Shub-Niggurath Please

Vader - Out of the Deep
Morbus Chron - Red Hook Horror
Necromandus - Nightjar
Arkham Witch - Dagon's Bell
Briton Rites - A Meeting in the Woods
Orchid - Eyes Behind the Wall
Noctum - The Seance
The Wounded Kings - Return of the Sorcerer
Innsmouth - The She-Goat Quandary
Portal - Omnipotent Crawling Chaos
Abgott - Book 3-The Eye of Yog-Sothoth
Vasaeleth - Wrathful Deities
Necronomicon - Dreaming of the Old Ones
Thergothon - The Twilight Fade

Happy Halloween

Downer Rock Genocide

Here's another comp of British proto-metal, vaguely themed around an end of the world scenario.  I picked it up because I recognized a couple of bands on it: Necromandus, whose Lovecraftian "Nightjar"  is a staple on these sorts of compilations, and Bram Stoker, the spooky organ-heavy psych band responsible for the classic "Born to Be Free."  There's lots of other tasty bands here, like Red Dirt, purveyors of noisy blues-thud with a vocalist who sounds like a talking dog, and the cosmic weirdness of the Flying Hat Band.  This the perfect soundtrack for a cold grey day of whiskey drinking and teeth gnashing.

Long Live Man Dead

Melvins - The Undisputed Renegade Spaghetti Garage Pin-Ups

Here's another fairly thorough all-covers bootleg, this time from the mighty Melvins. Flipper, Wipers, Velvet Underground, Pink Floyd, Wendy Carlos, Fleetwood Mac, Malfunkshun, Warlock Pinchers even...something for everybody, mangled and stomped on. Interestingly, though this album is two full-length discs, many of The Melvins' better known covers don't appear here, perhaps assuming that anybody who would bother with
something this weird already owns them. It's a bit difficult to sit through the entire two hours, but there's tons of mixtape fodder and surprisingly reverent treatment, representing the breadth and depth of their influences.
Jerkin' Krokus

Do What Thou Wilt: The Satanic Rites of British Rock 1970 -1974

I can't seem to track down too much solid information regarding this mysterious vinyl-only compilation of early British psych and proto-metal bands so obscure they might have otherwise vanished from memory altogether. Limited to a mere 200 pressings, each with hand-painted covers, Do What Thou Wilt retains an aura of occult intent without especially living up to its own premise. Few of these songs are explicitly satanic; in fact the majority seem to address the usual concerns of the thuggish freaks who generally play this sort of music: sex, wanderlust, drugs, introspection, and misanthropy. I suppose these themes can be lumped under the "Do what thou wilt" motto, but so could, well, everything else.
Still, there's plenty of buried gems here: Shado's "Evil City," Grind's punkish "Rip Off," Wooden Lion's Alice Cooper-ish "Rise of the Moon," the legendary "Fuck You" single from Lucifer, and bands with names like Pony, Heatwave, Yellow, and Unicorn. Plus Tonge's Crushed Butler dead-ringer "Looking at the Moon," a recent repeat play for your host. A refreshing antidote to the proggish frilly-shirt-and-codpiece pomposity that began to infect British rock around this time, file this one alongside America's Nuggets or Back From the Grave series.

Do What

Angel Dust - Music for Movie Bikers

This wild compilation collects the best and strangest cuts from the late sixties-early seventies biker flick wave, mostly wild surf/instrumental stuff peppered with hilarious samples. Davie Allan & the Arrows, who make up about a third of the tracks, basically pioneered the sound associated with these movies: psychedelic surf more influenced by cheap acid and speed and the open road than the relatively benign themes most of the genre is associated with. Also notable is the Paul Wibier forgotten gem "Satan (Theme)," which absolutely floored me upon first listen and has subsequently appeared on many a mixtape since. A shocking story of a child raised to kill for Satan, its matter-of-fact lyrics and easy lounge vibe combine to create an aura of hedonistic Manson-esque menace. Shuffle in a little abstract cocktail jazz and some unclassifiable strangeness and you've got a wonderful soundtrack for a pill-fueled orgy in the woods followed by a berserk rampage through whatever shithole town you're cruising through today, brothers and sisters.
Skip to my Mary J

Banged Up: American Jailhouse Songs

This fairly self-explanatory collection of blues, hillbilly, and early rock music spans thirty years and includes such household names as Johnny Cash, Bessie Smith, Jimmie Rogers, and Swamp hero Bukka White, alongside a wide spectrum of lesser-knowns. Of note are Smith's absolutely brutal "Send Me To The 'Lectric Chair" and the barnstorming "Riot in Cell Block 9," alongside Leroy Carr's hilarious "Christmas in Jail, Ain't That a Shame." Not much else to say, so reach for the sky, punk.

Motörhead - Covers

This here is a fan-made bootleg collecting, yes, a bunch of Motörhead cover versions: Enter Sandman, Breaking the Law, The Trooper, Whiplash, etc. Purists will note that "Ramones" is actually a Motörhead song which the Ramones later covered and "Hellraiser" is a Lemmy/Ozzy collaboration, which technically makes it not a cover, but we're not here to split hairs, are we? Also I should note that completists may wish to obtain the seven inch record of Motörhead and Wendy O. Williams covering "Stand By You Man," just to round out the bunch. I didn't mess with the track listing but I did correct and normalize all the tags and volumes, right down to the last umlaut. This is by no means complete but it is a nice, CD-length compilation for rocking by the pool in your obscene little shorty shorts.
It's a Long Way to the Top

Back From the Grave vol. 2

Well then, seeing as how lately the weird psych records get about ten times as many downloads as the heavy metal records that usually end up as seat-fillers here in the Swamp, I can only assume that they must be striking a chord with a greater percentage of my darling Swamplings. Far be it for me to deny the silent whims of my little ones, so let's get this one right on out there. I posted the first record in this crucial Crypt Records series some time ago, but I must admit this one might be my favorite.

Less explicitly horror-themed than the first volume, the songs on this one tend to skew more towards drug-induced paranoia and general social rebellion than the previous entry; still, there is nonetheless a wide variety of ugly, anti-establishment punk sentiment to abrade up against delicate sensibilities. Highlights include motorcycle anthem "Willie the Wild One," the similarly free-wheeling "Wild-Man," and "City of People," a genuine immortal classic full of teenage sneer and delirious hate. This is not to diminish the other twenty-something tracks: there's plenty of soured love, bad trips, and 'Nam-era cynicism to go around, too.
What in the World

Java Java Indonesia Screaming Fuzz

Back just under the wire for a quick post. Here we have a surf/psych/weirdness comp from Indonesia, full of wild, wacky tiki rock for the space-age caveman in your life. Sorry for the kiss and run but it's time to hibernate after an extended psychedelic weekend. More gibberish tomorrow, gentle reader.
Tinggalkan Ku Sa Orang

African Sixties Garage vol. 1

Some great stuff on the turntable today, a compilation of sub-Saharan garage from the era where American fifties rock and sixties punk, along with British invasion sounds, began to filter out of the radios of white colonizers and out into greater Africa. There's little information on these bands, and the sounds vary greatly from songs almost indistinguishable from their northern hemisphere counterparts to crazy fusions of local rhythms and patois with off-kilter surf and psych. Twenty three songs, and not a dud among them. This is in the same league as the mighty Nuggets and Back From the Grave comps, but almost from another planet.
No Money No Honey

Let's Get Drunk Again

Juiced

Thou Shalt Suffer - Into the Woods of Belial

Thou Shalt Suffer was the pre-Emperor death metal band of Ihsahn, Ildjarn, and Samoth. This compilation contains their demo, 7" EP, and a live set, all recorded in 1991, just before the shift from death metal into black. Consequently this group gets little love from die-hard black metal nerds and is rarely held up as an example of classic old-school death metal, either. Sad, that is, because the material here is pure, soul-snuffing Lovecraftian foulness. Hints of their future direction crop up during the intro, various gothic keyboard flourishes, and, in the case of Ildjarn, the gritty, hissing sound quality. Thou Shalt Suffer eventually became an ambient/drone side project for Ihsahn before he struck out under his own name - look for the album Somnium if that sounds like your cup of tea, but be warned there is little in common with this.
I seek the path of obscurity

Attack of the One Man Bands

What we have here is just what it says on the box: two cds of one man bands (non black metal variety), almost sixty songs, for the low low price of your soul. Most of these characters are of the Hasil Adkins school of slightly inept hillbilly rock n' roll, although many of them are surely not real hillbillies. Ah, who cares though, looking at the list of names is like perusing a roster of low-rent villains: Al Foul, Toothless George, Chuck Violence, Guitar Fucker, Uncle Butcher, etc. Not a huge amount of variety here, as it's a pretty narrow sub-genre, but like your solitary bedroom black metal grinches it's more about passion and emotion than writing songs or learning to play.
Music for the Asses.

Death Dealers

Speaking of morbid, here's something so twisted that it might make you a bad person just for listening to it, let alone posting it on your blog thing. This is a compilation of country and punk music about serial killers, interspersed with interviews with actual serial killers. Unfortunately (or perhaps not), this version isn't entirely complete: interviews with John Wayne Gacy, Jeffrey Dahmer, and Albert DeSalvo were scrambled in the great hard drive crash of 2010, and unsurprisingly I can't find this anywhere else on the internet. All of the songs are present, however, from Red River Dave's laid back "California Hippie Murders" to The Bugs' disgustingly sincere twin odes to DeSalvo's Boston Strangler incarnation. I really can't condone this, but it's a fascinating document. Make of it what you will.
Do you think I'm psycho, Mama?

Back From The Grave volume 1

This was the first in a series of LPs released by Crypt Records in the Nuggets mode - that is, collections of forgotten 45 rpm records by forgotten sixties punk bands. Back From the Grave gravitated towards the most brain-damaged, nasty, weird end of the spectrum, generally eschewing pretty psych in favor of bludgeoning stupidity and atavism. In other words, Swamp material for sure! All of these collections are excellent but naturally a lot of primo slop ended up on this one. Notable entries include surf combo The Novas performing "The Crusher," widely recognized as the first example of what would become death metal vocals, covers of genre-defining horror tales "Jack the Ripper" and "Psycho," and some originals eventually covered by the likes of The Mummies, Dwarves, and many more.
That's the Bag I'm In

Gardens of Grief / In the Embrace of Evil

We've really been stretching the limits of our thematic mission here in the Swamp lately, partially to keep thing interesting for my lovely readers, but also to ensure that we shan't run out of material soon. However, we don't want to lose sight of our goals, yes? In keeping with this, I present a split compact disc reissuing both At the Gates' Gardens of Grief and a compilation of works by their larval band Grotesque. I'm sure you all know At the Gates well and I do not feel the need to pontificate on their legacy at the moment (you may not possess this early demo cassette recording). What we are really here for is the Grotesque material, specifically "Spawn of Azathoth." This song is a flawless tribute to our Mad Demon Sultan and the surrounding music is no less stellar. This is really an under-appreciated, sparkling black gem in the crown of heavy metal, and essential to all true cultists.

I make you writhe in torment
Speaking my words with your tongue

Satanic Verses

1. Tech N9ne - What’s Yo Psycho?
2. Jedi Mind Tricks - Suicide
3. Geto Boys - Chuckie
4. Insane Poetry - In The Mouth Of Maddness
5. Gravediggaz - Graveyard Chamber
6. Esham - 666
7. Jay-Z - Lucifer
8. Brotha Lynch Hung - Dead Man Walking
9. Cage - The Soundtrack...
10. Bone - Hell Sent
11. Canibus - Layered Prayers
12. Ganksta N-I-P - Horror Movie Rap
13. Flatlinerz - Satanic Verses
14. NATAS - Like A Spirit
15. Big L - Da Graveyard
16. Ras Kass - Interview With A Vampire

Obligatory Halloween Mix

The Nova Convention

Strange weather keeps making the power cut in and out. Moments ago I was alone and in the dark but for a single flickering candle, and now here we are together in the Swamp. Let's not waste time: here's The Nova Convention, another William S. Burroughs project with contributions by Bryon Gysin, Patty Smith, Phillip Glass, Timothy Leary, John Cage, Frank Zappa, and Robert Anton Wilson, among others. Dark, heinous weirdness, oh yes.

Africa - Ritual and Witchcraft Music

Little comment needs to be made about this enthralling 1975 field recording from Kenya and Tanzania, but volumes are spoken by the music. The liner notes pontificate at length about the intertwined nature of healing and magic and music, but you'll find no extrapolation here. This record rattles and shakes and stomps, but continuous tones humming in the background cast a hypnotic spell.
Ngoma ra mrongo

Fenriz AKA D.J.K.V.O.M. - "At the Mountains of Madness" Mixtape

In celebration of this news, have at this mixtape by Fenriz of Darkthrone, alias "DJ Vast Knowledge of Music." Originally made for some online magazine, it's a freeform exploration of, well, madness, I suppose, but it really just sounds like a random string of various songs he likes, from Alan Parsons to Christian Death and far beyond. Yet another album loosely inspired by At the Mountains of Madness - I could almost make this a weekly feature.
Imagination could conceive almost anything in connexion with this place.