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Thirty-six years before David Fincher’s masterful told & critical acclaimed Zodiac, there was The Zodiac Killer- the original film to be based on one of the great unsolved crimes in US history. For those unfamiliar with the case the Zodiac is a still unidentified and uncaught serial murderer who killed at least five, but maybe as many as thirty people, in the America bay area between the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. Here we have a new double DVD/ Blu Ray reissue of The Zodiac Killer- featuring a new 4k scan of the film, a selection of extras, and a bonus film Another Son Of Sam, another rare serial killer film from the 70’s.
Wild Red Yellow offers up three examples of often shifting, sonically varied, and creative improv. The release comes in the form of a CD on French label Rogue Art. This comes in the labels house style fold-out digipak; which features basic red, black & white color scheme, with a two-page write-up about the release within.
New York City-based experimental/noise metal outfit Gnaw presents their third album, Cutting Pieces. This a seven track death-like crawl through drains and underground plumbing of an album and closes a four-year gap since their acclaimed Horrible Chamber LP.
Two years after the split release with 1000Schoen and two previous releases Ab Intra return with Henosis I-V. A five track album that attempt to reflect the transformation process expressed through colour, intensity and frequency.
When one thinks of dance floor or club music from the nineteen-seventies, you normally think of the 'love-or-hate it' disco genre. This three-disc set celebrates the time before & during the explosion of disco in the Uk (between 1968 & 1975). And as its subtitle suggests we get a host of ‘dance floor prog, Brit Jazz, and funky folk’, but I'd add into this list groovy rock, jiving pop-rock, and jazz-rock crossbreeds. And on the whole, it’s an enjoyable, at times surprising, and varied collection- and as we’ve come to expect from one of the family of Cherry Red linked labels, we get a nice, informative, & classy looking set.
Black Necro Cabaret is a three-way wall-noise spilt with sexual fetishism themes running though it. The C60/ digital download brings together Swiss project Le Bambole Di Velluto, Swedish project Gamiani, and Brazilian project Human Toilet Vendors.
Self-consumption is a single slice of battering, belligerent, and boorish HNW from this long-running Russian project. It comes in the form of a pro-pressed & labeled CDR, which takes in the single wall, and this appeared in late March of this year
Perpetual Endtimes is a C40/ digital download featuring two slices of searing, terminally bleak, yet at times quite progressive walled noise from this respected British noisemaker. And I’m reviewing the cassette version of the release.
The Slow Creep Of Convenience is a single lengthy submersion in dreary, bleakly simmering, building- yet often entrancing drone composition for pipe organ & electric violin. The release in March of this year on Immediata, and came in the form of either a digital download or CD- I'm reviewing a digital promo of the release.
Australian one man gang, JG Thirlwell (Foetus), comes to Editions Mego with his newest project, Xordox. Synth filled and fun, this release comes at a time when everyone is dusting off their keyboards and riding the nostalgia wave. While it's true that synthesizers never disappeared, their dramatic reappearance over the past couple of years makes one look at each release skeptically. "Is this genuine? Is this a cash-in?" Sometimes, it's not always easy to tell.
Much like the subgenre of metal that it draws influence from, the NWOFHM (New Wave of Finnish Heavy Metal) represents to me unadulterated, blitzkrieg heavy metal, the sort of thing that jumps up and pummels you into submission while wearing its battle jacket. The influences are all there to be heard, Venom, Iron Maiden, Saxon, Witchfinder General, Motorhead, Witchfynde etc all mixed with the rawness of classic punk rock bands like The Damned and The Ramones. Steel Mammoth are at the forefront of this new Finnish metal movement, yet their humble beginnings were as a psychedelic/ stoner rock band up until they released Radiation Funeral and Nuclear Rebirth in 2011.
Rick Dietrick is a solo acoustic guitar player from Ohio who released a single album back in 1978 called "Gentle Wilderness". The Tompkins Square label has now re-issued that album (which only had 500 copies in its original limited run), as well as this album, "River Sun River Moon", a collection of recordings from the same time period.
Originally released in 2001 Massacre Up North is a Canadian SOV horror film. And it blends together elements serial killer genre with a few slasher traits, and a good pinch of SOV quirkiness & what-the-hell moments. I’m reviewing the 2017 region free DVD of the film on Shivers Entertainment.
Bella In The Wych Elm is a short, arty & at times quite creepy British independent film. It charts the true crime mystery of a skeleton & skull found in a tree in the 1940’s in the west Midlands. Here we have a DVD issue of the film- featuring three different versions of the thirty-five-minute film
For nearing forty years Madrid based Francisco López’ has carved out his own distinctive sonic identity & niche with-in experimental music/sound. Utilizing & morphing field recordings, industrial elements, various types of ambience, and electro-acoustic elements to create a sound that is so unique, creative & often brave. Over the years I’ve heard bits & pieces of his truly huge discography, and always admired & respected what I’d heard, but had only ever been completely bowled over by a few releases. This double CD set from this year stands as some of the most consistent, varied, and appealing work I’ve heard from him, and like the best review items, it was a real unexpected & pleasant surprise.
Here we have a C30 split that brings together one of the creators of walled noise/ textured noise sound, with one of the up & coming figures in the scene. The Rita is a Canadian based project that’s been active since the late 1990’s, and along with the likes of Richard Ramirez & Vomir is one of the scenes true legends. And Naughty is a French-based female walled noise project, that has gained a fair bit of praise within the last year.
Air Creaks is a truly monolithic, hope-crushing, and lengthy submersion in walled noise & deep bone drilling drone matter. Taking in three hours of pummelling sound, and spread over either two tapes, or as a digital download- this is a truly grueling, yet brutally entrancing experience.
Venerable German sound artist and composer, Asmus Tietchens, sees the re-release of his 1995 piece Eisgang on Klanggalerie this year, with the addition of a bonus track, "Die Barentssee." Residing on the more experimental end of the ambient spectrum, Eisgang is an interesting, fairly brooding piece that churns with reverbed fervor. Easy to get into, but hard to shake, Eisgang is a record that will fill the listener's ears, heart, and mind.
Zen Zsigo's Cremation Lily have quietly racked up a considerable discography of around three dozen releases since their inception in 2011. After starting out producing a familiar mix of distortion led tape noise, power electronics and drone, Zsigo has over the last couple of years opened up the project, imbibing a distinctly introspective take on his coastal environs in the South of England by way of an engagement with dub-wise ambient techno and increasingly complex melodious arrangements. This isn't to say that he's ditched his pedals and tape deck, but rather as the six excellent compositions on this curiously titled record demonstrate he's found a way of filtering the uncanny and often harsh quality of avant-garde and industrial music through a reflective and at times beautiful combination of sound and place. Add to this that the set is released along with a small pamphlet of photographs by Jennifer & Zen Zsigo documenting their time in Hastings, then it's clear that this is something of a statement release.
I do love a review where I have to go in completely devoid of anything pertaining to a press release. This is one of those reviews. Yes, this is all my own words I haven’t copied my friends homework! To be honest, I do prefer reviews like this, the label aren’t going to try to sell you an album based on their own take of the release. So, without further ado….
Cosmic Sounds is a classic slice of populous sonic psychedelia. Originally released in 1967 the album blends together theatrical spoken word, Psychedelic rock, with trippy synth scaping & electronics. As the projects name suggests, the theme here is the signs of the Zodiac, and each of the twelve tracks relates to one sign of the zodiac.
Cloîtrez Et Tuez Vous Tous is one of the more recent releases from French walled noise legend Vomir. And it’s also one of the larger edition from the project, as it comes in an edition of 300 copies pro pressed CD copies.
I have been a huge fan of the work of Nigel Kneale for as long as I can remember. I was a child of the 1970s and his work was everywhere, the one that sticks most in my mind from the period was his Quatermass TV series from 1979. Duing the years since I have revisited most, if not all of the available work of Mr Kneale and fallen in love with his writing. The Quatermass stories are obviously the pinnacle of his success, but The Stone Tape, Murrain and Beasts remain among my personal favourites. I have always wondered just how different Halloween III: Season of the Witch would have been had his original script been followed? There is enough of Kneale in the film for me to love it, but it pains me to imagine just how good it could have been.
From Arrow Video(in both the Uk & US) here we have a dual format reissue of one of the more distinctive & at times disturbing Giallo films of the 1970’s. Directed by Lucio Fulci- who is most known for his later gory & surreal zombie films of the 1980’s. Don't Torture a Duckling stands as one of more classy & thought-provoking films he directed.