Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
Buzzard – Churp!!! (1993)
Here’s another rarity for you fine readers out there. Buzzard’s debut album Churp!!! on Hellhound Records. 
I remember back in the early 90s going to see these guys at Kings Head Inn (RIP) on Hampton Blvd in Norfolk, VA. A buddy of mine said, “Dude you have to see this band. They are insane. Their drummer is phenomenal and he’s only got one leg!” So I went. I was completely floored by everything that this band was doing. They were tight. They were erratic. They were brilliant. They were ugly. Dudes that looked like street urchin gutter punks with beards and dreads. Never got close enough to see if they smelled badly. Didn’t matter. They were a machine. A force to be reckoned with. I went to see them whenever I knew that they had a show. With that original era of the band I think I saw them 4 or 5 times within a year or 2. Every time I was blown away. Never really tried to speak to the guys as they all pretty much looked like they didn’t wan to be spoken to.
Buzzard was on Hellhound Records which was primarily a doom metal label…but Buzzard was anything but a doom band. They mixed metal with jazz, punk, Miles Davis, Zappa, Yes, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Return to Forever…
Their live show was pretty mind-numbing. Odd times signatures, stops and starts, no real cues given to each other. They all knew what they had to do and when. At that time they consisted of Patrick Walsh (Guitars), AJ Long (Vocals), John Finney (Horns), Andy Brown (Bass) and Joey Rudacil (Drums). Just insane I tell you.
Several years later I am hanging out with some friends and see Patrick Walsh from Buzzard come in the bar I was in. I was there with his sister and didn’t realize that they were related. Buzzard was reformed at this point as a 3-piece with Kevin Anderson on bass and Mark Henry on Drums. Patrick and I quickly connected and started hanging out a lot. Ultimately he became one of my best friends. Brilliant guy. Phenomenal guitarist. Helluva a nice guy. We jammed together briefly with Joey Rudacil and Todd Owens. It only lasted about 3 or 4 practices but it was fun. I ended up in another band with Joey a few months later and had a blast but we could never secure a singer.
Anyway, I was working the door at the Taphouse in Norfolk and Buzzard was scheduled to play their first show in 7 years. I was fortunate enough to get to sit in on several of their practices and was blown away even more by how much their sound had progressed. It went from the Mahavishnu-esque psychojazz to a math metal thing like Watchtower on meth. people came from up and down the east coast for this show and the place was over capacity with a line of people out the door and wrapped around the building trying to get in. It was an incredible show. They have done some subsequent shows but I think the last one may have been in 2007. It’s time for more!
I keep praying that they put out a new record with the newer songs on it. They recorded a 2nd album several years ago that never really saw the light of day. You can listen to some of it on their website.
Churp!!! is one of the toughest releases of Hellhound’s to find nowadays. I fortunately have 2 copies that I cherish. The album is an incredible piece of music…of art…an experience. AJ’s vocals are simply incredible. If you download this, please listen to the album as a whole. Don’t skip any of the 16 tracks. You’d be doing yourself a great disservice.
Tracks:
| 1. | Cyclops | 02:28 | |
| 2. | Shadows Without Substance | 03:03 | |
| 3. | The Fellowship (varieties) | 04:45 | |
| 4. | The Given/Grinding Wheel (including, but not limited to the following) | 08:38 | |
| 5. | Ear To The Ground | 03:44 | |
| 6. | His Descent | 01:35 | |
| 7. | Carpetbaggers | 05:13 | |
| 8. | Fluorescent Orange Bag O’Goodness | 02:09 | |
| 9. | Thirteen o’clock (frumpy smokes a fattie) | 05:21 | |
| 10. | Escape From The Island Of Misfit Toys | 06:01 | |
| 11. | The Secret Doctrine According To Simon | 03:36 | |
| 12. | Grand Poo-Bah | 00:48 | |
| 13. | The Return Of Frumpy And The Scrubby Jazz Hippies | 01:55 | |
| 14. | Musica d’Apocryphonica (no. I adagio) | 00:48 | |
| 15. | Savage Paisley Vortex (part I) | 00:59 | |
| 16. | Savage Paisley Vortex (pert II) The Ritual Dance And Initiation Of Chicky Boy | 07:01 |
Check out the vids from back in the day…
Leviathan
So, it looks as if Leviathan (Colorado progressive metal band) is doing a reunion show in January 2010. Too bad they couldn’t have waited a few months else I would have made my way up there to see the show. But Colorado in the middle of the winter? No thanks. Hell, I am already too cold here in central Texas!
Back in 1997 I went to LA to visit with Century Media and metal Blade Records as I was buying most of my stock from them when I had Acacia Music online in the late 80s. It was a blast out there and the folks at both labels were absolutely incredible. One great experience was going to the “office” of Century Media. At that time they were still a small label in the USA. Their office was an old Victorian looking 2-story house with an 8′ privacy fence around it. Not very office-looking. But it kept their overhead low and it was perfect for their needs. My rep with CM, John Schultz (where are you, dude?) took me out to their warehouse in South Central LA (Hawthorne). I just walked through the rows of CDs and merch drooling. I brought back 200 CDs. Many for my personal collection but most of them to sell on the website and on eBay.
One of the bands I got a hold of on the trip was Leviathan. They had the first EP and their first 2 full-length CDs in stock so I grabbed one of each. At the time I was a little more into prog metal than I am now and this stuff surely satisfied my tastes in the genre.
My favorite of the 3 is Riddles, Questions, Poetry and Outrage. Such a fine album. All 3 of these are way out of print so I’ll post them for your downloading pleasure. Yes, I know they did a follow-up to the Riddles album, but I didn’t care for it.
Enjoy.
Riddles, Questions, Poetry and Outrage
Eyefear – Edge Of Existence (1996)
Wow. It’s not very often that I put a CD in to rip that iTunes doesn’t recognize, but this is one of them. I really am quite 
shocked.
This is another band that Kelz turned me on to through one of his many compilation tapes. Eyefear hail from Australia and surprisingly enough they are still together, not that I really care now. This is the definitive album by them.
It was the opening track, Of Blind Faith, that he had on there and it is just one of those almost perfect songs, albeit the intro is a bit lengthy. The album has some elements of prog and traditional metal. It’s not the tightest of albums but it all just seems to work. Sort of like the Vis Vires album I reviewed a while back. Not perfect, but done well enough to leave a lasting impression.
The vocals really do it for me. Too bad he only lasted for one album. Lots of good vocal harmonies throughout. There are some tasty guitar solos on here as well. I think one of the guitarists was a fan of Andy LaRocque as I hear a few ripped off hooks…not that there’s anything wrong with that. None of the songs really pick up speed that much besides the title track. No matter, it’s worth hearing.
I own 2 copies of this CD. One of them I got from Sentinel Steel Records and I think the other I janked off of eBay.
Agressor – Say Your Prayers (1996)
Here’s a good one from the vaults that most metalheads probably haven’t heard…but should. Agressor was a NY band 
that apparently had been around since the 1980s but really only got decent recognition when their debut full length album, Say Your Prayers, was released in 1996. Kelz turned me on to these guys on a compilation tape that he had made for me. After hearing it I immediately called Sentinel Steel Records and ordered it from Denis.
The best description is to call these guys a poor man’s Overkill because the singer could fill in for Blitz and I doubt anyone would notice the difference. Say Your Prayers certainly has a feel of Overkill’s Feel the Fire and Taking Over, but of course not quite as good…and a decade late. That being said I have always loved this CD.
These guys apparently changed their name to Magus Beast in 2002 and I don’t think they ever released anything else.
If you dig Overkill’s early sound, then certainly download this and you won’t be disappointed.
The Metal Files 
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