Mix CD #47 - Return From Cybertron

Hello and welcome to the 47th blog! One that is graced by the beautiful, wrathful visages of Optimus Prime and Ultra Magnus*!

As I said in my last Facebook post, that about 14 people saw, this is and isn't a themed mix. As the opening track is quite clearly a song about Transformers, I thought I'd see if any other songs I was planning on using had any geeky themes or titles and bung them on this mix too, much like I did with Mix 39 - Kid In The 80's.

As it is, maybe about half of the songs kind of fit the theme this time, though some only vaguely and in title alone. I'd have a put a bit more effort into it if I was doing a full themed mix but I'm not so I didn't. Each track is an absolute banger though so don't shed too many a tear.

Like the last few mixes seem to have been, there are acts from several different countries represented. Other than the usual Usses and Ukk's, there are acts from Belgium, The Netherlands, South Africa, Greece, France, Germany, Australia, and Norway. There's good music everywhere!

I'll be starting work on the next blog soon and I guess I should be thinking about what to do for the 50th blog as that'll be here soon too. I didn't think I'd get past 10 before everyone lost interest but there's still a few of you hanging on!

Cheers,
Luke
x

* There's Topspin, Twin Twist and Whirl up there too if you're bothered.

Tracklisting
Phantom Riffage - Return From Cybertron
Spiderbait - Shazam!
Nirvana - Mr. Moustache
Obzerv - Thought And Voice
MyNameIsJohn - Magic Candle
Bikini Kill - Suck My Left One
Things That Need To Be Fixed - Robots & Dragons
Omnerod - Ascaris
Crimson Riot - Here's the Bad News Laura (The Shake Machine Is Down)
Mos Generator - Red Canyons
Ghoultown - Drink With the Living Dead
Squares - I Need A Lot Of Love
Gygax - The Eyes Have It
Schtum - Skydiver
Moron Police - Steve Jobs Is Dead, But I'm Not
Drunktank - Army Of Darkness
XavlegbmaofffassssitimiwoamndutroabcwapwaeiippohfffX - March Of The Ants
MC Frontalot - Never Read The Comments
Fire Down Below - Roadburner
Young Urban Parasites - Action Man
Sellsword - Buccaneers

You can facilitate the audio waves to your matrix HERE

Phantom Riffage - Return From Cybertron
Taken from the 2004 album Slayed By Astro

Phantom Riffage are a Stoner Rock trio from Perth in Scotland and Slayed By Astro was their debut album. It's a little ramshackle but in an entertaining way and, as you might have gathered by their name, it's full of most excellent riffs. They have a sound that lies somewhere between Black Sabbath and Motörhead, I guess the vocals are something of an acquired taste but some of the songs, like this one, are infuriatingly catchy. The fact this song is about Transformers makes it just about perfect to me.

Spiderbait - Shazam!
Taken from the 1999 album Grand Slam

Another song built around a huge riff, this time it's an Australian band that combine elements of Alternate Rock, Punk Glam and a load of other bits an pieces. Bassist Janet and drummer Kram share lead vocals which adds even more eclecticism to their sound. Shazam! is a stomping Glam Rock anthem that I've been loving a lot lately. I've known of the band for a couple of decades but half only recently properly listened to them. I'm only the twenty years too late! 

Nirvana - Mr. Moustache
Taken from the 1989 album Bleach

Last week I read a book called Verse Chorus Verse by Chris Crisafulli that told the history of Nirvana via a song by song breakdown of thier discography. It had its flaws but was a pretty good read. There's also a transcript of Kurt's last interview before he died in it that's pretty interesting too. 
Anyway, reading that book rekindled my love for the band again and I've been listening to all the old albums. I'd forgotten that just how good a band they were, despite all the hype around them. 
While the other albums were perhaps better executed and Kurt's songwriting improved, Bleach has always been my favourite, I love the ragged, unfettered heaviness and anger juxtaposed with Kurt's odd sense of humour. It's quite a challenging listen in places and it's hard to equate the spiraling, chugging riff of Mr. Moustache and its chorus about poop as hard as rock with the multitude of folks wearing Nirvana t-shirts for fashion, not fandom*.

*I'm not being all Gatekeepy about it or anything, I just think it's a bit foolish to wear merch of a band you know nothing about.

Obzerv - Thought And Voice
Taken from the 2019 album Acherontia Atropos

Obzerv are a Greek Metalcore band who incorporate Djent and Progressive Metal into their pummelling sound. They're heavy, technical but not shy of melody or a good chorus. Vocalist Nikos roars his way through Thoughts And Voice, occasionally flipping to some heavily accented spoken word to good effect. 
Acherontia Atropos (the Latin name of the Death's Head Moth) is their second album and it's one that's really impressed me. The spelling of their name makes my eye twitch a little though.

MyNameIsJohn - Magic Candle
Taken from the 2015 album Brand New Life

I don't know a whole lot about John (if that is his real name), I can't find much info online and his Facebook has less than 70 likes but I've liked his stuff for a while now. 
I do know that he's French and writes some cool, vaguely nerdy, Indie/Folk/Pop songs. Like Magic Candle for instance. It's potters along cheerily with a gentle, catchy tune and a cool little chorus about them funny little everlasting candle things that relight when you blow them out. 
'Fun' fact: when I was a teenager, I almost burnt my Dad's house down, leaving one unattended.

Bikini Kill - Suck My Left One
Taken from the 1992 EP Bikini Kill

One of the founding Riot Grrrl bands, Bikini Kill were incredibly influential on a whole host of bands over the last 20 or so years.
Suck My Left One is a raw and defiant Feminist anthem about rape, domestic abuse and the general treatment of women. Kathleen Hanna sneers and wails her way through it, she's not the greatest singer but there's something about her voice I love. Her other bands Le Tigre and The Julie Ruin were arty Indie Rock but Bikini Kill were pure Punk fury.

Things That Need To Be Fixed - Robots & Dragons
Taken from the 2019 album Neverest

The fusing together of Pop Punk, Emo and Nu Metal must sound like something you couldn't imagine wanting to listen to less but Neverest is a bright, fun and enjoyable album with Robots & Dragons being one of the highlights. It's based around a Poppy stop/start riff and there are some sublime multipart harmonies in the chorus and the bridge and a brief bit of Angsty growling towards the end but, for the most part, it's all about the melody.

Omnerod - Ascaris
Taken from the 2019 album Arteries

I heard about this Belgian Progressive Metal band when the vocalist/guitarist Romain posted in a Prog group asking people to check out his band. I did as I was told and was pleasantly surprised.
Ascaris is one of the highlights of their second album Arteries, it starts off gentle and gradually builds in intensity until its crushing mid-section. Romain's vocals, both clean and growls, are great and remind me a lot of Mikael Akerfeldt of Opeth. The music has more of a modern feel than (old) Opeth's more Gothic imagery though.
Ascaris seems to be sung from the viewpoint of a tapeworm as it ruminates its existence and the meaning of life before eventually leaving the host though I assume it's more of a commentary on society and humanity etc.

Crimson Riot - Here's the Bad News Laura (The Shake Machine Is Down)
Taken from the 2019  album Classy Punk For Trashy People

With this track, Crimson Riot regale us with a woe-filled lament about not being able to get a milkshake from the Golden Arches when you really fancy one. There's something weirdly comforting in the knowledge that folk on the other side of the world have the same frustrations with McDonald's as they do in my poky little town in the North of England. Do the staff where you get your order wrong in some way at least 60% of the time? Are they trained to 'forget' to put the ketchup tubs in your bag?
Anyway, Crimson Riot are a Punk trio from Las Vegas with all three members of the band handling vocals at some point. They're pretty good!

Mos Generator - Red Canyons
Taken from the 2016 album Abyssinia

I came across Mos Generator on one of the Sucking The 70's compilations from legendary Stoner Rock label, Small Stone Recordings. At first, I thought they were the band formed by Nick Oliveri but that was Mondo Generator. They're a fairly traditional Desert/Stoner Rock band with a ton of big dusty riffs. Red Canyons is from their seventhish album, Abyssinia and it's a fast paced, catchy rock song with a chorus that's really stuck in my head lately. I like this song (and the band) a lot.

Ghoultown - Drink With The Living Dead
Taken from the 2008 album Live After Sundown

Ghoultown are a Gothic Rockabilly/Country band from Texas and Drink With The Living Dead was the first song of their I heard ad I fell in love. They're an interesting and fun band that don't really sound like anyone else. This song tells the tale of Stanton Cree, an undead cowboy cursed to wander the land, challenging strangers to a duel or a drinking contest until someone can beat him in one or the other. It's a fantastic song with a pretty cool animated video that you should watch. Ghoultown - Drink With The Living Dead

Squares - I Need A Lot Of Love
Taken from the 2019 album Squares

Though it has only recently been released, this album was actually recorded in the early '80s. The band split before it was finished when the guitarist, Joe Satriani, decided to pursue a solo career. They've been remastered, polished up and released now though and it's a pretty good album. They were a guitar-heavy Power Pop band that sound surprisingly fresh if very much of their time. The majority of the songs are short, simple and catchy ones with the emphasis on infectious choruses. While Squares are quite different from Joe's solo stuff, you can often recognise his playing style.

Gygax - The Eyes Have It
Taken from the 2019 album High Fantasy

Gygax are just about as geeky as you'd expect a classic Heavy Metal band named after the creator of Dungeons & Dragons to be. High Fantasy is their third album and it shows an incremental improvement to the previous two, Critical Hits and 2nd Edition The fantasy elements are surprisingly understated in their songs, or at least not completely over the top. The guitar interplay from Bryant and Wes is nice and there's kind of a Thin Lizzy feel to them. 
The Eyes Have It is about one of the monsters that most PC's fear: a Beholder. Forget about dragons, vampires, golems and all that shit, if you come up against an Eye Tyrant then at least one of your group is going to end up in a sulk and bringing a new character next week.

Schtum - Skydiver
Taken from the 1996 album Grow

I recently bought this CD (for a pound in Poundland) expecting it to be the kind of Post-Hardcore that bands like Hundred Reasons or Hell Is For Heroes had success with back in the day. While they do have that, there's also bits of Indie Rock, Art Rock and Post Punk in there too. Christian McNeill's thick Irish accent frequently comes through and that give them an added dimension. Grow is a really good album and, from what I can Google, they were a brilliant live band that were successful in Ireland and going down well on a US tour. Until they split while over there. 
Skydiver is one of the standout tracks on it and apparently also their biggest single. I love the way the guitars often seem to be playing independently of each other but still flow together well. Christian's vocal delivery is particularly manic on this one too.

Moron Police - Steve Jobs Is Dead, But I'm Not
Taken from the 2014 album Defenders Of The Small Yard

This Norwegian band are entertainingly mental. There's a crazy sense of joy that runs through their brand of Avant-Garde Metal that's refreshing and, while their songs are unpredictable and all over the place, the band never lose structure or a sense of melody. Sondre Skollevoll is a capable guitarist but it's his strong, clear voice that really impresses. 
They've just released their third album, A Boat On The Sea, and it's magnificent. I've only not included a track from that as it'll be in my AOTY post in December so I plumped for an older song instead.

Drunktank - Army Of Darkness
Taken from the 2019 album Return Of The Infamous Four

Recommended to me by my old pal Eddie, he thought I'd like this Dutch band's combination of Skate Punk and old school Heavy Metal. He wasn't wrong. The two disparate styles shouldn't work but they gel together seamlessly and this is a great album. I don't know if this song is about a generic undead army or if it's based on the Bruce Campbell movie of the same name but, whatever, it's a song about an undead army so that should be all the excuse you need to flash the horns and pull an ollie.

XavlegbmaofffassssitimiwoamndutroabcwapwaeiippohfffX - March Of The Ants
Taken from the 2018 album Gore 2.0

I investigated this South African band after seeing their name in a bands-with-ridiculous-names article and it turns out they're surprisingly listenable. For a Grindcore band. 
March Of The Ants kicks off with a nice sample from the Antz and powers along with some crushing riffs and unintelligible, but oddly catchy, grunts and squeals from the two vocalists. Do you remember the Australian band, The Bezerker? They remind me of them sometimes. 
Also, the ridiculous name doesn't stop there as it's actually an acronym. I'm not typing it out so, if you care, you can read it on Reddit HERE

MC Frontalot - Never Read The Comments
Taken from the 2019 album Net Split, Or The Fathomless Heartbreak Of Online Itself

Over the last 20 years or so, MC Frontalot has established himself as one of the big names in Nerdcore Hip Hop and he's the one who first coined the phrase. His latest album, Net Split, is themed around various aspects of the internet and Never Read The Comments is a light-hearted but vitriolic rant about trolls, not the under-the-bridge variety.

Fire Down Below - Roadburner
Taken from the 2016 album Viper Vixen Goddess Saint

Another Belgian band but a Stoner one this time. Roadburner is one of my favourite Stoner Rock songs at the moment, big chorus and a plethora of brilliant riffs, all within one track. It sounds just perfect vrooming puttering down Route 66 the A1 in my Chevrolet Renault.
It's taken from Fire Down Below's debut album, though they have a couple out now, both are worth checking out. I'm assuming their name is a reference to the diabolic bowels of Hell rather than a nasty bout of chlamydia but you never know.

Young Urban Parasites - Action Man
Taken from the 2016 EP EPII

The last couple of songs are by two, quite different bands, from my home town of York. The first are Young Urban Parasites, a Garage Punk band who, I think, have now split due to their vocalist, Sarah, returning to the States when they graduated (they are/were a student band). 
They've released a few bits and pieces that are all pretty good and available on Bandcamp. Action Man is one of the standout tracks and isn't about the rubber handed, tank driving hero of my youth, rather a physically strong, emotionally weak meathead determined to prove his manliness. I think.

Sellsword - Buccaneers
Taken from the 2019 album ...Unto The Breach

The second York-based band are the Mercenary Metal band, Sellsword. have just released their second album from which this epic tale of piracy on the high seas is taken. While not a comedy band as such, they're definitely not taking themselves too seriously and are all the better for it. Buccaneers is an epic singalong anthem about a ship full of pirates and it sounds glorious. There's plenty of galloping riffs and sweeping symphonics as well as Stuart Perry's soaring, and perfectly enunciated, vocals.