The way I see it, there are only two kinds of music: good music and bad music. And good music comes in many flavors, not all of it tranquil and soothing... So who else on this board likes the occasional blast of heavy? And I don't mean Poison-esque cheeze-metal; I mean HEAVY heavy. Bands that would stomp Poison into the ground like insignificant ants.
I, for one, enjoy the sonic assaults of High Rise, Mainliner, Earthless, Heavy Winged, etc. There's something about a band teetering on the edge of control, everything as loud as it will go, just letting loose... which brings me to one of my favorite heavy bands ever, Skullflower. It seems their early catalog has finally been re-released in a very deluxe way. I have most of this stuff (I managed to rip my CD's before the infamous cd-rot set in), but I am psyched for unreleased stuff from their earlier sessions, and remastered versions of the rest:
"Finally available, a much needed CD retrospective of Skullflower's early works from 1986 – 1990 spread across four separate releases, featuring all the material previously released on Broken Flag, Shock, Majora and Forced Exposure, plus around two hours of previously unheard music – 14 of them spread across the series. And this is not 'out-take' dross used to fill up CDs, this is essential early Skullflower providing further insight into their uniquely twisted musical world. All material has been digitally mastered by Richard Whittaker at FX, and each CD comes in a deluxe gatefold card cover and inner sleeve with newly unearthed artwork by Matthew. Booklets feature extensive notes and previously unseen flyers, posters and photos."
Kino I: Birthdeath comprises the remastered first 12" EP, available in its entirety for the first time since 1987, plus six previously unreleased, unheard and undreamed of tracks.
Kino II: Form Destroyer includes the remastered first album - the best it's ever sounded, two 'bonus' tracks from Shock's long out of print RUINS and two previously unheard pieces. A truly monstrous disc of heavy, f*cked up music.
Kino III: Xaman includes the most requested early Skullflower release, the original CD rendered unplayable by disc rot for 20 years and the subject of endless drivelsome internet speculation... Finally remastered, with new cover art from Matthew's archive.
Kino IV: Black Sun Rising rounds up the first three 7" releases on Shock, Majora and Forced Exposure, the bonus track from THE PORTABLE ALTAMONT, plus six previously unreleased tracks including three from the XAMAN sessions.
So who else likes the RAWK? What other essential gems need to be in any heavy music fan's collection?
