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VHS is the second ewall-noisef release from this former bootleg VCD label from Thailand, who used to specialise in releasing Mondo and Shockumentary films from Japan and the US. Behind the Death Scenes project is once again Chawin Boonpan, who is either the solo artists behind each of the label wall-noise release, or the collaborator.
Kitty Wildenbrück is a new wall noise project from Swiss based Anto(most known for his layered & fetish based project Anonymous Masturbaudioum). 7 Volte is the projects first release, and it’s also the first release from ArchivioAudioAnonimo- which is Anto’s new wall noise label.
Spirit Mantra is a side project of Timmy Stamper, also known as Timas 23. Where Ghosts Play uses samples and synths to create not only a grim, horror filled atmosphere, but also breaks the mold by taking it light and airy. With seven tracks over forty-seven minutes, Where Ghosts Play is an exciting journey through nicely layered soundscapes.
This is the latest release by Steve Hauschildt for Kranky Records. Steve is something of a veteran of the electronic scene and has a wonderful pedigree, he is an ex-member of seminal electronic wizards Emeralds, and this is his fourth album for Kranky, and the follow up to 2015s “Where All is Fled”. Kranky describe Steve’s music as electronic kosmische enchantment, a term that both intrigues me and seems particularly appropriate.
Train Cemetery is relatively new addition to the HNW scene.This Moscow project seemingly started at some point in 2016, though so far has amassed around 20 releases- taking in tapes & digital downloads. Murum is a C90 release(which also came as a digital download), and it takes in six fairly varied though mainly set 'walls', which each hit the 15 minute mark.
Afterlife Signal is a two set C60 release from Sumbru- which is the now main focus of respected & prolific French wall artists Julien Skrobek. The releases features four half-an-hour 'walls' , and each is imbedded with a bleak, grim, yet seared vibe.
Here we have a split between two French walled noise act, and the theme of the release is perverse & depraved Nazi exploitation movies of the 1970’s. The release comes in a C30 tape on perverted French noise label Porn Noise Records.
Lauri Ainala is know as the man behind the group Paavoharju. For his debut solo this Finnish artist has drawn on the 2015 Pietistic convention held at Saari in Eastern Finland. This has been held annually since 1916 and consists of Eucharist, prayers, sermons, bible lessons and hymns.
Here’s a digital version of a limited cassette from Endless Landscapes of Decay. The tape has two tracks, both around 15 minutes in length, and both containing harsh walls of noise - though not necessarily HNW. See Through Buildings provides the first track, whilst the reverse side is a remix of the same; it’s credited to e.l.d., which I would assume is Endless Landscapes of Decay. The cover depicts a decaying corpse - though whether this is sourced from actuality or a film, I couldn’t say.
Oregon filth merchants, Nekro Drunkz, are back with their fourth album, Lavatory Carnage. Once again challenging good taste, Disgustor and Crystal Seth deliver another shot of vile mayhem, sure to tickle your 13 year old fancy. Outside of the comical song titles and subject matter, Nekro Drunkz slam and slay their way forward, and prove that they're more than just lyrical goofballs.
Here’s a recent release from this respected & distinctive sounding electo-acoustic noise maker from Lowell MA. The C30 tape appeared on Oakland based cassette label No Rent Records, and offers up two side long slices of dense & subtle morphing composition, which brings together elements of drone, subtle noise-making, and interesting layer detail.
Svarte Greiner (Erik K. Skodvin) has been doing his thing now for a decade. What began in 2006 with Knife , a record of dissonant "acoustic doom" that made use of loops, odd percussion and uncanny field recordings has increasing taken on a more minimal drawn out approach to composition. Moss Garden, his first record under the Svarte Greiner moniker for three years is something of a culmination of this development.
Here’s the next chapter in BGO's reissuing of The Incredible String Band back catalogue. This time we get a three album/double CD reissue bringing, together two of projects most respected & influential albums( The 5000 Spirits Or The Layer Or The Onion, and The Hangman’s Beautiful Daughter). Plus their self-titled debut release.
Formed in 1973, Canadian three piece project Klaatu offered up a clever & often memorable blend of progressive rock, pop, & symphonic rock. Here we have a single CD reissue of the bands first two albums- 1976’s 3:47 EST/ Self Titled, and 1977’s Hope.
Steve Roach's 2nd and latest collaboration with Robert Logan, entitled "Biosonic", is a denser, busier affair than most of Roach's recent albums, a heavily processed and modulated series of pulsing tribal and synthetic rhythms, coming off more like Autechre than Roach at times, with its watery broken beats, enshrouded in forlorn chordal pads.
llyrian have taken the ever more popular decision of self-releasing their latest offering Round 2: Fight! The album was co-produced with Casey Lewis at Echo Base Studios, and mastered by Sacha Laskow (Every Hour Kills, ex-Divinity) at Perfect Fifth Studios and is available to buy from Itunes, Amazon and also on Bandcamp. The band have been around since 2011 playing their own brand of death metal infused technical thrash metal. The album is their second, and represents the follow up to their debut album Welcome to the Hellmouth, which was released under their previous name of Hellborn Death Engines.
Centring around the mainstay Of Paul Lemos, Controlled Bleeding have tweaked, fiddled, and generally interfered with a large swathe of musical genres. However, anyone with even a passing acquaintance with their music will know they have always delivered music that both challenges and rewards in equal measure, even if you feel uneasy and used at the end of listening to it.
Francesca is another modern attempt to try & recapture the mood, vibe, and atmosphere of the classic Italian Giallo- which where at their peak of both popularity & creativity in the late 60’s to 1970’s. The films an Argentina production from 2015, and I must say it’s one of the more satisfying new addition to the giallo genre I’ve seen. Here we have a deluxe DVD/ Blu Ray/ CD soundtrack release of the film on Unearthered Films.
Here’s another release in the new batch of the ‘Neon-Wall’ releases from Lurker Bias. And this time around we have two tracks from Small Hours- which is one of the key projects of creative-yet-controversial UK walled noise artists James Killick- who is known for his often lighter/ pop-culture themes. And with this release he’s once again selecting a rather un-dark & surprising theme for the two walls on offer here- American pop/country singer Linda Ronstadt, who was one of the biggest stars of the 1970’s.
In terms of packaging, Holy Ghost is literally a bit of a mixed bag: a pro-pressed and pro-printed digipak CD, a sticker depicting the front cover (a painting of a wounded penis, surrounded by a cloud of flies), various sheets sourced from Islamic and Jehovah’s Witness literature, and a small plastic fly. So, we have a professional standard clashing with a more bedroom-derived aesthetic. The fly toy is confusing - it clearly links to the cover painting, but in itself it remains a plastic fly toy. The obvious point being that there’s no real emotional/physical/sensual resonance to it’s inclusion - whereas an actual dead fly on the inside of the digipak would be more visceral and affecting. Nor does the model appear to have any real aesthetic resonance, since the album doesn’t overtly refer to ideas of replication or artificiality - although the lyrics aren’t printed, so it’s possible that they do refer to these. The release has 13 tracks, with the longest nearly five minutes, which sit somewhere between industrial and power electronics - all the work of Gaya Donadio.
Here’s a two C60 tape set that brings together four slices of no-nonsense, old-school, wall noise brutality from two of the scenes most intense & uncompromising acts. The release appears in a fairly scene generous edition of 75 copies, on long running & highly respected noise label Phage Tapes.
Here’s a recent release from respected female wall- noise/ harsh noise project Tissa Mawartyassari(aka Texas based Monica Isabel Sanchez). The release came in the form of either a C40 tape, or a digital download- I’m reviewing the cassette version of the release.
Here we have a C30 cassette release from this up & coming Serbian walled-noise project. The release appeared in early August 2016 on French walled noise label Rapture Records- it came in either the form of a tape, or digital download- I’m reviewing the cassette version, which is now sadly sold out.
Cadabra Records has been very busy this year releasing wonderful spoken art and music capturing some iconic pieces of horror literature. Focusing mainly on H.P. Lovecraft, 2016 saw them branch into the works of Clark Ashton Smith and now Edgar Allan Poe. Released on a limited, one-sided 7", their new disc continues Cadabra's vision of matching well delivered readings, interesting scores, and finely crafted horror art.