Demo: Norrksen - "Hokus Pokus"

While I'm at it I might as well post this one too. See my below post. (Um, and go ahead and have a good laugh at the cheesy/terrible artwork for this one... I promise the demo itself is awesome. "Rest in Space": holy hell.)

1. Beware

2. Rest in Space

3. Hokus Pokus

4. Devastating

DL: "Hokus Pokus"

Single: Norrksen - "Armageddon / Little Lady" + bonus tracks

Members of this short lived project went on to form Witchcraft, Graveyard, Asteroid and Dead Man. Norrksen only released some demos, compilation tracks and this single in their short lived time as a group and so along with their "Armageddon / Little Lady" single I added on their compilation tracks - covers of "Pilot" by Blue Cheer and "Psalm 9" by Trouble. (Seriously, how did they know my favorite Blue Cheer and Trouble tracks? And how did they add flutes to Psalm 9 and make it sound okay?) I highly recommend this as it's really well done and you can hear little hints of what's to come in all these tracks which is cool if you're a fan of any of the groups Norrksen went on to form. Groove out.

1. Armageddon

2. Little Lady

3. Pilot

4. Psalm 9

DL: "Norrksen Single"

News: Crowbar - Cemetary Angels and new album

Sorry for my incredibly long abscence. To (not) make up for it, here's a new Crowbar track for the holidays! Get stoked. I'll try and come back in 2011. Hail Santa.

Feature: Psych Trail Mix Zine

So I'd like to take a minute to talk to you about my friend Brent's music zine called Psych Trail Mix. Some might already recognize this zine and/or Brent's Helios Creed fan site, but if you haven't I urge you to check both of them out.

Psych Trail Mix is one of the most dedicated zines I've seen in a while, and it focuses on exactly what you would expect it to (it covers everything from the God Bullies to the Beatles) with some unexpected and fun extras like the laugh inducing rant on things that should just stop at the end of the most recent issue. Issue #5 was just released and it's downloadable in PDF format so you can read it that way, or he encourages you to print it yourself to get the full experience.

Get more information about this project and read all the issues of Psych Trail Mix here and show your support so zines like this can thrive and continue! I also encourage you to shoot Brent an e-mail at psychtrailmix@yahoo.com with your love and feedback (and tell him I sent you!)

Radio: The Chocolate Bicycle Experience Christmas Special

Some of you might remember me and ipecac's weekly radio show called The Chocolate Bicycle Experience. Well... for the past little while he has been keeping this show going every Monday while I've been slacking off and, while I sincerely hope you have been listening every week, today's show was extra special since my lazy ass made a contribution for once. I mean, ipecac, if you're reading this.... every show is extra special.... its just... I meant to say... um... hey, why doesn't everyone listen to this?

King Diamond - No Presents For Christmas
CKY - Santa's Coming
Blue Meanies - Ace Of Spades (Live Motorhead Cover)
Deep Purple - Space Truckin'
The Blood Brothers - Under Pressure (Queen Cover)
Dio - Holy Diver
Chambers Brothers - Time Has Come Today (Extended Version)
The Austerity Program - Song 27
Icky Joey - King Of Pinch And Roll
Dead Kennedys - I Kill Children
Big Chief - Locked Out
Yes - Starship Trooper
Blood Circus - Part Of The Crowd
Anal Cunt - Radio Hit
Indian - Lust
Burnt By The Sun - Forlani
Meshuggah - Neurotica
Deadbird - Feral Flame
Earthride - Black
Zao - Lies Of Serpents,A River Of Tears
Scrotum Grinder - You Are My Favorite Line In The Worst Song Ever Written
Electric Wizard - Black Mass
Burning Witch - Communion
Chemical Marriage - Teasing Daddy
Yakuza - Chicago Typewriter
Naked City - Osaka Bondage
The String Quartet - South Of Heaven (Slayer Cover)

DL: the Chocolate Bicycle Experience

Single: Sub Pop Edition #25 Tad - "Loser / Cooking With Gas"

A dreary Monday calls for more Tad singles. Get out your flannel and your chainsaw.

1. Loser

2. Cooking With Gas

DL: "Loser/Cooking With Gas Single"

Single: Sub Pop Edition #24 Tad - "Daisy / Ritual Device"

I think it's about time this one came up to the surface... The infamous Tad - "Daisy/Ritual Device" 7" that was released on Sub Pop in '88. In true messy, Tad style, 964 of these were released and there is no picture sleeve. Some of the most brutal Tad material in existance.

1. Daisy

2. Ritual Device

DL: "Daisy/Ritual Device Single"

Album: Witchcraft - "Firewood"

This used to be one of my favorite things to listen to and now I'm rediscovering it.

Witchcraft are as mournful and hopeless as a doom band but have the chops of a 70's heavy rock band, and their album "Firewood" could easily be mistaken as a hidden gem from the era if you didn't know this was released in 2005. There are so many reasons to love what Witchcraft is doing here - the throwback to 70's heavy rock (which is one of my favorite things to see in modern bands when it's done well) and blantant Pentagram influence being the main ones in my books; in fact, they do a wicked cover of "When the Screams Come" on this album that will make your blood boil. They somehow even incorporate flutes and acoustic guitars on this release and manage to make it sound ethereal, not cheesy. The raw emotion and occult imagery of this album make it a gem. (...and those riffs, aye!)

1. Chylde of Fire
2. If Wishes were Horses
3. Mr Haze
4. Wooden Cross (I Can't Wake the Dead)
5. Queen of Bees
6. Merlin's Daughter
7. I See a Man
8. Sorrow Evoker
9. You Suffer
10. Attention!
11. When The Screams Come (Pentagram)
12. If Crimson Was Your Colour
13. I Know You Killed Someone...

DL: "Firewood"

Album: The Walkabouts - "Satisfied Mind"

"This is a collection of other people's songs. Some were found stacked in the back of the closet, and others were found lying in the middle of the floor. All of them shared a powerful pull.
On this album, lots of different types of instruments (many of them acoustic) were used. Some of these were played by the band, and others were played by musicians we greatly admire. It was a privilege to work with them.

It has never made sense to us that songs should be tied down to one specific voice or place or piece of product. Sometimes songs like to travel. Hopefully, we've given these songs that chance.

- Chris Eckman, Sept. 29, 1993"

"Satisfied Mind" by The Walkabouts - what can I say? You would be doing yourself an injustice by not listening to this. As a pretty visual person when it comes to music, I feel like this album would make an excellent soundtrack to walking along a dusty highway or through a desolate field. (See the cover art of this album which fits this grouping of songs perfectly). Just some nice, easy listening for a Sunday afternoon like today. This was released in 1993 on Sub Pop and I also included the original songwriters on the tracklisting to reference.

1. Satisfied Mind (by Rhodes & Hayes)
2. Loom of the Land (by Nick Cave)
3. The River People (by Robert Forster)
4. Polly (by Gene Clark)
5. Buffalo Ballet (by John Cale)
6. Lover's Crime (by Pewee Maddux)
7. Shelter for an Evening (by Gary Heffern)
8. Dear Darling (by Mary Margaret O'Hara)
9. Poor Side of the Town (by Johnny Rivers)
10. Free Money (by Patti Smith & Lenny Kaye)
11. The Storms are on the Ocean (by The Carter Family)
12. Feel Like Going Home (by Charlie Rich)
13. Will You Miss Me When I'm Gone (Traditional)

DL: "Satisfied Mind"

EP: Earthride - "Earthride"

Here's the first, oddly obscure self titled EP by Earthride. This is definitely a more traditional take on the heavy, southern sludge drenched Earthride sound we know and love (aka. more Motorhead, less Crowbar) and this EP is probably the most satisfying listen i've heard from anything in this vein in quite sometime. Not many bands can achieve this level of grit and misery in a release while still having it resemble something fun. Whiskey soaked biker-doom. Get into it.

1. Earthride

2. Black

3. Enter Zacfreyalz

4. Weak End

DL: "Earthride EP"

(Note: link borrowed from DoomGrinder, thanks! I'm a terrible person.)

Single: Flop - Scene 1 Act 1

not many folks know of this band (well...most folks that i know)

i was first turned onto the band waaaaaaay back in the early 90s via the radio (believe it or not...they actually played music that somewhat decent back in the day...and i used to have a crapload of cassettes filled with it...yeah...i was one of those people)

if you've ever seen the movie HYPE!...flop was the band being recorded in a garage by kurt bloch (one of the guitarists from the band the fastbacks) during the middle part of the movie (their vocalist was wearing a gas huffer hat)

and if you've never seen HYPE!...well...this is the place where'd i'd usually go off on a rant...but i'm not gonna waste the words...you know what you did...

so what you get here is 7" of "pop punk" (but not of the blink 182 persuasion or their ilk...maaan...i feel shitty for even mentioning them here) that comes in the form of an original song and 2 covers (devo/the jam)

DL: scene 1 act 1

Album - Eleven - Awake In A Dream

seeing as how the posting of some of the band's albums (here and there) seemed to go over pretty good...i now give you the band's debut album

but it comes with a warning: most folks would call this "sub par" compared to their later albums...and i'm inclined to agree...this has a more pop oriented sound (while still not sounding like anything else pop oriented)

and apparently the makers of the film FREEJACK deemed it good enough to include their song "break the spell" on the soundtrack (which is about the only good thing about the movie...the inclusion of the song...not the soundtrack...just wanted to clear that up...though there are a few decent songs on it)

so unless you want the FREEJACK folks to be better than you...i suggest you snag this up

also...you should seek out vocalist alain johannes' new (also his first) solo album SPARK which was released back in october of this year (unless you want me to be better than you)

DL: awake in a dream

Live Recording: Green River - 10.24.87 - Scream Club - Los Angeles,CA

seeing as how you're all patrons of the ritual room...i'd like to think that you know what the grunge is all about

it's rumored that mark arm gave it the moniker "grunge"

and mark arm fronted green river

see how everything just came together?

the band also spawned a few other bands: mother love bone/mudhoney/pearl jam/temple of the dog

the band was on a 5 day tour of west coast when this turned out to be the their "last show" because they were fighting amongst themselves (and bassist jeff ament filling the band's guest list with music industry folks rather than friends of the band didn't seem to help matters much)

and i put the words "last" and "show" in parentheses because the band has since gotten back together and played a few one off shows since then and are also possibly releasing a new album and touring

but enough with the words...

1 - forever means
2 - rehab doll
3 - queen bitch (1)
4 - together we'll never
5 - by her own hand
6 - this town
7 - smilin' and dyin'
8 - swallow my pride
9 - the needle and the damage done (2)/aint' nothin' to do (3)

1=david bowie cover
2=neil young cover
3=dead boys cover

DL: green river@scream club

Live Recording: Screaming Trees - Olympia, Washington 03/21/97

Ladies and gentleman, I now present you with a really cool/high quality recording of the Screaming Trees playing in Olympia in 1997. I'm not sure who to credit since this has been floating around various places for a while, but anyways, enjoy! (I would post this.) But seriously, I have a ton of Mark Lanegan/Screaming Trees recordings so if you have any requests, request away and I'll do my best to make it happen.

1. Intro
2. Halo Of Ashes
3. Winter Song
4. Butterfly
5. All I Know
6. Witness
7. Sworn & Broken
8. Dying Day
9. Nearly Lost You
10. Gospel Plow
11. Julie Paradise
12. Bed Of Roses
13. What Goes On
14. Memory Of A Free Festival

DL: "Screaming Trees Live in Olympia '97"