SPIRITUAL BEGGARS – SPIRITUAL BEGGARS – 1994 (SWE) vintage hard rock/stoner rock

I want to rate this album higher, but even so it's a very potential-filled debut from one of my favorite bands. It starts off with Yearly Dying, which sounds suspiciously like Jimi Hendrix's Foxy Lady, and therein lies one of the only real letdowns of this album: it sounds very derivative much of the time. I guess they hadn't quite found their style yet (particularly in Mike Amott's riff-writing factory, I mean), because the riffing on here, while sometimes interesting, can't possibly compare to albums like Ad Astra (now THAT was a fucking masterpiece of stoner/groove metal, whatever you wanna call it). The riffing isn't quite as technical or groovy/original as on their later stuff (and while technicality is obviously no requirement for this kind of 70s-influenced stuff, it seems that Amott shines best when throwing that kind of flair into his guitar work and comes up with devastatingly cool stuff). Everyone sounds great on this album though, especially Ludwig, his drumming is noticeably jazzy and well-executed. My version of this album is the recent reissue on Regain Records, which comes with 4 bonus tracks: Blind Mountain, If You Should Leave, Nowhere To Go, Sour Stains. I'd recommend getting this version, which shouldn't be too difficult because it's certainly the only one I've been able to find, and the bonus tracks give the other songs a run for their money, surprisingly. Not filler at all. It's funny, in the middle of some of the lyrics where it'll denote song structures, it says like in the middle of the Magnificent Obsession lyrics, "Lead/Jam-session", which obviously shows the songwriting was much less focused. Sometimes that's a good thing, and sometimes it doesn't work to their advantage. Hardcore fans are recommended to check this album out, as I'm glad I added it to my collection, but those new to Spiritual Beggars should start out with the mother of all albums: Ad Astra.

Michael Amott (guitar)
Christian "Spice" Sjöstrand (vocals/bass)
Ludwig Witt (drums)
1 Yearly Dying 3:56
2 Pelekas 4:12
3 The Space Inbetween 3:57
4 If This Is All 4:46
5 Under Silence 3:59
6 Magnificent Obsession 9:11
7 Blind Mountain 4:18
8 If You Should Leave 4:32
9 Nowhere to Go 5:59
10 Sour Stains 5:00

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!
Rip from CD 256@ (full artwork included)
Download link
http://link-protector.com/287207/

SPIRITUAL BEGGARS – ANOTHER WAY TO SHINE – 1996 (SWE) vintage hard rock/stoner rock

Led by former Carcass and ongoing Arch Enemy member Michael Amott's fuzzed-out guitar riffs, the Spiritual Beggars never let up on Another Way to Shine, one of the best stoner coming-out parties of the '90s. Kicking off the debut in typically energetic fashion, "Magic Spell" blasts the top off of Another Way to Shine, setting a high standard for the following eight tracks. All comparisons and genre-tagging aside, this track just plain rocks. Music so accomplished paradoxically solicits the simplest of descriptions, so there's no sense complicating descriptions of this stoner gem with obvious comparisons and inadequate adjectives. Suffice to say that fans of the genre will love the more energetic entries and appreciate all of Another Way to Shine. There is some lumbering, relatively dull material toward the record's finish, but second-rate offerings from Amott and company easily surpass most records dished out during later waves of stoner rock.

Michael Amott (guitar)
Christian "Spice" Sjöstrand (vocals/bass)
Ludwig Witt (drums)
1 Magic Spell 5:06
2 Blind Mountain 4:38
3 Misty Valley 6:44
4 Picking From the Box 4:19
5 Nowhere to Go 6:21
6 Entering Into Space 6:04
7 Sour Stains 5:49
8 Another Way to Shine 4:53
9 Past the Sound of Whispers 5:59

First release for the "Music for Nations" Company. Great Songs!!!

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!
Rip from CD 256@ (full artwork included)
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http://link-protector.com/287208/

TROUBLE – PLASTIC GREEN HEAD + 1 bonus – 1995 (US) hard rock/stoner rock

Trouble's sixth album, Plastic Green Head, continues the progression of their multi-layered, complex breakthrough record, Manic Frustration. As the band blends in elements of progressive rock and psychedelia to their heavy, monolithic riffs, they don't dilute it -- instead the experimentations make it more popular. Plastic Green Head suffers a little from inconsistent material -- Trouble shouldn't be covering the Monkees' "Porpoise Song" and the Beatles' "Tomorrow Never Knows," no matter how wonderful the songs are -- but that doesn't prevent the record from ranking as one of their best.

Eric Wagner (vocals)
Bruce Franklin (guitar)
Rick Wartell (guitar)
Chuck Robinson (bass)
Jeff Olson (drums)
1 Plastic Green Head 3:35
2 The Eye 4:20
3 Flowers 4:20
4 The Porpoise Song 4:42
5 Opium-Eater 4:25
6 Hear the Earth 3:59
7 Another Day 4:53
8 Requiem 4:53
9 Below Me 2:44
10 Long Shadows Fall 3:38
11 Tomorrow Never Knows 5:23
12 Till the End of Time 4:09

Extremely cool Sabbath-esque psychedelic dooooom, these cats came crawling out of Chicago back in the 80s, and along with Candlemass and Saint Vitus, carrying the torch for the heaviest of all things crushing... All that said, Trouble by this point was running out of ideas, and while this one is enjoyable, it's nothing compared to what came before it. Some great riffs, and Wagner's voice is always appreciated, but for the most part, I'd wager only the most die-hard of Troublers would consider this anything more than an average effort from a band who could do better... Interesting covers of the Monkees and the Beatles

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!
Rip from CD 256@ (full artwork included)
Download link
http://link-protector.com/287209/

SLEEP – JERUSALEM – 1997 (US) heavy psych/stoner rock

Jerusalem is the ultimate celebration of smoke-filled nights spent zoning out to Black Sabbath. The album is a lyrically sparse 52-minute song that details the journey of "the weedian" to the "riff-filled land." The slow lumbering riffs in this land do the Obsessed, Blue Cheer, and the Sabs proud. Jerusalem is pure unpretentious heavy pleasure -- a smile and a nod to all who joyously kneel before the altar of Iommi with "bong in hand" in spirit and in actuality.

Al Cisneros (bass, vocals)
Matt Pike (guitar)
Chris Hakius (drums)
Drug music basically comes in three varieties:
A. The kind that replicates the thoughts, sensations, and emotions of a peak experience. In essence, music that produces a narcotic effect on the listeners brain.
B: The kind that requires the listener to actually provide the chemical alteration themselves in order to fully appreciate the music.
C: The kind where the makers of the music are so obviously wasted and brain-dead that the listener needs drugs after hearing them to erase the memory.
As the astute reader will notice, these categories also represent a qualitative heirarchy with "A" being the desired goal and "C" being a waste of valuable studio time.
Sleep's Jerusalem falls squarely into the "B" category, being amply aided by a voluntary dulling of the senses and a suspension of chronological reasoning, but unable to produce these effects on it's own.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!
Rip from CD 256@ (full artwork included)
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PEARLS AND BRASS – PEARLS AND BRASS – 2003 (US) vintage hard rock/south rock/stoner rock

“There’s nothing wrong with a good guitar solo, but we’ll take an interesting riff over a solo anytime,” says Pearls And Brass guitarist Randy Huth. Huth and his cohorts don’t eschew solos all together, but their main focus is definitely on loping, blues-inspired heaviness, à la a modern day—and much trippier—Mountain or Cream.
“Our riffs are a little more ‘out there’ than the typical blues/rock fare,” Huth explains. “Inevitably, I’ll play some weird notes, and, as a band, we have a tendency to stretch those phrases over several bars—but not to where it’s some kind of weirdo prog-rock that you can’t groove to.”
Amongst The Indian Tower’s stoney, sledgehammer sound, are two acoustic tracks on which Huth abandons his Gibson SG and Marshall JCM800 in favor of some open-tuned, fingerstyle forays.
“I grew up in Nazareth, Pennsylvania, and my grandfather worked in the Martin guitar factory there,” he says. “He made himself a guitar about 40 years ago, which I now own, and I used it on those two acoustic cuts. In fact, I haven’t really played much electric guitar at all lately. It’s interesting that, even though old blues artists such as Blind Lemon Jefferson and Skip James influenced our heavy riffs, those players also led me to appreciate the completely different approach and vibe of the acoustic guitar.”

Randy Huth (guitar)
Joel Winter (bass)
Josh Martin (drums)
1 Spinning Wheel Blues 2:39
2 Highway Sermon 5:19
3 Stone Leaves 4:07
4 Long Be the Day 3:04
5 Train Lady Blue 3:44
6 Bleeding Hands 6:19
7 The Greenest Gray 3:59
8 The Green, Rain Snake 2:14
9 I See, Shadows, I See 3:34
10 1, 000 Cities 3:18

Excellent band; well-produced, retro-accurate recording (originally released in 2003). Pearls & Brass, a trio from Nazareth, PA, are a bit difficult to describe. The riff is the key element with these guys. But they write riffs the way Lennie Tristano or Lee Konitz improvise lines: long, complex, convoluted, and rhythmically surprising, yet still containing plenty of feeling. The music is comparable to (but not necessarily derived from) Sabbath, old GFR, Mountain, and the more deliberately out-there work of Gary Moore's old band, Skid Row. Overall the emphasis is on early-'70s-style heaviness and the blues-rock aspect. That's where the Sabbath comparisons originate, but the riffs and melodies on this disc are more mathematically challenging than any of Sabbath's output. Vocals are strong and gritty. Guitar tones, as well as the drums and bass, are all well-recorded, and I wouldn't change a thing about the mix.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!! MONSTER!!!
Rip from CD 256@ (full artwork included)
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http://link-protector.com/287204/

PEARLS AND BRASS – THE INDIAN TOWER – 2005 (US) vintage hard rock/heavy blues/stoner rock

Following up their stoner rock self-titled debut on the Doppelganger label, Nazareth, PA-based Pearls and Brass are true sons of heavy, zoned-out sludge rock. Their Drag City debut, Indian Tower, is all fire, crunch, and burn. Their arrangements are a little busy, full of semi-intricate twists and turns on the title track, but the groove is solid, hard, and fluid. The band's willingness to engage more spaced-out fare, such as chanted backing vocals and minor-to-major key shifts, is appealing. "Face of God" and "Black Rock Man" are perhaps what Cream might have sounded like had they followed Jack Bruce down into the heavy rock rabbit hole. Randy Huth's guitar playing is spectacular without being overly flashy. His and Joel Winter's vocals carry a kind of ghostly weight against the thudding crunch of the music. Josh Martin's drum kit is sheer hammer power -- slow, deliberate, and yet utterly inventive. These cats also actually write songs, not riffs. Check "Beneath the Earth," with its knotty winding structure. Indian Tower is a deeply satisfying hard rock record and stands apart form the longhaired greasy masses who sacrifice songwriting for power chords.

Randy Huth (guitar)
Joel Winter (bass)
Josh Martin (drums)
1 The Tower 4:00
2 No Stone 3:30
3 The Face of God 4:13
4 Black Rock Man 5:42
5 The Mirror 3:56
6 I Learn the Hard Way 2:41
7 Pray for Sound 6:29
8 The Boy of the Willow Tree 3:11
9 Wake in the Morning 5:28
10 Beneath the Earth 6:30
11 Away the Mirrors 4:05

Sometimes it’s important to just ‘rock out’; a concept that Drag City’s Pearls & Brass clearly understand well. The album begins with the usual chants and wails you would expect from a Drag City album which features the band members sitting around a campfire on the back cover, but within a minute we are launched into Led Zeppelin/Cream style heavy rock. Where the hell did that come from I wonder? I certainly wasn’t expecting it but I have to say it is welcome, after the scores of alt-folk/weirdness releases this comes as a very pleasant change. Admittedly there is very little here of much originality; Pearls & Brass take the 1970s blueprint and reproduce it quite accurately, but they do it damn well so who’s complaining? Pearls & Brass show us how it’s supposed to be done and if they don’t have beards they should start growing them now, everyone knows you can’t do heavy rock without some serious facial growth.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!! MONSTER!!!
Rip from CD 256@ (full artwork included)
Download link
http://link-protector.com/287205/

BLOOD OF THE SUN – BLOOD OF THE SUN – 2004 (US) vintage hard rock/stoner rock

First it’s the almighty cowbell. Then it’s a nasty guitar sting and a whirling organ. Then... hell, they had me at the cowbell. Halfway into “Hell on Its Knees,” the opening track, and MY knees are bruised from being on the ground, praising the boogie rock gods for gracing us with this sextet. Proudly carrying the banner handed down by the likes of Grand Funk Railroad and Humble Pie, Blood of the Sun deliver the southern monster metal boogie with ease-the-seat-back confidence and righteous swagger. Thick, certified Angus Beef-riffs, tight arrangements graced with the perfect amount o’ shimmy room, Greg Allman-on-acid organ fills, requisite “whiskey woman” lyric check, wah solos, the Mountain reference in the name; it’s all perfect for eating red meat to. Contemporary comparisons – think a funkier Mystick Krewe of Clearlight with a burlier Chris Cornell-esque singer, or a liquored-up and pissed-off Gov’t Mule.

Mark Zammaron - vocals
Henry Vasquez – Drums
Dave Gryder - Organ, Clavinet, Electric Piano
Miguel Veliz – Bass
Rich Christopher - Rhythm Guitar
Jay Benfield - Lead Guitar
1.Hell on its Knees
2. Past the Dawn
3. Ritual Rite
4. Kill the Swan
5. After Twilight
6. Dusk
7. No Honey
8. Beyond the Cold
9. Never to Say

BLOOD OF THE SUN play heavy freaking rock! Firmly planted in the Now but drawing from a host of the fathers of heavy rock they sound like a more pumped up version of mid 70s Grand Funk and Deep Purple, but with bits and pieces of Led Zeppelin, Moutain and Robin Trower. Not going out of there way to jump on any retro trend, the band plays from the heart, committed to carrying on the tradition of heavy rock with and emphasis on quality musicianship and strong songs.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!! MONSTER!!!
Rip from CD 256@ (full artwork included)
Download link
http://link-protector.com/287203/

THE PULSE – THE PULSE – 1969 (US) heavy psych/hard rock

From New Haven, Connecticut, The Pulse evolved out of The Bram Rigg Set and The Shags, and were originally known as The Pulse Of Burritt Bradley. The track, Burritt Bradley, is a surreal slice of psychedelic madness, which can also be found on the Beyond The Calico Wall (LP & CD) compilation.
By contrast, their album is a furious heavy rock affair and rated highly by some collectors.
Tommy Violante left in 1969, although the band soldiered on until '72, playing mostly rehashed Cream-type stuff.

CARL AUGUSTO
RICH BEDNARCZYK
PETER NERI
BENNET (BEAU) SEGAL
TOMMY VIOLANTE
PAUL ROSANO
JEFF FULLER hrmnca
1.Too Much Lovin' (3:15)
2.Another Woman (7:37)
3.Hypnotized (4:37)
4.Thanks For Thinking Of Me (3:54)
5.Lo-Down (3:54)
6.She's Killin' Me (3:45)
7.Garden Of Love (3:33)
8.Amassilation (5:54)
9.My Old Boy (2:25)

Great hard rockin' release from 68' or 69'. I have no idea where this band hails from. Pulse's one album reminds me of Free, very good guitar from Peter Neri. Not a weak track on this album, my favorite is "Hypnotized".

Highly recommended!
Rip from CD 256@ (full artwork included)
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http://link-protector.com/281718/

LISTENING – LISTENING – 1969 (US) heavy psych

From Boston and rated highly by some, this album includes some fine guitar and organ work on cuts like Baby: Where Are You?. Still an undiscovered gem this is worth searching out.
Most of the vocals were performed by drummer Ernie Kamanis, and Peter Malick who was 16 at the time the album was recorded.
Walter Powers had previously been in the famed punk band The Lost.
A reworked version of the album's opener, Michael Tschudin's You're Not There, appears on the highly-touted album ...Setting Forth... Improvising Against The Future by Odyssey.
Michael Tschudin later played with Cynara and produced the Fort Mudge Memorial Dump album. He became a session man and producer during the seventies, notably working with Tim Curry. Peter Malick played with the James Montgomery Band and is is still active, fronting his own Peter Malick Band playing blues / R&B influenced music in/around Boston. Walter Powers teamed up with his old Lost companion Willie "Loco" Alexander in the final incarnation of The Velvet Underground.

ERNIE KAMANIS drms, vcls
PETER MALICK gtr
WALTER POWERS bs
MICHAEL TSCHUDIN organ, keyb'ds, vcls
A solid mix of rock, jazz, blues, even a little Latin rock thrown in. Members of this Boston band later went on to join the Velvet Underground. As with a lot of bands, they should have made it big.

Highly recommended!
Rip from vinyl 256@ (full artwork included)
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http://link-protector.com/281716/

LINCOLN STREET EXIT - DRIVE IT – 1969 (US) heavy blues

A Sioux Indian band based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The Bummer is a fine upbeat rocker, whilst Sunny Sunday Dream is much more trippy with lots of keyboards. Changing their name to Xit the band made several albums in support of the cause of the American Indian during the 1970's. The Lincoln St. Exit album is essentially blues-based and does not include their non-Mainstream 45s. It is now a very sought-after collectors' item, and has been counterfeited. Much of their earlier material was officially reissued on the Xit LP Entrance (Canyon 7114) 1974, which has also become rare.

LEE HERRERA drms
R.C. GARISS ld gtr
MICHAEL MARTIN ld gtr, vcls
MAC SUAZO bs
Highly recommended!
Rip from vinyl 256@ (full artwork included)
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TOUCH - STREET SUITE – 1969 (US) heavy psych

A local St. Louis, Missouri band. Only 100 copies of their album were pressed and the above two non-LP 45s were often given away free with it. We're talking an ultra rarity of the highest order here. There are a couple of throwaway country tracks (Happy Face and Got To Keep Travelling On) and the finale, Gettin' Off, is marred by a tedious drum solo but the rest is for the most part mindblowing psychedelia. The best of these are Catfish, with some bluesy psychedelic guitar work, and two social commentary songs, Get A Gun and Let's Keep The Children On The Streets, a song about the riots of the sixties.
Ray Schulte had earlier played in Bob Kuban and The In Men in 1962, before helping to form The Guise and, with his brother Jerry, an act called The Sheratons. Tiring of the pop and R&B scene, Touch were formed in mid-67, to create a more powerful fusion of psychedelic blues, and they quickly picked up support slots for acts such as Steppenwolf, Cream and Iron Butterfly, also playing at a free festival with Big Brother & The Holding Co. and Hourglass in '68.
Shortly after their album was recorded, Paulette headed West to join a commune, and Ovid quit. A new line-up recorded two further 45s, which feature some good fuzzy guitar work and in particular their version of Light My Fire, which is slower and fuzzier than The Doors', comes off well.
One final session in 1970, with Royal on electric harpsichord and lead vocals and David Surkamp (later of Pavlov's Dog) on rhythm guitar, resulted in three songs that have been included on the Gear Fab reissue. In particular The Magic Inside You is noteworthy for some fine lyrics, echoing the changing times. Incongruously, the band then landed the job as back up band for Tony Orlando & Dawn, who were riding high on a wave of commercial success from hits such as Tie A Yellow Ribbon.

OVID BILDERBACK perc
PAULETTE BUTTS vcls, tamb
JERRY SCHULTE bs
RAY SCHULTE (aka RAYMOND STONE) gtr, vcls, hrmnca
First 3 songs show heaps of promise and a way crude n FUZZED out vibe, but than it goes down hill rapidly into generic Psych rock land...
Best track here is " Stormy Monday blues " Beaut' Heavypsych Blues with monster crude fuzz n sound.

Highly recommended!
Rip from CD 256@ (full artwork included)
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http://link-protector.com/281712/
http://link-protector.com/281713/

TRAMP – TRAMP – 1969 (UK) heavy blues

There was certainly a good blues pedigree behind this band with musicians like Mick Fleetwood (of Fleetwood Mac), Bob Brunning and Bob Hall (both of Brunning-Hall Sunflower Blues Band), Jo-Ann Kelly, Dave Kelly and Danny Kirwan (who was also in Fleetwood Mac and later made solo albums) involved, but the end results, two rather unimaginative bar-room blues albums, were frankly disappointing.

Bob Brunning (bass)
Mick Fleetwood (drums)
Bob Hall (keyboards)
Dave Kelly (vocals)
Jo Ann Kelly (vocals)
Danny Kirwan (guitar)
Dave Brooks (saxophone)
Ian Morton (percussion)
Highly recommended!
Rip from CD 256@ (full artwork included)
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http://link-protector.com/281714/

TONGUE - KEEP ON TRUCKIN WITH TONGUE – 1969 (US) heavy psych

A local Wisconsin heavy rock group with guitar, organ and screaming vocals, displayed on tracks like Get Your Shit Together, Slap Her Down Again Paw and Homely Man Blues.
This odd mix of hard rock and rural folk-rock is on the same label as Clicker and Yancy Derringer. It has a few hot hard rocking moments to it, and uncompromising stuff like "Get Your Shit Together." Their cover of "Morning Dew" is based on Bonnie Dobson's mellow version, not the common and more rocking Tim Rose version. The album is uneven and rather sloppy, but it's interesting straight through.

Highly recommended!
Rip from CD 256@ (full artwork included)

Download link
http://link-protector.com/281711/

VIC TRIGGER BAND – ELECTRONIC WIZARD – 1977 (US) hard rock

"San Jose California's Vic Trigger Band released their lone album Electronic Wizard in 1977. With it's wasted, phased out vocals and wall of heavy guitars, the boys should have been household names. Instead, they sank without a trace. Let's hope that this time the Vic Trigger Band finally catch the prize. Their LP sells in the $250-$300 range when one happens to come on the market. Fans of druggy, wasted, psychy heavy hard rock will have to have this one. As one Vic Trigger song aptly puts it, 'Get High And Space Out.' Oh yeah, it sports one of the great evil & dark LP covers of the '70s."
1. Electronic Wizard
2. Get High and Space Out
3. Goodtime Charlie
4. The Way You Move
5. Feel It
6. K & Z
7. Rockae
8. Streetwalker
9. Deadline

Hard prog-rock with long wah-wah and fuzz excursions. There was also a self-titled mini-LP in 1983 on Sanctuary.

Thanx to Chris!!!

Highly recommended!
Rip from CD 320@
Download link
http://link-protector.com/297399/

TROYKA – TROYKA – 1970 (CAN) heavy progressive

Late-sixties power trio Troyka combined some frenetic post-Cream guitar thrills with gruff, hyper-macho vocals on their lone long-player.
Troyka were originally from Edmonton Alberta Canada, which has a huge Ukrainian Canadian population. Many people here in Alberta laughingly refer to Edmonton as 'Edmonchuck'.
The group comprised of Robert Edwards, Michael Richards, and Ron Lukawitski.
They moved to Montreal and performed as a quartet in 1966, then regrouped back in Alberta as a trio. There, in an homage to their shared Ukrainian heritage, they dubbed themselves Troyka (though whether their namesake was a powerful triumvirate or an antiquated three-horse cliche has certainly blurred with the passage of time).
Troyka even comes speckled with Slavic elements (two tack-on instrumentals, the lilting ‘Introduction’ and the closer ‘Troyka Finale’, bookend the record), but for the most part it relies on crotch-heavy amplification to counter the relative paucity of ideas here. ‘Natural’ for instance, sports some prime virtuosic guitar work, though the constipated vocals reek of facile sexism – as if an axe and some fine chops weren’t enough to get you laid without pubescent posturing like, “Hey mama, won’t you come down by the river, and give me some”. ‘Rolling Down the Road’, with its nearly proto-speed metal, fares better, channelling frantic hyper blues into an almost MC5-like abandon. Other tracks hint at a more delicate side, especially the wistful soft-psych instrumental ‘Dear Margaret (Malagosia)’, with its Spanish tinges and flecks of John Williams-ish guitar.
Troyka were often hailed for their legendary live sets – one particularly raucous set at New York’s Fillmore East saw them flagged back for a triple encore. By 1970 they seemed to be hitting their stride, scoring a coveted support slot in Toronto for the mother of all troikas, Leslie West’s Mountain.
But alas, while poised to secure a page in history alongside the Band, the Grateful Dead and Janis Joplin, aboard the infamous bourbon-LSD- and-barbiturate-laced 'Festival Express' cross-Canada train tour in the summer of 1970 (great movie now on DVD) , guitarist Rob Edwards left to tend to family concerns, and thus fame turned to footnote for Troyka.

Robert Edwards (guitar, mandolin)
Michael Richards (drums, vocals)
Ron Lukawitski (bass, bongos)
1 Introduction 0:37
2 Natural 2:47
3 Early Morning 3:52
4 Life's O.K. 4:03
5 Burning of the Witch 2:54
6 Rub-A-Dub-Dub Troyka in a Tub 2:19
7 Troyka Lament :33
8 Troyka Solo :37
9 Rolling Down the Back Road 4:04
10 Berry Picking 2:48
11 Dear Margaret (Malgosia) 2:33
12 Go East Young Man/Beautiful Pink Eyes 6:12
13 Troyka Finale :30

A progressive rock trio from Edmonton, Alberta, though local collector Tim Holden tells me no one can remember much about them now. The album was recorded at Round Sound, Edmonton, Alberta. The band took care of the arrangements, words and music themselves. Most of the tracks - Early Morning, Life's OK, Rub-A-Dub-Dub Troyka In A Tub, Dear Margaret (Malgasia) and Troyka Finale are progressive rock style instrumentals. Another Rolling Down The Back Road has a sorta guitar freakout and Go East Young Man Beautiful Pink Eyes culminates in a sorta guitar jam. Certainly not for everyone but if guitar-driven instrumentation is your scene this could be for you. Certainly an unusual album. Often compared to Gun and Warpig.

Highly recommended!
Rip from vinyl 256@ (full artwork included)
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http://link-protector.com/281708/

TUCKY BUZZARD – WARM SLASH – 1971 (UK) hard rock

This hard rock outfit was most famous for having been produced by Bill Wyman. Brown, Graham and Taylor had all previously been in The End. One of Tucky Buzzard's finest moments was Bo-Bo's Hampton on Buzzard, which mellows in the middle and ends with some good guitar work. Elsewhere on the same album there's some Southern USA influence on Hanging On In There and some good rock'n'roll with brass arrangements on Super Boy Rock 'n' Roller 73.
Nick Graham left to join Skin Alley in March 1972 and Paul Francis (ex-Tony Jackson and The Vibrations) left to join Fuzzy Duck. Further line-ups followed with Val Stevens being ex-Khan, and Paul Kendrick possibly being the Czar bassist.

Jimmy Henderson (vocals)
David Brown (bass)
Terry Taylor (guitar)
Nick Graham (keyboards)
Paul Francis (drums)
Astonishing vocals and great songs. Heavy blues rock with deep hammond.

Highly recommended!
Rip from CD 256@ (full artwork included)
Download link
http://link-protector.com/281709/

VELVERT TURNER GROUP – VELVERT TURNER GROUP – 1972 (US) heavy psych

Generally cool hard guitar funkpsychrock from "close friend" of Jimi Hendrix, who if nothing else shows an impressive grasp of Jimi's best moves on this album. Although 100% derivative it still works, as the songwriting, vocals and guitar leads are fine and the sharp groove of Turner's power trio (plus assorted guests on keyboard) stands up to any comparison. Fine recording with a tight in yer face sound is another bonus. The Experience influence means unusual traces of 1967 Swinging London such as highpitched mod harmonies on this 1972 NYC trip. One weird, silly track with singalong kiddy vocals sort of sticks out, though it too has soaring acid leads. Apart from the originals the LP includes a cover of Jimi's "Freedom", and should appeal to fans of Next Morning. Just like Del Jones there are two different mixes of this LP, a Rock Mix with lots of guitar and a Soul Mix with less guitar. A German pressing of the rock mix on Philips exists. The Radioactive reissues are of the rock mix. There is also a rare third version on the infamous Tiger Lily label, with (again) a different mix and a good track not on the Family label releases at all.

Velvet Turner - guitar/vocals
Prescott Niles - bass
Tim McGovern - drums

('rock' mix):
01. Madonna (of the Seven Moons)
02. Talkin' 'bout my baby
03. Country chicken
04. Strangely New
05. Scarlet Warrior
06. Three O'Clock Train
07. Just look and see
08. 'Scuse me, gentlemen (The Fall of Atlantis)
09. (Love rides...) The slow swirling seas
10. Freedom

Highly recommended!
Rip from vinyl 256@ (full artwork included)
Download link
http://link-protector.com/281710/

WHITE WITCH - WHITE WITCH - 1972 (US) hard rock/heavy psych

Formed in Florida by Buddy Richardson, a veteran of the Tampa scene (Outsiders, Soul Trippers and Noah's Ark), White Witch played a mix of Southern heavy rock and hard/glam rock, with painted faces, powerful vocals and some strange lyrics.

Beau Fisher (drums, bass, vocals)
Ronn Goedert (vocals, percussion)
Buddy Pendergrass (keyboards, backing vocals)
Bill Peterson (percussion)
Buddy Richardson (lead guitar)
Bobby Shea (drums, percussion, backing vocals)
Charlie Souza (bass, percussion)
01 Parabraham Greeting / Dwellers of the Threshold (Instrumental) 3:04
02 Help Me Lord 3:07
03 Don't Close Your Mind 6:45
04 You're the One 3:03
05 Sleepwalk 4:27
06 Home Grown Girl 3:05
07 And I'm Leaving 3:00
08 Illusion 5:11
09 It's So Nice to Be Stoned 3:54
10 Have You Ever Thought of Changing? / Jackson 3:55
11 The Gift 1:45

GREAT LP! How many bands do a concept LP on their first release? The layered vocals of Ronn Goedert are brilliant. He does go a bit camp with his high wailing voice, (Which I like!) but that same voice drops down & lays out some brilliant Beatle-esque vocals. Buddy Richardson bows his guitar & Pendergrass wraps that space moog around all of it. It's pre-glam space rock & it's on a southern rock label!

Highly recommended!
Rip from CD 256@ (full artwork included)
Download link
http://link-protector.com/281703/

YANCY DERRINGER – OPENERS – (US) 1975 hard rock

Solid, under-rated Wisconsin hard rockers from Madison. The album features inventive arrangements and good playing.

GABRIEL BERRAFATO bs
LANCE GNATZIG drms
C.F. KUCHLER keyb'ds, vcls
BOYD WILLIAMSON gtr, vcls
Highly recommended!
Rip from vinyl 256@ (full artwork included)
Download link
http://link-protector.com/281705/

ZERFAS – ZERFAS – 1973 (US) heavy psych

An Indianapolis, Indiana outfit whose album of self-penned compositions is worth checking out. The material is mostly strong, there's lots of keyboards and sound effects on Side Two but good harmonies too. Side One is quite Beatlesque. The prime cut You Never Win opens with a backwards guitar intro; The Sweetest Part is first class synthesized rock and I Don't Understand and I Need It Higher add the band's own dimension to The Beatles' early seventies sound.

Dave Zerfas (drums, percussion, vocals)
Herman Zerfas (keyboards, vocals)
Mark Tribby (bass, guitars, vocals)
Steve Newbold (bass, guitars)
1 You Never Win
2 The Sweetest Part
3 I Don't Understand
4 I Need It Higher
5 Stoney Wellitz
6 Hope
7 Fool's Paradise

Masterful '73 private pressing on the 700 West label. The two tracks that open sides 1 and 2, "You Never Win" and "Stoney Wellitz", seem out of place with the deep, rich, psychy atmosphere these talented guys create, but they're still extremely good, hard and rollicking songs.

Highly recommended!
Rip from vinyl 256@ (full artwork included)
Download link
http://link-protector.com/281706/

CLARK HUTCHINSON – RETRIBUTION – 1970 (UK) hard rock

Clark-Hutchinson's debut album had been devoted entirely to long, tiresome psychedelic guitar instrumentals with Indian and blues-rock influences. On their second record, although some of that approach was retained, they at least branched out to some degree, adding some vocals and somewhat more deranged blues-rock tangents. And guess what? It's still indulgent psychedelic hard rock, often annoyingly so, all but one of the five tracks falling into the seven- to ten-minute range. It's some of the most lunkheaded stoner rock you'll come across, and if that seems like a churlishly unfair label, it's one they bring onto themselves with the first cut, "Free to Be Stoned." For it's here they fly their inept freak flag high, a from-the-gutter, hysterical vocal declaring against a crude blues-rock backing, "I don't wanna be good, but I don't care if I'm bad, I don't want to feel happy, but I don't care if I feel sad...I just wanna be...STONED! STONED! STONED! STONED! For the rest of my natural life!" Just the kind of guy you want to hang out with for next half-hour, huh? The attitude-over-songwriting ethos continues to rule over most of the other tracks, including a tepid ten-minute cocktail jazz instrumental, a ten-minute standard blues-rocker featuring (like "Free to Be Stoned") some of the most disagreeably half-shouted British blues-rock vocals ever laid down, and a finale ("Death, the Lover") that comes off like a particularly bad Arthur Brown imitation in its high-pitched vocal and lyrical mania.

Andy Clark (vocals, keyboard)
Mick Hutchinson (guitar)
Stephen Amazing (bass)
Del Coverly (drums)
A1 Free to Be Stoned 7:38
A2 After Hours 10:45
B1 In Another Day 3:31
B2 Best Suit 10:15
B3 Death, the Lover 7:18

After A=Mh2 this album came as a surprise - side one has two tracks after a totally stoned "Free to be Stoned" we are treated to some late night, cocktail blues jazz. Side two is the real meat - full of brilliant acid rock guitar and vocals that have to be heard to be believed ( and believe me you believe what Andy Clark has to say - the album finishes with Death the Lover, not to be listened to before bed (if you are of a nervous disposition) - but it is another great track.

Highly recommended!
Rip from vinyl 256@ (full artwork included)
Download link
http://link-protector.com/276970/

CLARK HUTCHINSON – GESTALT – 1971 (UK) hard rock

This early seventies outfit was most notable for Mick Hutchinson's fine guitar work. Clocking in at 50 minutes their debut album was certainly good value in terms of length. It can only be recommended to those of you interested in clever guitar instrumentals. The band didn't deploy vocals and the tracks on this album are long, Eastern-influenced and slightly mystical with titles like Impromptu In 'E' Minor and Improvisation On An Indian Scale. Hutchinson's and Clarke's other outfits included Sam Gopal Dream, Vamp and Dogs, which became Clark-Hutchinson.

Andy Clark (vocals, keyboard)
Mick Hutchinson (guitar)
Stephen Amazing (bass)
Del Coverly (drums
01. Man's Best Friend
02. Love Is The Light
03. The Light Burns On
04. Come Up Here
05. Disorientated Part One
06. Boat In The Morning Mist
07. Oriented
08. First Reminder
09. Mix Elixir
10. Poison
11. Disoriented Part Two As Disoriented Part One

Highly recommended!
Rip from CD 256@ (full artwork included)
Download link
http://link-protector.com/276971/

ESTES BROTHERS – TRANSITIONS – 1971 (US) hard rock

Thought to be from Amherst or Lorain Ohio, this outfit's over-hyped album ranges from ballads to harder rock. It does feature some good guitar jams on tracks like Gary's Thought. Good, but not worth the hefty price-tag - pick up the reissue instead! Bill Marren was formerly in The Unknown Kind, who were based in Amherst.
Apparently from Ohio, this early 1970's quartet's been the subject to quite a bit of hype over the years. As mentioned above, their exceedingly rare 1971 album "Transitions" routinely sells for $1,000+. While the album's frequently labeled as being psychedelic, most of the seven extended tracks are guitar-propelled rockers. Singer/keyboardist Bill Marren's responsible for most of the set, though brothers Joe and John Estes and bassist Don Smith each contribute a track. The sound quality is surprisingly good with Joe Estes' drums and John Estes' lead guitar seemingly getting special attention in the mix. That said, nothing here is likely to change your world, though bluesy hard rock tracks such as the extended jam 'This Morning', 'Do What Is Real' and 'Gary's Thought' are good enough to stand up to many of their better known compatriots. So will someone explain to me why the original goes for so much money ...

JOE ESTES drms, vcls
JOHN ESTES ld gtr
BILL MARREN piano, vcls
DON SMITH bs
1. Never Coming Down 3:34
2. This Morning 9:22
3. Wooden Thoughts 4:54
4. Do What Is Real 5:19
5. Let Me Live My Own Life 6:10
6. Gary's Thought 6:02
7. Tomorrow's Sunlight (single Version) 2:14
8. On Thw Wings Of A Butterfly 3:45
9. Love Is All I Need
10. Tomorrow's Sunlight 2:46
11. Wooden Thoughts 4:54
12. All Along The Watchtower 6:39
13. Blue Skies 4:54
14. Woman 6:22

An original of this obscurity (supposedly 100 were pressed) will easily set you back four digits so I'll never have a chance to comment on an original pressing. Thankfully I stumbled across a copy of Rich Haupt's 1995 Rockadelic reissue (which is itself quite rare with a 500 copy pressing).

Highly recommended!
Rip from CD 256@ (full artwork included)
Download links
http://link-protector.com/276972/
http://link-protector.com/276974/

MARIANI - PERPETUUM MOBILE – 1970 (US) hard rock

From Austin, Texas. They are now known more as a springboard for guitarist Eric Johnson, than for their collective efforts as a band. Perpetuum Mobile was pressed for demo purposes in 1970 or 1971, and shopped to major labels. Sonobeat had used this rather innovative means (presenting a finished album master to an stablished label for release) to place Johnny Winter with Imperial Records.
Musically they were very heavy with plenty of good guitar work but perhaps too much instrumentation. They won a good 'live' reputation but sadly broke up before Sonobeat concluded their negotiations with United Artists. Eric Johnson was a brilliant 16 year old guitarist who still has a considerable reputation as a guitarist in the 1980s with jazz/fusion instrumental band Electromagnetics.

Vince Mariani (drums, vocals)
Eric Johnson (guitar, vocals)
Jay Podolnick (bass, vocals)
This album is a hard rocking classic. You have a tongue for music that really rocks.

Thanx to Nelson

Highly recommended!
128@ (front cover included)
Download link
http://sharebee.com/f6bc8c9b

SHEAVY – SYNCHRONIZED – 2002 (CAN) vintage hard rock/stoner rock

Here it comes again: that inimitable drunken warble which could only originate from...Sheavy's Steve Hennessy -- arguably the greatest Ozzy Osbourne impersonator alive (actually, he sounds more like early-days Ozzy than the man himself these days). Eerie and disconcerting, the similarity has fueled this Newfoundland-based band's detractors over the years, serving as an unfair excuse to overlook their very accomplished brand of driving hard rock and metal. But Sheavy, though clearly identifiable as a doom/stoner rock act, is anything but a Black Sabbath tribute act, and each successive release seems to gain them a little more respect thanks to some quality tunes. And their fourth album, 2002's Synchronized, is no exception, with outstanding riff excursions such as "Firebird 350," "Last of the V8 Interceptors," and "Next Exit to Vertigo" picking up right where previous efforts left off and setting the aggressive tone early on. But the band eventually finds room to break with convention; the synth-enhanced, "Junior's Eyes"-sound-alike title track and the oddball "Invasion of the Micronauts," complete with reverse percussion effects à la "Come Together," beg the question: Has Sheavy arrived at their Technical Ecstasy a few albums too soon? The answer is a resounding "not exactly," since such experiments are mostly successful, far from radical, and soon left behind for more traditional stoner/doom fare, including the lengthy jam "Ultraglide" and the pounding "Set Phasers to Stun." And then, Sheavy pulls out all the stops with awesome closer, "The Time Machine," a possible candidate for Metal Single of the Year and arguably the best pure song of their career.

Steve Hennessey (vocals)
Dan Moore (guitar)
Ren Squires (drums)
Keith Foley (bass)
1 Firebird350 2:43
2 Last Of The V8 Interceptors 4:46
3 Next Exit To Vertigo 5:56
4 Part Of The Machine 1:53
5 Synchronized 4:28
6 Invasion Of The Micronauts 4:06
7 Kill Queens Go Disco 3:48
8 Ultraglide 7:08
9 AFX... Thrown For A Loop 4:10
10 Set Phasers To Stun 4:33
11 The Time Machine 4:49

When Canada's Sheavy unveiled their sophomore album The Electric Sleep on an unsuspecting media in early 1998, they were hailed as the return of Black Sabbath. Never before had anyone heard vocals which were so essentially Ozzy Osbourne, it could have been Ozzy Osbourne. Exactly two years on, and Sheavy returned with their brilliant and aptly titled third album Celestial Hi-Fi, a psychedelic, gravitational force that continues and expands on their distinctively spaced out groove.
Their latest offering, Synchronized, shows the band’s songwriting progression and also pairs them with famed producer Mike Butcher who worked on many classic albums including Black Sabbath’s We Sold Our Souls For Rock N Roll!

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!
Rip from CD 256@ (full artwork included)
Download link
http://link-protector.com/293172/

SHEAVY – REPUBLIC? – 2004 (CAN) vintage hard rock/stoner rock

In the doom metal/stoner rock/sludge field, worshiping and adoring Black Sabbath are not only a popular thing to do -- they are almost obligatory. In many cases, the Sabbath influence has more to do with the riffs than vocals; a doom or stoner band that offers Sabbath-influenced riffs may have a vocalist who doesn't sound anything at all like Ozzy Osbourne. But on Sheavy's Republic?, Sabbath affects the playing, the writing, and the singing; the Canadians' riffs and songs have a major Sabbath influence, and Steve Hennessy's lead vocals are so Osbourne-like that his detractors have often argued, "Instead of emulating the Oz, why don't you develop your own vocal style?" But as Sabbath-obsessed as Republic? is, it would be a mistake to dismiss Sheavy as an exact replica of '70s-era Sabbath. Sure, these headbangers have spent a lot of time listening to Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, Paranoid, and Master of Reality -- there's no getting around that fact. But Republic? has a sludginess that you won't find on Sabbath's classic '70s recordings -- a sludginess that owes something to the Melvins as well as grunge (which, of course, was greatly affected by the Melvins -- a band that had a huge impact on Nirvana, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, and many other Seattle bands of the late '80s and early '90s). And Republic?, in fact, was produced by someone with very strong sludge credentials: Billy Anderson, who is known for his work with the Melvins and Orange Goblin. Under Anderson's direction, Sheavy deliver an album that won't win any awards for being groundbreaking or terribly original but is enjoyable nonetheless. Anderson is a definite asset for Sheavy on this derivative but worthwhile doom/stoner/sludge outing.

Steve Hennessey (vocals)
Dan Moore (guitar)
Ren Squires (drums)
Keith Foley (bass)
1 Spy Vs Spy 3:03
2 The Rook 5:37
3 Hangman 4:40
4 Standing At The Edge Of The World 7:20
5 Revenge Of The Viper Three 4:17
6 A Phone Booth In The Middle Of Nowhere 3:17
7 The Man Who Never Was 5:30
8 Stingray Part III 4:46
9 Moments Of Silence 3:00
10 Imitation Of Christ 4:06
11 Last Chance - GremlinX 5:23

Republic?, their fourth album, has the band following the path established on previous albums like Electric Sleep and Celestial Hi-Fi. This is back-to-basics Sheavy, semi-psychedelic distortion that aims for the gut. All that’s really changed is that they’re more accomplished players, and the songs reflect a certain maturity. Billy Anderson’s surprisingly polished and well nuanced production helps the four piece hammer their point home as well. It’s easy to recommend Republic? to the Sabbath-starved and the lovers of the riff.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!
Rip from CD 256@ (full artwork included)
Download link
http://link-protector.com/293173/

SHEAVY – THE MACHINE THAT WON THE WAR – 2007 (CAN) vintage hard rock/stoner rock

Borrowing its title and general theme from a short story by Isaac Asimov, The Machine That Won the War is the sixth studio LP from Canadian stoner-rockers sHEAVY but only the second without founding drummer Ren Squires and the first to feature a two-guitar attack, with the addition of Tommy Boland to founding guitarist Dan Moore, vocalist Steve Hennessey, bassist Keith Foley, and long-time friend of the band, Kevin Dominic, on drums. A benefit for old-school sHEAVY fans is the return of mixer Don Ellis, who clearly understands what this band is looking for as he helped mix and produce their 1998 Sabbathian masterpiece, The Electric Sleep, and 2000's underrated retro-rock classic, Celestial Hi-Fi. It may be a coincidence, but this album bears some similarities to those two seminal works as it builds on the previous records and infuses them with the metallic sheen of their last release, 2005's Republic?.
Blasting off with the quick uptempo burst of heavy metal entitled "The Sleeping Assassin," it's immediately obvious that the second guitar has added another layer to sHEAVY's sound and thickened it up. A good way to open the album as there is a pounding urgency to it provided by the drums. One of the standouts of the album, "Demon Soldiers," is a tune I'd liken to "Children Of The Grave," as the main riff is a heavy Sabbath-style groove and the lyrics are pretty dark for sHEAVY, which is a big change throughout The Machine That Won the War. Steve does a low spoken-word vocal in the middle of the song that's very effective and the chorus is catchy and bleak as the lyrics describe the end of the world with mankind falling to hell. "Humanoid" is a classic-sounding sHEAVY tune hearkening back to the sci-fi space rock of the early albums with a memorable chorus vocal melody and a wide range of guitar work, from free and rockin' to a crunching chug - lyrically reminiscent of "Automaton" on The Electric Sleep and musically compatible with many of the tracks on Celestial Hi-Fi.
The Machine That Won the War is sHEAVY's most metal release and this is very evident on "Dawn Of The Black Orchid," as they venture into doom territory with a heavy, slow and steady pace punctuated by some brilliant guitar work and uncanny vocal melodies over a lumbering "Iron Man"-style riff. It's rather unlike most of the sHEAVY catalog. "Aboard The Mothership" and "Rings Of Saturn" are more basic upbeat rockers not unlike those found on their debut album, Blue Sky Mind, and help break up the uncharacteristically dark heaviness of the first half of the record. The Sabbath comparisons are cliche for sHEAVY and perhaps not always appreciated, but the funky basslines in these songs sound like they could have come from Geezer Butler himself. Shades of the dreamy "Electric Sleep," "Here Falls The Shadow" alternates between a moody, mellow verse section and a jamming chorus section with flawless Ozzy-style cries; another one of my favorites on the album. "Lords of Radiation" continues sHEAVY's unique brand of Sabbath worship worthy of the masters as it is driven by a sludgy riff and dark subject matter, while Dan and Tommy trade off on lead and rhythm to enhance the feeling of conflict.
Right through until the jammy closer known as "The Gunfighters," this album easily topples Republic? (which I believe suffered from a dry, soulless mix/production) as sHEAVY put forth a strong effort with their heaviest and darkest release yet. If I may go back to the Sabbath comparisons one more time, on my personal scale that equates The Electric Sleep as sHEAVY's Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, Celestial Hi-Fi as their Sabotage, and Synchronized as their Vol. 4, The Machine That Won the War would be their Master of Reality.

Steve Hennessey (vocals)
Dan Moore (guitar)
Kevin Dominic (drums)
Tommy Boland (guitar)
Keith Foley (bass)
1. The Sleeping Assassin
2. Demon Soldiers
3. Humanoid
4. Dawn of the Black Orchid
5. Aboard the Mothership
6. Rings of Saturn
7. Here Falls the Shadow
8. Lords of Radiation
9. The Dark Carnival
10. Where Earth Meets Sky
11. One of Us Must be Dead
12. The Gunfighters

It's interesting when a band with this style is doing a sci-fi-war concept album. This album is based upon one Isaac Asimov's story of the same name.
This is a really fine album with warm analog-based production. Better than 2006's Republic? too. Lap it all up.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!
Rip from CD 256@ (front cover included)
Download link
http://link-protector.com/293174/

GRAND MAGUS – GRAND MAGUS – 2001 (SWE) hard rock/stoner rock

"Never Learned" is an apropos track title, as Grand Magus seems to be stuck in a time capsule, but this is not necessarily a bad thing. The Swedish threesome revels in all things doomy and bell-bottomed, with tempos ranging from slow and chugging to slower and droning. Vocalist Janne at times wails like a poor-man's Chris Cornell, and the group often employs what sounds like a Southern rock drawl in the instrumentation, not unlike latter-period Corrosion of Conformity discs, but the obvious references are Sabbath, Deep Purple, and anything else from the dawning era of plod rock. What little it does in terms of breaking new ground, however, this eponymous debut more than makes up for in terms of volume, intensity, and some of the meatiest riffs this side of the Obsessed.

Janne "JB" Christoffersson (vocals, guitar)
Fox (bass)
Fredrik "Trisse" Liefvendahl (drums)
1.Gauntlet
2.Legion
3. Never Learned
4.Black
5.Hound Of Vengeance
6.Coat Of Arms
7.Generator
8.Wheel Of Time
9.Lodbrock
10.Black Hole
11.Mountain Of Power

Any fan of the genre SHOULD own this album, there's no way around it! It has all the right ingredients, great riffs, absolutely awesome vocals and all around heavy attitude!!

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!
Rip from CD 256@ (full artwork included)
Download link
http://link-protector.com/276923/

GRAND MAGUS – MONUMENTUM – 2003 (SWE) hard rock/stoner rock

This is a true monument my friends as it's title crystal clear declares. This is a monument of doom metal from a band that is at the merge of two different yet close one to another, music genres. JB and his fellows provided with the best material for the ferocious days of the winter. It's a 100 % doom metal release, baptized not in fire, as one of the tracks is titled, but in the slow and cold waters of doom metal. True witnesses of this are the "He who seeks shall find" and "Baptised in fire". Of course the tracks has the necessary seventies taste, mainly because of JB's soulful voice. All of you who have learned about JB from Spiritual Beggars' "On fire" have to listen to "Monument" to understand that the Beggars will be benefited much more from JB, than JB from the Beggars. "Monument" has a state of the art production and an excellent and full orchestration, despite the fact that they a trio. Their sound is very compact and heavy that I already can see some faces turn red from jealousy.

Janne "JB" Christoffersson (vocals, guitar)
Fox (bass)
Fredrik "Trisse" Liefvendahl (drums)
01. Ulvaskall (Vargr)
02. Summer Solstice
03. Brotherhood of Sleep
04. Baptised In Fire
05. Chooser of the Slain (Valfader)
06. Food of the Gods
07. He Who Seeks Shall Find

Unpretentious,Heavy,Full of cool riffs.Yes,Grand Magus does it again.As good as the self- titled Grand Magus.100% better than any so called new rock bands.Shades of Black Sabbath,yes,but these cats have theyre own style.Im glad theres still bands who havent forgotten what it means to rock.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!
Rip from CD 256@ (full artwork included)
Download link
http://link-protector.com/276925/

GRAND MAGUS – WOLF’S RETURN – 2005 (SWE) heavy metal/stoner rock

I'll go straight to point, just as the opening track "Kingslayer" does. Go get it, before you
regret every second that passes. English label Rise Above, famous about its doom metal/heavy rock profile, unleashed a weapon that nobody in the metal music industry had predicted. This CD is a pure delirium for all the die-hard fans of epic /doom metal (and not only), which will rejoice at the tunes of these war anthems. "Wolf's Return" is the last stage of a gradient transformation of a band that once was paying tribute to the origins of doom metal and heavy rock and now is a pure heavy metal holocaust.
It combines the majestic and victorious aura of Manowar ("Wolf's Return") and the doom metal somber testimony and pride of Candlemass ("Nine") into an outfit that, thanks to the outstanding performance of JB, bears its own mark. With an absolutely fantastic production and through magnificent orchestrations, Grand Magus illustrate blood covered tales of sheer darkness and barbaric excellence. Grand Magus have joined the ranks of Sorcerer, Doomsword, Doomshine and other, and they challenge them for the "pole position" in the battlefield. Look no further dear friends. This is doom, without being "traditional". This is heavy, without being "true". This is epic, without being "illustrious". "Wolf's Return" includes eleven tracks, many of which play the role of interludes between hymns of gigantic proportions, like "Blood Oath", "Repay In kind" and "Ashes". In one word: Magnificent.

Janne "JB" Christoffersson (vocals, guitar)
Fox (bass)
Fredrik "Trisse" Liefvendahl (drums)
01. Kingslayer
02. Nine
03. Blodorn
04. Wolf's Return
05. Blood Oath
06. Jarnbord
07. Repay in Kind
08. Hamnd
09. Ashes
10. Light Hater
11. Wolf's Return Part II

This is doom-flavored straight heavy metal that sounds a lot like classic Danzig, only more "metal" and with a much deeper, heavier bottom end. Gorgeous sinister riffs, amazing vocals (and not the normal high pitched wailing of metal, but real singing), and quite good vocal melodies.
The whole thing is super, but the first half of this disc is really amazing, culminating in "Blood Oath", which is a summary of what makes this band so good. I don't know how to describe it. Smouldering, smoking, muscular, intimidating heavy metal grooves interwoven with sophisticated, wolfish, Nordic lyrics and vocals.
This really couldn't get much better. It's the same old sad story, great bands get overlooked while generic junk dominates the public attention...

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!
Rip from CD 256@ (full artwork included)
Download link
http://link-protector.com/276926/

SAINT VITUS Biography by Ed Rivadavia

One of the leading American doom metal acts of the '80s (along with Trouble and the Obsessed), Saint Vitus was cursed with public indifference throughout their decade-plus career, which both started and ended in frustrating obscurity. Originally formed as Tyrant in 1979 by vocalist Scott Reagers, guitarist Dave Chandler, bassist Mark Adams, and drummer Armando Acosta, Los Angeles' Saint Vitus was named after a medieval boy saint whose beheading and violent death-throes gave rise to the gruesome expression ("Saint Vitus Dance," also the name of a Black Sabbath song from the Vol. 4 album). Though they couldn't help but be slightly influenced by the SoCal hardcore scene thriving all around them (especially on their early releases), the quartet was a card-carrying disciple of Sabbath's dreary doom metal commandments, specializing in amazingly slow, ponderous power chords and a highly unfashionable biker image. Their eponymous 1984 debut was released by Black Flag guitarist Greg Ginn's SST Records, and was followed in quick succession by the Walking Dead EP and Hallow's Victim album the very next year.

Progress was slow, but the band continued to improve despite the departure of vocalist Reagars, thanks to the arrival of former Obsessed frontman and sometime-guitarist Scott "Wino" Weinrich for 1986's Born Too Late -- generally regarded as their best effort. The following year's Thirsty and Miserable EP and 1988's Mournful Cries found greater acclaim in Europe than America and marked the end of the group's relationship with SST. New label Hellhound Records released 1989's V as well as a career-spanning live album recorded in Germany a year later. But despite all this hard work, the band seemed incapable of breaking new ground or achieving anything even resembling commercial success. As their disillusionment grew and Wino quit the group to reform the Obsessed, the release of an SST greatest hits set called Heavier Than Thou seemed like the final chapter for Saint Vitus. New singer Christian Lindersson appeared on 1992's half-heartedly recorded C.O.D., and though the original lineup would briefly reconvene for a last hurrah with 1995's Die Healing, no more has been heard of Saint Vitus since.

SAINT VITUS – SAINT VITUS – 1984 (US) hard rock/proto doom metal

Although they never achieved wide acclaim, Californian doom metallers Saint Vitus still managed to carve out a niche in people's scrapbooks for one big reason: they sounded uncannily like Black Sabbath, a propensity aided by an increasingly farcical series of ever-changing lineups that left the latter band essentially faceless. Not surprisingly, SST Records signed them as Black Flag's label began distancing itself from its hardcore punk roots. This album, then, should send old-schoolers' hearts' aflutter. The trademarks that defined classic '70s-era Sabbath albums like War Pigs and Iron Man are proudly present and correct: jangly, piledriving guitars; stuttering basslines; and insistent, cymbal-soaked drumming. True to form, the album boasts just five tracks; the brisk opening tribute to the medieval-era saint is probably the most energetic among the lot. The band's themes are somewhat predictable, ranging from occult matters ("Black Magic, White Magic," "Zombie Hunger") to personal peril ("Burial at Sea"). However, the band convincingly shows that intensity doesn't necessarily stem from tempo on "Psychopath" and "Burial at Sea"; guitarist Dave Chandler lays down some menacing licks, while hollow-voiced singer Scott Reagers evokes just the right touch of despair and desperation. While Saint Vitus never broke beyond a cult circle of admirers -- except overseas -- the band shouldn't be dismissed out of hand. (Only Trouble had a similar impact, except from the Christian metal side -- to where wags jokingly tagged them as "White Sabbath.") Genre exercises like this are naturally an acquired taste, but the band plays with fire and conviction; if Black Sabbath's singer-of-the-week lineups left you cold, these guys provided just the right placebo.

Scott Reagers (vocals)
Dave Chandler (guitar)
Mark Adams (bass)
Armando Costa (drums)
1 Saint Vitus 4:49
2 White Magic / Black Magic 5:27
3 Zombie Hunger 7:21
4 The Psychopath 9:26
5 Burial At Sea 8:38

So drenched in bass, wah-wah and fuzz, you'll think your ears are defective. Plus the singer sounds like he just escaped from a mental ward for jittering paranoids. Add to that two tracks that have some of the slowest tempos ever, and you have doom's most uncompromising debut. Worth the price for "Saint Vitus" and "Burial At Sea" alone. The latter is so slow it creaks...

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!
Rip from CD 256@ (full artwork included)
Download link
http://link-protector.com/291824/

SAINT VITUS – HALLOW’S VICTIM/THE WALKING DEAD e.p. – 1985 (US) hard rock/proto doom metal

Contrary to what most first-time listeners might expect, based the band's reputation as American doom pioneers, Saint Vitus were hardly all about indolence and sloth when it came to their songwriting. In reality, most every one of their albums contained a few fast-paced numbers, geared to getting their fans' blood pumping and heads banging, but 1985's sophomore effort, Hallow's Eve, was entirely off the charts in this regard! Stacking high-energy metal anthems pretty much from start to finish, it's almost as if the band was intentionally thumbing their noses at the dominant thrash metal craze of the period with this album, while seeking to prove that they weren't just a bunch of long-in-the-tooth, So Cal hippies, in the bargain. Nothing could have been further from the truth, obviously, as Hallow's Victim opened with the hard-driving, oft-covered classic, "War is Our Destiny," broke into an all-out gallop for the aptly named "White Stallions," and then rarely stopped for breath during ensuing heavy metal juggernauts like "The Sadist" and the pummeling title track, which, for all intents and purposes, could well be considered straight up hardcore, and was probably influenced by Vitus's label mates at SST. The band finally relented from their frantic stride to establish a gothic, mid-paced groove on "Just Friends (Empty Love)" (very reminiscent of cross-country rivals Pentagram), and then settled down into some sluggish doom, at last, for the epic "Mystic Lady" and sardonic album closer "Prayer for the (M)asses" -- although even this, generally sludgy tandem, frequently launched into a good trot before too long. In the end, Hallow's Victim is an eye-opening experience for those who would typecast Saint Vitus as a strictly doom-dependent enterprise, and its first-rate songs throughout offer proof positive of the band's formidable creative abilities -- regardless of tempo. Yes, doom purists may point out, correctly, that this album is unrepresentative of both the genre and Saint Vitus's body of work in general; but who would dare cast the first stone, considering that even Black Sabbath wrote speedy songs like "Paranoid" and "Never Say Die" -- remember?

Scott Reagers (vocals)
Dave Chandler (guitar)
Mark Adams (bass)
Armando Costa (drums)
A1 War Is Our Destiny 4:07
A2 White Stallions 5:23
A3 Mystic Lady 7:39
B1 Hallow's Victim 2:42
B2 The Sadist 3:58
B3 Just Friends (Empty Love) 5:42
B4 Prayer for the (M)asses / Outro 4:48

Very mighty music here. It might not be very strong on creativity, but that thick guitar tone, the slowness, and the good vocalist are enough to provide a very enjoyable listen. Of course, Black Sabbath comes to mind as influence, even the song "Prayer for the (M)Asses" almost steals the devastating riff of "Symptom of the Universe".
Hallow's Victim might as well be one of the best early doom albums I've heard, together with Trouble's Psalm 9. Very much recommended to those who dig slow metal music.

A1 Darkness 3:28
A2 White Stallions 5:27
B The Walking Dead 11:38

In my mind the very zenith of the reagers years, and a monolithic landmark in the history of heavy music. it's always a tough call for me when the subject of ''best VITUS song evvarrrrr'' is raised, but it is almost always the title track of this ep.

This is not S.O.S. release. It’s my rip from vinyls. The sound is little bit better, than on S.O.S. release.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!
Rip from vinyl 256@ (full artwork included)

Download link
http://link-protector.com/291828/
Alternate link @160 Saint Vitus - Hallow's Victim (thanx to Kitsos)
http://s2.massmirror.com/6f9135eeb5e5fae59a55ce49303c6b0f.html

SAINT VITUS – BORN TOO LATE/THIRSTY & MISERABLE e.p. – 1986/1987 (US) hard rock/proto doom metal

Born Too Late is undeniably a defining effort in the spirit of the early, now considered "classic" doom metal sound. The marriage of vocalist Scott "Wino" Weinrich, founder of Maryland's D.C. area legends the Obsessed and L.A.'s own legendary doom pioneers Saint Vitus, produced a sound and lyrical landscape that was not commercially successful in its own right, but which has inspired and continues to influence myriad popular culture figures such as the Melvins, Nirvana, L7, Fugazi's Ian McKay, Black Flag's Greg Ginn (owner of SST, Saint Vitus' label) and Henry Rollins, Monster Magnet, Kyuss, Electric Wizard, Eyehategod, Grief, Sleep, Cruevo, and a list of bands, musicians, and genres too long to list without writing a novel. Long after Black Sabbath had shifted their sound away from the bombastic, sludgy riffing of classics like Paranoid, Masters of Reality, Vol. 4, and the like, Saint Vitus and the Obsessed rose from regions that were birthplaces and breeding grounds for early-American hardcore punk. While identifying intensely with the independent and socially critical nature of those scenes, Saint Vitus's sound was deeply rooted in the gloomy ballistics of early Sabbath. Born Too Late's sludgy, ultra-slow riffs never break out into the galloping rhythms of, say, "Children of the Grave," however. This album is like Black Sabbath on Quaaludes and wearing lead suits underwater. Each chord rains down like a hammer, and each progression takes an eternity to resolve. In the early '80s, while everyone in the pop music culture was looking for the new sound, be it new wave or hardcore, Saint Vitus were decidedly retro. You don't even need more than the name of the album's title track, "Born Too Late," to get the point. But Wino drives it home anyway, with the lines "every time I'm on the street/people laugh and point at me/they talk about my length of hair/and the out of date clothes I wear." The lyrics go on to point out that while "they say [his] songs are much too slow," they also "don't know the things [he] knows." That's for sure. Before almost anyone else had even realized that rock was on its death bed, Saint Vitus were looking back on the '70s with nostalgia. Throughout, the album is what might be considered a cliched retrospective of that bygone era's heavy metal sentiments. Dragons, psychedelic drugs, images of war, and severe alcohol abuse dominate the landscape. The most important consideration with this album, though, is not the originality of the approach. What separates Born Too Late from nearly all heavy metal up to that point was the outright admission that the band's passion - slow, heavy music - not only lacked commercial viability, but was in fact itself a source of the ridicule and social alienation the music speaks to. The punk rock style integrity of the band's commitment to that sound and image was in direct opposition to the money and chicks attitude of L.A. glam metal of the day. While the impact Saint Vitus made with Born Too Late at the time was minimal, the legacy of that early dedication has influenced and changed the world of music. For all fans of grunge, stoner rock, and doom metal, this album is a classic.

Scott Weinrich [Wino] (vocals)
Dave Chandler (guitar)
Mark Adams (bass)
Armando Costa (drums)
1 Born Too Late 6:57
2 Clear Windowpane 3:19
3 Dying Inside 7:26
4 H.A.A.G. 5:04
5 The Lost Feeling 5:24
6 The War Starter 6:45
7 Thirsty and Miserable 3:54
8 Look Behind You 3:21
9 The End of The End 5:48

A great slab of doom metal, with a very strong retro vibe, reminding me a lot of Sabbath and also a little Cream and Blue Cheer. Born Too Late is a cool song about feeling out of place in a metal-despising, trend loving world (jeez, I wonder how they feel nowadays) with some excellent doomy, slow riffs. Clear Window is slightly more upbeat (but still with a huge doom vibe) and almost a rock n roll sensibility, especially in that drum pattern in the chorus (infact, the wole album has a sort of classic/stoner rock vibe). Dying Inside is probably the most infectious song, a gloomy, overwhelming trek through the mind of a desperate alcohol addict. Side B is more of the same - H.A.A.G. sounds the most blatantly Sabbath influenced, The Lost Feeling is a brilliant dark dirge with the lyrics metaphorically written from the view of depression itself (as in, what depression would say to it's victim). Reminds me some of Hand of Doom actually. And then the album is wrapped up finely with The War Starter..."some call me warrior, i'm actually war starter!"

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!
Rip from CD 256@ (full artwork included)
Download link
http://link-protector.com/291832/

SAINT VITUS – MOURNFUL CRIES – 1988 (US) hard rock/proto doom metal

Following up an album as good as “Born Too Late” may be a have been a tall task for some bands, but for one as great as Saint Vitus can pull it off. Saint Vitus does just that with the follow-up, “Mournful Cries”.
“Mournful Cries” follows perfectly in the steps of “Born Too Late”: under-produced, simple, and most of all, disturbingly slow. This is however doesn’t have as good of songwriting as “Born Too Late”, but outside of that, it never falters!
The album opens with the relatively fast paced, for a doom metal band at least, “The Creeps” followed by the best song of the album “Dragon Time”. As the title would indicate “Dragon Time” has the Dio-esque flair of telling the story of a dragon haunting a village. The general theme of this album has a mid evil vibe, which fits almost perfectly, even if it is a bit cheesy at times.
But as said, this album is not as good as “Born Too Late”, and isn’t because that album was just so perfect that it couldn’t be topped. “Mournful Cries” has a few signs of decreasing songwriting. Also, it seems that these songs were under rehearsed before recording them.
Overall, faults aside, “Mournful Cries” is still a solid album by Saint Vitus. If you enjoy doom metal, you will enjoy this. If you like Saint Vitus, you will enjoy this.

Scott Weinrich [Wino] (vocals)
Dave Chandler (guitar)
Mark Adams (bass)
Armando Costa (drums)
1 The Creeps 2:47
2 Dragon Time 7:27
3 Shooting Gallery 6:45
4 Bitter Truth 4:14
5 The Troll 6:57
6 Looking Glass 4:50

''Shooting gallery''. one of the finest moments in music history. The worst wino VITUS album, but still an absolute landmark.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!
Rip from CD 256@ (full artwork included)
Download link
http://link-protector.com/291836/

SAINT VITUS – V – 1989 (US) hard rock/proto doom metal

Notable for being the final Saint Vitus studio album to feature vocalist Scott "Wino" Weinrich, as well as the band's first recorded for a label other than career-long home base SST, 1989's simply named V was, in most other respects, a typical effort by the long suffering doom metal icons. In other words, much like all of the band's similarly "against the grain" output, its post-Sabbath acid-doom dirges and fuss-free underground metal aesthetics held absolutely zero commercial potential in a fluffy and appearance-obsessed decade like the 1980s. Still, this would have been just fine for Saint Vitus' small but dedicated fan base if not for V's somewhat obvious recycling of old ideas -- be it in the "men out of time" message of slow-charging opener "Living Backwards" (remember "Born Too Late"?), or the been-there-done-that feel of competent but familiar-sounding cuts "I Bleed Black" and "Angry Man." The same goes for incredibly slothful entries "Patra (Petra)" and "Jack Frost," leaving only the female-sung "When Emotion Dies" to wander from the beaten path. What's more, Weinrich's ever increasing prominence as an American metal treasure following this album -- both as a frontman and lead guitarist of pre-Vitus project the Obsessed, Spirit Caravan, and the Hidden Hand -- only makes it more irritating to watch his immense talents go so underutilized here, with his only solo songwriting contribution the inanely named "Ice Monkey." Of course the greatest irony in all this is that, for all its deficiencies, to modern fans too young to have experienced the band way back then -- and Saint Vitus most assuredly possess more of those fans than they had during their original existence -- V's sense of stagnation will now seem all the more impeccable for retaining its uncompromisingly "classic" sound. Heck, even older fans may be able to grasp this growth in stature when heard through refreshed ears.

Scott Weinrich [Wino] (vocals)
Dave Chandler (guitar)
Mark Adams (bass)
Armando Costa (drums)
1 Living Backwards 2:30
2 I Bleed Black 5:10
3 When Emotion Dies 2:00
4 Patra (Petra) 7:28
5 Ice Monkey 4:02
6 Jack Frost 7:12
7 Angry Man 4:23
8 Mind-Food 3:07

This is a solid Doom Metal album but it sounds (too ?) raw. Play it (very) loud !!!

It's original Hellhound release (HELL 008)

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!
Rip from CD 256@ (full artwork included)
Download link
http://link-protector.com/291841/

SAINT VITUS – LIVE – 1990 (US) hard rock/proto doom metal

Listeners who discovered Saint Vitus after the fact will never quite grasp just how thankless and dispiriting an existence they endured throughout what one must cruelly dub their "1980s heyday." No MTV, no gold records, no chart success, no nothing! Just one overlooked classic American doom album after another, and long, punishing slogs of touring in rackety vans -- SST style -- for the "privilege" of performing in a band and starving for a living. Cult stardom isn't just a colossal oxymoron, kids, it's not very fun, either. Which is why none but the bandmembers themselves, and to a lesser degree, those who "lived" underground heavy metal during the '80s, will probably appreciate the grail-like wonder and importance of this 1990 Vitus Live album. Recorded at Germany's Circus Gammeldorf, on November 10th, 1989, it captures the seminal Wino/Chandler/Adams/Acosta lineup at the height of its power, and mere months away from Wino's departure, thereby marking the end of an era while serving up a near-perfect career highlight reel, fit to challenge even the following year's "official" greatest-hits set, Heavier Than Thou. Retro-themed doom metal standards such as "Living Backwards," "Born Too Late," and "Look Behind You" gain additional relevance under these circumstances, and incomparably doleful grinds like "The War Starter," "Looking Glass," and "Dying Inside" assume a timeless vitality when upgraded from their at times poorly produced studio versions. The same goes for the oft-covered masterpiece "War Is Our Destiny" and the uncommonly speedy "White Stallions," which literally surge from out of the speakers in this live setting; and, for the finale, a drawn-out romp through "Clear Windowpane" boasts both drum and guitar solos (the latter humorously including the Batman TV show theme!). Once again, Live stands as an essential document from one of heavy metal's most under-represented divisions -- American doom -- and one of its least rewarded champions, Saint Vitus.

Scott Weinrich [Wino] (vocals)
Dave Chandler (guitar)
Mark Adams (bass)
Armando Costa (drums)
1 Living Backwards
2 Born Too Late
3 The War Starter
4 Mind-Food
5 Looking Glass
6 White Stallions
7 Look Behind You
8 Dying Inside
9 War Is Our Destiny
10 Mystic Lady
11 Clear Windowpane

I don't care what anyone says, wino's version of ''mystic lady'' is absolutely on par with scott's. clearly, neither of them could really sing the other's songs (all my boots of reagers singing ''born too late'' and ''clear windowpane'' don't do it for me), but wino NAILS it here. doesn't do so well on ''war is our destiny'', though...
armando sounds MASSIVE here, and dave is at his improvisatory best. just wish mark would let loose sometimes, possibly the stiffest doom bassist ever....even marty swaney really let loose for PENTAGRAM in the '80s, laue broke free live for THE OBSESSED...it works for VITUS though, i guess.

It's original Hellhound release (HELL 010)

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!
Rip from CD 256@ (full artwork included)
Download links
http://link-protector.com/291846/
http://link-protector.com/291849/

SAINT VITUS – C.O.D. – 1992 (US) hard rock/doom metal

This is the 1992 album of the doom- legends, Saint Vitus, with ex Count Raven vocalist, Christian Lindersson. The production leaves a bit to be desired, in the heaviness department. On a side note, Don Dokken produced this album.
The album starts with an intro, but immediately kicks in (slowly) with a great riff in the title track. This is classic Vitus right here. Great soloing follows, as usual, Dave Chandler is in top form again. Christian's vocals fit the music well, although he's not as good, IMO as Wino, or Scott Reagers. Musically, this album is akin to their classic Born Too Late, perhaps a little less heavy and a little slower.
The rest of the album continues in the same style with standout songs being Planet of Judgement, I am the Screaming Banshee, Imagination Man (solo!), Fear and Hallows Victim.
So, overall a very solid doom metal album, and interesting one for Saint Vitus, who retained their trademark sound combined with a new vocalist, while managing to write new doom classics like the title track of Screaming Banshee.

Christian Lindersson (vocals)
Dave Chandler (guitar)
Mark Adams (bass)
Armando Costa (drums)
1 Intro 1:47
2 Children of Doom 6:07
3 Planet of Judgement 7:39
4 Shadow of a Skeleton 5:55
5 (I am) The Screaming Banshee 3:48
6 Plague of Man 8:01
7 Imagination Man 4:25
8 Fear 4:58
9 Get Away 7:23
10 Bela 5:58
11 A Timeless Tale 2:17
12 Hallows Victim (Exhumed) 4:03

A fine piece of an album but only essential after you have already checked out the two previous versions of Vitus with Wino and Reagers. Production is not to happening either with the bass drum thumping in your ear. Still some great songs and not at all a bad listen.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!
Rip from CD 256@ (full artwork included)
Download links
http://link-protector.com/291850/
http://link-protector.com/291851/