyboards), Vita (drums) and Alien (synths).
Members of Ufomammut are also critically acclaimed graphic designers and fine artists who go by the name Malleus. Malleus mainly do a lot of gigposter art and art prints mostly screen-printed. Their official website can be found at: http://www.malleusdelic.com/
Das Oath was a thrashcore band from New York, originating from the The Netherlands. They formed in 1999. After two rehearsals the band recorded their 7” eight song debut in Rotterdam. It was not until a year later when Das Oath started to play shows. With only one 7” released the band hit the road and played all over Europe during the fall of 2000. Upon their return to The Netherlands the band went straight into the studio to record songs for what would become their 9” / 10” record. After the recording session the band started to prepare for their first USA tour slated in December 2000. Shows took place on the Westcoast tour in the USA with Total Fury from Japan. One of the highlights was the show at Gilman in San Francisco with Spazz. The tour barely broke even, yet more tours in Europe (with The Locust) and the USA (with Limpwrist and Total Fury). Meanwhile the limited 10” version came out for the spring tour on the Eastcoast. The regular 9” version was finally released late 2001. Shortly upon its released it was banned by the distributor for its controversial artwork. Their self-conscious move away from a typical punk rock aesthetic presaged a signing to Dim Mak Records, an extremely varied and commercial label that released Das Oath’s most critically well-received release, their self-titled LP from 2004. A mini-LP saw release in 2006 through Youth Attack, with the compact disc released again by Dim Mak. 2006 also saw the release of a self-titled 11” on Youth Attack/Coalition with the compact disc on 31G and Das Oath’s funereal release, a tour-only all-covers split LP with Ampere.
(from wikipedia)
The Black Tar Prophecies is a massive evoltionary step in the established Grails sound and it is shrouded in change and pain. The somewhat clinical studio sound and recording style which has established them a tremendous following has been replaced with a much more free and conceptual recording style. This method liberated the group in the studio and these recordings feel much more open, heavy and for lack of a better term “psychadelic.” We're not talking about the cliché co-opted psychadelic fashion, but psychadelia as a reckless embrace of new states of mind and possibilities. This sound has always existed within a Grails song but now it's been heavilly pushed to the foreground. Perhaps even more elloquently and simply stated, Black Tar Prophecies 1-3 is their best record yet.
(from Important Records)
Hailing from Ventura, California, GLASS & ASHES soak every possible ounce of spirit and passion from a full-velocity scream! Musically dynamic and compelling, GLASS & ASHES is already garnering comparisons to TORCHES TO ROME, PLANES MISTAKEN FOR STARS, and YAPHET KOTTO, with a touch of D.C. of years past.
(from No Idea Records)
Happy Trails is the second album of the American band Quicksilver Messenger Service.Happy Trails consists mainly of a performance cover of Bo Diddley's - aka Ellas McDaniel - "Who Do You Love?" spread out over 25 minutes. The live portions of the album were recorded at the Fillmore East and at the Fillmore West.The second half of the album consists of an almost continuous suite. Beginning with another Bo Diddley song ("Mona"), guitarist Gary Duncan's "Maiden of the Cancer Moon" follows and the album closes with "Calvary", which manifested itself during a studio acid trip. As a coda, the band sing the theme tune from Roy Rogers' western television show, which lends its title to the album.The record was released by Capitol records in stereo.In 2003, the album was ranked number 189 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.(from Wikipedia)
There’s so much good Southern sludge/doom/stoner rock coming out of Georgia and the Carolinas these days that if you aren’t paying attention, some of the best of it can slip right past you. A perfect example is Atlanta’s Zoroaster, a highly skillful outfit whose Matador full-length starts strong, but grows on you after repeated listens.
(from the A.V. Club)
The latest from Holy Terror Records is "The Seven Fat Years are Over", the long-awaited debut 12" EP from Blind to Faith, which tears through eight excellent tracks in less than 17 minutes. Expect absolutely ripping hardcore/punk that's actually a little faster and more furiously intense (in a straightforward, blasting hardcore manner) than many listeners might expect, while an almost Celtic Frost-like vibe provides a counter to the speed by injecting a forceful midpaced churn to several of the compositions. The recording is completely awesome as well, boasting an insanely crisp/clear mix and a badass guitar tone that surprisingly has some of that Sunlight Studio sound to it, thus lending a classic Swedish death metal edge to the material without the songs sounding at all like Swedish death metal. It's basically over in a flash, but certainly calls for repeated listening thanks to the explosive fury of the delivery, and I can't recommend this enough. The vinyl comes handsomely packaged in a sleeve that utilizes lots of subtle gloss printing, and while I haven't played the actual vinyl yet due to lack of time, I'm told the 12" is curiously "reverse mastered" so that the grooves run from the center to the outside. Nice little touches to keep you on your toes!
