CDs + Vinyl:
Antaeus – Condemnation CD (Season Of Mist)
New album from the French black metal band. “At only nine songs (one of which is the aptly-named 51-second intro track, ‘Something Wicked This Way Comes’) and just over forty-one minutes long, Condemnation is one lean, mean, murder-machine of an album, with only the occasional moment of ominous, oppressive calm (such as occurs during the second half of ‘End Of Days’) to provide respite from the roiling, boiling chaos.” – No Clean Singing
Tony Bennett – Tony Bennett Celebrates 90 CD (Sony)
Tony Bennett Celebrates 90 is the companion to Tony’s birthday celebration event, that was filmed in front of a live audience at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on September 15th, 2016. This celebration featured performances by Lady Gaga, Stevie Wonder, Michael Bublé, Andrea Bocelli, Kevin Spacey, Tony Bennett and many others. Additionally, performances by Billy Joel and Elton John were taped at alternate locations and on the CD.
Black F**king Cancer – Black F**king Cancer CD (Osmose)
“Black F**king Cancer is uncompromising, disease ridden, chaotic black metal from the USA. Influenced by a hatred and disgust for the human cancer.”
Bond St. District – A Church On Vulcan CD (Friends Records)
“About two summers ago local Baltimore hip-hop giant DDM ran into producer Paul Hutson and formed Bond St. District. A few short months later and they dropped their debut EP, Everybody’s So Sleepy. With guest appearances by Katrina Ford, Josephine Olivia and EZE Jackson – people were hyped on the release and still are all these months later. Now though, they’ve got their full length, A Church On Vulcan … it’s a got a lot of bells, whistles and throwbacks” – Coming Up Magazine. [Vinyl edition due January 6.]
John Cale – Fragments Of A Rainy Season [Reissue/1992] CD/2xLP+MP3 (Domino)
Fragments Of A Rainy Season is the first live John Cale album to feature him performing solo and “unplugged” – before that term became a mid-’90s buzzword. In contrast to the jaundiced punk truculence of Sabotage/Live (1979) or Even Cowgirls Get The Blues (1986), Fragments gives us Cale at his most melodic and moving, a mellowed and certainly a soberer man in a Yamamoto jacket and a lopsided haircut running through a selection of his prettiest songs.
Call Of The Void – AYFKM CDEP (Translation Loss)
New five song EP from Colorado’s grinding hardcore cult. [Vinyl edition due January 6.]
The Candles – Matter + Spirit CD (The End)
With two records under their belt, The Candles have earned a reputation for weathered, back-alley roots rock. But with their third album, Matter + Spirit, the quartet adds a layer of wind-blown dust, embracing the open space and honest sensitivity of the American heartland. Formed in 2009 by singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Josh Lattanzi – a veteran sideman who has toured and recorded with artists like Norah Jones, The Lemonheads and Albert Hammond, Jr., for more than a decade – The Candles also include guitarist Jason Roberts, keys player Pete Remm and drummer Greg Wieczorek, allowing Lattanzi to step confidently into the spotlight and lay his well-travelled soul on the line. Recorded at Brooklyn’s Degraw Sound with producer Ben Rice, Lattanzi took a new approach to the nine tracks on Matter + Spirit, committing himself to focused stories capable of standing on their own – no matter the arrangement. What emerged was a sound forged in the sunset rock of the ‘70s but tempered by twang, proudly placing slippery dobro and steel guitar alongside ethereal harmonies, all laced with an element of casual, big-city cool.
Deathspell Omega – The Synarchy Of Molten Bones CD (Season Of Mist)
New four-song EP from the French black/prog metal titans. “No single minute on this EP sounds the same as the last, with every moment bringing a new chaotic riff or change of speed. From the cacophony of the opening title track to the classic black metal in the middle of ‘Famished For Breath’ to the 10-minute ‘Onward Where Most With Ravin I May Meet,’ the project is a constant attack on the listener’s senses, from every direction. Harkening back to their most recent full-length record, Paracletus, the band go through multiple phases with each song, some melodic, some destructive, all of them crushing in their intensity.” – Exclaim