Yonin Bayashi - Isshoku Sokuhatsu [1974]

I'm going away for a few nights so i thought i'd leave you with this brilliant, semi-obscure, Japanese prog gem. The dudes were only 20 years old apon recording this and while they would go on to be huge in Japan, they never really seen the light of day elsewhere. Although they had developed their own fantastic sound, you can definitely notice the influence from some of the bigger British bands at the time. It's hard to name similarities but i would probably throw Camel, Nektar and maybe even a little Floyd into the mix. There is also some fantastic hard rock moments ala Captain Beyond, which really sound great.

Highly recommended if you can deal with the Japanese vocals, amazing stuff this!

Link: http://sharebee.com/ee4971e1

Various Artists - Heavy Christmas [1971]

What we have here is a rare Brain label compilation release from 71 featuring bands playing christmas material. Don't let that put you off though, this is a collection of mind blowing acid rock and progressive mayhem. Some of the fantastic festival groups here include, Dies Irae, Joy Unlimited, Virus, and one of my favourite obscure german groups, Ardo Dombec.

Quite a potent dose, Merry Christmas!

Link: http://sharebee.com/9926d3b9
Alternative Link: RAPIDSHARE

Sufjan Stevens - Songs For Christmas [2006]

If you're like me you never really enjoy the typical christmas tunes. Sure, they are fun little tracks that are most appropriate throughout the closing December weeks, but never really see the light of day throughout the rest of the following year.. why should they? Sufjan Stevens is a great folk singer/songwriter i have admired for a while now and what he has released here is a collection of xmas covers (as well as his own original input) that can do no wrong this time of year.

The tracks here were compiled as various EPs over the years and given as gifts to friends and family of Stevens. Most of the tracks are versions of traditional Christmas songs, with a number of original compositions such as "Sister Winter" and "Star of Wonder" included. Sufjan Stevens has developed a reputation for being a devoted Christian and many of the songs he chose for inclusion on Songs for Christmas are religious in nature, including his original compositions.

This is a great record that is just really nice to listen to this time of year, and maybe even beyond. A welcomed change from the typical campy stuff. Merry Christmas bloggers!

Link P1: http://sharebee.com/ee21c80a
Link P2: http://sharebee.com/cab0c76c

UFO - UFO1 [1970]

When people think of these British rock superstars they tend to forget the incredibly underrated original lineup, and focus on the Schenker years. Rather than the straight-up hard rock that would bring the band fame later on, this early face of the band had a really cool psychedelic, heavy blues rock sound. Phil Mogg has one of the best rock voices ever in my opinion, and Bolton was no slouch on the axe.

UFO's first two albums are easily two of my favourite hard rock albums of all time, with the second record ("Flying") even unleashing the full on lunacy of all things space rock! If only we got a few more records from this lineup.

Link: http://sharebee.com/a2dbc49b
Alternative Link: Rapidshare

Spiritual Beggars - Another Way To Shine [1996]

Spiritual Beggars was formed in 1994 by Michael Amott, the band was started as a side project after Michael left the British death metal band Carcass (He is also the founder and full time member of the melodic death metal band Arch Enemy.) What we have here is some great stoner rock from the ever fruitful Sweden. Everything you are looking for in a good typical album of the genre is here, slow sludgy riffs, solid drumming, dark lyrics and a rad vocalist. For those who don't know, Per Wiberg (currently with Opeth) is also the man on keys for Spiritual Beggars.

If hard stoner rock is your thing this won't disappoint.

Link: http://sharebee.com/a4ec2689
Alternative Link: Rapidshare

Illegal-Cloaking-Devices

www.illegal-cloaking-devices.blogspot.com

So after months and months of discussion between two of my friends and myself, we have decided to start up this blog and all contribute. Many of my posts here will end up there, as well as some additional stuff you won't find here. The kind of criteria we are posting is anything heavy and hard, or in simpler terms, anything that kicks a certain amount of ass!

It could be hard to get off the ground so hopefully you guys can bookmark us over there!

Spread the word!

Wishbone Ash - First Light [1970]

When it comes down to it, Wishbone Ash is really 'the' band for me. 'The' band being the one that opened my ears to all of the stuff i listen to today. 'The' band that interested me in wanting to hear more and more, and collect more and more. But most notably Wishbone Ash is to me, 'the' band that epitomized the blending of blues based heavy rock with the common elements found in Progressive Rock.

"First Light" is what very well could of been WA's debut album. The recording was made with only one purpose in mind, to get a record deal. But as the band signed with MCA Records (with the support of Ritchie Blackmore of Deep Purple fame) they decided to re-record most of them. While perhaps less polished than the first MCA recordings, one can hear the experimentation here that led to that later work. The sound quality is suprisingly good, with a certain raw energy that gives the music a very fresh sound. The album as a whole represents the band in their first stages of their creation.

In 2007 this seemingly forgotten Wishbone demo was discovered and released. It is an excellent little gem for Wishbone fans, and i would probably even recommend it as a starting place for newcomers.

Link: http://sharebee.com/3b85d986
Alternative Link: RAPIDSHARE

October Equus - October Equus [2006]

Now get this.. they took their name from a pagan festival celebrated in ancient Rome in the middle of October. During the festival, the two groups of people who lived in the city would go to another city and have a chariot race, two horses per chariot. The winning team's fastest horse was then beheaded, and the head put on a pole. The two sides would then violently fight each other to try to get the head. The winning side would go back to the city victoriously and mount the head in the tower or palace, where the skull would remain until they started the festival over the following year. Essential information right?

This is an awesome debut album by a Spanish band that reveals itself as a mature avant-garde prog force. The repertoire is full of sinister motifs and moods, usually with the guitar taking center stage while the keys lay disturbing orchestrations and ambiences (mixing the likes of Univers Zero, Gentle Giant, KC & VDGG.) It is all held together by a rhythm section that moves proficiently through the complex dynamics of all ten tracks.

This group has their second album out this year and i can't actually find it. If anyone could post it in the chatbox or in the comments section for me i'd gladly post it for everyone. Very interested in hearing it after this amazing debut!

Link: http://sharebee.com/31deea93

Magna Carta - Lord of the Ages [1974]

Ah, now this is a fantastic folk-rock record. Magna Carta’s music is largely inspired and influenced by the folk of Simon & Garfunkel, focussing on soft and gentle acoustic music, often with a traditional feel and great vocal harmonies. They were part of the early progressive wave, but without actually fully stepping into the progressive realm. I'd say people only add that prog folk tag after seeing the totally awesome Roger Dean cover (See the pictures on the right hand side of my blog) as well as the nature of some of the lyrics.

"Two Old Friends" is one of my all time favourite songs, you just have to hear it - great writing and absolutely stunning. The title track "Lord of the Ages" is truly Magna Carta's epic. It starts off as soft acoustic piece as the verses are spoken over a beautiful melody, with a haunting sung refrain. The theme is vaguely theological, being based on the Book of Revelations and the musings of Nostrodamus. Book of Revelations? Nostrodamus? How is this not prog!? As the track develops, the serene atmosphere is suddenly broken by a lead guitar burst. This introduces a much harder, rock based section that actually sounds quite like The Beatles at times.

They have another good record called "Seasons", but other than that they would never really reach the high point they hit with "Lord of the Ages". Any lover of folk will appreciate those tracks i mentioned, check it out!

"GATHERING IN THE HARVEST."

Link: http://sharebee.com/7512f9f0

Ocoai - Breatherman [2008]

So we all know instrumental post-rock is kind of a dangerous topic right? In my opinion a good percentage of anything described as such a thing usually ends up sounding kinda tedious and "samey". In this case, however is a great young band who admittedly, wear their influences on their sleeve, still manage to come up with something very fresh, dark and beautiful. Each track differs in mood and groove, showcasing some pretty amazing stuff. Delayed guitars, ambient sections, even a pretty rad trumpet at one stage. Add all that with the sometimes genre-typical in your face post-metal brutality, and you're in for a real treat.

There were some big time post-rock bands releasing records this year, Ocoai has outdone most of them.

Link: http://sharebee.com/b50118db

Possessed - Exploration [1971]

This fantastic record was actually one of the first true early 70s hard rock/early metal albums i obsessively enjoyed. There are quite a few doomy riff based tracks here that any early Sabbath fan will instantly appreciate. The vocals, to some can be kind of a let down as they are a little over the top, but i like what they add to the record. Unfortunetly enough, tragedy struck in '76 when the band's tour bus slammed into a stationary tanker, killing 3 members.

Pretty sad, these guys really deserved a bigger label...what could have been.

Link: http://sharebee.com/09b88cee
Alternative Link: Rapidshare

SometimeWorld Has Returned!

Well hello there bloggers!

You have reached the new sometimeworld blog! At first glance the only difference might be the hyphen in the domain name (now sometime-world.blogspot, instead of sometimeworld.blogspot) however, this time i aims to keep it more simplistic, and post more often. I'm also going to be adding a little more variety of music this time around... proggers fear not, i will continue to post the same great stuff you have become accustomed too.

Some of my regular readers will probably remember me wanting to change blog services a few months ago. A few of my posts had been removed and i had just generally been too lazy to keep it running. I've always noticed i seem to get quite a few visits (almost 200 thousand on the first StW blog) and realised i should probably keep with it. So i decided not to give up on blogger after all, and now i'm here.

You can find every single album i have uploaded in the past below this post. A more regular alternative however, is the Album Archive button on the right hand side of this blog. It will link you back to that post to easily discover my collection of goodies.

In other news, i got around to creating a last.fm group dedicated to this blog and its many readers. I't'd be grand to see a few more members :] - Last.fm group

I ask anyone who has my original blog linked somewhere to please update the links!

Marcus | sometime-world