BENT WIND – SUSSEX – 1969 (CAN) heavy psych/hard rock

Hard rock excess, complete with blues-mauling guitar riffs, fight it out with some nice haunting harmonies and occasional delicate, folky melodies on this interesting (if inessential) release, one of the last gasps of garage-psychedelia (in fact, the hard rock factor is so prominent that it probably couldn't be comfortably classified as such). The release listed is a vinyl reissue of the mid-'80s, though has been reissued on CD since then.

JERRY GIBAS lead gtr, vcls
SEBASTIAN PELAIA bs, gtr
MARTY ROTH gtr, vcls
EDDIE THOMAS drms
1 Touch of Red 4:10
2 Riverside 6:13
3 The Lions 3:38
4 Gong to the City 2:51
5 Hate 4:02
6 Look at Love 5:23
7 Mistify 3:14
8 Scared Cows 5:29
Bonus Tracks
9 Riverside 6:20
10 Bent Wind 4:01
11 The Chant 3:44
12 Castles Made of Man 3:26
13 Sacred Cows 2:23

The album consists of almost exclusive hard rock songs, sounding at times like a lesser Hendrix and at times like some of the psychedelic hard rockers of the time. "Hate" is the only song that isn't a harder rocker, and it is one of the better tracks. The two songs from their single "Sacred Cows" and "Castles Made of Man" are pretty good as is somewhat haunting "Riverside."

Highly recommended!
Rip from CD 256@ (full artwork included)
Download link
http://link-protector.com/264029/

LIGHT OF DARKNESS - LIGHT OF DARKNESS – 1970 (UK/GER) hard rock

The little-known Scottish band Light of Darkness consisted of Mike Reoch (bass, flute, piano, harmonica), Byron Grant (guitars, fiddle), John Latimer (vocals, piano, organ, percussion), and German drummer Manfred Bebert. They were based in Hamburg, Germany, and their only record was released by the German label Phillips in 1970. This self-titled debut album is in a kind-of progressive blues-rock style, highlighted by Latimer's odd voice and an energetic cover of Tony Joe White's "Soul Francisco." However, critics at that time dismissed the record as being directionless; the record-buying public ignored the LP and after a couple of concerts, Light of Darkness disbanded. Today, their only recording has become a minor cult classic and a collector's item. Unfortunately, the bandmembers disappeared and never recorded again. Before Light of Darkness, both Reoch and Grant had been in a band called Mike Reoch and the Tremors (together with Dennis Morrison and Don Stuart), and released an album called "Internationale Evergreens" on Elite Special in the 1960s.

Mike Reoch (bass, flute, piano, harmonica)
Byron Grant (guitars, fiddle)
John Latimer (vocals, piano, organ, percussion)
Manfred Bebert (drums)
1 Movin' Along 4:12
2 Love in Your Heart 5:19
3 Ain't no Place Where I Belong 4:59
4 Soul Francisco 9:55
5 Freedom Fight 6:41
6 Time 4:14
7 Down 'n' Out 8:55

Highly recommended!
Rip from CD 256@ (full artwork included)
Download link
http://link-protector.com/264030/

TRAPEZE – MEDUSA – 1970 (UK) hard rock

Not only is Medusa the finest offering from '70s outfit Trapeze, it is one of the decade's most underappreciated hard rock recordings. With a lineup that consisted of future Deep Purple, Judas Priest, and Black Sabbath members, there seems to be proof that at least a few fellow musicians appreciated this 1971 offering. Fans of his later work might be surprised by Glenn Hughes' soulful vocal delivery, especially on the mid-tempo blues-rockers like "Black Cloud" and "Your Love Is Alright." Guitarist Mel Galley also deserves mention for his sparse approach to classic rock riffing that is catchy and affective. Even the ballads are focused, memorable, and unique. There are some melodic moments on the closing title track that sound almost as if a '90s alt-rock crooner composed them. Considering that Medusa predates many similar, and more successful, classic rock LPs from the likes of Bad Company, Nazareth, Foreigner, and others, it's a wonder that the record isn't mentioned more when influential albums of this era are discussed.

MEL GALLEY gtr, vcls
DAVE HOLLAND drms
GLENN HUGHES bs, vcls
1 Black Cloud 6:13
2 Jury 8:13
3 Your Love is Alright 4:56
4 Touch My Life 4:08
5 Seafull 6:35
6 Makes You Wanna Cry 4:45
7 Medusa 5:42

Medusa is the breakout album for Glenn Hughes, who would go on to a long and successful career as one of the finest singers in rock. His vocal gymnastics are plentiful here on one of the best hard rock albums ever recorded. Every song is wonderfully crafted with excellent lyrics, interesting crunchy guitar with solos that never bore, and fine punchy rhythms by this power trio. Songs such as "Black Cloud", "Your Love Is Alright", "Touch My Life", and "Makes You Wanna Cry" are guaranteed to get your toes tapping, while "Seafull" is a strong downtempo song. The title track is a hard prog rocker, but the song that makes the album magnificent is "Jury", a monster progressive track with perhaps Hughes best vocal performance ever, and that is saying a lot. This album should be a part of any fan's collection of hard rock music.

Highly recommended!
Rip from CD 256@ (full artwork included)
Download link
http://link-protector.com/264031/

INCREDIBLE HOG – VOLUME 1 - 1972 (UK) hard rock

Like so many early 70s bands, the three-piece London-based group Incredible Hog were a by product of the 60s British Blues Boom. In an attempt to mix melodic pop with heavy rock and intelligent, meaningful lyrics, guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Ken Gordon and bassist Jim Holmes, who'd actually been at school together and played in the band Speed Auction, formed Incredible Hog in early 1972, the name actually being a play on the then highly popular 'Incredible Hulk' comic book series.
Various auditions finally brought the group a permanent drummer in the shape of South African-born Tony Awin. However, getting any kind of gigs at the time was not easy, so in an effort to solve the problem the band set up their own club, The Pig Sty, which was based initially in Ilford and then in Forest Gate, East London. By booking adverts in the then prestigious Melody Maker, the band's name started to get known though they still failed to attract the attention of a record company. A determined Ken Gordon then marched into the offices of Dart Records and refused to leave until someone had listened to his band's demo tape. After waiting all day, and having been threatened with ejection by the police, he managed to get the tape heard and within two weeks, Incredible Hog were signed by the label!
Dart teamed the band with producer Roger Watson who'd previously worked with comedy-rock outfit Scaffold. This unlikely pairing led to many bust ups in the studio over musical direction, with the band wanting to go one way and Watson the other. However, this clash of styles added to the excitement and originality so evident on "Volume I" (DART 65372), and when it was released in mid-73, it received a lot of critical acclaim, but was too ahead of its time to generate acceptance from the general public. Nonetheless, the band toured the UK to promote the album and even started recording a follow-up, before a mixture of record company apathy and lack of commercial success led to the band folding late in 1973.
Ken Gordon turned to session work and helped out on recordings by the likes of The Rubettes, The Tremeloes and the Heavy Metal Kids. Today, he still writes songs but is better known for his acting career, having appeared in TV shows like "The Bill" and "London's Burning". Tony Awin worked with The Crazy World of Arthur Brown and James Last, and today is still involved in live and session work. Jim Holmes moved into production work and started the legendary Scarf Studios where even this writer remembers making a demo! Today, Jim runs a successful theatre production company.

Ken Gordon (guitar, harmonica, vocals)
Jim Holmes (bass)
Terry Awin (drums)
This cd contains 10 songs from the extremely rare Hard Rock rarity known the world over as THE INCREDIBLE HOG! A real mixture of styles but the "heavy" tracks seem to be the majority. At times getting into almost power metal moments. The slow tracks have a real spacey ambience that makes them fine as well.

Highly recommended!
Rip from CD 256@ (full artwork included)
Download link
http://link-protector.com/264027/

HAZE – HAZECOLOR-DIA – 1971 (GER) hard rock/heavy progressive

The sole album released by Haze featured another of those extraordinary artwork sleeves designed by Walter Seyffer of Nine Days' Wonder fame. It was made to look exactly like a slide picture, complete with die-cut cover and an attached transparency picture center of the group Haze on both its front and back covers. What you get here is a photo reproduction of that artwork. Hazecolor-Dia was a Hauke & Dierks production, recorded during April 1971 at the Clerks Studio. All five tracks were written by Dietmar Low. Slow, cleverly-arranged heavy progressive rock numbers, psychedelically fueled with a faint blues tinge, featuring humorous lyrics: A Way To Find Paradise told about a hippy's struggle to get his hashish to smoke! Scherler really had a strange and wild voice (he usually screamed as loudly as he could), adding much to their gutsy freak rock style. Several tracks also featured flute (the flute player is not identified on the cover). Haze, in part, seem to draw inspiration from The Edgar Broughton Band, Arthur Brown, and Captain Beefheart. Their album is recommended for all freak rock fans!

Kurt Frei (drums),
Christian Scherler (vocals)
Hans-Jürg Frei (guitar, organ)
Dietmar Löw (bass)
Heinz Schwab (lead guitar)
01. Peaceful nonsense
02. Fast career
03. Be yourself
04. A way to find the paradise
05. Decision

HAZE played excellent progressive rock with lots of impressive instrumental passages. It should be recommended for all fans of early 70's metal.

Highly recommended!
Rip from CD 256@ (full artwork included)
Download link
http://link-protector.com/264026/

NIGHT SUN – MOURNIN’ – 1972 (GER) hard rock

Long raved over by discerning collectors of ‘70s hard rock and metal, Night Sun's sole LP from 1972 was one of those overlooked gems which, through the fault of bad promotion, bad timing, or bad luck, barely notched blip on the radar of rock and roll at the time of its release. Like many German hard rock albums of the day, Mournin' was produced by Conny Plank (Faust, Kraftwerk, David Bowie, etc.), who took the Manheim-based quartet into Hamburg's Windrose Studios in 1972, soon to emerge with nine, consistently scorching heavy rock tracks enriched with organs and semi-proggy tendencies in a similar vein to Uriah Heep, Lucifer Friend's and Deep Purple. The spastic, explosive "Plastic Shotgun," launches the album into immediate proto-metal hyperbole, but it's the ensuing, slightly more settled, "Crazy Woman," that represents the core elements of Night Sun's potent yet regimented sound, including the first of many Purple-inspired guitar-and-organ solo jousts between Walter Kirchgassner and Knut Rossler. Next up, the suitably cryptic "Got a Bone of My Own" plugs the ‘prog' into its seven-minute equation, slowly rising from foreboding guitar echoes towards complex twists and turns; after which Night Sun churns out a fine pair of mid-paced, early ‘70s organ metal in the Uriah Heep mold in "Slush Pan Man," "Living with the Dying" (complete with Ulrich Staudt drum solo), and the almost bluesy "Blind." Another standout, "Come Down," represents its title well by providing the album's only pause for breath, but its deliberate, creeping gait and sinister melodies still impart a sense of dread reminiscent of Atomic Rooster. Then, the furious cacophony of "Nightmare" once again recalls Deep Purple at their most rampant (only with Robert Plant at the helm, thanks to Bruno Schaab's high-flying vocals), and the horn-laden finale of "Don't Start Flying" makes for a nice, quirky conclusion to Mournin's exciting menu; a menu unquestionably rooted in the early ‘70s, but which still manages to attract new fans with every year that passes.

Bruno Schaab (vocals, bass)
Walter Kirchgässner (guitar)
Knut Rössler (organ, piano, trumpet, bassoon)
Ulrich Staudt (drums)
1 Plastic Shotgun 2:35
2 Crazy Woman 4:16
3 Got a Bone of My Own 7:49
4 Slush Pan Man 4:25
5 Living With the Dying 5:29
6 Come Down 5:49
7 Blind 4:23
8 Nightmare 3:15
9 Don't Start Flying 3:06

Brutally heavy for its time. Cross between Black Sabbath and Atomic Rooster.

Highly recommended!
Rip from CD 256@ (full artwork included)
Download link
http://link-protector.com/264022/

ATLEE - FLYING AHEAD – 1970 (US) hard rock

Produced by Joel Sill, Atlee were a good hard-rock quartet from California. All the tracks on their sole album were penned by Yeager and demonstrate the band's skill and their sense of humour: Jesus People, Dirty Sheets, Dirty Old Man, Let's Make Love are just some highlights of a very consistent album. Still working with Michael Stevens, Atlee Yeager would go on to issue another album on Chelsea in 1973.

DON FRANCISCO drms, vcls
BRUCE SCHAFFER keyb'ds, vcls
MICHAEL STEVENS gtr, vcls
ATLEE YEAGER ld vcls, bs
1 Rip You Up
2 Swamp Rhythm
3 Painted Ladies
4 Jesus People
5 Let's Make Love
6 Will We Get Together
7 Dirty Old Man
8 Ain't That the Way
9 Dirty Sheets

Highly recommended!
Rip from CD 256@ (full artwork included)
Download link
http://link-protector.com/264017/

HAYSTACKS BALBOA - HAYSTACKS BALBOA – 1970 (US) hard rock

Reissue of their elusive 1970 one and only album of heavy acid rock. Specially re-packaged and re-mastered. Big guitar riffs and heavy hammond organs accompany brooding rock vocals.

MARK BABANI
MARK HARRISON MAYO
LLOYD LANDESMAN
MARK POLOTT
BRUCE SCOTT
Spoiler
The Children of Heaven
Gasbag
Auburn Queen
Sticky Finger
Ode to the Silken Men
Riverland

Real heavy dudes with some grungey vocals, a mean attitude and some wicked guitar - above-par hard rock. Although outside the musical thrust of this book, they're worth a mention especially as a couple of tracks on their album were written by Larry West, formerly of the legendary Vagrants and younger brother of guitar colossus, Leslie 'Mountain' West.

Highly recommended!
Rip from CD 256@ (full artwork included)
Download link
http://link-protector.com/264019/

ELIAS HULK - UNCHAINED – 1970 (UK) hard rock

This rare hard rock album, very much in the mould of Leaf Hound, now changes hands for considerable sums. It's full of endless riffs, tortured blues vocals and drum and bass solos. You’ll either love it or find it extremely tedious!

GRANVILLE FRAZER gtr
JAMES HAINES bs
BERNARD JAMES drms
NEIL TATUM gtr
PETER THORPE vcls
1 Anthology of Dreams 3:08
2 Nightmare 3:11
3 Been Around Too Long 3:01
4 Yesterday's Trip 3:55
5 We Can Fly 6:16
6 Free 3:36
7 Delphi Blues 4:18
8 Ain't Got You 3:25

Some good heavy psych stuff from this U.K. outfit with even some similarities to the first Black Sabbath album

Highly recommended!
Rip from CD 256@ (full artwork included)
Download link
http://link-protector.com/264016/

TEAR GAS – TEAR GAS – 1971 (UK) hard rock

These Glasgow-based progressive/heavy rockers were originally known as Mustard. Their first vocalist Andy Mulvey had previously been with The Poets. However, he was soon replaced by David Batchelor and around the same time Gilson Lavis (their original drummer, who later played with Squeeze) was replaced by Richard Monro from Ritchie Blackmore's Mandrake Root. This line-up recorded Piggy Go Getter, which made little impact. In 1970, Hugh McKenna took over Batchelor's vocal role and Ted McKenna (ex-Dream Police) relieved Monro on drums. They recorded a second album and tried to establish themselves on the underground scene but were going nowhere with their brand of tired boogie heavy rock, until they teamed up with Alex Harvey in August 1972 to become The Sensational Alex Harvey Band.

ZAL CLEMINSON gtr
CHRIS GLEN bs, vcls
HUGH McKENNA keyb'ds, vcls
TED McKENNA drms
1 That's What's Real 6:02
2 Love Story 7:01
3 Lay It on Me 3:44
4 Woman for Sale 4:24
5 I'm Glad 5:49
6 Where Is My Answer 5:59
7 Jailhouse Rock & All Shook Up 5:49
8 The First Time 4:53
Bonus Track
9 The Temptation of St. Anthony (live)

Great and underated hard and proto-heavy album. Really excellent production, great sound and great playing. Brilliant guitar, bass and drum work, good compositions and really a great hard combo. This album was produced in 1970 but the quality of the sound and of the musicianship could have been made later. In some songs sounds very heavy for the time and with a really "killer" guitar sound. Hard Rock and Heavy Rock in its best.

Highly recommended! For fans Leaf Hound, Blue Cheer, Black Sabbath…
Rip from CD 256@ (full artwork included)
Download link
http://link-protector.com/264008/

YESTERDAY’S CHILDREN - YESTERDAY’S CHILDREN – 1969 (US) hard rock

This elegant CD reissues the sole album by this obscure Connecticut group who recorded this one LP and a classic psychedelic garage punk single which appears on the Psychedelic Unknowns compilation. While the debut single was classic beat garage of the period 1966, by the 1969 album the group expanded into more hard rock and progressive styles -- and this album is drenched in the lead guitar blitz of Reggie Wright. The group was led by brothers Denis Croce on guitar and Richard Croce on vocals, and Chuck Maher and Ralph Muscatelli on bass and drums. The group is not to be confused with a Chicago-area group of the same name and era who appeared on the Pebbles box set. The reissue on Italian obscure specialist label Akarma is a stunning object to behold and an audiophile remaster of this underground classic.

DENNIS CROCE vcls
RICHARD CROCE gtr
CHUCK MAHER bs
RALPH MUSCATELLI perc
REGGIE WRIGHT ld gtr
1. Paranoia
2. Sad Born Loser
3. What of I
4. She's Easy
5. Sailing
6. Providence Bummer
7. Evil Woman
8. Hunter's Moon

Pretty rockin' American psychedelic stuff from 1969. The guitar is very impressive especially on the tracks "Sailing" and "Hunter's Moon." After listening to the album a few times, it grows on you and just want to rock out! If there is such a thing as psychedelic metal, "Hunter's Moon" perfects and embodies it. There are a couple of average songs that flatten out the overall prestige of the album, but for the most part, it is a great slice of psychedelic hard rock from America. Give props to it's heaviness for 1969.

Highly recommended!
Rip from CD 256@ (full artwork included)
Download link
http://link-protector.com/264010/

KILLING FLOOR – KILLING FLOOR – 1969 (UK) hard rock

Listening to Killing Floor's debut LP today -- essentially rearranged Chicago blues songs given a bombastic heavy rock treatment -- you cannot dismiss the impact and influence of Led Zeppelin's self-titled debut, which was released six months earlier, in January 1969. The band's fledgling label, Spark, decided to them record "original" material during sessions in Pye Recording Studios, so vocalist Bill Thorndycraft reportedly spent several days thereafter in the studio's restroom, where he reluctantly rewrote all the group's lyrics. The only song that didn't end up as an "original" was their cover of Willie Dixon's "You Need Love" (retitled "Woman You Need Love"), the same song later purloined by Led Zeppelin for "Whole Lotta Love." The next track, "Nobody By My Side," repeats the same two-line riff from Zeppelin's "How Many More Times," which had been purloined by Zeppelin from Albert King's "The Hunter." "Come Home Baby," a honky tonk blues original, features pleasant ivory-tickling by Lou Martin (this song was later covered by bluesman Jimmy Witherspoon on Spoonful of Blues). The hymn-like "Sunday Morning" features Martin on harpsichord. Much of the rest of the album continues along in the same fashion. There are the occasional sloppy mistakes, both in the playing and the album's production, but, all in all, Killing Floor is a fine collection of B-level British blues-rock. The cover artwork -- a photo depicting jail cell doors with symbolic red ink splashed around like blood -- was changed for the original American release on Sire.

MICK CLARKE gtr
LOU MARTIN keyb'ds
STEWART McDONALD bs, vcls
BAS SMITH drms
BILL THORNYCROFT lead vcls, hrmnca
MICHAEL STEWART gtr
1 Woman You Need Love 4:47
2 Nobody by My Side 4:52
3 Come Home Baby 4:03
4 Bedtime Blues 7:27
5 Sunday Morning 1:00
6 Try to Understand 2:35
7 My Mind Can Ride Easy 2:28
8 Wet 0:41
9 Keep on Walking 4:56
10 Forget It! 5:30
11 Lou's Blues 2:37
12 People Change Your Mind 8:20

Rock the blues is right. Take peter green's Fleetwood Mac and match them up with a healthy dose of Yardbirds, Cream and American garage punk. Take out the piano and harmonica and you would have something similar to the u.k. answer of Blue Cheer.

Highly recommended!
Rip from CD 256@ (full artwork included)
Download link
http://link-protector.com/262450/

KILLING FLOOR - OUT OF URANUS – 1970 (UK) hard rock

Out of Uranus is rawer and more irreverent than most second-line British blues-rock of the late '60s and early '70s, as indicated by the title itself. That doesn't mean the all-original songs are that good, that they're especially imaginative players, or that Bill Thorndycraft's semi-barked vocals are so special. But it makes for a refreshing change from the normal not-so-well-known British blues-rock albums of the era, with a brash streak to both the lean arrangements (particularly in the frequent rushed tempos and Bas Smith's crisp drumming) and lyrics missing from many of their peers. Slight nods to the world of underground rock outside of the blues form are heard in the yearning hippie ethos of "Soon There Will Be Everything," where the violin of Paul Spencer Mac again takes them a little outside of the standard framework for the genre. The countercultural mindset of the time is occasionally reflected in numbers like "Call for the Politicians" and the wittily titled "Fido Castrol," somewhat in the bluntly sardonic manner of another band of the day, the Deviants.

MICK CLARKE gtr
STEWART McDONALD bs, vcls
BAS SMITH drms
BILL THORNYCROFT lead vcls, hrmnca
1 Out of Uranus 4:39
2 Soon There Will Be Everything 3:54
3 Acid Bean 4:21
4 Where Nobody Ever Goes 5:23
5 Sun Keeps Shining 4:25
6 Call for the Politicians 2:22
7 Fido Castrol 4:43
8 Lost Alone 5:07
9 Son of Wet 5:11
10 Milkman 5:26

Kick-ass psychedelic blues rock with the Zeppelin strut to it, and guitars that'll make you snarl in your air guitar as they pull out all the riffs from the Jeff Beck songbook. It's basically a 4-piece (vocals and harmonica, guitar, bass, drums) but with some piano, violin and synth effects scattered in there at times. There's even a drum solo in track 9 "Son of Wet" - the drummer is good, although I didn't need the solo. The music is mostly at one pace throughout, although they slow down a bit for Track 2 "Soon There Will Be Everything." The music steps above the blues rock throng with its energy, its psychedelic overtones, and its relentless playing. The lyrics are sort of obvious hippy-meets-the-blues stuff about changing the world and getting stoned and bad women and that sort of thing - they don't get in the way, basically.

Highly recommended!
Rip from CD 256@ (full artwork included)
Download link
http://link-protector.com/262453/

FELT – FELT – 1971 (US) hard rock/heavy blues

Felt was formed in Alabama in the late '60s around the talents of Myke Jackson (guitars), Mike Neel (drums), Tommy Gilstrap (bass), Stan Lee (guitars), and Allan Dalrymple (keyboards). The band's self-titled album, released on the small Nasco label in 1971, contains half-a-dozen original songs written for the most part by Jackson. The mostly blues-styled songs on this album are full of great guitar work and contain fine Beatles-esque harmony vocals. While most of this album has a blues feeling to it, some of the songs hint of progressive rock with swirling keyboards, intense drumming, and blistering guitar solos. The album has recently been discovered for its musical excellence and has become a very rare collectors' item. Guitarist Lee would later go on to become a member of punk band the Dickies in the late '70s. This welcome re-release by Akarma Records features a reproduction of the original foldout album graphics in the mini-LP-styled Akarmapack.

ALLAN DALRYMPLE keyb'ds
TOMMY GILSTRAP bs
MYKE JACKSON gtr
STAN LEE gtr
MIKE NEEL drms
1 Look at the Sun
2 Now She's Gone
3 Weepin' Mama Blues
4 World
5 Change
6 Destination

The singer has a limited voice and some of the song structures are far from original. Still, it has the right sound, the right feel and i keep playing the album. 'look at the sun' has a very nice Beatles-feel but the other tracks are heavy on organ en fuzzguitar and will appeal to those looking for more early hard(er) rock.

Highly recommended!
Rip from CD 256@ (full artwork included)
Download link
http://link-protector.com/260928/

I DRIVE – I DRIVE – 1972 (UK) hard rock

Deluxe reissue of the sought after progressive rock album from 1972, for the first time in its original format coming housed as doulbe CD for the first time on CD the first I Drive single plus many rare tracks. As usual all songs have been digitally remastered for best sound quality. On Second Battle

Dave Charles Bailey (drums, 1967-73)
Leslie Graham (bass, 1967-73)
Richard Henry Hampson (guitar, vocals, 1967-73)
John Barry Smith (keyboards, vocals, 1967-73)
Geff Harrison (vocals, 1966-71)
Bernd 'Nando' Tischer (vocals, 1971-73)
Disc One: "I Dive" - 1972
1 Down, Down, Down 4:38
2 Oo, Bopajero 3:24
3 Looking Out My Window 3:46
4 Marry a Musician 3:12
5 Before the Devil 3:32
6 Christine 5:03
7. Onely the Lonely 4:28
8 What a Pity 3:44
9 Just a Little Bit 3:44
10 Be the One 3:02
11 Brave New World 6:21
Disc Two: "Demo Tracks"
1 I Need a Friend 3:59
2 When Evening Comes 4:14
3 It Ain't so Bad 3:04
4 Looking Out My Window 4:01
5 Everything in Vain 3:13
6 Happy Days 2:46
7 Turmoil 3:46
8 Before the Devil 4:00
9 Classic Rigby - Part 1 & 2 6:09

Highly recommended!
Rip from CD 256@ (full artwork included)
Download links
http://link-protector.com/260929/
http://link-protector.com/260932/

PIRANA – PIRANA/PIRANA2 – 1971/1972 2in1 (AUS) heavy progressive

A Santana-inflluenced Latin rock outfit who played in Sydney between 1970-75. They had a minor hit with Here It Comes Again, which spent four weeks in the charts and their second album just made it into the Top 50.
They are probably best remembered as festival stalwarts, but their vinyl is worth investigating. Their debut album was a varied progressive item. The poppier side of their repertoire is represented by The Time Is Now and Find Yourself A New Girl, their more adventurous side is evident on Elation and Stand Back and most of the remaining material is song-based and falls midway between the two styles. Their two 45s, Here It Comes Again and I Hope You Don't Mind were tight progressive tunes. The former showcases Tony Hamilton's vocals and acid-soaked lead guitar break. The latter has some great choppy organ (a la Doors) and incisive sax. riff.
Their second eponymous album was stronger and housed in a superbly colourful cover. Fairly typical Aussie prog. rock it featured a good instrumental Then Came The Light, Here It Comes Again, the atmospheric nine minute Thinking Of You with its searing fuzz guitar and flowing Hammond organ and the heavier Move To The Country among its finer moments.

TONY HAMILTON gtr
GRAEME THOMPSON bs
STAN WHITE keyb'ds
JIM YONGE drms
KEITH GREIG keyb'ds
1. Elation 9:27
2. Sermonette 5:54
3. The Time Is Now 6:28
4. Find Yourself A New Girl 3:58
5. The River 4:32
6. Easy Ride 3:45
7. Stand Back 10:10
8. Pir'ana 6:33
9. Then Came The Light 3:57
10. I've Seen Sad Days 6:11
11. Persuasive Percussion 0:55
12. I've Got To Learn To Love More Today 2:18
13. Jimbo's Blow 1:01
14. Thinking Of You 8:00
15. Here It Comes Again 2:52
16. Move To The Country 2:58

Pirana were another early Santana influenced progressive rock band. While some songs are derivative there is a lot that the band brings to the mix. While guitar is modelled on the sound of Carlos Santana.

Highly recommended!
Rip from CD 256@ (full artwork included)
Download links
http://link-protector.com/260934/
http://link-protector.com/260941/

7ZUMA7 – DEEP INSIDE – 2000 (DUTCH) heavy psych/stoner rock

The stoner metal movement of the late ‘90s was primarily based in the U.S., but other areas of the world spawned similarly styled outfits as well, including Eindhoven, Holland's 7 Zuma 7. Formed in the middle of the decade, the group's original line-up consisted of singer/guitarist Jerry van Eyck, guitarist John Peate, bassist Nick Sanders, and drummer Jacco van Rooij. 1997 saw the release of a self-titled, five song EP, which led to appearances at such music festivals as the Dynamo Open Air 1996 and 1998 and Lowlands 1998, and made a major fan out of Monster Magnet frontman Dave Wyndorf. December of 1998 saw Sander's exit from the band, as two bassists attempted to fill the vacant spot over the course of 1999 (first up was Ronald Herregraven, next was Arjen Rienks), before newcomer Miranda Vandervoot was welcomed onboard permanently. The same year, 7 Zuma 7 issued their debut full-length, Deep Inside, which featured a spirited cover of the Who classic, "The Seeker."

Jerry van Eyck (vocals, guitar)
John Peate (guitar)
Miranda Vandervoort (bass)
Jacco van Rooij (drums)
1 Mirrorman Van Eyck 4:05
2 OverandOverandOver Sanders 4:27
3 Fistful of Dolls 7Zuma7 5:06
4 One at a Time Van Eyck 4:50
5 Diamonds 2000 Van Eyck 8:56
6 Crawling Sanders 5:32
7 Savannah Van Eyck 4:25
8 Acid Manic Van Eyck 2:45
9 J. Quicksand Sanders 4:17
10 Heroin Chic Van Eyck 4:19
11 The Seeker Townshend 3:15

Another release from the healthy Dutch stoner scene. 7zuma7..... ROCK ! This whole album has a seventies rock vibe about it, a bit more up-tempo than neighbours Beaver, but both with excellent production. Listening to 'Deep Inside' I was guilty of playing both invisible drums & guitar ! Brutally heavy in places and spacey in others with riffs and screaming guitar solos so unrelenting that you know this band are good enough to be around for a long time. If you love Slo Burn/Unida then you will love this too.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!
Rip from CD 256@ (full artwork included)
Download link
http://link-protector.com/260963/

THE WANT – GREATEST HITS VOL. 5 – 2000 (US) vinage hard rock/stoner rock

The want are a bunch of talented guys who were unfortunately crushed by the idolization of their own influences. While they are certainly entertaining and obviously all solid musicians, its all too easy to see who they are trying to be like/sound like. Listening to their album you quickly realize that these guys worship Led Zepplin and Black sabbath. They also seem to be influenced by most 70's rock. The problem is...the influence is so strong that you cant help but hear exactly who they are trying to sound like and that makes them a "poor man's" version of the very bands that have inspired them to get into music in the first place. Its a typical senerio folks. Sometimes...your musical influences are so strong...that you cant break out of the mesmerizing standard they have already set. They say that immitation is the highest form of flattery...unfortunately...in music..if it sounds like somthing that has already been done...than that is exactly what it is. Done. let this be a lesson to you kids...lock yourself away. smash your raidos and records. Do what ever you can to ensure that..if you do happen to get into music...you find your own musical voice. Or..youll end up "wanting" more. still...this album is definatly worth a listen...the compositions are very true to what they try to emulate. 70's heavy rock. I will say this...sadly...even though these guys are a 70's regurgitation...their album is "better sounding" than 95 percent of the so called rock bands out now...even if it is a copycat band. lets face it folks...rock bands today are all..for the most part...swallowed up by the very same people the Want were swallowed up by. And...for some reason...All male rock Vocalist compleatly suck now. Yea...those 70's and 80's vocalists set a very high bar. aparently a bar no young punk of today can seem to climb over. maybe its in the water? perhaps the food? or could it be somthing else? I guess we will never know. And even if you could know...would you Want to?

Kenneth LEER : Vocals
Rick FIORIO : Drums
Jeff MACKEY : Bass
Adam VALK : Guitar
1. Supertoker
2. Pass It On
3. Slight Of Hand
4. Star 69
5. Groove
6. 4 Pictures
7. Ballroller
8. Silver Chord
9. Yeah-Yeah
10. Not A Word to the Soul
11. Goodbye

The Want are a Rock&Roll band!I've read this band being thrown in with "stoner rock"and I guess if that means guitar fueled retro styled rock with a modern edge,then it is!The first track is called "Supertoker" and it fits,into "pass it on"(do I smell a theme here?)"slight of hand" recalls "Smokin'"era Humble Pie."star 69" is a psychedelic rave up,sort of the Yardbirds on really heavy drugs.Every cut on this album has that heavy classic sound to it.The last track,the soul crushing "Goodbye"just rolls you over and leaves you wanting more!I would definitely recomend this disc to anyone into Queens of the stone age,unidia or just good old heavy rock and roll!

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!
Rip from CD 256@ (full artwork included)
Download link
http://link-protector.com/266359/

NAEVUS – SUN MEDITATION – 1998 (GER) vintage hard rock/stoner rock

Naevus formed in Germany in 1991 and featured two members that would later serve concurrently in the power metal band Sacred Steel. In their formative years they were reportedly more in the sludge metal camp, recording a demo or two in the mid-nineties and relaxing their style to a more uptempo metal sound on their only full-length album, Sun Meditation, released in 1998. Sun Meditation is a prototypical Rise Above/Hellhound albums, straddling the line between Sabbathy doom and a psychedelic stoner rock edge, with Uwe Groebel possessing one of those classic melodic doom voices reminiscient of Pentagram's Bobby Liebling, though Groebel is perhaps more melodic and less forceful. It's a solid album for the style, and one that seemlingly isn't as well-known as others in the field, but definitely worth a listen. Groebel later went on to front Voodooshock.

Uwe Groebel (vocals, guitar)
Oliver GroBhans (guitar)
Sven Hiemerdinger (bass)
Matthias Straub (drums)
1. Intro (Forest)
2. Sun Meditation
3. Sky Diver
4. Dreamrider
5. Mirrordancer
6. Gallery of Fantasy
7. Dreamworld Wizard / The Sleeping
8. The 3rd Sun
9. Intense Perception
10. Palace of the Winds
11. The Art to Love

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!
Rip from CD 256@ (full artwork included)
Download link
http://link-protector.com/266345/

DATURA – VISIONS FOR THE CELESTIAL – 1999 (NEW ZELAND) heavy psych/stoner rock

Visions... is a cosmic stoner groove bliss-out at its very best and sees the band carving out their own sound and vision. Slower Sabbath soaked rhythms and tranced out psychedelics permeate the album throughout bridging the gap between metal and acid rock in ways not done before.

Craig Williamson (bass, vocals)
Brent Middlemiss (guitar)
Jon Burnside (drums)
Magnetise
Sunshine in Purple
Reaching Out
Into the Light
Euphoria
Voyage
Mantra

This has got to be the most perfect, incredible piece of psychedelic/stoner doom rock I have ever heard, and I do mean ROCK! From the opening track 'Magnetise' to the 10 minute plus beautiful epic 'Mantra' this is a very diverse and ear catching piece of work. I couldn't begin to rave enough about all the fine points of this CD. 'Sunshine In Purple' is probably my favorite track on here, injecting a semi slow vibe, never as slow as say Sleep or Electric Wizard, but the singer injects some amazing feeling into this punishing masterpiece, and when I say punishing I mean in a mellow way. This is a materpiece of a stoner's platter, even better than their first release 'Allisone,' which now that I look back on I think maybe I should have rated lower. Check out 'Reaching Out,' which shows them at a bit of a faster pace and a monster riff section that reminds me of the greatest of Kyuss' rocking tunes like 'Green Machine.' The 10 minute plus epic 'Mantra' is so beautiful you won't mind the length of the track, especially when you hear the flutes and spacey sounds floating through this one. The mellow vibes run throughout 'Voyage' as well, and even though some of the lyrics deal with 60's era peace and love type topics, you can't help but just be blown away by the overall extreme heaviness of it all.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!
Rip from CD 256@ (full artwork included)
Download link
http://link-protector.com/266346/

BLOOD FARMERS – BLOOD FARMERS – 1995 (US) heavy psych/stoner rock

Blood Farmers was one of the last, and one of the least-known, of the infamous Hellhound doom albums of the early-nineties. Taking their name from a cult 1972 movie ("Invasion Of The Blood Farmers"), these guys were right in line with their labelmates, delivering solid garage-y, raw doom metal, quite well done indeed. They only managed the one album, though their earlier demo, Permanent Brain Damage, was released on CD in 2004. Several members are now in a band called M-Squad.

Eli Brown (vocals)
Dave Depraved (guitar)
Matt Holt (bass)
Mike Jett (drums)
1 Albino
2 Bullet in My Head
3 Orgy of the Rats
4 Theme
5 Y.g.b.
6 The Holy Chalice
7 General Urko \ I Drink in Your Blood
8 Twisted Brain (Part 1)
9 Twisted Brain (Part 2)
10 After the Harvest

Outstanding. mindmelting. life-altering. all the affectionate heavy-psych-isms and horrific, nightmarish poe-like atmosphere of a DWARR, coupled with the dirgey funereality of a SAINT VITUS, echoed through a loose, expansive, superbly spontaneous songwriting medium. these albums are one in a million.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!! MONSTER!!!
Rip from CD 256@ (full artwork included)
Download links
http://link-protector.com/266335/
http://link-protector.com/266336/

THE ATOMIC BITCHWAX – 2 – 2000 (US) space rock/stoner rock

With record companies so preoccupied with making a quick buck, artist development has flown right out the window, replaced by pressure to deliver instant results. Under these circumstances, side projects have become an increasingly relevant channel for unencumbered artistic expression. And New Jersey-based trio the Atomic Bitchwax (featuring Monster Magnet lead guitarist Ed Mundell and ex-Godspeed bassist Chris Kosnick) is a great example, turning a simple desire to jam into one of the more impressive stoner rock debuts of 1999. The group's second effort (cleverly titled -- you guessed it -- II) starts off in much the same manner, bursting out of the gate with the manic instrumental "Ice Pick Freak" before seguing into a monster-groover called "Forty-Five." But despite the presence of a few more appealing nuggets like "Cast Aside Your Masks" and "Marching on the Skulls of the Dead," II falls somewhat short in the long run. "Smokescreen" may slack many a jaw with its awesome laid-back guitar duel between Mundell and a guesting Warren Haynes, but the overabundance of intrumental jams that follows seems to suggest a hurried follow-up filled with first album leftovers, rather than a fully focused second effort. So what's the final verdict? Well, side project or not, the Atomic Bitchwax can definitely do better. But all things considered, in a sea of retro-rocking stoner bands, the Bitchwax still stands out as one of the most promising new entries.

Chris Kosnik (vocals, bass)
Keith Ackerman (drums)
Ed Mundell (guitar)
1 Ice Pick Freek 2:56
2 Forty-Five 3:50
3 Play the Game (Atomic Rooster ) 3:52
4 Smokescreen The Atomic Bitchwax 5:53
5 Cast Aside Your Masks 5:08
6 The Cloning Chamber 2:51
7 Marching on the Skulls of the Dead 5:06
8 Dishing Out a Heavy Dose of Tough Love 3:58
9 Solid 8:17

There are some high points Forty-Five and the spaced out Solid. No surprises here just great Stoner Rock. So if your tastes include Kyuss, Nebula, and Fu Manchu then by all means pick this up.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!
Rip from CD 256@ (full artwork included)
Download link
http://link-protector.com/266334/

ABDULLAH – ABDULLAH – 2000 (US) psych doom metal

Everything about Abdullah's self-titled debut is middle of the road. They're heavy, but not too heavy; they're technically competent musicians, but uninventive songwriters; they also sit somewhere between stoner rock and doom metal without really committing to either one. Singer Jeff Shirilla's voice borrows equally from Ozzy Osbourne and Trouble's Eric Wagner, but his delivery is almost entirely devoid of any passion. And when they embark on Alice in Chains-styled vocal harmonies (see "Conundrum"), the resulting alternative metal accents just add confusion to the mix. Truly powerful moments, like the doomy final riff of "Earth's Answer" and the acoustic guitar bridge of "Proverbs of Hell," occur much too rarely, and are countered by impossibly dull, drifting excursions like "Visions of the Daughters of Time" and the seemingly endless "Awakening the Colossus." And what the heck does the heroin-chic model pictured on the back cover have to do with the album's otherwise pretty cool pagan artwork? In short, chops will get you signed, but Abdullah needs to define their identity before they can expect to stand
out from the pack.

Jeff Shirilla - Vocals
Alan Seibert - Guitar
Jameson Walters - Bass
Ed Milich – Bass
1 The Path of Enlightenment 7:26
2 Conundrum 6:59
3 Earth's Answer 5:50
4 Visions of the Daughters of Time 6:59
5 Now is the Winter 3:46
6 Lucifer in Starlight 4:44
7 The Black Ones 4:51
8 Awakening the Colossus 9:46
9 Proverbs of Hell 8:24
10 Journey to the Orange Island 8:28
11 Lotus Eaters 4:53

Wow! Now I'm impressed. Out of the blue (or dare I say black?) rolls on ABDULLAH (err…interesting bandname) and delivers this slab of dark yet melodic Doom Metal of the finest order. I can hear traces of COUNT RAVEN, ST.VITUS and yes, the mighty SABBATH, especially in Jeff Shirilla's ozzyish howl.
But never you fear, the band manages to retain a touch of their own in this genre of too many pothead-bands trying to "sound like the Sabs' like, you know, man…" Although there are a couple of standout-tracks here, the power of this album lies in it's consistency and dramatics. You should really listen to this as an entire album, and let it lure you into its world.
If heavy riffing, melancholic melody-lines, good esoteric lyrics and general psych-doom damage are your cup'o blood, give this monster of an album a spin…The Downer Award of the year goes to this lot.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!
Rip from CD 256@ (full artwork included)
Download links
http://link-protector.com/266331/
http://link-protector.com/266332/

HELLACOPTERS – HIGH VISIBILITY – 2000 (SWE) vintage hard rock/garage/stoner rock

When Entombed drummer/songwriter Nicke Andersson left after Wolverine Blues to pursue his rock side project, the Hellacopters, on a full-time basis, a deep void was left in the band (even if Uprising was a pleasant surprise). Go back and investigate -- Andersson wrote a massive proportion of the lyrics and music on the first three Entombed releases, but his talent was kept secret behind the invisible wall of the drum kit. High Visibility silences all debates on Andersson's prolific talent, as it ushers in the rebirth of Michigan-styled rock à la the MC5, the Stooges, and Sonic's Rendezvous Band. After the sloppy sludge rock masterpiece Supershitty to the Max!, the 'Copters flirted with straightforward, raw '70s rock appeal, succeeding on one album, Payin' the Dues, and failing on the other, Grande Rock. Something dramatic happened on Payin' the Dues, though, when they covered the seminal Detroit classic "City Slang" from Sonic's Rendezvous Band and even had one of the band's members, Scott Morgan, perform on a few cuts of the bonus live disc. This paved the way for the Detroit-worshiping, supremely superior sound of High Visibility. Andersson and the gang have found their chops in a sense, as the drummer suddenly became one of rock (and metal's) top vocalists today, with his raw bluesy style well intact, along with some added Rob Younger (Radio Birdman, New Christs) leanings for delicious icing. Speaking of Andersson and growth, the guitar playing has entered the realm of a Hendrix/Wayne Kramer hybrid with a certain Ace Frehley/Deniz Tek (Radio Birdman) attitude of playing. "Toys and Flavors," the album's first single and catchiest song, features a solo that will go down as one of the most legendary solos of the early millennium, as the ghost of Hendrix possesses him, recalling moments from "All Along the Watchtower." "Hopeless Case of a Kid in Denial" and "No One's Gonna Do It for You" are two of the other standout tracks. The first features some brutally catchy acoustic undertones that give the song some killer propulsion, while the fuzzed-out guitars duel with the exquisitely subtle grand piano playin' of Boba Fett, as Andersson's strange melodic rasps recall John Bush's finer moments. The second is a mellow jam tune with a talking, wistful solo from Andersson and companion guitarist Robert Dahlqvist. "No Song Unheard" is a relaxed, heartfelt rock ballad with emotive lyrics and vocals; it doesn't fall prey to the typical conventions of the ballad since it retains its edge and ability to cut loose, as is evidenced by Andersson's brilliant guitar sermon. Connections with Detroit are again solidified with the Scott Morgan co-penned "Hurtin' Time" and the MC5-drenched "I Wanna Touch" -- a lost descendant of their seminal classic "American Ruse." Screw Spiritual Beggars, Firebird, and all the other '70s rock revivalist bands springing up; the Hellacopters aren't reviving anything -- they're possessed with the spirit of it, and damn does it sound sweet.

Nicke "Royale" Anderson (guitar, bass, drums)
Kenny Håkansson (bass)
Robert "Strängen" Dahlqvist (guitar)
Robert Eriksson (drums, cymbals, percussion)
Anders "Boba" Lindström (piano, organ, keyboards, guitar)
1 Hopeless Case of a Kid in Denial 3:03
2 Baby Borderline 2:49
3 Sometimes I Don't Know 2:26
4 Toys and Flavors 3:32
5 You're Too Good (To Me Baby) 2:27
6 Throw Away Heroes 3:18
7 No Song Unheard 4:00
8 Truckloads of Nothin' 2:48
9 A Heart Without Home 3:50
10 No One's Gonna Do it For You 3:09
11 I Wanna Touch 2:31
12 Hurtin' Time 2:28
13 Envious 4:01
One more winner for the Swedish hard-rockers. The Hellacopters are still in great form with High visibility and it makes one wonder when they will stop their streak of first-rate records. With this album they move their sound a touch further adding even more fresh elements to it. The music of course is always garage rock with influences mainly by MC5 and 70's hard rock acts, but this time the group is a touch more commercial sounding. Yet, the most impressive fact is not the Hellacopter's ability to produce worthy material but their continuous attempt to improve their sound. Folk, blues and classic rock 'n' roll hints can be found in this recording where even a (kind of) ballad can be found. Although at times a bit slower paced than usual, High visibility remains fast and furious and finds the band in a mature stage of their career. The addition of guitarist Robert Dalqvist, supports the guitar power, while Boba in this album handles only the keyboards and piano which have a more prominent role in comparison to Grande Rock. Nicke Anderson's solos just get better and better and the rhythm section impresses wildly. Matz Robert Eriksson is probably amongst the greatest drummers and proves so on High Visibility, while Kenny Hakansson is as always a guarantee on the bass. As far as the songwriting is concerned, the band proves resourceful another one time. The album kicks off with "Hopeless case of a kid in denial" a dynamite garage rocker tune which features impressive piano playing by Boba in the background and sounds like an outtake from Grande Rock. Likewise, the second track "Baby Bordeline" is a catchy tune which follows the same recipe as the previous one and contributes to the grand opening. "Toys and flavors" is the hit single and a remarkable one if that. Boba and Nicke Anderson provide us with surpassing music and are truly worthy of everyone's admiration. "You're too good (to me baby)" has a more punkish sound closer perhaps to Bad Religion, while "Throw away heroes" and the ballad "No song unheard" go down a folk road with a striking outcome. And just when you think that the band has run out of great tunes it hits you with two more masterpieces. The slow paced bluesy "No one's gonna do it for you" has a beautiful tune that haunts the listener and contains skillful double solos by the two guitarists. And after the tranquil sunshine comes ...thunder and lightning. "I wanna touch" twists and shouts and motherfuckin' rock 'n' rolls and ....Is that Alvin Lee on guitar? Sure as hell sounds like it. WHAT A ROCKER!!! A definite rock 'n' roll song. But what am I saying. The whole album is dynamite. With almost no flaws, this is another exceptional recording from a band whose contribution to the revival of pure rock 'n' roll sound is huge and who has been so much wronged by the present situation in the music industry. The Hellacopters without doubt deserve to be amongst the top bands of our era and High visibility ought to be considered as one of their best and classic works. My wish to them: Just keep up the good work.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!
Rip from CD 256@ (full artwork included)
Download link
http://link-protector.com/273168/

NORRSKEN (Pre WITCHCRAFT) – DEMOS vintage hard rock/stoner rock

Norrsken, which translates to northern lights from Swedish, formed in 1995 originally under the name Winterorb.[1] They put out two demos, Norrsken and Hokus Pokus, as well as a 7" single, "Armageddon." The band is best remembered as guitarist Magnus Pelander's band prior to forming Witchcraft. Vocalist Joakim Nilsson and bassist Rikard Edlund joined Albatros and then formed Graveyard, both bands in the 70s hard rock genre. Drummer Kristoffer Sjödahl joined Dead Man. Nilsson's brother, Johannes, currently plays bass and sings in stoner rock group Asteroid.

Joakim Nilsson - vocals
Magnus Pelander - guitar
Rikard Edlund - bass
Kristoffer Sjödahl – drums
Discography
Demos
Norrsken cassette demo (1996)
Hokus Pokus cassette demo (1996)
3 Song Advance Tape cassette demo (1997)
Singles
"Armageddon" b/w "Little Lady" 7" (1999 Swingin' Singles Club)
Compilation tracks
"Pilot" on Blue Explosion: Tribute to Blue Cheer CD (1999 Black Widow Records)
"Psalm 9" on Bastards Will Pay: Tribute to Trouble CD (1999 Freedom Records)

The zip filecontains their single, 2 comp tracks (blue cheer cover and Troublecover) and the Hokus Pokus demo.

Thanks to Josh

Download link
http://lix.in/77ae3b

CATHEDRAL – SUPERNATURAL BIRTH MACHINE (UK) vintage hard rock/stoner rock

Having ridden out the initial explosion of grindcore to the point where stoner rock became its own revived genre, due credit for longevity has to go to Dorrian and his compatriots, not least because Dorrian helped out said genre with his Rise Above label and such signings as Sleep. As for his own band, on Supernatural, Dorrian leads everyone through more semi-tributes to the Black Sabbath sound; Dorrian's own ghost-of-Ozzy vocals often get as close to outright mimicry as possible, though generally he avoids straining for the high notes when possible. Drummer Dixon and bassist Smee do their business with relatively little fuss; if nothing else, having better production standards than the original Sabbath did allows their work to always bust forth pretty well. Jennings, meanwhile, is as monstrous and crunching as always, while wise enough to let in lighter moments from time to time, as with the mid-song break on "Stained Glass Horizon." If the subject matter and delivery is a little more self-conscious than, say, that of the Melvins, Cathedral at least has the courage of its convictions, right down to the neo-prog inner sleeve art (dragon heads, historical figures, demons, and angels in a Bosch-style landscape, and so forth). Highlights: Well, if one likes Sabbath, liking the whole album (or alternately dismissing it out of hand for the real thing) will pretty much be the end result. Though a few stand out even more, such as "Cyclops Revolution," with appropriately distorted monster-doom vocals at points, and the appropriately spooked-out vibes of "Nightmare Castle." One thing's for sure: if one wants classically pulpy SF/horror/fantasy scenarios for lyrics combined with brain-melting sludge, this is the place. Thus, song titles like "Urko's Conquest," "Birth Machine 2000," and the "can it be any more appropriate" metacrunch of "Suicide Asteroid."

Lee Dorrian (vocals)
Garry 'Gaz' Jennings (guitars)
Brian Dixon (drums)
Leo Smee (bass)
1 Cyberton 71 / Eternal Countdown (Intro) 1:18
2 Urko's Conquest 4:02
3 Stained Glass Horizons 5:29
4 Cyclops Revolution 7:07
5 Birth Machine 2000 8:59
6 Nightmare Castle 6:31
7 Fireball Demon 4:12
8 Phaser Quest 3:42
9 Suicide Asteroid 4:13
10 Dragon Ryder 13 5:52
11 Magnetic Hole 6:32

This is one of the best album's they ever released. I love the tinge of delay Gaz Jennings has on his guitar for most of the solo's and the edgey tone slightly reminiscent of Sabbath's Vol. 4 . Urko's Conquest is a brilliant song about planet of the apes, while Birth machine 2000, Dragon Ryder 13, Stained Glass Horizons and Cyclops Revolution are album standouts for me.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!
Rip from CD 256@ (full artwork included)
Download links
http://link-protector.com/266326/
http://link-protector.com/266327/

CATHEDRAL – CARAVAN BEYOND REDEMPTION (UK) vintage hard rock/stoner rock

Caravan Beyond Redemption is a captivating album for all of its 70-plus-minute running time. Starting from their usual brand of doom metal, heavily influenced by Black Sabbath, but boasting an original, individual style at the same time, Cathedral throw in various surprises this time to make things interesting. While the "stoner" rock style dominates the sound, '70s funk infects the rhythms -- most of these songs feature a (more or less sublime) groove that is irresistible. Sometimes insidious wah-wah guitars recall "Shaft" ("Freedom," "Revolution"), while on other occasions a bongo section adds spice ("Voodoo Fire"). Various voice recordings appear, and "Captain Clegg" is a Hammer Horror homage, complete with movie samples. "The Caravan" is an affectionate nod to Cathedral's idols (remember "Planet Caravan"?). All of these elements are integrated organically into the music, which nonetheless is a crushing fest of heavy yet melodic riffs. Vocalist Lee Dorrian's voice is cleaner this time (actually intelligible), going with the harmonies instead of fighting against them -- though he doesn't give up his growling shouter persona. The lyrics mostly reward investigation, with a lot of social commentary and inspired madness; the words of "The Omega Man" (greetings from "Iron Man") are truly eerie, presenting a mixture of paranoia and apocalypse. After the last song (which surprises the listener by getting slower instead of faster) is over, there's five minutes of silence (Cathedral's extended version of "4'33"?), followed by some senseless crowd noises. Never mind this hidden "track"; the 12 songs on Caravan Beyond Redemption are inspired and intelligent and definitely worth seeking out.

Lee Dorrian (vocals)
Garry 'Gaz' Jennings (guitars)
Brian Dixon (drums)
Leo Smee (bass)
1 Voodoo Fire 6:11
2 The Unnatural World 4:05
3 Satanikus Robotikus 5:01
4 Freedom 5:05
5 Captain Clegg 6:06
6 Earth Messiah 5:17
7 The Caravan 3:00
8 Revolution 7:08
9 Kaleidoscope of Desire 4:45
10 Heavy Load 6:08
11 The Omega Man 5:59
12 Dust of Paradise 14:03

Quite different from Ethereal Mirror and earlier material. Much groovier and less doomy. Still, for someone like me who likes heavy music this is a great album to put on just to chill out.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!
Rip from CD 256@ (full artwork included)
Download links
http://link-protector.com/266329/
http://link-protector.com/266330/

SHEAVY – BLUE SKY MIND – 1996 (CAN) vintage hard rock/stoner rock

By jamming 16 songs into their 1996 debut, Blue Sky Mind (ok, nearly half of these were originally demos that were added to later pressings), Canadians Sheavy tried to make up for their lack of experience and creative maturity with sheer heft. To the band's credit, while most stoner cum doom metal acts of the mid-90s seemed to owe their entire existence to the recent releases by Kyuss (and, to a lesser a degree, Monster Magnet), Sheavy cut out the middlemen and headed straight to the source: Black Sabbath. That is, if you only judge them by singer Steve Hennessy, whose Ozzy impersonation is so perfect as to be positively creepy. But, in actual fact, Sheavy has a lot more to offer than re-hashed Sabbath dirges, and highlights such as "Mountains of Madness," "Cosmic Overdrive," and "First" (essentially their first composition) rock out quite convincingly. The instrumental "The Gun-it Jam" locks into some bluesy/spacey grooves, and acoustic numbers like "Domelight" and "Sea of Tomorrow" offer some mellow moments to boot. A pretty decent start, Blue Sky Mind paved the way for sounds that would find ever better expression on Sheavy's subsequent releases.

Steve Hennessey (vocals)
Dan Moore (guitar)
Keith Foley (bass)
Ren Squires (drums)
1 Mountains Of Madness 5:23
2 Bly Sky Mind 3:46
3 Domelight 4:52
4 Cosmic Overdrive 2:38
5 Sea Of Tomorrow 4:01
6 Supa-Hero 3:23
7 The Gun-It Jam 8:03
8 First 3:29
9 Shining Path 3:31
10 Dalas Tar 3:03
11 The Everlasting 4:18
12 Dreamer's Mind 4:55
13 Lonely And Me 4:22
14 Crock 2:51
15 Month Of Sundays 4:19
16 Psycho Universe(Live) 3:34

Very rare album, now deleted.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!
Rip from CD 256@ (full artwork included)
Download links
http://link-protector.com/266340/
http://link-protector.com/266341/

SHEAVY/CHURCH OF MISERY – BORN TOO LATE – SPLIT - 1997 (CAN/JAP) vintage hard rock/stoner rock

This split album features something of a summit meeting between two of the world's premiere doom outfits: Japan's Church of Misery and Canada's Sheavy. The boys from the Far East are up first, and proceed to unleash three samples of their serial-killer-themed, circular-riffed ("Spahn Ranch (Charles Manson)"), psych-intensive ("Road to Ruin (Charles Whitman)"), slow-creeping ("Reverend (Jim Jones)") material; as well as an energized cover of Saint Vitus' "War Is Our Destiny." Then it's the Canadians' turn to uncork another six tracks of somewhat varying pedigree. Namely: studio tracks "Destiny's Rainbow '96" (cut two years before its official album release) and Black Sabbath standard "War Pigs"; and four live cuts comprising the oft-covered "Suitcase Blues," and three tracks from Sheavy's previous full-length Blue Sky Mind, "Mountains of Madness," "Domelight," and the title track. All told, this makes for quite the package, as split LP's go; but probably won't interest too many listeners outside these bands' devout following.
Church of Misery
1. Spahn Ranch 08:26
2. Road to Ruin 07:23
3. Reverend 08:37
4. War is our Destiny (St Vitus cover) 04:27
Sheavy
5. Destiny's Rainbow '96 03:58
6. Suitcase Blues 03:05
7. Mountains of Madness 04:31
8. Blue Sky Mind 03:48
9. Domelight 04:49
10. War Pigs (Black Sabbath Cover) 08:25

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!
Rip from CD 256@ (full artwork included)
Download links
http://link-protector.com/266337/
http://link-protector.com/266338/

TROUBLE – MANIC FRUSTRATION – 1992 (US) vintage hard rock/stoner rock

After ten years of hard work in the face of adversity, doom metal kings Trouble had seen it all, and after making an incredible comeback with their self-titled fourth album in 1990, the band once again teamed up with producer (and label boss) Rick Rubin for 1992's appropriately titled Manic Frustration. On this occasion, the Chicago-based quintet finally decided to take a chance on expanding their puritanical doom outlook, and infused the album with additional retro-rock inspirations such as acid rock, psychedelia, and Beatles-esque variety, resulting in their most unique and user-friendly work. From the very get-go, the Hendrix-ian "Come Touch the Sky" literally burst off into the lysergic stratosphere and the mock apology of "'Scuse Me" vented years and years of living-out-of-time frustration in under three minutes, while the hallucinogenic likes of "Rain" and "Mr. White" seemed to represent the polar emotional opposites of hippie generation's naïve idealism (the first was Woodstock, the second Altamont). Less adventurous, riff-based creations like "The Sleeper," "Tragedy Man," and the title track afforded old-time fans a few opportunities to reconnect with Trouble's Sabbath-derived origins, but Manic Frustration's defining triumphs were undoubtedly those which dared mesh together all elements of Trouble's expanded musical kaleidoscope. And so, one is inevitably drawn to the sheer guitar-shredding fantasy and frenzy of "Hello Strawberry Skies," the unsettling comedown and blissful return provided by the gentle "Breathe…," and the staggering majesty of "Memory's Garden" (all highlights of Trouble's career), where singer Eric Wagner's mournful bray spins a tale of loss, faith, and hope of simply chilling proportions. Sadly, none of these were capable of stopping Manic Frustration's title from ringing horribly prophetic after its release, when Trouble once again faced the mixed blessings of widespread critical acclaim but no significant album sales beyond the underground heavy metal faithful.

Eric Wagner - Vocals
Bruce Franklin - Guitar
Rick Wartell - Guitar
Ron Holzner - Bass
Barry Stern - Drums
1 Come Touch the Sky 2:54
2 'Scuse Me 3:25
3 The Sleeper 3:14
4 Fear 3:38
5 Rain 4:17
6 Tragedy Man 4:17
7 Memory's Garden 4:24
8 Manic Frustration 4:10
9 Hello Strawberry Skies 3:04
10 Mr. White 3:26
11 Breathe... 6:30

Produced by Rick Rubin, is the by-product of menacing, ground-pounding, doom laden and dark Sabbath (Tony Iommi) riffs, with not-out-of-place '60's psychedelic overtones. Just check out the opening cut, "Come Touch The Sky", from these Chicago boys for a generous taste of things to come.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!! MONSTER!!!
Rip from CD 256@ (full artwork included)
Download link
http://link-protector.com/266356/

MASTERS OF REALITY (w. Ginger Baker) – SUNRISE ON THE SUFFERBUS – 1992 (US) hard rock/heavy blues/stoner rock

On the one hand it must have seemed like a perversely appropriate gesture on the part of Chris Goss. Having received a variety of comparisons to Cream after Masters of Reality's first album came out, thanks in large part to Goss' vocal resemblance to Jack Bruce, none other than legendary British drummer and Cream veteran Ginger Baker took over the sticks on the group's sophomore effort. Far from being mere wish-fulfillment, though, Baker's abilities help supercharge the mighty and underrated Sunrise on the Sufferbus to a higher level. Baker's lost none of his power -- indeed, arguably he hasn't sounded this good in years, showing flash and flair while never replicating, say, the drum-solo mistakes of "Toad" -- while both Goss and Googe have their instruments like men possessed. The result is fiery, smoking rock in a classic vein, rescuing the genre from the dullard efforts that groups like the Black Crowes were plaguing listeners with; even by-the-numbers blues-rock struts like "V.H.V." have a sharp, immediate kick to them. Goss' singing still has hints of Bruce, as well as Neil Young, but doesn't just replicate -- consider the smooth flow of "J.B. Witchdance," where he has a great crisp talk/sing style at play -- while the band's production as a whole brings out the immediacy of the songs. The emphasis on calmer efforts like the dreamy string-and-keyboard drenched "100 Years" and the enjoyable, steady lope of "Rolling Green" provide a fine contrast to the amped-up kickers. There's a great ringer in the middle of the album courtesy of Baker, "T.U.S.A." With spoken-word lyrics from Baker himself decrying the inability of Americans to make tea properly ("Pour boiling water over the tea/How simple and clear/Can the instructions be?"), it's the type of relaxed joke more self-conscious bands wouldn't dare try, but which the trio effortlessly turns into a great little song.

Chris Goss (vocals, guitar)
Googe (bass)
Ginger Baker (drums)
1 She Got Me (When She Got Her Dress On) 2:47
2 J.B. Witchdance 3:37
3 Jody Sings 3:03
4 Rolling Green 3:41
5 Ants in the Kitchen 3:22
6 V.H.V. 4:21
7 Bicycle 0:47
8 100 Years (of Tears on the Wind) 4:06
9 T.U.S.A. 2:59
10 Tilt-A-Whirl 3:42
11 Rabbit One 3:33
12 Madonna 0:38
13 Gimme Water 2:23
14 The Moon in Your Pocket 3:31

The music is more Cream orientated here, perhaps due to the participation of Ginger Baker on the drums. Chris Goss on vocals and guitar with Googe on bass complete the power-trio line-up. The team tries out quite a few blues tunes with some McCartney influenced songs here and there, and there is some heavier stuff in the recording, but the album is far from the Led-Zeppelin meets Doors style of Masters Of Reality. Songs like "She Got Me", "Jody Sings", "Ants in the Kitchen", "V.H.V." ect., make Sunrise on the sufferbus a joy to listen to. "T.U.S.A." is a strange sarcastic song with Ginger Baker on the vocals describing the inability of the Americans to serve tea properly. The band, unfortunately a very ignored one, create good musicianship even if the very powerful line-up of their debut had changed dearly. Leader Chris Goss obviously seems to know what he is doing. Sunrise on the sufferbus is an album anyone can enjoy, especially fans of 60's-70's rock.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!
Rip from CD 256@ (full artwork included)
Download link
http://link-protector.com/266355/

MONSTER MAGNET – SUPERJUDGE – 1993 (US) space rock/stoner rock

Having already shown that the world of drug-damaged early heavy metal-meets-space rock was well within their capability, Wyndorf and company took things to an even crazier level with Monster Magnet's major-label debut, Superjudge. Anyone taking anything on this album seriously, as some sort of satanic plot or anything like that, needs to just give up and go home -- the song titles alone are crazily ridiculous enough: "Cyclops Revolution," "Elephant Bell," "Dinosaur Vacume," and the baldly but perfectly named "Stadium." A couple of nods to musical roots surface -- the Willie Dixon-written classic "Evil (Is Going On)" kicks reasonable butt, but it's the storm through early Hawkwind standout "Brainstorm" that's the real signpost. There's more than a little of that British band throughout, only arguably even more strung out and insane, a celebration of a stoner culture that had persisted for years and looks set to always be around. Only the Dixon cover and "Black Balloon" stay at three minutes in length; everything else takes a little or a lot more time to satisfyingly sprawl, like the steady stomp of the title track or the monstrous "Cage Around the Sun." Wyndorf's ear for composition, production, and playing is evident throughout -- everything is scaled for the biggest arena in the universe, while his voice positively compares with Ozzy Osbourne's early wailing, yet with a scraggly, rougher edge. Occasional acoustic guitar and sitar parts (with appropriate flanging) help in adding variety and more psychedelia to the proceedings, "Black Balloon" in particular ending Superjudge on a subtle, mysterious note. The spiraling riff explosions and solos of "Twin Earth" and "Dinosaur Vacume" are matched with strong rhythms (due credit to the team of Calandra and Kleiman, who never sound lazy), while any band with lyrics like "I cut off my own head/I don't need it where I'm going to go!" clearly knows how to get in touch with the unapologetic rawk fan out there.

Dave Wyndorf (vocals, guitar, keyboards)
John McBain (guitar)
Joe Calandra (bass)
Jon Kleiman (drums)
1 Cyclops Revolution 5:43
2 Twin Earth 3:56
3 Superjudge 6:49
4 Cage Around the Sun 4:55
5 Elephant Bell 3:59
6 Dinosaur Vacume 6:02
7 Evil (Is Going On) 3:14
8 Stadium 3:41
9 Face Down 4:11
10 Brainstorm 8:04
11 Black Balloon 3:05

Mmmm... narcotic stoner grooves... phantastic. This album is rife with riffage, with songs like Cyclops Revolution and Superjudge bringing in the big scrotums.
Although most of the album is balls-on-a-razor rock and roll, there are some more... erm... pleasant songs on the album too. Cage around the Sun is extraordinarily delicious, and Black Balloon will have you reaching for your kum kum powder and dancing like a multi-armed elephant.
Plus the fact that Dave Wyndorf IS the space lord.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!
Rip from CD 256@ (full artwork included)
Download link
http://link-protector.com/262438/

MONSTER MAGNET – DOPE TO INFINITY – 1995 (US) space rock/stoner rock

Expecting Monster Magnet to change from art-sludge-psych monsters into sweet cuddlebunnies from album to album clearly demonstrates a loss of reason. Wyndorf himself doesn't need to worry about losing his reason in particular, given how psychotically entertaining his band already is, and Dopes to Infinity is about as far apart from Superjudge as the original Siamese twins were to each other. Maybe "Dopeheads to Infinity" would have been the better title, but as the title track fires up into another rampage of excessively flanged guitar, storming lead riff, and steady drum stomp, all criticisms get left behind along with any sort of sanity. Wyndorf's singing is a touch crisper in the mix this time out, while the guitar playing is even more powerfully direct and epic amidst all the space-out swirl and rockets to the moon. It's the secret weapon of the album as a whole, turning Monster Magnet's gift for the large scale into something that's almost uplifting, often connecting with a listener instead of dominating one. That Mellotron ("Look to the Orb for the Warning") and strings (the acoustic guitar-led "Blow 'Em Off") are evident along with the sitars, folky strums, and similar acid quease of past albums only makes sense as a result. Then again, songs like "Ego, the Living Planet" and "Theme From 'Masterburner'" do a great job at sounding like Thor battling Galacticus for control of the universe -- no puny humans allowed. Lead single "Negasonic Teenage Warhead" became a minor hit, all the more surprising given how the band's idea of a commercial single features more processed guitar backing Wyndorf on the verses than the law normally allows. The catchy chug and scream of the chorus helps nail it, though, showing that Wyndorf can find the balance between his extreme and less-so sides when desired.

Dave Wyndorf (vocals, guitar, keyboards)
Ed Mundell (guitar)
Joe Calandra (bass)
Jon Kleiman (drums)
1 Dopes to Infinity 5:43
2 Negasonic Teenage Warhead 4:28
3 Look to Your Orb for the Warning 6:32
4 All Friends and Kingdom Come 5:38
5 Ego, the Livinig Planet 5:07
6 Blow 'Em Off 3:51
7 Third Alternative 8:33
8 I Control, I Fly 3:18
9 King of Mars 4:33
10 Dead Christmas 3:54
11 Theme From "Masterburner" 5:06
12 Vertigo 5:41

Wonderful, gorgeous spacey stoner rock. Heavy yet catchy... interesting lyrics, excellent musical performance. There's very little i can find bad to say about this beyond a little vulgarity, so i won't even try. It's big. It's heavy. "Look To Your Orb For The Warning" is excellent, almost as good as "Blow 'Em Off" and "King Of Mars". The whole package is just beautiful. Dudeman can sing, the band is bloody good. If you don't dig anything else, you gotta at least appreciate the Ebow.
"Negasonic Teenage Warhead". "All Friends And Kingdom Come". Lots of great styles work their way into the offering, and the whole thing fairly rolls along. Ultra-highly recommended. Just wish they'd clear out the vulgarisms.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!! MONSTER!!!
Rip from CD 256@ (full artwork included)
Download links
http://link-protector.com/262439/
http://link-protector.com/262440/

IRON MAN – BLACK NIGHT – 1992 (US) vintage hard rock

With a name like Iron Man, and once part of the Hellhound family, it should come as no surprise that this band has a strong Black Sabbath influence, and in fact the band formed in 1988 as a Sabbath tribute band. By the time the band released their first album in 1993, Iron Man incorporated more 80's influences, with the guitar sound straight from the early Sabbath albums but the songs themselves a bit more uptempo. Former vocalist Rob Levey is now best known as the organizer of the popular Stoner Hands Of Doom festivals, of which there have been several in the last decade. The band hasn't recorded since 1999 and keep a relatively low profile (as well as changing members frequently), but as of June 2006 the lineup below was active.

Rob Levey - vocals
Alfred Morris III - guitars
Larry Brown - bass
Ron Kalimon - drums
1. Choices 04:13
2. The Liar 03:29
3. Black Night 04:16
4. Leaving Town 06:32
5. Life After Death 03:57
6. Life's Toll 05:50
7. A Child's Future 05:46
8. Vampires 05:04
9. Time For Change 04:38
10. Why Can't You See Me? 05:01

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!
Rip from CD 256@ (full artwork included
)Download link
http://link-protector.com/266342/

IRON MAN – THE PASSAGE – 1994 (US) vintage hard rock

Playing traditional covers and 1980's Doom-metal with a big Black Sabbath influence, the band slowly gained more fame and established their name.

Dan Michalak - vocals
Alfred Morris III - guitars
Larry Brown - bass
Gary Isom - drums
01 The Fury 6:11
02 Unjust Reform 4:54
03 The Gargoyle 0:06
04 Harvest Of Earth 4:40
05 The Passage 0:53
06 Iron Warrior 3:43
07 Freedom Fighters 3:44
08 Waiting For Tomorrow 6:17
09 Time Of Indecision 4:29
10 Tony Stark 3:06
11 End Of The World 5:05

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!
Rip from CD 256@ (full artwork included)
Download link
http://link-protector.com/266343/

NEKTAR - JOURNEY TO THE CENTRE OF THE EYE – 1971 (GER) heavy progressive/space rock

Nektar's debut album became one of their finest releases, saturated with abstract psychedelia and a wonderful science-fiction motif that is magnified through the rigorous but dazzling Mellotron of Allan Freeman and Roye Albrighton's nomadic guitar playing. Throughout Journey's 13 cuts, Nektar introduced their own sort of instrumental surrealism that radiated from both the vocals and from the intermingling of the haphazard drum and string work. With the synthesizer churning and boiling in front of Howden's percussive attack and Mick Brockett's "liquid lights," tracks like "Astronaut's Nightmare," "It's All in the Mind," and both "Dream Nebula" cuts teeter back and forth from mind-numbing, laid-back melodies to excitable, open-ended excursions of fantastical progressive rock. Just as Hawkwind was exploring the depths of outer space with their progressive tendencies on most of their albums, Journey to the Centre of the Eye musically probed the inner universe of the mind and body with its very own conceptual field trip. "Burn Out My Eyes" and "Warp Oversight" are let loose with buzz-saw vocals and hazy, undefined guitar chords which converge and fade into background rhythms, while the 54 seconds of "Look Inside Yourself" is a short, illusory voyage that ends too soon. Nektar's freewheeling sound is best felt on Journey and on their next three releases, as by the end of the decade, their progressive moods and ambient-like suites started to get harder and take on more of a mainstream feel.
1 Prelude 1:28
2 Astronauts Nightmare 6:30
3 Countenance 3:37
4 The Nine Lifeless Daughters of the Sun 2:58
5 Warp Oversight 4:13
6 The Dream Nebula (Part 1) 2:17
7 The Dream Nebula (Part 2) 2:30
8 It's All in the Mind 3:25
9 Burn Out Your Eyes 7:53
10 Void of Vision 2:06
11 Pupil of the Eye 2:50
12 Look Inside Yourself 0:57
13 Death of the Mind 1:50

Very good prog with some influences from space rockers like Pink Floyd, but other influences from the prog of say, King Crimson, Yes and maybe ELP, though not as dominated by keyboard virtuosity like ELP. The prominent Mellotron gives this album a great Crimson feel, though there is no sax. "Countenance" has some fantastic guitar work and haunting electric keyboard. "Warp Oversight" shows some resemblance to "Interstellar Overdrive" with it's interesting keyboard effects and fractured guitar. "The Dream Nebula (Pt. 1)" and it's second part on side two have some pretty ferocious guitar work at times and some more prog-like keyboard sections with vocals mixed in. "It's All in the Mind" is another fantastic track with great lyrics and layers of keyboard, bass, and guitar sound.

Highly recommended!
Rip from CD 256@ (full artwork included)
Download link
http://link-protector.com/268554/