Ipecac Canada レコード& CD

Review: A collaborative album made and released by Mike Patton and NYC's hip-hop DJ trio the X-Ecutioners, General Patton vs. The X-Ecutioners is a landmark album in the big-smoked turntablists' discog, thanks to its then-newfangled embrace of elements of two nascent genres: free jazz and glitch. In fact, the album is themed around a war between the two vastly different styles, which makes it a worthy, but lesser-known contemporary to many other artists fusing the styles at the time, such as Amon Tobin. However, this album is more in the vein of Wu-Tang than future angst; this reissue via Ipecac serves to rejolt its underground infamy.

Review: American rock band Melvins' first ever acoustic album Five Legged Dog plays out for a whopping two and a half hours. It spans the entire career of the band and also includes a number of their unique covers of tunes by artists including The Rolling Stones, Alice Cooper and Redd Kros. Elsewhere the group reinterpret their own material in new acoustic style and it makes for a wild and unthread listen that will surpass the expectations of all fans. It comes with its own foldout poster as well as four slabs of coloured vinyl with neat gatefold packaging.

Review: When is a bonafide heavy metal classic not a bonafide heavy metal classic? How about when the recording is of such poor quality many find it unlistenable, so very few heard the album. Such is the case with The Raging Wrath..., the 1986 debut LP from cult guitar experimenters Mr. Bungle, which is now getting a re-release to mark a reactivation of the outfit after 20 years of dormancy.

Returning to those early, raw tapes, the record remains pretty much untouched save for one significant difference - here the work is polished and primed for even the most discerning 21st Century ears, thanks to original members Mike Patton, Trey Spruance and Trevor Dunn, alongside ex-Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo and Anthrax's Scott Ian. If polished is really the right word. It's loud, chaotic, and impossible to predict, it's blood, sweat and tears spilled from the bowels of thrash before thrash was really a subgenre.

Review: Tomahwat remain cult favourites amongst fans, and the number of followers of the band is sure to expand as their music is reissued here on black wax though other colors are available. Dwarfed by the likes of Faith No More, Fantomas and Mr Bungle, Tomahawk debuted in 2001. Frontman Patton teamed up with The Jesus Lizard's Duane Denison, Battles/Helmet stickman John Stanier and Melvins veteran Kevin Rutmanis on bass, Tomahawk took a direct shot at the melodrama of nu-metal and tapped into a truer, more evocative idea of disturbed America. It's a masterpiece from start to finish, wildly unhinged but with a dead-eye focus.

Review: In the labyrinth halls and corridors of Mike Patton's musical endeavours, there are always hidden treasures to be unearthed. Dwarfed by the likes of Faith No More, Fantomas and Mr Bungle, Tomahawk has retained more of a cult appreciation since their first album came out in 2001. With Patton teaming up with The Jesus Lizard's insanely talented guitarist Duane Denison, Battles/Helmet sticksman John Stanier and Melvins veteran Kevin Rutmanis on bass, Tomahawk took a direct shot at the melodrama of nu-metal and tapped into a truer, more evocative idea of disturbed America. It's a masterpiece from start to finish, wildly unhinged but with a dead-eye focus, and surely ranks among the finest projects Patton has ever turned his distinctive larynx to.