Arrigt Antræk 7"EP (Hjernespind Records)
I'm not a huge fan of hardcore but I do have a soft spot for this very young local combo which also is an excellent live band. 8 fast short hardcore (no metal influences) punk ragers with an early 80s vibe to it. Salomon is a great frontman and a cool singer for this kinda music and the (Danish) lyrics are brilliant and very personal which I bet young punks, especially here in Copenhagen, can relate to. Topics covers boredom, smoking too much hashish, sex problems, violence and alcohol, plastic surgery etc., all done with an impressive mix of honesty and a tongue-in-cheek approach. Go see'em if you've the chance.
hjernespind@hotmail.com

If you dig: Minor Threat, Amdi Pedersens Armé, Disorder

Jens

Autotune - How Can You Tell? 7" (Diesel Demon Records)
These Norwegians' brand of noize are pretty hard to pigeonhole into a nice little box as we reviewers love to do to avoid growing too many grey hair by thinking too much. Well, enuff whining. The three tunes have a 60s garagepunk vibe thanks to the Farfisa organ, but there's also traces of 'modern' punkrock like Sweatmaster and Hives especially in the guitar riffs. But Autotune is a bit more experimental and noisy and less commercial than those bands. Its basically an it-will-grow-on-you deal from a young group with plenty of potential.
http://www.autotune.no

If you dig: Sweatmaster, The Fiends, Hives

Jens

Black Hole of Hulejra - La Danse Macabre CDEP (Wuck Records W R005)
This is basically a one man project of a man who calls himself, The Duck. He is from Italy. You get 4 songs in 18 minutes on this fixed price CD-EP. The first track is a short 2 minute punky track and this is followed by the cool title track a bit like the Orquestra del Desierto with an interesting acoustic. Dust Mite has a cool sounding guitar riff and is real Italian Stoner Rock! Phat Slug is also a stoner rock anthem type track. I would be interested to hear more from The DUCK!
http://www.wuckrecords.com

Scott

The Black Jetts - Right On Sound CD (Dead Beat Records)
The Holy R'n'R Trinity (Stooges, MC5, Dolls) gets another raunchy workover by the always reliable Vegas sleazepunx. I loved their previous "Bleed Me" album, and these 10 songs are more of same though less sloppy and more focused melody-wise. Gabe Stiff (vocals/guitar/organ) and guitarist Roy Page have changed rhythm section with newcomers Gary Wright (drums) and bassist Thomas Chol, who fit in perfectly like a busty hooker at a craps table. Killer tunes are a-plenty, my fave is the sublime "Your Love Ain't So Strong" which is probably their best yet, and "Hooked" and "Right On Sound" are trashrock classics you'll hum for days. The great take on Smokey Robinson's soul stomper "Get Ready" should appeal to fans of Fleshtones and Woggles. "You Can't Kill What's Already Dead" sounds like a lost track of "Raw Power"; dark, desperate, and slow not unlike "Gimme Danger". Only a fool would ignore "Right On Sound", a riotous celebration of sleazy lewd unclean rawk'n'roll. The CD incl. a music video of "All Sexed Up".
http://www.dead-beat-records.com
http://www.blackjetts.com

If you dig: Stooges, DMZ, New York Dolls

Jens

Blood Farmers - Permanent Brain Damage CD
(Leafhound Records LFR001)
Well, if you like St. Vitus, Count Raven, Candlemass and with a bit of Blue Cheer and Hawkwind throw in, then you will totally dig these demo recordings of the Blood Farmers. These guys wrote some cool stuff with long punishing DOOM tracks that run 15 minutes at times (3 of the tracks here!). These are the original demos from 1991 and some totally awesome stuff with mind frying layered guitar solos and pounding riffs. The production is quite raw but it does not detract from the bands power. What can I say, this is really cool stuff. The band are now getting together again so look out for something new or some gigs or something in 2005!
http://www.leafhound.com

Scott

Brahman - A Forlorn Hope CD (Revelation Records/Target Distribution)
As a rule, I don't mind when my hardcore or punkrock goes a bit emo on me. What I do mind is when pop enters the mix, as with all the MTV designer punk bands. I'm willing to accept that they might have some function in spreading an alternative message to that of Britney and Christina, though it's nothing I'd listen to at home: Worse is when rehearsal room bands start aping this style to score a quick buck. Allegedly, Brahman have already sold half a million copies of this, their second album, in their home country of Japan, but they still sound like a rehearsal room band from the provinces: The sound is hopelessly weak with absolutely no balls, the songs are shit, and the performance is less than confident. After two tries I still haven't gotten through more than 5 songs, and I'm not gonna try again. http://www.revelationrecords.com

If you dig: Sum 41, Blink 182, Green Day

Jon A

The Candy Snatchers - Ugly On The Outside CD (Roulette's Records)
Their selftitled debut album of 1996, "Human Zoo!" (1998) and the "This Is Rock'n'Roll" split CD with Cheap Dates are some my most treasured punkrock records of the 90s, and then sadly this Virginia killer combo seemed to disappear into oblivion. Their brand of noize evoked the best of LA punk like Circle Jerks and Detroit raunch like The Stooges and contemporaries like New Bomb Turks and The Didjits. Classic snotty fast and furious punk'n'rockroll played with hooks and attitude rarely seen or heard since, apparently their alcohol intake were legendary. So this 14 song collection of superrare singles, tribute tracks and hard-to-get comp tunes is more than welcome. Covers include Radio Birdman's "Murder City Nights", "Picture My Face" (Teenage Head) and Bowie's "Suffragette City" done in a way more unclean version compared to Turbonegro's. Every song is godlike, just listen to "She Sure Can Blow" peel off the flesh from your face, pure sonic mindfuck terrorism! My only complaint is the uneven sound and production, some mastertapes were apparently lost so you get tunes with plenty of vinyl scratches and noise. But that's a minor flaw since Candy Snatchers will record a new album this year with all new tunes sure to raise boners among any true punk'n'roll addicts on the planet!! B-movie fanatics should track down the obscure lowbudget 70s film that these guys took their name from, its a fuckin' gem! http://www.roulettesrecords.com
http://www.sonic.nl

If you dig: The Didjits, The Humpers, New Bomb Turks

Jens

The Dead - Anthems for World Domination CD/LP (Ratpack Records)
Fuck you very much! This is a half hour of super primitive, rabid, super fast hardcore that in it's third decade still sounds like a snotty teenager, but The Dead play it with the same efficiency and foolhardy tongue-in-cheekness as Zeke. Short and to the point, along the lines of D.R.I.'s "Dealing With It" album and with vocals reminiscent of Agnostic Front's Roger Miret, there's a rare professionalism to The Dead that keep them on the healthy side of crust, and a leftist political stance that aligns them with Brazil's Ratos de Porão, making them insane, violent, senseless speed hardcore that you can listen to with a clear conscience. They also cover Beastie Boys' "Heart Attack Man" from "Ill Communication", and if they have nothing new to add to hardcore, they still go straight to the heart of it. Great.
http://www.greenhell.de
http://www.thedead-hc.com

If you dig: D.R.I., Zeke, Agnostic Front

Jona A

Debris Inc. - S/T CD (Rise Above/Target)
Debris Inc. is the unholy brainchild of Dave Chandler (ex-Saint Vitus) and Ron Holzner (ex-Trouble) and one would expect this to be another slow sludge rock record. Well, apparently Dave wanted express his love for punkrock which isn't that unusual since Black Flag back in the days actually got SST to sign Saint Vitus. He calls Debris Inc. for 'Happy Violent Drunken Stoner Doom Punk' which isn't a bad description of this extremely uncommercial album. The boys are toasted, stoned and positively pissed off as songs like "Fuckin' Mess", "I Feel Like Shit Again", "Full Of Shit", "You're The Reason I'm Medicated" and "An Old Man And His Bong" (my fave song title of this issue!) perfectly illustrates. Debris Inc. cover Fear's "I Love Living In The City" and "Nausea" (X) and does a fuckin' great job. This is old school ugly fuck-you punkmetal heaven for guys like me who loathes all those young crappy nu-metal emo-goth girly bands that pollute the airwaves nowadays. Now lets all get liquored up and tell the world to go fuck itself! Hang the new Pope and buy me another drink, aaarrggghh, die, die etc.etc.
http://www.debrisinc.com
http://www.riseaboverecords.com

If you dig: AntiSeen, Black Sabbath, Black Flag

Jens

Fury 161 - Los Reyes De La Carretera Mini CD
(Tear It Up Records/Suburban)
Merciless speedy fuzzpunk from Rotterdam that goes for the jugular and never lets go. This shit rocks! Imagine a pissed off The Fleshtones on PCP with a deathwish, and you're halfway there. Every one of their 6 originals rip, and the Mini CD closes with an awesome version of The Monks' 60s classic "I Hate You" complete with spastic guitar noizes and banjo. Fury 161 is definitely a band to look out for, I'll bet they absolutely kill live since they've gained quite a reputation while sharing the stage with the likes of Zeke, El Gupo Stuntteam, Nomads and Peter Pan Speedrock. Guest organ player Don Derdag provides some tasty Farfisa mayhem on many tunes. I'm hooked!
http://www.fury161.sucks.nl
http://www.tear-it-up-records.nl

If you dig: Defectors, Woggles, Nomads

Jens

The Generators - The Winter Of Discontent CD (People Like You)
I bought this LA punk combo's "Tyranny" a few years back but I didn't play it more than once. This album has more commercial sound, its well-produced atmospheric punkrock with traces of that classic Orange County sound. Doug Dagger has good voice and is backed with some very talented musicians. I like it, but "The Water Of Discontent" could have been a bit more raw and reckless, some of the chorus are a bit too clean for my taste. But fans of classic early 80s punk should definitely check out this band which are 'the radio spokesmen for the Corona Beer Company'!?! That's that beer with a lemon slice all them girls are drinking at gigs, ain't it?
http://www.the-generators.com
http://www.peoplelikeyourecords.com

If you dig: Social Distortion, Bad Religion, US Bombs

Jens

Hezzakya - Drugmetal (Vaudville Records PM13172)
It was a couple of years ago, it seems, that I reviewed this Canadian bands excellent Demo CD. I was surprised and happy to hear they had not disbanded and had produced a full length CD, which includes some of their demo CD tracks as well. While, I don't think the title of the CD is quite appropriate as it is not really heavy metal but more a pure raw guitar driven fuzzed out stoner thing…. The CD begins with the killer guitar that leads into the slow heavy pounding yet groovy track Spirit Gun. While some of the stoner bands either forget the guitar solos or can't find someone to play them, you get plenty of cool spaced out, double tracked ripping stuff here. Thanks guys! I really like the unique vocal delivery this band has as well. Anyway, the heavy pounding continues with Bipolar. Alone in Texas is next and is a pure wall of sound as the riffs just float on. Weapon is from the Demo CD and I just really love this track. It is heavy like old Black Sabbath and has a cool chorus that I can sing for some reason. Great track! Darkness is the fastest track on the CD and really rocks. Broken Horse starts with a very nasty distorted guitar that leads into the foot stomping riff. Mutated God sees the band take it down a step for the first time on the CD (but only for 30 seconds) and stretch it out to 6 minutes in a very cool track. The CD ends with Killing Billy.
This CD delivers the goods and is a solid 40 minutes of heavy shit. Not for the faint at heart. Beware!
http://www.hezzakya.com

Scott

Danny McDonald - Fibrotones CD (Off The Hip)
Australian power pop - eek! This is a little too gentle on my ears, Danny McDonald's soft as velvet voice, and apparently a treble only guitar! I am not entirely sure I am old enough for this record, its more something that should sit on my shelf, and wait for me to start listening to Classic 80s FM - in 40 odd years. But he has the right stuff going for him, no doubt about that. The plan with this album is
obvious, and McDonald knows exactly what his style of music is. You can
only admire artists with enough confidence to go out there and do their
own thing. But the style is not mine, its a little too summer fresh,
surf on the beach in Australia for my liking, especially since its raining outside. Maybe when the temperature gets over 30 degrees, I'll look this up again. Classic singer songwriter style, with obvious chord progressions, and good lyrics. If your into Swedish power pop, this might very well be your thing!
http://www.offthehip.com.au

If you dig: The Flakes, The Stoneage Hearts, The Fevers

Kristian

Lack - Be There Pulse CD (Play/Rec / Target Distribution)
I first heard about Lack this fall, when a Spanish student told me about this wild, Danish screamo band he had chanced upon; then, by a few detours, their second album, landed in my mailbox. I was curious about a band like Lack being on the indie-tinged Play/Rec, but as the exorbitantly poetic press info explains, Lack have matured and mellowed some during the 4 years since their debut, in their own words attempting "to create something you couldn't just as well have found in your record collection at home." Well, that's if you don't already have label mates Barra Head's albums or for that sake Fugazi's, but we'll let that rest, and I'll also try to ignore my indie-hating wife's remarks about Lack reminding her of Kashmir. Lack haven't completely forsaken the hardcore edginess, and if most of the songs are pretty straight 4/4 emo, there's also "5 O'Clock in the Evening" with it's staccatto rhythms and surf interlude or the Russian folksong-flavoured "Simonix", and throughout the album Lack maintain a personal political focus, whether they're railing against McJobs, media mongering, or war, or campaigning for bisexuality and hedonism. And for someone like me, with a record collection 8 or 9 tenths American, it's good to see how productive and creative the European hardcore scene is at the moment.
http://www.playrec.dk/lack
http://www.lackattack.dk

If you dig: Barra Head, early Blonde Redhead, early (International) Noise Conspiracy

Jon A

The Livin' Kitchen - For all the Right Reasons ( Sweden 2005)
Livin' Kitchen is a new Swedish band from the Stockholm area. They cite bands like the MC5, Hellacopters, Nomads, the Who, Freddy King, Rory Gallagher, Johnny Winter and AC/DC as influences. This is a 6 track demo CD recorded in December 2004. The band is a trio…so do they deliver the goods or not?? Gonna be Alright opens the CD and you can really hear the 70's Johnny Winter influence on this track. Too bad he can't play the guitar like Johnny! Black Mamba Groove has a cool blues rock riff and groove. Nice track. Long Gone Down is another very 70's Johnny Winter style rocker. Remember when Rick Derringer played with Johnny??? Won't Realize starts off a slower track and a very Rory Gallagher influenced semi-acoustic track. Into the world of Tomorrow is a 1½ minute outro like track with backwards guitar sounds and stuff, but very cool. Ok.. well this is a pretty cool start for this new band they avoid sounding like the Hellacopters and really remind me of the early 70's Johnny Winter rock and roll that I loved. My only complaint is some of the songs is a bit too much a like and all pretty much the same pace. Mix it up a bit and keep on rockin!
http://www.livinkitchen.tk

Scott

The Movement - Revolutionary Sympathies CD (Destiny)
The long awaited 2nd full length album by Copenhagen's prime modrockers is finally unleased on the world. Their debut album "Move!" (2003) was a fine punkrock record with obvious influences by the likes of The Jam and The Clash, "Revolutionary Sympathies" is a natural progression on that sound. This time The Movement incorporates more 60s soul inspiration (the horn and organ filled "A Little Rain") mixed with classic powerpop ("No Regrets", "Me And You", "My Street"), but they still deliver some kickass mod punk with tunes like "So Alone", "Something 'Bout Reality" and "Karl Marx". There's (fortunately) hardly any ska touches, a finished chapter says singer/guitarist Lukas in the interview elsewhere in this issue. You could say that "Revolutionary Sympathies" is more mature and eclectic, and it actually suits the band perfectly since Lukas Scherfig, Lars Schadler (bass) and Stefan Andersen (drums, also in Magic Bullet Theory) are some of Denmark's most talented musicians who here show their impressive range way beyond the limited punkrock genre. "Revolutionary Sympathies" is basically a classic rock album that should appeal to a lot of different people, and lyrically Lukas is still proudly flying the flag of Marxism along with some very catchy love songs. Definitely the best Danish release I've heard this year so far! There's also a bonus video, "Losing You", included on the CD.
http://www.themovement.dk
http://www.destiny-tourbooking.de

If you dig: The Jam, The Undertones, Motown

Jens

The Mutants - Drunk Mambo Outtakes! 7" (Wanton)
Finnish super surfers The Mutants have released a 7" with two previously unreleased tracks from their early day, before they changed out their drummer. The basement tapes, as it were, are an excellent little potpourri of surf, which could very well have inspired Tarantino to some of his movies. It has that special surf feel, which isn't lost,
even though the band is from no-surf Finland! The Mutants are always worth a listen, and provide some nice bright surf music on this single, especially in comparison with some of the other big surf groups around, who tend to be a lot more grim. Definitely worth the listen, you can
only congratulate who ever found these basement tapes.
http://www.wantonrecords.net

If you dig: El Ray, Dick Dale

Kristian

The Konks - S/T CD (Bomp!)
Like modern day The Sonics, these Americans are diving into the raw sound of traditional blues inspired rock and roll. The similarity to The Sonics is striking actually, which only makes this album better in my ears. At first glance, I was sure this would be yet another punky blues album, but in reality, the punk feel comes from the lack of
proper instruments. This, however, was chosen by the band, deliberately - you can only admire that. The sound is as should be expected from cheap guitars and one drum, but it has now been proven, that track diversity has nothing to do with the amount of money you put into
equipment. The theme of the album is the raw Bo Diddley blues rock rhythm, spiced up with some weird lyrics, like the "Here comes the monkeys"-ish theme song "29 fingers", where they both present themselves, and explain about their 29 fingers, where only 6 are thumbs, interesting. The driving guitar sound and thumping drum, gives you a 50s feel - a distorted sonics, only with a lot more historical influence. This is a very good album, with tracks that could easily have been mainstreamed by artists such as Jet or even The Animals (who had the same obsession for Bo Diddley). Not as scary as their cover art, but then again - how could anything be?
http://www.bomp.com

If you dig: The Sonics, The Black Keys, The Bassholes

Kristian

Porn - Wine, Women and Song
(Small Stone Records SS047)
I have never heard this band, who used to be called Men of Porn back when they were on the Man's Ruin label. The band features producer Billy Anderson (Neurosis, Mr. Bungle, Fantomas, Crisis, Sleep, Orange Goblin, Sons of Otis, Cathedral) on bass, piano and other things, Dave Crover (Melvins) on drums and Tim Moss on guitars and vocals. How does one describe the music of PORN??? Heavy, Melvins- Sabbath influenced psychedelic stuff, fast (often), dirty, heavy rock and roll with a psychedelic angst to it. The opening 12 minute track lays down the law of the record… It is quite strange and psychedelic when the band starts to freakout. Mastadon Rescue has a sort of groovy riff..it reminds me of someone. Glory will be mine slows it down and brings the heavy back. The Five Books of Aeneas follows and is broken down into 5 parts on the CD listing but not on the CD itself (only 2). The first part starts off with something like early Venom meets the Melvins and then it becomes more slow and doomy and gets a bit spaced out as this leads into Book 3 or 4 of the 5 books, which is more spaced out DOOM. At about 5 minutes into the 14 minutes they go into a very Pink Floyd like section but not nearly as cool as the real thing but it is nice to get something different from the mostly very heavy stuff on this CD for about 3 minutes before the DOOM returns. The CD closes with the 11½ minute Last Song, which has something like badly played horns going on in the background behind the slow prodding track…strange stuff.. pretty interesting CD though..
http://www.smallstone.com
http://www.pornmusic.com

Scott

The Spacious Mind - Rotvälta (God Damn I'm a Countryman Records Countryman006)
It is always a great day when the new Spacious Mind CD arrives and you can take a journey to an other worldly place. This CD was recorded in 2004 and mixed in 2005 from what I understand and is made up of 6 parts (55 minutes long). Part One starts with a floating sometimes atonal organ based journey. All the music on the CD is instrumental. Part Two begins a 16 minute journey into space with an effected Rhoads piano and spaced out slow moving guitars, which slowly come together at about 5 minutes as the piece builds up but it never goes into a full crescendo like God Speed you Black Emperor stuff. The percussion sounds are often quite raw. The track fades into mostly tribal sounds that fade into deep space. Part 3 really takes me back to Pink Floyd Echoes, with the way the organ is played and the sounds filter through the soundscape. Part 4 begins with some beautiful E-bow guitar as a groove develops and Jens layers in the effected organ and piano sounds. They float all around the room. Part 5 begins with a heavy bass line that begins before the amazing guitar jam begins. Very cool stuff. Part 6 ends the CD with a very beautiful laid back piece of music. The Spacious Mind is a very unique band the succeed in pushing their music further out into space…. Take a tab of TSM and head out into the forest!

Scott

Superheavygoatass - 60,000 Years (Arclight Records )
The band is a four piece and come from Austin, Texas… They are on the excellent Arclight label (remember Book of Knots??). This is the bands first full length release and shows that they are quite serious….at rocking out! All the 9 tracks are between 4 and 5 minutes so no extended jams or short punk rockers here. Straight up riff rocking! I am quite surprised at how low the vocals are mixed in on the CD, with guitars right up in your face. This is a band that is all about riffs and good ones. They are a bit blues in the ZZTOP style but with a dose of the current crowd of stoner rock bands influence. If this sounds like your brew, then I suggest you drink up on some Superheavygoatass rock and roll!
http://www.arclightrecords.com

Scott

Supersuckers - Devil's Food CD (Mid-Fi)
This is not a new album but 'A collection of rare treats & evil sweets', and for a comp its actually stronger than their last 'real' record "Motherfuckers Be Trippin'". Rare B-sides of singles are blended with new country versions of "Doublewide" and "Born With A Tail". And then there's some obvious covers (Electric Frankenstein, Jerry Reed) and some more odd ones like Outkast's "Hey Ya!", Lionel Richie's "Sail On" and The Chips' doo wop classic "Rubber Biscuit". And it works, though Eddie Spaghetti has some trouble with "Rubber Biscuit", an almost impossible tune to re-inact I must say in his defence. "Devil's Food" is a split of 2/3 rock'n'roll and 1/3 country which neatly captures what Supersuckers are about. Eddie says in the inner notes of the CD that this comp might piss off hardcore collectors but he doesn't care, and I'm glad I don't have to spent tonsa cash to track down the songs. Thanks, man!
http://www.supersuckers.com

If you dig: Johnny Cash, Lazy Cowgirls, AC/DC

Jens

Turbonegro - Party Animals CD (Burning Heart)
Our demin demon friends' previous album, "Scandinavian Leather", paled in the shadows of the glorious classic "Apocalypse Dudes" album (like most records do), many of the songs were solid rockers but a bit routine and uninspired. Well, I'm glad to inform that "Party Animals" is a definite improvement, the press release sez 'bubblegum stadium rock with a sharp punkrock edge', and I must say Turbonegro have succeeded in re-capturing some of their "Apocalypse Dudes" swagger. After a nutty intro "All My Friends Are Dead" erupts outta the speakers like a horny vulcano, drawing heavily on classic early 80s American punkrock. "Blow Me (Like The Wind)" is more 70s arena rock and insanely catchy with traces of vintage Alice Cooper and Cheap Trick. Judas Priest fans will have blast with the cheezy "City Of Satan", while "Death From Above" is a punkmetal juggernaut with hilarious lyrics like "I don't even care if your house is in pieces/I don't even care if you crying for Jesus/when you find yourself in a storm of feces". "Wasted Again" and "If You See Kaye (Tell Her I L-O-V-E Her)" are more catchy punk/hardrock ragers and "High On The Crime" could have been on Saints' 2nd LP, nice horns. KISS and Hanoi Rocks gets sodomized with "Babylon Forever" and the tacky "Stay Free" anthem ("Hank, what's up with the eyes/Is it just a disguise?"). "Hot Stuff/Hot Shit", one of the best tracks, is pure New York Dolls territory with some tasty guitar licks & piano and a killer chorus. The grand endtune, "Final Warning" evokes their "Ass Cobra"-area though more dramatic with OTT church bells and all. About 30 seconds after the last song there's a bizarre rant from a 'Serbian' fan (Hank the comedian, I guess) about music critics, funny hats, coke, and excrement moustaces!?! Maybe hardcore Turbojugends need to hear "Party Animals" a couple of times before it hits home, but in my opinion Norway's biggest rock act should be very proud of this album, DAMN PROUD! Steve McDonald of Redd Kross fame co-produced.
http://www.burningheart.com

If you dig: Alice Cooper, Dictators, Cheap Trick

Jens

T.h.u.m.b .- Lunar Flight (Wuck Records W R007)
I don't hear that many bands from Italy but often the ones I do hear are quite cool. This is a 4 track EP and the band describes their music as heavy psych stoner trips, which for this release is a good description. The CD starts off with the fantastic 9 minute title track, Lunar Flight. After the space sounds, a heavy distorted wall of sound with spacey vocals and some cool guitar sounds here and there. It is quite psychedelic and spaced out while maintaining a hard driving rhythm and some great spaced out psychedelic guitar soloing. Awesome! Wasted Words is a very low-fi distorted track and quite psychedelic. Kobal, the Eggman from Venus is a short 1½ minute strange piece that leads into Magic Drug, which is a fast track like a psychedelic Dozer track of something.
Don't get too stoned when you listen to this CD….just a warning…Fans of early Monster Magnet will appreciate this!
http://www.wuckrecords.com
http://www.thumbrock.com

Scott

Truckfighters - Gravity H (Fuzzorama Records CD004)
Ok…the Truckfighters are back after the split EP with Firestone. Well, I have to say besides the band stealing a couple of ideas from QOTSA, this is a damn good CD. It has a great mixture of more melodic riffs and an improvised feel at times. There is way more to this band than the stoner rock vibe. The opening 9 minute Desert Cruiser is very cool. While Gargarismo is a straight forward desert-fuzz rocker, Momentum is much more experimental. The Deal is very QOTSA influenced and not that interesting. Superfunk is a mostly instrumental number and very melodic but not funky at all despite the title. Subfloor has a really cool smooth groove and really gets going halfway through the track. Gweedo Weedo is a short 2½ minute track with a sax solo of all things. A very laid back groove that becomes very distorted and then back into the clean. Cool. Manhattan Project kicks up into high gear again . In Search of (the) way the beginning bass lines starts the track is a bit like QOTSA. Intermission is a short 2½ minute instrumental that leads into the very cool Zapruder. Zapruder has this really cool bass line and takes us back to the full on psychedelic stoner rock that these guys do best. The CD closes with the melodic Altered State track at 8½ minutes in length. This is a cool CD…if the band had a bad ass lead guitar player they would be at the top of their field in Sweden!
http://www.fuzzoramarecords.com
http://www.truckfighters.com

Scott

Unsane - Blood Run (Relapse Records 2005)
OK… the NYC based Unsane are back with their first full length CD since the Occupational Hazard CD in 1998. While the band has existed since the early 90's they still stick to their original angst. The vocals are angry and distorted, while the music loud, often fast and always heavy. Some very cool distorted guitar sounds at times. I found the record hard to listen to all the way through as it is a full on angry assault that rarely lets up. Some very cool guitar at times though…
http://www.relapse.com

Scott

V/A Gorilla Angreb/Lokum - Split In Half 7" (Hjernespind Records)
A Danish punkrock tribute to "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and Leatherface? Well, why not when its done this good, I mean, they even included a signed picture of Gunnar Hansen! "Motorsavsmasahahakren" is prime Gorilla Angreb (recorded in 2003), a fastpaced raw and catchy X-Ray Spex-ish punker that really shows why America has its eyes on this local combo. See review of their release party/show elsewhere in this issue. I've seen Lokum (now defunct) live a couple of times and I wasn't that impressed, a strange mix of surf and punk, but I really like "The Saw Is The Law" (complete with chainsaw sounds), which like Gorilla Angreb has a classic desperate late70s-WWIII-is-coming-anyday-soon kinda quality. Pete C.'s snotty vocals is neatly backed with Katja's more melodic vocals. The song is from 2002, but its nice to have it documented on this 'chainsaw concept' single.
hjernespind@hotmail.com

Gorilla Angreb Lokum

Jens

WE -Smugglers (Kick Music/Nun Music NUN002)
The Psychedelic Stoner-Space rock band We from Oslo are back with a bad ass rocking psychedelic record produced by Chris Goss (Kyuss, Nebula, Queens of the Stone Age, Masters of Reality). The CD has an amazing sound production, variety and intensity to it. The CD starts with the fast paced Cosmic Biker R&R. It is a great track with a heavy rhythm, intense vocals and a psychedelic vibe. Sulpher Roast Stomp probably has the heaviest riff on the CD. Crawling out of the Wreckage shows Thomas singing in a totally different style, a bit like Arthur Brown, perhaps. A very catchy riff! Wroom is a trippy song with a heavy sound and saxophone and strange sounds but damn heavy! Sassy Zazie was the 2nd single released from the record in Norway and is a laid back 60's inspired gliding track with cool backwards guitars and quite psychedelic in the headphones! We have written a lot of long masterpieces but the title track, Smugglers, is up there amongst the bands finest moments. The sound is so amazing and full and lush and the track is very cool. It has a classic Led Zeppelin vibe (cool phased out 12 string guitar) but remains very much WE. It tells an amazing story as well. Lucid is an experimental piece that is really cool and the band uses to open their shows. Sugar and Cannabinoles, something the band are quite fond of, has a very psychedelic guitar and is damn heavy again. Lightyears Ahead is the band good time slide guitar rock and roll track.. The bands #1 hit in Norway, Catch Electrique is a fast paced, melodic rocker with a very catchy chorus?? Could it catch on in Denmark or America??? Doubtful…. The CD ends with another epic song that is very laid back creates an amazing journey that you just have to sit back and let your mind flow free and take. Simply stunning! Well, WE is a band that commands attention. I hope that people outside of Norway start to pay attention as this is an amazing, creative, original stoner-psych-space rock band…it does not matter how you categorize the shit…as it is just plain amazing….
http://www.werock.org
http://www.nunmusic.com
http://www.kick.dk

Scott

The Desert Sound - The Spaghetti Session Compilation (Wuck Records W R008)
This is a 16 track compilation of a lot of different Italian bands, most of which I have never heard of. This includes 5WD-comin' free, THIRD STONE FROM THE SUN-let me in, DEAD PEACH-Spain '87, JARAWA-lode, T.H.U.M.B.-black doll, GONZALES-dark mood, VORTICE CREMISI-no walfare, BLACK HOLE OF HULEJRA-tropic, ALIX-ground, HELLVIS-when hell freezes over, E.X.P.-retinal circus, THE MOKI SNAKE DANCE-I love you, STONEFLOWERS-two days (and another one), PSYCHO CRITTERS-hot leaf, TOO MERA B.-do the fish, and SKYWISE-into thick air. While the name might imply it is Stoner rock, that is only part of it. There is psych rock, stoner rock, basic rock and roll, more doomy stuff. It is an ok compilation but there was not really any band that just blew me away. I think I liked THUMB the best!
http://www.wuckrecords.com

Scott