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Originally released back in 1971 A Midsummer’s Night Dream was one of the more wonkily atmospheric, primal and rare records of the 1970’s psych/acid folk scene. It was first put out as a private pressing of just 99 copies- making it one of the most sort-after releases from the more oddly turned end of the genre. Here from Cherry Red’s Grapefruit Records is a deluxe double CD reissue of the album, featuring the original album and an unheard live set recorded three months before the album was recorded.
Imaginary Junction presents the listener with two lengthy and eventful slices of improvising- that nicely flip 'n' flop between busy manic-ness, and more atmospheric strolls and crawls. The CD brings together the talents of Cath Roberts- baritone saxophone and objects, Dirk Serries- acoustic guitar, Martina Verhoeven- piano, and Tom Ward- flute, Clarinet and bass clarinet.
Pieces Of Apparatus severs up five examples of extremely sparse and often spaced-out improv for guitar- with all the tracks unfolding in both a jaggedly wondering, dartingly inventive, and largely rewarding manner. Here on the New Wave Of Jazz label is CD release, presented in the labels house style packaging of a white and grey box gatefold, that features a worthy write-up about both Gérard work in general and the pieces offered up here.
Of Great Eternity was the third full-length album from infamous US black metal project Judas Iscariot. Originally released back in 1997 on Elegy Records, the album saw the one-man project slowing down its sound in places, as well as adding in a few more grimly melodic touches here ‘n’ there- though don’t worry this is still very much grimly raging and baying USBM. Here from Moribund Records is the first reissue of the album since 2003, with it appearing in the form of a CD release.
I’ve always seen Doom-metal as one of the most versatile and creative forms of metal, and a recent example of this is Deathsongs From The Hymnal Of The Church Of The Final Pilgrimage. It's an album that blends Doom / Death riffing with regular acoustic moments, and a good selection of psychedelic effects/ textures- which nod towards the industrial, drone, and Noise tropes.
Return To Splatter Farm is a sequel to gore-bound and bad taste lined SOV 80’s classic Splatter Farm. The film drops its original SOV look, for an enjoyable enough romp of a film- that blends gore, subtle humour, and moments of effective eerier-ness. Here from the guys over at Wildeye Releasing is a region free DVD of the film, which features director’s commentary, and a short making-of.
Here we have the next in the Lux and Ivy series of compilations, which finds respected music journalist Dave Henderson bringing together rare, campy and wacky 45’s from the 1950s and 1960s. As its title suggest the focuses is very much on rockabilly and rock ‘n’ roll- with the two-CD set offering up a total of fifty-two tracks.
Julius Eastman is one of the lesser-known figures in the minimalism/ modern classic spheres- the New York-born composer, pianist, vocalist, and dancer sadly passed in 1990 at the too-young age of forty-nine. Here we have a recent release of one of his longer-form works 1974’s Femenine, and it’s a fine and distinctive slice of minimalism.
I Start Counting is a woozy, and at points, uneasy psychological thriller- meets coming of age drama, which blends in elements of incest, murder & quiet madness- be they implied or real. The film features Jenny Agutter in one of her early roles, and she does an impressive and believable job as a day-dreaming-to-troubled teen. Here from BFI‘s Flipside is a Blu Ray release of this lesser-seen late 60’s thriller- with the disc taking in a new scan of the picture, a commentary track, and a host of other worthy extras.
German death metallers turned doom merchants, Abythic, hit the scene with their third album, Dominion of the Wicked. With four songs clocking in at 35 minutes, this trio sludge forth the gloom with a blackened, dirgy aplomb. Finding a comfortable home in the slowed-down, low end of doom metal, Abythic continues to grow and evolve, making each album truly their own.
Malice In Their Hearts is a four-track CDR/ digital download release from respected and prolific Serbian wall maker Dosis Letalis. Each track runs between ten and eighteen minutes mark, with each utilizing a similar riping ‘n’ rolling noise texturing- making for a release that‘s based around very subtle shifts in-wall making brutality.
Appearing May last year Heterotrophic Microzooplankton Predation is the 6th release from Peter Keller’s ( Geißt, Condo Horro, Dirac Sea, PTRKLLR, Kôan-Din, Unser Verhängnis) microscopic static/ lowercase noise wall project E.F Stoermer. The release appeared as either a CDR (which I’m reviewing) or a digital download.
Crimewave was the second feature-length film from Sam Rami, appearing four years after the huge cult horror hit The Evil Dead. And it certainly is a very different & distinctive film from his debut- it’s a wacky crime comedy blending slapstick & comic book sensibilities, with subtle touches of fantasy & horror. Here from the folks at Powerhouse is a much needed Blu Ray release of the film- bringing together two commentary tracks, four different versions of the film, and a good selection of extras.
Originally released back in 1993 A. N. T. I. is not only an important early Black Leather Jesus release. It’s also a great example of textured focused harsh noise and a prime slice of proto- walled noise. Here is a much-deserved CD reissue of the album by Stockholm based Ominous Recording.
White Underwear is the new slurred, slightly industrialized and greyly oppressive textured noise project from Australian based Barry .C. Douglas. Seemingly The Agony Tapes is the first release from the venture, and it comes in the form of a digital download that offers up two tracks
Now, this is something rather different from German field recording/ sound art label Gruenrekorder- an album’s worth of modern/ avant-garde takes on songs from the Renaissance period, created by the use of male tenor vocalising and experimental electronics. All making for an album that very much feels like it’s in its own strange reality- somewhere between the 16th century and glitched-up future.
I always keep an eye on releases from Phage Tapes as a very dependent label for harsh noise, but I must admit I wasn’t bowled over by Unexamine on my first listen; repeated listens, however, have opened up a very solid album. Unexamine is a US trio, and present here seven pieces of harsh skree. Most of the tracks on this compilation CD are reasonably short, ranging from about four minutes to nine minutes, with a couple of considerably longer works (15 and 21 minutes).
The Head Hunter focus on a medieval warrior who kills and collects the heads from various beasts and monsters. One day the creature, who killed his young daughter many years ago returns- so he goes out for revenge. The above, brief synopsis may have you expecting creature effects-heavy, bloody, and brutal fantasy action horror- instead what we have is a very low key, sparse and atmospheric film. Yes, there are moments of gore/ gruel, but these are fleeting, largely reserved to the end of the picture. Instead, we focusing is on the vast rugged landscape, snowbound forests, distant castle & keeps- with the Head Hunter making his way through the seemingly people-less world, where his only dialogue is spoken at his daughter’s grave. Here on 101 Films is the first UK Blu-Ray release of this very distinct and atmospheric take on grim fantasy horror form, with the disc taking into two commentary tracks & a making-of.
Existing between the years 2003 and 2007 Ruttokosmos were a three-piece Finnish black metal project, who created an often fuzzed-out, grimly slugging yet at points bleakly melodic take on Dsbm. Here from Werewolf Records is a CD bringing together the projects two demos.
I Was at Home, But….is a German arthouse family drama that mixes poetic and poignant imagery, magic in mundaneness, sly humour, and the emotional yin 'n' yang of love and loss. It’s certainly not an easy or neatly laid out film, with its uneven narrative- that moves between brief snippets, long takes, and moments of more formal storytelling. But if you give yourself into the film, you’ll find it both charming, subtle moving, and thought-provoking picture. Here from Second Run is a new Blu Ray of the film featuring a high-definition print, a new interview with the director, early short films from the director, and an inlay booklet with new writing about the picture.
Here we have a rather wonderful Blu ray release bringing together three films from the Pink film genre, which is the sex-tinged side of the Japanese exploitation, and boy the genre is wide 'n' varied- and this release nicely illustrates that fact. The release appears on UK based Third Widow Films, and will certainly be of interest to anyone who enjoys sexploitation film.
California based Johannes Auvinen is an electronic musician who began his career under the Tin man alias in the early 2000s, releasing acid and house music. His new album, released under his last name Auvinen, is a largely beatless gothic-tinged ambient work entitled Akkosaari.
Lucio Fulci has a reputation as being the godfather of Italian splatter movies, largely owing to a series of movies shot between 1979 and 1982 that included Zombie Flesh Eaters, The Beyond, City of the Living Dead, House by the Cemetery and New York Ripper. These five movies upped the ante when it comes to blood, guts and gore, however, whilst they are among Fulci’s most well known and highly regarded movies they are merely the tip of the iceberg when it comes to an iconic figure of Italian cinema with 61 directorial credits, mostly for feature films across a variety of different genres.
Originally released back in 1996 Oniro is a heady and largely oriental focused blend of ethno ambient, unwell new age music, post-industrial sound-scaping and darkly psychedelic-to-sensual female vocalizing. Here from Zoharum is a recent double CD reissue of the album, adding in a live set/ rare tracks on the second CD.