SHINE • Powertime Demo

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Private/Indie 1997
The three years between THE OBSESSED's Church Within record and Wino's return with this here SHINE demo seemed interminably and painfully long. The resurrected and revived OBSESSED held so much promise, only to fall apart yet again, and I feared the worst after their premature demise. Crazy rumours about Wino abounded... he was a destitute drug addict, even that he was on the lam (!?!). Whether or not any of them were true was of no consequence when the ad for Powertime popped up in the back of Metal Maniacs. I hastily sent my money away to the address provided, but ended up waiting over a year for the demo to arrive. There was some sort of shady snafu with the guy who was handling their distribution, but all was forgiven when it finally arrived. OK, on to the music... Wino fans will recognize these 3 songs from the first SPIRIT CARAVAN record (SHINE were forced to change their name to SC due to another band with the same moniker), but I have yet to confirm whether or not these are the same versions on Jug Fulla Sun. They're very similar, and maybe were just remixed, or rerecorded... who knows. Powertime sees Wino at the top of his game, and everything we loved about the OBSESSED is present: Wino's powerful trademark vocals, his fantastically twisted leads, and riffs and vocal melodies that bore their way into your subconscious. Anyways, it seems that pretty much everyone loves Wino, so that description served no purpose as you likely already know what you're in store for... just download and enjoy.
DOWNLOAD: Shine Powertime.rar (27.44 MB)

LANKHMAR • Prejudiced Demo

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Private/Osmosis Records 1989
Some decent late 80's Québécois Thrash on offer here from Montreal's LANKHMAR... who would later drop the H for the much catchier LANKMAR. Don't ask. Musically Prejudiced is fairly typical of the time: a blend of Bay Area and mildly technical Thrash, sounding a lot like TESTAMENT and at times fellow Canucks M.A.D.. Lyrically LANKHMAR did not have the goods, but their musical chops more than make up for it, and the production is outstanding to boot. All in all a very cool download.
DOWNLOAD: Lankhmar Prejudiced.rar (46.59 MB)