The Devin Townsend Project- Ki (2009)

It's weird to think that I didn't really like this album at first. I thought it had some really cool parts, but nothing stood out to me. Lately, that opinion has been rapidly changing each time I listen to the album. It has a richness that is unmatched by anything else Devin has released prior, and will hence be tough to beat. The lush atmosphere of the album that began with "Coast" is really brought to the forefront with the dreamy "Terminal". While the album is mostly a laid-back ambient ride, at some parts it changes direction and brings out some of the first bluesy-work that Devin has ever released (see "Trainfire"). And despite the album being primarily acoustic, you still get Devin's powerful voice going as wild as ever on tracks like "Heaven Send". "Ki" is a beautiful starting point for the Devin Townsend Project tetralogy.

Last Word: If you're a fan of Devin and at first you don't like it, wait a few days and try again. It's hard to remember what it was I didn't like about this album at first- it probably just wasn't what I expected.

Get it here: http://www.mediafire.com/?td2zdfzmnjw

Aspid- Extravasation (1992)

Let's go back in time. A new era has begun as the newly formed Russian Federation springs forth from the ashes of the former Soviet Union. For almost five decades, the USSR and the USofA have been locked in a neck-and-neck arms race as the two dominant superpowers on planet Earth. Two years on after the Soviet Union's dissolution, it appears that the United States has emerged victorious. Apparently, the Russians weren't satisfied with the story ending on this note. That's where four young Russian metal musicians come into the picture.
This band essentially formed, recorded an album, and faded into obscurity as quickly as they had arrived. But this album on its own achieves more than some metal bands entire discographies. It's raw. It's unadulterated. It's angry. It's fierce. It's fast. It has the speed of the most brutal Western thrash metal bands of the prior decade, and the technical precision easily rivaling that of the American technical death metal bands of the same era. And all the while it maintains an atmosphere and anger that encapsulates the chaos of their former nation's existence

Last Word: Russia won the cold war.

Get it here: http://www.mediafire.com/?nm5dsim7ck9x7kc