| ||
| ||
| ||
|
| |
![]()
|
| |
|
![]() | |
|
ABERRATION | |
|
![]()
|
|
JUDGE TREV & NIK TURNER - Judgement & Thunder: The Greatest Hits (Music & Elsewhere M&E 440)
Tracks:
1] Atomgods - Atlantic Waves 2] ICU - Soltary Astrid 3] ICU - Bones Of Elvis 4] Atomgods - Oh Yeah 5] ICU - Masters Of The Universe 6] ICU - Polythene 7] Imperial Pompadours - The Crusher 8] Imperial Pompadours - Little Black Egg 9] ICU - Watching The Grass Grow 10] Atomgods - China
I prefer to think of it as resource management, you may call it laziness, but let's here Mick from M&E describe this release in his own words. You'll get my tuppence ha'penny at the bottom.
"No I must admit, I never thought you'd see the likes of Judge Trev and Nik Turner on M&E either! But hey, I can't tell you how proud we are to have them, trust me. This cassette album was specially compiled for gig sales by Judge Trev, and he was all for having out on M&E too. The album features some of the cool results of Trev & Nik's collaborations over the years. Of course you'll know a lot of these, but for the unititiated, here goes. Some nice chunky psyche sounds open the album, chugarama guitar, wavering flute and anthemic vocals from Judge Trev, the Joe Brown of the spaceways. Touches of Calvert, space kitsch and Martian bubblegum and some cool sax work from the maestro, natch. Some great offbeat numbers. The accomplished history of a pair of much loved space cadets truly come to life on this collection, muchly enjoyable, promise".
I like this. Even if some of it has been taped direct from vinyl. Think of it as Judge Trev making up a mix tape for you. I'm no expert but I assume that most of these tracks will be of the hard to find variety. A cheap and cheerful introduction and easily worth £3.99 (cheques payable to S J Taylor).
Contact:
Mick Magic, Music & Elsewhere Project, 6 Farm Court, Frimley, Surrey GU16 5TJ, UK
Tracks; 1] Black Shadows Fall 2] A Burning Time 3] Forever Divine
Personnel; Justin Delord [vox], Buddy Hamlett [gtr], Mike Postel [bass], Joshua Weddle [drums]
Rules. There's no point in putting out a demo if you make yourself uncontactable [another new word]. Putting a US telephone number on a tape that could end up anywhere in the world is just stupid. Nuff said.
Because in todays soundbite world, an A&R man will think sod that and move on to the next tape. Now I think I got this through Black Tears distro [just checked and sho nuff ], but for a lot of people that's too much like hard work. You've got to spoon feed them. Which is why I have a postal address, an e-mail address, a land line, a mobile line, a fax line and a web page.
And Midian are good, so it would be a shame to lose them for such petty mindedness. They deal in a traditional based power metal sound. Nice big fat Sabbath riffs and good melodies.
This is metal the way we like it. The title track is the best on offer, although A Burning Time harks back to classic Flotsam & Jetsam type riffola.
The sound is crisp and clear with a near release type quality and all three tracks are well worth investigating.
So if you're in the US call the Midian hotline on 214-821-4215. Everyone else contact Russell Smith at Black Tears
Tracks; 1] It's all In 2] 4:30 Hop 3] IK+ 4] Sickness 5] Piss 6] 13 Stackers 7] Alma Mater 8] G.P. 9] Cursed 10] Thirst For It 11] Big Sid 12] These Silent Angels 13] Anadin
Paul of BM doesn't think that this'll be our cup of tea. How little he knows of us because even at this early point in Volume 6 production, I can't see this being topped.
This is what we've all been waiting for. Death techno. Ultraviolence meets Obituary. If you can imagine Trent Reznor and Glen Benton gettin' a little funky one dark night, this could easily be the offspring.
First time out it all sounded so wrong. Tom G Warrior would not have growled and grunted to this kind of backdrop. But then he's Swiss. This is the soundtrack to our times. We want this played every day on every radio station throughout the world. We want people to read the lyrics and try and match it to the song. A fun game for all the family.
Friendly lyrics like;
"We thought you were confident but all you were sure of was talking shit , Though this would improve things, but now I want to rip your head off and piss on it"
Heh, heh.
So record company people [and I know some of you read this]. Get your head out of Noel Gallaghers lap and do something original for once in your life.
There's another demo available ["We Of Little Faith"] and a side project with some ex- Doomflight members should also be out [we liked Doomflight].
Contact;
Paul, 41 Ainslie Street, Ulverston, Cumbria, LA12 7JE, UK
Tracks;
1] Sealed In Stone 2] Guru Said 3] Sacred Heart 4] In Our Time 5] Show Me A Place 6] Ghosts 7] Scarlet Veil 8] July 11th 9] Nothing Ever Changes 10] Snapshots 11] Waiting For A Sign 12] No Fear 13] Freedom
Another Mick Magic recommendation, and damn he's good. Becasue this is a funky little masterpiece which is on constant play round our way.
A bit schizophrenic lurching as it does from Supreme Love Gods [much loved in these parts for their Jesus & Mary Chain who can dance Def American album] to Santana to SpAcErOcK often within a single song. There's even some baggy influences showing through in places and all in all it's a glorious psychedelic mess. And we love it.
Side 1 is a bit of a grower but from July 11th onwards, we were hooked, completely and utterly besotted. Trying to narrow it done to favourites is a bit tricky but if I were harvesting an EP from this I'd be plumping for "Guru Said" with it's splendid guitar part, "Nothing Ever Changes" and "Freedom", probably my personal favourite and one for the Hawklords out there with it's Motherless Child refrain.
I would dearly love to see this lot live, so if there's any promoters out there, book this lot on to your next SpacROck festival (Strange Daze 99 anyone?), and give me a free plane ticket.
Get your £3.99 of to Mick as quickly as humanly possibly (cheques to S J Taylor).
Contact as above.
Tracks;
1] Brain Drops 2] Twisted Devotions 3] Learn To Say No
From the Empire Gate stable [CD reviewed in a previous issue], this is a sampler from the forthcoming "Hear The Collapse" album.
It's more organic and less electronic than the EG material, and fits more easily into a traditional alt-rock mode. And by alt-rock I do not mean designed by committee, signed by Creation pop music. There's a strident discordancy which means for uneasy and disquieting listening. Music that challenges! Whatever next.
Arriving as it does with a Hetro Whore sticker (have you been following me?), this is meant to make people stop and listen. And it works. Melodic but without compromising to conformity. Another goodie from the Coventry cottage industry.
Contact;
Prole Position, PO Box 29, Coventry, CV1 3YZ, UK
e-mail: fran.flint@lineone.net
Tracks;
1] Carpetworld 2] Carpetwarehouse 3] Daylight 4] Ardri
Personnel;
Tim Bowness, Mike Bearpark, Os
Well if you're quick on the uptake, you'll have spotted the name Tim Bowness and thought ah-ha, No-Man. And you'd have been right. For it is he.
Moonlighting as Darkroom with guitarist Mike Bearpark and programmer Os, who also produced the whole shebang. Despite my ongoing love affair with No-Man I approached this with some trepidation. The words improv and ambient had been mentioned in connection with this project, which was nearly enough to scare me off. But I ploughed ahead, whapped it in the Cd player and listened.
Hmm. It's a bit hit and miss. The music results from a series of processed improvisations and tellingly, by tracks 3 and 4, they've got an aimlessness which may or may not be intentional. fortunately the opening two tracks make up for this.
Carpetworld contains elements of drum and bass, that now defunct anti-music. Within the limitations of one track it works rather well, and thankfully, is used as an addition rather than a replacement for the melody. The reworking on track 2 dispenses with add ons and is probably the better for it.
If you're a No-Man fan, you should own this. Whether you buy this or dive straight into the "Daylight" album, I leave up to you. It's a worthy addition to the canon. If you're looking to dip your toes in the water, best buy some real No-Man. So read a bit further on and you'll come across the new No-Man release.
Tracks;
1] Wednesdays Child 2] Raven 3] Into The Fire 4] Tainted Love
Personnel;
Rocksteady Freddy [gtr/vox], Gromit [gtr,keys,vox], Steve McMullin [bass/vox] Simon Williams [drums]
OK, I hate the name. Too eighties. Change it. Musically, this also harks back to the days when men were women and people thought Tyla had talent. Hell Let Loose deal in fairly straightforward mainstream hard rock and do it quite well.
The three originals have a certain naive charm and probably work well in a live environment. Apparently Freddy took over on vocals when the last singer left, and to be brutal this is an area they have to work on. Musically, everything clicks into place and I can't fault their musical proficiency.
I played this to a more glam-oriented acquaintance and he liked it more than I did, and with hair-rock making a comeback, there's definitely a market. If I were them I'd be looking to the German/Scandinavian/Japanese markets where they have the potential to cross over. There's an album on the way and If I were HLL I'd be looking for contacts in those necks of the wood.
Mind you covering "Tainted Love" was a stroke of genius for getting a review out of me. Has someone been gossiping about my Marc Almond idolatory?
Cans of Organics hairspray to;
Hell Let Loose, 20 Slade Close, Staddiscombe, Plymouth, Devon PL9 9UQ, UK
Tracklisting;
DISTURBED - Consequence of Ignorance / NOCTUARY - Black Bleeding Soul / WOLFTHORN - Suicidal Somnium / AUTUMN - Seconds / CARRIER FLUX - Skies / AS THE SEA PARTS - Our Home No More / GOTTERDAMMERUNG - Amphion / GLASS - Howl / LUGHNASADH - Drommenskog / REV POKEY BUNGE - Shitkicker! / LORDE OF ALL DESIRES - Sins Of The Flesh / DWOLE - foactihog / STATIC GREY - Sick Submission / VORPAL BUNNY - Reign Of The Lepus / WOLFTHORN/LORD-FUR - Lupus98 / IMPALER - Meatwagon / REPUGNANT CORPSE ODOR - Abomedor / DOGONKET - I Am Teknogod (Hear Me Roar)
Phew! That's me knackered. And to add insult to injury, you can't even buy it. These were given away at the Milwaukee Metalfest 98 as promos and aren't available to buy.
But it does serve as an extremely good introduction to a whole slew of bands that I've never heard of. And the really remarkable thing is the consistently high quality of the music on offer. I'm going to pick out a few personal highlights but nothing here had me reaching for the skip button. Which is nothing short of amazing.
So, the best of a damn good bunch were AUTUMN who have a CD "The Hating Tree" out on Tess Records, the Moonspell-a-like of LORDE OF ALL DESIRES, whose CD "Crowned In Blasphemy" is on Theatrikill Productions, REV POKEY BUNGE who were reminiscent of our Lord Jello. Root-O-Evil are the proud owners of their "Syphical Grafitti" CD, which should be bought for the title alone, STATIC GREY are for all you fetishists out there in Zeitgeistland, and DWOLE whose Left Alone CD rejoices in the title of "A Requiem Of Euphoric Nihilism". Superb ambient metal. I'm a tad concerned about the apparent rabbit obsession but we'll let that slide
I'm still reeling at the breadth of talent contained within this CD and if metal of any shade shakes your tree, you really should check some of these bands out.
Contact;
Root-O-Evil Records, 636 N.Skelling Avenue, St Paul, MN 55104, USA
Left Alone Creations, PO Box 18517, Minneapolis, MN 55418, USA
Tracks;
1] Better Than Myself 2] Hooked On That 3] Princes & Princesses 4] Seven Scizo's Sat On A Bench
Personnel:
Anet [gtr/vox], Nicky [gtr], Tom [bass], Mark [drums]
So here we have No 6 in the eagerly anticipated Org Single Of The Month thingy.
Now when I say that it's my least favourite so far that does not mean that it's bad. Not by any means. But with Org setting such a high standard over the last few months anything less than divine pales slightly.
Cay are dealing in a fairly mainstream angst-rock, post punk vibe that rages without seeming too threatening. In fact someone has just waved a No Musical Express under my nose and they apparently like it. So that explains it, then.
However, this is good. If they were American, Madonna would probably want to sign them and there would be loads of Anet-wannabees flocking to their gigs. And Sean Org hits the nail firmly on the proverbial when he says that it's worth it for track 4 alone. This is where Cay let their inhibitions drop and wander off into a bass driven psychedelic underground. This will be a track that will be revisited regularly and is worth the £2 admission all by itself [payable to Organart].
Org live at Unit 212, The Old Gramophone Works, 326 Kensal Road, London W10 5BZ, UK
Cay can be contacted at Hedgehog Management, 3 Tavistock Court, Tavistock Square, London WC1 9HE, UK
Tracks;
1] Reefer Madness 2] Hassan I Sabha 3] The Forge Of Vulcan 4] Brainstorm 5] Wind Of Change 6] Steppenwolf 7] Spirit Of The Age 8] Damnation Alley 9] Iron Dream 10] Waiting For My [sic] Man 11] Master Of The Universe
Personnel;
Dave Brock [gtr/keys/vox], Adrian Shaw [bass/vox], Robert Calvert [gtr/vox] Simon King [drums], Simon House [keys/violin]
Recorded at The Salle Pleyel, Paris 23/4/77
Another day, another Hawkwind release. Like last issue, this is of dubious legality, but HW fans being on the fanatical side, they'll want to know about this.
Well if you're looking for sound quality there's no point slipping this into your audiophile wet dream system. The sound is fairly abysmal. It's no mixing desk effort, more 8 track down my pants quality.
The editing is also bottom drawer quality, most crowd noise being simply chopped right off. I assume that this was to fit the gig onto a CD as it clocks in at +70 minutes.
But as befits a HW fan, I still enjoyed it. Mind you I can't possibly be impartial. But unless you're a have to have it all kind of person, I wouldn't go out of my way to track this down.
Best bits are hearing HW doing the Velvet Underground [badly] and a cracking 10 minutes plus of Steppenwolf.
Tracks;
1] Caught In Your Web 2] Alive 3] Kust A Leo 4] Messenger 5] Long Way Home 6] Time And Again 7] Sense And Obsession 8] Mother Forgive 9] As The Sun Meets The Sky 10] Eyes Of A Child 11] Lay It On The Line 12] And The Road Goes On
Personnel;
Bjorn Lodin [vox], Christer Jannson [bass], Lars Eric Mattson [everything else]
As soon as you step away from this sceptred isle and its inward looking xenophobia, you'll find that all things rock and melodic still hold sway over a large part of the world. Germany, Japan and Scandinavia still place great stock in genres of music long since discarded by the incestuous UK media.
And having got that off my chest here's a prime example of that aforementioned melodic rock. Like Mr Malmsteen, the guitar of Ritchie Blackmore has been used as template [the difference this time being it's the early eighties Rainbow sound]. And there's nothing wrong with that. Learn from the best.
I'm still a bit unsure about Bjorn Lodins vocals which to these ears sound a little uncommited but for anyone who likes classic rock with melodic guitar solos will find something to like here. "Messenger" has already found its way onto my personal C90 of the month. And I'm sure others will follow.
Peace of Mind Records c/o Henrik Hallgren, Stapelvägen 5, 856 34 Sundsvall, Sweden
Peace of mind records website:
Fax +46 (0)70 6101310 / Phone +46 (0)70 6743729
Tracks;
Shadowland / Eternal Lies
Personnel;
M Schulman, M Lamrru, A Evaldsson, K Wiklund
Crackingly good death metal, this comes crashing out of the speakers at several hundred miles per hour, toys with you a bit, lulls you into a false sense of security with some slow death growls and then rips you to shreds one last time.
Good sings, solid musicans and an excellent production. "Shadowland" is the better od the two tracks which were recorded at the same time as the "Reborn Through Flames" CD, but which only appeared on the Japanese version. Smells like a limited edition.
Contact;
Oskorei Productions, Postboks 241, 5260 Indre Arna, Norway
Tracks;
Ride On For Revenge / Burning Crosses
Personnel;
Okkulto [vox], Infernal [gtr], Tormentor [drums], Odin [bass]
Well this lot are taking no prisoners. They spit on those who support the death of vinyl (which is fair enough) and proclaim that HEAVY METAL WILL NEVER DIE! (their capitals), which is also fair enough.
Just as well they live up to their proclamations. It's an ace picture disc, the cover art reminds me of a close up in the animated version of "Lord Of The Rings", which may have been a shite film, but had some beautiful artwork.
And the music is grade A Black Metal. "Burning Crosses" in particular is an absolute classic. Formulaic but without being derivative. From the opening death growl through 1000mph guitars and full on satanic lyrics (as if you hadn't guessed from the title). If BM is your bag, I doubt it gets better than this.
Contact;
Desaster c/o Okkulto, Hirtenstr 14, 56073 Koblenz, Germany
Merciless Records, PO Box 72, 97488 Arnstein, Germany
Tracks;
1] Skogsrost 2] Vikingmakt 3] Iskaldt Raseri 4] Norgesriket Hylles 5] Hersker Av Morket
Personnel;
Massacra [all instruments/vox], Vinterfrost [lyrics, vocal arrangements & choir]
A sneaky one. The intro starts off so quietly it needed a return visit to the decks to make sure it had actually started.
But once the orchestral black metal kicks in you're not likely to miss it. A unique vocal style which certainly matches my imagined voice from hell coupled with imaginative arrangements makes this a goodie.
Unusually my complaint is that the tracks are actually too short! And it's not often you'll hear me say that. The music here begs for a big production and full orchestral arrangements. I'm sure if you want to hand over a few hundred grand to the band, they'll happily do just that.
And no I have no idea what they're singing about. Despite my twelve hours in Norway I never managed to pick up the lingo. But the music is universal Frostmetal from the ultimate north.
Another excellent cover, this time a painting by Kris Verwimp, and you've no idea how difficult it is for me not to make a crass joke.
Contact;
Oskorei Productions, Postboks 241, 5260 Indre Arna, Norway
Tracks;
1] Shopping 2] Drugged 3] Sleep etc 4] Orphan Coal 5] Drugged
Personnel: Steven Wilson
No-Man Steven Wilson's side project. This was described as an instrumental album of music without rhythm. It was made almost entirely without the use of synthesisers, using in preference sampled source material, some of which was provided by Robert Fripp and saxophonist Theo Travis.
Music without rhythm didn't seem to make any kind of sense. Until that is you hear it. I had to persevere at this, because the first few times I just did not get it. Then after about 3 weeks it all fell into place. Don't ask me why, but headphones do help. Without them, a lot of what's going on passes you by. Unless that's just my encroaching deafness.
Lazy buggers will brand this ambient and sneer. And to be fair it seems more intellectual than emotional. At least to a third party. I'm sure Steven invested a lot of himself in this, but some of it may be too remote to a casual listener. Because it is not casual music. You actively have to listen to this. Not one for the coffee table listener.
There is some beauty within this CD. You just have to strain to reach it. But it is worth it, if you participate, rather than passively accept it. There is a second Bass Communion project in preparation and despite my initial reservations, a few more months of listening and I'll probably be first in line.
3rd Stone Records Ltd, PO Box 8, Corby, NN17 2XZ, UK
Tracks;
1] Farthest Star 2] Navigator 3] Burning Inside 4] Quantum Cat 5] kill -9 6] Radio Calvert 7] Wrecking 8] Mad Droid
Personnel;
Marc Power [bass/vox], Greg Florko [gtr], Louis Boone [synth/audio generator] Mark McClemens [drums], Arianna Power [vox - Radio Calvert)
There are very few pure Spacerock bands doing the rounds, so thanks to Adam at StriderNews for passing this on to me.
Born To Go not only take their name from a HW track but have used Robert Calvert era HW as their starting point. Not that he ever wrote a track written entirely in valid UNIX command codes (Kill -9).
Considering this is a live recording the quality is incredibly good. Even if the music wasn't excellent, it would almost be worth it for some of Marcs introductions - I mean how many gigs have you been at where you've been asked if there are any quantum physicists in the house.
However, one thing in particular lifts Born To Go out of the ordinary. Their music is instantly accessible. If you were to wander into one of their shows by accident, you would want to stay. Unlike a Bass Communion gig (if such a thing existed).
I've no idea whether this or any other discs are commrcially available, but if enough of you pester them it may be worth your while. So pop along to http://www.uniflex.net/~borntogo/spacerock.html or write to;
Born To Go, 16 South Avenue West, #219, Cranford NJ 07016, USA
Tracks:
Displaced Person
1] What If**** 2] The Only One 3] I Move On Wheels 4] Ascension Day 5] Northern Lights 6] Preoccupied* 7] Stalking Horse 8] Placebo 9] British Grenadiers 10] Mongrel** 11] In The Gutter 12] One Last Drink For The Band***]
Tracks;
Tea For The Hydra
1] Son Of Sam 2] Heart Of Stone++++ 3] Falling 4] I'm Glad I'm Me+++++ 5] Teeth Of The Hydra 6] Roger's In A Home+ 7] Machine Music+++ 8] Red And Grey++ 9] Iron Curtain 10] Trillib 11] Live For The Day
Personnel: Ade Shaw [everything except;] Aaron Shaw [gtr solo*, harmony gtrs**, Farfisa organ***, lead gtr+] Nick Saloman [gtr solo****, lead gtr/organ++, drums+++], Bari Watts [lead gtr***, ++++], Andy Ward [drums++], Pete Pavli [violin+++++]
These are the last two solo albums from erstwhile HW man, Adrian Shaw. I've been a bit remiss in getting these, but there's an awful lot of HW related music out there, and the bank balance can't handle them all.
And I'm a bit hacked off, because these are absolutely splendid. I must admit I wasn't too sure what I was getting into, as Ade seems to be one of the more marginalised HWinders. But compare this to some of the retreads that others put out and you're in for a treat.
Mind you "Displaced Person" opener, "What If" threw me a definite curve ball with its stoner mode. Had me grooving away merrily. One for the Monster Magnet fans methink. A tremendous opener. Things take a sideways move into more traditional spacerock mode thereafter, but it's all high quality work. I went back to the Shaw era HW material after this and his talents seem to have been under utilised. Mind you that was the seventies, man. A lot of the material is one-paced and that's about the extent of my criticism. A bit more variety could have taken an excellent album into classic mode.
Taking a step back in time, we hit "Tea For The Hydra". And straight from the lenghty synth intro you know exactly where you are. Classic spacerock. Although Mr Shaws stoner fixation continues [or decontinued as this is the earlier album] with "Heart Of Stone". There's even the odd hint of latterday "Headline News" era Atomic Rooster lurking around the fringes, which is fine by me (and if you ever spot a copy of said album, buy it. Vincent Cranes last and finest album].
I'm a bit undecided about which is best. If I was forced into picking one I'd probably plump for "Displaced Person". It seems to have a slightly edgier feel to it, but that's today. It'll probably change tomorrow.
I would definitely put these on your must buy list. My aural pleasure was enhanced and yours will be too.
Contact:
Woronzow Records, 102 Crescent Road, New Barnet, Herts EN4 9RJ, UK
Tracks;
1] Out Of The Stars She Came With The Wind Of All WInds 2] Guinhwyvare The Tall And Fair 3] The Golden Dragon Of The Sword And Stone 4] Fluttering Flags Over Carleon 5] Glem Warriors 6] Aurora Borealis 7] At The Round Table In Ogrevans Great Hall 8] Zauzomanks Last Castle 9] Monks In Ancient Walls 10] Song For The Dying Wind 11] Zauzomank Among The Shadows 12] Mirage Mist And Will Of The Wisp 13] The Silent Castle 14] The Forgotten city
Personnel;
Too many to list, see the feature in the paper zine.
How do you describe the indescribable? I make the effort elsewhere in the paper issue in a more in depth feature, but this is a brief summary in case you miss it.
Blacklight Braille is based around the poet, Thomas H Owen Knight and this is a concept album based around a tale of King Arthur. Owen's trademark is surrealistic poems and incantations and he follows the ancient traditions of the Bard.
The music is largely the work of Doug Smith who is the organist and director of music at the Peter in Chains Cathedral and has composed classical and operatic works. The combination of these two musical forces together with an ensemble cast has made for some truly innovative and experimental music
This is an offshoot of the acclaimed psychedelic outfit, Bitter Blood who have an on-off history dating back to 1969 and if you have any pretensions to the avant-garde you really should investigate this.
You can read more in the feature and some of the recordings are available through Mick Magics Music & Elsewhere project.
Contact;
Music & Elsewhere, 6 Farm Court, Farm Road, Frimley, Surrey GU16 5TJ, UK
Vetco Records, 5825 Vine Street, Cincinnati, Ohio 45216, USA
Tracks;
1] Carolina Skeletons 2] Something Falls 3] Close Your Eyes 4] Carolina Reprise
Personnel;
Tim Bowness [vox], Steven Wilson [instruments], Rick Edwards [percussion on tr3]
It seems like a long, long time since "Dry Cleaning Ray", but No-Man are finally back.
This EP contains 20 minutes of all new work. The lead track is a haunting, delicate piano led ballad which is one of the most beautiful songs No-Man have yet recorded. Which is quite a feat. This is almost a step back in time to the days of "Flowermouth" and before, largely abandoning the more experimental tendencies of the last couple of albums. "Close Your Eyes" is probably the closest in tone to their most recent work with it's minimalist sub-tribal percussion.
If this is an indicator of the quality on the forthcoming "Lighthouse" LP, then it promises to be one of the albums of the year. But for now we'll have to make do with a sublime 20 minutes.
Contact;
3rd Stone Records, PO Box 8, Corby NN17 2XZ, UK
Tracks;
1] Voyage 2] Golden Snow 3] Call It Alive 4] Sea Of Mirrors 5] Jammu 6] The Tables Of Testimony 7] Tickle A Mosquito 8] Change Of Pace 9] Pictures Of A Dream 10] High Trees 11] Warm Sand 12] Irresistible Grass 13] Acoustic Mind 14] Hepatica 15] When I'm With You 16] Day Of Silence
Personnel;
Mathias Holm [gtr,bass,keys,drum programming], Mats Eriksson-wigg [drums - 2,3,6,7,10,11], Thomas Backman [bass on 2,3,9,10,11]
Well this came as a very pleasant surprise, so thank you Henrik.
Now I don't want you to go running off screaming, but Mathias is a guitar instrumentalist. Which normally means oodle of widdle and see how fast my fingers move histrionics. Which I absolutely loathe. Thankfully for the main part Mathias avoids falling into that trap. So if you're one of those people who curse the name of Mike Varney and his stable of shredders, it's OK, you'll like this.
Because Mathias actually goes to the bother of writing songs. Unusual for one of his ilk, but there you go. When he really hits his stride on tracks like "Call It Alive", you become so absorbed in the melody that you don't even notice the absence of vocals. A rare talent.
As well as being a capable songwriter, Mathias also produced the album in his home studio, took the photographs and did the layout. Show off! Naturally enough he's been compared to the likes of Vinnie Moore and Yngwie Malmsteen, but as I said he manages to avoid the overwrought histrionics of the more egotistical brand of guitarists.
Granted over 70 minutes, things occasionally flag, but this is by far the best genre album I've heard in a long time. This has been picked up for release by the Japanese label Shinseido/Sound Treasures but you can get it from;
Peace of Mind Records c/o Henrik Hallgren, Stapelvägen 5, 856 34 Sundsvall, Sweden
Peace of mind records website:
Fax +46 (0)70 6101310 / Phone +46 (0)70 6743729
Mathias Holm, Arnon 86, S-824 93, Hudiksvall, Sweden
Tracks;
1] Under The Lemontree 2] Dark Is Thy Shadow 3] Little One 4] If U just Cared 5] Keep It 6] Hey Sister 7] Loosing Abigale 8] Revival Rain 9] Hole In My Soul 10] Its Taken Me 11] Master Disguise
Personnel;
Eddie Nilsson - Lead vocal, guitar, tambourine & harmonica, Per Gustavsson - Lead guitar, vocals & keyboards. Mats Holm - Bass guitar, Niklas Lovgren - Drums & percussions.
Gods Incorporated are a self proclaimed Swedish heavy metal band who got together in early ´97. The band are influenced by dark and heavy music such as Paradise Lost and The Sisters Of Mercy. And to that has to be added the name of The Cult, for sometimes you would swear you were listening to the mighty Wolf Child himself (see "Little One" for a prime example).
And this is a good thing. There aren't too many bands out there pursuing this style and it makes a very welcome change. Gods Inc. are, apparently, excellent live performers, but we'll have to rely on the word of our Swedish brethern at the moment
As yet they´re not signed to a label and this debut CD was self-financed. By the time you read this they should be back in the studio recording their second CD which they expect to release late in 1998.
Despite (or because of) the stylistic similarities to the much maligned Cult, this has rapidly become one of my current favourites and is well worth investigating.
Peace of Mind Records c/o Henrik Hallgren, Stapelvägen 5, 856 34 Sundsvall, Sweden
Peace of mind records website:
Fax +46 (0)70 6101310 / Phone +46 (0)70 6743729
Email: GODS INCORPORATED
GODS INCORPORATED web site