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The perhaps inanely named US black metal band Nightbringer released their third full length, "Hierophany of the Open Grave" in 2011, an earnest attempt to create a dense, cerebral epic within the black metal idiom. They bring a polish and class to their craft which few in the genre possess, something that could potentially turn off fans of DIY or stripped down black metal.
A very nicely packaged tape here, on Scorze Records. A painted cassette, wrapped in a card cover and tied up with string - simple but beautiful. The front cover is a still from the great 1966 Czech film “Daisies”, whilst the inside image is an enigmatic photo of a girl hiding behind an antlered skull; both are alluring, mysterious pictures, which draw the viewer in. So, in terms of packaging, there’s really nothing bad to be said. The sounds are provided by RedSK on one side, and I Dreamt Of Her Beautiful Tentacles on t’other.
At first glance, with its psychedelic flower-power nudie cover, this CD looks like an Acid Mothers Temple release but its contents couldn't be more far away from the Japanese collective's noise psych rock. Instead Barrikad is a pretty well known industrial noise act, with usually politic thematics and a very ample range of sounds. Each of the three tracks on "We Make Nihilists Smile Again" features the support of another artists.
Adam Kalmbach, the man behind Jute Gyte (and for the matter the owner/creator of Jeshimoth Entertainment) is one industrious person. Verstiegenheit is his tenth full-length release (although this is Jute Gytes third more black metal focused release). Looking through Jute Gytes list of work it appears that they have issued five different full-length cds in 2011 alone!
This fiftieth release from Kiev’s Quasi Pop label, which has recently seen releases by Andrew Liles, Lasse Marhaug and Merzbow on its expansive and eclectic roster, is from label owner Edward Sol. Although he seems to have worked extensively with various Ukraine-based groups in the rock and electronic mould (most visibly in Biblioteka Prospero), his training as a sound designer for film and television seems to have come to the fore more recently on his solo releases where he fuses Foley with field recordings to create concrète dramas of which this 30 minute cassette is no exception.
“In Darkness” offers up a single just under 25 minutes worth of head pummelling ‘n’ gut hitting low end ‘n’ crunchy based HNW. This is the second release from this relatively new project of US HNW scene veteran Alex Nowacki whose also in the other following HNW projects Boar, Centeries Behind The Gate & Phantom Rib.
“Lost & Found” brings together two twenty minute slices of ambient walled noise, textured static and HNW that’s created by using only a cooling fan as source material. Small Hours is one of the projects of Uk based James Killick whose also behind Love Katy- a Katy Perry influenced HNW project & runs the great British HNW label Sweet Solitude.
Put Through Glass Panes by Ellen Fullman on the headphones and what do you hear? A bit of Tony Conrad? Patrice Moullet? Achim Reichel? Sounds vaguely akin to the Aeolian harp, perhaps? Passing evocations of Alan Lamb-like sounds drifting down lonely wires? There may even be hints of those sonorities found in L. Shankar’s more pallid musical pieces. This is definitely a release which brings forth memories of many past drone/ experimental string explorations on cd and lp, some exciting and others not-so.
Ahnstern is one of the many sub-labels that branch out from the infamous and highly influential Austrian label Steinklang Industries. Playing out as a tribute to the equally infamous purveyors of Industrial/Neo-folk Allerseelen, this collection of interpretations of the aforementioned act proves to be an interesting relic in its own right.
One would imagine that after 30 plus years and near on 30 studio albums that The Fall would have creatively run out of stream & sonic invention, but taking on the evidence in hand i.e. “Ersatz GB”- their 29th record, this is far from the case, & actually their still bristling with heady surreal passion & inventive flair…there is indeed more than a few tricks left in this old dog.
This live release brings together the Japanese king of noise Merzbow, and respected Hungarian drummer/ Percussionist Balázs Pándi for a mixture of imaginative, psychedelic & seared noise matter, and punishing, detailed yet never too showy percussive attacks.
Being a cassingle, as they used to be known, this ten minute cassette takes less time to listen to than it does to try to discover who’s behind the release: All a search engine yields is that it’s brought to you by Lighten Up Sounds from the banks of the Mississippi that regularly produces short runs of new and diverse experimental music from the electro-acoustics of Andreas Brandal to the outsider cabaret of Sam Gas Can.
Alexander Tucker has been engaged in various forms of music in the last 20 years, and finally settled into an ethereal yet lively folk sound in the last few years. His eclectic music is still rich with the energy and drive of the rock and hardcore styles of his younger days, and his sense of melody is quite strong, drawing upon the meandering, intelligent structures and pure vocal tone of classic new wave bands like Eyeless in Gaza. He delivers 13 similar but melodically distinct songs on his latest album "Dorwytch", generally midpaced and contemplative / existential in mood.
Here is a fine, if spartan, package from Nordvargr. Its a tape with classy on-body printing; encased in an equally classy, stumptown printed, cardboard cassette box. The tape has three tracks of HNW and plays the same both sides; making it a monstrous c100 plus - not something I’ve seen for a while…
I will start by saying that Morte Incandescente is one of my favourite recent black metal bands so maybe I’m a bit partial on this one. I'm sorry folks!. "...Relembrando Um Tumulo Esquecido" is their third full length and from start to end it's just solid & classic black metal with some great and simple riffs, powerful and fast songs, and a few calmer moments where the hellish and slightly reverbered screaming duels with morbid guitar lines.
The segueway from the proprietary power electronics of Whitehouse to Cut Hands’ equally possessed afro noise has seemed a long slow fade.
Sam Rosenthal is one of those names that probably rings a bell. Know as the creator behind the darkwave group Black Tape For A Blue Girl, he is also the founder of Projeckt Records. His recording history is long (since 1986) and diverse; dabbling in darkwave, gothic, cabaret and ambient music. This is his most recent release, well kind of sort of, but we’ll get to that part.
“Attache À Ton Esprit Un Éternel Bourreau” is the second full length vinyl LP from the french master of brutal & unrelenting HNW. And it offers up two thick and punishing yet fairly different sounding slices of walled noise. The albums title roughly translates to “To your sprit an eternal torture is attached”, which of course is very apt as both sides of vinyl are deeply torturous & they seem almost eternal when your locked with in thier pummelling & unrelenting walls of noise.
Tomorrow I'll Shoot Myself in the Mouth is a mysterious Italian project who make bleak, off-kilter yet strangle rewarding piano music that’s laden with all manner of shrieks, wails, screams and muffled almost black metal like vocalising. “Useless” is seemingly the projects first release, though I cant be 100 % sure of this as the only place I can find any mention of the project is on Smell The Stenches website.
Is there an actual music for our times? What sounds reflect the world of 2011? Not really sure, but DOOM METAL definitely encapsulates some of the darker aspects of our world today. And there is a lot of it.
“This May be My Last Time Singing” is an varied, rewarding & mostly consistent three CD disc compilation of raw African American Gospel music dating from between 1957 & 1982. This is a sequel of sorts to the excellent 3 disc African American gospel collection “Fire In my Bones” which also appeared on Tompkins Square label in 2009, and both compilations are collected/Curatored by avid rare Gospel record collector Mike McGonigal.
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[Untitled] is the new moody & bleack HNW project from Richard Ramirez (of Werewolf Jerusalem, Black Leather Jesus, Fouke & many other projects) and Sean E. Matzus ( of Last Rape, A week of Kindness, The Whitehorse, Black Leather Jesus). This CDR offers up a single untitled track that comes in at just under the fifty five minute mark.
This new untitled release from Fairfax USA based Gluttoness finds the project offering up quite an untypical slice of lengthy, unmoving and boarding-on ambient HNW noise making. Usually this projects tracks are often short in length, and active /progressive in feeling so the near on 43 minute track that appears here is quite a departure for the project.
Well now, two worlds of obscuration meet on this one cd: black metal and academia. The former can often use vague, clouded, indistinct means to present itself; whilst the latter aims at total clarity, but in doing so often uses language so complex as to return it to obscurity.