Mr. Bungle - California [1999]

Wow, how did this take so long to get posted? If there was ever a prize for most insane of the musical insane geniuses, Mike Patton would certainly be a strong contender.

Not content with his funk-metal outfit Faith No More, in 1991 Patton created Mr. Bungle, as an outlet for his more experimental work. The first self-titled album could best be compared to a heavy metal Frank Zappa, complete with funky basslines, stream-of-consciousness vocals, and toilet humour (plenty of toilet humour).

But it seems this wasn't crazy enough, as in 1996 the Bungle released Disco Volante, which may have tried just a little too hard to be kooky and erratic, and loses coherence somewhat as a result. However just three years later the band released California, their masterpiece. It was the metaphorical 'just right' album, where the funk was the funkiest and the crazy was the craziest. But this album still had plenty of surprises up its sleeve, in the form of a plethora of different musical ideas from all kinds of sources (much of the album draws on various aspects of '50s music, from surf to doo-wop to good old-fashioned rock n' roll). The LP is an absolute goldmine of creativity, and although all the tracks are fantastic, penultimate song "Vanity Fair" just about sums up the feel of this extensively varied yet simultaneously crystal-clear album.

10 tracks, 44:14, 40.57 MiB

Zippyshare (Mp3, 128 kbps)

Re-upload: Immolation - Failures For Gods [1999]

Immolation really shone through on this - a late death metal classic. Although they were already pioneers and co-leaders of the NYDM scene, this really elevated them to a new level. 'No Jesus, No Beast' is one of the best death metal songs around.

Re-upload notes: Seriously, don't fuck with Immolation. Although they don't have a bad album, this kind of in-and-around 2000 axis is widely held to be their best material - although my earlier posts probably overestimated similarities to Incantation. The same murky atmosphere is there,

320 kbps

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Akira Yamaoka - Silent Hill 1-4 OST (1999-2004)

The first few games of the Silent Hill series are considered some of the best horror games around, and the soundtracks are considered some of the best in gaming, period. To match the hellish world of the games, sound designer for the first seven Silent Hill games Akira Yamaoka created a mostly ambient industrial soundtrack, broken up with some extremely emotional rock songs. These four official soundtracks (for Silent Hill 1 through 4) focus mainly on the more melodic side of the games' music, which can usually be found in cutscenes and the like.

However, Silent Hill mega-fan Fungo has created complete soundtracks for the first three games which focus more on the in-game tracks, and as such are much more ambient (and in the case of Silent Hill 3, much better than the official soundtrack). I've uploaded the first four official soundtracks here, but I haven't uploaded the complete soundtracks as you can download them for free from Fungo's website: Silent Hill Media (because he's put a ton of work into them and you should totally check it out).

Silent Hill 1 OST:

42 tracks, 1:06:49, 68.34 MB

Mediafire (Mp3, 128 kbps)

Silent Hill 2 OST:

30 tracks, 1:13:05, 106.02 MB

Mediafire (Mp3, 192 kbps)

Silent Hill 3 OST:

26 tracks, 1:16:19, 75.21 MB

Mediafire (Mp3, 128 kbps)

Silent Hill 4 OST:

20 tracks, 1:13:40, 137.16 MB

Mediafire (Mp3, 320 kbps)

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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Spazz - Crush Kill Destroy [1999]

This is one of THE powerviolence records. Although the genre was pioneered by the likes of Man Is The Bastard, Capitalist Casualties and debatably Siege, their sounds were atypical of most of the rest of what was to come to say the least. This is still reminiscent of proto-violence at times - blastbeats are few and far between, and deeper vocals are used at times, but ultimately it has the raw aggression and simplistic approach nailed.

192 kbps

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Cradle Of Filth - From The Cradle To Enslave EP [1999]

4 worthwhile tracks, two shitty remix/dancefloor style tracks. Sounds like a Cradle Of Filth EP? It's a Cradle Of Filth EP. Yeeaaaaaah. Although the title track of this EP is Cradle's best known song (probably), I prefer the greater levels of aggression in their cover of the Misfits' 'Death Comes Ripping' and the song 'Of Dark Blood And Fucking' (which also features Dani's best lyrics ever, in my omniscient opinion). Funeral In Carpathia is naturally also fucking awesome.

160 kbps

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Demoncy - Joined In Darkness [1995]

Hello faithful readers, back again to share some more blasphemous farts and bowel movements.

Demoncy are an American Black Metal band originating from the Georgia and North Carolina, who make some of the most brutally inhuman Bestial Noise Fuck you can imagine. Although they sound a lot like Beherit, the two bands actually formed and started recording very similar sounding stuff almost exactly at the same time(Beherit released their first demo in 1990 and Demoncy in 1991), so it's impossible to say how much influence the two bands had on each other, considering the lack of easily shared information in the late 80's, early 90's. And truth be told, I actually prefer this album to Drawing Down the Moon: it is far more coherent, heavy and possesses a greater variety of musical ideas, even if it lacks Drawing Down the Moon's name recognition. This is one insanely heavy record, and like Beherit, Demoncy have a strong Doom Metal vibe without actually having any discernible Doom Metal in the music. Although this is a remaster, this album remains as dirty and filthy as it did when originally released: the re-master mostly just improves the vocal sound and makes them easier to hear than the original version. Fans of insane Bestial Black Metal need to give this album a listen.

320 kbps

Mediafire
And in an entirely shameless method of self-promotion, please remember to check out my review blog Curse of the Great White Elephant, for all kinds of new reviews and news on the biggest releases and underground demos.

Tom Waits - Mule Variations [1999]

Tom Waits.You may not know this old american singer, you'll never forget his voice, described as sounding like it was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months, and then taken outside and run over with a car. Singing since the seventies, he composes all his songs himself, or sometimes with his wife, and he is not afraid to explore some experimental sounds, usually evolving in a sort of gloomy blues, sometimes rock influenced or jazzy. What about this album? It marks the return of Tom Waits after seven years of silence. Apparently, these long years have saddened the old man... As shown in the cover, the mood is not conducive to smiles. This album sweats sadness, darkness, and melancholy. However, even if it sounds sometimes disturbing, uncomfortable, you'll always find a kind of beauty trough the songs...A masterpiece.

MP3, 320kb/s

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Opeth - Still Life [1999]

Opeth are a band who certainly know how to divide a fanbase. There are people such as myself, who listen to it because they like the progressive nature. Then there are people such as Joe, who listen to it because they enjoy the death metal nature. I for one love the band, and here's my favourite album of theirs.

A perfect mix of the aforementioned progressive and death elements, "Still Life" tells the story of a man living in medieval times who loses faith, and subsequently is outcast by his village. From the hard-hitting opener "The Moor" to the melodic closer "White Cluster", this album is all that could be expected of the music made between "My Arms, Your Hearse" and "Blackwater Park".

M4a, ~320 kbps (VBR)

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Summoning - Stronghold [1999]

Summoning are a band who are one of a kind. Their mixture of folk and black metal has been aped by many, but none have reached the lofty heights of any of their back catalogue. Also incorporating some electronic elements at times, Summoning are a band not to miss.

Similar artists: Isengard, Falkenbach, Agalloch

320 kbps

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Porcupine Tree - Stupid Dream [1999]

If you've never heard of Porcupine Tree before, it's important to note that they essentially started out as "Pink Floyd 2". At least, that was frontman Stephen Wilson's initial vision. However in the late '90s, the band began to incorporate more elements of progressive metal in their sound. "Stupid Dream" then, it seems, was cut slap bang in the middle of this transition, making the best of both worlds.

The album kicks off with the mellow "Even Less", which is immediately followed by the catchy "Piano Lessons", arguably one of the most commercial songs the band has ever recorded. A combination of slow rockers and more upbeat songs (including a fantastic bassline at the beginning of "Slave Called Shiver") follows, resulting in a great album altogether.

M4a, @320 kbps (VBR)

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Dream Theater - Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From A Memory [1999]

"Images And Words" may be the classic, but "Scenes From A Memory" is the under-appreciated masterpiece.

The story of a man who undergoes hypnosis in order to talk to his past self (a young woman who was murdered in 1928), this album is an absolute triumph in musical story telling, with an equal share of heavy metal, emotional ballads and overall good flow. Particularly notable are the 13-minute "Home", the eclectic instrumental "The Dance Of Eternity" (perhaps best known for its 128 time signature changes), and the almost tear-jerking "The Spirit Carries On". This is one of my favourite albums of all time, and - in my opinion - much, much better than "Images And Words".

~320 kbps (VBR)

Link taken down. Comment to see a reupload!

Botch - We Are The Romans [1999]

N.B. The year on the archive and files is wrong.

I don't often go for this mathcore stuff, but this is one of the only albums from the genre that holds my attention throughout that I go back to time and again. Unfortunately buried in the ton of shit it was to influence, this is brilliant.

128 kbps

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Atari Teenage Riot - 60 Second Wipeout [1999]

This is the defining album in the 'digital hardcore' genre. It is a great mix of industrial, noise, punk vocals and violent drum beats. This is a rich, well produced album that combines interesting music with ATR's protest songs. The only complaint I have with this album is, in true DJing fashion, the band feel the urge to constantly remind me of their name throughout some songs. A minor detail however in a great album.

192 kbps

megaupload

Control Denied - The Fragile Art Of Existence [1999]

Although this little gem may be outshone by the late, great Chuck Schuldiner's work in Death, it is still one of the best pieces of progressive metal around - technical yet catchy, complex compositionally yet never losing touch with the need for songs.

Mainly 160 kbps

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