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Ozric Tentacles - Live At The Pongmasters Ball - 02-Jun-07 04:56 PM
This DVD is a definite must-have for Ozrcs fans. It offers a bowlfull of etherial cereal, with the whole 2-hour performance at the Pongmastres Ball in 2002, with a setlist spanning most of their carrer, from '89's ambient It's a Hup Ho World to the as-then-unreleased Oakum jam (in a far better version than the one recorded for Spirals...).

Most of the facets of the band's music are here, too: there are ambient passages between the tunes, ethnic textures, dub workouts, techno flavours and - of course - all out space rock. Not to forget a dose of plain weirdness (e.g. Sploosh).

Another important factor of the Ozrics' gigs is the glorious light show, which gives you that extra little push to the other side, witnessed here throughout...

Having been at the Ball, I can tell you that the sound quality on the DVD is better than the actual event, nearing the richness of a studio recording (though a bit low in volume).

To top everything off, there is a documentary about the gig, including soundcheck jams, interviews with just about everyone involved and cuts of the Nodens Ictus performance (which was also recorded but has not been released).

This release is as good as any Ozrics gig you've been to and if you haven't, it'll show you why some people go again and again and again. And again.

Morbid Angel - Formulas Fatal To The Flesh - 29-May-07 01:11 AM
This album is criminally underrated, perhaps because David Vincent is not there. In my opinion it is the best death metal album ever and certainly Morbid Angel's peak, both musically and lyrically. Having followed the band's development from '90 onwards, Formulas... was a thoroughly pleasant surprise, dispelling any fears that Vincent's departure would end the band - far from it, it is the pinacle of their career. It contains elements from all the previous albums, from blastbeat driven thrashers (Heaving Earth, Bil-Ur-Sag, Covenant Of Death), to doom-laden crawlers (Nothing Is Not)and all in between. Also, the production is neither as muddy as Altars... nor as polished as Domination, but stands happily in the golden medium. I love Tucker's gorilla-like voice, and the album is wrapped in a very spiritual aura, even though this is somewhat concealed by the 'catastrophic' lyrics.

Although all the (metal) tunes are awesome, my faves are the two older tracks: the re-recording of Hellspawn (from the Abominations... album), infinitely better than the original, is one of (if not THE) most brutal song(s) of the band. The reworking of the '84 song Invocation Of The Continual One is amazing, highly atmospheric and perfectly sustains its 10 minutes with not even one boring second, ending with an outstanding melodic classic heavy metal solo.

As with most of their keyboard-led tunes (apart from Place Of Many Deaths from Heretic) I could have done without, but as most are placed at the end of the album, I just press stop at the end of Invocation...

I hope that in years to come Formulas Fatal To The Flesh(notice the FFF = 666 of the title ;-b) will be recognised as one of the best death metal albums of all time.

Various - Voyage To Planet Dog - 25-Feb-07 09:12 PM
If you should have just one Planet Dog album, this compilation is it. Containing some of its most revered artists in some of their best moments, the CD is a highlight from start to finish.

The music here is almost exclusively downtempo psybient, an area in which all Planet Dog artists excelled. The mix is so fluid that it's sometimes hard to tell when one tune finishes and another starts. The production, though coming from the mid-nineties, does not sound dated - at least not to my ears - but timeless.

Apart from the musical value, this album works as a perfect introduction to the label for those who would like to get a general idea, although the individual artists' albums off of which the tracks are taken are much more diverse and, in most cases, uptempo than the music here. The psychedelic edge, however is most definately there.

An essential album for psybient fans.

Iron Maiden - Eddie's Archive - 07-Feb-07 05:06 AM
I have been able to find the Hammersmith cds separately in a shop ebay respectively,the latter for a friend too. That's for those who don't want to splash out on the whole box set. The live cd is brilliant, with a killer setlist from the era ('82),great sound and excellent performances. The Bs less so,but are worth their money if a) you want to have EVERY song they have ever recored and b)you don't have any of their singles'(numerous) previous pressings.