The Beginning Of The End

RIBSPREADER, the Swedish "old-school death metal" band featuring guitarist/vocalist/bassist Rogga Johansson (PAGANIZER, DEMIURG, BONEGNAWER), releasec its fourth full-length album, "The Van Murders" According to a press release, the CD "sounds like the classic RIBSPREADER debut album 'Bolted to The Cross'. Less groovy than 'Opus Ribcage', WAY more raw, harsh and old school (band leader Rogga expressed it as: 'dirty, simple old-school death metal, no frills and lots of chills)."

Darren Aronofsky's second film Requiem for a Dream features a score from his Pi collaborator, former Pop Will Eat Itself vocalist/guitarist Clint Mansell. This time, Mansell blends his usual electronic/industrial leanings with brooding, evocative performances from the Kronos Quartet. As with Pi, Mansell's compositions play a large part in Requiem for a Dream, which is an adaptation of Hubert Selby's 1978 novel about the harrowing lives of four drug addicts. Impressively, Mansell's score manages to be appropriately dark and disturbing, as well as compulsively listenable.

Excellent 70’s Spanish symphonic progressive rock album with a powerful progressive musical prowess. "Intención" is very reminiscent at times of Pink Floyd (Meddle era) with great guitar soloing and a ton of great keyboard work (Hammond and moog). Originally issued in 1976, "Intención" is the perfect follow-up to The Beginning of the End, with Atila offering further pieces led by the strong guitar licks of Eduardo Niebla, Benet Nogué's organ & Moog, and Joan Punyet's drums melting in top progressive freakouts, plus the addition of wordless vocal parts and even some Catalan sung parts, besides adding a symphonic edge to the general sound. Side A offers three killer tracks in that vein, while the B-side is a new recording of the bands' signature theme "El Principio Del Fin," with updated overtones, Moog passages and a much better recorded sound than the one appearing on their debut LP…

Completely Well was B.B. King's breakthrough album in 1969, which finally got him the long-deserved acclaim that was no less than his due. It contained his signature number, "The Thrill Is Gone," and eight other tunes, six of them emanating from King's pen, usually in a co-writing situation. Hardliners point to the horn charts and the overdubbed strings as the beginning of the end of King's old style that so identifiably earmarked his early sides for the Bihari Brothers and his later tracks for ABC, but this is truly the album that made the world sit up and take notice of B.B. King. The plus points include loose arrangements and a small combo behind him that never dwarfs the proceedings or gets in the way. King, for his part, sounds like he's having a ball, playing and singing at peak power. This is certainly not the place to start your B.B. King collection, but it's a nice stop along the way before you finish it.