Hour of Power 02/28/14

1. The Astronomer Pig (The Earls of Mars / Self-Titled)
2. Nothing Hill (Salem's Pot / N.A.) PRE
   Videos 3-5 by Vitasound Projects from the album 'American Werewolf in London'
3. The Slaughtered Lamb
4. Beware of the Moon
5. David
6. Lex Lucifer (Assblaster / Blastphemy vol II: Veni Vidi Blast!)
7. Chased and Caught (Domadora / Tibetan Monk)
8. Borracho campaign video
9. The Ballad of Hannah Dustin (Ichabod / Merrimack) PRE
10. Burning In Hell (Electric Citizen / Sateen) PRE
11. Our Mother Ash (Greenleaf / Trails & Passes) PRE
12. The King In Yellow (Hornss / Demo)
13. Sometimes I'm Happy (Black Sabbath live instrumental jam)

Why I Doom Part 3 - I Sold My Soul For Black Sabbath

"You can't just turn it off and on like a switch."

It's a familiar refrain.  You hear it at the end of every sports season when teams are asked the pointed question of whether or not they will rest starters and risk losing momentum before the playoffs begin.  If there is anything equivalent to the playoffs in the doom blogging world it's the end of the calendar year.  A time for best of lists and looks back.  In truth, a time of increased traffic and increased workloads.

I took a couple of weeks off at the beginning of the year (after the "playoffs") and the truth is, it's been a struggle to get back up to full speed.  I haven't been in "game shape".  And so that old familiar refrain has proven true.  The spirit is willing but the clock makes weaklings of us all.

One thing I always have time for however, is the first six Black Sabbath albums.  Last week, I was on my way to work and had just finished listening to 'Not So Bad', the killer sophomore outing from Polish stoner band Naked Brown (you better believe a full review is coming!) and stuck for ideas of what to listen to next, I went to the old stand-by solution.  I threw on "Into the Void" by Black Sabbath and chased it with 'Vol. 4' and got through the first half of 'Sabbath Bloody Sabbath' before my shift started.  It ended up being a productive day at work.  I was energized, excited and just felt good to be me, good to be alive.  I was singing and head nodding on the break room deck, walking around, unable to sit down.  Some 15 years after "discovering" the band, this is what Sabbath still does to me.

The truth is, the feeling I get from listening to those albums is nearly indescribable, but I'll try to do it anyway.  If we all had somebody in our lives that made us feel this way after so many years, I think we'd all be truly happy and basically cut all the petty shit, be productive people and just get on with our lives.  This may seem like a superfluous statement but I think Sabbath fans would all understand what I mean when I say, "fucking people, man!  People!"  Who among us Sabbath fans hasn't found (or at least tried to find) that quiet spot at the party, away from people, in the basement or on the porch or on the un-lit side of the house?  Why?  Because you just need a break from people, because you don't feel like being judged or pressured and just want to relax for a minute, collect your thought and be yourself.  Basically, Sabbath makes me feel like it's okay to be me.  Sure, I feel that way much of the time anyway, but those first six Sabbath albums make me feel like it's really okay and not just something that I take on faith.

I remember my redneck metalhead uncles discussing Black Sabbath reverently and with a twinge of fear or awe in their eyes when I was very little.  The name and associated imagery along with my uncles's reaction to the band made me shy away from them for years.  It's not that I wasn't interested, that I wasn't drawn to this dark, secretive music and its forbidden promises, it's that I knew I wasn't ready.  Surely, this was evil, evil music.  Just hearing it in the background might infect my mind with devils.  Knowing that it was older, slower and heavier than the Venom's and Slayer's of the world just made it seem all the more unholy.  This mysterious entity emerged like a chthonic god of the underworld at a time when feel good hits dominated AM radio.  This was primordial heavy metal, it just had to be the most evil thing in the entire world.  Without hearing too much of it I just knew it was too hardcore for my little mind to handle.  So I latched on to AC/DC and Metallica, Faith No More and Guns n Roses.  Safer stuff.  But in the back of my mind I always knew I'd get there eventually.

My mom tried to raise us Christian and though she failed ... miserably, some of that stuff just never leaves you.  If nothing else, she instilled in me a healthy dose of paranoia.  When I was eight or nine years old she told me that the government was watching me through the TV screen.  She told me that paper money and coins were going to be replaced entirely by "credits" or numbers on a computer and that in order to have access to my credits a future one world government was going to try to make me receive the mark of the beast, which I always imagined was a tattooed barcode on my forehead, and that it all had to do with a final war between God and Satan.  Only those who didn't receive the mark would find their place in heaven.  I only found out last summer that she was raised as a Jehovah's Witness until she became pregnant with my older brother at the age of 14.  It seemed the community elders didn't take too kindly to the little miracle that was my sibling and she was summarily excommunicated for the act of life-giving.  All of this goes towards describing my young mindset which was inquisitive, but tempered by superstition.  I didn't "believe" in any of the stuff she told me, but I thought it a good idea to hedge my bets by not diving head first into the wrong side of the eternal struggle.

But by the time I was 17 years old, I knew I was ready.

I got my hands on the first album and "Paranoid" and there's been no looking back ever since.  The music was incredible with a dark atmosphere like no one else and an otherworldly heaviness.  The subject matter wasn't ao shocking to me though because I saw it coming.  "Black Sabbath", "War Pigs", "Electric Funeral" and "Hand of Doom" were almost tame compared to my expectations.  The shock came later, when I heard "After Forever" for the first time.  Now that I didn't see coming.  Being the age I was I hated the song at the time because it was pro-God and flew so much in the face of what I expected of the band.  Maybe listening to Black Sabbath wasn't the most bad ass thing in the world I could do.  The song is now one of my many favorites from the band and I've even grown to love it's positive nature.  Matter of fact, it's almost the perfect song to capture and articulate the entire ouevre of Black Sabbath (or at least the first six albums) which is: Don't judge a book by it's cover and question everything, especially yourself.

And so, they are the perfect band for the introvert.  The heaviness enshrouds you and comforts you in its darkness, creates a still, internal place where you can really examine yourself, the world around you and your place in it.  Important stuff!  You go this place with headphones and maybe dark sunglasses on and either your hair or a beer hiding your face.  This is a place to get lost in, a place where it's okay, really okay to be who you are, even though you're still working on it.  Above all else, though they are discussing some heavy topics there remains and overlying positivity to it, especially on "Master of Reality" and beyond.

15 years later and through all the changes I've gone through in my musical tastes and trying new things and new genres, Black Sabbath has remained the one constant.  There are other bands that do similar things to me: the first four Metallica albums, Monster Magnet, Alice in Chains and The Beatles spring instantly to mind and perhaps even Nine Inch Nails if I ever listened to it, but Sabbath is Sabbath and I've never failed to observe it and keep it "unholy".  They all do different things to me, but none of them are as "life affirming" as Sabbath.  You go through life and you do your thing, you float through it doing your best and once you pass a certain age it doesn't occur to you that you need some kind of external boost until you get one.  I'm as comfortable in my own skin as I'm ever going to be, but it still feels great to listen to The Six and have that deep seated belief that it's okay to be an outsider confirmed.  The first six Black Sabbath albums (or "The Six" as I call them) are always there for me even when I'm not.  Maybe you can't just turn it off and on like a switch, but The Six will always turn me on when I'm feeling uninspired.  They are like a best friend, a constant companion, they are a part of my life and I couldn't imagine what life would have been like without them.  That's the power of music.

Thanks for reading.

2013 Chronicle (Year in review) part 7 - Best of June 2013

June 2 - Floodriders (ST)

June 3 - DEMON LUNG (The Hundredth Name) - After releasing a promising EP in 2012 this Vegas quartet signed a deal with Candlelight Records and dropped their first full-length on that label.  'The Hundredth Name' was the result, full of dark southern doom with captivating vocals which tell a demon haunted story with esoteric lyrics.  Original review here.  Get it here. Highlights include: "Eyes of Zamiel" and "Devil's Wind".  Rating 4/5

June 4 - Naam (Vow)

June 10 - Egypt / Wo Fat split (Cyclopean Riffs)

June 10 - Mansion (We Shall Live EP)

June 11 - BLACK SABBATH (13) - Arguably the most divisive and talked about album of the year, '13' was like a referendum on the state of doom metal and whether or not the legends have been surpassed creatively by the bands they have undoubtedly influenced.  It appeared most people walked into the album with their opinions of it already set.  It would seem the most controversial decision the band made was allowing original drummer Bill Ward to get out of shape over the past decade and a half.  Get it here. Highlights include: "God Is Dead?" and "Live Forever".  Rating 4/5

June 11 - CARDINALS FOLLY (Strange Conflicts of the Past) - This Finnish traditional doom trio released their early demos on this collection through Shadow Kingdom Records in preparation for their forthcoming album 'Our Cult Continues' and it was a feast.  Fist pumping doom of a high magnitude cut through ten tracks with a couple rarities thrown atop for good measure (including an excellent Kraftwerk cover).  Original review here.  Get it here. Highlights include: "The Right Hand of Doom" and "Serpent Nights".  Rating 4.5/5

June 11 - CHURCH OF MISERY (Thy Kingdom Scum) - Japanese stoner stalwarts Church of Misery's first album since 2009 featured 7 songs of strictly top shelf material.  Never deviating from their long-standing winning formula 'Thy Kingdom Scum' was bloated with riffs, tales of murderous depravity and the ever-popular obscure cover song (by way of Quartermass).  Get it here. Highlights include: "The Right Hand of Doom" and "Serpent Nights".  Rating 4.5/5

June 13 - Black Oath (Ov Qliphoth And Darkness)

June 14 - BRUTUS (Behind the Mountains) - Norwegian retro rockers Brutus offered up one of the stronger entries into the genre, doing the throwback style right with riffs, dynamism and dark overtones.  On this, their second at bat, they've carved a niche for themselves whereby they don't quite sound like anybody else in particular, not even the rock n roll heroes they are emulating, which is rare in the retro rock world.  Original review here.  Get it here. Highlights include: "Personal Riot" and "Blue Pills".  Rating 4.5/5

June 14 - CROWLORD (Naked Chicks, Goats & Wolves) - While this Tennesseean quartet will be labelled as "sludge metal", a more accurate label for their thick-bodied, twin bass, no guitar attack might be "tar metal".  Finding a vocalist who sounds like the beast from which they take their name only adds to the band's mystique.  Original review here.  Get it here. Highlights include: "Son of Crow" and "In the Nightmares of Snakes".  Rating 4.5/5

June 19 - ALBINO PYTHON (The Doomed and the Damned) - After releasing the ludicrously infectious 'Haunter of the Dark' (that song was stuck in my heads for months!) in late summer of 2012, Albino Python's long awaited debut arrived and delivered the goods.  The name of the game here is scathing and grimy doom.  What sets this female-fronted duo apart is its forcefulness and aggression.  Original review here.  Get it here. Highlights include: "Haunter of the Dark" and "To Hell We Ride".  Rating 4.5/5

June 21 - Chinaski (Resiliencia)

June 22 - CULT OF OCCULT (Hic Est Domus Diaboli) - This French trio's sophomore offering was a six-track blast of doom, sludge & crypt dust.  With five of the six tracks ranging beyond the 10-minute mark you know you're in for a fully engrossing journey that ends in the I.C.U. ... or maybe the morgue.  Uncompromisingly heavy in tone and mood, 'Hic Est Domus Diaboli' is one of the must have doom albums of 2013.  Original review here.  Get it here. Highlights include: "In Vino Veritas" and "Opus Ad Odio".  Rating 5/5

June 24 - PEACEMAKER (Cult .45) - This new UK quartet unleashed their debut on bandcamp and it was one of the truly great under-the-radar releases of the year.  Packing neck-snapping power grooves inside capital M doom Metal riffs, Peacemaker proved themselves as ones to watch for 2014 and beyond.  Original review here.  Get it here. Highlights include: "Follow the Rats" and "Soul Cheater".  Rating 4.5/5

June 25 - Isaak (The Longer The Beard The Harder The Sound)

June 25 - SCORPION CHILD (ST) - This Austin Texas quintet definitively proved that it's still masculine to wear tight jeans, leather vests and rock out with mustaches.  Combining the soulfulness of The Black Crowes with the bluesy heaviness of Led Zeppelin, Scorpion Child are one of the bright lights and great hopes for rock n roll.  Get it here. Highlights include: "Polygon of Eyes" and "The Secret Spot".  Rating 4/5

June 28 - Black Wizard (Young Wisdom)

June 28 - Cokegoat (Vessel)

June 28 - Holy Mount (Alpic)

June 28 - Switchblade Jesus (ST)


Best Album From June 2013:
'Behind the Mountains' by BRUTUS

Best Song From June 2013:
"Polygon of Eyes" by SCORPION CHILD

PARANOID Thoughts:

I'm the type of guy where if I don't tackle something right away, it's going to go right by me and so it is with my listening habits.  Those marathon "scouting missions" on bandcamp where you find five or ten albums all at once are great fun, but they can also lead to great music slipping through the cracks as it gets harder and harder to find the time to listen to it all.  Sometimes you'll find something unexpected and grab it right quick while your attention is focused on another block of albums to listen to and process.  I usually listen to one or maybe two songs on a bandcamp page before making the decision to buy or pass by.  Sometimes I know I'm ready to buy after hearing the opening riff for five or ten seconds.  It becomes a matter of waiting to see how good or bad the vocals are at that point.  So I'll discover something, or have it recommended to me, preview it for 10 or 30 seconds, or maybe even five minutes, then I'll download it and add it to my itunes.  Meanwhile however, I've got five or ten albums ahead of this new one that I have to* listen to.  Before you know it, that little gem you found is way back in the queue

These are the albums that I lost track of or never found the time to give them the proper gorging they deserved and so they didn't end up making my year end Top 100.  If there was any justice in the world or if there was just one extra day in the week (a non-work day of course), I probably would have got there.  At the same time there isn't a single album that I'd like to knock out of the Top 100.  

And why a Top 100 anyway?  Isn't that a bit excessive?  Not to me it isn't.  Really there were somewhere in the order of 150 albums that I would have loved to cram into the 100 so it still feels like an 'elite' list.  And besides, music freaks, listers (!!!) are a bit anal retentive when it comes to their lists.  A Top 137 Albums list looks sloppy and disorganized with about as much thought and care put into it as a shopping list.  No, we can only deal in round numbers.  

So to the bands that made the rather dubious list below, I say "you weren't expecting anything from me.  I was under no obligation to put your album on my list, or even listen to your album let alone be aware of its existence.  But YOU cared.  You put time, money, effort and inspiration into your album and I failed you as a listener.  I'm sorry.  I know that doesn't make it right, but ... will you ever forgive me?"

Anyway, these are all great albums for you to check out ...

*'have to' is in the sense of burning desire as opposed to dry obligation.

Top 20 Records I didn't listen to enough from 2013:
1). Ten Foot Wizard - 'Return to the Infinite'
2). Woodwall - 'WoodEmpire'
3). Switchblade Jesus - ST
4). A Pale Horse Named Death - 'Lay My Soul To Waste'
5). Victor Girffin's In~Graved - ST
6). Subrosa - 'More Constant Than the Gods'
7). Black Majik Acid - ST
8). Death Angel - 'The Dream Calls For Blood'
9). Warbeast - 'Destroy'
10). Hela - 'Broken Cross'
11). Beastwood - 'Alabama Space Witch'
12). Valfader - 'Whispers of Chaos'
13). Vestal Claret - 'Bloodbath'
14). Dream Death - 'Somnium Excessum'
15). Procession - 'To Reap Heavens Apart'
16). Throne - 'Avoid the Light'
17). Deaf Proof - 'Beyond the Orange Door'
18). Gallow God - 'The Veneration of Serpents'
19). Mortgage Freeman - 'The Living Proof'
20). Mystery Ship EP's I & II

Hour of Power 10/26/13 (playlist)

1. Goodbye Gemini (Blood Ceremony / The Eldritch Dark) 2013
2. Children of the Sun (Nightstalker / Dead Rock Commandos) 2012
3. Heartbreaker (Motörhead / Aftershock) 2013
4. Loner (Black Sabbath / 13) 2013
5. Golachab (Saturnalia Temple / Impossibilum EP) 2013
6. Go Blind (Shooting Guns / Brotherhood of the Ram) 2013
7. Ride to Ruin (Hollow Leg / Abysmal) 2013
8. Conscience (At Devil Dirt / Plan B: Sin Revolución no hay Evolución) 2013
9. Evil Eye (Fu Manchu / The Action Is Go) 1997 'classic clip'

And a special bonus:
10.  Cooking Hostile with Phil Anselmo Episode 1 2013

Hour of Power 06/15/13 (playlist)

1. Dancing With My Demons (Chains / 7" single) 2013 official video
2. Ripped Apart (Velvet Robe / Night Soil) 2013 official video
3. Son of a Witch (Church of Void / Dead Rising) 2013 official video
4. God is Dead? (Black Sabbath / 13) 2013 official video
5. Scorpion Child, Track by Track rundown with vocalist Aryn Jonathan Black 2013
6. Liquor (Scorpion Child / ST) 2013 lyric video
7. Clean Window (Tangerine Stoned / ST) 2013
8. Headless Eyes (Blood Farmers / Headless Eyes) 2013
9. Act 2 (The Well / Mondo Fuzz) 2013
10. Alison Hell (Annihilator / Alice in Hell) 1989 'classic video'

Hour of Power 04/20/13 (playlist)

1. Stone (Alice in Chains / The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here) 2013
2. Greyblackfalconhawk (Ice Dragon / Greyblackfalconhawk) 2012
3. Kings Highway [live] (Scorpion Child) 2013
4. Together Again - Black Sabbath promo clip 2013
5. God is Dead? (Black Sabbath / 13) 2013
6. Unspoken (Kylesa / Ultraviolet) 2013
7. ... And Death Rides With Us (Temptations Wings / Legends of the Tusk) 2013
8. Brother Death (Zodiac / ST) 2013
9. Keyhole / Inner Saturn (Shinin' Shade / SAT-URN) 2013
10. Wheeling Dervish (Romero / Take the Potion) 2013
11. Closer (Traveling Circle / Escape From Black Cloud) 2012

Hour of Power 03/16/03 (playlist)

1. Wise As a Serpent (Spiritual Beggars / Earth Blues) 2013
2. Not Over (Lord 13 / 2013) 2011
3. 18 Wheels (Red Desert / 18 Wheels) 2008
4. Zoroaster studio teaser 2013
5. Dancing With My Demons (Chains / 7" single) 2013
6. Welldweller (Lothorian / Welldweller) 2013
7. MrWeasley (Spacefog / Purple Void) 2012
8. Slave to the System (VolumeFeeder / Crowns and Chains) 2012
9. Black Sabbath '13' in studio teaser featuring new sounds 2013
10. Wash His Bones (Dead River / ST) 2012
11. Rad Dungeons (The Valley / ST) 2012
12. Solitude (Warhorse / ST) 1970
13. Daydreams (Romannis Mötte) 2013

Hour of Power 02/16/13 (playlist)

Every weekend I post a new Hour of Power and every time I think it's the best one yet.  This week, brand new and great looking official video clips from Year of the Goat, Death SS and Gates of Slumber kick things off in terrific doom-y fashion.  All new songs by Orchid, John Gallow and Black Rainbows highlight the 'middle set' of videos and highlights from the week's (regretfully few) posts close out the affair, including an excellent fan made video for Slow Heart.  Interspersed throughout are clips from The Nice, The Alan Bown! of sixties infamy plus Chains and the Black Sabbath "The Rebel" acetate demo.  Also on the Black Sabbath front and placed carefully somewhere in the middle of the playlist is a three-minute teaser clip of Black Sabbath talking about the new album '13' in the studio.  It makes for an interesting change of pace and goes together beautifully with a brand new clip of Finnish soon-to-be giants, Dryasdust in the studio.  Enjoy!

1. Spirits of Fire (Year of the Goat / Angels' Necropolis) 2012
2. Ogre's Lullaby (Death SS / The Darkest Night) 2013
3. Death March (The Gates of Slumber / Storm Crow EP) 2013
4. Flower King of Flies (The Nice / The Thoughts of Emerlist Davjack) 1967
5. Wizard of War (Orchid / Wizard of War EP) 2013
6. Holy Land (John Gallow) 2013
7. An Inside Look At Black Sabbath in the studio 2013
8. Finger Sessions (Dryasdust) 2013
9. C'mon C'mon C'mon (Black Rainbows) 2013
10. My Girl The Month of May (The Alan Bown / Outward Bown!) 1968
11. The Rebel (Black Sabbath / acetate) 1969
12. Alone and Red (Slow Heart / Dead Friends and Angry Lovers) 2012
13. Of Death (Chains / Of Death) 2012

Black Sabbath - ST (classic album review)

RETROTATION # 5

While many bands and 'groovy people' still had their 'heads on the ground and their feet in the clouds' of psychedelic fantasy, four lads roamed the tough streets of Aston under bleak industry-choked skies grasping for a way out of their ever-present reality.

It's hard to imagine a world without Black Sabbath, probably an impossible task for metal fans.  At the time of 'Black Sabbath''s release there was nothing really like it in the world of music, outside of some of the darker moods of classical instrumental music: "Night on Bald Mountain" by Mussorgsky perhaps, "Music for Strings, Percussion & Celesta" by Bartok for sure, "Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima" by Penderecki & the percussive rhythms of Holst's "Mars the Bringer of War".  Bits and pieces of pre-Sabbath-like music could be found spread throughout the more rat infested corners of the underground rock world, but nothing and not nobody sounded like Black Sabbath.  However, Sabbath was not born in a vacuum.  They were just one of a giant second wave of British Blues Boom bands that flooded the record buying public in the waning days of the sixties and into the burgeoning seventies.

Sabbath made their debut foray into music history with their very Deep Purpelian reading of "Evil Woman" backed with a conspicuously jazz proggy early group composition, "Wicked World", touching on themes that would come to full flower on "War Pigs".  The song didn't become a hit but the ensuing LP did, despite a vocal majority of disapproving critics.  How could this have been?

One thing that separated Black Sabbath from the pack was the distinctive voice of formerly unknown vocalist John "Ozzy" Osbourne.  His high-toned screaming-with-a-mouthful-of-marbles style put an individualistic stamp on a band that was being lumped in by the press erroneously with tabloid headline-makers Black Widow as a satanic farce and spectacle.  Compared with Bakerloo, Ten Years After, Chicken Shack, Taste, Free, Black Cat Bones, Spooky Tooth, Savoy Brown, Blodwyn Pig, Killing Floor (I could go on and on and on) and any number of terrific second wave bands, Black Sabbath were clearly different, a cut above, but imagine swapping out singers with any one of these bands with Sabbath and one wonders whether they would have been the legendary band they are which spawned an entire industry of followers.

Take the title song for example.  The song "Black Sabbath" established a new standard for heaviness in heavy blues based rock music.  To a man, Iommi, Butler, Ward and Osbourne claim the song as their magnum opus.  And which Black Sabbath fan doesn't live to hear the devil's third and Iommi's trademark hammer-ons?  But would the song have had the power to chill and enrapture generations of listeners without Ozzy's singular, tortured performance on vocals?  I'd like to posit the notion that the song would have gone down in underground lore, passed down from brother to brother, adventurous friend to adventurous friend as "the heaviest song ever" but in the underground only.

But this isn't an apologia for Ozzy Osbourne.  Anybody who has heard the demo "The Rebel" understands that Ozzy wouldn't have done it without the band and the sound they achieved.  No other band suited his style and no other singer would have suited the band.  After all, a pop star he ain't.  Famously when Ozzy called around the Butler household a family member called out to Geezer that "there's something at the door for you."  Ozzy fed off those dark and heavy tones and it seems the heavier and lower the tone, the more he shone through, there's more to it than just contrast.  No one else could have put the feeling into "Black Sabbath" that he did.

Each of the first four tracks on 'Black Sabbath' are one hundred percent classics.  When I was a young man, "N.I.B." was re-recorded by Ozzy backed by Primus for the Nativity in Black II tribute album and the song became a huge radio hit.  I felt ashamed because I wasn't as familiar with the song as others like "Black Sabbath", "Behind the Wall of Sleep", "Lord of This World", "Children of the Grave" and the entire Paranoid album.  Since then, all of THE (first) SIX (sabbath albums) have been my one constant throughout all my musical forays and explorations.  I imagine, if you're reading this blog, chances are Sabbath is as much a way of life for you as it is for me.  Really, there's not too much else to say to add to that statement other than, it all started here.  Heavy Metal started here, Doom Metal started here and while Metallica used to say, "No life 'til leather", I'd change that to, "No life 'til Sabbath".  This is where it all started.

Somehow this band hit on a magic formula that would allow their songs to live on endlessly, remaining accessible, immediate and relevant 43 years on.

Highlights include: "Black Sabbath" and "Behind the Wall of Sleep / N.I.B."

Rating: 4/5




Tracklist
1. Black Sabbath (6:17)
2. The Wizard (4:21)
3. Behind the Wall of Sleep (3:37)
4. N.I.B. (6:04)
5. Evil Woman [Don't You Play Your Games With Me] (3:22)
6. Sleeping Village (3:46)
7. Warning (10:28)
Total Run Time: 38:06

From: Aston, Birmingham, England

Genre: Doom, Blues, Hard Rock, Progressive Rock

Reminds me of: Deep Purple, East of Eden, High Tide, Sir Lord Baltimore, Velvett Fogg

Release Date: February 13, 1970

Suggested listening activity for fellow non-stoners: Purging your brain of all music files, then re-starting from here.

Hour of Power 12/22/12 (playlist)

Highlights from the week of 12/16/12 - 12/22/12

1. Greet Death (Destroyer of Light / ST) 2012 Brand New Video!!
2. Hollow (Alice in Chains / TBA) 2013 Brand New Song!!
3. Snowblind (Black Sabbath / Vol. 4) 1972
4. Secular Haze (Ghost / Infestissumam) 2013 Brand New Song!!
5. Twin Obscenities (Spider Kitten / Cougar Club) 2013
6. Time Out For Time In (Them / Time Out! Time In For Them) 1968
7. Moon Queen (Lord Fowl / Moon Queen) 2012
8. Perfect Monkey (Cube / ST) 2012
9. Drawing Flies (Soundgarden / Badmotorfinger) 1991
10. vier (Mount Fuji / ST) 2012
11. Desert Sun (The Shooters / Planet of the Black Sun) 2012
12. No Better No Worse (Manfred Mann / Mighty Garvey) 1968
13. We Want The Night (Slow Heart / Dead Friends and Angry Lovers) 2012 Brand New Song from the guys in Ice Dragon!!!

Weekly Mailbag for 11/19/12 - 11/23/12

A look at what came in the mail this week with quickie reviews ...

Last week was kind of slow for discovering new music and I kind of over compensated for it on the weekend by catching up on some older stuff that I missed.  Then I found a bunch of new stuff that I had missed and more stuff came in the mail than I had originally anticipated.  So this week I was completely awash in new music.  In addition some labels and bands have started to send me stuff that wasn't even on my radar (which I thank them profusely for) so now I'm pretty backed up.  Then to top it all off, I got flooded with CDs in the mail way later in the week than I would have liked.  Some of these discs I haven't been able to get to yet, so some of the 'reviews' aren't exactly reviews as much as 'notes', but it's been a great week for music here and a great week for Paranoid Hitsophrenic (check out my interview with ICHABOD) ...

Abrahma - Through the Dusty Paths of Our Lives - One of a trio of Small Stone albums that came in all on the same day, discovering this album has been a true pleasure.  The long Vodun suite comprising 8 tracks and some 30 minutes is a mini album within an album and is a real highlight but the non Vodun suite tracks are just as good and stand on their own.  Highlights include "Vodun pt. 2: I, Zombie" and "Big Black Cloud". Rating - 4.5/5

Arkham Witch - Legions of the Deep - I discovered this terrific band on Youtube quite a while ago and spent months trying to track down a copy of their debut album 'On Crom's Mountain'.  Luckily, I no longer needed to do so immediately as news came down they were releasing a brand new album.  I pre-ordered this sucker without hearing a note of it because I had faith in this band and after what felt like forever, it finally arrived in the mail on Monday.  Review to follow.  Highlights include "Infernal Machine" and "On a Horse Called Vengeance". Rating - 4/5

Barclay James Harvest - Their First Album - "Taking Some Time On" was a song I discovered while grasping for some new musical vistas and I decided to check out some prog stuff.  I remember this was at the same time "Electric Worry" was out and those songs were next to each other on a playlist.  This album is wimpy in places but the bonus tracks on this deluxe edition more than make up for any dis-appointment Highlights include "Taking Some Time On" and "Night". Rating - 4/5


Black Label Society - Stronger Than Death - I remember when this one came out.  I heard the song "Counterfeit God" on a 'Brave Words, Bloody Knuckles' compilation and I thought it was a great song.  Fortunately so did a lot of my metalhead friends and so I never really had to buy the CD at the time because it was another of those ones that was just 'around'.  The same went for their first album.  To me they are both classics.

Black Sabbath - ST (Deluxe Expanded Edition) - In Canada, for some reason, we have a really crappy audio quality, 5-track version of the album on CD where certain tracks are stuck together and there's no "Wicked World", so it was high time to upgrade.  So of course I was going to opt for the 2 disc deluxe edition.  Also comes with great liner notes and rare photos which is cool.  For like 10 bucks, how can you go wrong with this set? Highlights include "come on, do I have to tell you" and "seriously, you should really know by now". Rating - 4/5

Blossom Toes - We Are Ever So Clean - Not nearly as heavy or proggy as their next album, Blossom Toes debut is full of progressive and interesting ideas for a typical British psychedelic pop album from the 60s.  It's highly influenced by Sgt Pepper, but it's still quite original.  The album also reveals the band's sense of humor.  I don't think they took themselves too seriously.  Highlights include "When the Alarm Clock Rings" and "I'll be Late for Tea". Rating - 3.5/5


Blue Aside - The Moles of a Dying Race - Heard about this one on the Obelisk, so I checked it out and liked what I heard and ordered the disc.  Just listening to it for the first time as I write this.  Slow, sludgy psychedelia and I like what I'm hearing.  The album comprises 8 tracks, three of which form the title suite and are spread out throughout the disc.  They also do a cover of "Interstellar Overdrive" for a closer!

Blue Cheer - Vincebus Eruptum - A true monster fuzz classic, there are many out there who believe that this is the world's first heavy metal album.  I'm from the 'Sabbath were the first' school, but there's no denying the power and heaviness of Blue Cheer.  I'd say this is more stoner rock than metal, but that's with a great deal of hindsight.  There's a lot of jamming on this album but when they find a groove they find it well. Highlights include "Out of Focus" and "Summertime Blues". Rating - 4/5

Blue Oyster Cult - Tyranny and Mutation - In my possession is an old Return of the Jedi notebook from one of my uncles when they were in high school.  You can tell they were metalheads because there are no class notes taken, but band logos drawn on the inside front cover.  Names like AC/DC, Judas Priest, ZZ Top, etc.  One of the names written was BOC with umlauts over the O.  For the longest time I didn't know what that stood for.  I can't believe it's taken me the better part of 30 years to discover this 70s gem of a band.

Deep Purple - In Rock - My second favorite Deep Purple album, I actually already had this album on CD but there were no bonus tracks so I didn't have the song "Black Night" until now.  "Black Night" is arguably their best song, one of the best songs of the 70s and it's only because of an insane British custom at the time of not including singles on albums that the original album didn't feature the song.  Highlights include "Black Night" and "Into the Fire". Rating - 4.5/5

DSW - Dust Storm Warning -  The first two tracks on this album have become true highlights of the year, especially "Outrun", the opener.  The band is from Italy and vocalist Wolf Lombardi's (one of the great names in stoner rock) English skills aren't very well refined, so some of the funnest times my girlfriend and I had this summer was trying to decipher the lyrics.  The lyrics are printed in the booklet with excellent accompanying artwork.  Man, we were way, way off.  Also came with a fridge magnet! Highlights include "Outrun" and "Space Cubeship". Rating - 4/5


Seremonia - ST - What's great is the liner notes have the lyrics in both Finnish and English, which is something I touched upon in my original review.  This is the kind of album where you have to play it straight through, the individual songs don't always work on a mixed playlist because the band's so unique.  Once again, a great album from a highly original band.  Highlights include "Rock & Roll Maailma" and "Lusiferin Kaarmeet". Rating - 4.5/5


Skanska Mord - Paths to Charon - This has been one of my favorite albums of the year, three solid months and I'm still listening to it.  Each time I listen to this album a different song gets stuck in my head, as only the best albums do.  This will end up as a top 10 or maybe even a top 5 album of the year.  It has definitely been one of my favorite Small Stone releases of the year.  It's just a solid album full of old school rock with terrific hooks. Highlights include "Lord of Space and Time" and "The Ambassadeur". Rating - 4.5/5


Ted Nugent - Original Album Classics (5 album box set) - From the 'why the fuck not?' file, this sucker cost me about 12 bucks for 5 of the Nuge's first 6 albums (for some reason it doesn't have 'State of Shock').  Sure he's a gun toting bigot, but he has other good qualities as well, like the music.  The CDs come in LP replica slipcase covers.  I remember the Scream Dream LP tracked to my uncle's wall next to Maiden and Megadeth. Highlights include "Stranglehold" and "Cat Scratch Fever".


Thin Lizzy - ST - Thin Lizzy was always a mixed bag of big and funky hard rock and Irish folk ballads.  This album's no exception.  There's enough hard rock to keep the casual listener's attention and the ballads are typical of the lyrical depth of Phil Lynott.  I still have the same problem with this band that I've always had, which is that there just may be a few too many ballads. Highlights include "Ray-Gun" and "Return of the Farmer's Son". Rating - 3.5/5


Vanilla Fudge - ST - Unfortunately, I didn't get around to listening to this one this week and I haven't heard it in about 6 or 7 years.  I remember not liking it because it was all cover songs but I wonder what my reaction will be now that I know what to expect.  They took hit songs, heavied them up and slowed them down to a crawl.  Not everyone's cup of meat, but this, along with Blue Cheer, is one of those must have items for the heavy metal historian.  Pretty heavy for 1967.

Wo Fat - The Black Code - Glad to have this one on disc.  This album is closing in on top 25 of the year status and climbing.  Every song is an absolute gem and the lyrics inside the booklet (although hard to read due to contrast) are cool to read to get the overall concept of The Black Code in one easy sitting.  Like the other two Small Stone releases from this week this disc came with a Small Stone sticker. Highlights include "The Shard of Leng" and "Sleep of the Black Lotus". Rating - 5/5


I also got my Steak hat in the mail.  If you haven't heard this terrific band yet, you can find them here.  Word is they've got another EP in the works for 2013.  It came with some stickers and a flyer from their  UK mini-tour with Truckfighters! Dates below:
5th Dec w/Gonga at the Croft, Bristol
6th Dec w/Black Moth at the Cockpit, Leeds
7th Dec w/Desert Storm + Mother Corona at the Bullingdon Arms, Oxford
8th Dec w/Trippy Wicked at the underworld, London (Don't forget the aftershow party at the Black heart w/Black Moth)

Hour of Power 11/10/12 (playlist)

Highlights from the week of 11/04/12 - 11/10/12

1. Been Away Too Long (Soundgarden / King Animal) 2012
2. Rock 'n' Roll Maalimaa (Seremonia / ST) 2012
3. Centauri Teenage Riot (Indian Handcrafts / Civil Disobedience for Losers) 2012
4. Dragonaut (Sleep / Sleep's Holy Mountain) 1993
5. We All Rage in Gold (Neurosis / Honor Found in Decay) 2012
6. The Suits, The Law & The Uniforms (Graveyard / Lights Out) 2012
7. Time Warrior (Horisont / Second Assault) 2012
8. Urban Guerilla (Hawkwind / Doremi Fasol Latido) 1972
9. Possessed (Mara / Demo) 2012
10. I Am Thunder (Mammoth Thunderpower) 2012
11. A Different Moon (The Graviators / Evil Deeds) 2012
12. Never Say Die (Black Sabbath / Never Say Die) 1979
13. Big Black Cloud (Abrahma / Through the Dusty Path of Our Lives) 2012

Weekly Mailbag for 11/05/12 - 11/09/12

A look at what came in the mail this week with quickie reviews ...

Black Sabbath - Never Say Die - Years ago I sold this CD.  I never liked this album.  I listened to it once in high school and it wasn't what I wanted to hear from Sabbath.  It wasn't heavy enough for me.  10-15 years later and well, my opinion has softened considerably.  It's actually quite a good hard rock record, but it's still not heavy enough for me.  Highlights include "Never Say Die" and "Shock Wave". Rating - 4/5

Bonzo Dog Band - Gorilla -  So this isn't my favorite album, it's a heavily jazz-tinted collection of novelty songs and covers of old-timey songs, but it's the Bonzos' first and it does have three really great songs.  Neil Innes never quite gets the respect he deserves as a songwriter, but his compositions are always highly emotional and catchy. Highlights include "Piggy Bank Love" and "The Equestrian Statue". Rating - 2/5

Caravan - ST - An early prog favorite of mine.  This is the most straightforward album that Caravan would ever release, seven regular length songs and one long one at the end, the band would go on to investigate their longer compositions for the remainder of their recording career.  But while it lasted, they were quite adept at penning memorable shorter songs.  Highlights include "Place Of My Own" and "Grandma's Lawn". Rating - 4.5/5

Fickle Pickle - Sinful Skinful - Four excellent songwriters from the UK got together in the early 70s and unsuccessfully tried to fill the gap left by The Beatles.  They had a few hits in the Netherlands and that was about it.  Full of weird and/or quirky/cynical pop songs this album isn't for everyone but there's at least one song on here that will appeal to anyone. Highlights include "Sam and Sadie" and "Doctor Octopus". Rating - 4/5

Groundhogs - Scratching the Surface - I mentioned elsewhere that I loved this album, well The Shovell inspired me to actually buy this on CD.  Heavy blues bands were a dime-a-dozen in the UK at the time and this stands as a true highlight.  Funky as hell and displaying a compositional maturity that the likes of Ten Years After were years away from. Highlights include "You Don't Love Me" and "Early in the Morning". Rating - 4/5

Hawkwind - Doremi Fasol Latido - Hawkwind's third and first with Lemmy.  Much ado was made at the time in the change of rhythm section.  I don't notice the difference. This album or 'In Search of Space' is what I want to be listening to when the SWAT team crashes through my windows and doors.  But I won't notice them, because I'll be in Hawkwind world.  Highlights include "Brainstorm" and "Urban Guerilla". Rating - 4.5/5


Monster Magnet - 4-Way Diablo - What can I say, Monster Magnet always delivers the goods.  This album is a bit more raw hard rock than psychedelic, showcasing the MC5 or Stooges influence over the Hawkwind / Sabbath influence.  Even the 'slow' songs are heavier and more aggressive.  It's different but it's still undeniably MM. Highlights include "4-Way Diablo" and "A Thousand Stars". Rating - 4/5

Nirvana - All of Us - This 60s UK songwriting duo penned very twee british pop with lavishes of psychedelic production most notably on the super-phased "Rainbow Chaser", one of the best britpsych songs of the era.  But the song is deceptive as nothing else in the band's discography matches the edge of that cut.  Fans of the Seattle Nirvana would hate this band.  Highlights include "Rainbow Chaser" and "Girl in the Park". Rating - 3/5

Serenity Broken - Commercial Suicide - This CD came with a plastic business card which I thought was very impressive.  Serenity Broken play a very aggressive style of 90s inflected stoner rock. This band is right at the vanguard of a new wave of 90s-influenced bands, which I've touched on before.  So many great stoner bands coming out of Greece right now.  At 5 euros this CD is a real bargain and is the same price they charge for the digital download version of the album.  Money well spent.  Highlights include "Tattooed Heart" and "Def". Rating - 3.5/5

Spencer Davis Group - Time Seller - Much as I love Winwood-era SDG their post-Stevie stuff has some real charm.  This was the first post-Stevie album and is kind of uneven with great original pop psych tunes mixed with some uninspired jazzy stuff, but I love it.  This edition comes with a DVD of a 1967 documentary about the band.  Highlights include "Morning Sun" and "Mr Second Class". Rating - 4/5

Steak - Disastronaught EP - One of my favorites of 2012, "The Butcher" alone is worth the price as it may be the best song I've heard all year.  It's an epiphanal, life-changingly good song.  The rest of the album is great too.  Also, it appears the boys in the band are comics fans too, which is always a plus, and that the EP is actually a mini concept album.  The inside cover tells the story.  And it came with a sticker and a tour flyer.  Highlights include "The Butcher" and "Machine". Rating - 4.5/5

Tuesday's Children - Strange Light From the East - There was an odd subculture of hippies who were inspired by the I Ching to make Asian sounding music.  The songs "Kites" by Simon Dupree and the Big Sound and "Chapter 24" by Pink Floyd are the best examples of this.  This group tried to make a career of it.  They later became Czar. Highlights include "Baby's Gone" and "Bright Eyed Apples". Rating - 3.5/5

Venomous Maximus - Beg Upon the Light -  This was one of my first ever reviews, so you don't need me to go into it again, just to say every song on this album is killer and the album is one of my favorites right now.  The digipak CD came with a VM button which will now be pinned proudly next to my Ice Dragon button.  It also comes with lyrics on the inside front cover and some kickass artwork on the back cover.  At $10 this package is a steal, I got it off the band's big cartel site here.  .  Highlights include "Path of Doom" and "Venomous Maximus". Rating - 4.5/5

Weekly Mail Bag 10/29/12 - 11/02/12

A look at what came in the mail this week with quickie reviews ...

Bison, Bison - ST - Already reviewed this one but the actual CD came through the mail today.  I ordered it October 14, so it only took about two weeks and a bit to come in.  Not too shabby at all.  It came with a couple of stickers, one of which had a nice little hand written note (thank you).  Again, at only $7 on their bandcamp page, this package is well worth picking up.  Support a very good new band.  Highlights include "Sweetish" and "Waiting for Saturn". Rating - 4/5

Black Sabbath - Technical Ecstasy - Never owned this album, til now.  Only ever listened to it in one sitting, once before.  The kind of album that improves if you forget who's doing it.  Not exactly Sabbath's finest moment, but not as bad as initially thought, this album finds Sabbath toying with their brilliant sound to mixed results.  But after all, it's still Sabbath. Highlights include "It's Alright" and "Back Street Kids". Rating - 3.5/5

Bonzo Dog Band - The Doughnut in Granny's Greenhouse - Their second and best album, the Bonzos were always more than a novelty act and this album proves it.  Getting slightly away from the pure comedy songs, and more into straightforward songwriting.  I've listened to this album a lot and it hasn't gotten old yet.  First time I've had it on CD though.  Highlights include "We Are Normal" and "Humanoid Boogie". Rating - 4/5

Electric Light Orchestra - ST - This is an album that truly stands alone in the canon of rock.  Basically when The Move decided to become a string quartet (with drums) they made this album, which sounds nothing like ELO's later stuff (or anything else really).  Eleanor Rigby's got nothing on this.  Highlights include "Look At Me Now" and "10538 Overture". Rating - 4.5/5

Elmer Gantry's Velvet Opera - ST - This band took forever to grow on me but once they got their hooks in me I couldn't fight it.  They're catchy, intelligent, sometimes funny and nearly every song on here is a standout.  They fluctuate between the wimpier and more muscular side of British psychedelia, but when they do rock, they rock pretty hard. Highlights include "Flames" and "Mary Jane". Rating - 4/5

The Factory - Path Through the Forest - I can't honestly recommend this one or claim that it's worth the money for any but the biggest music dorks.  At 7 tracks (one an alternate mix / 6 songs) 24 minutes and $14 it's not worth it.  But it does feature two of the greatest singles of the original psychedelic era, which sure satisfies me. Highlights include "Path Through the Forest" and "Try a Little Sunshine". Rating - 4/5

The Gods - Genesis - Though their constituent members would go on to join The Rolling Stones, Uriah Heep, Jethro Tull, among others, this band actually offers a surprisingly wimpy sound.  Very much on the light side of British psychedelia, there's still some pretty good songs here.  I can't say it's for everyone though. Highlights include "Farthing Man" and "Looking Glass". Rating - 3/5

Led Zeppelin - II - I mentioned last week that I never had this album, because I've never needed it.  It's one of those cultural artifacts that's always around.  Somebody's got it at the house or in the car, and now I do.  Every song's a classic.  As much as I love 'Houses of the Holy' and 'Physical Graffiti', this is their best album.  Highlights include: "What Is And What Should Never Be" and "Thank You".  Rating - 5/5

Monster Magnet - Monolithic Baby! - Monster Magnet never disappoints.  Okay, maybe they have, but I'm over it now and  making up for lost time.  The first half of this album is balls to the wall rock.  But what starts off rocking hard eventually falters and stumbles into second act problems.  And there were programmed drums here as I was originally worried.  Highlights include "Slut Machine" and "Supercruel". Rating - 3.5/5

Mos Generator - Nomads -  Came in via Ripple music with a nice handwritten thank you note, which is much appreciated, a sampler CD (thanks!), a sticker, and a printed and folded 'zine style flyer of other releases.  It's little extra goodies like this that really make it worth supporting the actual small labels (who do appreciate your support) than going right to Amazon.  Thanks a lot guys, much appreciated. Review to follow.

Octopus - Restless Night - One of the truly underrated albums of the original psychedelic era (probably because it came out too late (1971), this album features some of the best hooks you're likely to hear.  The single "The River" b/w "Thief" is one of the greatest singles of all time and the album cover is amazing.  The rest of the album is pop psych in the Badfinger vein.  Highlights include "The River" and "Thief". Rating - 4.5/5


Pale Divine - Painted Windows Black - Another Soggy Bog of Doom Traditional Doom Special discovery.  This is a high powered album from a band at equal strength when playing fast or slow: compare "Nocturne Dementia" to "End of Days".  But I don't like the virtuosic guitar gymnastics ... I love them.  Highlights include "Black Coven" and "Nocturne Dementia".  Rating - 3.5/5


Skip Bifferty - The Story of Skip Bifferty - Another band that took a while to grow on me, but once they did, they became one of my favorite 60s bands.  Reminds me of Spencer Davis Group and Plastic Penny, and just as hooky, they were also quite heavy for their time.  At two discs and 40 tracks it's a worthy package.  Many great songs here. Highlights include "On Love" and "Money Man". Rating - 4/5

Vinum Sabbatum - Bacchanale Premiere - My most played album from October actually only came in the mail November 2 and it's a beautiful package.  Similar dimensions to the Serpent Venom CD, it comes with lyrics which helps me out a lot.  This is a terrific album that uses the Hammond organ and keyboards to great effect and reminds me a lot of Deep Purple.  This is a surefire Top 20 of the year album.  Highlights include "Earthrise" and "Tombstone Rider". Rating - 4.5/5

West, Bruce & Laing - Why Dontcha - A band with so much heavy metal royalty (Leslie West, Jack Bruce, Corky Laing) they didn't even have to name the band, Why Dontcha is one of my favorite proto-metal albums of the 70s.  The title track alone is worth the price of admission.  Musically, they strike a good balance between Cream and Mountain - Highlights include "Why Dontcha" and "The Doctor". Rating - 4/5