The Police, "Reggatta de Blanc"
I've had this forever on vinyl and only just listened to it. I really enjoyed this, but it has a bit too much filler to be great. It also includes a song that sounds very very much like a track my band came up with in a jam. Luckily we rejected it, and I'm sure our bass player must have know... he was a huge Police fan...

Deep Purple, "24 Carat Purple"
Another vinyl. Weirdly this best-of is almost half live. "Made In Japan" is probably one of Deep Purple's most popular albums, and it's live. I enjoyed it, but they go on a bit don't they? Regurgitator covered a little bit of "Child In Time" at the end of a song at the gig I was recently at.

Secret Chiefs 3, "Xaphan: Book of Angels Volume 9"
This is great. Zorn writing and SC3 playing. I like SC3 but find their albums frustrating. Each song is mixed and presented (produced) in a completely different style. The albums don't really flow very well. This is all the same style and mixed all the same way. And of course, the music is brilliant.

Mammal, "Mammal" (EP)
Loved Mammal at the big day out, and their EP showed that so much of what I liked was actually up on stage. The songs are OK, but the lyrics really only work live. They're a little silly. I found myself thinking "what these guys really need to do is release a live album"...

Mammal, "Vol 1: The Aural Underground"
... which is funny because I bought this thinking it was their debut album, which it is, but it's a live album. I enjoyed the music and production a little more, but being live, I keep wishing for something more. I'm impossible to please.

Cavalera Conspiracy, "Inflikted"
The best metal album I've heard this decade. Absolutely love this to death. Weirdly, much of it sounds like Dethklok, only less melodic and with much better vocals. One of those dream projects that actually really worked when it finally happened.

Sufjan Stevens, "Michigan"
I liked "Illinois". This is more of the same (really, the same) with worse production. Boring.

Metallica played a song from their new album at Ozfest on the 9th. Videos are all over YouTube, such as this one.

I remember, way back in the 90s, when MP3 was new, and Metallica played a couple of new tracks from their new album at a festival in the UK. Those tracks were "2x4" and "Devils Dance". "2x4" ended up on "Load" and "Devils Dance" on "Reload".

I remember being hugely underwhelmed by the tracks, and true enough, the albums both sucked.

"St Anger" was the first track to come out from the album of the same name, and I hated it with a passion.

"Cyanide" is the least horrible I've felt about a Metallica track since Black. And that's with it played live, with horrible YouTube compression. James is singing in tune, there is a cool solo in the middle, the riffs are good, the drumming isn't stupid, I like the melody.

Is that a good sign?

Sure, I can hear it's probably deliberately too long. But then I think that third verse of Master Of Puppets is probably one too many.

Call me crazy.