Every now and again I manage to snag a vintage Icelandic album on eBay for a decent price (♠).  Most recently this happened a few weeks back when I was able to pick up a copy of Reptilicus’ second full-length album, 1990s Crusher of Bones.  I have a 7″ of theirs that I wrote about previously and I’ve kept my eyes open for their stuff ever since.

On a quasi-related note, I’m always on the lookout for OG Icelandic releases when I’m out and about digging here in the States, though generally with no luck.  A few years back I found a copy of Þeyr’s Mjötviður Mær in Salt Lake City and just about passed out from the shock.  Ironically I purchased it and re-patriated it back to a friend in Iceland who had been looking for it for a while.  But until this weekend, that was it.  And then we went down to Portland, Oregon, and there I found copies of Ornamental’s 12″ as well as this Reptilicus release, which was a mild bummer since I’d just picked it up online.  Go figure.

As for Crusher of Bones, this is some decent industrial.  I’m sure it would have sounded harder had I heard it when it first came out 28 years ago, but that being said it’s held up well.  “Pirates of Paradise” is killer, opening like a sort of classical gothic intro to a Conan movie before the vocals take it in a more disturbing direction.  Top to bottom this thing is rock solid, well worth the effort if you’re a fan of Skinny Puppy, Nitzer Ebb, or the like.

(♠)  Though more frequently I’m either outbid or the record is one I already have… and paid a lot more for when I bought it!