Loading
They say you shouldn’t judge something by its cover- and that most certainly the case for Zombie 5: Killing Birds, from the garish poster artwork of birds descending & ripping up a mans face, you’d imagine this was a living dead avian gore ride, that’s pacey & camp. The reality is it's a largely low-key & plodding semi-supernatural thriller, with good enough creepy atmos, moments of plot puzzlement, fairly gory murders, and later on a few zombie attacks. Here from Vinegar Syndrome is a recent region free Blu Ray reissue of the film- taking in a new 2k scan, commentary track & interviews.
1950’s film Dementia is a darkly heady & grimly tripped-out noir, which blends themes of madness, cruelty, self-doubt & mistrust. The film sits somewhere between horror, grim fantasy, unsettling psychodrama, and unhinged crime caper. From the BFI here is a recent dual format DVD & Blu Ray release, of this very ahead of its time picture, with the new release taking in a new scan of the film, commentary track, and other extras.
The long awaited followup to 2003's Semi Peterson, Sluta Leta finally returns with Entrée Contrôle. Composed from notes and sketches from missing band members Bengt Liljstad and Jonas Bergkvist, Andi Pieper, Ramon Bauer, and Gerhard Potuznik's interpretation for what Sluta Leta's followup should be was born. Built over ten tracks and five interludes, Entrée Contrôle is a fun, electronic album that was definitely worth resurrecting from the notes.
Henosis VI- XI servers up six slices of moody ‘n’ experimental electronica, which moves between locked & brooding beat-scapes, lightly noise edged ambience, and stabbing-yet-atmospheric synth texturing. This release appears as a CD on Polish label Zoharum.
Directed by Guy Hamilton, veteran director of the Bond series (Goldfinger, Diamonds are Forever, Live and Let Die and The Man with the Golden Gun, as well as the World War II set classic The Battle of Britain). Force 10 from Navarone is the star studded follow up to the Alistair MacLean classic The Guns of Navarone. As a youngster I was raised on these films, my Dad would religiously watch classic action films whenever they were on and I have always had a real soft spot for them- so I am very much looking forward to digging into this one and reacquainting myself with the film.
Noise Receptor Journal: Archive Volume One brings together the first three issues of the respected and classy produced Post-industrial Zine Noise Receptor Journal. The publication covers, in a thorough & intelligent way, the sub-genres of dark ambient, death industrial, heavy electronics, power electronics, etc. The nearing 300 page A5 sized book comes in the form of a special & ltd hardback edition (which I’m reviewing), and standard Paperback- with each edition featuring bonus unpublished material, and new write-ups/ overviews.
First Room is largely pared-back-yet often uneasy & pressing example of soundart, which falls somewhere between improv, subdued drone scaping, and bass tone drift. The thirty-five-minute work is for microtonal tuba, double bass and Viola De Gamba.
The common man would be hard pressed to see the beauty in math. Sure, it defines everything around him, even the things he feels are beautiful, but he would most likely overlook what is at the basis of everything. mHz (Mo H. Zareei) takes this to the extreme with his latest, Function. With all of his source material being generated through a custom-designed program, he takes math, shows the listener the beauty, and excitedly flaunts this by making it dance. Although still very invisible, the audio math on display has a texture and feel to it that tricks the mind's eye into giving it a visual component. Whether one sees robots in motion or just electrified waves, Function crosses over sensory barriers in the listener's mind.
Grave Robbers is a rip-roaring Mexican slasher from the late 1980’s – that’s stuffed full of limp lopping, and at times splatter bound gore. The film features a huge lumbering axe carrying supernatural killer, with a plot that sprinkles in creepy crypt stealing ‘n’ torture, satanic shenanigans, and punchy-to-machine gun tooting cop action. From Vinegar Syndrome- those resurrectors of lesser-seen genre fare- here’s a recent region free Blu Ray release of the film- bringing together the companies always classy new scan, a commentary track from slasher loving pod-cast The Hysteria Continues, and an interview with the director.
Ghost Hunting is a 2016 Palestinian film that blurs the lines between fact, re-creation, and fiction- it’s part documentary, part troubling re-enactment, and part fly-on-the-wall making of. The film focuses in on a group of survivors from the notorious Al-Moscobya prison- Israel's main interrogation centre. Here from Second Run is a recent region free Blu Ray release of this highly distinctive & at times troubling film- with the disc featuring a HD presentation of the film, with new & improved sub-titles, director interview & twenty-page inlay booklet.
The Great City Is Dead Now severs up three slices of extremely dense, largely chugging-to-buzzing noise, with industrialized textured feel - all of which fits the release's title nicely. This CDR release is one of a recent batch of ten releases put out by the Harsh Noise London label – the disc is presented in a DVD case with warped & glitched out pictures/ images from London- this time it’s the trusty black London cab.
Appearing in April of this year Boreal is a two-track CDR from Seattle, Washington based PTRKLLR. And what’s on offer here is detailed & controlled textured/ambient noise making, with a decidedly cold ‘n’ crisp natural vibe.
Eve is an early 1960’s film that is decidedly difficult to peg- it's part romantic drama, part moody noir, part arty character study, and part dizzying travel-log. It’s most certainly a very distinctive-if-not always wholly successful film- which I feel will certainly appeal to those who enjoy moody & dramatic films of the 1960s. Here from Powerhouse is recent Blu Ray release of the film- and the company have really gone to town on this new edition- taking in multiple cuts of the film, and a good selection of extras.
Warning From Space was the first Japanese Sci-fi film to be made in colour- it charts the earth been visited by Star Fish-shaped aliens who take on human form, and the arrival of the looming & glowing red planet R- that's seemingly dooming mankind to be cooked alive. Here from Arrow video is a recent Blu Ray release of the film- taking in a new High Definition 1080 print, and a few extras.
In recent years Esoteric Records, Cherry Red's more prog focused sub-label has put out some great reissue from the Danish underground rock scene of the late sixties-to- seventies. Like album reissues from the likes of Burning’ Red Ivanhoe, and more recently a double-disc reissue of the two albums from Day Of Phoenix- who blended euro Prog with US West Coast psychedelic rock. So it’s great to see the label digging deeper into the Danish underground for this new three-disc/thirty-two track compilation- which sees known names sitting along with side lesser-known names for a nicely varied collection.
Greek black metal band SAD were formed in 2005 in Athens, as the duo of Nadir( songwriting/ all instruments) and Ungod(vocals). The bands first release was the 2006 full-length album Total Nothingness. Throughout its history, the band has shown itself to be quite a productive project, releasing one demo, thirteen split albums, two EPs, two compilations and six full-length albums. In 2020, the German label Purity Through Fire released SAD's seventh full-length album Misty Breath of Ancient Forests. The album is available in CD, vinyl LP, and limited-edition A5 digipack formats.
The Man Who Didn't Want To Feel is a noise release that’s decidedly atmospheric, and at points downright creepy in its attack. The C20 moves between very dense noise-making, and more paired back fare- with Kadaver managing to skilful blend & blur several noise sub-genres in a most worthy & moody manner.
After Dark is an example of vast & slowly shifting dark ambience with decidedly industrial leanings- think Schloss Tegal, but with the more dark star bound vibe of Inade- and you’ll get an idea of what we have on offer on this pro-CDR release.
Cold Spring presents Plague Alone the new album (CD/Digital) by Colossloth. Based out of Leicester (UK), Wooly Woolaston has been crafting superlative dark electronic music since the mid-2000’s and his latest offering is no exception. One might get the impression from the title that this album was a response to the duress and isolation of the global pandemic, however rather prophetically, this was recorded well before our current predicament.Talk about an ominous sign of things to come.
Norwegian multi-instrumentalist Mats Eilertsen, member of countless ensembles over the past decades, has created a new record Reveries and Revelations which, though released under his own name, contains several collaborators from the rich Norwegian scene, such as labelmates Geir Sundstol and Arve Henriksen.
Best Before Death documents two years of Bill Drummond’s 25 Paintings world tour, a venture that will see him spending two weeks in a different city in a different country every year, for 12 years, performing a set amount of tasks during each visit. If that sounds unusual, you might recognise the name Bill Drummond from a lengthy career of provocative acts, most notably the iconoclastic music of The KLF, and the K Foundation’s burning of a million pounds. The documentary thus follows him around Kolkata, India, and Lexington in the United States as he knits, makes soup and beds, bakes cakes, shines shoes, shrinks jeans to his legs in rivers, and gets local musicians to cover one of his own songs, prefacing all these by first entering the city banging a drum, then getting a shave.
Now here’s a real surprise for fans of Finnish black metal- a new & unexpected release from respected & multi-project linked BM guitarist/songwriter Shatraug – who will be known to most for his work with key Finnish bands like Horna & Sargeist. Striges is somewhat of an international venture- it began in 2007 as a Finnish/ Australian blend- releasing a few demos, but for this first official full length the line-up is a Finnish/ USA blend- with Shatraug- guitar & bass, Finnish drummer LRH/Kassara( Horna, Deathchain,& Trollheim's Grott ), and US vocalist Vaedis( Hellgoat & Viurm).
Appearing in 1990, Demonia was the third to last feature film from Italian gore meister Lucio Fulci. And it’s fair to say compared with Fulci's horror classics of the late ’70s to early 80's, it's far from being a masterpiece- but here and there are some neat & effective touches- and if you compare it with other horror films from the 1990s, it's not that bad. Here from the folks over at Severin is a recent Blu Ray release of the film- bringing together a new 4k scan, a commentary from Fulci expert Stephen Thrower, and a few other extras.
The Dare is a recent horror film that shifts back and forth between Saw like set-up/ grimness, psycho kidnapping, and brutal/cruel coming of age drama. It managers to blend its different genre threads in a largely compelling & thrilling manner, though from time-to-time it does unbalance it’s self somewhat- but thankfully these moments are few, and on the whole, The Dare stands as one of the better modern horror films I’ve seen.