Nurse With Wound - Rock 'n Roll Station [1994]

'Do you remember? It was 1959. The observatory. What a strange story. Rock and roll session is a session where we can do what we want to do. [...] Everything is possible.' These lyrics from the opening title track of Nurse With Wound's 1994 magnum opus Rock 'n Roll Station. Although their (well, really 'his' - it's a project of Steven Stapleton) music is fairly indefinable, to newcomers it's normally a mixture of industrial and avant-garde, but on this, Stapleton took a break from the norm to make a more rhythmic record, which was controversial among existing fans to say the least. Regardless, it's far from mainstream and is a stunning album which should be listened to again and again and again.

N.B. This is a 1996 re-release which features a remix of the closing track.

192 kbps


Mediafire is being a bitch so you're just going to have to use:
Zippyshare

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

Rapidshare
FileFactory
Mediafire

Death Grips - Exmilitary [2011]

This free mixtape from earlier this year drives down your throat the kind of insanity phonies like Tyler the Creator can only dream of. With modern hipster legend Zach Hill at the helm, the album blends the blares of industrial punk with traditional hip hop which leads to more than satisfactory results. MC Ride's screamed lyrics flow so roughly and inadequately he sounds near demonic in his constant, pounding delivery. Zach Hill's drums remain high in the mix for most the album adding a depth and the rhythm that is so often lacking in modern sample-based rap music. On the subject of samples, this album manages to cram in masses of them, from David Bowie to Pink Floyd to Black Flag to The Beastie Boys AND the album starts with a recording from Charles Manson, how many albums can make that claim! Thankfully these high brow samples' presence does not distract from the electronic rawness and delirium that Death Grips base themselves in. This is definitely one of the most original releases you'll find this year and IT'S FREE from their website right now so you have absolutely no excuse not to try it out!  If you want a taster, the Guillotine video gives an idea of what you'll be putting yourself in for...

320kbps

Download link is on the Death Grips website.

Biolich- The Space Between Home and Today EP(2005)

Hey everyone, back to share one of my all time favorite EP's from a short lived but unbelievable band. Biolich were an American Metal band who are basically genre-less: at their most basic, Biolich played an insane mix of Demilich, Wormed and Between the Buried and Me that was loaded to bursting with technical riffs, complex time signatures and inhuman vocals that are as close to the legendary vocals of Antti Boman as you can get.

Some of the sections in these songs sound a lot like Demilich, with spacey and awkward sounding progressions that would have felt right at home on Nespithe. But this is far from a worship band: really beyond the vocals and occasional Demilich like riff, the bands really don't sound that much alike. And the band often head into complex Jazzy slams and even some clean singing sections. There is a techcore element to Biolich: a few breakdowns here and there. If you are a completely closed minded Metal fan who refuses to acknowledge the anything with any breakdowns(sucks to not listen to Suffocation I imagine), then you will probably hate this amazing EP. If you can look past 2 breakdowns scattered throughout 6 songs, then you MUST listen to this. One of the finest pieces of Extreme Metal I have ever heard.

320 kbps

Mediafire

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

Megaupload

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)

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

Megaupload

Swans - My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To The Sky [2010]

Swans are legendary, simply put. They are one of the few bands with a discography the size of theirs to have never released a dud, this one from last year included. Although this lets up on the crushing emotion in some ways, it adds more in others, ensuring the continuation of Swans' wonderful record.

N.B. Files are incorrectly tagged as from the UK.

Similar artists: Jarboe, Current 93, Godflesh

320 kbps

Megaupload

Ulver - Wars Of The Roses [2011]

This is the first album I have ever posted without hearing first, so the genre tags will be based on reviews, but Ulver have not yet released an album which is any less than excellent. Catch them at Damnation Festival in Leeds.

320 kbps

Megaupload

EDIT: I've been listening to this over the past few days, and it is excellent. Well worth downloading.

Ulver - Perdition City [2000]

Despite beginning their career in the realms of black metal (raw black metal, at that), this has no metal in it whatsoever. A crazy mixture of jazz, electronic and generally experimental music, this is not for most metal fans, but may be good for many others.

160 kbps

Megaupload

Swans - Children Of God [1987]

Swans are without a doubt pioneers in music. Even the term 'grindcore' ultimately finds its origin in them, even if it's far from an accurate descriptor. This is... a Swans record - repetitive yet never boring, and pervaded throughout by haunting, almost shamanistic vocals.

N.B. There is an unidentified track on here, labelled as another copy of 'Our Love Lies'.

320 kbps

Megaupload

Portal - Swarth [2009]

This is some of the weirdest metal around at the moment. Truly in the avant-garde school, this relies heavily on dissonance and noise, certainly more so than melody and typical structure. It's a truly fascinating album, although maybe not one you'll want to listen to too often.

192 kbps

Megaupload

Shining - Blackjazz [2010]

No, not the crazy, suicidal, Swedish Shining fronted by Kvarforth, but rather the crazy, jazzy, Norwegian Shining who play an interesting jazzy take on metal, although not in the same way that Atheist have done for years. This can get slightly grating at times, but it's still an enjoyable listen.

~280 kbps VBR

DMCA came calling.

John Zorn - Naked City [1989]

John Zorn is the place to go for the avant-garde, which usually, as it does on this, translates to a delicious platter of his 'hardcore jazz'. This is his most famous album, with his backing group Naked City (forgive me if I'm wrong, but I believe they were so named for the purposes of this album).

192 kbps

Megaupload

Darkspace - Dark Space II [2005]

Limited to 500 copies, but unlimited online files, Darkspace's second full-length is an avant-garde take on black metal, like a cross between Deathspell Omega and Blut Aus Nord's 'MoRT'. Comprising of 3 long tracks, this is not a listen for the faint-hearted.

320 kbps

Megaupload