Radical Research Podcast

Episode 112 – We Mean You Harm: Hail Spirit Noir 2012-2021

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Thu, 25 Apr 2024 21:01:05 +0000

For its 112th episode, Radical Research travels to balmy Greece to investigate the cryptic evildoing of Hail Spirit Noir, whose hellbroth of black metal, prog, psychedelia, and witchery strikes a special chord with your hosts. We take a deep look at the band’s first four albums and find ourselves more spellbound than ever before. There is no warding off the spell, so give in and join us in this most dangerous of meetings. Note I:

Please consider donating if you listen to Radical Research often: https://www.paypal.me/rrpodcast We also have a webstore where you can find shirts, CDs, and books, many of them recently restocked:

http://radicalresearch.org/shop/

Music cited in order of appearance:

“Mountain of Horror” (Pneuma, 2012)

“Into the Gates of Time” (two moments) (Pneuma, 2012)

“Blood Guru” (Oi Magoi, 2014) “Satan is Time” (Oi Magoi, 2014)

“The Mermaid” (Oi Magoi, 2014)

“Mayhem in Blue” (Mayhem in Blue, 2016)

“Lost in Satan’s Charms” (Mayhem in Blue, 2016)

“The Cannibal Tribe Came from the Sea” (Mayhem in Blue, 2016)

“Alien Lip Reading” (Eden in Reverse, 2020)

“Crossroads” (Eden in Reverse, 2020)

“Automata 1980” (Eden in Reverse, 2020) “On the Loose Again” (Mannequins, 2021) ep. 113 preview: Thief, “Prankquean” (Bleed, Memory, 2024)

Radical Research is a conversation about the inner- and outer-reaches of rock and metal music. This podcast is conceived and conducted by Jeff Wagner and Hunter Ginn. Though we consume music in a variety of ways, we give particular privilege to the immersive, full-album listening experience. Likewise, we believe that tangible music formats help provide the richest, most rewarding immersions and that music, artwork, and song titles cooperate to produce a singular effect on the listener. Great music is worth more than we ever pay for it.

Episode 111 – Immortal’s Blizzard Beasts: Convoking Nebular Dimensions

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Tue, 02 Apr 2024 15:20:29 +0000

For episode 111, Radical Research returns to its spiritual homeland of Norway. But on this trip, RR steers clear of the usual avant suspects and instead climbs the Mountains of Might to take a closer look at Immortal’s twisted and divisive fourth album, 1997’s Blizzard Beasts. Though optically outside of RR’s usual territory, the hosts make a compelling case for the album’s inclusion in the annals of the weird. Please tune in but beware of Nebular Ravens and Frostdemons.

Note I: Although we failed to mention it, along with a resemblance or two to various riffs from Hellwitch’s Syzygial Miscreancy, we find parallels between Blizzard Beasts and any given Order From Chaos era, both vocally and musically. Not that Hellwitch or Order From Chaos directly influenced this album, but if Immortal had said so, we could see it. As you were. Note II:

Please consider donating if you listen to Radical Research often: https://www.paypal.me/rrpodcast We also have a webstore where you can find shirts, CDs, and books, many of them recently restocked:

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Music cited in order of appearance:

[all songs are from Immortal’s Blizzard Beasts, 1997]

“intro”

“Blizzard Beasts”

“Nebular Ravens Winter”

“Suns That Sank Below” “Battlefields”

“Mountains of Might”

“Noctambulant”

“Winter of the Ages”

“Frostdemonstorm”

Episode 110 – Steven Wilson’s Intrigue Compilation, Dissection Part 2

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Sun, 17 Mar 2024 20:15:54 +0000

We continue our wander through the 4CD Intrigue compilation. This installment features 15 UK bands, several which we’d never heard of before (Art Nouveau, New Musik, Section 25). We hope this episode helps prove curator Steven Wilson’s note that Intrigue operates on the “idea that conceptual thinking and ambition didn’t suddenly evaporate after ’77…ambitious, weird and thrilling music was all around you in the ‘80s – if you looked in the right places.” Amen.

Note I:

Please consider donating if you listen to Radical Research often: https://www.paypal.me/rrpodcast We also have a webstore where you can find shirts, CDs, and books, many of them recently restocked:

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Music cited in order of appearance:

Intro: Brian Eno, “Third Uncle” (Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy), 1974) [all snippets below are taken directly from the Intrigue compilation; the following indicates where the songs originally appeared]

The Sound, “I Can’t Escape Myself” (Jeopardy, 1980) Joy Division, “The Eternal” (Closer, 1980) Swell Maps, “Big Empty Field” (…In “Jane from Occupied Europe”, 1980)

Art Nouveau, “Enemies” (unreleased, 1980)

Gary Numan, “The Joy Circuit” (Telekon, 1980) 23 Skidoo, “The Gospel Comes to New Guinea” (single, 1980)

Echo and the Bunnymen, “All My Colours” (Heaven Up Here, 1981)

The Specials, “Ghost Town” (single, 1981) New Musik, “They All Run After the Carving Knife” (Anywhere, 1981) New Order, “The Him” (Movement, 1981) The Associates, “White Car in Germany” (single, 1981)

Section 25, “Hit” (Always Now, 1981)

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, “Sealand” (Architecture & Morality, 1981)

Japan, “Talking Drum” (Tin Drum, 1981)

The Cure, “Faith” (Faith, 1981)

Episode 109 – Sigh’s Weirdest! Let the Strangeness Do the Talking

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Fri, 01 Mar 2024 19:30:15 +0000

Sigh is unquestionably one of the weirdest bands in the metal realm. And since Radical Research skews weird, and since we are both fans of Sigh since the mid ‘90s, it seemed obvious that we would eventually do an episode featuring some of the very weirdest of Sigh’s weird moments. So…if you are down with our motto of Keep Metal Weird, you know what to do.

Note I:

Please consider donating if you listen to Radical Research often: https://www.paypal.me/rrpodcast We also have a webstore where you can find shirts, CDs, and books, many of them recently restocked:

http://radicalresearch.org/shop/

Music cited in order of appearance:

"Hail Horror Hail" (Hail Horror Hail, 1997)

"A Sunset Song" (Imaginary Sonicscape, 2001)

"Scarlet Dream" (Imaginary Sonicscape, 2001)

"Heresy II: Acosmism" (Heir to Despair, 2018)

"Satsui - Geshi No Ato" (Shiki, 2022)

"12 Souls" (Hail Horror Hail, 1997) "Amongst the Phantoms of Abandoned Tumbrils" (In Somniphobia, 2012)

“Invitation to Die” (Hail Horror Hail, 1997) “Diabolic Suicide” (Scenario IV: Dread Dreams, 1999)

“The Molesters of My Soul” (Graveward, 2015)

"Seed of Eternity” (Hail Horror Hail, 1997)

Episode 108 – Non-Classic-Logo-Era Napalm Death, 1994-1998

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Wed, 14 Feb 2024 13:20:28 +0000

The body of critical study - and fan adoration - around the music of Napalm Death has concerned itself principally with the band's pioneering grindcore and its transition into the death metal of Harmony Corruption. But what of the band's wilderness years, the mid- to late-1990s? The 108th episode of Radical Research digs into what its hosts consider to be Napalm Death's most radical music, the four-album futurist blitzkrieg spanning the years 1994-1998. Get ready for some serious side-eye, Legions, as we cross over into the torn apart.

Note I:

In the episode, Hunter mentions Ian Christe's writing on the band's 1994 album, Fear, Emptiness, Despair. In Christe's Sound of the Beast, he writes that the album, "...started a fresh chapter in the history of a band whose membership half-life had once lasted no longer than an album side. Previous urban hardcore noise blasts were mowed by sophisticated guitar layering and innovative drum patterns. Their dissonance became a conscious component of the composition, not merely a side benefit of chaos, and the marriage of intense anger and calculation yielded a masterpiece of passionate, politically minded, negative realism."

Note II:

In an act of gall, the scalar dimensions of which could only be compared to the Pacific Ocean, Mont Blanc, and John Holmes' ballistic member, Christe includes Fear, Emptiness, Despair in his list of the 25 Greatest Heavy Metal Albums of All Time. The list includes other controversial entries, such as Morbid Angel's Formulas Fatal to the Flesh, and Dream Death's rarely-trumpeted but mighty Journey Into Mystery.

Note III:

In our excitement, we failed to mention the men who produced these albums. All were produced by the estimable Colin Richardson, except Fear, Emptiness, Despair, which was handled by Pete Coleman. Only one of these gentlemen have played flute on a Skyclad album.

Note IV:

Please consider donating if you listen to Radical Research often: https://www.paypal.me/rrpodcast We also have a webstore where you can find shirts, CDs, and books, many of them recently restocked:

http://radicalresearch.org/shop/

Music cited in order of appearance:

“The Infiltraitor” (Words from the Exit Wound, 1998) “Plague Rages” (Fear, Emptiness, Despair, 1994)

“Primed Time” (Fear, Emptiness, Despair, 1994) “Fasting on Deception” (Fear, Emptiness, Despair, 1994)

“Ripe for the Breaking” (Diatribes, 1996)

“Take the Strain” (Diatribes, 1996)

“Diatribes” (Diatribes, 1996)

“Birth in Regress” (Inside the Torn Apart, 1997)

“Prelude” (Inside the Torn Apart, 1997)

“Lowpoint” (Inside the Torn Apart, 1997)

“None the Wiser?” (Words from the Exit Wound, 1998)

“Trio-Degradable / Affixed by Disconcern” (Words from the Exit Wound, 1998)

“The Infiltraitor” (Words from the Exit Wound, 1998) Radical Research is a conversation about the inner- and outer-reaches of rock and metal music. This podcast is conceived and conducted by Jeff Wagner and Hunter Ginn. Though we consume music in a variety of ways, we give particular privilege to the immersive, full-album listening experience. Likewise, we believe that tangible music formats help provide the richest, most rewarding immersions and that music, artwork, and song titles cooperate to produce a singular effect on the listener. Great music is worth more than we ever pay for it.

Episode 107 – The Saturnine Sleep: Tiamat’s A Deeper Kind of Slumber

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Sun, 28 Jan 2024 19:56:00 +0000

For a podcast that traffics in all things wild and mind-expanding, the subject of our 107th episode makes everything else feel stone-cold sober by comparison. The fifth album by Sweden's Tiamat, A Deeper Kind of Slumber, luxuriates in the wan, reclined possibilities of Leary biscuits and Psilocybin dreams. This episode paddles along the hallucinatory waters of Tiamat's final masterpiece and resolves itself to the album's irreconcilable mysteries.

Note I:

Please consider donating if you listen to Radical Research often: https://www.paypal.me/rrpodcast We also have a webstore where you can find shirts, CDs, and books, many of them recently restocked:

http://radicalresearch.org/shop/

Music cited in order of appearance:

Intro: “The Ar” (Wildhoney, 1994)

“The Southernmost Voyage” (The Astral Sleep, 1991) “A Caress of Stars” (Clouds, 1992) “Do You Dream of Me?” (Wildhoney, 1994)

“Cold Seed” (A Deeper Kind of Slumber, 1997) “Teonanacatl” (A Deeper Kind of Slumber, 1997) “Trillion Zillion Centipedes” (A Deeper Kind of Slumber, 1997)

‘The Desolate One” (A Deeper Kind of Slumber, 1997) “Atlantis as a Lover” (A Deeper Kind of Slumber, 1997)

“Alteration X 10” (A Deeper Kind of Slumber, 1997)

“Four Leary Biscuits” (A Deeper Kind of Slumber, 1997)

“Only In My Tears It Lasts” (A Deeper Kind of Slumber, 1997)

“The Whores of Babylon” (A Deeper Kind of Slumber, 1997)

“Kite” (A Deeper Kind of Slumber, 1997)

“Phantasma De Luxe” (A Deeper Kind of Slumber, 1997)

“Mount Marilyn” (A Deeper Kind of Slumber, 1997)

“A Deeper Kind of Slumber” (A Deeper Kind of Slumber, 1997)

Episode 106 — New Metal Massacre: Horrendous, Afterbirth, Laster & Vemod

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Wed, 10 Jan 2024 17:25:50 +0000

We tend to skew toward the past in our explorations with Radical Research, uncovering sounds we feel are overlooked and/or underrated. We’re breaking our usual time travel approach and focusing solely on some new metal music that thrilled us in 2023 and one very fresh entry for 2024. It’s not 1986 or 1991 anymore, obviously, but 2023 was a great year for new music, metal and otherwise. Herein, we delve into the greatness that is Ontological Mysterium (Horrendous), In But Not Of (Afterbirth), Andermans Mijne (Laster), and The Deepening (Vemod). Metal lives? Metal lives!!!

Note I:

Please consider donating if you listen to Radical Research often: https://www.paypal.me/rrpodcast We also have a webstore where you can find shirts, CDs, and books, many of them recently restocked:

http://radicalresearch.org/shop/

Music cited in order of appearance:

Horrendous, “Neon Leviathan” (Ontological Mysterium, 2023)

Horrendous, “Preterition Hymn” (Ontological Mysterium, 2023)

Horrendous, “Exeg(en)esis” (Ontological Mysterium, 2023)

Afterbirth, “Devils With Dead Eyes” (In But Not Of, 2023) Afterbirth, “Vivisected Psychopomp” (In But Not Of, 2023)

Afterbirth, “Hovering Human Head Drones” (In But Not Of, 2023)

Laster, “Poëtische Waarheid” (Andermans Mijne, 2023) Laster, “Onzichtbare Muur” (Andermans Mijne, 2023)

Laster, “Doodgeboren” (Andermans Mijne, 2023)

Vemod, “Der Guder Dør” (The Deepening, 2024) Vemod, “The Deepening” (The Deepening, 2024)

Ep. 107 preview: Tiamat, “Atlantis as a Lover” (A Deeper Kind of Slumber, 1997)

Episode 105 – We Are Intrigued! Steven Wilson Curates ‘Intrigue’ Compilation & We Dissect [Part 1 of 4]

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Tue, 26 Dec 2023 19:27:41 +0000

For Episode 105, Radical Research follows the lead of musical polyglot and overachiever, Steven Wilson. Inspired by Wilson's recently-curated, Intrigue: Progressive Sounds in UK Alternative Music 1979-1989, this episode traces out the music found on the first disc of this four-volume edition, digging into such varied artists as Public Image Ltd., John Foxx, In Camera, and This Heat. This constitutes the first in a four-part series around Wilson's collection, which we will revisit occasionally throughout 2024. Should you have any interest in the rich mosaic of the late 1970s/early 1980s UK underground, tune in, turn on, and experiment out.

Note I:

As mentioned late in the episode, here is further reading on the Durutti Column’s sandpaper packaging of their Return of the Durutti Column album: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Return_of_the_Durutti_Column

Note II:

Please consider donating if you listen to Radical Research often: https://www.paypal.me/rrpodcast We also have a webstore where you can find shirts, CDs, and books, many of them recently restocked:

http://radicalresearch.org/shop/

Music cited in order of appearance: intro: Peter Hammill, “Nobody’s Business” (Nadir’s Big Chance, 1975)

[all snippets in this episode are taken from the Intrigue compilation; the following indicates where the songs initially appeared]

Wire, “I Should Have Known Better” (154, 1979)

Bill Nelson’s Red Noise, “A Better Home in the Phantom Zone” (Sound on Sound, 1979)

Magazine, “Back to Nature” (Secondhand Daylight, 1979)

XTC, “Complicated Game” (Drums and Wires, 1979) Public Image Ltd, “Careering” (Metal Box, 1979) The Stranglers, “The Raven” (The Raven, 1979) Punishment of Luxury, “Puppet Life” (Puppet Life 7”, 1979) Ultravox, “Astradyne” (Vienna, 1980)

Gang of Four, “Contract” (Entertainment!, 1979)

Simple Minds, “I Travel” (Empires and Dance, 1980)

The Durutti Column, “Sketch for Summer” (The Return of the Durutti Column, 1980)

This Heat, “Health and Efficiency” (Health and Efficiency [EP], 1980)

John Foxx, “Burning Car” (Burning Car 7”, 1980) Robert Fripp and the League of Gentlemen, “Cognitive Dissonance” (The League of Gentlemen, 1981) In Camera, “The Fatal Day” (Fin [EP], 1982)

Episode 104 – Diskord 2007-2021: Architectonic Death

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Sun, 19 Nov 2023 20:13:04 +0000

As is so often the case, Radical Research, for its 104th episode, finds itself in Norway, only this time to investigate the psycho-necrotic brutality of Oslo’s Diskord. At once garage-y, asymmetric, and morbid, Diskord hawks death-wares that invite listeners to stroll through the hallways of the weird metal madhouse. Only death and Norway are real.

Note I:

Thanks to Tim Hammond for the Oscillations mp3s. We only had the vinyl and no digital version, and we knew who to turn to. Thanks Tim, you are a fucking champ! Note II:

Wagner was thinking “Funebrarum” but said “Encoffination.” Please forgive a mind way too filled up with this otherworldly nonsense. Thank you. The point still stands, re: the rise of Funebarum and other similar combos in early Incantation mode around 2007.

Note III:

Wagner and Ginn are both huge fans of Autopsy up to and including Tourniquets, Hacksaws and Graves (2014). In fact, both, weirdly, believe that album to be the best of Era II Autopsy. Things after that are fine if all you want is more of that. But we wanted more than that. But goddamn we love the fuck out of Autopsy. Fiend for Blood FTW.

Note IV:

Please consider donating if you listen to Radical Research often: https://www.paypal.me/rrpodcast We also have a webstore where you can find shirts, CDs, and books, many of them recently restocked:

http://radicalresearch.org/shop/

Music cited in order of appearance: “Pervasive Discreetness” (Doomscapes, 2007)

“Reptilian Ancestry” (Doomscapes, 2007)

“Instauration” (Doomscapes, 2007)

“Overseer” (Dystopics, 2012)

“Psychotic Process” (Dystopics, 2012)

“Rambling Words from a Sore Throat” (Dystopics, 2012)

“Horrid Engine” (Oscillations, 2014)

“Hermit Dream” (Oscillations, 2014)

“Loitering in the Portal” (Degenerations, 2021)

“Dragged for Coronation” (Degenerations, 2021)

“Gnashing” (Degenerations, 2021)

Episode 103 – We’re After the Same Thing: Dead Horse’s Peaceful Death and Pretty Flowers

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Wed, 08 Nov 2023 17:53:25 +0000

Death, humor, society? Who doesn't love these things? Radical Research certainly does! So, it should come as no surprise that we chose the second album by Houston, Texas' Dead Horse as the subject of our 103rd episode. Peaceful Death and Pretty Flowers, released by Big Chief Records in 1991, plunders the remotest corners of thrash, hardcore, and mangled death as fodder for its singular brand of knee-slappin' brutality. Join us for this rather less than peaceful episode.

Note I:

Please consider donating if you listen to Radical Research often: https://www.paypal.me/rrpodcast We also have a webstore where you can find shirts, CDs, and books, many of them recently restocked:

http://radicalresearch.org/shop/

Music cited in order of appearance: all tracks from Dead Horse’s Peaceful Death and Pretty Flowers, 1991

“Cod Piece Face”

“Turn”

“La La Song”

“Like Asrielle”

“The Latent Stage”

“Peaceful Death”

“Eulogy”

“Snowdogs”

“The Lark Nest”

“Medulla Oblongata”

“Aplo”

“Rock Lobster”

“Sawbone”

Episode 102 – INTO ANOTHER with Brothers from Other Mothers

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Wed, 18 Oct 2023 17:04:21 +0000

Forged in the crucible of the Tri-State hardcore and thrash scenes, New York City's Into Another released three genre-defying albums that blend together -- seemlessly -- the disparate sensibilities of its members. The band's membership boasts a heritage that includes such stalwart acts as Whiplash and Youth of Today, though Into Another's rich, mystical rock hardly betrays those roots. Episode 102 of Radical Research does its best to reveal the treasures of this tragically-overlooked band.

Note I:

Please consider donating if you listen to Radical Research often: https://www.paypal.me/rrpodcast We also have a webstore where you can find shirts, CDs, and books, many of them recently restocked:

http://radicalresearch.org/shop/

Music cited in order of appearance:

“Robot Whales” (Into Another, 1991) “Underlord” (Into Another, 1991)

“While I Die” (Into Another, 1991)

“As It Were” (Into Another, 1991)

“Laughing at Oblivion” (Ignaurus, 1994) “Maritime Murder” (Ignaurus, 1994) “William” (Ignaurus, 1994)

“Mutate Me” (Seemless, 1995)

“Locksmiths & Lawyers” (Seemless, 1995)

“For a Wounded Wren” (Seemless, 1995)

“Crossed” (Omens, 2017)

Episode 101 – Ambulance Chasing: Ulver’s ‘Blood Inside’

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Fri, 06 Oct 2023 18:46:14 +0000

HUNTER's NOTES

After several years of perdition, silence, and melancholy, Oslo’s Ulver, a totem of the Radical Research faith, released, in 2005, its sixth full-length album, the manic and panicked Blood Inside. The album has inspired divisive opinions and obsessive worship. Its nine songs come together like a house of mirrors, where every lunatic fantasy, every fear, every shameful ecstasy, is reflected and refracted back into the listener’s ears. Radical Research takes a firm position in defense of the album’s genius.

Note I:

Please consider donating if you listen to Radical Research often: https://www.paypal.me/rrpodcast We also have a webstore where you can find shirts, CDs, and books, many of them recently restocked:

http://radicalresearch.org/shop/

Music cited in order of appearance:

“Not Saved” (Silencing the Singing, 2001)

“Surface” (Svidd Neger, 2003) “Doom Sticks” (A Quick Fix of Melancholy, 2003) “Dressed in Black” (Blood Inside, 2005)

“For the Love of God” (Blood Inside, 2005)

“Christmas” (Blood Inside, 2005)

“Blinded by Blood” (Blood Inside, 2005)

“It Is Not Sound” (Blood Inside, 2005)

“The Truth” (Blood Inside, 2005)

“In the Red” (Blood Inside, 2005)

“Your Call” (Blood Inside, 2005)

“Operator” (Blood Inside, 2005)

Episode 100 – VOIVOD is the Engine That Powers Us

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Mon, 04 Sep 2023 12:38:55 +0000

2023 marks the 40th anniversary of Voivod, a band that are at the very heart of everything we do at Radical Research and everything we listen to as incorrigible music obsessives. In celebration, Voivod released Morgoth Tales, which finds the Mark V lineup (Snake, Away, Chewy, Rocky) covering songs from various past eras. For ourselves, we pay tribute by offering our longest and most in-depth episode yet, while also celebrating a landmark of our own. We invite all chaosmongers, nothingfaces, cockroaches and diehards across the schizophere to join us in celebration of the one, the only, the eternal VOIVOD!!!

Please consider donating if you listen to Radical Research often: https://www.paypal.me/rrpodcast We also have a webstore where you can find shirts, CDs, and books, many of them recently restocked:

http://radicalresearch.org/shop/

Music cited in order of appearance: [all Voivod except where otherwise noted] intros from War and Pain, Killing Technology, Angel Rat, The Wake “Experiment” (Dimension Hatröss, 1988) “Blower” (War and Pain, 1984) “Ripping Headaches” (Rrröööaaarrr, 1986) Carnivore, “Carnivore” (Carnivore, 1985) “Forgotten in Space” (Killing Technology, 1987) Cave In, “Decay of the Delay” (Jupiter, 2000) “Cockroaches” (Killing Technology, 1987) “Psychic Vaccum” (Dimension Hatröss, 1988) “Brain Scan” (Dimension Hatröss, 1988)

Wartech, "Virtual Reality" (demo 1991) “Missing Sequences” (Nothingface, 1989) “Into My Hypercube” (Nothingface, 1989) “Inner Combustion” (Nothingface, 1989) King Crimson, “Larks’ Tongues in Aspic, Part Two” (Larks’ Tongues in Aspic, 1973) “Nuage Fractal” (Angel Rat, 1991) Alchemist, “Escape from the Black Hole” (Organasm, 2000) “Clouds in My House” (Angel Rat, 1991) Die Kreuzen, “Best Goodbye” (Cement, 1991) “Best Regards” (Angel Rat, 1991) “Freedoom” (Angel Rat, 1991) “Horror” (Rrröööaaarrr, 1986) Rush, “Natural Science” (Permanent Waves, 1980) Van Der Graaf Generator, “Man-Erg” (Pawn Hearts, 1971) “Moonbeam Rider” (The Outer Limits, 1993) “Time Warp” (The Outer Limits, 1993) “Phobos” (Phobos, 1997) “Temps Mort” (Phobos, 1997) “Neutrino” (Phobos, 1997) “Aware” (demo for unrealized 10th album, 2000) “Facing Up” (Voivod, 2003) “Divine Sun” (Voivod, 2003) “Polaroids” (Katorz, 2006) “Corps Etranger” (Target Earth, 2013) “Iconspiracy” (The Wake, 2018) “Always Moving” (The Wake, 2018) “Quest for Nothing” (Synchro Anarchy, 2022)

Episode 99 – The Four Freaks Roundtable: Jeff & Hunter + Thomas Nul & Brian Grebenz

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Fri, 28 Jul 2023 16:53:23 +0000

For 98 episodes, the pilots of Radical Research have gone it together. Mind you, the hosts have had some curatorial help along the way (Jason William Walton and Forrest Pitts, please take a bow). But on the eve of episode 100, Radical Research has called on two of its most stalwart allies, the estimable Thomas Nul and Brian Grebenz. Over the course of almost two hours, this veritable Roman Senate chews on the hard-hitting issues that occupy the minds of all right-thinking citizens of the Research Republic. We invite you to turn on and tune in to this symposium of sickness.

Note I:

Please consider donating if you listen to Radical Research often: https://www.paypal.me/rrpodcast We also have a webstore where you can find shirts, CDs, and books, many of them recently restocked:

http://radicalresearch.org/shop/

Music cited in order of appearance:

Genesis, “Dodo / Lurker” (Abacab, 1981) Black Sabbath, “The Eternal Idol” (Eternal Idol, 1987)

King Crimson, “Discipline” (Discipline, 1981)

Celtic Frost, “(Once) They Were Eagles” (Cold Lake, 1988)

A Forest of Stars, “Premature Invocation” (Grave Mounds and Grave Mistakes, 2018)

Jethro Tull, “Thick as a Brick” (Thick as a Brick, 1971)

Slayer, “The Final Command” (Show No Mercy, 1983)

Acanthus, “Le Frisson des Vampires” (Le Frisson des Vampires, 1971)

Journey, “Of a Lifetime” (Journey, 1975)

Unearthly Trance, “Penta(grams)” (In the Red, 2004)

episode 100 preview: Voivod, “Temps Mort” (Phobos, 1997)

Episode 98 – The Meads of Asphodel’s Guts Spun on the Loom of Judgment

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Sun, 02 Jul 2023 02:22:39 +0000

Formed in 1998 in the Hertfordshire region of England, The Meads of Asphodel are a special, experimental heavy metal band with many distinctive and beguiling qualities. So why did it take one of the Radical Research hosts 24 years to acquire a taste for the Meads? We don’t have the answer, but in this episode, Jeff runs down all his favorite aspects of Meads while Hunter listens, corroborates and discusses this better-late-than-never obsession.

Note I:

This is from the main page of the Meads of Asphodel website, https://www.themeadsofasphodel.co.uk/: “Experimental extreme metal band The Meads of Asphodel believe in all peoples’ right to live in peace, free from the shackles of inflicted dogma and servitude.” Damn straight!

Note II:

Please consider donating if you listen to Radical Research often: https://www.paypal.me/rrpodcast We also have a webstore where you can find shirts, CDs, and books, many of them recently restocked:

http://radicalresearch.org/shop/

Music cited in order of appearance:

“Psalm 666” (Damascus Steel, 2005)

“Christ’s Descent into Hell” (Brittania Infernus compilation, 2002) “A Healer Made God” (Exhuming the Grave of Yeshua, 2003)

“Send My Love to Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz” (Sonderkommando, 2013)

“Jezebel and the Philistines” (The Excommunication of Christ, 2001)

“On Graven Images I Glide Beyond the Monstrous Gates of Pandemonium to Face the Baptized Warriors of Yahweh in the Skull-Littered Plain of Esdraelon” (Exhuming the Grave of Yeshua, 2003)

“Boiled in Hell Broth and Grave Dust” (The Murder of Jesus the Jew, 2010)

“Jew Killer” (The Murder of Jesus the Jew, 2010)

“Sword of the East” (Damascus Steel, 2005)

“Hourglass of Ash” (Sonderkommando, 2013)

“Black is Black & White is White” (Running Out of Time Doing Nothing, 2019) “Like Blood Shaped Flakes of Snow” (Running Out of Time Doing Nothing, 2019) “Nazi” (English Punk Black Metal, 2010 split)

“My Psychotic Sand Deity” (The Murder of Jesus the Jew, 2010)

“Addicted to God” (The Murder of Jesus the Jew, 2010) “Weeping Tears of Angel Light” (The Excommunication of Christ, 2001)

Episode 97 – Disembowelment Discography 1990-1993: A Burial In 14 Snippets

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Mon, 12 Jun 2023 14:56:42 +0000

Is heaviness a quantifiable aspect of music? Can a piece of music display such weight, such heft, that the listener can only accept its heaviness as fact? Radical Research says “Yes,” and we are here to offer evidence. For our 97th episode, we take our second trip down under to survey the concise but mighty discography of Disembowelment. We invite you to join us as we dig into the cryptic horrors of this otherworldly music. But be warned: research rarely gets this heavy.

Note I:

Please consider donating if you listen to Radical Research often: https://www.paypal.me/rrpodcast We also have a webstore where you can find shirts, CDs, and books, many of them recently restocked:

http://radicalresearch.org/shop/

Music cited in order of appearance:

“Intro – Mourning September” (Mourning September demo, 1990)

“Impoverished Filth” (Mourning September demo, 1990)

“Thou Messiah” (Mourning September demo, 1990) “Extracted Nails” (Pantalgia – An International Death Metal Compilation, 1992) “River of Salvation (My Divine Punishment)” (Deep Sensory Procession into Aural Fate demo, 1991)

“As Your Soul Befalls…” (Deep Sensory Procession into Aural Fate demo, 1991)

“The Tree of Life and Death” (Transcendence into the Peripheral, 1993)

“Your Prophetic Throne of Ivory” (Transcendence into the Peripheral, 1993)

“Excoriate” (Transcendence into the Peripheral, 1993)

“Nightside of Eden” (Transcendence into the Peripheral, 1993)

“A Burial at Ornans” (Transcendence into the Peripheral, 1993)

“The Spirits of the Tall Hills” (Transcendence into the Peripheral, 1993)

“Cerulean Transience of All My Imagined Shores” (Transcendence into the Peripheral, 1993) “Outro” (Mourning September demo, 1990)

Episode 96 – This is Not Some Stupid Quest: Disillusion’s Glorious ‘Gloria’

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Thu, 18 May 2023 20:01:08 +0000

The Southeastern United States, from whence Radical Research is broadcast, has long prided itself on its sundry wrestling traditions. From the bare-chested hectoring of the SoCon to the gator-tangling of Central Florida, southerners approach wrestling with a sense of birthright authority. But today we face a new challenger: taxonomy. The second full-length album by Germany’s Disillusion, the forbidding Gloria, is an oil-rubbed beast that slips away from our every attempt to ensnare it with our inadequate classifications. We invite you to tune in to our 96th episode and declare, once and for all, a victor in this battle of equivocation.

Note I:

Please consider donating if you listen to Radical Research often: https://www.paypal.me/rrpodcast We also have a webstore where you can find shirts, CDs, and books, many of them recently restocked:

http://radicalresearch.org/shop/

Music cited in order of appearance:

[All selection from Disillusion, Gloria, 2006]

“The Black Sea”

“Dread It”

“Don’t Go Any Further”

“Avalanche”

“Gloria”

“Aerophobic”

“The Hole We Are In”

“Save the Past”

“Lava”

“Too Many Broken Cease Fires”

“Untiefen” Radical Research is a conversation about the inner- and outer-reaches of rock and metal music. This podcast is conceived and conducted by Jeff Wagner and Hunter Ginn. Though we consume music in a variety of ways, we give particular privilege to the immersive, full-album listening experience. Likewise, we believe that tangible music formats help provide the richest, most rewarding immersions and that music, artwork, and song titles cooperate to produce a singular effect on the listener. Great music is worth more than we ever pay for it.

Episode 95 – Bad-Ass Fusion Decapitations Part 3: Time to Kill

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Sat, 15 Apr 2023 01:44:26 +0000

Herein we present the third and likely final installment of our Bad-Ass Fusion Decapitations series. We repeat two bands previously featured on other episodes (Kraan, King Crimson) and bring you eight more missives from the deepest cosmos. Watch that noggin of yours -- the headhunters are abound tonight! Note I:

As noted within the episode, here’s that link to “Study the Greats”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIXBu_uoCQk

Note II:

As this is likely the final installment of Bad-Ass Fusion Decapitations, here are the first two, in case you missed them or want a refresher course:

Part 1: https://radicalresearch.org/episode-5-ten-bad-ass-fusion-decapitations-mahavishnu-orchestra-return-to-forever-colosseum-area/

Part 2: https://radicalresearch.org/episode-73-bad-ass-fusion-decapitations-part-2/

Note III:

Please consider donating if you listen to Radical Research often: https://www.paypal.me/rrpodcast We also have a webstore where you can find shirts, CDs, and books, many of them recently restocked:

http://radicalresearch.org/shop/

Music cited in order of appearance:

Al Di Meola, “Flight Over Rio” (Elegant Gypsy, 1977) Bruford, “Beelzebub” (Feels Good to Me, 1978) Ian Carr, “Remadione” (Belladonna, 1972)

Ain Soph, “Crossfire” (A Story of Mysterious Forest, 1980)

Transit Express, “Disparition” (Opus Progressif, 1976) Herbie Hancock, “Palm Grease” (Thrust, 1974)

Kraan, “Rund Um Die Uhr” (Wiederhoren, 1977)

King Crimson, “Neurotica” (November 22, 2017, Ann Arbor, Michigan) Mats/Morgan Band, “Min Hast” (Live, 2001, recorded 1999)

Soft Machine, “Hazard Profile, Part Five” (Bundles, 1975)

Episode 96 preview: Disillusion, “Don’t Go Any Further” (Gloria, 2006)

Episode 94 – The Real Freakshow: Psychotic Waltz 1990-1996

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Sun, 19 Mar 2023 02:19:14 +0000

Over the course of its previous 93 episodes, Radical Research has banged, thrashed, and decapitated but never before has it waltzed. That ends now. Formed as Aslan in 1985, San Diego's Psychotic Waltz released four full-length albums in the ‘90s, each of which challenges all received notions of "progressive metal." Despite being one the most even-handed of metal bands -- not a weak link in the psychotic chain -- this episode pays particular attention to the uncanny, elegant guitar playing of Dan Rock and Brian McAlpin. Their entangled, spiraling guitar tendrils push the instrument to the point of apotheosis in the context of heavy metal. But there is room for all the rug-cutters at this hoedown. Put on your dancing shoes and come join us.

Note I:

Not anything to do with Psychotic Waltz, but we’ve been informed that….”Hunter Wagner” is protagonist’s name in a concept album by a band called Scapegrace and their The Abyss Swallows album. https://scapegracebc.bandcamp.com/track/the-abyss-swallows

Note II:

Please consider donating if you listen to Radical Research often: https://www.paypal.me/rrpodcast We also have a webstore where you can find shirts, CDs, and books, many of them recently restocked

http://radicalresearch.org/shop/

Music cited in order of appearance:

“And The Devil Cried” (A Social Grace, 1990)

“Another Prophet Song” (A Social Grace, 1990)

“I of the Storm” (A Social Grace, 1990)

“Out of Mind” (Into the Everflow, 1992)

“Into the Everflow” (Into the Everflow, 1992)

“Little People” (Into the Everflow, 1992)

“Haze One” (Mosquito, 1994)

“Cold” (Mosquito, 1994)

“Only Time” (Mosquito, 1994)

“Faded” (Bleeding, 1996)

“Bleeding” (Bleeding, 1996)

“Northern Lights” (Bleeding, 1996)

“My Grave” (Bleeding, 1996) Radical Research is a conversation about the inner- and outer-reaches of rock and metal music. This podcast is conceived and conducted by Jeff Wagner and Hunter Ginn. Though we consume music in a variety of ways, we give particular privilege to the immersive, full-album listening experience. Likewise, we believe that tangible music formats help provide the richest, most rewarding immersions and that music, artwork, and song titles cooperate to produce a singular effect on the listener. Great music is worth more than we ever pay for it.

Episode 93 – The Sadus ‘Swallowed in Black’ Track-by-Track Batshit-Crazy Attaaaaaack!!!

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Tue, 21 Feb 2023 15:27:46 +0000

When a member of a fringe Swedish death metal band makes a request, Radical Research heeds the call. To that end, RR episode 93 is a response to Philip Von Segebaden’s (Afflicted) appeal for a song-by-song analysis of Swallowed in Black by California’s preeminent thrash metal assassins, Sadus. Though apparently a bit outside of the RR wheelhouse, our dissection will reveal traces of the weirdness upon which this house is built. Should poser-killing, gravity-defying metal violence be your poison, consider this your invitation to the Last Abide. If not, then Good Rid’nz.

Note I:

The Steve DiGiorgio playlist from the History of Metal magazine (1994) mentioned around the 15-minute mark is as follows: Psychotic Waltz – A Social Grace

Black Sabbath – Never Say Die

Voivod – Nothingface

Ozzy Osbourne – Bark at the Moon

D.B.C. – Universe

Possessed – Beyond the Gates

Anacrusis – Screams and Whispers

Rainbow – Rising

Judas Priest – Screaming for Vengeance

Savatage – Sirens

Note II:

As mentioned, the name Sadus comes from the Frank Herbert novel, Dune. It appears to be the plural form of Sadu. The definition, from the Dune fan wiki: “among the fremen the blessed company of heavenly judges. A Sadu presided over the traditional scales, which here weigh either the soul or the water rendered from the dead, for the scales formed the T of the Tau.”

Note III:

Please consider donating if you listen to Radical Research often: https://www.paypal.me/rrpodcast We also have a webstore where you can find shirts, CDs, and books, many of them recently restocked:

http://radicalresearch.org/shop/

Music cited in order of appearance:

All songs from Swallowed in Black, 1990:

“Black”

“Man Infestation” “Last Abide”

“The Wake”

“In Your Face”

“Good Rid’nz”

“False Incarnation”

“Images”

“Powers of Hate”

“Arise” “Oracle of Obmission”

Episode 92 – Last Crack: The Best of All Our Burning Time

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 20:52:58 +0000

Rarely can a rock or metal band be described in terms of open-heartedness, nostalgia, or compassion. But the subject of Radical Research’s 92nd episode defies convention in nearly every way. Madison, Wisconsin’s Last Crack was a band that seemed on the brink of breakout success but, ultimately, condemned to wander the corridors of obscurity. They recorded their second album at Eldorado Studios in Hollywood, and released the results via Roadracer/Roadrunner in 1991. To our ears, Burning Time is a masterpiece of left-field hard rock/metal. A mesh of razor-sharp guitars, a deft rhythm section, and the magisterial wailings of the group’s master of ceremony, Buddo, Burning Time embraces the listener and brings us into its enchanted Midwestern fantasia.

Note I:

Our apologies to Last Crack: ”Mini Toboggan” deserves so much better than some kind of crass comparison to a ridiculously-titled Cannibal Corpse song. We were feeling plucky on this night. But seriously, we do so love this song to the utter ends of our lives, whether we grew up sledding (Jeff) or not (Hunter).

Note II:

Please consider donating if you listen to Radical Research often: https://www.paypal.me/rrpodcast We also have a webstore where you can find shirts, CDs, and books, many of them recently restocked:

http://radicalresearch.org/shop/

Music cited in order of appearance:

All songs from Burning Time, 1991:

“Wicked Sandbox”

“Mini Toboggan”

“Energy Mind”

“My Burning Time”

“Precious Human Stress”

“Love, Craig”

“Kiss a the Cold”

“Love or Surrender”

“Mack Bolasses”

“Blue Fly, Fish Sky”

“Papa Mugaya”

“Down Beat Dirt Messiah”

“Oooh” Radical Research is a conversation about the inner- and outer-reaches of rock and metal music. This podcast is conceived and conducted by Jeff Wagner and Hunter Ginn. Though we consume music in a variety of ways, we give particular privilege to the immersive, full-album listening experience. Likewise, we believe that tangible music formats help provide the richest, most rewarding immersions and that music, artwork, and song titles cooperate to produce a singular effect on the listener. Great music is worth more than we ever pay for it.

Episode 91 – Atheist 1985-2010: We Believe!!!

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Wed, 11 Jan 2023 19:54:50 +0000

Occasionally, Radical Research dares to tackle the big questions: what is time, and can we have a piece of it? Can a psychic saw perform brain surgery? Can a metal album have a samba track and several bars of Miami bass hip-grind? On episode 91, a look into the works of Florida’s seminal tech titans, Atheist, we take on these and other pressing matters. Pull up a chair and strap on your trustiest pair of headphones: it’s pizza time.

Note I:

We meant to bring it up in the conversation, but simply overlooked this fascinating, Atheist-related trivia: Atheist’s Kelly Shaefer auditioned for Velvet Revolver, the band formed by members of Guns ‘N Roses. You can check out some Blabbermouth reporting on this event here: https://blabbermouth.net/news/atheist-frontman-talks-about-his-velvet-revolver-audition

https://blabbermouth.net/news/velvet-revolver-2002-kelly-shaefer-vocalist-audition-tape-posted-online

Note II:

Hunter misspoke, and Jeff mis-agreed with him: Kelly Shaefer didn’t stop playing guitar due to tinnitus, of course. He stopped due to carpel tunnel syndrome.

Note III:

Deserts of Hex direct buy link: https://radicalresearch.org/product/deserts-of-hex-studies-in-experimental-dark-sound-volume-1-magazine/

Note IV:

Destination Onward direct buy link: https://radicalresearch.org/product/destination-onward-the-story-of-fates-warning-book-by-jeff-wagner/

Note V:

Please consider donating if you listen to Radical Research often: https://www.paypal.me/rrpodcast We also have a webstore where you can find shirts, CDs, and books, many of them recently restocked:

http://radicalresearch.org/shop/

Music cited in order of appearance:

“Brain Damage” (R.A.V.A.G.E., On We Slay demo, 1987) “Choose Your Death” (Beyond demo, 1988) “Piece of Time” (Piece of Time, 1990) “Unholy War” (Piece of Time, 1990) “No Truth” (Piece of Time, 1990)

“Unquestionable Presence” (Unquestionable Presence, 1991) “An Incarnation’s Dream” (Unquestionable Presence, 1991) “And the Psychic Saw” (Unquestionable Presence, 1991) “Air” (Elements, 1993)

“Mineral” (Elements, 1993) “Earth” (Elements, 1993) “See You Again” (Elements, 1993)

“Second to Sun” (Jupiter, 2010)

“Fraudulent Cloth” (Jupiter, 2010) Radical Research is a conversation about the inner- and outer-reaches of rock and metal music. This podcast is conceived and conducted by Jeff Wagner and Hunter Ginn. Though we consume music in a variety of ways, we give particular privilege to the immersive, full-album listening experience. Likewise, we believe that tangible music formats help provide the richest, most rewarding immersions and that music, artwork, and song titles cooperate to produce a singular effect on the listener. Great music is worth more than we ever pay for it.

Episode 90 – Anekdoten 1993-2015: An Embarrassment of Mellotron

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Tue, 13 Dec 2022 13:30:00 +0000

This installment finds Radical Research in familiar territory, in the wilds of Scandinavia, this time in pursuit of progressive rock luminaries, Anekdoten. Our study covers not only the group’s six full-length albums but also their inspired, ghostly collaboration with fellow Swedes, Landberk, under the Morte Macabre moniker. Should you be interested in the evolution of one of modern prog’s most serious practitioners, we invite you to join us, as ever. Up the Mellotrons, legions!

Note I:

Please consider donating if you listen to Radical Research often: https://www.paypal.me/rrpodcast We also have a webstore where you can find shirts, CDs, and books, many of them recently restocked:

http://radicalresearch.org/shop/

Music cited in order of appearance:

[all by Anekdoten except where noted] “The Flow” (Vemod, 1993)

“The Old Man and the Sea” (Vemod, 1993)

“Harvest” (Nucleus, 1995)

“This Far from the Sky” (Nucleus, 1995) Morte Macabre, “Sequenza Ritmica e Tema” (Symphonic Holocaust, 1998)

Morte Macabre, “Quiet Drops” (Symphonic Holocaust, 1998)

“Kiss of Life” (From Within, 1999)

“Hole” (From Within, 1999)

“Monolith” (Gravity, 2003) “SW4” (Gravity, 2003)

“King Oblivion” (A Time of Day, 2007)

“In For a Ride” (A Time of Day, 2007) “Shooting Star” (Until All the Ghosts Are Gone, 2015)

“Our Days are Numbered” (Until All the Ghosts Are Gone, 2015)

Episode 89 – Bassically: Metal Bass Guitar Solos That Rip Ass

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Tue, 22 Nov 2022 14:57:47 +0000

It’s the gutsier, uglier, unwieldier alternative to the heavy metal guitar solo: The goddamn heavy metal BASS guitar solo! We have collected 20 beautifully behemoth examples, laid bare for you to ponder. Sightings are rare, but they’re out there…and we love the hell out of them.

Note I:

As noted in the intro of this episode, RR favorites Hammers of Misfortune have a new album out! Info on Overtaker can be found here: https://hammersofmisfortune.bandcamp.com/

Note II:

Please consider donating if you listen to Radical Research often: https://www.paypal.me/rrpodcast We also have a webstore where you can find shirts, CDs, and books, many of them recently restocked:

http://radicalresearch.org/shop/

Music cited in order of appearance:

Motorhead, “Keep Us On the Road” (Lemmy Kilmister, Motorhead, 1977) Motorhead, “Stay Clean” (Lemmy Kilmister, Overkill, 1979)

Armored Saint, “Released” (Joey Vera, Delirious Nomad, 1985)

Manowar, “Sting of the Bumblebee” (Joey DeMaio, Kings of Metal, 1988)

Manowar, “Mountains” (Joey DeMaio, Sign of the Hammer, 1984)

Sadus, “Torture” (Steve DiGiorgio, Illusions, 1988)

Death, “The Philosopher” (Steve DiGiorgio, Individual Thought Patterns, 1993) Nasty Savage, “Sin Eater” (Richard Bateman, Penetration Point, 1989)

Darkthrone, “Sempiternal Sepulchrality” (Dag Nilsen, Soulside Journey, 1991)

Kataklysm, “World of Treason” (Maurizio Iacono, Sorcery, 1995)

Stargazer, “Hooves” (Damon Good, Psychic Secretions, 2021)

Martire, “Lucixion” (Damon Good, Brutal Legions of the Apocalypse, 2012)

Necrophagist, “Only Ash Remains” (Stephan Fimmers, Epitaph, 2004)

Rainer Landfermann, “Langsam, Hinters Licht” (Mein Wort in Deiner Dunkelheit, 2019)

Dream Theater, “Metropolis – Part I: The Miracle and the Sleeper” (John Myung, Images and Words, 1992) Canvas Solaris, “Arc-Lite” (Gael Pirlot, Tribute to Coroner, split 7” w/Pharaoh, 2010)

Cynic, “Textures” (Sean Malone, Focus, 1993)

Spiral Architect, “Excessit” (Lars Norberg, A Skeptic’s Universe, 2000)

Corrosion of Conformity, “My Grain” (Mike Dean, Deliverance, 1994)

Metallica, “Orion” (Cliff Burton, Master of Puppets, 1986) Radical Research is a conversation about the inner- and outer-reaches of rock and metal music. This podcast is conceived and conducted by Jeff Wagner and Hunter Ginn. Though we consume music in a variety of ways, we give particular privilege to the immersive, full-album listening experience. Likewise, we believe that tangible music formats help provide the richest, most rewarding immersions and that music, artwork, and song titles cooperate to produce a singular effect on the listener. Great music is worth more than we ever pay for it.

Episode 88 – Hieronymus Bosch, Russian Tech-Death Band, 1994-2008 (The Painter is Pretty Great Too)

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Tue, 08 Nov 2022 13:24:49 +0000

We admit that, in all our geographic music spelunking, we haven’t scaled many of the mountains offered by Russian noisemakers. So, if we say that “Hieronymus Bosch is our favorite Russian band,” it’s true, but it’s also based on a slight bit of ignorance. If we say that “Hieronymus Bosch is our favorite Dutch artist of the late 1400s/early 1500s,” we can rest easy knowing that will probably hold for the rest of our lives. But c’mon, we think H.B., the band, are outstanding!!! Show us a Russian band that’s better. Bet you can’t. Here, we survey their output, from early demo emanations to their final album, the great Equivoke, of 2008.

Note I:

Please consider donating if you listen to Radical Research often: https://www.paypal.me/rrpodcast We also have a webstore where you can find shirts, CDs, and books, many of them recently restocked:

http://radicalresearch.org/shop/

Music cited in order of appearance:

“Near Death Experience” (Petra Scandali demo, 1994)

“The Apogee” (The Human Abstract, 1995)

“Mental Perfection” (The Human Abstract, 1995)

“The Gardens of Earthly Delights” (The Human Abstract, 1995)

“Interference” (Artificial Emotions, 2005) “Escape from Primitivity” (Artificial Emotions, 2005)

“Heartbeat Seismology” (Artificial Emotions, 2005)

“Zero on a Dice” (Equivoke, 2008)

“Monad Hecatomb” (Equivoke, 2008)

“Tracer Bullet Falling Star” (Equivoke, 2008)

Episode 87 – Dax Riggs & Deadboy 2003-04: It’s Just All Illuminated

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Fri, 21 Oct 2022 19:23:40 +0000

When onetime Acid Bath and Agents of Oblivion vocalist Dax Riggs took himself to the outermost reaches of his imagination with Deadboy & the Elephantmen, he reached the highest of creative and emotional heights. After the first Deadboy album (If This Is Hell Then I’m Lucky, self-released, 2002), Dax and band went through a number of changes before arriving at the more stripped down and, in our opinion, disappointing We Are Night Sky (Fat Possum, 2006). This episode focuses on the incredible material Dax/Deadboy were working on in their most transitional and obscure phase. The total godhead.

Note I:

We urge you to witness this performance of “Evil Between the Numbers”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIaA387CnXA

Note II:

Please consider donating if you listen to Radical Research often: https://www.paypal.me/rrpodcast We also have a webstore where you can find shirts, CDs, and books:

http://radicalresearch.org/shop/

Music from a Dream in Which We Die Before We Wake:

“Evil Between the Numbers,” Grant St. Dance Hall, Lafayette, January 24, 2004 “Filling Empty Holes,” Spanish Moon, Baton Rouge, April 25, 2003 “Never Mind the Scenery, It’s Only Bleeding,” demo 2004 “Wicked Tongue,” demo 2004

“Thing in a Jar,” Mermaid Lounge, New Orleans, April 18, 2003 “Fly on the Eye of the Lamb,” Grant St. Dance Hall, Lafayette, January 24, 2004

“Sigh of Wolves” aka “Burn Before You,” Grant St. Dance Hall, Lafayette, January 24, 2004

“What the Stars Have Eaten,” demo 2004

“Quiet Doom,” Spanish Moon, Baton Rouge, April 25, 2003

“Stranger to Reason,” Spanish Moon, Baton Rouge, April 25, 2003 “Scarlett of Heaven nor Hell,” Grant St. Dance Hall, Lafayette, January 24, 2004

Episode 86 — The Forrest Pitts Takeover!

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Sun, 25 Sep 2022 15:52:08 +0000

We know many Radical Research listeners partake in music we’re not totally familiar with. As much weird/left-field/inventive rock/metal as we digest or are aware of, there’s so much more that we have no experience with. Thus, we invited listeners to submit samples of an artist, or multiple artists, they’re certain we have no familiarity with. So it is that Mr. Forrest Pitts -- writer, thinker, dreamer, master of disaster, headspinner general – fucked with our heads this entire episode. Five snippets each by three different artists. We had a blast, and think you’ll find this a rather fresh and unusual episode. Come with us!

Note I:

Please consider donating if you listen to Radical Research often: https://www.paypal.me/rrpodcast We also have a webstore where you can find shirts, CDs, and books:

http://radicalresearch.org/shop/

You can go directly to the purchase page if you're interested in Jeff's new Fates Warning book, 'Destination Onward': www.fateswarningbook.com

Music cited, in order of appearance:

We will refer you to the end of the episode, where all will be revealed. We hope you’ll come on this mystery train with us.

We highly recommend the first and third band. Forrest made us fans. Thank you, Forrest.

We close with a snippet of a version of Yes classic, “Roundabout,” played by the Wrigley Field organist in Chicago June 4, 2022, before the game began. A field recording by Jeff Wagner.

Episode 85 – 3D Blasphemy: Abigor’s Infernal Reaping

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Thu, 15 Sep 2022 14:11:24 +0000

Miles away from the torchlight of Norway, Austria’s mysterious Abigor spent their time in the ‘90s not generating headlines but rather plying their heretical craft in virtual secrecy. The band’s album-to-album evolutionary leaps bear the mark of restless and visionary minds. This notion is confirmed by the group’s radical reinvention of itself in the mid-aughts. The 85th episode of Radical Research takes a close look at Abigor’s progress over the course of a decade-and-a-half of three-dimensional blasphemy.

Note I:

The beginning of this episode wasn’t planned but we decided to keep it in, regardless of it probably sounding wildly out of context. It just had to be said, about the Wario/Abigor thing, the joys of salted watermelon and other whatnots. If you want to skip all the nonsense, we begin proper Abigor discussion at the 8:15 mark. And here’s a link to that Super Mario Wiki page, regarding the Wario/Abigor image and info we stumbled upon: https://www.mariowiki.com/Abigor

Note II:

Jeff guesses that last year’s first-ever vinyl issue of Channeling the Quintessence of Satan goes for about $80 now. Wrong. Try $300: https://www.discogs.com/release/17685616-Abigor-Channeling-The-Quintessence-Of-Satan

Note III:

Tell us about your dragon magic, write: radicalresearchpodcast@gmail.com

Note IV:

Please consider donating if you listen to Radical Research often: https://www.paypal.me/rrpodcast We also have a webstore where you can find shirts, CDs, and books:

http://radicalresearch.org/shop/

We actually pay for music with our own personal finances, NOT Radical Research donations, as portrayed in this episode. Donations help defray hosting costs, Zoom costs, equipment costs, etc.

Music cited, in order of appearance:

“Temptation II: Stasis” (Leytmotif Luzifer, 2014)

“Eye to Eye at Armageddon” (Verwustung / Invoke the Dark Age, 1994)

“Part I” (Time is the Sulphur in the Veins of the Saint, 2010)

“Part II” (Time is the Sulphur in the Veins of the Saint, 2010) “As Astral Images Darken Reality” (Nachthymnen – From the Twilight Kingdom, 1995) “Cold Void Choir” (Fractal Possession, 2007)

“Mirages for the Eyes of the Blind” (Opus IV, 1996) “The Elder God (My Dragon Magic)” (Opus IV, 1996) “Eclipse My Heart, Crown Me King” (Supreme Immortal Art, 1998)

“Magic Glass Monument” (Supreme Immortal Art, 1998)

“Equilibrium Pass By” (Channeling the Quintessence of Satan, 1999)

Episode 84 – Gigan 2007-2017: A Decade of Brain-Frying Cosmic Escapism

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Fri, 19 Aug 2022 14:25:43 +0000

Radical Research spends much of its time plundering the most mind-bending sounds in rock and metal. On our 84th episode, we go several light years farther in our quest for psychic devastation as we survey and discuss the improbable body of work amassed by Chicago’s Gigan. As forbidding and violent as the character from which it derives its name, Gigan’s music blends savagery and psychedelia with skill and compositional might that have no peers. If you survive this episode, you can consider yourself a veteran of the psychic wars.

Note I:

We recorded this together, at Jeff’s place, in Greensboro, NC. Hence some occasional volume differentiation on our voices. It was a completely off-the-cuff, hardly-formal approach.

Note II: We contacted Eric Hersemann after recording this episode. The Gigan mastermind tells us that the band is alive and well, and will be entering the studio this fall for album #5.

Note III:

If you knew immediately that Jeff was wrong when referring to Steel Attack as German (they’re Swedish), you definitely know too much.

Note IV:

Please consider donating if you listen to Radical Research often: https://www.paypal.me/rrpodcast We also have a webstore where you can find shirts, CDs, and books:

http://radicalresearch.org/shop/

Music cited, in order of appearance:

[all music by Gigan except where otherwise noted]

“The Oracle of Orson” (Footsteps of Gigan, 2007) “Space Coffin Hallucinations” (The Order of the False Eye, 2008)

“Hiding Behind the House of Mirrors” (The Order of the False Eye, 2008) The Universe Divide, “Day 4” (2014 demo)

“Suspended in Cubes of Torment” (Quasi-Hallucinogenic Sonic Landscapes, 2011)

“Skeletons of Steel, Timber and Blackened Granite” (Quasi-Hallucinogenic Sonic Landscapes, 2011)

“Influence Through Ritualistic Projection” (Multi-Dimensional Fractal Sorcery and Super Science, 2013)

“Mother of Toads” (Multi-Dimensional Fractal Sorcery and Super Science, 2013)

“Wade Forward Through Matter and Backwards Through Time” (Undulating Waves of Rainbiotic Iridescence, 2017)

“Hyperjump-Ritual Madness” (Undulating Waves of Rainbiotic Iridescence, 2017) Radical Research is a conversation about the inner- and outer-reaches of rock and metal music. This podcast is conceived and conducted by Jeff Wagner and Hunter Ginn. Though we consume music in a variety of ways, we give particular privilege to the immersive, full-album listening experience. Likewise, we believe that tangible music formats help provide the richest, most rewarding immersions and that music, artwork, and song titles cooperate to produce a singular effect on the listener. Great music is worth more than we ever pay for it.

Episode 83.5 – Metal Laughs

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Wed, 10 Aug 2022 15:09:44 +0000

Metal is serious business. So why so much laughter? We don’t really have the answer, but here’s the first installment of some of our favorite metal laughs. There are more and we’ll revisit this silly topic at some future point in time.

Note I:

As promised in the episode, here’s a link to a wealth of laughs by Mr. King Diamond. Praise be to the person who built this insane collage. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qh3juX_RdQ0

Note II:

We enjoyed getting back to the bite-size point-five episode format. Here are our other ones from the distant past, still worth a listen, wethinks!

5.5 (7 min, 10 sec) https://radicalresearch.org/episode-5-5-calling-dr-morpheus-the-kiss-nuclear-death-convergence/

17.5 (10 min, 59 sec) https://radicalresearch.org/episode-17-5-the-curious-the-uncanny/

23.5 (9 min, 28 sec) https://radicalresearch.org/episode-23-5-mystery-snippets/

41.5 (13 min, 51 sec)

https://radicalresearch.org/episode-41-5-mystery-snippets-pt-2/ Note III:

Please consider donating if you listen to Radical Research often: https://www.paypal.me/rrpodcast We also have a webstore where you can find shirts, CDs, and books:

http://radicalresearch.org/shop/

Music cited, in order of appearance:

King Diamond, “Bye, Bye Missy” (Them, 1988) Testament, “C.O.T.L.O.D.” (The Legacy, 1987)

Lost Horizon, “Sworn to the Metal Wind” (Awakening the World, 2001)

Massacre, “Aggressive Tyrant” (Aggressive Tyrant demo, 1986)

Megadeth, “In My Darkest Hour” (So Far, So Good…So What, 1988) Radical Research is a conversation about the inner- and outer-reaches of rock and metal music. This podcast is conceived and conducted by Jeff Wagner and Hunter Ginn. Though we consume music in a variety of ways, we give particular privilege to the immersive, full-album listening experience. Likewise, we believe that tangible music formats help provide the richest, most rewarding immersions and that music, artwork, and song titles cooperate to produce a singular effect on the listener. Great music is worth more than we ever pay for it.

Episode 83 – Skin Yard 1986-1993: Fist Sized Snippets

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Wed, 27 Jul 2022 14:51:32 +0000

The soils of Seattle rock have been tilled to ruin, the same seeds planted season after season. Radical Research has come to rotate the crops. Of the artists to emerge from the primordial welter of 1980s Seattle, few have been neglected so criminally as Skin Yard. The band's membership forms a constellation the likes of which can hardly be rivaled -- Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Screaming Trees, Gruntruck, C/Z Records, The Deep Six compilation, and the production empire of guitarist Jack Endino. Our 83rd episode takes a long, hard look at the collective works of Skin Yard, evaluated on their own merit and also set against the kaleidoscopic backdrop of the American experimental rock boom of the late ‘80s and early’ 90s. Please join us as we do our best to give bandwidth and volume to an unsung great.

Note I:

Please consider donating if you listen to Radical Research often: https://www.paypal.me/rrpodcast We also have a webstore where you can find shirts, CDs, and books:

http://radicalresearch.org/shop/

Music cited, in order of appearance:

“Skins in My Closet” (Skin Yard, 1987) “The Blind Leading the Blind” (Skin Yard, 1987) “Jabberwocky” (Skin Yard, 1987) “G.O.D.” (Hallowed Ground, 1988) “In the Blackhouse” (Hallowed Ground, 1988) “Slow Runner” (Fist Sized Chunks, 1990) “No Control” (Fist Sized Chunks, 1990) “Gentle Collapse” (Fist Sized Chunks, 1990) “River Throat” (1000 Smiling Knuckles, 1991) “Words on Bone” (1000 Smiling Knuckles, 1991) “Burn a Hole” (1000 Smiling Knuckles, 1991) “Wait for More” (Inside the Eye, 1993) “Slow Dive” (Inside the Eye, 1993) “1000 Smiling Knuckles” (1000 Smiling Knuckles, 1991) Radical Research is a conversation about the inner- and outer-reaches of rock and metal music. This podcast is conceived and conducted by Jeff Wagner and Hunter Ginn. Though we consume music in a variety of ways, we give particular privilege to the immersive, full-album listening experience. Likewise, we believe that tangible music formats help provide the richest, most rewarding immersions and that music, artwork, and song titles cooperate to produce a singular effect on the listener. Great music is worth more than we ever pay for it.

Episode 82 – Fates Warning: An Impromptu Discussion

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Mon, 27 Jun 2022 17:30:08 +0000

In anticipation of Destination Onward – The Story of Fates Warning and its publication in July, 2022, the author, Jeff Wagner, and Radical Research co-host, Hunter Ginn, sit down and talk about Fates Warning. It’s far from the first time we’ve discussed Fates Warning together, but it’s the first time we’ve gone into an episode of Radical Research with absolutely no plan. We didn’t even know what snippets we’d feature until after the conversation wrapped up. This is not intended to be an exhaustive or final-word survey on this legendary band’s output. It is, quite simply, and like many of our episodes, a love letter. Note I:

You can buy Jeff’s book, Destination Onward – The Story of Fates Warning, right here:

www.fateswarningbook.com

Note II:

Of all the ridiculously nerdy things we’ve said over 82 episodes, perhaps the nerdiest comes in this episode, at 11:05, courtesy of Hunter. The “Borivoj Krgin 1990 to mid-1994” comment. “Mid”??? That’s incredibly specific, Radish.

Note III:

Please consider donating if you listen to Radical Research often: https://www.paypal.me/rrpodcast We also have a webstore where you can find shirts, CDs, and books:

http://radicalresearch.org/shop/

Music cited, in order of appearance:

[all songs by Fates Warning unless otherwise noted]

“Damnation” (Night on Brocken, 1984)

“The Apparition” (The Spectre Within, 1985)

“Don’t Follow Me” (Parallels, 1991) “Part of the Machine” (Perfect Symmetry, 1989)

“Shades of Heavenly Death” (No Exit, 1988) While Heaven Wept, “To Wander the Void” (Vast Oceans Lachrymose, 2009)

John Arch, “Relentless” (A Twist of Fate, 2003)

“Monument” (Inside Out, 1994)

“Still Remains” (Live Over Europe, 2018)

“A Pleasant Shade of Gray, XII” (Still Life, 1998) “River Wide, Ocean Deep” (FWX, 2003)

“Like Stars Our Eyes Have Seen” (Theories of Flight, 2016) “Exodus” (Awaken the Guardian, 1986) Radical Research is a conversation about the inner- and outer-reaches of rock and metal music. This podcast is conceived and conducted by Jeff Wagner and Hunter Ginn. Though we consume music in a variety of ways, we give particular privilege to the immersive, full-album listening experience. Likewise, we believe that tangible music formats help provide the richest, most rewarding immersions and that music, artwork, and song titles cooperate to produce a singular effect on the listener. Great music is worth more than we ever pay for it.

Episode 81 – Dave Murray, Drummer! (Traun, Estradasphere, Tholus, Sculptured)

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Thu, 09 Jun 2022 19:04:40 +0000

How California-based drummer, Dave Murray, has escaped the notice of several more tens of thousands of people worldwide, we cannot say. We recognize an extraordinary talent in Murray, not only as a musician, but as a composer and crucial cog in a small but rarefied selection of projects. In our 81st episode, we try our best to give Murray his due. You can do your job by lending an ear to our musings and ramblings, and then, if you’re so moved, opening your wallet to support his work if you have not already done so. Note I: There’s no excuse for not clicking these links and buying/supporting these projects:

Tholus, Constant:

https://www.discogs.com/master/1096046-Tholus-ConstantTraun

Traun, Bandcamp:

https://traun.bandcamp.com/

Note II:

Dave's also in a band called High Castle Teleorkestra. We have yet to explore, but you know we will sooner than later.

Note III:

This episode has a few peculiar diversions, tangents and surprises. First, we really do want to release a Coroner 10” on Radical Research Records one day, as well as the first-ever physical manifestations of Traun’s works. We also stump/surprise ourselves with the parallels revealed between Traun’s “The Uncompromising Blizzard” and Tholus’s “Involuntary” (and then even later in Traun’s “Brig to Nowhere”). Finally, not having a plan for episode 82, we map out the next four episodes on the spot. So now you know which ones to skip and which ones to listen to. (We hope you check all of them out.)

Note IV:

Please consider donating if you listen to Radical Research often: https://www.paypal.me/rrpodcast We also have a webstore where you can find shirts, CDs, and books:

http://radicalresearch.org/shop/

Music cited, in order of appearance:

Estradasphere, “The Bounty Hunter” (Buck Fever, 2001) Estradasphere, “Millennium Child” (Buck Fever, 2001)

Tholus, “Protocultures” (Constant, 2007)

Tholus, “Involuntary” (Constant, 2007)

Tholus, “Speculum of the New Race” (Constant, 2007)

Sculptured, “Taking My Body Apart” (Embodiment, 2008)

Traun, “Escape from the Crystal Caverns” (Part III: The Lilac Moon, 2003)

Traun, “The Uncompromising Blizzard” (Part III: The Lilac Moon, 2003)

Traun, “Inn of the Dreaded Hippie” (The Lilac Moon, 2017)

Traun, “Brig to Nowhere” (The Lilac Moon, 2017)

Traun, “An Undisclosed Location” (The Black Metal Princess, 2017)

Traun, “The Terrace Computer” (The Black Metal Princess, 2017)

Traun, “Making Haste” (Escape from Spa 9, 2017)

Traun, “Mayor of Ghost Town” (Escape from Spa 9, 2017)

Traun, “Escape from Spa 9” (Escape from Spa 9, 2017)

Episode 80 – Supuration 1990-1994: Sojourns in the Absurd

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Mon, 16 May 2022 14:56:48 +0000

For our 80th episode, Radical Research detaches itself from the icy grips of Norway and takes a sojourn southward to France, a country whose history with death metal gives priority to quality over quantity. From 1990-1994, the chronically-underrated Supuration were busy at work creating their own, private death metal universe, in which brutal churning, otherworldly melody, robotic vocals, and psychedelic drift collided to create a new kind of Science Friction. This episode traces the band’s evolutionary arc from the Sultry Obsession demo to the Still in the Sphere EP, which concluded Supuration’s first phase. As is the case with many of Radical Research’s favorite artists, we are saddened by Supuration’s lack of critical and popular acknowledgement and are here to bring truth to the Legions.

Note I:

Please consider donating if you listen to Radical Research often: https://www.paypal.me/rrpodcast We also have a webstore where you can find shirts, CDs, and books:

http://radicalresearch.org/shop/

Music cited, in order of appearance:

“Sultry Obsession” (Sultry Obsession demo, 1990) “Ephemeral Paradise” (August 1991 sessions) “In Remembrance of a Coma” (August 1991 sessions) “Isolated” (August 1991 sessions) “Sojourn in the Absurd” (August 1991 sessions) “1308.Jp.08“ (May 1992 recording) “The Elevation” (The Cube, 1993) “The Cube” (The Cube, 1993)

“The Accomplishment” (The Cube, 1993) “4TX.31B” (The Cube, 1993) “The Cleansing” (Still in the Sphere, 1994)

“Back from the Garden” (Still in the Sphere, 1994)

“Shout” (Still in the Sphere, 1994)

Episode 79 – Simen Hestnaes aka ICS Vortex: 25 Years of Agility and Quirk

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Tue, 26 Apr 2022 16:53:19 +0000

For the final installment of our 6-episode Norwegian tour across this most creatively-fertile country, Radical Research surveys the career of Simen Hestnaes. Working both under his given name, as well as his better-known nom de l'acier, ICS Vortex, Simen has assembled a large and exceptional body of work that stakes claim in the metallic regions of black, doom, prog, avant, and beyond. Episode 79, accordingly, finds Radical Research operating in its most voluptuous mode, suited to indulge this similarly-Rubenesque assemblage of Simen-splashed audio titillation.

Note I:

That’s Jeff’s cat, Cora (aka Corgoroth), mewing at the 1:30:32 mark.

Note II:

Please consider donating if you listen to Radical Research often: https://www.paypal.me/rrpodcast We also have a webstore where you can find shirts, CDs, and books:

http://radicalresearch.org/shop/

Music cited, in order of appearance:

Lamented Souls – “Var” (1995 recording) Lamented Souls – “Essence of Wounds” (1997 recording) Borknagar – “Oceans Rise” (The Archaic Course, 1998)

Borknagar – “Universal” (The Archaic Course, 1998)

Borknagar – “The Black Token” (The Archaic Course, 1998) Borknagar – “Colossus” (Quintessence, 2000)

Borknagar – “Revolt” (Quintessence, 2000) Borknagar – “Up North” (True North, 2019) Dimmu Borgir – “The Insight and the Catharsis” (Spiritual Black Dimensions, 1999)

Dimmu Borgir – “Kings of the Carnival Creation” (Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia, 2001) ICS Vortex – “Storm Seeker” (Storm Seeker, 2011)

Arcturus – “The Chaos Path” (La Masquerade Infernale, 1997) Arcturus – “Shipwrecked Frontier Pioneer” (Sideshow Symphonies, 2005) Arcturus – “The Arcturian Sign” (Arcturian, 2015) Arcturus – “Crashland” (Arcturian, 2015) Arcturus – “Pale” (Arcturian, 2015) Lamented Souls - "Hybris" (1997 recording)

Episode 78 – Enslaved’s Monumension: Floating Diversity & Monumental Dimensions

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Thu, 31 Mar 2022 15:38:44 +0000

We love Enslaved. They are a rare long-running band that, in our estimation, have not released a bad album. Of their 15 full-lengths to date, your Radical Research hosts highly rank their sixth album, 2001’s Monumension: it’s Ginn’s #2 (just behind Eld, 1997) and Wagner’s #1 (in front of Isa, 2004). Curiously, it was perhaps the most lambasted, misunderstood and contentious of Enslaved’s early era. But we don’t much care about all that: we place it on pedestals most high. It’s certainly good enough for us. Join us in a celebration of the mighty Monumension.

Note I:

Please consider donating if you listen to Radical Research often: https://www.paypal.me/rrpodcast We also have a webstore where you can find shirts, CDs, and books:

http://radicalresearch.org/shop/

Music cited, in order of appearance:

[all titles from Enslaved – Monumension, 2001]

“Convoys to Nothingness”

“The Voices”

“Vision: Sphere of the Elements – A Monument Part II”

“Hollow Inside”

“The Cromlech Gate”

“Enemy I”

“Smirr”

“The Sleep: Floating Diversity – A Monument Part III”

“Outro: Self – Zero”

“Sigmundskvadet”

Episode 79 preview: Lamented Souls, “Essence of Wounds” (1997 recording) Radical Research is a conversation about the inner- and outer-reaches of rock and metal music. This podcast is conceived and conducted by Jeff Wagner and Hunter Ginn. Though we consume music in a variety of ways, we give particular privilege to the immersive, full-album listening experience. Likewise, we believe that tangible music formats help provide the richest, most rewarding immersions and that music, artwork, and song titles cooperate to produce a singular effect on the listener. Great music is worth more than we ever pay for it.

Episode 77 – Wobbler 2005-2020: Seeing the Forest & the Trees

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Mon, 21 Mar 2022 14:57:38 +0000

To date, Radical Research has made more trips to Norway than any other country. But, typically, we spend our time in the shadowy realms of post-black metal. For our 77th episode, we travel to the green pastures of Honefoss, in search of Wobbler, Norway’s preeminent progressive rock export. Having made five albums since forming in 1999, which at once pay homage to the legends of the '70s and occupy a thoroughly contemporary space on the rock spectrum, the time has long come for a proper investigation into the band’s work. All travelers are welcome but synth whores should take particular note.

Note I: Visit Laser’s Edge for all your Wobbler needs: https://www.lasercd.com/search_results?fulltext=Wobbler Note II: Please consider donating if you listen to Radical Research often: https://www.paypal.me/rrpodcast We also have a webstore where you can find shirts, CDs, and books: http://radicalresearch.org/shop/

Music cited in order of appearance: “Hinterland” (Hinterland, 2005) “Rubato Industry” (Hinterland, 2005) “Clair Obscur” (Hinterland, 2005) “Imperial Winter White” (Afterglow, 2009) “In Taberna” (Afterglow, 2009) “La Bealtaine” (Rites at Dawn, 2011) “This Past Presence” (Rites at Dawn, 2011) “The River” (Rites at Dawn, 2011) “From Silence to Somewhere” (From Silence to Somewhere, 2017) “Fermented Hours” (From Silence to Somewhere, 2017) “Foxlight” (From Silence to Somewhere, 2017) “Five Rooms” (Dwellers of the Deep, 2020) “Merry Macabre” (Dwellers of the Deep, 2020)

Episode 76 – Ulver’s Kristoffer Rygg Outside the Wolf Pack

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 20:48:38 +0000

We know and love him as Garm, the frontman in Ulver since that pioneering band’s very beginnings. He has also fronted Norwegian luminaries Arcturus and Borknagar. All this alone would be enough to place him in our hall of infamy, yet he has given so much more. Through a variety of cameos and side projects, Garm, or Kristoffer Rygg, or Trickster G, has stamped his white-hot brand on a variety of other artists, within and outside of Norway. In this episode, we listen to some of his contributions outside of Ulver…and be assured, there will likely be a second part of this episode somewhere down our long and winding road.

Note I: Other artists Rygg has performed guest vocals for: Ava Inferi, Dimmu Borgir, Gehenna, Nidingr, Obsidian Kingdom, V:28, Zyklon.

Note II: We failed to note this during the episode, but The Gathering track featured, “A Life All Mine,” is split into two moments. Hence the odd sounding edit. Note III: Next episode, we nerd out hard on Wobbler. Join us. Note IV: Please consider donating if you listen to Radical Research often: https://www.paypal.me/rrpodcast We also have a webstore where you can find shirts, CDs, and books: http://radicalresearch.org/shop/

Music cited, in order of appearance: Borknagar, “The Winterway” (The Olden Domain, 1997) Borknagar, “Fandens Allheim” (Borknagar, 1996) Virus, “Call of The Tuskers” (The Agent That Shapes the Desert, 2011) Solefald, “Loki Trickster God” (Black for Death: An Icelandic Odyssey Part II, 2006) Fleurety, “Last-Minute Lies” (Department of Apocalyptic Affairs, 2000) The Gathering, “A Life All Mine” (Souvenirs, 2003) Head Control System, “Skin Flick” (Murder Nature, 2006) Head Control System, “It Hurts” (Murder Nature, 2006) Ihsahn, “Homecoming” (The Adversary, 2006) Arcturus, “Alone” (La Masquerade Infernale, 1997) Arcturus, “Raudt Og Svart” (Constellation, 1994)

Episode 75 – Ansur & Frantic Bleep: Norwegian Voyagers in the Hazy Aughts

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Mon, 24 Jan 2022 18:46:23 +0000

At the dawn of the 21st century, strange sounds brewed in the Southeastern corner of Norway -- musical paths cobbled together with the tortured echoes of second wave black metal, the ambitious, borderless miscellanea of progressive rock and metal, and the hostile liberalism that is indigenous to Norway’s pioneer enclave. Operating outside the radar of media glare, and attracting scant attention even from the most well-heeled metal travelers, Ansur and Frantic Bleep created a modest but potent body of work that at once suggests both a long view of metal history and a fiercely contemporary spirit. The 75th episode of Radical Research is a tangential, anecdote-laden conversation about the work that Ansur and Frantic Bleep performed, in virtual secrecy, between 2002 and 2008. The time is long past to pay tribute to these unsung pioneers and their contributions to the art that we love.

Note I: Beware: this is an episode of many tangents and sideroads. Note II: 16 years and not a bleep? Don’t hold your breath for a second F.B. album.

Note III: Leixis, where are you?

Note IV: Our admiration of the Ansur Warring Factions album cover failed to note the artist of the piece: Eliran Kantor. Kantor is, of course, known for a lot of other album covers, including those by Sigh, Helloween, Testament, Loudblast, My Dying Bride, Sodom, Atheist, and Incantation, among many more. Note V: Please consider donating if you listen to Radical Research often: https://www.paypal.me/rrpodcast We also have a webstore where you can find shirts, CDs, and books: http://radicalresearch.org/shop/

Music cited, in order of appearance: Ansur, “Through Snowlands” (demo, 2004) Ansur, “Earth Erasure” (Axiom, 2006) Ansur, “Interloper” (Axiom, 2006) Ansur, “An Exercise in Depth of Field” (Warring Factions, 2008) Ansur, “Prime Warring Eschatologist” (Warring Factions, 2008) Ansur, “At His Wit’s End” (Warring Factions, 2008) Frantic Bleep, “Fluctuadmission” (Fluctuadmission demo, 2002) Frantic Bleep, “To Bleep or Not to Bleep?” (Fluctuadmission demo, 2002) Frantic Bleep, “The Expulsion” (The Sense Apparatus, 2005) Frantic Bleep, “…But a Memory” (The Sense Apparatus, 2005) Frantic Bleep, “Nebulous Termini” (The Sense Apparatus, 2005) Frantic Bleep, “Sins of Omission” (The Sense Apparatus, 2005) Radical Research is a conversation about the inner- and outer-reaches of rock and metal music. This podcast is conceived and conducted by Jeff Wagner and Hunter Ginn. Though we consume music in a variety of ways, we give particular privilege to the immersive, full-album listening experience. Likewise, we believe that tangible music formats help provide the richest, most rewarding immersions and that music, artwork, and song titles cooperate to produce a singular effect on the listener. Great music is worth more than we ever pay for it.

Episode 74 – In The Woods… In The Weeds… 1993-2000

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Tue, 21 Dec 2021 15:13:34 +0000

In our 39th episode, we explored the family tree of Kristiansand, Norway collective In the Woods... Here, in our 74th episode, we go straight to the source to explore and exalt the work of In the Woods…, proper, between 1993 and 2000. Over the span of three full-length albums and a series of 7" singles, In the Woods... set about documenting the bucolic wonders of its homeland, charting astral voyages, and plotting out brave, new psychic territories. We, again, travel northward in search of mystery and revelation and find both illuminated by the psychedelic musings of Kristiansand's bravest cartographers. Come, meet us on the floor between our room and the comets…

Note I: In The Woods family tree episode link: http://radicalresearch.org/episode-39-in-the-woods-family-tree/ Note II: Please consider donating if you listen to Radical Research often: https://www.paypal.me/rrpodcast We also have a webstore where you can find shirts, CDs, and books: http://radicalresearch.org/shop/

Music cited, in order of appearance: “Tell de Døde” (Isle of Men demo, 1993) “Creations of an Ancient Shape” (Isle of Men demo, 1993) “Yearning the Seeds of a New Dimension” (Heart of the Ages, 1995) “In the Woods” (Heart of the Ages, 1995) “Wotan’s Return” (Heart of the Ages, 1995) “299 796 km/s” (Omnio, 1997) “Weeping Willow” (Omnio, 1997) “Omnio? – Bardo” (Omnio, 1997) “Closing In” (Strange in Stereo, 1999) “Vanish in the Absence of Virtue” (Strange in Stereo, 1999) “Generally More Worried Than Married” (Strange in Stereo, 1999) “Titan Transcendence” (Strange in Stereo, 1999) “Soundtrax for Cycoz – 1st Ed.” (April 1999 recording) “Epitaph” (Epitaph 7”, 2000) “Karmakosmik” (Epitaph 7”, 2000) “And All This (Child of Universal Tongue)” (1996 version)

Episode 73 – Bad-Ass Fusion Decapitations, Part 2

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Mon, 29 Nov 2021 18:57:47 +0000

12 ripping snippets from 11 fusion ragers spanning 1972 to 1982. We did the first one in 2018, episode 5, and it was high time we returned to the madness! We herewith present a variety of displays from various American, Danish, German, Japanese and Spanish artists. Rip it apart!!!

Note I: Here’s the first installment of this occasional series: http://radicalresearch.org/episode-5-ten-bad-ass-fusion-decapitations-mahavishnu-orchestra-return-to-forever-colosseum-area/

Note II:

Please consider donating if you listen to Radical Research often: https://www.paypal.me/rrpodcast We also have a webstore where you can find shirts, CDs, and books:

http://radicalresearch.org/shop/

Music cited, in order of appearance: Mingo Lewis, “Frankincense“ (Flight Never Ending, 1976) The New Tony Williams Lifetime, “Fred” (Believe It, 1975) Secret Oyster, “Astarte” (Vidunderlige Kaelling, 1975) Jean-Luc Ponty, “Egocentric Molecules” (Cosmic Messenger, 1978) Chick Corea, “Nite Sprite” (The Leprechaun, 1976) Kraan, “Borgward” (Tournee, 1980) Billy Cobham, “Taurian Matador” (Spectrum, 1973) Kenso, “Harukanaru Chi E (Toward the Land Beyond)” (II, 1982) Iceberg, “Andalusia, Andalusia” (Sentiments, 1977) Miles Davis, “One and One” (On the Corner, 1972) Frank Zappa, “Eat That Question” (The Grand Wazoo, 1972) Mingo Lewis, “Heartsong“ (Flight Never Ending, 1976)

Episode 72 – Master’s Hammer: Dreaming Bulldogs & Shy Geckos

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Mon, 08 Nov 2021 09:00:00 +0000

Formed in the Czech Republic in 1987, Master’s Hammer summoned a singular, constantly mutating approach to black metal over two distinct lifetimes (1987-1995, 2009-2020). The band’s debut album, Ritual (1991), is described by Darkthrone’s Fenriz as “the first Norwegian black metal album, because it sounded incredibly Norwegian to many of us.” We celebrate the entire discography and, with this episode, scattershot a few of our favorite moments from their compelling discography.

Note I: Hunter has appeared on a couple podcasts lately, we invite you to check these out: CaliDeath Podcast https://soundcloud.com/calideathpodcast/ep-53-hunter-ginn-canvas-solaris-radical-research-podcast I Hate Music https://hatepod.podbean.com/e/episode-57-hunter-ginn-and-gael-pirlot-canvas-solaris-plague-psalm-gorging-shade/

Note II: Jeff misspoke regarding Franta Storm. He is a typographer, not a typesetter. Who's a typesetter these days?! Note III: Please consider donating if you listen to Radical Research often: https://www.paypal.me/rrpodcast We also have a webstore where you can find shirts, CDs, and books: http://radicalresearch.org/shop/

Music cited, in order of appearance: “Pád Modly” (Ritual, 1991) “Shy Gecko” (Formulae, 2016) “Ach, Synku, Sunku” (Slagry, 1995) “Duše Nesmrtelných” (Finished, 1988 demo) “Černá Svatozář” (Ritual, 1991) “I Don’t Want, Sirs to Pester” (Jilemnicky Okultista, 1992) “Indianska Pisen Hruzy” (Slagry, 1995) “Bodhi” (Mantras, 2009) “Zapálili Jsme Onen Svět” (Ritual, 1991) “Aya” (Formulae, 2016) “Dreaming Bulldog (Intermezzo)” (Vracejte Konve Na Místo, 2012) Radical Research is a conversation about the inner- and outer-reaches of rock and metal music. This podcast is conceived and conducted by Jeff Wagner and Hunter Ginn. Though we consume music in a variety of ways, we give particular privilege to the immersive, full-album listening experience. Likewise, we believe that tangible music formats help provide the richest, most rewarding immersions and that music, artwork, and song titles cooperate to produce a singular effect on the listener. Great music is worth more than we ever pay for it.

Episode 71 – Paul Chain’s Illogical Slow Evolution

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Tue, 12 Oct 2021 18:48:01 +0000

Paul Chain’s Illogical Slow Evolution

Radical Research interrogates, with few exceptions, the work of artists who operate in the darkest, most cryptic corners of the rock and metal multiverse. The music of Italy's Paul Chain, however, puts to test the inquiry even of the most rigorous and probing minds. For our 71st episode, we engage in a mystery jukebox journey through the vast and often-treacherous topographies of the Paul Chain landscape, and find ourselves reveling in the magic of familiar sounds and speechless in the awe of unidentifiable surprises. Through halls of mirrors and vortices of molten and spectral sounds alike, here we flirt with life and death as it takes on the music and philosophy of Italy's darkest magus.

Note I: Other Paul Chain recordings that we didn’t even mention this episode, which we highly recommend: Opera 4th (1987), Ash (EP, 1988), Mirror (compilation spanning 1985-1996, released 1997)

Note II: Please consider donating if you listen to Radical Research often: https://www.paypal.me/rrpodcast We also have a webstore where you can find shirts, CDs, and books: http://radicalresearch.org/shop/

Music cited, in order of appearance: “Roses of Winter” (Alkahest, 1995) “Whited Sepulchres” (Whited Sepulchres, 1991) “Solitude Man” (Park of Reason, 2002) “Sand Glass” (Alkahest, 1995) “Ways of Changes” (Park of Reason, 2002) “Ascension of Any Pound” (Park of Reason, 2002) “Lake Without Water” (Alkahest, 1995) “Traffic” (Whited Sepulchres, 1991) “War” (In the Darkness, 1986) “In the Darkness” (In the Darkness, 1986) “Ancient Caravan” (Life and Death, 1989) “17 Day” (Detaching from Satan, 1984) “Logical Slow Evolution (L) / …In Time (R)” (Park of Reason, 2002) Radical Research is a conversation about the inner- and outer-reaches of rock and metal music. This podcast is conceived and conducted by Jeff Wagner and Hunter Ginn. Though we consume music in a variety of ways, we give particular privilege to the immersive, full-album listening experience. Likewise, we believe that tangible music formats help provide the richest, most rewarding immersions and that music, artwork, and song titles cooperate to produce a singular effect on the listener. Great music is worth more than we ever pay for it.

Episode 70 – Solefald 1996-2015: A Red Episode With Black Edges

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Tue, 24 Aug 2021 08:00:00 +0000

Extant since the mid 1990s, Solefald may have been the first Norwegian black metal band to entirely bypass the necro stages of development and arrive fully formed as a "post"/"avant" type mischief-maker on their debut album, The Linear Scaffold (1997). We have watched and listened from our perches as Cornelius Jakhelln and Lazare Nedland have evolved, escalated, provoked and pontificated through myriad stylistic vistas. ALL of it is highly recommend by Radical Research and celebrated on this, our 70th episode. Note I: In March 2020, we posted Hunter’s essay on Solefald’s Neonism. It’s always available for your perusal here: http://radicalresearch.org/solefalds-neonism/ Note II: All drums on Solefald’s recordings are played by keyboardist/vocalist Lazare, except eighth album, World Metal, on which drums are performed by Baard Kolstad of Leprous.

Note III: Other bands the Solefald duo have been a part of: [Cornelius] Sturmgeist, G.U.T. / [Lazare] Borknagar, Age of Silence, White Void, Carpathian Forest, Asmegin

Note IV: Please consider donating if you listen to Radical Research often: https://www.paypal.me/rrpodcast We also have a webstore where you can find shirts, CDs, and books: http://radicalresearch.org/shop/

Music cited, in order of appearance: “Sivilisasjonen Slør / Ravnens Fall” (Jernlov, 1996 demo) “Philosophical Revolt” (The Linear Scaffold, 1997) “Speed Increased to Scaffold” (Neonism, 1999) “CK II Chanel No. 6” (Neonism, 1999) “Charge of Total Affect” (Pills Against the Ageless Ills, 2001) “Nutrisco Et Extinguo” (In Harmonia Universali, 2003) “Dionysify This Night of Spring” (In Harmonia Universali, 2003) “Sun I Call” (Red for Fire – An Icelandic Odyssey Part I, 2005) “Survival of the Outlaw” (Red for Fire – An Icelandic Odyssey Part I, 2005) “Necrodyssey” (Black for Death – An Icelandic Odyssey Part II, 2006) “Tittentattenteksti” (Norrøn Livskunst, 2010) “2011, or a Knight of the Fail” (World Metal – Kosmopolis Sud, 2015) Episode 71 preview: Paul Chain, “Resurrection in Christ“ (Opera 4th, 1987)

Episode 69 — Minds No Longer Present: Eucharist’s Mirrorworlds

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Tue, 03 Aug 2021 03:45:59 +0000

Often overlooked relative to Gothenburg luminaries such as At the Gates, In Flames, and Dark Tranquility, Eucharist, whose entire legacy hinges upon two full-length albums and a clutch of compilation tracks, recorded some of the most vibrant, imaginative melodic death metal of the era. It’s that second album that we zoom in on with episode 69 of Radical Research, those luxurious curves of the band's swansong, Mirrorworlds. Join us as we venture into the cosmic sphere and greet immortality. Note I: Contributed by Radical Research listener Chris Warunki, you can read a Eucharist interview from 2016 right here: http://radicalresearch.org/eucharist-interview-circa-march-2016/

Music cited, in order of appearance: “Wounded and Alone” (W.A.R. Compilation, 1995) “The Predictable End” (W.A.R. Compilation, 1995) “Mirrorworld” (Mirrorworlds, 1997) “Dissolving” (Mirrorworlds, 1997) “With the Sun” (Mirrorworlds, 1997) “The Eucharist” (Mirrorworlds, 1997) “Demons” (Mirrorworlds, 1997) “Fallen” (Mirrorworlds, 1997) “In Nakedness” (Mirrorworlds, 1997) “Bloodred Stars” (Mirrorworlds, 1997) Episode 70 preview: Solefald, “Mont Blanc Providence Crow” (In Harmonia Universali, 2003)

Episode 68 – The 6/8 Time Signature in Heavy Metal: Marching into Fire

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Mon, 19 Jul 2021 06:22:33 +0000

The occasion of Radical Research's 68th installment could have been marked in one way only – with a full-force exaltation of music's deadliest, most head-snapping time signature, 6/8! On this episode, we survey a vast range of metal subgenres to demonstrate the ways in which artists as disparate as Realm, Order From Chaos, and Solefald have deployed 6/8 to maximum effect. Keep the ibuprofen and Ben Gay within reach. After 24 clips of the most lethal metal, you're going to need some relief! 24 in 6/8! Note I: Camel are the first rock band, in our awareness, to literally refer to the 6/8 time signature in song, with “Six Ate” from 1973’s Camel debut. There are probably earlier examples, but they aren’t Camel so fuck them. Note II: We disagree on a few items in this episode (Canvas Solaris’s best album; best Dark Tranquillity album; Sinister in general). Stop the presses.

Note III: Please consider donating if you listen to Radical Research often: https://www.paypal.me/rrpodcast We also have a webstore where you can find shirts, CDs, and books: http://radicalresearch.org/shop/

Music cited, in order of appearance: Iron Maiden, “The Duellists” (Powerslave, 1984) Manowar, “Blood of My Enemies” (Hail to England, 1984) Slayer, “Post Mortem” (Reign in Blood, 1986) Holy Terror, “Damned by Judges” (Mind Wars, 1988) Sadus, “Hands of Fate” (Illusions, 1988) Blasphemy, “Darkness Prevails” (Fallen Angel of Doom, 1990) Nocturnus, “Neolithic” (The Key, 1990) Realm, “La Flamme’s Theory” (Suiciety, 1990) Order From Chaos, “Power Elite” (Stillbirth Machine, 1992) Sinister, “Cross the Styx” (Cross the Styx, 1992) Loudblast, “My Last Journey” (Sublime Dementia, 1993) Mercyless, “Travel Through a Strange Emotion” (Coloured Funeral, 1993) Morbid Angel, “Lion’s Den” (Covenant, 1993) Necrophobic, “Awakening” (The Nocturnal Silence, 1993) Dark Tranquillity, “Away, Delight, Away” (Of Chaos and Eternal Night, 1995) Dissection, “Retribution – Storm of the Light’s Bane” (Storm of the Light’s Bane, 1995) Eucharist, “With the Sun” (Mirrorworlds, 1997) Borknagar, “Colossus” (Quintessence, 2000) Nocturnal Rites, “The Devil’s Child” (Afterlife, 2000) Primordial, “Gods to the Godless” (Spirit the Earth Aflame, 2000) Emperor, “Empty” (Prometheus – The Discipline of Fire & Demise, 2001) Lost Horizon, “Heart of Storm” (Awakening the World, 2001) Solefald, “Hyperhuman” (Pills Against the Ageless Ills, 2001) Immortal, “In My Kingdom Cold” (Sons of Northern Darkness, 2002) [outro] Manowar, “Bridge of Death” (Hail to England, 1984) Joey DeMaio around the twisted bend on the pitch-spattered bridge, playing bass guitar. Episode 69 preview: Eucharist, “Dissolving” (Mirrorworlds, 1997) ---

Episode 67 – Prog Macabre: French Dread

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Mon, 07 Jun 2021 14:57:57 +0000

With this dispatch, we descend into the catacombs to examine France's heritage of musical terror. From the spectral melancholy of Pulsar to the howling conflagrations of Deathspell Omega, this episode provides a tour across four decades of music that commits itself to the most essential - and essentially Gaulic - notions of Grand Guinol and Fin de Siecle. We beckoned the uncanny, the psychically-tortured, the decadent, the unrepentant, and all invitations were accepted. We hope that you, too, will accept our invitation for this journey into the bleakest corners of the French imagination.

Note I: In a rare occurrence, both hosts were in exceedingly good moods for this recording. Forgive our exuberance and multiple tangents.

Note II: French Dread has haunted other episodes of Radical Research:

Artcane featured in episode 3: http://radicalresearch.org/episode-3-gnidrolog-supersister-artcane/ Shub-Niggurath featured in episode 23.5: http://radicalresearch.org/episode-23-5-mystery-snippets/ Magma featured in episode 28: http://radicalresearch.org/episode-28-rock-out-with-your-calc-out-a-math-rock-survey/ Note III: Please consider donating if you listen to Radical Research often: https://www.paypal.me/rrpodcast We also have a webstore where you can find shirts, CDs, and books: http://radicalresearch.org/shop/

Music cited, in order of appearance: Magma, “Köhntarkösz” (BBC 1974 Londres) Shylock, “La Cinquieme” (Gialorgues, 1977) Pulsar, “Tired Answers” (Halloween, 1977) Pulsar, “Fear of Frost”/”Time” (Halloween, 1977) Arachnoid, “Toutes Ces Images” (Arachnoid, 1979) Dün, “L'épice” (two moments) (Eros, 1981) Art Zoyd, “Mariée à la Nuit” (live in West Berlin, 1986) Shub-Niggurath, “Yog Sothoth” (Les Morts Vont Vite, 1986) Blut Aus Nord, “Our Blessed Frozen Cells” (The Work Which Transforms God, 2003) Deathspell Omega, “A Chore for the Lost” (Fas – Ite, Maledicti, In Ignem Aeturnum, 2007) Amesoeurs, “Gas in Veins” (Amesoeurs, 2009) Ep. 68 preview: Emperor, "Thus Spake the Nightspirit" (Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk, 1997)

Episode 66 – The Houde Abides: Kataklysm 1993-1996

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Tue, 11 May 2021 09:00:00 +0000

Have you even the slightest notion of mystical reincarnation? Unfortunately for you, as for the rest of we mortals, even after spending hours with the music of Houde-era Kataklysm, it is unlikely that you will have any tighter apprehension of the matter. On this, the 66th episode of Radical Research, we peel back the lacerating layers of one of Canada's most confounding exports. The music that Kataklysm issued from 1992 to 1996 was directed by the scorched, distorted vision of vocalist, Sylvain Houde, whose mongrel utterances vibrate at a pitch that is inaccessible to any other singer, past or present. The band's music, born of a furious confrontation with Houde's offensive, keeps pace with the vocalist's howling incantations, marshaling the cruel resources of the dreaded Northern Hyperblast. Tune in for a lesson in violence Quebecoise.

Note I: Please consider donating if you listen to Radical Research often: https://www.paypal.me/rrpodcast We also have a webstore where you can find shirts, CDs, and books: http://radicalresearch.org/shop/

Music cited, in order of appearance: “Frozen in Time” (The Mystical Gate of Reincarnation, 1993) “Mystical Plane of Evil” (The Mystical Gate of Reincarnation, 1993) “Shrine of Life” (The Mystical Gate of Reincarnation, 1993) “Whirlwind of Withered Blossoms” (Sorcery, 1995) “Elder God” (Sorcery, 1995) “Dead Zygote” (Sorcery, 1995) “Beckoning of the Xul” (Temple of Knowledge, 1996) “The Awakener” (Temple of Knowledge, 1996) Ep. 67 preview: Arachnoid, “Toutes Ces Images” (Arachnoid, 1979)

Episode 65 – DVC: God’s Work Reversed in Tallahassee

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Tue, 30 Mar 2021 08:30:00 +0000

Erupting from the wastes of Tallahassee, Florida, DVC (Darth Vader's Church) produced two long-players of low-slung filth and Southside mania. From 1989 to 1992, DVC explored the most shameful, subterranean grottoes of death/thrash and did so in almost categorical secrecy. On Episode 65, Radical Research opens the grave and digs into this band's modest but fascinating body of work. Join us on this adventure of descendant upheaval!

Note I: Manufacture Sound Output Co. also released material by Insect Fear, Singing Spoons, Shatterposts and Gruel. Which doesn’t help anyone or anything, but it’s worth noting, we suppose.

Note II: Go here to go to hell: https://www.discogs.com/artist/708784-DVC Note III: Please consider donating if you listen to Radical Research often: https://www.paypal.me/rrpodcast We also have a webstore where you can find shirts, CDs, and books: http://radicalresearch.org/shop/

Music cited, in order of appearance: “Cranium Overture” (Descendant Upheaval, 1989) “Eve Angel” (Descendant Upheaval, 1989) “Mourning Sun” (Descendant Upheaval, 1989) “Embalmed in Stone” (Descendant Upheaval, 1989) “Bow of Mortis” (Descendant Upheaval, 1989) “Ash” (Molecular Shadow, 1992) “Tallow” (Molecular Shadow, 1992) “Sick With Experience” (Molecular Shadow, 1992) “In A Gadda Da Bhagavad Gita” (Molecular Shadow, 1992) “Dissolve in Galaxia” (Molecular Shadow, 1992) “Devious Circus” (Descendant Upheaval, 1989) Ep. 66 preview: Manowar, “The Oath” (Sign of the Hammer, 1984)

Episode 64 – Steve Hackett is the Wizard

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Mon, 15 Mar 2021 17:22:09 +0000

No anniversaries, no deaths, no reissues, no birthdays, no arbitrary celebrations. This is Hackett for Hackett’s sake! Guitarist Steve Hackett is one of the most extraordinary musicians ever to wield the instrument. Herein we present a clutch of short, sharp shocks from the man’s prolific output, just a sampling of the curious magic he’s capable of. Hackett hacked to bits. Indulge!

Music cited, in order of appearance: Genesis, “The Return of the Giant Hogweed” (Live, 1973) GTR, “Hackett to Bits” (GTR, 1986) Steve Hackett, “Ace of Wands” (Voyage of the Acolyte, 1975) Gordian Knot, “Muttersprache” (Emergent, 2003) Squackett, “A Life Within a Day” (A Life Within a Day, 2012) Steve Hackett, “Clocks – The Angel of Mons” (Spectral Mornings, 1979) Genesis, “…In That Quiet Earth” (Wind & Wuthering, 1976) Genesis, “Inside and Out” (Spot the Pigeon, 1977) Gordian Knot, “Singing Deep Mountain” (Emergent, 2003) Steve Hackett, “Spectral Mornings” (Spectral Mornings, 1979) Ep. 65 preview: DVC, “Luminous Darkness“ (Descendant Upheaval, 1989)

Episode 63 – LunaTechSpiritGasm: Alchemist’s Cosmic Dramas

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Tue, 23 Feb 2021 15:17:44 +0000

There is simply nothing like Alchemist. Active throughout the ‘90s and into the aughts until their dissolution in 2010, the Australian quartet offered severe heaviness embellished by insanely loopy guitar weirdness and pounding aboriginal rhythms. Their psychedelic metal flew largely under the radar, despite linking with Relapse Records in the second half of their career. Radical Research brings you 15 slices of lysergic Alchemetal in celebration of this most intriguing band. Thank you, Adam Agius, Rodney Holder, John Bray and Roy Torkington. Be there or be cubed.

Note I: We encourage anyone who 1) listens to Radical Research, and 2) wears clothes, to head over to https://www.earthinsound.org/store and buy their Confessor, Disharmonic Orchestra, Ras Algethi and Old Lady Drivers shirts!! Tell ‘em Radical Research sent you.

Music cited, in order of appearance: “Beyond Genesis” (Spiritech, 1997) “My Animated Truth” (Promo 94) “Closed Chapter” (Promo 94) “Chinese Whispers” (two moments) (Spiritech, 1997) “Eve of the War” (Eve of the War, 1998) “Austral Spectrum” (Organasm, 2000) “Alpha Capella Nova Vega” (Austral Alien, 2003) “Escapism” (demo, 1991) “Abstraction” (Jar of Kingdom, 1993) “Brumal: A View From Pluto” (Jar of Kingdom, 1993) “Clot” (Lunasphere, 1995) “Enhancing Enigma” (Jar of Kingdom, 1993) “New Beginning” (Organasm, 2000) “Spiritechnology” (Spiritech, 1997) “Evolution Trilogy Part 2 – Rampant Micro Life” (Organasm, 2000) Ep. 64 preview: GTR, “Hackett to Bits” (GTR, 1986)

Episode 62 – Under Separate Cover

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Tue, 09 Feb 2021 08:00:00 +0000

Episode 62 of Radical Research challenges the notions of identity, probes at both the masks and the faces themselves. What biology occurs when the firstborn cleaves to the breast of another? This conversation claws at the God-playing reconstructions of Type O Negative, Ulver, Manfred Mann's Earth Band, and Gorgoroth, among others. To do or to undo? That is the question.

Note I: Correction: Jeff quotes a line from A Perfect Circle/Failure’s “The Nurse Who Loved Me” as “say hello to the floor’s topography.” Obviously it’s “the rug’s topography.” We couldn’t be more embarrassed, because that is one of the greatest lyrics in rock history and it deserves better than us. Oops. Note II: Big Dumb Skulls is mentioned in this episode, by way of talking about our pal Matt Johnsen. If you’re uninitiated and curious about the ridiculous project Jeff dreamed up with Matt, check it out here: www.bigdumbskulls.com Note III: This is the fourth Radical Research episode to feature something about Norway’s mighty Ulver. For the record, the other three are episodes 1, 16 and 33. It can’t be too long before we find a fifth excuse… Note IV: We encourage anyone who 1) listens to Radical Research, and 2) wears clothes, to head over to https://www.earthinsound.org/store and buy their Confessor, Disharmonic Orchestra, Ras Algethi and Old Lady Drivers shirts!! Tell ‘em Radical Research sent you.

Note V: Please consider donating if you listen to Radical Research often: https://www.paypal.me/rrpodcast We also have a webstore where you can find shirts, CDs, and books: http://radicalresearch.org/shop/

Music cited, in order of appearance: Anacrusis, “I Love the World” (Manic Impressions, 1991) Manfred Mann’s Earth Band, “Father of Night” (Solar Fire, 1973) Anathema, “Hope” (Eternity, 1996) A Perfect Circle, “The Nurse Who Loved Me” (Thirteenth Step, 2003) Ulver, “Solitude” (Shadows of the Sun, 2007) The Futureheads, “Hounds of Love” (The Futureheads, 2004) Shudder to Think, “So Into You” (Pony Express Record, 1994) Queensryche, “Gonna Get Close to You” (Rage for Order, 1986) Gorgoroth, “Slottet I Det Fjerne” (Destroyer, 1998) Carnivore, “Manic Depression” (Retaliation, 1987) Type O Negative, “Summer Breeze” (Bloody Kisses, 1993) Voivod, “Astronomy Domine” (Nothingface, 1989) Ep. 63 preview: Alchemist, “Closed Chapter“ (Lunasphere, 1995)

Episode 61 – Face the Goat at Sunrise: Dødheimsgard 1995-2015

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Tue, 26 Jan 2021 07:00:00 +0000

Citizens of a scene that demands innovation and progress, Norway’s Dødheimsgard have assembled a body of work that evidences the evolutionary strides common to Norweird, but have nevertheless remained red in tooth and claw. Episode 61 provides a comprehensive survey of Dødheimsgard’s work, from the icy, elemental black metal of Kronet til Konge to the vast, unknowable psychic landscapes of A Umbra Omega. Over the span of their career, DHG has featured members of such luminary bands as Darkthrone, Fleurety, Ved Buens Ende, Strid, among many others, all galvanized by the leadership of the mysterious Vicotnik. The band’s work deserves celebration and study and, here, we make our best efforts at both. Note I: We note that Aldrahn appears on every Dødheimsgard album except Supervillain Outcast. While he's not technically a full member in that era, he does lend additional vocals to "Foe x Foe" and "Ghostforce Soul Constrictor." Note II: We encourage anyone who 1) listens to Radical Research, and 2) wears clothes, to head over to https://www.earthinsound.org/store and buy their Confessor, Disharmonic Orchestra, Ras Algethi and Old Lady Drivers shirts!! Tell ‘em Radical Research sent you.

Music cited, in order of appearance: “Å Slakte Gud” (Kronet Til Konge, 1995) “Midnattskogens Sorte Kjerne” (Kronet Til Konge, 1995) “The Crystal Specter” (Monumental Possession, 1996) “The Ultimate Reflection” (Monumental Possession, 1996) “Traces of Reality” (Satanic Art, 1998) “Symptom” (Satanic Art, 1998) “Final Conquest” (666 International, 1999) “Completion” (666 International, 1999) “The Vile Delinquents” (Supervillain Outcast, 2007) “All Is Not Self” (Supervillain Outcast, 2007) “Aphelion Void” (A Umbra Omega, 2015) “Blue Moon Duel” (A Umbra Omega, 2015) Ep. 62 preview: Voivod, “Astronomy Domine” (Nothingface, 1989) Radical Research is a conversation about the inner- and outer-reaches of rock and metal music. This podcast is conceived and conducted by Jeff Wagner and Hunter Ginn. Though we consume music in a variety of ways, we give particular privilege to the immersive, full-album listening experience. Likewise, we believe that tangible music formats help provide the richest, most rewarding immersions and that music, artwork, and song titles cooperate to produce a singular effect on the listener. Great music is worth more than we ever pay for it.

Episode 60 – God It’s Great to Be Alive: Helios Creed 1985-1992

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Tue, 12 Jan 2021 07:00:00 +0000

We at Radical Research have made a habit of descending into the vortices of profound sound, but our adventures with the musical hijinks of Helios Creed make most other sojourns seem, by comparison, like empty gestures. On our 60th episode, we divest ourselves of empty words and, instead, dive headlong into the abysses of FX-saturated deep space sonix. From alien salutations to violet lactations, we invite you to join us on this most radical of research assignments. Note I: We encourage anyone who 1) listens to Radical Research, and 2) wears clothes, to head over to https://www.earthinsound.org/store and buy their Confessor and Disharmonic Orchestra t shirts!! Tell ‘em Radical Research sent you.

Music cited, in order of appearance: “Un-Human Condition” (X-Rated Fairy Tales, 1985) “X-Rated Fairytales” (X-Rated Fairy Tales, 1985) “Superior Catholic Finger” (Superior Catholic Finger, 1989) “Who Cares” (Superior Catholic Finger, 1989) “Nirbasion Annasion” (The Last Laugh, 1989) “Late Bloomer” (The Last Laugh, 1989) “Master Blaster” (Boxing the Clown, 1990) “Big Clown” (Boxing the Clown, 1990) “The Radiated” (Lactating Purple, 1991) “Amenti” (Lactating Purple, 1991) “XL-35” (Kiss to the Brain, 1992) “Kiss to the Brain” (Kiss to the Brain, 1992) Ep. 61 preview: Dodheimsgard, “Regno Potiri” (666 International, 1999)

Episode 59 – At the Oxiplegatz: The Episode Nobody Wanted

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Wed, 16 Dec 2020 14:23:12 +0000

Even in the bizarro wilderness of Radical Research, Alf Svensson’s Oxiplegatz stands out in its peerless freakishness. A founding member of the epochal Swedish death metal band, At the Gates, Svensson used Oxiplegatz as a conduit for his most perverse cosmic fantasies. Built on a chassis of mangled guitar harmonies, “machine drums,” and an operatic battery of vocal styles, Oxiplegatz’s music defies even the most liberal definitions of “metal.” What results is some of the most personal heavy music ever to be committed to tape, produced and packaged with do-it-yourself, idiosyncratic love. If you value artistic bravery and the defiance of convention, we invite you to join us on this positively sidereal journey.

Music cited, in order of appearance: “Starseed” (Fairytales, 1994) “His Time Has Come” (Fairytales, 1994) “Dark Millennium (There Shall Never Be Another Dawn)” (Fairytales, 1994) “Adrift” (Fairytales, 1994) “Oh No” (Fairytales, 1994) “Battle of Species” (Worlds and Worlds, 1996) “Graveyard Dream” (Worlds and Worlds, 1996) “Usurpers” (Worlds and Worlds, 1996) “The End is Nigh” (Worlds and Worlds, 1996) “Abandon Earth” (Worlds and Worlds, 1996) “A Black Hole is Swallowing the Sun” (Sidereal Journey, 1998) “They Learned of Its Existence” (Sidereal Journey, 1998) “Head for That Star” (Sidereal Journey, 1998) “As One Surveys This Ocean” (Sidereal Journey, 1998) “Turning Up the Power, Accelerating Again” (Sidereal Journey, 1998) “This Time Passage Was Violent” (Sidereal Journey, 1998) ep. 60 preview: Helios Creed, “Road Out of Hell“ (The Last Laugh, 1989) Radical Research is a conversation about the inner- and outer-reaches of rock and metal music. This podcast is conceived and conducted by Jeff Wagner and Hunter Ginn. Though we consume music in a variety of ways, we give particular privilege to the immersive, full-album listening experience. Likewise, we believe that tangible music formats help provide the richest, most rewarding immersions and that music, artwork, and song titles cooperate to produce a singular effect on the listener. Great music is worth more than we ever pay for it.

Episode 58 – Let’s Necromance! Ripping Off Rush With Love

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Mon, 30 Nov 2020 23:33:36 +0000

If the wild, transcendent music we exalt were a cluttered yet beautifully arrayed galaxy, the artists making that music would be planets and Rush would be its sun. So much of what ticks off all the right boxes for us is inherent in the music of the legendary Canadian trio. We can't imagine life without Rush, and realize we're hardly alone in our fealty. This episode, we explore 15 snippets proving the thread of Rush runs deeply within the molten cores of its orbiting planets. These 15 are only several of numerous examples we could have chosen. We will likely make this a semi-regular feature, as the mood strikes. Note I: This idea was originated by Radical Research listener/supporter Rob Noe. We asked other listeners to offer their suggestions, many of which are included in this episode. We can't thank our RR brethren enough...it's good to know we are hardly alone in this strange universe of ours!

Music cited, in order of appearance: Atheist, “Unquestionable Presence” (Unquestionable Presence, 1991) Manilla Road, “Mark of the Beast” (Dreams of Eschaton, 1981, unreleased album -- issued in 2002 as Mark of the Beast) Watchtower, “The Fall of Reason” (Control and Resistance, 1989) Realm, “Eminence” (Endless War, 1988) Thought Industry – “Alien and Pure” (Short Wave on a Cold Day, 2001) Cardiacs – “Leaf Scrapings” (The Special Garage Concerts, 2005) Dream Theater, “The Looking Glass” (Dream Theater, 2013) Sieges Even, “Tangerine Windows of Solace VI. Disintegration of Lasting Hope” (Steps, 1990) Loudness, “Butterfly” (Disillusion, 1983) Winterhawk, “Revival” (Revival, 1982) Toxik, “Technical Arrogance” (Think This, 1989) Dan Swano, “Encounterparts” (Moontower, 1998) Witherscape, “Astrid Falls” (The Inheritance, 2013) Death, “Perennial Quest” (Symbolic, 1995) Riot, “Racing With the Devil on a Spanish Highway” (1990, The Privilege of Power) episode 59 preview: Oxiplegatz, "Northern Stars" (Fairytales, 1994) Radical Research is a conversation about the inner- and outer-reaches of rock and metal music. This podcast is conceived and conducted by Jeff Wagner and Hunter Ginn. Though we consume music in a variety of ways, we give particular privilege to the immersive, full-album listening experience. Likewise, we believe that tangible music formats help provide the richest, most rewarding immersions and that music, artwork, and song titles cooperate to produce a singular effect on the listener. Great music is worth more than we ever pay for it.

Episode 57 – Naught Was Anymore Like Before: Atrocity 1990-1992

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Fri, 13 Nov 2020 17:27:00 +0000

Germany’s Atrocity have been plying their execrable goth-metal wares since 1994’s precipitously tragic Blut, but the band’s first two albums, 1990’s Hallucinations and 1992’s Todessehnsucht (aka Longing for Death), occupy space in the top tier of death metal’s golden age. Wild, technical, psychotic, and destructive, these two albums document the work of a young band hungry to bend minds and mock convention. On the 57th episode of Radical Research, your hosts offer a guided tour through a prison called Earth. If you’re agile of foot, you may avoid a fatal step and hold out to the end.

Note I: Tangents ahead! Affliction Clothing; brief Galactic Cowboys reference; Tommy Victor serves Hunter food in a sewer (again); too much talk about Blut. Forgive us.

Note II: The title of this episode comes from a lyric in Atrocity’s “Sky Turned Red.” Note III: Please consider donating if you listen to Radical Research often: https://www.paypal.me/rrpodcast We also have a webstore where you can find shirts, CDs, and books: http://radicalresearch.org/shop/

Music cited, in order of appearance: “Life is a Long and Silent River” (Hallucinations, 1990) “Fatal Step” (Hallucinations, 1990) “Hallucinations” (Hallucinations, 1990) “Defeated Intellect” (Hallucinations, 1990) “Hold Out (To the End)” (Hallucinations, 1990) “Last Temptation” (Hallucinations, 1990) “Godless Years” (Todessehnsucht, 1992) “Defiance” (Todessehnsucht, 1992) “Sky Turned Red” (Todessehnsucht, 1992) “Necropolis” (Todessehnsucht, 1992) “Todessehnsucht (Reprise)” (Todessehnsucht, 1992) Radical Research is a conversation about the inner- and outer-reaches of rock and metal music. This podcast is conceived and conducted by Jeff Wagner and Hunter Ginn. Though we consume music in a variety of ways, we give particular privilege to the immersive, full-album listening experience. Likewise, we believe that tangible music formats help provide the richest, most rewarding immersions and that music, artwork, and song titles cooperate to produce a singular effect on the listener. Great music is worth more than we ever pay for it. This is Radical Research Podcast episode 57

Episode 56 – Genesis & The Lamb’s Hindquarters

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Wed, 28 Oct 2020 19:06:06 +0000

“If you think it’s pretentious, you’ve been taken for a ride”

With this episode, we look at the second half of Genesis’s 1974 double-album, The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. Garnering a mixed reaction upon release, it eventually grew into a mammoth cult classic. But it still has its detractors -- or, at least, fans saying that it’s “front-loaded,” “top heavy,” “falters in the last half” or other such nonsense. Clearly we disagree! We believe it is utterly fantastic – exactly as it all should be -- in its entirety. We celebrate the Lamb’s hindquarters with this 90-minute episode.

Note I: You’d think by episode 56, we’d have the technical issues ironed out. But…clearly Jeff’s mic is farting out, making him sound like he’s encased in wool the entire episode. "Turn down that gain, boy!" (We'll get it next time.) It was less shitty before editing and the adding of song snippets, but something happened in that process and it got worse. Perhaps it’s a “black cloud descending on Manhattan” sorta thing, which would at least be appropriate. At least it’s listenable. Hunter sounds like a damn choir of angels.

Note II: Please consider donating if you listen to Radical Research often: https://www.paypal.me/rrpodcast We also have a webstore where you can find shirts, CDs, and books:

http://radicalresearch.org/shop/

Music cited, in order of appearance: all songs from Genesis – The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, 1974, unless otherwise noted: “Lilywhite Lilith” “The Light,” live somewhere in France, March, 1972 “The Waiting Room” “The Waiting Room,” demo of isolated sound effects, 1974 “Anyway” “Frustration,” 1970 non-album track “Here Comes the Supernatural Anaesthetist” “The Lamia” “The Colony of Slippermen” (two moments) “The Light Dies Down on Broadway” “Riding the Scree” “In the Rapids” “It”

Episode 55 – Wicked Webs Weaved: The Works of Hammers of Misfortune

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Mon, 12 Oct 2020 16:17:41 +0000

Herewith we present an overview of one of the most beguiling bands to emerge from American soil. Part doomed epic metal, part gothic grandeur, peppered with prog, and very much in the spirit of our other chameleonic favorites, we run through Hammers of Misfortune’s works beginning in 1998 -- when they were called Unholy Cadaver -- and ending with their most recent work, 2016’s Dead Revolution. We hail leader John Cobbett and his revolving cast of mischievous misfits. As ever, this should be considered an overview only. We leave the serious deep diving up to you.

Note I: You can buy all Hammers of Misfortune albums at the band’s own Bandcamp page, where the money goes directly into their pockets. There is no better way! https://hammersofmisfortune.bandcamp.com/music

Note II: Check the Radical Research Blog on www.radicalresearch.org in a week or two: we’ll have an interview with Hammers of Misfortune ship captain John Cobbett up there as a supplement to this episode. Note III: Please consider donating if you listen to Radical Research often: https://www.paypal.me/rrpodcast We also have a webstore where you can find shirts, CDs, and books:

Music cited, in order of appearance: “The Waif With Sunken Eyes” (as Unholy Cadaver) (Demo Number One, 1998) “You Should Have Slain Me” (The Bastard, 2001) “Sacrifice / The End” (The Bastard, 2001) “Rainfall” (The August Engine, 2003) “A Room and a Riddle” (The August Engine, 2003) “The August Engine Part 2” (The August Engine, 2003) “Trot Out the Dead” (The Locust Years, 2006) “Chastity Rides” (The Locust Years, 2006) “Motorcade” (Fields / Church of Broken Glass, 2008) “The Gulls” (Fields / Church of Broken Glass, 2008) “The Grain” (17th Street, 2011) “The Day the City Died” (17th Street, 2011) “The Precipice (Waiting for the Crash)” (Dead Revolution, 2016) “Here Comes the Sky” (Dead Revolution, 2016) ep. 56 preview: Genesis, “Ravine” (The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, 1974) Radical Research is a conversation about the inner- and outer-reaches of rock and metal music. This podcast is conceived and conducted by Jeff Wagner and Hunter Ginn. Though we consume music in a variety of ways, we give particular privilege to the immersive, full-album listening experience. Likewise, we believe that tangible music formats help provide the richest, most rewarding immersions and that music, artwork, and song titles cooperate to produce a singular effect on the listener. Great music is worth more than we ever pay for it. This is Radical Research Podcast episode 55

Episode 54 – Radical Miscellany: 7 Degrees of Norwegian Metal Separation & Uli Kusch Glorified

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Mon, 28 Sep 2020 21:16:43 +0000

part 1: In which Hunter is assigned a 7 Degrees of Separation task, with these parameters: begin in Norwegian metal, end in Norwegian metal. Betwixt, he was free to roam. We start at Ivar Bjornson (Enslaved) and end with Morty Black (TNT). Hunter’s route is circuitous, but he did it. Good show, Radish! [We won’t reveal the entire chain here…you’ll just have to listen.]

part 2: In which we celebrate Uli Kusch. We don’t know when his birthday is. We aren’t celebrating an anniversary. And, thankfully, Uli Kusch didn’t just die. We are simply taking a brief look at a German drummer we have always appreciated and consider underrated in the grander scheme. We glance at a few snippets of his work in Mekong Delta, Helloween and Holy Moses, because it’s the right thing to do and the right way to do it.

Note I: Turns out, Hunter could’ve skipped a whole step! Ivar Bjornson and Einar Selvik have recorded together: under both their names, they released Skuggsjá - A Piece for Mind & Mirror in 2016 and Hugsjá in 2018. But his assignment was seven degrees, not six, and he pulled through righteously. Note II: An unintentional link between this episode’s two parts: Uli Kusch now lives in Norway. We would love if he joined TNT and put more wheels within our other wheels within wheels. Note III: In the beginning of this episode we talk about the new Ulver book, Wolves Evolve. We urge all Norwegophiles to buy it here: https://www.indiemerchstore.com/item/90855

Note IV: Please consider donating if you listen to Radical Research often: https://www.paypal.me/rrpodcast We also have a webstore where you can find shirts, CDs, and books (more gear, music and literature to be added soon!): http://radicalresearch.org/shop/

Music cited, in order of appearance: part 1: Enslaved, “Mardraum” (Mardraum: Beyond the Within, 2000) Gorgoroth, “Incipit Satan” (Incipit Satan, 2000) Wardruna, “Hagal” (Runaljod - Gap Var Ginnunga, 2009) Exodus, “Pleasures of the Flesh” (Pleasures of the Flesh, 1988) Metallica, “Through the Never” (Metallica, 1991) TNT, “Desperate Night” (Tell No Tales, 1987) part 2: Mekong Delta, “The Gnome” (The Gnome [EP], 1987) Helloween, “Revelation” (Better Than Raw, 1998) Holy Moses, “Current of Death” (entire song) (Finished With the Dogs, 1987) Radical Research is a conversation about the inner- and outer-reaches of rock and metal music. This podcast is conceived and conducted by Jeff Wagner and Hunter Ginn. Though we consume music in a variety of ways, we give particular privilege to the immersive, full-album listening experience. Likewise, we believe that tangible music formats help provide the richest, most rewarding immersions and that music, artwork, and song titles cooperate to produce a singular effect on the listener. Great music is worth more than we ever pay for it. This is Radical Research Podcast episode 54

Episode 53 – It’s All Gone Weird: The Ved Buens Ende/Virus A/B

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Tue, 25 Aug 2020 14:59:39 +0000

We love to draw lines and conclusions. We hear links and threads where there may be none, or, on a good day, where we might just be onto something. And we love Norway, especially its music. Especially the weird metal stuff. And we have always found that the short life of Ved Buens Ende and the spirit of their sole album, Written in Waters (1995), lived on within the nutty realm of Virus’s Carheart debut (2003). We compare/contrast these two landmark Norweird albums and find that Carl-Michael Eide has a lot of really great things to answer for. Don’t take this one too seriously…even if we do. Note I: It truly all went weird on the back end. Hunter had to call in on his phone, a first...there was an issue with his laptop and microphone. As a result, Hunter sounds like he has either a lisp, a few missing teeth, or been shot full of novocaine. He makes his usual salient points with the expected degree of articulation you’ve come to expect. Thanks for suffering through it. Note II: Please consider donating if you listen to Radical Research often: https://www.paypal.me/rrpodcast We also have a webstore where you can find shirts, CDs, and books (more gear, music and literature to be added soon!): http://radicalresearch.org/shop/

Music cited, in order of appearance: Ved Buens Ende, “You, That May Wither” (Written in Waters, 1995) Virus, “Gum, Meet, Mother“ (Carheart, 2003) Ved Buens Ende, “Carrier of Wounds” (Written in Waters, 1995) Virus, “Be Elevator” (Carheart, 2003) Ved Buens Ende, “Coiled in Wings” (Written in Waters, 1995) Virus, “It’s All Gone Weird” (Carheart, 2003) Ved Buens Ende, “I Sang for the Swans” (Written in Waters, 1995) Virus, “Queen of the Hi-Ace” (Carheart, 2003) Ved Buens Ende, “Autumn Leaves” (Written in Waters, 1995) Virus, “Hustler” (Carheart, 2003) Jane’s Enslaved, “Fenris Size” (1988/1994) (our apologies to Enslaved and Jane’s Addition, and thank you Chris Maycock)

Episode 52 – Eight-Sided Views of Two-Headed Turtles: The Mars Volta’s Octahedron

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Tue, 04 Aug 2020 15:45:17 +0000

A journey through a wilderness of Nembutals and Luciforms, The Mars Volta’s fifth album offers up a radical departure from the itinerant mania of The Bedlam in Goliath, to explore the inscrutable, dream-like vistas of the interior mind. Though songs like “Teflon” and “Cotopaxi” puncture the reverie with their rhythmic brawn, Octahedron is governed by an acquiescence to the spacious, liminal dimensions of the dream-state. Festooned with the surrealist art of Jeff Jordan, Octahedron travels the paths of psychic borders and the distorted geographies of the human mind put under the pressures of the absurd. We invite you to descend with us into this quiet miasma. Note I: Hunter mentions in this episode De Facto, the dub/Latin band featuring Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, Cedric Bixler-Zavala, Ikey Owens, and Jeremy Ward, who operated from 1998 to 2003. Incidentally, Ward provided the muse for the first Mars Volta full-length, De-Loused in the Comatorium, following his untimely death. Note II: John Frusciante, lynchpin in Red Hot Chili Peppers (a band uniformly disliked by the hosts of this podcast), has made numerous, godlike contributions to the music of The Mars Volta, and appears in fine form on Octahedron. Your sins are forgiven, Mr. Frusciante. We offer you absolution in return for your noble deeds.

Note III: Yeah, yeah…Jeff said “Cedric” at 59:32, but meant “Omar.” A bizarre sound glitch happens early on, too, and Jeff wants to confirm he said "crafty," not "crappy," re: Steve Zimmerman.

Note IV: Please consider donating if you listen to Radical Research often: https://www.paypal.me/rrpodcast We also have a webstore where you can find shirts and books (more gear, music and literature to be added soon!): http://radicalresearch.org/shop/

Music cited, in order of appearance: [all from The Mars Volta, Octahedron, 2009] “Since We’ve Been Wrong” "Teflon” “Halo of Nembutals” “With Twilight As My Guide” “Cotopaxi” “Desperate Graves” “Copernicus” “Luciforms” episode 53 preview: Virus, “Dogs With Wheels” (Carheart, 2003)

Episode 51 – Suffocated by Stars: Ripping Into Nocturnus’s ‘Thresholds’

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Wed, 15 Jul 2020 16:33:29 +0000

Continuing our appreciation for the unloved misfits of Metalopolis, we always considered 1992’s Thresholds, by Florida’s Nocturnus, an honorary 1993 album. Until we found out it was recorded in December 1991. Whatever the case, these eight chunky, blocky, cosmic, technical songs find Nocturnus at its densest and strangest. While every ingredient adds to the peculiar flavor, it’s all about the wild tandem ripping of guitarists Mike Davis and Sean McNenney when you get right down to it. And we get right down to it! Thanks for joining us, and sorry for Jeff’s weak presence…technical issues, of course. Note I: If you don’t want to hear us talking about dreams about Prong, Def Leppard album covers, our break in the once-mutual “favorite Queensryche album” topic, or Christmas at Jim Durkin’s house, skip to 18:08 to enter our discussion of Nocturnus’s Thresholds.

Note II: But if you skipped ahead, you might have missed us discovering the quite fascinating fact that both Thomas Dolby and Yes’s Tony Kaye are un-credited contributors to Def Leppard’s Pyromania album. Note III: And if you skipped ahead, you won’t care about this correction: Jeff said the Durkin Christmas gathering was in the mid/late ‘90s. He was so wrong. It was actually around 2003/04 or so. Note IV: Please consider donating if you listen to Radical Research often: https://www.paypal.me/rrpodcast We also have a webstore where you can find shirts and books (more gear, music and literature to be added soon!): http://radicalresearch.org/shop/

Music cited, in order of appearance: [all from Nocturnus, Thresholds, 1992] “Climate Controller” “Tribal Vodoun” “Nocturne in Bm” “Arctic Crypt” “Aquatica” “Subterranean Infiltrator” “Alter Reality” “Gridzone” episode 52 preview: The Mars Volta, “Luciforms” (Octahedron, 2009)

Episode 50 – Exalt of the Weird: Celebrating Celtic Frost’s Into the Pandemonium

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Tue, 11 Feb 2020 08:00:50 +0000

Storming the gates with a new wave cover tune, borrowing from Baudelaire and sampling from NASA Apollo transmissions over primitive machine pulses, Swiss pioneers Celtic Frost exploited terrain no metal band had before with their third full-length album. Created under constant stress and duress in the early months of 1987, the self-produced album was a bold, controversial piece of art that continues to divide the Frost fan base decades later. Irrational yet focused, phantasmagoric yet genuine, and depicting a Heavenly sort of Hell, Into the Pandemonium knots together opposing forces and plunges us into the abode of all demons. Playful, mischievous, path-finding demons… Note I: “Babylon Fell,” “Caress Into Oblivion” and “I Won’t Dance” are subtitled on some version of Into the Pandemonium thusly, parenthetically, and respectively: “Jade Serpent,” “Jade Serpent II” and “The Elders’ Orient.” Note II: Jeff misspoke slightly. The correct title of the Hieronymous Bosch painting that the band used for the album cover is The Garden of Earthly Delights.

Note III: As noted at the end of this episode, Radical Research will be on hiatus for a couple months. We love RR and are not letting it die. We are just letting it take a little nap. Please check out our older episodes until we resume with episode 51 sometime late spring 2020. And please check the Blog section on RadicalResearch.org as we will be posting an interview with Manes leader Tor-Helge Skei as well as Hunter’s thorough, thought-provoking essay on Solefald’s Neonism album. Thanks for your support and, especially right now, your patience. We will return!

Note IV: Please consider donating if you listen to Radical Research often: https://www.paypal.me/rrpodcast Music cited, in order of appearance: [all songs Celtic Frost, except where noted] Side A: Wall of Voodoo, “Mexican Radio” (Call of the West, 1982) “Mexican Radio” (Into the Pandemonium, 1987) “Mesmerized” (Into the Pandemonium, 1987) Christian Death, “Figurative Theatre” (Only Theatre of Pain, 1982) “Inner Sanctum” (Into the Pandemonium, 1987) “Eternal Summer” (To Mega Therion, 1985) “Sorrows of the Moon” (Into the Pandemonium, 1987) “Tristesses de la Lune” (Into the Pandemonium, 1987) Dead Can Dance, “Windfall” (Within the Realm of a Dying Sun, 1987) “Babylon Fell” (Into the Pandemonium, 1987) “Suicidal Winds” (Emperor’s Return, 1985)

Side B: “Caress Into Oblivion” (Into the Pandemonium, 1987) Anathema, “Shroud of Frost” (The Silent Enigma, 1995) “One in Their Pride” (Into the Pandemonium, 1987) Skinny Puppy, “One Time One Place” (Mind: The Perpetual Intercourse, 1986) “I Won’t Dance” (Into the Pandemonium, 1987) “Downtown Hanoi” (Cold Lake, 1988) (remixed version, with restored drum track and new guitars) “Rex Irae (Requiem)” (Into the Pandemonium, 1987) Believer, “Dies Irae (Day of Wrath)” (Sanity Obscure, 1990) “Oriental Masquerade” (Into the Pandemonium, 1987) “The Inevitable Factor” (Into the Pandemonium non-album track, 1987) Radical Research is a conversation about the inner- and outer-reaches of rock and metal music. This podcast is conceived and conducted by Jeff Wagner and Hunter Ginn. Though we consume music in a variety of ways, we give particular privilege to the immersive, full-album listening experience. Likewise, we believe that tangible music formats help provide the richest, most rewarding immersions and that music, artwork, and song titles cooperate to produce a singular effect on the listener. Great music is worth more than we ever pay for it. This is Radical Research Podcast episode 50.

Episode 49 – CAVEAT!!!!!! Nuclear Death 1986-2000

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Tue, 28 Jan 2020 08:00:00 +0000

Many bands have professed to play death metal, but few have summoned the power of death itself, have forced the very bowels of earth to erupt. Nuclear Death, the lords of their own putrid hell-scape, emerged from the sun-scorched wastes of Phoenix, Arizona to ply some of the most personal, most unsettling metal ever to heave itself out of its own rotting grave. On our 49th episode, we survey the pastures of torture, incest, and psychedelic terror that define the band's art. From the septic, Expressionist death of Bride of Insect, to the phantasmagoric slumbers of The Planet Cachexial and the disquieting, mutant sounds of Harmony Drinks of Me, we urge all who are strong of stomach and loin to join us as we descend into the aching hell that is the world of Nuclear Death. Note I: Thanks to Ted Tringo at Dark Symphonies/The Crypt for the demo era mp3s. Ted offers a ton of amazing items for the serious collector. Click here for a great deal on two mandatory recordings by Nuclear Death: http://darksymphonies.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2&products_id=63

Note II: 12 Adjectives for Nuclear Death: Heinous. Vile. Fucked. Humiliating. Feral. Illegal. Diseased. Septic. Phantasmagoric. Dismissive. Harmful. Solar. Note III: Please consider donating if you listen to Radical Research often: https://www.paypal.me/rrpodcast Music cited, in order of appearance: “Necrobestiality” (Bride of Insect, 1990) “Shrieking Terror” (Wake Me When I’m Dead, 1986 demo) “The Third Antichrist” (Welcome to the Minds of the Morbid, 1987 demo) “Vultures Feeding” (Vultures Feeding, 1988 demo) “Fetal Lament: Homesick” (Bride of Insect, 1990) “The Misshapen Horror” (Bride of Insect, 1990) “Greenflies” (Carrion for Worm, 1992) “Vampirism” (Carrion for Worm, 1992) “Days of the Weak” (For Our Dead, 1992) “The Church of Evil Minds of Splatter Day Saints” (For Our Dead, 1992) “Bones of the Lip” (All Creatures Great and Eaten, 1992) “Aunt Farm” (All Creatures Great and Eaten, 1992) “Birthing of Slumberblood” (The Planet Cachexial, 1996) “Into Zyrèlyà,” (The Planet Cachexial, 1996) “Electric Spaceboy,” (Harmony Drinks of Me, 2000) “Sunless,” (Harmony Drinks of Me, 2000) “The Baths” (Harmony Drinks of Me, 2000) episode 50 preview: Celtic Frost, “Sorrows of the Moon“ (Into the Pandemonium, 1987)

Episode 48 – Vaffel House of Kicks: The Works of Albino Slug

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Tue, 14 Jan 2020 08:00:00 +0000

For the second time in a matter of months, your intrepid hosts find themselves in the frosty arms of Trondheim, Norway, this time to investigate the world of the frustratingly private Albino Slug. Known to few but adored by those who do, Albino Slug’s legacy hinges on two, confounding slices of avant-rock and metal. From Melvins-doom to musique concrete, Albino Slug operates, as you will hear, in a universe of its own making. Denied its 15 minutes, even in the prime of its career, Radical Research is looking to set things straight, shining a spotlight on this band’s intensely personal relationship with heavy music. Defy the bigotry of those who’ve come before you and embrace the fascinating weirdness of Norway’s most unsung sons.

Note 1: Shout out to Lasse Marhaug, a celebrated experimental artist in his own right, for his invaluable insight and intel. Were it not for him, this episode would have been far more speculative. Thank you also to Veiko Rebane and Tom Clark!

Note II: We didn’t even reveal most of the names of those behind Albino Slug during the episode. Those are: Ove Hjelvik; Audun Eriksen; Mats Ivar Takle; Asgeir Rekkavik; Morten Fagervik. Thank you for your service!

Note III: Please consider donating if you listen to Radical Research often: https://www.paypal.me/rrpodcast CORRECTION: Jeff noted the title "Hnrr 8"...it's actually "Knrr 8." Old habits die hard. We still don't know its meaning. Music cited, in order of appearance: “Knrr 8” (Albino Slug, 1993) “Thorbud” (Albino Slug, 1993) “Du Må Ikke Sove” (Albino Slug, 1993) “Bring Water / Skinner Boxed (The Wavering Solipsist)” (Albino Slug, 1993) “Vaffel” (Albino Slug, 1993) “Bleeding” (Albino Slug, 1993) “Paradise Regained” (two passages) (Albino Slug, 1993) “Barabbas” (three passages) (Barabbas, 1994) episode 49 preview: Nuclear Death, “Spawn Song” (Carrion for Worm, 1992)

Episode 47 – This is Self-Destructing Turnip, Come in Radish: Porcupine Tree’s Curious Debut

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Tue, 31 Dec 2019 08:00:00 +0000

After firing up a band called No Man Is An Island (later shortened to No-Man), a young Steven Wilson corralled a couple friends and some wild ideas to sculpt homespun cassette recordings under the strange name Porcupine Tree. These then-obscure tapes, Tarquin’s Seaweed Farm (1989) and The Nostalgia Factory (1991), were edited and re-sequenced as an oddball album, On the Sunday of Life, in 1992. Debuting on the newly-formed Delerium label, it was all an entirely English enterprise, right down to its freewheeling Gong-ish whimsy and hallucinogenic Lewis Carroll-esque playfulness. Begun as a not-very-serious project, the darkness of direction taken later by Porcupine Tree shows up here only in fits and starts, but what a start…we find this album a fascinating view into the mind of a young genius and a curious portent of the colorful vistas Wilson would later visit with the band once he started actually taking it seriously. Note I: We apologize for the poor quality of the audio on this episode. Just when we think we’ve got it sorted out, some technical glitch conspires to make us look ridiculous. We’re diligently working on finding a better, more reliable way to record our Greensboro>https://www.paypal.me/rrpodcast Music cited, in order of appearance: [all from On the Sunday of Life, 1992] “This Long Silence” “Space Transmission” “Message from a Self-Destructing Turnip” “Radioactive Toy” “Third Eye Surfer” “On the Sunday of Life” “Jupiter Island” “Linton Samuel Dawson” “Nine Cats” “The Nostalgia Factory” “Footprints” “And the Swallows Dance Above the Sun” “Queen Quotes Crowley” “It Will Rain for a Million Years” “Begonia Seduction Scene” episode 48 preview: Albino Slug, “Thorbud” (Albino Slug, 1993) Radical Research is a conversation about the inner- and outer-reaches of rock and metal music. This podcast is conceived and conducted by Jeff Wagner and Hunter Ginn. Though we consume music in a variety of ways, we give particular privilege to the immersive, full-album listening experience. Likewise, we believe that tangible music formats help provide the richest, most rewarding immersions and that music, artwork, and song titles cooperate to produce a singular effect on the listener. Great music is worth more than we ever pay for it. This is Radical Research Podcast episode 47.

Episode 46 – For Knobs, For Wires, For Faders: Synth Whores II

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Tue, 17 Dec 2019 08:00:54 +0000

Bust out the Purell and take a healthy dose of penicillin because the whores are back in town. On this special -- and occasionally-recurring -- episode of Radical Research, we stroll alongside a pornographic buffet of sumptuous synthesizer vibrations. For this globetrotting, sweaty-browed sojourn, we’ll travel from Wuppertal to Richmond to Reykjavik to Los Angeles and all points in between, in search of the scintillating, salacious, and sometimes surprisingly-subtle sounds of the synthesizer. Go ahead, turn out the lights, strap on the headphones, and live a little.

Note I: Jeff brainfarted and called Wobbler’s 2017 album “From Somewhere to Silence.” It is, of course, called From Silence to Somewhere. And it is, indeed, one of the best progressive rock albums in decades.

Note II: Please consider donating if you listen to Radical Research often: https://www.paypal.me/rrpodcast Music cited, in order of appearance: Hoelderlin, “Deathwatchbeetle” (Hoelderlin, 1975) Ethos, “The Players (of the Game)” (Open Up, 1977) Labradford, “Splash Down” (Prazision LP, 1993) Tiamat, “Only in My Tears It Lasts” (A Deeper Kind of Slumber, 1997) Chroma Key, “America the Video” (Dead Air for Radios, 1998) Coil, “Red Birds Will Fly Out of the East and Destroy Paris in a Night” (Musick to Play in the Dark Vol. 1, 1999) Bjork, “Pagan Poetry” (Vespertine, 2001) Secret Chiefs 3, “Ritual of the Cup: Safina” (Book M, 2001) Wobbler, “La Bealtaine” (Rites at Dawn, 2011) Wobbler, “In Orbit” (Rites at Dawn, 2011) Perfect Beings, “The Love Inside” (II, 2015) episode 47 preview: Porcupine Tree, “The Nostalgia Factory” (On the Sunday of Life, 1992)

Episode 45 – A Means to an End: The Manes Discography

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Wed, 27 Nov 2019 14:08:00 +0000

For the 45th episode of Radical Research, we continue our trek north, this time landing in Trondheim, Norway, where we take a close look at the vast and fascinating discography of Manes. Well-respected in black metal circles for their personal and visionary approach to the genre, Manes has spent the last 16 years working through a difficult-to-pigeonhole brew of dark, atmospheric rock and electronic music. Our conversation addresses the band's sprawling body of work, from 1993's ghostly Maanens Natt demo to 2018's stunning Slow Motion Death Sequence. Manes says that "Nobody Wants the Truth," but you're going to get it regardless. Can you handle the truth? Be there or be cool. Note I: As noted in the episode, Manes has a fascination with the end, an ever-present promise of the final nothing. To that end, we unveil the evidence: “Endetidstegn” (English translation: “End Time Signs”; song on Slow Motion Death Sequence) Be All End All (2014 album) How the World Came to An End (2007 album) these songs from 2003 album, Vilosophe: “Nodamnbrakes (One Zero / Endpoint),” “Terminus a Quo / Terminus ad Quem,” “Ende”

Note II: We don’t talk overmuch about record labels. We prefer the music to be front and center while the boringness of business and politics hums away in the background. But for the record, as it regards Manes, these companies have brought Manes music to interested enthusiasts: Debemur Morti; Candlelight; Aural Music; Code666; Hammerheart; Kyrck

Note III: We don’t mention it in this episode, but Manii did release a second album, 2018’s Sinnets Irrganger. Note IV: We had a little fun at our good friend Marty Rytkonen’s expense. He is one hell of a man and actually more open-minded than you know. Visit his Bindrune record label site, all you woodland denizens: https://bindrunerecordings.com/

Note V: BUY MANES MUSIC. There is no excuse for possessing and listening to someone else’s music for absolutely nothing (which includes most streaming services that pay artists a pathetic pittance, at best). Manes is not a charity organization. Buy Link on Discogs: https://www.discogs.com/artist/263927-Manes

Note VI: Please consider donating if you listen to Radical Research often: https://www.paypal.me/rrpodcast Music cited, in order of appearance: “Building the Ship of Theseus” (Slow Motion Death Sequence, 2018) “Night Vision” (Slow Motion Death Sequence, 2018) “Blanket of Ashes” (Be All End All, 2014) “Name the Serpent” (Be All End All, 2014) “I Watch You Fall” (How the World Came to An End, 2007) “My Journal of the Plague Years (Fuckmensch Warmensch)” (How the World Came to An End, 2007) “The Neoflagellata Revision” (View EP, 2006) “Nodamnbrakes (One Zero / Endpoint) ” (Vilosophe, 2003) “Diving With Your Hands Bound (Nearly Flying)” (Vilosophe, 2003) “Ende” (Vilosophe, 2003) “Uten Liv Ligger Landet Øde” (Under Ein Blodraud Maane, 1999) “Til Kongens Grav De Døde Vandrer” (Under Ein Blodraud Maane, 1999) "I Helvetes Haller” (Til Kongens Grav De Døde Vandrer, 1995 demo) “Dansen Gjennom Skuggeheimen” (Ned I Stillheten, 1994 demo) “De Mørke Makters Dyp” (Maanens Natt, 1993 demo) [intro and outro moments from, respectively, “Nodamnbrakes” and “Confluence,” both from Vilosophe]

Episode 44 – 44th & Magical: Xysma 1989 – 1998

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Tue, 12 Nov 2019 14:25:00 +0000

When Uranus falls, once and for all, in the cosmic background will be heard the humming, buzzing sound of a tragically-overlooked group of travelers. Formed in 1988 in Turku, Finland, Xysma waged a decade-long war against expectation and small-mindedness. With phantasm-like stealth, the band moved from scatalogical grind to groovy Sab-death to vendetta rock, as well as all points in between and beyond. On this episode of Radical Research, our 44th, we plumb the depths of Xysma’s bewildering catalog, turning over the stones that pockmark the band’s vast forest of sound. Whether you skew “Pyosisfied” or Pet Sounds, you will find refuge in the wild imagination of Xysma. If this is your first listen to this podcast, we hope it will be magical. For the veterans, go big and win the lotto. Yeah! Note I: We had some frustrating technical issues while recording this episode. We tried to clean it up as much as possible. Our apologies for some rough moments. Note II: Please visit http://radicalresearch.org/qa-with-mikko-mattila-on-xysma/ for our Xysma-centric interview with Isten mastermind, Mikko Mattila. Note III: Please consider donating if you listen to Radical Research often: https://www.paypal.me/rrpodcast

Music cited, in order of appearance: “Pulsating Cerebral Slime” (Swarming of the Maggots, 1989 demo) “Gripping Slaughter” (Swarming of the Maggots, 1989 demo) “Phrenetic Chainsaw Suicide” (Swarming of the Maggots, 1989 demo) “Entangled in Shreds” (Above the Mind of Morbidity, 1990 EP) “Dismemberment in Trance” (Above the Mind of Morbidity, 1990 EP) “Embodiment of Morbidity” (Fata Morgana 7”, 1991) “Aspirations b) First Sunbeams of the New Beginning” (Yeah, 1991) “Above the Horizon” (Yeah, 1991) “Until I Reach the Unattainable” (Yeah, 1991) “One More Time” (First & Magical, 1993) “Uranus Falls Again” (First & Magical, 1993) “Can’t Imagine Your Death” (First & Magical, 1993) “Nice Pale” (Deluxe, 1994) “Le Mans 66” (Deluxe, 1994) “So Divine” (Deluxe, 1994) “Shortest Route” (Lotto, 1996) “New Gel in Town” (Lotto, 1996) “Shoes” (Lotto, 1996) “Honest Love” (Singles, 1997) “Fit” (Girl on the Beach, 1998) “Life in the Sea” (Girl on the Beach, 1998) “I’m Not Ready to Dance” (Girl on the Beach, 1998) “Uranus Falls” (Yeah, 1991) episode 45 preview: Manes, “Death of the Genuine” (Vilosophe, 2003)

Episode 43 – Cut It! Cut It! Dissecting Mr. Bungle’s ‘California’

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Mon, 28 Oct 2019 14:28:00 +0000

After recording two mind-bending and defiant albums -- pieced together, ever so precariously, with the bacterial molecules of metal, ska, contemporary music, free jazz, musique concrete, tango, imaginary soundtracks, and the music of the Middle East -- Mr. Bungle returned to the table in 1999 with their fin de siecle masterpiece, California. Breaking from the hysterical invention of the previous albums, California works within a more stable reservoir of sounds, resulting in a luxurious set of songs that presses into service the band’s highly-evolved compositional prowess and nimble musicianship. Over the course of 44 minutes, Mr. Bungle works through the swing-metal of “None of them Knew They Were Robots,” the torch-song noir of “Pink Cigarette,” and the cyborg future-funk of “Golem II: The Bionic Vapor Boy” and addresses such zesty topics as The Hidden God, ritual castration, and the nausea that underpins West Coast “fun in the sun.” One of the last grand analog production feats, we here at Radical Research feel it’s high time this record gets the laboratory treatment. Join us as we dive deeply into the air-conditioned nightmare. Note I: Please consider donating if you listen to Radical Research often: https://www.paypal.me/rrpodcast

Music cited, in order of appearance: [all from California, 1999] “Sweet Charity” “None of Them Knew They Were Robots” “Retrovertigo” “The Air-Conditioned Nightmare” “Ars Moriendi” “Pink Cigarette” “Golem II: The Bionic Vapour Boy” “The Holy Filament” “Vanity Fair” “Goodbye Sober Day” episode 44 preview: Xysma, “On the Hill of Desecration” (Yeah, 1991)

Episode 42 – Modular Madness: In the Laboratory with Heldon’s ‘Stand By’

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Tue, 15 Oct 2019 14:40:00 +0000

Emerging from a web of poststructuralist philosophy and electronic fetishism, France’s Heldon -- whose name is derived from Norman Spinrad novel, The Iron Dream -- functioned from 1974–1979 as a vehicle for Richard Pinhas’ wildest aural fantasies. The group’s first six albums work through an esoteric maze of analog synthesis and post-Fripp guitar histrionics, from the curiously pastoral second album, Allez Téia, to the cryptic violence of 1977’s Interface. This episode, however, trains its gaze on the last album of the band’s original run, 1979’s singular and masterful Stand By. Here, Pinhas, abetted by principal confidantes, Patrick Gauthier and Francois Auger, offers up the most confident set of arrangements of his career. Stand By harnesses the tactile synth textures of previous albums and binds them to songs that anticipate techno, home-listening electronica, doom rock, and other future sounds. Underrated at best, but mostly unheard altogether, Radical Research looks to settle the score and give these Gaulic Goliaths their proper due. Note I: Heldon was preceded by Schizo!, who released two singles and mined a heavy psych rock sound, with flourishes of proto-metal and electronics. Note II: Heldon employed a wider range of musicians than described above, including Jannick Top of Magma, who played on “Towards the Red Line,” the sidelong composition that concludes the band’s fifth album, Un Reve Sans Consequence Speciale.

Note III: Buy links to Discogs page for Stand By. Do it right! https://www.discogs.com/Heldon-Stand-By/master/28550 Note IV: Please consider donating if you listen to Radical Research often: https://www.paypal.me/rrpodcast

Music cited, in order of appearance: Heldon, “Bolero” (three moments) (Stand By, 1979) Heldon, “Une Drole De Journée” (Stand By, 1979) Heldon, “Stand By” (two moments) (Stand By, 1979) episode 43 preview: Mr. Bungle, “None of Them Knew They Were Robots” (California, 1999)

Episode 41.5 – Mystery Snippets pt. 2

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Tue, 08 Oct 2019 14:48:00 +0000

Welcome to the second installment of this occasional episode in the margins...we have fun trying to fool each other by playing an unlabeled, unmarked piece of music. For diehard Radical Research enthusiasts only!

Music cited in this episode Sorry, you'll need to listen to find out.

Episode 41 – Express Bullet Train to Obscurity Town: Sindrome, Epitaph, Mid-Evil, Embrionic Death, Paraxism

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Tue, 01 Oct 2019 15:05:00 +0000

Let’s face it: we live in a world bereft of justice. And so it falls on the shoulders of Radical Research to shine a bit of light into this dim world. On this, our 41st episode, we give a voice to the voiceless and spotlight 5 unsung greats. From the Great Lakes to the land of Ten Thousand Lakes, from Marshalls to Moogs, this episode draws back the curtain to reveal the important but mostly ignored work of five late 80s and early 90s bands working in extreme metal. We will discuss the harrowing thrash of Sindrome, the Atrocity/Demilich smear-tech of Embrionic Death, and much more. So, as a matter of moral obligation, please join us on this journey deep into the underground. Note I: Our title is somewhat of an homage to detestable-yet-lovable celebrity chef, Guy Fieri. We like a lot of his ridiculous phrases, and used that to create our own off-the-hook concoction. The real deal, bro. Note II: Buy links to several bands featured on this episode: Sindrome: https://www.discogs.com/Sindrome-Resurrection-The-Complete-Collection/master/967409 Embrionic Death: https://www.discogs.com/Embrionic-Death-Regurgitated-Stream-Of-Rot/release/3636297 Paraxism: https://www.discogs.com/Paraxism-Xism-Excursion/release/1376752

Note III: Please consider donating if you listen to Radical Research often: paypal.me/rrpodcast

Music cited, in order of appearance: Sindrome, “Rapture in Blood” (Into the Halls of Extermination, 1987 demo) Sindrome, “Astral Projection“ (Vault of Inner Conscience, 1992 demo) Epitaph, “Quantum of Solace” (1992 demo) Epitaph, “Inbred” (1992 demo) Mid-Evil, “Botanic Wisdom“ (1992 demo) Mid-Evil, “Memoirs“ (1992 demo) Embrionic Death, “Sperm to Egg“ (Stream of Solidarity, 1993 demo) Embrionic Death, “Savoir-Faire” (Stream of Solidarity, 1993 demo) Paraxism, “Smooth Hate“ (Selected Works, 1995 demo) Paraxism, “Values” (1997 demo) episode 42 preview: Heldon, “Bolero“ (Stand By, 1979) Radical Research is a conversation about the inner- and outer-reaches of rock and metal music. This podcast is conceived and conducted by Jeff Wagner and Hunter Ginn. Though we consume music in a variety of ways, we give particular privilege to the immersive, full-album listening experience. Likewise, we believe that tangible music formats help provide the richest, most rewarding immersions and that music, artwork, and song titles cooperate to produce a singular effect on the listener. Great music is worth more than we ever pay for it. This is Radical Research Podcast episode 41.

Episode 40 – Temptations So Wild: Gorgoroth’s ‘Incipit Satan’

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Tue, 17 Sep 2019 08:30:42 +0000

Departing from the tractor-beam blasphemy of their seminal first four albums, Bergen, Norway’s Gorgoroth offer a more panoramic approach to (a career in) evil on their daring fifth missive, Incipit Satan. IC absorbs influences from death industrial, morbid rock and roll, and melodic death metal, and transmits them with an elegant cruelty. The album stays true to the band’s revolving-door membership and is the first to feature bassist, King ov Hell, as well as the menacing and mysterious Sjt. Erichsen on drums. Most importantly, Incipit Satan is the first Gorgoroth to feature a full-album performance by vocalist Gaahl, who handles the music with Attila Csihar-like nuance and flexibility. Join us as we dig into this singular album from Norway’s most terrifyingly-depicted agents of destruction. Note I: In listing his favorite black metal bands during the episode, Wagner forgot Emperor. They’re firmly in that top 5: Bathory, Deathspell Omega, Mayhem, Gorgoroth and Emperor. Hunter offers his 5 favorites as follows: Emperor, Mayhem, Abigor, Bathory, Gorgoroth. Note II: Please consider donating if you listen to Radical Research often: paypal.me/rrpodcast

Music cited, in order of appearance: “Incipit Satan” (Incipit Satan, 2000) “A World to Win” (Incipit Satan, 2000) “Litani til Satan” (Incipit Satan, 2000) “Unchain My Heart!!!” (Incipit Satan, 2000) “An Excerpt of X” (Incipit Satan, 2000) “Ein Eim Av Blod Og Helvetesild” (Incipit Satan, 2000) “Will to Power” (Incipit Satan, 2000) “When Love Rages Wild in My Heart” (Incipit Satan, 2000) episode 41 preview: Paraxism, “Dive” (Selected Works, 1995 demo) Radical Research is a conversation about the inner- and outer-reaches of rock and metal music. This podcast is conceived and conducted by Jeff Wagner and Hunter Ginn. Though we consume music in a variety of ways, we give particular privilege to the immersive, full-album listening experience. Likewise, we believe that tangible music formats help provide the richest, most rewarding immersions and that music, artwork, and song titles cooperate to produce a singular effect on the listener. Great music is worth more than we ever pay for it. This is Radical Research Podcast episode 40.

Episode 39 – In The Woods… Family Tree

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Tue, 03 Sep 2019 09:00:16 +0000

Greetings from the nativity. This podcast began as an examination of the vast and nebulous frontier of Norwegian post-black metal. In that spirit, episode 39 of Radical Research probes the tentacles of the In the Woods... diaspora and gives an ear to Drawn, Stille Opprör, Naervaer, Transit, and Green Carnation. These artists give light to the polyglot transmissions from the distant North and reveal the flexible expressions of Norway’s most progressive artists. As always, we invite you along on this journey into the deep regions of recorded sound. Note I: There are yet more branches of the ITW tree that we didn’t focus on, including Animal Alpha and Soxpan. Members have also played in more well-known names such as Carpathian Forest, Manes and Atrox. Note II: How do we address the fact of this new In the Woods…, the one that returned around 2015 featuring the Botteri brothers (bass, guitar) and Anders Kobro on drums, and a vocalist that is not Jan Kenneth Transeth, and the one that now only features Kobro from the original lineup?!? We steer clear. Our In the Woods… is 1993-2000. We have difficulty enjoying or identifying with the current iteration.

Note III: We love the fact that In the Woods…/Drawn/ Stille Opprör man Christer-André Cederberg was a de facto member of Anathema on their Weather Systems and Distant Satellites albums.

Note IV: “Naervaer” = “Presence” Note V: Please consider donating if you listen to Radical Research often: paypal.me/rrpodcast CORRECTION: Anders Kobro DOES play on Green Carnation's The Quiet Offspring. Music cited, in order of appearance: Green Carnation, “My Dark Reflections of Life and Death” (Journey to the End of the Night, 2000) Green Carnation, “Light of Day, Day of Darkness” (Light of Day, Day of Darkness, 2001) Green Carnation, “Purple Door, Pitch Black” (The Quiet Offspring, 2005) Stille Opprör, “L Tune” (S.o2, 2008) Stille Opprör, “Reconnect” (S.o2, 2008) Naervaer, “To Plan” (Skiftninger, 2001) Naervaer, “En Som…” (To Magic… compilation, 2000)

Transit, “Bleed on Me“ (Decent Man on a Desperate Moon, 2008)

Transit, “You and Me and Then Some” (Decent Man on a Desperate Moon, 2008) Drawn, “This is My Day” (Plan Be, 1998)

Drawn, “Rivawella Form“ (A New World?, 1999)

Drawn, “A-Scape“ (A New World?, 1999) episode 40 preview: Gorgoroth, “Will to Power“ (Incipit Satan, 2000)

Episode 38 – Fathom by Fathom by Fathom: Kayo Dot’s Blasphemy

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Tue, 20 Aug 2019 09:00:33 +0000

Toby Driver’s path to the present has been circuitous and inscrutable, which is to say, in keeping with music he has written over the last 25 years. His work in Maudlin of the Well, Kayo Dot, and as a solo artist has encompassed metal, chamber music, serialism, aleatoric composition, electronics, folk, sci-fi soundtracks, and beyond. For this episode of Radical Research, we will be taking a detour from our normal practices to investigate an album not yet released (at time of recording), Kayo Dot’s ninth album, the estimable, Blasphemy. A work of remarkable accomplishment, and surely one of the year’s very best albums, Blasphemy distills and refines the characteristics that have shaped the band’s last two albums, Coffins on Io and Plastic House on Base of Sky. Note I: As a supplement to the podcast episode, you’ll find our interview with Kayo Dot leader Toby Driver on the Radical Research blog: http://radicalresearch.org/an-interview-with-kayo-dots-toby-driver/ Note II: The title of this episode comes from a lyric within Blasphemy song “Turbine, Hook and Haul.” Note III: Please consider donating if you listen to Radical Research often: https://www.paypal.me/rrpodcast

Music cited, in order of appearance: [all Kayo Dot except where otherwise noted] Maudlin of the Well, “He Who Breathes the Soil” (Begat of the Haunted Oak: An Acorn, 1997 demo) “Magnetism” (Plastic House on Base of Sky, 2016) “Ocean Cumulonimbus” (Blasphemy, 2019) “The Something Opal” (Blasphemy, 2019) “Lost Souls On Lonesome’s Way” (Blasphemy, 2019) “Vanishing Act in Blinding Gray” (Blasphemy, 2019) “Turbine, Hook and Haul” (Blasphemy, 2019) “Midnight Mystic Rise and Fall” (Blasphemy, 2019) “An Eye For a Lie” (Blasphemy, 2019) “Blasphemy: A Prophecy” (Blasphemy, 2019) episode 39 preview: Drawn, “Marygold” (A New World?, 1999)

Episode 37 – Listen With the Lights Off: Devil Doll 1989-1996

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Tue, 06 Aug 2019 09:00:22 +0000

Writing about Devil Doll is like skating about horticulture. Led by the deeply enigmatic Mr. Doctor, and purposely shrouded in the thickest mystery, Devil Doll’s music disappoints even the keenest taxonomist. Experimenting with metal, classical, and progressive rock, Mr. Doctor and his revolving cast of collaborators created large-scale, spell-binding masterpieces that, really, are without peer. Left with far more questions than answers, we nonetheless go forth stubbornly on a mission into the nocturnal dreamworld of Devil Doll. We make no promises but ask that you gird your loins and join us on this, the 37th episode of Radical Research. Note I: Mr. Doctor, aka Mario Panciera, wrote and published a book on 7” singles from the UK & Ireland circa 1976-1979. It’s called 45 Revolutions, and you can find out more here: http://www.45worlds.com/book/title/45-revolutions-1976-1979 Note II: After this episode went public, listener and noted album cover artist Eliran Kantor helped us solve a mystery discussed in this episode. He makes an excellent point! Eliran says: "One mystery I think can be easily solved about Devil Doll: you guys asked how such a lush orchestral production could be financed by an unknown musician. I think recording and recruiting in Yugoslavia might be your answer. Even today, the average wage in Croatia (just picking that one since DD had at least one Croatian musician) is 1/2 of that in Italy."

Note III: Please consider donating if you listen to Radical Research often: paypal.me/rrpodcast

Music cited, in order of appearance “The Girl Who Was…Death” (two passages) (The Girl Who Was…Death, 1989) “Mr. Doctor” (Eliogabalus, 1990) “Eliogabalus” (Eliogabalus, 1990) “Sacrilegium” (two passages) (Sacrilegium, 1992) “The Sacrilege of Fatal Arms” (The Sacrilege of Fatal Arms, 1993) “Dies Irae” (two passages) (Dies Irae, 1996) episode 38 preview: Kayo Dot, “The Something Opal” (Blasphemy, 2019)

Episode 36 – Melvins is Cult, Part 1: Hostile Ambient Takeover

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Tue, 23 Jul 2019 09:00:02 +0000

Melvins’ career -- a vast, still-expanding 36-year odyssey across the full spectrum of heavy and experimental sound -- is marked by goalposts, some triumphant, some deviant. On this episode of Radical Research, we train a critical eye on 2002’s bellwether, the curiously-named Hostile Ambient Takeover. The album takes stock of many of the band’s hallmarks: droning, hypnotic trance rock, mathematical hijinks, and Mountain/Cactus-inspired groove. But the band breaks with its tradition of conspicuous mash-up and manages these generic demarcations with remarkable seamlessness. To drop it into proper context, we also take a look at the band’s late '90s wilderness period and their mid-'00s absorption of the hefty Big Business. As always, we invite you to join us as we pick apart but a sliver of one of rock music’s most fascinating, and enduring, institutions.

Note I: In the first half of 2003, Melvins and their label, Ipecac, released Hostile Ambient Takeover as a 7-inch series. The album tracks are a-sides, while the b-sides are mostly cover versions, Melvins-ized songs by Mott the Hoople, Ramones, The Gun Club, Alice Cooper, Warlock Pinchers and The Tubes. Note II: We spend little time on the influence of Melvins, but their music has inspired artists working in math rock, sludge, doom, left-field art rock, desert rock, and beyond. The most well known Melvins devotee was Nirvana's Kurt Cobain, who played an indispensable role in the career of Melvins, evangelizing their cause in the early '90s and producing a portion of their major label debut, Houdini. Other artists inspired and/or influenced by Melvins include -- but are certainly not limited to -- Brutal Truth, Boris, Mind Over Four, Crowbar, Baroness, Agoraphobic Nosebleed, Helmet, Eyehategod, High on Fire, Soundgarden, Mastodon, Strapping Young Lad/Devin Townsend, Zeni Geva, and Sunn0))). Note III: As hinted by the title of this episode, we hope to occasionally dig in to some other facet of planet Melvins in future episodes. Honky, Stag, Hold it In, Egg Nog...who knows?! Note IV: Please consider donating if you listen to Radical Research often: paypal.me/rrpodcast << Please paste in your browser window, link not working directly from RR site right now. Thanks!<<

Music cited, in order of appearance: “The Anti-Vermin Seed” (Hostile Ambient Takeover, 2002) “In the Freaktose the Bugs are Dying” (Honky, 1997) “See How Pretty, See How Smart” (The Maggot, 1999) “Black Stooges” (Hostile Ambient Takeover, 2002) “Dr. Geek” (Hostile Ambient Takeover, 2002) “Little Judas Chongo” (full song) (Hostile Ambient Takeover, 2002) “The Fool, the Meddling Idiot” (Hostile Ambient Takeover, 2002) “The Brain Center at Whipples” (Hostile Ambient Takeover, 2002) “Foaming” (Hostile Ambient Takeover, 2002) “The Anti-Vermin Seed” (Hostile Ambient Takeover, 2002) “A History of Bad Men” ((A) Senile Animal, 2006) episode 37 preview: Devil Doll, “Eliogabalus” (Eliogabalus, 1990)

Episode 35 – Grey and Pink Topography: A Canterbury Overview

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Tue, 09 Jul 2019 09:00:56 +0000

The so-called “Canterbury scene” was an adventurous musical movement of time and place, bonded tightly by shared influences and an incestuous genealogy. This episode, we climb our favorite limbs from the Canterbury tree, including but not limited to Caravan, National Health, Egg and Quiet Sun. Much respect to Dave Stewart! Be praised, Steve Hillage! Arise, Richard Sinclair! We shout hails to thee, out there in the land of grey and pink. Note I: We mention a couple English bands that intersected with or correlated to the Canterbury scene and sound – Gong and Camel – yet we are remiss in forgetting mention of The Netherlands’ Supersister. Of all the non-English bands that showed Canterbury influence (or shared the same influences), Supersister’s quirk-and-stealth has to be acknowledged first and foremost. Seek out Present from Nancy and To the Highest Bidder for evidence. Note II: Please consider donating if you listen to Radical Research often: paypal.me/rrpodcast

Music cited, in order of appearance: Caravan, “Nine Feet Underground” (In the Land of Grey and Pink, 1971) Soft Machine, “Virtually, Pt. 1” (Fourth, 1971) Matching Mole, “Brandy as in Benji” (Smoke Signals, 2001, recorded 1972) Egg, “A Visit to Newport Hospital” (two moments) (The Polite Force, 1971) Egg, “Boilk” (The Polite Force, 1971) Caravan, “C’thlu Thlu” (For Girls Who Grow Plump in the Night, 1973) Hatfield and the North, “Shaving is Boring” (Hatfield and the North, 1973) Hatfield and the North, “The Yes No Interlude” (The Rotters’ Club, 1975) National Health, “Squarer for Maude” (Of Queues and Cures, 1978) Khan, “Driving to Amsterdam” (Space Shanty, 1972) Steve Hillage, “Aftaglid” (Fish Rising, 1975) Steve Hillage, “Lunar Musick Suite” (L, 1976) Quiet Sun, “Bargain Classics” (Mainstream, 1975) episode 36 preview: Melvins, “The Anti-Vermin Seed” (Hostile Ambient Takeover, 2002)

Episode 34 – No More False Transparency: The Works of Anacrusis

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Tue, 25 Jun 2019 09:00:35 +0000

It began with suffering and ended with screams (and whispers). St. Louis' radically-progressive Anacrusis never enjoyed the recognition they so deserved, but popular neglect did little to temper their potent vision. A product not only of the ‘80s thrash scene but also of the fertile post-punk and alternative rock landscapes, Anacrusis mined an especially personal sound that reconciled the aggression of the heaviest metal with a plaintive, often painful, sense of melancholy. On their final two albums, the towering Manic Impressions and Screams and Whispers, the band developed a harmonic guitar strategy that continues to test the limits of innovation. On this, the 34th episode of Radical Research, we survey the expanse of the band's four albums and hope to convert both initiates and skeptics to the Anacrusis faith. Note I: In 2010, Anacrusis independently released re-recorded versions of their first two albums, Suffering Hour and Reason, with the original lineup (Nardi, Heidbreder, Emery, Owen). While we understand their motives and find the re-recordings quite good, we chose to feature the originals in this episode. The re-recordings, titled Hindsight: Suffering Hour & Reason Revisited, were released again by Divebomb Records in 2011.

Note II: Please consider donating if you listen to Radical Research often: paypal.me/rrpodcast Music cited, in order of appearance: “Frigid Bitch” (Suffering Hour, 1988) “Present Tense” (Suffering Hour, 1988) “Fighting Evil” (Suffering Hour, 1988) “Stop Me” (Reason, 1990) “Afraid to Feel” (Reason, 1990) “Child Inside” (Reason, 1990) “Something Real” (Manic Impressions, 1991) “Explained Away” (Manic Impressions, 1991) “Idle Hours” (Manic Impressions, 1991) “Sound the Alarm” (Screams and Whispers, 1993) “Tools of Separation” (Screams and Whispers, 1993) “My Soul’s Affliction” (Screams and Whispers, 1993) Kenn Nardi, “This Killer in My House” (Dancing With the Past, 2014) Kenn Nardi, “Symbiotic” (Dancing With the Past, 2014) “Terrified” (Reason, 1990) Episode 35 preview: National Health, “Dreams Wide Awake“ (Of Queues and Cures, 1978)

Episode 33 — Men Behaving Badly: Trashed Productions

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Tue, 11 Jun 2019 09:30:21 +0000

Men Behaving Badly: Trashed Productions What is music if not sound? In episode 28, we discussed the mathematical properties that have shaped some of rock and metal’s most extraordinary albums. In episode 33 of Radical Research, we expand our investigation into the controversial, often divisive, sounds of some of metal’s most remarkable albums. We will take a look at the fevered, heading-straight-for-the sun mania of Born Again, the vacuum-sealed, bass-less thrash of …And Justice for All, the clinical blasphemy of Blessed Are the Sick, among seven others. Join us as we get into the weeds and meditate on the strangeness that occurs when men take to the studio and behave badly. Note I: There will likely, as with “Bad Ass Fusion Decapitations” (episode 5) and “Synth Whores” (episode 16), be a follow-up to this episode. The metal canon is full of weird productions, some wonderful, some acts of self-sabotage. Note II: Related to episode 32 and production/producers, Thought Industry chose to work with Dave “Rave” Ogilvie on their debut album. A curious choice, to be sure, having far more experience with electronic and dance music than with TI’s wild and unpredictable metal. Since then, he’s gone onto work with such pop acts as Carly Rae Jepsen, The Weeknd, and other names you will never find in connection with Radical Research. Note III: Please consider donating if you listen to Radical Research often: paypal.me/rrpodcast

Music cited, in order of appearance: Black Sabbath, “Trashed” (Born Again, 1983) Morbid Angel, “The Ancient Ones” (Blessed Are the Sick, 1991) Dark Angel, “Leave Scars” (Leave Scars, 1989) Mayhem, “Great Work of Ages” (Ordo ad Chao, 2007) Ulver, “VIII” (Nattens Madrigal, 1997) Suffocation, “Ornaments of Decrepancy” (Breeding the Spawn, 1993) Metallica, “Blackened” (…And Justice for All, 1988) Possessed, “The Heretic” (Beyond the Gates, 1986) Flotsam and Jetsam, “Burned Device” (When the Storm Comes Down, 1990) Eucharist, “Greeting Immortality” (A Velvet Creation, 1993) Episode 34 preview: Anacrusis, “Tools of Separation“ (Screams and Whispers, 1993) Radical Research is a conversation about the inner- and outer-reaches of rock and metal music. This podcast is conceived and conducted by Jeff Wagner and Hunter Ginn. Though we consume music in a variety of ways, we give particular privilege to the immersive, full-album listening experience. Likewise, we believe that tangible music formats help provide the richest, most rewarding immersions and that music, artwork, and song titles cooperate to produce a singular effect on the listener. Great music is worth more than we ever pay for it. This is Radical Research Podcast episode 33

Episode 32 – In the Morphine Fields: The Works of Thought Industry

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Tue, 28 May 2019 09:30:54 +0000

In less than 10 years’ time, Michigan’s maddest scientists, Thought Industry, built a five-album discography that drew upon every available atom and protein in the rock and metal corpora. From the mutated post-thrash of its debut, Songs for Insects, to the melancholy, cosmic vistas of its watershed swan song, Short Wave on a Cold Day, Thought Industry never abandoned their quest for invention and, like the noblest and most knowing bands, drew the curtain on their career at precisely the right moment. Please join us as we pay tribute to these great, mercurial, marginal Michiganians. Note I: All music for this episode was curated by our good friend, Jason Walton, brilliant bassist of Agalloch and Khorada, and host of the excellent podcast, I Hate Music. Hailz! Note II: Thought Industry stylized logo and song titles on their first two albums. Everything was lower case except the Os, which were capitalized. We don’t play that game, but if we did, it would look like this: thOught industry were sO tOtally bad-ass. Note III: If you’re reading this upon episode’s release and are in the Birmingham, England area, say hi to our sponsor, Jim Raggi/Lamentations of the Flame Princess, at the UK Games Expo! https://www.ukgamesexpo.co.uk/ Music cited, in order of appearance: “Songs for Insects” (Songs for Insects, 1992) “Ballerina” (Songs for Insects, 1992) “Alexander vs. the Puzzle” (Songs for Insects, 1992) “Horsepowered” (Mods Carve the Pig: Assassins, Toads and God’s Flesh, 1993) “Republicans in Love” ” (Mods Carve the Pig: Assassins, Toads and God’s Flesh, 1993) “Boil” ” (Mods Carve the Pig: Assassins, Toads and God’s Flesh, 1993) “Watercolor Grey” (Outer Space is Just a Martini Away, 1996) “Jack Frost Junior” (Outer Space is Just a Martini Away, 1996) “The Squid” (Outer Space is Just a Martini Away, 1996) “Pink Dumbo” (Black Umbrella, 1997) “December 10th” (Black Umbrella, 1997) “Earwig” (Black Umbrella, 1997) “Satan in the Gift Shop” (Short Wave on a Cold Day, 2001) “The Measure of Our Miles” (Short Wave on a Cold Day, 2001) “Lovers in Flames” (Short Wave on a Cold Day, 2001) Episode 33 preview: Dark Angel, “Older Than Time Itself” (Leave Scars, 1989) Radical Research is a conversation about the inner- and outer-reaches of rock and metal music. This podcast is conceived and conducted by Jeff Wagner and Hunter Ginn. Though we consume music in a variety of ways, we give particular privilege to the immersive, full-album listening experience. Likewise, we believe that tangible music formats help provide the richest, most rewarding immersions and that music, artwork, and song titles cooperate to produce a singular effect on the listener. Great music is worth more than we ever pay for it. This is Radical Research Podcast episode 32

Episode 31 – An Abrupt Egress from the ’60s: Van Der Graaf Generator

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Tue, 14 May 2019 09:00:56 +0000

Crawling out of Manchester to work strange machinations on the English psych-pop era of the late 1960s, Peter Hammill and Van Der Graaf Generator’s sonic architecture was a mirror to that decade’s creative promise and a murder of its utopian ideals. They documented their deeds throughout eight albums between 1969 and 1977, revving up the electrostatic contraption again in the 2000s when the world might have finally been ready for them. When we wear the Keep Prog Weird slogan on our backs, it is the spirit of Van Der Graaf Generator we honor and praise. Note I: Chris Judge Smith wasn’t mentioned in this episode, but should have been. He founded Van Der Graaf Generator with Peter Hammill in 1967, but left in 1968 after the recording of the band’s first single, “People You Were Going To” / “Firebrand”. He’s been recording as a solo artist since then, and as of 1994 has been simply known as Judge Smith. Note II: www.lotfp.com for all of your weird horror and fantasy role-playing needs! Music cited, in order of appearance: “A Place to Survive” (World Record, 1976) “Pilgrims” (Still Life, 1976) “The Emperor in His War Room” ” (H to He Who Am the Only One, 1970) “After the Flood” (The Least We Can Do is Wave to Each Other, 1970) “White Hammer” (two moments) (The Least We Can Do is Wave to Each Other, 1970) “Octopus” (The Aerosol Grey Machine, 1969) “Killer” (H to He Who Am the Only One, 1970) “A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers” (two moments) (Pawn Hearts, 1971) “Scorched Earth” (Godbluff, 1975) “The Sleepwalkers” (Godbluff, 1975) “Cat’s Eye / Yellow Fever (Running)” (The Quiet Zone/The Pleasure Dome, 1977) “Man Erg” (Pawn Hearts, 1971) “Interference Patterns” (Trisector, 2008) Episode 32 preview: Thought Industry, “Third Eye” (Songs for Insects, 1992) Radical Research is a conversation about the inner- and outer-reaches of rock and metal music. This podcast is conceived and conducted by Jeff Wagner and Hunter Ginn. Though we consume music in a variety of ways, we give particular privilege to the immersive, full-album listening experience. Likewise, we believe that tangible music formats help provide the richest, most rewarding immersions and that music, artwork, and song titles cooperate to produce a singular effect on the listener. Great music is worth more than we ever pay for it. This is Radical Research Podcast episode 31

Episode 30 – Thank You, Uwe Osterlehner! Deathrow’s Deception Ignored

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Tue, 23 Apr 2019 09:00:26 +0000

We here at Radical Research like a good departure. Whether that means the beginning of a vacation or the sixth Journey record, departures are just good for the soul. And so goes the third record by Germany’s Deathrow, Deception Ignored, which constitutes a break from the band’s heaving thrash origins and a migration to technically-advanced thrash territory. This episode celebrates the evolution of the Düsseldorf-based quartet and highlights some of D.I.’s most exciting and alarming moments, such as the instrumental high water mark, “Triocton.” Join us on our deep dive into the recesses of tech-thrash history. Note I: Your LOTFP Weird Fantasy Role Playing discount code for this episode: www.lotfp.com Coupon Code: TRIOCTON Note II: Just like the good ol’ days of RadRe, lots of tangents here: Destruction, Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax, Holy Terror, Kreator, Blind Illusion…it’s gonna happen when we’re talking Deathrow ’88. Note III: Markus and Sven of Deathrow are on record as disliking Deception Ignored. We respectfully completely disagree with their view. Music cited, in order of appearance: “Bureaucrazy” (Deception Ignored bonus track, 1988) “Slaughtered” (Satan’s Gift aka Riders of Doom, 1986) “Mortal Dread” (Raging Steel, 1987) “Events in Concealment” (Deception Ignored, 1988) “The Deathwish” (Deception Ignored, 1988) “Triocton” (Deception Ignored, 1988) “N.L.Y.H.” (Deception Ignored, 1988) “Watching the World” (Deception Ignored, 1988) “Narcotic” (Deception Ignored, 1988) “Machinery” (Deception Ignored, 1988) “Life Beyond“ (Life Beyond, 1992) episode 30 preview: Van Der Graaf Generator, “Cat’s Eye / Yellow Fever (Running)” (The Quiet Zone/The Pleasure Dome, 1977) Radical Research is a conversation about the inner- and outer-reaches of rock and metal music. This podcast is conceived and conducted by Jeff Wagner and Hunter Ginn. Though we consume music in a variety of ways, we give particular privilege to the immersive, full-album listening experience. Likewise, we believe that tangible music formats help provide the richest, most rewarding immersions and that music, artwork, and song titles cooperate to produce a singular effect on the listener. Great music is worth more than we ever pay for it. This is Radical Research Podcast episode 30

Episode 29 – Walking Shadows: Mekong Delta 1987-1994

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Tue, 09 Apr 2019 09:00:47 +0000

Under the guidance of bassist Ralf Hubert, Mekong Delta’s initial phase featured a revolving door lineup of Euro-metal luminaries. Adopting pseudonyms and lurking unseen in shadows, Mekong plied a brand of progressive metal that drew inspiration from composers such as Modest Mussorgsky, Aram Khachaturian and Alberto Ginastera, to name just a few. Never lacking in speed and intensity, Mekong Delta were the technical, antithetical other side of the coin to Germany’s more caustic thrash blitzkrieg. Note I: Your LOTFP Weird Fantasy Role Playing discount code for this episode: Broodmother SkyFortress https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse.php?discount=9484bab643 Note II: MEKONG DELTA PSEUDONYMS/MEMBERS, 1987-1994: Ralf Hubert aka Björn Eklund – bass. Leader/writer for all Mekong Delta albums. Peter “Peavy” Wagner aka Jake Jenkins – vocals/bass. Didn’t play on an album, left early but remained as lyricist for first two albums. Best known for his role as leader of long-running German band Rage. Jochen Schröder - guitar. Earliest lineup, left early, not on an album. Early member of Rage. No pseudonym. Wolfgang Borgmann aka Keil – vocals, first three albums Frank Fricke aka Rolf Stein – guitar, first three albums. Also member of Living Death. Reiner Kelch aka Vincent St. John – guitar, first two albums. Also member of Living Death. Jorg Michael aka Gordon Perkins – drums, first four albums. Also member of Rage, later Running Wild, Grave Digger and Stratovarius, among many others. Uwe Baltrusch aka Marc Kaye – guitar, third album to Visions Fugitives. No other major credits, although he did sub for Frank Blackfire on Sodom’s Agent Orange era touring. Doug Lee (no pseudonym) – vocals. American singer, comes in on 4th album, and on next two. From Florida band Siren, who were on Aaarg Records at some point, hence the connection. Peter Haas (no pseudonym) – drums, Kaleidoscope and Visions Fugitives. Perhaps the most interesting resume of any Mekong member: he was also in Babylon Sad, Poltergeist, Calhoun Conquer, Clockwork (mid ‘90s band of Coroner’s Tommy T. Baron), the Buddy Lackey solo album, and Krokus. honorary mention: Uli Kusch aka Patrick Duval. Drums on 1988 EP The Gnome (title track) and on 2007 album Lurking Fear. Best known for his work in Helloween, Gamma Ray, Masterplan and Holy Moses.

Note III: COMPOSERS and BANDS covered by MEKONG DELTA 1987-1994: Modest Mussorgsky (19th Century Russian composer): “The Hut of Baba Yaga,” “Night on a Bare Mountain,” “Pictures at an Exhibition” Marius Constant (20th Century Romanian/French composer/conductor): “Twilight Zone” Julio Sagreras (late 19th Century, early 20th Century Argentinian guitarist/composer): “El Colibri” Bernard Herrmann (20th Century American composer): “Interludium” (two versions/parts) Lead Belly (20th Century American folk/blues musician): “Black Betty” Alberto Ginastera (20th Century Argentinian composer): “Tocatta” (fourth movement of Piano Concerto No. 1, Op. 28) Genesis (20th Century English progressive rock band): “Dance on a Volcano” Aram Khachaturian (20th Century Soviet Armenian composer/conductor): “Sabre Dance” Christopher Young (20th Century American Composer): “Dance” (part 4 of Hubert’s larger original piece, “Suite for Group & Orchestra” Music cited, in order of appearance: “The Hut of Baba Yaga” (Mekong Delta, 1987) “Nightmare Patrol” (Mekong Delta, 1987) “Shiva’s Return” (Mekong Delta, 1987) “Age of Agony” (The Music of Erich Zann, 1988) “Interludium (Begging for Mercy)” (The Music of Erich Zann, 1988) “Ever Since Time Began” (The Principle of Doubt, 1989) “Curse of Reality” (The Principle of Doubt, 1989) “El Colibri” (The Principle of Doubt, 1989) “Dances of Death” (two passages) (Dances of Death…and Other Walking Shadows, 1990) “Night on a Bare Mountain” (Dances of Death…and Other Walking Shadows, 1990) “Sphere Eclipse” (Kaleidoscope, 1992) “Heartbeat” (Kaleidoscope, 1992) “About Science” (Kaleidoscope, 1992) “Suite For Group & Orchestra – Allegro” (Visions Fugitives, 1994) “The Healer” (Visions Fugitives, 1994) Episode 30 preview: Deathrow, “The Deathwish” (Deception Ignored, 1988) We also inserted a morsel of "Black Sabbath," from the 1987 debut Radical Research is a conversation about the inner- and outer-reaches of rock and metal music. This podcast is conceived and conducted by Jeff Wagner and Hunter Ginn. Though we consume music in a variety of ways, we give particular privilege to the immersive, full-album listening experience. Likewise, we believe that tangible music formats help provide the richest, most rewarding immersions and that music, artwork, and song titles cooperate to produce a singular effect on the listener. Great music is worth more than we ever pay for it. This is Radical Research Podcast episode 29

Episode 28 – Rock Out With Your Calc Out: A Math Rock Survey

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Tue, 26 Mar 2019 10:00:33 +0000

As Pythagoras mused, “There is geometry in the humming of the strings, there is music in the spacing of the spheres.” So too is there magical energy in the shapely contours of the most mathematical rock music. In this episode of Radical Research, we trace out a heritage of calculus embodied by bands on the acute end of the rock spectrum. From the rarified, Bartok-ian rock of King Crimson to the wildly dynamic Sturm und Drang post-rock of Slint, this episode focuses on the identification of rhythmic land mines and the surreptitious emotions located therein. Keep your vintage TI handy and join us in the liberation from the tyranny of 4/4. Note I: Confessor’s “Condemned” features some of the mathiest metal ever mathed, with a puzzling drum part by Martian percussionist Steve Shelton. Let us know if this helps – mostly likely it will not: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_54BL0aOt5E

Note II: Makers of math rock tend to lean toward ridiculous song titles. Some are featured or mentioned in this episode -- here are a few more winners: Don Caballero “The Peter Criss Jazz”; The Fucking Champs “I Am the Album Cover”; Melvins “Eat Yourself Out”; Breadwinner “Kisses Men on the Mouth on the Mountain” Note III: Lamentations of the Flame Princess Weird Fantasy Role-playing and Radical Research offer you the Tower of the Stargazer introductory adventure for a mere $1 US! ONLY AVAILABLE HERE: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse.php?discount=999b8ca14c

Music cited, in order of appearance: King Crimson, “Fracture” (Starless and Bible Black, 1974) Magma, “De Futura,” two passages (Udu Wudu, 1976) Melvins, “Exact Paperbacks” (Gluey Porch Treatments, 1986) Breadwinner, “Tourette’s” (232 S. Laurel St. 7”, 1990) Confessor, “Condemned” (Condemned, 1991) Slint, “Nosferatu Man” (Spiderland, 1991) Don Caballero, “Rollerblade Success Story” (2, 1995) Happy Family, “Kaiten (Ningen Gyorai)” (Happy Family, 1995) The Champs (aka The Fucking Champs), “Flawless Victory” (III, 1997) Minus the Bear, “Women We Haven’t Met Yet” (Highly Refined Pirates, 2002) Episode 29 preview: Mekong Delta, “The Jester“ (The Principle of Doubt, 1989) Radical Research is a conversation about the inner- and outer-reaches of rock and metal music. This podcast is conceived and conducted by Jeff Wagner and Hunter Ginn. Though we consume music in a variety of ways, we give particular privilege to the immersive, full-album listening experience. Likewise, we believe that tangible music formats help provide the richest, most rewarding immersions and that music, artwork, and song titles cooperate to produce a singular effect on the listener. Great music is worth more than we ever pay for it. This is Radical Research Podcast episode 28

Episode 27 – Fall Into Overdrive: Spiral Architect’s Tech-Metal Masterwork

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Tue, 12 Mar 2019 09:00:44 +0000

A Skeptic’s Universe is what happens when student becomes master. Spiral Architect’s school years were spent in obscurity, honing their craft, learning their lessons, keeping their noses to the grindstone. In 1998 they began work on their master’s thesis, and in early 2000, upon publication, earned a spot on the lonely pedestal of top-tier tech metal. While owing debts to Watchtower, Fates Warning, Psychotic Waltz, Sieges Even, Toxik and Cynic, the young Norwegians upstaged them all with a most vicious merging of high-test progressive metal, bubbling fusion ferocity, and laboratory-borne aural pathogens.

Music cited, in order of appearance: “Spinning” (A Skeptic’s Universe, 2000) “Excessit” (A Skeptic’s Universe, 2000) “Moving Spirit” (A Skeptic’s Universe, 2000) “Occam’s Razor” (A Skeptic’s Universe, 2000) “Insect,” two passages (A Skeptic’s Universe, 2000) “Cloud Constructor” (A Skeptic’s Universe, 2000) “Conjuring Collapse,” two passages (A Skeptic’s Universe, 2000) “Adaptability” (A Skeptic’s Universe, 2000) “Fountainhead” (A Skeptic’s Universe, 2000) “Prelude to Ruin,” two passages (A Skeptic’s Universe, Japanese version bonus track, 2000)

Episode 26 – It’s Weird Being a Bob: NoMeansNo FTW

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Tue, 26 Feb 2019 10:00:56 +0000

Angular, adventurous, and apocalyptic in nearly equal shares, few bands scratch the collective itches of Radical Research like Victoria, British Columbia’s Nomeansno. From their punky beginnings to the nuanced terror of their mature work, Nomeansno trafficked some of the most dangerous and dexterous rock music of the '80s and '90s. Accompanied by venomous libretti - Rob Wright May be responsible for rock music’s most articulate extrapolation of Hannah Arendt’s theory of the Banality of Evil - Nomeansno summoned a heady din of seething, twisting, mongrel-music. Peerless in a peer-friendly world, Nomeansno takes the road never traveled.

Note I: Caveat! We talk for 7 or 8 minutes at the beginning of this episode about drummer Vinnie Colaiuta before we get into Nomeansno. Note II: Due respect to Mama, Sex Mad, The Worldhood of the World (As Such) and Dance of the Headless Bourgeoisie. All Nomeansno albums are recommended by Radical Research! Note III: Rob Wright is the man. For a long time, he looked like Phil Donohue…and when he was raging on stage, singing with sardonic malice and playing bass like a god, it was a fantastic visual, both hilarious and terrifying. Music cited, in order of appearance: “The End of All Things” (Wrong, 1989) “Victory” (Small Parts Isolated and Destroyed, 1988) “It’s Catching Up” (Wrong, 1989) “Ghosts” (0+2=1, 1991) “I See a Mansion in the Sky” (All Roads Lead to Ausfahrt, 2006) “Forget Your Life” (The Day Everything Became Nothing, 1988) “Real Love” (Small Parts Isolated and Destroyed, 1989) “0+2=1” (0+2=1, 1991) “The Day Everything Became Nothing” (The Day Everything Became Nothing, 1988) “Teresa, Give Me That Knife” (Small Parts Isolated and Destroyed, 1988) “The Tower” (Wrong, 1989) “Under the Sea” (One, 2000) “Everyday I Start to Ooze” (0+2=1, 1991) “Mary” (0+2=1, 1991) “Small Parts Isolated and Destroyed” (Small Parts Isolated and Destroyed, 1989) “The River” (Why Do They Call Me Mr. Happy?, 1993) “Bitch’s Brew” (One, 2000) Radical Research is a conversation about the inner- and outer-reaches of rock and metal music. This podcast is conceived and conducted by Jeff Wagner and Hunter Ginn. Though we consume music in a variety of ways, we give particular privilege to the immersive, full-album listening experience. Likewise, we believe that tangible music formats help provide the richest, most rewarding immersions and that music, artwork, and song titles cooperate to produce a singular effect on the listener. Great music is worth more than we ever pay for it. This is Radical Research Podcast episode 26

Episode 25 – Pytten’s Chamber Music: Black Metal in Grieghallen

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Tue, 12 Feb 2019 10:00:33 +0000

Pytten’s Chamber Music: Black Metal in Grieghallen

As the ground began to swell in early ‘90s Norway, a shadowy figure known to metal fans only as “Pytten” (ne Eirik Hundvin) ensconced himself in Bergen’s Grieghallen Studio and began to document the work of the country’s Young Turks. In this frontier territory, Pytten used the cavernous spaces of Grieghallen to create a miasmic, atmospheric sound that would establish the production aesthetics for the emergent global black metal movement. For its 25th episode, Radical Research examines the morphology of Pytten’s work across a ten year span, as well as his cooperation with some of black metal’s most emblematic artists. Note I: We so appreciate our Sponsor, Lamentations of the Flame Princess, and urge you to go deep with their various RPGs! Get Frostbitten and Mutilated at a Triumphant Discount: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse.php?discount=9ff813a5db

Note II: There isn’t much interview documentation or footage on Pytten, but here’s a great video that reveals some details we weren’t aware of at the time we recorded this episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvQLSigwF2U Note III: Pytten, much like English producer, Colin Richardson, was dragged into the world of extreme music rather innocently. His first production, for Bergen’s Old Funeral, began as a favor to one of the band members’ fathers. Solid dad move.

Note IV: As we mention in our conversation, Pytten played bass in several rock bands in the ‘80s. Apropos of this episode, he also contributed fretless bass to Enslaved’s “Yggdrasil,” from their classic 1994 album, Frost, confirming his mettle as both producer and practitioner. Music cited, in order of appearance: Old Funeral, “Skin and Bone“ (Abduction of Limbs, 1990 demo) Burzum, “Det Som Engang Var” (Hvis Lyset Tar Oss, 1993) Mayhem, “Life Eternal” (De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas, 1994) Emperor, “The Burning Shadows of Silence” (In the Nightside Eclipse, 1994) Hades, “Hecate (Queen of Hades)” (…Again Shall Be, 1994) Immortal, “Moonrise Fields of Sorrow” (Battles in the North, 1995) Borknagar, “Vintervredets Sjelesagn” (Borknagar, 1996) Gorgoroth, “Destroyer” (Destroyer, or About How to Philosophize with the Hammer, 1998) Aeternus, “Warrior of the Crescent Moon” (…And So the Night Became, 1998) Trelldom, "Slave Til En Kommende Natt" (Til Et Annet…, 1998) Mork Gryning, “Maelstrom Chaos” (Maelstrom Chaos, 2001) Enslaved, “The Cromlech Gate” (Monumension, 2001) episode 26 preview: Nomeansno, “All Lies” (Wrong, 1989) Radical Research is a conversation about the inner- and outer-reaches of rock and metal music. This podcast is conceived and conducted by Jeff Wagner and Hunter Ginn. Though we consume music in a variety of ways, we give particular privilege to the immersive, full-album listening experience. Likewise, we believe that tangible music formats help provide the richest, most rewarding immersions and that music, artwork, and song titles cooperate to produce a singular effect on the listener. Great music is worth more than we ever pay for it. This is Radical Research Podcast episode 25

Episode 24 – This is the Ritual of Divination: Nasty Savage ’87/’88

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Tue, 29 Jan 2019 10:00:10 +0000

Emerging from the swampy wastes of Florida, Nasty Savage created a body of work built on the inimitable vocals of Ronnie Galetti (aka Nasty Ronnie), hammering percussion, and a harmonic guitar language that has yet to be replicated. This episode of Radical Research takes a focused look at the band's most feverishly creative period, represented by 1987's Indulgence LP and 1988's Abstract Reality EP. Neither thrash nor power metal nor prog, these two pieces of music vibrate at a pitch all their own, but have influenced artists who occupy a broad space of the heavy metal spectrum. Join us as we disinter these savage gems and apply the RR scalpel. And remember: You Snooze, You Lose!

Note I: Nasty Savage was among the first metal bands to popularize the use of Morrisound Studio in Tampa, Florida, which would come to be known as the crucible of the then-primordial Florida Death Metal scene.

Note II: We briefly mention the cover art that attends the two subject albums, rendered by Lewis VanDercar. Your Radical Research hosts are passionate advocates of visual surrealism and VanDercar is one of the form's most unsung practitioners. You are urged, should you be so inclined, to investigate the man's work.

Note III: You could do way worse than buy this thing right now: https://www.discogs.com/Nasty-Savage-Indulgence-Abstract-Reality/release/3063475 Note IV: And you could do plenty worse than checking out LotFP’s RPG, Towers Two, with a special discount -- at this link only -- for Radical Research listeners: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse.php?discount=96d8ca0fe Note V: The steady band lineup of Galetti/Meyer/Austin/Beeson had trouble keeping a bass player for any length of time. The bassists on Indulgence and Abstract Reality were Dezso Istvan Bartha and Chris Moorhouse (RIP), respectively. Hail.

Music cited, in order of appearance: “Stabbed in the Back” (Indulgence, 1987) “Divination” (Indulgence, 1987) “Indulgence” (Indulgence, 1987) “Inferno” (Indulgence, 1987) “Hypnotic Trance” (Indulgence, 1987) “Incursion Dementia” (Indulgence, 1987) “Distorted Fanatic” (Indulgence, 1987) “?” (Indulgence, 1987) “Abstract Reality” (Abstract Reality, 1988) “Eromantic Vertigo” (Abstract Reality, 1988) “You Snooze, You Lose” (Abstract Reality, 1988) “Unchained Angel” (Abstract Reality, 1988) Radical Research is a conversation about the inner- and outer-reaches of rock and metal music. This podcast is conceived and conducted by Jeff Wagner and Hunter Ginn. Though we consume music in a variety of ways, we give particular privilege to the immersive, full-album listening experience. Likewise, we believe that tangible music formats help provide the richest, most rewarding immersions and that music, artwork, and song titles cooperate to produce a singular effect on the listener. Great music is worth more than we ever pay for it. This is Radical Research Podcast episode 24

Episode 23.5 – Mystery Snippets

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Tue, 22 Jan 2019 11:00:45 +0000

This game originates from one Jeff plays semi-regularly with our pal Tim Hammond, where CD-Rs fly back and forth between the Boros (States and Greens), and one has to puzzle out the other's mystery tracks. It's been an effective way to both discover new stuff and learn about things to avoid. This episode Jeff and Hunter play mystery tunes for each other. We'll likely repeat this point-5 feature on occasion, so if we're keeping score, it's Jeff 1, Hunter 0. But maybe Hunter gets .5 for his guess of...oh wait, it's a secret. Music cited, in order of appearance: sorry...nothing to see here...move along, you lookyloos!

Episode 23 – What the Hell is Art Rock?

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Tue, 15 Jan 2019 11:00:33 +0000

The possibly despicable term “art rock” is where pop, prog & rock meet, with a generous layer of quirk embedded throughout. Art rock is pop without restraint, prog with good table manners, rock stretching its creative fibers beyond the norm. And yet, gray areas abound! In episode 23 of Radical Research, we offer an hour-long survey of several artists in this realm: Crack the Sky, Be Bop Deluxe, Godley & Creme, Split Enz and Max Webster. Leaping off from the platform built by the Beatles, David Bowie, Roxy Music, 10cc and Queen, we crash-land onto beguiling terrain. Note I: Other than the featured artists & foundational art rock gods mentioned above, more bands we recommend not featured in this episode: Alan Parsons Project, City Boy, Brian Eno (1973-1977), Phil Manzanera, Citizen Band, Angel (1975-1976), Manfred Mann’s Earth Band (1977-1980), Buggles, Japan, Sparks, Tubes, Eddie Jobson/Zinc, and even select Cheap Trick tunes. Blue Oyster Cult also intersect with this family of bands. And there are more… Note II: We’re proud to be sponsored for 2019 by Lamentations of The Flame Princess, Weird Fantasy Role Playing! We encourage you to check out their award-winning (and sometimes banned!) products here: www.lotfp.com/RPG/

Music cited, in order of appearance: Cheap Trick, “High Priest of Rhythmic Noise” (All Shook Up, 1980) Crack the Sky, “Ice” (Crack the Sky, 1975) Crack the Sky, “Nuclear Apathy” (Safety in Numbers, 1978) Be Bop Deluxe, “Sister Seagull” (Futurama, 1975) Be Bop Deluxe, “Kiss of Light” (Modern Music, 1976) Godley & Creme, “The Sporting Life” (L, 1978) Godley & Creme, “I Pity Inanimate Objects” (Freeze Frame, 1979) Split Enz, “Crosswords” (Dizrythmia, 1978) Split Enz, “In the Wars” (1980 b-side) Max Webster, “Toronto Tontos” (Max Webster, 1976) Max Webster, “Battle Scar” (Universal Juveniles, 1980) Blue Oyster Cult, “Hungry Boys” (Cultosaurus Erectus, 1980) Episode 24 preview: Nasty Savage, “Abstract Reality” (Abstract Reality, 1988) Radical Research is a conversation about the inner- and outer-reaches of rock and metal music. This podcast is conceived and conducted by Jeff Wagner and Hunter Ginn. Though we consume music in a variety of ways, we give particular privilege to the immersive, full-album listening experience. Likewise, we believe that tangible music formats help provide the richest, most rewarding immersions and that music, artwork, and song titles cooperate to produce a singular effect on the listener. Great music is worth more than we ever pay for it. This is Radical Research Podcast episode 23

Episode 22 – Weeping Suns & Churning Seas: An Examination of Pyogenesis’ Twinaleblood

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Tue, 01 Jan 2019 11:00:18 +0000

It would be inaccurate to say that Germany’s Pyogenesis is underrated because, in fact, they have hardly ever been rated at all. Over the course of their career – which is still in process – Pyogenesis worked across a wide swath of genres, including death/doom and alternative metal, before settling on a mostly-unsuccessful foray into pop-punk. The 22nd installment of Radical Research dedicates most of its time to the band’s finest piece of music, 1995’s inscrutably-titled, Twinaleblood. Our 70-minute conversation digs in deeply to the album’s daring mosaic of sounds and styles, which ranges from the Type O Negative grandeur of “Undead” to the hooky alternative rock of “Weeping Sun.” The album was an island in 1995 and remains so in 2018, bearing the visionary mark.

Note I: Immense appreciation to RR listener Giorgos Ketigenis for supplying mp3s of the early demo and 7 inch tracks.

Note II: Hunter knows The Archaic Course is a Borknagar album and not an Arcturus one. We both get excited and lose our minds a little when it comes to discussing the best performances of vocalist Simen Hestnaes. Incidentally, Jeff believes Simen’s performance on Arcturus’s Arcturian is one of the best in metal history. And there’s your Norwegian metal reference for this episode. Note III: Way back in episode 4 (Disharmonic Orchestra) we discuss the interesting heritage of the laugh in metal music. Listener and doggone brilliant observationist Forrest Pitts reminded us about Tim Asmodeus’s laugh on Pyogenesis song “In the End.” It’s not in the part we sample this episode -- we had already recorded -- but it's absolutely worth noting. Haw haw haw! Please keep the laugh-spotting coming, people. Might be a cool subject for a point-5 episode at some juncture. Note IV: Tim was also in a band called G.U.T. at the same time Pyogenesis was getting started. We wanted to mention that but conversation took us elsewhere. They were nuts. Check it out if you dare: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFvUB-y4Lz4

Music cited, in order of appearance: “Considering the Majesty of Doom” (Ode to the Churning Seas of Nar-Mataru demo, 1991) “Lowland of Impiety” (Sacrificious Profanity 7”, 1992) “Still Burn in Fire” (Ignis Creatio, 1992) “In the End” (Waves of Erotasia, 1994) “Fade Away” (Sweet X-Rated Nothings, 1994) “Undead” (Twinaleblood, 1995) “Twinaleblood” (Twinaleblood, 1995) “Weeping Sun” (Twinaleblood, 1995) “Every Single Day” (Twinaleblood, 1995) “Abstract Life” (Twinaleblood, 1995) “Those Churning Seas” (Twinaleblood, 1995) “God Complex” (Twinaleblood, 1995) “Mutz Umst Erben” (Twinaleblood bonus track, 1995) “Supavenus” (Twinaleblood, 1995) “Love Nation Sugarhead” (Love Nation Sugarhead - EP, 1996) episode 23 preview: Crack the Sky, “Virgin…No” (Animal Notes, 1976)

Episode 21 – Who is the Freak Now? Regurgitating OLD

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Tue, 18 Dec 2018 11:00:45 +0000

Meet the creatures Plotkin & Dubin, instigators of some of the most beguiling music ever beamed to Earth from a New Jersey-shaped quasar. Like the guy in the petri dish on the Musical Dimensions… album cover, your puzzled Radical Research hosts consider the bizarre landscape before them and dive into the peculiar tumult of OLD.

Note I: We can only assume “sleastak,” from the album title The Musical Dimensions of Sleastak, is a reference to Sleestaks, an extra-dimensional reptile race from 1970s Saturday morning show, Land of the Lost.

Note II: We briefly mention Khanate, a post-OLD endeavor of Plotkin & Dubin, but the wealth of material and collaborations James Plotkin became involved in after OLD’s demise is impressive and worth mentioning. First is Flux, whose 1997 album, Protoplasmic, was a direct successor to the trail followed on OLD’s Formula. Not to mention membership in the short-lived Khlyst, supportive roles with Scorn and Namanax, and collaborations with Mick Harris, K.K. Null, Mark Spybey, and many other specimens.

Note III: Jeff said there’s nothing exclusive on the Grindcrusher compilation. Not entirely true: the version of Carcass’s “Exhume to Consume” is different than the Symphonies of Sickness version. Either way, Grindcrushergoes with us to our graves.

Note IV: We love Duran Duran (ref. “Marzuraan” intro). We own and listen to 21 Duran Duran releases between the two of us. (19 of those are Jeff’s)

NoteV: Discogs Dot Com. Buy or Die.

Music cited, in order of appearance: “Peri Cynthion” (The Musical Dimensions of Sleastak, 1993) “Total Hag” (Old Lady Drivers, 1988) “Old Ladies Always Break Their Hips” (Old Lady Drivers, 1988) “Cocaine” (Old Lady Drivers, 1988) “Outlive” (Lo Flux Tube, 1991) “Citient Null” (Lo Flux Tube, 1991) “Marzuraan”(Lo Flux Tube, 1991) “Who Are You” (Masters of Misery – Black Sabbath: An Earache Tribute, 1992) “Two of Me (Parts One and Two)” (The Musical Dimensions of Sleastak, 1993) “Freak Now” (The Musical Dimensions of Sleastak, 1993) “Happy Tantrum” (The Musical Dimensions of Sleastak, 1993) “Last Look” (Formula, 1995) “Break (You)” (Formula, 1995) “Thug” (Formula, 1995) “Z.U.” (Lo Flux Tube, 1991) Episode22 preview: Pyogenesis, “Abstract Life” (Twinaleblood, 1995)

This is Radical Research Podcast episode 21

Episode 20 – Wolf’s Lair Abyss: Answer & Announcement

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Tue, 04 Dec 2018 11:00:11 +0000

From the dark past, in the light of freezing moons and through funeral fog, Mayhem reappeared in 1997, under cover of night and to relatively little fanfare. Wolf’s Lair Abyss, the band’s first release since 1994’s epochal De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas, reveals a fiercer, future-forward approach to Mayhem’s trademark hailstorm black metal. Time has been kind to this EP and so your Radical Research hosts have pulled out the cuneiform in order to decipher symbols of bloodswords.

Note 1: With this EP, we see the reappearance of two former Mayhem members, Maniac and Necrobutcher. This lineup would go on to record two full-length albums, 2000’s black-tech masterpiece, Grand Declaration of War, and 2004’s steely Chimera.

Note 2: The EP’s final track, “Symbols of Bloodswords,” features a chord progression that would become a motivic device on Grand Declaration of War. Radical Research suggests a back-to-back listen for maximum effect.

Music cited, in order of appearance: “From the Dark Past” (De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas, 1994) “De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas” (De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas, 1994) “The Vortex Void of Inhumanity” (Wolf’s Lair Abyss, 1997) “I Am Thy Labyrinth” (Wolf’s Lair Abyss, 1997) “Fall of Seraphs” (Wolf’s Lair Abyss, 1997) “Ancient Skin” (Wolf’s Lair Abyss, 1997) “Symbols of Bloodswords” (Wolf’s Lair Abyss, 1997) “A Grand Declaration of War” (Grand Declaration of War, 2000) “Completion in Science of Agony (pt. II of II)” (Grand Declaration of War, 2000) episode 21 preview: OLD, “Backwards Through the Greedo Compressor” (The Musical Dimensions of Sleastak, 1993)

This is Radical Research Podcast episode 20

Episode 19 – The Unquietness of Fleurety

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Tue, 27 Nov 2018 11:00:05 +0000

Goodbye clarity, hello obfuscation… Norway’s other post-black metal duo, perhaps dwelling deeper in obscure shadows than Solefald… we hail Fleurety’s dedication to the dark arts and… which craft? All the ones that bring metal to the most precarious of left-field edges. So bizarre that it makes complete sense. We enthusiastically endorse their mission.

Note I: Of all our favorite high school Latin teachers who are also committed metal fans, our favorite has to be Chris Ayers. We are grateful for his help with the Latin translations/meanings in this episode. Chris also has the rare distinction of having attended a listening party for DVC’s Molecular Shadow in Florida in 1992.

Note II: The Inquietum CD is the yellowest in either of our collections. It is also a mandatory Fleurety document. Buy it here: https://www.discogs.com/Fleurety-Inquietum/release/10711416

Music cited, in order of appearance: “Descent Into Darkness” (Ingentes Atque Decorii Vexilliferi Apokalypsis 7”, 2009, recorded 2004/05) “Profanations Beneath the Bleeding Stars” (A Darker Shade of Evil 7”, 1994) “Absence” (January 1995 demo) “Fragmenter Av En Fortid” (Min Tid Skal Komme, 1995) “Englers Piler Har Ingen Brodd” (Min Tid Skal Komme, 1995) “I Saw Claws” (Last-Minute Lies, 1999) “Face in a Fever” (Department of Apocalyptic Affairs, 2000) “Shotgun Blast” (Department of Apocalyptic Affairs, 2000) “Barb Wire Smile” (Department of Apocalyptic Affairs, 2000) “Summon the Beasts” (Evoco Bestias 7”, 2011, recorded 2008) “Degenerate Machine” (Et Spiritus Meus Semper Sub Sanguinantibus Stellis Habitabit 7”, 2013, recorded 2009/10) “Consensus” (two moments, Fragmenta Cuinsvis Aetatis Contemporaneae 7”, 2017, recorded 2011-2015) “The Science of Normality” (The White Death, 2017) “Future Day” (The White Death, 2017) “Facets” (Last-Minute Lies, 1999) episode 20 preview: Mayhem, “Ancient Skin” (Wolf’s Lair Abyss, 1997)

This is Radical Research Podcast episode 19

Episode 18 – Do You Hear Solar Music? Grobschnitt’s Cosmic Fantasia

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Tue, 13 Nov 2018 11:00:04 +0000

From a kernel to a cosmos. Over the course of a decade and beyond, Germany’s Grobschnitt twisted and bent and stretched a piece of sound that would be known as “Solar Music.” An alchemical collision of Prog, Krautrock, psychedelia, and uncanny theater, “Solar Music” represents a fascinating evolutionary journey and, particularly in its live iterations, reveals a band at the height of its powers. Radical Research dispenses with the Prominence and aims to get to the Core of the matter.

Note I: We have to thank Tom Phillips for turning us on. Without him, we wouldn’t know “Solar Music,” and if we didn’t know “Solar Music,” we’d be malnourished. Hail Tom.

Note II: If you want to dive in, we recommend these fine releases: https://www.discogs.com/Grobschnitt-Solar-Music-Live/release/7026856

https://www.discogs.com/Grobschnitt-The-History-Of-Solar-Music-1/release/1957738

https://www.discogs.com/Grobschnitt-Ballermann/release/7026664

Music cited, in order of appearance: “Solar Music” (live in Berlin, 1977) “Sun Trip (On the Way)” (Grobschnitt, 1972) “Solar-Music, Part 1” (Ballermann, 1974) “Golden Mist” (Solar Music – Live, 1978) “Otto Pankrock” (Solar Music – Live, 1978) “Solar Music III” (Solar Music – Live, 1978) four moments from Warburg performance, 1978 four moments from Munster performance, 1979 final fade, from Warburg, 1978

This is Radical Research Podcast episode 18

Episode 17.5: Permeable Lines – A Dangerous Dance with Inspiration

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Tue, 06 Nov 2018 11:00:14 +0000

The second in an occasional series of brief ambushes. With this mini-episode, we ponder and marvel at similarities between a certain few musical passages. Prompted by our previous episode on Afflicted, we compare/contrast moments of uncanny similarity, one of which is too close for comfort. Coincidence or rip-off? We’re not judging. But you can… Music cited, in order of appearance: Afflicted, “Rising to the Sun” (Prodigal Sun, 1992) My Dying Bride, “The Cry of Mankind” (The Angel and the Dark River, 1995) Solefald, “Philosophical Revolt” (The Linear Scaffold, 1997) Metallica, “For Whom the Bell Tolls” (Ride the Lightning, 1984) Bathory, “Home of Once Brave” (Hammerheart, 1990) Angel Witch, “Angel of Death” (Angel Witch, 1980) Manilla Road, “Dreams of Eschaton” (Crystal Logic, 1983)

for all episodes, blog, and playlists: www.radicalresearch.org

Episode 17 – Take the Bröms Dose: The Works of Afflicted

Jeff Wagner & Hunter Ginn — Tue, 30 Oct 2018 11:00:43 +0000

Prolific for a brief few years, with curious beginnings and a mostly ignored ending, Afflicted’s supernova burned brightly at its peak. That peak, Prodigal Sun, is the essential cornerstone of Afflicted’s output and is explored in depth here. Psychedelic, transcendent left-field death metal lunacy from far beyond.

Note I: As we talk about Afflicted’s 7” era in this episode, we discuss an insane haul both of us made at Manifest Records in Charlotte, NC back in 2003. In the hauls, Hunter bought Primordial’s A Journey’s End, original vinyl pressing, for $4. It’s now going for around $90 on Discogs.com. Jeff’s best score was Mortem’s Slow Death 7”, bought for $3, currently going for around $85 on Discogs.

Music cited, in order of appearance: “Consumed in Flames” (as Afflicted Convulsion) (Beyond Redemption demo, 1990) “Viewing the Obscene” (Ingrained 7”, 1990) “Prodigal Sun” (Prodigal Sun, 1992) “Harbouring the Soul” (Prodigal Sun, 1992) “In Years to Come” (Prodigal Sun, 1992) “Astray” (Prodigal Sun, 1992) “Rising to the Sun” (Prodigal Sun, 1992) “Spirit Spectrum” (Prodigal Sun, 1992) “Consumed in Flames” (Prodigal Sun, 1992) “Ivory Tower” (Prodigal Sun, 1992) “Dawn of Glory” (Dawn of Glory, 1995) “I Am Vengeance” (Dawn of Glory, 1995) RR18 preview: Grobschnitt, “Solar Music I“ (Solar Music – Live, 1978)

This is Radical Research Podcast episode 17