Sum Of Men...

This right here is another recently acquired prized possession, and a crucial addition to my SKULL collection. I got this baby directly from Eric Wood, who had uncovered a bunch of mint(and in this case still sealed!) and way OOP MITB and Bastard Noise records and CD's. I only bought this record, but believe me that if I could afford to buy everything, I would. Here is the first MITB full-length LP "Sum Of Men...The Brutality Continues", OG press, black vinyl, 33 RPM.

So yeah, I think MITB is one of the best bands ever. Totally monolithic, raw, experimental, forward thinking hardcore music. This record, and I guess most MITB records, just have this legendary aura around their music. Like, their whole being and existence is so legendary and somewhat mysterious that it doesn't seem real at times. Like I'm listening to music from other worldly beings. You know, if these entities recorded on crappy 4-track tape records. 

On this record, I definitely prefer side 2. Just better songs on that side in my opinion. MITB were definitely still in their developing stages at this point, and there wasn't as much extra vocals/instrumentation like on their later releases. 

Lots of pictures in this post. There's just so much cool imagery on the inserts and cover sleeve. 

Not sure if Eric still has copies of this available, but he definitely has a bunch of other necessary releases available. Worship.

~VII

Skulldozer

Here we have one of my most anticipated releases of this year, and boy was it worth the wait. "Skulldozer", the latest full-length from Bastard Noise has finally been unleashed upon the world courteous of Deep Six Records. This is the pre-order brown marble vinyl edition limited to 100. Gatefold packaging with a poster, 33 RPM. Beautiful packaging.

Eric Wood has said that this is the best BN release to date, and I might have to agree with him. Everything that made the previous album "A Culture of Monsters" good has been upped on "Skulldozer". The recording is fuller and louder, the songwriting is fantastic, the vocals are incredible, everything just sounds excellent. BN spent a lot of time on this record and it truly shows. 

Six songs this time around(2 more if you buy the CD version). All generally slow dirges, with the exception of "Seeing The Same Fate" which kicks things up a notch tempo wise. Also, the addition of Aimee on vocals is an incredible change to the band. Her presence is not subtle at all; full intensity all the time, and a great compliment to Eric's deep-trollish-growl. 

This will definitely end up in my top 5 of the year, without a doubt. A truly excellent album from this legendary group. Worship the Skull!!!

~VII