Xero (Linkin Park) Demo Tape (1997)

Xero - Demo Tape (1997)

Here's a curveball. Linkin Park's demo when they were known as Xero.
I remember being pretty young, before teenager years at least, when I first heard Linkin Park. Back then Kerrang! was on the TV a lot, and at the time it was all about 'nu metal' and 'pop punk'. As such, a lot of that music is nostalgic for me. Basically, what i'm trying to say is that I like a lot of that music. So fuck you, guy.

Xero put out this demo in 1997, with two tracks being the basis for a later Linkin Park tunes 'Forgotten' and 'Runaway'. For me, Mike Shinoda was, is, and possibly will always be the best part of LP. His raps are intelligent, well paced, and are delivered with a great tone. With that said, what makes LP what it is, is the distinctive singing of Chester Bennington. Here, Mark Wakefield is handling the main singing parts. And he is pretty good, setting the template for the style Chester would later run with. This demo has four tracks, two of which went through major transformations in the space of three years, when in 2000 Linkin Park dropped their full-length debut Hybrid Theory.

'Rhinestone' is after-mentioned tune that would eventually become 'Forgotten'. Apart from some structure differences the tune is virtually unchanged to the Hybrid Theory version. 'Reading Me Eyes', along with 'Fuse', are exclusive to this demo as they were never re-worked. Which is a shame,
because 'Fuse' is a great tune. Both tracks are a good mix of rock and rap. Keyword here being 'good'.
LP would eventually become much better, almost seamlessly converging the two genre worlds together. 'Stick N Move' would eventually be re-worked as 'Runaway', and, unsurprisingly, is a highlight of this demo.

So to conclude, the sound quality of this demo is pretty good. The distorted guitar has a very fuzzy sound, but the clean sections are well recorded. The band is tight and confident. And, for 1997, this is pretty innovative. A good demo tape for sure, and a nice look into the past of one of the biggest bands today.

1997 Demo

Linky, Link:
https://mega.co.nz/#!kQw0RDjS!QQ6Gw4ViLO8h6TD4lylOsXfJN48o2q6GbXcn74PUUxQ

Prom Night (1980)

Prom Night (1980) 

After playing the titular character in John Carpenter's Halloween (1978), Jamie Lee Curtis plays an all to similar character in the low-budget Canadian 'slasher' flick Prom Night (1980). If you've seen Halloween it's the same basic plot. Some backstory, then Jamie Lee Curtis' friends start dropping off by a mysterious killer, then the great reveal/the end.

That description makes the film, and others within the genre, sound bland. Which is totally not the case.....totally.

After playing a game of, what i can only assume is called, 'killer' (a bit like tiggie mixed with hide and go seek) One of the girls gets cornered, and in a paralysis of fear she then falls from a great height out of a window. Shocked, the kids make a pact to never talk about the situation to anyone in fear of being put in jail.

Soon after, a police detective turns up. Deducting that the girl was probably cornered by a rapist, and in an attempt to resist, she committed suicide.

The film transitions to six years later, the girl died in 1974 and now it's 1980. But the crime is still unsolved...

The detective still suspects the same culprit, a crazed man who was put into an institution. Much like Micheal Myers, this man escapes, and killings are starting to happen again. But who's behind them?

Is it the creepy groundskeeper Mr. Sykes, who has a weird habit of sticking his tongue out and appearing at the scene of strange events?. Is it one of the innocent kids that inadvertently killed the girl?, or is it the detective spot on?

While the production isn't as good as Halloween, but then again, who can touch Carpenter at his prime?, Prom Night is well filmed. The pacing is great, especially the odd occurrences before the killings start. Such as the shattered mirror in the girls room and the school photos from 1974 that appear in the kids' lockers. Prom Night establishes itself as a cult slasher flick, one of the first of the 80s tradition, and some would argue that it's one of the best. 

Full Film: Prom Night (1980)

Antidote - One Does Not Sell The Earth Upon Which The People Walk (1986)

Antidote - One Does Not Sell The Earth Upon Which The People Walk (1986)

No, not the New York hardcore powerhouse that gave us 'Thou Shalt Not Kill'. This is the British/Dutch collaboration between Chumbawamba and The Ex.

A bit of an oddity, Antidote are basically like early Chumbawamba. Good shit for sure, but while the Chumba records were known for longer, inter-weaved, tracks, none of the songs on this EP even reach one minute!

To say the guitar work is the highlight would be disrespectful to the other instruments. The guitars have that great mix of both chords and catchy lead melodies (Think Chumba's 'Revolution'), the bass bops along-with melody, groove and atmosphere, the drums range from spastic polka blasts to piercing stabs, and the vocals are antagonistic, bratty, and overlap in that classic melodramatic Chumba way.

The way they crafts their songs is incredible. While none of the songs reach the one minute mark each track is memorable, with certain tracks like 'Instrumental', 'The Sun' and 'R.T.Z. & B.P. ...Why?' offering ample twists-and-turns throughout the 8 minutes of anarcho fury.

Overall, this is an essential addition to the 80s Chumbawamba collection. Great, weird, experimental punk!

One Does Not Sell The Earth...