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Here we have the 2014 CD reissue of one of the classic 1980’s Italian horror soundtracks. Paura Nella Città Dei Morti Viventi (aka City of the Living Dead) appeared in 1980, and was the first film in infamous Italian gore director’s Lucio Fulci Gates of Hell trilogy(which took also took in 1981’s The House By The Cemetery & 1983’s The Beyond).
Stayed Tune is a new & lengthy drone composition over-seen & conceived by Rutger Zuydervelt (better know to most as Machinefabriek). The single 50 minute piece on offer here is based around a drone played in the A note(which is the normally note that’s used for tuning up). The track is built around recordings made by around 150 musicians & singers; & these are slowly layered & subtle manipulated by Zuydervelt to create a truly majestic & hypotonic drone work.
Blunt Force are a Norwegian three piece who summon up a blown-out, battering, brutal & noisey mix of improvised rock & jazz. The trio brings together guitarist Karl Haugland Bjorå, bassist Egil Kalman and drummer Ole Mofjell. This is the project first sonic offer, and it presents the listener with a single 28 minute track.
English group Baraclough creates patient, ritualized electronics, generally sparse and deliberate, so that the nuances of each sound are emphasized. To my ears, it would seem they are intentionally creating 'magickal' musick in the vein of previous British groups like Coil or Nurse With Wound. Their sound goes beyond the diversity and inactivity of most music that is called 'ambient', possessing a theatric flair for sudden changes and a narrative structure that makes the album feel like a suite with 10 movements. I am always glad to hear more music in this vein, as Coil is among my favorite groups.
Many times I have used this space to praise the internet for allowing us to bask in the pure, loving glow of an underheard classic or for bringing new bands to our attention through blogs and streaming websites. There is a flip side to this coin, though, that anyone with access to a computer can upload their creation to the web. For the most part, I think this is fantastic. However, there are times when product seems to be made just to put product out. Quantity (even if it's one) overtakes quality, and the genre gets watered down. A prime example of this is Simon Magus' I Traded Virginity for Vice.
The almighty Cold Spring imprint presents Perfection & Permanence, the new album by Trepaneringsritualen. For those unfamiliar, Trepaneringsritualen is the moniker of Swedish noise terrorist Thomas Ekelund. Also sometimes referred to as TxRxP, Ekelund’s project has been rather prolific since it’s inception in 2008, with a number releases on such labels as: Hanson, Harsh Head Rituals, Malignant, Release the Bats, and now U.K. mainstay Cold Spring. Ekelund explores religion, the occult, and other esoteric themes through a caustic blend of death industrial, power electronics and industrial noise. Perfection & Permanence, available on LP and CD is his latest vessel for disseminating these dark explorations.
Lecho de Piedra (meaning in English ‘Deadbed Stone') is the second full length album from this Ur/Pyrenne Folk collective from Catalunya Iberia. On offer here is a collection of earthy & harsh folk tunes that are themed around death in barren nature; be it in the surroundings of standing stones, inside mountains, or within forests.
Here’s a cdr from Panic, on Bored Bear Recordings; concerning one of my favourite film entities: Sadako. You’ll hopefully remember Sadako from the Japanese Ringu series of films: its unlikely you’ll have forgotten her. She was the twitching, jerking figure who haunted the viewers of a videotape; crawling along the floor, or emerging from a well with her face hidden by long, black hair.
Japan is known for many extreme acts, and Tokyo's Coffins is no exception. Coffins' brand of heavy, crunchy doom/death has received quite a cult following, and it's pretty warranted. Over a handful of full lengths and numerous splits and compilation appearances, Coffins has managed to hone their craft of crushing doom, plodding death, and aural despair. Late last year, Hammerheart Records re-released Ancient Torture, a 2 CD collection of splits and compilation appearances. Hunting down rare tracks is not only a pain in the ass, but can get very expensive. This release allows fans to experience the Coffins tracks that may have slipped through their grasp.
Death In Séance is the second release from La Goccia D'Acqua- the atmospheric & bone-chilling walled noise project of Paris based Julien Skrobek (Sadistic Fall,The Killer Came From The Bronx ,Ghost, The Sandman Wears A Mask, Ruine, Butch Bag). All of this projects releases are themed around Mario Brava’s early 1960’s classic Italian anthology horror movie Black Sabbath, and in particular the third or first story in the movie(depending on which version of the film you watch) which details the tale of a nurse who steals a ring from a dead medium, and starts to thinking she’s been stalked by the mediums ghost.
Paris, Do You Speak French? once again finds this highly proflic noise-maker & drone-creator retooling & morphing modern female pop fare into often lengthy experimental sound-scapes, which move between ambience & dense noise-craft. The subject of this multi disc set(5 CDR’s & 2 data DVD’s) is the work of Paris Hilton- the infamous American socialite, actress and pop star.
Founded in 1995, Abazagorath bears the distinction of being one of the oldest American black metal bands still kicking. And despite their lengthy tenure, The Satanic Verses is just the third album put out by this New Jersey based outfit, possibly due to a fair amount of lineup changes (drummer Warhead is the only remaining founding member). Still, I’ll take quality over quantity any day, and quality is something these guys have in spades. This album is about the Satanic Verses, which were a series of verses in the Quran where Mohammed acknowledged the existence of a pagan god. Later, he allegedly recanted, saying that Satan forced him to speak, and the verses were removed.
Saxophonist/composer/bandleader Peter Epstein and his band play a cerebral iteration of classically informed post bop with complex, meandering head melodies inspired by the likes of John Coltrane or Eric Dolphy, whose asymmetrical, oddly composed figures may at first sound improvised, until played again verbatim in their vast entireties. With 9 diverse pieces spanning 65 minutes, Epstein's group covers a huge amount of ground.
Female Paedophile is the walled noise project of Nacogdoches Texas based Josh Doughty - also of downer synth/ noise project Funeral Parlour, and runner of noise label dampster noise. The projects been active for around a year or so, releasing a few splits, a stand alone tape, and a stand alone eight track.
Wallmaster is a Montreal, Québec based HWN project that creates a dense & unforgiving take on walled–noise. The project came about in mid 2013, and has been highly prolific putting around twenty digital only releases, and nine or so cassette releases. This C90 tape appears on the projects own label in a edition of 10 copies, and was the first of the ‘You Exist For Nothing’ series which has now reached vol 6.
Quaternity is the latest release from Sabbath Assembly. Formed in 2009, the project is dedicated to the quest set forth by the Process Church of the Final Judgment; offering their hymns and theology for the current generation. Sabbath Assembly also performs its own material in the spirit of the message of the Church. So what is, or was the Process Church? The Process Church was founded in the mid 60’s and lasted until the late 70’s, starting as a splinter sect from Scientology. Look up The Process Church of the Final Judgment online and you will find a plethora of information, some factual some a bit sketchy but interesting none the least. Lyrics are culled from The Process texts and the Bible (Deuteronomy, Revelations and Psalms.)
Wrekmeister Harmonies is an experimental music collective based out of Chicago, IL. It is lead by JR Robinson and combines elements of drone, post-rock and metal. Various musicians have been associated with Wrekmeister Harmonies such as Wrest of Leviathan, Sanford Parker, Ryley Walker, Bruce Lamont, Chanel Pease and Chris Brokaw. This is Wrekmeister Harmonies second release with Thrill Jockey.
Sleaford Mods probably need no introduction to you, but if you have missed out on their rise, they’re a beats/words duo producing raw, stripped-back, pop-sized barrages. I like to think of them as The Fall relocated to Nottingham, attempting to form a hip-hop project and making a young Mark. E. Smith spit with rage in the process. So, whilst it’s spiky and belligerent in tone, musically its often very straight-ahead; beats and riffs pounded into the ground: “repetition, repetition, repetition”. “Chubbed Up +” physically releases a digital compilation from earlier this year - collecting up tracks from singles - and adds a couple of unreleased songs into the mix.
Electric Shocks was the first full length release from this multi-instrumentalist & former Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah band member. The album originally appeared on United Artists Records in 1972- this 2014 reissue brings together the albums original nine tracks along with the four tracks from Spear’s first EP Rebel Trouser.
Crate digging and record collecting have been going on long before the internet became everyone's favorite everything. It did, though, change the way collectors could share their finds with the rest of the community. Blogs, bulletin boards, and other websites allow collectors to spread the joy they get from finding underheard classics or, in the case of Lewis' L'Amour, albums that weren't meant for a mass market. These rare, small batch, private press records are much sought after, and the more obscure, the better. Since no one you know has ever heard them or talked about them, these records have a more personal feel to them, like they were made expressly for you. This is especially true with Light In the Attic's latest re-release, Lewis - L'Amour.
Rauhnact (well Stefan Traunmüller to be exact as it is his one man band) returns with Urzeitgeist, their second full length. Traunmüller is no stranger to black metal as he is also a member of Wallachia and Golden Dawn. Rauhnacht, for the uninitiated, titles their music as Alpine black metal; which is a combination of early Norwegian Black Metal and the alpine philosophy, traditions and folklore. All lyrics are in German (Google translator was stumped by most of them).
Gruenrekorder imprint presents Four Walks Around a Year: Spring by british artist, writer, and lecturer Sebastiane Hegarty.
Steinebach (alias of Martin Steinebach) released this CDr of crackling tape loops and mangled analog static on Sincope in 2013.
I’m going to come out and say it – there isn’t much good about The Deathtrip’s debut album. From the strange goth album cover to the atrocious vocals to the terrible pacing, the album is one mistake after another. This is apparent from the onset of the intro, where Aldrahn and co thought that didgeridoo plus chickens clucking would be a good way to kick off an album. And it really doesn’t get much better than that.