Side A
Artist	Song
Sir Lord Baltimore	Helium Head (1970)
Budgie	Crash Course in Brain Surgery (1971)
The Human Beast	Reality Presented as an Alternative (1970)
Bubble Puppy	Hot Smoke and Sassafrass (1969)
Demian	Face the Crowd (1971)
KISS	Parasite (1974)
Blue Oyster Cult	Hot Rails to Hell (1975)
Iron Maiden	Falling (1969)
Lincoln Street Exit	Time has Come, Gonna Die (1969)
Sorcery	Snowshit (1978)
Side B
Artist	Song	Buy
Iron Butterfly	Iron Butterfly Theme (1968)
Icecross	Nightmare (1973)
Warlord	To the Devil a Daughter (1974)
Bodkin	Plastic Man (1972)
Bang	The Queen (1970)
Iron Claw	Claustophobia (1970)
Dust	From a Dry Camel (1971)
Flower Travelling Band	Black Sabbath (1970)

Comment:

This compilation reflects the merging of three previous compilations, plus some material I've recently acquired. The goal, of course, is to bring to light some of the lesser-known hard/downer rock bands from the late 60s and early 70s. The Unholy Alliance refers to the early foundations of what we now call heavy metal, when the disillusionment and counterculture of the hippies and the reckless abandonment and hostility of the bikers came crashing together in the working class slums of England. And music would never be the same... NOTES: 1) Okay, so KISS and B.O.C aren't exactly "lesser-known," but these tracks fucking rock. 2) The Budgie track was later covered by Metallica on the Garage Days Re-visited $5.98 ep. 3) Bubble Puppy is pre-Demian. The name of this Texas band was changed to skirt contract obligations, I believe. 4) Demian is post-Bubble Puppy. The track is definitely more upbeat and less dark than the other material on this compilation, and less psychedelic than the Bubble Puppy material. 5) The Iron Maiden track is from the late 60s doom band (post-Bum), not the late 70s NWOBHM one we all know and love. 6) Sorcery really came out a bit late (1978) to be put on this tape, but the riffage at the beginning of the song shreds. I'm surprised Metallica never covered them. 7) Icecross were an Icelandic prog-influenced downer rock band. Gloomy, yet very unique. 8) I still have trouble believing that the Iron Claw track came out in 1970. Fucking brutal. 9) Believe it or not, Dust had Marky Ramone on drums. 10) The Flower Travelling Band track is a reworking of the classic, as seen by this Japanese, psych-influenced group. They slow it down and actually manage to make it sound a bit more psychotic than the original. Haunting, to say the least. 11) Sadly, there's only so much space on a 90-minute cassette. Other notables from the time period include: Pentagram, Macabre, Warpig, Necromandus, the Frost, Leafhound, Kopperfield, Buffalo, Monument, Night Sun, Agnes Strange, May Blitz, Deep Purple, King Crimson, and so on. Maybe next time.

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