Many years in the making, the original recordings for Stephen O‘Malley‘s latest solo work, Spheres Collapser, date from December 2021. Even more remarkable than the latency of this two–part composition‘s release, is the instrument that serves as both source material and structural guidepost for O‘Malley‘s minimalist pieces, Les grandes Orgues de Lausanne: a singular, Frankenstein of a pipe organ that amalgamates designs from the three previous centuries. This majestic behemoth sits like a reliquary in the Église Saint-François in Switzerland, its sound both taut and terrifying. The two compositions, “Phase I & II Organ” respectively, each fill out the side of a standard LP and represent two very different takes on the instrument, realised with organist extraordinaire, Kali Malone and sound artist Frederikke Hoffmeier (aka Puce Mary).

Several years before the appearance of Art the Clown & the Terrifier franchise, there was another brutal, gore-loving killing machine clown on the block.  Gurdy- is a plump, white-suited, black balding wigged, and huge hatchet-carrying killer- who's the star of 100 Tears- which blends extremely brutal stalk ‘n’ slash, with investigation thriller, and light touches of humour. Here from Unearthed Films is a Blu-ray release of the film, taking in a director's commentary tracks, and a few other things.

With a title like Garden Of Love, you may be expecting a romantic drama based in the outdoors, or possibly some form of horticultural-themed porn. But in reality, it’s an early 2000’s slice of German Splatter, from one of the kings of the genre Olaf Ittenbach( Black Past, Premutos: The Fallen Angel, Legion of the Dead). The film regards a young woman being tormented by bloody visions of a past she can't fully remember. All she knows is that all of her family was slaughtered when she was a child.

Blood Dolls is a Charles Band film from the late 90’s, which stands as one of his most wacked out & comic-book creations. It regards a masked eccentric billionaire-come mad doctor, who decides to take revenge on competitors via killer dolls he’s created. It also features a caged girl rock band, a philosophical clown-faced painted butler, moments of spurting red gore, and a hell-of-a-lot campness. Here from Full Moon Features, as either a Blu-ray or DVD, is a release of the film, taking in a few archive extras

So High I’ve Been is a three-CD compilation focusing on the European rock scene between the years 1967 and 1973. The fifty-seven-track collection takes in a lot of sonic ground, covering most sub-genres of rock at the time, with often some neat and creative edges. There’s a good blend of known acts such as  Tangerine Dream, Magma, and Focus. Sitting alongside more obscure fare such as Alan Jack Civilization, Culper’s Orchard, and Acqua Fragile.

Here’s a double CD release of the two albums put out by Northern British band D.A.M. during the late 80’s and early 90's. Their sound primally focused on Thrash metal, but they blended in elements of Power metal, Speed metal, and Hardcore too.

Senso(1954) is an Italian period melodrama, drenched in forbidden passion and sprinkled with history and opera. It’s directed by Luchino Visconti(White Nights, The Damned, Ludwig). Here from Radiance Films is a Blu-ray release of the film, featuring a 2k scan and a mix of new and archival extras.

Here we see the very welcome return of Powerhouse’s Columbia Noir boxset series. For this 7th  in the series, the focus is on films made in Britain.  The Blu-ray set takes in six films- each receives a lovely new scans, and a selection of worthy extras. The films move between blends of caper-based noir and romantic drama, crime procedural/ courtroom drama, femme fatale melodrama noir, London mob-based noir, a blend of noir and over road adventure, and mystery-focused noir with gothic horror touches.

Iowa's Alex Nowack may be best known for his harsh noise/ HNW Boar project, but he will be turning heads with the latest under his Brutal Shift moniker, Pain Has Brought Me More Peace Than Any God. A dark and gloomy walk through the psyche and personal redemption, Pain is ten tracks of bleak ambient that craft a desolate soundscape. Although its release was timed perfectly with the spooky season and the dwindling of daylight, its strong construction and deep, penetrating drones will help bring any listener through their cold season, twilight commutes, and dark nights of the soul.

Jakob The Liar, is a DEFA film from the early 70’s set in 1944 in a Jewish ghetto, where an ex- café owner overhears a radio broadcast announcing the Soviet Army is making slow but steady progress towards central Europe.  He tells a few people, with the word quickly spreading- he sees the news gives some hope, so he decides to pretend he has a radio himself. The picture blends grim drama with moments of levity/ hope, humour, and fantasy, making for an impactful, at times moving ride. Here from Eureka is a Blu-ray release of the film, featuring a 4k scan and a mix of new/ archive extras.

In 1976, director Francesco Rosi and producer Alberto Grimaldi adapted Leonardo Sciascia’s 1971 novel Equal Danger into the hazy, gritty thriller Illustrious Corpses, a film that offers no easy answers.

This is a sidetrack from my usual viewing, but a good one; Furious (1984) is here given the Blu-ray treatment by Visual Vengeance: one disc, a slipcase, a poster, some stickers, and a throwing star shaped ‘thingy’ designed to be hung off something. The film itself is short at 73 minutes, but the disc comes loaded with numerous extras, covering a wide range of material.

Re-Animator is director Stuart Gordon (From Beyond, Dagon and Castle Freak) and producer Brian Yuzna’s (Society, Bride of Reanimator and Beyond Reanimator) first foray into Lovecraft territory. This was closely followed by their adaptation of From Beyond, another Lovecraft tale that helped rocket the pair into the horror movie stratosphere.