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Christian Death - The Scriptures - 24-Jul-08 01:41 PM
I don't particularly like Christian Death that much, but somehow I seem to acquire their releases anyway. If there's anything by them that I'd keep (if I had to keep ONE) then it's this. The Scriptures is probably the closest thing they ever did to a consistent album, and could be furthest from the shenanigans and shock-tactics that they're best known for. Whilst the first half of the album stands firmly in "goth-rock" territory (or what goths might listen to), it has a distinct progressive edge to it. Valor's concept (a "translation of world beliefs") is thought-provoking, entertaining and fits the music very well - almost what Christian Death should be like all of the time. The second half of The Scriptures is experimental, traditional song structure is abandoned and improvised noise and samples are utilised instead (with the exception of Golden Age). The soundtrack to the apocalypse? Probably not.

Christian Death - Jesus Christ Proudly Presents - 17-Jul-08 11:30 AM
Though the lavish presentation of a boxset is a nice touch, the sound quality on many of the 7-inch records within varies greatly; 7-inch vinyl was never the best format for good sound reproduction, and is quite a puzzling choice for an "archive" set such as this. It should come to no surprise, then - knowing of Christian Death's repuation for poorly produced material - that many of the tracks on these records ranges from "bad bootleg" to "good bootleg" (tinny, but listenable). Records 3 and 4 are obviously the best quality-wise, the sheer bombast of tracks like "Believers Of The Unpure" eclipsing the poor quality that mars most of this release. Not for the casual listener.

Hawkwind - 13-Mar-08 05:39 AM
Pioneers indeed, Hawkwind could arguably placed as innovators of a number of important musical styles. Their music encompasses Folk, Heavy Metal, Prog Rock, Punk, New Wave, Electronic and Ambient. Personally I find this band infinitely satisfying, the sheer wealth of material available by this band is overwhelming - though sometimes out of print, hard to find and incredibly expensive. Unfairly and incorrectly pidgeonholed as drugged-up stoner hippies and one-hit-wonders - no doubt everyone is familiar with accidental hit "Silver Machine" which has became something of an anchor around the neck of the members of the band and its fans, which even Dave Brock has attempted to 'kill off' numerous times throughout the three decades since its release.

Controlled Bleeding - Knees And Bones - 09-Feb-08 06:04 AM
Paul Lemos' liner notes describe this as a primal scream of sorts and despite it's reputation for being a totally uncompromising racket there does appear to be an underlying structure to it all - wether this was achieved on purpose or by accident I cannot say, though I'm tempted to go with the latter. I've actually given this a full listen and it's actually not a bad record, despite the band's own admission that this is a slab of hellish noise. Believe it or not, some segments are actually pleasant and could even be regarded as - dare I say it - ambient. (27:00 - 31:11, 46:10 - 48:19)

Napalm Death - 26-Oct-07 08:28 AM
At one time a veritable breeding-ground for talented bands, Napalm Death at one point or another featured members from many seminal and highly regarded bands such as Godflesh, Scorn and Carcass. Though unfortunately the members who have stayed on don't appear to have the desire to progress with their music and have unfortunately been relegated to making an all too similar racket with their records since 1992. The band's sound-change with 1990's "Harmony Corruption" (where they evolved from grindcore to Morrisound Studios death metal sound-alikes in record time) met with harsh criticism and it's not hard to see why. They went from sounding abrasive and exciting ("Mentally Murdered") to dull and flat ("Harmony Corruption"), the only thing that seemed to be a draw for me with the band at this time was the considerable drumming skills of Mick Harris but he soon left, leaving Napalm Death almost hollow.

And I have to say; Barney Greenway's vocals are awful.

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