Cult Ritual - S/T LP (2009)

 

Despite the meagre number of followers on here, I can pretty much garuantee that most of you have a pretty good knowledge of music and know something good when you hear it. Of those I pesonally know, sorry, I can pretty much wager that you are going to like this post.
I missed this album first time round, not suprising really, part of the Youth Attack Records stable, limited vinyl release, talked up across the boards and copies fetching upto 200 sheets on Ebay ( Christ!). Despite all this, its done the rounds online and across the blog networks and reached quite a few more people than anyone (including the band) probably intended.
To cut a long story short, Cult Ritual have pretty much found the perfect middle ground between AmRep noise rock, Sub Pop whistle and screech and good old hardcore punk and fashioned an immensly noisy and enthralling album that doesn't hold back in its screaming feedback and broken glass guitar sound while never compromising dynamics or forward thinking. Essental doesn't really do this justice but its far more venomous and angry than a million identikit chugging hardcore bands and posseses more energy and chaos than any number of so called punk rock clones. Cult Ritual are a pretty good definition of genuine hardcore thinking.

Cult Ritual - S/T LP

Basil Poledouris - Conan The Barbarian (1982)

A true classic of cinema scoring. In fact, in my opinion, the best orchestral score to any film ever. Mr Poledouris is responsible for quite a few great film scores but I always come back to his awe inspiring composition for Conan The Barbarian. Utilizing a 90 piece orchestra and 24 member choir alongside the unheard of the, then new, Musync editing software. A truly majestic and triumphant body of music and the last ever film score to be recorded in mono for a major motion picture. Its a manly listen for sure.

 

Basil Poledouris - Conan The Barbarian

The Time - Ice Cream Castle (1984)

A prime slice of 80's pop infused funk rock. The Time, assembled by Prince due to some legal billing in his contract and fronted by his long time friend Morris Day, had a string of minor hits in the 80's and made appearances in the movie's Purple Rain and Graffiti Bridge.
Pretty sweet eh? The long hidden truth was that The Time never played any of the recorded songs whatsoever. Prince recorded all the music himself, bar the vocals, but Morris Day had to follow Prince's note by note guide. This often caused much friction between the two acts. The Time would then attempt to upstage Prince every night on tour in a similar situation to how Prince and his band used to try and upstage Rick James when they acted as his opening/backing band.
Anyway, enough chatter, what time is it?

Morris Day & The Time - Ice Cream Castle

Dial - S/T EP (2010)

Noise rock.  As much as I hate genre classification and pigeon holing ( despite my some what convoluted way of describing some of the bands featured on this blog), the term noise rock does a wonderful job I think, of describing to people aware of this awesome area of music just what to expect.

New Zealand's Dial are what I would call noise rock. Big, dirty, distorted guitar noise, wild screaming and huge pounding drums. I didn't realise its all just one guitar making this racket. This is a demo they put out themselves ( or they didn't) and the quality control board at Robotic Empire decided it was more than worth banging out on a CD. So go there to buy an actual copy, if I had Paypal myself I would.

Dial - S/T EP

Just listen to this song below while it downloads. You won't regret it.

War - Total War (1997)

Bank holiday blasphemy. All out, hate filled, bestial black metal war machine War, and the first EP "Total War" released back in the hazy late 90's on Necropolis Records.

Settle down Tony..I mean IT.

War was the result of a drunken night deep within the Abyss studios, home of Peter Tagtgren. His friends from Abruptum and Dark Funeral spent the night ranting about how they should pay to have Varg killed. They would make a album of primitive, hateful Black Metal with any profits going to The True Satanic Horde ( a hobby of IT's) and to finance the murder of Vikernes.
So if you like hateful, angry BM with lyrics about Satan, war and Satan ( plus some questionable, PC baiting lyrics in the track "I Am Elite") then this should be right up your alley. I like it for its single minded hatred and refusal to slow down. I think that's a fair reason.

War - Total War

Helmet - Wilma's Rainbow EP (1994)

Page and his lads doing what they did best back in the 90's. The second single from "Betty" just hammered home the Helmet sound to all those pricks watching MTV. You can argue all you want about its influence and its fault for various other "genres" but you can't deny the groove.
The EP is backed up with a few decent quality live tracks including "Just Another Victim", the collaboration they did with House Of Pain. Which funnily enough both groups tend to play live, but separately.

Helmet - Wilma's Rainbow EP

Graham Central Station - Mirror (1976)

Larry Graham has got a fair few decent things going for him. He was a key member of Sly & The Family Stone, he is often credited with pioneering the slap technique applied to electric bass and he also worked with Betty Davis, Tower of Power's horn section and The Pointer Sisters. Amongst all this, he found time to form Graham Central Station back in 1973 with various musicians picked out of Jefferson Airplane, Santana and Hot Tuna. Mirror show cases this collectives combined playing skills on many levels. Some of the tightest and most energetic playing you are likely to hear.

Graham Central Station - Mirror

FUCK!!!! Some tight ass playing right here!