Hey This Looks Cool! - February

A recent purchase inspired me to start a new feature on this blog, this is that feature. You know that feeling when you dig through bins at a record store and come across something that is so appealing, an overwhelming urge to buy it takes over? Well how about when you've never actually heard the record that just caught your eye? I did this recently, and I like the idea so much that I'm going to do it every month. 

 

While digging through the metal section of Princeton Record Exchange I stumbled on the above record. After much disappointment, so many shitty back on black repressings, this record caught my eye. The cover photo is just beautiful, the way the sun shines through the trees and reflects on the the water is stunning. With a "non metal" cover such as this, I was expecting it to be either ambient black metal or really trippy stoner. The band name and album title were intriguing as well, Orthodox "Amanecer en Puerta Oscura". I tried to use my very limited knowledge of Spanish to translate the title and came up with "Sunrise at a Dark Gate", which could be way off.

Curious enough, I put the record in my stack. Hey if I decided I didn't want it I can always put it back! This is actually something I do ALL the time. I pick up everything that looks interesting and then end up putting back two thirds of it. A fellow record nerd once told me that he does this "for fear of someone else taking it before I decide if I really want it", could not say it better myself. While I was looking through a different section, with this record sitting on the top of my stack, a guy that works at the store asked me if I was gonna buy it. After a short discussion about the album, he convinced me to buy it by saying "This is some weird shit; like doom/jazz".

"Amanecer en Puerta Oscura" is much like the store clerk described. Very rooted in doom metal, but also extremely influenced by free jazz. This is whacked out, avant garde music. Some songs on the album have little to no metal influence, most notably the opener " Con Sangre De Quien Te Ofenda". While songs such as "Mesto, Rigido E Ceremoniale" are full on doom metal monsters. Orthodox's music is very clearly influenced by traditional Andalusian music and culture. The use of traditional instruments, notably Spanish guitar, really give the music an aura of Seville. All told, this album is certainly not for everyone. Those who are into experimental/avant garde/progressive music will find much to enjoy, as well as those into doom metal and jazz. That said, to truly appreciate this piece you will have to be interested in all of those genres. For me this is a great album, and a wonderful find. Top it off with the fact that the wax is brown, of which only 300 exist, and I'm 1 for 1 with "Hey This Looks Cool!".

February Has Been A Good Month

Any foot long at Subway is $5, you know Februany and whatnot. But Subway is pretty nasty if you ask me, so I saved all the 5 bucks I would have spent on their subs and spent them on records instead. A wise choice if you ask me.

Before I get into those glorious LPs above, let's take a look at this little gem:

Holy black metal volcano Batman! The legendary black/thrash tyrants from the land of the rising sun, Sabbat, put out this limited 7" in 2006. "Icelandic & Greenlandic Demonslaught" was pressed on Czech label, View Beyond Records, and only 1000 of them were ever made. Side A is "Black Metal Volcano" and side B is "Okiku Doll Of The Devil". I'm a big Sabbat fan, I just love the dirty Japanese tinged black/thrash they've been putting out for close to 30 years. Most of the band's releases are quite difficult to come by though, so when I saw this at my favorite record store I was super excited. Now imagine my shock when the price on it was only 3 bucks! I have no idea why it has Iceland and Greenland in the title, or why Kalaallit people are the image of the foldout. Honestly though who cares?

The first of my LP finds for the month is the awesome Hammers Of Misfortune's fourth release(and maybe 4th and 5th albums), "Fields/Church of Broken Glass". I have to thank my friend Aaron for the tip about Century Media's distro having a clearance sale, as that's where I picked this up for a good price. Readers of this blog(I know there is at least one or two) should know this band by now, I've fapped them a bit. The band is one of my favorite in the prog metal scene, and likely because they aren't prog in the sense that most bands are prog. This 2xLP release is essentially two different albums in one package. The first LP is "Fields", which opens with the side long Fields Trilogy. That side is epic and very technical, but done tactfully and no wankery. The second side is not quite as strong, but still maintains that Hammers quirky prog sensibility. The second LP, which has it's own distinct cover and everything, is "Church Of Broken Glass". I hear a lot of 70s prog rock influence in these songs, and not the standard fare of Rush, Yes, and Kansas; rather King Crimson and Pink Floyd. There is much more emotion and atmosphere found here than on the "Fields" LP. All in all a great album(or two) from a great band.

The other record I grabbed from the Century Media sale is the above "Requiem" by Scott Hull. You may recognize that name, he's widely known in the grindcore/death metal world, mainly as the man behind the Pig Destroyer sound. If you were to listen to this album though, you'd find nothing even remotely close to what he's known for. "Requiem" is a soundtrack to a crime movie, and tells that narrative throughout. I've not seen the movie, and after listening to the soundtrack I really want to. Anyway; ambient, airy keyboards, emotion, and a soaking atmosphere is all you will find here. No heavy riffs(or riffs at all really), no screams(or vocals of any kind), no metal or punk influence. The beauty of these compositions is impossible for me describe, so just listen to it.

 The record above is Aura Noir's classic 1996 sophomore album, "Black Thrash Attack". No words can describe this music better than the album title itself, so I won't insult it by doing so. This copy is the recent Peaceville reissue, if you think I have the money for the original pressing you are surely mistaken. It has been remastered, though I can't quite tell what they did differently. Regardless, it sounds great on wax. I also pre-orded the "Deep Tracts of Hell"(the band's subsequent album) reissue from Peaceville, so I'll blog about it when it gets here.

On a recent trip to my alma mater, in order to fight with the people that run it, I stopped by my favorite brick and mortar store. Princeton Record Exchange is close to the school, so whenever I'm out that way I can't resist browsing their incredible selection. My finds were very satisfying.

I stumbled across this record while killing time, waiting for the store to appraise my trade-ins. Randomly looking through various bins in the store, not looking for anything really, that familiar red tinted forest photo popped up. I immediately grabbed it and a feeling of great joy came over me. This is of course Russian Circles' newest album, "Empros". It was featured in my top 10 of 2011, to read what I think of it(spoiler alert: its awesome) go there. The gatefold sleeve is really gorgeous, fitting for the music, but the record itself is pretty boring so I didn't bother taking up space with a picture of it.

The album holding the number two spot of my top 10 from last year is the above "17th Street" by Hammers Of Misfortune. Again, not much more that I can say beyond what I wrote about it in that post. The 2LP gatefold is really well done and all the art reflects the quirky, eclectic nature of the band itself. Picking up two of my top 10 in one trip is pretty cool in my opinion, and a big part of the reason why I love that store in Princeton.

P.S. That Sabbat 7" at the top of this post was also bought at Princeton Record Exchange.
P.P.S. You'll notice I didn't write about of the records in the first picture, stay tuned to this blog for a new feature that will cover it in depth.