Woburn House - Monstrous Manoeuvres In The Mushroom Maze

'Beautifully crafted, adventurous and inspiring - this unique band are always tough to pin down. Levitating between the bliss of the finest European avantgarde metal, epic song structures and earthy, organic post-rock tones, "Monstrous Manoeuvres In The Mushroom Maze" unfurls layer upon layer of beautifully textured melody that is driven by a bass drift that reminds us of classic early Lungfish in parts too. And all wrapped up in beautiful artwork painted by Toby Driver of Kayo Dot and mastered by the sound genius of Tom Kvålsvoll.' - Paradigms Recordings

Download: mediafire
Label/Date: Paradigms Recordings, 2009
Genre: progressive metal,
From: Bonn, Germany
Similar/Related: Enslaved, Virus, Intronaut, Kayo Dot, Tombs, Solstafir, Giant Squid, Jesu, Isis, Gojira
Website : Myspace

Ereb Altor - By Honour

"Folks, make no qualms about it, Ereb Altor (named after some D & D styled role playing board game) is a Hammerheart/Twilight of the Gods/Nordland era Bathory tribute band; long, deliberate, epic Viking riffage, airy choral vocal arrangements of honor, warriors and all things forest-y, frosty and mountain-y. I’ve seen this band/album called "Viking Doom”, and the moniker sort of fits. Out of respect for Quorthon, I'm afraid to say that this band completely rips off Bathory. And they do it very, very well, even down to Mats’ vocal delivery which (No disrespect to the deceased Quorthon) is actually better and less off-key than his obvious idol.

By Honour though, for all its obvious influences, is a damn good album. There’s an organic yet majestic, austere ambience to the plodding, steady riffage and Mats' vocals have a more epic, romantic quality than Quorthon ever did and there’s some nice use of somber acoustics and subtle synths to start tracks like the rangy epic “Wizard” and instrumental closer “Ereb Altor”. However, the likes of “Winter Wonderland” have me scrambling for my Bathory catalog to confirm if it is indeed a cover track or not.

If you enjoy, nicely done, doomy majestic Viking metal, Ereb Altor will appease you but more importantly, they look to be the hair apparent to a revered, legendary act. Based on this debut, they are up to it." - Erik Thomas, metalreview.com

Download: megaupload
Label/Date: I Hate Records, 2008
Genre: Epic Viking Doom Metal
From: Sweden
Similar/Related: Bathory, Candlemass, Orphaned Land, Agalloch, Black Math Horseman, Primordial, Solstafir, Opeth, Moonsorrow, Mar de Grises
Website : Myspace

Shawn Lee

Shawn Lee - Soul In The Hole

"Soul In The Hole is a tribute to multi-instrumentalist Shawn Lees favorite soul sounds through the eras. Featuring guest-appearances from Paul Butler (The Bees), Nicole Willis, Darondo, Karime Kendra, Fanny Franklin, and Kirin Lee, the album is an homage to styles from the late 1960s to the 1980s. “Writing and recording this project felt so natural. It was like coming home,” says Lee. “The great Richie Havens famously once said "I'm going back to my roots." That's exactly what I've done,” he adds."
Download: megaupload


Lord Newborn & The Magic Skulls (Shawn Lee, Money Mark & Tommy Guerrero)

"Lord Newborn and the Magic Skulls is the collaborative project of esteemed sound scientists Money Mark, Shawn Lee, and Tommy Guerrero. In the winter of 2008 they locked themselves away in Money Mark’s Los Angeles-based studio for two weeks. A tasty three-way meeting of the minds resulted in this funk-inflicted collection of beats n’ breaks, wrapped-up in a sunny West Coast musical tortilla that’s smothered in as much jazz and prog-rock as it is in soulful psychedelia."
Download: megaupload


Shawn Lee & Clutchy Hopkins - Clutch Of The Tiger

"Clutch of the Tiger sounds like a collection of film-noir tracks run through the Clutchy Hopkins and Shawn Lee magical music machine. It’s dusty and mysterious junkyard jazz that’s powered by sly beats and other-worldly funk. Famous comic book creator Jim Mahood (who has worked on Spiderman/Marvel, Clerks, Grrl Scouts, Stupid Comics, etc etc) liked the tunes so much he provided the killer artwork for the package!"
Download: megaupload


Shawn Lee & Clutchy Hopkins - Fascinating Fingers

"They're back! More collaborations from the unstoppable Mr. Lee and the mysterious one. Going deeper than before this new album brings out the best in both and features full string sections, a guest appearance from UK group The Superimposers, and some serious Mojave marauding beats."
Download: mediafire


Shawn Lee's Ping Pong Orchestra - A Very Ping Pong Christmas: Funky Treats From Santa's Bag

"Late one cold winter night, our Little Drummer Boy found himself alone in his chilly recording studio. Busting out the Jingle Bells he decided to break the unseasonably eerie Silent Night and play himself a song or two. “Some of My Favorite Things,” he muttered to himself as he stared at his vast collection of musical instruments strewn throughout the room. “O Come All Ye Faithful” he sung to his horn section as he mustered the musical muscle to Deck The Halls. Old Saint Mick joined him on the black and whites and the two of them knew that as long as they had tunes, they would not be alone this Holiday season."
Download: megaupload

Website : Myspace : Label : Wiki

Bodychoke - Cold River Songs

"Bodychoke was an experimental noise rock side-project of Power Electronics band Sutcliffe Jügend active between 1993 and 1999. The band released 4 albums, one of which was produced by Steve Albini. Their music expressed themes of hate and disgust, as well as some of the sexual perversion and death tackled by Sutcliffe Jügend."

"The band's style is hard to categorise, a combination of noise rock, post-rock, industrial music and even gothic rock elements. A typical Bodychoke song is driven along by a strong repetitive riff on the bass and drums, tensioned against layers of distorted guitar noise, with vocals ranging from bassy murmurs to deranged screaming. From 1996, 'cello featured as both a melodic and rhythmic element, and sometimes as a source of ambient sound-effects. The arrival of Manu Ros in 1998 brought a more complex, 'tribal' feel to the drumming." -wiki

Download: megaupload
Label/Date: Purity, 1998/ Relapse, 2009 reissue
Genre: crushing noise-rock
From: London, England
Similar/Related: Swans, Hammerhead, Neurosis, Birthday Party, Jesus Lizard, Oxbow, Godflesh, Big Black, Mouth of the Architect, Minsk, Sutcliffe Jugend, Whitehouse
Website : last.fm

Cable - The Failed Convict

"The majority of The Failed Convict is full of Cable's classic punch-drunk rhythms and angular, abrasive riffing. The songs are quick bursts of bellowing, burly rage, executed with such nimble precision that it's easy to miss how much is going on in them the first time around. Thankfully, Joel Hamilton's whip sharp production offers plenty of clarity. At 13 songs, The Failed Convict threatens to wear out its welcome, but the band manages to keep things interesting up until the end. They sound, dare I say, like a band reinvigorated and ready to take on the world." -Arzgarth, StonerRock.com
Download: megaupload
Label/Date: The End Records, 2009
Genre: metal/hardcore/noise-rock
From: Connecticut
Similar/Related: Doomriders, 16, Cavity, Bison, Fight Amp, Unsane, Crowbar, Keelhaul, Tombs, Pantera
Website : Myspace

Doomriders - Darkness Come Alive

"Recorded and engineered at Godcity Studios by Kurt Ballou, "Darkness Come Alive" shows a more monstrous Doomriders emerging from the depths. Songs like "Jealous God" and "Heavy Lies The Crown" carry a precision and infectious quality that is rare to experience, while the title-esque track "Come Alive" is a stunning example of their new found muscle. The opening seconds of the aforementioned sets an electrifying backdrop before erupting into one of the most hook laden ebb and flows of recent memory. Effortlessly throughout the album they continue this bombardment, with rhythm section JR Conners (Cave In) and Jebb Riley (Disappearer) as the hurricane force wind at the back of Chris Pupecki's (Cast Iron Hike) riffs and Nate Newton's (Converge) gritty duel guitar/vocal attack. Shedding influences to stand with them as contemporaries, Doomriders "Darkness Come Alive" is a monumental full length achievement. Proving not only that aggressive music still has much to offer, but that Doomriders are, in fact, more soulful and heavier than all." -myspace
Download: megaupload
Label/Date: Deathwish, 2009
Genre: metal/hardcore/rock
From: Boston, Massachusetts
Similar/Related: Cable, Converge, Cave-In, Boris, Thin Lizzy, Coliseum, Saviours, Disappearer, Entombed, Baroness, Bison
Website : Myspace

Uniquetunes - 8

"UNIQUETUNES is the outstanding instrumental band from Saint-Petersburg, Russia.
To talk about the music style it is a mixture of contemporary jazz, live electronics, modern indie rock and 70’s psychedelic. Band, formed in june 2005, now have eight members with only analog instruments and brilliant ideas in their minds. During these years rocking, band shared the stage with Red Snapper (Warp, UK), Amon Tobin (Ninja Tune, Canada) and many others. This album is like a photo picture of the band in February 2008, because all the tracks were recorded live and seems to be exactly that, what band is now. This CD was recorded in 5 days at Voshod Studio and mixed the following 5 days at Antrop Studio. Everything you hear was made only by this eight members: self-recorded, self-engineered, self-produced, self-mixed. This work were respected by Jaga Jazzist and Clutchy Hopkins, who really knows what the interesting sound is." -last.fm
Download: megaupload
Label/Date: Self-released, 2009
Genre: instrumental, experimental, post-rock/jazz/dance
From: St. Petersburg, Russian Federation
Similar/Related: Jaga Jazzist, Samuel Jackson 5, Pivot, Guizado, Tortoise, Tuna Laguna, World's End Girlfriend, Natsumen, Toe
Website : Myspace

Aufgang - Aufgang

2 GRAND PIANOS + 1 DRUM KIT. "Although Aufgang is just an infant in the musical world, the three classically trained musicians deliver a rather surprising and scrumptious mix of sounds on their debut album. Staring with a base of two pianos and a drum kit, the band has an undeniably strong percussive bone, and it is unituitively but awesomely implemented in a fashion that could only be described as "organic electronica." The opening chops of "Channel 7" and "Channel 8" cement Aufgang and electronica visionaries, but in a style so elegant and graceful that it finds itself akin to Kashiwa Diasuke's Program Music I. Whatever the cost, be sure to track down this end-of-the-year game changer." -thesilentballet.com
Download: megaupload
Label/Date: InFiné / Discograph, 2009
Genre: piano-based electronica/techno/experimental
From: France
Similar/Related: Kashiwa Daisuke, Pivot, Triosk, Mouse On The Keys, Holy Fuck, Dan Deacon, Four Tet, Squarepusher, Aphex Twin, Venetian Snares, Lindstrøm, Fuck Buttons,
Website : Myspace

Stellar OM Source - Ocean Woman

"Stellar OM Source is the solo project of electronic musician, composer, visionary artist and icon Christelle Gualdi. She holds a lot of mysteries around her atomic, oceanic and influential personality. She was born in the suburbs of Paris from French-Italian parents. She began to play electronic music as a teenager while recording soundtracks for exhibitions, assisting her father at the radio studio using Yamaha MSX and Atari 1040 systems. Next to this, her music taste has been influenced by early fascination for fusion, guitar heroes and ECM artists, as well as disco and new-age music her mother brought to her.
She plays today a range of different analog synthesizers and makes an extensive use of MIDI and electronic equipment. Stellar OM Source involves musicality as a transport to the ocean realm within the stars. She combines gorgeous, rippling keyboard runs with clusters of overtone gravity so thick they seem to simply hang in the air and unravel true beauty. Beyond the interface of the machine, she conveys spirituality and an emotional body. Her sounds can be related to Terry Riley, Alice Coltrane or Ryuichi Sakamoto." -myspace
Download: megaupload
Label/Date: self-released, 2009
Genre: ambient/drone
From: Netherlands
Similar/Related: Emeralds, Valet, Tim Hecker, Mountains, Windy & Carl, Mouthus, Terry Riley, Popol Vuh, Religious Knives, CLuster, Klaus Schulze
Website : Myspace

The Caretaker - Persistent Repetition of Phrases

Perfect bedtime record. Check out more here
"Although this album invites aesthetic comparisons to works by the likes of Philip Jeck, William Basinski and Janek Schaefer - draped as it is in an obfuscating, soupy crackle - there's a very specific conceptual agenda at work here. Part of 'Persistent Repetition Of Phrases' success comes from the attention it pays to the function of 'the loop', not only as a narrative ordering system in modern music, but as a means by which the brain itself recalls and interprets information; it's as old as recorded sound itself, but in this context the repetition of small shards of auditory information becomes an elegy to fading memory and the worn-out synapses of old age. The track titles offer signposts through Kirby's labyrinth of faulty remembrances, pointing their way towards the peculiarities dictating the manner by which the mind stores and attempts to recover information: 'Lacunar Amnesia' references a condition that leaves a specific event absent from the sufferer's melody, and Kirby's music sounds suitably stuck on a prelude to something that never happens. Bathed in gusts of crackle, the piece gets stuck on what might be a start of something, but we never get to hear what. Many of the pieces refer to different ways the memory might find itself caught in a holding pattern: 'Von Restorff Effect', 'Rosy Retrospection' and the title track itself are all suggestive of re-living a single event or point in time - here, both music and memory are united by the notion of 'glitch', whereby a fault or fissure causes the replaying of the same pocket of data over and over again, but what distinguishes Kirby from so many other musicians operating within the field of loops and broken recordings is the unnerving, ghostly sentimentality that courses through this process. 'Long Term (remote)' is particularly explicit in its reaching back through the first half of the 20th century, exhuming snatches of music hall romance, now warped into a sinister new form by the erosions of time. It's like watching John Carpenter's The Fog only to find that instead of vengeful phantoms emerging from the mist, it's The Glenn Miller Band. More eerie still is the detachment from authorship endemic to this sound - at no point do you really sense the presence of a composer's hand; this album just... is. A remarkable thing that only seems to have improved with age, Persistent Repetition Of Phrases wears and fades just as the memory does." -boomkat
Download: megaupload Thanks Alex!
Label/Date: Installsound, 2008
Genre: ambient/drone/experimental
From: Stockport, England
Similar/Related: Philip Jeck, Gentleman Losers, Jacaszek, William Basinski, Stars of the Lid, Labradford, The Fun Years, Mountains
Website : Wiki : Last.fm

The Laughing Windows - EP1

This is fucking awesome! A must-hear! Thanks to Wine Women and Song for introducing me.
"A joint release from Doug Shipton's Battered Ornaments and the associated Finders Keepers crew, the debut EP from The Laughing Windows follows their killer 7" with two 10"s worth of mysterious Krautrock dabbling and horror psyched vibes. The first thing to strike us about this group has to be Luke Insect's seriously uncanny vocal resemblance to Thom Yorke. Sure, there are a lot of people who try to sound like him, but this doesn't feel like a conscious decision and simply, but kinda definitively, makes the group sound like Radiohead doing a mean Amon Duul impersonation. The most impressive of the five tracks are both on the first disc, loaded with two extended jams skillfully moving from synth driven moods to arcane folksy wanderings with prog-rock arrangements. -boomkat"
Download: mediafire
Label/Date: Battered Ornaments, 2009
Genre: psychedelic/experimental/avant-garde
From: London/Lewes/Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Similar/Related: Faust, Amon Düül II, Talk Talk, This Heat, Can, Grails, O'Rang, Radiohead, Popol Vuh, Morphine
Website : Myspace

Ga'an - Self-Titled Cassette

Can't find much info on this band and according to their broken myspace "Ga'an is De'ad". Thats a shame because this murky cassette hints at something great. Sounds like a spacey, gothic Magma, heavy on the synths and operatic female vocals.
Download: megaupload
Label/Date: Unknown/self-released, 2009
Genre: prog, zeuhl, gothic, psychedelic
From: Chicago
Similar/Related: Magma/Christian Vander, One Shot, Tangerine Dream, Stereolab, Guapo, Zombi, Yoshida Tatsuya/Koenjihyakkei/Ruins, Bondage Fruit, Shub-Niggurath
Website : Myspace

Sula Bassana - The Night

Download: megaupload
Label/Date: Sulatron records, 2009
Genre: space rock, psychedelic, krautrock
From: Hausruckwald, Austria
Similar/Related: Hawkwind, Hidria Spacefolk, Øresund Space Collective, Gong, Südstern 44, Blandbladen, Vibravoid, Neu!, Pink Floyd, Zombi, Procupine Tree, Colour Haze
Website : Myspace

Naam - Kingdom EP

If you dig this go buy their new self-titled full-length.
"Beyond the conceptual physical language structure created by mankind, the definition of the name lies in internal rhythm, the internal sound that a man experiences. Those who embrace Naam have the key to the door of mysteries and miracles, as Naam exists in the Divine plane and shines through to the Physical plane, bringing healing and self-renewal.

Disgusted by the lack of heavy, psychedelic rock and roll, We deliver our deafening sermon to bring a new dawn for all civilization. The vast seas cannot drown Us, the darkest caverns cannot conceal Us, We will conquer insurmountable foes. We are war, We are peace, We are time and space, We are infinite, We are Naam."
Download: sharebee
Label/Date: Tee Pee Records, 2009
Genre: Psychedelic / Grunge / Rock
From: BROOKLYN, New York
Similar/Related: Earthless, Black Angels, US Christmas, Crystal Antlers, Acid Mothers Temple, El Paramo, Assemble Head in Sunburst Sound, Weird Owl
Website : Myspace

YOB - The Great Cessation

Considered to be one of the most respected American doom metal bands to arise within the last ten years, YOB have quite the impressive repertoire at their disposal gaining quite the reputation with their signature and distinct style of epic elongated crushing atmospheric sludge doom that have gained them the respect and recognition as one of America’s premiere doom metal bands.

With the addition of new bass player Aaron Reiseberg joining Scheidt and Foster to round up the reformed YOB line-up, 'The Great Cessation' is a time-stretching unearthly slab of monolithic doom metal art; an album in which Scheidt lays claim as the best, heaviest, and darkest YOB album to date. Produced by renowned knob pusher Sanford Parker (PELICAN, MINSK, NACHTMYSTIUM, THE GATES OF SLUMBER etc.) in the band’s hometown of Eugene, Oregon, “The Great Cessation” sees YOB in 2009 much more epic, heavier, darker, and undeniably louder than ever. Ultimately, 'The Great Cessation' will unveil itself as the doom metal monument of 2009." -Profound Lore
Download: mediafire
Label/Date: Profound Lore, 2009
Genre: Doom, Sludge, Psychedelic
From: Eugene, Oregon
Similar/Related: Middian, Eibon, Electric Wizard, Buried at Sea, Sleep, Weedeater, Unearthly Trance, Ramesses, Graves at Sea, Corrupted, Neurosis, Suma, Minsk, Ufomammut
Website : Myspace

New Keepers of the Water Towers - The Chronicles

"Debut by the Swedish band creates a sonic collision between the heaviest of metal and the firmest of rock, wrapped up with the lyrical themes of dwelling beasts and filthy creatures. MASSIVE!" -amazon
Download: part1, part2
Label/Date: MeteorCity, 2009
Genre: Stoner Metal / Doom Metal
From: Log-islet, Sweden
Similar/Related: High on Fire, Mastodon, Baroness, Bison, Valkyrie, Clouds, Crowbar, Viking Skull, Kowloon Walled City, Kyuss
Website : Myspace

Dysrhythmia - Psychic Maps

"Not that Dysrhythmia were ever lacking for unorthodox modes and dense chords rife with dissonance, but they’ve reached a new plateau in inscrutability with Psychic Maps. They’ve all but shed the more jam-based approach of their early records, morphing into purveyors of tough, jagged, difficult music. Power chords are nowhere to be found – they’ve all been choked by Hufnagel’s dirty harmonies, then beaten to death by Marston’s clanking bass. Where riffs repeat in “Festival of Popular Delusions” and “Iron Cathedral,” they do so not to invite headbanging, but to ratchet up tension." -metalsucks.net
Download: rapidshare
Label/Date: Relapse Records, 2009
Genre: instrumental tech metal
From: Philadelphia
LIYL: Behold... the Arctopus, Canvas Solaris, Indricothere, Krallice, Don Caballero, Rothko, Intronaut, Scale The Summit, Gorguts
Website : Myspace

Brass Knuckle Surfer - Sin Palabras

Download: rapidshare
Label/Date: Goodtime Entertainment, 2009
Genre: progressive rock/metal, post-rock, space-metal, +saxomophone
From: ATLANTA
Similar/Related: Indukti, OSI, Canvas Solaris, Monkey3, Darediablo, Liquid Tension Experiment, Dredg, Animals As Leaders, Devin Townsend, Sgt, Porcupine Tree, Pink Floyd, Tool, Aghora, Gordian Knot
Website : Myspace

Jardin De la Croy - Pomeroy

Download: mastertoastermusic
Label/Date: Mastertoaster Recordings, 2009
Genre: progressive math rock
From: Madrid, Spain
Similar/Related: Lite, Toe, Tera Melos, Motion Turns It On, King Crimson, Rush, Yes, Muddy World, Mahavishnu Orch, Hematovore, Bronzed Chorus
Website : Myspace

Chriss Sutherland - Worried Love

Solo work from a member of Fire On Fire whose album The Orchard was one of my faves from last year. This isn't as good as The Orchard mostly because I don't care for Chriss' voice sometimes (He's definately the weakest voice in Fire On Fire). But this is still well worth checking out for the two upbeat Spanish flamenco-folk tracks and the gorgeous finale Hey Justice.
Download: megaupload
Label/Date: Peapod Recordings 2009
Genre: Folk/Acoustic
From: South Portland, Maine
Similar/Related: Fire On Fire, Bonnie Prince billy, Neil Young, Iron & Wine, O'Death, Cerberus Shoal, Akron/Family
Website : Myspace

Turing Machine - Zwei

This is one of the first records I posted on here more than 2 years ago. I'm reposting it today in memoriam of the incredible drummer who played on it. Jerry Fuchs died this past weekend after falling down an elevator shaft. I was lucky enough to see him play with Maserati a few weeks ago. He was fucking intense! Maserati will not be the same without him. His death is a great loss to the independent music world. So listen to this fantastic record in honor of Gerhardt Fuchs, a truly great drummer who will be missed by family, friends and admirers around the world.

Download: megaupload
Label/Date: Frenchkiss Records, 2004
Genre: instrumental rock, krautrock
From: New York
Similar/Related: Maserati, !!!, Neu!, Lite, Lightning Bolt, Monkey3
Website : Myspace

The Bronzed Chorus - I'm The Spring

Been listening to this for weeks and had no idea they only had two members until writing this post. Makes sense though because they sound like El Ten Eleven. If El Ten Eleven didn't go all dancey and instead rocked the fuck out once in a while.
Download: megaupload
Label/Date: Hello Sir Records, 2009
Genre: instrumental rock duo
From: Greensboro, North Carolina
Similar/Related: El Ten Eleven, Mercury Program, Adebisi Shank, Auto!Automatic!!, Tristeza, From Monument to Masses, Te', Precious Fathers, You.May.Die.In.The.Desert
Website : Myspace

Loan - Hontziria

This record is fucking heavy. Especially the track Niagara. Think SUMA with more stoner rock.
Download: mediafire
Label/Date: Odio Sonoro / Lehendakari Lee Records, 2009
Genre: Stoner/Sludge/Doom Metal
From: Bilbao, Spain
Similar/Related: Suma, Electric Wizard, Sons of Otis, Gonga, Iota, El Paramo, Yob, Earth, Sleep, Sabbath
Website : Myspace

Guizado - Punx

"Kaleidoscope of Babylon: Push the play button, and close your eyes: slides of urban landscapes will be projected in your mind in a kaleidoscope of signs and scents of the city, and hearing will unveil the musical nuances of each code, abstract or not, from the daily São Paulo life - the thermic chaos and poetry made out of concrete, a wall of graffiti in any corner, the smell of rain on the asphalt or espresso coffee pulled right away, the ice cold beer poured in short glass, the texture of pollution that tinge the blue horizon ... The music of Guizado has this cinematographic effect and his first album, "Punx," sounds completely drunk of the noisy aura of São Paulo. From a rhythmic gear full of electronic noise, the plant lays the timbres of the background for the sentences of a trumpet almost always disturbed that yells to be heard in the midst of the collective loneliness of the metropolis. The project is fronted by Gui Mendonça – trumpet player who accompanies or has already accompanied artists like Curumin, DonaZica, Lucas Santtana and newly formed Trio Esmeril. In Guizado, the musician searches (and thinks) his own stamp on a mixture of harmonic inks of his instrument with the textures found in experiments with several electronic paraphernalia. If, on one hand, many of the beats are made on analog synthesizers and gameboy, the recordings of “Punx” were all made on analog tape, and the clever combination of retro and futuristic atmospheres gives strength to the work. The trumpet also went through some filters and overdubs, creating climates more congested, harmonic collisions that leave no listener injured, but stunned. On the way the trumpet is played, the reference to Miles Davis can be heard – much more because of the spirit of transgression than by an alleged virtuosity, let it be said. But Guizado is not jazz. Nor is rock or hip-hop – it is, indeed, an original collage of all that and a little more. Although pushed by a pulse as almost robotic, electronic, the pace is always guided by the trance of African ancestry. Besides the creative engine of Gui Mendonça, the Guizado has other key pieces. Curumin is the drummer on most tracks; in four of them, who beats the skins is tireless Mauricio Takara (Hurtmold, Esmeril Trio, etc...); still on the rhythm section, special feature of percussionist Mauricio Alves (Mestre Ambrósio) in two songs; Régis Damasceno and Ryan Batista, guitarist and bassist of the band Cidadão Instigado, complete the machinery. With this ensemble, the band fills the gaps in the combination of horns with digital beats and gives us an intriguing sculpture made of scrap sound. It is the soundtrack that was missing in order to decipher, once and for all, the soul of Babel / Babylon." Ramiro Zwetsch September / 2007

Download: megaupload
Label/Date: Diginois/Urban Jungle 2008
Genre: Experimental Eletronica/Jazz/Rock/Psychedelic/Avant-garde
From: São Paulo, Brazil
Similar/Related: Tortoise, Zu, Jaga Jazzist, Teeth of the Sea, Mr Bungle, Silencio, 65daysofstatic, Patife Band, Battles, Tuna Laguna, Faust, Morkobot, Free The Robots, Aphex Twin
Website : Myspace

Lullabye Arkestra - Threats/Worship

Just because I saw OM live recently how bout a two-man-band-stravaganza? All three bands, TV Buddhas, Orphan, and Lullabye Arkestra, have 2 members, a guy and a girl. And all three fucking rock.

"Lullabye Arkestra was formed in the summer of 2001 by Justin Small (drums) and Katia Taylor (bass) and are currently based in Toronto. Justin is also member of Do Make Say Think.

The Ark began by writing minimal, stripped down and raunchy rock songs using their signature fuzzed out bass sound and banshee vocals. They combined elements of hardcore punk with 60’s-era soul creating an unusual yet raw and energetic sound." -last.fm

Download: megaupload
Label/Date: Vice, 2009
Genre: noise-rock, stoner, garage, bass/drums duo
From: Toronto
Similar/Related: Jucifer, Big Business, Tweak Bird, Death From Above, Sonic Youth, Hotel Wrecking City Traders, DMST
Website : Myspace

Orphan - Aborted By Birth

"Armed with drums and (ultra distorted) bass only, this heavy, hellbound girl-boy two-piece from Brooklyn crashes and bashes though ten trashed tracks of roughhewn rumble, making quite a crazed art-metal-noise racket. The drummer (girl, Speck Brown) pounds the skins with brutal abandon. Meanwhile the bassist (boy, Brendan Majewski) sings, in the most vicious nasty shriek he can muster, which is indeed brutal too, all the while ripping out the distorted riffage - which can get kinda catchy, on such negative creep cuts as "Love Is For The Birds". Elsewhere they lay waste to such troubling topics as "Penis Farm", "Swan Blood", and "Jane Fonda".
Titling their album Aborted By Birth may be intended to draw comparisons to death metallers Cannibal Corpse, if only to stress their metallic bona fides, since otherwise they probably get a lot of Lightning Bolt references, due to the bass-drums duo setup. Naturally, godheadSilo, Jucifer, and Israel's Barbara would be other good comparisons.
By the way, if you go on YouTube and look 'em up, you'll find some pretty cool, arty homemade videos for each of this album's songs!
Released on evil white vinyl only, limited to 666 numbered copies." - aquarius records

Download: megaupload
Label/Date: From the Nursery, 2009
Genre: Nasty, raw sludgy rock/metal amalgam, bass/drums duo
From: Brooklyn
Similar/Related: Lullabye Orchestra, Black Cobra, Tweak Bird, Subrig Destroyer, Zoroaster, Tombs, Big Business, Melvins, Slayer, 5ive
Website : Myspace

TV Buddhas - The Golden Period

"In the world of two-people bands nothing much counts but the energy and drive they put behind their music. This is what set e.g. Lightning Bolt, United Movement and (early) White Stripes apart from the mediocre rest of two-people bands (and especially that breed that plays instrumental noise rock and usually gets as boring as the third rerun of The Golden Girls, but I am disgressing.) If a two piece band has drive and energy, it can be great. And, in fact, this is what makes “the golden period” by the TV Buddhas such a great record. A driving, energetic piece of sometimes overconstructed noise rock with equal parts songwriting and chaos in the mix to make it outstanding. Yeah, that and the band hailing from Tel Aviv, Isreal." - cracked

Download: mediafire Thanks Fuzzbox!
Label/Date: Trost, 2009
Genre: garage, psych, blues, noise-rock. guitar/drums duo
From: Tel Aviv, Israel
Similar/Related: White Stripes, Lullabye Orchestra, Lightning Bolt, Witch, Monotonix, Black Angels, Dan Melchior's Broke Revue, Comets on Fire, Neil Young, Tee Pee Records
Website : Myspace

Collapse Under The Empire - Systembreakdown

I'm back. Sorry for the hiatus. No good reason really, just a bit busy, and a bit (lot) lazy. Today i've posted a bunch of band submissions. Albums sent to me by up-and-coming bands from all over the world who just want people to hear their music. Most of these are the band's first recordings and show great potential. Though most of these bands are already great and deserve your attention.
Huge thanks to all the bands (sorry it took so long to post some of them). I welcome submissions from more bands that want me to share their music. I'll only post albums that I like and listen to. Also I don't write reviews because I'm a terrible writer. And it may take me a while to post due to laziness.
In the next week or so I'll be posting something completely different for this blog. Then I'll get back to my usual posting.

Download: rapidshare
Label/Date: self-released, 2009
Genre: post-rock
From: Hamburg, Germany
Similar/Related: God Is An Astronaut, Vanessa Van Basten, Maserati, From Monument To Masses, The American Dollar, you.may.die.in.the.desert, French Teen Idol
Website : Myspace

Sad Breakfast - Sad Breakfast

Download: sadbreakfast.com
Label/Date: self-released, 2009
Genre: post-rock/metal
From: Distrito Federal, Mexico
Similar/Related: Gifts From Enola, Russian Circles, And So I Watch You From Afar, you.may.die.in.the.desert, EITS, Pelican
Website : Myspace

.note - my city of ghosts, stars and hours

Download: mediafire
Label/Date: self-released, 2009
Genre: post-rock, instrumental rock
From: Pirmasens, Germany
Similar/Related: From Monument To Masses, Collapse Under The Empire, God Is An Astronaut, Neil on Impression, you.may.die.in.the.desert, Samuel Jackson Five
Website : Myspace

Heirs - Alchera

"Heirs is the marriage of dark and light. The pain and hopelessness of addiction vs the elation of freedom.
Drawing influence from Michael Gira and his Swans legacy, the sledgehammer riffs and industrial pummel of Godflesh, and continuing Stegeman's incense shrouded low-end incantations from his work with doom dealers Whitehorse, Heirs debut album strips bare the needless excesses of post-rock and heavy metal in favour of something much more concise and affecting. A lurching drugged-out specter - holding solace in one hand, and vengeance in the other."
Download: denovali.com
Label/Date: Denovali Records, 2009
Genre: drone, doom, ambient, sludge
From: Victoria, Australia
Similar/Related: Cult of Luna, Omega Massif, Swans, Earth, Orca, HKY, Godflesh, Kayo Dot
Website : Myspace

Merkabah - Merkabah EP

"Merkabah was founded at the end of 2007 in Warsaw, Poland. Their music can be described as psychedelic metal combining improvised, noisy soundscapes with more precise, aggressive riffs and post-rock melodies. It often includes electronic influences, as well as tribal rhythms, all mixed with a feel of freedom and experimentation."
Download: mindfield.pl
Label/Date: self-released, 2009
Genre: sludge, drone, experimental, post-rock
From: Warszawa, Poland
Similar/Related: Heirs, Morkobot, Lento, Zodiak, Lustmord, Teeth of the Sea, Kayo Dot
Website : Myspace

Stroszek - Songs of Remorse

Download: megaupload
Label/Date: ??, 2007
Genre: folk-metal, acoustic
From: La Spezia, Italy
Similar/Related: Alcest, Agalloch, Green Carnation, Tenhi, Voice of the Seven Woods, Ossein
Website : Myspace

Radius System - Escape-Restart

Download: archive.org
Label/Date: Lost Children, 2008
Genre: Alt./Experimental rock
From: Paris, Ile-de-France
Similar/Related: 65daysofstatic, Maybeshewill, Don't Look Back, Oceansize, NIN
Website : Myspace

Crawl Back In - Hang All Hope From The Nearest Tree

Download: rapidshare
Label/Date: unsigned, 2009
Genre: post-hardcore, sludge, doom
From: Malmö, Skåne län, Sweden
Similar/Related: Celeste, Irreversible, General Lee, Battlefields, Humanfly, Cable, Rosetta, Cult of Luna
Website : Myspace

Ostrova - Ostrova

Download: mediafire
Label/Date: self-released, 2009
Genre: spanish flavored post-metal, screamo
From: Logroño, Rioja, Spain
Similar/Related: Envy, Impure Wilhelmina, Circle Takes the Square, Buried Inside, City of Caterpillar
Website : Myspace

Khuda - Stratospherics

Download: mediafire
Label/Date: Norrland Recordings, 2009
Genre: post-rock/metal, instrumental two-piece
From: Leeds, United Kingdom
Similar/Related: 5ive, Russian Circles, Pelican, Hotel Wrecking City Traders, Black Cobra, Los Natas, Karma to Burn, Don Caballero
Website : Myspace

Caspian - Tertia

Download this incredible album free from gimmesound.com. Sign-up is hassle free and the bands get paid for it! You can also download albums from other great bands like Gifts From Enola, You.May.Die.In.The.Desert, Beware of Safety, This Will Destroy You, Disappearer, The Wayward, etc. This website is a fantastic idea and I really hope it works. Here's what Caspian's label says:

"Just a quick update here to announce a new partnership we've forged with the good folks over at GIMME SOUND dot com. It's a site which allows you to download all of the Mylene Sheath releases that we've done the digital on for absolutely free if you are into digital downloads =) The cool part is that the artists will actually be getting paid even though you're downloading the songs/albums for free! The bands are paid royalties for each and every download by the ad revenue that the site generates. So this means that the age old debate over whether or not it's cool to download an artists material without supporting them by purchasing their material has found a much needed compromise. Hopefully this excites people as much as it excites us!

And there you have it =) Please download your heads off because the bands get paid and there's a lot of stuff for all of us to pay for this summer!! Please spread the word about this site and let people online know they can come over here and download all of our releases for free... GUILT FREE!!"
Lindsay & Joel (Mylene Sheath)

Download: from gimmesound.com
Label/Date: The Mylene Sheath, 2009
Genre: post-rock
From: Beverly MA
Website : Myspace

From Monument To Masses - On Little Known Frequencies

I know this came out a while ago but I kept neglecting to post it. I still listen to it often. One of the year's best.
Download: rapidshare
Label/Date: Dim Mak Records, 2009
Genre: instrumental rock
From: San Francisco + New York
Similar/Related: The Samuel Jackson Five, you.may.die.in.the.desert, Te, GYBE!, Mogwai, DJ Shadow, Tortoise, The Mercury Program
Website : Myspace

Precious Fathers - Alluvial Fan

"Where their first, self-titled record played with wide open spaces and delicate, quiet bridges, their latest record boasts some louder more forceful directions. A maturing of moods, songs like “Swells” and “Sylvan Court” play out to provide rich crescendos of sound and thick, dense changes as each song brings about a new time, a new idea, a new place, sometimes, even a precious new experience." -white whale
Download: rapidshare thanks Ribsout
Label/Date: White Whale, 2009
Genre: post-rock
From: Vancouver
LIYL: The Jimmy Cake, Tristeza, Do Make Say Think, Samuel Jackson 5, Tarentel, Maserati, Motion Turns It On, Pivot
Website : Myspace

The Hylozoists - Lile De Sept Villes

"The Hylozoists' latest release is a vocalist-free, orchestrated delight. Chock full of bountiful string arrangements and vibraphone melody lines, L'Île De Sept Villes skillfully jumps from ambient-sounding distorted strings and bowed percussion instruments at the beginning of the CD to triumphant movie soundtrack-esque tracks and classy pop rock in the latter half, all the while maintaining a cohesive and coherent feel to the album." -Gauntlet
Download: megaupload
Label/Date: Outside Music, 2009
Genre: cinematic post-rock, orchestral-pop, whole lot o vibraphone
From: Toronto
Similar/Related: Belle Orchestre, Tortoise, Silver Ray/Cam Butler, Clogs, Jaga Jazzist, DMST, Tristeza, Steve Reich, Ennio Morricone, Cue
Website : Myspace

Bell Orchestre - As Seen through Windows

"Although the band were initially spoken about as being an Arcade Fire offshoot (three amongst their number have been known to play with the Canadian stadium rockers) the band are evolving into something spectacular in its own right. As Seen Through Windows finds the group achieving a newfound maturity, setting their course for increasingly experimental sounds. Pieces like 'Water / Light / Shifts' and 'Air Lines / Land Lines' go beyond the template set out by groups such as Rachel's for alt. classical music of this ilk, and In addition to a host of inventive modern chamber compositions, Bell Orchestre take on a hugely impressive rendering of Aphex Twin's classic 'Bucephalus Bouncing Ball', resulting in an uncommonly convincing example of that oft attempted classical/electronica crossover. Recommended." -boomkat
Download: mediafire
Label/Date: Arts and Crafts, 2009
Genre: post-rock, experimental, classical
From: Montreal
Similar/Related: Arcade Fire, Clogs, Rachel's, Set Fire To Flames, GYBE!, Esmerine, Torngat, Do Make Say Think, Hrsta, Valley of the Giants, Dirty Three
Website : Myspace

Rävjunk - Uppsala Stadhotell Brinner

"Rävjunk mix long track space rock with some early Stooges psych punk for something wholly original."
Ignoring the track Hello Little Girl, which sounds like a creepy pedophile anthem, you'll find some real badass jams here. Especially VI Ses (Vid Taj Mahal) and Mahal Revisited which sound like Can rocking with Wooden Shjips and Earthless (Snöspår is also really great). If you like krautrock at all you must hear these tracks. Also Rävjunk means Fox piss. Awesome.

Download: megaupload
Label/Date: 1977, re-issue by Transubstans Records, 2007
Genre: krautrock, psych-rock, blues, garage, punk
From: Uppsala, Sweden
Similar/Related: Earthless, Can, Ash Ra Tempel, Neu!, Wooden Shjips, Circle, Amon Düül II, Grateful Dead, T2, Stooges, Hawkwind
Website : Myspace

Chico Magnetic Band

"Even though this absolutely brilliant and overwhelming album is but a half an hour in length, it is so chock full o’ balls and amazing riffs that consistently make all the right moves at the right times it’s downright scary and seems twice the length due to its raging density of vision. Given that (and that fact it seems almost entirely culled from moments of only the top tier fab waxings in my collection) it also seems far longer than THAT because everything on it counts SO BAD it lights a fire in my head, creates a fevered dickswell and comes close to bursting my heart every time I spin it.

Why? Put simply, this freakin’ album has EVERYTHING. And by that I mean it draws from elements of approaches set down by “Phallus Dei”-era Amon Düül Zwei, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Silberbart, Straight-era Alice Cooper, Can, Guru Guru, Groundhogs, Speed Glue & Shinki, Led Zeppelin, Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band, Tiger B. Smith and “Free Your Mind”-period Funkadelic (so help me Eddie) and are seamlessly wedged into one album.

Chico IS...The Man." --The Book of Seth

Download: mediafire
Label/Date: Box Office/Disques Vogue, 1971
Genre: psychedelic rock, blues, garage, experimental
From: France
Similar/Related: Amon Düül II, Jimi Hendrix, Captain Beefheart, Santana, Can, Funkadelic, Zappa, Dr John, Led Zeppelin, Booker T & The MGs
Website : last.fm

The Time And Space Machine

Volume I (2007)

Download: mediafire Thanks to psychout_cortez
"The Time And Space Machine is one half of the mysterious Beyond The Wizards Sleeve combo and here are the first fruits of their toils. Volume One comprises of eight cuts all double dipped in quality cosmic psyche, mind bending krautrock and jump-up freakbeatery. From the monster drum jam of 'Be There' to the funky drum jam of 'Lesson One' via the tripped out Acid Bath of 'Buffalo Roam' to the Gainsbourgesque 'Amourous Ways' - it's all killer and no filler."

Volume II (2009)

Download: megaupload
"Here we go again "The Time and Space Machine", featuring one half of the shadowy Beyond The Wizard's Sleeve, is back with another prime collection of psychedelic re-edits. Ranging from full on, ten-minute guitar freakouts to lysergic acid folk to warped sunshine freakbeat, 'Volume 2' is a aural head trip for the weird and wired. We have lift off..."

Genre: psychedelic rock re-edits
Similar/Related: Beyond The Wizard's Sleeve, Dungen, Caribou, Neu!, Amon Düül II, 13th Floor Elevators, Cream, Comus, The Doors, Funkadelic, Jefferson Airplane,
Website : Myspace