John Carpenter mix-tape (2013)

Another mix I have been working on. A little tribute to the musical works of the great John Carpenter. I have been a fan of his since I first saw Escape From New York at the age of 11 and its iconic opening theme that stuck in head. Below is a mix I put together featuring my personal favourite moments from a variety of the masters best films. Feel free to download and share.



On another note, Mediashite has deleted my account thus deleting the entire content of this blog and the past 5 years of posts. At the moment I'm not really sure what will happen to the blog but while I look at new hosting sites, if there is anything you want re-upping then drop me a line.

Roy Budd - Get Carter OST (1971)

In 1971, Mike Hodges released the seminal, British crime flick, Get Carter. It divided opinion and suffered somewhat due to the declining interest in the British film industry as well as the amoral approach and attitude of Michael Caine's Jack Carter.

Its a great film. Its nasty and gritty, plenty of violence and just the right amount of nudity needed in any revenge film. Allegedly Mike Hodges only had £450 to spend on a score. In steps British jazz musician Roy Budd. Working with only three other musicians, Budd created the perfect jazzy accompaniment to Carter's violent investigation around the Newcastle underworld. Often imitated never bettered. here you go.

Roy Budd - Get Carter

Heil - Demo II (2012)

The term "blackened" is thrown around far too often these days ( God knows, I have used it myself on occasion ) and its applied to pretty much all forms of extreme music to describe the influence of black metal in a bands sound. Usually its pretty far off the mark and applied to any band that uses lo-fi recording and ultra hissy distortion to create their sound.

Heil certainly have that element present in their noisy take on punk. Its a superbly over blown guitar sound and rancid, rasping vocal that make up the majority of this demo. The drums occasionally pick up pace but for the majority of this record work best when banging along at a stomping pace. You know "Nothing Left Inside" by the almighty Black Flag? Well imagine Darkthrone having a crack at that and your pretty close to Heil's sound. Its pretty sweet.

Heil - Demo II

Herbie Hancock - Death Wish (1974)

RIP Micheal Winner. A big man that said what he thought oblivious to how it would be construed. He made quite a few stinkers when it came to movies but also some pretty solid fare as well. The Mechanic, The Sentinel and the urban revenge classic Death Wish. Below is the score by Herbie Hancock. A fine example of Hancock's electric style showing restraint and being applied to tense, dramatic scoring.

Herbie Hancock - Death Wish OST

Black Mass - Of First And Last Things (2013)

Bit of shameless self promotion here. We (Black Mass) have been sat on this for some time now. Its a compilation of all the material the band had previously released. After myself and our two guitarists had joined we started building up our own recording rig and this compilation is the result of those forays into home recording. Its come out pretty good if I do say so myself. We have now dropped most of this from the setlist as well, so we saw this release as a good sign off for the first period of the bands life. For now, we have released it on Bandcamp for free. If it doesn't work then use the Mediafire link under, we only get so many free downloads a month. A physical version should be available from Witchunter Records in March.

Bandcamp

Mediafire

Cops - Demo (2012)

On the surface, Cops are a bunch of hardcore punks who enjoy Crossed Out and Suppression as much as the next guy and their band certainly reflects that. But scratch beneath the surface and it begins to show a much nastier side. Squelching little synths and electronics underpin the breakneck guitars and drums giving away a knowing nod to power electronics and noise. Maybe not really anything new in the world of power violence and grind but certainly integrated far better into the Cops sound than most. I have included both demo's in the link below. I don't know if they have anything else available, what little there is is well worth your time. I came across this on the always awesome Terminal Escape.

Cops - Demo I and II 

Goblin - Tenebre OST (1982)

Though often credited as a Goblin record, Tenebre is really a soundtrack composed by three former members of the Italian, prog-synth, rock freak out act. Once again working with Italian master Dario Argento, Simonetti, Pignatelli and Morante crafted a sturdy mix between the well known Goblin keyboard heavy sound and something approaching the more standard guitar based work that was popular at the time ( in all honesty the track "Lesbo" could have been omitted, it sounds like the theme tune to a dreadful beach set surf cop film/TV series). The film itself is one of Argento's most under rated efforts. As much as Suspiria and Profondo Rosso are well crafted classics, Tenebre holds a certain charm and nastiness about it. Goblin's iconic title track has one of the catchiest refrains going, I dare you not to be humming it after only a few listens. French dance gang Justice covered/sampled/homaged it on the track Phantom, off the "cross" album.

Goblin - Tenebre OST