Demo: Mark Lanegan - "Whiskey For The Holy Ghost" Acoustic Demos

So I swear I don't consciously post this much Mark Lanegan material - it always just kind of "happens" since there's so much cool stuff like this out there and I'm always digging for it. (Plus, well, its just so damn good.) These are some acoustic demos from the "Whiskey For The Holy Ghost" album which kind of speak for themselves but if you're a Lanegan fan you will obviously enjoy these, and it's interesting to hear different/acoustic versions of these songs. (And hey, remember that story about how Mark Lanegan wanted to throw the masters from this album in a pond?).

1. Sunrise
2. Following The Rain
3. Judas Touch I
4. Shooting Gallery (instrumental)
5. Carnival
6. Wheels
7. Day and Night
8. Beggar's Blues
9. Riding the Nightingale
10 Judas Touch II

DL: "Whiskey Acoustic Demos"

Album: Eleven - Self-Titled

by popular demand...

this was the album that got me turned onto the band

essential jams:
"towers" (which smells like teen spirit)
"hieronymus"
"heavy"

in my opinion...for the time they existed...there really wasn't another band out there quite like them...and they more than likely went over the heads of those that weren't already familiar with them...they were/are kind of like a hidden gem that once you find it...you're automatically taken in by something you're not quite able to put your finger on...well...that's how it was for me

so...if you folks out there dig this album...there are others that i can post as well

DL: eleven

Demo: Diamond Lie - 1987 Demo

look at that picture up there

take a long hard look at it

now...you wouldn't think a band that looks like that would write such songs as "man in the box" or "hate to feel" or "god am"...would you?

but they did

in case you hadn't already put it together...that's alice in chains

before they became the sludge factory they were known as...they were a glam/funk metal band known as diamond lie...then alice 'n chains

i don't know exactly happened to the band in the 3 years between this and the FACELIFT album (i'm thinking someone switched their cocaine with heroin)...but i'm glad it did because i prefer my alice in chains with less funk and less cowbell and less synth

and am i the only one that hears early motley crue all over this?

DL: 1987 demo

A Word on the New Alice in Chains + Madison Square Garden Review

I confess that I have been guilty of talking a lot of shit about the new Alice in Chains.

Rave reviews from stonerrock.com? Ignored. Rave reviews from friends? Ignored. When I saw they were playing Madison Square Garden on the 24th I went back and forth about buying a ticket for weeks thinking that it would be a beyond mediocre show. Still, I ended up buying a ticket a couple hours before it started since I never actually gave them a fair chance and just needed to know.

Now... I am the most cynical of cynics when it comes to this type of thing, but as soon as they started playing "Them Bones" I was grinning. When they got to their second track "Dam That River" I was standing (and still grinning like an idiot). We all know there are issues when replacing a vocalist in a band, but when Duvall was harmonizing with Cantrell it sounded great. (Obviously not the same, but great). The angsty and awkward 15 year old in me that used to hole up in my room listening to "Dirt" was pleased, too - this band was my soundtrack and their songs are still really important to me. As for their new material, I think I was ignoring the fact that Jerry Cantrell still has a part in writing these songs and am now planning on picking up "Black Gives Way to the Blue" finally.

In saying all this, I really can't decide if it's tragic or a fitting tribute that they're taking songs Layne Staley wrote about his heroin addiction before dying of an overdose and filling stadiums by playing them, but I'm leaning towards the latter since, after all, they have to move on at some point and Jerry Cantrell is (arguably) a more important part of the group, anyways. I have to give them longevity points, too. I mean, here is a band that moved from being one of the most important bands of the 90's to having their lead singer die (and didn't Mike Inez get arrested as some point, too?), and now they're making a huge comeback which is cool. Seeing all the different age groups that came out to this show was also cool.

Seriously... I really wanted to hate on this but now I can hate no more. So call me a reformed cynic, and give this a fair shot and see them if you get a chance.

Now... when is Nirvana getting a new vocalist? (...Kidding.)

***picture stolen from Brooklyn Vegan***

Album: Supercontinent - "Vaalbara"

Do you sometimes find yourself wondering what would have happened if Isis just kept re-writing The Red Sea and Celestial? Do you wish Pelican riffed harder and didn't get so boring? Do you get tired of finding bands with long build-ups that are good in theory, but don't actually go anywhere?

If you answered yes to any of the above questions, give this a listen. It's certainly nothing groundbreaking, but theres just so much energy and it's so well done that I can't help but enjoy this record. Basically every song has a plethora of huge riffs to get lost in while still retaining a good atmosphere. The production is satisfyingly thick, vocals are sparse but well-placed, and the song-writing is very smooth and well-done. At this point, I can't really ask for much more from a band like this. Definitely for fans of older Isis and Cult of Luna. Give it a shot, there's nothing to lose.

1. Nebula
2. Earthrise
3. Lakes of Iron
4. Cataclysms
5. Rain Gives Rise
6. In Rust
7. The Monolith
8. Impact Winter
9. Epoch

DL: Vaalbara

Demo: 600 School - 1981 Demo

this was one of the bands ben shepherd was in before soundgarden (though he does vocals here)

future nirvana drummer chad channing was also in the band

music-wise...it's your run of the mill thrashy punk rock

and you know you want some run of the mill thrashy punk rock

DL: 1981 demo

Album: Eleven - Thunk

some of you out there may be unfamiliar with this band...and that's a little sad

i had randomly picked up their 1993 SELF-TITLED album after reading a small review in some magazine...i had never heard of them before that...but after buying the album...i hunted down everything i possibly could from the band (which turned out to be only one other album...and i had to special order that from the local music store...this isn't something you'd usually just see on the shelves...which is also sad)

the band is from los angeles...but had their fingers in that whole grunge thing (but really...who didn't back then?)...drummer jack irons left the red hot chili peppers (and i'm not calling them grunge) back in 1988 because of guitarist hillel slovak's heroin overdose...and then joined eleven in 1990...who then quit the band to play in pearl jam in 1995 (he laid down some drum tracks on this album before leaving...soundgarden's matt cameron fills in on 4 songs)...and then somewhere down the line members alain johannes (vocals/guitar) and natasha shneider (vocals/bass/keyboards) backed up chris cornell on his first solo album EUPHORIA MORNING (but if you ask me...his first solo album was DOWN ON THE UPSIDE...that's right...i said it)

alain johannes and natasha shneider later went on to become members of queens of the stone age (though mostly for touring...alain appears on their SONGS FOR THE DEAF/LULLABIES TO PARALYZE/ERA VULGARIS albums...natasha only appears on SONGS FOR THE DEAF)...they also pop up on some DESERT SESSIONS material

but...all of this came to an end on july 2nd,2008 after natasha shneider passed away from cancer...at the eerie time of 11:11am (true story)

that's a good story,grampa

do yourself an awesome favor by downloading this...you won't regret it (and if you do...i'm sure there's plenty of crap for you to listen to on the radio)...and seeing as how i'm a giver...i've also thrown in some b-sides from this album

so...if after listening to this...you become more interested in the band...perhaps i'll post some other albums

DL: thunk

Live: Gruntruck - Live In Bob's Garage

this was a set the band played on a radio show (mentioned above) on KZOK (out of seattle) back in 1992

this is also the only place you can find the song "bullets"

and you should (as a frequenter of this blog) already know who gruntruck are/were...so i'm not going to go into that

1 - tribe
2 - crazy love
3 - bullets

DL: gruntruck@bob's garage

Single: Sub Pop Edition #20 Helios Creed - "Nothing Wrong / The Sky"

I got a request begging me to post this one and didn't have it so I dropped a line to the fantastic Brent (who runs the Helios Creed tribute page) and he (unsurprisingly) had mp3s of this single and was kind enough to share them. (I also got a request for the Das Damien single which I don't have either... anyone?) So what can you expect from this single? Well, like all Helios Creed, expect a lot of mind bending psychedelia, inspiringly wierd guitar sounds and a lot of innovation.

Check out Brent's Helios Creed tribute site here for more information and also get some free PDFs of his amazing psych zine here.

1. Nothing Wrong

2. The Sky

DL: "Nothing Wrong / The Sky Single"

Covers: The Rising of Yog-Sothoth - A Tribute To Thergothon

For those who don't know, Thergothon were a band from Finland who formed in 1990. In their short time as a band, they released a demo (Fhtagn-nagh Yog-Sothoth) and a post-humous full-length (Stream From The Heavens). That was enough to make their mark though. Along with Skepticism, Thergothon are one of the first bands to pioneer metal this slow, this mournful, this mysterious. And despite the absolutely terrible quality of their recorded output, it's impossible to deny the majesty of these songs. There is some other-worldly shit going on.

That's where this compilation comes in. It features bands that were heavily influenced by the gods, each covering one track. As Thergothon didn't have many songs to choose from, there are some double-ups which can be kind of fun in choosing your favorite version. The reason I like this so much is because it's nice to hear these songs have a recording quality with an actual backbone and crunch like they were supposed to. My favorite covers here are done by Asunder, Krohm, Evoken and Mournful Congregation. Check it out.

CD1
1. Asunder – Who Rides the Astral Wings
2. Officium Triste – Crying Blood and Crimson Snow
3. Evoken – Yet the Watchers Guard
4. Imindain – Everlasting
5. Colosseum – The Unknown Kadath in the Cold Waste
6. Mournful Congregation – Elemental
7. Worship – Evoken
8. Umbra Nihil – The Twilight Fade
9. Persistence In Mourning – Dancing In The Realm Of Shades

CD2
1. Nojda – Evoken
2. Otzepenevshiye – The Unknown Kadath in the Cold Waste
3. Krohm – Everlasting
4. Inter Arbores – Who Rides the Astral Wings
5. Astral Sleep – Yet the Watchers Guard
6. Aarni – Verivaikerrus – Hurmehanki
7. Axis Of Advance – Elemental
8. Singultus – The Twilight Fade

DL: The Rising of Yog-Sothoth

Compilation: Sub Pop 5

Someone was giving me crap about not posting this one when I posted the Sub Pop 100, 200 & 300 comps a while back, so here it is - the very first musical release by Sub Pop. This is the legendary Sub Pop 5 cassette which was the first release of theirs not to just be a zine and was also their 5th release... Imagine that. (And before you start asking where the Sub Pop 7 cassette is, I'm posting that one next so don't even worry your pretty little heads about it.)

So listen and enjoy the street cred this may or may not give you when you mention it at parties. (Okay... not parties... dinner with your parents.) (Okay... not dinner with your parents... the AOL chat room.)

1. Just For Money - Visible Targets
2. What's Important - Beakers
3. Reagan Speaks For Himself - Doug Kahn
4. Digital Alarm - Steve Fisk
5. Diary Of You - Cool Rays
6. Debbie - Bruce Pavitt
7. Spy Vs Spy - Pell Mell
8. Job Club - Jungle Nausea
9. Dirty White Lies - Neo Boys
10. It Hurts Me To Remember - Product One
11. Rubber Heads - Nurses
12. It Saw Me - Jad Fair
13. Switzer Boy - The Bohemians
14. Sofa Or A Chair - Vague-leys
15. Sing, Mary, Sing - Sports Of Kinds
16. Men At Work - The Men
17. Get Out Of The Bathroom - Oil Tasters
18. Slaughterhouse - All Night Movies
19. Eat, Sleep A-Go-Go - Get Smart
20. Lifespan - Embarrassment
21. Tronada - Ray Milland + Church Of The Subgenius - Excerpts

DL: "Sub Pop 5"

Live Recording: Mark Lanegan - "Live at the Esplanade Hotel July 9, 2010"

Well folks, Ritual Room's good friend and loyal follower Paddy has done it again - and by "it", I mean he's sent over more awesome Mark Lanegan material. This is a bootleg that was being sold at Mark's recent show in Dublin that Paddy was kind enough to upload - a recording of a performance from July 9, 2010 at the Esplanade Hotel in Melbourne, Australia. Apparently it was basically the same setlist as the Dublin show and was quite the performance (as you can see by the setlist!). This recording is amazing quality as well. This gives me chills. Enjoy.

1. When Your Number Isn't Up

2. One Way Street

3. No Easy Action

4. Miracle

5. Like Little Willie John

6. Don't Forget Me

7. Where the Twain Shall Meet

8. Message to Mine

9. Mirrored

10. The River Rise

11. One Hundred Days

12. Field Song

13. Traveller

14. Bombed

15. Wildflowers

DL: "Live at the Esplanade Hotel"

***picture stolen from Owl and Bear***

Album: Asunder - "A Clarion Call"

*Ahem*... Sorry for my silence. Life has suddenly become completely insane, and I'll have very little spare time until I start adjusting to this more. Anyways, you don't care, and I need to post some music, so let's go.

This is my favorite doom record. Normally I would have quite a lot to say about it, but, I have well, no time. Trust me though. I haven't lead you astray yet, have I?

1. Twilight Amaranthine
2. Crown of Eyes
3. A Clarion Call

DL: "A Clarion Call"

EP: Alice in Chains - "Sap"

Hey, remember how cool this EP is? This is the "Sap" EP by (that's right) Alice in Chains, which famously contains a guest appearance by Ann Wilson of Heart and that ridiculous yet somehow awesome "Alice Mudgarden" mashup on the track "Right Turn". I mean, if you're going to do Alice in Chains you may as well do it right. (And while you're reminiscing you also might as well remember this clip from Headbanger's Ball where the band has a day at the waterpark here.)

1. Brother

2. Got Me Wrong

3. Right Turn

4. Am I Inside

5. Love Song

DL: "Sap EP"

News: Jason Simon's Debut Solo Album Available for Purchase

Jason Simon's (Dead Meadow) debut self-titled solo album is now available to order on the Tee Pee Records webstore here. There are CDs or 500 copies available on white vinyl. I love me some Dead Meadow and am really stoked to hear this release!

The official release date for Jason Simon's solo record is September 14th and here's what the Tee Pee website had to say about it: "It is a stripped down and intimate record filled with intricate guitar work and poignant well-thought lyrics. Some songs are filled with dark brooding drones. Others songs leisurely carry the listener down meandering rivers as they slowly develop in their own unhurried way."

http://www.myspace.com/manfromelsewhere
http://www.myspace.com/deadmeadow
http://www.teepeerecords.com/

Compilation: Butthole Surfers - A Collection Of Great Venereal Diseases

i know i said that i didn't like to cross streams when it came to blog postings down yonder in my melvins compilation post...but if there's any reason to make 2 blogs feel awkward...it's the butthole surfers

this was a little something i put together for another radio show i participated in called THIS IS OUR MUSIC which plays only texass-bred music

and you can't think of texass and not think of the butthole surfers...well you could...but why would you want to?

so now i present you all with yet another sweet compilation to make folks feel all warm and cuddly and nyQuil smoothie-y

1 - sweat loaf
2 - dust devil
3 - creep in the cellar
4 - the lord is a monkey
5 - i saw an x-ray of a girl passing gas
6 - the colored fbi guy
7 - p.s.y.
8 - the hurdy gurdy man (1)
9 - the shah sleeps in lee harvey's grave
10 - the one i love (live) (2)
11 - ricky
12 - pepper
13 - intelligent guy (original version)
14 - something (1991 version)
15 - who was in my room last night?
16 - dum dum
17 - wnyu interview
18 - moving to florida
19 - just a boy
20 - the wooden song
21 - jingle of a dog's collar
22 - underdog (3)
23 - hey
24 - american woman (4)
25 - fast
26 - pittsburgh to lebanon
27 - cherub
28 - one hundred million people dead
29 - the shame of life

1=donovan cover
2=rem cover
3=theme song cover
4=the guess who cover

DL: a collection of great venereal diseases

EP: Earth - Extra-Capsular Extraction

it's the album that made people go "oh man...it'll be so kick ass if we can play as slow as possible...and only use chord changes every 10 minutes...this is gonna be a great idea!"

i remember finding my very first earth album in a bin of cassettes years ago at a disc jockey...it was the PHASE 3: THRONES AND DOMINIONS album...it was only $1.00...i'd never heard of the band before then...and really...i don't even remember why i bought it...maybe it was because of the album cover

so i took it home...popped it into the stereo....and BAM!....my windows rattled

and then i was sold

actually...i wasn't completely sold until i was laying on my couch with some headphones on and under the influence of some...well...

let's just say i went for a little ride...on my couch

so enough of the words

you know who earth are

you know what you need to do

DL: extra-capsular extraction

Compilation: "Rituals for the Stoned: A Stoner Rock Compilation by Psymin"

Here's a compilation made for this site by heavy rock guru Psymin who sometimes drops by the Sludge Swamp to drop his 2 cents in. Now we're all fortunate enough to have him drop by Ritual Room as well with a ripping compilation he titled "Rituals for the Stoned". (I made the cover art... I'd say it's some of my finer work.)

Anyways, I asked Psymin to create this compilation after talking stoner rock genres with him and feeling like a newcomer to a musical style I've been up on for years about 5 minutes in. So give this a download if you're into this kind of thing - you aren't likely to find anything better... or anyone better to lead you into the genre. So sit back and relax, he knows what he's doing.

1. Fluid4 - Medusa Queen
2. Greenhouse Effect - The Mayor
3. Hanging Tree - Free Ride
4. I Are Droid - Before the Fall
5. Kinch - Huca (El Hombre Rojo)
6. Lions - Can You Hear Me?
7. Lo Pan - Dragline
8. Lowrider - The Gnome, The Serpent, The Sun
9. Madking Ludwig - Alone with Us
10. Palm Desert - 10,000 Miles
11. Skua - The Lotions
12. Taliban Airways - Tsunami Surfer
13. Truckfighters/Firestone - Megalomania
14. Vincent's Ear - Guido Bombed Cienega
15. Wrench - Aloha Mama

DL: "Rituals for the Stoned"

Compilation: Melvins Is For Lovers

i don't normally like to cross streams when it comes to blogs...it always seems to be awkward and at least one of us ends up with some sort of rash...but this business is too good to not post here as well

this was a little something that i'd thrown together for a radio show that i do

"oh man...what's your show called?"

it's called the chocolate bicycle experience...and head roomy cara is a part of that as well from time to time (go on and curtsy now,cara)...and it can be found here every monday morning between the hours of 9:00 and 11:00...so you can totally listen whilst you're at work

"and how do i do that?"

come on now...there are just some things that you need to figure out for yourself...learn...i know...it's been a busy week for you...what with learning where babies come from and how to properly open a soda can and all...but there's gotta be some room up there for this as well

moving on

so go on and enjoy this little slice of awesome

and if you feel the need to slip on your buzzo wig (i know you have one)...and slip into your buzzo brand snuggie...and then make your (in)significant other all warm and awkward...just go on ahead and do it (just make sure the door is locked this time...i mean...you don't want a repeat of last time...right?)

1 - honey bucket
2 - scared
3 - candy o (1)
4 - black bock
5 - civilized worm
6 - in the rain
7 - leeech (2)
8 - amazon (pts. 1-2)
9 - the bit
10 - instant larry
11 - blockbuster (3)
12 - oven
13 - rocket reducer #62 (4)
14 - let god be your gardener
15 - way of the world (5)
16 - roman bird dog
17 - up the dumper
18 - night goat (7" version)
19 - if you get bored
20 - the bloated pope (w/lustmord)
21 - dog island
22 - ramblin' man (6)
23 - cottonmouth
24 - blessing the operation
25 - mombius hibachi
26 - the green manalishi (with the two-prong crown) (7)
27 - hooch
28 - june bug
29 - white punks on dope (8)
30 - lexicon devil (9)
31 - bar-x the rocking m
32 - creepy smell
33 - electric flower
34 - joan of arc
35 - boris (live)

1=the cars cover
2=green river cover
3=the jesus lizard cover w/david yow on vocals
4=mc5 cover
5=flipper cover
6=hank williams cover w/hank III on vocals
7=fleetwood mac cover
8=the tubes cover
9=germs cover

DL: melvins is for lovers

Single: Sub Pop Edition #19 Babes in Toyland - "Arriba / House"

Is it actually possible that I haven't posted any Babes in Toyland yet? Oh well. I'm currently at ATP New York (well, not at this very second but, you know) so it's been hectic (in the best way) and I was just discussing this band and needed to post this single. On the unlikely chance that someone hasn't heard BiT before, this is just some insanely well done, female fronted, heavy punk. This single was released in 1990. Enjoy.

1. Arriba

2. House

DL: "Arriba / House Single"

Album: Mind Eraser - "Conscious/Unconscious"

Mind Eraser are more known for writing blisteringly fast hardcore than side-long sludge songs, so unless thats your thing they might not really be on your radar. But here, on their 3rd full-length, they completely switched things up and god damn is the result ever crushing. After a quick burst of speed, the band slows into the sludgy, plodding riffs that will continue for the rest of the record, somehow managing to make each riff more filthy and crushing than the last. I can't say much more other than that this record fucking rules and that you should probably check it out. Clean Plate might still have some of these.

1. Conscious
2. Unconscious

DL: "Conscious/Unconscious"

Feature: Soundgarden - Telephantasm

this is getting released on the 28th of this month

how many of you are going to lay down some cash for this business?

it really doesn't give much in the way of something new for your everyday soundgarden appreciator...but it is a pretty decent place to start for the newbies

and who knows...maybe this could give way to a new album

so if you're a fan of soundgarden and t-shirts you can buy at flea markets...