Bauhaus - "Mask"

Darkness and Light. Facades we all hide behind. Fear of the unknown, and joy in overcoming those fears. Night and day, good and evil. All these are phrases that I would use to describe the variety of emotions that Bauhaus put forth musically and lyrically on this album, their second and best. From the rousing opener "Hair of the Dog", to the funk laden "Dancing", experimental weirdness of "Of Lillies And Remains", utter atmospheric creepiness of "Hollow Hills" (every single time I hear Peter Murphy say "in fear of death/in fear of rot" it sends chills up my spine), and the absolutely phenomenal title track "Mask", which always sounds to me like the evils of the night fading back into shadows as the light comes out at the beginning of a new day, there really isn't a bad song on this album. This is easily one of the best albums ever. Here is the video they made for the title track, and it is entirely eerie:

The Transformation is invested with the mysterious and the shameful

while the thing i am becomes something else

part character part sensation

Sarcófago - "Rotting"

Sarcófago should need no introduction, their brand of high speed metal with lyrics about satan, sex, and booze being a big influence on many bands, especially their first album, the classic "Inri". Here is "Rotting", their second full length, which is 6 tracks in 32 minutes. The first track is a throwaway 30 second intro of moaning called "The Lust", which should have just been incorporated into the first real song, the ripping "Alcoholic Coma", and who knows why it stands on its own, but it does. This album seems at first to be sloppily played, but really grew on me the more and more I listened to it. My CD copy of this does not have the original cover pictured above, just a black cover with a grey logo and the name of the album in red, but it does have an awesome but blurry picture of the band on the back of it:

Any band with "Sexual Maniac" jeans has got to be killer, right? Right. So, invert your crosses, put on your bullet belts, grab some booze, and turn this up fucking loud!

Sex, Drinks, And Metal

Billy And The Boingers - Bootleg Flexi

Bloom County was one of my favorite comic strips when I was younger, and even though it hasn't aged too well, there are still some very funny moments in it, and then there's this: a two song flexi disc included with early copies of the collection "Billy And The Boingers: Bootleg". I have wanted to post this on here for some time, as it is a departure from the usual fast and raging punk/metal posts I love to make. So I figured, for my 175th post on this thing, why not have a little fun. Included with this you will find the lyrics and some scans. I promise I'll be back with more metal and punk rock soon, but for now, enjoy.

U Stink (But I ♥ U)

Paintbox - "Singing Shouting Crying"

Here is Paintbox's first full length, and what a fantastic album it is. Simultaneously melodic and harsh at the same time, with great japanese/english vocals and the fantastic guitar wizardry of Chelsea (from Death Side), how could you not like this? Highly recommended!

Sing A Crying Song

Void - "Condensed Flesh"

Void is, without a doubt in my mind, the greatest hardcore band from the Washington, D.C. area, and quite possibly the best hardcore band ever. Their split with Faith is a classic, and mandatory listening for anyone remotely interested in punk rock. Here is "Condensed Flesh", their second demo from 1981. The songs on this that are also on the split seem to have more energy and rawness on this recording, and there's no annoying high pitched vocals on "Organized Sports" here either. For those who have never discovered the awesomeness that is Void, I submit this demo for your enjoyment. And for those already initiated, you know exactly what the fuck I'm talking about.

Void - "Condensed Flesh"

Funeral Oration - "The Godsend"

Here is an early demo by Funeral Oration, one of many absolutely killer bands from the Netherlands in the 80's (see also Larm, B.G.K., Gepopel, Mornington Crescent, etc). This demo finds them ripping through 15 tracks, slowing down only twice for some proto-death rock songs that don't suck. I recently got this on vinyl, it was apparently issued in that format by Neder Again Records, which I cannot find anything about online, but they also released live bootlegs by Larm and B.G.K., both of which I would love to hear, if anyone has these, let me know! After releasing this demo, F.O. released the amazing "Shadowland" EP, which I posted here last year, and the incredible "Communion" LP, which you can find all over the place, just look for it. This could be my favorite of all their releases though. In the 90's, they were signed to Hopeless Records, and they put out some albums on that label that, while good, were nowhere near as great as their early stuff. Sadly, in 2004, vocalist (and guitarist on this demo) Peter Zirschky passed away, but this music will live forever. In fact it's partly the vocals of the early Funeral Oration stuff that I like the most. They're gruff, yet emotional at the same time, which is a pretty apt description of the music on this release also. Enough of my yapping, just get it!

Funeral Oration - "The Godsend"

Brain Death - "Personal Affair" 7"

Hey everyone, yes, I've been neglecting the blog again, but I'm here to make it up to you with this classic japanese hardcore record from Brain Death. This is eight songs of raging fast female fronted hardcore that should bring a smile to yr face. Once again, big ups to my buddy Jesse for introducing this band to me all those years ago.

Brain Death - "Personal Affair" 7"