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Vampire Mooose – The Reel CD

1. Intro
2. Pan.demon.ium
3. Ash The World Turns
4. One Arm Jake
5. Pot Pie ft. Nick Wolf
6. Somebody Kill Don Henley
7. Spider Man vs. Venom 2
8. La Tumba ft. Jose Mangin
9. Lions of Whoa
10. Angra Mainyu ft. Todd Smith
11. The Reel
12. Drayton Sowyer

Wreak Havoc – Abandon Everything – CD

1. At Odds With The World
2. Chasing Kerouac’s Ghost
3. Bury Me in South Amherst
4. Dead Eagles, Dead Legends
5. Disconnect Yourself
6. For The Mothers and Fathers of the American Revolution
7. Hopelessly, I Hope
8. There is an Answer to Every Problem
9. Know My Tragedy
10. Kick Ass, Die Young
11. The Greatest of Men are The Most Alone
12. New Living Dead
13. Kids These Days
14. Social Casualties: Refuse to Rot Away

Wreak Havoc means to inflict disorder or chaos, which may be a perfect description for one of the most exciting bands to come onto the scene. Hailing from Cleveland, Ohio, the band has accomplished a ridiculous amount in just two years. Wreak Havoc formed in the spring of 2008 from the remnants of past Cleveland Hardcore band with a common purpose to play fast, honest and intense hardcore. WREAK HAVOC’s sound consists of a unique blend of early down trodden hardcore and fast paced hopeless punk rock.

Ideamen – Schemata CD

1. Schemata Prologue
2. Red in the Sky
3. Momenta
4. Running Home
5. Bad Apple
6. Two Complaints
7. Off is a Crime
8. Brainchild
9. Downtown Crier
10. This Dog Just Rolled Over and Died
11. Through the Sunrise
12. Dead Utopia

After a long four year wait Ideamen have returned with their sophomore full length release and it was well worth waiting for!

Not much has changed in regard to the band’s sound, even though the quintet has been expanded to a sextet with the addition of Phil Miller on second guitar. Ideamen still feature the same skilled roster of musicians that delivered the eclectic 2007 statement of an EP Progress and the great debut full length album May You Live In Interesting Times. As you can probably tell, I’m somewhat of an Ideamen fan. Having discovered the band some time around mid 2011 and being completely blown away by their lighthearted, while truly inspirational and genuine, approach to eclectic music making. This is a team of talented musicians and songwriters who know how to make catchy and highly addicting songs while still being true to their band’s name. I’ve been hooked on them and have been following their progress though their official website and Facebook for any new related to a new release since. Not much happened during 2012 and it wasn’t until fall 2013 that Tim Swanson & company finally started talking about a new release. I made sure to pre-order my copy as soon as I could and received it in the mail around mid February.

The album has been on my regular playlist since then, even though it did have a hard time competing for my attention since I was still very much into Polkadot Cadaver’s latest album and have recently discovered Celebrity Sex Scandal, plus a few other new releases from acts like Dream Theater, Moon Safari, Dead Lord, Leprous and a few others. It wasn’t until a few weeks ago that I really started getting into Schemata but once I did, there was literally no way going back!

The album kicks off with an intro that quickly transforms into the album’s first true highlight. Red In The Sky is a song in true Ideamen-fashion, featuring strong instrumental and vocal hooks delivered with great passion and skill. I especially like the buildup section that begins around the 2-minute mark and continues for almost a minute before the chorus reprise kicks in and finishes the track. I was initially a bit skeptical in regard to the album’s first single, Running Home, after seeing the ridiculously cheesy tongue and cheek music video produced by the band. Even though I still have some reservations in regard to the composition’s chorus line it does manage to create a catchy and strong song that might actually give the band the commercial boost that they have so far been lacking.

Two Complaints is my personal favorite track and a glorious highlight from Schemata, featuring beautiful melodic hooks, well written arrangements and instrumental track arrangements. The first tones of Brainchild made me remember the albums melody from the intro track Schemata Prologue, hence this is the centerpiece of the album and it definitely deserves this title since Brainchild is a magnificent track where the band manages to fuse a bunch of their influences and create a truly original piece of music that can only be placed under the Ideamen label! If I really have to find a weak spot then it would be the blatantly obvious Queen tribute towards the end, especially the Brian May inspired guitar solo.

The album ends on the same strong note as it began with Dead Utopia, making me remember the exact reason of why I hold Ideamen close to my heart and mind. This is an exceptional piece of music that I highly recommend to all fans of vocal harmonies and passionate eclectic rock music. After all these passionate remarks in regard to the album’s quality I still hesitate to give it the highest possible rating, even though Schemata does come close to just that. The album features quite a few influences from other artists which sometimes make the experience seem slightly disjointed; first we get a song clearly sounding like something inspired by System of a Down, then we get some Queen, some Mike Patton-sounding vocals and so on and so on. This does sound like a nice novelty at first but becomes somewhat of a problem upon repeated listens as some songs swiftly get under this or that artist’s influence, thus distracting me from actually experiencing Ideamen. Having said that, I still find Schemata to be a highly fulfilling record and I’m sure that many of these compositions will be on my playlist for years to come!

***** star songs: Red In The Sky (4:38) Two Complaints (3:48) Brainchild (4:21) Downtown Crier (3:49) Dead Utopia (4:16)

**** star songs: Schemata Prologue (1:05) Momenta (4:01) Running Home (4:01) Bad Apple (2:51) Off Is A Crime (4:59) This Dog Just Rolled Over And Died (4:05) Through The Sunrise (4:00)

From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website

Dog Fashion Disco – Sweet Nothings CD

Following the success of their 2006 album Adultery, Baltimore’s strata-phonic-stage-pounders Dog Fashion Disco kick in your front door to deliver Sweet Nothings. Per the norm, this record challenges the laws of rock physics leaving one to reach for adjectives smart enough to describe it. Calling it experimental would be an insult. Calling it metal would be to do so out of ignorance. To call it a manifestation of a much larger, unresolved condition is about as close as you’ll get to applying syntax to the ineffable and deliciously tantalizing high-watt gravy that inevitably stains your favorite shirt.

Vocalist Todd Smith’s voice effortlessly yawns from frail fourteen year-old girl to agonizing 500-pound fat man gargling broken glass—with the clever lyrics Smith is known for. Lest you forget there are others coming to dinner; Jasan Stepp’s soaring buzz-saw guitars smear a 12-layer juxtaposition across the pork fried freight-train and machine gun-rhythm section of bassist Brian White and drummer John Ensminger. Tenured keyboardist Tim Swanson weaves an audio tapestry of rich sonic delicacies fit for a Hi-Top wearing King. Matt Rippetoe’s saxophone asks for a second helping before the others are even seated. With unwavering energy, Rippetoe parlays himself up to a gush of entrancing melody.

DFD’s illustrious career hearkens back to 1995— a time when some of their peers were still crapping in their Pampers. A much leaner, more fuel-efficient Smith, Ensminger and former guitarist Greg Combs began playing the storied local and regional shows they became known for. It was this tenacity that primed the band for a trio of self-released albums—Erotic Massage and 1998’s Experiments in Alchemy and The Embryo’s in Bloom.

Catapulted in quest of something to amuse, DFD embraced a touring schedule so relentless and unforgiving that bands like Motorhead looked more like a Girl Scout troop on a weekend outing. Saddled with an unscrupulous contempt for remaining static and travel days with the resounding echo of a slow ticking clock, DFD prepared for what would become their major label debut, 2001’s Anarchists Of Good Taste. To much praise ‘Anarchists’ took the band on their first overseas tour. With the release of 2003’s Committed To A Bright Future, life for DFD began to flow with their newly accustomed stream of personnel changes. They subsequently recorded the Day Of The Dead EP as well as The City Is Alive Tonight and DFDVD— their live audio and visual offerings. As with all things wholly organic and naturally aspirated, DFD took a much needed break— lasting only a mere six months.

In 2005 DFD signed with powerhouse indie label Rotten Records and in 2006 released the critically acclaimed album Adultery. With both band and label working overtime, DFD created what is arguably a new standard in the art of touring. To the degree that a former Rotten Records executive surreptitiously contacted the Department of Transportation about having at least a small stretch of highway aptly named after the band— considering the likelihood they were responsible for its changing topography.

In late 2006, Smith announced that Dog Fashion Disco was marching down to posterity and calling it quits. In its wake, the various members involved themselves in different projects. But it was only a matter of time before the power of intellectual metamorphosis prevailed and in 2013 the band regrouped and wrote what would become their seventh studio album, Sweet Nothings. With this album, what was once only suspicion becomes abundantly clear, that Dog Fashion Disco is a band educated far beyond its own capacity. Educated in the verbose and rhetorical phrasings, musings by instrument and larger than life presence that comprise Dog Fashion Disco. Nonetheless Sweet Nothings, like DFD themselves, is a sum much greater than its parts—and what blatant disregard to convention looks like. In the tradition of self-nurturing, spoil yourself and bask in their latest audio spa treatment. Because it’s likely they’ll be darkening the doorways of your town at dinner time soon enough.

1. Greta
2. War Party
3. Scarlet Fever
4. Tastes So Sweet
5. Doctor’s Orders
6. Envy the Vultures
7. Approach and Recede
8. Down the Rabbit Hole
9. We Aren’t The World
10. Struck by Lightning
11. Sweet Nothings
12. Pale Horse
13. End of the Road

Dog Fashion Disco – Ad Nauseam CD

There’s a sense of safety and warm familiarity in consistency. We learn it as young children and carry it into adulthood. So when one of your favorite rock bands consistently makes one great record after another, its more like a self-fulfilling prophecy- and therein lies a fundamental sense of why we love the things we love. Dog Fashion Disco is no different gleaming in their own straight-jacketed warmth and shotgun sense of safety.

Enter Ad Nauseam, the eighth and latest record from Baltimore’s devil-children, Dog Fashion Disco. As with each of its predecessors, Ad Nauseam is a fiery exclamation of cynicism, dark humor and universal truths. It is bullet proof and undeniably sustainable in the eye of its own hurricane.

Singer/Songwriter Todd Smith wraps his charming persona and perhaps busted heart around our eardrums with the title track—Ad Nauseam. A beast of a tune whose rolling thunder-cloud back line provides the type of footing necessary for the brilliant horn work, grinding guitars and dark keys that Smith uses to catapult his dynamic voice from heaven to hell and back again.

DFD have always taken their own approach to doing things. It goes without saying that it works. Guitarist Jasan Stepp said on making the new record:

I love that it’s a more stripped down aggressive, rock and roll record.  With every album we make the process gets easier and easier I feel like we really have it down to a science.  It’s what has enabled us to put out the sheer volume of material that we have over the last few years.  Between DFD, Polkadot Cadaver, El Creepo and Knives Out! We’ve put out 7 albums in the last 6 years.  Writing the way that DFD does now (primarily in studio) enables us to work out all of the material before its ever rehearsed or performed live.  It lifts all of the stress and frees us from in-band creative conflicts for the most part…

DFD have consistently proven to be one of the hardest working bands in the last few decades. To the point that even their work gloves have callouses. The good news is; they don’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon. The bad news is; they don’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon. Ad Nauseam? How about Ad Infinitum.

1. AD NAUSEAM
2. LAST NIGHT NEVER HAPPENED
3. GOLDEN MIRAGE
4. COVERED IN BLOOD
5. ONLY THE HAUNTED
6. LOTION ON IT’S SKIN
7. WATCHING YOU
8. BABY BONES
9. STARVING ARTIST

Ideamen – Trained When We’re Young CD

1. Genesis
2. Deck of Cards
3. Beg For A Plea
4. Rainy Days
5. Cold As February
6. Fall From Grace
7. Frantic Avenue
8. This Message
9. Confidence Shattered
10. Right On
11. An Unreliable Historian

 

Ideamen release their new album Trained When We’re Young on Rotten Records, Friday, August 25 2017.  This long awaited release continues to carry the bands signature sound laid down in previous albums May You Live In Interesting Times and Schemata while exploring a bit broader musical path and making it their own.  The overall vibe of Trained When We’re Young is a vibrant blend of bi-polarism, from the dark hallways of “Cold As February” to the abject giddiness of “This Message”, the stoner rock space anthem-ness of “Beg For A Plea” to “Rainy Days” with a laid back sound sopping wet and laying in a puddle somewhere on Abbey Road.  Whether or not you are familiar with Ideamen, you will appreciate the alternatively dreamy yet crunchy guitars, precise explosions of drums, finely crafted keyboard melodies, gritty driving bass, and beautifully arranged and layered vocal harmonies.

Ideamen hails from Chicago Illinois, formed in 2007 by Tim Swanson (Keyboards and Vocals), Mark Vasquez (Bass), Dave Solar (Vocals) and Phil Goodrich (Drums), and have since added Phil Miller and Greg Millikan (Guitars).  Their first EP Progress was well received by fans and critics around the world with its unique blend of Classical, Punk, and Salsa.  The success of the initial release gave Ideamen enough momentum to sign on with Rotten Records in 2009, releasing their first full length album May You Live In Interesting Times.  It picked up where Progress left off, taking a Queen inspired approach to the vocal production that would ultimately help shape Ideamen’s sound.  Schemata, their second album on Rotten released in 2014, encapsulated a mood darker than its predecessor, with reoccurring melodies infused with a tone of hopelessness peppered brilliantly throughout this masterpiece.

Ideamen has sold albums around the world and shared the stage with such artists as Foxy Shazam, Tub-Ring, Green Jelly, Psychostick and Civil Twilight.  The fate of the world may look bleak, but Ideamen will be carrying a torch & touring on the release of Trained When We’re Young throughout 2017.

iloveideamen.com – facebook.com/iloveideamen – twitter.com/ideamen – facebook.com/rottenrecords

 

Acid Bath – When The Kite String Pops – RADIO EDITS PROMO CD RARE

1. Toubabo Koomi
2. The Bones of Baby Dolls
3. Tranquilized
4. The Bones of Baby Dolls
5. Scream of the Butterfly
6. The Bones of Baby Dolls

VERY RARE RADIO EDITS CD. This CD was mailed out to radio stations in 1994 upon the release of “When the Kite String Pops”. The songs are edited for airplay. All of the art and handwriting was done by the late serial killer Richard “The Night Stalker” Ramirez. Hard to find. We have one for sale here.

NOT NEW, BUT VERY GENTLY USED, 23 YEARS OLD!

 

Acid Bath:

Dax Riggs (vocals)

Mike Sanchez (guitar, tambourine)

Sammy Duet (guitar, background vocals)

Audie Pitre (bass, background vocals)

Jimmy Kyle (drums)

 

 

Only Flesh – Cell Out… CD/DVD

1. 01_SoItBegins_Master

2. 02_OfMenAndMice_Master

3. 03_EgoTron_Master

4. 04_PrettiestMistake_Master

5. 05_StillBirth_Master

6. 06_SmotherHerLight_Master

7. 07_SuperFreak_Master

8. 08_AddictionPuppetry_Master

9. 09_LoveComa_Master

10. 10_LastCall_Master

11. 11_PutMyLoveInYou_Master

12. 12_Faded(Redux)_Master

13. 13_Twitch(Redux)_Master

14. 14_FavoriteShadeOfGrey_Remix_MASTERED

15. 15_Sexual Holocaust (KRZTOFF BILE MIX) – MASTER…

16. 16_LastCircus_Master