This is one big gush puddle of slam bang and precious little twaddle. Compiled by the Beast himself and issued on Kemado Records, there are 18 cuts on this monster that do not come streaming forth from commercially proffered full-lengths by the acts included here (or, if they are, they're at least different versions). In terms of sheer rawk power,
Black Mountain,
Dungen, and
Comets on Fire all make the grade here. The last of which, with "Wolf Eyes" (middle version) was recorded at
the Comets practice space on a two-track cassette recorder and is so far beyond metal -- and maybe even rock for that matter -- it sonically clears the nostrils (and perhaps the intestines, too) of abnormal growths or cavities and feels more like the live
MC5 than anything in a Zenta New Year. The
Dungen cut, "Christopher" comes from a single issued as part of the American bonus-disc version of
Ta Det Lugnt, and it is a worthy slice or rockin' instru-mental psychedeli-scree.
Black Mountain's "Behind the Fall" was recorded at the Argyle Hotel in 2005. As for the more metallic end of this earth, a longer version of
Witch's killer "Rip Van Winkle" is here, and their album on Tee Pee is tough enough to find, folks.
Saviours, post-
Sabbath caterwaul "Circle of Servants Bodies" is here from their debut EP, as is
the Sword's (the real one, from Texas) drunken yet precise "Under the Boughs." An outcast from their fine
Age of Winters LP is included, too, as is a live version of
Witchcraft's "Queen of Bees," and a radio edit of
High on Fire's "Devilution." About the only things here that are truly of questionable taste are
Wolfmother's dead cat singing "Love Train," and
Diamond Nights' 80s metal worship on "12 Walls." But then, there are (a few) people who like those bands. Either way, for the dough,
Invaders really can't be beat as a sampler of the havoc to come.