For a few years in the late nineteen fifties, Pete “Mad
Daddy” Myers was the king of Cleveland radio. His fast talking, constantly
rhyming hipster wordplay was as much fun to listen to as the rock ‘n’ roll and
rhythm and blues records he played on his show. How the hell do I know since I
wasn’t born until 1970? Because Norton records has released this fantastic time
capsule consisting of various between song bits and ads both from Mad Daddy’s
days at WHK in Cleveland and, from the early sixties, his stint at WINS in New
York. There’s simply no one on the air today you can compare this guy to. He
was a genius (literally – his IQ was 172 according to the liner notes) who ad
libbed everything, played whatever records he damn well felt like playing, and
created a completely unique persona complete with crazed reverbed out laugh and
catch phrases. This collection includes 50 tracks in all, mostly just short
bits that nonetheless show how amazing this guy was. Also on here are both
sides of a novelty single Myers recorded; the sick ‘Mad Magazine’ style humor of
“I Love a Practical Joke” and the nonsensical “What is a Pfisteris”. (Bob
Ignizio)
I've waited a long time for
this release, regularly checking the Nasum website (www.nasum.com)
to see the progress of its recording. The site even had a short film (about 5
seconds) of Shane Embury from Napalm Death learning the bass parts to one of the
two songs he plays on this release, "Drop Dead", and "Whip". Also featured are
Jorgen Sandstrom and Richard Alriksson (additional low vocals) and Petter Freed
(additional guitars on "Just Another Hog"). So let's see, was the wait worth
it? Helvete, YEAH! Helvete (the title) means hell. While not as classic as
"Human 2.0", "Helvete" is another masterpiece of grind noise, death metal, kick
ass guitar riffs, and pissed off screaming. I am not disappointed one bit. You
can hear the progress of the musicianship. That's what in my opinion puts Nasum
at the top of the grind totem pole. Whether or not musicianship matters in this
kind of music, Nasum has it. This is great listening fun going from frantic
blastbeats to some of the coolest guitar riffs ever recorded, jamming them for a
few measures and then blasting again. Even with the blasting the guitars are
spewing forth cool riffs. Kind of like Carcass's first album, "Reek of
Putrefaction". In the lyric department it's disgust at the ignorance of
society, politics, and anger toward the elite controlling our lives. "Preview of
Hell" is a great song based on a soldiers view in a war. These guys are pissed
and obviously want you to feel it. Maybe they’re trying to wake people up, which
is a good thing. Highlights among the 22 songs are "We Curse You All", "Stormshield",
"Worst Case Scenario", "Breach of Integrity", and "Bullshit". (Mike Salamone)
The
Subhumans - "Live Bristol Bootleg" (self released)
I picked this up at the Sub's show I recently reviewed here in Utter Trash. It
seems every time they tour they have a new cd available at the show. This is
recorded live, "warts 'n' all", at Fiddlers, Bedminster, BRISTOL on July 13,
2001. It's an entire show recorded with no "dub-ins" later. This is a raw, as
it happens, punk rock show. You can even hear when the guitar gets unplugged
(or whatever happened). This is how I like things: REAL! Consisting of 27
songs, I'll name five standouts: "Can't Hear the Words", "Mickey Mouse is Dead",
"Joe Public", "Apathy", and "Human Error". There's also a song that was never
on a studio album, "Point of View". The sound is not muffled or distorted as
one might expect for a live 'bootleg'. The Sub's have class and always deliver
in that area. It sounds like a good board recording and makes for a great
compilation as well. (Mike Salamone)
Following ‘Parade of Chaos’, ZAO's latest proves without a doubt that bands
claiming the need to move on to other musical directions to appeal to a wider
audience are victims of, in the words of Jello Biafra, "Lack of ideas." Zao's
latest stands as one of the best releases of 2003 for several reasons. Zao has
always produced top notch quality thrash, hardcore, whatever you want to call
it. They are always original. As an old friend once said, masters of the riff.
‘All Else Failed’ takes one back to the good old days of thrash when death
metal and thrash metal were the same thing. Anyone remember those days? Dark
Angel, Possessed, Sacrifice, etc? ZAO takes you back there, delivering a
powerful showcase of excellent heavy tunes. And of course, the vocals are some
of the best in the genre. The 8 songs will get ya goin'. A few favorites are:
"In Loving Kindness", "Growing In Grace", a newer version of "Exchange" and
"Endure". (Mike Salamone)
For a few years in the late nineteen fifties, Pete “Mad
Daddy” Myers was the king of Cleveland radio. His fast talking, constantly
rhyming hipster wordplay was as much fun to listen to as the rock ‘n’ roll and
rhythm and blues records he played on his show. How the hell do I know since I
wasn’t born until 1970? Because Norton records has released this fantastic time
capsule consisting of various between song bits and ads both from Mad Daddy’s
days at WHK in Cleveland and, from the early sixties, his stint at WINS in New
York. There’s simply no one on the air today you can compare this guy to. He
was a genius (literally – his IQ was 172 according to the liner notes) who ad
libbed everything, played whatever records he damn well felt like playing, and
created a completely unique persona complete with crazed reverbed out laugh and
catch phrases. This collection includes 50 tracks in all, mostly just short
bits that nonetheless show how amazing this guy was. Also on here are both
sides of a novelty single Myers recorded; the sick ‘Mad Magazine’ style humor of
“I Love a Practical Joke” and the nonsensical “What is a Pfisteris”. (Bob
Ignizio)
I've waited a long time for
this release, regularly checking the Nasum website (
I picked this up at the Sub's show I recently reviewed here in Utter Trash. It
seems every time they tour they have a new cd available at the show. This is
recorded live, "warts 'n' all", at Fiddlers, Bedminster, BRISTOL on July 13,
2001. It's an entire show recorded with no "dub-ins" later. This is a raw, as
it happens, punk rock show. You can even hear when the guitar gets unplugged
(or whatever happened). This is how I like things: REAL! Consisting of 27
songs, I'll name five standouts: "Can't Hear the Words", "Mickey Mouse is Dead",
"Joe Public", "Apathy", and "Human Error". There's also a song that was never
on a studio album, "Point of View". The sound is not muffled or distorted as
one might expect for a live 'bootleg'. The Sub's have class and always deliver
in that area. It sounds like a good board recording and makes for a great
compilation as well. (Mike Salamone) 
Following ‘Parade of Chaos’, ZAO's latest proves without a doubt that bands
claiming the need to move on to other musical directions to appeal to a wider
audience are victims of, in the words of Jello Biafra, "Lack of ideas." Zao's
latest stands as one of the best releases of 2003 for several reasons. Zao has
always produced top notch quality thrash, hardcore, whatever you want to call
it. They are always original. As an old friend once said, masters of the riff.
‘All Else Failed’ takes one back to the good old days of thrash when death
metal and thrash metal were the same thing. Anyone remember those days? Dark
Angel, Possessed, Sacrifice, etc? ZAO takes you back there, delivering a
powerful showcase of excellent heavy tunes. And of course, the vocals are some
of the best in the genre. The 8 songs will get ya goin'. A few favorites are:
"In Loving Kindness", "Growing In Grace", a newer version of "Exchange" and
"Endure". (Mike Salamone)