World War IX - Locked In

Damn! I can't believe I haven't updated in over a month! Well, time to get back on track. I've been in a punk rock mood, so here's more of "the best trashy punk band in NYC," to quote myself again.

This is another "single" with Max on vocals, but for some reason, he's not so annoying on these. Actually, his voice kinda works, although of course, Mike would be preferable. Unfortunately, you can't have everything in life.

I remember writing a review for Under the Volcano where I called "The Life" a "punk rock opera" or something equally ridiculous. I'd reprint that review here if I wasn't too lazy to dig through my UTVs to find it.

The images and music were uploaded with Justin Melkmann's consent. Thank you, Justin!

World War IX
Locked In CD
(Elis Eil)
2006

01. The Life

02. Preteen Supermodel

Visit WWIX on MySpace!

Ghoatefische - Room For One More

(Photo by Ackronomicon)

Some quick shameless self-promotion.

In 2003, I resumed my noise project Goatfish, only I added a few letters to the name and, taking some guidance from Ron K of Eckankore, I focused my soundscapes rather than letting chaos rule. The result was a darker, more nightmarish noise than my Merzbow-inspired experiments of old.

Initially released as a made-to-order CDR, the web-based Eleventh Key Records has reissued Room For One More, my first album as the mutated Ghoatefische, in their "Distributed Titles" section with new album art designed by Brian Magar. It's only $2 but over an hour of eardrum-piercing intensity, so it's quite a bargain, if I do say so myself.

Also, watch for news of the Necroparthenophacy/Layr split 3"CD, coming soon on Eleventh Key!

Ghoatefische
Room For One More CDR/MP3
(MPAE)
2003

Download Room For One More from Eleventh Key!

Stream the album on Bandcamp!

Violent Fit - Descent of the Monarch

A quick one to get back on track.

Violent Fit is Dan, bassist/vocalist of Ultrabastard!, doing a solo hardcore thing in the Garage Band program. Don't let the "guy on a computer" aspect turn you off, though. This is some seriously noisy, pummeling shit, kind of a cross between Rupture and The Cows, or maybe Melt Banana and Poison Idea. I dig it, and you should, too.

Violent Fit
Descent of the Monarch MP3EP
(MPAE)
2010

Download Descent of the Monarch as a .zip file!

Sample track:

Descent of the Monarch

400 Blows - 3-19-98

Here's another one that I'm extremely excited to be posting.

400 Blows were part of the Downtown LA scene that also spawned Leopold and Sleestak. In fact, I remember hearing that members of Sleestak and Leopold were instrumental in getting the band members together. Out of the three, though, 400 Blows became the most popular, taking a Melvins/Karp-style assault to an even more basic, primal level.

Christian (or Xian, as he later became known) played a guitar that was tuned to a single chord. He played with two fingers and daisy chained two amps together to get the high-end squeal and the low-end bass, so he effectively acted as both guitarist and bass player. Ferdie was the manic metronomic drummer propelling and accenting the wall-of-sound that emanated from Christian's two amps (and two fingers). At the front of the stage, Skot gyrated and contorted his body like a spastic as he delivered his oddball lyrics of alienation and reckless abandon. All three members wore black naval uniform shirts that Skot found in a thrift store. Sometimes Christian wore a bunny thing on this head. Eventually, Skot expanded his wardrobe to include black leather gloves and aviator sunglasses.

Most of these songs have been rerecorded and released on other 400 Blows albums, but this is how I remember the band sounding - a raw, in-your-face attack by an overgrown three-year-old who tauntingly chants "na na-na na na" as he beats your face into the edge of the concrete curb. For that, this is absolutely my favorite album by them. I suggest turning it up as loud as your ears can take, then a few more clicks and dancing like a heathen to the primitive groove.

I believe they're still around in some incarnation, though Skot's the only original member at this point. After not seeing them for years, I caught them in 2004 at the Knitting Factory in NYC. Skot was outside and he couldn't believe his eyes when he saw me. He gave me a hug and got my buddy and me in on the list. That's the last time I saw the original lineup.

The images and music were uploaded with the full consent of Anthony Francoso, owner of Total Annihilation Records. Thank you, Anthony!

400 Blows
3-19-98 CD
(Total Annihilation)
1998

Download 3-19-98 as a .zip file!

Sample tracks:

The Bull That Killed the Matador

Premature Burial

Electric Wilderness

Sleestak - The Power of Gemini(a

I cannot express how happy I am to be posting this on MPAE.

I first heard of Sleestak from Mike Desert of The Jack Saints. He told me about his friend's band that was just out-of-control noise and if I liked Slug, I should check them out. As soon as the CD came out, I hunted it down, bought it and listened to it with a group of friends while we all wondered what the hell to make of it. Seemed like I was the only one who liked it, so I was glad I bought it.

The first time I saw them was at a coffee house in San Pedro (I've forgotten the name) where there was an annual noise rock festival. I met Eddie of Leopold there for the first time, too. Sleestak's set was strange. They seemed really unhappy, probably because of the rain outside, but I enjoyed the set, strange as it was.

I came to realize that all Sleestak sets were unique, like jazz sets. Then, when I joined Leopold, Sleestak became family, as they shared a practice space, so I got to know them a bit. At one point, I asked Anthony, the bass player, how they wrote their songs. "We jam them out," he said.

I really think that they never got their just due in that Downtown LA noise scene when they were around. Quite frankly, people never knew what to make of them. It was sludge-y power violence, with a brutal artistic mindset that just seemed to be a contradiction. I think that's why I liked them so much.

As horrifying and uncompromising as this CD is, it brings back good memories, and it remains a favorite of my collection. By the way, Sleestak were a HUGE influence on Pope Goat VII.

Sleestak has now morphed into the mighty Geronimo.

The images and music were uploaded with Anthony Francoso's full consent. Thank you, Anthony!

Sleestak
The Power of Gemini(a CD
(Big Jesus)
1997

Download The Power of Gemini(a as a .zip file!

Sample tracks:

Mothball Coffin

Brown Bag

Phantom of the Mothra

Pope Goat VII - Book of VII Commandments

(Photo by Sir Ackronomicon)

I'm really excited to post this, as I haven't heard it since we recorded it 11 years ago.

This was the last book of Pope Goat VII to be recorded in my mom's house before Sir Ackronomicon and I set up our domain in The Blue Room. Quite honestly, I don't remember much about this recording session, probably due to intoxication, but I do remember it being the first time I used my guitar for the Pope Goat and that we were screaming through most of it. Listening to it now, it sounds like a cross between Throbbing Gristle, Whitehouse and Acid Mothers Temple.

Of course, it was supposed to be 10 Commandments, but we moved before recording the last three Commandments, and by that time, the Pope Goat commanded us to start fresh, with the Book of New Surroundings.

About the psalms:
(note: psalms that are linked can be downloaded as samples)

01. I Am the Only God - His Holiness Pope Goat VII's response to Exodus 20:2-6.

02. Keep My Sabbath Holy - His Holiness Pope Goat VII's response to Exodus 20:8-11.

03. Bear False Witness - His Holiness Pope Goat VII's response to Exodus 20:16.

04. Covet Thy Neighbor's Goods - His Holiness Pope Goat VII's response to Exodus 20:17.

05. Thou Shalt Kill - His Holiness Pope Goat VII's response to Exodus 20:13.

06. Covet Thy Neighbor's Wife - His Holiness Pope Goat VII's response to Exodus 20:17 (continued).

07. Stealing Is Good - His Holiness Pope Goat VII's response to Exodus 20:15.

Pope Goat VII
Book of VII Commandments CDR
(MPAE/Hummer Productions)
1999

Download Book of VII Commandments as a .zip file!

note: the .zip file includes booklet and tray-card inserts so you can make your own PG7 CD!

More Pope Goat VII

Visit Pope Goat VII on MySpace!

Necroparthenophagy - "Laiad Chis Ananael"

My work schedule has been eating up all my time, but I'm taking some time out to celebrate.

Today marks the official release of my black metal album on Winged Disk Records. Oddly enough, out of all the music I've recorded since I was 17, this is the first thing that anyone as wanted to release with their own money. Special thanks to Rich Black at Winged Disk for his continued support and guidance.

For contractual reasons, I won't be posting the entire album here, but I will post the title track, which has become a "single" of sorts in the digital domain.

Necroparthenophagy
"Laiad Chis Ananael" MP3
(Winged Disk)
2010

Download "Laiad Chis Ananael" as an MP3!

If you like what you hear, please...

Buy the album on Amazon

Buy the album on iTunes

Buy the album on Emusic

Listen/purchase on Lala

Download from Napster

Visit the official website

Visit the official MySpace page

Visit the MySpace fan page

Get my original handmade CDRs at Hexenreich Records

Exclusivos - Out of a Promising Start

Well, the response the first time around was pretty enthusiastic, so I'm happy to say that the third official MPAE blog release is this double-disc collection of outtakes, rarities and live recordings by one of the most original bands you've never heard of, The Exclusivos.

Nef says, "It took me nearly six months to culminate but here you go. It's all of our music aside from what's already posted. It's 31 songs, all in chronological order. You pretty much get to hear us evolve from start to finish. The compilation ends with stuff we demoed last year. There are also some surprises at the beginning and end of some of the material. There are Instrumentals on there as well."

Admittedly, most of these recordings are pretty damn rough, but, chances are, if you're coming to this blog you're not an audiophile anyway. If you haven't heard The Exclusivos yet, I highly recommend that you begin with the first release I posted, and then come back here after you're completely hooked.

Now bask in the strangeness.

Exclusivos
Out of a Promising Start MP3
(MPAE)
2010

Disc 1:
(note: songs that are linked can be downloaded as samples)
01. Madness (Intro)
02. Year 3000
03. Charlie
04. Oh No
05. Summer of Fantasy
06. Fargunstein (Original)
07. Sad Ending (Original)
08. Alcoholism
09. Losing (Original)
10. Make Believe
11. Rocket (Original)
12. Losing (Revisited)
13. Micheal 5 (instrumental)
14. Micheal 6 (instrumental)
15. The Machinist (Original)
16. Forces Unknown (Original)

Download Disc 1 as a .zip file!

Disc 2:
(note: songs that are linked can be downloaded as samples)
01. Oh No! (live '05)
02. Rocket (live '05)
03. Fargunstein (live '05)
04. Break Free
05. Ballad of Fred (Original)
06. Hello
07. Faster
08. She Never Liked Me Anyway
09. Rocket (Revisited)
10. Losing (Let The Child Cry Version)
11. Tradition (Demo)
12. Acoustic Demo #1 '08
13. Acoustic Demo #2 '08
14. Demo #1 09
15. Demo #2 09

Download Disc 2 as a .zip file!

More Exclusivos!

Ultramundane - A Kingdom at Birth

I'm very pleased to announce that Shaadie Khoury, the brain behind Ultramundane, has given me permission to post the entire Ultramundane discography.

I discovered the band while writing my series on Middle Eastern Black Metal for Bigtakeover.com. You can read the entries on Ultramundane here and here.

This was their first album. From what I can tell, the band was a side-project of sorts of Egyptian black metal band, Oziris. While there are two very nasty lo-fi black metal tracks on this album, the other five tracks are dark, psychedelic instrumentals, kind of like Mogwai. It was a great start to what would become a great band, although after this, they'd become an electronic darkwave/ambient band with drummer Shaadie Khoury at the helm.

The images and music were uploaded with Shaadie Khoury's full consent. Thank you, Shaadie!

Ultramundane
A Kingdom at Birth CD?/MP3
(Ultramundane?)
1998

Download A Kingdom at Birth as a .zip file!

Sample tracks:

Sworn Revenge

Stepped Into Heaven

Visit Ultramundane at Soundclick!

Pete-less - Pete-less

Here's a band John, from ULTRABASTARD!, was in over 10 years ago. From what I remember, the band had another name and a proper singer until John was looking at their website one day and he saw something saying that the singer, Pete, had quit to start another band. Apparently, Pete forgot to tell his bandmates. John was playing bass, so out of necessity, he became the vocalist and they changed their name to Pete-less.

Sonically, I think the band is more "grunge" than anything - not like Pearl Jam mind you - but that style of metalized punk that really doesn't have any other name. Between Barbara's heavy guitar chops, Joe's powerful drumming and John's shouted vocals, it has a very late '80s/early '90s Northwestern US sound.

Some words from John:

"It's 33 minutes, 11 songs and aside from the shitty vocals, it still rocks after all these years!! We shoulda been contenders! 'When Illumination Comes' was a 10 minute jam with a lot of good riffs that I whittled down to 2 minutes. Half the songs were about Joe's breakup with his girlfriend including '3 West' which was named after the psych wing he was in because of depression. 'Tired' was a fuck you to everyone who said we were this or that."

The images and music were uploaded with John Ulmer's full consent. Thank you, John!

Pete-less
Pete-less CD
(Pete-less)
1999

Download Pete-less as a .zip file!

Sample tracks:

Squeezed-out

When Illumination Comes

Bradees

Libyan Hit Squad - Fiji

If you've been reading this blog from the beginning and/or you know me personally, then you know how highly I think of Libyan Hit Squad. Not only are they an incredible band, but they're great people as well. I'm proud to have shared the stage with them on the too few occasions that it happened.

Fiji really shows the band progressing in their sound, which I described in this (unedited) review for The Big Takeover #64:LHS never fail to amaze me. Now that their full-length promo CD has finally found a proper release on vinyl with Ripping Records, it’s like hearing the album all over again. LHS exist in their own musical dimension of Black Flag, Love and The Minutemen. Fiji kicks off with the folk-rocker, “Triggers & Knives,” which could have been recorded by Arthur Lee and company back in the ‘60s. Then you’re immediately thrown into the hardcore melee of the next three songs until side A closes with the syncopated instrumental, “BHS.” Side B gets even more out there with two eerie instrumentals, a folk punk number, a straight-up hardcore thrasher and a weirdo Butthole Surfers-style track. LHS are punk rock at its challenging, unpredictable, original best. There’s something about Florida…

They're a great group of guys with great songs and they're one of the five bands around today that I actually give a shit about (others include Six Finger Satellite, The Jack Saints and The Secret Machines). I really can't wait to hear where they go after this cuz I know it will be good.The images and music were uploaded with Craig Englund's full consent. Thank you, Craig! Extra special thanks for the LP art scans and MP3s!

Libyan Hit Squad
Fiji LP
(Ripping)
2008

Link removed at the polite request of Ripping Records so...

BUY THE DAMN ALBUM!!!

Sample tracks:

Long Way

Break

Visit LHS on MySpace!

More Libyan Hit Squad!

Visit Ripping Records on MySpace!

The Repercussions - Modern Sounds

The Repercussions were one of those incestuous garage bands whose members had been in several bands before this one and most of the members had been in those bands together. They played some damn fine rock'n'roll though, and they honored me when they asked me to write the liner notes to their debut full-length. Here's what I wrote (click the image to make it larger):

Unfortunately, whoever transcribed what I wrote left out a line of text, making one section not make too much sense, but whatever, you get the point.

I saw them a few times at the now defunct and sorely missed club, Saints'N'Sinners, and in my vain attempt at getting a job in the A&R Department of Atlantic Records, this was one of the CDs I presented. Hell, they were better than most of the other crap on that label.

Perhaps it was for the best, though, as they broke up shortly after this was released. Now they're in different bands with each other.

That's rock'n'roll!

The images and music were uploaded with the full consent of Jake Elliot Roren, owner of ESCHE Records. Thank you, J-Ro!

The Repercussions
Modern Sounds CD
(ESCHE)
2005

Download Modern Sounds as a .zip file!

Sample tracks:

Everything Is Gonna Be Alright

Heather in Pleather

Where We're Going We Don't Need Roads