iron maiden s/t lp

i've been listening to a lot of maiden in my two month period of having no computer....and before that two. but what album should i start with? how about the first and one of the best. it's a lot more raw than they'd be known for. wonder if that's just because they were new at this. some people have point out how this sounds punk influenced. well sorry steeve but it realy does. and i beleive maiden did have some connections to punk. i don't remember what they were but i remember reading about them. paul's voice. you can't get much better than this! i love later albums like number of the beast and powerslave and the polished high vocals paul adds a layer of i guess you'd call it grit. his voice can go high but he sounds like some dude ready to fight. every other musician is great on this as well. this album gets ripped on for not being consistant or whatever. my responce, what the hell are you talking about? i don't really like the mix. compared to killers it's a pretty weak mix. other than that i can't find one falt with this record. even the two rerecorded songs from the demo are great. and i'm the first to say i usually don't like rerecorded songs. the magic seems to be gone most of the time. if you want a great example check the unholy death album by NME. anyway this is a must own if you like nwobhm. and if you don't....well i hate you. seriously get this and rock out!

circle one patterns of force lp

helloe! i'm back. the master of pt is back. bishop did a good job (of pissing me off) with those two reviews. now i'm back with some la hc. circle one are an interesting band. the first time i heard them was on the public service comp where they were a really good and raw hc band. so when i heard this lp i was like huh? it's an amazing record don't get me wrong but....it wasn't quite what i expected. the great (great as in clear not great as in actually good) production, the effects, john's vocals. what happened between the ps recordings and this lp? seriously i'd like to know. the lyrics range from good anti-war stuff to christian lyrics about how the evils of the world are caused by satan. john was a member of some christian hardcore gang that according to what i've read was quite violent. we all know how he died. the musicianship is really good for hc on this record. and john's vocals are actually really cool. i don't know why they changed sound or anything. but this lp needs to be in your hc collection. at least listen to it. btw if anyone can give me a coppy of the circle one demo i'd love to hear and review that. so.....get this! btw i'm back for good so you'll see more of my reviews and less of bishop's weirdness. seriously good job holding down the fort bishop. that's why i made you an admen.

The (International) Noise Conspiracy - A New Morning (2001)

Elliott has still vanished. I briefly considered doing a spin-off blog called "Where In The World Is Elliott Lindamood?" where I post from various countries whilst trying to find him, looking at the top of the Eiffel Tower and such, but I didn't want to give the impression that I care.

Anyway, the point is he hasn't come back. If he is indeed dead or something, I'll be sure to rename the blog to "Elliott Sucked" in his honor.

I'm going to continue reviewing drivel until he returns. There's only so much I can break this blog before he'll have to come crying back to save it (or destroy it, opinions pending).

ANYWAY.

The (International) Noise Consipiracy - A New Morning

1. A Northwest Passage

2. Up For Sale

3. Bigger Cages, Longer Chains

4. Breakout 2001

5. A Body Treatise

6. Born Into A Mess

7. New Empire Blues

8. Capitalism Stole My Virginity

9. Last Century Promise

10. Dead Language Of Love

11. A New Morning, Changing Weather

 Look at that tracklist. What the fuck is this, a politcal album? Oh no, the rabbit hole runs much deeper my friend, this is a political band.

I'm more than happy to throw my hands up and say I have a problem with political bands, and my problem is this - more often than not I know they're a political band before I've even heard a song. So when the band are throwing meanings at you without even hearing the first note, you have to wonder if music is the best route. Admittedly, The (International) Noise Conspiracy, with their silly name, aren't all that bad about it. I only figured out their songs had a political edge to them when researching for this review, although that may have been related to the fact that I also turned the album off after not long.

Anyway, the band play a sort of garage rock, slightly-punk-but-only-if-you-squint type music, mostly upbeat and easily dancable. The intro track is actually a good song, driven by the bass and drums with catchy vocals overlayed and never outstaying its welcome. There's some interesting use of random instruments you wouldn't expect from this sort of band, electric organs, horns and keyboards which work well to pad out the music. The songs are never guitar driven, which I have a soft spot for.

Songs like "Bigger Cages, Longer Chains" sound almost ska, which I hate and is probably where most of the dislike for this band stems from on my part. I can't make peace with it, at all. It's worth noting that while it sounds like it has a ska elements (the horns and the punk vocals, primarily) the songs are actually much slower and funkier than the drivel you'd expect from a ska band.

The songs walk back and forth between punk and rock, some being fairly light and others having more of a punk orientated guitar rhythm. Actually, listening to it now I don't mind it. I'm pretty sure I was going to hate this. Fuck sake.

According the Wikipedia, this album is actually called "A New Morning, Changing Weather", but where the fuck does it say that on the cover? It's the sort of shit that sends HMV employees into fits of rage. What sort of prat doesn't even have the correct details on an album cover?

"Bricklayer Anthems, Vol 1"

I'm pretty sure I hated this band half an hour ago. What the hell?

I guess the moral of the story is don't listen to politically motivated bands kids, 'cause they'll brainwash you. Now if you don't mind, I'm going to stand outside the local town hall quoting Rage Against the Machine for reasons I can't comprehend.