While April tends to see the record buying public focusing their fervent attentions on a certain Record Store Day, that doesn’t mean there aren’t other equally special records released outside of the big event.

In particular, April was a good month for vinyl loving fans of metal/prog heroes Tool, their first studio EP ‘Opiate’ joining the band’s debut full length ‘Undertow’, and widely considered magnum opus ‘Lateralus’ on wax.

Tool ‘Opiate’

With its stealthily hidden second groove concealing the secret track ‘The Gaping Lotus Experience’, ‘Opiate’ shows the band at their heaviest and most abrasive. For many, this was the closest Tool ever came to proper heavy metal before venturing off into a world of time signatures that would make a maths teacher wince.

Tool – ‘Undertow’

The band’s first full length studio effort is an album of note (and not just because two pianos were destroyed with shotguns and sledgehammers during production). Widely regarded as integral in maintaining heavy metal and progressive rock’s prominence in mainstream music while grunge was in the ascendancy, this double album developed ‘Opiate’s sound, introducing more complex and less aggressive elements and hinting at what was to come.

Tool – ‘Lateralus’

Album number three gets the extra special treatment here, pressed as a double picture disc package, it looks as good as the music sounds! ‘Lateralus’ shows Tool really hitting their stride at the head of the pack, combining art, progressive and math rock.

Equal parts orchestral grandeur, ravaging aggression and near silent death march ‘Lateralus’ is a complex but rewarding listen and a must-have for any heavy music fan. Anyone in doubt needs only listen to single ‘Schism’, either in its original form or as an orchestral re-working.

Smokie – ‘The Concert (Live In Essen / Germany 1978)’

Smokie are the classic English rock band, responsible for the hit single ‘Living Next Door to Alice’.

This double LP gatefold showcases a hit-packed set from the band at their peak, including all of their best loved hits from the 1970’s, ‘Living Next Door to Alice’, ‘Needles and Pins’ and ‘If You Think You Know How To Love Me’.

Originally recorded in 1978 at the height of their popularity, this remastered recording is the only live Smokie album to feature the complete original line up and the first time the full show has been available on vinyl.