elder - the gold & silver sessions

an e.p. by the world's best psych/stoner/prog band around. since one member moved from the states to berlin, germany, the band rarely comes together aside from touring or studio time. this record documents such a rare time, a jam even more playful and proggy than their previous stuff. can't wait for the new elder record in 2020. blues funeral recordings. 2019.

suicide silence - no time to bleed

the second record i bought at andrä records in cologne (first one was lord dying) was one from a walk down memory lane. i remember that i was a bit underwhelmed by the album upon its release in 2009 because it just couldn't live up to its predecessor "the cleansing" from 2007.

it still can't but it aged quite well if you ask me. i enjoy it much more than ten years ago and mitch lucker's voice gives me the goosebumps, rest in peace. i recall seeing them live in leipzig around the release of "no time to bleed". they played at conne island and "destruction of a statue" was their encore. the crowd began to tear the place apart and some flying foot kicked me in the face. what a night... century media. 2009/2018.

cradle of filth - cruelty and the beast

i wasn't a fan of cradle's third full length from 1998 at first glance. when i got into the band it was around the release of "damnation & a day", after that i listened to "midian" and "bitter suites to succubi" and loved all of these records. then came "cruelty..." and i was surprised at how shitty the sound production was. the drum sound in particular was horrible.

you know those hello kitty drum kits for the kids? it sounded like nicholas barker recorded with such a drum set. back then i had the cd version but sold it over time. when i got into vinyl i missed the chance to get a copy of the last peaceville pressing. while i began to really appreciate the album, second hand prices for vinyl were sky rocketing. 150 bucks is the usual going rate for any pressing.

since there is only an u.k. tape pressing in my possession, i was delighted to see another vinyl pressing for pre-order at nuclear blast. it is a re-mistressed version, specificially re-mastered by the band. they really did the material justice and not just the drum sound is proper now. i rather would like to see the original cover art but the glow-in-the-dark vinyl makes up for that. 300 copies. music for nations. 2019.

tomb mold - manor of infinite forms

when i ordered my"planetary clairvoyance" copy from german van records, i quickly recognised that they also had a re-press of tomb mold's second full length in stock. i listened to a few songs and was delighted to see that this album really had its own flavour and feels different to the follow-up. the colour-way is very nice, too. a no-brainer, like they say. 20 buck spin. 2018/2019.

tomb mold - planetary clairvoyance

i am usually not into those nineties death metal revival bands. i rather listen to the original stuff. but every now and then there comes a band that makes the exception to the rule. canadian deathsters tomb mold were low on my radar because i follow closely what their label 20 buck spin is doing. until lately i thought their style wouldn't appeal to me.

there was a huge buzz around their latest record "planetary clairvoyance" and i finally checked it out more thoroughly. i am still not the biggest fan of the vocals but admittedly it works great with the overall sound. musically they are modern enough to stay relevant and the space/alien theme makes the whole affair uber slick. lovely re-press on purple/blue galaxy merge. 20 buck spin. 2019.

disentomb - the decaying light

i got really lazy as of late but here i am back with a bang. the latest disentomb record called "the decaying light". due to production delays i waited over a month from the actual release date to get my copy. i am usually not into those brutal/slam death metal bands but these aussies add the right portion of melody and technical finesse to their sound. a real haunting and heavy piece of music. the semi-translucent orange splatter looks lovely, even though the mock-ups showed a purple inside orange with splatter. ahh, whatever... unique leader records. 2019.

korn - the nothing

for korn i will always have a soft spot in my heart. the first cd i ever bought myself was the band's third album "follow the leader" and so they played a substantial role in my musical development. their return to form with "the serenity of suffering" was surprising and now i was curious if they could keep up.

"the nothing" is the title of the new opus and i pre-ordered blindly at jpc.de. after thoroughly spinning the record, i can only say that they lived up to my expectations and beyond. that record is really damn fucking good. they played out their strength in full extend - huge choruses all the way through. white vinyl and beautifully embossed cover art to round out the package. roadrunner records. 2019.

type o negative - slow, deep and hard (box set version)

the first album out of the "none more negative" box set i feature here is of course the debut record by type o. "slow, deep and hard" was initially released in 1991 and was the band's most controversial album. there were so many things on that record which offended people that it feels difficult to keep track. in "prelude to agony" peter steele dwells on a fantasy of violence concerning an unfaithful girl (like almost all songs do on this album).

the lyrics caused feminist activists to accuse them to support rape. the band even got threatening phone calls. the admittedly not so smart choice of the song title "der untermensch" - a term used by nazi germany to denounce jews, homosexuals and others - brought them heavy reactions on tour in europe by left wing activists plus the bad smell of being racists.

and then there is the cover art. it shows the zoomed in penetration of a vagina, a picture stolen from a porno magazine. well, and besides all the hysteria stands a great record. "slow, deep and hard" was one of the albums i didn't know before the box and i am pleasantly surprised at how much this one rules. the vinyl colour turned out great, by the way. roadrunner records. 2019.

death - live in l.a.

there is a new death record being re-pressed? count me in. so of course when i heard news that relapse was going to re-issue one of the band's live recordings, i defiitely wanted a copy. at the time i stepped to the pre-order, the 100 pinwheel copies were already gone indeed. ah typical, those 100 whatever colour copies always go in no time and i am too slow to even see a glimpse.

anyway, i got my colour vinyl copy nevertheless and couldn't be more happy about it. the show captured was played in 1998 at the whiskey a go-go in los angeles. the band performed in its last incarnation and played many songs from their second, progressive phase which just suites me fine. death plays fast and accurate and so i can sit and dream of what it would have been like to see them live myself.

this live recording was released in 2001 by nuclear blast shortly before chuck schuldiner passed away in december that year. since then it was re-pressed on various formats by various labels, this new edition comes with cool liner notes by richard christy and on sharp looking siler/black striped vinyl out of 300 copies. relapse records. 2019.

bongripper - the great barrier reefer

bongripper is next to animals as leaders my favourite instrumental band. their progressive doom metal is able to unleash such a mantra-like power, it is remarkable. the rising and dense atmosphere of their songs transfers one into riff nirvana. i have almost all their releases on vinyl but two were always eluding me.

the noise/soundscape album "heroin" which doesn't really appeal to me and their debut album "the great barrier reefer". the album was actually self-released in 2006 and it wasn't until 2012 that a proper vinyl version was produced. emetic records did the job back then with only 100 colour copies. so those didn't come by cheap. thankfully the lads run their own now label to promote their stuff.

another seven years later and here we are with this slick re-press. burning world rec. from the netherlands provided the eu distro and now i am the proud owner of this splattered blue/purple merge version out of 200 copies. musically the first lp isn't that exciting but the last half of the reefer makes up for that big time. really excited to see them live in two weeks. great barrier records.