Grimple / Logical Nonsense - A Darker Shade of Grey (split LP, 1994)

Continuing on my trip down memory lane, today I present one of my favorite split LPs of all time. I first heard Oakland, California's Grimple when I visited my cousin in Arizona back in the mid-90s and I returned home with a cassette dub of a cassette dub of a cassette dub of Grimple's first LP entitled "Up Your Ass". The sound quality was heinous, but it was fuckin' punk rock. When I stumbled upon this split LP in a Cincinnati record shop I nearly pissed. Upon listening I was a little put off by how they had seemingly abandoned the melodic punk hardcore sound of their LP for a much more evil hardcore sound. But it was so hair-raising and goosebump-forming that I instantly fell in love. I mean there is a friggin' Celtic Frost cover here that is even better than the original. "Blasphemer" you say, listen for yourself.

Now taken that at the time I was extremely excited to hear more Grimple, I went right to their side for first listening, even though they are actually side B. The evil pissed-off sound of the Grimple side couldn't prepare me for the intensely disturbing dark hardcore of the Logical Nonsense side. All of my friends hated it because of the aesthetic choice of using distortion on the vocals, but I was hooked. It is a pretty sick 16 minutes of hellish pleasure for me. To this day the song "A Reigning" still gives me the shivers, and icing on the bloody cake is the spoken word by Wendy-O Matik at the end. Simply superb. If you want some brutal, apocalyptic hardcore, I also highly recommend their final LP "Expand The Hive".

Year of Release: 1994
Label: East Bay Menace
Catalog #: EBM 002
Genre: Hardcore Punk
Media: Vinyl
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 320 kbps

Track List:
A1 Logical Nonsense – Legion
A2 Logical Nonsense – Razed
A3 Logical Nonsense – A Reigning
A4 Logical Nonsense – Before The Act
A5 Logical Nonsense – The Crushing
A6 Wendy-O Matik – Death Awaits Us

B1 Grimple – Layed Back
B2 Grimple – Infierno
B3 Grimple – P.C.
B4 Grimple – Darker Shade Of Grey
B5 Grimple – System Fukers
B6 Grimple – Crucified
B7 Grimple – Forever Fuked
B8 Grimple – Dethroned Emperor (originally by Celtic Frost)
B9 Grimple – No Return

Download: Grimple / Logical Nonsense - A Darker Shade of Grey (split LP)
Download Size: 82 MB

Clinging To The Trees Of A Forest Fire/Nesseria Split (2011 - 320kbps)

Though these are two different bands, they have one thing in common and that's a rumbling groove that permeates a good deal of their songs. That aside, Clinging To The Trees of A Forest Fire is more sludge inclined while Nesseria is more on the hardcore/crust/grindcore side. In short the former is slower and dirtier while the latter is faster and more violent. This is how each band is described on the bandcamp page for the split:

CLINGING TO THE TREES OF A FOREST FIRE are without a doubt one of the most apocalyptic bands these days : between blackened grindcore and filthy sludge, these four tracks are the perfect blend of all the most extreme stuff you could find. For fans of Today Is The Day, Robinson, Admiral Angry, Khanate...

On the other side, NESSERIA is delivering here their best material to date, still as intense and pissed than on their previous full-length, but in a dirtier and more complex way. For fans of The Secret, Buried Inside, Cursed or Trap Them!

Year of Release: 2011
Genre: Blackened Grindcore/Sludge/Post-Metal/Black Metal
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 320 kpbs

Track List:
1. Clinging To The Trees Of A Forest Fire - Opaque
2. Clinging To The Trees Of A Forest Fire - Wrinkled Claws
3. Clinging To The Trees Of A Forest Fire - Lower Than Life, High As The Sky
4. Clinging To The Trees Of A Forest Fire - S.I.T.W.
5. Nesseria - Freistadt
6. Nesseria - Mercure
7. Nesseria - Fils De La Fin De Siecle
8. Nesseria - 1789

Download: Clinging To The Trees Of A Forest Fire/Nesseria Split
Download Size: 59.14 mb

Death Side - Wasted Dream (1989)

Death Side are old school Japanese hardcore of the so-called "Burning Spirits" variety, which is a live show series that has been running for over twenty years at a Tokyo club. Speed and over-the-top riffmania saturate this amazing and relentless record. This stuff continues to influence so many bands. No wonder. After I first heard Death Side, I was addicted to them for months and I always come back for another fix eventually.

Trying to find Death Side albums outside of Japanese record stores is a waste of time. The band is highly regarded in the world of hardcore punk, yet their material is so hard to find. I think it has something to do with the sentiment in the Japanese scene that what is past is past and musicians want to be recognized for what they are working on currently. I can understand that, but this stuff should be heard. However, what I cannot do is be responsible for any physical injuries you might attain listening to Wasted Dream. Enjoy, folks!

Year of Original Release: 1989
Year of Reissue: 2002
Label: Nucleus/R
Catalog #: DS-03
Genre: Hardcore Punk, Thrash
Media: CD
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 320 kbps

Track List:
1 Death Side
2 Mirror
3 Cut The Throat
4 Warning
5 Give And Take
6 Circulate Pain
7 Nothing For Others Pride
8 Laugh Til You Die
9 Wall
10 I Live Just My Life
11 Wasted Dream
12 Evil Dreaming
13 Devil In The Hell
14 Never Say Die
15 Political Power
16 Life In Box
17 The Lowest
18 It's Not Only Joke

Download: Death Side - Wasted Dream
Download Size: 96 MB

Amebix - Monolith (1987)

In eager anticipation for Sonic Mass due out September 20, the first album of new material since 1987 by the Gods of Crust, presented here is Monolith by England's Amebix.

This is somewhat of a lost classic, more so in the US where it can be quite challenging to find compared to their earlier material that is available on Alternative Tentacles. Unlike for many fans, this album, their final before they split, was my first exposure to Amebix. I remember after hearing it for the first time I felt like I had stumbled upon some sacred gift. I was so overcome by this sensation of enlightenment that I rushed to share it with all of the people I knew. It quickly became clear to me by their reactions that I had once again found something that was only meant to be deeply appreciated by a chosen few. For me, Amebix has always been a punk band with metallic sensibilities, and not the other way around. This is one fine example of how "musically illiterate" people can come together and work their asses off to create something profound that will have an influence for generations to come.

Although many probably disagree, everything about the aesthetic of Amebix came together impeccably on Monolith. The way they play, and the way the album is mixed with the guitar somewhat quieter than the bass and drums seems intentional. The synths are clearly an integral part of their expression that accents the already doomy atmosphere set by the sometimes plodding and sometimes ready to fly off the rails assault of the ensemble. The lyrics, delivered by the Lemmy-esque snarl of The Baron, are among some of my favorite in all of extreme music with many lines that I will never forget.

Do yourself a favor and listen to this underappreciated classic, and if you love it then buy their new album when it comes out.

Year of Original Release: 1987
Year of Reissue: 1997
Label: Heavy Metal Records
Catalog #: HMR XD99
Genre: Crust Punk, Thrash Metal
Media: CD
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 320 kbps

Track List:
1 Monolith 3:27
2 Nobodys Driving 5:03
3 The Power Remains 4:33
4 Time Bomb 4:27
5 Last Will and Testament 5:00
6 I.C.B.M. 6:05
7 Chain Reaction 5:27
8 Fallen From Grace 4:14
9 Coming Home 5:43

Download: Amebix - Monolith (1987)
Download Size: 99 MB

Ween featuring The Shit Creek Boys - Live in Toronto Canada (2001)

I received an email today informing me that Ween is coming to St. Petersburg, FL in October, two hours from where I live, so I knew it was a sign that I had to post this. It will be the second time I see them live and I am so psyched about it.

This disc was a limited run and of course goes for prices that are more absurd than the music contained here. The recording was made during the now legendary tour with The Shit Creek Boys. This may not be the best place to start for those that are new to the irreverent genius that is Ween, but I can't listen to this album and stay in a bad mood. My absolute favorite track is the album closer "Fluffy". Ween reveal their sentimental side here and turn this silly song into a sprawling dirge of an anthem. It really must be heard, my friends.

I decided to reproduce an excerpt of the liner notes written by Dean Ween:

In November of 1995, we went to Nashville to record our 5th album “12 Golden Country Greats” with an all-star lineup of veteran Nashville session players. With the help of our producer and longtime friend Ben Vaughn, we put together a backing band of the best players from the golden age of country music to record 10 country flavored tunes we had written that year.

This posed a problem upon the release of the record in the summer of the next year. Most of that band had long since retired from touring and we ruled out the possibility of playing shows to support the release of the album. Instead, we planned on playing two shows in one night at Tramp’s on July 17, 1996 in New York City and tried to see if the musicians would make the trip for a long weekend.

The person who seemed the most interested in the project from the beginning was Bobby Ogdin, who played piano on most of the record, and he assured us that he could put together an incredible Nashville band for the shows, so he became our “musical director” so to speak. I sent him CDs of all of our records and he wrote charts for the band. We had only two days to rehearse tor the gig and I was completely terrified... I don’t think I slept a minute the night before.

As it turns out, the shows were a great success, the music was completely over the top and the crowd basically freaked out. Everyone in the band wanted to do more so we decided on a 3 week American tour starting in October that same year. It turned out to be the most rewarding experience of our musical career. I don’t think we played a bad show the whole tour—the 8 piece band sounded like a 747 landing on your house.

Year of Release: 2001
Year of Recording: 1996
Label: Chocodog Records
Catalog #: CDR-1001
Genre: Experimental Rock
Media: CD
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 320 kbps

Track List:
1. Pretty Girl 2:55
2. What Deaner Was Talkin' About 2:13
3. Japanese Cowboy 4:26
4. Pumpin' 4 the Man 2:17
5. Mister Richard Smoker 3:15
6. Spinal Meningitis (Got Me Down) 3:34
7. Help Me Scrape the Mucus off My Brain 2:56
8. Waving My Dick in the Wind 3:06
9. Push th' Little Daisies 2:48
10. Buenas Tardes Amigo 10:37
11. Poop Ship Destroyer 5:58
12. I'm Holding You 6:55
13. Doctor Rock 5:15
14. The HIV Song 3:14
15. Piano Man 2:05
16. Fluffy 14:20

Download: Ween - Live In Toronto Canada (2001)
Download Size: 177 MB