Green & Wood radiate an aural agony and gloomy atmosphere that few bands can match. Taking tips from early Electric Wizard, St. Vitus, and miscellaneous psychedelia; Green & Wood spew sonic frustration through repetition and spiritual transcendence. Sitting down and listening to this album in its entirety feels akin to getting loaded and reading the Necronomicon backwards while summoning the Fire Lord in the tongue of the Mad Arab Abdul Alhazred.
You see... I tried writing this 'review' like those I've seen in magazines like Terrorizer, Decibel, et cetera. Once I brought in the Necronomicon, I guess I subconsciously gave up on the mission of trying to actually be serious while using adjectives and analogies that really don't mean anything.
Download here:
http://www.mediafire.com/?fmvwdm58a7vo2pd
The singer is a professional skateboarder or something.
I've neglected you fellows. I've neglected myself, to be honest. I've neglected my commitments, my goals, my responsibilites, et cetera. I'm the torn, half-open husk of a man I used to be. But with a dismembered outer shell comes the spreading of the seed that eventually sprouts into a new person. That person is me (reymon14). Alright, that's plenty pompous pilfering of the pretense for present. On to reality: I'm back and with me, comes hordes of music and shit. I'll hold off on the shit for now. Hopefully this stuff will keep you satisfied for a little while.
FIRST UP WE HAVE
A Forest of Stars - The Corpse of Rebirth (2008)
Starting strong with this one. I love everything about the music that this band makes. It's radiant, it's miserable, it has aura, it's raw. I even love the drug-addled howls and moans the vocalist presents. If you're not open to black metal or atmospheric shit with violins and cellos and Victorian era garb (this really doesn't matter because I think they look like idiots, but the music is still good), then don't bother (even though you should). The build up on the first track is so amazing that one time I was under the influence and had my eyes closed, I sharted to the climax of the building tension. Yeah.
Download here:
http://www.mediafire.com/?79dhkbky23a4jdj
MORE LIKE A CHORUS OF FARTS
UP NEXT IS
Ulver - Kveldssanger (1996)
From the darkened chasm in time known as NINETEEN NINETY SIX (lightning; thunder; wolf howl cut short by wimper) comes an album from a renown band in the BM circuit that has nothing to do with BM. I'm sure Agalloch took some cues from Ulver in their releasing of the White EP, as there are many parallels. Agalloch and Ulver both mainly BM(ish) in their earlier releases, Ulver releases Kveldssanger as a complete folk album in 1996, Agalloch releases the White EP as a complete folk [neo-folk] album in 2008. Both albums are very string-oriented as well, and both have very few, if any, BM tendencies - not to mention that Agalloch cites Ulver as a major influence. So what I'm trying to say is... If you like Agalloch's White EP, this is its forebearer.
Download here:
http://www.mediafire.com/?cmplro2rt9a993s
One time my mom walked in the room while this was playing and went, "I really like this!".
MOM APPROVED.
THIRD IS THE WORD
Spirit Caraven - Dreamwheel EP (1999)
The cover of this album combined with the Wino riffsyrup that this EP is drenched in makes me want to get into a giant shiptimemachine with Wino and Co. I want to travel the poly-fold transdimension with Wino so fucking bad. That desire is probably number 2 on my list. Number 1 is hugging a grizzly bear. One of the first albums this blog had the displeasure of sharing was Wino's solo album Punctuated Equilibrium. I like Spirit Caravan better, which is saying a lot. I haven't stopped drooling over the riff on the title track yet.
Download here:
http://www.mediafire.com/?iomevn6aj0kn0h4
Keeeeeeeeeeep on rollinnnn (not Fred Durst lyrics)
NEXT
Flower Travellin' Band - Satori (1971)
This shits amazing. And it's Japanese. So if you're an appreciator and/or propagator of culture or a weeaboo, then it's double amazing. This band is intense shit and if you haven't listened to yet then you're an idiot and need to download this. Fantastic early 70s psych/acid tunes. Even one of Rolling Stone's people (eghhhhhh....) said it was the best Japanese rock he's ever heard. But he's probably an asshole, so it might be the only Japanese rock he's ever heard. I hate that magazine.
Download here:
http://www.mediafire.com/?kj90tkv8f92pf42
When I'm blowing smoke signals and this song comes on I do the "dat ass" face for some reason.
LASTLY
Naam - Kingdom EP (2009)
Now some new(ish) stuff. Naam is great music and definitely Flower Travellin' Band (see above) influenced. A little more modern, slower, and doomier though. There's so much reverb in these songs that even if a fart was thrown in there it would make me trip the fuck out. You can tell these guys just got together and wanted to make music that would be fun as shit to jam out to. I don't know what these brosteins look like, but I'm almost certain they all have long hair, and one of them probably wears bell bottoms. And in this context, that's definitely not a bad thing. Actually... maybe it is.
Green & Wood radiate an aural agony and gloomy atmosphere that few bands can match. Taking tips from early Electric Wizard, St. Vitus, and miscellaneous psychedelia; Green & Wood spew sonic frustration through repetition and spiritual transcendence. Sitting down and listening to this album in its entirety feels akin to getting loaded and reading the Necronomicon backwards while summoning the Fire Lord in the tongue of the Mad Arab Abdul Alhazred. 
