HEAVY HEAVY LOW LOW - 2006 - Everything's Watched, Everyone's Watching

I listen to metal for a lot of reasons, and one of them is just to get really pumped up. Going to the gym to lift and get swoll? Try this on for size. HHLL are a mathcore outfit, a little on the scene side, but definitely the real deal. They've got the hooks ("Kids, kids, kids", "tell shannon her crafts are ready") to keep you coming back, the vocals are really crazy and animated, like the guy just kind of goes all over the place, and he knows when to just say "fuck it" and breathe into the mic like he's unaware that he's making music. They're not so avant garde and dissonant that they never give you any huge cathartic breakdowns, so you'll probably get more listens out of it than your average number 12 looks like you or daughters record.

Apparently HHLL put a new record out last year - I don't got it yet. It's probably not as good as everything's watched though. - sfs

download: Heavy Heavy Low Low - 2006 - Everything's Watched, Everyone's Watching.zip

A Thank You

So this is for everyone who has stuck with the blog and convinced that it's a good idea to continue. I know it's only been a month, but this has been such a dream of mine and I'm just glad I finally decided to do it and even happier people have responded so positively to it.

284 downloads from the site thus far! Way to go! Let's keep getting more music out there, where it should be! IN THE HANDS OF THE PEOPLE! Music is not for industry bigwigs, or solely for the artists or the labels or anything. It's for us. And honestly, we should have complete access to anything and everything that has at one point been released to the general public. Fuck copyrights, fuck copy control, fuck the RIAA, fuck the PMRC, fuck Tipper Gore, fuck the FCC, fuck everyone who doesn't want us to get access that which we want.

POWER TO THE PEOPLE! Music can change the world, but only if we let it.

Tool - 1992 - Opiate [EP]

Though clearly not one of Tool's better releases but the two live tracks really make up for everything. They give the listener a taste for the band's sense of performance style and stage presence. Maynard's attack is ruthless and vicious (he verbally attacks an audience member at one point--it's freaking hilarious) and it's grungy and raw and visceral. Great stuff, but not the same super progressive, trippy, psychedelic metal consistent with their later albums. Also, it has lot of the same songs from the Toolshed 72826.

download: Tool - 1992 - Opiate [EP].zip

Tusk - 2007 - The Resisting Dreamer

So if you're gonna download one thing by Tusk, get this. Really intense grind/experimental/noise/electronic rock. Feels like being ripped apart by a helicopter only to be pieced together again like a puzzle. From jazzy to punky to noisy and synthy. If you like Genghis Tron, you'll enjoy them. Slightly different (less synths, more grind, more bass and drums).

download: Tusk - 2005 - The Resisting Dreamer.zip

Tusk - 2005 - Get Ready

These guys rock. It kinda sounds like a million other things going on right now, but somehow these guys really capture a certain something. Though this isn't their best release, this in conjunction with their next album (The Resisting Dreamer), show an amazing progression towards super-dissonant, jazzy, loopy grindcore. It's all over the place, but it really begins to make sense if you put a bit of dedication into it.

download: Tusk - 2005 - Get Ready.zip

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

Scratch Acid - 1984 - Scratch Acid [EP]

Classic '80s noise-rock. Kurt Cobain was a big fan. Really buzzy and fuzzy and weird and punky. Angry as shit.

download: Scratch Acid - 1984 - Scratch Acid [EP].zip

Vsnares (Venetian Snares) - 2002 - 2370894

A compilation album of typical Venetian Snares breaks. Great stuff. "Fuck Toronto Jungle" is great.

download: Venetian Snares - 2002 - 2370894.zip

Metallica - 1986 - Master of Puppets

Oh boy. This is a beast of an album. Seriously one of the heavy metal classic of all time. Even if you don't like Metallica, if you haven't given this album a chance, you should try it. The opening track ("Battery") has the best freaking intro and the rest of the album is just so monumental it's barely worth mentioning. You'll see what I mean when you throw it on. I'm not really sure what else to say, but the best track on the album is "Orion." It's completely instrumental and just huge. It's one of my favorite songs of all time. Try it. You'll like it.

download: Metallica - 1986 - Master of Puppets.zip

Radiohead - 2001 - Amnesiac

So it might not have the instant gratification while still being incredibly complex and deep that OK Computer might have, but this their magnum opus, in my opinion. From the demure digital-waterdrops of musical texture in the opening track to the dissonant shock-waves of jazz-inspired horns and complex drum-lines of the last track, this album is a journey. It's not a journey for all though. It gets really weird and goes to some really intense places. It's almost like avant-garde neo-classical digital jazz-rock in it's complex arrangements and variety of themes and influences. "Pyramid Song" is a long, drawn-out, trippy-as-fuck dream sequence. The song ebbs and flows and goes in and out of making sense both lyrically and musically, much like how dreams rarely make sense and then there are intense moments of clarity.

download: Radiohead - 2001 - Amnesiac.zip