Brain Salad Surgery

Time to take things in a proggy direction. Emerson, Lake and Palmer were amongst the best of the 70's Prog Rock bands. 'Brain Salad Surgery' remains their best know work. Featuring the nearly 30 minute epic 'Karn Evil  9'. Most people will recognize the 2nd 'impression' of the song. However the standout track for me here is 'Still...You Turn Me On'. Epic album with epic artwork from H.R. Geiger. Uploaded the UK Bonus version of the album, so there's some extra cuts to enjoy.

Download

Everything Remains

Folk Metal has been picking up some steam in the Metal scene for the past few years. Folk Metal is essentially Power Metal only with traditional instruments. Mainly coming out of the Norse mythology, the lyrical themes tell stories about the past. Eluveitie is a Swiss Folk Metal band that's gained some attention over the past few years. 'Everything Remains As It Never Was' is the bands 4th LP and stands out as a good starting point for the band. Interesting mix of bagpipes, hurdy gurdy, and tin whistles accompany the more familiar melodic death metal. Worth checking out for a nice change of pace.

Download

Chill Factor

Changing up gears for the second posting and putting up some smooth jazz. Little departure from some of the other jazz postings. Richard Elliot is a Scottish born Sax player. He played for a time in the funk band Tower of Power before pursuing a solo career. He's released 20 albums so far. I'm choosing 'Chill Factor' though for this posting. Solid piece of work, including two smooth covers of 'Adia' and 'Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing'. Good to just chill out to and relax.

Download

Dark Clouds

Another week and we stumble into the E's. Not a whole lot in my E collection, so I've dusted of some more weird and obscure stuff. First off is some Goth Metal from Liechtenstein. Bonus points if you can find that on the map. Elis was a short lived band that played Gothic Metal. I'm uploading their second LP 'Dark Clouds In A Perfect Sky'. A nice mix of sorrow and love. Lead singer Sabine Dünser passed in 2006 of a cerebral hemorrhage. The band released one more record after her death and split up earlier this year. Recommended for fans of female fronted metal.

Download

Black Wings

The back end of the posting belongs to Dragonlord. The 'American Black Metal' project that featured Eric Peterson of Testament fame. Use that term loosely though. While it's a departure from Testament, it's not kvlt black metal. I'm posting their last album 'Black Wings Of Destiny'. It's a pretty solid record, but the two covers at the end of the CD make it worthwhile. Great cover of 'Black Funeral' from Mercyful Fate and 'Emerald' from Thin Lizzy. Worth a check out if ya dig Testament.

Download

Lightning To The Nations

Been slacking with this blog thing again, thanks Disney musicals. Read that however ya want. Double shot of some metal today. First up the one NWOBHM everyone knows, Diamond Head. Of course most well known for having Metallica cover few of their songs. 'Helpless' 'The Prince' 'Am I Evil', 'It's Electric' and in their very early days 'Sucking My Love'. Of course all the originals are on 'Lightning To The Nations'. Great album and this is the deluxe version that came out some years back. Believe Lars wrote the liner notes for it even. Great old school metal for the masses.

Download

Sing-Along Songs

And for the final post. It's time for some Riot Opera. Oh yeah, time to step off the deep end. Diablo Swing Orchestra is a Swedish metal band that takes swing, jazz and metal and fuses it into what they call Riot Opera. 'Sing-Along Songs For The Damned And Delirious' is their second release and it's a very interesting and amazing record. Take a dive into the deep end and enjoy this one.

Download