January 16, 2026

NehruvianDOOM - NehruvianDOOM (Sound of The Son) (2014)

By 
Country: U.S.A.
Genre: Hip-Hop
Label Number: LEX099CD
 
© 2014 Lex Records
For NehruvianDOOM, impressed mentor (MF Doom) meets talented newcomer with a jones for the old boom-bap (Bishop Nehru) and a project is born, although maybe not fully launched. Sound of the Son is too short to consider fleshed-out as it runs eight tracks without the trippy intro, and oddly enough, when young wordsmith Nehru gets in reflective story mode ("So Alone," "Coming for You"), producer Doom cuts the power before these tracks cross the three-minute mark. Still, his productions are more beautifully broken than previously, and with the aptly titled "Great Things," he's reached a new pop plateau with one of his most sunshine-bright beats to date. The chemistry is way above a mash-up, and this May/December posse is certainly an interesting mix; just don't expect a Madvillain-sized sense of purpose from this short and sweet blast.  
 
* Due to past abuse, comments for the Hip-Hop section have been disabled.
 
 
tags: nehruvian doom, sound of the son, 2014, flac,
More Info

Various Artists - Chrome Children (2006)

By 
Country: U.S.A.
Genre: Hip-Hop
Label Number: STH 2150
 
© 2006 Stones Throw Records
Despite the fact that the album is released in association with [adult swim], the Cartoon Network program that helped to bring the world the Danger Doom Mouse and the Mask album in 2005, there are no rapping cartoons on Chrome Children. The record, in fact, is much more a celebration of Stones Throw's ten years as a label than any sort of collaboration with animated characters. Label founder Peanut Butter Wolf shows off much of his roster with (mainly) unreleased tracks, including J Dilla's stellar and melancholic "Nothing Like This." Besides the late artist, who performs on and/or produces a handful of other songs, label superstar Madlib is also a major player on the record, appearing no less than six times, most excitingly as a solo rapper on "Take It Back," but also in some of his various other incarnations (as Quasimoto, a producer, and Young Jazz Rebels, who seem to be the percussive cousins of Yesterdays New Quintet), including as a part of Madvillain, who contribute a fantastic new song, "Monkey Suite," which has a tight yet spacy beat and some great lines from "DOOM all capitals, no trick spelling." Lib's brother, Oh No, shows up on "Oh Zone," which pays tribute to his musical family and influences, and Percee P, the underappreciated MC who's set to release his solo debut with Stones Throw, delivers fantastic, quick rhymes on "Raw Heat." But besides the hip-hop, which is excellent, and showcases the best of each artist, Chrome Children also has examples of the label's interest in other music. The lounge-funk of Gary Wilson emerges in "Dream(s)" (which had actually already been released on 2003's Forgotten Lovers, but not yet on Stones Throw), Georgia Anne Muldrow does her experimental soul wanderings on "Simply a Joy," Dudley Perkins adds his great, raspy Armageddon vocals over a Ray Charles-esque synth vamp on "Wassup World," and Ohio's Pure Essence's "Third Rock," taken from the Soul Cal imprint, is nothing but smooth, warm funk. Stones Throw has always claimed to be leading the way in innovative hip-hop, and Chrome Children proves that they're definitely telling the truth. Here's to ten more years. [The DVD included with the album contains interviews with both Madlib and Peanut Butter Wolf, as well as the [adult swim]-sponsored Stones Throw concert at the SXSW festival.]
 
* Due to past abuse, comments for the Hip-Hop section have been disabled.
 
 
tags: various artists, chrome children, 2006, flac,
More Info

Kno - Death Is Silent (2010)

By 
Country: U.S.A.
Genre: Hip-Hop
Label Number: VNU1003/APOS003
 
© 2010 A Piece of Strange Music
*No professional reviews are available for this release.
 
 * Due to past abuse, comments for the Hip-Hop section have been disabled.
 
 
tags: kno, death is silent, 2010, flac,
More Info

MarQ Spekt & Kno - MacheteVision (Deluxe Edition) (2011)

By 
*This pressing contains 20 tracks total. 
Country: U.S.A.
Genre: Hip-Hop
Label Number: None
 
© 2011 QN5 Music
*No professional reviews are available for this release. 
 
* Due to past abuse, comments for the Hip-Hop section have been disabled.
 
 
tags: marq spekt and kno, machete vision, deluxe edition, 2011, flac,
More Info

January 12, 2026

Joell Ortiz - The Brick: Bodega Chronicles (2007)

By 
Country: U.S.A.
Genre: Hip-Hop
Label Number: KRBN5529
 
© 2007 Lush Life/Koch Records
 On his eagerly anticipated 2007 debut, THE BRICK, Brooklyn-based hip-hop artist Joell Ortiz unleashes a torrent of potent rhymes, revealing exactly why he was long touted as the one of the finest unsigned rappers on the planet. With its strikingly spare sonic backdrops and tough-love NYC attitude, the record allows Ortiz's hard-hitting flow to stand out over all else, as best evinced on the fierce "125 Grams Pt. 1."
 
* Due to past abuse, comments for the Hip-Hop section have been disabled. 
 
 
 tags: joell ortiz, the brick bodega chronicles, 2007, flac,
More Info

Lyrics Born - Later That Day... (2003)

By 
Country: Japan/U.S.A.
Language: English 
Genre: Hip-Hop
Label Number: QP 027-2
 
© 2003 Quannum Projects
 Though Later That Day... is his first solo album, Lyrics Born had been a hip-hop wunderkind for over a decade by the time of the album's release. Granted the first single on SoleSides (the flip side of which launched DJ Shadow's career), LB earned much respect during the late '90s, fronting Latyrx and contributing a few tracks to the underground rap showcase Quannum Spectrum. Later That Day..., programmed and produced virtually alone over the course of several years, features the same dark, bluesy jams that made his tracks on Spectrum a delightful alternative to the hip-hop on display. This record doesn't possess any hooks to match classics like Latyrx's "Lady Don't Tek No" or his Quannum groove "I Changed My Mind," but his programming smarts are still in effect, and the heavy clap of a Latyrx track crops up several times. A parade of West Coast friends drop by for collaborations -- including Gift of Gab, Cut Chemist, Joyo Velarde (also his domestic partner), and former Latyrx partner Lateef the Truth Speaker -- though LB is the star of the show. Often an amazing vocalist, his style of rapping (closer to Mark Murphy than Posdnuos) is a growling sing-speak that flirts with virtually every known vocal trick -- cadence, inflection, hesitation, running scales, and so on. Mostly he pulls it off, though several tracks (including "Rise and Shine") feature him delivering speed raps with a few extra feet to his lines.
 
 * Due to past abuse, comments for the Hip-Hop section have been disabled. 
 
 
 tags: lyrics born, later that day, 2003, flac,
More Info

Lyrics Born - As U Were (2010)

By 
Country: Japan/U.S.A.
Language: English 
Genre: Hip-Hop
Label Number: DCN104
 
© 2010 Decon
Though Later That Day... is his first solo album, Lyrics Born had been a hip-hop wunderkind for over a decade by the time of the album's release. Granted the first single on SoleSides (the flip side of which launched DJ Shadow's career), LB earned much respect during the late '90s, fronting Latyrx and contributing a few tracks to the underground rap showcase Quannum Spectrum. Later That Day..., programmed and produced virtually alone over the course of several years, features the same dark, bluesy jams that made his tracks on Spectrum a delightful alternative to the hip-hop on display. This record doesn't possess any hooks to match classics like Latyrx's "Lady Don't Tek No" or his Quannum groove "I Changed My Mind," but his programming smarts are still in effect, and the heavy clap of a Latyrx track crops up several times. A parade of West Coast friends drop by for collaborations -- including Gift of Gab, Cut Chemist, Joyo Velarde (also his domestic partner), and former Latyrx partner Lateef the Truth Speaker -- though LB is the star of the show. Often an amazing vocalist, his style of rapping (closer to Mark Murphy than Posdnuos) is a growling sing-speak that flirts with virtually every known vocal trick -- cadence, inflection, hesitation, running scales, and so on. Mostly he pulls it off, though several tracks (including "Rise and Shine") feature him delivering speed raps with a few extra feet to his lines.
 
 * Due to past abuse, comments for the Hip-Hop section have been disabled. 
 
 
tags: lyrics born, as u were, 2010, flac,
More Info

Artillery - When Death Comes (2009)

By No comments
Country: Denmark
Language: English 
Genre: Thrash Metal
Label Number: MASS CD 1281 DG
 
© 2009 Metal Mind Productions
Underrated Danish thrashers Artillery have made an impressive comeback on this disc, their first studio release since 1999's B.A.C.K. They've obviously got lots of support from their label, Metal Mind -- the band's entire prior discography was collected in a 2007 box set, Through the Years, which also included tons of bonus tracks. On this disc, the band's core -- the guitar-playing Stytzer brothers, Michael and Morten -- remain, but longtime vocalist Flemming Rönsdorf has been replaced by Søren Nico Adamsen, a change that had some of the band's longtime fans worried. Fortunately, he's a terrific addition to the group, a mid-range singer (neither a growler nor a Rob Halford-esque shrieker) who may remind some of former Anthrax vocalist Joey Belladonna, especially when the group's thrash riffing becomes particularly '80s-esque. Which it does quite a bit. Artillery is not a band that's changed with the times -- they're still doing exactly what they did at the beginning of their career. "Delusions of Grandeur" offers some variation from the band's head-down, high-speed riffing style, but even the acoustic guitar melody that dominates this song is fast and intricate. "Not a Nightmare" starts off slow and doomy, but it's a bait-and-switch, as the pummeling begins soon enough. "Damned Religion" is another slow one, sounding almost like Heaven & Hell as Adamsen attempts Ronnie James Dio-esque bombast, with mixed results. One of the best things about When Death Comes, though, is the powerful production and mixing; every instrument is clear and thunderous, especially Peter Thorslund's bass. This is a quality disc recommended to any metalhead, not just thrash diehards.
 
 tags: artillery, when death comes, 2009, flac,
More Info

Artillery - My Blood (Limited Edition) (2011)

By No comments
*This pressing contains 13 tracks total.
Country: Denmark
Language: English 
Genre: Thrash Metal
Label Number: MASS CD 1441 DG
 
© 2011 Metal Mind Productions
The second album by the reunited Danish thrash band Artillery (they went on hiatus in 2000, then returned with 2009's surprisingly strong When Death Comes) is another powerhouse demonstration of musical stick-to-itiveness and the power of maturity over youthful fervor. These guys are all veterans, particularly the guitar-playing Stützer brothers, always the core of the band. New vocalist Søren Adamsen isn't a death metal growler, he's a full-throated roarer in the vein of classic '80s thrash frontmen like Anthrax's Joey Belladonna, and on a few songs here (particularly the album-opening "Mi Sangre [The Blood Song]," which incorporates a Turkish-derived acoustic guitar melody to great effect), he sounds like latter-day Rob Halford -- he doesn't do the screams, but has a similar vocal timbre. The music is powerful and anthemic, with plenty of twists and turns that hold listeners' attention without being all about "look what we can do"; everything here serves the song, and there are a few memorable choruses scattered about. It's impressive as hell that these guys are capable of cranking it out with this much energy and undiminished technical skill, well into their middle years. Recommended to fans of classic thrash. 
 
tags: artillery, my blood, limited edition, 2011, flac,
More Info

January 08, 2026

Flobots - Fight With Tools (2005)

By 
Country: U.S.A.
Genre: Hip-Hop
Style: Alternative Hip-Hop 
Label Number: B011258-02
 
© 2007 Universal Republic Records
When listening to the Flobots debut album, Fight with Tools, there's a feeling that all the destruction and injustice this politically motivated alt rap crew speak of has been seen through CNN YouTube. There's a certain grit missing, a certain soul that comes from living the nightmare and surviving, and whether they've been through it or not, the Flobots just don't display it. Fight with Tools also feels like a college class project partly because it's so clean, but also because it's incredibly busy with ambition and new ideas overflowing as everything and the kitchen sink get thrown into the record. This youthful ambition and willingness to explore is also what makes the record special. The Denver crew enter by spitting out a Gil Scott-Heron by way of Def Poetry Jam bit of prose on the opening "There's a War Going on for Your Mind," offering surreal lines like "It's raining pornography/Lovers take shelter" over melancholy chamber music. That's the Flobots' real hook; they rap with a live band, and not the guitar, bass, drums beat combo you've seen before. It's all of the above and some strings, horns, and other things left over from the orchestra and marching band. This isn't as Kids from Fame as it sounds, since the Flobots do have a believablly stern pose, and if they aren't experienced, they are brilliantly educated and aware. Good points are made with skill and fine wordplay, the guitars and drums crunch along driving home the message with head-bobbing grooves, and then album opens up with the marvelous "Handlebars," a carefully crafted, slowly building tale of the ego run wild via some beautiful muted trumpet. It's a very Fort Minor moment, and sweet relief from all the pain and in-your-face politics, suggesting the Flobots could benefit from a little more restraint. Here, they've got so much to stay it's hardly worth considering. If the talented young bucks want to shout down the world as if they own the place, why curb their inspiring appetite for justice by asking for discipline and composure? 
 
* Due to past abuse, comments for the Hip-Hop section have been disabled. 
 
 
 tags: flobots, fight with tools, 2005, flac,
More Info

Z‐Trip - Shifting Gears (2005)

By 
Country: U.S.A.
Genre: Hip-Hop, Electro
Label Number: 2061-62503-2
 
© 2005 Hollywood/Hard Left Records
 Live, DJ Z-Trip infringes copyrights like nobody's business. He's won over turntable heads and jam band fans with his genre-jumping mash-ups, and his most influential moments have come in the form of MP3s that are traded well below the RIAA's radar. So how does a swashbuckling bootlegger of a DJ release an album on a major label? By declaring himself a "producer" and brewing up new tracks. But Z-Trip has a secret up his sleeve -- he's a great producer and able to celebrate the music he usually bites by capturing the spirit rather than just copying it. Shifting Gears is a reminiscing album that is in love with a time when breakdancers and b-boys ruled and living without your Adidas was just impossible. There's plenty of breakbeats, vocoders, and "to the beat y'all"s, but there's also a bunch of up-to-date rapping from the alternative rappers and a wealth of furious scratching that is more concerned with tearing it up than nostalgia. Z-Trip is a monster behind the decks, so much so that it's easy to ignore Shifting Gears' rock-solid base. Firm infectious beats fill the album, supporting both the DJ's own scratch-fests and complementing the style of every rapper who stops by. A phat, quirky beat supports Murs' uplifting and innocent ode to Saturday morning cartoons and sugary cereals, while Lyrics Born gets some tasty bongo loops and Gap Band-style synth to anchor down his party chant. Giving Chuck D a Rick Rubin-y crunch behind him seems like a cop-out, but it's still a serviceable track. On the other hand, Z-Trip's team-up with Linkin Park frontman Chester Bennington falls flat with forced angst from the vocalist and surprisingly drab, faux-noir backing from the Z man. Of course, one monkey don't stop no show, and the rest of Shifting Gears is more than you'd expect from a turntablist full-length and a great argument for Z-Trip as producer.
 
 * Due to past abuse, comments for the Hip-Hop section have been disabled. 
 
 
tags: z trip, shifting gears, 2005, flac,
More Info

Fort Minor - The Rising Tied (2005)

By 
Country: U.S.A.
Genre: Hip-Hop
Label Number: 9362-49388-2
 
© 2005 Machine Shop/Warner Bros. Records
Breaking off into his own hip-hop universe, Linkin Park's rapper and in-house producer Mike Shinoda presents Fort Minor, a loose side project with a steady stream of guests, yet a surprisingly personal project too that sometimes puts the listeners right in Shinoda's shoes. On The Rising Tied, Fort Minor can strike the baller pose a little too hard and sometimes the club-minded tracks shout loud while saying nothing. Softening the blow of these standard rock-dude-doing-rap clichés is the production, with constructions that are like House of Pain meets the Crystal Method and a whole synthetic orchestra in tow. As executive producer, Jay-Z calls it during the album's intro, it's a "big sound," and as he focuses on "richness of the sound" he knows this is "something serious." Serious is something Shinoda excels at and The Rising Tied slays when it goes epic. "Right Now" connects the hood, to the 'burbs, to Iraq effortlessly while rapidly introducing a series of lonely people that are all as stuck as Eleanor Rigby. "Where'd You Go" tugs at the heart even harder while suggesting it doesn't matter if it's war or constant business trips are keeping loved ones away from home, it just plain hurts. There's also the bleak and bitter "Kenji" which focuses on the Japanese-American internees during World War II with believable venom. Empty headed numbers like "In Stereo" ("Oh-oh/Ready for it here we go/We got the block rocking in stereo") are the kind of tracks you wouldn't want to be caught dead representing as street hip-hop when in the hood, but if it's filler when compared to the soul-searching highlights, it's damn catchy filler with lyrics innocuous enough for everyday suburban partying. On the other hand, the following "Back Home" finds Shinoda holding his own next to hip-hop hero Common and a little while later "High Road" nails the "all you haters stop playin'" track perfectly and nearly at Twista speed. Even if the album is more TRL than 106 & Park, it's only an easy target for cynical folks who haven't really listened to it. The Rising Tied is brilliant in parts, "Dre Day" here and there, but mostly unique and just as "big" as Jay-Z says it is. 
 
 * Due to past abuse, comments for the Hip-Hop section have been disabled. 
 
 
tags: fort minor, the rising tied, 2005, flac,
More Info

January 04, 2026

Fields of The Nephilim - Dawnrazor (1987)

By No comments
*U.K. first pressing.
Contains 13 tracks total.
Country: United Kingdom
Genre: Gothic Rock
Label Number: SITU 18 CD
 
© 1987 Situation Two
Losing the saxophone player from earlier EPs and taking advantage of better budgets and studios, the Nephilim on their first full album established themselves as serious contenders in the goth world. It certainly didn't hurt having signed to Beggars Banquet, home of such acts as Bauhaus and the Cult, though the more obvious source of the Nephilim's sound at this point was the Sisters of Mercy, various attempts to deny it aside. Like Eldritch's crew, the Nephilim fivesome weren't aiming just for the clad-in-black audience, but at being a great group in general; while that goal wasn't quite achieved on Dawnrazor, the band came very close. With sympathetic and evocative production throughout by Bill Buchanan, the album strongly showcases another chief element of the Nephilim's sound: Ennio Morricone. The at-the-time totally outrageous fusion of smoky, cinematic spaghetti western guitars with the doom-wracked ominous flavor of the music in general, not to mention McCoy's growled invocations of pagan ceremonies and mystic energy, provoked a lot of merriment from outside observers. The Nephilim stuck to their guns, though, and by wisely never cracking a smile on this album, they avoided the cheap ironic way out. Songs here which would become classics in the band's repertoire included the fiery "Preacher Man," which sounds like what would happen if Sergio Leone filmed a Stephen King story; the quick, dark gallop of "Power" (originally a separate single, then added to the album on later pressings); and the slow, powerful build of the title track, featuring McCoy practically calling the demons down on his head. For all of the undeniable musicianship and storming fury of the songs, sometimes things just get a little too goofy for words, as revealed in a classic, unintentionally hilarious lyric by McCoy from "Vet for the Insane": "The flowers in the kitchen...WEEP for you!."
 
tags: fields of the nephilim, dawnrazor, 1987, flac,
More Info

Fields of The Nephilim - The Nephilim (1989)

By No comments
*U.K. first pressing. 
Contains 9 tracks total.
Country: United Kingdom
Genre: Gothic Rock
Label Number: SITU 22 CD
 
© 1988 Situation Two
Having built a considerable and passionate fanbase, the Nephilim approached their second album with confidence and a clutch of stunning new songs. The resulting, semi-self-titled release blows away the first by a mile (the art design alone, depicting an ancient, worn book with strange symbols, is a winner), being an elegantly produced and played monster of dark, powerful rock. Even if McCoy's cries and husked whispers don't appeal to all, once the listener gets past that to the music, the band simply goes off, incorporating their various influences -- especially a good dollop of pre-Dark Side of the Moon Pink Floyd (think songs like "One of These Days") -- to create a massive blast of a record. Buchanan again produces with a careful ear for maximum impact, whether it be the roaring rage of "Chord of Souls" or the minimal guitar and slight keyboard wash of "Celebrate"; McCoy's vocal on the latter is especially fine as a careful, calm brood that matches the music. Perhaps most surprising about the album is that it yielded an honest-to-goodness U.K. Top 40 hit with "Moonchild," which is very much in the vein of earlier songs like "Preacher Man" but with just enough of a catchier chorus and softer guitar part in the verse to make a wider mark. Though the first part of the album is quite fine, including such longtime fan favorites as "The Watchman" and "Phobia," after "Moonchild" the record simply doesn't let up, building to a fantastic three-song conclusion. "Celebrate" is followed by "Love Under Will," a windswept, gloomily romantic number with a lovely combination of the band's regular push and extra keyboards for effect. "Last Exit for the Lost" wraps everything up on an astonishing high; starting off softly with just bass, synths, one guitar, and McCoy, it then gently speeds up more and more, pumping up the volume and finally turning into a momentous, unstoppable tidal wave of electric energy.
 
 tags: fields of the nephilim, the nephilim, 1989, flac,
More Info

Arcade Fire - Funeral (2004)

By No comments
Country: Canada
Language: English 
Genre: Indie Rock
Label Number: MRG 255
 
© 2004 Merge Records
Fronted by the husband-and-wife team of Win Butler and Régine Chassagne, the Arcade Fire's emotional debut -- rendered even more poignant by the dedications to recently departed family members contained in its liner notes -- is brave, empowering, and dusted with something that many of the indie rock genre's more contrived acts desperately lack: an element of real danger. Funeral's mourners -- specifically Butler and Chassagne -- inhabit the same post-apocalyptic world as London Suede's Dog Man Star; they are broken, beaten, and ferociously romantic, reveling in the brutal beauty of their surroundings like a heathen Adam & Eve. "Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)," the first of four metaphorical forays into the geography of the soul, follows a pair of young lovers who meet in the middle of the town through tunnels that connect to their bedrooms. Over a soaring piano lead that's effectively doubled by distorted guitar, they reach a Lord of the Flies-tinged utopia where they can't even remember their names or the faces of their weeping parents. Butler sings like a lion-tamer whose whip grows shorter with each and every lash. He can barely contain himself, and when he lets loose it's both melodic and primal, like Berlin-era Bowie. "Neighborhood #2 (Laïka)" examines suicidal desperation through an angular Gang of Four prism; the hypnotic wash of strings and subtle meter changes of "Neighborhood #4 (7 Kettles)" winsomely capture the mundane doings of day-to-day existence; and "Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)," Funeral's victorious soul-thumping core, is a goose bump-inducing rallying cry centered around the notion that "the power's out in the heart of man, take it from your heart and put it in your hand." Arcade Fire are not bereft of whimsy. "Crown of Love" is like a wedding cake dropped in slow motion, utilizing a Johnny Mandel-style string section and a sweet, soda-pop-stand chorus to provide solace to a jilted lover yearning for a way back into the fold, and "Haiti" relies on a sunny island melody to explore the complexities of Chassagne's mercurial homeland. However, it's the sheer power and scope of cuts like "Wake Up" -- featuring all 15 musicians singing in unison -- and the mesmerizing, early-Roxy Music pulse of "Rebellion (Lies)" that make Funeral the remarkable achievement that it is. These are songs that pump blood back into the heart as fast and furiously as it's draining from the sleeve on which it beats, and by the time Chassagne dissects her love of riding "In the Backseat" with the radio on, despite her desperate fear of driving, Funeral's singular thread is finally revealed; love does conquer all, especially love for the cathartic power of music.
 
 tags: arcade fire, funeral, 2004, flac,
More Info

Arcade Fire - Neon Bible (2007)

By No comments
Country: Canada
Language: English 
Genre: Indie Rock
Label Number: MRG285
 
© 2007 Merge Records
 When Montreal's Arcade Fire released Funeral in 2004, it received the kind of critical and commercial acclaim that most bands spend their entire careers trying to attain. Within a year the group was headlining major festivals and sharing the stage with U2 and New York City's "two Davids" (Bowie and Byrne), all the while amassing a devoted following that descended upon shows like sinners at a tent revival, engaging in the kind of artist appreciation that can easily turn to a false sense of ownership. On their alternately wrecked and defiant follow-up, Neon Bible, one can sense a bit of a Wall being erected (Win Butler's Roger Waters/Bruce Springsteen/Garrison Keillor-style vocal delivery notwithstanding) around the group. If Funeral was the goodbye kiss on the coffin of youth, then Bible is the bitter pint (or pints) after a long day's work. The brooding opener, "Black Mirror," with its sinister "Suffragette City"-inspired groove and murky refrain of "Mirror, Mirror on the wall/Show me where them bombs will fall," sets an immediate world-weary tone that permeates that majority of Neon Bible's Technicolor pages. As expected, those sentiments are amplified with all of the majestic and overwrought power that has divided listeners since the group's ascension to indie rock royalty, but despite a tendency toward midtempo balladry and post-fame cynicism, they're anything but dull. It's the triumphant orchestral remake of live staple "No Cars Go" and the infectious "Keep the Car Running" -- the latter sounds like a 21st century update of John Cafferty & the Beaver Brown Band's "On the Dark Side" -- that will most appeal to Funeral fans, and when the bottom drops out a minute and a half into the pipe organ-led "Intervention" and Butler wails "Who's gonna reset the bone," it's hard not get caught up in all of the dystopian fervor. "Black Wave/Bad Vibrations" and "The Well and the Lighthouse" continue the band's explorations into progressive song structures and lush mini-suites, the thunder-filled "Ocean of Noise" is reminiscent of Bossanova-era Pixies, and the stark (at first) closer "My Body Is a Cage" straddles the sawhorse of earnest desperation and classic rock & roll self-absorption so effortlessly that it demands to be either turned off or all the way up. Neon Bible takes a few spins to digest properly, and like all rich foods (orchestra, harps, and gospel choirs abound), it's as decadent as it is tasty -- theatricality has never been a practice that the collective has shied away from -- but there's no denying the Arcade Fire's singular vision, even when it blurs a little. 
 
 tags: arcade fire, neon bible, 2007, flac,
More Info

Arcade Fire - The Suburbs (2010)

By No comments
Country: Canada
Language: English 
Genre: Indie Rock
Label Number: 2742629/A
 
© 2010 City Slang/Sonovox Records
Montreal's Arcade Fire successfully avoided the sophomore slump with 2007's apocalyptic Neon Bible. Heavier and more uncertain than their nearly perfect, darkly optimistic 2004 debut, the album aimed for the nosebleed section and left a red mess. Having already fled the cold comforts of suburbia on Funeral and suffered beneath the weight of the world on Neon Bible, it seems fitting that a band once so consumed with spiritual and social middle-class fury should find peace "under the overpass in the parking lot." If nostalgia is just pain recalled, repaired, and resold, then The Suburbs is its sales manual. Inspired by brothers Win and William Butler's suburban Houston, Texas upbringing, the 16-track record plays out like a long lost summer weekend, with the jaunty but melancholy Kinks/Bowie-esque title cut serving as its bookends. Meticulously paced and conservatively grand, fans looking for the instant gratification of past anthems like "Wake Up" and "Intervention" will find themselves reluctantly defending The Suburbs upon first listen, but anyone who remembers excitedly jumping into a friend's car on a sleepy Friday night armed with heartache, hope, and no agenda knows that patience is key. Multiple spins reveal a work that's as triumphant and soul-slamming as it is sentimental and mature. At its most spirited, like on "Empty Room," "Rococo," "City with No Children," "Half Light II (No Celebration)," "We Used to Wait," and the glorious Régine Chassagne-led "Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)," the latter of which threatens to break into Blondie's "Heart of Glass" at any moment, Arcade Fire make the suburbs feel positively electric. Quieter moments reveal a changing of the guard, as Win trades in the Springsteen-isms of Neon Bible for Neil Young on "Wasted Hours," and the ornate rage of Funeral for the simplicity of a line like "Let's go for a drive and see the town tonight/There's nothing to do, but I don't mind when I'm with you," from album highlight "Suburban War." The Suburbs feels like Richard Linklater's Dazed & Confused for the Y generation. It's serious without being preachy, cynical without dissolving into apathy, and whimsical enough to keep both sentiments in line, and of all of their records, it may be the one that ages the best. 
 
tags: arcade fire, the suburbs, 2010, flac,
More Info

December 31, 2025

Artillery - Fear of Tomorrow (1985)

By No comments
*Reissued on CD for the first time in 1998 by 
Axe Killer/Roadrunner Records. 
This pressing contains 9 tracks total 
and non-remastered audio.
Country: Denmark
Language: English 
Genre: Thrash Metal
Label Number: 3038632
 
© 1985-1998 Axe Killer/Roadrunner Records
After making quite a name for themselves in tape-trading circles as one of Europe's most promising early thrash metal bands, Denmark's Artillery faced the challenge of matching the raw power and wild intensity of their demos with their first album proper. Fans needn't have worried about 1985's Fear of Tomorrow, however, for, even though the quintet's somewhat inconsistent songwriting couldn't keep listeners riveted at all times, their instrumental abilities at such high speeds still sounded quite phenomenal for the mid-'80s, and the distinctively varied style of singer Flemming Ronsdorf provided a highlight in itself. His wailing falsetto was common enough for the era, but when combined with a lower, gravelly growl, somewhere between AC/DC's Bon Scott and Accept's Udo Dirkschneider, it would become Artillery's most recognizable asset. And when backed up with the aforementioned, adrenalized technique of his bandmates (and particularly the high flying six-string heroics of Michael Stytzer and Jorgen Sandau), songs like "The Almighty," "Show Your Hate," and "Out of the Sky" represented the crème de la crème of European thrash in 1985. Yes, American thrash cues were almost inevitable, as well (see the "Seek & Destroy"-style towards the end of the semi-epic "Deeds of Darkness"), but alongside the simultaneously burgeoning German contingent (Kreator, Helloween, et al), Fear of Tomorrow saw Artillery contributing to a decisively European brand of thrash. 
 
 tags: artillery, fear of tomorrow, 1985, 1998, flac,
More Info

Artillery - Terror Squad (1987)

By No comments
*Reissued on CD for the first time in 1998 
by Axe Killer/Roadrunner Records. 
This pressing contains 8 tracks total 
and non-remastered audio.
Country: Denmark
Language: English 
Genre: Thrash Metal
Label Number: 3038642
 
© 1987-1998 Axe Killer/Roadrunner Records
Artillery's first album, 1985's Fear of Tomorrow, had already lost a little something in terms of wild spontaneity when compared to their heavily traded tape demos, but its 1987 successor, Terror Squad, though blessed with improved production, proved to be even more regimented and overwrought. Album opener "The Challenge" arguably qualified as the band's most memorable and (within reason) accessible composition yet, but the same standards were only occasionally replicated thereafter by portions of the title track and "Hunger and Greed." Otherwise, token new material like "In the Thrash," "Let There Be Sin," and "Therapy" found Artillery bogging down into convoluted arrangements, better suited to showcasing their instrumental technique (reminiscent of Exodus) than songwriting abilities. Add to this singer Flemming Ronsdorf's increasing propensity for crotch-squeezing falsettos (an almost inescapable habit of the '80s metal aesthetic) in place of his more distinctive growls, and the histrionics -- instrumental and vocal -- wind up overpowering the content. Thankfully, even when not at the top of their game, Artillery still possessed the instincts to keep their thrash more interesting than most (check out semi-epic "At War with Science" for a smorgasbord of riffs and the brilliantly titled "Decapitations of Deviants," with its amusing lyrics about "No time to relax in the grass"), and for this reason, Terror Squad kept most of their existing fan base satisfied. 
 
 tags: artillery, terror squad, 1987, flac,
More Info

Artillery - By Inheritance (1990)

By No comments
*First pressing. 
Contains 10 tracks total.
Country: Denmark
Language: English
Genre: Thrash Metal
Label Number: RCD 9397
 
© 1990 R/C Records
Because the band risked experimenting with some bold new directions on 1990's By Inheritance, the album usually gets a bad rap from grumpy thrash purists and even some Artillery fans. But, with the benefit of hindsight, Artillery's third album frequently sounds like their finest hour, as much for boasting some of the most distinctive and imaginative songs of their career as for incorporating textural variety at a time when many of the Danish quintet's contemporaries were wallowing in stagnation. Clearly influenced by heavy metal tastemakers Metallica and Iron Maiden (in particular, their Egypt-themed Powerslave album) when recording By Inheritance, Artillery injected Eastern-flavored melodies into typically technical and muscular thrash offerings like "Khomaniac" and the title track, then looked no further than Roadrunner labelmates Annihilator for the melodic acumen achieved on "Bombfood" and "Back in the Trash." More traditional speed metal elements eventually surfaced on "Life in Bondage" and "Equal at First," but additional album standouts "Beneath the Clay (R.I.P.)" and "Don't Believe" (released as a single before the LP) continually inserted unprecedented doses of melody and contrasting softer passages with fantastic results, thus paving the way for a guilt-free cover of Nazareth's "Razamanaz" that sounded perfectly natural by the time it arrived. Unfortunately, these many qualities didn't succeed in converting staunch defenders of the thrash faith, and By Inheritance's troubled recording sessions even tore Artillery apart, reportedly requiring three separate mixes before vocalist Flemming Ronsdorf took charge of the process. Still, if time heals all wounds (Artillery briefly reunited a decade later), then there's hope that By Inheritance will also be given the re-evaluation it deserves. 
 
 tags: artillery, by inheritance, 1990, flac,
More Info