Misanthropy for Beginners

This is just a little mix I threw together for a friend, but I figured I'd go ahead and post it here, even though it doesn't really fit my usual format here. I didn't make a cover for it or anything. But it's a few doom metal songs and a bunch of American black metal. Enjoy.

Misanthropy for Beginners: A Doom and Black Metal Mix
1. Suma- Let The Churches Burn
2. Lurker of Chalice- Granite
3. Wolves in the Throne Room- Behold The Vastness and Sorrow
4. Thou- I Was Ignored, And Judged, And Cast Down
5. Krieg- II
6. Krallice- Timehusk
7. Skepticism- The Rising Of The Flames
8. Nachtmystium- Life Of Fire
9. Weakling- This Entire Fucking Battlefield

Misanthropy for Beginners

Not Straight Edge

Plain Wrap!
Original Music for a Generic World
1985

A lot of my early exposure to punk rock came from the GA Tech student-run radio station WREK's weekly punk show Coup de Grace. Between it and their metal show, Wrekage (mentioned a time or two already on this blog), WREK had a huge influence on the development of my musical taste. I used to tape each show weekly, and then compile the songs onto 90-minute mix tapes and listen to them over and over. I wish I still had some. I have one tape of Coup de Grace still (an all-covers show), but alas no tape player.

One of the songs that I played endlessly was Plain Wrap!'s "Not Straight Edge", though for the longest time I thought it was "Non-Straight Edge". Not that it makes much of a difference. At any rate, these guys play super-energetic, poppy, new-wave punk of the mid-80s variety. This is a fun, energetic record. Recommended.

Oh, these guys have recently reunited to play some shows, though I'm not sure they've made it outside of California. But if you seem 'em coming around, go check them out. I know I will.

Original Music for a Generic World

Wonderfully Colored Plastic War Toys

Dead Milkmen
Soul Rotation
1992

When the Dead Milkmen dropped this record, their legions of fans immediately shat the bed. This was a band that was massively popular in underground circles, with the punks and skaters, the college rock dudes, even some of the goths and metalheads all having one of the ubiquitous smiling cow t-shirts. My first exposure to them was before I was even into punk at all, when someone let me hear "Bitchin' Camaro" and "Rastabilly" and inexplicably told me it was early Anthrax. What did I know.

Anyway, Soul Rotation isn't funny. At all. That's it's biggest misstep. Even when they weren't hilarious, the Milkmen were consistently chuckle-worthy, or at the very least you could tell they were trying. On this record, the lyrics are occasionally odd, but not really in a humorous way. So there's that. Another weird thing is that Joe Jack Talcum (or Butterfly Fairweather as he went by on this record) sings more songs than Rodney Anonymous (H.P Hovercraft on this record).

But the music is really great. The simple punk sound of their early records is gone, replaced by melodic pop, funk, even a little ska. There are a coupl'a punkish songs here, but it's different. Anyway, I've always stood by it, even though the band never really recovered from the perceived quality drop (Not Richard, But Dick was a pretty good return to their earlier irreverence, but Stoney's Extra Stout (Pig) was terrible). What was side 2 (starting with the excellent "Silly Dreams") is stronger than side 1, FYI.

Soul Rotation

The Drought

The Organization
Savor the Flavor
1995

Death Angel were trying to distance themselves from the gorier, darker images of thrash metal almost from the get-go. I saw an interview some time ago on youtube (which I just tried to find again to no avail) with frontman Mark Osequeda where he's practically still a teenager and he talks about how the name isn't intended to be as dark or scary as people make it out to be. By the time "A Room With a View" from Act III (which, slight forays into funk-rock territory notwithstanding, is a thrash masterpiece that no collection should be without) was in Headbanger's Ball rotation, they were calling themselves D.A. So it's on surprise that after the band dissolved in the late 80s, their reformation took on a totally different tone.

The Organization is Death Angel minus Osequeda. Just look at that cover up there. Pretty shitty, isn't it? But even with the stupid album title and terrible cover, this record isn't nearly as bad as you're expecting. While it doesn't sound like the mighty thrash of our Filipino friends' hey-day, it still offers some solid heavy alt-metal, 90s style. Not unlike Anthrax's early John Bush material, this record is a bit of a mish-mash of melodic rock, metal, alternative, and grunge (do people still use that term?), and it isn't quite sure what it wants to be, but when the grooving is kept to a minimum and they focus on straight-ahead rocking, the results are mostly positive. The production is really nice, too, offering a good 90s sheen without sounding too dated.

The Organization released 2 record (I think), and this is the second. I haven't heard the first.

Savor the Flavor

Realm of Death

Evil Army
Evil Army
2006

Vacation's over, time to get back to stuffing your earholes with tunes. Evil Army's self-titled record is a little more recent than most of the stuff I post, but it's really fantastic, so I'm posting it anyway. Think of a cross between GBH and SOD and you get the general idea. Thrashed out punk with blazing solos; lo-fi death rock played at lightening speeds; however you want to describe it, it's worthy of a headbang.

Evil Army

Too hot to post

I'll be back soon with more mucky posts.

Police Truck

Various Artists
Virus 100
1992

As of this writing, Jello Biafra's Alternative Tentacles has released over 400 albums, constantly skewing to the weird. Admittedly, I don't like a lot of what they release, but boy do I appreciate their presence and voice in the underground music world. Over the years, a ton of really cool stuff has come out bearing their (admittedly awesome) logo. But back in 1992, they reached the milestone of their 100th release. And what better way to celebrate it than to make it a tribute album to the band that started it all, Dead Kennedys.

As with most tribute records, this one is incredibly hit or miss. Stylistically it runs from punk, grindcore, and metal to rockabilly and hip-hop. Some interpretations are by-the-numbers, while some use the original only as a jump-off to something wholly original. I won't bother pointing out the ones I think blow cod, but I will point out the great stuff here: Didjits' "Police Truck" is fuggin' awesome, and only goes to solidify how criminally underrated they are. Les Thugs' "Moon Over Marin" is a fantastic super-melodic interpretation of one of DK's poppier (at least musically) tracks. Both Napalm Death and Sepultura throw down some seriously intense punk/grind/metal shit. And Nomeansno's a capella version of "Forward to Death" is borderline genius. Oh oh and Mojo Nixon's "Winnebago Warrior" is great too. Aaaand Faith No More's lounge interpretation of "Let's Lynch the Landlord".

Ok cool you know just dl and listen and delete the tracks you don't like or whatever.
Virus 100