A few days ahead of its scheduled reissue, Neurosis ' 1987 debut LP, Pain Of Mind , is currently streaming at the group's Bandcamp site and pre-order links for the physical releases, which include color options for vinyl, are available at Neurot Recordings .  Highly anthemic, raw, and certainly energized, Pain Of Mind precedes the band's first actual steps toward the path that Neurosis would eventually cut for themselves, pioneering a version of metal music that investigated how sound could be explored and the treasures those deep recesses could hold.  Released at a time when hardcore was going through its midlife crisis, faced with either the possibility of growing musically or staying the course, Pain Of Mind is itself a crossover release, musically ahead of the lockstep one-two punch typified by hardcore's highest esteemed while adhering to the genre's speed, song length economy and aggression.  It's a blistering listen.   Pain Of Mind will be ...

Touch and Go Records is reissuing Big Black 's Headache , a four-song EP originally released in 1987. Now past its thirty year mark, I'm aware of  Headache  thanks to the  The Rich Man's Eight Track Tape  compilation, which pulled together tracks from the EP as well as  Atomizer   and the "Heartbeat" single.  I expect these remastered tracks to sound much better than they do in the  Eight Track Tape  compilation.  Big Black's Steve Albini , ever the critic of digital technology, had no qualms with illustrating the limitations of first-gen CD systems by intentionally building this CD-only release from analog masters.  Consequently, the tracks don't have much depth or bottom.  In fact, they sound crispy.  So, I'm hoping for a richer, more intensified listening experience once this EP becomes available. The EP's most noteworthy inclusion is likely "My Disco," though the piercing, up-tempo "Grinder," the dilemma-rich...

KEN mode Success Season of Mist Released: 6.16.15 * Big Black 's Atomizer LP is in the background as an Albini homage.  Completely unintentional, but it works I guess. ** "Blessed" is a single from KEN mode 's Success that begins the LP.  My daughter was actually confused about the song's title versus the song's mood.  You can check out the song below: And, yes KEN mode's Success was my Summer jam.  Definitely one of my favorite releases this year. Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead