Axcraft - Dancing Madly Backwards

A must for any fans of '70s progressive music.Axcraft was a mid-'70s band from California around whom legends were built. Originally recorded for Bill Holmes' All American Records label, Dancing Madly Backwards was never officially released, but an acetate of the album made its way onto the collector's market, causing quite a stir. The sound of the band was progressive hard rock and many who heard it thought they were a British band. In the genre of such bands as Yes, Gentle Giant, Strawbs, Wishbone Ash, or many more similarly styled acts. Contained here are the original five songs (all clocking in at over five minutes!) from the acetate, which was recorded at United Audio in Tustin, California, together with two bonus live tracks recorded by the band themselves during their heyday. Officially sanctioned by band members and taken from original tapes supplied by band producer Bill Holmes, who also designed the album cover from original designs, this album is a must for any fans of '70s progressive music.
(Year of Release: 1974)

Track List:
1. So Far Away
2. Astral Love
3. 727 Suite
4. Firewheel
5. Dancing Madly Backwards
6. Vahalla (Live)
7. Love Is Blue (Live)

Download: Axcraft - Dancing Madly Backwards (27MB)

Kim Fowley - Animal God of the Streets (Re-Up)

The story of Kim Fowley, the original eccentric svengali figure, reads like a history of rock’n’roll music for the past 40 years. In the 60’s he first came to prominence instigating novelty pop chart-toppers such as ‘Alley Oop’, The Murmaids ‘Popsicles And Icicles’ and B. Bumble & The Stingers’ ‘Nutrocker’. Then he diversified and became a poet, actor, and dancer.

In 1966 as the hippie movement started, he organised a series of ‘love- ins’ in San Francisco which earned him notoriety as a weird creature of excess. His first album was ‘Love Is Alive And Well’ in 1967, then two on Capitol, and this fourth album on Skydog. He became involved with Blue Oyster Cult, famously master-minded The Runaways, co-produced (with John Cale) The Modern Lovers, produced the first Soft Machine single, wrote film scripts, recorded with BMX Bandits…

Over the years, other artists he’s been a song-writer or producer for include: Alice Cooper, The Beach Boys, The Byrds, Cat Stevens, the ‘Ciao Manhattan’ movie, Family, Flash Cadillac & the Continental Kids, Gene Vincent, Helen Reddy, Hollywood Stars, Kiss, Leo Kottke, Paul Revere and the Raiders, The Seeds, Skip Battin, Slade, Them, Traffic, Warren Zevon, Frank Zappa’s Mothers Of Invention, etc, etc… so if you’re a long-standing music fan you’re likely to have something of Fowley’s in your collection.

Kim Fowley did all the vocals and played all the instruments on the songs on Animal God Of The Streets, as well as the recording, engineering, and production. They were recorded in New Zealand between 1969-1971, yet not released until 1974.
(Year of Release: 1974)

Track List:
1. Night Of The Hunter
2. Long Live Rock'n'Roll
3. Were Wolf Dynamite
4. Is America Dead?
5. Rumble
6. California Swamp Dance
7. Hobo Wine
8. Dangerous Vision
9. Ain't Got No Transportation

Download: Kim Fowley - Animal God of the Streets (47MB)

White Noise - An Electric Storm

White Noise is an electronic music band formed in London, England in 1969 by American born David Vorhaus, a classical bass player with a background in both physics and electronic engineering. He was initially joined by BBC Radiophonic Workshop composers Delia Derbyshire and Brian Hodgson, both ex of electronic music project Unit Delta Plus.

In 1968 White Noise released the groundbreaking album An Electric Storm on Island Records. The album was created using a variety of tape manipulation techniques, and is notable for its early use of the first British synthesizer, the EMS Synthi VCS3. Amongst many oddities, the first track on the album Love Without Sound employed speeded up tape edits of Vorhaus playing the double bass to create violin and cello sounds. 'I use voices a lot too, but not as conventional vocals. I always use a lot of voices, and if somebody having an orgasm in the background is used as part of one of the waveforms, it makes the sound more interesting, without the listener actually knowing what they're hearing.' Interview with David Vorhaus

Although not initially commercially successful for Island, it has over the years proved to be a cult classic, namechecked by such contemporary artists as The Orb and Julian Cope, influencing such contemporary acts Broadcast and Add N to (X). Derbyshire and Hodgson left White Noise and moved on to other projects after An Electric Storm, while Vorhous would go on to release an additional four albums under the same name.
(Year of Release: 1968)

Track List:
1. Love Without Sound
2. My Game Of Loving
3. Here Come The Fleas
4. Firebird
5. Your Hidden Dreams
6. The Visitations
7. The Black Mass: An Electric Storm In Hell

Download: White Noise - An Electric Storm (82MB)

A Request

I have a request for you fine people. I'm trying to find the album 'Rock' by The Riplets. To be more exact, I need their cover of Beat It from that album. If any of you could help me out with this request I would greatly appreciate it.

Velcra - Between Force And Fate

Between Force and Fate is a smack in the face from a fist that entered a time vortex in 1993 and reappeared just in time to knock the knowing noughties cynicism from our grinning faces. It's fantastic. Velcra do share a few attributes with their Finnish rock compatriots - they all have a flair for incredibly infectious musical hooks, they could all be accused of being more than a little derivative and they all have a sound that's far more than the sum of their influences. That, however, is where the comparisons end. Instead of overblown 80s rock, Velcra's heart is in early 90s rave, rap metal and political rebellion. Think Rage Against the Machine meets The Prodigy with a female lead-singer thrown in the mix.

Beginning as a two-piece for debut album Consequences of Disobedience, Velcra started life as guitarist/programmer O.D. (a sort-of Finnish Liam Howlett) and uber-versatile vocalist Jessi Frey. Now expanded to a full band that's still mixing programmed beats in with the acoustic drums, they're making music that is guaranteed to set any rock club ballistic, so long as they actually make the playlist.

Opener War Is Peace sets off in ballistic fashion, a machine-gun riff exploding into a furious tirade from Jessi Frey. The hook lines are simple but effective, "The battle has begun, counting 3-2-1 / are you ready?" she yells, and you can already hear the crowds shouting along. War is Peace feels like the tune of the year, at least until you get to Our Will Against Their Will, which is even better. Based on a speech Queen Elizabeth I gave to her troops in 1588 it combines a fantastic synth hook, a punishing sledgehammer guitar and a fantastic sense of uplifting fury to amazing effect.

By this point in the album you've tasted Velcra's energy, but only just scratched the surface of their versatility, or rather that of vocalist Jessi Frey. If she's not top of Liam Howlett's wish-list for collaborators, she soon will be after this. Imagine a female Mike Patton, or rather a cross between Mike Patton, Keith Flint, Dido and Bjork, a singer with a multitude of completely different voices and the ability to switch between any of them in an instant. I found Velcra while searching for artists to include in the female rock compilation that I'm throwing together, and they are a great find indeed. You can expect to see at least one song by them on the comp.
(Year of Release: 2005)

Track List:
1. War Is Peace
2. Water Is Getting High
3. Our Will Against Their Will
4. For My Loneliness I Pay
5. Memory Loss
6. I Can't Tell The Sun From The Moon
7. The Bong Song
8. Corruption
9. Hotel Alcatraz
10. Wonderland Sunrise

Download: Velcra - Between Force And Fate (59MB)

Jail...

I may or may not be going to jail this weekend. I just wanted to let you all know in case you don't see any updates from me in a while. Hopefully I'll be able to resolve the situation quickly. I don't expect to be in for more than a couple of days, but in the unlikely even that I'm not, just keep an eye out for my return. In the meantime, please leave a comment and recommend some music for me to check out whenever I get out.

Thee Mighty Caesars - Caesars Remains

This was originally posted on Thee Head Vein blog. Be sure to check it out if you haven't already. There is a lot of material posted there that is well worth checking out. I'm considering created a Billy Childish label for all the various projects he has worked on. Let me know if this is something you all would be interested in.

"What you got here is rare and unissued cyclonic "punk from the vaults of suave!" "What you got here is rare and unissued cyclonic "punk from the vaults of suave!" Other than song titles there's no real info as to when or where these 18 tracks are from, but no matter 'cause this is 100% pure swag!" -hdvns

Track List:
1. Little By Little
2. What You Got
3. Your Looking Fine
4. I Just Wanna Make Love To You
5. Cadalina
6. Man Taken From Guts
7. Gonna Make You Mine
8. The Swag
9. 1977
10. Cowboys Are Square
11. 10 Bears Of The Comanche
12. Pussy Whipped
13. True To You
14. Your Love
15. Keep Your Hands Off My Child
16. Cyclonic
17. Death Of A Mighty Caesar
18. Better Off Dead

Download: Thee Mighty Caesars - Caesars Remains (52MB)

Female Rock Compilation - I Need Your Help

I'm working on putting together an all female rock compilation, with the theme obviously being female fronted rock bands. It will be the first in a series that I'm working on simply titled "Digital Meltd0wn Presents:"; not very exciting, I know, but the music, liner notes, and album art will make up for it. Some of the artists/bands I am considering featuring are:

Babes In Toyland, The Runaways, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, PJ Harvey, Jack Off Jill,The Donnas, Veruca Salt, Daisy Chainsaw, Queen Adreena, Kittie, Betty X, The Avengers, Horrorpops, Lydia Lunch, Bitch Alert, Velcra, Roxy Saint, The Gits, Sahara Hotnights, Sexpod, Fluffy, The Soviettes, My Ruin, Bikini Kill, 7 Year Bitch, The Distillers, L7, The Kills, Devotchkas, Bif Naked, Rasputina, Penetration, The Slits, Pain Teens, Lunachicks

Now I could use your help. I know you wonderful people are aware of some hard rocking chicks that aren't on this list, so please let me know of any artists, bands, or particular songs, that you think should be included on this list by leaving a comment.
I'm also trying to think of a good name for the compilation, so if you have any ideas please comment.

Digital Meltd0wn On MySpace

I've decided to create a new myspace profile specifically for Digital Meltd0wn. I plan to use this profile for posting things that I wouldn't normally be willing to do here, and communicating with those of you who have a healthy, or unhealthy love for music. I plan on adding music videos, weekly recommendations, single mp3 downloads, concert artist/band and memorabilia images, and much more. It's going to be much more than your average lame and boring myspace profile.

I will be accepting all friend requests, however if you're going to add me, please make an effort to communicate with me occasionally.

Digital Meltd0wn Profile: http://myspace.com/digitalmeltd0wn
Add Me As Your Friend: Add Digital Meltd0wn

Pain Teens - Stimulation Festival

Underground noise-rockers Pain Teens were just developing a national identity when Stimulation Festival, their second collection of new material, was released by Trance Syndicate. Similar to the group's previous official releases (and their many '80s self-released cassettes), this 1991 effort is pasted together with Scott Ayers' strange tape loops/guitar experiments and vocalist Bliss Blood's detached ruminations detailing all things shocking and unmentionable. Death, struggle, and female health/physiology are subjects typically covered either directly or metaphorically.. that is, depending on how you read the song titles, as Ayers' sonic monstrosities often drown out Blood's missives. A unique and prolific outfit, Pain Teens cast out discs like Stimulation Festival for over a decade, to the delight of many extreme rock fanatics. However, recommending one of the group's recordings over another is difficult due to the lack of definitive songs or performances. Having said that, Stimulation Festival would be a fine introduction for new fans, as it is nothing if not representative of Pain Teens' sonic assault.
(Year of Release: 1992)

Track List:
1. Shallow Hole
2. The Dead Cannot
3. God Told Me
4. The Poured Out Blood
5. Drowning
6. Living Hell
7. Indiscreet Jewels
8. Wild World
9. Daughter Of Chaos
10. Evil Dirt
11. Brusied
12. Dog Spirits
13. Hangman's Rope
14. Apartment #213

Download: Pain Teens - Stimulation Festival (68MB)

The Runaways - The Runaways

When the Runaways debuted in 1976 with this self-titled LP, aggressive female rockers were the exception instead of the rule. Women had no problem becoming folk-rockers, singer/songwriters or Top 40 icons, but female artists who had more in common with Led Zeppelin and Aerosmith than Joni Mitchell were hardly the norm. With this album, the Runaways made it crystal clear that women (or specifically, adolescent girls) were more than capable of playing intense, forceful hard rock that went directly for the jugular. Lusty classics like "Cherry Bomb" and "You Drive Me Wild" made no attempt to conceal the fact that teenage girls could be every bit as sexual as the guys -- a message that both men and women found intimidating. And on "Is It Day or Night," Cherie Currie sings about life in the fast lane with every bit as much conviction as Axl Rose would 11 years later. Currie and Joan Jett are equally riveting, and a 17-year-old Lita Ford was already an impressive guitarist. This LP was far from a commercial hit in the U.S., where timid rock radio programmers simply didn't know what to make of the Runaways. But interestingly, it did earn the band a strong following in the major rock market of Japan.
(Year of Release: 1976)

Track List:
1. Cherry Bomb
2. You Drive Me Wild
3. Is It Day or Night?
4. Thunder
5. Rock & Roll
6. Lovers
7. American Nights
8. Blackmail
9. Secrets
10. Dead End Justice

Download: The Runaways - The Runaways (73MB)

Electric Frankenstein - The Time Is Now!

Here's The Time Is Now! by Electric Frankenstein as requested by Cordoron. This is the first official full length LP from the Jersey punk quintet. Already known to legitimate punks via their numerous singles (see "EF Conquers the World"), this album shows how punk is supposed to be.. stripped down, raw, no fancy tricks. Just rock 'n' roll. The beauty of this record is that it is stripped down without a loss of intensity. Every single word is screamed by vocalist Steve Miller. The rhythm section provides constant momentum for the chunky power chord guitar work. The opener "Teenage Shutdown" is an incredibly driving song, reinstating the punk guitar solo as a credible component of songwriting. The slow, rumbling title track conveys its sense of urgency with lines like "the time is now, so don't be late." Similar themes are expressed in "Superstar" with the imperative line "We gotta wake up this generation." The boys continue to praise 50's horror flicks with "I Want More" and "EF Theme." The latter uses the Frankenstein creature as a metaphor for people who are comfortable with their eccentricities, while delivering clever phrases such as "My mother was electricity, my father was a corpse." A great throwback to the way punk used to be before it was commercialized.
(Year of Release: 1995)

Track List:
1. Teenage Shutdown
2. The Time Is Now!
3. Superstar
4. Right On Target
5. I Want More
6. Demolition Joyride
7. EF Theme
8. Fast & Furious
9. Rise And Crash
10. We Are The Dangerous
11. Too Much For You
12. A Sweet Sickness

Electric Frankenstein - The Time Is Now!   (88.5MB at 320Kbps)

Betty X - Memoirs Of A Pain Junkie

Betty Zoe Kaylor, better known as the performance artist Betty X, has been making music since the mid-90's, when she formed the controversial art rock band, Salon Betty. After the group disbanded, she decided to pursue a solo career, releasing Bad Side of Love in 1999. Her current self-titled solo project is much heavier and darker than previous material; with heavy, loud and grinding guitars, breakneck tempos, apocalyptic distortion and noise, moody sound-scapes and extremely aggressive, distorted vocals, the music is best described as industrial metal.

The newer songs cover a range of genres, however: "Human Disease" has the totalitarian/Orwellian flavor of Marilyn Manson, "Dystopia" is a poppy, bass-driven tune a la Nine Inch Nails, "Mons Venus" is a dark and sultry rock piece akin to P.J. Harvey, and most of Memoirs of a Pain Junkie could be considered straight-forward alternative metal in the style of Ministry's Psalm 69. Memoirs of a Pain Junkie is Betty X's third solo release and first full-length album. It is also her heaviest and hardest-hitting material to date. The album was released in 2006 through Anti-Social Records.

Track List:
1. Necrotic
2. Chainsaw
3. Bloodworm
4. Ultraviolence
5. Shoot'em Up
6. Bleed
7. The Snake Pit
8. Ossuary 13
9. Pain Junkie

Download: Betty X - Memoirs Of A Pain Junkie (32MB)

The Bronx - The Bronx

The Bronx's self-titled debut is a beautifully violent exhibition of pure punk rock. No pogo-pouncing guitar licks or aggro-happy vocals fit the ambitious agenda of this SoCal four-piece, nor do they hold the pretense held by most post-grunge rock kids. The Bronx are dead serious with their craft; they're uncompromising without being disconcerting, allowing this powerhouse release to make an impression. Sure, criticizing the America's conservative value system may be more than overdone, but if you're able to say something new, it's relevant and that's exactly what makes The Bronx an interesting first album. Themes of direction and rejection carry this manic, red-hot cardinal set with producer Gilby Clarke at the helm. As soon as "Heart Attack American" kicks things off, the Bronx immediately blast you with a Stooges-meets-Fugazi jolt. Matt Caughthran's vocals are not only a frenzied mess, but they're scathingly convincing. Joby J. Ford (guitar), James Tweedy (bass), and Jorma Vik (drums) make for a sharp backup section, and songs like "White Tar" and "Notice of Eviction" thrive on the band's personal revolt against what's mediocre and typically popularized. In classic punk style.
(Year of Release: 2006)

Track List:
1. Heart Attack American
2. False Alarm
3. White Tar
4. Cobra Lucha
5. They Will Kill Us All (Without Mercy)
6. I Got Chills
7. Guns Without Bullets
8. Notice of Eviction
9. Kill My Friends
10. Strobe Life

Download: The Bronx - The Bronx (41MB)

Note: I accidently included the wrong album art in the .rar file. I didn't realize this until after I started my upload. The album art you see above in this post is the correct album cover.

Oops

I accidently deleted the header above the blog posts which contained the main menu. I'll work on getting that back up as soon as possible.

I'm Back...

I just wanted to let you all know that I'm back. I'm sure some of you noticed that I was able to put a few albums up during the time that I didn't have internet service at home. Normally I tag all of the songs myself, but since I wasn't at home I had to put them up as is. Much to my surprise I noticed that there wasn't a dramatic decrease in traffic during the time I wasn't making new post. I also noticed that traffic has dramatically increased to my other blog during the last week or so. I have some well known blogs linking to it now, which explains the noticeable increase in traffic. If you haven't had a chance to check it out yet, please do yourself a favor and do so. You can find it here: http://music-bloggers.blogspot.com

I'll be working on re-uploading a few albums that were mentioned, and finding the albums that were requested over the next few days. I would like to thank those of you who recommended music for me to check out as I requested during my time away. Thanks once again for all your support.

Elvis Presley - Elvis In Person At The International Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada

I don't normally post mainsteam musicians or bands, but I thought I would make an exception. After all.. what type of music blog would I be running if I didn't post at least one album by the king of rock n' roll. The songs on this album were recorded between August 22-26 in 1969.

When Elvis and the Colonel decided it was time to start appearing live again, they assembled a crackerjack band (featuring James Burton) and took on Vegas full-bore. Easily the King's best live album, In Person at the International Hotel featured a slew of hits, including "Johnny B. Goode," "My Babe," the "Mystery Train/Tiger Man" medley, and "Suspicious Minds." If the album had a flaw, it was its skimpy running time (36 minutes). We now know, from the unissued tracks from these same performances that were added to the remastered On Stage (1970), that there was more to the repertory of those five days of August 1969 shows than is represented here; but the producers, limited to a single LP, faced a major problem: Should they weigh the tracks more toward his current repertory and recent singles, or toward his classic songs? The classic songs sort of won out, but in the decades since, those then-recent singles have risen in stature.

Regardless of what they're playing, the band really rock throughout, and that's not just Burton who sounds like he's wearing his fingers ragged as he puts a new edge on "Hound Dog," coming up with something different than, yet vaguely similar to, Scotty Moore's approach to the song in concert 14 years earlier, but also the entire guitar contingent of John Wilkinson and Charlie Hodge (not to mention Elvis himself, who strums along here and there) and the muscular rhythm section of bassist Jerry Scheff and drummer Ronnie Tutt. The vocal support by Hodge, Millie Kirkham, the Sweet Inspirations, and the Imperials is soaring and tasteful, never more so than on the album's seven-minute version of "Suspicious Minds" and the soaring finale, "Can't Help Falling in Love."
(Year of Release: 1970)

Track List:
1. Blue Suede Shoes
2. Johnny B. Goode
3. All Shook Up
4. Are You Lonesome Tonight?
5. Hound Dog
6. I Can't Stop Loving You
7. My Babe
8. Medley: Mystery Train/Tiger Man
9. Words
10. In The Ghetto
11. Suspicious Minds
12. Can't Help Falling In Love

Download: Elvis Presley - Elvis In Person At The International Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada (85MB)

Just Checking In

I just thought I would let you all know that it will be at least a week before I have internet access. I'll try to get a few albums up between now and then, but I'll be unable to update it daily.