Midnite Madness LXXV—Metal Revenge

YES. Show 75. Thanks to all who managed to catch this week's show live and to those awaiting this very post. As always, you are who the show is for, so thanks for listening.
I will return like the darkness and evil itself as the clock strikes September 23nd with a Live Evil special, of some sort. That's enough for now, 'til then let the metal be your guide!

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A Fist in the Face of God presents... DVP: Shredding The Iron Curtain - A Mix by Florian Grill

The summer may have ended somewhat prematurely, but the mixtape mania has not. This month I welcome a new name to my illustrious team of compilers, one Florian Grill, head of the excellent Dying Victims Productions label and author of the biblically-sized annual zine, Thrash Attack.
We've been corresponding rather sporadically since meeting a few years back, but I always keep an eye on the stuff his label puts out, as he's always championing two things I love: forgotten 80s bands and new bands that raise the spirits of the ancient metal gods. So I asked him to compile some of his best stuff from this year and some forgotten gems, and fail he did not, by showing me some bands I hadn't even heard of. On with the battery!

Over to Florian:

Having played some of my material previously on the Midnite Madness radio show, Dylan suggested I should put together a small mixtape with some material from Dying Victims Productions. I chose the more recent releases, which came out in the last three to four months, but I also included a second lot of tracks. Basically, it's a mixture of killer bands from East Germany who have released or are on the edge releasing their debut albums, with the other half being American bands that never made it over the demo stage in the 80s—except for Hirax obviously, but they sound totally different on this demo— but easily tear apart many properly recorded albums. Enjoy! [This tracklist is a little different to the one posted on VICE as it contains five extra tracks adding 28 minutes to the mix.]

TRACKLIST:

Recent releases on DVP:

1. Deathstorm (Austria) - "Massgrave" [shredding death thrash]
2. Bastardizer (Australia) - "Demons Unleashed" [Whipstriker is known to your followers, that’s why only the 2nd band from the split is represented here]
3. Poseidon (Germany) - "Beyond the Seven Gates of Hell" [forgotten thrash from the late ‘80s]
4. Dresden (Germany) - "Sound of Silence" [‘86 thrash covering Simon and Garfunkel!] 
5. Vigilance (Slovenia) - "Tower of Black Sorcery" [raw black speed]
6. Throaat (USA) - "Evil Dead" [New York’s filthy death/thrash/heavy brigade]
7. Iron Kobra (Germany) – "Cult of the Snake" [amazing track by the heavy/speed metal warriors]
8. Sanctifying Ritual (Germany) - "Carved in Rotten Remains" [dirty underground death metal]
9. Satan's Cross (Mexico) - "Sumerian Night" [cool death/thrash/doom mix]
10. Witch Blade (Sweden) - "Ljusets Apostel" [traditional heavy metal]
11. Mion's Hill (Norway) - "Eaten Alive" [putrid black/death metal]
Other killer bands (New bands from East Germany and old overlooked demo stuff from the USA):
12. Nocturnal Witch (Germany) – H.M.S.S. [blackened thrash]
13. Fatal Violence (USA) - "Violence Is Golden" [power/speed metal, ’85]
14. Serpent (Germany) – Possessed by Night [Nwobhm inspired heavy/speed metal]
15. Blood Spill (USA) – Phantasm [totally possessed death/thrash, ’86]
16. Have Mercy (USA) - "Show Me Your Rage" [great power/speed metal, ‘84]
17. Schafott (Germany) - "Total Cleansing" [some more blackened thrash]
18. Gargoyle (USA) - "Burning Marrow" [raging thrash metal, ’86]
19. Hellhound (USA) - "Killing Spree" [killer speed metal band with long songs that never sucked, ‘85]
20. Division Speed (Germany) - "Blazing Heat" [war speed metal]
21. Savage Death (USA) - "Evil Dead" [insane early death metal,’85]
22. Hirax (USA) – Believe in the King [obviously known, but the demo is totally different but rips, ‘84]
23. Chörnyj Woron (Germany) - "V2 Over London" [2008 speed metal cult]

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You can stream the 18-track version below also.

Midnite Madness LXXIV—Recollecting The Beast

ALRIGHT. This month's show saw me recalling the best of the older AFITFOG mixes, some of which date back to 2009. I will be re-uploading these sporadically over the next days/months/years, so keep checking back for new links.
Thanks as always to you for listening and making last month's show was Number 1 in the Mixcloud Metal Charts (!?!), and to Flo for his killer new mix that will follow this post shortly. I will return with more darkness and evil on August 25th. I kinda feel an old school black metal show brewing, but then I have four or five ideas for shows ready to be devoured... In time!

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Live Evil 2015

Live Evil festival returns with its fifth and possibly finest line-up so far. Click here for info on tickets, etc. Upcoming devastation this autumn!

A Fist In The Face Of God presents... The Initiation—Carefully Compiled By Janny Ratten

Image by Jan Utecht

Jan from Occvlta is one those multi-talented people who, no matter what he seems to try his hand at (his artwork for a recent mix still kills me every time I see it), is perpetually great. I first heard his band, Occvlta, in the lead up to the very first Live Festival back in 2009, where legend has it he basically told the former organiser that they were playing the festival, no questions asked. I was helping out with interviews for the zine to accompany the festival, but finding them was tough, as, back then they weren't even listed on Encyclopaedia Metallum (Wikipedia for metal-nerds, basically), such was their relative newness.
So we got to the interview eventually, and Jan was the ideal interviewee. His confidence in getting a place at the festival (their first show, if I'm not mistaken, and first-up on the bill of what would be a legendary festival) wasn't unfounded. They fucking slayed.
Then, when VICE's music site Noisey was launched, I travelled to an Occvlta show in -16° Berlin, in December of 2010, to see them desecrate White Trash alongside infernal death-bangers, Deathhammer, and 80s Italian speed metallers, Fingernails. This performance was captured and features in their Noisey show. Jan had just had his first-born around he that time (hey, Grimur!), but as his lady and offspring were out of town for a few days, he put me and few other beer/weed/sweat-stinking metalheads up in his ludicrously cheap Kreuzberg apartment for a few nights, and the allegiance formed.

Jan (middle) in Berlin, 2010

Anyways, recent-ish-ly he did a mix for the prestigious Lodown Magazine, which is mostly made up of just weird stuff and no metal, and it reminded me, 'Hey, wasn't he supposed to do me a mix?' So here it is, all ready to be devoured, below a few words from Jan himself.

Well, this mix. What to say about it. In a way, it's a mirror of the metal I listen to and how I feel at the moment. Which is mostly black and heavy, haha. You'll find obscure stuff and songs you've probably known for ages, but I think that makes the MIX. Actually, I don't listen to "Life Eternal" that often, but it really is one of my absolute favourites. And then there is Winterhawk. Also a true masterpiece. I thought it sucks, when hearing it for the first time. Too much guitar. But I let time decide what I like, if I don't feel in the mood for something new, well, if the gods want, we are gonna meet again. There is so many great bands it took years for me to like/understand, and it feels so good to know that there is no hurry and a lot more. So who cares. A lot of the songs I was introduced to by friends or my brother. Hanging out with cool people listening to cool music ... on facebook, haha.

"Devil Eyes" and "Princess of the Night" I owe to my brother, Torm [Occvlta drummer]; Sapphire I owe to Tooth [drummer of New York band Natur], "Lady of Mars" to Marcelo [Evil Spirits], and Winterhawk I think was originally introduced to me by Henry [Yuan of Electric Assault Records], but it took a few years until Torben played it and then BOOM. There you go.

TRACKLIST:

1. Wendy Carlos and Rachel Elkind (USA) - "Main Title 'The Shining'" [1980]
2. Aura Noir (Norway) - "Towers of Limbs and Fevers (Original Version)" [1994]
3. Mighty Sphincter (USA) - "Ghost Walking" [1985]
4. Isengard (Norway) - "Our Lord Will Come" [1991]
5. Darkthrone (Norway) - "As Flittermice as Satans Spys" [1994]
6. Kringa (Austria) - "Pearly Gates, Abhorrent Ascent (Unreleased)" [2015]
7. Mayhem (Norway) - "Life Eternal" [1994]
8. Mercyful Fate (Denmark) - "Devil Eyes" [1982]
9. Sapphire (England) - "Encounter" [1982]
10. Dark Star (England) - "Lady of Mars" [1981]
11. Saxon (England) - "Princess of the Night" [1981]
12. Winterhawk (USA) - "Free to Live" [1982]

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Midnite Madness LXXIII—Metal Gods Set Me Free

AL-FUCKIN-RIGHT. Show 73 sees Jan Utecht aka Janny Ratten of black metal band Occvlta open the show and almost finish it with a near-30-minute excerpt from his brand-new mix, featured in the post above.
I shall return next month on July 28th for more Midnite Madness. Stay clean!

Btw, the intro is—
1. Wendy Carlos and Rachel Elkind (USA) - "Main Title 'The Shining'" [1980]
—and the tracks where it just says "Die Today [Cropped] are—
22. Sapphire (England) - "Encounter" [1982]
23. Dark Star (England) - "Lady of Mars" [1981]
24. Saxon (England) - "Princess of the Night" [1981]
25. Winterhawk (USA) - "Free to Live" [1982]

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Midnite Madness LXXII—Ride Hard Die Fast

 ALRIGHT. Show 72. That's 143 hours of Midnite Madness, in case any one is counting. Yup, over five days of REAL METAL, ughhh.
But anyways, back to the 'new' show formula where I (try to) recall my month's listenings since the last show. OK, given last month's show was a doom special, this is more like a few months worth, but hey, was great to play out some stuff that has been on the vast MM playlist since day one and of course some newer stuff, too.
I return like the ancient gods themselves at this month's very end—June 30th—for more Midnite Madness. Might be that Maiden show I keep banging on about, or the tape show I have mentioned before, but time shall tell. Soon!

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Midnite Madness LXXI—The DOOM Show

AL-FUCKIN-RIGHT it actually happened, last week's show was indeed the doom show I promised on here last month, and not a bad show it is either, if I say so myself. Overlooked a few to play what I did manage to fit in, so expect some more doomish chords to strike on one of next month's shows—2nd and 30th. Fuck it, I might even do a tape show? In time!

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A Fist in the Face of God presents... Loud & Raw—Hectic Tunes Selected by Sergeant Salsten

Artwork by Salsten himself

On my last trip to Norway, back in February of 2012, I stayed with Deathhammer frontman Daniel "Sergeant" Salsten in his downtown Oslo apartment. Fenriz and I had been out thrashing in a remote town called Drammen with Salsten the night previous, and when we rocked up at Sergeant's place he was still going, a crate of stubbies on the living room table and an old live Exodus VHS. Thrash living 100%.

Fenriz was DJing a house club that night and was only staying a short while, but Daniel played us some records from the crates littering his hallway, many of them songs neither of us had heard before. I think this was the first time I asked him if he'd be up for doing a mix.

Then, quite deservedly, he and Sadomancer's band Deathhammer became pretty big (for an underground thrash band) and started touring more or less consistently across the globe, and we would meet at Live Evil every year, continue the jokes and hazy cloud that seems to follow us, and then get chatting about doing a mix again.

It took him to move to Tazmania as recent as January just past (seriously), for him to finally get the project started and from the off, it was never going to disappoint. In one of the most tinkered with mixes I have ever received, he managed to trim it down to almost 90 mins of loud and raw metal and punk. Almost pure perfection. He had this to say about the mix:

thrashing out and spacing in with dylan at last years live evil festival, and the talks of creating a mix for this killer radio blog began. after floating in the back of my mind for a while, the theme of the compilation ended up being some intense aggressive shit. it's a mix of hardcore, speed and black metal, mostly quite fast. the crossover blend of hardcore and thrash is highly present - for those relentless moods when the blood is rushing and the neck is loose. it's a natural fusion i wish was more around these days really. i trimmed the mix down to contain only the most ripping and max filthy tunes, energetic rapid stuff ideal for a rotten wasted night. if you are also obsessed by raw power and thrashing rage this compilation is for you.

Before adding this about the insanely cool cover he drew:

here's the cover, inspired by how cool i felt wearing a chicago bulls cap as a child hahah.

Play this one loud!

TRACKLISTING:
1. Impetigo (USA) - "Sinister Urge/Faceless" [1990]
2. Pokolgép (Hungary) - "Vallomás" [1987]
3. Raw Power (Italy) - "A Certain Kind of Killer" [1985]
4. Rudimentary Peni [England] - "Nothing But A Nightmare" [1983]
5. Crossfire [Belgium] - "Feeling Down" [1985]
6. Kafka Prosess [Norway] - "90 Åra" [1985]
7. Angel Dust (Germany) - "Fighters Return" [1986]
8. Agnostic Front (USA) - "The Eliminator" [1986]
9. Abhorer (Singapore) - "Zygotical Sabbatory Anabapt" [1996]
10. Kaaos (Finalnd) - "Mellakka" [1982]
11. Sauron (USA) - "Demonic Invasion" [2004]
12. Turbo (Poland) - "Sztuczne Oddychanie" [1986]
13. 666 (Norway) - "Alkohol" [1982]
14. Descendants (USA) - "I'm Not A Loser" [1982]
15. Cryptic Slaughter (USA) - "Rest in Pain" [1982]
16. Biest (Germany) - "Motortraum" [1987]
17. Victimised (Norway) - "Lot Deg Ligge" [2004]
18. Carrion (Switzerland) - "Evil is There" [1986]
19. Thrust (USA) - "Overdrive" [1984]
20. R.K.L. (USA) - "Think Positive" [1985]
21. Celtic Frost (Switzerland) - "Journey Into Fear" [1985]
22. Nuclear Death (USA) - "Prolong the Agony" [1988]
23. Kohu-63 (Finland) - "Huorra" [1982]
24. Ghoul-Cult (Norway) - "Bulletbelt Berserker" [2002]
25. Gang Green (USA) - "Sick Sex Sick" [1987]
26. Impaled Nazarene (Finland) - "Condemned to Hell" [1993]
27. Sodom (Germany) - "After the Deluge" [1986]

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Midnite Madness LXX—Metal Forces

Show 70. Did not think I would ever complete that many, but hey, the ball continues to roll and heads still bang presumably, so why stop now?
Thanks again to Daniel Salsten for his new mix—see post above—of which I took 50 mins and rehashed the order for part of this show. Back on May 5th with MAYBE some kind of doom show (!), but that is subject to change, as always.

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Midnite Madness LXIX—Total Metal

Apologies to anyone who tuned in to NTS for the live show to be greeted with dead air. This was a fault by the producer, who apparently forgot how to do his job. No big deal, really, as it has been recorded and is now available for download below.

Show is in-keeping with the new formula of recalling the last month or so's listenings, and includes a 30-minute selection from the brand-new mix by Hades and Fenriz, Full Speed Ahead Vol. II. Shouts to those guys again for making yet another killer mix and to Salsten for sending me the new Deathhammer album Evil Power and allowing you to hear the ripping "Total Metal" track.

Midnite Madness returns on April 7th. You know what to do until then.

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A Fist in the Face of God presents... Full Speed Ahead Vol II - A Mix by Hades & Fenriz

Artwork by Jan Utecht

After the relative success of last year's Full Speed Ahead speed metal compilation, its composer—Hades Omega of Greek speed metal outfit Omega—informed me of a follow-up, this time brining more of the proto-speed metal sounds that set the sub-genre in motion for the early to mid-80s. This time he enlisted the skills of one DJ Fenriz, who picked out almost half of the tracks on this second volume of heart-pounding ripping metal.

Live from Kniven

They actually played the mix out at Oslo's finest metal bar Kniven, last weekend. Oh, and he even had the multi-talented Jan Utecht of German speed/black metal band Occvlta draw up the artwork for the mix. And a fine job he did, too. A real group effort, nice one.

I asked the guys if they had anything to say about their selection and Fenriz started by adding:

yeah, it's dopi from machetazo that sent me a whole bunch of old spanish metal from the 80s and i picked out my faves from that and put on this comp, atleast 4 spanish tracks i think. when i heard the whole comp i quickly deducted that the black magic track ruled the whole comp, btw.

Before Hades weighed in with:

Since last year's compilation went pretty good and many people got into it, i thought it's time for a second speed metal attack!  This time though, i was thinking about asking my friend and music trader Fenriz (Darkthrone), since he is the BIGGEST speed metal maniac i know, to join me and choose together the tracks. We even decided presenting the compilation LIVE at Kniven bar (Oslo), while hitting a few beers! I really like how it turned out, cuz there are many obscurities and interesting releases to dig from old and even new bands!! So i hope people will enjoy it , as much as we did!

TRACKLISTING:

1. Hades - Toxic (USA) - "Heart Attack" [1986]

2. Fenriz - Banshee (Canada) - "Breakdown" [1984]
3. H - Gillan (UK) - "What's the Matter" [1982]
4. F - Banzai (Spain) - "Coche Rapido en La Noche" [1983]
5. H - Dio (USA) - "I Speed at Night" [1984]
6. F - Hades (Spain) - "Entre El Fuego y La Crue" [1985]
7. H- Black Magic (Norway) - "Thunder" [2014]
8. F - Jonah Quizz (Sweden) - "Attack" [1982]
9. H - Scorpions (Germany) - "Dynamite" [1982]
10. F - Paradox (Germany) - "At Night Never Twice" [1986]
11. H - Flight (Norway) - "Escape" [2014]
12. F - Sable (Spain) - "Simbolos de Rebelion" [1987]
13. H - Blood Money (UK) - "Metalyzed" [1986]
14. F - Triton (Spain) - "Triton" [1985]
15. H - Outcast (Australia) - "No Tomorrow" [2014]

16. H - Satan (UK) - "Fuck You" [1986]

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Midnite Madness LXVII—Midnite Metal Attack

That's right, a midnite metal attack it was INDEED. Pure 80s first-presses (well, mainly), juggling only, like, three styles this time. Yes, I know I didn't play any German thrash or speed metal in general, so there will be another vinyl show this year, probably in June as I have two shows that month.
March 10th I will return with more destruction, so be ready.

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