Force of Evil

And now back to some Metal. This one is kind of an obscure one to some. Force of Evil were a side band if you will, consisting of members of Iron Fire, King Diamond, and Mercyful Fate. Fans of Diamond and Fate know there have been many side projects over the years. This one stand out mainly because it's the guitar duo of Shermann and Denner once again leading the axe attack. The significance here being this was the first time the duo had played together in over a decade. The self-titled debut is pretty much what you would expect from the duo, great riffs and solos. The weak link here being the vocals. Not saying they're terrible, but far from being great. Fans of traditional heavy metal will find this to be right up their alley.

Currently the band is on hold. The last album came out in 05. The band has been busy with other bands and the liking. I posted this in light of King Diamond once again playing live this year and the fact the almost all of the original lineup of Mercyul Fate played with Metallica in Dec. Shermann and Denner are among I think the best guitar duos in metal. Go back and listen to the first two Mercyful Fate records. I still get chills listening to those. The guitar work is simply amazing. And while I'm not the biggest fan of the band, it's still worth breaking out every so often.

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Live In Vegas

Well short break turned into longer break as I'm currently in the process of relocation. So here's the final two F bands this week. Should return with some normalcy next week. This is gonna be the silly post if you will. We're all familiar with the cartoon Family Guy. After all it's one of the most successful shows currently out there and along with The Simpsons the only thing that's keeping Fox afloat. All Fox jokes aside, Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlene along with the cast and musical mainman Walter Murphy decided it was time to cash in even more and release a Live CD of the family preforming a number of saucy tunes. 'Live In Vegas' is just that, chock full of cameos and adolescent humor. While cartoons putting out records really isn't anything new, this one isn't all that bad. Much like the show it has it's funny moments. So if you're a fan, you'll enjoy this one. After all stupid humor gets me through my day.

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Mothership Connection

Mid week and time to turn this sucka out. How bout some 70's Funk? Parliament was one of the most influential bands to come out of the 70's. Countless acts have sampled the bands music. Led by the mastermind George Clinton, the band featured a revolving door of amazing musicians. Bootsy Collins tends to get recognized the most. The band live was a mind trip to see. Which brings me to one of the most influential Funk albums. 'Mothership Connection' start to finish this record takes you on a funkadelic trip til your mind is blown. Perfect album to get the party started.

So this album does tend to stray off the path of what I normally listen to. This kids is what we call a guilty pleasure. Oh yes, I do have a few of those. I've never denied what an amazing talented bunch of musicians Parliament was. I mean this album alone has about two dozen people playing on it. Here's how wide spread and influential this album really is. In 2011 The Library Of Congress added the album to the National Recording Registry, declaring "the album has had an enormous influence on jazz, rock and dance music." That's a pretty elite list right there. Research it and see what else is on there.

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Anywhere

Traveling out to the land of the rising sun for today's post. Yes time for some Japanese Heavy Psych. Better know as some early 70's Psychedelic Rock. Japan probably isn't the first place you think of for psych music. But there's quite a bit that's come out of there. Perhaps it explains Godzilla, I'm not sure. Anyways, Flower Travellin' Band were formed in the late 60's and specialized in their unique brand of psych music. 'Anywhere' is the band debut album and while 4 of the 6 songs are covers (Black Sabbath, Muddy Waters, The Animals and King Crimson) the album is a trip. If you can get past the Engrish lyrics at points, i.e. House Of The Rising Sun, there's a lot of trippyness going on here. Worth checking out even if it's for a cheap laugh.

I recently got into this band after finding their album 'Satori' on a now defunct blog. The tag line the author used was 'best listened to with a loaded gun at your head'. I mean hell I'm not passing this one up. Sure enough much like this album it's a trip. Definitely one of those lets take a sheet of acid and trip balls records. Psychedelic Rock has always intrigued me. It's like Garage Rock on acid. It's simple yet complex. And sometimes it's fun just to zone out with the headphones on and get lost. The band came together after the lead singer came back from London to see his friend John Lennon, who actually turned him on to psych rock. The Beatles are more influential than anyone will ever realize. The band only release a few more albums before calling it quits in the mid 70s. They did reform shortly before lead singer Joe Yamanaka died on cancer in 06. The band is well known amongst the psych rock circle as a pioneer of the Japanese Heavy Psych sound.

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Jade

New week still in the F's. Gonna change up the blog in some sense after some beer drinking suggestions. So starting the week off with some female fronted metal. Flowing Tears hail from Germany and play the standard gothic metal if ya will. The band started in the late 90's under the name Flowing Tears & The Withered Flowers before shortening up the name. 'Jade' was the first LP to be released under the new name. This is one of those dark gothic female fronted sorrow filled albums. The band is still together albeit with a new singer. The newer material is a bit more of the pop gothic metal sound.

I got into this band about a dozen years back, in fact the track 'Lovesong For A Dead Child' from this album is what lured me into this band. It was a good mix of depression and really well crafted melodies. The band's material is rather hard to track down stateside even though at one point the band was signed in the US to Century Media. I found their 'Serpentine' album during my first tour of living in St. Louis. I picked that up and that album pretty much continues the dark mood. 'Jade' is one of those albums I go back to when I want something female fronted but with a dark undertone to it. Perfect record for that sorrow filled night.

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Metal Polka Party

Enough with the doom this week, lets end it with some Humppa. Or as some may know it, polka. Ok not that polka, but metal polka. Finntroll hails from Finland, but the songs are sung in Swedish. Confused yet? The band combines folk metal with traditional Humppa. 'Jaktens Tid' is their second release and captures the band in their most Trollish era. Yes the music revolves around Finnish myths and Trolls and such. This is one of those band where ya wanna grab a few beers and dance like a drunken metal head. Like you ever needed an excuse to do that, but if ya did, enjoy this.

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Epoch

Time for some more doom n gloom. Fen hails from the UK and is named after the area known as The Fens, which are mysterious landscapes. The area proves to be ripe with inspiration for the music. The music can be best described as Post Rock/Atmospheric Black Metal. Think somewhere along the lines of Alcest and Agalloch. 'Epoch' released last year is the bands second full length record. The album is eight tracks long and clocks in at just over an hour, so you're in for some long awe inspiring tracks. Worth a listening if ya wanna escape the world for a bit.

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