
Sonata Arctica is a Finnish power metal band. This album is most notable for some of their progressive influences taking place.

Sonata Arctica - Unia

TV On The Radio - Young Liars EP

My Bloody Valentine - Loveless

Japanther - Master Of Pigeons

Boduf Songs - Lion Devours the Sun
Secret Chiefs 3 is an avant-garde group that over the last decade has embodied quite a wide range of musical styles. The group often sounds Middle Eastern with surf rock and metal tendencies. SC3's latest album, Xaphan, takes on the compositions of John Zorn's second Masada book. Composer and multi-musician Trey Spruance arranges each track so brilliantly, you simply cannot pass this one up.Secret Chiefs 3 - Xaphan
I'm probably going to get some raised eyebrows for uploading this. Truth be told, I enjoy a lot of Australian hip-hop, but most of the good stuff isn't easy to find in record stores, though I suppose that would go without saying for most good artists these days. This is the latest album from Perth MC Drapht, Brothers Grimm, a smooth flowing rap piece that provides a mixture of funny songs through his parodies of more well known rappers and his disturbing alcohol addiction, to personal reflections of his past. Although Jimmy Recard is the popular song at the moment, Boom Boom Boom is my favorite song on the record. I don't know if it will appeal to everyone, but download it and give it a listen.Drapht - Brothers Grimm

Squirrel Nut Zuppers - Perennial Favorites

213 - The Hard Way

Commander Venus - The Uneventful Vacation

Celesty - Mortal Mind Creation

Islands - Return To The Sea

Praxis - Sacrifist

Ra Ra Riot - Ra Ra Riot EP

Detektivbyrån - E18 Album

X-Ray Spex - Germ Free Adolescents

Hatecraft are a Melodic Death Metal from Russia. They're fairly unknown, but they're really good. They've only realeased the one album so far, and it's pretty agressive sounding.
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=N265VE12
Hatecraft - Lost Consolation
VNV Nation is a trance group from London and although they have been around since 1995, I only heard about them after hearing the song Testament on the local radio station Groove 101.7. Enjoying the song, I made the decision to check their myspace and see what else they've made. I liked what I heard, so I obtained this, their most recent album. The album is quite a soft piece, but it has powerful lyrics, dealing mainly with the problems of ignorance in today's society. Over 50 minutes of awesome is on this album.VNV Nation - Judgement
Even if you don't think you have, you'll have heard/seen Tom Waits in some way, shape or form. He is the embodiment of a prolific artist, pursuing virtually every art form. This output comes in the form of a dirty, dirty blues record. Creeping, rhythmic marimbas help tunes like Clap Hands shuffle along with stuttering, accented stabs of guitar from Mark Ribot. Keith Richards is even on one of the tracks. (Yes, that Keith Richards). This is a big album with plenty to get into, mostly thanks to its organic style of recording which, during the 80s, was pretty uncommon. Grab a copy and listen:Tom Waits - Rain Dogs

Portishead - Dummy

Symphony X are a Progressive/Power Metal band. They're really well known, and all for good reason.
The Divine Wings of Tragedy was the first Symphony X album I listened to, and was one of the first albums I ever liked. It has a good mix of songs, with a epic 20 minute song near the end of the album.
The Divine Wings of Tragedy:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=7J4CT3R8
Symphony X - The Divine Wings of Tragedy
Sam Sparro caught my attention the other day listening to Australian radio station Triple J. Born in Sydney, Australia before moving to LA at the age of 10, his vocal work is the result of gospel influences from his childhood. This is his debut album, a mix of electro pop with an 80's influence. Both the vocal work and the lyrics shine on this album, a plus for those techno fans who get tired of hearing the same words over and over in every song. It's a refreshing change for me, not being a fan of any kind of pop music at the best of times, so it's worth checking out to appreciate the diversity of techno these days.Sam Sparro - Sam Sparro
