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From the early 1970s, The Case Of The Bloody Iris is a fairly cliched, though entertaining enough Giallo. It features the king & queen of the genre Edwige Fenech & George Hilton, a handful of murders carried out by gloved/ black masked killer, a splattering of female nudity, and a score by Bruno Nicolai- which shifts between the memorable bounding and eerier. Here from Celluloid Dreams is a double-disc UHD/Blu-Ray disc of the release of the film. Featuring a nicely bold & clean 4k scan, a commentary track, and a few other extras.
Tormented is a cheap, cheerful, and cheesy blend of thriller and horror genres- regarding an ageing playboy/ light jazz pianist who is due to get married, but is literally haunted/ being pestered by the spirit of one of his X’s. The films from the early ’60s, though feels way more from the 50’s- with its tone/set-up, and brief brushes of noir in its make-up.
Root Themselves In The Power Of Place features two examples of textural layered/at-points busy/ detailed walled noise from this Cincinnati, Ohio-based project. Both tracks slide in at around the half-an-hour mark, and both are rather distinctive/ creative in their make-up.
“In Yorkshire’s embrace; Creation through listening’s grace; Endless roots; No bounds.” The credo of Yorkshire Modular Society a.k.a Dominick Schofield and one that absolutely sums up his approach as an artist dedicated to electronic music in all its marvellous forms. For his latest output Fiery the Angels Fell, the Yorkshireman has settled on ambient soundscapes as his investigation of choice but it is all part of a long and winding musical journey that has seen his credentials fully tried and tested.
I guess it’s safe to say that Liz Harris (Grouper, Nivhek) has become her own mini-genre, inspiring musicians to wash out as much as humanly possible via electronic processing that puts every sound source – especially vocals – through a dreamy, ethereal filter. Ekin Fil’s Sleepwalkers sure feels like one of these genealogical descendants, though radically different from its predecessors, it is not. Should it be? I will leave that question where it is and point out instead that music as intimate and personal as Harris’ naturally casts a shadow over other, deeply affected projects.
Here’s a new forty-four-minute example of hope-numbing walled noise from Spain’s Damien De Coene. The digital self-release is both rapidly rolling & greyly stark in its attack, and is primed perfectly for bleak entrancement.
This is a c90 split bringing together two scuzzy, sleazy, and nasty examples of HNW from these two long-term sonic perverts.
'You Can't Run Forever' is a new thriller made available via both digital platforms and in DVD format on 27 May.
NZ's dissonant death metallers, Ulcerate, return with their seventh full-length, Cutting the Throat of God. Working their way up the ranks with ever-increasing technical ability, songwriting, and production, this trio has continued to impress metalheads the world over. Thick and rich, this sonic onslaught runs the gamut of sounds, speeds, thoughts, and emotions, all while delivering a powerful and complete death attack. Cutting the Throat of God is a tight and streamlined production with all the flourishes and artistry one has come to expect from Ulcerate but still keeps it fresh and new showing the band's continued growth.
Gareth Davis & Monika Bugajny's Becoming is a single forty four minute track that begins quite patiently. First becoming audible as a faint, filtered chordal drone after about a minute and a half, it swells slightly and ebbs away again.
Lola is a 2022 time-travelling sci-fi war movie and the feature-length debut of writer/ director Andrew Legge (The Chronoscope, The Unusual Inventions of Henry Cavendish and The Girl with the Mechanical Maiden). It stars Emma Appleton (The Witcher, The Last Letter from Your Lover and The End of the Fucking World), Stephanie Martini (Crooked House, Prime Suspect: Tennison and The Last Kingdom), and Rory Fleck Byrne (Vampire Academy, The Foreigner and Falling Into Place).
“These things wash clean the mind.” Uttered by a sampled voice, this is the closing phrase to “Give Your Heart to the Hawk”, the second track on Harvestman’s pitch-perfect EP, Triptych Part One. Said track is a well-tempered collage work of atmospheric noises and spoken word ephemera, a standout among the seven pieces that make up this release for its deployment of language (the rest of Triptych Part One is purely instrumental). Nestled between two dub-inspired cuts, “Psillosynth” and “Psillosynth (Harvest Dub)”, are four more like-mided, free-floating, compositions, each with its own character but retaining the overall mood: shadowy, low-key, but without a tinge of gloom and doom. It is no surprise, then, that such an expertly crafted work would come from the hands of an extremely seasoned and accomplished musician, Steve Von Till, of Neurosis and related projects.
Mick Harris may be most well known for his work with Napalm Death, his post-ND projects have shown that he's far more than just an influential grindcore drummer. His work in electronic and experimental music has filled his career for over thirty years, working with and pioneering many well-known and well-respected projects. In 1990, he formed his dark ambient project Lull, and has continued to release albums through that outlet. 1993's Journey Through Underworlds has long been hailed as a classic, and it is now back again thanks to Cold Spring. Remastered by Martin Bowes (The Cage Studios) from Mick's original recordings, Journey is given new life to inspire and enthrall new audiences and rekindle the flame for those long time fans of this excellent work.
A Shock To The System is an early 1990s mix of largely reserved thriller and low-key dark comedy- featuring Micheal Cain, as an executive who can seemingly get away with murder. Here from UK’s 101 Films is a new Blu-Ray release of the film- taking in a commentary track, and a few other things.
The Nude Vampire (aka La Vampire Nue) is the third film from French erotic horror auteur Jean Rollin. By its title, you might be expecting a sleazy & very fleshy affair- but in reality, the film is a mixture of atmospheric mystery and largely moody horror/dread- with touches of the surreal & disquieting…with fleeting nudity. Here, as part of Powerhouse's series of reissuing all of Rollin’s work, is a new reissue of the film. It comes in the form of either a UHD or Blu-Ray release(I’m reviewing the latter) which takes in a new wonderful crisp & clean 4k scam, commentary track, and a few new & archive extras.
Shades brings together three around twenty-minute works from Boston-based composer, curator, performer, and deep listening practitioner Nomi Epstein. Each piece has a sourly swooping-to-lightly seared drone quality about them- as they move between the angularly haunting, eerily discordant, and sombrely brooding.
Womb finds the sonic pairing of two important figures from the post-industrial genre. The nine-track album was recorded back in 1981- but never released, aside from a few tapes given out to friends. It’s a release sitting somewhere between sparse experimental electronica, moody-to-unsettling sound-scaping, and generally grimly atmospheric sound craft. Here from UK’s Peripheral Minimal Records is a most welcome first official CD release of the album.
There is something that just feels right about electronic music being performed by German musicians. And Sonic Behavior - an experimental collaboration between Berlin-based electronic duo Driftmachine and renowned German author, journalist and playwright Andreas Ammer - is another notable addition to this mythical canon.
Originally released in 1961, The Devil’s Partner is an American horror movie directed by Charles Rondeau (famous mainly for his work in TV including Mission: Impossible, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and Wild, Wild West) and produced by Hugh Hooker (who is best known as a stunt man from filmslike Scarface, To Live and Die in LA and Parasite) for Roger and Gene Corman’s Filmgroup distribution agency. The film stars Edgar Buchanan (Shane, The Black Arrow and McLintock!), Jean Allison (Bad Company, Emergency! and 77 Sunset Strip), Ed Nelson (The Boneyard, The Screaming Woman and ABucket of Blood) and Richard Crane (Behind Green Lights, House of the Damned and Please Don’t Touch Me).
Here’s a 2023 documentary that compares charming American serial killer Ted Bundy to the Universal Horror’s The Wolfman. The film runs at the hour mark- being a good/ even blend of news footage, film clips, and stock footage. Here from WowNow is a barebones region-free DVD release.
Amateur Porn Star Killer 3: The Final Chapter is the last in this series of Faux Snuff films. It really takes from each of the previous films, from Part 1 it takes the mumblecore dialogue and wavering/ wondering soundtracking. From Part 2 it takes in moments of hardcore sex & stalking footage. Here from Wild Eye’s Raw & Extreme series is a region-free DVD of the film- taking in a commentary track, and a trailer.
The fact that …img…, the latest album from adaaa, ends with a track entitled “entrance”, should give some indication of the inverted logic of this release. adaa’s aesthetic is driven by forces of dissolution rather than those of cogency or wholeness. Listening to the bricolage of found sounds, field recordings, and occasional crooning is like trying to hear multiple radio broadcasts at once; or, like an imaginary station sandwiched between established programs, pulling from their material while scrambling any hope of a clear signal. The metaphor is likely foreign to many who did not grow up with FM radio, but the effect is surely familiar, sitting squarely within the parameters set by the recursive logic of appropriation. Save for the singing, it is almost impossible to discern the origin of adaa’s sources, likely a conscious choice for a generation inherently allergic to the fundamentalism inherent in origins, be they real or imagined.
Here we have a five-disc set bringing together all the studio/ live recordings/ demos of NWOBHM band Tröjan- who were one of the first bands to be labelled as speed metal. The set takes in material from between the years 1984 and 1990.
From director Colton Tran (The Sex Lives of College Girls and The Bell Keeper) comes Sorry, Charlie, a new psychological thriller based on a terrifying true story. ‘The Gentleman’, a notorious serial killer and rapist, is finally behind bars and Charlie (Kathleen Kenny) should be happy to see him rot. But her life has become one of isolation, working from home as a helpline operator she finds herself cut off from her friends and family. All it takes is one unwanted guest to make this peace come crashing down, and there’s someone else in this house with her.