Teen Cthulhu / Akimbo - Split 10"

I figured I might as well continue on the track Zardoz started with yesterday's entry and post some more early Akimbo. I no longer have a physical a copy of this bad boy but after digging around in my hard drive I remembered I was able to find mp3s on soulseek (yes, people still use soulseek) at some point in the past.

This time around (or should I say the first time around?), Akimbo were joined by the wholly unholy lords of crusted blackness, Teen Cthulhu. This 10 inch contains six songs, three by each band, and if you follow this blog you probably already know what to expect: abrasive, tight and metal-tinged Northwest hardcore.

Somebody got to the blood! (with artwork and lyric sheet scans courtesty of discogs)

Akimbo - Army of Evil Robots Programmed for Human Destruction

If you're a regular reader of this blog, chances are you've heard of Akimbo. Since forming in 1873, this hardcore/metal three-piece played approximately 13,000 shows, including, and this stat is real, 8 shows during one October, all in Seattle, all in different venues, all with different setlists. Before finally announcing they'd be playing their final show in August of this year, Akimbo was a punk machine, and the title of this, their second release (the first being a split 10" with Teen Cthulu) explains just why the machine was so efficient, focused, and all-around badass. Founding guitarist Kyle Iman left after this one, and was sequentially replaced with 10 different guitarists. While Jon Weisnewski, Nat Damm, and those ten guitarists soldiered on, Kyle formed the Super Magnificent Action Trio, and currently records experimental ambient music under the name Emuul. I picked this up right when it came out in 2000, and listening to it again, I realize I'd forgotten some of the lighter touches around the edges of the distorted riffs and pounding drums. Some synth, some Rhodes. This does not diminish the ferocity. It is still very much Akimbo. Enjoy, my friends.

Download Akimbo - Army of Evil Robots Programmed for Human Destruction - 320kbps with sleeve scans here

The New Avenues

The New Avenues were a pop band out of Everett, led by the falsetto-voiced and charismatic Keegan Douglas. After the demise of Luner Lander, Keeg continued to explore his Beach Boys obsession, writing guitar pop, accompanied by a bassist and as I recall, a cassette of the drum parts, as one half of Jeff and Keeg (more on that later). Eventually, they recruited Jim Paschall (Display, The Past) and a second guitarist, John, and went by Jeff and Keeg and John and Jim, before settling on The New Avenues. I believe this 5-song EP came out in 2002, and after listening to it innumerable times, it still always puts a smile on my face. If anyone has copies of later New Avenues material, or the subsequent band Talladega (in which Danny replaced Jim on drums), please let me know.

The New Avenues EP - 192kbps mp3s with scans here

Welcome, Zardoz!

Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in welcoming a new contributor to the blog, Zardoz (pictured above). I, for one, am very glad to have another person participating in this endeavor and I'm sure that every one of our readers out there look forward to experiencing everything he brings to the table.

Evora - Los Jive En Conduct

Evora were a band from Bothell, WA that arose from the ashes of Take One For the Team. As TOFTT were winding down, the members split off into two very different projects. Gavin Phillips moved on to form the band Sunday Best (who eventually became This Providence) while the rest of the band started listening to At the Drive-In, added a Brantley Duke on guitar/vocals and morphed into the vaguely experimental (but mostly emo) rock band Evora. During their short time together the band recorded a 3-song self-titled, self released EP and an (unreleased?) album entitled Los Jive En Conduct. Brantley currently plays with the band Ravenna Woods.

Los Jive En Conduct (contains scans of the Ep sleeve , as there was no artwork for this release and all three tracks from the EP are featured on the album. All other tracks are untitled)

I like this picture because it looks like Brantley is crying

Thrones / Behead The Prophet N.L.S.L. - Split 7"

How better to celebrate the midway point through the month of July than with a gloriously noisy split 7" by two amazing bands? First up we have the mighty Joe Preston solo project Thrones plowing through a cover of Blue Oyster Cult's "Blackblade." The b-side consists of three solid screamy rockers from Behead The Prophet N.L.S.L., who were lead by former Mukilteo Fairies vocalist Joshua Plague.

Thrones/Behead The Prophet N.L.S.L. - Split 7" (with sleeve and insert scans)

Portal - Zantopoulos

Portal were an experimental instrumental band formed in the late 90's by members of the first incarnation of the band Vermilion. Portal's instrumentation, from what I can remember, consisted of guitar, bass, casio keyboards and a Boss drum machine - all used in conjunction with various effects pedals. Zantopoulos is an EP that was self-released on CDR by the group in '99 and was named after a former childhood classmate whose last name sounded like that of a futuristic city.

Zantopoulos (with artwork scans)