Covers

Two reasons:

1. GG Allin cover.

2. Gibby Haynes produced and sings backup vocals on said GG Allin cover.

'Nuff said.

Fragile

Hung Like A N-word

Oh boy, here's the post that will do me in with the PC police... Straight outta Nashville come the intentionally provocative-titled HxLxAxNx. So what does such a thematically witty band of Tennesseans sound like? Well, as far as brutal death metal goes it's not half bad, considering. Song titles are the typical stupid/offensive nonsense - I'm surprised in this day and age the joke got as far as it did (2 demos) - but at the end of it all the musick is fucking solid downtuned double bass drop slamcore chaos. Of course my headphones cringed at some of the level blasts but I appreciate the effort. Vocals are nonhuman unless you enjoy deciphering the gurgles of a pig - but if you've made it this far you know what to expect. Shit, next thing I'll find out is the band members are fucking ΣΑΕ alums... enjoy.

Horse Viagra Cock Trauma

Redline/Whiteline

Probably the coolest industrio-metal song to ever get routinely played on MTV, Ministry's one-shot collaboration with Gibby Haynes is a sick 8-minute blast of adrenaline-laced drum machine backed guitar riffs. I'm sure there's no one reading this who hasn't heard this track a billion times but in case you are only familiar with the truncated ΚΕΦΑΛΗΞΘ version, the original single extended mix is the real deal. I can't imagine the amount of LSD those guys ingested during the recording session. Single also includes a proto/demo (and arguably better) version of "TV Song" that would appear on the aforementioned LP as well. Enjoy.

Ding a ding dang my dang a long ling long

Gimmie a "J"!

Still somewhat of a rarity in the annals of GG Allin's legacy, his one-shot 1981 recording with quasi-notable NY poet/writer Emily XYZ is yet another glimpse at a potential musical career that probably wouldn't have ended in his shit-smeared mid-30's heroin overdose. Featuring Al Chapple of Jabbers infamy on bass and "Fogerty" on guitar - GG plays an ample, albeit simple, drum beat behind Emily's avant garde non-linear lyrics. "Galileo" is the appropriately lesser B-side of the two, a somewhat dull rambling progression of a song while the flip "Jesus Over New York" has a very cool, definitely addictive rally chant quality to it. Interestingly, The Stripsearch (the band's actual name) released another single a year later with a cool handmade cover created from duct tape, sandpaper and crayon. I actually had that record as well but parted with it many years ago for some quick cash (with no musician listing I purchased it assuming GG played on that one as well, years later found out that was not the case). If anyone has a rip of that I'd love to hear it as I seem to remember "Hey Kid" was a pretty cool track. GG remained pretty friendly with Emily until his death and I think she even made it up to his funeral; yet another testament that the guy wasn't a total douche to everyone and the whole "I Love Nothing" persona was nothing but contrived schtick for the sheeple masses.

Vinyl Repellant

Saturday Hors D'oeuvres

Honestly, I am beginning to thing that Weekend Nachos are the best heavy band currently on the planet. Not do they have an amazing amount of output - all of their shit is fucking punch-you-in-the-grill fucking violent. It's kinda grindcore then sludgy then almost metalcore-ish... the band slays through riff after riff of sick mania without missing a beat. And the songs flow one into another which makes you feel like it's all part of some giant master plan. Worthless is my favorite record by them and is anything but - an untouchable assault of catchy downtuned grooves played by a bunch of fuckers who couldn't give a rancid shit if you like 'em or not.

Distaste For Humanity

Making Of A Mountain

24 minutes of riff-heavy instrumental euphoria by Polish stoner sludgelords Major Kong. It's a pretty amazing debut - a totally listenable garage jam of a record that one could easily be convinced was an unrehearsed one-take demo session. Still, the "songs" each bring something different to the table, not only in basic riffage but in simple progressive grooviness - the opener "Witches" is a standard sludge track while the next song begins to tinker with time signatures and effects, leading to "The Swamp Altar", a blues-drenched jam that would make Orange Goblin or Electric Wizard proud. The seven-minute closer is a worthwhile culmination of feedback and wah-wah, the jam actually feels like it finishes... A really nice record, the drums sound absolutely amazing bar none, the fucking recording is worth listening to just for them. Enjoy.

I don't give a hoot in Hell how you do it, you just get me to the Primary, ya hear!

Sans-zig

While Jerry Only continues to drag the Misfits trademark through the dirt, ex-guitarist Doyle quietly released his surprisingly solid debut LP in mid 2013. For those who crave the sound of the American Psycho-era 'fits, look no farther. Seriously tired of Only's current (and sadly lethargic) version of the Misfits, Doyle's eponymous band is a breath of fresh horror punk air. Recruiting ex-Misfit drummer Dr. CHUD (who is pretty awesome in his own right) and Danzig-esque vocalist Alex Story, Doyle focuses on the blistering fast downstroked power chord progressions that made him famous. Some of the tunes fall a bit short but at least they are not all based on a fucking movie (Misfits' "The Black Hole"? Puke). The bluesy "Love Like Murder" echoes shades of Soundgarden's "Outshined" while my guiltiest pleasure on the record has got to be the oddly Pantera-ish "Cemeterysexxx". Don't be fooled, Doyle's vastly superior version of "Land Of The Dead" is in title only, the songs are totally different; but if I were Jerry I'd be nice to his younger brother this Thanksgiving. Maybe he'll get an audition.

Learn To Bleed

Herbal Mutilation

Keepin' it on the early 90's "alternative" tip comes Alice Donut's watershed Mule. Man, I can't tell you how many times this album stared me in the face as I repeatedly perused the "Alternative/Punk" section at my local Alwilk Records and yet I simply could not buy it. Just too much of a risk to spend my hard-earned $12 bucks on! Seriously, no one I knew had any fucking idea what the band sounded like... ironic since I lived only 25 minutes outside of Manhattan but that's another story. Decades later I finally grabbed a bunch of their music and discovered what a hesitant fool I was. Way ahead of their time, sounding like an even freakier Victims Family, Mule showcases Donut at their production-wise best. Lick-heavy proto-grunge with acoustic riffs interspersed throughout, this record eschews the "alternative" label and emerges as a pretty solid (albeit weird) party album. Nonlinear enough for the Ween/Lips fans and MTV enough for the Beck/Nirvana crew. Enjoy.

Crawlpappy

College Music

Being a tried and true Ween fan I guess it was inevitable that I would eventually stumble into the world that is the Flaming Lips. Not only did they both break into the early 90's quasi-mainstream together via Beavis And Butthead ("She Don't Use Jelly" and "Push Th' Little Daisies" for the non-video savvy millenials) the groups would actually tour together in 2006 for almost a dozen shows. Musically, the anti-rock parallels are almost blatant; Ween was still a little more Casio-esque lo-fi than the 'Lips but both were still tinkering with the edges of "alternative" rock for an audience who still didn't know what they liked yet. 1993's Transmissions was arguable step ahead of Ween as far as production quality/song structure goes, the music is way more palatable than anything on Pure Guava; though in Ween's defense it helps when you have a whole band instead of a Tascam 4-track. Outside of 120 Minute faves "Turn It On" and the aforementioned "She Don't Use Jelly", the best thing about this album is how the last 4 songs kind of blend into a weird 16-minute mini-epic. Not only is "Slow • Nerve • Action" the best (and most touching) song I think the Flaming Lips have ever done, the lack of song breaks between the last few tunes convert the end of the album into a strange story focusing on Jesus, early-life crises, lepidopterans and invisible dogs named Paul. Maybe I've powdered a few to many hydrocodones tonight but this album is essential. Enjoy.

Tangerine

Why I think it's booty...

Man, it's been a while since my sorry ass posted anything. Been busy with nothing so what better way to return to form than with hip-hop legend and blog favorite Kool Keith. Continuing in the tradition of 1997's epic Sex Style, Spankmaster finds the Bronx wordsmith back in familiar territory - tricky tongue-twisting dirty rap to amaze and offend. "Eldaradoe's" and "Maxin In The Shade" harken the grooves of the old Kut Masta Kurt days, while "N.B.A" sinister flow would have fit perfectly on any of Dr. Octagon's records. "Jealous" is probably my favorite track; a sluggish, classic old-school boast where Keith disses the industry, focusing especially on DJ Funkmaster Flex. There are a few forgettable "guest" rappers on the record which he could have done without but all in all a huge return to form for Keith in the new millenium.

Dark Vader