Skeletonwitch/Toxic Holocaust

Skeletonwitch and Toxic Holocaust are two modern bands that are helping to prove that thrash metal isn't dead. With Beyond the Permafrost released last year and An Overdose of Death... released last week, the thrash revival movement is going strong.

Skeletonwitch is a thrash band that makes sure to coat its sound in a thin layer of permafrost. With black metal-esque vocals and riffs that sound like they came from the frozen north, their style of blackened thrash is relentless yet beautiful. You have to listen for yourself:

1. Upon Black Wings
2. Baptized in Flame
3. Soul Thrashing Black Sorcery

Toxic Holocaust is a one man thrash project that really does give meaning to the term 'thrash revival'. Joel Grind brings an '80s thrash flavor to everything about his 'band'. The sound, the lyrics and even the album cover art. His brand of music, though, is by no means just a cookie cutter effort. It's more like he's from somewhere around the 80s and was cryogenically frozen to help save thrash in the future.

1. Nuke the Cross
2. War is Hell
3. City of a Million Graves

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Afterstasis' Doom Metal Mix #2

tracklisting:

01 wijlen wij - lanatheme
02 pentagram - ask no more
03 karp - forget the minions
04 harvey milk - motown
05 sunn o))) - orthodox caveman
06 otesanek - oceans
07 tides - the sight
08 burning witch - history of hell
09 warhorse - lysergic communion
10 rwake - of grievous abominations

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I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness

A great local band from the Austin area that's gotten a fair bit of exposure. They are often most notable for having a name that suggests to many a 'harder' edge to the music. Instead you have a lovely, glamorous band that has cranked out some great music and puts on a great show.

• I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness - Fear is on our Side
• I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness - If It Was Me
• I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness - Long Walk
• I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness - Today

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Afterstasis' Psychedelic Music Mix #3.

tracklisting:

01 galax - secret method of the galactic universe
02 the assemble head in sunburst sound - mosquito lantern
03 sapat - dark silver
04 mudboy - haunted folks
05 apothecary hymns - the human abstract
06 edgar broughton band - crying
07 hetero skeleton - el serpente del amor, part 6
08 damon & naomi - cruel queen
09 chil - rhubarby feeling
10 kinski - dayroom at narita int'l.

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Sleep

Sleep is a legendary stoner/doom metal band hailing from California. They play some of the most mesmerizing material the genre has to offer, featuring vocals that sound like chants prophesying  the end of the world, ensnaring bass lines that grab the listener without letting them go and occasionally subtle guitar solos that sneak in under the cover of the bass yet still manage to blow your mind away.

1. The Suffering
2. The Wall of Yawn
3. Dragonaut
4. Aquarian
5. From Beyond
6. Sonic Titan

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Note: I would also recommend the hour-long epic "Dopesmoker" to those who love Sleep's work. I won't upload it since it is an entire album, but it is an amazing song and an amazing experience in general.

The Emotion of the Baroque Period

A proper study of the Baroque, or any classical period is really beyond the ability of a couple posts here. So instead of trying to really overwhelm anyone I've put together a mixture of a few of the most recognizable classical pieces from the era and a couple of less commonly recalled composers. The period has always been one of my favorites from an aspect of history due to their singular and deep emotional connections.

For those of you interested, feel free to contact me through the forums or in comments here and I can recommend a more in depth reading list. Also if there is a positive response I may do a focus on Chopin later on.

• Pachelbel's Canon in D
• Bach's Toccata in D Minor
• Handel's 'Hallelujah'
• Gluck's Dance of the Blessed Spirits
• Bach's Air
• Vivaldi's Mandoline Concerto in C
• Locatelli's Concerto Grosso in C Minor
• Rameau's Daphnis et Egle
• Scarlatti's Sonata in G Major
  

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I Hate Myself & John Luther Adams

tracklisting:

01 i hate myself - less than nothing
02 i hate myself - polar bear summer
03 i hate myself - ...and keep reaching for those stars
04 i hate myself - caught in the flood
05 i hate myself - to a husband at war

01 john luther adams - beginning
02 john luther adams - red arc blue veil
03 john luther adams - l
04 john luther adams - velocities crossing in phase-space
05 john luther adams - the farthest place

I Hate Myself were an emo band from Gainesville, Florida...
In the mid-90's we had I Hate Myself rising out of a scene that relied on cryptic lyrics and fragmentary liner notes, eagerly proclaiming their worthless lives, their desires to be accepted and loved, their utter hopelessness. It was a bit odd. Yet, while there are traces of humor in the bands work, the majority of it seems to be delivered entirely without irony. People can't seem to arrive on a consensus in regard to the band's honesty. Some people can't see a line as goofy as "an empty forty--fuller than my life" as being entirely honest, but the same people oftentimes can't see a line like "I'm trying to explain something, but you're not listening--like I can't speak" as being a joke, especially when delivered with the onslaught of distorted, descending guitars that back it.

John Luther Adams (born January 23, 1953 in Meridian, Mississippi) is a composer whose music is inspired by nature, especially the landscapes of Alaska where he has lived since 1978.
Adams's musical work spans many genres and media. He has composed for television, film, children's theater, voice, acoustic instruments, orchestra, and electronics.
His frequent use of static textures and subtle changes show his obvious affinities with minimalism, and his tendencies toward extended, meditative, and intuitive structures convey his true love of the music of Morton Feldman.

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