Very High Frequencies

Very High Frequencies Episode: 163 - Deep Purple

VHF-163 (Deep Purple) focuses on the prolific first half dozen years of the notoriously morphing line-up. With three studio albums released between 1968 and 1969, as well as tours of Europe and North America. Keyboardist Jon Lord, guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, and drummer Ian Paice decided poor album sales were surely the fault of vocalist Rod Evens and bass player Nick Simper. So they got the boot and Ian Gillian took up the microphone. He insisted on bringing his bassist from his previous band, a chap named Roger Glover. Under Blackmore's increasing influence the band moved away from the  Jon Lord classically leaning Prog rock interpretations of contemporary hit songs. The first album featuring the Mark 2 line-up was called Deep Purple In Rock. It stated it's purpose and delivered the goods. This version of the band was the most popular and had the huge radio staple, Smoke On The Water Four studio albums, non stop touring and a gold record live album later, Gillian had had enough until 1984' s reformation. Very High Frequencies demonstrates the evolution of the sounds and styles the group experimented with from their formation in 1968 to the Mark 2 break-up of 1973. Perhaps Deep Purple are more than one very well known song. Amazingly Ian Gillian has announced that Deep Purple are heading into the studio to begin work on album 23. This week rock out with VHF-163 (Deep Purple) The First Half Dozen Years.

Very High Frequencies Episode: 162 - Timothy Leary

Very High Frequencies & Timothy Leary invite you to Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out. Former Harvard Psychologist Dr. Leary philosophized on the potential of the human mind. He famously consumed LSD hundreds of times, with  a wide variety of willing fellow innerspace voyagers. Constantly documenting every moment of the mind expanding experiences, he aimed to scientifically comprehend the strange new universe he found himself living in. Enlightening America's youth to the concept of peace, love and dropping out of society angered many in the establishment. Dr Leary was arrested 36 times and sentenced to over fifty years combined, twenty years for  possession of less than a joint of marijuana. He had to use his intelligence to fight the courts; even escaping from prison and fleeing to Algeria for a while.
This week's show features musical guests and friends include Jimi Hendrix, Allen Ginsburg, Revolting Cocks, uncle Al Jorgensen, Skinny Puppy and more. They collaborate with Timothy on a variety of songs and lecture segments recorded over one very long trip lasting over thirty years. Subjects include Drugs, Death, Space Travel, Societal Establishment Programming, Computers, Cybernetics, Higher Consciousness, How Not to be a Robot, and a whole lot more. At 75 years young Dr. Leary passed away, never wavering on his message of Live and Let Live. Blow your mind in a good  way with VHF-162 ( Timothy Leary). It's up to you to make it a good trip!

Very High Frequencies Episode: 161 - King Diamond/Mercyful Fate

Very High Frequencies Episode invites the listener into a haunted house of horrors. Ghosts, incantations , possessions, graveyards, ghouls, witches, devils, demons, vampires and a month of full moons await you! In 1983 King Diamond actually frightened adults with his lullabies to Lucifer. Now there's plastic action figures of King Diamond available. Amazon has a shop to hawk scary t-shirts. Mercyful Fate is currently touring; they are playing a new song live as they tease a forthcoming studio album. With  that kind of longevity one might assume Mr. Diamond might have sold his soul for rock and roll. An icon in the heavy metal genre, King is known for his high pitched falsetto vocals as well as his groundbreaking corpse paint. Hundreds of bands have been inspired by the work he helped create. This week we will hear songs mainly from the first decade of his career with a couple surprises as well.

Very High Frequencies Episode: 160 Pantera

Very High Frequencies 160 examines the output of nineties metal titans, Pantera. Between 1990 & 2000 the Abbott brothers, Dimebag & Vinnie Paul, (guitars/drums) along with  bass player, Rex Brown, and high energy mouthpiece slash frontman, Philip Anselmo. He was only 18 years old when he auditioned to be the singer in what was then a struggling regional Texas based spandex & hairspray band. With his impressive Hetfield  meets Halford delivery was hired by Dimebag and Vinnie Paul on the spot. However , growing up on the road isn't easy. Clashing ego trips, hard drugs, daily alcohol intoxication and the trappings of fame all contributed to the disinigration of the band. In 2003 Dimebag was murdered while performing live with post Pantera outfit, Damageplan, sadly another victim of America's rampant gun violence. This tragedy cemented Vinnie Paul's resentment towards his former vocalist until his early death attributed to heart disease. Did he die from a broken heart?
Flash forward metalheads, because after nearly 20 years since Cowboys From Hell, Rex and Phil are touring as Pantera. Zakk Wild is covering Dimebag's manic guitar leads and industry vet Charle Benente of Anthrax is banging the skins. On the road now with soul mates and professional inspirations, the legendary powerhouse foursome, Metallica. Listen to VHF-160 (Pantera) and you may be surprised to realize the band constantly evolved their sound, even though they worked in a genre that often repeated any successful formula. Perhaps there's more to Pantera than shirtless wasted frat house fist bumping mosh pit nightmare scenarios. Phil and the  boys worship the cornerstone of metal, Black Sabbath, so prepare for thy doom this week on Very High Frequencies. Loud volume is recommended. Very loud.

Very High Frequencies Episode: 159 David Gilmour

Very High Frequencies 159 is high lighting the work of English guitarist, singer, songwriter David Gilmour. Preforming on every full length Pink Floyd album except for their very first, the 1967 Summer  Of Love classic, the Syd Barrett led Piper At The Gates Of Dawn. In addition  to playing  on every single other Pink Floyd album, David has released four solo studio albums. As a popular  chap, he has appeared on a wide variety of other artists albums Space cadets, it's time to get out your headphones because this week's VHF has obscure Pink Floyd cuts  along with a few well known tunes weaving between instrumental trip outs. Even other world renowned guitarists will swear that nobody plays guitar like David Gilmour CBE. Turn On VHF-159 (David Gilmour).

Very High Frequencies Episode: 158 Fieldsof the Nephilim

VHF-158 (Fields Of The Nephilim) examines the second tier English Goth band from 1987 to 1990. They released three full length albums and a handful of singles. They never cracked the US market but they toured Europe, playing festivals and gigging often in their homeland. Pigeonholed as a clone band of The Sisters Of Mercy mainly due to the vocal delivery. While there's a bit of a similarity for certain however the dub elements that The Nephilim dabled in have more in common with Bauhaus and Killing Joke. Frontman  Carl McCoy channels Jim Morrison like a demented Shaman performing an exorcism. Songs reference the old gods. The late eccentric mystic Alistair Crowley's wax recordings of invocations are sampled within songs to create a magical element that Eldritch would certainly scoff at. Beyond the obvious and well known Goth bands lies The Fields Of The Nephilim, calling out their siren songs this week on Very High Frequencies.

Very High Frequencies Episode: 157 (Eric Wagner Postmortem)

VHF-157 (Eric Wagner: Postmortem). The world has nearly spun twice around the Sun since cult doom metal vocalist and songwriter Mr. Eric Wagner was beckoned to meet his maker beyond The Door. Sadly he was unvaccinated for COVID-19 while on tour with his crushingly heavy psychedelic doom outfit The Skull. He paid the ultimate price but left behind a legacy of music spanning five decades. We will  hear tracks he sang on ranging from the first 1984 album with Trouble, up to the very last posthumous solo release, In The Lonely Light Of Mourning. Songs featured on this episode are preformed by Trouble, Lid, Probot with  Dave Grohl, The Skull, Blackfinger as well as solo tracks, too. Eric loved to cover his sixties Rock and roll heroes so expect heavy versions of songs by The Beatles and The Monkees. As we approach the  two year anniversary of Eric's demise, let's raise a glass and celebrate the dearly departed. So blast thy speakers and feel thy most powerful energy that Eric Wagner contributed to the world of alternative music in his 62 years on planet Earth, this week on VHF-157.

Very High Frequencies Episode: 156 My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult

Very High Frequencies is letting Chicago electro industrial disco act My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult have their way with their psycho siren songs. It's b-movie sample heavy sonic Satanic shenanigans serenading the children of the night. Devils, drugs and dangerous dames is the name of the game this week on Very High Frequencies. The emphasis is on some of the creepiest tunes the  band has released. Sicko tracks from the early analog TKK days are ping ponged between a splattering of more recent heavy hitters. Groovie Man & Buzz McCoy, along with a rotating bunch of interesting musicians and characters, have been recording and touring since the late eighties. Find out why TKK just won't die! Blast this week's TKK horror show loud!  VHF-156 (My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult) is bloody good fun!

Very High Frequencies Ep: 155 - cEvin Key

VHF-155 (cEvin Key) Highlights the music the Canadian multi instrumentalist has created outside of  his long running electro industrial band Skinny Puppy. We check out projects featuring long time collaborators Phil Western and Dwayne Rudolph Goettel, performing as Download, Plateau, Doubting Thomas & more. Trip out alongside solo LP tracks and deep cuts from cult acts such as Cyberaktif, The Tear Garden, Dubcon, and Hilt. Ken "Hi Watt" Marshall, Bill Leeb, IAMX, Edward Ka-Spel, Al Nelson, and a slew of others join in on the sonic party. Only one song from each chosen cEvin Key album makes the cut and yet still some of  Kevin's albums are waiting for the  inevitable part two cEvin Key Very High Frequencies show. This week brap with the Scaremeister himself, the guy that founded Skinny Puppy, Mr. Kevin Crompton, AKA cEvin Key. 

Very High Frequencies Episode: 154 ohGr-Ogre

Very High Frequencies 154 features Canadian recording artist Kevin Graham Ogilvie. Better know as Nivek Ogre, frontman of legendary Electro Industrial outfit Skinny Puppy. He also has had a successful solo career. This show highlights a bunch of his various releases. Material is culled from his five solo albums put out as ohGr, working with longtime producer/collaborator Mark Walk; a one off project with English drummer Martin Atkins, called Ritalin, alongside numerous guest vocal performances with a bunch of bands and artists, including Paul Barker, En Ensch, Pigface, KMFDM, and more. It's obvious that ohGr is more poppy than Puppy, but expect to be challenged both musically as well as lyricly. Ogre pulls no punches in the modern day blame game, often the harshest words are reflecting back on some of his own self destructive choices. Ogre has said Skinny Puppy songs begin with the music and the words added on top. OhGr is done the opposite way, starting with the lyrics. Which way works best? Listen to the music, judge for yourself. Check out radio alternative.com for this week's VHF-154 (ohGr + Ogre) show, it might just blow your mind!