Sometimes the amount of material we receive in the mail or read about is completely overwhelming and some excellent stuff gets lost in the shuffle. Here are some releases that have been in my “must listen to more” pile for quite some time, but for whatever reason I haven’t been able to work them into a post or give them their fair due. homemade anal video – amateurs girl and boy having anal sex

Memfis – The Wind-Up
Progressive death metal that’s melodic but not overtly Gothenburg. Does that make sense? Their 2006 (2007 for U.S.) release The Wind-Up on Candlelight is excellent through and through. Another gem I found out about from Andrew @ Averisonline, who describes it as “focused and surprisingly technical… [and is] an almost perfect blend of equal parts Opeth and Burst – and both from the fellow Swedes’ golden ages.”

Memfis – “The Wind-Up” (The Wind-Up)
Memfis – “The Judgment” (The Wind-Up)

Van Halen – Fair Warning
This is kind of a dud of a Van Halen album, isn’t it? For whatever reason I didn’t actually own a copy of this until very recently (I know, I know), but now the reason why is apparent; as far as Van Halen goes, Fair Warning wasn’t really the top jimmy. Other than “Mean Street” and “Unchained” there really isn’t anything memorable, and the whole thing is sort of pussified. There aren’t even any classic DLR showtunes. If I went to the record store when this came out in 1980 and dropped the needle on the record when I got home I would’ve been mighty disappointed. What, you wanna fight about it?? Let’s go.

Three – The End Is Begun
We’ve posted about Three quite a bit here, but I still don’t feel as if they’ve gotten their due. After all, they are “that other band” on this Spring’s Progressive Nation Tour (feat. Dream Theater, Opeth and Between the Buried and Me) and their logo looks like a giant cock n’ balls. But their album The End is Begun, recently re-released on Metal Blade, is one hell of a piece of work. Part Coheed and Cambria, part something more delicately intricate, Three combine beautiful acoustic passages with prog-metal deliciousness. Guitarist and founding member Joey Eppard is actually the brother of ex-Coheed (and ex-Three) drummer Josh Eppard. Definitely do not miss them on the Prog Nation Tour.

Opeth – The Roundhouse Tapes (Live) [2x CD]
A fucking fantastic live recording by a fucking fantastic band. New and old Opeth songs are enjoyable all the way through both discs, with a palpable feeling of energy in the air. For die-hard fans and Opeth newbies alike. The kind of album you can lay back, sit and listen to with headphones on, or keep in the background while working.

-VN