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.

Monday 27 February 2012

Re-upload: Miles Davis - Kind Of Blue [1959]

The reason why this is tagged with 'legal' is that the copyright of a sound recording expires 50 years after initial publication, so the copyright for this expired in 2009.

This is an all-time classic, not just within its genre, but in all of music. Miles Davis is my favourite jazz musician, and for good reason. This album should be heard by everybody.

128 kbps

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Repost notes: New legislation being pushed through might bring this back into copyright. Download it while you can and fight the legislation.

Saturday 25 February 2012

Sunn O))) - Candlewolf Of The Golden Chalice (The Peel Session) EP [2004]

Okay, so Sunn O))) might have been hipster fodder a couple of years back and are therefore now universally hated by anyone who hates things without understanding them (90% of the human population), but they do produce some seriously unnerving music. This is their famous session with the late, great, BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel. It is worth a listen just to hear Peel's introduction to the music (there is a lot about toilets in it). But the main event, the 19 minute drone of the title track, is great as well. The ambience of said drone and the low end like some form of sonic behemoth combine to create music more unnerving than any ever used in horror films. Best listened to in a dark room, although Court In The Act is not responsible for any nightmares it may cause.

192 kbps

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Thursday 23 February 2012

Re-upload: Bastard Priest - Under The Hammer Of Destruction [2010]

Bastard Priest are one of the bands spearheading the new wave of old school death metal, and they do it damn well. Coming from Sweden, it's natural to hear a little bit of hardcore/d-beat influence in their music, and so you do. 'Total Mutilation' could be the DM anthem of recent years.

~180 kbps VBR

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Wednesday 22 February 2012

REVIEW: Wyrdforge - Wyrdforge demo [2012]


Full disclosure: The instrumentalist on this demo is a friend of mine (and a contributor to this blog, in fact). I believe my opinions to be impartial though.

The opening chords of this, Wyrdforge’s first (and only, thus far) demo, scream of Triptykon. It’s a bit of a false introduction in that way, because the rest of the demo has very little to do with that style. Anyway, this intro/opening track (it could conceivably be viewed as a full song) gives little indication of the style which is to come. In fact, it’s probably the weakest track on the demo, which is a shame, as many will hear this, presume it’s intended as a full song, and move on to their next bitesize chunk of music. It offers very little variation – only one riff is used, and it’s not particularly exciting.

Starting with track two, however, the demo is very exciting stuff indeed. ‘Invisible Mastery’ opens with a riff that could quite easily be prime-era Slayer, and continues with a display in sheer aggression balanced with sufficient melody to keep this from becoming a mud of indistinguishable riffs. The production is appropriately raw for this sort of release, and complements the varied vocal style (from standard OSDM style grunts to harsher, blackthrashy screams).

The centrepiece, ‘Necromancy And Napalm Bombings’ is clearly the best track of the demo. Juxtaposing a thrashy style with blasts and truly catchy riffwork, one hears d-beats blended seamlessly into blastbeats and thrash beats and fills, without any sense of the disjointedness that is often produced by this sort of attempt. Again, it’s clear that Wyrdforge are at their best when going at full tilt; the effectiveness of the more mid-paced songs is hampered a little by the lack of the exhilaration that’s often needed for this sort of thing to work well.

What this is not is original. If you want new, original albums, go listen to Abyssal or Dodecahedron. If what you want is old-school worship which wears its influences on its sleeves and is well-written, then Wyrdforge will please you a lot. The main similarities are the aforementioned Slayer, with a little bit of Aura Noir and perhaps Kreator in there as well. This is a tried and tested combination, but one that Wyrdforge use to devastating effect. The occasional blastbeat with a more melodic riff bears heavy resemblance to Fukpig’s Belief Is The Death Of Intelligence.

When you reach the closer, ‘Leeching Spell’, you’ll realise that it’s essentially the culmination of all the bases visited across the duration of the previous tracks. Perhaps the dilution of these styles reduces their effectiveness a little, but it’s a catchy tune, and one that will stay in your head for a while. My main problem is the abrupt ending – although I was assured this was intentional, I don’t think it works – it seems that the song simply cuts out where some kind of more musical progression to end the demo would be more appropriate. Put it this way – it gives the impression of the band shouting ‘there’s our ideas guys, now fuck off’ at the end. A small problem, but one that leaves a slightly bitter taste in the mouth.


Satanic Malfunctions/SM-70 - Born To Lose, Out To Lunch split [1988]

I've been listening to the new Napalm Death pretty much constantly since it leaked yesterday (I'm not posting it here just now, it's not hard to find), and it rules. Also, sorry for the delay in posts the blog's had, my lethargy has caused this somewhat. Anyway, I've got something somewhat rare, but awesome for you here. I was recommended this by an old curmudgeon on last.fm after I asked for proto-grind/powerviolence in the vein of Siege (well, he recommended Satanic Malfunctions). And boy, it does that job damn well. Satanic Malfunctions, a band from a town only about 30 miles from where I live, are certainly the faster, and probably better of the two, but the German SM-70 are no slouches either - the former is probably a little closer to Siege and early Napalm Death, whilst the latter has a fair amount of mid-80s European Oi! influence. I love splits, and this is an excellent example why.

128 kbps

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Re-upload: Running Wild - Black Hand Inn [1994]

Contrary to popular belief, Alestorm were not the world's first 'pirate' metal band. Indeed, they were beaten by some 30 years by Running Wild, who, on this album, continued both their own fine tradition, and that of Germany's heavy/power metal scene.

Re-upload notes: Seriously, this is a quintessential power metal album - and one that should also appeal to those who aren't usually fond of power metal but like other forms of trad metal.

128 kbps

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Saturday 18 February 2012

Re-upload: A Tribe Called Quest - People's Instinctive Travels And The Paths Of Rhythm [1990]

Another one that may surprise some of you, but I never promised that this music would feature exclusively metal, or indeed extreme music. This is my favourite hip hop album, as it shows a time when rap wasn't about violent lyrics, it was an extension of the blues which was largely about rhythm and having fun.

Varied bit rate, but most tracks are 128 kbps (simplistic music)

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Friday 17 February 2012

Ehnahre - The Man Closing Up[2008]

Ehnahre are... some kind of something featuring former members of Kayo Dot and Biolich. So the credentials are there. The question simply is this: do you have the mental where-with-all to make it through this... whatever the fuck it is? Of all the clusterfuck noise abortions I have dedicated my life to spending time on the Internet about, Ehnahre's The Man Closing Up is the first to make me questions my choice in music.

Sitting there on my first spin of The Man Closing Up, with it's waves crushing Death/Doom mixed with grinding instrumental Noise and some other stuff that is vaguely musical in composition, I started thinking to myself "What the fuck am I listening to? Is this really the type of... stuff kind of like music you pictured yourself listening to when you were a kid and shit like Korn was still awesome? Maybe I should just quit while I am ahead. Maybe I should just start listening to LMAFO and Lady Gaga. I would probably have a girlfriend if I did. I could start going to dance clubs and only get headaches after the Cocaine starts wearing off."

Later, I just turned the volume up and brooded in the dark for a few hours.

Last.Fm(The Man Closing Up Is Free For Download on the bands Last.Fm Page)

Gorgoroth - Antichrist [1996]

N.B. The files are incorrectly tagged as it being a 1995 album.

Gorgoroth's Antichrist is, for me, one of the criminally underappreciated gems of the second wave of Norwegian black metal. This may seem really fucking stupid - after all, Gorgoroth were one of the better known bands of the scene, but it seems unjust to me that distinctly mediocre bands like Immortal and Satyricon gained fame above and beyond that of their more talented counterparts in Gorgoroth. Sure, the whole band name scandal of late may have put a few off anything to do with the band, but this album is so essential that one should simply not pass it up. It's my favourite Gorgoroth album, and certainly one of my favourite black metal albums.

256 kbps

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Wednesday 15 February 2012

Absolutist - Ave [2012]

There seems to be some question as to whether this band is from the UK or Ireland - my interpretation is that some members live in EIRE, some in Northern Ireland and they practise and record in EIRE. Anyway, this is an awesome dark hardcore record that will probably go unfortunately unnoticed amid the mire of shitty music which is produced nowadays. The use of famous political/religious samples (including the legendary Bertrand Russell quote about the importance of intellectual integrity when considering religion) blend into the ensuing chaos well, and are particularly poignant when one considers the social and religious background of their country. This could be the best debut album this year.

320 kbps

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Buy the LP

Tuesday 14 February 2012

Cruciamentum - Convocation Of Crawling Chaos demo [2009]

DEATH FUCKING METAL. Okay, so this isn't the most obscure demo ever, but it's fucking good. In the vein of all the NYDM giants, but from the UK, Cruciamentum are destined for big things... I think - my last pick for the 'bigtime' are still in the unsigned arena. Man, if I had a record label...

Re-upload notes: The band have now taken quite a different direction on the follow-up EP to this (Engulfed In Desolation), being much more influenced by their countrymen Bolt Thrower - it's still an awesome EP though, and one that will some time be posted here.

320 kbps

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Monday 13 February 2012

Rotten Sound - Napalm EP [2010]

As avid followers of my Weekly Album Analysis (coming back once I've got this back into shape) will know, I only heard this a few months ago - it took me a lot longer to get round to listening to it than one would think it would to listen to an EP of one of the best recent grindcore bands covering some of the best songs (SUFFER THE FUCKING CHILDREN) of my favourite band of all time. It absolutely delivers. Three Napalm Death covers, and three original Rotten Sound tracks (which are excellent, if not quite as good as the covers due to the untouchable quality and impossibility to ruin of the originals) make for a stunning release. Highly recommended.

320 kbps

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Rotten Sound - Exit [2005]

Since the end of Nasum (reunion tours don't count), Rotten Sound have been the frontrunning band in pure grindcore. This, for me, is their finest moment - a masterclass in raw fury - it is practically unrelenting from start to finish, but not in a way that makes it a chore to listen to. Already a modern-era classic, Exit is one of the few albums longer than five minutes that isn't annoying to listen to twice in a row. Seriously, there is little more to say - if you have more than a passing interest in all things grindcore, and you haven't yet heard this, then it is an absolute must for you to listen to it.

~265 kbps VBR

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Saturday 11 February 2012

Re-upload: Satan - Court In The Act [1983]

Satan's debut is where this blog got its name from, and is rightly a cult NWOBHM classic. Some may find the vocals a little hard to acclimatize to, but once you manage that, this is truly a gem, and a fantastic album. This is also clearly influenced by the proto-thrash which had then been around for a while - one can hear faint touches of Kill 'Em All and early Exciter. The unusual technicality for a NWOBHM album may fluster some, but the album is nigh on perfect in my eyes.

320 kbps

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Friday 10 February 2012

Peter Wyngarde - When Sex Leers Its Inquisitive Head [1970]

Peter Wyngarde, best known for his acting work, delivered the world this decidedly odd album in 1970. I say odd, because an actor who was supposedly on the brink of stardom decided to record a spoken word album experimenting in various accents (most notably on the song 'Rape', itself highly controversial), named When Sex Leers Its Inquisitive Head. Strikes you as a little odd, no? Nonetheless, it's a very interesting listen, with the juxtaposition of a story-like BBC accent spoken word element with 70s style science program music in the background.

192 kbps

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Thursday 9 February 2012

Angelcorpse - The Inexorable [1999]

When I first heard Angelcorpse through their album before this, Exterminate, back when I was first getting into extreme metal, I was put off somewhat by the sheer amount of chaos on that album. I've grown to enjoy that album since, but only since I decided to take the Angelcorpse plunge again with this, which is far more riff-based. It's fast and chaotic, certainly, but riffs are repeated a little more and there is a little more structure to it than Angelcorpse's other work. I'm sure that this may not be the most important thing to their normal target audience, but it was for me, and the stigma which is still therefore attached to Exterminate whenever I listen to it impedes my enjoyment of it somewhat. A very strong album here that I recommend highly.

192 kbps

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Sunday 5 February 2012

Fukpig - 3 [2012]

Starkly adorned by a reflection of the band's onstage masks, Fukpig's 3rd album, simply titled 3, is a continuation of the band's sound that has been allowed to develop since their inception, and particularly since the release of their first full-length album Spewings From A Selfish Nation in 2009. Does it absolutely rip? Bet your bottom dollar it does. Although this seems to utilise blastbeats a little less than its predecessor, it still has the relentless wall of horror and aggression feeling that is synonymous with the name Fukpig. More of a commentary of recent events than other releases (opener proper 'Alcohol And Necropunk' is about the Tottenham riots, whilst 'Hack' is about the News Of The World's phone hacking), this vicious piece loosely (key word) reflects the thoughts of many in the nation both sonically and lyrically. This could quite easily be album of 2012 - even though it's only just turned February!

320 kbps

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Saturday 4 February 2012

Diamanda Galás - The Litanies Of Satan [1982]

Diamanda Galás is without a doubt one of the best-known avant-garde musicians of our age. This, her debut album, is one of the most varied, crazed, and indeed passionate vocal performances that one will ever experience. Naturally, the title track is based around Charles Baudelaire's rather famous poem of the same name, but the use of the voice to create the variations on a theme style of music which originated as far back as middle-era classical music (The Goldberg Variations being a well-known example), but which was popularized with the jazz movement. This is one of the weirdest, and perhaps scariest pieces of music you will ever hear, but perhaps also one of the most moving, and the best.

192 kbps

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Fukpig - The Depths Of Humanity demo [2001]

Fukpig, like, totally roolz doodz. But seriously, any Fukpig material that one hasn't heard should be a wildly exciting proposition, such is the propensity for their sheer ferocity to tear the listener a new one each and every time their music is listened to (excuse the awkward grammar, I'm tired). So whilst this is nowhere near as good as any of the full-lengths (including this year's excellent, and simply-titled 3), it is still better than the vast majority of all musical output. What's more, the band has sanctioned this release to be downloaded (see the archives of their Facebook page around early to mid January if you don't believe me).

192 kbps

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Thursday 2 February 2012

Re-upload: Fukpig - Batcave Full Of Bastards EP [2011]

This is likely to be Fukpig's only release this year unfortunately, after full-lengths two years on the trot, and that's a shame, because it's quite possible the best five minutes of music so far this year. Brilliant song titles too - there's a title track, and 'One Of A Thousand Ways To Steal Your Liberty'. This really tears the listener a new one, and interestingly sees Fukpig trying new things - it's perhaps a little more melodic and groovy, but fear not, for neither of those tags could be used to accurately describe the music.

320 kbps

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Wednesday 1 February 2012

REVIEW (with download): Wreck And Reference - Black Cassette [2011]


Due to technology, this EP (released on cassette – hence the name – through Music Ruins Lives) has been sitting in my inbox unnoticed for several months. For that, I apologize. From the name of the band, one might guess that they played post-something, and you’d be sort of right – the influence which jumps out instantly to me is Jesu, in the shimmering semi-industrial shoegazey sense. Jesu are always better on EPs due to their albums becoming boring over their full duration, and I suppose this is the same.
                                 
The aforementioned elements create quite a haunting ambient effect – but despite wholly miserable lyrics, the music is uplifting to some degree; consider the musical form of being haunted by a nice ghost who sings melodically rather than attempting to scare people. However, at times the raw production makes it somewhat difficult to discern individual melodies, particularly when notes used are chromatically close to each other. Although this rawness gives a warm feeling – like that of an LP – overall it probably strays far enough to slightly detract from the music. That said, it’s a cassette release, and therefore one should not expect outstanding production.

A point of particular similarity with Jesu in particular as opposed to many other practitioners of this kind of music is the choice to use something roughly resembling popular structure (verse-chorus-verse or variations thereon), particularly on the pleasing opener ‘All The Ships Have Been Abandoned’. The vocal approach, however, which is integral to the quality of the music, as many of the instrumental patterns are a little uninspired, is more similar to that utilised by SubRosa (although from my guess the vocalist here is male). Unfortunately, for the most part they sound a little frail – and in a way that is more weak than ‘woe is me’, something which is particularly evident when they are brought to the forefront of the music by quieter instrumentation.

Speaking of the instrumentation, the email from the band, as well as the label’s website, informed me that no guitars were used in the creation of this, which they are still calling ‘rock music’ (a tag that I would loosely agree with). To be honest, I really don’t see the point in bringing this to our attention. The timbre of one of the instruments used (presumably one of the synthesisers mentioned) sounds so much like an electric guitar (a matter that the mucky production aids little to clear up) that it may as well be one. I’m not criticizing the use of alternate instruments, more so the particular highlighting of this factor which has so little effect it ultimately amounts to little more than a gimmick.

An unusual, but effective, use is made of the juxtaposition of what, at the end of the day, is inherently catchy music (although one would struggle to call any of the motifs and melodies used strictly ‘poppy’, they lean that way at times) with industrial (we’re talking Throbbing Gristle, not Combichrist here) and noise elements in middle eight sections. This blends smoothly rather than clashes awkwardly as one would expect – a true success on their behalf, and something that’s not really been done before (no, Merzbeat doesn’t count).

There is a fine line to be trod between suffocating emotion and tedium in music, and Wreck And Reference manage to trample haphazardly on both sides of that line with roughly equal proportion. Where their style works, it moves towards ‘stunning’, but there are simply too many sections of the EP where I’m looking at the second hand on the clock to justify too much positivity about the good parts. The same feeling comes from some of the odd diversions they go on in the EP – they’re of decidedly mixed quality, and some leave a jarring effect and hamper the continuity of the individual piece or the EP as a whole.

A good last track on a release is probably more conducive to wishes to listen to it again than any other track – that last impression is a lasting one, and fortunately the closer here, ‘A Lament’, is the standout track. The drones and synths bring a shimmering quality to it, and the vocals come across as sufficiently strained to introduce some real heart-ripping emotion to it. This may be so, but many other sections of the EP go through the mind as though it were a sieve, and although this EP shows promise, and future Wreck And Reference releases could be something indeed, to those with a busy listening schedule it’s definitely one that can be passed on with no harm done.

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