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Facez Of Death 2000 is a new Mondo/death film themed walled-noise project from Thailand. It’s both the projects first release, and the first HNW release on the Unbelievable Black Magic label- which began life as bootleg VCD label releasing Mondo and Shockumentary films from Japan and the US.
Yang-Tul is a re-release of a collaboration between these three sound artists originally put out on Anomalous records in 1998. It consists of two side long pieces of unheimlich slowly evolving sounds evoking notions of spectres and the spirit world from which the album's title is drawn. The Yang-tul as the note in the digipak explains is in Tibetan mysticism an emanation proceeding from a higher form of spirit called a Tulpa.
Khost's most recent album, Corrosive Shroud, fluidly blended doom and industrial elements and painted a grim, haunting, mechanical soundscape. With this base to work from, Justin Broadrick of Godflesh took Khost's excellent album, deconstructed it, and then reconstructed it (hence the name) to come up with something very different. Needles Into the Ground sits nicely between both Khost's and Godflesh's sounds, sounds a lot like both, but thankfully stands out on its own.
Dark Matter sees this industrial legend & dark ambient pioneer returning to one of his favourite subjects/ themes- deep dark space, and it’s often eerier vast-ness. This CD release from late summer 2016 offers up three lengthy works, and it’s fair to say it’s some of the most compelling & haunting dark ambience I’ve heard in a good few years.
Over the years there has been more than a few attempts to mix the often perverse, challenging & inventive literary works of William S Burroughs work, with various forms of music. To name a few we had Bill Laswell’s Material, and it’s release Seven Souls- which saw Burroughs reading excepts from his 1987 novel The Western Lands over a blend of experimental rock, world music blends, and beat-bound cinmatics. Or the Industrial hip hop meets spoken word Spare Ass Annie and Other Tales- the 1993 collaboration between Burroughs & experimental Hip-Hop two piece The Disposable Heroes of Hypocrisy. Lunch Music is Yannis Kyriakides attempt at blending Mr Burrough’s work with modern experimental composition, that brings together male voice work, percussion, and subtle electronics
When Black Birds Fly is one of the most deranged, iris searingly psychedelic, and unsettlingly weird filmatic experiences I’ve had in some time. Here we have a early 2016 DVD/ Blu Ray release of this 2015 film from American animated horror film auteur Jimmy ScreamerClauz.
Principality of Hell are a Greek Black Metal band steeped in the history of this most difficult of genres. The band features 3 members, The Magus on vocals and bass, like many great black metal legends before him. Malestrom on drums and El on guitars. The project was born from the collective members need to interact with the dark roots of the genre. The influence of the real heavy weights of the genre can be felt throughout. Not just Bathory, Dark Throne, Immortal, Emperor and Satyricon but the bands whose influence spawned them so Kreator, Sodom, Celtic Frost, Venom etc. Both the songwriting and quality of musicianship is of a very high standard and must be applauded. It is very easy to try to replicate the classics but to be able to do it and sound fresh and exciting at the same time is a very difficult task, Principality of Hell manage to do just that.
British folk duo Padang Food Tigers and Hamonium player Sigbjørn Apeland have recorded for labels such as ECM and Hubro in the past. Between them they plough the various furrows of traditional composition – from Church to country to folk. On this collaborative release on Northern Spy the two parties come together to venture beyond what both normally create into an alternate world of atmospheres.
Here’s another contribution to Lurker Bias’s Neon Wall series of cassettes - though here I’m reviewing the digital version. Two tracks, both untitled, and both 18:05 minutes long - the work of Bee Spit, a new name to me. The inlay cover depicts what looks like an ice skater, but if not, it’s certainly a dancing figure. As you may imagine, we are in HNW territory…
From June 2016 here we have a release from French walled-noise project Black Matter Phantasm. It came in either a the form of a C80(which is now out of print), or a digital download. The release features two( mostly) set yet interestingly textural blends of dense wall-craft.
Moondawn was the sixth album from German electronic music composer and musician Klaus Schulze. It originally appeared back in 1976, and saw him fully embracing the Berlin School side of his sound. The album is justifiable seen as one of his classic creation, going onto influence future ambient, electronica, and trance music. Here we have a 2016 CD reissue of the album, which reprints the reissuing pressing from 2006.
Here we have a recent CD box set that brings together the four albums released by British space-rock institution Hawkwind in the late 1970’s, on respected & cult prog rock label Charisma. For the most part all four albums see the band in more focused/song based mood, with the later albums having a very distinctive new-wave/post-punk vibe about them.
Cult Finnish death metaller Jarno Nurmi's Serpent Ascending returns with Ananku, it's follow up to 2011's The Enigma Unsettled. Once again on I, Voidhanger, Serpent Ascending brings satanic, old school death metal to a willing audience. Grim and chock full of buzzsaws, Ananku may not summon any demons, but it will surely summon up good memories of death metal days gone by.
The Stargazer's Assistant is a project of David J Smith, most known for his work in the highly experimental, sometimes prog rock outfit Guapo. "Remoteness of Light", the 4th release to come out under this name since 2007, is a complex and magickally charged eclectic soundscape which uses a large variety of instruments and sections to create a heady mystic atmosphere. The album contains 3 long pieces, each nearly 20 minutes.
It was Hannah Arendt who argued in her book on imperialism that no other figure demonstrated the insufficiency of the concept of universal human rights that that of the refugee. These individuals who in their plight should embody the demand and concrete instance of fundamental human rights instead mark its utter failure. It was in the wake of the second world war and the mass migrations that the conflict engendered that Arendt wrote. She did so from a very personal experience having had to flee Europe herself. In 2016 Europe is again faced with the mass movement of migrants and refugees fleeing conflict and hardship outside of the borders of "fortress Europe". As they move from East to West, from South to North, the thought to be unimaginable sight of camps of desperate people have once again appeared across Europe. One prominent camp sits just outside the main transport hub of Calais in Northern France. Here in this place known as "the Jungle" several thousand men, women and many unaccompanied children live in squalid conditions in something akin to a state of limbo. The French are unwilling to re-house them, the British steadfastly refuse to let them cross the channel to seek asylum. The more able attempt to cross to the UK via a number of highly dangerous roots; sneaking into or hanging onto the underside of lorries, swimming across to the port, even running through the channel tunnel itself. Several have died and many have been injured in the attempt or in conflict with the French police whose tactics have increasing taken on the appearance of paramilitary camp guards.
Handmade Birds presents Kleines Biest a full-length cassette by Kevin Hufnagel. Hufnagel is a long-running American guitarist, known for his solo output, as well as membership in Dysrhythmia, Byla, Sabbath Assembly, Vaura, and the most recent incarnation of the legendary death metal outfit: Gorguts. Truth be told, I’m most familiar with his musicianship in Gorguts. That said, Kleines Biest is a far cry from death metal.
You know when you get one of those albums that promises to be wonderful from what you’ve read? One of those albums you think you’ll play to death just from the description? Well this is one of those albums.
Slugs is Spanish/American creature feature from the late 80’s- what it lacks in plot & acting is made up for by some quite effective gore & effects set up. Here we have a 2016 release of the film on Arrow Video- coming in either DVD or Blu ray format, appearing on both Arrow UK & Arrow US.
Well, this tape is a good, old-fashioned, homemade job: a colour, printed inlay, holding a Maxell blank tape, with handwritten titles. I think this is the most notably diy release I’ve reviewed for a long time, and it’s nothing but refreshing. The tape has two tracks from each project, with both sides amounting to 45 minutes each. Cannibal Meat Holocaust is another persona of Ivan Sandakov - the figure behind Sleep Column, Oasis of the Zombies, the Wall Noise label, et al; whilst Ataraxy is the long-standing project of Gag, the man behind Vomit Bucket Productions - so we’re in safe hands, here.
New York synth trio Forma returns with their third full length, Physicalist. Released by kranky, in either a CD or double LP format- it comes in a gatefold jacket designed by Robert Beatty. The surreal landscape on the cover is a hint at what lies on the inside, and helps the listener get closer to the kosmische and synth that Forma delivers.
Here’s the second in the new batch of the ‘Neon-Wall’ releases from Lurker Bias. This time around we have two wall’s from the always worthy French wall-noise project Chier. And the C32 offers up two side long slices creatively textured wall-craft from the project.
Here we have the first in the new batch of ’Neon Wall’ releases, put out by Lurker Bias- each release finds a new or more seasoned HNW artists offering up two sides worth of tape. The initial series featured ten releases, and this new set offers up yet another ten tapes. This first release in the new set comes from London Uk based project A Raja's Mesh Men, and offered up here we have two slices of constricted, often dense, yet interestingly layered wall-craft.
Following on from the likes of Dead Body Collection & Raven, Dosis Letalis is another highly prolific walled noise project from Serbia. The project seemingly stared in October of 2015, and has so far amassed coming on for twenty releases in just under a year. Perpetual Panorama Of Wane is a cassette/ digital download on New York noise/dark ambient label Endless Landscapes Of Decay- it features two quarter of an hour tracks
Self Hate is the first wall-noise release from hermit- a Californian based noise project that’s all the work of the mind behind the Grey Matter Productions label. The release came as either a cassette release( with a whole extra side/ track), or a digital release. I’m reviewing the cassette version- which is sadly now out of print.