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Graveyard - Hisingen Blues LP When the day comes to put pen to paper and write down my official top ten list of the greatest rock and roll records to influence my life, there is zero doubt that Hisingen Blues is going to rank in the top five. This album is fiercely passionate, packed with every type of bluesy rock and roll direction that hits home in my world and the live performance from the group was, without question, one of the highlights of shows i've witnessed in the flesh. At one point it occured to me that a backup copy of this...

Dio - Magica 2LP Well, it's no secret that I've made mistakes in my life. We all have. My childishness of teenage years left me turning my back on Dio. Rainbow and his work with Sabbath both resonated with me but it took much longer to dig into an element of the solo era that would eventually lead me down a path of understanding. Dio truly is one of the great heavy metal vocalists and deserves every bit of praise for his talent as is often given. I happened to see him perform before he passed and he really delivered. The crowd was...

Pitchshifter - Industrial LP Time is a funny thing. It is always slipping away and it never really connects with us until we start to talk about the kids graduating high school or an album having a 30 year reissue. Listening now, it's fun to reflect on the industrial music "revolution" if one chooses to call it that. Though these bands took it way further than anything I personally experienced, hearing groups like Pitchshifter and Ween, who sound nothing alike, was extremely inspiring to me. The drum machines of the late 80's are dinosaurs compared to today's standard but this band and select...

Ol' Dirty Bastard - Return to the 36 Chambers LP One of the components of hip hop that always drew me closer to certain groups is the element of fun that the artists seem to pour into their releases. Where many approach with a hyper serious nature and present with a precision attack, others, like ODB, seem to want the record to be fun first. This is something the listener can blast in the car, laugh with friends at the party, and have a good time vibes all around. There would seem to be very little serious about this record yet it is truly a...

Rocket from the Crypt - Group Sounds LP It always amazes me how a name so well known and with such longevity together can somehow escape making it into my rotation many years previous. Rock and roll is the name of the game here and that's always ok with me. It leans a little on a punk rock attitude in the same fashion a Social Distortion is referenced in punk culture and presents itself with a clean production. Really cool to hear a horn section present and not muddy up the song structures. The band does a great job of adding this element to the tunes...