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I’m reviewing a very simple promotional copy of this album, a plain cdr in a plain card wallet; on top of this, Lawrence English and Werner Dafeldecker are both new names to me - so it really is a “blind” review. The album has eight tracks, coming in at a pleasingly concise thirty-three minutes; essentially covering a wide range of sounds.
After five years in the making, Italian quartet Ad Nauseam have finally unleashed their debut upon the metal world. This was not time spend idly, either, as this album is impeccably crafted, played, and mastered. So much care went into this record that it's hard to believe it's a debut. The song structures and dedication to recording are akin to some of the mightiest bands around, and show the immense talent of a band that clearly doesn't settle for second best. Ad Nauseam's commitment to complex beauty and crushing death is very welcome in a time when speed and nearly unlistenable technicality are flooding the scene.
Lingua Fungi's "Melankhton" is an album of contemplative and serene soundscapes that retains the usual Aural Hypnox air of mystery, but manages to be the most emotionally open, melodic and diverse output I have heard from the label.
These past couple years have been great for Greek black metal. With awesome new releases from Varathron, Macabre Omen, Nocternity, Spectral Lore, Hail Spirit Noir, etc. in just the past couple years alone, it appears the scene is flourishing. Of course, this revival would mean nothing without at least some new blood. Enter Ithaqua, a promising duo playing old school black metal with the blood of Rotting Christ coursing through their veins. Released earlier this year on tape by Iron Bonehead, the band’s first demo Initiation to Obscure Mysteries shows a glimpse into this promising young group’s future.
Laube is the slowest band I have ever listened to. This 2xCD compilation, released in 2014 on Small Doses, includes two of their previous albums.
Here’s a four CDR release from this Greeley Colorado based project- it's work focuses in on creating often dense yet texturally rewarding walled noise that is themed around works of literature. And this release is based around Honoré de Balzac's Lost Illusions- an 18th century three part literary realism novel that charted the path of impoverished & impatient man making his way in upper class French society.
Midnight Heat was the hardcore roughie themed walled noise project of multi project linked west Yorkshire based noise maker George Proctor ( of Mutant Ape, Murder Book, many other projects, and runner of uk noise label Turgid Animal). This four cassette box set collects together the project’s whole discography in one place, along with a never before released bonus track. If you enjoy the crude & sleazed walled noise works from the likes of Rough Sex Quartet you’ll surely get a kick out of this.
This seven-inch distills two very famous names in HNW down to around five minutes each - not a duration that either is too well-acquainted with! Both The Rita and Dead Body Collection should hopefully be recognisable to you, as quality wall practitioners and the two labels involved do them proud; presenting a very professionally put together package. The stark, back and white design, features lots of photographs of stockings - in myriad forms; as well as one picture of some frogmen carrying out a raid, using manned torpedos: both themes which should be recognisable to fans of the two projects. Both acts get a side each of black vinyl, to work their magic. (According to the “Discogs” website, the vinyl was unfortunately incorrectly stickered; with each side labelled as the other project’s side…)
Long time contributors to the dark ambient scene, Jarl and Envenomist team up with Zoharum to put on disc a sonic reenactment of the Tunguska Event. This mysterious explosion over the Russian region of Tunguska has been studied and written about for the past 100 years, Cold, synthy, and low, Jarl and Envenomist capture the space and mystery around the event quite well. Spread over five tracks, this sonic journey takes the listener back in time to the cold, bleak, Russian woods where the mysterious explosion flattened almost 900 sq mi without warning.
German-based experimental label Geräuschmanufaktur presents a split cassette (C20) between Creation Through Destruction and SSRI. Creation Through Destruction hails from Serbia and is the harsh noise project of Aleksandar Nenad, perhaps better known for his wall-making prowess as Dead Body Collection. SSRI hails from Finland and is the moniker of Pekka PT, also known for his work in Sick Seed and Gelsomina.
Whenever I receive a new title to review, I always like to play the game “Guess where this band is from” during my first listen. Sometimes I’m totally off the mark, but with others I’m dead on the mark as regional trends shape the music. In the case of Sovereign’s Nailing Shut the Sacrosanct Orifice, the predominant Swedish riffs are laced with a sort of intimate, worldly American atmosphere that was impossible to miss. Blending two different styles Feels a little more real, more personal, and perhaps a little more evil for it.
Here’s another slice of searing ‘n’ sleazed walled noise from Julien Skrobek’s (The Killer Came From The Bronx ,Ghost, The Sandman Wears A Mask, Ruine, Butch Bag, Gasp, Ruine, etc) Ecco project. All releases from this project are based around 60’s & 70’s grind house movies, and this release is themed around 1968 roughie sexploitation movie The Curse Of Her Flesh.
Here’s a split CD that brings together two dense & darkly mood yet brutal slices of walled noise from these two USA scene veterans. Featured here is Dubuque Iowa based Boar- whose been active since 2009, and Missouri Mass Graves- whose been active since 2010.
Sky were an English/Australian instrumental progressive rock group who created a approachable brand of classical influenced rock music & fusion. The band were at the height of both thier popularity and artistically between the late 1970’s & the early 1980’s. This is a 2014 reissue of the bands 1979 debut album, and it’s great mix of memorable melodies, rewarding compositions, & virtuoso yet never over showy musicianship.
Blue Öyster Cult are one of the more creative & lyrically clever rock bands to appear from the USA in the 1970’s- moving their sound from early dark & heavy metal , onto prog bound rock/ metal styling's, through to their later pop/ rock sound. This rather wonderful book is the first full length study of this sadly undervalued & underappreciated band- taking in their career in a album by album like layout. Charting the history around each album, lyrical themes, album artwork, etc.
Here’s a cdr utilising the undoubtable talents of two shining lights in HNW: James Killick as Carrie and Julien Skrobek as the owner of Bad Rip Series. Killick is the figure behind such projects as Love Katy and Small Hours, as well the labels Sweet Solitude and Vagary Records; whilst Skrobek has a plethora of notable projects and labels under his belt - Ghost, Static Park, Butch Bag and Ruine, to name a few of the former; with Slow Death Records, Ink Runs Recordings and Corpse Grained Series as the latter. The twenty-six minute long track, “Send An Army Of Angels”, is all Killick’s work, though and, as with his Love Katy persona, the piece is dedicated to a modern pop singer: Carrie Underwood (yes, I had to look her up).
Forged from the ashes of local punk and hardcore bands, Helsinki's Kesä are set to release their self titled debut on Svart Records later this month. Using their shared love of the music they grew up with as their inspiration, Kesä plays a modern take on New Wave, New Romanticism, and other cold, synthy 80's styles. Despite the commitment to colder vibes and textures, Kesä's inspiration and dedication feels true and through this creates something cold, but warm with feeling, and robotic, but still pretty danceable.
Peripheral Records presents The Path to the Black Lodge, a collaborative CD by Fear Konstruktor and Barrikad. To be honest, I’m not really familiar with either artist, but I’ve seen the name Fear Konstruktor around the block. Of course, as a dyed in the wool Twin Peaks fanatic, I was intrigued by the obvious references in the title and the cover art. Over the years many artists have used the cult television show as a theme or source of inspiration, so much so, that some might say that it’s been played out. However, as an obsessive fan of the show, I say give me more.
With its neon cartoon tiger cover art and vaguely edgy band name / title, this album could have been anything from indie or math rock to harsh noise. As it turns out, the music is rather unintrusive lo-fi downtempo instrumentals and loops. It has 6 tracks, which vary in running time from 2 to 10 minutes.
After existing for a decade, slinking amidst the depths of the American underground, Mastery finally unleashed its debut album to the world in February; an LP out from The Flenser titled Valis. The first pressing sold out in a matter of weeks, and the label announced a repress with red jackets was due in May. The press release that accompanies Valis proclaims the album to be “the most extreme record The Flenser has ever released.” And that’s no lie. This is certainly some of the most extreme, distorted music I’ve ever come across.
Parallel Landscapes is a soothing, delicate, yet often texturally detailed electro ambient album. It’s five tracks mix together harmonic vibe/slowed gong like electronics, drifting & mellowed siren pitches, and fragile/ subtle electro noise detail- all to create a album that is both relaxing yet stimulating, and rewarding in it’s subtle detail.
This pro-cd from the reliable rune grammofon label, comes in their apparent house style: abstract, minimal artwork on a card wallet. The album has seven tracks, played by a trio centred around vocals and guitar/keyboards/drums; but the keyboards in question are “moog, mellotron, prophet, ms20, piano” and the whole outfit is supplemented by sundry electronics: its not exactly a “conventional” sound.
Here’s a recent cassette release from Dead Body Collection- an extremely prolific & (mostly) uncompromisingly brutal walled noise project from Serbian. It comes in the form of a C46 tape on Australia’s Palinopsia Recordings- with each side of tape featuring a single slice of intense & unmoving HNW.
This is the 5th Volume in Altar Of Wastes' Blue Velvet themed releases. Each part in this open ended series sees an underground sound artist putting their own sonic take on David Lynch’s cult classic movie. For this release we find Greece based Otomo Hava offering a up a just under thirty minute track, which moves from oppressive & tense looped string based dense ambience and seared walled noise.