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Industrial metal pioneers Godflesh end 2017 with their new album Post Self . Over two years in the making, Post Self explores a different side of Godflesh, taking in their formative influences to conjure something informed by late 70’s/early 80’s post-punk and industrial music.
Ichiro Tsuji's seminal industrial project, Dissecting Table, should need no introduction to readers of Musique [Machine]. One of Japan's longest running industrial acts, Dissecting Table has a mile long discography, all of which is worth checking out. 1992's Zigoku, his much heralded third release, has been remastered by Tsuji, and re-released on vinyl by Andy Ortmann's Nihilist label.
Helloween have become something of an institution over the years and with their current Pumpkins Unite world tour in full swing it feels a most appropriate time for this reissue. Unarmed was originally released in 2010, to coincide with the band’s 25 anniversary, the album features re-recordings of several Helloween classics in quirky and interesting styles.
This self-titled album was the one & only release from this seven-piece Boston band who blended together early prog, Jazz rock, and psychedelic rock/pop into a fairly unpredictable brew. Originally released in 1970 on RCA, and not reissued until now by Esoteric Records- which is, of course, one of the Cherry Red family of labels.
New Facts Emerge is the 32nd release from English post-punk legends The Fall. It’s their first full length since 2015’s Sub-Lingual Tablet, and it’s very much of a mixed bag- with inspired wonk-ness & sonic un-balancement, sitting alongside the rather pedestrian & at times bland.
Spa Moans is Chicago's Jenny Pulse. Obedient Vibrations is her new mixtape produced & arranged by Spa Moans, bringing together minimalism and an obsession with early 90's RnB and house music acts.
Slaves is another slice of Jess Franco sleaze from the 1970’s. And here we have a recent region free DVD reissue of the film on Full Moon Productions, which is part of their series of Franco reissues. I believe the film is both fairly rare and is offered here uncut for the first time.
'Your Loss Was Never My Gain' is a self-released C60 HNW release from the project We Also Let Blood, a US-based noise project predominantly working within HNW - the tape takes in two half-hour walls on either side, 'Solemnity' on side A and 'Futility' on side B. This project is from a relatively young noise artist, Harrison Phillis, and has released previously on such labels as Lurker Bias, Big Pharma, Personal Archives and Altar of Waste.
Four years since his last release, and eight years since his last for Cyclic Law, Norway's Svartsinn is back with another lush slab of wonderful dark ambient. His latest, Mørkets Variabler (which translates to "Variables of Darkness"), makes use of varying levels of darkness and gloom to bring across a deep, dark, sprawling record. Although very bleak at times, Mørkets Variabler has brighter, more inspiring moments as well, and really helps reinforce Svartsinn's album take on more breadth.
John Frum is not a person but a four piece technical death metal band featuring current and former members of The Faceless, Dillinger Escape Plan and John Zorn. Their debut album "A Stirring In The Noos" came out this year on Relapse Records.
Vangelis’ score for the original Blade Runner is not only one of the most iconic film scores of all time but also a landmark in the history of electronic music. There had been many sci-fi scores which made use of electronics before – notably Louis and Bebe Baron’s work for The Forbidden Planet – but never such a rich and coherent body of work that complemented so perfectly a film’s world creating look. It forever altered how we think sci-fi should sound, just as Ridley Scott’s film opened up new territory in visual effects. It influenced popular music and virtually every form of industrial, EBM and synthesiser music which followed. Bearing all this in mind it was no surprise that anticipation for Denis Villeneuve’s sequel Blade Runner 2049 included the hope for an equally worthy musical companion.
Black Bag Chapter II is the third release by this French walled noise legend for Signor Ward Records- an Italian (mostly) HNW label, that focuses in on nylon/ leg fetish wall-craft. The release came in three editions- a basic digital download, a standard tape version (which I’m reviewing), and an ltd VHS edition, featuring a tape, CDR( of Black Chapter I) & extras. Sadly all but the download is the only thing that is available on the label now.
Here’s a self-titled C30 split from early summer this year- and it brings together more shifting & unsettling textured noise-scaping of Michelle, with the weighty & bothersome wall grind of Rien. Michelle is the Denton Texas-based project of Mitchell Rotunno( The Ebony Tower, Morality Declined, Tjere). And Rien is the project of Stockholm Sweden based Johan Strömvalll Hammarstedt (Gamiani & J S H).
Raskolnikov is a two C50 set from Russian walled noise project Bitum, and it’s themed around the infamously bleak-yet- Philosophical novel Crime & Punishment by respected 19th-century Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky.
Death Trip are an experimental side project with links to seminal Finnish hardcore punks Terveet Kädet. They have been around the Finnish metal scene for almost three decades and Madhouse represents their first full length release. They have quite a reputation, described as one of the most frightening bands in Finland, they number an interesting and diverse range of influences, from The Stooges and Hawkwind, to Swans, The Cramps and Spacemen 3 all channelled through their love of horror and gore films. Madhouse takes up where the band left off with a succession of early 7” singles (Death Trip, Chainsaw Goddess, Please! Skin Me Alive), all of which were an influence on current underground Finnish legends Circle.
Released on the excellent Zoharum label, this limited edition eleven track compilation was produced for the CKiS Wie¿a Ciœnieñ , A centre of culture and art based in Konin. Its the second of such compilations, and follows the 2010 release of the same name.
F.Guyana is a collection of soothing, detailed, often layered, and lush field recordings from forests and the costal regions of French Guiana. The CD appears on the always dependable & quality bound German label Gruenrekorder- either as a CD( which I’m reviewing), or as a digital release that features a bonus batch of tracks.
Death Has No Companion stands as one of the more terminally bleak releases from this British dark ambient/ ritual doom project. The CD offers up just three lengthy tracks built around an often pared back sound that sits somewhere between mournful soundtracking, acoustic doom, and dark ambience with subtle ritual & industrial elements.
Effects is a 1980’s slow-burn thriller/ horror focusing in on a crew filming a horror film in rural Pittsburgh, and whether or not the cast/ crew are been killed for real. It’s somewhat of a lost film, only getting it’s first official release back in 2005 on Synapse Films- here we have the first region free Blu ray release of the film.
Lea Cummings (Kylie Minoise) and Sarah Glass (Grimalkin555) are back with their Okishima Island Tourist Association project. Breaking from the noise routine, Okishima peddles their wares in other electronic realms, with rough and grim, but exciting results. Blurring the lines between EDM and industrial, Evil Ok is a fun foray into electronica.
Another of the classic Skyclad reissues is their full length debut The wayward Sons of Mother earth. Originally released in 1991, the album is the first of its kind to blend folk influences and thrash metal. Formed in Newcastle by Steve Ramsey and Martin Walkyier the band would go on to reinvent and reinvigorate the metal scene, making huge strides forward at a time when most metal bands had collapsed or had gone into hiding, grunge ruled the waves and metal was about as popular as leprosy, but none of this disheartened Ramsey and Walkyier who continued to forge a well-received career throughout the 1990s until they went their separate way in 2000 after the release of their tenth studio album Folkémon.
Avant electronic duo Atonalist paired with Irish vocalist Gavin Friday for this 2016 full length, "Atonalism", their debut collaboration. I am unfamiliar with any other works by Atonalist or Gavin Friday, together or apart.
The rather puzzlingly named Stack Waddy where a British three piece who created ultra crude, noisy, and boisterous blues rock. The band where briefly in existence in the mid sixties- but seemingly only became a firm project between the years 1970 & 1972. This three disc CD set on Cherry Red Records brings together their two 1970’s albums, and a disc of live/rare recordings.
This untitled cd is a compilation of six untitled tracks originally released on various compilations across a couple of labels. Ahlzdeveloper themselves are a (harsh) noise duo who’s only release is this album and a cassette of twofurther untitled tracks.