ALBUMS YOU HAVE TO HEAR BEFORE YOU DIE : BLACK SABBATH - HEAVEN AND HELL

Some people discover heavy metalalbums in their teens, I guess I’m one of those who will discover Saxon when he’s 70 I guess (to avoid reactions, just wrote it down as it sounds nicer as “Denim and Leather” was one of the first albums I actually bought).
Might have something to do with the recent death of Ronnie James Dio who knows but “Heaven And Hell” is one of the darkest hardrockalbums I know, just listen to “Wishing well” or the choral extravaganza in the titlesong “Heaven and Hell” and you know enough.
It might remind you of some Harley’s and tattoos that’s true but it will also remind you of something dark, a sort of motherrecord for many things to come…
Cynically enough this 9th Black Sabbath was welcomed as an absolute failure as it was the first album that welcomed Dio after Ozzy Osbourne got fired… A classic!

ALBUMS YOU HAVE TO HEAR BEFORE YOU DIE : LAIBACH - OPUS DEI

It's not always that easy to understand the world of Laibach, certainly not when I was a teen.
When I was 15 or so MTV still mattered and in programmes like "Alternative Nation" we were shown videos from bands like Laibach (imagine that now!!!!, and think about the "progress" our telly made).
Those Slovenian guys were dressed up like nazis (later I found out it was a satire which they call Neue Slowenische Kunst) but back then I didn't knew what it was about.
But still this album marked my later love for the industrial music.
This year Laibach will see their 30th birthday with a greatest hits album on its way and this album certainly has to be seen as one of the milestones from the genre.
Apart from the very funny versions from tracks like "Life is life" by Opus ("Leben heisst Leben") and the best cover by Queen ever ("One Vision" becoming "Geburt einer Nation"), you also hear here industrial soundscapes added with the military drums.
Honestly said I don't think they ever were that good, certainly not the last ten years but this is essential....

ALBUMS YOU HAVE TO HEAR BEFORE YOU DIE : MINIMAL COMPACT - THE FIGURE ONE CUTS

Totally agree that it is a very morbid title as a section but then again, just imagine that a second comes when you drop dead and you still haven't got time left for hearing a cd that can change your world.
I admit again that if you hear an album during the last hour of your life that it can't change your life but then again...
Look, we're not going to do biographies as therefore you got people who wanna spend their time on Wikipedia.
We just pick up albums and you do what you wanna do, listen or skip to the next section (...or going to another site).
Do you know Minimal Compact?
I hope so for you as if not, you can starting checking out their whole backcatalogue.
Minimal Compact were from Israel (well, their drummer is from Holland) and even if it's very unhip if you're coming from Israel, at least if you're in an European Wave-sounding band, Minimal Compact were hip.
In fact, Minimal Compact were one of the hippest bands ever and some years ago they played the best gig I saw in my life (even if I sometimes think that Fields Of The Nephilim deserve that honour).
Minimal Compact made a sort of strange post-punk that was enriched with Israelian sounds.
I tried checking out many other Israelian bands but it never worked, and somewhere I guess it is because there's no Malka Spigel in them.
For some it might not be their best, but "The figure one cuts" is certainly their darkest and that's not in the least due to John Fryer's production.
Every song bathes in a strange melancholic atmosphere that is full of decadence.
Highlights....every song is a winner, there's even a killer version from "Immigrant song" by Led Zeppelin.
If you scroll down to their My Space-page, click "Dedicated" which is not on this album but you'll feel how a band can change your life...

www.myspace.com/minimalcompact