Best albums in 2018!

Okay, another great year in music, lots of great releases by old & new bands. I just couldn't narrow down the foreign albums to just 20, so I chose 30 instead. It was hard enough and a lot of great albums had to be dropped out! No live albums or compilations were included. These are in no special order since that would have been impossible for me...

Best 30 foreign albums:

Sendelica ‎– My House Is Made Of Angel Hair 
Psychic Lemon ‎– Frequency.Rhythm.Distortion.Delay
Causa Sui ‎– Vibraciones Doradas
Melody Fields – S/T
Monster Magnet ‎– Mindfucker 
Minami Deutsch ‎– With Dim Light
Øresund Space Collective ‎– Chatoyant Breath
Our Solar System ‎– Origins 
Wooden Shjips ‎– V
Flowers Must Die ‎– Där Blommor Dör 
Lumerians ‎– Call Of The Void
Vibravoid ‎– Vibrations From The Cosmic Void
Sleep ‎– The Sciences
Sun Dial ‎– Science Fiction
Black Helium – Primitive Fuck
Fanatism – The Future Past
UFO Över Lappland – S/T
Altın Gün ‎– On
The Myrrors ‎– Borderlands
Mythic Sunship ‎– Another Shape of Psychedelic Music
Magic Shoppe – In Parallel
Earthling Society ‎– MO - The Demon
Kikagaku Moyo ‎– Masana Temples
Farflung ‎– This Capsule  
Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats ‎– Wasteland
Domboshawa ‎– Beyond Vibrations
Mt. Mountain ‎– Golden Rise
Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso UFO ‎– Reverse Of Rebirth In Universe
The Bevis Frond ‎– We're Your Friends, Man
Kosmischer Läufer ‎– The Secret Cosmic Music Of The East German Olympic Program 1972-83 - Volume Four             


Best 10 Finnish albums:
  
Octopus Syng ‎– Victorian Wonders
From Grotto – S/T
Black Lizard ‎– Celebration Of A New Dawn
Sammal ‎– Suuliekki
Pharaoh Overlord ‎– Zero
Warp Transmission ‎– The Process Ultra
Seli Seli – Satunnainen kokoelma soluja 
Teksti-tv 666 ‎– Aidattu Tulevaisuus 
Superfjord – All Will Be Golden
Deep Space Destructors – Visions from The Void

Liquid Visions - Hypnotized

Sulatron Records (st 1807)

I have hazy but fond memories first meeting the Liquid Visions members twenty years ago at the Hamburg Hawkfan meeting. At the time these freaks from Berlin just had some home-made tapes to sell, best tracks from these were soon compiled for their first, self-titled album in 1998. I was immediately in love with their sound that was a great mix of 60's melodic garage psych, Hawkwind and 90's psych like Sun Dial and The Bevis Frond. They were also very nice guys and the half-naked, UV-painted dancer/theramin/organ player girl Katja Wolff especially left an enormous impact on the young man's fragile but already experienced mind! Later on I've been in touch mostly with their bass player Dave Schmidt (nowadays maybe better known as Sula Bassana...) and to a certain degree with the guitarist/organist/vocalist Kiryk Drewinski who is also a great graphic designer...).

Hypnotized was the band's third album and originally released only on CD in 2002. It was one of my favourite releases that year and I still love it! I was sad that the band only released one more album From the Cube in 2004 before disbanding. There was one posthumous album The Lost Recordings put out on Nasoni in 2006, though. Luckily the musicians all already had or started new bands and projects, and Astral Zone readers must be familiar at least with Dave's Sula Bassana solo project and his bands Zone Six (early versions of which also featured Liquid Visions quitarist Hans-Peter Ringholz) and Electric Moon.

Anyway, Dave finally decided to re-release Hypnotized and for the first time on vinyl. Hooray! Kiryk was willing to update his original cover art with whole new painting which I think is amazing and inspired by the album's third track "Butterflight". All the music is the same, although of course remastered for vinyl release. The album starts off with the fast and catchy "State of Mind" that people have often heard on my DJ gigs through the years. This song still make the cold shivers go though my spine everytime I hear it! It's both melodic and rocking, true psychedelic masterpiece. "Waste" is a mid-tempo, organ-heavy garage rocker that I also really like. A bit longer "Butterflight" has a groovy, rocking psych edge and makes you want to dance like crazy. Some amazing, freaky fuzz/wah guitar stuff and spacey effects on this one! I'm also very impressed with the rhythm section. The ending is pure heavy Hawkwind space rock blasting... The groovy "Be Lie've" is perhaps my least favourite track but still not bad at all. Just a bit too mainstream and happy for my taste, I guess. The ten-minute "Morning Rain" is the melancholic ballad of the album. It has some similarities with Jimi Hendrix and Outskirts of Infinity. It has very moody vibes, mellow vocals ad superb solo guitar work. The album is finished with the long and trippy "Paralyzed". It begings in a very experimental way but gets heavy and intense later on. This is closer to stoner rock I guess, and a great ending for an amazing album. If you have not heard this classic psych rock legend before do yourself a favour and check it out. Hypnotized is one of the most important releases in its genre, and it's feels so good to finally have it also on vinyl.

www.liquidvisions.de

Seid - Weltschmerz, Baby!

Sulatron Records (st1806/st1806-2)

 Seid from Norway have been playing their special brand of progressive/psychedelic/space/hard rock for over two decades now. I will always remember how impressed and amazed I was in 2002 when I got their debut CD Among The Monster Flowers Again in my hands. Luckily Sulatron released it on vinyl ten years later. The band has slowly been putting out new stuff after a few years intervals. On their previous, horror/occult themed album Wettlaufers Enke (Black Widow Records, 2016) they changed their vocals into their native Norwegian, and this has remained the same on the latest master piece Weltschmerz, Baby! released last month on Sulatron Records.

I have always loved the way the band mixes together heavy guitar riffs with spacey synths and progressive organ and Mellotron and this album is no exception. The album kicks off with the heavy, groovy and hypnotic "Haukøye" and I am immediately in awe. "Trollmannens Hytte" is a dark, spacey, weird and experimental ambient synth piece that sort of brings to mind Hawkwind's Church of Hawkwind album. The female spoken word story about the devil's music is just great... Wow. The theme continues with the next song "Satan i Blodet" that is a heavy, mid-tempo hard rock track with some cool Mellotron etc. Towards the end things go really spacey in Hawkwind style. Mesmerising stuff! The title track has a spooky, peaceful intro that bursts into fast prog rocking after 40 seconds. This is one of the most energetic and progressive tracks on the album and a really good one. The almost instrumental "Coyoteman" is at first rather atmospheric stuff but grows a bit along the way. Some great melodies and vibes on this one, sounds like Kingston Wall a bit with the mystical, Eastern motives and progressive jamming. Very nice! "Moloch vs Gud" takes us to ancient Middle-East with its hypnotic, very archaic style. The spoken word stuff is very effective as well, and it's great to have yet another totally different track on the album. It seamlessly turns into the last piece "Mir (Drogarna Börjar Värka)" when the drugs really start to work... Actually this is a really nice, melodic and atmospheric instrumental in 5/4 time and highly enjoyable stuff. Once again Seid has made a really amazing, deep, varied and interesting album that you just keep on listening over and over again. Available on vinyl and CD, get your copy as soon as possible!

www.facebook.com/seidrock

The Re-Stoned - Ram's Head

Qiasum Records / Rushus Records (QIA 3005 / RR06)

The Re-Stoned is an instrumental heavy stoner/hard/vintage/fuzz/psych rock trio from Moscow, Russia. They have been going for about ten years now and have at least ten albums under their belt. Unfortunately I've only got three of them, but we all can check them out at their Bandcamp site. The trio is comprised of Ilya Lipkin - guitars, effects, Vladimir Kislyakov - bass and Maximilian Maxotsky - drums. Some of you know Ilya also from the more psychedelic and spacey project Maat Lander that he has with a couple of guys from Vespero.

On Ram's Head The Re-Stoned keeps things simple, groovy and heavy.  There is only guitar, bass and drums, no fancy special quests or anything. Just tight, skillful playing and cool jamming. And it is surely enough to rock your socks off! The opener "Chromagnetic Stomp" already proves this with its Fatso Jetson -styled, mid-tempo stoner rocking. "Land of Crimson Clouds" is a lot heavier and slower stuff coming close to doom metal (Saint Vitus?) even. Great! "Smoke Sea" is a bit more psychedelic and jam-based, hypnotic and tight piece with loads of amazing lead guitar work. This actually brings to mind Earthless a bit! The longest track on the CD is the over 13-minute "Acid Truck" that is heavy stoner/desert rocking with a cool, more experimental middle part. "Orange Sky and Bottle Neck" has an easy, tranquil beginning and stays rather atmospheric which is nice after all the heavy hard rocking. A bit more bluesy and rootsy stuff too. The album is finished with the four-minute heavy stoner blast "Dune Surfer" that makes you bang your head. In summary, this is really cool, honest album of heavy, instrumental stoner rocking. If that is your cup of tea, be sure to check this out!

www.facebook.com/therestoned

Galactic Explorers ‎- Epitaph For Venus

Mental Experience / Pyramid (MENT014CD)

Epitaph for Venus is apparently the sole mysterious album recorded by a cosmic electronic krautrock trio Galactic Explorers around 1974 (some sources say 1972/3). The album remained unreleased until 1996 when the first CD edition came out in U.K. This pressing is already rare and expensive so this new reissue from the original master tapes was in order. Only on CD, though, which is a shame since this is really good stuff.

The album includes just three long, experimental and very trippy instrumental tracks. The overall vibe is rather minimal but not quite. You can hear at least Mini Moog and other synths, Hammond and other electric organs, Fender Rhodes as well as some percussion. And effects, lots of effects! This was probably ambient before anyone came out with the term. It's all really chilled-out, atmospheric and floating. You are taken on a journey to inner and/or outer space for sure. Just close you eyes and take this weird, blissful music take you away. I can hear some early Tangerine Dream in here but this is actually more enjoyable and a bit easier to digest. For fans of Terry Riley, Cluster, Popol Vuh and Cozmic Corridors.

www.guerssen.com

Deep Space Destructors - Visions from The Void

Space Rock Productions (SRP054)

Wow, this Oulu, Finland based heavy psychedelic space rock act just keeps on getting better and better! The trio was formed in 2011 and this is already their sixth release and the third vinyl release on Space Rock Productions. This time Dr. Space from international, improvisational jam group Øresund Space Collective is playing spacey analogue synthesizers on all the five tracks so the flight ticket to deep space really is guaranteed. There are also some other Galactic friends helping out on saxophone, Mellotron, analog space sounds, drones and backing vocals. The basic bass, drums and guitar tracks were more or less recorded live in the studio. The melodic, often a bit mantra-like vocals have great harmonies. I really like the sound of DSD that is sort of mix in between Hawkwind, Ozric Tentacles, Hidria Spacefolk and Kingston Wall with lots of originality as well.

"Psyche Remade" starts off the album in a powerful and groovy manner. I can already feel my conciousness expanding! Dr. Space's synth sounds fit in perfectly. There is a more relaxed middle part and then they go again. Great! "Astral Traveller" is another strong, heavy space rock blaster to blow your mind. "Tyhjyyden Mantra" is sung in Finnish and this is maybe closer to the excellent space metal band Tuliterä in style. The sax adds more progressive and ethnic vibes, though. Superb! "Floating" has a peaceful beginning and then grows into a beautiful, mesmerising space ballad with great progressive passages. "From The Void" ends the album with ten-minutes of hypnotic, mid-tempo psych/krautrocking that brings to mind Circle a bit. And that's never a bad thing in my space log! Later on the song speeds up into a great Kingston Wall styled cresendo. In summary, this is an amazing album with great songs, top-notch playing and production so be sure to check it out! The cover artwork is also brilliant. The vinyl is limited to just 525 copies in total: 190 x black - 205 x light blue - 130 x purple. Choose the best colour for your mind!

www.facebook.com/deepspacedestructors

Spirits Burning & Michael Moorcock - An Alien Heat

Gonzo Multimedia (HST471CD)

An Alien Heat is the 14th CD by international collective Spirits Burning established 1986 in San Francisco by its leader Don Falcone. I've been following their output since the debut album New Worlds By Design in 1999 but have sadly missed the two latest releases. Don has always collected some of the best musicians from several genres like space rock, electronic, psychedelic, progressive and art rock, and this release is no exception. Sci-fi writer Michael Moorcock has been involved before but this time his presence is stronger than before. I really like that since he is one of my favourite writers as well as an ex-member of my favourite band Hawkwind! Other musicians featured include people from Blue Öyster Cult, The Damned, The Groundhogs, Clearlight, Hawkwind, Chrome and Arthur Brown's Kingdom Come, just to name a few. There are over 30 people involved altogether so I can only imagine how much work it has taken to get this all organized and produced! Don and his partners have made an amazing job, however. Lyrically Moorcock is involved in most of the 16 songs and he also sings and plays some harmonica.

The BÖC fans (myself included!) will love the classic rock/pop styled tracks like the opener "Hothouse Flowers", the excellent sci-fidelic "In the Future", "Fall in Love", "Back To 1896", "Seven Finger Solution" and the space rocking "To Steal a Space Traveller", perhaps the highlight for me. "Soiree of Fire" is a hypnotic, trippy and tribal-sounding piece that I also really like. The melancholic "Doomed" makes the shivers go though my spine, very effective as well! "Any Particular Interest" is something special too... Oh well, so many great tunes! More electronic side is presented with for example with the sort of Gothic rock sounding "Virtue & Mrs. Amelia Underwood" and "Dark Dominion", still bringing to mind BÖC a bit, though! There are also more atmospheric tracks closer to ambient but nothing completely afloat or ethereal. The use on violin and also acoustic guitar on a track or two adds some folk vibes too. All in all, this is another excellent sounding, interesting and highly enjoyable album by the Spirits Burning collective, well done! If you get the initial pressing, you will also get a bonus disc that includes all the tracks in instrumental form which is cool.

home.earthlink.net/~falcone/sbmm.html