Ancient Grease - Woman And Children First

I heard some kind of shitstorm is hitting the US? Sorry for my ignorance, I don't really pay attention to the world during summer. I guess I'm lucky with living here because nothing ever happened here when it comes to natural disasters (every other kind of disaster does happen though). I guess the Romans knew their shit when they built here.

I guess this would be a fitting disaster album, even the title suggests what you should do. They were an English rock band and they released this in 1970. It's goes for that blues feeling and the whole album is a fitting soundtrack for an outlaw (or apocalypse). Yeah, it's that cheesy. It has all the usual suspects of this music and they sort of sound like Black Sabbath. Not as dark or brooding as them but when it comes to riffs they are similarly heavy. Especially the second track on this thing which is awesome riffage from start to finish.

Fun 70s rock, nothing more and nothing less.

Download.

Oh and best of luck with everything to everyone who'll get hit by Irene.

Coven - Witchcraft Destroys Minds And Reaps Souls

Coven was an interesting little flick back in the day. Yeah, I sound like an old man. This album and band were pretty much stereotypical cookie cutter product of their time (late 60s and early 70s) with one very distinct trait. Their imagery and lyrics were focused on the occult and satanism. Not very subtle and hidden but completely open and direct. This came out before Black Sabbath did their thing so ironically Sabbath were called a British answer to Coven. Sadly this isn't as nearly as good as is Black Sabbath but it has its shining points.

This whole album is like a silly exploitation movie about Satanism. The last track is actually a whole black mass recorded with chants and everything. Today we find this silly but in those days it managed to spur some controversy which eventually gave them some acclaim. Aside from their gimmicks this is nothing really nothing special and they keep the music in the boundaries of then standards. I don't mean to say that it's bad music, it's just not very innovative or original but it's fairly catchy and the (female) vocalist sounds a lot like the chick from Jefferson Airplane. So in a sense this is Jefferson Airplane that's devoted to Satan in the name of commercialism.

Some more info about it on Wikipedia.

Pulp download.

Sai Yoshiko - タクラマカン

Speaking of folky things from Japan here's another artist that's hovering somewhere in the obscurity. Perhaps most well known for collaborating with Jojo Hiroshige but she also put out several of her own albums.

Genre wise this album is a bitch to define. It flies all over the place but it's not a hit and miss type of flying. All of the songs are very well arranged and fit nicely with Sai's voice. Her voice sounds very mature and deep so thank the heavens she doesn't squeak while she sings (I hate that so much sometimes ;P especially in newer pop). A nice ballad here and and there, some psych rock, some jazz and some weirdness. Everything you could want is here.

Download.

Blood Ceremony - Blood Ceremony

Blood Ceremony is a relatively new band from the Canada(!) (Toronto to be exact). This seems to be their only release (released in 2008) so far but I have high hopes that maybe next year they will put out something new.

It's basically a great blend of Ozzy-era Black Sabbath riffing and psychedelic rock which certainly is not a bad thing and along with that you get female vocals and flute arrangements. It's a fun little ride if you don't have anything better to do. Just relax and let the dooooooooom flowwww~

Download.

Crazy People - Bedlam

Crazy People like many other psych rock bands were active during the 70s and didn't last very long. I don't think they released anything else besides this overlooked album. There's not much info about them on the net but from what I understood this is some kind of supergroup. It's only rumored though because the identities of the band members were never released so it might be just a marketing trick to make people buy it.

Musically it can't be any more psychedelic than it is. The usual set up of instruments. Those church sounding organs, cheesy porn movie sounding bass, drums and guitaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar. Along with the usual set up there are some weird experimentation and a habit of interrupting the jam with some weirdo sounds. I'm not very knowledgeable about the whole psych rock scene so I can't really give a detailed description. :(

Tracklist:

01. Parade At The Funny Farm
02. Head Amusement
03. Raunchy Boog-A-Loo
04. After Six
05. The Truth
06. Head Games and Other Assorted
07. Head Job
08. Happy Academy
09. Trans Luv Airlines
10. Let's Split

Download.

Song Of The Silent Land

Well here's something really nice. A compilation of unreleased material by a bunch of bands. :O This is the first compilation from Constellation to feature unreleased and rare tracks from the label roster. Originally produced to commemorate the Spring 2004 Constellation Roadshow Tour in Europe, this CD-only release includes contributions from every band on the roster up to 2004, ranging from recent recordings and remixes to early material that pre-dates the label’s existence. It also marks a return to earlier Constellation packaging, with textured cardstock paper and metallic foil printing (in two variations). Thirteen of the 14 tracks are previously unreleased.

There are all sorts of bands here and I could go explaining each song but seriously that would be pointless. I'll let you to explore this fantastic collaboration and let you discover new and great bands without me spoiling the fun of surprise. :O

Tracklist:

1.	Elizabeth Anka Vajagic	The Sky Lay Still (6:22)
2.	Do Make Say Think	Winter Hymn Winter Hymn Winter Hymn (4:54)
		Remix - Charles Spearin , Justin Small , Ohad Benchetrit
3.	Exhaust	Wool Fever Dub (3:05)
		Engineer - Alain Tremblay
4.	Hangedup	(Re)View From The Ground (4:30)
		Remix - Efrim Menuck , Eric Craven
5.	Black Ox Orkestar	Toyte Goyes In Shineln (3:44)
6.	Sackville	This Machine (4:57)
7.	A Silver Mt. Zion	Iron Bridge To Thunder Bay (8:12)
		Engineer - Efrim Menuck
8.	Sofa	String Of Lights (5:33)
		Engineer - Paul Drouin
9.	Polmo Polpo	Dreaming (...Again) (4:50)
10.	Re:	Slippage (3:25)
11.	Fly Pan Am	Tres Tres 'Avant' (5:10)
		Engineer - David Smith (2) , Jace Lasek Remix - Christof Migone , Tim Hecker
12.	1-Speed Bike	Fair Warning (5:03)
13.	Frankie Sparo	See My Film (3:57)
		Engineer - Efrim Menuck
14.	Godspeed You! Black Emperor*	Outro (7:33)

Being uploaded.

Ai Aso - Chamomile Pool

Ever since I heard her cover song Islands from her split with Wata I wanted to check out her albums. Well now that I finally found one I could say I'm not exactly stunned with it but not disappointed either. The cover pretty much explains this album. Nice warm dreamy rock would be the best way to put it. There are some experimenting in certain songs but nothing too big it's mostly just guitar and her voice. Good album, check it out.

Tracklist:

01. Date (3:07)
02. Alon (3:51)
03. Life (3:33)
04. Tee Te Te (4:36)
05. Colchicum (3:14)
06. Not Late Yet (2:32)
07. Ka Mi Tsu Re No O O Ki Na Mi Zu Ta Ma Ri (5:02)
08. Hundred Years (3:43)
09. The Future (6:27)
10. Land (5:01)

Download.

浅川マキ (Asakawa Maki) - Cat Nap

Asakawa Maki. Born in 1942 in Ishikawa-ken, Japanese female jazz and blues singer, lyricist and composer. Sang at US Army bases in Japan before getting her big break in a series of concerts. Maki’s first album recorded and released in September 1970 and came into being after an alliance with enfant terrible of the Japanese avant-garde Terayama Shuji (Tenjosajiki fame). Maki’s black clad and sugarless, petroleum dark coffee voice gets set against a folk-avant-jazz and psych backing. Stunningly fantastic female vocals and utterly rare.

Tracklist:

01. 暗い眼をした女優
02. 忘れたよ
03. こころ隠して
04. むかし
05. 新曲・Ｂ・
06. 夕暮れのまんなか
07. マシン (Machine)
08. 今なら


Check out the discography post for her albums.

Boris

Ah Boris. I have listened to a lot of bands (yay for internet) but Boris will always have a special part in my little wooden heart. Funny though, now that I finally did all this I have no idea what to write. I thought I should write some humongous text to go along with all of this but I don't really have anything constructive to say. So anyway, people who are beginning with this band will most likely ask themselves "Where to start?". Well that's a tricky question because Boris is an very diverse band they changed styles a lot of times. But here's my advice. If you are into drone then you should start off with Absolutego, then with Solomon volumes and then with Dronevil. If you are into sludge then you should start with Amplifier Worship. If you are into stoner metal/hard rock then start with all famous Pink album and Heavy Rocks. If you are into experimental and unusual then go with Soundtrack for film "Mabuta No Ura". That's little advice what I can give. Either way shall we start?

This is the full discography except the DVDs which I haven't found so if someone has them please share it with me. :D

DVDs are:

見殺し塔からずっと
Bootleg -Feedbacker-
Wizard's Convention
Heavy Metal Me

Chronologically sorted (according to metal archives):

Absolutego Full-length, 1996ž

Boris / Barebones Split album, 1996

Split w/ Tomsk Split album, 1997

Amplifier Worship Full-length, 1998

Keiji Haino with Boris - Black: Implication Flooding Live album, 1998

More Echoes, Touching Air Landscape - Split CD w/Choukoku No Niwa Split album, 1999

Flood Full-length, 2000

Heavy Rocks Full-length, 2002

Boris With Merzbow - Megatone Full-length, 2002

1970 EP, 2002

Boris / The Dudley Corporation Split album, 2003

Akuma No Uta Full-length, 2003

Boris At Last - Feedbacker Full-length, 2003

The Thing Which Solomon Overlooked Full-length, 2004

Boris With Merzbow - 04092001 Live album, 2005

Dronevil Full-length, 2005

A Bao a Qu Single, 2005

Sound Track from Film "Mabuta No Ura" Full-length, 2005

Boris Live Volume I: Live 96-98 Live album, 2005

Boris Live Volume II: drumless drone power ambient disc Live album, 2005

Boris Live Volume III: live 2001 two long songs Live album, 2005

Pink Full-length, 2005

Boris With Merzbow - Sun Baked Snow Cave Full-length, 2005

The Thing Which Solomon Overlooked 2 Full-length, 2006

The Thing Which Solomon Overlooked 3 Full-length, 2006

Dronevil -Final- Full-length, 2006
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

Vein (hardcore) Full-length, 2006

Vein (drone) Full-length, 2006

Altar - Collaboration with Sunn O))) Full-length, 2006

Boris with Michio Kurihara "Rainbow" Full-length, 2006

Walrus & Groon EP, 2007

DOOMRIDERS vs. BORIS / Long Hair And Tights Live album, 2007
Part 1
Part 2

Damaged Split album, 2007
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

She's So Heavy Split album, 2007
Booklet.

Boris With Merzbow - Rock Dream Live album, 2007
Part 1
Part 2

Message~Floorshaker EP, 2008

Smile (Japanese ver) Full-length, 2008

Smile (American ver) Full-length, 2008

Statement Single, 2008


Personal favorites:

1. Sound Track from Film "Mabuta No Ura"
2. Flood
3. Boris with Michio Kurihara "Rainbow"
4. Akuma No Uta
5. The Thing Which Solomon Overlooked 3

Flower Travellin' Band - Anywhere

Track 2 is a Muddy Waters cover.
Track 3 is a Black Sabbath cover.
Track 4 is a traditional American fold song.
Track 5 is a King Crimson cover.

Tracklist:

01. Anywhere (0:52)
02. Louisiana Blues (15:49)
03. Black Sabbath (8:53)
04. House Of The Rising Sun (7:41)
05. Twenty-First Century Schizoid Man (13:25)
06. Anywhere (0:57)

Download.

Flower Travellin' Band - Made In Japan

Flower Travellin’ Band are an esoteric Japanese psychedelic rock/ heavy metal outfit that was first active in the late 1960s and early 1970s, consisting of Akira “Joe” Yamanaka (vocals), Hideki Ishima (guitar), Joji “George” Wada (drums) and Jun Kozuki (bass). As of January 12th, 2008 they have officially reunited. The band was initially organized by Japanese entertainer and entrepreneur Yuya Uchida as “The Flowers,” a cover band, and featured two vocalists - male vocalist Yuya Uchida, and female vocalist Remi Aso, who was touted as the Japanese version of Janis Joplin. Their first album consisted of covers of Western pop songs. It was primarily notable for the fact that all of the band members appeared nude on the cover, including Aso, which was considered scandalous at the time. Anyway, really fun stuff and wild too greatly recommended for the fans of psych rock. Ahead of its time tbh.

01. Introduction (0:27)
02. Unaware (5:51)
03. Aw Give Me Air (3:20)
04. Kamikaze (4:16)
05. Hiroshima (5:13)
06. Spasms (5:23)
07. Heaven And Hell (3:50)
08. That's All (6:39)

Download.

Suishou no Fune - Where The Spirits Are

Suishou no Fune is an very interesting psychedelic rock that came out of Japan. Their sound is not very melodic but focuses much more on the atmosphere of the songs. Formed in 1999 as a duo of female guitarist Pirako Kurenai and male guitarist Kageo, Suishou no Fune have been making some of the most charmingly chaotic dream music coming out of Japan. Their sound contains subcutaneous elements of no-wave energy mixed with psychedelic rock á la early Fushitsusha or Kousokuya. Other songs approach balladry with oddly beautiful twinned vocals and distorted guitars.

Tracklist:

01. 神の谷 [Vale Of Spirits] (7:09)
02. おまえの涙　[Your Tears Drop From The Sky] (8:45)
03. 月のない夜に現れた小さな怪物 [Apparition On A Moonless Night] (17:15)
04. 黒い幻 [Black Phantom] (14:09)
05. ばらが咲いた [A Rose Bloomed] (7:01)
Download.

Angel'in Heavy Syrup - IV

Angel'in Heavy Syrup is an all girl psychedelic rock band from Osaka. This is the only release that I managed to find the rest simply won't show up anywhere. ;( ...anyhow this was released in 1999 and packs a small number of songs. I guess the most memorable is the first song with such a nice voice the vocalist have it just can't get out of your head and you'll be forced to repeat it for a long time, or at least I was. Interesting fact is that the guitarist from this band collaborated with Masonna.

Tracklist:

01. First Love (6:43)
02. Space Conquest (4:21)
03. A Series Of Water Mind ~ Rubens And The Cathedral (7:39)
04. ADIOS In Those Days (5:32)
05. Voyage (3:33)
06. Fate (11:04)

Download.

Shinki Chen - S/T

Shinki Chen was an psychedelic rock band from Japan that was active in the 70s. As far as I know this was their only release and much later re-released under the name Shinki Chen & His Friends. After first kinda noisy ambient track the album drifts into a vast land of psychedelic riffs and dreamy vocals which lasts to the end of the album.

Tracklist:

01. The Dark Sea Dream (4:49)
02. Requiem Of Confusion (4:21)
03. Freedom Of A Mad Paper Lantern (3:10)
04. Gloomy Reflections (3:56)
05. It Was Only Yesterday (4:30)
06. Corpse (5:14)
07. Farewell To Hypocrites (12:53)

Download.