And...we're back // Playlist #1

Hey.  So we're back.  For now.  I'm in India, Ed's back from China.  We're both bored and disappointed in ourselves for letting this get away from us.  We're using this as a platform for talking again.  We're gonna take a slightly different approach and we've made a pact to update 5 times a week (each), no matter what.  So that's like 50 posts a month.  The format is definitely not the same, but the sentiments are.  Fuck off.  Get stoned.  Take a nap.  Rinse.  Repeat.  Sooooo.  Without any further ado.  I'm gonna go do the last part and pass out.  Before I do that, I will leave you with some choice music nuggzzzzzzzszszzszszzszszszszszszszszsz.  No.  I am not high.  I'm not gonna provide mediafire links this time; you can do that on your own, it's too easy.  I might in the future, but not now.

Poison // Into the Abyss // 1987

Nope, not THAT Poison, but a super angry German thrash/black metal demo from the late '80s and early '90s.  Long songs (nothing below 7 minutes), excellent musicianship and song structure, and just really fun, riffy angst.  These guys sound pissed as fuck.  I'm usually not much of a thrash guy, but the vocals take this above and beyond the typical thrash sound that I can really groove to it.  By groove I mean sit in bed (I'm sick) and rock the fuck out.  Plus there's awesome moments where it completely drops out and builds up in this maniacal, devilish way.  It's awesome.  Go find an mp3 of this four-track demo.  Here's a taste:

Choking Victim // Crack Rock Steady EP // 1994

I woke up to this today.  It was awesome.  A total classic.  Anti-establishment ska-hardcore at its best.  Silly, irreverent, angry, and not afraid to be outspoken, these guys set the standard for American anarcho-punk in the mid-90s.  As many of you probably know, a few of them went on to start the hugely influential Leftôver Crack circa 2000.  This is the entirety of their first EP in a single, 9-minute youtube video.

ACxDC // He Had It Coming // 2005

These guys sadly split up before they could release a full-length, but this is just such a killer fucking first attempt.  Grindcore/powerviolence at its absolute best.  Star Wars Imperial March breakdowns, laughably over-the-top anti-Christian sentiments and completely unintelligible vocals with some killer start-stop timing and super-short songs.  8 songs, not even 10 minutes.  Every second is worth it.  This is one of my most played albums ever.  EVER.  Fortunately for us, they just released a second EP called The Second Coming.  They're both free at their bandcamp.  But the first one is better.  Listen below:

Watchmaker Double Feature

Well, since a series of fairly asinine events has left me in a bit of a sour mood, I figured it was the perfect time to post this. Watchmaker play such caustic, misanthropic, hate-filled grind that even the coldest, grimmest black metal will sound like Duran Duran by comparison. CD titles like 2003's "Kill.Fucking.Everyone" and 2005's "Erased From the Memory of Man" should give you a clue to what's in store. This shit will melt your face faster than that acid blood from Alien. Get your shotgun ready, we're out for blood.

download

Ayat - Six Years of Dormant Hatred

I think if Ayat had waited seven years to release this instead of six, they probably would have blown themselves up by now. Which, unfortunately, would not be a totally unexpected event in their hometown of Beirut, Lebanon. Ayat plays a damn solid black/thrash hybrid, with a chunk of punk influence thrown in for good measure (Ive heard their sound also described as industrial, but these ears did not pick up on that). There are some riffs in here that will stick in your head for days, as well as some gang chants catchy enough to have you singing (shrieking?) along to within a few spins. Furthermore, Ayat throws in some wacky ambient shit here, notably at the end of Fornication and Murder, as well as the final track Such a Beautiful Day! (The Exaltation of St. Francis). Ayat clearly restrain themselves to no preconceived notion of what black metal should sound like, and are altogether better for it.

mediafire is fucking with me right now, but heres a link you can download it from:
http://ins-vast.blogspot.com/2008/12/ayat-lebanon-six-years-of-dormant.html

Venom - 1982 - Black Metal

One of the defining metal albums (and the one to give the black metal genre its name). This British metal band would influence countless American thrash metal bands throughout the '80s. The title track, "Teacher's Pet" and "Buried Alive" are good tracks.

download: Venom - 1982 - Black Metal.zip