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Austria's only active power electronics outfit, Institution DOL, is back with its newest and most crushing release, Our Love Can Destroy the Whole Fucking World. Spending three years recording and perfecting this release, Institution DOL is finally ready to unleash this album on the world. Available on both CD and LP from TORM ent, this well put together release should please all fans of grim electronics.
Appearing in the early 1980’s- the golden age of the Slasher film- The Incubus is a cross-breed between supernatural horror & gory stalk ‘n’ slash action with a gothic setting/ tone. On Vinegar Syndrome here is a duel Blu Ray & DVD release of the film- and as we’ve come to expect from VS company we get a classy 4k scan of the film, some neat new interviews & a commentary track from the always informative & entertaining slasher loving collective The Hysteria Continues.
Without is a forty-three-minute composition for violin & percussion. The piece is an episodic example of often seared –to-shrill modern composition, that flirts on the edges of noise, sparse organic industrial texturing, and penetration drone matter. The release comes in the form of CD release on Elsewhere, & is the fourth release on this up 'n' coming modern composition label.
Neure Alhimii is a collaborative release that sits somewhere between dark industrialized ambience & pared back noise-making- the CDR album brings together two Russian projects 16P17R15O19T15O19T23Y16P & Light Collapse, who each jointly built the six tracks within.
Moral Order is a power electronics project of Spanish musician Fernando O. Paino, who has another rather interesting project Da-Sein, which focuses in on combining Power Electronics, Industrial and quite soft (sometimes almost dance) rhythms.
Breakout is a 1975 action/adventure film with an all-star cast featuring Charles Bronson, Randy Quaid, Jill Ireland, Robert Duvall and John Huston. The film is directed by Tom Gries who would go on to direct the following year’s Charles Manson biopic Helter Skelter.The film is based on the true story of Joe Kaplan, who was framed for murder, and managed to escape from the Mexican prison inwhich he was being held.
Originally released in 1980 The Commercial Album was both one the most approachable, yet still highly creative releases to appear from the decidedly arty-yet playful US cult project The Residents. Here from Cherry Red/ MVD Audio, is the ninth in 'Preserved series' which sees the labels releasing the ultimate edition of Resident albums- which find the releases getting classy new remixes, and a second disc of rare related recordings- many which have never been widely heard before.
This 1992 re-issue compiles the little known first two releases of synth ambient pioneer Steve Roach, the EP "Now" and first full length album "Traveler". While containing many synth tones and textures which would appear in Roach's noted later works, these recordings have a strikingly bold style which is indeed less 'ambient', and denser with melodic composition. With strident lead playing, punctuated notes and frequent changes, it is active listening music with intense dramatic flair. It is quite soundtrack-like and borrows heavily from Tangerine Dream, particularly pieces like Phaedra.
Appearing seven years after the original Malevolence- an excellent through lesser-known modern slasher, we got Bereavement- Malevolence II. The film moved away from the more set slasher tone of the first film, for a still gory pre-sequel that’s best described as a serial killer thriller, with touches of teenage rural drama. From late last year here’s a duel Blu Ray & DVD release of Bereavement- featuring directors cut of the film, director’s commentary, deleted scenes, etc.
From 1972 here’s a sleazy, groovy & at times queasily sadistic take on Robert Louis Stevenson's classic gothic novella Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. On Cheezy Films here we have a DVD recent reissue of the film.
Marc Richter is a German sound artist who has worked extensively on soundtracks, theatrical productions and art installations. His main musical project is Black To Comm, which started in 2006 released nine full-length albums, two split-albums, nine Ep’s, one collaboration and participated in two compilations. Seemingly each album from the project has a slightly different sound, retaining, nevertheless, within the framework of the chosen style - Drone / Ambient with a fair share of glitch, avant-garde and classical music.
Wir Sind Die Terroristen, Gegen Die Touristen is a four 3inch CDR box set offering up four examples of dense & suffocating walled noise. The release appears on Tampa, Florida noise label Inner Demons.
The Grey Tape appeared in early autumn 2018-it featured two twenty minute examples of nervy & erratically feasting static texturing from this respected Swedish based project. The release appeared in either tobacco tin tined tape release, or a digital download.
Worship severs-up two thirty minute slabs of active ‘n’ sleazed walled noise from French project Corrupted Light. The release appeared in April last year- coming in the form of either a CDR or digital download on French noise label Required Right Of Return- sadly the physical release of the album are all sold out now, but you can still download it.
Released on October 17, 2018, Nihilist Records' split between Kommissar Hjuler Und Frau and Panicsville comes forth in an interesting edition of 127 LPs. One hundred of these LPs are the standard, black vinyl, and twenty-seven are Special Art Editions, with each having its own unique collage. This collage package goes further to express the collage-like, experimental compositions found within.
From December last year- here’s the second boxset of films from William castle on Powerhouse films. And once again it shows the infamous producer/directors flair for switching film genres- going from playful fantasy, onto espionage based teen comedy thriller, through to creepy house themed comedy horror, onto rural-based psycho thriller. And as we’ve come to expect from Powerhouse we get a good selection of extras, and great new prints of each of the films featured here
Named after the Tibetan word meaning to “to sever” or “cutting through the ego” Chöd is the one-person esoteric dark ambient project of French musician Dominique Maud. Bardo Thodol, based on the teachings of the book of the same name (The Tibetan Book of the Dead) features a collection of twenty two untitled tracks of raw, primordial sounding atmospheric ambience spread across two CDs, that was recovered from old DAT tapes recorded between 1996 and 1999.
In November 2018 I reviewed Vita Arkivet- the most recent album from Dark Ambient project Desiderii Marginis. At the same time Cyclic Law release a re-mastered version of the projects album 2001 Deadbeat- and that’s what I’m reviewing today
Un Lloc Entre Dos Records is an skeletal, bleakly fragile, and at times discordantly churning composition for solo acoustic guitar & sine waves. This fifty-three minute work sits somewhere between often sparse minimalism & stark electro-acoustic modern composition- with the release appearing on the always worthy Another Timbre label in the form of a CD.
Essence!, the first album of new material in eight years from Death in June, is rather aptly titled- as it distills everything you’d expect from this influential, though often controversial Neo-folk project. Over the albums eleven tracks, we get a blend of tightly moody yet often memorable strummed acoustic guitar, gloomy and wordy baritone vocals, and creative use of subtle sampling and unsettling studio effects.
As with any film sub-genre, Giallo’s come in a few different cinematic flavours. You have the classic who-done-it variety, that’s peppered with gory murders & black gloved killers. You have the arty & horror-lined surreal ones like Suspiria, or the perverse & sleaze bound ones like New York Ripper. Or you have the more melodramatic & thriller based ones, that are largely bloodless - and this is the bracket that The Forbidden Photos of a Lady Above Suspicion fits into. Here on Arrow Video( Uk & US), following on from their past reissues of lesser-known Giallo films- is a Blu Ray release of the film- taking in a great new scan, a new commentary track, and a good selection of extras.
Legendary industrial label Cold Spring recently unleashed their 250th release, and to celebrate, they've put out a 2xCD sampler stacked to the roof with 29 awesome tracks. Showcasing their wide breadth of current material, Cold Spring's Earthen compiles artists playing anything from noise to neo-folk, doom to torch songs, and dark ambient to death industrial. Limited to 4000 copies in a gatefold ecopak, this is a sampler that goes above and beyond the standard "ten track disc in a cardboard sleeve."
Hailing from the French cities of Nancy and Avignon, Piles are a trio of vastly experienced drummers, Anthony Laguerre, Guigou Chevenier and Michel Deltruc. Laguerre adds guitar and keyboards to help flesh out the band’s sound.
Possessed is the first album of new material from Alien Sex Fiend in eight years. It sees the two-piece craving out an often rough 'n' ready blend of snapping electro beats, retro synth grooves, chugging punked-blues guitar, and waveringly coarse-yet- ghoulish male vocals. It’s an album that certainly sees the band hanging onto its fairly unequal blend of Goth, psychobilly, punk, & electro-fired shock rock- but sadly for most of its runtime, it rather lacks the more tongue-in-cheek humour, and sense of quirky experimentation that makes their best work so rewarding.