Laurasia Awaits Us - Apathy Remains Victorious [2012]

This is a band request, and although I can't give it 100% approval due to not having listened to the whole thing (it's not really my style), the tracks I listened to on YouTube seem decent enough. Laurasia Awaits Us is a self-described Finnish post/doom metal band. Although the former is represented by just a little tinge of the NeurIsisian axis, the latter comes across relatively well. The riffs seem good enough too. Recommended for fans of sombre doom with harsh vocals.

320 kbps (I presume)

Mediafire
Rapidgator

Foreskin - Anger Management demo [2012]

Trying to catch up a little on my backlog of band submissions - I've got a new rule, if you haven't noticed - I'll post it if I think it's good (and I'm unlikely to listen to it if I don't like the genre it's described as - take note, the guy who sent dubstep). Sorry to all those who have been waiting. Anyway, Foreskin are a crossover band from Lahore, Pakistan, and this is their fourth demo (although I was unaware of their existence until now). It consists of two tracks - the first is a little slower and seems to have a little black metal influence (although thrash is still the primary factor) and next to no hardcore, whilst the second, title track sounds like a mixture of Crossover-era DRI with a little bit of Sabbat (Japan) mixed in.

Unfortunately, the songwriting is a little bit lacking and doesn't really have anything to set it off, or indeed to set it apart from other bands of the style. Ultimately, the reason is the lack of hooks in much of the music - there's nothing which really drags the listener in (and I don't necessarily mean a chorus, it just seems like background music to me). That said, it's better than a good deal of material being produced by better-known thrash bands today (the recent Testament album being a good example), and is more than good enough for background music.

Members of the band have numerous other projects between them - the vocalist, Hassan Umer, sings for a crust band called Choots (and in all honesty, the Choots material sounds better to me), and he and guitarist Sheraz Ahmed were also members of a death/grind band called Multinational Corporations (production lacks a little bit, but it's solid deathgrind and heaven knows this author appreciates the Napalm Death reference). Ahmed is also in death metal bands Marwolaeth and Dionysus (from the tracks of the other bands I've listened to, I think Foreskin is actually my least favourite but it's still good material).

Anyway, I recommend this material to anyone who just can't get enough thrash in their life. Don't go out of your way to get it, but now you're here you might as well have a listen. Have fun.

Bandcamp
Mediafire

Receptionist - This Is Everything [2012]

This year has been great for all sorts of -core so far (well, the good ones), and this is another fine example of why. Receptionist play a decidedly progressive take on hardcore, that falls just short of something 'mathy'. Complex yet catchy, this band from Oslo combine all the requisite elements of a solid modern hardcore album with aplomb, and it's a wonder that it was released on Bandcamp rather than a well-respected label. I usually hate to call bands the next iteration of a classic band usually as my predictions end up wrong, but if Receptionist continue along this path they could quite easily be the next Converge (or Rorschach, for those of you who might call me out for naming Converge as seminal) (they are though).

320 kbps

Bandcamp
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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

Mediafire
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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.

Atomski Rat - Atomski Rat EP [2010]

This is a band that I stumbled across over at the Damaging Noise blog, and it's some of the most ferocious music that I've come across in a long time. This Serbian crust band's debut EP was one of my favourite releases of last year. Features covers of Shitlickers, Sodom, Herpes Distress and Mob 47.

320 kbps

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REPOST INFO: They have a new release coming out later this year.

The Sleep Sessions - Lead Into Gold [2008]

(sorry, no cover for this one)

The Sleep Sessions is Dawid Kowalski and he creates harsh noise. The thing is that like many of the Europeans in the noise scene Dawid follows a concept which revolves around lucid dreaming, psychedelic experiments and philosophy. That associated with is "control" over his music originates a very controlled form of harsh noise,free from all the craziness that others do, which in my opinion is something more enjoyable for the casual listening.

Mp3, 224 Kbps

Mediafire
Mediafire II 

BONUS: Since Dawid got in touch, here are two more releases of his:

Damn Noisy Kids (split with Michelada)
Somnaphobia (split with Thirteen Fingers)

Also, this is now affirmed definitely as being legal to download as Court In The Act has permission to post this.

Modern Jazz Quartet - In A Crowd [1956]

First post here, many more to come. Since this blog is heavy on metal and hardcore I think I'l bring you other genres and styles, that you possibly never heard of or never heard much before.

So has my first contribution I bring you the great quartet formed by John Lewis, Milt Jackson, Percy Heath and Connie Kay, piano, vibes, upright bass and drums, on a gentle jazz with both blues and classical influences, this is a peak on Milt Jackson's long and prosperous career and shouldn't be left out of any jazz collection, in other words this is very, very good.

Persona 101: As this sound recording was made over 50 years ago, it is out of copyright and is thus a legal download.

Mp3, 320 kbps

Mediafire

Enslaved - The Sleeping Gods EP [2011]

This EP, which is available for free download direct from the band, is something of a surprise. Sure, it has Enslaved written all over it (they even steal their own riff from 'Kvasir Blod' in the opener), but one could call it more experimental than openly progressive, especially with electronic, droney tracks like 'Synthesis'.

320 kbps

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Sun Ra And His Arkestra - Jazz In Silhouette [1958]

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 2008.

Sun Ra is one of the most under-appreciated jazz musicians around. Although I'm by no means an expert on his music, this is my favourite of his thus far - it's not particularly experimental, but has an edge on most jazz and blues of its time (except, of course, for Kind Of Blue).

Similar artists: Ornette Coleman, Charles Mingus, John Coltrane

~160 kbps VBR

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REVIEW: Médiocre Fin - Acte Premier demo [2011]

N.B. This is the first submission we have received - to see a similar treatment for your own music, look to the right.

Médiocre Fin is a French project which creates an interesting mixture of drone and noise – the drone part being the repetition, and the noise part being the way in which musical ideas are expressed. This, to my knowledge, is one of only two demos released thus far, but its quality has certainly piqued my interest, and I shall be hugely interested in future releases (if I've understood correctly, they have a concept album based around a magical village called Thiers coming).

Despite this, I must admit I was a little apprehensive upon learning that this demo consisted of one 23-minute track – when done poorly, long drone pieces can be frankly nauseating, and not in a good way. Thankfully, this was not the case. Although the main motif around which the piece is based is, by definition, monotonous, it is created in such a way that it has a hypnotic quality to it rather than one which is boredom-inducing, much like the way that the repetition of riffs in Burzum’s music is endearing, rather than annoying.

Throughout the duration, said motif changes subtly from time to time, and although it is still obvious as the track approaches its midway mark to hear that it is the same piece – mainly due to the general styles employed – this motif has changed substantially, although the piece culminates with a full circle to something very similar to the original motif (which happens to sound surprisingly like modern iterations of Doctor Who’s tardis). These changes give a progressive feeling to the piece – not, however, progressive like the pretentious frolics of Genesis and their ilk.

Swirling around this, creating a veritable maelstrom of… well, noise, are simplistic bass frequencies and the odd bit of feedback – the only real melody to be found in the piece is a subtle one found within these bass frequencies. This melody is slow moving, and at times difficult to pick out, certainly without concentration, but its chromatic approach is similar to the way that Masami Akita, aka Merzbow, has approached digital noise in the past, although, being done in a drone style, is far less percussive than the ways of the Japanese genius. This is not to the detriment of the music; it is merely different, and variation is everything within the noise genre which has become so saturated with the proliferation of the internet.

Indeed, the only percussive element to be found in the piece comes from the motif, which easily blends into either the background or the foreground over time like the ticking of a clock, as the bass takes on a ‘wall of sound’ attribute, and is omnipresent without ever being overly relentless – the oppressive, claustrophobic nature that already exists in the demo might overwhelm the listener if the bass were to become any more pronounced.

The demo is not without its flaws – it would be a spectacular achievement if it were – for one, the whole thing is far too quietly produced; although this might be easily fixed by fiddling with a few dials, it would be far more pleasing if the thing were roughly at the volume of a normal recording. That said, it is best heard, I have found, at a moderate level, to allow the expansive soundscapes to wash over you.

Speaking of the soundscapes, however, the almost euphoric, dreamlike existence which can be afforded to the listener at times during the piece is frequently broken by transitions which are all too awkwardly done – there is actually a break in the sound at around 13:30, which certainly serves as an unwanted wakeup call. Although this breaks the monotony, to me, the point of listening to drone is to allow the music to carry you through dreams and pictures painted by the dynamics (however gruesome those pictures may be), and the hoppy movement between sections, particularly across larger changes in the motif, is akin to being woken up from a pleasant dream with a bucket of cold water and a slap across the face.

Thankfully, these two are the only major problems, and together do not detract too much from the overall quality of the piece. If you would like to be transported to another world for 23 minutes (including the starting silence to crescendo and ending diminuendo, back to silence – a nice roundabout touch), then you can certainly do far worse than this. A well-constructed effort, and I look forward to listening to their second demo, somewhat predictably titled Acte Second.

Download here (Mediafire).

Check out their official blogspot here (written in French).

Demilich - Nespithe [1993]

This is how technical death metal ought to be done, rather than blastathons and wankery. Unique, both in riffing and in what are quite possibly the deepest death growls around (courtesy of Antti Boman), this is semi-essential.

~235 kbps VBR

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Wormrot - Dirge [2011]

I'm not going to lie, I was a little disappointed by this. It's not up to the standards of 'Abuse'. That said, it's still a good album, even if it does suffer from a slightly grating vocal style and a little bit of blastathon-syndrome. You will realise as you listen to this that when they go into d-beat mode is when they are most effective.

320 kbps

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Wormrot - Bastardphobic EP [2008]

Apologies for the awful artwork quality - I'm not sure it's even correct, but it was the best I could find on the internet. This is Wormrot's second EP, and rest assured, it's still fuckin' fierce. Worth it any day, especially as this 5MB file should only take about 20 seconds to download.

128 kbps

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Wormrot - Dead EP [2007]

This is the debut EP of Wormrot, a band who have quickly become one of my favourite bands. They hail from Singapore, a country where grindcore is far from prevalent, but this is some of the most ferocious yet catchy grind you will ever hear.

128 kbps

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Ramlord - Stench Of Fallacy EP [2011]

As you can probably tell by the shape of the artwork, this was originally released on tape, but in my eyes, it deserves a wider, better distribution (although their Communist ideas may conflict with that), as their blend of crust punk and grindcore with a dollop of black metal on the side is some of the best music of this year so far.

128 kbps

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Morbid Angel/Slaughter Lord split BOOTLEG [1987]

This split, apparently recorded live on Morbid Angel's part, is an interesting three track piece - one ('Funeralled') from the legends Morbid Angel, showcasing the style that would later become more well known on 'Altars Of Madness', and two from underappreciated Aussie death metallers Slaughter Lord - and it is those, with a better production, yet still a really filthy, old school sound, that really stand out here.

256 kbps

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Fuck Beherit - Do Beherit rehearsal demo [1992]

I'll be honest. This is pretty damn awful. Its status as metal is questionable solely because its production is so bad I can't tell if anything but drums and vocals exist. Formed as a protest against/spoof of Beherit, this is only worth listening to as a piece of metal history - it serves no other purpose. Whilst some kvltists may deem this 'the best thing ever', presumably because Beherit themselves are too 'mainstream', it's really not. No artwork exists for this, as it was only ever intended as a rehearsal demo. They had no official releases, not even a demo.

Some tracks are 160 kbps, others are 320.

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