IN ROTATION: Our most played albums in November 2018

KMaN – IN ROTATION OCTOBER

DEEP PURPLE – Machine Head (1972)

Because: One of the greatest albums of all time. High rotation this past month, not for the well known classics, but for the deep cuts – the Funk of Maybe I’m a Leo, Pictures of Home, Never Before and the Lord/Blackmore/Paice swing of ‘Lazy’. Genius, really!

CORROSION OF CONFORMITY – Deliverance (1994)

Because: I needed to reconcile with this album. My penchant for the Hardcore/Thrash ‘Blind’ era COC meant I truly had the blinkers on when this arrived in ’94. Has taken me a long time to come around to the change of direction. In the end, it really is a sublime piece of rock.

CONTROL DENIED – The Fragile Art of Existence (1999)

Because: Chuck’s final bow. A glorious piece of progressive death, a body of work that musically and compositionally showcases exactly where he wanted to move to post-Death. Then you’ve got THOSE pipes of Tim Aymar. I miss Chuck Schuldiner. RIP.

BLACK SABBATH – The Headless Cross (1989)

Because: I wanted to revisit the Tony Martin era. Headless Cross is the best of it in my opinion. Some of this feels like RJD material – I can easily hear him vocalising on ‘When Death Calls’ and the title track. Still, Martin is no slouch here and although the keyboards could have been reduced in the mix, HC stands up well. Pity it received virtually zero promotion at the time. Oh, the late Cozy Powell also plays on this. RIP.

DARK THRONE – A Blaze in the Northern Sky (1992)

Because: I had a week of some sort of Black Metal focus having come across a dozen or so new bands and albums on Bandcamp. So I broke out a genre defining classic to check the mood of what I was hearing. This is still a massive template for many!