Resurrections
UNEARTHING THE LATEST EXTREME REISSUES
SOME OF THE most coveted material in VENOM’S illustrious catalogue finally gets a comprehensive release with Assault! (Dissonance) [8], a box set boasting all six of the pioneering band’s limited release EPs from the mid-80s, including the previously unofficial Japanese and Canadian Assault EPs. A mixture of raw and raging studio material and warts-and-more-warts live stuff, it’s hard to deny either the snarling, ragged glory of the original Venom line-up or the reality that only rabid fans will want to sit through the full two hours. Total immersion is really the only option when revisiting YOB’S much-worshipped The Grand Cessation (Relapse) [9]. Simply one of the greatest doom albums of the last decade, it hardly needed to be remastered or graced with new artwork, but it has been… so why not buy it again? With levels of sonic and otherworldly power that few can touch, it remains a career peak for Mike Scheidt’s crew and one of the wildest rides in metal history. Similarly untamed but in a different musical realm, BLIND IDIOT GOD’S seminal second album Undertow (Indivisible Music) [9] brought clattering, prog-tinged noise rock and bowel-bothering dub reggae together, with bass guru Bill Laswell manning the controls. The result sounded light years ahead of its time in 1989 and still sounds thrillingly brave. This sonically and visually sparkling revamp should help to spread the word about an unsung classic. The hot-boxing, tripped-out weirdos to Fu Manchu’s exuberant, glue-sniffing skate dudes, NEBULA were always a cut above their stoner rock peers. Plus, the drummer had a gong. Always a winner. Debut EP Let It Burn [7], split comp Dos EPs [7] and first fulllength To The Center [8] (all Heavy Psych Sounds) come from the Californians’ first flurry of creativity and every moment hits the psychedelic spot. More bands should have gongs. You wouldn’t trust CONAN with a gong, though. They’d probably eat it. Man Is Myth (Early Demos) (Napalm) [7] collates rehearsal and studio rough cuts, and is as monstrously heavy and gloriously Neanderthal as you might expect. In the end, riffs always win.