I'm Back!

Well it was more like three weeks but I had a blast. It was really nice to meet so many Cosmic Hearse supporters face to face. You all are too sweet, really. Besides meeting so many cool folks and camping under big skies with my brothers and sisters in Ludicra, the highlight of the journey was seeing and hanging with the amazing Columbus, Ohio metal band Deadsea. Their insane mathy Atheist meets Mercyful Fate meets Venom trip fucking blew my mind. Bassist, Alex, said it would be totally cool if I posted their CD here, in fact he seemed really excited to have you all check it out. Deadsea may be the best metal band in the USA that you have never heard of. You decide. It's good to be back.

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Adios!

Don't worry, this is just until I return from a two week trek to some select U.S cities with Ludicra and Hammers of Misfortune. The dates are posted below, so if you live anywhere near any of these I expect to see you there.

08/04, Saint Paul MN @ Turf Club

08/05, Chicago IL @ Cobra Lounge (with Slough Feg!)

08/07, Cleveland OH @ Peabody's

08/08, Hamilton ON (Canada) @ Casbah Lounge

08/09, Boston MASS @ Middle East

08/10, Providence RI @ AS220

08/11, New York, NY @ Santos (with Villains!)

08/12, Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda's

08/13, Washington DC @ DC9

08/14, Baltimore MD @ Talking Head Club

08/15, Columbus OH @ Ravari

Blood of Our Forefathers

Gontyna Kry is perhaps one of my all time favorite lo-fi Black Metal bands. The bands origin date as far back as 1993 in Poland, but now the band has been reduced to its core member, Warterz, who now resides in the UK. If you have been reading, you are aware of the band's sketchy nationalist agenda, but this site isn't about politics, good versus evil, morality, race, or religion. This site is about bringing you strange, important, interesting, and unsung music. So with that said, here is Gontyna Kry's 2001 epic Krew Naszych Ojcow. The beauty of Gontyna Kry's releases are they always different from each other, readers expecting the dreamy distant shimmer of Welowie might be surprised by Krew Naszych Ojcow. The material here ranges from keyboard-heavy Black Metal to odd spoken word ambient pieces. Not as lo-fi and fucked up as their other work, Krew Naszych Ojcow has a more traditional approach. Fantastic.

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Shevalreq

History Channel-Guitar Synth-Jazz-Black Metal? The work of a twisted outsider genius? An elaborate joke? I can't really say, but the Hekaloth Records label has a bizarre mission statement, a ridiculously primitive website, and a few different releases by "bands" that of this genre they seem to have invented (bands include Shevalreq, Thursar, Gluttony, and Xynfonica.) It's so confusing, and seemingly insane, either you instantly will be a fanatic follower of all things Hekaloth, or you just be puzzled and somewhat disconcerted. Here is Tournament at Constantinople by Shevalreq to let you know where you fit in.

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Electrocution

Electrocution was Italy's contribution to the global Death Metal boom of the early '90s. Why isn't this bit of Bolognese brutality better known? Inside The Unreal has everything you want in a Death Metal album, crushing riffs, gruff vocals, lyrics about the inevitability of death, and a wicked cool Lovecraftian Shoggoth creature leering at you from the cover. Seriously, what gives?

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Live The Chaos

This classic bit of Bay Area punk rock history is essential. Rancid posed at train tracks and the punk haunts of the East Bay for videos and pictorials in SPIN, Filth was the real deal, living the chaos. Now you can live the chaos too, but in a more hypothetical digital manner with this batch of mp3s and this jpeg.

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Wrath of the Emperor

This bit of Norwegain cult art is widely known and you probably already have it, but I am posting it anyways. It has Emperor's first EP from '93 and their extremely raw demo, titled Wrath of the Tyrant, from '92. Despite the polished,over-produced crap that Emperor churned out towards their end at one time they were the best and most important Norwegian Black Metal band, and it is important to remember that. Emperor before the wrap around shades and badly photoshopped album covers, just pure, unhinged, ice-cold teenage Satanism.

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Critical Beatdown

This late '80s classic by The Ultramagnetic MC's had a young Kool Keith so far ahead of his time I think this shit went over a lot of the heads of the Hip Hop set. Ultramagnetic, at the time, were the most skilled MCs on the East Coast (and possibly the world) and Critical Beatdown is the proof, and check out their duds on the cover, that is just pure Bronx style dope. I'll take that over that hideous Ed Hardy shit any day.

The Beatdown

Krupted Peasant Farmers

Krupted Peasant Farmers (KPF) were the lynchpin of the early 90s Southbay (San Jose) punk scene. They played fantastically hook-laden melodic punk that brings to mind Screeching Weasel, Articles of Faith and the great, but unsung German band, Neurotic Arseholes. Despite KPF's pop punk leanings, they band was fiercely political. Their lyrics were sometimes a bit goofy (Skyscrapers are the Erections of Corporations Fucking The Sky from "Society is Puking") but they were sincere in their disdain for capitalism, guns, meat, the military industrial complex, and the raping of the earth, and they wrote absolutely infectious dual-guitar harmonies. This collection titled Peasants By Birth, Farmers By Trade, Krupted By The Dollar collects various odds and ends recordings from the band, including a cover of a song by The Fuckboyz. Highly recommended.

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Chaos/Death

Here's another rare Black Metal cassette for you. This one comes from Vazal, a rather furious band from Holland. This release, Chaos/Death is raw and primitive, but not in the Burzum sense. Nothing sad or pensive here, just unfettered hatred for all that is earthly and human. A sort of traditional approach that yields great results.

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Princess Leather

I gave you the run down on the Garza sisters and their band Heather Leather here, but now I am kicking you their album Princess Leather. The album was recorded in 1988 but wasn't released until 2005, when the ladies reunited for some gigs in their hometown of San Antonio. Fall under their spirited but clumsy chola metal spell once again.

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And, I want to remind all of you about Blog Bodies, the blog where myself and other great music bloggers of note compile a "mix tape" for you on a certain theme. It is updated every week and this week we tackle Summer. You should follow this blog, download the mix and listen to it over and over again until the next one is posted, then repeat.

The Break It Up Experiment

Back when I posted Bad Religion's bestest album I threatened to drop this fucking corn -studded turd from punk's past. You thought I forgot, but I didn't. Let's try an experiment, since I know this won't be downloaded or commented on much: I want everyone who is reading this to download it, listen to it for as long as you can, then in the comments section, just type how far into it you were before you turned it off, and the first word that comes to your head to describe the album. I would greatly appreciate it. Could be fun.

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Nidhöggsburg

Nidhöggsburg was a short lived project Hendrik Möbus, founder of the infamous teenage German Black Metal band Absurd. Upon his release from prison for the murder of a classmate, Möbus released this crazy fucked up cassette called (D)rache wird toben!. This has to be the strangest, most poorly recorded bit of Third Reich fetishist Black Metal ever and that includes that stupid Command tape we all got a boner over a ways back. In fact, this is so fucking wonky it reminds me of Corneus and those other twisted one man Saarland Black Metal bands that have been popping up on the hearse. Yeah, like all things pertaining to Absurd, this bears some controversial political associations that might make you scared or sad or fill you with a sudden self-righteous indignation if you are sensitive.

Achtung!

Deathwish

Christian Death's second unholy offering came in the form if this great 12" EP titled Deathwish. from 1984. I think it was the band's best material. Rozz WIlliams was a poet of the highest caliber. If there is any justice in this cold unfeeling world, he will be regarded alongside Baudelaire and Rimbaud by generations to come.

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Intrauterine Cannibalism

Back when I posted Malignancy's pummeling Cross-Species Transmutation album no one cared to comment. Even if you are in indifferent to the angular, pinch harmonic overload and the gastric gurgle of this unsung band of upstate New York duders, I am posting their debut full length album from 1999. Oh, and it's called Intrauterine Cannibalism. Intrauterine Cannibalism (the zoological behavior) is, as the name suggests, where larger stronger embryos feed on smaller ones during gestation. Me thinks the bigger guy on the right of the cover is coming out alone and full.

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ENJOY!

The cover should already tell you what this is all about. It's rookie Japanese D Beat, so of course it's totally derivative and gimmicky, while being completely endearing and infectious.

騒音を楽しみなさい

Ghremdrakk

Ghremdrakk are an excellent Black Metal band from Belgium who generously sent copies of this CDR demo, Sterrenpracht, to Ludicra some years back. Since then it has been released on tape by Death Triumphant and CD by GoatowaRex. Ghremdrakk sing in their native Flemish but the subject matter of their choosing is universal: Satan and death. Ghremdrakk's unholy racket, with it's use of real instruments and raw approach, brings to mind the vibe of Black Metal circa 1994, before everyone had garageband, an evil pseudonym and a myspace page. Kvlt.

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Lay Down Your Soul...

This bit of ridiculousness from England's greatest band (next to Sabbath) has been brought to the public's attention through a 7" release by Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore and a page or two in one of those Rollins books about the relentless grind that was part and parcel to being in America's greatest band (next to Slayer.) The story is that Black Flag landed a gig opening for Venom in New Jersey on April 2nd 1986. Someone in Flag's crew had the good sense to slip a blank cassette to the sound dude. The tape was edited to just the amazing between song stage banter of Cronos, and widely dubbed and distributed to friends that Black Flag met along the way. This probably inspired a similar collection of amazing stage rants from Slayer's Tom Araya that has been making the rounds. Even more intense is in 1986 you could see Venom and Black Flag play an all ages show, and it would only cost you the low satanic price of $6.66. I need one of those Nocturnus time machines, like now.

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Dark Wizard

The Metal merchants of Dark Wizard were obviously under the hypnotic spell of the NWOBHM scene, but being Dutch they sort of put their own wonky spin on it. The music is a bit subdued and lethargic at times, but the overly dramatic vocals of a nutter named Berto Van Veen counter any short comings of the band themselves. Nothing innovative or overly exciting here on their one and only album, 1985's Reign of Evil, but some of you aren't so jaded as to not enjoy some no-frills fun loving metal once in a while, right? Funny, given the band's name and the album's title, nothing here is very dark or evil, and nothing here that remotely comes close to wizardry. Still a fun record.

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What The Hell

The second EP and final release for the best known and most influential Florida punk band of the '80s. This one sees the beer swilling louts from Gainseville tackle such topics as Brooke Shields, your mom, acne, gun control, and their disdain for their former guitarist George Tabb. This was released by Roach Motel's own DESTROY label in 1984. Oh, and speaking of Roach Motel, my contribution to this week's Blog Bodies features their classic tune "My Dog's Into Anarchy." Please go check it out.

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Ritual

Ritual, the 1991 debut album from one of the earliest and most eccentric Black Metal bands, Master's Hammer from Czechoslovakia. I don't want to say too much, but there is really only two types of people in the world; those who love Master's Hammer, and those who haven't heard them yet.

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Pictures Of Pain

Pushead's Pusmort label released this weird piece of dour English post-punk from a band called Part 1. Kind of like Anarcho-punk meets classic Death Rock. You might hate this, you might love it. I'm not a fucking mind reader. Jesus.

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Screams Of Anguish

Brutality were the most underrated band in the pantheon of Florida Death Metal. This album kills, but the one after was considerably less interesting and the third was just horrible. Perhaps this is the reason these guys were forgotten in the history of crushing Sunshine State death. Screams of Anguish is classick. See how the cover art is all busy with images; each one is super fucked up and wicked evil? Well that's how Brutality approached songwriting, you are just getting into this crazy zooming-at-you-skull riff, and they turn around and give you this even better reptilian-eye-that-won't-stop-staring-into-your-soul riff. Seriously mandatory.

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Propaganda Is Hippies

Finland's most feral bands, Kieltolaki, Viemann Kolonna, Vaarinkasitys, Totuus, Sotatila, Omaisuusvahinko and Yhteiskunaan Ystavat gather forces to kick ass, but my favorite is the neck-snapping fury of Vaarinkasitys. If you hunger for bands with names you can't pronounce, get Propaganda Is Hippies in your earholes now!

Arvoton Roska

Malayhem

Malaysia isn't an easy place to grow up, especially if you are a Satanic teenager with a thirst for blood and a hunger for blasphemous Black Metal. The oppressive heat and even more oppressive religious climate can make things particularly tough on our maniacal Malay metal brothers. But three stalwart and defiant desecrators named Baron Black, Venomous, and Ben joined forces to form Vulga in 1985, thus creating a tiny metal scene in their town of Ipoh, Malaysia. Eventually Vulga split like an amoeba to form two equally sinister and similar bands, Massrohandt and Sraet & Esimorp (Tears & Promise backwards). Both bands favored the all-out hyperblast of Sarcofago as well as the slower, Celtic Frost tinged form of black expression. To document the scene they created in Ipoh, the two cults got together for a very limited split tape which I present here for your listening displeasure. Crazy pent-up kids playing primitive metal in a place where it's illegal to do so. That's the fucking real deal, my friends. To further confuse outsiders this split was rereleased on CD a few years back as a Vulga release. Whatever.

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The Wicker Man

One of my all time favorite films, one of my all time favorite soundtracks. The Wicker Man pits paganism against piety, old timey religion against even old timier religion. When a stodgy protestant detective touches down on a tiny Scottish island inhabited by a community still immersed in heathen tradition, ideologies clash and ultimately faith is tested. Amazing performances from both Edward Woodward and Christopher Lee, and a smoking hot Britt Ekland. The soundtrack contains eerie folk, ribald sing-a-longs, and plenty of witchy pagan vibes that evoke the mists of Summerisle and it's strange inhabitants. Come, it is time to keep your appointment with the Wicker Man.

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Blog Bodies...

...is a new spot where myself and a few other people of taste and distinction assemble a sort of "mix tape" once a week based on a theme. Check it out HERE

No Comment

Possibly one of the greatest punk bands of the '90s. No Comment often get lumped in with the whole fastcore/power violence thing, but they had much more going on then just speed and ruthless bludgeon. Here's their second 7" EP Downsided from 1992.

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UP!

If you have had the pleasure of reading John Sinclair's life affirming tome, Guitar Army, you might have some knowledge of The UP. For the rest of you squares, The UP were super tight White Panther bros of the legendary MC5. Now while The UP were like a mere spark next to the explosive rock power of the 5, they were still a bunch of fearless furry freaks ready to fight the pigs for the right to rock, smoke grass, and bang dumpy college girls in peasant dresses, and that demands attention. In 1970, under the management of John Sinclair the band managed to eke out the single Just Like An Aborigine b/w Hassan I Sabbah, but soon after John was busted on some bullshit weed charge. This setback resulted in the inspiration for the band's second single Free John Now! b/w Prayer For John Sinclair. Here's a great collection of everything the The UP managed to get on tape in their short career, and it even has a guest appearance from America's favorite pederastic poet, Alan Ginsberg. Enjoy this shit with a bong and a rifle within reach. Off the pigs!

UP!

Hellas

Greece's Kyrck Productions has laboriously compiled this epic two disc collection of cult Hellenic Metal from 1989-2006. Some heralded pioneers of the scene like Rotting Christ, Varathron, Septic Flesh, and Necromantia, along with some of my favorites like Agatus, Nocternity and Kawir, and a few great bands that I hadn't previously heard like Nocturnal Death and Disharmony. I was aware that Greece has produced a number of quality metal bands over the years but this is a staggering two-and-a-half-hours of essential black and death metal. No real duds here.

Μέρος πρώτο (part 1)

Μέρος δύο (part 2)

Paid In Full

Another mandatory late 80s Rap classic. My friend Danny B had given me a tape of this album with Candlemass live on side B. It was my favorite tape, and now those two albums will always remind me of each other. Bring this back into your life for the Summer.

$$$

Embryonic Devourment

Sick, brutal, technical Death Metal from Mendocino County, bro, that's what the hearse is serving up today. Embryonic Devourment's name is loosely based on a Carcass song title, but these California hopheads do more of the angular, mathy, scalpel precision thing than the low gurgly pummel of the Brit masters of medicinal morbidity. It might bother some that the production is super clicky and high end, but for me that just makes the whole experience that much more bizarre and alien, like a particular nasty anal probe followed by a bong rip of sweet Mendo mota.

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A New Age

Three of Brazil's wonkiest and most intolerant one-man NSBM bands are featured here on Chaos To Unleash A New Age. Evil, S.A.R., and Thallium have all been featured on the Hearse, all are among my favorite purveyors of South American retardo-black-misanthrope-metal. This 3-way hatefest has exclusive tracks from the bands (including a Brutal Attack cover from S.A.R., and a Graveland cover by Thallium.) The usual Cosmic Hearse caveat about being sensitive to fucked up ideologies applies here.

Hate!

Who Saw Her Die?

Starring one-time James Bond actor, George Lazenby, Who Saw Her Die? chronicles the anguish of sculptor Franco and his estranged wife Elizabeth as they unravel the secrets surrounding the death of their daughter. They uncover a shadowy world of old timey withcraft, twisted Catholicism and a host of bizarre characters. Who Saw Her Die? has a depth of emotion and characterization not generally seen in most gialli. The choice of Venice as a location is beautiful and creates a damp and claustrophobic atmosphere. Add a most unnerving using a children's choir from the master, Ennio Morricone, and you have one of the best non-Argento gialli ever made. Highly recommended. Now get the soundtrack.

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Total Control

More Gai rarities ripped from this awesome reissue CD from Japan's Anarchy Centre Records. This is mainly for Sean and Slobo for providing me with so much killer noise punk, but the rest of you are totally welcome to it as well. Oh, and happy birthday, Matty Luv, wherever you may be.

制御

Womb of Pestilence

Warloghe is yet another stunning Finnish Black Metal band. Womb Of Pestilence is the band's second album. It was released in 2003. Uncompromising, cold, and ancient Black Metal is Warloghe's forte, no progressive wankery, no post-rock influence, no nature-loving hippie bullshit, just occult darkness and arcane pitch black misanthropy.

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Shakin' Street

This one is for my band mate Christy Cather, I know she goes for this kind of thing, but you will too. After leaving the Dictators, but before joining Manowar, Ross The Boss hooked up with some fellow New York musicians and the lovely and enthusiastic Fabienne Shine just off the love boat from France. They formed the band Shakin' Street and made a couple of really fun albums of hook-laden power pop that spot the mildewed record bins of thrift stores all over the US of A. Here is the band's self-titled second album. Every song on here is a gem, but I am partial to "Solid As A Rock" which could be the anthem at the triumphant end of an '80s teen sex comedy where a group of rag tag teenage misfits overcome their differences to beat those snobby rich kids in a boat race, or golf game, or whatever. Sad that something this tasty remains generally unknown, but we're changing that right now, motherfuckers.

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A Call To Arms

The comparisons to Destroyer 666 are unavoidable and not without reason. Gospel of the Horns was formed when former D666 skinsman Ballistic Howitzer jumped ship to play bass and sing in a new band. After a couple of great demos and EPs, Gospel of the Horns released A Call To Arms, their first full length in 2002. It is a fist-pumping, headbanging amalgam of all that is good about Black, Death and Thrash metal, driving riffs, anthemic choruses, and lyrics about war, domination and power. Vicious and proud, Gospel of the Horns are the Australian metal elite, ready throw back a pint with their mates, but just as ready to throw down the gauntlet if necessary.

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Patricia

Doc Corbin Dart, the nasally voiced muckraker of The Crucifucks, released Patricia in 1990, a solo album of dark and tortured almost-pop dedicated to and named for his therapist who was treating Dart for a personality disorder. Apparently she moved her practice, Feeling completely devastated and abandoned, Doc set to writing this painful, and oft-overlooked album. Doc Dart's trademark voice wails brutally candid lyrics describing, with unnerving openness, a mental breakdown, a tortured life, and the anguish he must live with everyday. It's an off-putting listen while also being quite touching. This was originally released by Alternative Tentacles on cassette and LP.

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Guest Poster: Ezra Lux

Today is a very special day around our house, it is Ezra's 8th birthday. In honor of this momentous occasion I have decided to hand the reins over to him to write about any music-related topic he wishes. Ezra chose to write about his five favorite album covers. Happy Birthday, little man.

I like the Iron Maiden cover because it's like Eddie right outside your window and he is hovering over you.

I like the Butchered At Birth cover cause it's gory and R rated

Unleashed In The East is a good cover cause they're clothes are weird and they're rockin' out in steam..

I like Dealing With It by D.R.I because they're fighting with happy faces on TV and they're destroying the house.

Storm of the Light's Bane is a very good cover. It's like doom man on a doom horse in doom land.

Zaaku

You motherfuckers all went nuts over Paul Von Aphid's black acid punk crust noise fuck known as Demon City Reaper, the man was so flattered that he wanted share his Black Metal band Zaaku. It is just the sort of distorted buzzing high weirdness that we crave here at The Hearse. It would seem that Paul's outsider art genius knows no bounds. Thanks again, Mr. Von Aphid.

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Asoka

Here's some excellent Swedish hard prog stuff from 1971. I find myself writing this too often when it comes to these rare '70s rockers, but this was Asoka's one and only album. Enjoy.

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Total Retardation

Hanatarash's 1996 7" EP Total Retardation. Graciously sent to me by a reader whose name I forget. I am totally retarded for not remembering. This is fucking rule!!!

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