LOISIRS started all over at the end of 2000 in Poitiers (France) due to an important reason : make something that sounds like emo-kid music performed by a bunch of old fat guys (you can’t be named kid anymore when 30 is over...). Using weird instruments to make this music (guitar, bass, drums, keyboard and vocals), Loisirs (French for Entertainement) is conscientiously speeding up to the wall while honking the horn (rough translation of a French expression ! ! !). Pleasure is the cornerstone to understand Loisirs : pleasure to play neverminding our low-talent level, pleasure to share pleasant experiences with pleasant people (gigs with Myra Lee, Kurt, Eniac, Funeral Diner, Robocop Kraus, Monochrome, Guapo...), and to perform a uncomplicated music for uncomplicated brains. All this commit to bring Loisirs a strong and deserved reputation : the best American band from Poitiers, France. According to wise experts, you may find obvious influences such as Shotmaker, Milemarker, Robocop Kraus and The Rentals in Loisirs’ music. To summ up, it’s only rock’n’roll.
01. The Age Of The Serpents 02. Wrath Is Unleashed 03. Rotten 04. .45 Statement 05. Black Blood 06. This Darkness Is Final 07. Hatet Ar Min Borg 08. Ensam I Morkret 09. Henchman Of Hatred 10. The Self-Destructive Machine 11. Andlos Korridor
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Abba aside, End Of All encompasses all the best parts of Scandinavian hardcore/metal. If you liked their first album “Same Shit But Different” you’re going to love this one. And for those of you who haven’t been graced by the auditory enlightenment that is End Of All, think Skitsystem meets Wolfbrigade/Wolfpack meets At The Gates. Every song on this album works on multiple levels. The first track “The Age of the Serpents” blew me away. It starts off with a dark and melodic acoustic intro, then explodes into a melodic Swedish death metal intro...
01. Imprisonment 02. Abandonment 03. Surrender 04. Mensch Sein 05. Gesang 06. Angstschrei 07. Im Takt 08. Ein Leben Lang 09. On Inner Freedom
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Great crust from this band who first introduced violin to crust punk even before the legendary Remains of the Day. If you like rotd then this is pretty much essential.
01. hot fast union 02. spit up kid 03. persistent 04. compliment the negative 05. anti-pope (the damned)
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Swiz was one of the most popular bands in the younger DC hardcore scene of the late 80s. Their singer, Shawn Brown, had been the original Dag Nasty vocalist, and they were on the Sammich Records label, which was distributed by Dischord Records. In 1995, several years after Swiz broke up, former members Jason Farrell and Dave Stern reunited to form Bluetip, with bassist Jake Kump and drummer Zac Eller (Worlds Collide). Bluetip had a serious work-ethic, they released 3 albums on Dischord Records, as well as several singles and split releases on various labels, and toured relentlessly, making many trips through the U.S., Europe, and Japan. Inner-band turmoil resulted in a number of line-up changes. Zac left shortly after the release of their first album, "Dischord No. 101", and was eventually replaced by Dave Bryson. Dave Stern left after the release of "Join Us" and was replaced by Brian Clancy, leaving Jason and Jake as the only original members. In 2001, when Jason moved to New York, the band eventually folded. However, Jason quickly resurfaced and has continued playing under the name Retisonic.
01. Lights In The Distance 02. Hindsight 03. Oceans Apart 04. Summer Fades 05. Storm Warning
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Post rock/metal is a label despised by some who can't handle the "post" prefix of it. Putting sociological and/or metaphysical discussions aside for a second, I never really understood it either but it seems to me a label as fitting as any to lump together all the bands that sound like Neurosis, Isis or Pelican. For me, however, most post rock/metal is actually very progressive and Irish act Parhelia certainly is no exception.
Given the characteristic of their sound, along with the fact that there's no vocals at all, it's inevitable to draw heavy comparisons to Pelican. They really sound alike but there's something else in Parhelia's music that makes me forgive that strong resemblance, maybe a sense of going places, a certain feeling of epic their music instills. "Oceans Apart" clocks in at a mere 30:58 and at first I had a hard time believing this was self-produced and that we're talking about an unsigned band. Every instrument is perfectly clear in the mix and there's a warmness that really enhances the dreamlike texture of these songs. This is band that comes across as ultra cohesive, everyone sounding like they're on the very same page.
And speaking of the songs, there's no use in talking about each one separately. In fact, I'd argue there's no use in listening to any isolated track, as "Oceans Apart" blends all five cuts so well that the half hour is over before you know it. The band's choice of artwork - of which you can only get a glimpse from the above cover image, as it's much more intricate than just the cover - gives the clue to what's inside: a crimson sunset in some faraway idyllic place between rocks, trees and water. It's just thirty minutes, but just hit play again when it's over, it will expose something different every time around.
This is merely Parhelia's debut album, after 2006's "First Light". "Oceans Apart" is already, hands down, one of the best post rock/metal albums I've heard in a long time and if they can manage to stray a little from the obvious Pelican resemblance while maintaining this spirit in their music, they certainly have the potential to be a future reference in this genre.
01.Inertie - Mort en spectacle 02.Inertie - Contrôle 03.Inertie - Egaux 04.Inertie - Bétises que ton nom soit sanctifié 05.Inertie - Nul n'est parfait 06.Inertie - Resist control 07.Karras - Essence 08.Karras - Ici bas 09.Karras - Un rat 10.Karras - Et la masse creuse 11.Karras - Quoi qu'en coute les coups 12.Karras - Décision
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Great split between these two french bands. Inertie plays punk hardcore in the vein of bands like His Hero Is Gone. Karras are in the same vein, but maybe faster with more metal. Anyway, this record is amazing !!
01. Karpasten Herrat 02. Kuparintuoksuinen Blues 03. Rosa Parks 04. Kevaan Merkkeja 05. Uutisia Rintamalta 06. Rauhanehdot 07. Aavetanssi 08. Aarimmaisyyksien Aika 09. Thermidor 10. Apinoiden Planeetta
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Abduktio is not one of those bands who jump to releasing records unprepared. Although the band has stayed together since 1998, they released their first album only last summer. The hardcore on "Tuli kulje kanssani" is rich in melodies and nuances, and the album quite rightly received a number of laudatory reviews in the Finnish music press. Those among you who speak Finnish may also enjoy the band's acclaimed political lyrics that resemble more postmodern poetry than the average boy-meets-girl pop babble. The rest certainly love Abduktio's energetic live set that has been honed during the band's numerous tours both in Finland and elsewhere in Europe
1. Apt. A, Pt. 1 2. Apt. A, Pt. 2 3. And All You Can Do Is Laugh, Pt. 1 4. And All You Can Do Is Laugh, Pt. 2 5. I Promise Never to Get Paint on My Glasses, Pt. 1 6. I Promise Never to Get Paint on My Glasses, Pt. 2 7. Jimmybreeze, Pt. 1 8. Jimmybreeze, Pt. 2 9. (Cloud Dead #5), Pt. 1 10. (Cloud Dead #5), Pt. 2 11. Bike, Pt. 1 12. Bike, Pt. 2
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Clouddead has a hard-to-classify sound; if you described it as "lo-fi ambient spoken word meets surreal hip-hop with an indie rock bent," you'd be leaving a lot out. The CD compiles previously released 10-inches created by producer Odd Nosdam and MCs Dose One and Why?--all members of Anticon, the West Coast hip-hop collective. The MCs rap, recite, and sing words that make Beck's lyrics sound tame and fussy by comparison. Their declamation can be goofy, swaggering, funny, swinging, nasal--you name it. This extremely open-ended and varied use of language recalls the work of the sonically inclined poet Edwin Torres. Sometimes the language on this disc can be almost inaudible; then it's just another element in Nosdam's lovely and murky music. Albums this odd often confuse people. Also, like this one, they can be extremely compelling.
1. Huge 2. Ibitsu 3. Furi 4. Death Valley 5. Ano Onna no Onryou 6. Naki Kyoku 7. Akuma no Uta 8. Kurosu 9. ワレルライド 10. 1970 11. Ibitsu (music video) 12. Furi (music video) 13. Kurosu (music video) 14. 1970 (music video)
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Live at Shimokitazawa Shelter is the first DVD release by Japanese band Boris. It was captured on their Black Summer tour on July 12, 2003. The first ten tracks are songs from the show, which are mostly from the Akuma no Uta and Heavy Rocks albums. Tracks 11-14 are music videos made by the band by Foodunited and Fangs Anal Satan. A loose translation of the first bit of the title is, "From The Tower That Turns A Blind Eye To Death".
01. Nada X Liberar - Padre Sabino Arana [2:58] 02. Nada X Liberar - Vive [4:50] 03. Nada X Liberar - El odio y el miedo [1:01] 04. Nada X Liberar - La Flor arrancada [3:40] 05. Nada X Liberar - Dogma del amor [3:24] 06. Nada X Liberar - Niños de las alcantarillas [1:57] 07. Nada X Liberar - El grito del silencio [2:20] 08. Nada X Liberar - Arbasoen hizkuntza [2:04] 09. Nada X Liberar - Seres conformes, mentes deformes (Cementerio Shöw) [1:03] 10. Worst Case Scenario - Out from here [1:46] 11. Worst Case Scenario - Worst Case Scenario - Limited [1:40] 12. Worst Case Scenario - They who condemn [3:35] 13. Worst Case Scenario - Mission welfare (at any cost) [2:08] 14. Worst Case Scenario - Dagen efter den sista dagen [2:10] 15. Worst Case Scenario - Caught up in despair [3:26] 16. Worst Case Scenario - Blackness [2:49]
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NADA x LIBERAR from vitoria/Spain is traditional spanish Crust. straightforward and dark. WORST CASE SCENARIO from Stockholm/Sweden deliver metallic and epic HC/Crust with brutal female vocals. Their songs already appeared on a 3" CD at Yellow Dog rec. Fucking Amazing!
Alright, there are only four tracks on here but it’s also available on LP is says on the back - shouldn’t that be a 7" or something? Well, for some bands it should, but knowing Aguirre from before I know they’re in no hurry whatsoever. Very true, these four tracks last for forty minutes - so you’d better be prepared for some doomy and gloomy stuff here. Aguirre take up twenty-five of the total number of minutes with their two tracks and just as on their demo they reek of darkness and agony. It’s so present it’s half painful to listen to it, but that’s also what draws me in. It’s like staring down a bottomless abyss of all that is evil, sensing it, as the complete black allows you to see nothing - and liking it. They haven’t changed a whole lot from their demo, it’s still the minimalist angst with the lonely guitar tunes alternated with thundering heaviness, as with the whispering and roaring vocals - all executed in a real slow pace. It hurts, and I love the pain.
01.Black Walnut 02.Dogwood 03.Bald Cypress 04.Water Tupelo 05.Sequoia 06.Catalpa 07.Bur Oak 08.White Fir
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This is Antlers. Comprised of ex- and current members of Mass Movement of the Moth, Gregor Samsa, If You Are Who You Say You Are, and Resonance, Antlers has taken their aural lessons from the mid to late 90's underground music scene and put their own geographical flare to it. Growing up in the mid-Atlantic regions of D.C., Richmond and Virginia Beach, Va, Antlers takes all of their influences (and a little bit of your parents as well) creating a bright listening landscape through the interplay of tension and a casual current of melodies that excites and relaxes the observer. I dare say you could smoke an ounce to this record.Antlers self-titled debut LP on Rorschach Records promises to be one of the more exciting records to come out this year. In an industry oversaturated by shit, Antlers shines on trying to push their roots respectively into new ground in a new market; meaning the acute execution of playing really great, honest music.