THE SISTERS OF MERCY / Floodland (1987)

Andrew Eldritch and Doktor Avalanche were all that was left of TSoM after the first album. And seeing as how Doktor Avalanche doesn't have a body, Floodland is basically an Eldritch solo album. It sounds like it was conceived to be played in a sunken cathedral, as you float along in a current of shadows, hell-bent on dragging you into a ruminative atmosphere... It's a soundtrack to the opening of your eyes to the bastardry of love and the reason the world is all wrong, until it all crumbles around you. Get the extended version for extra sparkly bonus track goodness, including a twelve minute version of Neverland.

Songs of Note: Dominion / Mother Russia; 1959 

4½ corrosion songs out of 5

AMORPHIS / My Kantele EP (1997)

An acoustic version of a track originally on Amorphis' Elegy (1996) album, two previously unreleased tracks and two new covers make the E.P a must for fans of the guys from Finland. The E.P is less metal than the album was but the song writing is no less interesting. It's a lot more folk and poetically driven than they were originally known for. Strangely, I prefer this version, it has a beauty that the original lacked. The two covers I mentioned are a Hawkwind song, and a Kingston Wall song. If you liked the experimental progressive folksy metal of the Elegy album, then the chances are good that you'll like My Kantele, too.

Songs of Note: My Kantele (Acoustic Reprise); The Brother-Slayer

4 strings gathered from torments out of 5

A PALE HORSE NAMED DEATH / And Hell Will Follow Me (2011)

Mix Alice in Chains' sludge with Type O Negative's atmosphere and you have A Pale Horse Named Death. It's the brainchild of former Type O Neg drummer Sal Abruscato, so it's only natural it would sound similar to the Drab Four. The AIC element was a surprise. It's pretty amazing. A drummer taking the guitar/vocal duties is rarely a good thing (people who know me will know what I mean when I say, "Hi, Dave!"). but APHND's post-grunge grunge is a success. I very much doubt it'll still be giving me the jollies a year from now, but today I've got it on repeat.

Songs of Note: As Black As My Heart; Cracks in the Walls

4 crows and horses and wolves and blood out of 5

PUBLIC IMAGE LTD / 9 (1989)

From Avant-garde art to Pop to Dance… I have to give Lydon credit for having a career so diverse, but this incarnation of PiL leaves me bored and unsatisfied. It's a half-breed dribbling poodle, not a pedigree wolf with bite that it used to be. It's almost the same line-up as the previous album, which was a first for the revolving door band, and while it's better than that previous effort, it's still sub-par for the PiL name. Expect bland Pop tunes that no longer stand apart from the norm, with the exception of Lydon's voice.

Songs of Least Fail: Disappointed; Happy

1½ invented friends out of 5

THE JESUS AND MARY CHAIN / Automatic (1989)

The amphetamine-fuelled third album has the brothers finding a compromise between the distortion-heavy sound of their first album and the quieter, more sombre sound of their second. It took me a while to really warm to it.

The inclusion of a very obvious drum machine and synth bass is a shame, because live instruments would've given it an extra dimension, but when hidden behind the guitar distortion it's tolerable. Ultimately, it's another great release from the Scottish band who were their own worst enemy.

Songs of Note: Blues from a Gun; Drop

4 shitty album art is shitty out of 5

CARTER U.S.M / 30 Something (1991)

Jim Bob and Fruitbat did it again with their second album, only they did it even better. It's the BEST Carter album, by far. In fact, it's one of the best early 90s Pop-punk albums, period. Recorded in twenty days on an old 8-track, it's still just a programmed drum machine and sequenced backing tracks, with the two guys on guitar, but when it's this good, who cares! They played almost all of the album the first time I saw them live and I loved it like Elvis loved a burger.

Songs of Note: Surfin' USM; Billy's Smart Circus

5 bunnies, strays and misfits out of 5

SKYCLAD / The Wayward Sons of Mother Earth (1991)

Believed to be the first ever Folk Metal album, Martin Walkyier's post-Sabbat band never really found a target audience; no one was ready for it at the time of release, so it fell by the wayside. You can hear the Sabbat Thrash in there, but the Folk elements come to the fore a lot in the melodies and instrumentation. It has Walkyier's usual hurried vocals but the Folksy shanties and mandolin, fiddle, and acoustic moments give it a very schizophrenic identity.
Heavier than most Folk fans like and Folksier than most Heavy fans like, it's an anomaly that nevertheless still sounds amazing twenty years later.

Songs of Note: Terminus; Trance Dance

3½ odes to ancient and modern out of 5

SABBAT / Dreamweaver : Reflections of Our Yesterdays (1989)

Dreamweaver is a concept album based on the book The Way of Wyrd: Tales of an Anglo-Saxon Sorcerer (1983) by author and psychologist Brian Bates. It has Andy Sneap shredding the guitars with speed and precision, and the wonderful Martin Walkyier on vocals (does he ever breathe?). Those two artists together made music so creative and vibrant that it was never bettered by either man separately. Chock full of Thrashy riffs and occasional weird Maiden-esqe musical changes that take a few listens to make sense of, the album is a genuine timeless classic.

Songs of Note: Advent of Insanity; Do Dark Horses Dream of Nightmares?

5 Happy Never Afters out of 5

KRAFTWERK / Autobahn (1974)

I have friends that like dance music. With very few exceptions, I don't like the genre. I look through their CD collection, and they look through mine, and after shaking our heads for twenty minutes we discover that the only similarity is Kraftwerk. Autobahn is music for everyone, or no one. It's also is a masterpiece. Track one is twenty-two minutes long and simulates a drive on the German expressway. I'm not kidding. It has whooshing cars, horns, Moog bass, synth that actually works and happy vocoded vocals. It's soothing and very catchy. The remainder of the album is equally as odd, but is the template by which all electronica is measured. You'll be singing the chorus on your first listen.

Songs of Note: Autobahn; Morgenspaziergang

5 drive drive drive on the Autobahn out of 5

GLENN DANZIG / Black Aria II: Lilith, Whore of the Desert (2006)

It's similar to the first one but more Eastern sounding due to the subject matter. With less obvious synth it sounds fuller, darker and more accomplished. However, when the synth does creep in it falls apart like before. Elsewhere there are organs, strings, percussion and ethereal chants. It's classical music for people who long to sit under trees in graveyards on stormy October nights and wait for demons to rise and offer Faustian pacts. If that sounds like you, I'll see you there.

Songs of Note: Overture Winged Night Demon; Shiddin

3 dark dirges from zig out of 5

BLESSURE GRAVE / Judged By Twelve, Carried By Six (2010)

Joy Division: a cavernous sound, fuzzy bass, repetitive electronic guitar and drums that sound like sadness personified.
Blessure Grave: a cavernous sound, fuzzy bass, repetitive electronic guitar and drums that sound like sadness personified.
Some say rip-off, I say homage. Whatever the correct response, the musical description stands. But while Joy Division managed to avoid being monotonous, Blessure Grave don't. They also inject some of The Cure's sound into the mix, which is interesting if not entirely successful.

Songs of Note: Intro; The Cycle

3 big shoes they're trying to fill out of 5

CRASS / The Feeding of the 5000 (1978)

British punk. The real deal, uncompromising both lyrically and musically. It's percussion heavy with twangy distorted guitars and screamed vocals that at times can't even be clearly discerned. They arguably can't play for shit but that's not the point, it's a statement, a musical expression of what it meant to be working class in late 70s Britain. If you've occasional anger issues and hate your government and everything they stand for, then it's the perfect music to make you feel less alone. Crass were too short lived but the music they gifted us is ever-relevant.

Songs of Note: Asylum; Do They Owe Us a Living?

4 sounds of free speech out of 5

PUBLIC IMAGE LTD / Happy? (1987)

PiL used to create art. Then they made pop art. This is as close to regular boring Pop as you can get and still be Lydon. And it really sucks. Lydon still sounds like the kid that doesn’t get picked for the school choir (that's a good thing) but the music is generic, bland, devoid of innovation and above all, safe. PiL shouldn't be safe. There are hints of the old buried in the mix, Save Me, and the bass line of Fat Chance Hotel, but not enough to sustain any lasting interest. Happy? No, I'm not!

Songs of Least Fail: Save Me; Fat Chance Hotel

1 there is no art anymore out of 5

OPETH / Heritage (2011)

If the Watershed (2008) album didn't alienate most of Opeth's early fans, then Heritage surely will. It's prog rock with small doses of avant-garde in the song structure. There's piano, keyboards, flute, mellotron and no growls. If you listen carefully, the shifting song structures are the same as always, but without the death metal masking them they seem more obvious and very awkward. I've never been much of a fan of prog, so 90% of the album didn't click with me. However, it was recorded on analogue, so it at least sounds warm and cosy.

Songs of Note: Heritage; Slither

2 Swedish Jethros out of 5

FRANZ FERDINAND / You Could Have It So Much Better (2005)

The second album from the Glaswegian quartet. It follows the same formula as before but is more aggressive in places while somehow seeming less punchy, perhaps due to over-familiarity setting in already. The pounding rhythm section is amped-up at the expense of the groove. The rehash stuff can't compare to the first album, so it's left to the new additions to be the thing that defines it. Unfortunately, that's a few ballads, which will either hit or miss for most individuals. Still sounds like Blondie at times... and now Pulp. If you're new to FF, I'd recommend the first album as a better entry point.

Songs of Note: The Fallen; Eleanor Put Your Boots On

3 losers losing everywhere out of 5