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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.
Iteration is an excise in slow-moving, forking, and at points decidedly bleak/ foreboding soundscaping. The modern composition piece is for double bass, bass clarinet, slide saxophone and room acoustics. This CD release on the always worthy Another Timbre features two around twenty-minute tracks.
Semantics fall somewhere between searing-to-angular Avant jazz/ high octane fusion super-group bringing together three important figures in US modern composition/ experimental music scene- Ned Rothenberg, Elliott Sharp & Samm Bennett. In all, they put out two full-lengths- this 1986 self-titled debut, and its 1987 follow-up Bone Of Contention. Here on Austrian label, Klanggalerie is a recent-ish CD reissue of the album.
Ice Exposure is darting ‘n’ subtly daring three-way collaboration that sits somewhere between jazz, improv, sparse electro texturing, experimental post-punk, and general mellow-if-crazed experimentation. It’s a forty-two-minute album that takes in sixteen tracks- which flirt between slightly wacky noir mood-ness, darting & building quirkiness, and a blend of the two. The release comes as either a vinyl release on Blackest Ever Black & a CD release on Klanggalerie- I’m reviewing the latter.
Shedir is the brainchild of Italian Martina Betti, who since 2017 has been creating ambient-oriented music. In total, the project has two album to it's- 2017’s Falling Time- released by the German label Cyclic Law. It was followed by after a three-year break, with the album to hand 2020’s Finite Infinity- it was released in CD and digital format.
Poisonous Cure is one of the more recent projects from respected French noise-maker Julien Skrobek, and as with a lot of his work this 3inch CDR hovers around the walled noise genre- and depending on where you draw the line, this is either active & shifting walled noise, or wallish harsh noise.
When one thinks of 1990’s horror there are only a handful wholly rewarding, memorable, and creative films released in the decade. One such film is Brain Dead, a twisting ‘n’ turning horror/sci-fi film that’s edged with dark humour & some great imagery. From 101 Films here’s a much needed Blu Ray release of the film- it's part of the labels Black Label series, which sees ultimate edition of cult films taking in a slipcase, booklet, and a good selection of new & old extras.
Massacre In Dinosaur Valley is a prime slice of 1980’s euro exploitation pie that flip-flops between action hero campiness, leering sleaze, and gut gorging gore. It’s a film that nicely darts between charming hammy-ness, sudden bloody & brutal shock, and soft-core flesh-ness -so if you like a little bit of everything in your exploitation- this will most certainly satisfy. Here from the folks over at Severin is a recent region free Blu Ray release of the film, taking in an uncut 4k new print of the film, and a few extras.
The Strangers stands as one of the more memorable and unsettling films of the home invasion genre. It aptly shifts between lulling unease, effective creepiness and heart bounding fear- creating not only a classic of the genre, but one of the great modern horror pictures. Here on Second Sight is another one of their classy & ultimate edition of respected genre films- taking in two cuts of the film, a good selection of new extras, a booklet featuring new essays- all packaged in an ltd edition boxset.
Chaos is an early 2000’s attempt to return to the grim ‘n’ gruelling rape-revenge of films the 1970s. And while it's not quite as brutal or shocking as it wants to be, it’s a passable addition to the genre- with a good nasty lead and some fairly inventively unpleasant moments along the way. Here on Dark Force Entertainment is a recent region free release of this uncut/ unrated feature- taking in directors/ writers commentary, and a few interviews.
Newagehillbilly, is the solo project of Baltimore based Alex Strama- it started life in the early 2000s, and its musical scope is fairly wide. Alex does not limit his creativity to any single chosen style and prefers to work in many experimental genres - from industrial, noise-rock,drone and Harsh Noise.
Belgian death metallers, Carnation, return to Season of Mist with their second full length, Where Death Lies. A worthy follow-up to 2018's Chapel of Abhorrence, these nine tempestuous tracks spew forth old school death through a modern filter. No frills, just pure death, Where Death Lies is a straightforward pummeler of an album.
Day Of The Phoenix were a late 60’s-to-early 70’s Danish five-piece who managed to blend the bounding-to-edgy side of euro Prog, with the more tuneful/mellow US West Coast psychedelic rock-making for a rather distinctive, at times darting & fairly unique sound. Here from Esoteric Recordings-Cherry Reds prog label is Mind Funeral- a two-disc set that brings together the bands only two albums 1971’s Wide Open N-Way, and 1972’s The Neighbour’s Son- along with a few bonus tracks.
Here’s a sixty-five-minute example of long-form wall-craft from respected London noise maker James Shearman. The release was recently released in the form of a CDR, which appeared on the Harsh Noise London label- presented in a DVD case with warped & glitched out pictures from London.
Here we have a just sly of a thirty-minute slice of nicely taut ‘n’ tense walled noise from this Eugene, Oregon project who themes its work around sleaze, mental health, and degradation.
Released back in 2019 Channelling Fire is a C30/digital release that blends together raging walled noise with densely seared psycho ambience. It brings together respected Serbian wall noise project Dosis Letalis, and Kansas based harsh drone/ dark ambient project Endless Chasm- the release features two around fifteen-minute tracks, and each nicely sears & moodily creeps one out.
Experimental jazz rock guitarist Hedvig Mollestad has returned in 2020 with a new lineup, separate from her famed Hedvig Mollestad Trio, the group from which most of her music has emerged over the past ten years. Her new band is larger, including two percussionists, a keyboardist and a trumpet player. Ehkidna is an album of lightly overdriven pentatonic blues shred set to a polyrhythmic afrobeat pulse, executed with clear-headed prog rock precision and jazz fusion tonal knowledge.
The Consuming Flame is three CDs and nearly three hours worth of material, with sounds from 99 artists compiled and arranged by Matmos: this is my excuse for not even attempting any meaningful summary of the album. Instead, I’ll hopefully give a sense of how it sounds in a broader sense. Matmos, M.C. Schmidt and Drew Daniel, invited 99 incredibly eclectic projects and musicians over a period of time to contribute anything they wanted - as long as any rhythmic material was 99 beats per minute. The resulting submissions were then crafted into three long collages - A Doughnut in the Sky, On the Team, and Extraterrestrial Masters - all around the hour mark, and all wildly colourful. These collages are also mapped out on a huge poster that accompanies the release, giving a neat visual sense of just how big the whole project is.
Krabi, 2562 sells its self as an arty & dream-like critique of Thailand- its present/ past, and it’s tourist trade- focusing in on the coastal town of Krabi on the southern coast of the country. The film is decidedly slow & lulling mixture of slightly quirky & mysterious drama, travelogue footage, and interviews with local folk. From Anti-World Releasing here, we have a recent Blu Ray release of the film- bringing together a directors commentary, a selection of other short films by the same team, and a few other extras.
The Bloody Judge( or as it’s sold here under its German title Der Hexentöter von Blackmoor) is one of the more grand & larger budgeted releases from the king of euro exploitation Jess Franco. It’s a period piece set in seventeen century England, focusing in on the darkly devious Judge Jeffries- played by horror legend Christopher Lee- on the whole, it’s fairly tame by Franco standards in both sleaze & distinctive Franco touches, though there are a few here & there. From Koch Media here’s a super classy deluxe boxset release of the film- bringing together two Blu Rays, two DVDs, and one CD taking in the film's soundtrack.
Originally released in 2003, Tracers is sixty-minute collaboration between respected Belgian ambient project Vidna Obmana, and New York City-based feedback scaper David Lee Meyers. The whole thing has very much of a darkly abstract space like vibe, giving one the feeling of travelling to some strange & gloomy planet. As part of Zoharum’s reissuing of Vidna Obmana back catalog- here’s a recently CD reissue of the album featuring a new remastering of the album.
The Sphere Of Density is the 15th full-length album from S.E.T.I, who create darker hued-to-moodily extraterrestrial and space-themed ambience/ largely beat-less electronica. The new album is presented as a two-CD set- on disc one we have seventy-four minutes of studio material, and on the other disc a forty-three-minute live performance.
Next City Sounds: Interfaces is a sixty-two-minute work that moves between music, sound art, and field recording. It’s certainly a shifting & drifting, at times fairly daring sonic experience which largely managers to keep ones attention held & focus, which is a fairly difficult feat for a work that blends & shifts through different genres of the sound.