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Necessary Wasted Time

The Custodian is a new British post-progressive rock band formed by Richard Thomson, vocalist for cinematic death metal band Xerath.  Unlike Xerath, The Custodian is an outlet for the more melodic, rock oriented writing from Thomson.

While there are moments in the album that harken back to old school bands like Genesis and Yes, the music of The Custodian is contemporary in sound.  Necessary Wasted Time is an album full of dynamics - light and dark shadings balancing acoustic vs electric, heavy vs pastoral.  While atmospherics and tension are a strong component of the album, the band demonstrates their adept musicianship offering up long instrumental passages to complement the emotion filled vocals.  When needed the band unleashes some complex electric runs.

The Custodian's debut should deeply resonate with fans of Steven Wilson, Riverside, Pineapple Thief, and Anathema.

Necessary Wasted Time was mixed by noted engineer Jacob Hansen and give the full audiophile mastering treatment from Bob Katz.

 

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  • "While their records were entertaining and full of skillful pop, it wasn't until At Budokan that Cheap Trick's vision truly gelled. Many of these songs, like "I Want You to Want Me" and "Big Eyes," were pleasant in their original form, but seemed more like sketches compared to the roaring versions on this album. With their ear-shatteringly loud guitars and sweet melodies, Cheap Trick unwittingly paved the way for much of the hard rock of the next decade, as well as a surprising amount of alternative rock of the 1990s, and it was At Budokan that captured the band in all of its power."- All music
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  • Second album from Greece's answer to Joe Stump. Mike Dimareli is a neoclassical shredder that can keep up with the best of 'em. No idea what the Artical thing means but apparently it's part of the group name. Luckily this isn't an instrumental album - Dimareli saw fit to enlist Phantom Lord vocalist Bill Aksiotis who acquits himself nicely. Firewind keyboardist Bob Katsionis is on board offering his fair share of pyrotechnics as well. I thought shred was dead but apparently not.
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  • Lance King is out...replaced by Iced Earth's Matt Barlow."Formed in 2001, Danish power metal band Pyramaze has managed to maintain a fairly steady line up. However, there have been several recent changes to the vocalist position. After releasing two albums with Pyramaze, 2004's "Melancholy Beast" and 2006's "Legend of the Bone Carver," vocalist Lance King decided to step down. Pyramaze would find a surprising replacement in Matt Barlow, who stepped down from American power metal giant Iced Earth in 2001 to pursue a career in law enforcement. However, Barlow's stay in Pyramaze would be brief, as he was only used to record vocals on "Immortal" before reuniting with Iced Earth. Urban Breed is now the current vocalist for Pyramaze."Immortal" has a predictable, but interesting theme. Each song depicts a different form of immortality. Including the recount of the 300 Spartans gaining immortality both historically and mythologically during their legendary last stand at the battle of Thermopolea, to the horror of not being able to escape from a nightmare and a ghost that wanders for eternity. The theme also covers emotional subjects such as finding peace via suicide to suffering in hell and the never ending battle against the demons that plague us everyday. Though immortality has become a cliche in the power metal subgenre, Pyramaze has shown how diverse the theme of immortality can be.Stylistically, "Immortal" is intended to be a power metal epic, and it delivers. The main influences seem to be Iron Maiden and Iced Earth's "Horror Show" and are dominating throughout. Other influences that appear are the Kamelot inspired piano ballad "Legacy in Rhyme," the Children of Bodom keyboard tone and riff in "Ghost Light" and the King Diamond influenced "Touched by the Mara." Symphonic elements give the album a very epic sense. The opening track "Arise" and the closing track "March through an Endless Rain" sound like they could have come from the "Gladiator" or "300" movie soundtracks.The music on "Immortal" is quality symphonic power metal. Guitarist and mastermind Michael Kammeyer puts in an excellent performance with Matt Barlow showing that he hasn't lost a step and delivering a stand out performance. However, the use of some cheesy Dragonforce-esque guitar effects for a few solos along with some cheesy vocal melodies and overly simplistic riffs are my biggest criticism of the album. However, these complaints are nothing new, as every Pyramaze album to date has incorporated those elements. Even so, the cheesy elements are only a small portion of the album and don't take away from the overall epic feel. Overall, "Immortal" is a positive step for Pyramaze." - Metal Underground
    $12.00
  • "Originally released in 1979, these recordings show the first solo efforts by formerly Aera leader, guitar player and composer Muck Groh. But in fact this album wasnt a solo album but could be described at the third Aera album of Aeras first decade line-up. All those great musicians like sax player Klaus Kreuzeder, drummer Wolfgang Teske, violinist Christoph Krieger and a lot of guest musicians like Alto Pappert (formerly Kraan) and Aeras second decade musicians like Matz Steinke on bass and Limbus on percussions contributed to this great album. The first 4 titles on the CD (formerly A-Side of the album) are in the tradition of the second album "Hand und Fuss'. "Psychochinese im Stanzwerk" reminds to Amon Duul's Deutsch-Nepal. For the first time Muck Groh uses vocals in his compositions in a folky style and "Blinde Kuh" reminds a little bit to the early German new wave bands like Spliff or Nina Hagen Band. All in all this album shows many facets of Muck Grohs composer abilities and convinces with its clever arrangements. CD comes with comprehensive booklet with rare and unseen photos and there are 8 bonus tracks taken from a concert from 1981."
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  • Stunning reissue of the first Et Cetera album, originally released on the Global Music label. Et Cetera sported quite a lineup - Wolfgang Dauner (keyboards), Sigi Schwab (guitar, sitar, flute, etc), Eberhard Weber (bass, cello), Fred Braceful (percussion), and Roland Wittich (percussion). The music could almost be described as psychedelic jazz. Many of these members had backgrounds in free jazz/experimental music. This is a cohesive effort but their past as improv players shines through from time to time. Dauner and Schwab love to use a ring modulator and everyone seems to figure out a way to invent some freaked out noises. In fact Dauner's use of the ring modulator reminds a bit of Dave Stewart in National Health. Schwab's use of various stringed instruments brings a different dimension to jazz rock that you never hear. When was the last time you heard a fusion album with sitar, lute, tamubra, and kalimba? While this first effort doesn't hit the heights that they would attain on later albums like Rischka's Soul and Knirsch, its a pretty interesting foreshadowing of things to come. Essential!"This special limited edition contains the original Et Cetera's eponymous "silver cover" album (1980 reissue on Brain titled "Lady Blue"), originally released in 1971 on Global Records and another complete LP of recordings from the same recording session. This is an extraordinary album of weirdly trippy fusion that rides somewhere between instrumental Amon Duul II, Embryo and Dauners own earlier classic "Output". Full of ethnic (Arabic and Indian) spice with lots of the ethnic colour added by legendary guitar and sitar (et. al.) player Sigi Schwab (Embryo), oddly keyboard sounds by Wolfgang Dauner, dreamy bass patterns by Eberhard Weber and driving percussions by Fred Braceful and Roland Wittich, this is spacy, crazy, Krautrock and - a bit jazzy. Alan and Steven Freeman (The Crack In The Cosmic Egg) present this album in their "The Krautrock Top 100". Maybe the album was originally planned as a double-album because there are 4 more titles from the same recording session, which really knock you out. "Kabul" (08:56) (title-name is program) is a killer, especially because of Schwabs exploding electric guitar and Webers driving bass. "Tau Ceti" (07:15) is a wonderful dreamy delight presenting Schwabs gorgeous acoustic guitar playing. Further bonus track "Behind The Stage" (06:35) connects Schwabs special electric guitar with a band atmospheric but rhythmic fundamental play. "An Open Cans" (not an the CD-Version, for the first time ever released) is a 12:35 minute piece full of experimentation and reminds sometimes to album track "Lady Blue". This album will be a masterpiece for all time. Its unique. Remastered from the original master tapes. The sound is brilliant. Double Album comes with informative four-sided insert and a reproduction of the original album (silver cover) sleeve art. Limited edition of 1000."
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  • Deluxe digibook edition with one bonus track.  Please note - other versions will be available shortly."Previewing their tenth album "Beyond the Red Mirror" with the previously-released "Twilight of the Gods" EP, German power-symphonic metal maestros BLIND GUARDIAN capitalize on a long break with an encompassing and magical effort. For "Beyond the Red Mirror", the band worked with three different worldwide choirs from Budapest, Prague and Boston, along with two full-scale orchestras bearing 90 members apiece. The results are as larger-than-life as the band intended, fleshing out a sci-fi and fantasy piece bridged to their 1995 album, "Imaginations from the Other Side".As "Twilight of the Gods" (one of only two songs to clock in beneath five minutes) proved to ring like a broad-scoped, QUEEN-esque musical sonnet, the rest of "Beyond the Red Mirror" is simply massive. Beginning and ending with two epics that roll at 9:29 each, this album plays like BLIND GUARDIAN's reach for a masterpiece, and they practically hit it.You couldn't ask for a more breath-stealing intro with the gusting chorus opening the expansive "The Ninth Wave", a song stuffed as much with electronica buzzes and defined guitar lines as there are swarming voices. Hansi Kürsch, one of the best metal vocalists in the business, is nearly secondary to the enthralling choral tides that introduce and conclude the track. This could've been a near-ten-minute EP unto itself, that's how conclusive and meticulous the song is structured.The decorative harpsichord setting off "Prophecies" is a delicious intro for André Olbrich and Marcus Siepen to plow through successions of IRON MAIDEN-derived chords and marching progressions. Why BLIND GUARDIAN gets away with it is due to the incredible vocal outpourings around them. Again, the majestic theater aspect of QUEEN plays into this track as much as IRON MAIDEN and it's the proficiency behind the delivery that makes "Prophecies" sing instrumentally on top of the wondrous voices around it. Equally enchanting is "At the Edge of Time", which keeps a frolicking back beat and spritely orchestral accompaniment behind Frederik Ehmke's gradual stamp. The delicate measures BLIND GUARDIAN puts behind the thrusting march of "At the Edge of Time" are astonishing to behold, no matter how many symphonic metal albums you've been exposed to.The swift "Ashes of Eternity" gusts on the heels of Frederik Ehmke's fluid pounding, the breezing guitars and Hansi Kürsch's vocals, which toughen to full snarls at times, but never fail to exhale with full conviction. The gorgeous backing vocals add to "Ashes of Eternity"'s tireless drafts. Even more vigorous is "The Holy Grail" thereafter, which does HELLOWEEN and GAMMA RAY proud, much less HAMMERFALL and MANOWAR with its hurricane-speed tale of valor. Let the musical echoes of battle always sound this powerful.The 7:56 "The Throne" is a metal opera unto itself while serving the album's overall goal in sweeping the listener from one riveting plane to another, transitioning the twenty years between "Imaginations from the Other Side" and this album. "The Throne" works a little harder to find its spark as the band and orchestral pieces thicken up the longer the piece rolls, but Hansi Kürsch valorously leads the way and put to the stage, this piece should sound even bigger, so long as all of its recorded parts are presented live.What can be safely assumed is that the album's carnival-esque finale, "Grand Parade" will make it to their live forum. Cited by André Olbrich as the best song BLIND GUARDIAN has ever written, there's substance to this claim as it rolls, romps and cascades with all the gala these guys can load up. "Grand Parade" is a cheerful promenade for much of the ride with a thundering chorus ushering it along until a dramatic change in tone arrives with the first guitar solo, altering the course toward a valiant and clamorous bang. A return to the battle front with power metal thrusts and cinematic orchestration ram the song back to its original celebratory cavalcade for a triumphant finale. Indeed, this is the best song BLIND GUARDIAN has conceived. Phenomenal.With no disrespect intended to their contemporaries, BLIND GUARDIAN delivers symphonic metal of the highest art on "Beyond the Red Mirror". How far these guys have come since "Battalions of Fear" is not only remarkable, it's tremendous. As Hansi Kürsch has described the story behind this album, the red mirror is a representative, lone-standing portal to purported salvation and it must be found at all costs. What BLIND GUARDIAN has found with this album is inspirational and it's inexcusable the Grammy committee has long kept a sightless eye toward these virtuosi of metal music." - Blabbermouth
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  • "Archer are a hard rock/metal trio from Santa Cruz, California, consisting of Dylan Rose (guitar, vocals), David De Silva (bass), and Keyhan Moini (drums), with their third album Culling the Weak set to be released by Metalville Records. Though these guys are still pretty young, they've toured with the likes of Doro, HellYeah, Black Label Society, and are soon going out on the road with Annihilator, so the experience they are getting is surely helping them out in every way. Culling the Weak is an enjoyable platter of metal, compact with 8 catchy tunes filled with crunchy guitar riffs, blazing leads, pinch harmonics galore, powerful bass, and nimble drumming. Can't ask for more than that!Rose is pretty much the focal point, his inventive riffing seeming to draw inspiration from Iommi, Wylde, Dimebag, Mustaine, and Rhoades, and while his vocals aren't necessarily the strongpoint of Archer's sound, his gruff style more than fits the bill. Memorable riffs and a sizzling solo drive the anthemic title track, while "Belief" and "A World of One" feature can't miss melodies and arrangements that are almost like a meeting of Thin Lizzy & Black Sabbath. Other hot tracks include the raucous "Dawn of Dilution" and closer "My Atrocity", the latter featuring some lovely acoustic guitar during the intro and then loads of heavy riffs, gymnastic rhythms, blistering lead guitar, and passionate vocals.Overall, Culling the Weak shows a trio that is firing on all cylinders and ready to be taken seriously on the hard rock & metal circuit. With just 8 songs, this one doesn't wear out its welcome or contain filler, just rock solid from start to finish. Make sure you check this one out and also be sure to look for Archer at a live venue near you in the very near future." - Sea Of Tranquility
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  • Remastered edition with 5 bonus tracks."Cheap Trick's eponymous debut is an explosive fusion of Beatlesque melodic hooks, Who-styled power, and a twisted sense of humor partially borrowed from the Move. But that only begins to scratch the surface of what makes Cheap Trick a dynamic record. Guitarist Rick Nielsen has a powerful sense of dynamics and arrangements, which gives the music an extra kick, but he also can write exceptionally melodic and subversive songs. Nothing on Cheap Trick is quite what it seems. While the songs have hooks and attitude that arena rock was sorely lacking in the late '70s, they are also informed by a bizarre sensibility, whether it's the driving "He's a Whore," the dreamy "Mandocello," or the thumping Gary Glitter perversion "ELO Kiddies." "The Ballad of TV Violence" is about mass murder, while "Daddy Should Have Stayed in High School" concerns pedophiles. All of it is told with a sense of humor, but it doesn't come off as cheap or smirking because of the group's hard-rocking drive and Robin Zander's pop-idol vocals. Even "Oh, Candy," apparently a love song on first listen, is an affecting tribute to a friend who committed suicide. In short, Cheap Trick revel in taboo subjects with abandon, devoting themselves to the power of the hook, as well as sheer volume and gut-wrenching rock & roll -- though the record is more musically accomplished than punk rock, it shares the same aesthetic. The combination of off-kilter humor, bizarre subjects, and blissful power pop made Cheap Trick one of the defining albums of its era, as well as one of the most influential. [The 1998 Epic/Legacy reissue of Cheap Trick features a different track sequence than the original and also adds several bonus tracks, many of which are previously unreleased.]" - Allmusic
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  • Prospekt are a British Progressive Metal band influenced by bands such as Dream Theater, Symphony X, Opeth and Circus Maximus, as well as film scores and fusion. Prospekt combine the fierce technicality of progressive metal with the symphonic elements of contemporary prog.From brutal riffs coupled with odd time-signatures, to majestic melodies, the principle of Prospekt’s music is to create an intelligent and atmospheric mix of melodic, modern progressive metal. Incorporating passionate higher ranged vocals, frenetic guitar work, haunting orchestration and solid grooves, every composition remains both interesting and original.The Colourless Sunrise was mixed by  Adam "Nolly" Getgood of Periphery and mastered by Jens Bogren at Fascination Street.
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  • Christian Vander has been opening up the tape vaults releasing some prime (and some not so prime) Magma material. Mekanik Kommandoh is the previously unreleased original version of Mekanik Destruktiw Kommandoh which was rejected by their record label.
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  • Second album from the Finnish offshoot of Burning Point. Ghost Machinery are now fronted by Taage Laiho who was formerly with Altaria. The music veers more towards traditional speedy Helloween-ish power metal but the band throws some curve balls at you. The tune "Blood From Stone" has lots of hooks and the keys give it an 80s pop-metal vibe. Another cool thing about the album - they actually do a cover of a Blackfoot tune - "Send Me An Angel". I bet Ricky Medlocke is ready to cash those royalty checks!
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  • Back in the days when I was a young pup I used to get mail order lists of used and rare albums from dealers in Germany. There was one album that was soooo expensive that I couldn't fathom anyone ever buying it. Funny thing is it always sold. That album was Ainigma. I never heard it (I could never afford it!!) until some years ago when it was reissued by the German label Little Wing Of Refugees. That edition is long out of print. This new version on Garden Of Delights is up to their usual standards - detailed liner notes and photos as well as bonus material. So what's the deal? Why so rare and is it any good? It's rare for the obvious reasons - small private press vs. collector demand. Fortunately the damn thing turned to be a pretty good disc. Ainigma released this album in 1973. The band was a trio consisting of Willi Kluter (keys, vocals), Wolfgang Netzer (guitar, bass), and Michael Kluter (drums). It's not exactly a hi-fidelity recording, perhaps lending somewhat to it's charm. Ripping fuzz guitar and distored organ solos are everywhere - drawing similarities to bands like Bodkin, Bram Stoker and Fuzzy Duck except the tracks are very lengthy. Vocals are "ok" but don't detract at all. The standout is obvious - the side long title track. This one slams! If you like that underground sound you can't get much better.
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