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Bath Time Record, Wakefield (2026)

03/06/2026

Metallica

Load

3rd June 1996

Tracks Of Choice: Ain't My Bitch / Until It Sleeps / King Nothing / Hero Of The Day / Bleeding Me / Thorn Within / The Outlaw Torn

Today is the 30th anniversary of 6th album Load.

Controversial release this one. After what many considered to be a sell out self titled record in 1991 the band upped the ante and made what's best described as a hard rock record. Apart from it isn't. Well it is but...

Is this Metal? No not really. But it has metallic edges, it's very grungy too. It also has the most blues like riffs at times. Grooves for days.

A lot of people hate on this record but I tell you what it's better than the majority of what came after it. Apart from maybe S*M and Garage Days Revisited. I'd take them making another one like this over St Anger or even the odds and sods s**t that followed this Re-Load.

If there is one thing wrong with it, it's this. It's too damn long. Nearly 80 fu***ng minutes! Why? It's the same thing ever since this record. Make long albums. Thats what the last few Metallica albums have suffered from. A bit of self editing is required boys.

Anyway. I loved this 30 years ago and I love it now. Happy tripple decade Load.

02/06/2026

Queen

A Kind Of Magic

2nd June 1986

Tracks Of Choice: One Vision / A Kind Of Magic / One Year Of Love / Friends Will Be Friends / Who Wants To Live Forever / Gimme The Prize (Kurgan's Theme) / Princes Of The Universe

Today is the 40th anniversary of 12th studio album A Kind Of Magic.

It's a special record this one for a couple of reasons. Firstly it didn't start out as the soundtrack to the movie Highlander. But it ended up that way. And as a child of the 80s, a fan of Queen I obviously love that film. Warts and all.

The other is the fact that despite the band recording two more studio albums (and lots of bits and bobs that have been released since) this was the final album recording fully supported by a tour. Including the incredible sold out dates in London later released as Queen At Wembley. They also headlined Knebworth to around 120,000 people.

This record forms a bedrock to my listening. I was 6 when it came out, I knew who Queen were and by the age of 11 when Freddie died a fully formed fan.

I love this so much. 40 years old. I still need to force, I mean lovingly introduced my kids to the movie Highlander. Happy 40th A Kind Of Magic. And RIP Freddie. We miss you still.

01/06/2026

Smashing Pumpkins

Gish

28th May 1991

Tracks Of Choice:I Am One / Siva / Rhinoceros / Crush / Tristesse

It was debut albums Gish 35th anniversary then other day. Thought I'd celebrate it.

Not feeling the celebrating mood though. Had a pretty s**tty day. Having a chronic illness isn't fun especially when the illness comes to bite your on the ass. Or the head in my case.

Anyway a day of pain needs some soothing and why not this?

An incredible debut. The beginning of trilogy of brilliance. There is a reason the Pumpkins are so lauded from this era.

31/05/2026

Coheed And Cambria

Good Apollo I'm Burning Star IV. Volume One: From Fear Through The Eyes Of Madness

20th September 2005

Tracks Of Choice: Welcome Home / Ten Speed (Of God's Blood & Burial) / Crossing The Frame / Apollo I: The Writing Writer / Mother May I / The Willing Well I, II, III & IV

Back in September last year seminal masterpiece Apollo I turned 20 years old.

This was a big one for me when it came out. I was DJing every week, twice in some cases. In two venues in the same night in other cases. So I was consuming music all the time.

I kept myself on the edge by reading as many magazines as possible. One of those was which back in the early to mid 00s was a very varied mag. Their cover discs were incredible. Everything from industrial to funeral doom all via pop punk and emo.

In one particular issue they reviewed this album. I'd never heard anything by the band at that point. I'd not been turned their way. But they gave this album a 10/10. This was an extremely rare thing at the time.

So I had to hear it. Luckily I knew a guy that would sell DVDs full of MP3s every week. I'd been getting them off him for a while. Made my life easier with new releases I can tell you.

This was on it the week it came out so I was in day one. And my mind was blown. Utterly mind bending progressive post hardcore with classic metal swirling around in there too. Epic scope, based around a comic book story the lead singer was writing, epic music, epic in every conceivable way.

I listened to it 5 times in a row. This album is 71 minutes long. Thats no easy feat. I just couldn't get over it. I went and bought a proper copy a few days later and I dove head first into the lyrics and I lost my mind all over again.

Life changing record for sure. The vinyl version is the Record Store Day special edition too that was super hard to come by but I managed it.

I can't quite believe it's 20 years old now. This album is still so viscerally recent in my head for some reason. But there we are. 20 years old. How time flies eh?

30/05/2026

Underscores

U

2026

Tracks Of Choice: Tell Me (You Want It) / Music / Hollywood Forever / Lovefield / Do It

I've been listening to this since it came out, and it was very nearly my album of the month for March but Neurosis dropped their album out of nowhere, whatcha gonna do?

But finally new album U has arrived on vinyl. 34 minutes of Hyperpop perfection.

I fell in love with Underscores back in 2021 when I heard Fishmonger. An album I now regard as one of my all-time favourites. The glitchy pop spliced with pop punk and indie rock with sick hip hop beats and crazy addictive production made it my favourite album that year.

The follow-up album Wallsocket was a massive step up in terms of production and concept. Each song about a different character from this fictional town. Musically things were stepped up too but pulling from similar styles.

U strips all of that away. No concept. No pretentious stuff. Just clean straightforward glitchy Hyperpop. Sweet enough to give you cavities, bouncy enough for dance floors and smart enough to challenge you. Every song is perfect from the production to the hooks, to melodies.

2026 is shaping up to be a monumental year for music. My albums list for this year has nearly hit 100 records already and we're not even half way yet! But one thing is for sure. Underscores new album U is definitely going to be right at the top, maybe.

29/05/2026

Album Of The Month. May 2026.

Karmanjakah - Diamond Morning.

Once again it's been an unbelievably difficult choice this month.

I would really have loved to put Devin Townsend here but that only came out today and there is no way I've digested that album. I was tempted with Draconian as I'm loving that album and I can't quite get enough of Sace6 either.

In the end though it came down to two records. and their fantastic adult emo prog jazz record or and their wonderful pretty post metal blackgaze lite album.

I went with the latter because I feel American Football are going to get talked about a lot and I want to talk about this remarkable band doing it their way.

As far as I know this is self produced, they said on their website when I ordered the vinyl it's all being packed and shipped by them too. DIY do or die right?

Progressive metal with the sunshine turned up to 11 is the order of the day. These guys take the lighter elements of blackgaze and take them on a detour of djenty metalcore, shoegaze swoon, beautiful atmospheres, gorgeous guitar lines, thrumming bass, spine tingling pianos and sharp drums. It all feels very alive. Live too as occasionally you get the feeling this isn't clicked into place or cleaned up. It feels very human.

Imagine Sigur Ros and Alcest making an album with Tesseract and you are in the ball park.

I can't get over just how this album makes me feel. And in times of darkness why not inject some sunshine!

Album Of The Month! Easy. Now do yourself a favour and go and give these guys some support! You won't regret it.

29/05/2026

Celtic Frost

Monotheist

29th May 2006

Tracks Of Choice: Progeny / A Dying God Coming Into Human Flesh / Drown Is Ashes / Triptych II: Synagoga Satanae

Today is the 20th anniversary of the death of one of the most influential bands in the metal sphere. Celtic Frost.

Firstly without this band (and Hellhammer before them) both Black and Death Metal would be very different. Alongside early pioneers Venom they pushed the boundaries in a time when heavy didn't know just how far it could go.

Unfortunately Celtic Frost went off the rails and sullied their reputation in late 80s. But they returned to reap the rewards and revel in the adulation of the plethora of bands and metallic sub genres they spawned.

They made one final album before splitting up and dying once again. And it's a terrifying masterpiece.

Drawing on blackened doom, gothic metal, death metal and dark ambient this is a journey into something else. It's got eerie atmospheres, riffs that will kill, depressing gloomy rumbles and doomy rhythms and that grave like vocal.

The band redeemed themselves as pioneers here. Made one incredible statement and left it at that. Amazing. There will never be another band like them. Apart from Triptykon obviously.

Dark and depressing 20th birthday wishes Monotheist.

28/05/2026

At The Gates

Slaughter Of The Soul

14th November 1995

Tracks Of Choice: Blinded By Fear / Slaughter Of The Soul / Cold / Under A Serpent Sun / Su***de Nation / Nausea

Back in November of last year seminal Slaughter Of The Soul celebrated 30 years.

There isn't a great deal I can add to the noise about this record. For the last 30 years it's been one of the most influential metal albums of all time. And yet for a while not everyone knew that.

But it's been mined for every diamond since and the last decade or so has seen this album rightly placed into the halls of valour.

A masterpiece of Melodic Death Metal. A masterpiece of Metal. A masterpiece.

This year brought a new album from the band. The last we'll ever get with Tompa on vocals. And it's superb. But there is something here that will never be surpassed.

RIP Tomas Lindberg. You'll never be forgotten.

27/05/2026

Architects

All Our Gods Have Abandoned Us

27th May 2016

Tracks Of Choice: Nihilist / Deathwish / Downfall / Gone With The Wind / A Match Made In Heaven / All Love Is Lost / Memento Mori

Today marks the 10th anniversary of a modern metal classic.

If Sempiternal is one side of the UK Metalcore influence coin All Our Gods Have Abandoned Us is the other.

I've loved this band since first hearing Hollow Crown. But I never thought they could become the band they are today. The journey they've been on is full of ups and downs, highs and heartbreaks.

The first crushing low must have been the criticism they received following the release of The Here And Now. They had the claw back a lot of respect.

Daybreaker did that to a degree but when the band put out Lost Forever // Lost Together they created a future template for bands everywhere. Seething metalcore with electronics and impassioned vocals was a thing then but Architects did it on a different level. It's like they were being chased by ghosts!

Turned out they were. Lead guitarist, lyricist, electronics guru and soul of the band Tom Searle was battling cancer and had been for a while. Suddenly everything fell into perspective.

And then the band released this one. I genuinely didn't believe they could top LF//LT but they did. Fueled by Tom's illness; his negativity, his frustrations of the world, his sadness, his thoughts on death, life, god and loss all pour from every riff, smash of drum, rhythmic rumbling and digital atmosphere.

Then there is Sam's vocals. He is on top form here. The anger is released in waves. It's scary at times, especially if you clicked with this in a neck snapping cathartic way like I did. I want to hurt myself to this record. I need to feel the veins pumping through my skin. It's that good.

And then Tom died. Leaving this as his own eulogy. A musical epitaph. A masterpiece. It's one of my favourite albums of all time now. It seethes in me in ways I can't articulate. RIP Tom. You are far from forgotten.

Architects have gone on to be bigger. But never will they mine this deep into darkness and despair.

Happy 10th birthday AOGHAU.

26/05/2026

Oasis

(What's The Story) Morning Glory

2nd October 1995

Tracks Of Choice: Roll With It / Some Might Say / Cast No Shadow / Morning Glory / Champagne Supernova

Back in October second album celebrated it's 30th anniversary.

Strange this. Back in 1995 at the age of 15 this was the biggest album to come out. The singles (some of which I still have, slide left y'all) were big deals. The B-Sides more so (why wasn't Masterplan on this album?) but this was also where my musical tastes began broadening. Suddenly I didn't find Oasis that interesting anymore.

Britpop became more about the underdogs, the more interesting bands. Bands like Longpigs, Marion, Gene et al. Or the bigger ones Blur and Pulp.

Oasis became Beatles rip off merchants. And the shine left. Maybe I was kicking against the mainstream, I'm guilty of that, certainly more in my youth. But I've never regained it, they've never come around again. I've felt no need.

I don't think I've listened to this for 28 or maybe even 29 years. A long time. So let's see if it can bring back any interest at all.

Bath Time Record

03/06/2026

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