In the third edition of the mixtape blog, Matt Davies, chooses ten albums he thinks you should listen to. Check out tunes from 9 of these albums on Spotify at https://open.spotify.com/user/21jl67tra4fr3mlbotmk5qh7y/playlist/6EA8lT6Mj1SxFaIgQr5ien?si=8AwK5SivS1ao-DxKEg5oiA
But first let Matt introduce himself:
‘I think it’s fair to say Music has been a big part of my life, I can probably thank my old man for that. Growing up on a healthy dose of Sabbath, Motorhead and various (sometimes pretty dodgy – Genesis, really dad!) bands and musical genres, I’ve always been exposed to music and as a result have had a pretty full on affair with all things noisy!
Since I was 14 I’ve played in bands, DIY punk and metal has always been my staple with some being more successful than others. The last band I played in BERSICKER released a split 7″ with New York’s R.O.T.T.E.R – you can still find copies on Discogs –http:// https://www.discogs.com/artist/2928151-Bersicker
which sold globally and gave me the opportunity to play pubs, bars and squats all over the country as a part of the uk’s underground punk scene.
Anyway, here’s my ‘top ten’…..to be honest it’s too difficult to pick an actual top ten but here’s some of my all time favourites mixed in with some stuff that’s doing the rounds on my turntable right now. ‘
So to Matt’s choices!
Doom – War Crimes Inhuman Beings
I remember the first time I heard Doom. In 1995 my schoolmate Dan had got a compilation cassette off his biker uncle Gary – Hardcore Holocaust – Peel Sessions, which we listened to on the way to a school trip on the coach…Doom had 2 songs and it was the most aggressive thing I’d ever heard, fast and completely mental. I didn’t even know what DIY or political punk was but it got me hooked. Little did I know Doom were a huge part of starting the crust punk scene in the UK. I instantly ordered this album by mail order. Fast forward to my mid twenties, I’m sat at a mates BBQ with the drummer of Doom before playing a gig with my at the time punk band D -Control.
Thekevorkiansolution – Invokation(RandomSelector4.8)
Around the early 2000’s me and my mate Stephen started going to a few gigs at the Verge in Kentish town, (sadly no longer there) to see some fairly new underground grindcore bands like Narcosis and Mistress. One of those night this lot played and totally blew me away. A fusion of grindcore, electronics and jazz with the most mental live vocals I’d ever heard, it was one of the best gigs I’ve seen. This album sums these guys up. Organised chaos.
Gong – Camembert Electrique
I watched an old tv interview from the 70’s of Gong on YouTube recently where Davide Allen just answered every question the interviewer threw at him with ‘Camambert’! Bonkers Bastard! I love the spirit of Gong and their DIY hippy lifestyle, the melodies in this album are creative and beautiful. It’s my go to for chill tunes at the moment.
Iron Monkey – Our Problem
When this album came out I listened to it on repeat for ages. It just sounds so pissed off! This album also exposed me to the scene in Nottingham at the time which was pumping out some other excellent bands like Hard To Swallow. (It still does – check out ‘Endless Grinning Skulls’ for a start)
Electric Wizard – Dopethrone
Widely heralded as their magnum opus, this album is one of the heaviest out there (bar anything by Corrupted). Everything about this album rules, the guitar sound, the overall distortion, the lyrics….light a bong and stick the volume on 10 for full effect.
Discharge – Hear Nothing, See Nothing, Say Nothing
Discharge are quite literally genre defining. The amount of ‘D-Beat’ bands that spawned (including 2 of my own) off the back of this band and album are in the hundreds. For me this album just did it, chainsaw guitar, the right political messages, the anger of a generation fucked over. I’ve been lucky enough to see them a few times too, including with Mr Blowpig himself! (And great they were too, even if I did have to stop you getting a pasting off some pissed off idiot who wanted to stand in the middle of the pit!)
Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats – Blood Lust
The First ‘Official’ release from these lot and when I heard it I was hooked. this is a concept album around Matthew Hopkins, Witchfinder General and doesn’t disappoint lyrically, painting out the grizzly tale of Hopkins’ deeds as he sent women to the stake! It oozes that 60’s / 70’s sleaze in its delivery. Imagine the bastard child of Black Sabbath and the Beatles in their more psychedelic guise and you’ll be close.
Sect Mark – Worship
A pretty recent band from Italy and one of many that take heavy influence from the origins of D-Beat with the noisier side of Swedish Mangel and Japanese punk Noise. Basically this album rules and I love the reverb on the vocals on top of the total attakk. Theres a few bands doing this kind of thing very well at the moment. Check out Sex Dwarf and Paranoid from Sweden too if you dig this. (Shout out to my mate Tel for getting me onto these)
Burzum – Hvis Lyset Tar Oss
I’m a huge fan of Norwegian Black Metal and putting Varg Vikerness’s politics aside, Burzum has always been up there for me. I almost put in a few other albums here to cover the ‘Black Metal’ album like Darkthrone’s ‘A Blaze In the Northern Sky’, but this is the album I listened to the most around the mid 90’s when I first discovered the genre. What I really liked about this particular album was that it was a bit more downtempo in places and had a real darkness and melancholy about it. I also really got into the electronic tracks at the end and felt it was a bit more ‘mature’ that the albums before it as well as being completely harrowing and harsh.
The Wildhearts – Fishing For Luckies
The Wildhearts are hands down my favourite band since the age of 14 and probably the most underrated band (still) going. Fishing For Luckies has just got it all…it’s layered and has some of the most unique songwriting I’ve heard. I don’t even know where to start to try and break it down so just listen to it.
Thanks Matt for a fabulous list! And don’t forget, if you would like to be a contributor to the mixtape drop me an email to [email protected] with a list of ten albums, a picture of yourself and some words about why you love those albums and think everyone else should give them a listen!