Severed Heads : "All Saints Day"

(Immediate removal upon request of Mr. Ellard or his representatives for any reason whatsoever.)

Severed Heads 

(official site above) 

"All Saints Day"

"And I would rather face the fire than aspire for the heavenly choir." 

"All Saints Day" by Severed Heads (Tom Ellard) remixed/redone on their album "Living Museum"

 (It should definitely be noted that "Rotund For Success" came out in 1989 and the change between the 83/84 material was shocking (in a good way.) 

"Rotund" was the first album of Ellard's (and his guests) I ever bought after hearing their mind blowing very early stuff on vinyl at a friends house.

Next up I bought the 1 and a half, and then, another 1 and a half, release of: 

"City Slab Horror" (With Tracks From "Blubberknife") 

and "Since the Accident" (with more tracks from "Blubberknife") All by: Severed Heads. All of which sounded like the work on the vinyl records my friend had played for me.

They were 3 albums divided up on 2 separate cd's released in the U.S. on Nettwerk Records. (I believe they were recorded in 1983 and 84.) They had a huge influence on my early cassette based work using 2 very limited department store keyboards and bouncing tracks using a very generic dual cassette deck.

(P.S. Nettwerk was also the home of Skinny Puppy as well as Sarah McLachlan!? A very eclectic mix.)

 
Those three re-release albums are above and beyond some of the greatest music I've ever heard. A music that was very difficult to pin down: experimental electronic, industrial, techno goth, new wave, dark wave... way too many options, just let the music stand on its own. 

Just like Front 242 when asked to describe their music after being given a laundry list of options by a clueless MTv host: 242 gave him a kind of 'it's okay, buddy,' look and said; "We like to call our music "Front 242 Music."

After listening to some of their first music ever, And then jumping the only, coincidentally recently released (back when CD's were new) which I could find deep in the heart of a local but main stream record store in Oklahoma City 

(The record store was named "Sound Warehouse" -- happy childhood and confused teen-hood thoughts eddy up. It was eventually purchased by "Blockbuster Music" in the mid 1990's.) 

The album was titled "Rotund For Success" and I was, at first, shocked at how different, and how "almost" commercial (ala New Order) that it sounded. But after a few revolutions I came to love the sound and the entire album.

Then I bought everything else I could find, pre-internet, in a haphazard out of order fashion. Perhaps the best way to navigate such varied and original music.

(Also: The song "Dressed In Air" from Bad Mood Guy (along with the title song of this Blog entry, "All Saints Day") is one of my favorite songs, like, ever.)

The following is a link to the Band Camp site directly to the song 

(please, give the guy some money)

from the new remastered / remixed Severed Heads album

"Living Museum"

LINK BELOW:

All Saints Day | SEVERED HEADS | Klanggalerie