About Court In The Act.

No albums are hosted here. All files must be deleted 24 hours after download, as they are for review and criticism purposes only - provided you follow this guideline, downloading from Court In The Act is legal as per s30(1) of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. If any copyright holder has a problem with their material being posted here, get in touch and I will remove it. Let me know if any links are broken, I'll remove the post to prevent future annoyance, and will attempt to re-upload the file.

Comments make our work worthwhile. If you really enjoyed an album, tell us about it, we'd love to hear from you. If you hated it, tell us why.

Although music is a major part of all of our lives, we all have some form of external life. If there are periods in which no posts are added, I'm sorry, but that's how things happen. Even though I love blogging like this, sometimes I can't muster up the desire within myself to write about yet another album.

I'd like to say too that Court In The Act will never be run for personal profit. This means no advertisement, no premium schemes, and no LinkBucks. Megaupload is used because it strikes a fair balance between ease of upload and ease of download.

Wednesday 31 August 2011

Converge - Jane Doe [2001]

CHAOS. Shit, this is one of the most chaotic albums I've ever heard and I like bestial black metal. A rightful classic of its genre, although I couldn't care less about the struggles that Bannon howls about, this is a damn near perfect modern hardcore album.

320 kbps

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Converge - Halo In A Haystack [1994]

Although Converge's cathartic style that would become their trademark hadn't really come through on this, it's still a good album, although not really one for most metal fans I'm sure, due to the heavy similarities it bears with both screamo and... emoviolence (although I'm not sure the latter is the correct term).

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Monday 29 August 2011

At The Gates - Slaughter Of The Soul [1995]

Although I was 1 year old when this was released, I feel like my travels within the realms of heavy metal mean that I am able to pass judgement on this controversial classic - I fucking love it. This is melodeath done perfectly, with just enough bite to it to keep it interesting.

192 kbps

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At The Gates - With Fear I Kiss The Burning Darkness [1993]

Another Swedeath classic from At The Gates - although I'm skipping Terminal Spirit Disease this time around, I do honestly believe that every single one of their releases is brilliant, even though I'm not a huge fan of melodeath.

~185 kbps VBR

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At The Gates - The Red In The Sky Is Ours [1992]

Before At The Gates spawned a whole series of crap imitators with Slaughter Of The Soul, they released several classics of the Swedeath genre. This is one of them, and shouldn't be passed up, whatever the fuck the artwork is supposed to be.

~210 kbps VBR

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Sunday 28 August 2011

The Cure - Bloodflowers [2000]

The final album in The Cure's "trilogy", Bloodflowers, to put it bluntly, wasn't all that well received when it came out for a reason I can't quite fathom as I think this album stands tall with the other two albums in the trilogy.

This album combines some of the cynicism from Pornography, the intense emotion of Disintegration and adds its own elements. The primary differences on this album in terms of sound come down to two things:

#1: The amazing production allows for intense balance between all the instruments allowing all the subtleties of each one to be picked out (as apposed to the "wave of sound" of Disintegration).

#2: The guitar work on this album is extremely dense with the electric guitars and very light on the acoustic guitars (which haven't been used to this extent before on a Cure album).

This album also has the most variety then any other of the trilogy albums, having "happy" songs ('Maybe Some Day', '39'... 'happy' being a relative term of course). Depressing sounds ('Where The Bird Always Sings, 'Last Day Of Summer') and, my personal favorite, an "epic" approach to the music ('Watching Me Fall', 'Bloodflowers').

Highlights of the album are the aforementioned "epic" sounds as The Cure has done long songs before but none have felt so large or had such a powerful end like those two.

This concludes the "trilogy" which for me was where I started loving The Cure as much as I love them today. :)

256 kbps

Link taken down. Comment to see a reupload!

Hades Archer - For The Diabolical Ages [2011]

So I am back. Not sure why I even left, but I did. Anyway, I felt compelled to return to share with you all a legit Album of the Year contender from Chilean Bestial Black Thrashers Hades Archer.

I did not come in with sky high expectations, but boy did this album make me want to sacrifice some unspoiled virgins to Satan. Everything about this album is completely brilliant: from the production to the riffs to the fantastic vocals. This is some seriously evil shit. The band move from Blasphemy-style Blackened Death Metal to Destroyer 666 style Black Thrash various times throughout the album. And it has GOOD SOLOS! I know right? It is that good. It's hard to come up with a lot of superlatives for this album, mostly because it has turned my brain into Luciferian mush. It just flat out slays.

Fans of Thrash Metal, Black Metal, Death Metal... ya know what, fans of Metal, just give this one a listen.

320 kbps

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Edge of Sanity - Crimson [1996]


I realised this wasn't on the blog and immediately took action. Another masterpiece from Dan fucking Swanö (yes, I do have to say his name like that) this is Edge of Sanity's first concept album. It's a story set in the distant future when mankind can no longer breed. That is until the King and Queen have a child which leads to a bunch of other weird shit happening. It's a strange story but in concept albums I suppose strange is always good. Anyway, this story is told through one song, yep, the whole album is a single 40 minute track consisting of more riff changes than you can shake a stick at, acoustic passages, clean and death vocals and some absolutely brilliant musicianship from the band. One thing I love about this album is how the riffs are used as part of the story, for example, near the end of the song / album they bring back a few of the very early riffs from the start, bringing the story together and closing it. Sadly this was Edge of Sanity's last great album before going downhill, Swanö would leave after the next album and the band would go on to disband in 1997. However, Swanö did return to write a sequel to Crimson (titled, you ready for this...? Crimson II!) in 2003 under the Edge of Sanity name. I may upload that sometime in the future but be sure to enjoy this great offering for now.

.m4a @ 320 kbps VBR

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Bathory - Blood Fire Death [1988]

I'm not sure whether I prefer this or Hammerheart out of Bathory's legendary Viking trilogy, but both are fantastic. This is certainly closer to the first-wave BM of Quorthon's first three, and I wouldn't have the album any other way. Irrefutably a classic. Get it, savour it, love it.

128 kbps

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Boris With Merzbow - Klatter [2011]

The cover art is intriguing, just like the music on offer here. Two pioneering Japanese artists collaborate here, as they have done many times before. This is mainly Boris-style, with a bit of Masami Akita mixed in. I'll admit I'm not a fan of much of Boris' output, particularly this year's, but this is good.

~250 kbps VBR

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Saturday 27 August 2011

The Cure - Disintegration [1989]

I still remember the day I bought and first listened to Disintegration - it was a dank, cold, rainy day - how fitting for such an album! As the 80s neared their end The Cure had become a renowned group putting out successful singles and impressive videos with an almost poppy, dare I say it, cheerful atmosphere. Once again The Cure change with another daring career move.

Disintegration is not a happy album the moody atmospheres of Pornography returning but this time with heavy use of synthesizers creating the a texture of almost orchestral proportions. Also, the twisted element of the atmosphere has been removed in favor of a "lost romance" type of feeling (crying in a room by yourself whilst holding a dying rose sort of thing) which quite frankly is extremely beautiful sounding and this makes the album not always depressing like Pornography but always with at lest a hint of deep sadness.

The highlight of this album for me are the two songs 'Prayers For Rain' and 'The Same Deep Water As You' which represent the full power of this album in two song.

The trilogy concludes with Bloodflowers which will be uploaded soon.

256kbps

Friday 26 August 2011

Symphony X - Paradise Lost [2007]

As you may know we have Dream Theater fans on here, but for my gay progressive fix, I prefer Symphony X. I'm not completely sure why, might be because on average their songs are shorter and there's no James LaBrie, but anyway... This is my favourite Symphony X release, following a long way behind their 2002 release 'The Odyssey', this album takes a slightly heavier, more guitar orientated approach to their style which is probably why it's my favourite. Loosely based on John Milton's 17th-Century epic poem of the same name the album has songs documenting a number of events in the poem such as the fall of Archangel Satan from Heaven, the temptation of Adam and Eve and God casting them from Eden. Hope you enjoy.

.mp3 @ 320 kbps

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Art Blakey And The Jazz Messengers - Moanin' [1958]

Just one post from me again today - one problem I forgot to mention in my earlier post is that I've run out of hard disk space, which means I'm getting rid of all the shitty albums, so they will never be posted.

Not that this is shitty. In fact, this is wonderful - a classic of jazz for good reason - the motif of the title track is one of my favourite moments in music ever.

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Thursday 25 August 2011

The Cure - Pornography [1982]

Now this has been a long time coming so sorry for the delay. I will be posting all of the The Cure's "trilogy" albums (Pornography, Disintegration and Bloodflowers) - so named after the live DVD in which all these albums were played in their entirety. For me, this album is The Cure's first true goth rock album, as opposed to the earlier melancholic post-punk sound, the constricting sterile production replaced with powerful percussive drums, resonating bass lines and dense atmospheric guitar work. Another large feature on this album (and most Cure albums to be honest) is Robert Smith's distinctive voice which on this release manages to pierce right through all the layers of music (as well as your skull if it's on loud enough) to convey the somewhat twisted nature of the sound of this album. Highlights of this album are 'One Hundred Years', 'The Hanging Garden' and 'The Figurehead'. This line up of the band didn't last much longer and The Cure broke up after the conclusion of the following tour and by the time The Cure returned this post-punky gothic rock was no longer the focus and a new age of The Cure's sound was ushered in. Oh yeah, I bought this album with its bonus disc which includes demos of many of these songs (they sound kinda like the album would have sounded if it was still very post-punky) and some live material from this album which has varying degrees of quality.

Stay tuned for the next two albums in the "trilogy".

256 kbps

Bathory - Under The Sign Of The Black Mark [1987]

The last part of Bathory's famed black metal trilogy, and it's rightly seen as one of the best BM albums of all time. Over the years, other bands have imitated, but never matched Quorthon's first-wave style; this gave rise to many of the second wave, even if they deny it.

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Wednesday 24 August 2011

At The Gates - Gardens Of Grief EP [1991]

There is debate as to whether this was an EP or a demo - I'll tag it as both. It is a good piece of Swedeath; not as good as (the forthcoming) The Red In The Sky Is Ours, and Lindberg hadn't yet developed his trademark howl, but great stuff nonetheless.

192 kbps

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Court In The Act Presents Death Metal: Index Post

A valid suggestion by JohnRCC, this is basically a summary of the death metal series, although it will not be available as a single file due to its large size.

Bands included:

Abysmal Dawn
Adramelech
Akercocke
Amon
Anaal Nathrakh
Anata
Anathema
Angelcorpse
Archgoat
Asphyx
At The Gates
Atheist
Autopsy
Avulsed
Bastard Priest
Behemoth
Belphegor
Benediction
Blasphemophagher
Bolt Thrower
Bonesaw
Burial Invocation
Cannibal Corpse
Carcariass
Carcass
Carnage
Cenotaph (Mex)
Cenotaph (Tur)
Chronocide
Convulse
Cosmic Atrophy
Cruciamentum
Cryptopsy
Cynic
Darkthrone
Death
Decrepitaph
Deicide
Demigod
Demilich
Devian
Devourment
diSEMBOWELMENT
Dismember
Dragged Into Sunlight
Dying Fetus
Edge Of Sanity
Entombed
Failed Humanity
Fist In Fetus
Fuck The Facts
Funebrarum
General Surgery
Gigan
Goatpenis
Gorefest
Gorerotted
Gorgasm
Gorguts
Grave
Grotesque
Hail Of Bullets
Hooded Menace
Immolation
Impaled
Imperator
Impetigo
Impiety
Imprecation
Incantation
Incubus
Infernal War
Insomnium
Intestine Baalism
Jumpin' Jesus
Katatonia
Krisiun
Lock Up
Luciferion
Lykathea Aflame
Malevolent Creation
Massacre
Master
Melechesh
Mitochondrion
Monstrosity
Morbid
Morbid Angel
Mortuous
My Dying Bride
Napalm Death
Necrophobic
Nile
Nirvana 2002
Nocturnus
Nunslaughter
Obituary
Obscura
Opeth
Origin
Pan.Thy.Monium
Paradise Lost
Pestilence
Phlebotomized
Portal
Possessed
Prostitute Disfigurement
Pungent Stench
Sadistik Exekution
Sadomator
Shub Niggurath
Sinister
Slaughter
Slaughter Lord
Sonne Adam
Sorrow
Soulreaper
Suffocation
Swallow The Sun
Terrorizer
The Chasm
Timeghoul
Traumatic
Ulcerate
Unleashed
Vader
Vital Remains
Vulvectomy
Wormed

Parts:

Masters Of Death I & II
A Slow Demise
Charges Of Manslaughter
Corpulent Oddities
Death Is The New Black I (currently down) & II
Death The Brutal Way
Methodical Demise
The New Old School
Themes Of The Absurd
To The Nameless Dead
Under The Influence

Tuesday 23 August 2011

Bolt Thrower - War Master [1991]

Although not quite on the same level as Realm Of Chaos, War Master is another fantastic Bolt Thrower album - to me their second best. It's pretty hard to write about Bolt Thrower albums - you either know what to expect or you don't (but if you don't, I highly suggest you rectify that immediately).

~240 kbps VBR

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Bolt Thrower - Realm Of Chaos [1989]

And here it is, Bolt Thrower's true classic. Their style was in full swing by this time after a little bit of experimentation on In Battle There Is No Law, this was the first album, and indeed the pinnacle, of Bolt Thrower's predominant style that would dominate their music, at least until their most recent album - 2005's Those Once Loyal.

~240 kbps VBR

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Bolt Thrower - Concession Of Pain demo [1987]

You couldn't be a Brum metal band in the late 80s without having some hardcore punk influence - and Bolt Thrower's shines through heavily here. Especially vocal-wise, this is more a hardcore release than a metal one, although some of the later crushery (pretend that's a word?) is still evident here. Good stuff.

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Court In The Act Presents Death Metal: Under The Influence

The final part of this 'ere series, and I'm sure most of us are glad to see it finished, myself included (it's a lot more work than most posts). This is based on DM which takes influence from other genres (although this admittedly ended up as mainly grindcore, especially seeing as I already put Atheist in the progressive one).

Tracklist:

1. Fuck The Facts
- La Derniere Image (from Stigmata High-Five)
2. General Surgery - Ambulance Chaser (from Left Hand Pathology)
3. Impetigo - Dis-Organ-Ized (from Ultimo Mondo Cannibale)
4. Lock Up - Fake Somebody/Real Nobody (from Hate Breeds Suffering)
5. Napalm Death - More Than Meets The Eye (from Fear, Emptiness, Despair)
6. Terrorizer - Corporation Pull-In (from World Downfall)
7. Wormed - Geodesic Dome (from Planisphaerium)
8. Incubus - Blaspheming Prophets (from Serpent Temptation)
9. Slaughter - Maim To Please (from Strappado)
10. Insomnium - Mortal Shore (from Above The Weeping World)

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Please note that I will not be uploading this series as one file, as it is too big for non-premium users to download (and takes fucking ages to upload).

Monday 22 August 2011

Black Witchery - Inferno Of Sacred Destruction [2010]

And now to settle the balance - Black Witchery take influence from Blasphemy and their successors (like Conqueror, Proclamation and Revenge), and are thus kvlter-than-kvlt. Their earlier releases are more incoherent; this has a tiny bit more structure and a (very) subtle sense of melody, so is accessible. Provided you like Blasphemy.

~275 kbps VBR

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Avril Lavigne - Let Go [2002]

If you didn't know it already, this should pretty much tell you - I am a massive, raging false (if you thought the answer was homo, I hate to disappoint you, but you're wrong). Thing is, this is pop done well - Lavigne spawned dozens of female copycats in her wake, but she takes influence herself from soul and pop-punk, and adds her trademark Canadian voice to it.

160 kbps

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Court In The Act Presents Death Metal: To The Nameless Dead

Some may call them 'third-tier', I call them 'unfairly forgotten' - this was loosely based around those death metal bands who never got the underground's attention, for whatever reason.

Tracklist:

1. Gorefest
- Foetal Carnage (from Mindloss)
2. Grotesque - Incantation (from Incantation)
3. Timeghoul - Occurence On Mimas (from Panaramic Twilight)
4. Jumpin' Jesus - The King Of Worms (from The Art Of Crucifying)
5. Imperator - Persecutor (from The Time Before Time)
6. Nirvana 2002 - Zombiefication (from Disembodied Spirits)
7. Slaughter Lord - Die By Power (from Split Bootleg With Morbid Angel)
8. Soulreaper - Godless Reaper Of Souls (from Liferazer)
9. Imprecation - Vomit Floods Of Christian Remains (from Theurga Goetia Summa)
10. Traumatic - The Grotesque Mutilation Of Infested Organs (from The Morbid Act Of A Sadistic Rape Incision)

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Sunday 21 August 2011

500 POSTS! Celtic Frost - Monotheist [2006]

So I thought I'd post something a bit special to me to celebrate 500 posts. This album not only holds heavy nostalgic value, being one of the first extreme metal albums I heard (waaaay back in... 2006), aside from Breeding The Spawn by Suffocation, it's also still pretty much my favourite album overall. Although the thrash tendencies of earlier Frost material are all but gone, this is blackened and doomy metal with unapologetic nods to all different kinds of music (there's even a bit of David Bowie in there - although that's less of a surprise after their cover of 'Heroes' on Vanity/Nemesis).

Honestly, I feel this to be an album that no person should do without. Get it now, worship it, don't come back until you've absorbed its wondrous beauty (actually, do, we'll miss you all otherwise)...

192 kbps

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Burzum - Filosofem [1996]

Vikernes' final recording before his incarceration, and debatably his final classic, Filosofem finally brought the ambient influences to the front - unfortunately, this means a bloody 25 minute borefest of poorly done ambience within an otherwise excellent album. The album is nonetheless a personal favourite of mine.

320 kbps

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Burzum - Det Som Engang Var [1993]

On this, Burzum's sophomore release, Varg began to experiment a little more with other influences - one can hear strains of Bathory and Celtic Frost quite well in this. The cover's taken from Dungeons & Dragons, but we can't penalise the album too much for that, surely?

128 kbps

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Burzum - Burzum [1992]

You've probably guessed by now, but I fucking love Burzum. Although this is somewhat more conventional for the time than his later material, it's wonderfully crafted, and often very melodic black metal. The album is worth it just for stand out track 'Ea, Lord Of The Depths'.

192 kbps

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Court In The Act Presents Death Metal: Themes Of The Absurd

Okay, so this was the last part of the series I threw together (although there are still two more to come), and it lacks a common theme; I simply used what I had left that I wanted to include.

Tracklist:

1. Dying Fetus
- Epidemic Of Hate (from Destroy The Opposition)
2. Unleashed - Dead Forever (from Where No Life Dwells)
3. Pungent Stench - Games Of Humiliation (from Been Caught Buttering)
4. Hail Of Bullets - General Winter (from ...Of Frost And War)
5. Intestine Baalism - Alastor Possess (from An Anatomy Of The Beast)
6. Avulsed - Homeless Necrophile (from Stabwound Orgasm)
7. Luciferion - On The Wings Of The Emperor (from Demonication (The Manifest))
8. Impaled - Spirits Of The Dead (from The Dead Shall Dead Remain)
9. Gorerotted - Gagged, Shagged, Bodybagged (from Mutilated In Minutes)
10. Nunslaughter - This Is Fucking War (from Hex)

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Saturday 20 August 2011

Dream Theater - Black Clouds & Silver Linings [2009]

About a month ago, if I'd found myself uploading Dream Theater's most recent album, I would have asked myself just what exactly I was doing. But since then I've had a chance to listen to it properly a few more times (thank you cheap Amazon CD deals), and I must admit, it's grown on me.

Comprising of just six tracks, four longer, two shorter (the word "shorter" being used in a different context here - I mean less than 10 minutes), "BC&SL" is one of Dream Theater's darker albums, dealing with subjects such as car crashes, scary cannibalistic Italian royalty, and of course - now a staple of the 2000s Dream Theater Album - alcoholism. However, "The Shattered Fortress" deserves special mention as it is the final part of the so-called "Twelve Step Suite", and it's also the best track on the album. Full of little references to previous twelve-step songs, it brilliantly ends the saga, as well as Mike Portnoy's time in the band. As for the other songs, "A Nightmare To Remember" starts brilliantly but drags on, "A Rite Of Passage" is decent, "Wither" is the token Dream Theater ballad, "The Best Of Times" is a wank but well-meaning tribute to Portnoy's dad, and "The Count Of Tuscany" could have done with being about 5 minutes shorter. Still though, it's a good album and you can really enjoy it if you let it grow on you like I did.

M4a, ~320 kbps VBR

O. Children - O. Children [2010]

Another album I happened upon in my dad's collection, which I was drawn to simply because I liked the artwork. But to my surprise, when I popped the album in my CD player and hit play, it turned out to be simply sublime.

O. Children are another one of the post-punk revival bands that have been popping up recently (one well-known example being Editors). In their self-titled debut, the instruments are minimalistic, the bass is zingy and the singer's voice is impossibly deep. So all the ingredients of post-punk/new wave are there. Though for some reason, I find this album a lot more catchy than other post-punk acts, which probably has contributed to the fact I've listened to it 4 times in as many days. Standouts on the album are "Dead Disco Dancer" and "Radio Waves", the latter coming complete with a kickass saxophone solo of all things. I can't wait for their next album.

M4a, ~320 kbps (VBR)

Scars - Author! Author! [1981]

This LP was brought to my attention when my Dad bought the CD of it about a year ago. He said he had it on vinyl years ago and he really enjoyed it. And since it was my dad who introduced me to The Jam (now one of my favourite bands), I decided to give it a listen.

Scars were a post-punk band from Edinburgh, and this is their only album as they split in 1982. Furthermore, the CD version of their debut comes with B-Sides and a couple of other songs as bonus tracks, so this disc contains all but about three songs the band ever recorded.

As for the album itself (or rather, the original 10 tracks), it is an extremely solid post-punk affair, reminiscent of The Cure's early work in places. The broad Scottish accent of the singer adds an extra layer of colour, and some of the tracks (e.g "Obsessions") has some very nice drum work. A standout for me is "Your Attention Please", a reading of a mocked-up nuclear strike warning that no doubt was extremely chilling in early-'80s Cold War Britain. Anyway, this album is definitely worth a listen, but don't end up desperate for more from the band, as you won't be getting it anytime soon.

M4a, ~320 kbps (VBR)


(N.b. Sorry to disappoint all you metal fans - the track entitled "Fear of the Dark" is not some lost predecessor to the Iron Maiden song of the same name.)

Yes - Relayer [1974]

Following "Fragile" and "Drama", this is my third favourite Yes album. Complete with the longer song structures that Yes were well known for, but not as ridiculously overblown as some of their prior efforts (I'm looking at you, "Tales From Topographic Oceans").

"Relayer" was the first album cut by the band following Rick Wakeman's departure. It features Patrick Moraz in his place, but in a much less prominent role than his predecessor (owing to the fact that most of the album had been written when he joined). The album is very jazz fusion influenced, and a particular highlight is the intense "Sound Chaser" (although singling it out may be a little pointless given that it is one of only three tracks on the album). Of course, the 22-minute "The Gates Of Delirium" is mind-blowing in the way it builds up, peaks and winds down. The only slight disappointment is the final track, "To Be Over", which is considerably less memorable than the other two. Still, this album is one of Yes' most overlooked, but it turns out to be one of the most rewarding.

Mp3, 128 kbps

Iconoclast Contra - Combat Is The Voice Of The Heathen[2011]

In his last post, Persona called me an "expert" on the whole OSDM Revival.

Hear that jellyfags, I am an expert.

Hehehehehehe.

Just to show you how fucking 1337 I am at OSDM Revival, I will post for you one seriously bad ass young band and one bad ass debut album.

Iconoclast Contra are a from Salt Lake City, Utah. If you have ever been to SLC(like I have) you know it would never be considered a breeding ground for awesome, blasphemous 300 bpm Blackend Death Metal. Nor would it be a breeding ground for nasty, ant-Man sludgy Powerviolence. Yet somehow, Iconoclast Contra came from this Mormon Paradise.

That is right: imagine Angelcorpse jamming with Drop Dead. Morbid Angel and His Hero Is Gone kicking it. That is what Iconoclast Contra sound like. Awesome, I know.

For such a young band, they are laser focused on this record: not a single bit of sloppiness can be found, as the guitars shred through dozens of grimy riffs and the drums blast away with perfect precision. This record is fast, and I mean REALLY fast. But it is also sludgy as hell, and the strong Powerviolence influence can be heard throughout the record. There is a punkish attitude to the whole thing, like a big "fuck you!" in music form flowing through the music. It comes mostly from the bass work, particularly the sick bass tone that sounds closer to Deadstare than any Death Metal band. The vocals are rock solid: Your typical Black Metal shriek and Death Metal growl are found, but also awesome shouted vocals akin to the dude from Weekend Nachos if he was like 8 feet tall.

Technically, this release was first dropped last year. But a major issue with the record label led to Iconoclast Contra switching labels and re-releasing this one this year. So all you technicalfags can chill: I am aware that some of you might have been jamming this one for over a year already. But for most people, this recent re-release is our first exposure to this sick, sick band.

256 kbps

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Court In The Act Presents Death Metal: The New Old School

In case you weren't aware, there's been something of a resurgence in bands playing old-school style death metal recently, probably to counteract the soulless wankery that has taken precedent since the turn of the millenium. This is a compilation of some of my favourites from this scene. (I will note that my colleague HeySharpshooter is somewhat more of an expert than me; if you like the style, I highly recommend all of his posts).

Tracklist:

1. Bastard Priest
- Total Mutilation (from Under The Hammer Of Destruction)
2. Funebrarum - Cursed Eternity (from The Sleep Of Morbid Dreams)
3. Hooded Menace - Terror Castle (from Never Cross The Dead)
4. Sonne Adam - Take Me Back To Where I Belong (from Transformation)
5. Abysmal Dawn - Leveling The Plane Of Existence (from Leveling The Plane Of Existence)
6. Bonesaw - Kill, Fuck And Eat (from Sawtopsy)
7. Decrepitaph - Desecrate Sacred Flesh (from Profane Doctrines Unburied)
8. Burial Invocation - Through The Void Of Obscurity (from Rituals Of The Grotesque)
9. Cruciamentum - Convocation Of Crawling Chaos (from Convocation Of Crawling Chaos)
10. Mortuous - External Deformities (from Mors Immortalis)

N.B. The reason for Abysmal Dawn's presence here is that they are akin to classic era Morbid Angel - amongst the rest they will stick out like a sore thumb.

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Altar Of Plagues - Mammal [2011]

Well, this is one of my favourite albums of this year. Why have I refrained from posting it thus far? Because I have seen a couple of blogs taken down just after posting it - admittedly a lot closer to the release date. What it is is pretty awesome post-black metal, not all atmosphere like Alcest and their kin, but with plenty of teeth to it too. At the risk of sounding pretentious, this album takes you on a real journey over the span of its four tracks.

~270 kbps VBR

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Flagitious Idiosyncrasy In The Dilapidation - Flagitious Idiosyncrasy In The Dilapidation [2008]

Continuing the Japanese theme started by HeySharpshooter's last post, this is one of my favourite albums from there - and considering the consistently high quality of extreme music the country produces, that says a lot.

FIITD are an all-girl grindcore band; their name may mean nothing whatsoever, but their music speaks for itself - powerful, fast and catchy grindcore, something that few bands can pull off. This is not a gimmick.

~215 kbps

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Thursday 18 August 2011

ミドリ(Midori) - First(Heart) [2005]


Getting pretty tired of posting Metal, so I thought I would change things up and post something that not a lot of people are familiar with.

ミドリ(Translating to Midori) was a very strange, very intense Jazz/Crust Punk/Noise Rock/J-Pop band from Osaka Japan that released a handful of kick ass albums over a short lifespan. In truth, I have never heard anything quite like Midori before and never have since.

The piano takes the place of the electric guitar as the lead instrument in the band, and for a good portion of the songs there is no electric guitar at all. The piano and drums are completely insane: fast, furious and aggressive, they perfectly blend Punk attitude with Jazz precision and technicality. The bass work is low and heavy, and often replaces the guitar altogether in some songs.

The vocals of the diminutive Mariko Goto will make or break this album for most. Mariko shifts from toneless, off-key singing, yelping, squeaking, moaning and vicious Grindcore growls dozens of times in some songs, and while I adore Markio and her vocal talents, some will be turned off. She basically has no vocal talent, but her emotional depth and range more than make up for her vocal range. This is one pissed off, creepy sounding 90 pound Japanese girl in a school girl outfit.

And that is one of my favorite things about ミドリ: their sense of humor. They openly mock Japanese culture and its many contradictions, particularly the Japanese fascination with underage girls.

First(Heart) is a solid intro to the band, although Second(Heart) is by far the bands strongest release(I will post it tomorrow).

Fans of strange, unique music and Punk Rock should give ミドリ a chance. I am still glad that I did.

Mediafire(re-uped with all tracks)

Autopsy - Acts Of The Unspeakable [1992]

Autopsy are fucking awesome. Fact. This album is underrated. Fact. Although I won't be so irreverent as to claim it's on a par with Mental Funeral, the claim of its detractors that the production ruins the album are not true. Sure, it's not perfect, but it doesn't take that much away from a brilliant album.

192 kbps

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Court In The Act Presents Death Metal: Methodical Demise

Similarly to brutal death, technical death metal is not my favourite subgenre of death metal (and the two often cross over), but there are some parts of it which I like. This is largely formed of stuff which I like, and some which is passable, and including the classics of the genre:

Tracklist:

1. Cryptopsy
- Slit Your Guts (from None So Vile)
2. Nile - Lashed To The Slave Stick (from Annihilation Of The Wicked)
3. Demilich - (Within) The Chamber Of Whispering Eyes (from Nespithe)
4. Gorguts - Nostalgia (from Obscura)
5. Nocturnus - Lake Of Fire (from The Key)
6. Origin - Wrath Of Vishnu (from Antithesis)
7. Obscura - Euclidean Elements (from Omnivium)
8. Anata - Dance To The Song Of Apathy (from Under A Stone With No Inscription)
9. Gigan - Suspended In Cubes Of Torment (from Quasi-Hallucinogenic Sonic Landscapes)
10. Carcariass - Children Slave (from Hell On Earth)

I refuse to post Brain Drill.

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Wednesday 17 August 2011

Putrevore - Morphed From Deathbreath [2008]

Sorry for the size of the album picture, but I deleted my photo program thingy, and most of the other pictures are way too small. I am sure the owner of this blog will fix it. He is good at that stuff. (Persona 101: it's done)

Speaking of good, are you tired of your skull? Does it not quite hold your brain like it used to? Well, if you need your skull removed, and in the most violent way possible, just go ahead and give Putrevore's Morphed From Deathbreath a spin. It will take care of your cranium for you, and maybe your spine too if you really let this baby rumble with some bass.

Putrevore sound like Rottrevore. Frankly, if you need anymore info than that, you are not worthy of either band. Super guttural vocals, chugging down-tuned guitars, bowl rumbling bass and punishing drums that move effortlessly between nasty grooves and furious blast beats. In other words, everything you love already.

Just listen to it, and make sure to say goodbye to that skull first.

320 kbps

Mediafire

Antonio Vivaldi - The Four Seasons, Concerto Alla Rustica [1725]

The opening melody to this, one of the most highly praised, and indeed best, pieces of classical of music of all time, is one of the sounds of my childhood - whenever the TV adverts came on, it seemed that Messrs. Dolmio were using it to wax lyrical about their tomato sauce. Now, I'm sure Dolmio's sauce is very nice, but I'm sure it does not match up to the beauty here.

320 kbps

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Beherit - Drawing Down The Moon [1993]

Fuck me I love Beherit. Their raw black metal with a filthy production really affirms the eros e thanatos theory - that is, that all human actions are taken either for the love of sexual thrills or fear of death. What I'm trying to say is that this is so dirty it has an innate sexual feeling to it.

I'll try better to praise an album next time, but this really is awesome.

192 kbps

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Court In The Act Presents Death Metal: Death The Brutal Way

Stealing a title from Asphyx may be one thing, but attempting to create a compilation on a sub-genre one is not particularly fond of is another. There are some brutal death bands I love (Suffocation, Demigod, Lykathea Aflame and Ulcerate are on this), but the majority of this part is formed of stuff I have downloaded on a whim.

Tracklist:

1. Suffocation
- Breeding The Spawn (from Pierced From Within)
2. Demigod - As I Behold I Despise (from Slumber Of Sullen Eyes)
3. Devourment - Masturbating At The Slab (from Butcher The Weak)
4. Lykathea Aflame - Bringer Of Elvenefris Flame (from Elvenefris)
5. Ulcerate - We Are Nil (from Everything Is Fire)
6. Prostitute Disfigurement - She's Not Coming Home Tonight (from Deeds Of Derangement)
7. Gorgasm - Infection Induced Erection (from Orgy Of Murder)
8. Cenotaph - Gorenographic Pervert Victimology (from Putrescent Infectious Rabidity)
9. Failed Humanity - They Rise, They Fall (from The Sound Of Razors Through Flesh)
10. Vulvectomy - Adolescent Vaginal Gourmet (from Post-Abortion Slut Fuck)

N.B. The 'Cenotaph' included here is not the one that will be included on this blog later, who are a Mexican death/doom outfit who evolved into The Chasm.

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Tuesday 16 August 2011

Between The Buried And Me - Colors [2007]

So this may be a little bit controversial (and believe you me, this is not the most controversial release I have planned), due to their lack of popularity with the kvltists, but this is one of my favourite albums. Although I'm a little less enamored with it than I was when I first heard it, I believe that's due to the amount I've listened to it dulling its effect on me. Don't let the 'metalcore' tag put you off.

~280 kbps VBR

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Abyssic Hate - Suicidal Emotions [2000]

From the artwork to the music contained therein, this is essentially the genesis of the DSBM (depressive suicidal black metal) genre. Although it's not my favourite genre, I can easily appreciate the beauty (it's even uplifting at times) of this.

192 kbps

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Court In The Act Presents Death Metal: Death Is The New Black Part II

Although the artwork format looks kind of strained with that length of album title, I'd like to take another opportunity during a theme I've already described to thank Teekylee once again for its awesomeness. She won't be uploading herself, but it's nice to have a resident artist.

Tracklist:

1. Akercocke
- The Dark Inside (from Antichrist)
2. Melechesh - Grand Gathas Of Baal Sin (from Emissaries)
3. Impiety - Terror, Death, Worship! (from Formidionis Nex Cultus)
4. Devian - Heresy (from Ninewinged Serpent)
5. Mitochondrion - Trials (from Parasignosis)
6. Infernal War - Spill The Dirty Blood Of Jesus (from Redesekration)
7. Blasphemophagher - Demiurge Of Thermonuclear Damnation (from Nuclear Empire Of Apocalypse)
8. Goatpenis - Fatal Equinox (Perpetual Resplendence) (from Biochemterrorism)
9. Sadomator - Nuns Ingesting Sperm (from Goatblood Panspermia)
10. Chronocide - Children Of Thalidomide (from The Solitude Of Man)

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Monday 15 August 2011

Havok - Time Is Up [2011]

Yes, I'm back bitches. I recently returned from my trip to Holland and since then I've been looking for something to upload. A number of new albums presented themselves and I was gonna do Fleshgod Apocalypse's new album, Agony. But last night I listened to this and it blew my socks off, so; ladies and gentlemen I present to you the best thrash album of 2011.

Havok are another one of those new to the scene thrash bands that have been popping up everywhere since 2000. Formed in 2004 they self released two EPs one in 2005 and another in 2007. They then signed to UK label Candelight Records and put out a full length, Burn, in 2009 and then this monster. Time Is Up is nothing incredibly new, but I don't think thrash has produced anything new since the '80s so there's no surprise in that, it's just ball squeezingly good in your face thrash aggression. Which is exactly what thrash metal is supposed to be.

.mp3 @ 320 kbps

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A Forest Of Stars - Opportunistic Thieves Of Spring [2010]

The reason why these seem to come in roughly alphabetical order is that I batch upload them. Moving on... A Forest Of Stars' second album is good, certainly - it's not one I'd herald among the greats of odd BM, but it comes at the request of another author of this blog. My only real criticisms, however, are that there is not enough time spent with the meat of the issue (i.e. the black metal), and the album is too long.

320 kbps

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Angel Witch - Demo 1979 [1979]

N.B. In case you hadn't guessed, this is not official artwork, of which there is none.

Angel Witch's demo is interesting as a piece of history - they've since come to more interest to the metal community as a whole, but it's their 1980 self titled which everyone likes. Although the demo tracks are available on re-releases of said album, they are remasters. Unfortunately, my mp3s have a horrid hiss over them on this, and I can't find decent versions.

160 kbps

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