Tantrum of the Muse – The Heart Is A Two-Headed Sperm (1998/2010)

Artist: Tantrum of the Muse
Album: The Heart Is A Two-Headed Sperm
Year: 1998 (remaster re-release in 2010)
Label: Takehold Records (remaster self-released)
Genre: Metal Weirdness

Sorry for the long absence. Ever since my move I’ve had very spotty internet and uploading and downloading takes forever. That hasn’t changed, so I can’t guarantee any uptick in updates for right now, but at least I can provide one of the most stellar bandcamp links ever.

Tantrum of the Muse was a short-lived avant-metal act from Lancaster, PA who released two albums on the nationally distributed label Takehold Records. While I can’t think of any band that they particularly sound LIKE, I could see them appealing to fans who like quirky metal/rock along the lines of System of a Down or Mr. Bungle. Tantrum is often fiercer–while mixing in numerous sound clips from old movies and records to kick off tracks.

I’ve been a fan for quite some time, and this album is one of my favorite go-to albums. Nary a mix-tape gets made by me without including a song off of this. This would have been one of the first albums I posted on this blog except they were charging for the Bandcamp download. Well, just the other day they made it a free download. So my blog has had one major hole filled. Thank you Stephen!

(Click above icon for bandcamp download page.)
(And while you’re there, check out their second cd, too, which I’ll probably feature here later.)

 

…Of Dream and Drama – The Forthcoming Kingdom (1998)

Artist: …Of Dream and Drama
Album: The Forthcoming Kingdom
Year: 1998
Label: Self-Released?
Genre: Doom/Death Metal
RIYL: Your growly metal with some nice atmospheric touches
Essential Tracks: Mirage

I’m enjoying this release right now, which is sole justification for me posting it. I have no emotional attachment to it and make no guarantees about anyone else. This isn’t highly original by any stretch of the imagination, but it is solidly performed and the songs flow well. Of course, as a demo release, there are only 4 tracks (one of which is an intro, so you know…), but the band has made the release available for free download. Not much else to say here. Either the doom/death metal sub-genres interest you or they don’t.

(Click icon for the band’s download page. You’ll have to scroll down and it’ll be on the right-hand side of the screen.)

 

Wylde Ratttz – The Unreleased Album (1998)

Artist: Wylde Ratttz
Album: unreleased/untitled
Year: 1998
Label: n/a
Genre: Supergroup Rock n Roll
RIYL: Sonic Youth, The Stooges, Gumball, The Minutemen, and Mudhoney
Essential Tracks: World of Hurt, Pull the Pipe, Rosalyn

Maybe I’m just stupid… or maybe this has really flown under the radar. But I recently (aka, yesterday) found out that there was a supergroup formed containing two members of Sonic Youth (Thurston Moore, Steve Shelley), one member of The Stooges (Ron Asheton), one member of The Minutemen (Mike Watt), one member of Mudhoney (Mark Arm), and one member of Gumball (Don Fleming).

Pause for a moment and repeat those names to yourself. Sonic Youth. The Stooges. The Minutemen. Mudhoney. Gumball.

And their single album was shelved due to legal hassles. Oops.

A bit of backstory:
The band was apparently formed by request to do a cover of “T.V. Eye” by The Stooges for the movie Velvet Goldmine. After doing that song, they went ahead and cranked out more songs as if they were going out of style. Well, an album’s worth, anyway.

I have downloaded two albums claiming to be the full Wylde Ratttz album–one had only 7 tracks of decent quality and the other had 13 tracks of excellent quality. Two of the 7 tracks on the lesser album don’t appear on the better one, so I’ve tacked them on at the end for nearly-completedness’s-sake.

As far as I’m aware, this is the entire Wylde Ratttz recorded output with the exception of “T.V. Eye”, as that track can be found on the official soundtrack to the Velvet Goldmine movie.

(Click icon to download)
(quick note: as far as I’m aware, the above artwork is not at all official. but it’s the best I’ve found, so whatevs.)

 

Foot – Foot (1998)

Artist: Foot
Album: Foot
Year: 1998
Label: Nemolodia/God Bless Records
Genre: Noise
RIYL: Thurston Moore, Don Fleming, Jim Dunbar

I am a huge, huge Sonic Youth fan–particularly of their leader, Thurston Moore. As such, I’ve delved into Moore’s extensive catalog of noise albums. Noise has never been my favorite genre. I’ve tried Merzbow and other major players in the noise scene, but none really holds my attention through the duration of the album. In my mind, the perfect noise album is Lou Reed’s Metal Machine Music (with a close second to The Residents’ Eskimo) simply due to the way the album shimmers from beginning to end. Thurston Moore has really seemed influenced by Reed’s masterpiece with his noise albums, so that (mixed with my general love of Moore) makes digging into his noise releases a bit more satisfying. Still, none of them (that I’ve heard) reach the heights of Foot–which features Moore, Don Fleming (musician with a number of bands, including Half-Japanese, and producer), and Jim Dunbar (no clue who he is). The three artists layer some really nice noise, making a more compact sonic experience than one might normally get from a Moore noise collaboration. Also helping Foot is the presence of electronics to give some structure to the onslaught.

Definitely not for everyone.

(Click icon for download)