Bark Psychosis - Hex (1994)

One of the very first post-rock records, Hex is also unquestionably one of the genre's finest moments. It's low-key, beautiful, and textural, but with a palpable sense of darkness and mystery, as well as a compositional intensity and unpredictability -- all slow-burn, no easy payoffs -- that would allude many of their followers. These same bands could also have learned from Bark Psychosis (and Talk Talk, of course) that "post-rock" and "instrumental" are not intrinsically linked, as these songs are really enhanced by vocalist/guitarist/organist/sample guy/etc. Graham Sutton's half-whispered intonations.

Track listing:
1. The Loom
2. A Street Scene
3. Absent Friend
4. Big Shot
5. Fingerspit
6. Eyes and Smiles
7. Pendulum Man

Burning the city

Fleshcrawl - Impurity (1994)

Previously on OPIUM HUM:
Fleshcrawl - Descend into the Absurd (1994)

Impurity is Fleshcrawl's second and IMO best album. The doom leanings that permeated their first album are significantly dialed back, and the production's way punchier, making for a nastier, burlier beast. It's nothing particularly groundbreaking, but it's damn near perfect 90s death metal. Also, there is a Demigod cover.

Track listing:
1. From the Dead to the Living
2. Withering Life
3. Reincarnation
4. Subordinated
5. Disfigured
6. After Obliteration
7. Stiffen Souls
8. Center of Hate
9. Inevitable End
10. Incineration

Rotting beneath
Down on earth
So cold

Royal Trux - Twin Infinitives (1990)

Previously on OPIUM HUM:
Royal Trux - Untitled (1993)

Alright, enough fucking around: here's the most difficult, drug-addled, borderline unlistenable hipster noisefuck I can think of. Nothing before or after Twin Infinitives, including within Royal Trux's discography, has ever sounded like this record. Dense and virtually devoid of melody or rhythm, it's rock and roll torn apart and haphazardly slapped back together using laser SFX, broken amps, and LSD, with two NYC ghosts droning an endless stream of incomprehensible words over everything.

Track listing:
1. Solid Gold Tooth / Ice Cream / Jet Pet / RTX-USA / Kool Down Wheels
2. Chances Are the Comets in Our Future / Yin Jim Versus the Comet Creature / Osiris
3. (Edge of the) Ape of Oven
4. Florida Avenue Theme / Lick My Boots / Glitterbust / Funky Son / Ratcreeps / NY Avenue Bridge

Nothing but
Rim

Beyond Mortal Dreams - From Hell (2008)

I know, I say this kinda thing all the time, but Australia's Beyond Mortals Dreams really should be more popular. From Hell, their only full-length thus far, is an absolutely crushing piece of death metal in the vein of Morbid Angel, with beastly vocals, beefy riffs, a crypt-bound guitar tone, and just a touch of doom that brings to mind Dead Congregation... and it's self-released! Reasons for their relative lack of popularity may include their name (sounds like they want to get a slot opening for Theatre of Tragedy) and their imagery (that fire demon is not scaring anyone) cause it's definitely not their music.

Track listing:
1. From Hell
2. Where the Unbelievers Burn
3. Destined for Annihilation
4. Desolation Hymn
5. The Earth Belongs to Hell
6. In Agony Everafter
7. We Ascend

The lord demon of vermin feasts
Sucking souls from corporeality

Lisa Germano - Happiness (1994)

Her second studio album, Happiness was a watershed moment for Germano. Surpassing by far her debut in every way, it's where her idiosyncratic musical vision first truly congealed -- lushly layered arrangements and a sardonic sense of humor applied to fuzzy, melancholy, alt-rock- and folk-laced dream pop.

Note: Happiness was originally released in 1993, then was reissued the next year by 4AD with reworked mixes and track order. And as much as I like to root for OGs, in this case, the reissue version is superior, so that's what you're getting here.

Track listing:
1. Bad Attitude
2. Destroy the Flower
3. Puppet
4. Everyone's Victim
5. Energy
6. Cowboy
7. Happiness
8. The Earth
9. Around the World
10. Sycophant
11. Miamo-Tutti
12. The Dresses Song
13. The Darkest Night of All

You wish it was sunny
But it's not, ha-ha-ha

Roy Ayers - Coffy OST (1973)

Previously on OPIUM HUM:
Roy Ayers Ubiquity - He's Coming (1971)

This record should be considered one of the great blaxploitation soundtracks, as well as some of Ayers' finest work. It plays out like a series of evocative vignettes, tending towards in-the-pocket grooves that lend themselves well to Ayers' virtuosic improvisations. Some songs are as funky as anything he has recorded, but there's also plenty of spaced-out jazz-funk, as well as some great vocal-driven numbers.

Track listing:
1. Coffy Is the Color
2. Priscilla's Theme
3. King George
4. Aragon
5. Coffy Sauna
6. King's Last Ride
7. Coffy Baby
8. Brawling Broads
9. Escape
10. Shining Symbol
11. Exotic Dance
12. Making Love
13. Vittroni's Theme - King Is Dead
14. End of Sugarman

Sweet as a chocolate bar

Sortsind - Sår (1999)

Previously on OPIUM HUM:
Sortsind - More Days (2001)

First of two masterful albums of harsh, lo-fi, depressive black metal from this underrated Danish trio. Sortsind sound genuinely unhinged in a way that few other bands manage -- I can't shake the feeling that all of their songs were performed with slit wrists. If you jock Xasthur but haven't heard Sortsind, you are fucking up, my friend.

Track listing:
1. Vandrer Blandt Dødninge
2. Blot
3. Drømme Om Evig Nat
4. Blandt Grå Monumenter
5. Sår
6. Sorte Tårer
7. Jeg Er Kulden
8. Vandrer Du I Natten Mørk
9. Skumring

Dreams of eternal night

Hot Snakes - Automatic Midnight (2000)

Circa 2014, a lot of post-hardcore from the 90s/early 200s sounds pretty weak to my ears, but not Hot Snakes, man, this shit still kills. They sound kinda like a more melodic Drive Like Jehu (two members of whom formed Hot Snakes after DLJ broke up) stripped of the prog-ish tendencies, leaving behind a beefy, driving, surprisingly catchy core.

Track listing:
1. If Credit's What Matters I'll Take Credit
2. Automatic Midnight
3. No Hands
4. Salton City
5. 10th Planet
6. Light Up the Stars
7. Our Work Fills the Pews
8. Past Lives
9. Mystery Boy
10. Apartment O
11. Let It Come
12. [Hidden Track]

My memory serves me right
History does no disservice to the bottom line

The Abyssinians - Satta Massagana (1976)

Every time I write about reggae, I feel obligated to mention that I don't know much about it as a music genre, scene, cultural force, or otherwise. This means that all of the records that I hear surely are barely scratching the surface, and it's probable that, for those in the know, posting Satta Massaganna is a bit like posting Souvlaki or In the Nightside Eclipse. However, it's also entirely possible, even likely, that most of my MASSIVE readership know as little about reggae as I. So I'm going with it. After all, I read on Wikipedia that it's a "classic roots reggae album."

Track listing:
1. Declaration of Rights
2. The Good Lord
3. Forward Unto Zion
4. Know Jah Today
5. Abendigo
6. Y Mas Gan
7. Black Man's Strain
8. Satta Massaganna
9. I and I
10. African Race
11. Leggo Beast
12. Peculiar Number
13. Reason Time
14. There Is No End

There is a land far, far away
Where there's no night, there's only day

Arcana - Arc of the Testimony (1997)

Second and final album from this short-lived jazz fusion group, who, despite including contributions from Pharoah Sanders, Buckethead, and others, by the time of this recording had been trimmed down to just two official members: Bill Laswell and Tony Williams. Arc of the Testimony is composed of heady, atmospheric fusion, with a few pieces of drifting, nervous, ECM-esque ambience ("Gone Tomorrow", "Calling Out the Blue Light") and is rounded out by a thick, bass-heavy sound -- awesome, nerdy stuff. It also has the honor of representing the last recorded output from the great Tony Williams, who died of a heart attack midway through the album's recording sessions.

Track listing:
1. Gone Tomorrow
2. Illuminator
3. Into the Circle
4. Returning
5. Calling Out the Blue Light
6. Circles of Hell
7. Wheeless on a Dark River
8. The Earth Below

Beyond games

Cathedral - Supernatural Birth Machine (1996)

Meanwhile, Cathedral's hanging out, playing half-speed buttrock riffs, sounding like Macho Man Randy Savage switched out (some of) his cocaine for psychedelics, put his rap project on hold and started a killer psychedelic cheese-doom band. After practice, they hop in their spaceship, where they smoke a few joints with a bunch of re-animated skeletons and Satanic robots while flying to Saturn, where they're all gonna drop acid, bone sexy aliens while watching Planet Earth explode, and release flawless album after flawless album, all while not giving a single fuck that surprisingly few people notice that they're one of the best metal bands ever.

P.S. I'm headed to Acapulco this afternoon, where I will live the good life 'til Sunday. See you suckers sometime next week.

Track listing:
1. Cybertron 71 / Eternal Countdown (Intro)
2. Urko's Conquest
3. Stained Glass Horizon
4. Cyclops Revolution
5. Birth Machine 2000
6. Nightmare Castle
7. Fireball Demon
8. Phaser Quest
9. Suicide Asteroid
10. Dragon Ryder 13
11. Magnetic Hole

Earth children arise
Transformation for final flight
Justice in our hands

Terje Rypdal, Miroslav Vitous & Jack DeJohnette - To Be Continued (1981)

Previously on OPIUM HUM:
Terje Rypdal, Miroslav Vitous & Jack DeJohnette - S/T (1978)

Second of two collaborative efforts between guitarist Terje Rypdal, bassist Miroslav Vitous, and drummer Jack DeJohnette. Atmospheric, dynamic, free-form compositions that might work as an easy primer on 'the ECM sound.'

Track listing:
1. Maya
2. Mountain the the Clouds
3. Morning Lake
4. To Be Continued
5. This Morning
6. Topplue, Votter, & Skjerf
7. Uncomposed Appendix

Icing

Iconoclast Contra - Combat Is the Voice of the Heathen (2010)

Ugly blackened death metal from fucking Salt Lake City. I found Iconoclast Contra through their connection to Black Seas of Infinity -- he's their dummer -- but their guitarist and vocalist were both in Ibex Throne, who I have never heard (oops) but are apparently a band that people care about. Anyway, if you like bands like Profanatica, or Ibex Throne, probably, you should give this a spin.

Track listing:
1. Murder Division
2. Wolf Sect: Profane
3. Passage Rites to Cerberus
4. Combat Is the Voice of the Heathen
5. Force-Fucked with Artillery Fire
6. Torture Assassin
7. Warheads Towards the Holy Land
8. War 'Til Death

Humanity is worthless

Big Moe - City of Syrup (2000)

SO fucking gangsta. Big Moe has a smooth, half-sung delivery that, along with the often upbeat-sounding instrumentals, injects the hedonism of the lyrics with a welcome dose of levity. Since he's a Screwed Up Click affiliate, there are SUC/Houston all-stars all over the place, including DJ Screw, Big Hawk, Z-RO, Yungstar, and a million others. And in my book, he gets a thousand bonus points for paraphrasing my favorite Zapp song (actually, one my favorite songs, period) on the title track.

Track listing:
1. Momma M.O.E. (Skit)
2. Barre Baby (feat. Ronnetta Spencer)
3. Get Back (feat. Lil' O & Big Hawk)
4. Maan! (feat. E.S.G. & Big Pokey)
5. We Da Shit (feat. E.S.G. & Z-RO)
6. I'll Do It (feat. Lil' O & Dirty $)
7. Drank (Skit)
8. City of Syrup (feat. DJ Screw, Z-RO, & Tyte Eyez)
9. Choppaz (feat. D-Gotti, Noke D, & D-Wreck
10. I Wonder (feat. Enjoli & Tyte Eyez)
11. Payin' Dues (feat. Z-RO)
12. X (Time) 4 Change (feat. D-Wreck, Al-D, Will-Lean, Noke D, & Ronnie Spencer)
13. Po' It Up (feat. Z-RO & Big Hawk)
14. Ra-Ra (Skit)
15. Ridin' Candy (feat. Noke D, C-Nile, & D-Gotti)
16. Whatcha Want? (feat. D-Wreck, D-Gotti, & Tyte Eyez)
17. Freestyle (Skit)
18. Freestyle (June 27) (feat. D-Mo, Kici, Yungstar, Big Pokey, & Haircut Joe)
19. Leanin' (feat. DJ Screw, Mike D, & Michael Wilson)

Rollin' in my candy red car
Sippin' a big daddy cup of barre

Dwight Twilley Band - Sincerely (1976)

Sincerely is the kind of perfect, would-be classic power pop record that makes you realize just how arbitrary success in the music business is. Like, I think that in some weird, imaginary world, every record that I post on here would be a hit, but Sincerely could have been a huge hit in this world. Listen to this and tell me I'm wrong.

So, much like their spiritual comrades, Big Star, the Dwight Twilley Band mixed 70s dad rock sounds with a kinda fey, pop-oriented approach and ended up generating a series of positively perfect power pop gems while toiling in virtual obscurity; unlike Big Star, though, DTB --and their namesake, who continues to record and release records to this day -- have stayed there. I only found them because their song "Looking for the Magic" is prominently featured in the movie You're Next. Having finally heard it, though, I genuinely believe that Dwight Twilley should be at least indie-famous by now, and I implore you: give this one a spin.

For more info, here's an article that I found; apparently, I'm not the only one who's made the Big Star comparison, nor the only one to think that Twilley should be a star.

Track listing:
1. I'm On Fire
2. Could Be Love
3. Feeling in the Dark
4. You Were So Warm
5. I'm Losing You
6. Sincerely
7. TV
8. Release Me
9. Three Persons
10. Baby Let's Cruise
11. England
12. Just Like the Sun

I don't wanna sit and watch it all roll by