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Band:GODFLESH
Album:STREETCLEANER LIVE AT ROADBURN 2011
Label:ROADBURN
Format:2LP
Genre:INDUSTRIAL/DOOM/ROCK
Godflesh are the the genre-blurring band founded by Justin Broadrick and G.C. Green in 1988. Their approach melds electronic/dub influences with the aggression of the metal and punk world. This forward thinking style has made Godflesh one of the most important bands to ever surface from the “extreme” music world. Laying the foundation for the blossoming post-metal world that dominates heavy music today. Godflesh frontman Justin Broadrick believed that this performance was "the most coherent version of Streetcleaner ever played." The Quietus writer Jamie Thomson said this about the performance: "As [Godflesh] pummeled their way through a complete performance of Streetcleaner in the main theatre, the jackhammer drum machine and guitar crunch invoked more of a physical rather than emotional response – that response being: 'Ouch'." Thomson later wrote "Rather than being dwarfed by the occasion, the image of Justin Broadrick and G. C. Green stood alone on the giant stage reflected perfectly their stark, tormented sound." The debut full-length from industrial mastermind Godflesh is suffocating as a live recording. Rumbling bass, squealing guitars and strong vocals bring Streetcleaner to life in a different way than on the studio album, but it works to Godflesh’s benefit. The songs are more dissonant and, at times, cacophonous, a powerful incarnation of the record more than 20 years after its release. (Decibel Magazine)
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Band:BONG
Album:LIVE AT ROADBURN 2010, 2012, 2014
Label:ROADBURN
Format:3CD
Genre:DRONE DOOM
On the triple-set release we get a neat showcase of the three, four and five person line-ups of Bong, the core trio of Dave Terry and two Mikes, Smith and Vest, with Benjamin Freeth joining on Shahi Baaja in 2012 (those unmistakable twinkling zoings on ‘Dreams of Mana Yood Sushai’), and then Pete Ryde a further addition on guitar for 2014. Mike Vest’s guitar is all intense dread psych, from endless dirt krssshhhh, to a hurricane wheeling and whirling churn. ‘Trees Grass and Stone’ is stunning, starting with fully ten minutes of just pure wild electricity, like you’ve plugged your mind into the thick fuzz cable. There’s unhinged insect skittering at the end of ‘Dreams of Mana Yood Sushai’, and great crackling thunder shards of guitar are thrown down at the end of ‘Onward to Perdondaris’. Across the band’s releases, Vest seems to be assisting Dave Terry’s bass in a shadowy heist where they’ve constructed some sort of occult sonic drill which just grinds and grinds away, threatening to break into the abyssal vaults of the universe’s sonic consciousness. (Echoesanddust)
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Band:BONG
Album:LIVE AT ROADBURN 2010, 2012, 2014
Label:ROADBURN
Format:3LP
Genre:DRONE DOOM
On the triple-set release we get a neat showcase of the three, four and five person line-ups of Bong, the core trio of Dave Terry and two Mikes, Smith and Vest, with Benjamin Freeth joining on Shahi Baaja in 2012 (those unmistakable twinkling zoings on ‘Dreams of Mana Yood Sushai’), and then Pete Ryde a further addition on guitar for 2014. Mike Vest’s guitar is all intense dread psych, from endless dirt krssshhhh, to a hurricane wheeling and whirling churn. ‘Trees Grass and Stone’ is stunning, starting with fully ten minutes of just pure wild electricity, like you’ve plugged your mind into the thick fuzz cable. There’s unhinged insect skittering at the end of ‘Dreams of Mana Yood Sushai’, and great crackling thunder shards of guitar are thrown down at the end of ‘Onward to Perdondaris’. Across the band’s releases, Vest seems to be assisting Dave Terry’s bass in a shadowy heist where they’ve constructed some sort of occult sonic drill which just grinds and grinds away, threatening to break into the abyssal vaults of the universe’s sonic consciousness. (Echoesanddust)
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Band:CAVE IN FT. STEPHEN BRODSKY AND ADAM MCGRATH
Album:LIVE AT ROADBURN 2018
Label:ROADBURN
Format:CD
Genre:SINGER/SONGWRITER
On March 28 of this year, Cave In bassist, Caleb Scofield, died in a car accident leaving behind his wife and two children.
The Cave In inner circle rallied around Caleb’s family, fundraising and arranging benefit shows; it was clear that their aim
was to do what their friend tragically no longer could – provide for his family.
At the 2018 edition of Roadburn, Stephen Brodsky and Adam McGrath paid a moving tribute to Caleb with an acoustic set of covers and Cave In tracks. As the audience and band members alike found catharsis through music, we wouldn’t have begrudged them one bit if this performance was the closest we ever got to Cave In at Roadburn. As communicated at the time: On Saturday, 21 April, Stephen Brodsky and Adam McGrath will unite to play a very special set at Het Patronaat in honour of Caleb Scofield, their long time bandmate, collaborator and friend, who sadly passed away last month. The pair comment: “Please join us for an afternoon of Cave In songs and cover tunes dedicated to Caleb Scofield, our best friend and bandmate who passed away tragically and suddenly on March 28th, 2018. Sincere thanks to the good-hearted people of Roadburn for swiftly and gracefully giving us an opportunity to honor Caleb’s life and legacy.” We, at Roadburn, are honoured to be able to host such a special tribute to Caleb– a musician who not only performed at Roadburn himself (as part of Old Man Gloom in 2014), but whose influence can be seen in many of the bands that pass through the festival.
Vinyl will follow in early 2019. Part of the proceeds will go to the Caleb Scofield Memorial Fund.
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Band:GENA
Album:SLOW DAY
Label:BURNING WORLD
Format:LP
Genre:SHOEGAZE/POST-ROCK/DRONE/NOISE
Gena was chosen by Arctic Drones website as one of the top 5 doomgaze bands around. This among Jesu, The Angelic Process and Have A Nice Life. What is doomgaze you ask? Artic drones tries to explain: “Doomgaze is a crossover subgenre fusing deliberately paced, heavy and repetitive doom drones and mellower shoegaze layers. The style is typically defined by a heavy emphasis on atmosphere and an extensive use of reverb, distortion and feedback.” As a review on Slow day they state: “No one can question the power that Gena capture on their recordings, and the first song on their 2018 album Slow Day attests to that. “Past” is perhaps one of the best intro songs in the doomgaze genre, and it’s undeniable grandiosity will lock you in for the rest of the album. True to the name, the songs keep to slow tempos while doom-filled guitars crash against the droning undertones. While some lean toward instrumental bands in this realm of music, the vocals Gena present fit the aesthetic perfectly. Each song is a new concept, giving forth new ideas and various genre blends like post-metal and shoegaze while keeping the overall vibe of doom and gloom. This album should be a go-to for people looking to experience more in this realm of music, especially as it represents the genre well whilst simultaneously distinguishing its own distinct “Gena” sound. ”
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Band:ALBERT ELMS, WILFRED JOSEPHS, ROBERT FARNON, RON GRAINER
Album:THE PRISONER 50TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK & LIBRARY MUSIC REMASTERED
Label:NETWORK
Format:6CD
Genre:SOUNDTRACKS/CULT TV
The music of the Prisoner is, in its own way, as much of a puzzle as the series itself. No fewer than three opening title themes were commissioned, with the final choice subjected to extensive revision at the suggestion of Patrick McGoohan. Original incidental cues for the series were composed by Albert Elms, Wilfred Josephs and
Robert Farnon, with key episodes receiving their own score, whilst others were tracked using these same themes. In addition, dozens more pieces were sourced from the Chappell Music library, many of them as distinctive and characterful as the specially-composed cues. Together, these musical items provided a unique, surreal and sometimes disorienting audio backdrop to Patrick McGoohan’s visionary series. This release brings together all of the specially-composed music and libary tracks in one
collection for the first time, along with many alternate and unused takes. Carefully compiled and remastered from the best available sources, this 6-CD set is accompanied by detailed notes from TV historian Andrew Pixley.
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Band:SYN
Album:SYNDESTRUCTIBLE
Label:PLANE GROOVY
Format:LP
Genre:Prog Rock
First release on vinyl for this album which features frontman Steve Nardelli, Chris Squire (Yes), Jeremy Stacey (Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, King Crimson), Paul Stacey (The Lemon Trees, Oasis, Black Crowes), Gerard Johnson (Saint Etienne). As an indication of the standard reached here, King Crimson biographer Sid Smith wrote: “Arguably the album could be regarded as a successor to Squire’s Fish Out Of Water although that would be to underplay the considerable and distinguished input of the Stacey twins and Johnson both in the writing, arrangement and delivery of sublime tracks such as the beatific closer, The Promise.”
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Band:COSMOGRAF
Album:WHEN AGE HAS DONE ITS DUTY
Label:PLANE GROOVY
Format:LP
Genre:Prog Rock
Vinyl release for this 2011 cosmograf album. Based around main man Robin Armstrong’s personal experiences as a boy, he has remixed and remastered the original, to “…address some of the issues that were less than perfect on the original recording. Many of the original guitar, bass and vocal parts have been re-recorded, new string arrangements added and a more dynamic low volume level master produced…”
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Band:VANISHING KIDS
Album:HEAVY DREAMER
Label:SVART
Format:CD
Genre:PSYCH
The new Vanishing Kids album, their first in five years, sees the Wisconsin group turn up the volume and present a heavier approach to their unique brand of glittery dream-doom psychedelia. With members from Jex Thoth.
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Band:VANISHING KIDS
Album:HEAVY DREAMER
Label:SVART
Format:LP
Genre:PSYCH
The new Vanishing Kids album, their first in five years, sees the Wisconsin group turn up the volume and present a heavier approach to their unique brand of glittery dream-doom psychedelia. With members from Jex Thoth.
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Band:Witchthroat Serpent
Album:SWALLOW THE VENOM
Label:SVART
Format:CD
Genre:DOOM METAL
France's Witchthroat Serpent are back with their third long-playing effort, and their strongest to date. "Swallow the Venom" pushes further than 2016's critically acclaimed "Sang-Dragon". Massive riffs and pummeling beats channel more than ever the unnatural psychedelia they are renowed for. From the pagan chants of "Feu Sacré" to the aggressive trance of "Might of the Unfailing Source", Witchthroat Serpent have both diversified their weapons and mastered their art. The fire of the Fallen Angel burns you, the mighty Gods curse you, and you'll end up lost in the uncanny trance and psychedelia of the "Pauper's Grave", where the last remains of rationality lie. Doom is upon you!
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Band:Witchthroat Serpent
Album:SWALLOW THE VENOM
Label:SVART
Format:LP
Genre:DOOM METAL
France's Witchthroat Serpent are back with their third long-playing effort, and their strongest to date. "Swallow the Venom" pushes further than 2016's critically acclaimed "Sang-Dragon". Massive riffs and pummeling beats channel more than ever the unnatural psychedelia they are renowed for. From the pagan chants of "Feu Sacré" to the aggressive trance of "Might of the Unfailing Source", Witchthroat Serpent have both diversified their weapons and mastered their art. The fire of the Fallen Angel burns you, the mighty Gods curse you, and you'll end up lost in the uncanny trance and psychedelia of the "Pauper's Grave", where the last remains of rationality lie. Doom is upon you!
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Band:SABBATHIAN, THE
Album:LATUM ALTERUM
Label:SVART
Format:2CD
Genre:Metal
The long awaited debut full length album from this occult trio. Taking their roots to the core of true, heavy, darkened metal, The Sabbathian draw an unparalleled ion from the likes of Candlemass and Black Sabbath, all while retaining a sound very personable to them. Formed by Chad Davis (Hour of 13), the journey is to create music for the hours of darkness and gloom. Joined by guitarist Joey Downs (Altar Blood), his contribution adds the element of power and everything the sense of heavy. Featuring the sheer vocal beauty of Anette Gulbrandsen (Leave's Eyes, Nattsol, Mäctätus) at the forefront, her alto/soprano vocal stylings bring forth medieval choirs and haunting apparitions that complete what is The Sabbathian: a journey into darkness, a voyage into the cosmic void unknown.
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Band:SABBATHIAN, THE
Album:LATUM ALTERUM
Label:SVART
Format:LP
Genre:Metal
The long awaited debut full length album from this occult trio. Taking their roots to the core of true, heavy, darkened metal, The Sabbathian draw an unparalleled ion from the likes of Candlemass and Black Sabbath, all while retaining a sound very personable to them. Formed by Chad Davis (Hour of 13), the journey is to create music for the hours of darkness and gloom. Joined by guitarist Joey Downs (Altar Blood), his contribution adds the element of power and everything the sense of heavy. Featuring the sheer vocal beauty of Anette Gulbrandsen (Leave's Eyes, Nattsol, Mäctätus) at the forefront, her alto/soprano vocal stylings bring forth medieval choirs and haunting apparitions that complete what is The Sabbathian: a journey into darkness, a voyage into the cosmic void unknown.
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Band:NEW LIGHT CHOIR
Album:TORCHLIGHT
Label:SVART
Format:CD
Genre:Metal
Never content to exist in an easily defined space, New Light Choir defy genres, preferring to weave diverse threads of sound into their own unique sonic tapestry. On their previous album Volume II (High Roller Records, 2015) the two-headed genre hybrid group explored the 50-year history of dark, heavy guitar-based music and made what Invisible Oranges called "music made from missing links". New Light Choir's new album Torchlight, due out on Svart Records on November 23rd, sees the duo step on the distortion pedal and travel deeper into the mystical, dusk-filled metallic territory hinted at on its predecessor. Torchlight is possessed with the same creative spirit and a sense of wonder as the early albums by genre forefathers Trouble and Manilla Road, yet New Light Choir are devoid of the trappings of retro worship and prefer to look into the future. Currently working as a studio project, New Light Choir consists of guitarist/vocalist John Niffenegger and drummer Chris Dalton. The Album Torchlight will be available on November 23rd on LP, CD and digital formats worldwide.
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Band:NEW LIGHT CHOIR
Album:TORCHLIGHT
Label:SVART
Format:LP
Genre:Metal
Never content to exist in an easily defined space, New Light Choir defy genres, preferring to weave diverse threads of sound into their own unique sonic tapestry. On their previous album Volume II (High Roller Records, 2015) the two-headed genre hybrid group explored the 50-year history of dark, heavy guitar-based music and made what Invisible Oranges called "music made from missing links". New Light Choir's new album Torchlight, due out on Svart Records on November 23rd, sees the duo step on the distortion pedal and travel deeper into the mystical, dusk-filled metallic territory hinted at on its predecessor. Torchlight is possessed with the same creative spirit and a sense of wonder as the early albums by genre forefathers Trouble and Manilla Road, yet New Light Choir are devoid of the trappings of retro worship and prefer to look into the future. Currently working as a studio project, New Light Choir consists of guitarist/vocalist John Niffenegger and drummer Chris Dalton. The Album Torchlight will be available on November 23rd on LP, CD and digital formats worldwide.
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Band:EVOKEN
Album:HYPNAGOGIA
Label:Profound Lore
Format:2LP
Genre:DOOM METAL
Known as one of the founding fathers of the American death/funeral doom metal scene, New Jersey’s EVOKEN have been a long-standing pillar over the band’s 25 year pillage. Their new full-length album “Hypnagogia” is the band’s sixth LP, their first in six years since their landmark “Atra Mors” album, and is a towering monolith that
develops and redefines the band’s sound that will only strengthen their position within the death/doom metal hierarchy where EVOKEN have always reigned.
“Hypnagogia” is an expression of doom metal artistry where the listener will bear witness how EVOKEN can create a new and even more daring expression with a monument that will be recognized as a landmark. This tends to happen regardless with every EVOKEN release, but “Hypnagogia” sees the band expand their musical dynamics even more through the meticulous care and discrimination of the band’s song writing process, “Hypnagogia” being a listening experience through a multitude of varying yet flourishing emotions. Pushing both their penchant for grandiose melodicism and their trademark aura of pulverizing supreme unparalleled heaviness even more, it is the base of this repercussion that makes “Hypnagogia” one of the most intense, compelling, and soul crushing EVOKEN listening experiences yet; one of euphoria, desperation, and hopelessness.
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Band:EVOKEN
Album:HYPNAGOGIA
Label:Profound Lore
Format:CD
Genre:DOOM METAL
Known as one of the founding fathers of the American death/funeral doom metal scene, New Jersey’s EVOKEN have been a long-standing pillar over the band’s 25 year pillage. Their new full-length album “Hypnagogia” is the band’s sixth LP, their first in six years since their landmark “Atra Mors” album, and is a towering monolith that
develops and redefines the band’s sound that will only strengthen their position within the death/doom metal hierarchy where EVOKEN have always reigned.
“Hypnagogia” is an expression of doom metal artistry where the listener will bear witness how EVOKEN can create a new and even more daring expression with a monument that will be recognized as a landmark. This tends to happen regardless with every EVOKEN release, but “Hypnagogia” sees the band expand their musical dynamics even more through the meticulous care and discrimination of the band’s song writing process, “Hypnagogia” being a listening experience through a multitude of varying yet flourishing emotions. Pushing both their penchant for grandiose melodicism and their trademark aura of pulverizing supreme unparalleled heaviness even more, it is the base of this repercussion that makes “Hypnagogia” one of the most intense, compelling, and soul crushing EVOKEN listening experiences yet; one of euphoria, desperation, and hopelessness.
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Band:REVEREND BIZARRE
Album:CRUSH THE INSECTS
Label:THE CHURCH WITHIN
Format:CD
Genre:DOOM METAL
Non-Exclusive Re-Releases of the second album of Reverend Bizarre R.I.P.
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Band:REVEREND BIZARRE
Album:SO LONG SUCKERS
Label:THE CHURCH WITHIN
Format:2CD
Genre:DOOM METAL
Non-Exclusive Re-Releases of the Third and final album of Reverend Bizarre R.I.P.
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Band:OBSESSED, THE
Album:LIVE AT THE WAX MUSEUM JULY 3, 1982
Label:THE CHURCH WITHIN
Format:CD
Genre:DOOM METAL
The Curtain went up and smoke rose from the stage as lightning bolts shot out from amps and thunder from the drums. As the audience was pinned to their to their electric chairs (in the chamber of horror section of the museum), impending doom pounded int their brains.
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Band:OBSESSED, THE
Album:LIVE AT THE WAX MUSEUM JULY 3, 1982
Label:THE CHURCH WITHIN
Format:2LP
Genre:DOOM METAL
The Curtain went up and smoke rose from the stage as lightning bolts shot out from amps and thunder from the drums. As the audience was pinned to their to their electric chairs (in the chamber of horror section of the museum), impending doom pounded int their brains.
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Band:BEELZEFUZZ
Album:THE RIGHTEOUS BLOOM
Label:THE CHURCH WITHIN
Format:2LP
Genre:DOOM METAL
Beelzefuzz is a heavy rock band from North East MD formed in 2009. Releasing a 4 song demo in 2010 they established a loyal fan base in the DE, MD, PA area that eventually led to signing with Germany's very prestigious Church Within records in 2012. Beelzefuzz incorporates a very unique style of heavy music similar to the classic sounds of early 70's bands such as Uriah Heep, Deep Purple and Black sabbath as well as contemporary acts Pentagram, Graveyard and Earthride. Still Beelzefuzz remain decidely independent with their own personal brand of melodic heavy rock and the David Byron, John Lawton crossed with Mark Farner vocal stylings of singer and guitarist Dana Ortt shine through beautifully in songs such as "Lotus Jam", "All the Feeling Returns", "Reborn" and the haunting "Hypnotize". Joined by drummer Darin McCloskey (Pale Divine) in 2011, Beelzefuzz entered the studio again to record a new four song demo. Sparking quite a bit of label interest they secured the deal with The Church Within records and released their first self titled album via the label in 2013. The current and active lineup of Beelzefuzz is Dana Ortt (vocals/guitar),
Darin McCloskey (drums), Greg Diener (lead guitar/vocals), Bert Hall (bass). A new album entitled "II The Righteous Bloom" is set to be released from The Church Within records for spring of 2016.
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Band:DEVIL'S WITCHES
Album:PORNO WITCHES & VIETNAM VETERANS
Label:TWIN EARTH
Format:CDD
Genre:STONER/DOOM/OCCULT
The musical diary of the US Soldier featured in the narrative of debut album 'Velvet Magic’! 'Porno Witches & Vietnam Veterans' features the previously digital only EP 'Cherry Napalm'. The REAR ENDS portion of the compilation features tracks '(Fuck) Agent Orange' and 'Magic Wand'. These were previously digital only as well supporting the 2nd and 3rd pressings of 'Velvet Magic' LP respectively. Here they are presented alongside a brand new track 'Porno Witch’.
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Band:SOFT HEARTED SCIENTISTS
Album:WANDERMOON
Label:YOU ARE THE COSMOS
Format:LP
Genre:PSYCH FOLK POP
Another GREAT psychedelic trip from Wales (UK). Originally released in 2011 on CD format. Limited Edition of 270 copies. Nocturnal listening recommended...
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Band:CURT BOETTCHER
Album:MISTY MIRAGE
Label:YOU ARE THE COSMOS
Format:LP
Genre:POP
A wonderful compilation of demos and outtakes (with the exception of the single Sometimes/Share With Me (Together, 1969) by this exceptional songwriterproducer- musician. Yes, he was the man behind Sagittarius, The Millennium... among many others!. Limited Edition of 450 copies.
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Band:JOHN HOWARD
Album:CAN YOU HEAR ME OK?
Label:YOU ARE THE COSMOS
Format:LP
Genre:POP/CLASSIC
Limited Edition of 300 copies. Can You Hear Me Ok? was scheduled for a Spring 1976 release by CBS, but was pulled from release plans and never issued on LP... The sleeve photos were taken in January 1976, planned as possible album sleeve pics and to promote the lead-off single I Got My Lady. So this LP release is "The Album That Nearly Was". Finally given the vinyl release it was destined for forty-two years ago.
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Band:KUPARILINNA
Album:KUPARILINNA
Label:PALATSI
Format:LP
Genre:FOLK ROCK
Kuparilinna was formed in 2014 in Helsinki. They play music that pays tribute to early and late 60s pop and folk rock. They’ve drawn inspiration from many sources from Western and Eastern Europe as well as USA, not forgetting their home country's folk and pop music. Through these sources, they have combined the energy and vividness of 60s UK and US pop with the kind of melancholia and the longing present in a lot of Eastern European and Finnish music. This is Kuparilinna's debut album and it has been very well received internationally receiving airplay all around Europe, USA and Australia.
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Band:OCTOPUS SYNG
Album:VICTORIAN WONDERS
Label:MEGA DODO
Format:CD
Genre:PSYCH
Octopus Syng was formed in the summer of 1999 by the band’s guitarist and vocalist Jaire Pätäri. Jaire recorded two albums under the Octopus Syng moniker before forming a four‐piece band with Joni: guitar and backing vocals, Antti: Bass and Jukka: drums. This line up recorded Reverberating Garden No. 7 in 2014 and Hollow Ghost in 2016. The Octo boys obviously love a routine because two years having passed single their last long‐player they’re back with another. Victorian Wonders takes many of the themes, sounds and textures that made their previous albums so alluring and gives them a subtle twist. A rich, dark and sometimes mystical brew of modern psychedelic sounds, Victorian Wonders is a sensitive and melancholic record that, like its predecessors, draws on the spirits of Syd Barrett and early Floyd for inspiration. It is, in parts, dissonant and eerie, and in others whimsical and diaphanous. It’s a luscious experience, a trippin' musical creature, where each note is a short journey to unimaginable places in our minds. So, relax and let yourself drift into an ethereal world of dark imaginings and prepare for a very strange trip!
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Band:OCTOPUS SYNG
Album:VICTORIAN WONDERS
Label:MEGA DODO
Format:LP
Genre:PSYCH
Octopus Syng was formed in the summer of 1999 by the band’s guitarist and vocalist Jaire Pätäri. Jaire recorded two albums under the Octopus Syng moniker before forming a four‐piece band with Joni: guitar and backing vocals, Antti: Bass and Jukka: drums. This line up recorded Reverberating Garden No. 7 in 2014 and Hollow Ghost in 2016. The Octo boys obviously love a routine because two years having passed single their last long‐player they’re back with another. Victorian Wonders takes many of the themes, sounds and textures that made their previous albums so alluring and gives them a subtle twist. A rich, dark and sometimes mystical brew of modern psychedelic sounds, Victorian Wonders is a sensitive and melancholic record that, like its predecessors, draws on the spirits of Syd Barrett and early Floyd for inspiration. It is, in parts, dissonant and eerie, and in others whimsical and diaphanous. It’s a luscious experience, a trippin' musical creature, where each note is a short journey to unimaginable places in our minds. So, relax and let yourself drift into an ethereal world of dark imaginings and prepare for a very strange trip!
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Band:VARIOUS ARTISTS
Album:CIRCLES END (LIMITED)
Label:MISTY LANE
Format:LP
Genre:FOLK/POP/ACOUSTIC/BALLAD/PSYCH
From the very first notes of Prince John’s baroque and moody ballad “I Told Her” to Amsterdam’s “No One Really
Cares” you’re thrown in a time capsule soundtrack filled with Harmony and Chamber Pop, Folk, Light-Sike sounds. Compilations like this would probably have never existed before the Fading Yellow series opened the listener to such gentle moods. Lots of guitars, arpeggios, flutes and obvious references to young Paul Simon’ songwriting style, as well as airy West Coast Sunshine Pop and English Acid Folk permeate almost every tune hereby included. An indepth research by Dutch Beat Era expert Erik Meinen enriches this 18 tracks album with a two pages long insert that will reveal the beautiful and truly interesting stories of each and every artist/band selected. Some “known” names like Alderman and Amsterdam will probably sound familiar. The acid guitar-driven “Wild Flowers” by Double You will surely bring back echoes of the Pretties circa S.F. Sorrow, but really we are into almost unknown territories here, for non-connoisseurs of the Dutch Folk saga that made the late Sixties and early Seventies a great musical stage for Folk-Pop and similar sub-genres in Holland. Now it’s your turn to discover them all.
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Band:KRYNG, THE
Album:DON'T DIG THESE MODERN TYMES
Label:Teen Sound
Format:LP
Genre:GARAGE POWER POP NEDERBEAT
The Kryng from Holland are back with a second album release one year after their debut LP on Teen Sound. Mastered by Tim Warren of Crypt Records, this new work displays the classic Garage, Nederbeat and Powerpop influences of the band, now evolved and moving towards Folk and even early Popsike, but the raw energy and catchy writing is still very active. The opening track “Don’t Dig These Modern Tymes” entitles the album and is somehow their musical power-garagemanifesto.
Way To Paradise mixes the Kinks with melodic NederBeat Pop, a sweet lullaby. The infectious chorus of Getting Rawer won’t leave your mind easily. More Kinksy Village era echoes in Come And Go. A sorta more “modern” approach to the songs arrives with “Just Want You”. The Kryng close the A side with the Jangly Folk Punk Pop You Got To Come Over. Side B opens with We're The Same, sort of grungy garage that brings back the feeling of their debut album. Someone from The Past delivers a cristalline summer night Pop hit. Next we hear the band definitive tribute to The Kinks Lazy Old Sun in Where Things Come From. Mark, Peter, Arjan your second album is second to no one and we too, don't dig these modern tymes. The Kryng's world of songs is definitely more appealing to us.
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Band:GALILEO 7
Album:ARE WE HAVING FUN YET?
Label:Teen Sound
Format:LP
Genre:GARAGE POWER POP NEDERBEAT
Remastered edition, previously released on CD (2010) which includes insert with lyrics and pictures. Allan Crockford was an original member of ‘Medway Garage-Rock legends’ (c) The Prisoners, and also The Solarflares (who were actually better) and The Prime Movers (who weren’t) along with Graham Day, now ripping it up (whatever ‘it’ is) with his fabulous Gaolers. Allan was also in the original (and best, obviously) line-ups of the The James Taylor Quartet and Billy Childish’s Thee Headcoats. He was also in Phaze, Goodchilde and until recently The Stabilisers. He still also plays in The Vandebilts. After years of letting other band members write all the material he finally decided to try writing songs himself and front a band. The line-up of The Galileo 7 was eventually selected from Medway’s finest musicians... the ones who didn’t say no: Paul Moss is Kent’s most in demand bassist and plays at least 3 gigs a night. He hasn’t slept for over 5 years. Viv Bonsels has been playing the organ for over a month. A bassist in a former life, she is now learning to stick daggers in the keyboard and how to play the tambourine like Zia McCabe. Russ Baxter carves his drumsticks from the finest scotch cabers. (Original CD release liner notes from 2010). THE GALILEO 7: reversing into the future without a rear view mirror. Or brakes. And a dodgy clutch.
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Band:MAKO SICA & HAMID DRAKE
Album:RONDA
Label:instant classic
Format:CD
Genre:NOISE ROCK/FREE JAZZ
“Ronda” is a collaborative album between Chicago’s free/noise rockers Mako Sica and a drumming legend that is Hamid Drake. “Ronda” consists of five tracks recorded during sessions at Jamdek with Douglas Malone at the board and at Electrical Audio with Taylor Hales.
“This collusion was precipitated by Matt Jackowiak, a mutual friend, who thought a merging of their sounds might make for an ecstatic explosion. This feeling became mutual after they played a show together at Constellation. The set mixed Mako Sica tunes with improvisations that took everyone to places they hadn’t expected, and the trip was deemed an utter success,” says Feeding Tube’s Byron Coley.
“The Electrical session allowed the players access to a host of additional instruments, so the sonic palette on ‘Dance with Waves’ and ‘Emanation’ is wider and somehow more cosmic than usual. But the whole album has an extraordinary depth and width of sound. Even the great songs Mako Sica has had in its set for a while like ‘The Old Book,’ gain whole new levels of otherness here, and the material based in quartet improvisations, like ‘The Wu Wei,’ explores wild new territory for the band,” Byron adds.
“Ever feel like nothing changes? Sure, after stretches of sheer craziness, a certain stable life may have some appeal. But eventually we realize we want something more, something our staid Sudoku and ho-hum heroin cannot provide. Sooner or later, we become turned off to the creeping monotony and ritual in our everyday lives and need a real turn-on. Want some REAL thrills? Then you NEED the new Mako Sica and Hamid Drake collaboration album!” – Tiny Mix Tapes
“A psychedelic rock trio teaming up with a percussionist schooled in jazz, reggae and diverse musical traditions might signal an awkward, unsatisfying fit. In practice, however, it works beautifully” – Wire “On both their composed material and free improvisations, Drake’s preternatural sense of groove gives a dramatic shape to even their most amorphous jams, adding waves of melody and atmosphere that feel inspired by 70s Miles Davis and moody guitar twang that falls into the general vicinity of the spaghettiwestern scores of Ennio Morricone. Drake seems to bring out the best in the musicians, who constantly shift instrumentation and meticulously weave a richly
textured soundscape that never sticks to one vibe or rhythmic feel for too long” – Chicago Reader.
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Band:TRYS SAULES
Album:***
Label:instant classic
Format:CD
Genre:Alt Rock
“***” is a debut album from instrumental/post-rock trio Trys Saulės. It consists of five spacious tracks based on hypnotic rhythms and raw, distorted guitars. “I met Artur (Krychowiak, guitar) at his solo concert under the Nowa Ziemia monicker,” recalls Marcin Dymiter (guitar). “We tried to organize some rehearsals afterwards but for a pretty long time we couldn’t match our schedules. It dawned on me that we should maybe try and arrange for Dominika (Korzeniecka, drums) to join us. We’ve known each other for a while and I really appreciate her musical sense, intuition and the way she plays drums. When we first met as a trio it quickly became obvious that there’s more to our playing than just a sum of all its parts,” adds Dymiter.
For listeners familiar with Marcin’s impressive discography and musical past, both in his solo (as Emiter) and collective (Mapa, Ewa Braun) endeavours, it may come as a some surprise that he decided to come back to a more rock-based group formula. “I haven’t played in what you can call a regular rock band for some time now but it doesn’t mean I gave up on guitar as an instrument,” he explains. “Just to mention two albums released as Niski Szum and my contributions to “Pępek Świata” compilation and a soundtrack to Marcina Borchardt’s movie ‘Beksińscy. Album wideofoniczny’. Guitar doesn’t always need to be present as it can only serve as an idea, creating a specific approach to thinking about sound,” Dymiter says.
“As Trys Saulės we had an aim of creating instrumental music deprived of traditional song structures relying heavily on long sounds, repetitions and raw sounding guitars. Our tracks leave a lot of space for improvising and each time we play them live they sound different. Song titles are the only part where we could add some lyrical meaning to the music and these came courtesy of Marcin,” explains Artur. “I think it was during a cigarette break that we discussed our favourite bands. Then we took our instruments and that’s what came from it. After our first rehearsal as a group we already had what you can call song structures that got completed in a next couple of meetings,” says Dominika. “It happens every couple of years that I am able to meet people who are so focused on playing music that you don’t have to burn your time trying to reach some kind of agreement on the musical direction. That’s when sound allows us to get on the same plane and I value it very much,” adds Marcin. “***” was recorded almost entirely live. “When you decide to choose this way of working, you get closer to the truth. What you hear on the record is what you will hear during our live performances,” admits Dominika. “Each track took a couple of takes and based on this we were able to select the best ones that landed on the record. We wanted to avoid producing our music on a laptop and then try and replicate that on stage,” adds Artur.
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Band:SNAFU
Album:LIVE NOTTINGHAM 1976
Label:SIREENA
Format:LP
Genre:ROCK/BLUES/WESTCOAST
Overview: In 1972, singer / drummer Bobby Harrison left his blues-rock ensemble FREEDOM and began recording his first solo LP "Funkist". Among the many first-rate musicians on this album was Micky Moody, then lead guitarist for JUICY LUCY. The collaboration between the two was so inspiring that they decided to start a completely new group and combine American inspired rock and R & B British coloring.
This was the birth of SNAFU, one of the best and most soulful British acts of the 1970's. Joined by drummer Terry Popple, bassist Colin Gibson and keyboardist Pete Solley (from PALADIN) the debut album was recorded and released in 1972. It started well! The group started an extensive tour to promote the album. They toured Europe with The Doobie Brothers and the USA with The Eagles. And SNAFU arrived dazzling. Their mixture of Rock, R & B, Country Rock and Folk was especially stunning live!
In 1974, on the second LP "Situation Normal", keyboarder Pete Solley had taken over much of the control of the band. The country rock influence on this album has become even more pronounced, Solley's keyboards / violin and Moody's Slide Guitar are next to the powerful Harrison the assets on this album and especially in the States the album was well received. However, a joint US tour with Emerson, Lake & Palmer was not a good idea. SNAFU harmonized better on their subsequent European tour with WAR! In addition, the band made many TV and radio appearances. To the recordings of the third album "All Funked Up" 1976 Pete Solley had already left the band and had wandered to PROCOL HARUM. He was replaced by Tin Hinkley, who was a sought-after session musician. "All Funked Up" was also the closing point of the SNAFU discography, the band also presented this album again extensively live and in impressive form. But during the tour in Germany Moody was invited to join David Coverdale. He accepted and left SNAFU after completing the tour.
Harrison tried to keep SNAFU together with Clem Clempson (Colosseum, Humble Pie, Champion) on the guitar, but it did not work. Looking back, Bobby Harrison: "I then started working with people like Reg Isadore, the drummer who worked with Robin Trower and Joe Jammer, we had a band together and lived a few years in Chicago, but unfortunately our manager died and the whole thing just ended up in disaster, but then I met this Icelandic girl and moved to Reykjavik with her, we started a family and it and started a whole new chapter of my life. " The tracks on this record were recorded live in Nottingham in 1976 during the farewell tour with Micky Moody and impressively show the class of SNAFU again.
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Band:THE DARLING BUDS
Album:SHAME ON YOU
Label:NATIVE
Format:CD
Genre:ALTERNATIVE/INDIE ROCK
The Darling Buds ~ Shame On You ~ CD Album The Darling Buds burst on to the scene in spring 1988. They formed in a tiny village in South Wales during late 1986, and signed to Native in october 1987, after been seen performing at TJ's in Newport, Wales. These recordings where made in Vibrasound, a legendary Sheffield, sixteen track studio, that is sadly now defunct. They went in to the studio for four days over the Christmas holidays of 1987. 'Shame On You' was the band's debut single released on Native, and it charted at #1 in the Indie chart. Things moved fast, with a second single, "It's All Up To You," again charting at #1 on the indie chart, whilst the first single was still in the top ten. It entered the National Charts later that month. By July that year, the had been snapped up, and signed to CBS.
This album was first released in 1990, and many fans believe that this release represent the band at their 'indie' best.
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Band:2.3
Album:NEW CLEAR WAVES
Label:NATIVE
Format:CD
Genre:RHYTHM & BLUES/SOUL/YEYE
2.3 have a special place in the history of Sheffield music. They were the first Sheffield new wave band to release a single. The Double A Side ‘All Time Low/Where to Now?’ which was released in February 1978 on the influential Fast Product indie label. They were praised for their hard hitting but melodic, political yet often witty songs reflecting on life in the late 1970s as the noise of the Punk Rock explosion died away in the distance and everybody was wondering what would come next. Tony Parsons even made them NME Single of the Week. 2.3 have recently been back in the studio with Human League and Heaven 17 founder Martyn Ware at the controls who includes production credits for Tina Turner and Terence Trent D’Arby on his CV.
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Band:RIDEOUTS, THE
Album:HEART & SOUL
Label:NATIVE
Format:CD
Genre:ALTERNATIVE/INDIE ROCK
«Heart and Soul»: The Rideouts new release delivers a strong Garage Rock twang with a psychedelic feel. An Alternative Rock band from Liverpool and Trieste, their stylish sound swirls beautifully around Max Scherbi's smoked velvet vocals. Citing Cream, Hendrix, Led Zeppelin and The Beatles there is an undeniable nod towards the sound of the sixties. "Everything about The Rideouts screams "Classic" and is delivered with a cool, laid-back style with excellent musicianship and production. «Heart and Soul» demonstrates the strong dedication that the band have and how they have ventured further in to their sound. A sound that ultimately spotlights their musical roots and in turn produces the perfect Pop / Rock song.
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Band:STONE THAT BURNS, THE
Album:THE STONE THAT BURNS
Label:NATIVE
Format:CD
Genre:ALTERNATIVE/INDIE ROCK
Brilliant debut Album from The Stone That Burns. The CD has a beautiful full colour booklet, with many rare photographs of the band. This highly acclaimed album features the new Single "I Saw You Naked" and the classic "Paper Faces."
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Band:FIFTH NEWHEAVY
Album:SICKS
Label:NATIVE
Format:CD
Genre:ALTERNATIVE/INDIE ROCK
A wonderful new album from Fifth NewHeavy brings an Industrial electro guitar driven swirling mass of pure energy and delight. A band that are causing a massive response right across the world. Currently touring Japan. For Fans of NIN
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Band:SHARKS, THE
Album:SIR PSYCHO
Label:TROPHY RECORDS
Format:EP
Genre:ROCKABILLY/PSYCHOBILLY
10” coloured vinyl EP from one of Psychobilly’s original 1st generation bands. Originally released as a 7” vinyl EP in 1994 which has long since been out of print and remains a sought after and hard to get record.
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Band:VARIOUS ARTISTS
Album:SOUNDS FROM THE HAUNTED JUKEBOX
Label:WESTERN STAR
Format:CD
Genre:ROCKABILLY/PSYCHOBILLY
A compilation of Rockabilly & Psychobilly tracks ideal for a Halloween party! Or just for those who enjoy the darker side of life/death
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Band:READY-MADES, THE
Album:AUTOGESTION SENTIMENTALE
Label:SOUNDFLAT RECORDS
Format:CD
Genre:RHYTHM & BLUES/SOUL/YEYE
After their single releases “Cut And Run“(Soundflat Records) and “Ouagadougou Blues”(Burru Records) THE READY‐MADES present their brand new album “Autogestion Sentimentale” on Soundflat Records. Powerful frontwoman Barbara Stressante and her talented boys from Paris are THE sensation of R&B‐ and Soul‐heaven! They have just the right mix of American black music of the 50s & 60s together with British Beat music and French YéYé sounds!
You will start dancing instantly once you play this record – if it is cool and classy French YéYé‐tunes like “Intervention Horizontale” or “Sophia Antipolis”, hot R&B‐tunes like “Bungalow” or the jazzy instrumental “Château Lascar” with its dirty saxophone ‐ this band will simply make you sweat with their groovy, perfectly arranged R&B‐songs, all self‐composed, and this incredibly soulful voice! “If I Can't Dance” and “Where Am I Right Now?” will absolutely steal your breath while reminding you of a female version of NICK WATERHOUSE and the mindblowing “Ouagadougu Blues” will finally leave you with goosebumps all over. An authentic dark, soulish 60's R&B‐sound with a rhythmic beat, the perfect amount of French YéYé and outstanding songwriting!
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Band:READY-MADES, THE
Album:AUTOGESTION SENTIMENTALE
Label:SOUNDFLAT RECORDS
Format:LP
Genre:RHYTHM & BLUES/SOUL/YEYE
After their single releases “Cut And Run“(Soundflat Records) and “Ouagadougou Blues”(Burru Records) THE READY‐MADES present their brand new album “Autogestion Sentimentale” on Soundflat Records. Powerful frontwoman Barbara Stressante and her talented boys from Paris are THE sensation of R&B‐ and Soul‐heaven! They have just the right mix of American black music of the 50s & 60s together with British Beat music and French YéYé sounds!
You will start dancing instantly once you play this record – if it is cool and classy French YéYé‐tunes like “Intervention Horizontale” or “Sophia Antipolis”, hot R&B‐tunes like “Bungalow” or the jazzy instrumental “Château Lascar” with its dirty saxophone ‐ this band will simply make you sweat with their groovy, perfectly arranged R&B‐songs, all self‐composed, and this incredibly soulful voice! “If I Can't Dance” and “Where Am I Right Now?” will absolutely steal your breath while reminding you of a female version of NICK WATERHOUSE and the mindblowing “Ouagadougu Blues” will finally leave you with goosebumps all over. An authentic dark, soulish 60's R&B‐sound with a rhythmic beat, the perfect amount of French YéYé and outstanding songwriting!
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Band:VARIOUS ARTISTS
Album:SOUNDFLAT RECORDS BALLROOM BASH COMPILATION VOL. 12
Label:SOUNDFLAT RECORDS
Format:CD
Genre:GARAGE/PUNK/ROCK/BEAT/SOUL/R&B
Here comes the 12th edition of the Soundflat Records Ballroom Bash compilation CD – the “soundtrack” of our legendary annual label festival. Like every year, this CD contains songs (‐ partly previously unreleased!) by each of the bands playing at this wild festival in Cologne. This year the compilation features songs by THE GENTLEMEN'S AGREEMENTS, LES ENVAHISSEURS, KING CORNELIUS & THE SILVERBACKS, LES SEPARATWISTS, THE HARA‐KEE‐REES, THE READY‐MADES and THE BARKELLITERS. This CD is a fantastic item for your personal collection of Garage&Rock’n’Roll‐memorabilia and souvenirs, but also a great selection of today’s 60’s Garage‐ and Beat‐bands. A CD that shouldn’t be missing from your shelf!
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Band:KOMETEN
Album:KOMETEN
Label:Transubstans
Format:CDD
Genre:PROG ROCK/70S ROCK
Kometen is a rock band that just recently struck out of its orbit around the sun. With members originating from The Divine Baze Orchestra, Mårran among others, it’s a recipe for success. The music can be described as a blend between the heavy riffing of Black Sabbath mixed with some influences from bands like Yes, Deep Purple and The Faces. The members of Kometen are also influenced by Swedish folk music, which makes everything even more interesting. This is their first studio album, containing ten songs about lonely mountains, the struggles of life and love. The lyrics are obviously written in English as the word radioisotope thermoelectric generator can't be found in the Swedish language and is far too hard to pronounce in Russian.
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Band:AUTOMATON
Album:TALOS
Label:SOUND EFFECT
Format:LP
Genre:METAL/DOOM/DRONE
What if Talos the mythical metal giant of Crete and archetype automaton, awakens in the modern era to fight injustice and protect the innocent? This is the narrative of Automaton’s second full length release (due out on November 16th via Sound Effect Records), a carefully crafted concept album spanning 48 minutes in which Talos spreads pure catastrophe. Dark and dangerous, with a cinematic quality that rises throughout their relentless groove and into the fabric of their cold, everexpanding universe, "Talos" offers some outstanding doom/drone thrills, exploring at the same time the boundaries of the genre: heavy guitars, psychedelic black metal, sludge and drone elements merge seamlessly, while a very special guest, the legend of traditional Cretan music Psarantonis, sings and plays the lyra on the key track "Talos Awakens". If Automaton’s debut album "Echoes of Mount Ida" provided the setting, now "Talos" is where the real action is! Recorded at Electric Zen Studios Athens, June 2017. Produced by Automaton and Mike Kavvadias. Engineered and mixed by George Leodis. Mastered by Brad Boatwright at Audiosiege Studio.
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Band:Atrium Carceri
Album:CODEX
Label:Cryo Chamber
Format:CD
Genre:DARK AMBIENT/DRONE/INDUSTRIAL/PIANO
Ugasanie & Xerxes the Dark team up on this album exploring the darkest depths of the ocean. The walls croak as you find your balance in the swaying research ship. A week in this storm is enough to make any mans stomach turn, but today you enter the depths of the ocean. You slap some pills into your food hole and climb to deck, the bathyscaphe stands ready. You're 10 hours deep into the ocean when the power goes out. What the hell is going on up there? The darkness outside is thick, snake-like shadows worm around the vessel. Your trembling hand pushes down on the radio transmitter button, it's dead. For lover of deep drone and isolated soundscapes, you want to swim with the leviathan? This is your album.
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Band:Atrium Carceri
Album:CODEX
Label:Cryo Chamber
Format:LP
Genre:DARK AMBIENT/DRONE/INDUSTRIAL/PIANO
Ugasanie & Xerxes the Dark team up on this album exploring the darkest depths of the ocean. The walls croak as you find your balance in the swaying research ship. A week in this storm is enough to make any mans stomach turn, but today you enter the depths of the ocean. You slap some pills into your food hole and climb to deck, the bathyscaphe stands ready. You're 10 hours deep into the ocean when the power goes out. What the hell is going on up there? The darkness outside is thick, snake-like shadows worm around the vessel. Your trembling hand pushes down on the radio transmitter button, it's dead. For lover of deep drone and isolated soundscapes, you want to swim with the leviathan? This is your album.
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Band:ProtoU
Album:ECHOES OF THE FUTURE
Label:Cryo Chamber
Format:CD
Genre:DARK AMBIENT/SPACE AMBIENT
Sasha further explores the themes of her collaboration album Earth Songs. While her album "Khmaoch" explored the roots of civilization and "The Edge of Architecture" probed into the future of the modern age, "Echoes of the Future" guides us in taking our final steps to leave Earth. The space center sleeps as the sound of your boots echo down endless hallways. Rocket fuel reeks from the colonization ships outside, one more to go. You steal one final look at the charred horizon as you enter the last ship bound for a new home. Do we deserve a second chance? A deep space ambient album that invites you to take part in the discovery of cosmic anomalies and abandoned space stations in search of a new home.
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Band:SISTER
Album:UNTRUE
Label:UNDERFLOW
Format:Vinyl 12”
Genre:INSTRUMENTAL/ART ROCK/EXPERIMENTAL
Sister is an electric minimal rock trio. Its members have been involved in various groups throughout the years in Athens, the rest of Greece and abroad. Hitting the blind spots between harmony and dissonance, “Untrue” evades explicit feelings to evoke ideas of speed and heat, light and shade, a sense of inner space and biochemical rush.
Sister manifested itself for the first time in 2016. The tracks of their debut album untrue came together as a way to acquaint with each other musically. The record was produced in the first months of 2017 at Suono, a studio in downtown Athens operated by producer and musician Coti K. (The Man From Managra), being the very first record produced there under the man’s supervision. The band is currently putting together a second collection of tracks, hopefully to be released by the end of 2019.
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Band:TZITZIFRIKI
Album:SUN SNEEZE
Label:TBMR
Format:CASSETTE
Genre:EXPERIMENTAL
Tzitzifriki is a solo music act, created and performed by Sotiris Z. Born in Ohio in 1995, in the age of 7 he moved to Volos where 8 years later, took part in his first high school band. During the next years, he moved to Thessaloniki were he became active in the local music scene. In 2015, he joined bands such as The Circus and Beggars, playing guitar, bass and saxophone, followed by a EU tour and an EP release, “Tape Sessions”. The “Sun Sneeze” EP expresses ideas influenced by the music of Palm, Women and The Ex, the Lounge Lizards, Milo and Marika Papagika ,Batis as well as, Bamya and Kurws. The EP consists of home and field recordings, sound collages, and noise experiments, composed and performed by Tzitzifriki, inside his closet.
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Band:CLOWNS
Album:FREEZING IN THE SUN/I SHAVED MY LEGS
Label:THIS CHARMING MAN
Format:vinyl 7
Genre:PUNK-ROCK/FUCKED UP/VIOLENT SOHO
Two new punk-rock bangers to get you ready for the upcoming album from these Australians! Both songs give an idea of the array of furious punk rock styles this band is capable of pulling off - „Freezing in the Sun“ is rather anthemic and made for partying, while the flip side „I Shaved My Legs For You“ is a lot more relentless and raw! This release will further cement the band's renown to be an absolute staple in the genre!
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Band:VANILLA POD
Album:GOODBYE MY LOVE EP
Label:AAAHH REAL RECORDS
Format:Colour 7” Vinyl
Genre:PUNK ROCK/ROCK
Final ever release from King's Lynn punks VANILLA POD, 23 years after they first formed.
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Band:GOLDBLUME
Album:HUSK
Label:AAAHH REAL RECORDS
Format:CD
Genre:ROCK/INDIE/MATH ROCK
Début full length from Cambridge math/indie/punk/grunge threesome GOLDBLUME.
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Band:Dobranotch
Album:20 YEARS
Label:CPL MUSIC
Format:CD
Genre:FOLK RUSSIA
20 Years of Dobranotch! The band "Dobranotch" was set up in 1998 in France where a company of friends musicians from St.Petersburg, Russia was driven by wanderlust and the love of fresh musical experiences. After some years of travels the band came back to St. Petersburg to get a new lineup and new sound.
"Dobranotch" performs Jewish, Gypsy and Balkan traditional music, drawing on deep knowledge of traditions, rich experience in traveling and interacting with traditional musicians from different countries. The band's repertoire also includes Russian songs of the golden age of brass bands. Throughout its existence "Dobranotch" has toured across more than twenty countries of the world and recorded seven albums. One can hear the band's music in TV series, feature films and documentaries.
The band "Dobranotch" sounds equally convincing on philharmonic stages and in clubs and on open air festivals. It is not uncommon that the musicians of the band come down off the stage to play right among the audience, as their predecessors did at weddings a hundred years ago.
They won 2017 the "Eiserner Eversteiner" ‐ The one and only Folk‐Award in Germany.
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Band:ELÄKELÄISET
Album:HUMPPAMANIA
Label:NORDIC NOTES
Format:2CD
Genre:HUMPPA FINLAND
ELÄKELÄISET - The Kings of Humppa. 25 years of Humppa Double CD with 6 new Songs, Songs they are always in their Live Set and one unreleased Live Song from their Humpfonioa Concert. Eläkeläiset was started as a joke in the spring 1993. The idea was to play rock classics in humppa style.
Over the years the joke has proved to be far reaching – Eläkeläiset has earned wide recognition with bold humppa style and released not less than eight albums as well as couple of live albums and compilations alongside nine EPs. Eläkeläiset was at the peak of their popularity in 1995, when a real humppa scoop shook the nation in the summer. In the past years, the joyous noise of humppa has risen up to the heavens and carried out to foreign territories. Eläkeläiset has become a fixture.. an anarchistic and inebriated institution of sorts.
In addition to cover songs, it has dabbled in composing its own humppa classics. Over the last ninteen years, it has toured all over Europe and has recording contracts in Central Europe and Russia. It has generated a book, a DVD, a couple of live albums and a plethora of merchandise raging from towels to hip flasks. Not bad for a disposable joke! The strangest thing so far is to try and qualify as Finland's entry to the Eurovision Song Contest of 2010. The band is competing with a song Hulluna humpasta which was released in a compilation Humppa Bingo in December 9th, 2009.
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Band:VARIOUS ARTISTS
Album:FOLK AND GREAT TUNES FROM LATVIA
Label:CPL MUSIC
Format:2CD
Genre:Folk Worldmusic Latvia
A personal word....on the release of the first compilation of Latvian Music on CPL‐Music Sometimes the best things in life happen without you having planned them in the least! As far as Latvian folk music is concerned, I had a bit of a rocky start, to be honest. This is how it happened: In October 2017, I travelled to the Polish city of Katowice for the renowned trade fair Womex (World Music Expo). The entire world music scene meets at this fair. Sounds very interesting and it is! But for me as a label executive, the fair comes with a lot of work. You have zillions of meetings and you keep running into colleagues, friends and acquaintances. Breaks are rare thing. And just as I was about to enjoy one of those very short breaks, who shows up but Lauma Berza from the Latvian Music Information Center. And she insisted on arranging a meeting with me, which was just what I needed at that very moment! "I have only five minutes", I answered somewhat grumpily. She made the most of this short time and surprised me with an informative introduction to the lively Latvian folk music scene. Afterwards she handed me two albums: a Latvian folk sampler and the album by Auli and Tautumeitas. Incidentally, the fact that this Latvian compilation is now available, is largely due to the persistence of two very special ladies: Lauma Berza of Latvian Music Information Center (and one of the six singers of Tautumeitas, btw!) and Daina Zalane of Lauska Records. Both opened the door to Latvian folk music for me. With this compilation, I want to offer all those interested a first glimpse into the exciting Latvian folk music tradition. I hope you find the music as exciting as I do! Put on your Pastalas, the traditional Latvian footwear, and let yourself be surprised!
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Band:TAUTUMEITAS
Album:TAUTUMEITAS
Label:CPL MUSIC
Format:CD
Genre:Folk Worldmusic Latvia
TAUTUMEITAS started with traditional singing and tried to echo the traditional chanters. The closer they got to songs, the closer the songs got to them, until it seemed natural to intertwine it with everything that they had heard and felt in this world as their own. Now they play folk songs using voices and timbrally appealing instruments to involve in the sound their senses and notions of time and space.
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Band:ANGELO ALBANI & DAMIANO MARINO
Album:CRIME O'PHONE
Label:NADIR
Format:CD
Genre:ACOUSTIC POP ROCK
After many years spent on the road playing everywhere around Europe this acoustic power duo is going to release his own first ever CD called “CRIME O’PHONE” with label Nadir Music. The name comes from the mispronunciation of the word “microfono” (Italian word for “microphone”) by the 4-year-old son of Angelo who says “crimofono”; the Anglicisation of that word came naturally. 11 brilliant english songs (although they come from Milan, Italy) written under several influences gained over the time driven by the passion for British and American recordings, this record reflects the nature of their twenty-year collaboration with the help of Pablo Leoni on percussions and Michele Fazio playing piano and keys. “CRIME O’PHONE” will be able to make you travel and taste all the musical history of which Angelo and Damiano are spokesmen wherever good music is played. From the west coast flavoured music of the 70s until today, from the American canyons to the London suburbs, from the deserts to the Irish valleys, from the endless plains in which you can experience the golden grain of the notes that comes out of Damiano’s guitar to the wide valleys and precipitous mountains on which Angelo’s voice flies high…this is the power oh their music: passion for music lived day by day!
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Band:AVALON FAY
Album:RESURGENCE
Label:MandO MUSIC
Format:CD
Genre:Alt Rock
With her debut studio album Resurgence, Avalon Fay introduces her melancholic world where melodious rock notes dance along with sharp lyrics.
Influences : Texas, Dido, Lifehouse, Daughtry, Avril Lavigne...
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Band:LILIX & DIDI
Album:YOUNG GIRLS PUNK ROCK
Label:MandO MUSIC
Format:CDD
Genre:PUNK ROCK/ROCK
Being only 15, these young ladies will astonish you ! Young Girls Punk Rock powa ! They played in numerous festivals and were the buddy band for famous acts (D. Wampas, Mickael Jones, Alexx & Mooonshiners, les Ramoneurs de Menhirs, Jimmy Burns, Neal Black…). Some guests came over to highlight the album, amongst which the unmissable Didier WAMPAS for a duet with Didi on a track !
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Band:NOSONIC
Album:L'EXCUSE
Label:MandO MUSIC
Format:CDD
Genre:INDIE POP ROCK ELECTRO
Between Placebo and Noir Désir, “L’excuse” the new album of the French band Nosonic.
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Band:Z BAND
Album:APOCALIQUIDS
Label:MandO MUSIC
Format:CDD
Genre:Rock
Rock that makes you travel in the 90's and beyond !
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Band:CRAWLING, THE
Album:WOLVES AND THE HIDEOUS WHITE
Label:GRINDSCENE
Format:CD
Genre:DOOM METAL
Formed 2014 in Northern Ireland, The Crawling use a guttural vocal to combine melancholy with weight, churning out a heavy, doom/ death ensemble. January 2015 saw the single ‘Choking On Concrete,’ which put the band on the scene, followed in October by the highly successful EP 'In Light of Dark Days.' April 2017 the debut album, 'Anatomy Of Loss' was released accompanied by five music videos, receiving excellent reviews worldwide, and streamed exclusively by Metal Hammer UK. 2018 was the year for the sophomore release, ‘Wolves and the Hideous White’ featuring six brand new tracks. The album reflects upon the human desire to belong, the sacrifices made to be part of someone, disillusion from loss of self, and the final inability to escape.
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Band:IDLE HANDS
Album:DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME
Label:Eisenwald
Format:MCD
Genre:US METAL/HEAVY ROCK/OCCULT ROCK/GOTH
Rising out of ashes of Prosthetic Records' traditional heavy metal quintet Spellcaster like a new wave phoenix, IDLE HANDS is bound to catch the attention of anyone who loves NWOBHM, occult rock or the sleaze of the 80s. Featuring five dark, moody and ballad-esque tracks, Don't Waste Your Time was recorded by Gabe Johnston (Spellcaster) and mastered by the illustrious Brad Boatright (Corrosion of Conformity, Yob). Formed in the heart of the Pacific Northwest in the fall of 2017, IDLE HANDS initially began solely as a creative outlet for former Spellcaster bassist Gabriel Franco, who now handles vocals and rhythm guitar in addition to being the band's sole songwriter. With the first EP under their belt, the band is set to release a full-length and tour heavily in 2019 across EUROPE and NORTH AMERICA.
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Band:CANTIQUE LEPREUX
Album:CENDRES CELESTES
Label:Eisenwald
Format:LP
Genre:Black Metal
MÉTAL NOIR QUÉBÉCOIS !
Born in 2014, Cantique Lépreux feeds on Black Metal from all eras, wallowing in its essence. Inspired by the wilderness of Québec, the Occult, Death and Fear, the band creates music that is at times grim, at other times melancholic; a work born of passion, paying homage to the legends of Black Metal. Cantique Lépreux hail from a scene that seem to endure as an archaic artefact of a genre that was immeasurably shaped by the early Scandinavian Black Metal scene and literally, there could be no more suitable place then Quebec to shape such cold and mournful black metal hymns.
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Band:CANTIQUE LEPREUX
Album:PAYSAGES POLAIRES
Label:Eisenwald
Format:CDD
Genre:Black Metal
Inspired by the frost-bitten regions of Québec, the title of Cantique Lépreux’s second full-length directly translates to “polar landscapes,” exploring a recurring theme of the icy wilderness which makes up the majority of the band’s homeland. Musically, Paysages polaires continues the nostalgic path laid out with the frosty, archaic tunes from the band’s debut album as the record carves itself into another 45-minutes of darkness, misery and gloom. Cold black metal for the ages, Paysages polaires’ stirring anthems – with a sharper and more direct songwriting approach – lead the way throughout the sophomore album’s seven hypothermic tracks. Based on fast and atmospheric black metal, Paysages polaires balances between beautiful and harsh dirges in combination with the conceptual middle trifold of songs based around the North American winter. The passionate Quebecers carry a secret fire of stellar splendor as Cantique Lépreux reveals a wild black metal monument set in ice and stone. "
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Band:CANTIQUE LEPREUX
Album:PAYSAGES POLAIRES
Label:Eisenwald
Format:LP
Genre:Black Metal
Inspired by the frost-bitten regions of Québec, the title of Cantique Lépreux’s second full-length directly translates to “polar landscapes,” exploring a recurring theme of the icy wilderness which makes up the majority of the band’s homeland. Musically, Paysages polaires continues the nostalgic path laid out with the frosty, archaic tunes from the band’s debut album as the record carves itself into another 45-minutes of darkness, misery and gloom. Cold black metal for the ages, Paysages polaires’ stirring anthems – with a sharper and more direct songwriting approach – lead the way throughout the sophomore album’s seven hypothermic tracks. Based on fast and atmospheric black metal, Paysages polaires balances between beautiful and harsh dirges in combination with the conceptual middle trifold of songs based around the North American winter. The passionate Quebecers carry a secret fire of stellar splendor as Cantique Lépreux reveals a wild black metal monument set in ice and stone. "
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Band:EVILFEAST
Album:MYSTERIES OF THE NOCTURNAL FOREST
Label:Eisenwald
Format:CD
Genre:Black Metal
Originally released in 2004, Mysteries of the Nocturnal Forest is a sarcophagi of despair as the album’s nine tracks account for a hour’s worth of raw misanthropic misery. Hauntingly primal, the album’s evocative nature is matched by its flawless lo-fi production of ghostly guitars and ethereal synths. Evilfeast’s lone multi-instrumentalist, GrimSpirit, begins his prolific body of work with a wintry dissonance. With over two decades of depraved black metal under his belt, it is easy to see why Evilfeast belongs alongside Burzum, Paysage d'Hiver and Midnight Odyssey.
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Band:SEPTAGON
Album:APOCALYPTIC RHYMES
Label:Cruz Del Sur
Format:LP
Genre:MELODIC THRASH METAL
Thrash and power metal unite like never before in a socio-political firestorm that tests the mind and bangs the head. Featuring members of Atlantean Kodex, Lanfear and Them, Septagon pushes subgenre boundaries with technical, yet catchy songs on Apocalyptic Rhymes that are rife with dashing melodies and stellar vocal interplay.
As if being in Lanfear and Them wasn’t enough for German guitarist Markus “Ulle” Ullrich, his power/thrash outfit Septagon provides another canvas for him to color. Formed in 2013 with Atlantean Kodex vocalist Markus Becker, Septagon (who are completed by second guitarist Stef Binnig-Gollub, bassist Alexander Palma and drummer Jürgen "General" Schrank) was created to harness Ullrich’s desire to write fast and tight thrash with a vocalist who could carry the songs over the top. Becker, already known for his work in epic metallers and labelmates Atlantean Kodex, was the obvious choice. Born was their 2016 Deadhead Syndicate debut, an album quickly recognized for its knifing blend of Bay Area thrash and classic power metal bravado. Figuring they could better the debut, Septagon soon wrote and recorded ten songs that would become their sophomore album, the appropriately-titled Apocalyptic Rhymes. Recorded across a variety of studios and produced by the band, Apocalyptic Rhymes is punctuated by a raw, but snappy production job. In turn, the album finds Septagon offering a variety of styles and flavors both musically and lyrically, from the punchiness of opener “Weight of the World” to the bass-driven “Home, Sweet Hell” up through the churning title track, where fiery guitar solos from Ullrich and Binning-Gollub and Becker’s vocal acrobatics take form. Even as the album ascends into the spiraling melodic heights found on “The Unfathomable Evil,” it goes on the attack on “P.O.T.U.S.A.,” a song inspired by Becker’s time in America and is critical of the current presidential regime that has divided the country. Apocalyptic Rhymes eventually crests on the closing “Sunset Blood,” a lush, epic construct that allows Septagon to stretch out musically to include acoustic guitars, twin guitar harmonies and carefully-plotted vocal spots.
An album sure to stand out among the dime-a-dozen traditional thrash and power metal entries, Apocalyptic Rhymes is an unapologetic bold step for Septagon, a band unafraid to not only push musical boundaries, but political and social ones as well.
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Band:SEPTAGON
Album:APOCALYPTIC RHYMES
Label:Cruz Del Sur
Format:CD
Genre:MELODIC THRASH METAL
Thrash and power metal unite like never before in a socio-political firestorm that tests the mind and bangs the head. Featuring members of Atlantean Kodex, Lanfear and Them, Septagon pushes subgenre boundaries with technical, yet catchy songs on Apocalyptic Rhymes that are rife with dashing melodies and stellar vocal interplay.
As if being in Lanfear and Them wasn’t enough for German guitarist Markus “Ulle” Ullrich, his power/thrash outfit Septagon provides another canvas for him to color. Formed in 2013 with Atlantean Kodex vocalist Markus Becker, Septagon (who are completed by second guitarist Stef Binnig-Gollub, bassist Alexander Palma and drummer Jürgen "General" Schrank) was created to harness Ullrich’s desire to write fast and tight thrash with a vocalist who could carry the songs over the top. Becker, already known for his work in epic metallers and labelmates Atlantean Kodex, was the obvious choice. Born was their 2016 Deadhead Syndicate debut, an album quickly recognized for its knifing blend of Bay Area thrash and classic power metal bravado. Figuring they could better the debut, Septagon soon wrote and recorded ten songs that would become their sophomore album, the appropriately-titled Apocalyptic Rhymes. Recorded across a variety of studios and produced by the band, Apocalyptic Rhymes is punctuated by a raw, but snappy production job. In turn, the album finds Septagon offering a variety of styles and flavors both musically and lyrically, from the punchiness of opener “Weight of the World” to the bass-driven “Home, Sweet Hell” up through the churning title track, where fiery guitar solos from Ullrich and Binning-Gollub and Becker’s vocal acrobatics take form. Even as the album ascends into the spiraling melodic heights found on “The Unfathomable Evil,” it goes on the attack on “P.O.T.U.S.A.,” a song inspired by Becker’s time in America and is critical of the current presidential regime that has divided the country. Apocalyptic Rhymes eventually crests on the closing “Sunset Blood,” a lush, epic construct that allows Septagon to stretch out musically to include acoustic guitars, twin guitar harmonies and carefully-plotted vocal spots.
An album sure to stand out among the dime-a-dozen traditional thrash and power metal entries, Apocalyptic Rhymes is an unapologetic bold step for Septagon, a band unafraid to not only push musical boundaries, but political and social ones as well.
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Band:LETHEAN
Album:THE WATERS OF DEATH
Label:Cruz Del Sur
Format:LP
Genre:MELODIC THRASH METAL
Solemn doom crosses paths with epic heavy metal from this unique U.K. duo.
The 2012 creation of multi-instrumentalist James Ashbey, Lethean’s inventive combination of epic metal, NWOBHM and doom is put on full display on their six-song The Waters of Death debut, an album rife with atmosphere and imagery. Hailing from England, Lethean was formed in late 2012 by guitarist/drummer James Ashbey with the ambition of combining epic metal, NWOBHM and doom. The result was a distinctive sound rarely found in the British Isles. Two demos followed, the first forged in the U.K., the second in Athens, but these did not enjoy physical release and only reached a limited underground audience. Finally, the band got the boost it needed when, in early 2017, vocalist and co-writer Thumri Paavana came aboard. A year later, Ashbey and Paavana entered the Seven Gates recording studio in Gothenburg, Sweden under the watchful eye of producer Jamie Elton (ex-Amulet). Utilizing organic recording techniques and employing an analogue mastering job courtesy of Jaime Gomez (of Angel Witch and Paradise Lost fame), Lethean came away with six songs of sorrowful yet nuanced doom and classic metal under the title The Waters of Death. The album, kickstarted by climactic opener “Idylls of the King,” features a myriad of styles and influences, with mournful melodies and classic riffing complementing the impassioned and soulful delivery of Paavana.
Accompanied by atmospheric cover art courtesy of German artist Stefan Bleyl, The Waters of Death is an album that details themes of decline, departure and the passage of time, reinforced by diverse imagery drawn from mythology, literature and the elements. Ambitious in scope and rich in the fundamental traits of epic heavy metal, The Waters of Death firmly places Lethean into their own category where class, intelligence and a taste for the bold reign supreme.
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Band:LETHEAN
Album:THE WATERS OF DEATH
Label:Cruz Del Sur
Format:CD
Genre:MELODIC THRASH METAL
Solemn doom crosses paths with epic heavy metal from this unique U.K. duo.
The 2012 creation of multi-instrumentalist James Ashbey, Lethean’s inventive combination of epic metal, NWOBHM and doom is put on full display on their six-song The Waters of Death debut, an album rife with atmosphere and imagery. Hailing from England, Lethean was formed in late 2012 by guitarist/drummer James Ashbey with the ambition of combining epic metal, NWOBHM and doom. The result was a distinctive sound rarely found in the British Isles. Two demos followed, the first forged in the U.K., the second in Athens, but these did not enjoy physical release and only reached a limited underground audience. Finally, the band got the boost it needed when, in early 2017, vocalist and co-writer Thumri Paavana came aboard. A year later, Ashbey and Paavana entered the Seven Gates recording studio in Gothenburg, Sweden under the watchful eye of producer Jamie Elton (ex-Amulet). Utilizing organic recording techniques and employing an analogue mastering job courtesy of Jaime Gomez (of Angel Witch and Paradise Lost fame), Lethean came away with six songs of sorrowful yet nuanced doom and classic metal under the title The Waters of Death. The album, kickstarted by climactic opener “Idylls of the King,” features a myriad of styles and influences, with mournful melodies and classic riffing complementing the impassioned and soulful delivery of Paavana.
Accompanied by atmospheric cover art courtesy of German artist Stefan Bleyl, The Waters of Death is an album that details themes of decline, departure and the passage of time, reinforced by diverse imagery drawn from mythology, literature and the elements. Ambitious in scope and rich in the fundamental traits of epic heavy metal, The Waters of Death firmly places Lethean into their own category where class, intelligence and a taste for the bold reign supreme.
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Band:CONVENT GUILT
Album:DIAMOND CUT DIAMOND
Label:GATES OF HELL
Format:CD
Genre:HEAVY METAL
Spirited, song-first classic metal with a NWOBHM twist from the dusty Australian terrain.
Sophomore album from Australian vintage metal bangers Convent Guilt, a band whose melodic class and songwriting smarts is equaled by their intelligent, thoughtful lyrics. When Convent Guilt founder Ian was trying to come up with a band name, he reflected upon the monikers that had the most meaning to him. Black Sabbath and Judas Priest were two obvious starting points, bands that used polarity in their names to not only drive home a point, but also left a lasting impression. Not wanting to go down the oft-used path of having “steel” or “witch” in their name, Ian selected Convent Guilt as a way to represent the human race’s ongoing struggle with temptation and sin. As a bonus, the Convent Guilt name would never box in the band to one specific style, a path they’ve since followed since their 2010 formation. In 2012, Convent Guilt (who are currently rounded out by the guitar tandem of Andrew and Dario and drummer Brent) released their self-titled demo which quickly caught the attention of both Cruz Del Sur Music and Shadow Kingdom Records. The labels teamed up to release the band’s Guns For Hire debut in 2014, an album that was lauded for its compositional abilities and NWOBHM tendencies. Four years later, the Sydney, Australia quartet is back with the sevensong Diamond Cut Diamond.
Diamond Cut Diamond was recorded at various locations around Sydney in the first half of 2018 by Lachie Vercoe, who was also responsible for the album’s mix. The album was mastered by Patrick Engel at Temple Of Disharmony and features striking cover art courtesy of Lena Richter of Diamonds and Rust Tattoo that depicts a strong colonial Australian image. The attention to detail in all facets by Convent Guilt pays dividends — Diamond Cut Diamond is an album that harnesses the band’s metallic emotion and energy while working in topics that many classic metal bands won’t touch: conquerors and the subjugated, the inbuilt weakness of men, depression-era outlaws and the insanity of social media.
An album perfectly suited for the NWOBHM brigade of Iron Maiden, Saxon and Trespass, not to mention Thin Lizzy and UFO, Diamond Cut Diamond is as genuine a true metal release as you’ll find in 2018.
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Band:CONVENT GUILT
Album:DIAMOND CUT DIAMOND
Label:GATES OF HELL
Format:LP
Genre:HEAVY METAL
Spirited, song-first classic metal with a NWOBHM twist from the dusty Australian terrain.
Sophomore album from Australian vintage metal bangers Convent Guilt, a band whose melodic class and songwriting smarts is equaled by their intelligent, thoughtful lyrics. When Convent Guilt founder Ian was trying to come up with a band name, he reflected upon the monikers that had the most meaning to him. Black Sabbath and Judas Priest were two obvious starting points, bands that used polarity in their names to not only drive home a point, but also left a lasting impression. Not wanting to go down the oft-used path of having “steel” or “witch” in their name, Ian selected Convent Guilt as a way to represent the human race’s ongoing struggle with temptation and sin. As a bonus, the Convent Guilt name would never box in the band to one specific style, a path they’ve since followed since their 2010 formation. In 2012, Convent Guilt (who are currently rounded out by the guitar tandem of Andrew and Dario and drummer Brent) released their self-titled demo which quickly caught the attention of both Cruz Del Sur Music and Shadow Kingdom Records. The labels teamed up to release the band’s Guns For Hire debut in 2014, an album that was lauded for its compositional abilities and NWOBHM tendencies. Four years later, the Sydney, Australia quartet is back with the sevensong Diamond Cut Diamond.
Diamond Cut Diamond was recorded at various locations around Sydney in the first half of 2018 by Lachie Vercoe, who was also responsible for the album’s mix. The album was mastered by Patrick Engel at Temple Of Disharmony and features striking cover art courtesy of Lena Richter of Diamonds and Rust Tattoo that depicts a strong colonial Australian image. The attention to detail in all facets by Convent Guilt pays dividends — Diamond Cut Diamond is an album that harnesses the band’s metallic emotion and energy while working in topics that many classic metal bands won’t touch: conquerors and the subjugated, the inbuilt weakness of men, depression-era outlaws and the insanity of social media.
An album perfectly suited for the NWOBHM brigade of Iron Maiden, Saxon and Trespass, not to mention Thin Lizzy and UFO, Diamond Cut Diamond is as genuine a true metal release as you’ll find in 2018.
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Band:DEADLY CARNAGE
Album:THROUGH THE VOID, ABOVE THE SUNS
Label:SNOW WAVE RECORDS
Format:2LP
Genre:MELODIC DOOM METAL
Few releases have the sweeping epic emotional journey that Deadly Carnage has produced with Through the Void, Above the Suns. It’s depressing. It’s transcendent. It’s melodic. It’s dissonant. It’s all the things. Normally a record that’s trying as much as this one suffers from being a jack of all trades but a master of none. Not so with this record. You’re going to need multiple listens to hear everything this record has to offer. Hope you’ve got some great headphones. - Heavy Blog Is Heavy
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Band:OSUKARU
Album:HOUSE OF MIRRORS
Label:CITY OF LIGHTS
Format:CD
Genre:AOR/HARD ROCK
After only a one-year break, the Swedish hard rockers OSUKARU report back with a stable line up and a new album entitled "House Of Mirriors". The band once again manages to create an extraordinary Hard Rock album while keeping all their established trademarks just like on their last output, 2017’s “The Labyrinth”. "House of Mirrors" will be pushed by the unique vocals of Fredrik Werner as well as the fantastic axe work by six-string wizard Oz Osukaru join forces with the dynamic rhythm-duo of Vidar Mårtensson (drums) & Olof Gadd (bass) to relentlessly push the songs forward, make "House Of Mirrors" to a great Hard Rock album that does not need to shy away from comparisons. The CD comes with 11 new tracks and a 16-pages booklet.
Fans of bands like Dokken, Whitesnake, Firehouse, Ten, Def Leppard and Grand Design should not miss "House Of Mirrors".
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Band:BLASPHEMER
Album:LUST OF THE GOAT
Label:GRINDSCENE
Format:CD
Genre:Death Metal
After forming in 1990, and then going into a hiatus in 1995 after the release of 3 demo’s, Blasphemer rose from the ashes in 2014. 2017 saw the release of their self-titled album, “Blasphemer, to critical acclaim. 2018 sees them team up with Grindscene Records to release their most accomplished works to date, ‘Lust of the Goat”. 8 tracks of death metal “done the old way”. Lust of the goat was recorded at Academy Studios, Dewsbury and was produced and mixed by Dan Mullins. Blasphemer simply delivers riff after riff and track after track of death metal excellence that’s practically faultless – Worshipmetal.com
Blasphemer carry a fine neoclassical flair after the manner of Necrophobic and Luciferion – olddisgruntledbastard.com
Blasphemer are reminiscent of a time when Death Metal has just uncompromising Zephyr’s-Odem.de
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Band:HELL
Album:HELL
Label:Sentinent Ruin
Format:LP
Genre:DOOM METAL
Black 12" vinyl LP for 2017's most dismally crushing album. Download card included. Sentient Ruin is Proud to bring you the new album from Salem, Oregon-based apocalyptically heavy and wretchedly visionary extreme sludge-doom behemoths HELL. Written and recorded in total isolation over a span of three years by sole mastermind M.S.W, this new self-titled opus is the reaffirmation and consecration of one of modern doom's most harrowing, demoralizing, and imaginative prospects, and the final seal on their status of absolute legends in american underground extreme metal. Spanning seven inhumanly crushing songs, for over forty-five minutes of colossal and earth-shaking audial torture - HELL's new album is already a classic, and a tyrannically iconic masterpiece that shall forever be remembered as one of the most awe-inducing turning points in extreme doom, having raised the bar of what "heavy" is to implausible heights, and redefined the concept of musical oppression through a new realm of
extremism.
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Band:EVANGELIST
Album:MATRICIDE IN THE TEMPLE OF OMEGA
Label:I VOIDHANGER
Format:CD
Genre:BLACK DEATH METAL
One of today's most revered and original black/death metal bands, ÆVANGELIST were officially baptized by I, Voidhanger Records in 2012: the band's first full-length album, “De Masticatione Mortuorum In Tumulis” conquered the most demanding lovers of avant-garde extreme metal thanks to a visionary blend of psychotic riffs, inhuman growls, crushing rhythms, and asphyxiating – yet trance-inducing – atmospheres. Six years and many albums after that promising work, ÆVANGELIST rejoin I, Voidhanger Records and release their most sinister and inventive work to date, “Matricide In The Temple Of Omega”. Now, as then, ÆVANGELIST play dark death metal to end all death metal, but it's a matter of fact that they never sounded so bleak, cryptic and derailed. “Matricide In The Temple Of Omega” constantly struggles to gain a shape, to find an intelligible form and escape the painful vice of non-existence. It doesn't have a beginning, and it doesn't have an end. It resembles one of those Lovecraftian creatures too abstruse and abominable to comprehend: eager to born into our dimension, but forever consigned to a chaotic realm of mean, suicidal psychedelia. The monumental closing number, “Ascending Into The Pantheon”, sublimates it all by hammering the listener with razor-like guitars and putrid melodies before a final incantation that sounds like a dedication to Lilith. No fake spirituality, here; no light at the end of the tunnel; this is the definitive and most uncomfortable drug-trip into utter blackness... into the death beyond death. “Matricide In The Temple Of Omega is the culmination of all that we have do far sought through ÆVANGELIST, our elite devilwork,” synthetically remarks guitarist Matron Thorn, with singer/lyricist Ascaris one of the two grand architects behind the band. Therefore, rejoice! The true masters of apocalyptic black/death metal have returned to blight the earth with music of the dark neverending!
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Band:ELEGIAC
Album:PAGAN STORM
Label:DE TENEBRARUM PRINCIPIO
Format:CD
Genre:Black Metal
Forging the New wave of USBM Elegiac are into this creative and productive overwhelming attitude that all the most influent bands of the ’90 where in at their very beginning. Nevertheless ”Pagan Storm” is moving from the more straight ahead approach of the previous “Black Clouds of War” to a more varied and mature song-writing, alternating the typical assaults to solid imposing mid tempos. The feeling getting in to the album is to proceed deeper and deeper into the heritage gut. Pagan Storm dwells with the most typical references of the early Scandinavian heritage influenced by the more pragmatic synthesis of the USBM roughness. On the aesthetic musically manifested on a rude attitude, not caring about all the modern post frills, we can perceive “Pagan Storm” as the voice of the rotten ruins, an echo of the primordial hate. Strictly limited to 300 copies edition on the same quality digipak format.
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Band:MOONSHADE
Album:SUN DETHRONED
Label:ART GATES
Format:CD
Genre:MELODIC DEATH METAL
Moonshade offers a unique perspective regarding Extreme Music. The sound of the band is rooted in the Gothemburg style of Death Metal, a basis where the band includes a wide variety of different influences giving as result the personal sound of Moonshade. Formed in 2010, these 5 portuguese combo have performed in well known festivals such as Vagos Open Air and Pax Julia Metal Fest just with the release of one demo and one EP in their backs. The debut "Sun Dethroned" will be released on November 16th through Art Gates Records worldwide.
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Band:NIHILO
Album:DOOM
Label:ART GATES
Format:CD
Genre:Death Metal
Hailing from the local Emmental region, Nihilo are without a doubt one of the most persistent Swiss underground metal bands out there. The band stands for their passion for the Extreme genre, their music consists in a variation within the cosmos of Death Metal, taking influences also from other genres and incorporating them into one vision of nightmarish Death Metal. With an impressive palmares of six releases (three EP's, one single and two full length albums) and after sharing stage with international acts such as Behemoth, Dying Fetus, Aborted, Satyricon ... just to name a few; this five pieced combo is ready to conquer the Death Metal scene by unleashing their new record "Doom" through Art Gates Records worldwide on November 16th.
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Band:FORGERY
Album:EDGE OF PERCEPTION
Label:BATTLEGOD PRODS.
Format:CDD
Genre:THRASH METAL
Straightforward heavy thrash Metal from Norway. In the styles of Slayer, Machine Head, Fear Factory with a touch of Pantera. This is their 3nd full length album, the debut album 'Harbouring Hate' was released by Nocturnal Art/Candlelight Records. Previous album WITH THESE FISTS is still available. A interesting thrash metal release.
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Band:TEMTRIS
Album:RAPTURE
Label:BATTLEGOD PRODS.
Format:CDD
Genre:THRASH METAL
Temtris are Australia’s leading female fronted Heavy Metal band, Combined with a nice mix of Thrash Metal. This is their 5th album a lot more musical and powerful at the same time, this is their best album to date. Previous albums ‘Shallow Grave’ and ‘Enter The Asylum are still available.
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Band:DESOLATOR
Album:SPAWN OF MISANTHROPY
Label:BLACK LION RECORDS
Format:CD
Genre:DEATH METAL/OLD SCHOOL SWEDISH DEATH METAL
The then unnamed Desolator was formed in early 2009 when Joakim, Jonas and Mille started jamming in Sollentuna, Stockholm. After a few rehearsals, Stefan joined in. The project was originally going in a doom/death direction, but changed into an oldschool death metal band after some full band rehearsals. After many long and hard considerations, the name Desolator was approved. The band played its first gig October 16th 2009 at China Station, Haninge. And since then has grown steady under the eyes of the Stockholm Death Metal scene and now for the first time their self released Ep Spawn of Misanthropy gets a proper release.
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