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Teredo Navails takes us down in the depths of a Venetian Lagoon- utilizing & blending sounds recorded via electromagnetic sensors, binaural microphones, hydrophones, contact, and condenser microphones- the CD/ digital release offers up a collection of five soundscapes. The album falls somewhere between lightly simmering 'n' churning drone matter, hovering & at time piercing tone studies, & water/ pipe field recording. The idea of a release based around water recordings normally has one expecting lulling, subtle & soothingly tonal work, but this release is often fairly pressing & at times searing in it’s feel.
Directed by Melvin Van Peebles, the actor/director who would go on to become famous for directing Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song (1971), 1970s Watermelon Man is a satire that tackles the thorny issue of race relations in late 60s, early 70s America.
Very active, Polish black/death metal act Throneum returns with their latest; the long and almost Herzogian titled Oh Death... Oh Death... Determinate, Preach and Lead Us Astray... Six tracks of blackened, experimental metal Throneum put forth an interesting mix of lo-fi blackness and free form experimentation. Sometimes working, sometimes not, this newest full length feels even longer than its title.
Not to be confused with Queen Guitarist of the same name, Brian May is one the most respected film score composers to come out of Australia. His most known scores take in the likes of Mad Max I & 2- though he was well versed in scoring all manner of films from comedy, westerns, action films, horror and thrillers- and just before his death in the 90’s he’d started breaking into more popular US B-budget like Freddy’s Dead & Missing In Action 2. The two-disc set I’m reviewing focuses in on his score work for four films that sit in the thriller/fantasy/ horror genres- and they are 1979 thriller Snapshot( aka The Day After Halloween), 1981 horror thriller The Survivor, 1980 Harlequin( aka Dark Force) an 80’s Oz set retelling of the Rasputin story, and Ozploitation horror classic 1978 Patrick. In total the two-disc set takes in over two hours worth of music- so you certainly get a lot of bang for your buck.
The Tokyo Sessions Vol 1- Unheard Of severs up just over half-an-hour worth of off-kilter, wonky and at times searing accordion playing from Norwegian Kalle Moberg. He utilizes extreme bending techniques, multiphonics and microtonality playing to make the accordion sound unlike it has before.
Black metal project Arcada where founded in 2012, originating from the cult metal breeding ground of Peru. So far they’ve put out three demos and one EP of its occult, epic-minded black metal. Over the last years the quartet has refined its sulphurous, raw and aggressive- yet traditional sound, and here we have the projects full length debut Projections appearing on Edged Circle Productions.
Shadow In The Dark is the second release from dark & electro pulsing Berlin two-piece NNHMN (pronounce Non-Human), and depending on how you feel it’s either an EP or short album as it’s a seven-track affair that slides in at the thirty-one-minute mark. I was most impressed with the pair 2019 debut Church Of No Religion- and it's fairly original blend of darkly entrancing electronica, that had a distinctly ritual-yet-club fed vibe about it…so when I saw this was out I was keen to dip in and see if it was up to the standard of the projects first album….and the answer is yes, but they add in a more female darkwave edge to their darkly pulsing & grimly hedonistic sound.
I See You is a twisting ‘n’ turning-yet-dread soaked modern thriller, which wraps around you like a snake- and ever so often snaps you with its devilish twists. The film is set in small-town America- focusing in on the troubled family of a middle-aged cop who is investigating the return of a thought caught killer pedophile. It’s been sold as more of horror film, but this is misleading- sure there are horror traits present, but what we have here is a classic puzzle-like thriller with a constantly pervading air of dread. Here from Arrow Video is a recent Blu Ray release of the film- featuring directors/ writer’s commentary track, interviews, etc.
Pale Blood is a neon edged, early 1990’s Vampire picture that slips between moodiness & camp silliness. It features lingering shots of LA night time, broodingly stilted-to-over the top acting, dripping & pouring bloody flash backs, and a soundtrack that moves between Goth punk, gloomy post-punk, and darkly simmer-if-tacky synth-to-hovering gothic choir scoring. Here from Vinegar Syndrome is a duel Blu Ray/ DVD release of this little seen film- taking in the companies normally classy new scan, and a couple of interviews with the cast/ crew.
As the old phrase goes ‘fact is stranger than fiction’ and that’s very true for the story of Al Adamson- son of cowboy actor, who went onto make some of weird, wacky, and (by grindhouse standards) popular films. During his run as a director of cult films he had run-ins with Colonel Sanders, Charles Manson, and a host of aging actors. Then sadly ended his life buried under a concrete floor- either at the hands of his dodgy builder friend, or by those wanting to cover up his discovery of Alien/ human crossbreed…see what I mean by the opening phase...here from Severin Films is the 2019 documentary about Mr. Adamson life- plus a good selection of extras including one of his more coherent & less hammy films.
Originally active between 1984 and 1990 Witches Hammer had a reputation as one of Canada’s best speed metal bands despite the fact they only released a couple of demos and a single 12” EP. Original guitarist Marco Banco (who would go on to join Blasphemy for a while) teamed up with Nuclear War Now! In the early 2000s to re-issue their classic 12” and demos on CD, alongside a previously unreleased EP from 1988. That was pretty much it for the band until 2018 when Banco and original vocalist Rayy Crude decided the time was right to put the band back together. The response to their live shows has been decidedly positive with the band receiving dozens of amazing reviews for their technical brand of blackened thrash metal. This leads us to this latest slab of metal madness, their first full length album, a full 36 years in the making, the big question now has to be how good is it?
Serving up sparse, synthy Swedish soundscapes, Niels Gordon offers a lighter, jovial approach to the sonic scenery with his latest, Land. Like a Kraftwerk kid with his eyes on the future, Gordon's songs have a light approach with a bent toward subtle danceability. This sort of retro futurism is dependent on tone as much as structure, and Land really hammers that home.
Here we have a two-disc set bringing together four albums from Jamaican reggae deejay & producer Prince Far I, whose work was characterized by his deep ganja hazed vocals & at times decidedly heavy dub leanings. The four albums here come from the golden age of reggae roots music 1979 and 1983- and as we’ve come to expect from Doctor Bird- we get a nice & classy release of the albums, with each CD severing up over seventy minutes of high quality, at times passioned & hash hazed dub reggae.
Atmosphere For Dreaming is a long-form example of gently morphing, soothing, and at times semi-psychedelic deep ambience from long-running American ambient pioneer Steve Roach. It finds him presenting the listener with a seventy-three-minute track that seemingly has no beginning or end, as Mr. Roach expertly sculptures & ebbs the delicate tones into hazy & lulling wash of sound.
Free jazz veterans Ivo Perelman, Matthew Shipp, William Parker and Bobby Kapp have teamed up in this new quartet project Ineffable Joy. With splendid skill and speed, the ensemble waste no time in this gushing outpouring of ideas which could be described as freeform improvisatory music for short attention spans.
Appearing in August of last year Immured Vol 1 is six CDR set that brings together six largely intense 'n' battering walled-noise projects- all but one of the projects sever up a single lengthy sonic bludgeoning. So it’s certainly not a release for those dabbling in this most brutal of sonic forms, but if like me you revel in prolonged immersion in dense, fixed & largely crude noise form you’ll be in for sonic masochistic treat.
The blending of any sub-genre of extreme metal with experimental electronics has always been a moot & controversial issue with me. In the 90s, many bands tried to make these crossbreeds. Some of these were complete failures, others radically changed their style, or generally lessened the power/ impact of their sound. Largely these blends concerned mixing metal with a rather simplified version of industrial music. One of the more successful project was from Gnaw Their Tongues the one man project of Dutch musician Maurice de Jong - who combined black metal with a large number of genres of extreme experimental music - industrial, noise, dark ambient, and drone. The discography of the project has more than fifty different releases in in. In parallel with Gnaw Their Tongues, De Jong is connected to a few other projects, that also mix various musical genres. One such project is Golden Ashes, in which he's experimenting with atmospheric Black Metal and Ambient. The project started in 2018 and has thus far released two EPs and two full-length albums, the most recent was released this year on the British label Oaken Palace Records. The album, entitled In The Lugubrious Silence Of Eternal Night- appearing as either a vinyl LP or digital download digital format- though it’s also been released a CD on De Jong’s own label Kapmes Records.
Windy and Carl is a name I’ve been aware of for years, indeed, as a revered name, but beyond crossing paths with their music on a few compilations this is the first time my ears have spent much time with them. The duo have been crafting ‘inner space…vistas for nearly three decades now,’ maximising what can be achieved with some guitars and effect pedals. Allegiance and Conviction has six tracks, notably shorter than those on previous releases according to the press sheet, and has been a thoroughly engaging introduction to their work for me.
Maginot is a new two-piece harsh noise project that brings together Frenchman Romain Perrot most known for his walled noise work as Vomir, and brit noise maker & academic Paul Hegarty of project Safe and author of Noise/Music: A History. This self-titled CD is the project first release, and it takes in twenty minutes of sound spread over four tracks.
In the early-to-late1970’s when American exploitation cinema was at it most virile, & often brutal/ sleazed, along came Spring Night, Summer Night- a decidedly lo-key rural drama about a growing romance between two young adults, who may or not be blood linked. The film seesaws from glum moodiness, to busy & bustling local color, through to gritty drama. On Powerhouse here, we have recent Blu Ray release of this lesser-seen US drama- taking in a new 4k scan of the film, and a good selection of extras.
Khost's follow up to 2017's Governance was marred with a troubled production history, although the end result doesn't show the scars. Heavy, doom-laden, and with enough shrapnel to give you flashbacks, Buried Steel shows the duo in full force despite all the setbacks. Add to this a slew of guest appearances and Khost's latest is not one to miss.
Dolly Dearest is an early 1990’s example of demonic doll shenanigans- think a female-focused Chucky, but with more gothic horror tropes, a sprinkling of god-fearing locals, and low rent Indian Jones escapades. From the folks at Vinegar Syndrome here is a duel Blu ray & DVD of the film, featuring the companies normally classy scan, and two cast interviews.
Let My Puppets Come stands as one of the most bizarre & at times downright freaky examples of 1970’s sex comedies. It’s a (nearly) all puppet-based film, with original songs, kinky advert parodies, and a weaving & wondering plot. Here from Vinegar Syndrome, those seekers of all manner of cinematic curios & oddities is the first-ever digital release of the film- it comes in the form of the companies classic duel format packaging- with the Blu Ray & DVD disc taking in a full seventy five minute cut of the film with a new 2K scan- a couple of commentary tracks, and other neat extras.
Polish Black Metal band Medico Peste were formed in early 2010 by vocalist Lazarus and guitarist Nefar, they went on to release their first demo in 2011 and their debut album a year later. Things have slowed down since those early days and in the intervening years between their debut and this, their sophomore album there has only been an EP, Herzogian Darkness, so it’s quite exciting to have a new album to see what the band are up to with this new incarnation. Original drummer Priest has since been replaced by Desolator, but the other members The Fall (bass) and EVT (guitar) remain in situ.