Plunder the Tombs: compilation

Friday, December 31, 2010

The Atrocity Exhibition (Plunder the Tombs, 2010)

A very happy new year to all of you who’ve visited Plunder the Tombs during its first four months of infancy.

And so, look what we have for you to kick off the new year – a free compilation documenting all (well, almost all) of the archeological discoveries so far uncovered.

To be honest, I’ve never tried doing something like this before, and hope like hell the download actually works, but I’m actually really happy with how this turned out, especially with regards to immortalising those bands whose back-catalogues have been long deleted.

Obviously, a number of other artists included here do have material that is still available, and nothing would make me happier than for folks who download this and discover bands that appeal to them to go, seek out, and buy more of those artists’ material.

What more can I say? I’m pleased as fuckin’ punch with this, and I think you will be too.

The thought occurred that some of you in the old school might actually want to run off hardcopies (rather useful to play in the car if nothing else), so I’ve put it in a 2 CD format.

What’s more, there’s even cover art and a track list to go, with production generously provided by Living Horus and featuring imagery by Jean Delville, one of my favourite artists of the Symbolist movement – just print it out, fold in half and presto – instant CD Cover!

With 26 tracks, there's a lot of bands represented here, ranging from some towering giants of the genre, right through to others who've been sadly lost in the mists of time, but there's a lot of variety here and I like to think there is genuinely something for everybody. Lets see, we've got Bone Orchard, X Mal Deutschland, Into A Circle, The Vyllies, Danielle Dax, UK Decay, Belfegore, Danse Society, Kukl, Children's Hour, Diamanda Galas, Sex Gang Children, The Sisters of Mercy, Clair Obscur, Gene Loves Jezebel, 45 Grave, Ritual, Blood and Roses, And Also The Trees, Burning Image, The March Violets, Ausgang, Cold Dance, Specimen, Siouxsie and the Banshees and Kommunity FK - a fine assortment indeed!

Don't be shy - download, listen and tell me what you thought.
Enjoy!

DOWNLOAD THE ATROCITY EXHIBITION

A Welcome and Introduction

Plunder the Tombs was started back in 2010 by way of looking back on a musical past that I felt in sore need of curation.

It was a strange and sad time when what passed for “Goth” in clubs seemed a pale imitator of what once was, following first a decade of cookie-cutter Sisters of the Nephilim clone bands and then another decade of industrial dance being palmed off to younger audiences as a type of faux goth. When on rare occasion DJs in “Goth” clubs did finally become brave enough to play something like Bauhaus it was not untypical to have the dance floor clear, and it became obvious that the memory, meaning and legacy of much that had gone before had been lost.

It’s probably safe to say that the boundaries of what was “Goth” were never clearly defined. An absolute blessing for those bands on the original scene before it had a name pinned to the donkey, but an outright curse for those who came later and found rules had been imposed to dictate that which was and that which was not acceptable. Worse still was to come in the 90s from a lazy and unquestioning media who simply assumed that anything that wore black and make up was by definition “Goth”, thus allowing all manner of pretenders licence, and maximising confusion as to what the term actually referred to.

This has gone on for way too long and its time is at an end. Neo Post-Punk bands now proliferate across Europe, old long dead Goth bands rise from their crypts in the UK, and new deathrock bands are breeding like rabbits up the west coast of America. It is time to reclaim our scene back from metal bands and ravers in disguise.

While the Plunder the Tombs of old focused on what had gone before, there are now far too many exciting new things to ignore. We roar back to life in a reboot, covering past , present and things yet to come.

Let us plunder the tombs….