Black Sabbath - Vol.4

1972, Vertigo Records

1. Wheels of Confusion/The Straightener (8:01)
2. Tomorrow's Dream(3:11)
3. Changes (4:44)
4. FX (1:43)
5. Supernaut (4:49)
6. Snowblind (5:33)
7. Cornucopia (3:54)
8. Laguna Sunrise (2:55)
9. St. Vitus Dance (2:29)
10. Under the Sun/Every Day Comes and Goes (5:52)

Black Sabbath are an English rock band, formed in Birmingham in 1968 by Ozzy Osbourne (lead vocals), Tony Iommi (guitar), Geezer Butler (bass), and Bill Ward (drums and percussion). The band has since experienced multiple lineup changes, with a total of twenty-two former members. Originally formed as a heavy blues-rock band named Earth, the band began incorporating occult- and horror-inspired lyrics with tuned-down guitars, changing their name to Black Sabbath and achieving multiple gold and platinum records in the 1970s. As one of the first and most influential heavy metal bands of all time, Black Sabbath helped define the genre with releases such as 1970's Vol. 4

Volume 4 demonstrates Black Sabbath beginning to experiment with the heavy sound they had become known for. Although some songs are in their trademark style, others demonstrate a soft, orchestral approach. This is exemplified by the song "Changes". Written by Tony Iommi, it is entirely in the form of a piano ballad with mellotron. Although the band had used piano on some songs previously, it had played only a minor role in the songs.

At least two songs on the album reference the use of cocaine. The lyrics and title of "Snowblind" is an example of this. The song "Snowblind" also had to be re-recorded because the original version features Osbourne yelling the word "cocaine!" after each verse. On the officially released version, "cocaine" is whispered quite audibly after the first verse, approximately 41 seconds into the song (During live performances Osbourne would again scream the word at the top of his lungs).
-Wikipedia

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Earth - Sunn Amps and Smashed Guitars

2001, No Quarter Records

1. Ripped on Fascist Ideas (31:19)
2. Geometry of Murder (7:22)
3. German Dental Work (5:20)
4. Divine and Bright (3:02)
5. Dissolution 1 (7:11)
6. Bureaucratic Desire For Revenge (13:36)
7. Orouboros (9:16)

Earth is an American musical group based in Seattle, Washington, formed in 1990 and led by guitarist Dylan Carlson.

Earth's early work is recognized as pioneering the genre of drone doom — an experimental offshoot of doom metal, characterized by droning, minimalist, lengthy, and repetitive structures. Earth's early albums could be seen as a variation of the experimental doom-influenced metal of The Melvins.

Sunn Amps and Smashed Guitars is a live album by Earth, originally released in 1995 by Blast First Records. It contained the track "Ripped on Fascist Ideas" (recorded in London, May 1995). It was re-released in 2001 by No Quarter Records with four bonus tracks taken from a 1990 demo. Kurt Cobain and Kelly Canary contribute guest vocals on the track "Divine and Bright".

Four-piece instrumental band, Pelican, covered the song "Geometry of Murder" on their "Ephemeral" EP.
-Wikipedia

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Womb/Disciples of Mockery - Split

2001, Necroharmonic

Womb
1.	Bound, Fucked, Humiliated	05:39
2.	Thong	07:24
3.	Secrete	04:39
4.	Borne	04:56
5.	Outro	01:20
Disciples of Mockery
6.	Rotting Immaculate Like You	05:53
7.	Sustained In Desolation	04:24
8.	God Of Love	06:42

Here's an interesting split. What we have here is two bands that feature 3 ex-Incantation members, being Ronnie Deo, Jim Roe and of course Craig Pillard. With that being said, one can almost know what to expect from this split release.

The album starts off with the Womb side. Womb was a project formed after these 3 members left Incantation, and continues in somewhat of the same fashion but with out the John McEntee riffs. What we do have here is really doom laden death metal that fans old and new can appreciate. The womb side is actually their one and only demo, and it's a shame they never released more material.

Womb is quite destructive but has a lot of open, evil sounding doom sections. Craig Pillards voice thunders overtop of the crushing music. The second track, "Thong" displays some of the best doom sections on the album, and really shows how well these guys can play together. Actually, some of these doom sections wouldn't feel out of place on a Methadrone album, a later doom project of Craig Pillard. The lyrics are destructive as they deal with degrading women, and the likes.

The next half of the split belongs to Disciples of Mockery, which features the same members except with an extra guitarist. The transition to this side is not very noticeable unless you play close attention, as both bands sound quite similar and have the same overall vision. DoM is however, leans towards the more violent side of things in terms of music, once again comparable to Incantation's violent parts, especially the second Incantation LP.

One thing I noticed from the DoM side is there are some pretty black metal sounding riffs, where a chord is played and a shifting melody is hidden within it. These three songs are from the first DoM promo, and are a bit more primitive than the DoM full length. However, although some people feel this side isn't near as good as the Dom LP, I feel they are still strong songs and flow very well with the split.

This split is highly recommended, especially to Incantation fans, fans of Craig Pillard, and fans of doom/death metal. There is some truly well done song writing here, and it's a shame both bands (especially Womb) didn't release more material.
(from NIHILITY)

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Goatsnake Vol. 1

1999, Man's Ruin Records/Rise Above Records

1. Slippin The Stealth (3:15)
2. Innocent (3:32)
3. What Love Remains (6:50)
4. IV (4:31)
5. Mower (6:05)
6. Dog Catcher (2:32)
7. Lord of Los Feliz (5:06)
8. Trower (4:57)

Goatsnake was formed in 1996 after the disbanding of The Obsessed. After The Obsessed's disbanding, the rhythm section consisting of Guy Pinhas (former bassist of the Dutch stoner band Beaver) on bass and Greg Rogers on drums began jamming with guitarist Greg Anderson (Thorr's Hammer, Burning Witch, Sunn O)))). They soon found a vocalist in Pete Stahl (Scream, Wool, Earthlings?, Desert Sessions). Goatsnake recorded and released two 7" EPs in 1998 and were featured on several metal compilations. They released their debut full-length, 1, in 1999 on Man's Ruin Records/Rise Above Records.
-Wikipedia

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