FLIED EGG Good Bye (Universal Japan) cd 22.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Yes that's right, Flied not Fried Egg. Uh, 'cause they're Japanese. Think about it. Hey, it's their joke. Anyway, this one's for all you '70s heaviness lovin' proto-metal fans, it's something that we got in along with the Flower Travellin' Band reissues we listed last time. Goodbye is Flied Egg's second of two albums (both '72, and both on the famed Vertigo label, best known as the home of Black Sabbath). We also intend to review their first one, with the marvelous title of Dr. Siegel's Fried Egg Shooting Machine, which as you might guess is some pretty wild acid psych. We decided to list Goodbye first, though, just 'cause we can simply say it's a no-brainer for Blue Cheer fans.
Basically, this album is distinctly (even on cd) split between two sides, the first half recorded live, possibly at their farewell concert, we'd guess from the title. This in-concert portion is the heaviest, it's all bad ass fuzzed out blooze rawk swagger that makes us think Blue Cheer, Blue Cheer, Blue Cheer! (Also Grand Funk/Cactus/Mountain.) Hear 'em rile up a cheering crowd with these party-pleasers: "Leave Me Woman", "Rolling Down The Broadway" (a stompin' composition that appears in a studio version on their debut), Josea/King's "Rock Me Baby", and the twelve-minute-plus "Five More Pennies", which includes a drum solo in addition to all the acid guitar excess. Following all that, the studio half of the album gets a bit more proggy and wigged out (ending with a multi-part piece entitled "521 Seconds Schizophrenic Symphony"!) while also containing a couple of mellower melodic numbers, the sad and gentle "Out To Sea" and "Goodbye My Friends".
Members of Flied Egg also did time in some other hard rockin' underground Japanese psych acts whose reissues we've previously reviewed, including Strawberry Path and Brush!?... if you dig those, or the likes of FTB, Blues Creation, Speed Glue & Shinki, or Too Much, then Flied Egg is for you too.
MPEG Stream: "Rolling Down The Broadway (live)"
MPEG Stream: "Five More Pennies (live)"

FLITTERMICE OF ELD s/t (self-released) cd-r 5.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Flittermice Of Eld are another band that, if were we not actually listening to it right now and holding the disc in our hands, we would be tempted to think that this was just made up -- one of those 'amazing' ideas you have that is just too nuts to actually bring to fruition. It's too perfect. One of those records, that were someone to ask, we would have to say epitomizes the perfect AQ record. Killer band name, amazingly bizarre concept, fucked up sound. Hard to believe it wasn't just some fever dream. But nope, here it is. Flittermice Of Eld, according to the band, "both a musical tribute to and critique of black metal." Sonically this is not at all black metal, but it is infused with the spirit of black metal. There are no riffs or vocals, no pounding drums, instead it's a strange concoction of noise and texture, drone and ambience, but with all the basic pitches for the guitar and bass parts generated from a few specific collections of notes from the Darkthrone song "As Flittermice as Satan's Spys" from their classic Transilvanian Hunger album. Whatthefuck? So basically we have this bizarre ambient dronoise record based on a handful of notes from a Darkthrone song?! Fuck yeah!
The first few minutes are a dense clattery improvised skree, clanging and grinding and super chaotic, but this gives way to a dark, slow shifting reverberant drone, that pulses and throbs beneath a smattering of high end twinkles and streaks of glistening feedback. The final 'movement' is a wild atonal no-wave tangle of angular guitar riffing and stumbling bass, an abstract progscape of buzz and twang, a sort of damaged shredfest, loosed from its metal moorings.
Darkthrone would be proud.
Packaged in a hand screened fold over card stock cover, with handwritten liner notes on the back cover. ULTRA LIMITED OBVIOUSLY!
MPEG Stream: "Excerpt 1"
MPEG Stream: "Excerpt 2"

FLOOD Native (MeteorCity) cd 11.98
More crushing slo-mo heaviness from right here in SF... For a while it seemed like most of the bands we were hearing ooze out of the Bay Area tended toward the psychedelic (Wooden Shjips, Sleepy Sun, etc), or at the the other end of the spectrum, the abstract and avant, but SF has a rich history of extreme heaviness as most music obsessives are well aware, and recently, there seems to be yet another heaving, pummeling wave of misanthropic metallic crush burbling to the surface, Prizehog for one, a killer 3 piece, drums guitar and synth, who we dug so much we had play our South By Southwest showcase, and they did in fact lay waste. And now Flood, another band that seem to have a little Harvey Milk in 'em, which is NEVER a bad thing. A sludgey, doomy, lugubrious crawl, lots of space, chords sprawling and ringing out, the drums a sporadic pound, the song almost skeletal, until the band lock in and PULVERIZE.
The weird thing about Flood, is that even at their heaviest, they still sound a little dreamy, a little blissed out, the sound more woozy and washed out and warm than jagged and sharp, but somehow that doesn't at all take away from their power. What it does more than anything, is add a space rocky psychedelic element, sometimes subtle, other times more overt, but always seemingly present.
The vocals bellow, wreathed in clouds of reverb and delay, the songs groove, but slowly, dizzily, the band tight, but able to sound loose. There are long stretches of blissed out minimal shimmer, some cool, moody mathy breakdowns, even some abstract ambience with waves crashing, wind, bird call, but all woven into Flood's tripped out, doom-ed stoner space sludge. Killer stuff. For anyone who digs, Sleep, Om, Harvey Milk, Prizehog, Melvins, Wildildlife, Like A Kind Of Matador, Zoroaster, Electric Wizard and all those sorts of spaced out heavies.
MPEG Stream: "Aphelion"
MPEG Stream: "Dam"

FLOOR Below and Beyond (Robotic Empire) 8cd 25.00
Obviously an EIGHT cd set, comprising a band's entire recorded output, is most likely not for the dabbler, or the casually curious. But if you're anything like us, and have been obsessed with the band Floor, the band that turned into Torche, who managed to turn their downtuned sludge into a sort of insanely hooky, ultra heavy sludge pop, and if like us you were tempted to buy the outrageously over the top 8 cd AND 8 lp TWO HUNDRED DOLLAR box set, then this is for YOU. No vinyl, although it's packaged in a gatefold lp sleeve, this is eight cds, including the band's two proper releases, their s/t record and their Dove record as well as every single, compilation track, demo, live track, unreleased rarity, more Floor than most folks could possible need. But there are definitely some of you, like us, who will for sure need this. Need a Floor refresher? Here's what we had to say about the band's swansong Dove, included here:
Those of you who were into the whole punk/grind/crust scene in the nineties probably remember Floor, a ubiquitous presence at shows and on split 7"s, always confounding the punk rockers with their downtuned sludge and un-punk songwriting and two-guitar, drums, NO bass lineup. Imagine Nirvana's Bleach, but bury all the Beatles popishness so ubiquitous in those songs under even more layers of sludge. It's like Cavity covering Nirvana. Or a less purposefully annoying Melvins. Lots of pounding dynamics, hovering guitar sustain, and squealing feedback. And although the proceedings are almost always pinned down by a crushing slab of sonic sludge, that doesn't keep Floor from getting all poppy, like on the downright catchy "Figure It Out" complete with melodic vocals and catchy as fuck chorus. But it's always back to the hypnotic repetitive dirge, culminating in the 20 minute sixth track "Dove" (members of Floor would go on to be in a band called Dove), a slow motion, chugging juggernaut of muffled riffing and caveman drumming. But that's not all, there's a final blow, a fifteen minute minimal metal workout. Two chords, endless sustain and a simple pounding rhythm. File that track in your drone metal section right next your SUNNO))) and Earth. For fans of the Melvins, Gore, Corrupted, Boris, Nirvana and all things slow and sludgy!
And here's what we had to say about their debut full length:
One of our all time favorite sludge/metal/grind bands, who until now, had only released tracks on compilations and seven inches, finally unleashes a full length, and instead of wallowing in their underground-basement-split-seven-inch past and rehashing their slow motion grind (in the style of Cavity and Eyehategod), they've added LOTS of clean vocals and a surprising amount of melody, ending up with a sound somewhere between your favorite pop punk emo band, the Melvins, late period Fudge Tunnel, and Nirvana, but way, way heavier. Seriously. They've turned into a honest to goodness pop band, but a downtuned, amps-on-11, super-distorted, kick-in-the-guts pop band. Great production too with super distorted low end that makes their huge bursts of guitar sound like the end of the world!
And those constitute just TWO of the EIGHT discs. Phew!
The packaging is really cool too. A thick gatefold sleeve, inside one of the pockets is a massive 12" x 12" full color booklet, with extensive liner notes, track listings, photos, as well as reproductions of all the record covers, and in the middle, in the gatefold, the 8 cds are housed in little slots, affixed to the jacket, with the disc artwork matching the background artwork. Super sweet, and most definitely recommended. But mostly to the more obsessive amongst you!
MPEG Stream: "Namaste"
MPEG Stream: "In A Day"
MPEG Stream: "Scimitar"
MPEG Stream: "Return To Zero"
MPEG Stream: "Downed Star"

FLOOR s/t (No Idea) cd 12.98
One of our all time favorite sludge/metal/grind bands, who until now, had only released tracks on compilations and seven inches. Must be at least 7 or 8 years now that Floor have been contributing their downtuned dementia to the underground scene and they have managed to remain pretty unknown. Hopefully this full length will change that. And it really should, cause their sound has definitely changed with the times. Instead of wallowing in their underground-basement-split-seven-inch past and rehashing their slow motion grind (in the style of Cavity and Eyehategod), they've added LOTS of clean vocals and a surprising amount of melody, ending up with a sound somewhere between your favorite pop punk emo band, the Melvins, late period Fudge Tunnel, and Nirvana, but way, way heavier. Seriously. They've turned into a honest to goodness pop band, but a downtuned, amps-on-11, super-distorted, kick-in-the-guts pop band. Great production too with super distorted low end that makes their huge bursts of guitar sound like the end of the world! Way recommended.
RealAudio clip: "Scimitar"
RealAudio clip: "Return To Zero"
RealAudio clip: "Downed Star"

FLOOR / DOVE split (Berserker / Crucial Blast) 7" 3.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The long awaited return of the mighty Floor! What's it been? 5 years? 6 years? Either way it's been too long! These masters of sludge kick out the jams, slow motion style, ala Eyehategod or Grief, with huge pregnant pauses, crushed flat by downtuned riffs and buliding momentum until these bursts of sludge coalescee into a crushing dirge. A great song, maybe one of their best, but boy it's a little brief. Hope there's more where that came from. The B side is by a band called Dove, who we had never heard of before, but they do the sludgy metallic punk thing too, musically in the same ballpark but the vocals tend to get a little grating. Worth it just for the Floor track!

FLOOR / DOVE split (Berserker / Crucial Blast) 7" 3.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The long awaited return of the mighty Floor! What's it been? 5 years? 6 years? Either way it's been too long! These masters of sludge kick out the jams, slow motion style, ala Eyehategod or Grief, with huge pregnant pauses, crushed flat by downtuned riffs and buliding momentum until these bursts of sludge coalescee into a crushing dirge. A great song, maybe one of their best, but boy it's a little brief. Hope there's more where that came from. The B side is by a band called Dove, who we had never heard of before, but they do the sludgy metallic punk thing too, musically in the same ballpark but the vocals tend to get a little grating. Worth it just for the Floor track!

FLOWER TRAVELLIN' BAND Anywhere (Hagakure) cd 29.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Before we launch into what's gonna be relatively long-winded review, let's just state up front that this has the best album cover EVER: the band themselves cruising down a rural highway on choppers wearing nothing but their birthday suits!! And this version sees the orginal gatefold recreated for the cd-era, mini-LP sleeve style. But if that's not enough to get you to buy this, read on...
Not long ago we gave a big thumbs up to the album "Satori", the masterpiece from Japanese '70s psych rockers the Flower Travellin' Band (note: we're still waiting to get more of those in stock, they're backordered at our distributor!). Now, however, we've got a brand new reissue of the Flower Travellin' Band's debut album, "Anywhere". It certainly doesn't scale the heights of "Satori" but it'll help you to understand how they got there. Along with a great take on "House Of The Rising Sun" (a nod to Frijid Pink?), this album also explicitly demonstrates, via covers, these Japanese freaks' radical recognition of the genius of two of their Western contemporaries, Black Sabbath and King Crimson. Like many other great artists, with humble beginnings Japan's Flower Travellin' Band cut their teeth on the material of their mentors. Though "Anywhere" -- released in 1970 -- is primarily a covers album, it's also quite a testament to both the band's veracity in their reproductions and their creativity in realigning the building blocks of rock & roll. Their cover of Black Sabbath's self-titled track was actually recorded in the same year as the original and their version of King Crimson's "21st Century Schizoid Man" only a year after its release. And they aren't merely content to play only the "Schizoid Man" opening riff, like so many other bands that have attempted to cover it, but take on the entire piece in all its schizophrenic freaked out glory, getting waaay into the improv element of the mid-section. The same is true for "Black Sabbath" and you have to appreciate singer Joe's take on the unique Ozzy voice. The most interesting track on the record though has to be their attempt at straight-up blues rock -- while their "Louisiana Blues" starts and finishes almost pedestrianly enough on the "Minglewood Blues" riff by Gus Cannon (of Cannon's Jug Stompers) that was popularized in the rock scene by the likes of The Grateful Dead and Captain Beefheart, the interior of the song is a complete departure of sorts. Not only devoid of the original progression, it's not even "bluesy" at all. Here in the extended jam that makes up the meat of this musical sandwich, the Flower Travellin' Band's Eastern roots surface a bit. It's a precursor to the sound of their later albums "Satori" and "Made In Japan" (another great one which we'll be reviewing in the future if we can ever get any stock of it in quantity).
MPEG Stream: "Louisiana Blues"
MPEG Stream: "Black Sabbath"

FLOWER TRAVELLIN' BAND Anywhere (Universal Japan) cd 22.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
At long last, back in stock! The cd reissue of the 1970 debut album from AQ faves Flower Travellin' Band is still a Japanese import, but on a different label at a cheaper price (yay!), and is now housed in a regular jewelcase this time rather than a mini-lp styled sleeve. Before we launch into what's gonna be relatively long-winded review, let's just state up front that this has the best album cover EVER: the band themselves cruising down a rural highway on choppers wearing nothing but their birthday suits!! But if that's not enough to get you to buy this, read on...
As you may know, we've given a big thumbs up to the album Satori, the masterpiece from Japanese '70s psych rockers the Flower Travellin' Band [Satori is is also back in stock in a Japanese pressing, reviewed this list too].
Anywhere doesn't quite scale the heights of Satori but it'll help you to understand how they got there. Along with a great take on "House Of The Rising Sun" (a nod to Frijid Pink?), this album also explicitly demonstrates, via covers, these Japanese freaks' radical recognition of the genius of two of their Western contemporaries, Black Sabbath and King Crimson. Like many other great artists, with humble beginnings Japan's Flower Travellin' Band cut their teeth on the material of their mentors. Though Anywhere is primarily a covers album, it's also quite a testament to both the band's veracity in their reproductions and their creativity in realigning the building blocks of rock & roll. Their cover of Black Sabbath's self-titled track was actually recorded in the same year as the original and their version of King Crimson's "21st Century Schizoid Man" only a year after its release. And they aren't merely content to play only the "Schizoid Man" opening riff, like so many other bands that have attempted to cover it, but take on the entire piece in all its schizophrenic freaked out glory, getting waaay into the improv element of the mid-section. The same is true for "Black Sabbath" and you have to appreciate singer Joe's take on the unique Ozzy voice. The most interesting track on the record though has to be their attempt at straight-up blues rock -- while their "Louisiana Blues" starts and finishes almost pedestrianly enough on the "Minglewood Blues" riff by Gus Cannon (of Cannon's Jug Stompers) that was popularized in the rock scene by the likes of The Grateful Dead and Captain Beefheart, the interior of the song is a complete departure of sorts. Not only devoid of the original progression, it's not even "bluesy" at all. Here in the extended jam that makes up the meat of this musical sandwich, the Flower Travellin' Band's Eastern roots surface a bit. It's a precursor to the sound of their later albums Satori and Made In Japan.
MPEG Stream: "Louisiana Blues"
MPEG Stream: "Black Sabbath"

FLOWER TRAVELLIN' BAND Anywhere (Phoenix) lp 24.00
NOW REISSUED ON VINYL! Currently, there's no cd reissue we can get, though we suspect one might be forthcoming from the same label. This is the 1970 debut album these aQ faves, and before we launch into our relatively long-winded review of it, let's just state up front that this has the best album cover EVER: the band themselves cruising down a rural highway on choppers wearing nothing but their birthday suits!! But if that's not enough to get you to buy this, read on...
As you may know, we've given a big thumbs up to the album Satori, the masterpiece from Japanese '70s psych rockers the Flower Travellin' Band. While Anywhere doesn't quite scale the heights of Satori, it'll help you to understand how they got there. Along with a great take on "House Of The Rising Sun" (a nod to Frijid Pink?), this album also explicitly demonstrates, via covers, these Japanese freaks' radical recognition of the genius of two of their Western contemporaries, Black Sabbath and King Crimson. Like many other great artists, with humble beginnings Japan's Flower Travellin' Band cut their teeth on the material of their mentors. Though Anywhere is primarily a covers album, it's also quite a testament to both the band's veracity in their reproductions and their creativity in realigning the building blocks of rock & roll. Their cover of Black Sabbath's self-titled track was actually recorded in the same year as the original and their version of King Crimson's "21st Century Schizoid Man" only a year after its release. And they aren't merely content to play only the "Schizoid Man" opening riff, like so many other bands that have attempted to cover it, but take on the entire piece in all its schizophrenic freaked out glory, getting waaay into the improv element of the mid-section. The same is true for "Black Sabbath" and you have to appreciate singer Joe's take on the unique Ozzy voice. The most interesting track on the record though has to be their attempt at straight-up blues rock - while their "Louisiana Blues" starts and finishes almost pedestrianly enough on the "Minglewood Blues" riff by Gus Cannon (of Cannon's Jug Stompers) that was popularized in the rock scene by the likes of The Grateful Dead and Captain Beefheart, the interior of the song is a complete departure of sorts. Not only devoid of the original progression, it's not even "bluesy" at all. Here in the extended jam that makes up the meat of this musical sandwich, the Flower Travellin' Band's Eastern roots surface a bit. It's a precursor to the sound of their later albums Satori and Made In Japan.
MPEG Stream: "Louisiana Blues"
MPEG Stream: "Black Sabbath"

FLOWER TRAVELLIN' BAND Made In Japan (Warner Japan) cd 23.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Flower Travellin' Band mania has gripped Byram and Allan and others of us here at AQ. After the success of our review of the reissues of their masterpiece Satori and their debut Anywhere, we feel we ought to keep going through the catalog of this stellar '70s Japanese heavy psych rock outfit. Those who couldn't get enough of FTB's Satori will be pleased to know that their follow-up, third release Made In Japan is nearly every bit as good. Singer Joe's voice still rings in the creepy falsetto style like Alan Bishop of the Sun City Girls singing balls out heavy metal vocals. As with their previous album, "Made In Japan" continued to fuse the heavy rock of early (contemporary, to them) Sabbath with Eastern melodies. I guess they decided after their perfect rendition of "Black Sabbath" on their first record, that such was their calling. Then again, "Heaven And Hell", the penultimate track here, is as pure a channeling of Jimi Hendrix as anything. The mellow closing track "That's All", with its koto glissandi, parallels "Part V" on Satori and like that track, it's perhaps the most overtly Eastern in tone. But it's Joe's vocal line that really kicks ass. At the end of the chorus he adds a little cadenza to his howl, extending the vocal line just beyond where one's intuitively expecting a cadence. It works so fucking well, makes me stop whatever I'm doing to listen, that I wonder why more song writers don't pull that shit more often.
MPEG Stream: "Hiroshima"
MPEG Stream: "That's All"

FLOWER TRAVELLIN' BAND Made In Japan ( Phoenix) cd 17.98
Japanese psych fiends rejoice! 'Bout time Flower Travellin' Band's ironically titled Made In Japan (ironic 'cause it was recorded in Canada) was available again, now via the Phoenix label, who have also done FTB's Satori, and more recently, Make Up (chronologically, the original release of this falls in between those two). We used to have an expensive Japanese import, years ago, and this is more or less what we said about it then:
Flower Travellin' Band mania has gripped us here at AQ. After the success of our review of the reissues of their masterpiece Satori and their debut Anywhere, we feel we ought to keep going through the catalog of this stellar '70s Japanese heavy psych rock outfit. Those who couldn't get enough of FTB's Satori will be pleased to know that their follow-up, third release Made In Japan from 1972 is nearly every bit as good. Singer Joe's voice still rings in the creepy falsetto style like Alan Bishop of the Sun City Girls singing balls out heavy metal vocals. As with their previous album, Made In Japan continues to fuse the heavy rock of early (contemporary, to them) Black Sabbath with Eastern melodies. I guess they decided after their perfect rendition of "Black Sabbath" on their first record, that such was their calling. Then again, "Heaven And Hell" (not the Sabbath song, that would have required precognition!) the penultimate track here, is as pure a channeling of Jimi Hendrix as anything. The mellow closing track "That's All", with its koto glissandi, parallels "Part V" on Satori and like that track, it's perhaps the most overtly Eastern in tone. But it's Joe's vocal line that really kicks ass. At the end of the chorus he adds a little cadenza to his howl, extending the vocal line just beyond where one's intuitively expecting a cadence. It works so fucking well, makes us stop whatever we're doing to listen, that we wonder why more song writers don't pull that shit more often.
Oh, and you gotta love the brief intro track on this album, a radio spot for a stadium concert in Toronto circa '72 that featured Flower Travellin' Band appearing alongside the likes of ELP and Bob Seger! Wow.
MPEG Stream: "Kamikaze"
MPEG Stream: "Hiroshima"
MPEG Stream: "That's All"

FLOWER TRAVELLIN' BAND Satori (Warner Japan) cd 23.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
This is one of those albums that's neither new, nor even a recent reissue, but that we here at Aquarius decided, heck, let's list, it deserves it! (While this disc already appears on our website, it was never actually *listed* in any of our newsletters.) So while many might already know this album backwards and forwards, it has most certainly slipped through the cracks for too many others out there. Being a Japan-only import can't help. Allan wisely reordered some copies recently (when a customer special ordered it for themselves on-line) and Byram, unwittingly playing it in the store, found himself getting progressively more obsessed with the album (and the band)! It wasn't long before Jim and Marcy were also finding themselves hooked. Now almost any day you come into the store, you'll hear the Flower Travellin' Band blaring.
This is an album (and a band) that are not celebrated nearly enough -- possibly out of misguided notions of their being another bad psych knock-off among the many crowding the record racks in the early seventies. But Japan's Flower Travellin' Band were no mere cheesy imitators of occidental rock 'n roll, they were in actual fact a full-fledged, pioneering tour de force of psychedelic progressive hard rock, equalling the krautrock heavies of the era. FTB can be compared favorably to Amon Duul's better efforts with their experimental meandering (think Yeti), and the best trancey spaceouts from Can. Yet there's never a sense that FTB lose track of their compositions no matter how far out they take a track. Perhaps because even more than these experimental Krautrockers, FTB's heavy (fucking ominously heavy) sound points to a major Sabbath, Purple, and Crimson influence. Released in 1971, Satori is the band's second and arguably best album. From the first screech/howl at the beginning of track one -- "Satori Part I" (the tracks on the album are all "Satori", parts I-V) -- from vocalist Joe, who inhabits a zone somewhere between Can's Damo Suzuki and Deep Purple's Ian Gillan, the album gets straight down to business. Joe's scream is followed by a foreboding bass, guitar and drum dirge that's straight up collision between Cream and Black Sabbath in which no one survives. It's got so much more teeth than either, it's not even funny, predating punk by a good many years. "Satori Part II" however is quintessential FTB Over a pounding tribal drumbeat, alternating between a buzzing sitar-esque guitar drone and a melody line that curls ripples and lilts like a plume of burning incense smoke, guitarist Hideki Ishima lays out one of the creepiest, coolest guitar leads ever. If that ain't enough, vocalist Joe's singing is like that of Axl Rose being channelled by the Sun City Girls! Even if the rest of the album were total shit -- which it ain't -- the cost of this cd would still be well worth it for this song alone! "Part III" -- an instrumental -- picks up where II leaves off but slows the tempo down to a deathly pace, which makes it even heavier. This is the Sabbath influence on FTB writ large. Replete with an improv freakout before returning to the original riff and building into a frenzied crescendo. Needless to say, if you weren't bobbing your head at the beginning of the song, you will be by its end. "Part IV" could be considered FTB's "blues" number, with Joe picking up the harmonica instead of singing. But instead of churning out the expected twelve bar formula, FTB truncate the form and construct a minimalist jam around a short riff instead. "Part V" shows yet another facet of FTB's seemingly infinite potential with Hideki (?) playing some kick ass, spooky koto-like guitar overdubbed on top of some heavy psych. Damn! They could have done ten fucking albums around this schtick alone and probably never lost our interest... sigh... but this (and the other two that are also available, look for reviews in future) will have to suffice for now. Absolutely, fucking recommended!!!!
MPEG Stream: "Satori Part II"
MPEG Stream: "Satori Part III"

FLOWER TRAVELLIN' BAND Satori (Radioactive) cd 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
A while back we listed this, just 'cause we happened to order a few in and some of the staff here who were previously unexposed to the wonders of the Flower Travellin Band, notably Byram, became obsessed with it (and them). It was a Japan-only import and we felt that while many might already know this album backwards and forwards, it had most certainly slipped through the cracks for too many others out there. So we listed it and got an overwhelming response. Now it's a constant seller here at AQ. And still to this day, almost any time you come into the store, you might well hear the Flower Travellin' Band blaring. Now we're listing it again, on account of how it's just been reissued *again* at a much lower import price, this time by the British label Radioactive. They've included some art from the original LP that didn't appear on the previous Japanese cd edition, but there's no bonus tracks or anything else additional. If you don't already have it, here's our old review of it, so read on, and you might discover a new favorite:
This is an album (and a band) that are not celebrated nearly enough -- possibly out of misguided notions of their being another bad psych knock-off among the many crowding the record racks in the early seventies. But Japan's Flower Travellin' Band were no mere cheesy imitators of occidental rock 'n roll, they were in actual fact a full-fledged, pioneering tour de force of psychedelic progressive hard rock, equalling the krautrock heavies of the era. FTB can be compared favorably to Amon Duul's better efforts with their experimental meandering (think Yeti), and the best trancey spaceouts from Can. Yet there's never a sense that FTB lose track of their compositions no matter how far out they take a track. Perhaps because even more than these experimental Krautrockers, FTB's heavy (fucking ominously heavy) sound points to a major Sabbath, Purple, and Crimson influence. Released in 1971, Satori is the band's second and arguably best album. From the first screech/howl at the beginning of track one -- "Satori Part I" (the tracks on the album are all "Satori", parts I-V) -- from vocalist Joe, who inhabits a zone somewhere between Can's Damo Suzuki and Deep Purple's Ian Gillan, the album gets straight down to business. Joe's scream is followed by a foreboding bass, guitar and drum dirge that's straight up collision between Cream and Black Sabbath in which no one survives. It's got so much more teeth than either, it's not even funny, predating punk by a good many years. "Satori Part II" however is quintessential FTB Over a pounding tribal drumbeat, alternating between a buzzing sitar-esque guitar drone and a melody line that curls ripples and lilts like a plume of burning incense smoke, guitarist Hideki Ishima lays out one of the creepiest, coolest guitar leads ever. If that ain't enough, vocalist Joe's singing is like that of Axl Rose being channelled by the Sun City Girls! Even if the rest of the album were total shit -- which it ain't -- the cost of this cd would still be well worth it for this song alone! "Part III" -- an instrumental -- picks up where II leaves off but slows the tempo down to a deathly pace, which makes it even heavier. This is the Sabbath influence on FTB writ large. Replete with an improv freakout before returning to the original riff and building into a frenzied crescendo. Needless to say, if you weren't bobbing your head at the beginning of the song, you will be by its end. "Part IV" could be considered FTB's "blues" number, with Joe picking up the harmonica instead of singing. But instead of churning out the expected twelve bar formula, FTB truncate the form and construct a minimalist jam around a short riff instead. "Part V" shows yet another facet of FTB's seemingly infinite potential with Hideki (?) playing some kick ass, spooky koto-like guitar overdubbed on top of some heavy psych. Damn! They could have done ten fucking albums around this schtick alone and probably never lost our interest... sigh... Absolutely, fucking recommended!!!!
MPEG Stream: "Satori Part II"
MPEG Stream: "Satori Part III"

FLUISTERWOUD Langs Galg en Rad (Full Moon Productions) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

FLUISTERWOUD Langs Galg En Rad (Full Moon Productions) cd 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Oh man, do we love this band. Totally furious over the top necro blackness from this grim Dutch horde. This record is from way back in 2003, but we figured if some of us somehow missed it, some of you probably did too. Which is a shame cuz this stuff totally slays.
Besides having an amazing band name, a wicked logo, a killer album cover, and some of the coolest corpse paint we've seen in ages, these guys also sound completely amazing! So dense and black and heavy and grim and necro. A completely overwhelming onslaught of utter blackness, complimented by a vocalist that sounds like he has a mouthful of bloody nails and dead babies. Imagine a sky black with clouds, the earth splitting open as the devil unleashes his own plagues upon the world, but the plagues he sends are a rain of spiked gauntlets, a flood of corpsepaint, a swarm of corrosive blast beats, an attack of acidic buzzing riffs, blasting Burzumic buzz, throat shredding growls and a brutal black sound that will shroud the world in darkness and drag every one kicking and screaming down into the pits of hell.
This sounds a little like that. Raw, fast and so brutal. Imagine being strapped to some sort of medieval torture device and being pelted with thousands of Darkthrones, eventually ending up buried beneath layer after layer of corrosive, crusty, buzzing black grimness. Awesome.
MPEG Stream: "Tergernis"
MPEG Stream: "Den Duustere Wouden"

FLYING LUTTENBACHERS, THE ...The Truth Is A Fucking Lie... (Skin Graft) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The notorious Weasel Walter and co. return with their seventh album of Chicago death-jazz spazz. This album features two almost diameterically opposed covers: "De Futura" by French prog giants Magma and "Black Perversion" by sub-cult black metal band Havohej, both fitting in nicely along with the Flying Luttenbachers' usual skree. Instrumentation on this disc includes mellotron, cello (played by Fred Lonberg-Holm) and 'abyssic guitar', in addition to the more ordindary drums, bass, saxophone, etc.

FLYING LUTTENBACHERS, THE The Void (Troubleman / ugEXPLODE) cd 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
As the Luttenbachers fly on and on into the void, they just get more and more metal, don't they? Now a Bay Area based trio (including one of the Mikes from Burmese on bass), they offer up their thirteenth album! This latest episode of Flying Luttenbacher insanity features nine tracks of feedback-filled, drum-blasting, chaotically complexified, metallic skree that can't be topped by almost anyone in the known universe -- heck parts of this even remind us a bit of Keiji Haino's Fushitsusha, which is a comparison we don't make too often. The Void is an all-instrumental tour-de-force that believe it or not could be the missing link between black metal and no-wave, surely band leader Weasel Walter's life's work. Track after track, each cut here builds and builds without much in the way of release, racheting tension to head-bursting levels. Judging from comments in the liner notes, perhaps this is Weasel's howling response to the Republican take-over of the United States. In any event, it's a serious dose of heavy, frenzied, jazz-damaged, post-rock, post-metal, mathy mayhem!
MPEG Stream: "The Void Part Five"
MPEG Stream: "Sword Of Atheism"

FOLDALATTI ULATULAT Phobia (Gungnir Productions) cassette 4.50
We've yet to get our hands on any releases by the black ambient band Hunok to list and review, but ever since we heard them on a split with AQ faves, Hungarian black metal outfit Marblebog, we have been on a quest! And while this is not in fact Hunok, it is a band featuring folks from Hunok, and the sound is a similarly creepy and haunting ambient weirdness. Foldalatti Ulatulat are from Hungary and have a very distinct and unique take on ambient music. Beginning with some strange disembodied vocals and radio static, the band soon settles into some seriously scary soundtrack music, sounding a bit like an extra creepy, slowed down Peter And The Wolf at times, playful a little, but very ominous, tons of space, low end drones and rumbles, beneath dark swells and strange minor key melodies, mysterious pulses and thick waves of crumbling whir. Very cinematic, like the part in the horror movie when you first enter the abandoned house, and you're slowly creeping up the stairs, the shadows flickering making you think someone is watching... It's all very intense and dramatic and pretty fucking great. Now we just have to track down some Hunok for the store...

FOLKSTORM Hurtmusic (Old Europa Cafe) cd 17.98
Folkstrom is the solo project from MZ.412's Mr. Nordvargr, although it could be some lost leftfield recording from odd black metallers Abruptum or Vondur. It's a weird hyrbid of death industrial / power electronic brutality and Norwegian black metal misanthropy (though it only hints at that sound). Recorded live at Nar Mattaru, "Hurtmusic" is a punishing record loaded with landmine samples, electro-shock blasts of energy, and warbled megaphone shouts. The highlight of the album is a loose reinterpretation of the song "No Place" by notorious Swedish misanthropes the Brainbombs, complete with a slow grinding guitar chug perverted from the classic Stooges sound.

FOOD s/t (MolSook) lp 11.98
Another bad ass chunk of pounding post punk math rock heaviness from Virginia. We raved about Tigershark a while back, some seriously chugging riffery, then The Catalyst more recently, who knocked us on our asses with their weird post hardcore stoner grunge screamo (we still have a few of those left, check elsewhere on the aQ site), not sure if Food are related, but they might as well be, they're heavy as fuck, and offer up a similarly supercharged post punk, but while The Catalyst and Tigershark both channeled AmRep (The Catalyst mixing in plenty of Sub Pop), Food take that sound even farther, with their super thick distorted fuzzed out guitars, pounding caveman drums and thick ropy bass, they weave a pretty thick, almost dirgey at times, post punky metallic garage rock stomp, but it's the vocals that seal the deal, a wild feral howl, falling right between Rick Froberg of Drive Like Jehu / Hot Snakes and Mudhoney's Mark Arm, plenty of vitriol and swagger, and a paint peeling yowl that perfectly compliments Food's chug and churn.
Dense loping grooves give way to stripped down tribal workouts, give way to complex mathy jams, which give way to seriously murky, dirge-y, almost Brainbombs-ish sludge, slathered with plenty of squealing Eyehategod style feedback, and all locked into pounding metallic repetition. Some seriously killer garage-y metallic post punk for sure.
Incredible packaging, eye popping cover art, all recycled materials, heavy printed insert, and pressed on INSANELY thick vinyl. And probably pretty limited too.

FOOZ s/t (Custom Heavy/Alone) cd 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Eight songs of '70s influenced (everything from krautrock to Budgie) progressive, psychedelic "stoner rock" from this new Spanish band. A bit odd, as they mix a lot of things together: Middle Eastern atmospheres, soft Pink Floydish mellowness, and raging hard rock. It doesn't always work, but this debut shows a lot of potential. Certainly more interesting than your typical Kyuss clone, anyway.

FORENSICS Hogback Mountain Sessions Vol.1 (Magic Bullet) cd 8.98

FORENSICS Things To Do When You Should Be Dead Anyway (Magic Bullet) cd 14.98
This record is so Aquarius it almost feels like they made it just for us. And you of course! Taking all sorts of crazy stuff that we love and stuffing it all into a single band. Ostensibly, Forensics are a metal band, a really heavy, metal band. But their peculiar brand of metal includes, extended hypnotic bass-heavy post rock work outs, dreamy dark ambience, full on fuzzed out stoner rawk (think Boris' Heavy Rocks), crushing minimal sludge and mathy spazz rock. But somehow it all fits together perfectly. Like Neurosis, Godspeed You Black Emperor, Codeine, Bastro, Dazzling Killmen and Old Man Gloom all got together to jam, and this is what came out. Super dramatic and epic, lengthy super repetetive jams that give way to squalls of metallic fury that then give away to creeping minor key slowcore. Chaotic bursts of grinding spastic metal bookended by Slint-ish hypnorock. Huge blackened slabs of glacial riffage that decay into pusling minimal krautrock. A massive, crushingly heavy, emotionally compelling cinematic soundscape. I swear if I was a film maker I would be getting bands like this to score my films for sure. Features members of Burning Airlines, Corn On Macabre, Pg.99, Trial By Fire, and Waiffle.
MPEG Stream: "Sidewinder Passage"
MPEG Stream: "Did You See What God Just Did To Us, Man?"
MPEG Stream: "Circling Bloody Animal Tracks"

FORENSICS Things To Do When You Should Be Dead Anyway (Magic Bullet) lp 9.98
Now available on vinyl. Packaged in a super deluxe woodcut looking chip board sleeve!
This record is so Aquarius it almost feels like they made it just for us. And you of course! Taking all sorts of crazy stuff that we love and stuffing it all into a single band. Ostensibly, Forensics are a metal band, a really heavy, metal band. But their peculiar brand of metal includes, extended hypnotic bass-heavy post rock work outs, dreamy dark ambience, full on fuzzed out stoner rawk (think Boris' Heavy Rocks), crushing minimal sludge and mathy spazz rock. But somehow it all fits together perfectly. Like Neurosis, Godspeed You Black Emperor, Codeine, Bastro, Dazzling Killmen and Old Man Gloom all got together to jam, and this is what came out. Super dramatic and epic, lengthy super repetitive jams that give way to squalls of metallic fury that then give away to creeping minor key slowcore. Chaotic bursts of grinding spastic metal bookended by Slint-ish hypnorock. Huge blackened slabs of glacial riffage that decay into pulsing minimal krautrock. A massive, crushingly heavy, emotionally compelling cinematic soundscape. I swear if I was a film maker I would be getting bands like this to score my films for sure. Features members of Burning Airlines, Corn On Macabre, Pg.99, Trial By Fire, and Waiffle.
MPEG Stream: "Sidewinder Passage"
MPEG Stream: "Did You See What God Just Did To Us, Man?"
MPEG Stream: "Circling Bloody Animal Tracks"

FORESHADOW No. 3 magazine + 2cd-r 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Attention doomsters! Doom metal alert! From Poland, one of the doomiest of all doom magazines we've ever seen. Interviews with and articles about Esoteric, Mournful Congregation, Spiritus Mortis, Swallow The Sun, Pantheist, My Shameful, Runemagick, Nadja, Until Death Overtakes Me and loads more! The best thing about this is that there's lots of cd-r and demo reviews of bands even we have never heard of, but now have to try and track down. Thankfully this 'zine also comes with a double cd-r (packaged in a DVD style case) with tracks from Moss, Skepticism, Swallow The Sun, Mournful Congregation, Mirror Of Deception, Unsilence, Dark Embrace, Chamber Of Sorrows, Cambian Dawn, Centurions Ghost, Nadja, Dysperium, Enoch, Forever Autumn, Stone Wings, The Gates Of Slumber, Tefra, Until Death Overtakes Me, Souls Entwined, Solicide, and Troglodyte Dawn (great name!).

FOREST As A Song In The Harvest Of Grief (ISO666) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
More Russian blackforestbuzz!!! Another legendary, and long out of print AQ black metal classic gets the deluxe reissue treatment. All time AQ faves Forest's As A Song In The Harvest Of Grief, back in print, back in stock, and available again for a limited time.
We were particularly enamored of Forest's Burzum-meets-Jewelled Antler s/t debut, and while this is heavier on the Burzumy buzz, it's still pretty mind blowing. Here's what we had to say about it when we first reviewed it way back when:
Yes, buzzing black metal fiends, there IS another cd from Russia's Forest that we hadn't yet reviewed, so here it is at last. The poetically-titled As A Song In The Harvest Of Grief was Forest's fourth and final album, recorded in 1999. At this point in their history, the band had made themselves masters of raw, primitive black metal done the ye olde Nordic way, carrying on the black-burning torch of Darkthrone and Burzum, whilst sometimes allowing their own experimental and improvisatory tendencies to surface amidst the fuzz-drone.
This album is no deviation from the Forest path. Opening track "Into The Mouth Of Breath" (?) sounds like a swarm of bees interpreting some minor-key piece of classical music. Then the ceaseless pounding of drums and throat-torn terror begins, each track a distorted and monotonous (in a good way, mind you -- this is black metal) lament, with melodic lines to stab the heart, the tempo of the drums quickening even as the overall mood of the music becomes almost static, dismal. Sheer trance agony fueled by fuzz, gorgeous fuzz. And, as always with Forest's cds, it's not over 'til it's over: there's a bonus track! For fans of Darkthrone, Weakling, Eikenskaden, etc.
MPEG Stream: "Into The Mouth Of Breath"
MPEG Stream: "As A Song In The Harvest Of Grief"

FOREST Foredooming The Hope For Eternity (ISO666) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Yet another disc of glorious blackened woodland buzz from AQ faves Forest gets the reissue treatment. A grim Russian horde, Forest captured our shriveled black hearts with their Burzum-meets-Jewelled Antler debut. As they progressed, the clattery forest ambience receded, and the black buzz took over, but on Foredooming The Hope For Eternity, there was still plenty of non-black weirdness to balance the blazing buzz.
Foredooming is finally back in print, back in stock, and available again for a limited time. Here's what we had to say about it when we first reviewed it way back when:
Not to be confused with the *other* band also called Forest, a much folkier entity, here we have one of several releases by the entity that we usually refer to as the black metal Forest, who hail from Russia. You may recall us praising this Forest's self-titled album a while back, likening it to a blend of the primitive Darkthrone/Burzum/Weakling style of black metal and the Jewelled Antler psych-improv-folk-drone aesthetic. Foredooming The Hope For Eternity dates from 1998 and it's certainly also a trance-inducing Darkthroneathon. Raspy screams, buzzing guitars, drums beating a constant, almost static thwap-thwap-thwap. Forest's minor key laments make a virtue of monotony. I love it at low volumes, as a purely background drone...or, playing it loud, it becomes an all-encompassing sonic cocoon. And that would be good enough to sate our raw, old-school black metal needs. But, being Forest, there's more... two lengthy unlisted tracks at the end of the disc which contribute something a little different to the proceedings. The first is a sort of an extension of the last listed track, with the drums receding in the mix, revealing a beautifully majestic strummy drone, sounding not unlike Earth gone black metal! That's followed by another ten minute bonus track that adds moaning, wordless vocal chant. "Ah-aaah..." So very epic, and almost Swans-ish, looping more distortion and folkiness. Definitely an interesting, effective band within (and sometimes without) the confines of the tradition to which they aspire.
MPEG Stream: "Unfinished Song Of These Woods"
MPEG Stream: "The Bolverk Spirit"
MPEG Stream: "bonus track #1"

FOREST Like A Blaze Above The Ashes (ISO666) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Cult...Russian...black...metal. That's the real raw, primitive, Darkthroned stuff y'know. For/by persons who really *believe*. Forest you may recall is the black metal band whose mastery of the fuzz-filled Norse black metal style and weird forest-dark ambient atmospheres have caused us to draw comparisons to such strange bedfellows as Burzum and Avarus. Ok, mostly they're along the lines of Mayhem or Burzum (not a bad thing) but sometimes they'll venture into areas that sound more like the Swans or a Jewelled Antler band or something, more folky or droney than expected.
Their second album Like A Blaze Above The Ashes (released on cassette circa 1997, and on cd only recently) falls chronologically between their 1996 self-titled recording and 1998's Foredooming The Hope For Eternity that we reviewed a few lists back. And like those discs it provides both blasting buzzing attacks and more atmospheric vistas. The centerpiece to this four song, 44'33" album is the nearly 17 minute epic of distortion and majesty, "To The Fiercest Frost". But we're also much taken with album closer "Obscurity", a wordlessly chanted Viking lament that trudges for twelve minutes through a misty vale of near-acoustic melody and sadness.
MPEG Stream: "By The Roar Of Hammers Call"
MPEG Stream: "Obscurity"

FOREST s/t (ISO666) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Finally, one of our all time favorite black metal records, out of print forever, is available again for a limited time. For those of you who somehow missed out on Russian black metallers Forest the first time around, they struck a particularly AQ chord with their impossible Jewelled Antler meets Burzum sound, and if Burzum-meets-Jewelled-Antler is not enough to get your black metal knickers in a twist, then there is something seriously wrong with you. Absolutely at the top of AQ's essential black metal listening list. Here's what we had to say about Forest when we first reviewed it way back when...
Ok, this is a black metal band, but non-metallers into the improv-drone sounds of the Jewelled Antler collective, Richard Youngs/Simon Wickham-Smith and the like should keep reading!
Not to be confused with the other Forest we've raved about (the psychedelic British folk band from thirty years ago), *this* Forest is a Russian black metal outfit, and a pretty good one belonging to the raw, primitive, corpse-painted end of the genre. The first four tracks on here consist of blasting, frozen Darkthrone worship, keeping alive the cult spirit that so few bands today still possess -- maybe because those tracks were actually recorded in 1996. Malevolent, majestic pagan metal full of Burzumic mayhem. Fans of this vein of true, trancey black metal darkness will be pleased. And if that was all that was on this disc we'd think it was cool. But then comes the fifth and final track, a surprise twenty-minute opus called "Winter Howl" taken from a 1994 rehearsal tape. Suddenly Forest isn't so obviously black metal at all, they've entered a psych-drone realm that's more akin to the aforementioned Jewelled Antler stuff (Thuja, The Birdtree, etc.) or Taj Mahal Travellers or Reynols or Amon Duul's krautrock jams, still as forest-y and primitive as the preceding metal songs though. A wavering whispy wordless vocal winds over a bed of lost, primal percussion and haunting washes of mild feedback. Simple melody lines on guitar wander through the increasing haze, with deeper vocals providing additional layers of drone. If you really heard this in a forest you'd be mesmerized and scared, but it's really nice and pretty (in a damaged way) when heard at home...pretty to us anyway, dunno if Kaldrad and Dagorath meant it to be so! The vocals, until they get a little more metal-ly, totally remind us of the bliss-out singing by British folk experimentalist Richard Youngs or Jewelled Antler's pop soul Jason Honea. If Finnish avant-forest-folk folks like Avarus and Kemialliset Ystavat or the Jewelled Antler collective decided to make black metal, this is what's we'd imagine it would sound like! Meanwhile, on the black metal side, fans of Mistigo Varggoth Darkestra, Caacrinolas, Potentiam, and other weird ones should dig this track, along with Forest's other more typical black metal sounds. Recommended.
MPEG Stream: "Enburnst The Christians"
MPEG Stream: "Winter Howl (excerpt 1)"
MPEG Stream: "Winter Howl (excerpt 2)"

FOREST s/t (Werewolf) 2lp 22.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
One of our all time favorite black metal records EVER, now available on vinyl, in a super deluxe, totally gorgeous gatefold sleeve.
For those of you who somehow missed out on Russian black metallers Forest the first time around, they struck a particularly AQ chord with their impossible Jewelled Antler meets Burzum sound, and if Burzum-meets-Jewelled-Antler is not enough to get your black metal knickers in a twist, then there is something seriously wrong with you. Absolutely at the top of AQ's essential black metal listening list. Here's what we had to say about Forest when we first reviewed it way back when...
Ok, this is a black metal band, but non-metallers into the improv-drone sounds of the Jewelled Antler collective, Richard Youngs/Simon Wickham-Smith and the like should keep reading!
Not to be confused with the other Forest we've raved about (the psychedelic British folk band from thirty years ago), *this* Forest is a Russian black metal outfit, and a pretty good one belonging to the raw, primitive, corpse-painted end of the genre. The first four tracks on here consist of blasting, frozen Darkthrone worship, keeping alive the cult spirit that so few bands today still possess -- maybe because those tracks were actually recorded in 1996. Malevolent, majestic pagan metal full of Burzumic mayhem. Fans of this vein of true, trancey black metal darkness will be pleased. And if that was all that was on this disc we'd think it was cool. But then comes the fifth and final track, a surprise twenty-minute opus called "Winter Howl" taken from a 1994 rehearsal tape. Suddenly Forest isn't so obviously black metal at all, they've entered a psych-drone realm that's more akin to the aforementioned Jewelled Antler stuff (Thuja, The Birdtree, etc.) or Taj Mahal Travellers or Reynols or Amon Duul's krautrock jams, still as forest-y and primitive as the preceding metal songs though. A wavering whispy wordless vocal winds over a bed of lost, primal percussion and haunting washes of mild feedback. Simple melody lines on guitar wander through the increasing haze, with deeper vocals providing additional layers of drone. If you really heard this in a forest you'd be mesmerized and scared, but it's really nice and pretty (in a damaged way) when heard at home...pretty to us anyway, dunno if Kaldrad and Dagorath meant it to be so! The vocals, until they get a little more metal-ly, totally remind us of the bliss-out singing by British folk experimentalist Richard Youngs or Jewelled Antler's pop soul Jason Honea. If Finnish avant-forest-folk folks like Avarus and Kemialliset Ystavat or the Jewelled Antler collective decided to make black metal, this is what's we'd imagine it would sound like! Meanwhile, on the black metal side, fans of Mistigo Varggoth Darkestra, Caacrinolas, Potentiam, and other weird ones should dig this track, along with Forest's other more typical black metal sounds. Recommended.
MPEG Stream: "Enburnst The Christians"
MPEG Stream: "Winter Howl (excerpt 1)"
MPEG Stream: "Winter Howl (excerpt 2)"

FOREST OF STARS, A The Corpse Of Rebirth (Transcendental Creations) cd 13.98

FOREST SILENCE Winter Ritual (Panik Terror Musik) cd 22.00
Just found a few of these stashed in our closet! A 2010 release by this quite effective Hungarian ambient black metal act. Nominally an ep, but it's over 40 minutes long, containing five tracks of plodding, atmospheric metal, that definitely sounds wintery and ritualistic as per the title. This disc is truly a slow, cold creepy crawl, with so much grim buzz fuzz to it.
The head-noddingly, near-dubby echoing intro to opening track "The Symbol" sets the tone. Other crucial elements here are the eerie keyboard coloration, and rasping almost-an-instrument-itself-in-the-abstract vokills. Also, the rhythmic base of Burzumic, Filosofem style electronic beats, most prominent on the penultimate track "I Feel The Claws Of Darkness". That one's followed by a chill-out, come-down track, fittingly titled "Silence" though it's not in fact, just mellow and quiet and mesmeric, with some whispered vocals and echoing guitar.
Glad we finally located and listened to these! We just have a couple copies we found, not sure if we'll be able to get more...
MPEG Stream: "The Symbol"
MPEG Stream: "Winter Ritual"

FOREST STREAM Tears of Mortal Solitude (Earache) 2cd 12.98

FORGOTTEN PATH Issue #2 - 2009 Winter magazine 11.98
Finally issue number two of Forgotten Path, one of the very few metal mags going that's focussed almost exclusively on the grim, the kvlt and the obskure. This long in the works issue features a handful of faves, as well as a whole mess of new-to-us groups that will no doubt require further investigation.
1349, Abigor, Skyforger, Angantyrm, Besatt, Blood Stained Dusk, Chthonic from Taiwan, Impiety, Hekel, Berserk, Fearbringer, should be enough for most metalheads, but then there's Pagan Heritage, Har Shatan, Paroxysmal Descent, Black Messiah, Argus Megere, Argharus, Niroth, Linvsnekad, Elhaz, Hellbox, Bloodthirst, Krater, Thygrim and more!
Super thick, glossy cover, tons of reviews too (300+ of shows, records, festivals) and of course as with all things grim and kvlt, it's LIMITED, each copy hand numbered!

FORGOTTEN PATH Issue 1 2007 magazine 9.98
Sure there are plenty of metal magazines, Terrorizer, Decibel, Metal Maniacs, etc. But there are very few that focus on the true grim kvlt underground. Oaken Throne obviously, and now Forgotten Path, from Lithuania, which has both of its cloven hooves planted firmly South of Heaven.
In this first issue, there are interviews with AQ faves Woodtemple, Finnish legends Horna, the slightly more mainstream Agalloch, as well as way more obscure groups like: Absonus Noctis, Imperium Dekadenz, Nae' Bliss, Mordhell Stutthof, Nocturnal Depression, as well as a bunch of bands we had never heard of including Forest Of Fog, Andaja, Aaskereia, Godless Cruelty, Nebular Mystic.
In addition to all that, tons of demo reviews, album reviews, loads of killer photos, the whole thing nicely laid out, on thick glossy paper, slightly oversized we've had issue one for a while now, and we're still working our way through it. And as with all magazines like this, you know they're on to something, when we already have a list of new bands and records to track down. Can't wait for issue two!

FORGOTTEN PATHWAYS s/t (Ormolycka) cassette 5.98
It's raining Ormolycka releases this week! One of our favorite tape labels has sent us a massive box of tapes, restocking a bunch of old favorites that we can barely keep in stock they sell out so fast, and FIVE new releases, including this one, a mysterious outfit called Forgotten Pathways, the cover looking very metal, and the sound inside, well not metal, but still very 'metal'. A sprawling chunk of weird ambient synthscapery, medieval and moody, with swirling soaring synths, dark and dramatic, and primitive programmed drum machines, stumbling and lurching, warped and warbly, and plenty ominous, rife with bursts of thunder, and super creepy raspy whispered vox, and the occasional blast of twisted drum chaos, which sounds like suddenly multiple drumlines started playing on the drum machine. The sound ends up somewhere between Mortiis, creepy carnival music, Ukrainian medieval ambient soundscaper Dark Ages, weirdo local outsider genius Fastest and aQ faves and tUMULt recording artist Varghkoghargasmal. Sounds like a fucked combo and it is, but that's precisely what makes this so good. And so fantastically twisted. Fans of that whole weirdo synthguitar/outsider metal axis that we've raved about over the years (Shevelreq, Xynfonica, Gluttony, Thursar), will probably consider this essential, as might fans of primitive doom duo Trollmann Av Ildtoppberg and Lovecraftian ritualists Ungl'Unl'Rrlh'Chchch.
Needless to say, on the Ormolycka whatthefuck scale, this definitely ranks way up there, and considering some of the warped genius craziness they put out, that's saying something for sure. WAY recommended.
MPEG Stream: "Darkened In Caverns Deep"

FORGOTTEN PATHWAYS s/t (Ormolycka) cassette 5.98
It's raining Ormolycka releases this week! One of our favorite tape labels has sent us a massive box of tapes, restocking a bunch of old favorites that we can barely keep in stock they sell out so fast, and FIVE new releases, including this one, a mysterious outfit called Forgotten Pathways, the cover looking very metal, and the sound inside, well not metal, but still very 'metal'. A sprawling chunk of weird ambient synthscapery, medieval and moody, with swirling soaring synths, dark and dramatic, and primitive programmed drum machines, stumbling and lurching, warped and warbly, and plenty ominous, rife with bursts of thunder, and super creepy raspy whispered vox, and the occasional blast of twisted drum chaos, which sounds like suddenly multiple drumlines started playing on the drum machine. The sound ends up somewhere between Mortiis, creepy carnival music, Ukrainian medieval ambient soundscaper Dark Ages, weirdo local outsider genius Fastest and aQ faves and tUMULt recording artist Varghkoghargasmal. Sounds like a fucked combo and it is, but that's precisely what makes this so good. And so fantastically twisted. Fans of that whole weirdo synthguitar/outsider metal axis that we've raved about over the years (Shevelreq, Xynfonica, Gluttony, Thursar), will probably consider this essential, as might fans of primitive doom duo Trollmann Av Ildtoppberg and Lovecraftian ritualists Ungl'Unl'Rrlh'Chchch.
Needless to say, on the Ormolycka whatthefuck scale, this definitely ranks way up there, and considering some of the warped genius craziness they put out, that's saying something for sure. WAY recommended.
MPEG Stream: "Darkened In Caverns Deep"

FORGOTTEN TOMB Negative Megalomania (Avantgarde) cd 14.98
Found just a few of these lurking in our closet, that we hadn't listed, though they've been here since 2007. It's this mournful but rockin' Italian band's most recent release, though, and if you're looking for some sheer blackened doomic metal this disc is still quite potent. 58 minutes, 5 songs of dark depressiveness that quite befits the name Forgotten Tomb, their songwriting taking a variety of twists and turns along the way. Sounding like a black n' roll Katatonia at the start, they then experiment with some more avant-garde Slint-y bits on other tracks, and also allow vocalist "Herr Morbid" to switch between the wretched raspings typical of black metal to a clean vocal style for some of these songs. Fans of Lifelover could do well to check this out, it's in a similar vein, perhaps deliberately so.
MPEG Stream: "Negative Megalomania"
MPEG Stream: "Blood And Concrete"

FORGOTTEN TOMB Under Saturn Retrograde (Agonia Records) cd 16.98
Originally purveyors of grim depressive blackness, their sound abject and hateful and suicidal, this Italian horde has gradually been moving toward a sound more melodic, and by extension more accessible, and on Under Saturn Retrograde, they seem to have moved about as far away from that early blackness as possible before becoming an altogether different band.
Folks who don't dig melody or poppiness in black metal, will have no doubt given up on these guys a long time ago, but for the rest of us, this stuff is pretty great, the sound is thick, and heavy, a little bit gothic, seriously poppy, think Khold, Katatonia, Lifelover, Alcest, the band occasionally dipping into some buzzing blackness, but for the most part, crafting hooky blackened epics, the vocals still harsh and hellish, the riffs still gnarled and minor key, but all wound into sprawling depressive buzz drenched black pop jams, which lope along for the most part, but do occasionally explode into furious blasts or stutter through weirdly dynamic mathy arrangements.
The title track is split into two movements, the first about as grim as it gets here, epic and intense, blasting and black, but then the second part is all acoustic guitar, martial snare, and a final burst over super melodic guitar harmonies, soaring and majestic. "You Can't Kill Who's Already Dead" sounds like the perfect fusing of Lifelover and Katatonia, while "Spectres Over Venice", is a killer pop flecked bit of churning blackened heaviness, before finishing off with some pure heavy pop, all super epic chords, tangled guitar harmonies and soaring clean vocals, a weird finish, to a record that while poppy is still pretty black metal, but not nearly as weird as FT's fairly straight forward, slightly blackened version of the Stooges' "I Wanna Be Your Dog", which sounds pretty great actually, the guitars a little bit more blackened and minor key, the vokills appropriately harsh, some wild frenzied drumming, but otherwise pretty true to the original.
We dig this a LOT, but can definitely understand how old fans would be disappointed, but anyone into the above mentioned bands, should definitely check this out.
MPEG Stream: "Reject Existence"
MPEG Stream: "Shutter"
MPEG Stream: "Downlift"

FORGOTTEN WOODS As The Wolves Gather (No Colours) lp 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Finally back in stock!
Oh how we love the mighty Forgotten Woods, supreme Norwegian black metal weirdos! Their new record, Race Of Cain, reviewed recently, was a mind blower, and their three cd collection of older stuff is an all time AQ best seller. For those of you vinyl freaks who have been holding off, well you are finally in luck, Forgotten Woods' As The Wolves Gather, their 1994 full length, and disc one in the Baklengs Mot Stupet triple cd set, has finally been reissued as an lp! It's super limited of course, we got a handful but they won't last long. Here's a slightly altered version of our review of As The Wolves Gather from the triple cd set:
So...what's the big deal you ask, why are these Forgotten Woods so unforgettable? Well, first off, and at first listen, this will definitely appeal to the whole raw, old-school, Nordic forest black metal necrocrowd. Really good grim stuff in the unholy spirit of classic Darkthrone and Burzum, but with that extra kinda inept, Benighted Leamsish fuckedupedness to it that of course makes us love it all the more. And, additionally and importantly, there's also always a strange, unexpected sort of poppiness underlying everything.
As a friend (who also likes this band, and is a member of Thuja, the Blithe Sons, Buried Civilizations, the Skygreen Leopards and a bunch of other Jewelled Antler acts) put it, "man it's good...completely inept, like they're barely pulling it off, total 13-year-old-metal-kid-in-the-basement drums."
A classic, but a 'damaged' outsider BM classic as far as we're concerned, this is definitely raw and necro and kvlt and grim, buzzing and black, but it also struggles and stumbles, is blown out, lo-fi and weird as fuck. As with all Forgotten Woods, WAY recommended.
MPEG Stream: "Eclipsed"

FORGOTTEN WOODS Baklengs Mot Stupet 1992-1996 (No Colours) 3cd 27.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Never thought we'd be able to list this. Everytime we got it in, it would go too quickly, just flying out the door by word of mouth we guess. Clearly this '90s Norwegian black metal band has a cult following! Then we thought that this triple cd box had gone out of print. But thankfully No Colours just pressed up some more, and we think we scored enough copies to dare list it, even though the label may be out of it already. So...what's the big deal you ask, why are these Forgotten Woods so unforgettable? Well, first off, and at first listen, this will definitely appeal to the whole raw, old-school, Nordic forest black metal necrocrowd. Really good grim stuff in the unholy spirit of classic Darkthrone and Burzum, but with that extra kinda inept, Benighted Leamsish fuckedupedness to it that of course makes us love it all the more. And, additionally and importantly, there's also always a strange, unexpected sort of poppiness underlying everything, despite song titles like "Grip Of Frost" and "Dimension Of The Blackest Dark". As a friend (who also likes this band, and is a member of Thuja, the Blithe Sons, Buried Civilizations, the Skygreen Leopards and a bunch of other Jewelled Antler acts) put it, "man it's good...completely inept, like they're barely pulling it off, total 13-year-old-metal-kid-in-the-basement drums." That by itself would be enough to explain this band's appeal. But our sensibilities here at AQ are further stoked by the fact that the more you delve into these discs, the more you find yourself wondering just what the hell you're listening to...as Forgotten Woods mysteriously morphs by the third cd into something that sounds like jazz-inflected, naive indie-rock mopery, with clean jangly guitars that starts to sound like Felt or The Church or even Maher Shalal Hash Baz! Other tracks seem to echo The Cure, all slow and post-punkish... what a weird band! We can only wonder at what they thought they were doing, and wonder even more so at why they're so accepted by the grim black metal underground. So, even though this is a $25 import triple-disc set, it's the kind of black metal (like Benighted Leams, Xasthur, Lugubrum, Leviathan, Abruptum, Meads of Asphodel, Ved Buens Ende, and Sigh for example) that we have to recommend to all of our customers who are into (not-necessarily metal) weirdness. And in case you're wondering, this does collect the entirety of Forgotten Woods' output (three albums, plus one recorded under the name Joyless) from the years indicated in the title...
MPEG Stream: "Eclipsed"
MPEG Stream: "With Swans I'll Share My Thirst"

FORGOTTEN WOODS Forgotten Woods / Through The Woods (No Colours) cd 16.98
For a band we had thought at one point to be dead and buried, Norway's legendary black metal weirdos Forgotten Woods have been pretty high profile lately, with an unexpected (and unexpectedly amazing) new album, a bunch of reissues, the ever popular 3cd box set Baklengs Mot Stupet, and now this, the first time on cd for both FW's 1993 demos, the self titled Forgotten Woods and the follow up Through The Woods, both primo slabs of ultra grim and kvlt lo fidelity buzz.
It's easy to see, even in the early stages of the band, that they were one seriously cracked bunch, the sound not just lo-fi, but damaged and bizarre, the riffing is simple and old school, but super low in the mix, with the crashing thrashing pounding drums way more prominent, but not nearly as much as the croaked blackened growls, the strange Gollum-like growls, some seriously harsh and alien vocals, perfectly suited to the crumbling blackness in the background. Going from stumbling chaotic buzz, to lurching doomy pound, Forgotten Woods conjure up some seriously fucked up and freaked out black atmospheres...
The self titled demo is the more brittle of the two, all high end hiss and soul shearing buzz, whereas Through The Woods ups the production values just a bit, and the sound is definitely heavier, but also murkier and muddier, which again suits their skewed vision. Also things seem to get way weirder (if that were even possible), hinting once again at the bizarre blackened beast they were soon to become, with angular atonal melodies, damaged off kilter leads and even weirder vocals, from shrieks to shouts, all tangled up into dense black squalls of sound.
MPEG Stream: "Winterly Battle Over Northland"
MPEG Stream: "Inside The Witches Cave"

FORGOTTEN WOODS Forgotten Woods / Through The Woods (No Colours) picture disc lp 18.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
This recent essential black metal reissue is now available on vinyl for a limited time! And not just vinyl, a super swank picture disc!!
For a band we had thought at one point to be dead and buried, Norway's legendary black metal weirdos Forgotten Woods have been pretty high profile lately, with an unexpected (and unexpectedly amazing) new album, a bunch of reissues, the ever popular 3cd box set Baklengs Mot Stupet, and now this, the first time on cd for both FW's 1993 demos, the self titled Forgotten Woods and the follow up Through The Woods, both primo slabs of ultra grim and kvlt lo fidelity buzz.
It's easy to see, even in the early stages of the band, that they were one seriously cracked bunch, the sound not just lo-fi, but damaged and bizarre, the riffing is simple and old school, but super low in the mix, with the crashing thrashing pounding drums way more prominent, but not nearly as much as the croaked blackened growls, the strange Gollum-like growls, some seriously harsh and alien vocals, perfectly suited to the crumbling blackness in the background. Going from stumbling chaotic buzz, to lurching doomy pound, Forgotten Woods conjure up some seriously fucked up and freaked out black atmospheres...
The self titled demo is the more brittle of the two, all high end hiss and soul shearing buzz, whereas Through The Woods ups the production values just a bit, and the sound is definitely heavier, but also murkier and muddier, which again suits their skewed vision. Also things seem to get way weirder (if that were even possible), hinting once again at the bizarre blackened beast they were soon to become, with angular atonal melodies, damaged off kilter leads and even weirder vocals, from shrieks to shouts, all tangled up into dense black squalls of sound.
MPEG Stream: "Winterly Battle Over Northland"
MPEG Stream: "Inside The Witches Cave"

FORGOTTEN WOODS Race Of Cain (20 Buck Spin) cd 14.98
We've long been obsessed with black metal weirdos Forgotten Woods. The three cd retrospective Baklengs Mot Stupet 1992-1996 has been a constant AQ bestseller, and for good reason. It's completely brilliant and baffling... read the review of that set and listen to the sound samples and if you don't already have it, think very seriously about remedying that situation.
Well, as much as we love those old FW records, we always assumed the band was dead and gone, but out of the blue, came this brand new record, and if anything, it's even more damaged, fucked up, and impossibly brilliant than ever. Straight out of the gate, opening with a grinding distorted intro with damaged heavily affected spoken word samples, the band then launches into a super freaky lo-fi blackened, almost new wave sounding jam, an old school grungy riff, simple practice space drumming, with the vocals WAY up in the mix, growling and rasping, surrounded by streaks of damaged off kilter guitar freakout, and a super creepy repeated minor key guitar motif over the top, a weird sort of warped angular horror movie lick, repeated over and over, so intense and so completely bizarre.
The next track finds the band in furious blackened blast mode, but even here, the mix renders the song a damaged blast of chaos, with the drums way too far up in the mix, stumbling and crashing all over the place, the fills like drums being hurled down a flight of stairs, the guitar, which began as a black buzz, begins to become more and more unhinged, gradually growing more angular and off kilter, warping into some sort of Greg Ginn black (metal) flag damage before slipping into the next song, a loping midtempo eighties metal style dirge, that halfway through not only suddenly changes tempo, but also changes recording quality, almost like someone just flipped a switch, or some other band just barged in and took over...
Elsewhere the band settles into weird dirgey drift, with demented and damaged crooning, like Circle Of Ouroborus or Dead Reptile Shrine, some Burzum like keyboards, and lots of thrashing buzzing blackness.
The strangest song by far (although it's all relative) is "The Principle And The Whip", a drifting minor key almost-ballad, with lilting folk guitars and dreamy wispy female vocals, that had the folkies around here perking up their ears asking what we were listening to? Complete with a Comus-y coda, all tribal hand drums, and urgent strumming.
Actually, that song we just said was the weirdest, well, maybe we were a bit premature, cuz the last track, "Third Eye (New Creature)", a 12 minute whatthefuck of epic proportions pretty much knocked that one well out of the running. The first few minutes are pounding blackness, peppered with mournful minor key guitars and more of those growled demonic vocals, a sort of Brainbombs meets Turbonegro meets Darkthrone, when all of a sudden, the music drifts off leaving just a recording of a disturbing excerpt from a radio show (taken from TalkBack with Bob Larson), some strange discourse between a Christian and a virulent anti-Christian, with the two touching on lots of random weirdness, throwing Christians to the lions, Hitler, the Holocaust, history written in blood, fascism, homelessness, crack cocaine, AIDS, teenage pregnancies, Heaven, Hell... when all of a sudden, after like 10 minutes of this interview, the band lurch back into action, finishing off with a groovy garage-y fuzzed out Stooges-y stomp, with the lyric "Sieg Heil" repeated several times (which got them in a lot of trouble, for obvious reasons), presumably in response to the preceding interview...
Woah.... like we said, baffling and brilliant... But not like we should be surprised that these guys are still capable of such far out-ness, after all they are responsible for some of favorite, fucked up and freaked out indie-rock-jangle-meets-stumbling-free-folk-meets-grim-black-buzz... well, actually come to think of it, calling it our 'favorite' is a little misleading since that would presume that there some other bands out there making this sort of glorious black chaos, and there sure as hell ain't...
MPEG Stream: "One Day"
MPEG Stream: "III. A Landmine Reprisal"
MPEG Stream: "The Principle And The Whip"

FORGOTTEN WOODS Sjel Av Natten (Total Holocaust Records) cd 14.98
Before all you Forgotten Woods fanatics freak out the way we did when we first saw this, let us say that most of this disc IS included in the still available Baklengs Mot Stupet 1992-1996 triple cd set. But don't stop reading, there is definitely still a good reason to pick this up, even if you have the 3cd set. There are basically two possibilities for wanting to own this, a brand new reissue of Sjel Av Natten. Either you're a newbie, who wants to check out FW, but doesn't want to drop $25. Although we can pretty much guarantee, that once you wrap your ears around this you WILL want everything you can get your hands on. Or, you already own the set, but desperately need every bit of Forgotten Woods there ever was, and the fact that this disc contains two exclusive, unreleased FW jams is enough to send you scooting toward the buy button.
For the newbie, let's explain the wonder and allure that is Forgotten Woods (we'll get to the extra tracks in a second):
So...what's the big deal you ask, why are these Forgotten Woods so unforgettable? Well, first off, and at first listen, this will definitely appeal to the whole raw, old-school, Nordic forest black metal necrocrowd. Really good grim stuff in the unholy spirit of classic Darkthrone and Burzum, but with that extra kinda inept, Benighted Leamsish fuckedupedness to it that of course makes us love it all the more. And, additionally and importantly, there's also always a strange, unexpected sort of poppiness underlying everything. As a friend (who also likes this band, and is a member of Thuja, the Blithe Sons, Buried Civilizations, the Skygreen Leopards and a bunch of other Jewelled Antler acts) put it, "man it's good...completely inept, like they're barely pulling it off, total 13-year-old-metal-kid-in-the-basement drums." So, this is most definitely the kind of black metal (like Benighted Leams, Xasthur, Lugubrum, Leviathan, Abruptum, Meads of Asphodel, Ved Buens Ende, and Sigh for example) that we have to recommend to all of our customers who are into (not-necessarily metal) weirdness.
So for the rest of you, the ones who already love and cherish their Forgotten Woods discs, there are indeed two unreleased tracks (three, if you count the weird 10 second spoken word outro), both incredibly raw, some sort of rehearsal or practice space recordings, but even in that form, maybe especially, they completely kick ass, heavy and stumblingly brutal, but with an incredible pop sensibility buried right below the surface. The second track has a definite Slinty Ved Buens Ende vibe, but both are amazing, proving that besides being grim and true, these guys, whether they realized it or not, were incredible songwriters as well. So recommended, as is the triple cd set (maybe even more so!).
MPEG Stream: "Untitled 1"
MPEG Stream: "Untitled 2"

FORGOTTEN WOODS Sjel Av Natten (No Colours) lp 19.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Now available on vinyl! It's pricey because of the terrible exchange rate and overseas shipping for heavy heavy vinyl, but it's worth it, it's Forgotten Woods!
Before all you Forgotten Woods fanatics freak out the way we did when we first saw this, let us say that most of this disc IS included in the still available Baklengs Mot Stupet 1992-1996 triple cd set. But don't stop reading, there is definitely still a good reason to pick this up, even if you have the 3cd set. There are basically two possibilities for wanting to own this, a brand new reissue of Sjel Av Natten. Either you're a newbie, who wants to check out FW, but doesn't want to drop $25. Although we can pretty much guarantee, that once you wrap your ears around this you WILL want everything you can get your hands on. Or, you already own the set, but desperately need every bit of Forgotten Woods there ever was, and the fact that this record contains two exclusive, unreleased FW jams is enough to send you scooting toward the buy button.
For the newbie, let's explain the wonder and allure that is Forgotten Woods (we'll get to the extra tracks in a second):
So...what's the big deal you ask, why are these Forgotten Woods so unforgettable? Well, first off, and at first listen, this will definitely appeal to the whole raw, old-school, Nordic forest black metal necrocrowd. Really good grim stuff in the unholy spirit of classic Darkthrone and Burzum, but with that extra kinda inept, Benighted Leamsish fuckedupedness to it that of course makes us love it all the more. And, additionally and importantly, there's also always a strange, unexpected sort of poppiness underlying everything. As a friend (who also likes this band, and is a member of Thuja, the Blithe Sons, Buried Civilizations, the Skygreen Leopards and a bunch of other Jewelled Antler acts) put it, "man it's good...completely inept, like they're barely pulling it off, total 13-year-old-metal-kid-in-the-basement drums." So, this is most definitely the kind of black metal (like Benighted Leams, Xasthur, Lugubrum, Leviathan, Abruptum, Meads of Asphodel, Ved Buens Ende, and Sigh for example) that we have to recommend to all of our customers who are into (not-necessarily metal) weirdness.
So for the rest of you, the ones who already love and cherish their Forgotten Woods discs, there are indeed two unreleased tracks (three, if you count the weird 10 second spoken word outro), both incredibly raw, some sort of rehearsal or practice space recordings, but even in that form, maybe especially, they completely kick ass, heavy and stumblingly brutal, but with an incredible pop sensibility buried right below the surface. The second track has a definite Slinty Ved Buens Ende vibe, but both are amazing, proving that besides being grim and true, these guys, whether they realized it or not, were incredible songwriters as well. So recommended, as is the triple cd set (maybe even more so!).
MPEG Stream: "Untitled 1"
MPEG Stream: "Untitled 2"

FORGOTTEN WOODS The Curse Of Mankind (No Colours) 2lp 26.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Finally, the last piece of the Forgotten Woods puzzle. We listed the amazing 3cd box Baklengs Mot Stupet 1992-1996 ages ago, and STILL we can barely keep it in stock. It collected most of the essential FW material, all of it mindblowing. Recently, one by one, the various releases included in the 3cd box have been getting reissued on vinyl. This, The Curse Of Mankind is the last one to hit wax, a bit prciey as the exchange rate sucks and overseas shipping on heavy heavy vinyl is steep, but it's a doozy. A massive double lp.
If you're new to the wondrous and cracked black world of Forgotten Woods, then read on...
Clearly this '90s Norwegian black metal band has a cult following! But just why are these Forgotten Woods so unforgettable? Well, first off, and at first listen, this will definitely appeal to the whole raw, old-school, Nordic forest black metal necrocrowd. Really good grim stuff in the unholy spirit of classic Darkthrone and Burzum, but with that extra kinda inept, Benighted Leamsish fuckedupedness to it that of course makes us love it all the more. And, additionally and importantly, there's also always a strange, unexpected sort of poppiness underlying everything, despite song titles like "Grip Of Frost" and "Dimension Of The Blackest Dark". As a friend (who also likes this band, and is a member of Thuja, the Blithe Sons, Buried Civilizations, the Skygreen Leopards and a bunch of other Jewelled Antler acts) put it, "man it's good...completely inept, like they're barely pulling it off, total 13-year-old-metal-kid-in-the-basement drums." That by itself would be enough to explain this band's appeal. But our sensibilities here at AQ are further stoked by the fact that the more you delve into these discs, the more you find yourself wondering just what the hell you're listening to...as Forgotten Woods mysteriously morphs by the third cd into something that sounds like jazz-inflected, naive indie-rock mopery, with clean jangly guitars that starts to sound like Felt or The Church or even Maher Shalal Hash Baz! Other tracks seem to echo The Cure, all slow and post-punkish... what a weird band! We can only wonder at what they thought they were doing, and wonder even more so at why they're so accepted by the grim black metal underground. It's the kind of black metal (like Benighted Leams, Xasthur, Lugubrum, Leviathan, Abruptum, Meads of Asphodel, Ved Buens Ende, and Sigh for example) that we have to recommend to all of our customers who are into (not-necessarily metal) weirdness.

FORKBOY 1993-1999 (Kaos Kontrol / Arkisto) cd 13.98

FORMLOFF Adjo Silo (Audio Savant) cd 5.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
**SALE **SALE* *SALE**
**LAST COPIES**
Wow, well, we thought we'd heard every weird-ass variation on black metal possible... but we had never heard black metal with autotuned vocals before, until now. That's right, autotune, the computer program used and abused by all of today's worst pop stars (and many amusing YouTube videos). In this black metal context, it's pretty funny, and clever, if you're not too "troo" to get into this obscure Norwegian duo's blend of blasting grimnity and (artificially enhanced) soaring melody... And autotune's not the only unusual feature of Formloff's "black metal", other factors that make this disc surreal and subversive include an obvious affinity for both '70s prog (including lots of groovy-proggy organ), and the latest in emo-pop electronica. And more. They have a kitchen sink approach that really works, maybe because it combines the sudden mood/genre swings with plenty of melody. So, there's techno beats on here, alongside hysterical screaming vokills, buzzsaw guitars, spacey electronic textures, symphonic metal, and even a chorus of dogs barking on the track "Gregor Samsa I Las Vegas"... yet it's catchy too.
Yeah, yeah, it sounds a bit silly on paper, and we don't mind silly, but actually it seems like Formloff -aren't- just joking around, or at least that's the feeling we get, though all the singing, autotuned or otherwise (there's all kinds of gruff growling and funny voices as well) is in Norwegian, so we can't judge from the lyrics what the heck is really going on. Maybe a good thing. We imagine they're pretty bizarre though.
This is the Norwegian duo Formloff's debut (and thus far, only) full-length, from 2006, recorded when the band members were still in their teens. Apparently the label that put this out folded not long afterwards, so this release never really was properly distributed. We recently acquired some copies from a friend of the band who thought we might like it... and we do! Pretty amazing stuff, actually, musically and conceptually, and if you're into genre-splicing, mashed-up weirdness a la Mr. Bungle, as well as the Nordic black metal of Darkthrone and Enslaved, you should definitely check out Formloff! To further elaborate on the "for-fans-of" thing, we should mention Sigh's Gallow's Gallery, also Arcturus, Shining, various bands on Garm of Ulver's Jester label, latter-day Master's Hammer, and Pan-thy-monium if you remember them. Not surprisingly, the cd booklet graphics aren't your usual black metal style either, referencing generic 1950s conformist Leave It To Beaver domesticity instead of the usual corpse paint and burning churches. Huh. Well we're enjoying this, and certainly curious about what's next from Formloff, as we're told they've got a new album in the works as well...
MPEG Stream: "Sovjets Modifiserte"
MPEG Stream: "Arild Menzonis' Traumatiske Liv"
MPEG Stream: "Paralyserende Stove Fra Romstasjon 13"