Episode 50 – Royal Feast (right click to download)

For number 50 we went for both the obvious and the obscure. After all, we got big reasons to celebrate. Might as well invite as many as we can to the party. And guess what, even Thailand got in!

We go through a whole bunch of stuff to keep the fire going: heavy, proto-heavy, thrash, doom, funk (!), a bit of space rock too. Thing is, It’s not yet time to blow the candles. There’s plenty more ravaging left in us.

Here’s to 500 more episodes!

Click for show notes and a complete tracklist.

Episode 50 – Royal Feast

You listen to first few seconds and there it is: “70s sound.” You’re goddam right. And the fuzz is just right here. This is Shado com the UK with the song “Evil City”. It’s proto-metal as fuck and that’s about all we can say about that. A 1974 single is that only thing they have to show for themselves. A little piece of history nonetheless.

And so begins our back and forth of obscure and classic music. This is of course Deep Purple with “Pictures of Home”, one of our fave tracks from the band. It has it all: catchy guitar, crazy good drumming and stupendous bass lines & solo. That’s one addictive chorus too. Begs to be played loud.

We now travel all the way to Japan for a little Sniper worship. This one comes from their 1983 single, titled “Thrilling Shot”. Shit yeah it’s a thrill. We got goosebumps just thinking about it, let alone listening to it. Another great example of amazing bass sound and really emotional chorus. Always praise Japanese heavy metal. It will praise you right back.

Oh shit. Third time we feature Birth Ritual on our 45 minute mixes, and twice in a row (check Episode 49 – Bad Character). Guess we just can’t get enough from these Japanese wackos! We went first with their 2009 demo, then the 2010 demo. Not it’s time for the 2011 EP and this, friends, is, literally, “Delicious”.

So, how about a change of pace? Let’s slow things a big chunk with Russian stoner/doom from Kamni, ANOTHER band we featured 24 episodes ago. We thought this was really obscured, but we were listening to the amazing Rádio Quântica and got caught up by surprise after listening one of Kamni’s tracks on another show. Are they getting more mainstream? Or is it because they’ve just released their debut album?

What’s definitely more mainstream is the unstoppable wave of retro/doom/occult bands from the ever shrewd and pop perceptive Sweden. We featured some of these bands before. There’s a lot of crap out there, but Year of the Goat are still ok in our book. We give you… “Riders of Vultures”. Think Ghost, Uncle Acid?… Cool riff!

Here’s another little piece of 70s memorabilia. We found out about this just like pretty much everyone else: through the “Casting The Runes” comp released in 2012. Apparently Gabriel Ratchett is yet another pseudonym of Laurice Daniels (Grudge, Spiv, Pepper Pot), which is real weird and real cool. Just like “Dark Side of Your Face” actually. Puts a smile on our lips every time.

Next, it’s Sroeng Santi from Thailand. Dude was one cool cat (past away in 82). Covered Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man” *and* had the nerve to also get all funky like with Uriah Heep’s “Gypsy”. It’s called “Pai Na Pai” and this is how it sounds. Brilliant, isn’t it? We’re not really sure about what the story here is (the original came out in the late 70s, 78 or something like that), but try to fetch yourself a copy of the compilation “Thai? Dai! (The Heavier Side Of The Luk Thung Underground)” for more material.

“Taste” is one cool album with plenty to like. On this occasion “And Let Me Drift Away” serves merely as a bridge for things to come. That’s Metallica and Megadeth. Yeah.

We are not gonna fall on the trap of arguing about who’s best and who’s worse, ‘cause fuck that noise. One thing is for sure: they are both not great nowadays haha anyway, both tracks here are pretty infamous. “The Thing That Should Not Be” because of its slobbiness and “Dawn Patrol” because… it’s pointless? Whatever, It’s funny to hear Mustaine attempting any kind of spoken word. The end result is quite humorous and we love having a laugh. The song leaves you hanging too, which is nice. You can just hit the replay button and enjoy another dose of Shado. All is well in the world with Satan Made Me Do It. May we be here forever.

Shouts to Nick Menza.

— Tracklist

1. Evil City | Shado (UK) | Evil City [Single], 1974 https://www.discogs.com/artist/162464-Shado
2. Pictures of Home | Deep Purple (UK) | Machine Head, 1972 http://www.deeppurple.com/
3. Phantom of the Night | Sniper (JAP) | Thrilling Shot, 1983 https://www.discogs.com/artist/2061709-Sniper-27
4. Delicious | Birth Ritual (JAP) | Angel Grinder [7” EP], 2011 https://www.discogs.com/Birth-Ritual-Kumagaya-Demo/release/3531658
5. Sun Inside | Kamni (RUS)| EP ([EP], 2010 http://kamni.bandcamp.com/album/ep
6. Riders of Vultures | Year of the Goat (SWE) | The Unspeakable, 2015 https://www.facebook.com/yearofthegoat/
7. Dark Side of Your Face | Gabriel Ratchetts (UK) | Casting The Runes “The Recorded British Abyss 1969-1976” [Compilation], 2012
8. Pai Na Pai | Sroeng Santi (THA) | Sroeng Santi, 1978 https://www.discogs.com/artist/1743334-Sroeng-Santi
9. And Let Me Drift Away | The Telescopes (UK) | Taste, 1989 https://www.discogs.com/artist/159995-The-Telescopes
10. The Thing That Should Not Be | Metallica (USA) | Master of Puppets, 1986 http://www.metallica.com/
11. Dawn Patrol | Megadeth (USA) | Rust in Piece, 1990 http://www.megadeth.com/