Before The Poison

New week new letter. It's F time. And I will say there's gonna be a lot of different postings this week. Wide mix of genres and what not. So I start of today with some Marianne Faithfull. Some of you may recognize the name from a few places. She of course rose to fame and sweet voiced angel who fell in with The Rolling Stones in the 60's. There's wonderful stories about her and Mick Jagger that leave you wondering why have the drugs weakened over the years. More recently she provided the backing vocals on Metallica's 'The Memory Remains' off their 'ReLoad' album. Her debut record and latter records sound nothing alike, vocal wise. Just listen to her version of 'As Tears Go By' Decided to go with something a little more darker from her catalog. Released in 2005, 'Before The Poison' is a darker record which features help from PJ Harvey, Nick Cave and Damon Albarn (Blur/Gorillaz). Kind of a depressing yet really good album.

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Bonded By Blood

Closing out the week of E's with some Bay Area Thrash. Exodus is widely considered to be one of the early thrash metal acts. Some even crying foul over their non inclusion of the Big 4. Formed in the early 80's, the early lineup featured Kirk Hammett, who of course went on to be in Metallica. Fronted by a mad man in Paul Baloff, 'Bonded By Blood' remains once of the best thrash debuts ever. The only studio album to actually feature Paul, who was replaced by Zetro, who then was replaced by Paul, then replaced again by Zetro after his untimely death a few years back. Lineup changes aside Exodus is still alive and thrashing with new vocalist Rob Dukes, who's debut on 'Shovel Headed Kill Machine' was nothing short of jaw dropping. Going with the classic pit starter though seemed a better fit.

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The Continuum Hypothesis

Changing genres again we shift into some Melodic Death Metal from the unlikely place on Memphis TN. Epoch Of Unlight plays smart melodic death metal if you will. 'The Continuum Hypothesis' is the bands last release, coming out back in 05. Not much has been heard since the albums release. Good listen for fans of the genre though.

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In The Nightside

For today's sampling of goodness. I've decided to pull out some Norwegian Black Metal. Some old stuff, none of this new drek. Some trve kvlt if you will. Emperor were one of the most recognized bands associated with the Norwegian Black Metal scene. You know the one, the one that burned churches and killed guys in other bands, yeah that one. 'In The Nightside Eclipse' remains one of the better black metal records to come out of that period. And along with 'Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk' remains one of their finest records. Only releasing four studio albums in an almost 20 year career. You know prison time kinda interferes with record making. 'In The Nightside Eclipse' was their first full length album and features the classic lineup of Faust, Tchort, Samoth and Ihsahn. Uploaded the deluxe edition which features a cover of Bathory's 'A Fine Day To Die' and a cover of the Mercyful Fate classic 'Gypsy'. So put on some corpse paint and enjoy.

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Old Glory

Moving back into the classic rock genre of the blog for today's helping. The Electric Flag were a super group, which in it's originality only lasted a year. The band formed in 67 and by the end of The Summer Of Love in 69 were disbanded. Known for being somewhat of a super group the band featured Mike Bloomfield on Guitars and Buddy Miles on Drums. The band fused rock, jazz, and R&B into a melting pot of musical goodness. Featuring an awesome horn section, the band was short lived with their highlight playing the Monterey Pop Festival in 69. Officially only releasing three studio albums. One only with the original lineup and one as a reunion album. I've decided to upload 'Old Glory, The Best Of The Electric Flag'. Great mix of the studio cuts entwined with some live cuts from the Monterey Pop Festival.

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Endless Highway

New week and I'm throwing up another tribute album. This time around it's a tribute to The Band. 'Endless Highway, A Tribute To The Band' came out in 07 and features a mix of Indie artists with some more well known rock acts. Featuring the likes of Bruce Hornsby, My Morning Jacket, Widespread Panic, The Allman Brothers Band, and Death Cab For Cutie. Each act puts their unique spin on one of the many classic Band songs. For something a little more indie and diverse give this one a try.

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Encomium

Final posting of the week is a tribute record. Something I haven't posted here yet. ' Encomium: A Tribute To Led Zeppelin' is a tribute to the mighty Led Zep that was released back in 95. Normally I'm not a fan of tribute records, but this one isn't actually bad. A pretty diverse lineup ranging from bands such as, Stone Temple Pilots, Cracker, Duran Duran, Helmet, Sheryl Crow, Hootie & The Blowfish, etc. Worth a listen for the Zep fans or just for a 90's throwback day.

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