Scream story.

Happy Halloween. Celebrate it by listening to man who lived it everyday. Add a heavy dose of romping thud-rock and you've got a soundtrack for your sugar o.d.
http://www.mediafire.com/?czh8z8qww4pud

First Punk Wars.

Iron Curtain was a Santa Barbara based band who had a fair amount of success in the L.A. area but disappeared in the later half of the 80's. While taking influences from the Cure, OMD, and Kraftwerk are great, they manage to still find their own identity in this minimal hazy sound. "Desertions" represents the bands rare singles and sought after recordings. Minimal synth freaks are all over tracks like "Condos" and "First Punk Wars" due to the simple starkness that is ever present but I prefer the dreamier bits that the band created like "Telephone" or "Love Can Never Die". The best thing about this collection is that it shows the bands sound evolving with every release and each one is better than the last. Like so many bands, Iron Curtain is back together and writing new material. Pylon records is handling reissue duties for many of the classic singles and about five days ago dropped about three Iron Curtain single releases. You can get them all in a package deal at musicliquidators.net with free U.S. shipping too. Would recommend it.
http://www.mediafire.com/?9hk2td5m863v7

Umberto's prophecy.

Here is the soundtrack to the greatest Dario Carpenter film that you never saw because Netflix didn't have it but should have found anyways. It's dark and eerie but still has that throbbing italo black leather glove and shiny knife splatter dance feel to it. Ahhh and that scene where the girl falls face first into the knife? You know which one I'm talking about? Fucking classic man.
http://www.mediafire.com/?idjuuxioc9pgu

Pornography Demos.

1982 was the release of the Cures remarkable album Pornography. Pornography established the Cure as England's definitive gloom troop. The band also took on the image of kabuki figures which is definitely creepy and fits the whole tone of this record. The deluxe cd set has an entire disc worth of demos and live material taken from the tour. The demos are pretty incredible and offer an even more sinister and minimal glimpse of what the songs on Pornography would become. Definitely bonus material unlike many of the unbonus material we are treated to in the repackaging of items we have owned before.
http://www.mediafire.com/?k3fbd492jtbu8

Eyes and rain.

Very little info about this lone 7" from French band Coldreams. I guess before this 7" came out in 86 there was also a tape release in 85. Anyone have the tape or a file of it? Someone said they saw it once and it sold for 180 euros on Ebay. I have only seen this 7" once on Ebay and it sold for around 180 U.S. dollars. Little better but still real steep. So yeah, download this.
http://www.mediafire.com/?dcffbnggmj7yg

New York Maniac.

Here's a somewhat rare soundtrack in it's complete form that I haven't seen anywhere else. Maniac is definitely one the grossest and most visceral slasher films of all time. Willam Lustig directed it in New York in 1980 with a budget of $350,000. Not much money. The lack of funds definitely helped this film achieve the grit and voyeuristic quality that is akin to classics like Last House on The Left and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The Maniac in question is played by veteran actor Joe Spinell who helped to co-write and create the film with Lustig. It's clear that Spinell had a passion for this character as he plays it dead to the bone serious. Maniac would suffer several blows during it's release which included a review by Gene Siskel in which he claimed he walked out of the film within the first thirty minutes because the film had reached such a violent climax early on that it was no longer redeemable. The film also became the target of woman's groups who would argue that the violence seen in films like Maniac, would inspire and fetishize violence towards woman. All that aside, the film has become something of a classic and is getting a huge revival now. I do love this movie even if it is against my better judgement. But this is isn't a download for the movie pal. It's for the soundtrack. Jay Chattaway's soundtrack for the film is the carbon copy for all other 80's toilet films or video nasties. Analog synths that sound as if they had a preset called "Grindhouse".
http://www.mediafire.com/?hf395idd2a47a

Zombie squared.

Man oh man I love John Carpenter. Ah shit, I love Zombie Zombie too. Wait... Zombie Zombie playing John Carpenter? Fucking score. This would be perfect for a Halloween party. Just saying.
http://www.mediafire.com/?ebyj5q3t9guv5b3

Roky radio.

What can be said that hasn't already been said about Roky. He is the master of macabre and psychotic rock n roll. That simple. While I am not the biggest fan of the new stuff (although it is a great effort at rekindling the same spine churning tales of previous albums) I think that Roky's greatest material maybe some of the live stuff. The Modern Humans Radio Show had Roky on in 1979. He played live in the studio with the Aliens and did a bit of an interview. This perfectly captures the charisma, strangeness, and over-all sincerity of that atom brain that could so easily fall flat and become just plain stupid. Don't knock the Rok!
http://www.mediafire.com/?lm18iaknenkcb

Denver gloom.

In the 80's Colorado had a very interesting punk scene that can pretty much be attributed to the Wax Trax record store that opened there in the 70's. The store was sold in 1978 and the duo of Jim Nash and Dannie Flesher set out for Chicago and the rest is black vinyl corset and clove cigarette history. But we are staying in Denver as this is where an unassuming and very overlooked scene starts to form. Much in the way Rough Trade served as a post for young British punks, Wax Trax becomes the central spot for anyone in Denver who is looking to establish a punk band, label, or whatever else you could possibly think of. As the 70's come to a close Denver sees many punk bands come and go unrecognized. Into the 80's... more of the same. Bunch of bands and very little exposure. One such band that has an amazing amount of material that was created with in just two years of it's existence is the Soul Merchants. Based in Denver but frequenting Boulder as well, the Soul Merchants recorded around 100 songs together from 85 to 87. Most of this material can be found on a now out of print double cd set that was released by Smooch Records in 2007. Much like the doom and obscurity that plagued all these Denver punks, Smooch seems to be done or at least not doing much these days. They also released a comp called Local Anesthetic that covers the Denver punk scene and is a fucking brilliant comp of very eclectic bands. That will probably appear here soon. The Soul Merchants capture the gloom of the Sisters of Mercy, the demonic brilliance of early Christian Death, and the sonic heat of the Jesus and Mary Chain perfectly. I have in one file for you the double cd. Really want the other 60 songs.
http://www.mediafire.com/?ylva6oeyewad2

Power of the Wall.

Another ham fisted hard-edged rocker from 1969. Scottish band Writing On The Wall's lone album "Power of the Pict's" sort of perfectly defines the sound that many bands where starting to stumble into. Not entirely psych, not entirely out of control, and definitely not just blues rehash stuff. Writing On The Wall has the great ability to balance contemporary bands of the era like Procol Harem, The Doors, and the wildness of Aurthur Brown and place it directly into your pipe. Song titles like "Bogeyman", "Lucifer Corpus", and "Aries" do not disappoint. Cover is pretty fucking good too.
http://www.mediafire.com/?1zj7erjsqpjm8

Mouths of light.

Would say hands down San Francisco duo Barn Owl are easily the best active psychedelic band out there. They're sound is the perfect balance of heavy, haunting, codeine paced mantra's. This is what sold me. Highly recommend listening to this late at night for maximum results.
http://www.mediafire.com/?880bs98b9skgh

Oh the horror.

A little delay after such a good week of posting solid everyday. Been super busy with finally getting a monthly night going here. So in keeping with the whole October theme I offer up another Italian gem. Bottin is the modern Italo-disco/house master. He has worked with labels like Italians Do It Better (seems obvious), Bear Funk, and Eskimo. Bottin's production work is some of the best out there. When I read an interview he did, he talked of the importance of layer sounds and different keyboards. The interesting thing is that this entire album was born out of a love for a specific farfisa organ and it's tone. Bottin goes on to say that everyone is obsessed with using very thick and full tones for keys while he finds it important to use thinner sounding keys ala the farfisa. Listening to this it's easy to see that he is absolutely right. The songs don't have a huge amount of bass heavy bottom but what they do have is a distinct atmosphere that is solely Bottin's sound. The influence of 70's giallo films and early 80's robot cartoons are just icing on the torta. Grazie Bottin!
http://www.mediafire.com/?b3va84l02ie4t

Waltz real slow.

If you weren't paying close attention you probably missed this stellar album by Aussie band HTRK which is actually said like Hate Rock. Besides having one of the best fucking band names they possess the rare ability to take on the influence of bands like Throbbing Gristle, Suicide, and Crime and the City Solution and interject there own modern and unique experience to the music. The band recently experienced a major loss as songwriter/bass player Sean Stewart took his own life. After a period of hibernation the band seems to be playing again and have a new album scheduled for release in 2011. Marry Me Tonight, HTRK'S debut album is of strange power and focus. The vocals sit in a haze of smoke as the bass crawls across the floor toward you. Coupled with a drum machine playing minimal yet effective pulses which gives the songs a strange sexual drunken swagger. Here's to a future full of HTRK.
http://www.mediafire.com/?hpbxftfpz0ibh

Cold Cassette.

Synth Wave, Minimal Wave, Cold Wave, EBM, Industrial, Goth and whatever you wish to call it is on the rise big time. My Facebook invites suggest that cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York pretty much have these types of nights about every other day. Along with the popularity of such a specific movement we get to discover many new albums and some are lucky enough to get really good reissues. This has not gotten that treatment yet but is very deserving of it. Brigade Internationale released this lone cassette before fading into utter obscurity. Could easily see a label like (yeah it's obvious) Minimal Wave or Dark Entries Records putting this out onto vinyl for the first time. In light of all the unnecessary stuff that gets dragged back out to a weary second life I really hope that this can find a home somewhere. When it does find a home make sure it's not too expensive too. I'm fine with 20 bucks but 30... man your pushing it.
http://www.mediafire.com/?jctm6qcm1855x

Daily dosage.

Up for grabs today is a really good comp of 60's psych that leans towards the softer end of things. But just because this is lyte psych as the comps title suggests, that doesn't mean we are bored through out this adventurous outing. Mood is set thick through this comp. Take for example Picture's song "Evolution". Thick syrupy eastern guitar and hand drumming give this a very heavy drug vibe that is comforting but still unknown and hazy. Or the cover of "Baby Please Don't Go" by Ballroom. They take the frantic stomp of the original and turn it into an echoed out kaleidoscope of strange power. Other highlights include the rarer than rare Teddy and His Patches 45 "Haight Ashbury" which is punk before punk was around as he talks about being fucked with by cops all because his hair is long. Another interesting pick is the closer by Rock Revival who have the somewhat lo-fi cosmic shuffle of "Venus 2038". This track comes off of an eight track and was only available on that format. All in all a great comp from the Arf Arf label. May post more volumes in the future if I get some response to this.
http://www.mediafire.com/?n1nndmql2bn3a

All Links Working.

Was informed of some links that where down. Mainly all of them. They are fixed so get to it.

Michigan Rumble.

Slept on this for-fucking-ever! Never heard this stunning and somewhat stark outing by Michigan garage maestros Index until the beginning of this year. Has that really cold isolated and downright proto-punk feel to the whole thing. But almost more pre-post-punk feel to it too. I know. What a complete train wreck of words there but this sounds like a record Factory would have put out in the later sixties.
http://www.mediafire.com/?yn79ke4cazk9b

October Sacrifice.

Despite all the controversy, rumors, and general weirdness Death In June have an eccentric body of work that is hard to compare to any other artist current or in the past. Wall of Sacrifice captures the band at a period that is clearly after the heavy post punk sound but still not completely neo-folk either. Beautiful horror as only Douglas P. can do.
http://www.mediafire.com/?tg84ph800x766

Hamburg on rye.

Ah Germany. Land of great sausages, beer, and 70's psychedelic music that sounds like nothing else. One such artist is Achim Reichel. Achim Reichel got his start playing in British invasion style bands but as the 60's started to come to a close, he just like many other German's forged ahead to new dynamic dimensions in sound. This would land him in his solo kraut-prog epic band Achim Reichel and the Machines.
I have gone with IV which is in fact his forth record under the Machines banner. A truly great record for Fall. Deeply introspective and all around a journey of an album. This is definitely meant to be heard all the way through so grab some kohl mit käsesosse, sit down, and relax.
http://www.mediafire.com/?dc5isd88y2f9m

Who wants more spaghetti?

I would in no way dispute the fact that Goblin is in fact Italy's greatest horror prog band. I wouldn't do that, o.k.? But Italy does have some pretty interesting and weird bands/artists that make you realize that Goblin are far from the only ones to have made such nightmarish sounds. What about Jacula? Or Golgotha? Or the never ending onslaught of over-over the top Italian prog records that are out there? Well this is none of that. I would say that this is easily one of my favorite Italian composers next to Morricone and Simonetti. I am speaking of longtime Lucio Fulci maestro Fabio Frizzi. Fabio's work on the film Zombie 2 is a vintage synth lovers dream. He manages to take the overall tropical setting of the film and turn it into an ice cold paranoid landscape of walking maggot eyed zombie terror. I have been a fan of this soundtrack since I first saw the film. Definitely feel like it is overshadowed by Goblin and should be able to stand on it's own two feet as one of Italy's greatest horror soundtracks. Even if those two feet have long been dead and have a bit of gut munch on them.
http://www.mediafire.com/?1dj5ddgqml1by

Kings of Ice.

I am constantly amazed by the number of albums that I discover every year that are old and in a sense buried. I am in no way complaining though. Recently while browsing youtube links I came across a band that I had not heard of called Icecross. Have to admit that the cover caught my eye. And yeah guess what, sometimes it is completely safe to judge a book by it's cover. The cover promises some very sharp and cold riff heavy moments and it lives up to every promise. I kind of can't believe how much of a sleeper this thing is. It is such a balls out proto-metal rocker that it seems it should have the same legendary status as Sir Lord Baltimore or Night Sun but you be the judge. Either way I can not stop listening to it and have a feeling that this thing will be my "eavy record" of the Fall. Icecross are originally from... well yeah Iceland. Really gives all the other Scando 70's longhairs a run for their herring. The band have also recently gotten back together. Hopefully this means that this album can make it into the hands of those people that desperately want it and know that there is no fucking way they can afford one of the scant 1000 original copies. They have a website up with an email sign up. They are super friendly and I'm sure are stoked to have support so if your bleeding for this album sign up at icecross.net. And download Iceland's hairiest record of the 70's below.
http://www.mediafire.com/?n0tnzezgmh2