Vulcano

Ah summertime, the perfect time for 80's Brazilian death thrash. Bloody Vengeance is the first album by one of the first South American bands to play this kind of music. Chaotic and ugly, but still classy, Possessed and Venom are good reference points. Whenever I look at the back of the CD I read the first track "Dominios of Death" as "Dominos of Death". That is all.

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Jalamanta

I went to the beach today for the first time in ages and I listened to this on the way up. It's Brant Bjork's (former drummer for Fu Manchu, Kyuss and others) first solo album of laid-back desert rock from waaaaay back in 1999. "Let's Get Chinese Eyes" indeed. Maybe later.

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The Archives of Rotten Blues

Greenmachine's last album before breaking up has next to no blues on it, besides maybe a couple of solos that have a blues-rock feel to them. They play doomy sludge with a hardcore punky gallop. The vocals are hoarse, somewhat guteral, and delivered with a very Japanese accent. They got lumped in with "stoner rock" because of their first couple of album's being released on the Man's Ruin label (and probably due to them naming themselves after a Kyuss song), but there's a broader appeal to people into punk/hardcore and thrash metal. Whatever, it's catchy and it's good driving music. Enjoy.

linky

Brocas Helm

Here's something a little more upbeat and a little less grim than my last couple of posts. Brocas Helm have been around since the early 80's but this is only their third full-length album, released in 2004. They put out a couple of records in the mid-80's then only a small handful of demo tapes and singles until this album. Most of the material from those rare, barely-heard releases were re-recorded for this album, which they released themselves. And it's all fucking AWESOME. The two 80's records are solid slabs of classic metal, but this is definitely my favorite of theirs. They've always had a frantic punky vibe and they don't take themselves quite as seriously as some of the other bands playing "epic" metal. Here's a sampling of the lyrics from "Drink and Drive";

"I drink and drive,
drink and drive,
got mothers against me,
but I'm still alive!"

And when "Skullfucker" comes on in the car, I just gotta yell along with the chorus. I'll let you hear that one for yourself. Reccommended for fans of Slough Feg, Thin Lizzy, Manilla Road, ect., as well as any male human with testicles intact.

Skullfuckerrrrrrrrrrrr!

The Devil and the Whore

You'd think that Satan wouldn't have to pay for sex. Here's the first full-length album from Megiddo, one of Canada's best black metal bands. Happy Canada Day, by the way. This shit is killer. Sounds like early Bathory together with all sorts of 80's metal/black metal goodness. Enjoy with a beer.

linky