Ooohh yeah! More records for cheap. $0.99 cents or higher, but always under $5.00. You can’t beat the price. And the record industry might be heading down to hell faster than the US economy, but that shouldn’t deter you from buying used records. Once bought at original price CD’s have already paid their unitary production costs at least more than three fold. So whether you get it for $0.99, $5.00, or you steal it from a friend, it shouldn’t matter. No guilt shall involve music. That’s what CD’s are for; to be listened to!

I had read a couple of things about Boston’s Black Helicopter (pictured above), none of which came to mind when I bought this one for $3.99. I knew that they had a cool name, that the digipack was quality work and that the fuzzy psychedelia that kicked off the first couple of songs was worth way more than $3.99. The release in question is Invisible Jet (2206, Ecstatic Peace), which I believe is the band’s second release following an out of print record called That Specific Function, which came out on Traktor 7 Records back in 2004. From what I read, it’s worth chasing downand from what I hear in Invisible Jet, I’d say yes.  Though Black Helicopter could not be classified as metal or hardcore, this band certainly dwells in the heavy music spectrum, with an indie rock with balls approach and likely, an either metal or hardcore past, their guitar-laden music is quite driving. Invisible Jet starts strong with four solid mid tempos before softening up with “Take Out Loud” and dwelling in quasi country territory with the acoustic/electricity of “Head of Steam”. Needless to say, this sparrow likes the more rocking side of Black Helicopter better.

Only sick individuals are fans of bodily fluids, but I gotta confess; I purchased Atlanta’s PPR record not only because its price tag ($0.99) but because it had the word ‘diarrhea’ displayed quite prominently on the cover. Also, when I played it at the record store I was thrilled to finally hear a song with the one track mindedness that is filling a two-minuter with only one word; ‘motherfucker’, which is repeated about fifty times. The second song is a bit more interesting musically and lyrically. It goes, ‘I wanna get drunk, I wanna get drunk and fuck your sister’, all amidst jack hammering drums and some nutty guitar wanking. Released in 2006 by TV Guy Records, a label I was unable to dig any info about, PPR’s Diarrhea is definitely one annoying record.  And as such it kind of rules. Think about it; thirty-four songs of foul moods, obscene and ultra lowbrow lyrics, and a punk noise musical attack comprised of songs that rarely approach the minute.

I gotta admit it; when I first heard of Cult of Luna I thought they were going to be some bandwagon jumping fools. But when I listened to 2006’s Somewhere Along the Highway I frankly liked them even more than Isis, from whom I initially thought Cult Of Luna would be basing their sound around. A couple of weeks ago I stumbled upon their 2001 self-titled full-length, which was originally released by England’s Rage of Achilles and handled in the US by Earache. Following two 7”’s Umea, Sweden’s Cult of Luna recorded these eight songs with renown producer Pelle Henricsson, who is also responsible for Refused’s influential The Shape of Punk to Come. Clearly, the Cult of Luna of 2001 is not the same Cult of Luna of 2006. At this time the band had a much more abrasive sound; I'd say about 85% hardcore and 15% experimental. This is one powerful record with the most violent stuff falling under a very aggressive post hardcore sound and with some nice expansive post-rockist tunes, like “Dark Side of the Sun”, where the band rocks hard, but not for once falls for the soft passages that have made of the music of Isis such an experience. The following song “Sleep” takes care of that; starting up with cellos, strummed strings and eventually turning itself outward. Surprisingly good, confident and true.

With a name like The Hells and a price tag of $0.99 how could I turn my back? That’s right, I couldn’t. The Hells hail from London and are a co-ed two piece that make some loud guitar oriented rock garage blues. Not for a second think of The White Stripes. I guess we could say that The Hells are not as rootsy. This duo is way rock and roll, plus the girl half can actually sing and the dude half mostly plays and when he sings “Leading Me On” he ain’t half bad, but he ain’t that great either. This self-titled six songer hit the streets in 2003 via the magazine Artrocker and besides nice guitar playing, and singing also features some nice hand clapping; where I assume the girl half gets busy in tunes like “Sensation” and “Daddy’s Soul Doughnut”.  Apparently, this release is available for downloading at their MySpace page but I couldn’t find the link.   

Dubbing themselves a ‘hardcore, emo, screamo label’ will not really be of advantage for this New Jersey record label. But I guess that’s why they go with it.  Irony. As they say, the proof is in the pudding and nowhere has such gelatinous desert sounded so colorful and deranged as in this label sampler released back in 1993. Containing twenty-one songs that range from the Devo-esque Erase Errata remix of “Marathon” to the good ol’ hardcore of Iowa’s Song of Zarathustra, the abstract noise of Wolf Eyes, the eccentric metallic excess of Orthrelm, the loud ass all over the place aural drawing of the multifacetic The Flying Luttenbachers and indie stalwarts The Walkmen, this New Jersey label’s sample does not fail.  Ever. Their secret is in the sauce. 

I dished out $3.99 for Zombi’s Anthology and I don’t regret one cent. This Pittsburgh, PA instrumental duo has been at it since 2001 and are solely responsible for cross pollinating old horror soundtrack sounds that reek of the old school (sci-fi creepy sounds as heard on John Carpenter movies) with progressive rock. Anthology compiles two early recordings from this duo. Starting up with Zombi’s 2002 self-released self-titled recording which with an original pressing was limited to 150 copies. 2003’s Twilight Sentinel was put together when the band found itself opening fifteen dates for Rhode Island’s spas boys Daughters. The music is more elaborate here, and it goes beyond the limits of what one John Carpenter had done to add sound to his movies. There are layers of synthesizer here, and more expert drum and guitar work. If Mr. Carpenter ever feels like recapturing that old 70’s sound that added atmosphere to his movies he’d be wise to contact this duo. As long as he doesn’t release another clanker like Ghosts of Mars we are good.

New Jersey’s morose doomsters Evoken have quite the fame not only because of the dead tempo of their tunes but because in the course of six albums they have managed to build quite the status. Theirs is the type of career that’s been built through years in the game. Like, no one could call Evoken a bunch of hipsters; they weren’t jumping into any bandwagon when they self-released their debut Shades of Night Descending in 1994, and they aren’t jumping any trends now that the sub genre is as big as ever and that Swedish label I Hate has just released their last slab of decelerated metal A Caress of the Void. About four months ago I stumbled upon their 2001 record Quietus (Avantgarde/Dwell), which was selling for $0.99. I didn’t know the band at the time, but I could tell by the labels involved and by the name of the band that Quietus, despite its hush hush name, would be a really loud affair.  And slow it is, with down tempo riffs barely making it onto tape, a very prominent presence of looming keyboard work for augmented drama and vocals that sound like they are coming from a mountain.

I got The Sabians’ Beauty for Ashes because it was released by the now defunct The Music Cartel label; a stoner rock/doom record company founded by Earache’s former manager Eric Lemasters that existed for about seven years and that released Stteside many of the Rise Above releases. Hearing Beauty for Ashes I get why this little known band appealed to the label; there is a stoner vibe to this. But more so, their sound reminds me of a less talented Tool; vocalist Justin Marler though not dead on Maynard, does have the same tone and delivers his lines in the same undulating melodic fashion. Musically, The Sabians don’t do a bad job at whatever it is they do. As a whole though, they come off too much like Tool clones, and even though the world can’t get enough of Keenan and the pack, there is and will never be any room for another Tool.

Le Scrawl’s Eager to Please boasts a fantastic cover; the photograph of a man being carried by an elephant with his head inside the elephant’s mouth. Which is the reason why I got this in the first place. Plus, coming out on a label called Life is Abuse guarantees you at least 50% power. Eager to Please is Le Scrawl’s first full length album. It was released in 2004 and is one of those love it or hate it affairs. This German band started up as a grindcore band, a genre that at least vocally – through cookie monster approach -  still shows up in their music, but with time the band has started to incorporate other elements; like say happy ska guitars and circus friendly wind instrumentation, which gives us the impression that Le Scrawl is kind of a joke. When heavy and fast, Le Scrawl don’t go for the sheer power and speed of most grindcore bands and when playful and melodic they don’t exert into the kind of quality songwriting of a half-assed early period Mr. Bungle.  Which kind of sucks.