Dr. Dre - 2001

Aaah my life! I simply cannot fathom how fucking amazing this record sounds! Having heard this possibly a hundred thousand times since I was 11 years old, I finally bought this album when I saw it on the "home listening" rack in Cardiff's Catapult Records. I know I waffle on about how fucking great vinyl is (that's the original point of this website, really) but Jesus fuck...it really, really makes the difference to make sure your music on the right format! The bass lines here reach a whole new low, and the music reaches a whole new level of stereophonic scope. Just hearing the cheeky Dolby-esque orchestral rush that Dre put at the beginning of this record is enough to know that this sound is phenomenal. I'm not gonna go off on one about expensive music systems or anything, but shit...if you LOVE music then you NEED to put down that fucking mp3 player and get some records. PLEASE for the loving of fucking God, do it! You will not regret it. I invite ANY of you to come over my place and listen to this record and smoke a couple of bowls...if it means converting you to the way of the wax!

Anyways, onto the record itself! Ha ha! Every good bone in my body tells me that I shouldn't like gangsta rap, with it's hella macho-posturing, subliminal racial segregation, promotion of violence and extreme misogynistic overtones...but hey, I love fucking pornogrind bitches, so I guess all hope is lost! Ha! I can't deny a good beat when I hear one, and I sure as hell can't hate on an amazing flow, regardless of the lyrical content. I am partial to the occasional blunt, sure, but I don't go around smacking bitches if they don't "get all up on this dick" (perhaps I should try that?) and I more than definitely don't carry a "piece", but that doesn't mean I can't appreciate the lamentations of people who do (or used to, at least).

I would go into every song here but there are so many fucking classics that this review will go on and on and on forever. I find it pretty crazy that I am so passionate about an album that really, reaaallly doesn't fit into my selection of other favourite albums. 2001 was definitely written about a certain place and time (even though it came out in 1999, figure that one out) but what Dr. Dre and his endless roster of cohorts have created is something that is immortally timeless (in the world of rap, that is). Dr. Dre (and Eminem, and I suppose ICP) taught me that music doesn't have to be heavy as fuck to be cool. Growing up, I definitely think that being into rap from a young age has stopped me from developing the insane narrow-mindedness that a lot of "open-minded" metalheads possess. How's that new Devildriver record treating you, fuckwads!?

I'm gonna round this off for now or we'll end up like one of my Godflesh reviews and last for like 20,000 paragraphs. If you're into this record, you CANNOT go wrong by getting this on wax. If you haven't got a record player, then buy one. If you've never heard a track off of this record then....fuck, what are you waiting for?

Insect Warfare / The Kill - Split 7" Flexi

One really has to questions ones motives when one ends up buying a split that lasts 48 fucking seconds. This nefarious little split tape (limited to some abysmal quantity) was one of things stopping me collecting all of the Insect Warfare stuff, but the good (or bad? Ha ha!) people at Regurgitated Semen Records have taken it upon themselves to re-release the tapes contents on a single-sided flexi. Bastards! Looks like I'll have to get all the Insect Warfare stuff after all!

Unfortunately all we get from Insect Warfare here is a demo version of a track that would later end up on their split 5" with Agoraphobic Nosebleed (which I still don't have, for shame!). The Kill's track I've never heard before, "Dead On The Floor 30 Seconds Into The First Band" actually lasts 00:31, but it's pretty amazing, reminding me yet again to sort my shit out and listen to The Kill more often.

Don't really know what else to say about a 48 second flexi so I'll just leave it at that...

Dead Infection - Start Human Slaughter

I knew that Dead Infection had death metal influences (World Full Of Remains will testify that for you) but until playing Start Human Slaughter I was entirely unaware how far into the genre they actually went at one point. Don't be fooled by the grotesque goregrind cover art, Start Human Slaughter is 100% old school death metal sickness; growly vocals, subterranean tunings, guitars solos and all! Fortunately, this type of music belongs on vinyl so ultra-props to Underground Front Records for reissuing this Polish classic on 12" wax.

 

There's no fucking around here, just straight and to the point, not to mention metal as fuck! Those who need a bit more variety in their tunes will probably find this a bit boring, but I think that the mid-paced death metal (for once) suits the low-quality production style that isn't a million miles away from a more muddy-sounding Symphonies of Sickness. The most surprising thing for me though is the length of the songs, most of which contain ripping solos in the middle eight. I wish I could say that this early Dead Infection record could appeal to the wider death metal audience but alas the production and the cover art will more than likely hinder it to forever remain as a cult classic. Well worth getting if you're into this shit, though.

Earth - Pentastar: In the Style of Demons

For me, Pentastar is the essential first listen album for Earth. It combines the dizzying drones from the first few records with the unusual penchant for traditional song structures that would pave the way for the band's later, more clean and folky shoegazer efforts. This is the last Earth record to fully embrace the wonders of the fuzz, and for this reason alone it must be worshipped!  What I have here is the excellent value 2006 repress on Sub Pop Records.

It is hard to review this album without defaulting focus on the now classic intro and outro riff ("Coda Maestoso in F (Flat) Minor" to be more specific), which in all honesty and hindsight, can pretty much sum up the sound of Pentastar. The fact that Earth still play this monolith live - a somewhat more chilled and clean version, though - at shows doesn't help my case. It can easily put you back into this era and you end up associating the whole bloody thing with those two tracks and that one poxy riff! Doh!

But, armed with the power to see passed that hypnotizing riff and one can appreciate that there are lots of excellent songs here to rival any band with a leaning towards the fuzz, from the depths of the doom genre right through to something altogether more Kyuss. Acid King in particular come to mind whilst listening to "Tallahassee", a crunching, laid back number of epic proportions. Opener (not counting the intro riff) "High Command" has all of the head-nodding goodness, whilst "Peace in Mississippi" brings the funk and "Sonar and Depth Charge" mixes everything up a bit by stripping right down for over seven minutes of haunting piano.

Check out the link below for a bit of the great "Codo Maestoso", and then buy this album!