Flotsam And Jetsam "Drift (Japan, MCA Records, MVCM-527)"

Drift is the fifth album by American thrash metal band Flotsam and Jetsam. It was released on April 25, 1995, and is the last of three albums the band released on MCA Records.

The album marked something of a departure from Flotsam and Jetsam's previous works. On it, the band musically and lyrically incorporated some elements of industrial music, groove metal and alternative metal, almost completely abandoning their thrashier sound.

Drift was re-released on June 10, 2008 by Metal Mind Productions. The release is remastered with three bonus tracks and limited to 2,000 copies. It also contains new packaging and liner notes from band members Eric A.K., Jason Ward and Ed Carlson.

Track listing

All songs written by Kelly David-Smith, Eric A.K., Edward Carlson, Michael Gilbert, Jason Ward, Eric Braverman, except where noted

1. "Me" 3:17
2. "Empty Air" 3:49
3. "Pick a Window" 3:47
4. "12 Year Old with a Gun" 3:30
5. "Missing" 5:57
6. "Blindside" 3:35
7. "Remember" 3:46
8. "Destructive Signs" 4:55
9. "Smoked Out" 6:08
10. "Poet's Tell" 3:57

Time:  42:38

Recording information:

Recorded at Village Productions, Tornillo, Texas, USA.

Mixed at Conway Studios, Hollywood, CA, USA.

Mastered at Masterdisk Corporation, New York, NY, USA.

Flotsam And Jetsam "No Place For Disgrace (Japan, Asylum Recordings, 25XD-1084)"

No Place for Disgrace is the second album by American thrash metal band Flotsam and Jetsam, released in 1988. This marked the band's first album release through a major label, Elektra Records, and was also their first album with the bass guitarist Troy Gregory, who had replaced Jason Newsted when the latter left the band in 1986 to join Metallica. Newstead received co-writing credits on three songs.

No Place for Disgrace is thematically much darker than Doomsday for the Deceiver, and while some of the band's subsequent albums have a more political edge, the lyrical content of the album was similar to its predecessor, focusing on themes centered around history and literature, as well as Satanism and the occult. No Place for Disgrace also received some notice for its cover of an Elton John song, "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting", and upon its release charted on Billboard at 143.

According to former Flotsam and Jetsam bassist Michael Spencer, who briefly replaced Newsted, Flotsam and Jetsam's then-A&R rep Michael Alago, wanted the album to be called Blessing in Disguise. However, when Spencer left the band just prior to the recording sessions, Flotsam and Jetsam went with their own choice, and Metal Church (who was also on Elektra at the time) ended up with Blessing in Disguise as the title of their third album, which was released about nine months after No Place for Disgrace. In an April 2013 interview however, drummer Kelly David-Smith disputed Spencer's claims, saying, "No Place for Disgrace was always going to be called No Place for Disgrace. Actually, we did record a song called 'Blessing in Disguise' which was on a demo version of the album. I think about 100 copies of it were sold. I've looked on eBay and they're really hot property!"

AllMusic gave the album four stars, commenting that it "basically repeats the formula of their debut but benefits from a cleaner yet still-in-your face production job. " A staff member for About.com praised the album in a 2011 review, citing the song "N.E. Terror" as a highlight, as it was "packed with jaw-dropping trade-off guitar solos, including a lead bass break that would make Newsted proud." Adam McCann of Metal Digest wrote, "By 1988, Flotsam and Jetsam had not only found cult fame with their stunning debut album Doomsday for the Deceiver, but they were attracting attention from the mainstream by being the band from which Metallica plucked their bass player in the shape of Jason Newsted. Yet, unlike their debut album, No Place... was somewhat darker than its predecessor minus the well-received cover of Elton John's 'Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting', this was an album which focused very much the occult and history and it showed that there was life after Newsted."

Track listing

1. "No Place for Disgrace" Michael Gilbert, Jason Newsted, Kelly Smith, Eric AK Knutson, Ed Carlson 6:13
2. "Dreams of Death" Gilbert, Smith, Knutson, Carlson, Michael Spencer 5:39
3. "N.E. Terror" Gilbert, Newsted, Eric Braverman, Smith, Knutson, Carlson 5:57
4. "Escape from Within" Gilbert, Braverman, Smith, Knutson, Carlson, Spencer 6:47
5. "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting" (Elton John cover) Elton John, Bernie Taupin 3:52
6. "Hard on You" Gilbert, Smith, Knutson, Carlson, Spencer 4:50
7. "I Live You Die" Gilbert, Newsted, Smith, Knutson, Carlson 5:49
8. "Misguided Fortune" Gilbert, Smith, Troy Gregory, Knutson, Carlson 5:41
9. "P.A.A.B." Gilbert, Braverman, Smith, Knutson, Carlson 5:32
10. "The Jones" (Instrumental) Gilbert, Smith, Knutson, Carlson 4:07

Time:  54:36

Recording information:

Co-Produced by Flotsam & Jetsam and Bill Metoyer

Recorded at: Music Grinder, Hollywood, CA Track Record, North Hollywood, CA Pacific, Chatsworth, CA Preferred Sound, Woodland Hills, CA December '87 - February '88.

Mixed at the Enterprise, Burbank, CA. by Michael Wagener.

Mastered at Sterling Sound, NYC. by George Marino.

Boris Vallejo – illustration

Dan Altwies, Kelly Smith – cover design

Keith Rawls, Bill Calderwood – management

Brian Carlstrom, Leon Johnsonn, Ken Paulakovich, Pete Magdaleno, Matt Freeman, Scott Campbell – assistant engineers

Flotsam And Jetsam "Flotsam And Jetsam (Japan, Rubicon Music, RBNCD-1212)"

Flotsam and Jetsam is the twelfth studio album by the thrash metal band Flotsam and Jetsam, released on May 20, 2016. The song "Iron Maiden" is a tribute to the famous band. This is the only Flotsam and Jetsam album to feature drummer Jason Bittner, who left the band shortly after its release to join Overkill. The track "L.O.T.D." stands for "Legion of the Damned" and was originally written during the "No Place for Disgrace" sessions. "Forbidden Territories" was written by Mike Spencer when he was in Sentinel Beast (who also recorded a version in 2009), as well as a version re-worked by Sentinel Beast guitarist Barry Fischel and recorded by his band Fischel's Beast the same year.

The Sonic Abuse website wrote: "A brutal, thrilling album from start to end, it sees the band demonstrating their versatility and power in equal measure and the results are nothing short of astounding." UK Metal Hammer, rated the album 3 out of 5. Jason Arnopp wrote: "For some reason, Eric AK doesn’t always employ the classic tone that makes his voice unique, but whenever it does return the material feels more distinctive." German Metal Hammer rated the album 4 out of 5, Katrin Riedl wrote that the self entitled album marks a "new beginning" for the band. Sputnik Music wrote the self-titled album "brings back the 80s thrash vibe in a way that even the band’s No Place for Disgrace re-recording couldn’t pull off, and it blends it with the modern moody aggression of The Cold. This blend easily places it in the top 5 of Flotsam and Jetsam’s discography."

Tracklist:

1. Seventh Seal 05:50   
2. Life Is a Mess 04:20  
3. Taser 04:11   
4. Iron Maiden 03:40   
5. Verge of Tragedy 05:19  
6. Creeper 05:33   
7. L.O.T.D. 04:47  
8. The Incantation 01:38  
9. Monkey Wrench 04:15
10. Time to Go 04:19
11. Smoking Gun 04:55   
12. Forbidden Territories 06:44   
13. Once in a Time 05:35

Time:  01:01:06

"Forbidden Territories" aka "Commencement/Forbidden Territories" was written by Mike Spencer when he was in Sentinel Beast, who also recorded a version in 2009, as well as a version re-worked by Sentinel Beast guitarist Barry Fischel and recorded by his band Fischel's Beast the same year. 

Official video: 

— "Life Is a Mess" 

Official lyric videos: 

— "Iron Maiden" 

— "Time to Go" 

— "Seventh Seal" 

— "Monkey Wrench" 

Recording information: 

Mixed and mastered at CMC21 Productions. 

Recorded at Sonic Phish Productions and Gnome Lord Studios. 

Produced by Flotsam and Jetsam.