Ancient Grease US レコード& CD

Review: Selected as finalists in a nationwide search for "America's Answer To Black Sabbath", the Pasadena, California youths known as Sudden Death recorded one long-sought after demo album in the Spring of 1972. Resurfacing in the mid-90s as a proto-psych-doom underground gem, distributed by pioneering reissue label Rockadelic Records, the forward thinking (ahead of its time) Sudden Death project now finally receives its first worldwide broad distribution, compiled in collaboration with the original members. Sourced from the master tapes and including an insightful eight-page booklet, this compilation offers an earful of 70s hard rock morphing into modern metal in real time.

Review: Yesterday's Children, a short-lived yet impactful psychedelic rock band from Cheshire-Prospect, Connecticut, carved a niche in the late 60s with their unique blend of garage rock and proto-heavy metal. Formed in 1966, the band’s aggressive sound, underpinned by Denis Croce’s high-pitched wails and fuzz-toned guitars, made them early contenders in the heavier end of the psych spectrum. Their self-titled 1970 LP — featuring tracks like the bludgeoning opener ‘Paranoia’, the slow-burning ‘What of I’, and the swinging, Cream-adjacent ‘Sailing’ — is now considered a cult classic. Despite poor commercial traction at the time, it captures a pivotal moment between the collapse of flower power and the rise of hard rock. Reissued in 2004 by Akarma, it’s since been reclaimed as a forgotten milestone in US acid rock, its eight-track run an unusually focused and feral statement for such an obscure group.