Happy Halloween

From all of us here at IC.

NEGATIVA - DEMO (2006)

Yeah, it's shitty to put a band photo on the cover of a metal album (even a demo), and most of you guys probably have this already, and I'm probably running a pretty high risk of driving the whole "late-era Gorguts rules, you knob!" thing into the ground. But hey, it's Friday, I'm in a pissy mood, and the world can always use a little more dissonant, twisted, mindfucking death metal.
For the ignorant boobs among you, the Negativa story is as follows: after the dissolution of Gorguts in the mid-00's, main dudes Luc LeMay and Steeve Hurdle (along with on-and-off drummer Patrick Robert) formed Negativa, a band wholly dedicated to the furtherance of the "late-era Gorguts" psychedelic backwards-metal sound. They managed to produce one quick demo before LeMay bailed to resurrect the 'Guts, while Hurdle stayed on board and attempted to shift the band in a "different direction" (read as: "not nearly as good"). OK? OK. The three songs on this fucker are as good as anything on Obscura, and probably better than anything on From Wisdom To Hate.
You're welcome. Fuck off/Have a good weekend

Download HERE

This kinda rules:



Metallum/Last.FM

This blog is too heavy.

I don't understand why you guys are so angry. You chillbros need to smoke a fat doob and relax, man. Mellowbro Peter obviously feels me, what with his Soulja Boy post below (sick beats, brah!).

Enough of this "noize" and "man music." Real heads know to truly get down and groove one must enter The Phil Zone. One band that puts me in such a state is my new very favorite band ever, Hannah's Field. A duo consisting of a flowing delicate flower of homeopathic soul on vox/ acoustic and what appears to be a Rasta David Cross on percussion/sweet raps! From their official website, dig:

"This groups new "Gypsy Reggae" sound is being embraced by everyone, from folk lovers, reggae snowboarders to rock’n’rollers. Their new release, "Warriors of Love", is a 13 song tapestry that takes you on a trip. It breaks through pop and surface to what lies deep within us all. There are songs of prayer, parties, praise, pot and peace. While rocking with powerful African drum beats..."

Witness the magic:

Soulja Boy on IC?

Believe it.
You probably are familiar with Soulja Boy from his 2007 hit single. I wasn't impressed with the song and more or less discounted the guy. That all changed when a friend showed me Da Album Before Da Album. This is insane, lo fi psych hip hop.


Preview:


Spark A blunt and play this album loud.

Download here.
Purchase here.

Noise Blog: John Wiese & Merzbow - Multiplication

Alright you blogger nerds, you fucked up. You fucked up big time. And your going to have to be punished. Just remember, I do this because I love you.

The first post I made about noise featured John Wiese. This album features a collaboration between Wiese and another major noise artist, Merzbow.



Merzbow (Masami Akita) is an OG on the real. Dudes been releasing this sort of stuff since 1979(!). He is also a big fan of grindcore and deathmetal. Akita is incredibly prolific, he has over 350 solo recordings out to date and numerous collaborations as well. His process has changed a lot over the years, originally using "junk" and electronics and more recently using laptops. Heres an example of his earlier approach from a Korean tour in 1991...



Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Multiplication.


This album is brutal and unrelenting. Your ears are assaulted from every angle and you never get a chance to catch your breath. Its starts right in at a million miles an hour and only gains momentum. This is not for the faint at heart so you Elliot Smith listening, sweater wearing types best leave this one alone. But if you think you can handle this, give it a try, and find out how wrong you are...

Download here
Purchase here.


PS One of my favorite things to do is play this and Phobia or Visceral Bleeding at the same time. Go on try it, it'll give you a chance to meet those new neighbors who moved in upstairs.

MARTYR - HOPELESS HOPES (1997)

Dude. "Hopeless hopes", man. It's like... There's hope, but then there's like... No hope. Dude. That's some fucking heavy shit, right there.

In all seriousness though, this album will rip you a new one. In the face.
"Main" project of one Daniel Mongrain (a Canadian Hessian who you might know from such obscure bands as VOIVOD, um, GORGUTS, pre-suck Cryptopsy, Quo Vadis, and Capharnaum), Martyr occupies that dark and cryptic realm between early 90's Technothrash and early 00's Tech-death, displaying just the right amounts of show-offy guitar/bass wizardry to baffle the casual metallion while still remaining listenable. I think I just heard Helm popping a boner.
Anyway, now that Sergeant D has made late-era Gorguts-bashing fashionable, I'm sure we'll soon be hearing (or reading, rather) an onslaught of anti-noodling shit-talk on the blogosphere. The haters will condemn the shred, complaining that it is music that only appeals to metal musicians. And you know what? I'd like to be the first to invite said haters to investigate my crotch region, while Martyr makes rude and ungentle love to their collective ear-pussies. IllCon will always stand in defense of music nerdism, in all shapes and forms.

According to their Last.FM page, "Martyr’s intricate and aggressive Technical Metal style is built on complex structures which allies a multitude of emotions from many different musical approaches. The music is not limited to the conventions of traditional metal music, the band striving to push those limits to create a more open-minded concept."

That's great, fellas. Now like Uncle Frank said, "SHUT UP AND PLAY YOUR GUITAR".

Download HERE
Purchase HERE (re-issue, extra tracks)

Metallum/Last.FM

PS, this is totally MY JAM:

MARIO IST KRIEG

Anyobody remember way, way, way back this morning when Brother Seanford put up his second post about music from the Commodore 64 computer gaming system? Or how 'bout the first one? Anyone? No?
Well, the Commodore 64 system has always seemed somewhat alien to me. The first time I lived in a household with a functioning computer was around 2004, and as much as I enjoy the music, I remain completely ignorant of the actual Commodore experience. I assume I missed out on some sweet games and stuff but really, I don't know. I have zero frame of personal reference to fall back on here.

In a way, the C64 game system occupies the same part of my brain where ultra-kvlt one-man bedroom black metal bands live--A dark, obscure region where things seem cooler the less you know about them. Such is the true nature of the chronic music collector and/or gamer. The grass is always greener on the B side, right? But obscurity does not necessarily equal listenability. Bands like Nyogthaeblisz, Abominable Putridity, or Gorugoth might be fun to speculate about due to their relative weirdness and inaccessabilty, but when push comes to shove, their music just ain't that great. Sometimes, you just need a cold beer and Master of Puppets.

So let's retrace the logic here: Commodore 64 = Nyogthaeblisz. OK, cool.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Master of Puppets of video game music:

A bootleg 2 CD recording containing no less than 116 of your favorite NES theme songs, from the classics (Rygar, Punch Out, Metroid, Contra) to the strange and forgotten (Golvellius, Cobra Triangle, Guardian Legend, Gradius, Clu-Clu Land). This collection comprises approximately one (1) metric fuckton of killer jams, almost 2 and a half hours of 8-bit goodness all in one place. 100% worth it for mere novelty/nostalgia value, but upon closer listening, complex polyphonic compositions like "Gumshoe, Stage 1", "Kid Icarus, World 2", "Wonder Boy 3, The Last Dungeon", and "Rush'N Attack, Stage 1" will keep you coming back like a crack rock salt lick.
Fuck, this is almost as good as listening to Bill Cosby talk about shooting heroin.
Almost.

Download HERE

But wait, there's more!

All this talk about one-man kvlt bedroom black metal and sweet 8-bit Nintendo music reminds me: You guys should really check out XEXYZ. This Illinois band is comprised of one dude named Rev, and succumbs to all the pratfalls of lo-fi BM--tinny guitars, flappity drums, questionable recording quality, Varg-y screeching--but there's a catch... All this shitty noise is played over the top of some of your favorite NES themes (again, Rygar and Metroid are present). So yeah, this is goofy as fuck, but oddly catchy too. 2006's Primeval Mountain was the only thing Xexyz ever released. You need it.

Download HERE
Purchase the 2008 re-issue (w/ one extra track) HERE
Metallum/Last.FM

HOW TO BECOME FAMOUS - GATEKEEPER EDITION

Hi yeah so this band Gatekeeper from Chicago seem like something I'd totally be into. Goblin-esque soundtrack synth-scapes, truly evil horror imagery and cool-dude gothy clothes. Often playing with "Witch-House" pioneers Salem (whom we wrote about here), their hype in the blog-o-sphere lately has been vast. In other words these dudes are BLOWIN' THE FUCK UP. Recently signed to super hip label Merok, they are releasing their new full length GIZA in December. Check out this cover art! It's awesome right???

Wow! So late 70's!!!

Their label describes them as, "Inspired by the sounds and visions of forgotten sci-fi film scores, fantasy games and arcade imagery, Gatekeeper lives in a morbidly demented discotheque of its own making, a vivid flight of fancy in which the conventions of techno, Chicago house, italo-disco and industrial are transfigured into one phantasmagorical adventure, populated by hushed screams, Gregorian dungeon chants and cinematic washes of mammoth sound."

Holy shit! EPIC!
Well when buying into the hype like the moron I am, I checked out the big Gatekeeper single from last year. Hmmm something isn't right here... this song sounds familiar...



Wow what a video featuring clips from my favorite straight to video movies I rented as a child of the 80's (including 1991's POPCORN)!

Wait... I know this song...



It's a song by Larry Fast's project Synergy from the 1978 album Cords. It's the EXACT SAME SONG with some terrible drums programmed over it.

Gatekeeper....

YOUR POSE HAS BEEN EXPOSED!!

ummm... oh shit...

Worship Ron Hubbard (no L)

I gave you a good does of C64 a few weeks ago but I’m still not over it. How could you get over jams like these:

















Are you keeping up with the Commodore?


HERE



This is actually the second disk of a double album. The first disk is the C64 Orchestra (yes, a real orchestra) playing these same jams on violins, etc. I don’t have it, but if anybody does, I’m sure it’s awesome. Here’s your chance to bust a sweet alley-oop and post a link in the comments.


Learn more:




What are your favorite C64 tunes?

Mind the Drift - Criterion Edition

Big Business released their third full length album earlier this year and I’ll admit it’s not my favorite record of all time (this is). But when these dudes decided to record commentary for their album and release it for free on their website, I was totally won over once again and am now standing firm on the Pro Business side of the fence. Here is Mind the Drift in it’s superior version, with members commentary.




Download the Criterion Edition here.

BILL COSBY TALKS TO KIDS ABOUT DRUGS (1971)

THIS IS THE BEST FUCKING THING I HAVE EVER HEARD.

(PS This album won a fucking Grammy.)

MADONNA DAHMER AND THE DEATH SQUAD

(click each page for full size)

Wold - Screech Owl

Remember that post I did on John Wiese a couple days ago? Sure you do. Are you, like, into black metal, bro? Ok, ok, of course you are. I'm sorry I even asked. Do you want to hear band that'll make you want to rip out your ear drums and light yourself on fire? Well why are we wasting time then? Check out one of the most fucked albums Ive had the "pleasure" of hearing.




Download here.
Purchase here.

Gentlemen . . . we're history

My biological father, Keanu Reeves, just signed on to do Bill and Ted 3. Of course I’m endlessly excited, but in truth my emotional reaction is more complex. As I’ve been grappling with this on a sub-subconscious level, my analyst brought up an interesting possibility as to why my feelings on this most triumphant reunion might be so tumultuous. Who’s going to play Rufus?

Can you really replace THIS? (Complete George Carlin discography enclosed)


Be excellent to each other.



(Original upload by Angrychairs)

TREEVENGE

Brother Royce introduced me to SMUT CAVE, which in turn introduced me to CHAINSAW MAID. But most recently, SMUT CAVE also turned me on to TREEVENGE, which is the only other video in the world competing with CHAINSAW MAID for Hands Down Best Fucking Thing Ever.

Enjoy!

FRIDAY AFTERNOON DOUBLE FEATURE: RAW FUCKING HAMBURGER

What a strange and fascinating cultural phenomenon we have in Neil Hamburger. Only a society steeped in the ways of irony and stupidity would turn a comedian whose whole shtick is being "unfunny" into a red-carpet celebrity (see below), and in a way, the modicum of success that he has achieved gives me a glimmer of hope for our poor, doomed race--that there may in fact be a shining golden nugget at the bottom of humanity's endlessly depressing Bag of Tricks, that it's okay to hope, perchance to dream.
But I don't need to pontificate too much on the subject. You guys already know Mr. Hamburger, whether through television (Tim & Eric), film (Tenacious D), live performance, or recorded output. You know how "bad" he is, and by "bad", I mean "good". Or do I? Irony is a fickle thing these days.



Today I have chosen to share Neil's first two official releases, 1996's America's Funnyman and 1998's Raw Humburger. These came out before Hamburger had fully found his "identity", before the constant, disgusting throat-clearing, the audience participation, the fame, the fortune. They basically amount to really really REALLY bad comedy performed over canned audience noise and planned heckling, but that's the charm. I mean, NO ONE can deny the comedic genius behind Funnyman's "The X-Rated Hot Dog Vendor". NO ONE.

If you want something legitimately funny from Neil Hamburger, go back and get THIS album from back in his "Gregg Turkington" days. The lulz on today's two beauties are strictly conceptual/unintenional, but being the cultured, educated comedy aficianado that I am, I appreciate the performance either way.

But THAAAAAAAAT'S MY LIFE!


AMERICA'S FUNNYMAN (1996)


Download HERE
Purchase HERE

RAW HAMBURGER (1998)


Download HERE
Purchase HERE

Last.FM

Editor's note: Did I mention that I'm taking my 12-year-old kid to go see Neil Hamburger open for Tim & Eric at The Regency November 5th? Fuck yeah.

WALTER (ROMANO) RIZZATI & ALESSANDRO BLONKSTEINER - HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY SOUNDTRACK (1981)

Creepy-ass bleep-bloop Simonetti-isms from the one and only Walter (real name "Romano") Rizzati, recorded as accompaniment to the Lovecraftian Lucio Fulci masterpiece House By The Cemetery (AKA Quella villa accanto al cimitero). Composer Alessandro Blonksteiner also contributes 4 tracks, but this is mostly a Romano affair--which brings me to an interesting point: this soundtrack has received very limited and spotty release, as an impossible-to-find, limited-to-500-copies overseas release (right), and as a "Fulci double feature OST" type affair (below left), packaged with Fabio Frizzi's Manhattan Baby soundtrack (not to mention a bunch of boring interviews and other assorted detritus). This ends now.

HBTC is a wonderful spaghetti-horror flick, deserving of a great soundtrack. Rizzati and Blonksteiner's creation is just that, a spooky electronic ride through utter suspense and creeping terror. I'm already a sucker for Italian horror soundtracks, but this sucker is extra special. Man oh man.

Who's up for a Fulci megapost?

Separated at birth?


THE HAPPY FAMILY

(Fact: This was the very next film Mr. Rizzati scored after HBTC)

(Talk about a BAD HAIR DAY! HAW! HAW! HAW!)

(Jack Nicholson With Switchblade does not actually appear in the film)

Download HERE
Walter (Romano) Rizzati Last.FM
Nude photos of Lucio Fulci

Trailer:



Watch House By The Cemetery in its entirety HERE.

Hey kids.....FREE CHOONS!!!!

I guess I'm a li'l guilty of letting the side down with some of the posts I've made of late, judging by the LACK OF COMMENTS. So, I figured I'd try bribery.

Everybody likes free stuff, right? I know I do. Free music is always great when you're poor like me, especially when the band themselves are givin' it away. Hell, EVERYBODY wins!

So, what we have here is TWO, count 'em, TWO free full-length albums by a side-project of the mighty Kowloon Walled City named SNAILFACE!!

Think Queens Of The Stoneage-style, slightly oddball, vaguely 'stoner', 70's inspired, Yeti-obsessed RAWK. I dig 'em muchly and so should you.







































You can download BOTH their self-titled AND second record - cunningly entitled '2'- HERE, for FREE.....

...or, if you're into tapes, 10 measly bucks will get you BOTH albums on cassette in a box. On a bed of fur. Snazzy.

BUY 'EM HERE.

Hell, buy some Kowloon Walled City Stuff while you're there - they ROCK




See? told ya.

Oh, and 'Magic Hamburger' from the first Snailface album totally SLAYS.