Neutral Milk Hotel- In The Aeroplane Over The Sea (1998)

If I remember correctly, this band was yet again, introduced to me by Mr. Chelmets.  When I first heard this album by Neutral Milk Hotel, I was mainly into aggressive music that was loud and fast and brutal, and even though this album is the opposite of it, I immediately fell in love with it. When you listen to this album, you'll realize that there is something really different about it; it's not overly produced or some great symphonic piece, yet the style and emotion that is intertwined with the songs has a tendency to grab you and not let go.

In the Aeroplane Over the Sea is not the first release by Neutral Milk Hotel, but when you ask the majority of people who are familiar with them, this is what put them on the map.  11 tracks and right under 40 minutes long, this album plays very quickly, yet by the end of the album, you feel like you've been on an insightful journey with a story that was told that grips every part of your mind.  The album itself has a great streamline of tracks; as some of the tracks ends the next one starts with the same lead out sound of the preceding.  Lots of fuzz, the guitar and bass end up melding with an overtone of fuzz that helps put additional grit to the folk type vocals.  Even with a "folk" type base to these tracks, the lyrics help produce a vivid imagery of lonesomeness and strife that gets resurrected with triumphant vigor.  I'm not into the sappy emotional type songs that make you feel like you should be sad or something, and even though these lyrics help bring out musical emotion, that emotion is enveloped in the grand scheme of available feelings.  Mainly acoustic guitar driven, there is a horn section on multiple tracks that, when mixed with their low-fi sound and fuzz, helps with additional aural effects that brings the whole track/album together.

This is one of my all time favorite albums.  I have read through this review a couple of time before I posted it, and I still feel like I haven't given it enough credit.  I have, and will continue to, recommend this album to everyone; as the sound is for a wide audience, not just a certain niche.  NMH is no longer around, though the main guy, Jeff Magnum, is still doing different artistic endeavors.  This album can be found in most music store, with it being released on CD/Tape & Vinyl, but can be found all over the place online.  If you use peer-2-peer software, you will be able to find a lot of live bootlegs, studio releases and self-released material for free.  Get this, buy it, whatever; I promise you won't be disappointed.

Official score-4.5/5

Darkthrone- Transilvanian Hunger (1994)

Having been roomates with Gene Cesspool, for quite some time, I was introduced to, and became a metal fan over the years.  With there being many different genres within Metal as a whole, I was drawn to the dark evil side of Black Metal, relatively quickly.  Out of all the different Black Metal bands I have heard, Darkthrone quickly became my favorite.  Having started with a Death Metal sound, Darkthrone transitioned into a premier Black Metal sound, hailing from Norway.  Having been around since the beginnings of the Black Metal scene, and still releasing music, Darkthrone has established themselves as iconic figures.

Transilvanian Hunger is Darkthrone's 4th album. (They have 14 total, with the last release being in 2010!)  Currently, Darkthrone has strayed away from their Black Metal sound, and have progressed into their own style of metal/speed metal-punk sound, but this album is one of their true Black Metal releases.  With 8 track and nearly 40 minutes of true old school Black Metal, you won't get disappointed with this album.  Darkthrone has been one of my favorites because they aren't a melodic black metal band, they are true in your face dark black metal: guitars, drums, vocals; no keyboards or atmospheric sounds or silly singing interludes to try and make you think of evilness.  The other aspect about this album that is great, is that fact that the recording was done on analog equipment, over 17 years ago, so that dirty raw sound is affluent throughout the tracks.  I have a friend that I loaned this album to, and he didn't like it due to that reason, but then again he has a HIM album in his collection.  Either way you look at this, if you are a metal fan, black metal fan, punk fan or extreme music fan, this not only shows the roots and sounds of the genre but holds true to the underlining black metal sound.

If you like black metal, get this; if you like metal, then get this.  No matter how you come across it, find it, or seek it out, this is a great album to listen to and for archival purposes.

Official score- 4/5

Spanish Harlem Orchestra- Across 110th Street (2004)

Growing up in a mexican-american household and being exposed to latin music at an early age, I find myself going through phases where I want to hear some latin music that gets the ol' nostalgia going.   Browsing folders in my favorite peer-2-peer program, Soulseek, I came across Spanish Harlem Orchestra, and after looking them up, I figured "let's check out some modern Salsa".

Across 110th Street is a pretty good album, with lots of energy and swinging sounds that will pretty much fill any want you might have if you are craving Salsa.  (not the kind for your chips retard!)   The album flows really well, and every song is really well produced; and that's where I ran into a snag.  It's not that I don't like nicely produced music, but every so often, on this album, there were some production edits, to the vocals and mix, that seemed a little too clean.  To me, part of the attraction to World music, and especially latin music, is the feel of, for a better lack of words, Earthiness.  I like to have the music make me think of the musicians, in their own country, playing live or in a little club or something; I don't know, maybe I am a little overly critical, but that's all I got.  The vocals, featuring Ruben Blades, are really good, the music is really good, overall the album is really good;  but if you have ever heard any Ibrahim Ferrer, then you'll know what I mean when I talk about the over production.  (Granted Ibrahim Ferrer isn't really a Salsa vocalist, the general latin style is what I am referencing in this.)  With 13 tracks and a little over an hour of playtime, this album goes by pretty fast.

If you like Salsa music, you'll like this; or if you like latin music as a whole, you'll like this album.  Across 110th Street is a great jumping off point for latin/salsa music, but you can find better if you dig around a little bit.  Totally worth buying if you find it used or online for a free download.

Official score- 3.75/5

Samla Mammas Manna- Maltid (1973)

If it wasn't for EdibleChrist introducing me to the R.I.O.- Rock In Opposition- genre, I never would have come across these guys.  Sammla Mammas Manna has gone through multiple line up changes and even a few name changes, but this album, their 2nd, seems to sum up this early 70's Swedish Prog/Rio sound to a "T". 

Maltid has a huge mix of all musical styles combined in one single direct approach for an all encompassing sound.  The vocals are in Swedish, and since I don't speak Swedish, I have no idea what they are saying; but since they use their vocals as more of an instrument and not as a "main sound" it fits in perfectly. (Seriously, they could be talking about unicorns or the newest Swedish dance hit for all I know.)  The great thing about this album, and alot of the early 70's European RIO/prog sound, is the fact that all the instruments being played, are being played very well.  You get to hear solos on various instruments, and the drumming is really quite advanced when you think of the time period when it was made.  Since the time signatures change and the instrumentation is weaving in and out of each other, the percussion is a constant throughout, not including their own solos.  Guitars, bass, pianos, xylophones, and more are used to provide you with a sense of music based comradeship that melts into a dynamic sound that will keep the most avid music fan and the most hyper ADHD child enthralled with interest.

RIO is a genre that you have to acquire a taste for.  Not for the standard music fan, this album and the genre as a whole, will be highly respected by some, and greatly disliked by others.  If you enjoy divers music, you'll love RIO and if you like RIO, you must get this album.

Official score-4/5

Jedi Mind Tricks- The Psycho-Social, Chemical, Biological & Electro-Magnetic Manipulation of Human Consciousness (1997)

This is another project that I have to thank Chelmets for introducing me to.  I have always been a fan of hip hop, and as I have gotten older, I really enjoy social based lyrics and intellectual insight, which Jedi Mind Tricks portray to the fullest in this album. 

The Psycho-Social release by Jedi Mind Tricks is the first of many releases from this Philadelphia based group.  With 18 tracks of darkly based beats that interweave social/political/esoteric topics, this is truly a really good album.  Now anyone who listens to a lot of music, might be thinking, "late 90's rap? seriously?" But this album holds consistent insight, even 14 years later.  The beats on this album are really good, every track has a dark theme to its sound, and you can tell that the production was scrutinized while getting mixed down prior to it's release.  The lyrics touch on a wide variety of topics including political issues, as well as social issues mixed in with references to many many esoteric topics & alien life form; it's a great album to bring up in a debate on how smart musicians can be, in any genre, especially in hip hop when there are many people who down hip hop as a whole.  Different spoken word clips precede a few of the tracks, which helps put you in the mindset to take in the lyrical journey that the listener experiences throughout this release. 

I rarely listen to hip hop these days, but when I do, this album is a constant for me.  There are many other releases by Jedi Mind Tricks, but this one seemed to stick with me more than any of the rest.  I enjoy hearing all the topics being discussed as well as the type of intellectualism that is portrayed by these artists.  This is one of my top 5 all time favorite hip hop albums, and as long as your not socially/politically uneducated, then you'll love this as well; a must have.

Official score-4/5

Forbidden Demyelination - Chaos Chorus: Dreams Delight (February 2011)

The most recent and only recording M@ and myself have done this year or for the better part of 6 months. We've been doing this project for a good 5+ years now; it being an outlet for exploration of what can be accomplished through random improvisational moments of amateur musical experimentation. Having taken upon many different forms and styles over the years from our beginnings of a horrible noise + vocalization drunkenness, off into many terrains: new wave cheese, electronics heavy gore psychedelia, industrial sound tinkering, undecipherable gutter grindcore, blasphemous bonzo black metal, whiskey soaked blues/country, pop-rock oddity, tropical sunshine surf atmospheres, tribal spirit excavation, to epic multi-layered(tracked) art/noise/space rock psychedelic void.

By mentioning all these qualities that we've bestowed upon our recordings I certainly don't intend to say that the majority of them have much for any expertise or writing skills whatsoever. What we have here is a free form expression of whatever takes place within the "moment" we are recording; good or bad, snazzy or scabby. Our editing on the other hand as well as the meshing of the jamming cues we send and recieve from each other has improved greatly over the years; I do believe that this quality can be heard consitently and growing with each release.

Ok now for an actual review of what takes place within this particular recording.

Beginning with some soft percussion, microkorg synth melody, effected bass guitar experimentation, the synth and bass begin on a loop and we both go into percussion heavy jam, myself on the kit and M@ on his djembe. Swelling, softening, speeding up, slowing down, manic intricacy becoming one atmospheric groove which flows into the next track. The 2nd track takes shape as a surfy jazz like noise rock jam workout between myself on drums and M@ playing bass. Going through many hues of expression, various timing structures, and vibe'itry; I find that this is where M@ and myself shine in our jamming capacity. The 3rd and final track is of a similar vibe but with the added use of hammond organ, more microkorg, and various bass effects. Having a bit more aggressive overblown erratic noise rock sound quality as well as sinking more into exploratory terrain with soothing space rock like energy; the track finishes into a bluesy jam between the two of us finding the groove once again which decays off to the twilight of sporadic sounds. If listened to on repeat the final track flows right into the first lending it a cyclic force.

Now the quality of this recording, track names coming from personal dream images, is certainly not the greatest being open mics into a 2 input cassette deck, but the sound achieved through this means did come out quite clear and crisp though not attaining to the depths some of our other noise-chapel studio works have. For a relatively short listen the almost 23 minutes of this recording moves along rather swiftly and fluidly. Making it honestly a decent place to experience what we as Forbidden Demyelination offer with our output though the albums: Dehydration Induced Hallucination and Self-Titled are much more showing of our full creative capabilities.

Thank you for your time; I hope you can enjoy any of this remotely as much as M@ and I do constructing our mayhemic bliss.

find and listen to some tracks from other albums here: http://www.myspace.com/forbiddendemyelination
or also download and listen to past recordings here:http://www.archive.org/details/urr-netlabel
as well as one available from Smell The Stench no. 213(also available above): http://www.smellthestench.net/net.htm
and for this recording and its cover:http://www.mediafire.com/?52bdoegxre4kw
and a video from the album "Utter":



3/5(have to stay humble knowing we aren't for everyone yet enjoying it greatly myself)

Freak Flag- Experiments in Evolution (2003)

This band is from my town, and this is probably one of the best albums.  Now I know, "ohh those guys are from your town and you probably know them so you think their so cool.", well ya I know them, but seriously this is a fantastic album.  I have been trying to think of what album I have, from a local band, that I want to review first; so I decided to go with my favorite one. 

Freak Flag is really one of the most well rounded and bad ass Experimental/Post-Punk/Space Rock bands around.  This album truly has everything in it: fast punk rhythms mixed with aggression, yet clean and experimental enough to make you listen and realize what all is really going on; as well as cool dark rhythm based melodies that gives you the spaced out atmospheric drones that'll lead you into submission until a lead comes back in get set off your hyperactivity.  I have seen these songs played live, and the album pretty much as their live set, and I have always been very happy with it.  Freak Flag is one of those bands that can pull off their studio sound, live; which is amazing once you listen to it and hear everything that is going on, in the forefront and the background.  The 15 tracks from this album flow better than a loose skank's heavy flow; but honestly, the album flows perfectly and you don't get bored, not even once, during the album.  (which is a huge thing when trying to listen to an album if you have a decent sized collection; at least for me.)

Experiments in Evolution was released on an awesome local label, and Freak Flag can be reached through their Myspace page. With this band not being as big as it should be, you need to contact them to get a copy.  And when you do contact them and get a copy, or listen to the tracks on their page, you won't regret it.  I personally would get the album, locals bands should always be supported, and this album sounds great through a home system. (lots of great pan work and production.)  Despite all that; if I was to stumble across these guys online or see them live, and didn't know them personally, they would still be one of my top all together favorites. I am gonna be overly critical when I give it an official score, because of the fact that I know them, people might think I'm not taking the review all that seriously.  But man, this album is freakin' good and seriously kicks the shit out that fuckin' Arcade Fire album that you are probably listening to.


Official score- 4.75/5

Einsturzende Neubauten- Grundstuck (2005)

Einsturzende Neubauten is in my top 5 favorite all time bands, ever.  Mr. Chelmets introduced them to me, years ago, and I have loved them ever since.  Gene Cesspool & I once drove 10 hours to see them live, then directly after the show, turned around and drove the same 10 hours back.  (On a side note, that was the first, and only, time that I fell asleep driving; which is a really weird/scary feeling.  The trip was tons of fun, and the venue was awesome; even though it was horribly hot in Austin Texas that time of year.)

Grundstuck is an amazing album; and honestly it's hard to find an EN album that is not amazing. 10 tracks of the most amazing post-industrial/melodic/experimental/etc. releases.  If you are not familiar with E.N., you absolutely have to get familiar with them.  This is one of those bands that are historic, I personally have most of their albums, copies of some of the albums on vinyl, a few dvds, I pretty much get everything that I can that is E.N. related.  These guys are from Germany, and are so liked, they get to record in water towers, under the Autobahn, travel the world, and for the last few years have released their albums on their own.  (They have such a huge following that you can become a "member" and get the cd or dvd and the money goes to the completion of the album, the manufacturing, printing, etc.)  Grundstuck is just 1 of many examples of the possibility within music when played and composed by highly skilled highly intuitive musicians.

This album has quite a few changes, from song to song, so it doesn't grow old, even after the un-teenth listen.  Post-Industrial meets studio effects meets vocals that are working along home-made instruments that are all corralled in a symposium of sweet auditory bliss.  I wish that I could write a small periodical on what E.N. has done with music, with the amount of influence they have had on other musicians and the music scene as a whole.  Whenever I get into a conversation regarding music, I usually get asked who are my favorite bands; and when I say E.N., I always get this crazy weird look from whomever I am conversing with. 

This review might not be the most thorough of reviews, regarding the album itself; and I apologize.  But E.N. is one of those bands that will always be pioneers, and will always be revered as one of the all time bests by true music enthusiasts. 

Official score- 4.75/5
(If I ever do another E.N. review, it will always be 4.75/5.  It should be 5/5, but with a lot of people being music ignorant, I toned down the Official Score.)

Suicide Girls- Guide To Living DVD (2010)

If you aren't aware of who or what the Suicide Girls are, you absolutely have to check them out, seriously.  Do you like tattoos? How about piercings? Hot chicks? Naked hot chicks? Naked chicks with tattoos and piercings?  If you answered yes, to any of these questions then you will like the Suicide Girls.  (Seriously, this should be a no-brainer.)

This is actually not the first dvd released by the Suicide Girls.  I'll be honest here, I really like the suicide girls.  I have no idea when or where or how I first stumbled across them, but over the years I have amassed quite a collection of their pic. sets, 2 of their videos and their first photo book; so I am a little biased when it comes to reviewing their stuff.  Now, I have been trying to think how to review this DVD, I mean why wouldn't it just get a 5/5 automatically?  Well, it should, but probably not going to rate it that high. Trust me the DVD is great!  You have tons o' naked chicks, some interviews and then they talk in between each segment.  I guess my only issue is the fact that is plays out like a Playboy video.  With this being 100% soft core style "porn", more pin up style really, or it can even be labeled artistic nudity, it can be a little boring.  (I use the word "boring" in a very liberal sense, due to the fact that any nakedness is not that boring really.)  I liked the interviews with the different models, and then when they go into their "artsy" sequences, much like Playboy films, there is some really bad ass stuff going on. 

With nearly 90 minutes of naked pierced/tattooed ladies, how could you pass this up?  I think this is a must for anyone's library of nakedness, or artsy-ness, but with a real soft soft-core/pin up style, it might take you a while to see it the whole way through.  Luckily Suicide Girls are so popular, you can find almost all of their stuff, super cheap or for free via the internet!

Official score- 4.25/5

BOAT- Soul Thrash Train (1999)

This is a very interesting album, not only that, but this is a band from Japan that I can't really seem to find any bio on.  I have looked online, went through many different links, and even had Firefox translate Japanese pages for me, all to little avail.  Now, I have found pages that list this album, and others that they have their discography, but I can't seem to find any info. on the band itself, that's why you will see very few, if any, links in this post, regarding the band itself.  (So if you read this, please post a link if you find any background info.)

Boat is from Japan, sings in Japanese, and that's pretty much all I know at this time.  Like my usual precursor, I have no idea how I stumbled across these guys, more than likely, and I'm 100% sure this is how it went, I was browsing different users' files on Soulseek and decided to go ahead and try it.  I pride myself in being able to describe what genre(s) a band falls into, for the most part, but for some reason BOAT just seems to escape labeling.  But let me try nonetheless:  Imagine a poppy Japanese band, with the usual shoegaze style female vocals, playing standard Japanese Pop music, then completely switch that up, for every single track; seriously every track!  Every track, out of the 13, are pretty different from the rest; the style changes, the tempo/timing changes, the vocals change, pretty much everything is different, as you go from song to song on the 35+ minutes this release has.  (pop, punk, rock, experimental rock, noise rock, etc.)  I really want to find out more about these guys, and I have plans on getting their other 4 releases to see what they are like as well. 

After reading through this, I feel like my review of this band/album is lacking quite a bit, but this is one of those, and I know I've said this before, bands that you have to check out for yourself.  I really enjoy music, and when you mix in music form other cultures that switches things up so drastically, it's usually a hit with me.  Depending on where you live, you might be able to find this in a store, but more than likely you'll need to look online or download it, if you want to check them out; which you should. 

Official score- 3.75/5

Mayhem- Deathcrush (1987)

Mayhem is one of those legendary bands with so much history and lore, that's is scary and freakin' awesome at the same time.  Formed in 1984, they were one of the pioneers in black metal.  Not only did they write and play songs about all things evil/black metal, they lived it. I won't get into the history of the band, nor the trials/tribulations, but trust me, look up their history and then you'll have to hold them in reverence. ( if you look at the murders & suicides and the apparent craziness of the early metal/black metal scene.)

Deathcrush was Mayhem's first studio release, way back in 1987.  With 6 brutally pioneering tracks, this 20 minute release is short, evil, and brutal.  There were only a few other truly Black Metal bands around at that time period, who spread as much evil and chaos that Mayhem did.  An old friend of mine turned me on to Mayhem, when he was telling me about some letter correspondences he had with Death, before he died.  (Serious follow the "history" link and read about them, its crazy.)  When you listen to this album, it shows that its an old recording, but the brutality of the music being played and the amount of style they had, completely shows through.  Fast brutal drumming mixed with heavily distorted metal guitar and the classic black metal vocals provides a perfect representation of the early black metal scene, not to mention where it has ended up now.  Mixed on the album you will hear harsh electro/noisy intros, as well as some other stuff that will surprise you from a black metal released in the late 80's. 

This is one of my all time favorite, early black metal albums; and honestly this goes right along with some of the early Darkthrone releases, which are my favorite.  You can pretty much find this album anywhere- for free online or for less than $10 at online store, and trust me, it's well worth $10.  Get this album!

Official score-4/5

Rumah Sakit- Obscured by Clowns (2002)

Being unable to remember how I came across Rumah Sakit, I feel comfortable saying that I probably decided to check them out, based solely on their name.  (those unusual names/titles always seem to perk my interests.)  After listening to this album a few times now, I am glad that I found out about them. 

I really enjoy intricate sounding instrumental music, and that's what you get on "Obscured by Clowns".  Each of the 9 songs does a good job at weaving intricacies into the music palette that you get audibly fed. Many genres get touched upon in this album: jazz, metal, post rock-ishness, technical playing, math rock, etc.  The music is fun and light hearted all while they play some bad ass solos, back and forth solos and so-on.  With only 45 minutes or so of music, the album plays really fast, and at least with me, made me get the other albums they have released to check out more of their sound.  Anyone who is familiar with this style will understand what I am trying to describe: A pretty even mix of Don Cabellero on a high energy infused alcoholic drink meets multi-genre music abilities of King Crimson.? (Ok King Crimson might be a little too high of skill for these guys, but more less same style.)

Instrumental releases like this, in my opinion, are good for almost any occasion:  background music while having company over, cleaning, driving to work, scoggin', you name it, it'll probably fit.  There are many many bands that play this style, or at least try to, but Rumah Sakit is a pretty decent one.  (Plus this album has a pretty awesome cover to boot!)

Official score- 3.25/5
 

Anekdoten- Gravity (2003)

I had higher hopes for Anekdoten before I heard this album.  Being a Swedish Prog./Psych/Art Rock group, I figured that they would blow me away; boy was I wrong.  I will say though that the music itself is actually pretty cool, but the vocals, oh man the vocals, suck ass.  I have always been turned off by vocals that seem to not go with the style being played musically, and Anekdoten is a perfect example of that.

Gravity, released in 2003, seems to have some awesome musicians playing, but the vocals are this indie-alternative type sound.  (I use Indie/Alternative in the most negative way for this review)  Honestly, they should have just done an instrumental release.  The music itself has lots of changes throughout the 8 tracks, but with these vocals, I still haven't made it through the 45 minutes worth of music.  If you took a really good modern prog. sound, mix in some cool space rockin' and then through in that off the wall European twist on avant garde music, then you'd have the music they play; but when you add in the 90's alternative rock type vocals, the music is ruined.  I understand that I can be way too harsh when critiquing vocal styles, but these vocals really do suck. 

With a different approach, I will say that there are probably lots of people who would enjoy this.  Anyone who is a fan of early David Bowie, or Jefferson Airplane or even the Grateful Dead or Genesis, will probably like this.  Me myself, I am not a fan of any those groups so take this review as you will.  I want to give props to the musicianship of this album, but like I have repeated throughout this review, the vocals totally kill it for me.  Get it if you want, but if you don't like it, then don't blame me.

Official score-2/5

OOIOO- Feather Float (1999)

I came across this band some years ago, when I was exploring some of the "related" offshoot bands of the Boredoms.  There's something about all female Japanese projects that seem to get the blood flowing.  Maybe its the usual high energy they produce or maybe its just the fact that, in your minds eye, you can see chirpy Japanese chics rockin' out to some crazy experimental Noise Rock tunes. Either way, OOIOO is a pretty decent project.

Like I said above, OOIOO is an all female 4 piece that plays highly contagious noise rock/experimentalism. Out of the different albums that I have heard, Feather Float is my favorite.  Feather Float is one of the more consistent albums that they have.  Just as The Boredoms, OOIOO can be pretty chaotic in structure and has a tendency to be pretty experimental.  (which I am totally ok with, but I realize not everyone can handle that.)  Feather Float has a lot of really catchy tracks and with the soft female vocals, and steady rhythms, its easy to fall into a trance.  Half of the tracks are really Boredom like, while the rest seem like experimental dance tracks.  I've never been to a live show in Japan, but all pics that I have seen, seem to be chalk full of energy, crazy outfits and tons of people; and with this release, I could see OOIOO garner that same type of live setting.  Feather Float has 11 tracks and is under an hour in running time, which makes this a great release.  To be more precise with a description- you can take the highly structured Boredoms songs, make the vocals all female, slow it down a bit then make it sound like a Japanese cartoon theme song, then you have Feather Float.

I have listened to this album a ton, and have had it for quite a long time now, and I still have not gotten sick of it. (I think it is currently on my MP3 player at this very moment.)  Some average music fans will not appreciate this style of music, but if you are familiar with the Boredoms or experimental rock/noise rock, then you'll really like this.  The album and band as a whole, is not aggressive, instead it is more melodic; so go get it, download it or buy it.  By the way.... if you live in France, either them or some off shoot side project is playing there sometime soon; just check out the link on their main page.

Official score- 4/5

Bardo Pond- Dilate (2001)

The first time that I was introduced to Bardo Pond was seeing them live. I remember watching them and enjoying them live, but felt like they weren't the liveliest of bands to see.  I did like the fact that they introduced a flute and violin into a modern psychedelic sound, but I figured that since I was anticipating Mogwai to perform after them, I was just getting antsy.  Well Dilate was the album that I got, after seeing them live, in order to check out what their studio recordings sounded like.

More often then not, it seems like a band is either better live vs their studio recording or vise versa, well, I think that Bardo Pond might just not be what I'm into.  I wasn't that impressed with them live, but wanted to give them a try, and I have heard three different Bardo Pond releases, and they all seem to him me with the same relatively stagnant sound.  I am not going to say that they are bad, I just find them pretty boring.  They have great song structure and really do a good job at this sort of modern day psychedelic/acid rock sound.  I like the fact that they throw in the flute and violin, it adds a twist of sounds that you don't usually hear with modern day experimental rock bands, add in the female vocals and you will have a good mix, for some, but not me.  I guess that maybe the music just didn't grip me enough.  Since seeing them live, which was many years ago, I have tried giving them chances, multiple times, as my taste changes; but none of those chances have led to a different opinion.  Dilate has 10 tracks, and lasts over an hour, which makes the album seem to last forever.  Now, there are some great parts to some of these tracks, but not enough to keep you anticipating more

This album, and probably the band as a whole, will speak to a different audience, that I am not a part of.  Like I said above, Bardo Pond is not a bad group, just not my style.

Official Score-3.25/5

Gallhammer- The Dawn of...... DVD (2007)

I was trying to think how I found out about Gallhammer, and after thinking about it, I still cannot remember.  It probably stemmed from one of my phases of trying to seek out new black metal projects, in order to beef up my collection.  I do remember my reaction when I found out about them: Hot Japanese chics playing black doomy metal?! Hell ya! Who could pass that up? Not me, that's for sure.

Gallhammer is a throwback to an earlier Black Metal sound, in vein of: Hellhammer, Celtic Frost, Burzum, etc.  They are closer to a Doom Metal/ Sludge sound then Black Metal, but stylistically they are spot on with the pioneering Black Metal sound.  But, when you add hot Japanese ladies in face paint and theater blood, who play aggressive metal, its hard to not like it.  Musically the songs seem a little drawn out, if your expecting a faster Black Metal sound, but if you go into it thinking of Doom/Sludge, then you won't be disappointed.  This DVD has 6 different live sets, with 4-5 songs per set.  The video is clear and the music is just the same.  Alot of times, especially with metal DVD's, you never know what the video quality is going to be or the camera angles themselves.  I was really happy with the DVD, film/music quality, and nothing in the way of stupid interviews/ questions from whomever is shooting the video, which usually annoys the hell out of me.  The sets on this video have a good flow, and their live shows seem pretty entertaining.  Overall, this is a good DVD, and the music more or less reminds me of the early all female metal band- Derkata.

A really good Black/Sludge/Doom metal DVD, with all girl musicians.  Great film quality and music quality.  6 live sets with 4-5 songs each set, you can't go wrong with this.  Find online to download if you're interested, and if you're already familiar with Gallhammer, go ahead and buy it.

Official score- 3.75/5

The Rosenberg Trio- Roots (2007)

I'm a big fan of jazz, and I'll extend that even further and say that my favorite type of jazz is the gypsy style that Django Reinhardt pioneered.  Enter The Rosenberg Trio, with their fast acoustic gypsy guitar driven solos with great clarinet playing and wonderful double bass it shows that great jazz can be played fast, clean and greatly structured. 

The Rosenberg Trio, led by lead guitarist Stochelo Rosenberg is, without a better description, one of the best jazz trios today.  Roots, released in 2007, doesn't have even 1 track that lacks sheer greatness.  I can't say enough about this album.  Less than an hour long, Roots plays all the way through really fast.  Each track has perfect examples of skilled jazz song structure as well as top of the line ability.  If you're into music, or play it, there is a chance that you might feel envious of those bad ass jazz guitarists, and this album has musicians who you'd be willing to make a pact with the Devil to be able to mimic.  Every song on this album has solos that will blow your mind, on all the instruments being played, as well as a flow and energy that isn't easily matched.  My favorite track on this album is Last Minute Swing, which has an intricate flow of solos between the guitar and clarinet, and makes me feel their energy from the first strum of the guitar. 

The Rosenberg Trio are virtuosos, seriously, there are very few musicians that can portray this kind of skill; and to top it off, the instruments are all acoustic, so there is no way for them to "hide" behind any electric instrumentation.  There are many albums to choose from if you want to explore their sounds, and any one of them is a great place to start.  Roots just ended up being my favorite, although their album with Bireli Lagrene is a definite must-have as well.  Listen to them, see them live, download some of their pirated music online, whatever is your avenue, but do what you can to give them a try. 

Official score- 4.25/5

Hank Williams III- Damn Right Rebel Proud (2008)

I have been into Hank Williams Sr. for quite some time now, and a few years ago I was introduced to Hank III.  Hank III does a great job of mixing solid country tunes with an aggressive punk style dirtiness that produces a sound of raw country carnage.  Since first being introduced to Hank III, I have gone out of my way to find as many different albums/bootlegs/etc. as possible, I go overboard sometimes, in order to hear more of what he has done; I haven't been let down yet. 

Damn Right Rebel Proud is my favorite release that I have heard, up to now.  13 rockin' country punk tracks with a running time of under an hour, this is a release that doesn't really drag all that much.  For the most part is seems as though the tracks go from an upbeat fast track, then followed by a slower track, back & forth.  The lyrics are awesome, talking about raw dirty topics- drinking, drugs, fighting, depression, working hard, etc.; common country themes mixed with gritty punk topics.  A couple of my all time favorite Hank 3 tracks are on this album: P.F.F- a GG Allin tribute track that is fast, rough and freakin' awesome (GG would be proud!), and 3 Shades of Black- a slower paced track that speaks to all "freaks & weirdos" that get looked down at by a mainstream society.  A couple of the songs are a little too slow for my taste, but the lyrics and solos on them make up for it. 

Hank 3 is an awesome musician, has been in some great other projects (AssJack, Superjoint Ritual, and more), and should appeal to a lot more people.  Hank 3 speaks to the country crowd, the redneck crowd and the punk crowd; all at the same time.  I would suggest getting this album, and find the other associated acts that he is in.  I don't want to take away from any possible album sales he could make, but you can find all of his releases online and tons of live bootlegs as well.  Check him out, and if you like country or punk or dirty rock n' roll, you'll love the shit outta his stuff.

Official score- 4/5

Apoptygma Berzerk- Rocket Science (2009)

I have said many times throughout my posts that I will get an album to check out based on some retarded reason: name, cover art, if their foreign, etc.  Well Apoptygma Berzerk is one of those bands that, after listening to them, I was more or less "Aww, whatever"; then I looked on their site, and based on the fact that they look like modern day emo bafoons, I'm gonna say "I don't really care for them".  (I base this on very loose logic- I came across them and decided to check them out based on their name, which is not any way to really go about these things, and was pretty wishy-washy with their music, then I see a picture of them and since they look idiotic, I now pronounce them, subjectively, lame. See what I was saying?- loose logic.)  Now on to the review.........

Rocket Science seems to be these guys' 6 album, and honestly, 6th?  Anyhow, this album consists of 14 elecro/pop/synth pop type tracks.  At nearly an hour long, the album feels a little drawn out.  Here's why: 1. synthy type releases, that are instrumental, really need to have some hooks or something to keep it interesting- this did not; 2. I have heard synth releases from decades ago, that were the same quality, but due to their release date, hold a way higher interest; 3. the tracks aren't too complicated and seem like they are meant to be just a synth style soundscape; and 4. now that I've seen photos, they wear freakin' eyeliner, which I'm not opposed to if you rock, but if your lame, well..... then your lame factor is increased exponentially.   So, there it is, take it for what it's worth.  I was not impressed, and honestly as soon as I'm done with this review I am going to remove from my MP3 player. 

If you're into synth pop or elecro soundscapes, then go ahead and get this; but, if you are an avid music fan, you'll see the flaws with this release.

Official score-1.75/5

Minimal Man- She Was A Visitor 7" (1980)

This was a pretty interesting find; a 7" recorded live in 1979 from a relatively obscure experimental/early industrial/ avant garde/ electronic project.  With 2 tracks, on a 7", this is a very short release. 

I haven't found too much online regarding Minimal Man, so the background of the musician(s) is a little foggy.  The release itself if pretty interesting, when you consider it's release date and musical style that is being portrayed.  I didn't know this was recorded live, until I looked it up, so I give it a little more credit.  These 2 tracks aren't anything all that spectacular, but it does remind me of early-ish Throbbing Gristle; sort of.  The example of electronic/industrial shows the unique subculture of musicianship that seemed to thrive in some of the more liberal parts of the musical community.  (This was recorded live in San Francisco.)  Both tracks are laden-ed with early electronic rhythms that are murmured by industrial type sounds to produce a proto-industrial mix. 

With this release being so short, there isn't too much to dissect and/or write about.  If you are a fan of the Throbbing Gristle type sound, then you should check this out.  But, by no means is this any kind of stand out/pioneering release, and after a listen or 2, it might go to the wayside.

Official score- 2/5

Unholy Grave & Fetus Eaters - Split 7 inch (2010)

Aptly ripping grindcore from both outfits here on this 7inch.
Unholy Grave bringing forth a quality grooving grind Agathocles'ian vibe, stomp ass, shred face, sample movies, get pissed, displaying some quirky elements here and there. A band I could definitely enjoy hearing more of.

Fetus Eaters being the odder of the two, featuring members of DEADFOOD whom M@(who turned me on to them in the first place) and I are both major fans of. Fetus Eaters set out to screw your mind as they warp your psyche with a rather genre-hopping and short songed Agathocles'ian, Boredoms, Exit-13, Naked City, approach to their rabidly off-kilter yet entertaining blasts of druggified, humorous grindcore.

All ready possessing most of their (Fetus Eaters) material in one form or another this isn't an essential piece but it does have songs not found on other releases and with its super quick listening time.

find here at:
KEEP THE GRIND CORE ALIVE!!!

3.5/5 (heavily enjoyed yet won't be an obsessive listening object)

Khan- Space Shanty (1972, & reissued 2005)

Lately I've been trying to find new music to have different things to listen to, I'm a music junkie, so I had been browsing different bands and reviews on a progressive rock website.  Although prog rock has some lame stigmas to it genre, prog is pretty all encompassing. (kraut rock, early psych, prog, RIO, etc.)  Well, after finding quite a few of the albums that sounded cool and listening to them,  I have completely stopped reading anything from that site; some of those bands are freakin' awful.  Khan, being from the early Canterbury Scene, is pretty much one of those bands.  I wouldn't say that they are awful, but boring is probably a way better description. 

The first 20 seconds or so made me think that Space Shanty was going to be a pretty cool early psych/prog release; I was wrong.  This album has 8 tracks, and for the most part nothing to get excited about.  Granted they do hit early 70's prog rock spot on, the album, and songs, as a whole are is very disappointing.  Each track starts off pretty much the same with prog style guitar that builds until the drums kick in, then vocals, this continue until a breakdown, then you hear a solo, then back into the song; this formula is on every track.  I will admit that some of the instrumentation and breakdowns are cool, but there are way, I mean way, better examples of early prog/psych guitars/instrumentation/vocals/etc.  I was listening to this album, in order to review it, while driving home from work and was so bored that I got tired, literally.  I have been trying to think of something to compare this to so here it is: if you took C.C.R. mixed them with lo-fi guitars and then added Pink Floyd meets Boston vocals, then you'd have Khan.  This is more or less a band that you would hear on your local classic rock station that would stick in your head until you got mad that it was so intrusive. 

If you are reading this, you can tell that I didn't like it.  Maybe Khan has other albums, maybe some of there members went on to do really cool music?, I don't know and have no intention of trying to find out.  Maybe sometime down the line I will accidentally stumble across some project that had Khan members and will be impressed, and if so, I will post something about it.

Official score- 1/5

Violent Society- Times of Distraught (1997)

Years ago, Violent Society played in my hometown, back when this place put on some really great shows, and I remember absolutely loving them.  I can remember the show pretty clearly because they played with some other great bands that night and the mosh pit was freakin' awesome!  At 17/18 or so, this was the exact style of music that I would do my best to seek out and definitely to see live.  During one part of the night, during one of their songs, I was in the pit with a local guy named Jimmy, (I wonder what happened to that guy?), and I can see the look in his eye as he punched me in the nuts because I just finished planting a right knee on his; oh such good times.  Now in that situation, there was no animosity for that happening, I mean, shit happens.  Directly after the nut smashing incident some 1-armed dude was also in the pit and with beer in hand he was thrashing around with the rest of us.  Well, old 1-armed guy hit me with his stumpy arm and in one fell swoop I landed right on a broken glass bottle of brew; once again good times.  Jimmy helped me up and immediately we laid into the 1-armed guy, knocking him down onto the same broken glass; watching him try and push himself up, bloody stump and all, was freakin' hilarious.  (sounds violent, but really that was just part of the kind of fun stuff that happens at shows!)  That night the music was great, the bands were great, the beer was great; all was great!

Now, onto the review.  Times of Distraught is a 15 track highly energetic album infused with all things hardcore/street punk.  Each and every song will make you turn up the volume and will produce an energy that is matched by very few other albums.  I have a couple other Violent Society releases, and they are all pretty much cut from the same cloth.  Fast punk style guitar that plays along with the super upbeat punk tempo on drums that are behind the screaming hardcore style vocals!  The culmination of a quintessential punk sound.  This album is short, the tracks themselves are short so this listen goes by fast and when it's done, you'll want more.

Any fan of Punk Rock/Hardcore Punk will absolutely love this album, and really this can be considered a classic in the 90's hardcore punk genre.  Buy it, try and see if they are playing live anywhere around you and do what you can to hear these guys, you won't be disappointed!

Official score- 4.25/5

Various Artists-'Til We Out Number 'Em Songs of Woody Guthrie (2000)

Since becoming a Woody Guthrie fan, some time ago, I have come to realize that he must have been one cool ass guy;  a white guy in the 1940's traveling and squatting all over the place, making friends with tons of different races of people and singing songs of their plight and  more or less just"sticking it to the man" in, so many ways.   Stating all that it's probably pretty easy to see why I would say "ok" and try a tribute compilation to him; I mean, how bad could it really be?  Well, it sucked balls.


'Til We Out Number 'Em Songs of Woody Guthrie is a 17 track compilation, (unless its the MP3 version then there are 19 tracks), tribute album with a lot of the modern hippie folksy types that produce really bad covers.  Now granted I'm partial to liking this due to it being cover/tribute album for Woody Guthrie, so I should have really liked it but some of these artists sounded really freakin' awful.  Maybe it's because in my head I'm hearing the original song, with its old recording quality and his vocals portraying an idea of equality in a time of inequality, and these cover made me skip the tracks on a lot of the songs.  A couple of these artists even made me want to listen just to hear its horribleness, while a few weren't too horrible.  (Along with all of this, I'm not a fan of any of these artists in the first place: Arlo Guthrie, Billy Bragg, definitely don't like Bruce Springsteen & Indigo Girls)

I had much higher hopes for this release, but I guess I should have been thinking more correctly and realized that if I didn't like most of these musicians in the first place, then I wouldn't like their cover/tribute songs.  Even though it has something to do with Woody Guthtie, it just doesn't feel like Woody Guthrie. I suppose if you are interested you should check it out, but I will not listen to it again.

Official score- 1/5

The Trio- Oscar Peterson, Joe Pass & Niels-Henning Pedersen (1973)

Wow!  What else can I say but, Wow?!  This is a straight up freakin' great live jazz release.  If you're into jazz, or even if you know the big names in jazz, then you'll know the 3 musicians who are in this recording: Oscar Peterson, Joe Pass & Niels-Henning Pedersen.  I can go on and on regarding the legendary status and ability of all 3 of these musicians, but there is no need, and in fact chances are they will have other reviews within the lifetime of this blog; just keep in mind, these are PREMIER jazz musicians!

The Trio is a live recording, with 5 tracks with a running time of 40 minutes.  Now, each track, I mean each freakin' track is amazing.  Solos from all 3 musicians- Peterson on Piano, Pass on Guitar and Pederson on Bass.  Each song has the exclamations of a gracious crowd that is more than enthused to see this "who's who" performance.  As you listen to this you can see the darkened, smoke filled jazz club with these 3 icons on stage smiling and having a good time, under the stage lights.  Within each track the solos flows seamlessly from one musician to the other, all with ovations from the audience.  Seriously, there are only a few other jazz releases with this kind of quality playing from such legendary performers.  The piano, guitar and bass are fast and intricate and as the tempo goes on its usual jazz based roller coaster ride, you can mentally picture the sweat running into their eyes as they move in accordance to what they are playing, all whilst changing leads and albeit the occasional drink.

I am a jazz fan, not an aficionado,  but I still know a decent amount about jazz, and even if I didn't the newest of jazz newbies would recognize the magnitude of this release.  I am a fan of this album, and the works of these musicians, so this review is a little biased.  If you like/love jazz, you should have this and if you're just getting into jazz, or dipping your toes in its waters, then grab this asap.  My only complaint is the volume level of the guitar and bass during certain parts of these tracks are a little low, but as far as live albums go, this recording is spot on.

Official score-4.25/5

Junior Brown- Greatest Hits (2005)

When I think of country music, my mind always goes to the old country artists- Hank W., Cash, Jennings, etc., but Junior Brown is one of the modern country artists that isn't too bad.  I have only been to 1 country concert, and it was to see Junior Brown.  I first saw him on the David Letterman show playing his custom dual necked guitar, actually it's 1 guitar & 1 guitar steel, and he was shreddin' it up!  Junior Brown is like if an old metal guitarist started playing country music- super fast fingering while using a pick and his fingers to strum all while switching from his guitar-neck to his steel-neck. 

This "Greatest Hits" release seems a little premature since I am pretty sure that he is still playing music, but nonetheless it is a good outline of the different styles he plays on his regular studio albums.  This album has 11 tracks and has a play time of right around the 45 minute mark.  Now as a disclaimer, this is country, his vocals have that twang to them and some of the songs can be a little drawn out; but, in every song he show off his mad guitar prowess.  Any of the "rags" that you listen to of his shows his bad-assery, going from fast bluegrass style picking to sweeping wah sounding Hendrix imitations, all while being able to switch from his regular guitar neck to his slide style on the steel neck.  Lyrically, these are pretty standard country topics- love, lost love, driving 18 wheelers, typical country type stuff. The accompanying music, for these tracks,  is the standard country beat on drums, walking country bass lines and rhythm acoustic guitar.   This is a short album and the songs themselves are short, so it goes by fast and is pretty entertaining. 

This is a good album for anyone who likes fast country style guitar picking and doesn't mind the country twang when listening to people sing.  I would say that seeing him live is a better experience, but with such a great guitar technique and style, definitely worth a listen.  Yet at the same time, I know that I personally cannot listen to county on a daily basis, and more often then not, not even on a weekly basis; so take that for what it's worth.

Official score- 3/5

Godspeed You! Black Emperor-Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven (2000)

Godspeed You! Black Emperor is one of my favorite all time bands. Years ago I was lucky enough to see them live, and out of all the live shows that I have been to, their live performance ranks in my top 5.  (If I was to refine the list, maybe even top 3 live shows that I have been to!)  Live they were amazing!, seriously there's no other way to describe it.  They had multiple different projectors showing different images that they played along to; more or less social based imagery.  I still remember watching them in aw, and if I remember correctly, they had 9 people playing music.  Usually when you have that many people playing at once, things have a tendency to sound jumbled, but they did not.  GYBE is one of those bands that even with an amazingly stellar live show, their sound transitions easily to a studio recording.

Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven was the tour that I saw them play live, and the album is just as amazing and emotional as they were live.  This 2 cd release has 4 continuous tracks with a running time of nearly 90 minutes!  I know what you're thinking: 90 minutes?!  That is correct, 90 minutes, and not any of that time are you itching for it to hurry up and end. Canadian based, GYBE has a very unique way of playing the Post-Rock genre.  Each song builds slowly and quietly, then ends up becoming a huge growth of stylized sounds that will tantalize your auditory senses.  Great guitar work mixed with on the spot stylized violin/cello molds easily into their drums and percussion, reaching a point where all come together in one seamless sound; and that's with 8-9 members playing at once!  GYBE has 5 albums in total, but has many side projects that continue their sound, since GYBE is seemingly no more.  I have checked many many times, since I saw them live, in hopes that they would be touring again, with no success.  It seems as though the most prolific Post-Rock group has disbanded in this form in order to carry on in their side projects/sister bands.

If you are unfamiliar with Post-Rock, this is the band to get into first; you won't be disappointed.  In my opinion all the GYBE albums should be in your music collection.  It's very very difficult to say which album of theirs is better, for they all are very very good.  My suggestion: buy them all.  The only drawback, and seriously ONLY, is that post rock as a whole is not something that fits every occasion; it fits for an everyday listen, but due to the style of the genre, it produces feelings that might be a little downtrodden than what most circumstances ask for. 

Official score-4.75/5

Sharon Jones and The Dap Kings- Dap Dippin (2002)

I have to thank my wife for introducing me to this group; I'm usually reluctant when it comes to listening to her suggestions, why?  I don't know, but she was right about the quality of  Sharon Jones and The Dap Kings. 

Sharon Jones and The Dap Kings are part of a revivalist movement, to bring back the R&B/Soul/Funk sounds of the 60's and 70's, and they do a great job.  Since first being introduced to this project, I have heard other albums and seen them on PBS and I have enjoyed all of it.  With all the traditional vocals styles and instrumentation of the original Funk/Soul movement of the 60's/70's, this project has hit the nail on the head within their revivalist movement.  Fat walking bass lines that are accompanied with different saxophones, great guitar work, drumming and vocals it's easy to see how Sharon Jones and The Dap Kings could go back in time and be a mainstay in their genre.  Each track has an energy that produces the listener to tap in a rhythm or sing along to the social/Funk style lyrics.  With 11 tracks that come in around the 45 minute mark, this is an album that goes by really fast once you start listening to it. 

If you like funky beat driven upbeat music, you will really like this.  I would recommend this to any listener/music fan that enjoys this style of music and even if you are more into the sounds of the original Funk/Soul/R&B era, you will still like this; they are a throwback to when music was music and not overly produced to speak to the mainstream musical audience.

Official score- 3.5/5

Jean Pierre Massiera- Psychoses Discoid 1976-1981 (2008)

So I found this due to the name and the cover, I thought both seemed pretty interesting.  (As a side note, I get a lot of bad music basing choices off of names/cover art; I'll go further and say that is the same with foreign films.  My wife tells me that I am not allowed to pick a foreign film, when we are both supposed to watch it, because I always choose the seemingly worst one possible.)  With a french name and a series of date from the late 70's to '81, how bad could it be?

With my idea of the possibility of coolness based on superficial qualities, I was partial amused by this album.  First and foremost, this is a collection of Disco songs, that Jean Pierre Massiera either played in, produced or edited.  Each song is by a different artist and all, I mean all, are disco tracks!  I will follow that last sentence up with the fact that 1/3 of the songs are pretty cool, and most of the songs have really bad ass bass lines; that's where it ends.  If you ask any friends that have known me for any length of time, then they'll tell you this is not the kind of album that I would like; so.... I'll be honest and say that it isn't all that bad.  The songs can be catchy, some of the songs have lyrics in different languages and seriously, the bass on most of the tracks are awesome.  Disco is disco, there isn't really too much to explain about it; all these songs are very similar and the album as a whole is pretty much like listening to a compilation of like-minded bands.

You'll like this if you like Disco, or if you are into catchy dance type music; like P. Murph.  I probably won't listen to this again after I did for this review, but it might stay in the music collection for archival purposes.  (and the fact that I really don't like getting rid of any kind of music, even if I hate it.)

Official score- 2.75/5

Foreningen Til Livets Beskyttelse- Self Titled (1972)

I found this album years ago, while surfing the internet for something new to hear.  I have never seen this album anywhere to buy, but have found it online, for a ton of cash, so download it if you think you are interested.  There isn't very much information to be found online for Foreningen Til Livets Beskyttelse, but this album isn't too bad and definitely worth a listen.


From what I can gather, Foreningen Til Livets Beskyttelse was comprised of different musicians that were in some sort of hippie-folk playing commune, in Holland around the early 70's; and their name means "The Organization for Protection of Life", how hippie is that?  This self titled album is a really good example of progressive folk, mixed with early Danish psychedelic.  The album is comprised of the usual instruments: guitars, bass, drums, woodwinds, etc., but the one thing that does stand out is the rhythms and structures of their songs.  Most folk type albums that I have heard are your standard peace loving acoustic guitar with melodic vocals-not that exciting, and I'm not saying that this will rock your world, but they way they structure their songs with all the different instruments and beats produced by the drumming or rhythmical instrumentation lends to some unique tunage.  With 9 tracks that cover a pretty broad spectrum, folk wise, this is something that can be a great addition to any music fans collection.

Now, with all that being said, it is folk, which in my opinion is not a genre that I am going to get too excited about; and with vocals being in Dutch, this is an album that is for that "certain niche".  I like this album, and in fact I am sure that I played this when I was doing a local radio show with Gene Cesspool.  I recommend this, but if you don't like being unable to understand the language of the vocals, don't like folk music and not a fan of early prog., then this will not be for you.

Official score- 3.5/5