Review: Legends of EBM, Canadian electro-industrialists Front Line Assembly should need no introductions, given their work stretches back to the mid-1980s. Nevertheless, they occupy a relatively obscure space - made for dance floors, but twisted, dark cornered, writhing, distorted dance floors where many fear to tread. With that in mind there will be some newcomers, and The Initial Command is a great starting point because it's the starting point of the band's back catalogue.
Originally released in 1987, this is the first album from an impressive 17-LP-strong body of work. And it's also the most definitive of their sonic style, setting a benchmark for all that would follow. Fiercely original, not least for 'it's time', from the glittering synths and harsh metallic percussion of the unarguably cinematic 'Casualties' and the abrasive white noise on 'Ausgang Zum Himmel', to the punchy breaks and dramatic strings of 'No Control', re-releasing Command is an essential act of unearthing.
Review: The year 1982 can definitely be regarded as a vital one for the working-class Oi-punk movement. One that saw the release of debut full-lengths from the likes of the abrasive Blitz, and the somewhat underappreciated The 4 Skins, who were endlessly plagued by a myriad of line-up shifts. By the time their second full-length, A Fistful of...4-Skins arrived, the group were already onto line-up number four (no pun intended), and this time period is where the 'Five More Years' 7" single rears its skinhead from. Topped with the anthemic opening track from the album, and tailed with the CD reissue bonus cut, 'On The Streets', this sampler/taster/snapshot/teaser/whatever else you'd like to consider it, serves as a perfect piece of oi-punk memorabilia and entry point for those who don't mind doing some of their homework in reverse. These recordings are also notable for being some of the sole studio pieces from The Last Resort vocalist, Roi Pearce, who would serve with the skins for only the one full-length, and subsequent From Chaos To 1984 live album released the following year as swansong.
Lucifer Sam (feat Ian Paice & Steve Hillage) (4:38)
Screamin' Ball (At Dracula's Hall) (2:19)
I Feel Free (feat James Williamson & Rat Scabies) (2:49)
Bucket O' Blood (feat Nik Turner) (3:27)
Zombie Yelp (feat Roye Albrighton & Mark Stein) (3:31)
Whistlin' Past The Graveyard (feat The Sinclairs) (4:25)
Fire (feat James Williamson, Carmine Appice & Brian Auger) (3:40)
The Monster Hop (feat Shuggie Otis) (3:31)
Curse Of The Hearse (3:49)
Mad Witch (3:09)
The Vampire (feat The Coffin Daggers) (3:00)
Late Last Night (feat Steve Hillage, Roye Albrighton, Gilli Smyth & Joel Vandroogenbroeck) (3:51)
Review: Theatrical rock icon Arthur Brown's Monster's Ball is a ghoulish masterpiece that arrives just in time for Halloween. Brown himself is joined on the album by a list of top-draw collaborators including The Stooges' James Williamson, Gong's Steve Hillage, Deep Purple drummer Ian Paice, Hawkwind co-founder Nik Turner and R&B superstar Shuggie Otis. There is a mix of great cover versions here, as well as a new version of Brown's own 'Fire' tune plus plenty of newly-penned hits. It all adds up to a thrilling rock album high on drama and theatre.
Review: Johnny Thunders might be the greatest deceased guitarist that never fully realised the fame and recognition he deserved - not that there aren't endless examples of that tragedy. Rising to notoriety for wielding a tortured six string with porto-punk deities the New York Dolls, he slashed and burned his way into a solo career, but between 1975 - when said band called time - and 1978, when this guy's first lone work-proper arrived, there was The Heartbreakers.
Supernaut (reissue)(coloured vinyl LP (comes in different coloured sleeve and different coloured vinyl, we cannot guarantee which one you will receive))
Review: Following the second (and more creatively fruitful) of their reunions in 2017, Scottish punk turned post-punk outfit The Skids would return to the studio for a 2019 acoustic album before shortly following up with 2021's covers collection Songs From A Haunted Ballroom. Recorded as a tribute to the Kinema Ballroom music venue in Dunfermline, Scotland (opened in 1938 but now rebranded as the Kinema Restaurant Global Fusion Buffet), the tracklist features renditions from a myriad of their peers from the time such as The Clash, The Adverts, Sex Pistols and Ultraxox!, while also boasting newly recorded versions of their classic cuts 'The Saints Are Coming' and 'Into The Valley'.
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