Simply the Best

and a continual source of inspiration!

Big Boss - Belial's Wind

Big Boss's sophomore solo, more batshit craziness...were he and Roky Erickson separated at birth?? Or maybe alien abductee bros?

Belial's Wind

Big Boss - Q7

The untenable Big Boss, Jiri Valter, delivers what may be the strangest solo album from a metal frontman in recorded history. Q7 is Die Verwandlung under the Big Top. Unstoppable madness on par (or over par) with Slagry. You will love it kids.

Q7

Root - Heritage Of Satan

This is hot off the presses, and is a huge huge deal. If you have read any of my other Root posts you know that they are my favorite band of all time, and any time they release a new album it's time to put all other albums aside and concentrate on Root for a good long while...so I take a little break from my Germanic posts to share the Czech legend's 9th full-length...haven't even listened to it all the way through yet, but rest assured this will be Top 10 material no doubt. Hopefully will be able to go see them at Rites Of Darkness Fest in San Antonio this Dec...still trying to finagle that one out, but so excited that they are playing on U.S. soil!! Big Boss owns ye!!!

Heritage Of Satan

Root - The Temple In The Underworld

I can think of no better album to cap off Czech Madness Month than Root's magnificent 3rd full-length from '92. This is where the band really started branching out of black metal into more classical metal territory. Big Boss crooned as never before...Blackosh slowed things down, sometimes into doom (I don't think a song like Aposiopesis happens without the influence of a band like Citron)...and perhaps most significant was the addition of a crackerjack young drummer name of Rene "Evil" Kostelnak, the drummer from Blackosh's incredibly powerful death/black/atmospheric side project Crux. Evil added such creativity to this squad of visionaries that he just pushed them over the edge into sublime waters. This may not be as complete an album as The Book or Black Seal...but the band were perfecting their craft by that point...here they are still young and hungry, biting at the chain. Hell, Big Boss still had hair!!
P.S. I've included the bonus song Prohibition in this link...one of the most kick-ass Root songs ever!!

The Temple In The Underworld

Root - Black Seal

This is a highlight in Root's discography. Never before had they been this dark and technical in their approach.  A superb mixture of hellish atmosphere and progressive thrash (actually quite a few of the riffs remind me of Hell Awaits). No one can beat those wide open slightly atonal Blackosh guitars...the man is a master, how he can turn those Voivodian chords into a baroque, gothic nightmare is beyond words, and beyond me! Big Boss goes off (as usual), and special mention has to be made of Evil's drumming. I can't say enough good thing's...he's just in the pocket and oh so creative (especially during Theriak, holy shit!!) A wonderful album that reveals itself to be a true masterpiece after repeated listens.

Black Seal

Equirhodont - Black Crystal

Part Deaux...

Tudy

Igor

Ashok

BigBa

Tha Way

Equirhodont - Equirhodont Grandiose Magus

BigBa and krew continue on with the epic story of Kärgeräs, and get all down and proggy wit it.
Ashok cutz loose of course.

Grandiose

Root - Live In Brno '93

Morbid ritual of Root band ano 1993. Vid not from this concert, but give's good insight into early Root in concert, back when Big Boss was still rockin' the Jerry Garcia look.

Live In Brno

Big Boss - Doomy Ballads

Doomy indeed, though filtered through a Dream Theatre's sense of technicality.  If Dream Theatre got rid of James LaBrie and brought in Big Boss to sing then they would really have something!  Somewhat reminiscent of the last Equirhodont album and worlds away from his last solo disc, Big Ba shows that he's not one to rest on his laurels.

Doomy Ballads